Return of the Frozen Player

Kim Woo-Joong stood under the eaves and looked up at the sky from the wooden floor.

Clear.

The sky was perfectly clear, without a single cloud. The only clouded thing was his own heart.

Swoosh.

As he drew his sword, the well-polished blade reflected his face. For a moment, he stared at the blade in silence.

"…!"

Startled, Kim Woo-Joong ran straight to the pond and looked at his face reflected in the water. His eyes were clear. Without the slightest hint of redness, they were clear and untainted.

"…"

He felt relief…and, at the same time, unease. His emotions surged, and he tightly closed his eyes.

‘This isn't a simple dream.’

Every day, he dreamed. A dream where the whole world appeared in shades of red. In that dream, he despised and resented everything to the extent that he surprised himself.

"…"

Was that the reason? The anger that had once been ignited hadn't completely disappeared even now. At times, it felt like that anger wanted to consume everything he had, as if it wanted to set everything on fire.

‘Go away.’

He struggled desperately to suppress the urge to ignite the fire within himself. That was the reason he had come to this place today.

"Come this way~"

"Come this way~"

The Sage of the Observatory Tower. Surely, he would provide appropriate advice.

Kim Woo-Joong followed the two attendants.

"The guest has arrived."

"The guest has arrived."

"Again? Can't we take a break? Does being a sage not involve WLB?"

The woman seated gracefully in front of the grand table turned her head and widened her eyes.

"Oh? Aren't you the Sword Saint?"

Without saying a word, Kim Woo-Joong merely nodded his head. He stared intently at the woman in front of him.

‘Is it… her?’

He had heard the rumors that the sage had recently taken on a disciple.

‘Seo Mi-Rae.’

A Player with the rare Skill called Future Sight.

She stood up unsteadily and asked, "Uhm… What can I see for you?"

"No need to look. He is someone who needs to focus on the present and the past, not the future."

Kim Woo-Joong turned as he heard a voice from the side. He respectfully bowed to the elderly man emerging from the mist.

"Have you been well, Elder?"

"I'm well, but it seems you're not."

Despite not being able to see properly, the old man saw right through his condition instantly.

Kim Woo-Joong raised his head and said, "The reason I came to see you today is because of that."

"Let’s take a walk." The surrounding mist cleared, revealing a garden. As the sage walked silently, he asked, "Seems like you're quite troubled. Is your lover causing you a lot of problems?"

"I don't have a lover."

"Don't you have a kid always tagging along?"

"That’s a friend."

"Huhu." The sage let out a cryptic laugh, then stood in place. He looked up at the sky. "Considering the pleasant sunshine and the cool breeze, it seems the sky is clear."

"Yes, it is very clear."

"But even so, judging by the fact that it can’t melt your heart, you've been keeping a lot inside."

"It has been about three months."

Kim Woo-Joong employed every word in his vocabulary to explain the events on the seventh floor.

"Hmm." The sage, after listening to the story, finally opened his mouth with a sigh. "You truly do not have a way with words."

"I apologize."

"I'm not blaming you. At least, you’re pretty good with a sword, aren’t you?"

"Thank you."

Kim Woo-Joong looked at the sage and asked, "So, what should I do to get rid of this anger?"

"Don't."

"Pardon?"

He wondered if he had misheard.

The sage walked past him. "I said, don't get rid of it. Is there a need to eliminate it? Joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure are natural emotions that people feel."

"But…"

"Don't be afraid."

Kim Woo-Joong's brows furrowed.

"Are you saying that I'm afraid? Me?"

"Do you remember what I said when I first met you?"

"’Huhu, how troublesome. I can see a person's future, but not a blade's future.’ That is what you told me."

The sage stopped walking once again, raising his eyebrows with a slightly regretful expression.

"Your imitation of me is quite lacking."

"I apologize."

"I'll accept your apology this time. It wasn’t the same at all." The sage lightly chuckled and continued walking. "I thought there was a sword in front of me. It looked like a person, but it was actually a blade. A blade crafted with utmost care by a true master, a blade that had no flaws. It was sharp, sturdy, and it bore an unwavering spirit.

“You were a sword of legend."

Kim Woo-Joong listened attentively.

"But it didn't feel like a person. Do you know why?"

"I do not know."

"That blade was just too immaculate. Not a speck of dust on it."

Was it praise or reproach?

"Isn't it good if a sword is immaculate?" Kim Woo-Joong asked as he followed the sage.

"Of course, it's good for a sword. But are you truly a sword?"

"…"

Kim Woo-Joong vaguely understood what the sage was trying to convey.

