The Frozen Player Returns

Chapter 329. One Person (3)

As soon as Seo Jun-Ho saw the others gathered at the sky lounge, he felt at ease. Kim Woo-Joong had died just a moment ago, covered in blood, but now, he was looking out the window with his signature chic expression.

“Every day at 6 am, the city neatly initializes itself like that.”

Once Wei Chun-Hak finished explaining, everyone went to their rooms. However, Seo Jun-Ho remained in the restaurant to sort out his own thoughts.

However, Jun-Ho wasn’t in a situation where he could hunt as he pleased. If Erebo happened to discover the effects of Exterminator, the events of the 1st and 2nd regressions would repeat.

But did that mean he should just stand by and do nothing? No, he had to find a solution somehow.

“..tor—Contractor!”

After sorting his thoughts out for a long while, the Frost Queen tugged on his sleeve, trying to catch his attention.

“Brew me a cup of tea.”

This change had probably occurred because he didn’t directly go to his room.

All he had to do was brew her a cup of tea, so there should be no drastic change.

Seo Jun-Ho told her to wait for a moment before he went to the kitchen.

Originally, he had tried to minimize the changes to learn what the hivemind was, but now that he knew about the hivemind as well as some information about Erebo’s real body, it would be more convenient to get the others’ help.

Maybe he should just regress again.

He was seriously considering it when the Frost Queen called from the other room.

“Tea!” The Frost Queen demanded.

“...I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Seo Jun-Ho shook his head. It would be a waste to regress for just a Spirit Crystal.

“One cup of tea, coming up.”

Not knowing any better, the Frost Queen brightly smiled. “From now on, use these tea leaves every day.”

“Sorry. That was the last of it. We can’t get more of it here.”

“Come to my room when you’re done drinking,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

He went back first to take a shower and change.

A very shy knock could be heard from the door.

He opened the door without hesitation, but his eyes went wide because of what he saw. The person standing in the hallway wasn’t Frost, but a silver-haired girl who looked like was in eighth grade or so. She was wearing the uniform of a hotel employee, but it was too big for her that it looked like she had borrowed her older sister’s clothing.

“...Who are you?” Seo Jun-Ho growled in a low voice. There was no one else in the hotel except for the party members, and this had been consistently true in his previous regressions.

He kept his guard up high. However, just as he started to stir his magic power, the uniformed girl’s face turned helpless, and she spoke with a familiar voice that sounded as fine as jade.

“A-after I drank the tea, I suddenly grew…”

“...”

Grew? What grew?

When he frowned, the Frost Queen looked hurt. “...You do not recognize me anymore simply because I grew a little?”

“I[1]?”

He only knew one person who referred to herself with such a haughty title. When Seo Jun-Ho looked at her with disbelief, she turned her head.

“...I hate you.”

Was it really…

She nodded with her small face.

He knew that any small actions could create unexpected changes, but wasn’t this too much of a change?

However, he had never imagined that she would evolve like this just because of one random mistake.

“Just come in first...”

The Frost Queen entered the room and quietly sat on the chair. Amazingly, her feet could completely touch the ground.

“Contractor. My feet can touch the ground now, even when I am sitting on a chair.”

“Yeah… That’s good.” He looked at her for a moment. “Anything else? Has anything changed now that you have become a Common Spirit? Like getting your memories back or something.”

“W-what nonsense is that? I have ascended t-to become a Grade 3 Arch Spirit.”

So she was still going with that concept? Seo Jun-Ho just nodded along. “Anyway, did anything change?”

He still had a lot of pretty, brand-new clothes from the summer collection…

Just as he was wallowing in his disappointment, a message he had never seen before appeared before his eyes.

[The Manager of the 4th Floor Administrative Team is requesting a meeting with you.]

From the Frost Queen’s evolution to the Manager’s invitation—things were starting to get complicated as incidents he hadn’t encountered in his previous regressions happened one after another.

He made up his mind and nodded. “I accept.”

The area around him changed, and he found himself in a nice-looking reception area.

[4th Floor Administrative Team, Manager Han Jun-Min.]

“Han Jun-Min? Are you Korean?” Seo Jun-Ho had to ask after reading it.

“The Aeon Empire…?”

“You can simply think of me as an alien,” he said, bringing his hands together as if he was asking for Seo Jun-Ho’s understanding. “I have anxiously been waiting for you ever since you entered the 4th Floor, Mr. Jun-Ho.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I have been sending requests to meet you face-to-face, but the higher-ups wouldn’t give me permission. It was frustrating.” Manager Han looked at Frost. “But the Frost Queen’s evolution was a good pretext. It’s belated, but congratulations.”

“Thank you,” the Frost Queen responded before the two of them sat down.

“Would you like something to drink? Perhaps an orange juice for you and her favorite Spirit Crystal for the queen?” Manager Han asked.

“...I do not eat such things.”

“I understand. Very much so,” Manager Han said, looking a little apologetic. “But the reason I brought you here like this is that I have something to give you.”

“Something to give me?” Seo Jun-Ho looked puzzled. Someone working for the System wanted to give something to a Player? This had never happened up until the 3rd Floor.

“Yes. It’s because a major problem has occurred on Another World, which is the Floor you Players are currently on.”

“And that would mean…?”

“I’ll be straightforward. Currently, we cannot administer the System on the 4th Floor.”

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes widened.

“Why is that?”

“The Administrator has gone missing?”

“What?” Seo Jun-Ho gave him a look. Then, who was this Han Jun-Min?

“I am—Right. In Earth's terms, I am a low-level government worker. I have neither authority nor responsibilities because the Floor Administrator usually manages everything."

“Then, when will they return?”

“...” Manager Han shook his head. “She cannot return with her own power, and it is possible that… she will soon cease to exist.”

“What?” Seo Jun-Ho’s jaw dropped. He was shocked. He had never imagined that even Administrators could die despite their almighty power. “Wait, then shouldn’t you at least bring in a new Administrator?”

“Indeed. The higher-ups know the gravity of the situation as well, so they’re looking into instating a new Administrator.”

“There’s no problem, then.”

“The issue is that the passage of time is very different for them compared to the people of Earth.”