"Although I've never seen you with my own eyes, I've heard the rumors. They say the sword of the Sword Saint is close to perfection, a flawless sword. I’m sure an incredible amount of effort, talent, and time must have gone into it."

Unconsciously, Kim Woo-Joong nodded.

"Have you heard of the phrase 'too much can be as bad as too little’?"

"Yes. It means that excess can be just as bad as inadequacy."

"Right. Then do you know about deficiency being worse than excess?"

"Yes it means the opposite."

"Exactly. Everything has its degree."

Kim Woo-Joong fully understood the sage's words.

"I’ve stripped away too much."

"So you do know. Of course, I understand why you did that."

So joy wouldn't rattle his sword.

So anger wouldn't disrupt his form.

So sorrow wouldn't interfere with his breathing.

So pleasure wouldn't disturb his thoughts.

Kim Woo-Joong had, step by step, emptied himself of the joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, thus perfecting his sword.

"If you were someone easily swayed by diverse emotions, you wouldn't have made it this far."

He wouldn't have been able to create the Emotionless Sword.

"But even after emptying, you must know how to fill. That's the natural order and human way."

"…"

Kim Woo-Joong fell into thought without speaking.

'Instead of erasing the anger, I'm being told to fill it.'

He was afraid. If the anger he was barely suppressing were to be released, what would become of him? Would he become an eccentric who hated everything like he did in his dreams? With a voice lacking confidence, he asked, "What if I lose control of myself?"

"Surely, you haven't been so afraid all this time that you didn't realize?" Pity appeared on the sage's face. "You're more foolish than I thought. A true simpleton."

"Sir?"

"Among the people I know, nobody is as strict with themselves as you are. Maybe Specter, at most."

"Oh, thank you. Thank you."

"Hmm? Why thank me twice… Anyway, if even you were a person who couldn't regulate their emotions, the world would be full of eccentrics by now."

"Do you really think so?"

"I really do." The sage's serious face turned toward him. "Trust yourself. Not this old man, but the years and effort you've put in."

"The years I have put in…"

Kim Woo-Joong's voice trailed off, and after a while, a faint smile appeared on his lips. Not too long ago, his chest had felt constricted, but now, his breathing had become much easier.

"I understand. Thank you. You always provide me with the right answers."

"In life, there are no right answers. It's just the advice of an old man who's walked a few more steps."

"That is more than enough."

Having emptied, it was time to fill again. He felt a strong premonition that he would reach a new level with just a little more effort.

"Starting today, I will try to fill it. Step by step."

At that, the sage's face took on an odd expression.

"Well, I don't know about that…it might end up as a sprint rather than a walk."

In response to those words, Kim Woo-Joong lowered his head.

"I'll keep that in mind, Elder."

"Then, you should head down now."

"Yes."

When he returned to the main hall, Seo Mi-Rae asked, "Oh, is it over already?"

He nodded. As he was about to pass by, he turned and asked, "What's WLB?"

"Work-life balance. Balancing work and life. Haven't you heard of it?"

Kim Woo-Joong shook his head and asked, "Is it good to prioritize that?"

"Well... I guess so? We're not machines meant for work only. We should live like humans."

"I see. Mkay, work-life balance. I’ll try some of that, I guess."

"Do as you please…. Wait, why are you talking to me so casually?"

Pretending as if he hadn’t heard, Kim Woo-Joong's steps were light and brisk as he left the Observatory Tower. His face was brighter than ever before.

***

Kim Woo-Joong thought to himself, ‘I'm in a good mood.’

On days when he conversed with the Sage of the Observatory Tower, he usually had a lot to think about, but today was different.

‘I just need to accept things as they are.’

It was easy.

If you're happy, smile.

If you're sad, cry.

If you're angry, get angry.

If you're joyful, maybe even dance?

"Heh."

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. With his heart now light, he wanted to swing his sword.

[First Floor.]

However, as the Dimensional Elevator doors opened and a familiar scent pierced his nostrils, the good mood vanished like a lie. It was as if cold water had been poured onto a birthday cake.

"..."

The smell of blood.

Corpses scattered everywhere.

Kim Woo-Joong drew his sword reflexively and rushed out.

"Ugh..."

He held in his arms a groaning, dying guild agent, and asked, "Hey, are you okay? Who on earth would do such a thing..."

"The He... Hea... Heavenly Demon."

A young man’s voice rang in his ear. Only now did Kim Woo-Joong properly see the agent’s face.

"..."

No, it was a stretch to even call him a young man. He was perhaps just recently graduated from high school. In the eyes of this budding future that should’ve been overflowing with potential, there was fear. He knew what that fear was directed toward.

‘Death.’

The young man, or rather, the boy, trembled in fear of impending death.

Kim Woo-Joong instinctively offered some awkward consolation. "It's okay. I'll call a healer—no, a priest right away."

He actually used his Vita and placed a call to the guild. But Kim Woo-Joong sensed it instinctively. Perhaps the boy sensed the same thing.

"Family... Mom... Little sister..."

With those words, the boy coughed up a sound that resembled a sob, then collapsed.

Dead.

- Vice-master? Where are you now? Master said that as soon as we could reach you, to…

"Where is he?"

- Yes?

Bzzt, bzzt.

He could hear it again. A voice within, the urge to set himself on fire. Kim Woo-Joong closed his eyes. This time, he didn't suppress it. He let it out.

"That bastard. I asked, where. is. he."

Whooooosh!

The flame that rose at his command instantly engulfed that emotion, swallowing it whole. His veins heated up, and his heart pounded faster.

Were his eyes turning red?

"...."

Kim Woo-Joong slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were as white as the full moon in the September night sky.

[Title: 'Cutter of Flames (S)' completely devours the heart fire.]

The flame that had targeted him disappeared. But the fire still burned inside him.

- Seoul! The Heavenly Demon's current location is Jamsil.

The moment he heard that. Kim Woo-Joong's figure disappeared like a ghost.

***

"It's quiet," the Heavenly Demon murmured, walking down the street filled with abandoned cars. "Very quiet."

"Are you an idiot?" cursed Seo Jun-Sik, who had lost his arms and legs and was being carried by the Heavenly Demon. "You really expect people to walk around like everything’s OK when a lunatic like you is on the loose?"

"..." The Heavenly Demon glanced down at Seo Jun-Sik, then looked ahead again. "That's a shame. I wanted to walk on an ordinary street at least once."

"Only those who have lived an ordinary life have the right to enjoy ordinariness. Not a bastard like you."

"I see. Well, I definitely can't enjoy it then."

He was someone who rejected all forms of mundanity and regulations of this world.

He stopped walking as he crossed the four-lane road. Red spots started appearing all over his body.

"So pathetic."

The upper floors and rooftops of the surrounding buildings were packed with snipers, and some were even hiding behind the cars around him.

"I have long passed the level where you could have done something with just bullets.”

“Eh, no worries. We have some other stuff too."

Players streamed out from the alleys between buildings. Their number easily exceeded five hundred. They were all elite Players who had participated in the clearing of the seventh floor.

The Heavenly Demon looked at them and shrugged.

"What I want..."

"Shoot."

Following the command of the Gong Ju-Ha, snipers rained down magic-infused bullets.

Tadadadada!!

A cacophony as loud as a swarm of cicadas filled the area for a few moments. However, at the end of it, the Heavenly Demon was perfectly unscathed.

"I said it’s useless, didn't it?"

"It wasn't entirely useless."

Shin Sung-Hyun spoke. His eyes were focused on Seo Jun-Sik, whom the Heavenly Demon had grabbed by the hair.

"Since I've realized that you want to save this Specter-nim’s clone."

"..."

The Heavenly Demon extended his hand without a word. Then, without hesitation, he plucked out Seo Jun-Sik's tongue.

"Kuh, kuhhh..."

Seo Jun-Sik's face contorted in a pain he had never experienced before.

The Heavenly Demon spoke.

"You got it right. I don't want this thing to die."

If the clone died, its memories would be transferred intact to Specter, as he knew from his experience on the fifth floor. That was not a good course of action. Specter couldn’t be allowed to find out how he had easily defeated the clone.

"Over there."

The Heavenly Demon's gaze shifted to one side. Coincidentally, at the end of his line of sight was the Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

"A significant amount of energy is gathering there. A significant number of insignificant energies, I mean."

"..."

The Players tightly shut their lips. They had urgently evacuated the citizens in the streets to that location.

Wei Chun-Hak said, "Don't pay it any mind. You won't be setting foot there today anyway."

"Why's that?"

"We're not planning to let you."

"How amusing."

The Heavenly Demon shook his head. He was slightly annoyed. What he wanted right now was only Specter.

"Get out of my way, lackeys. Where is Specter? Bring him in front of me."

Today, he would kill Specter and perfect the Arhat. That would signify the birth of the Demon Path Dominion that he had longed for.

"I'm sure once he hears the news, he'll come willingly to meet me soon."

"As long as your life is still hanging by a thread until then, that is," Shin Sung-Hyun added coldly.

"If that's the case, it won't be difficult."

The corners of The Heavenly Demon's mouth slowly rose. The dense demonic energy that flowed from his body instantly covered the sky, dyeing the world red.

"Don't think of this as a light skirmish."

The Heavenly Demon's eyes were pure white.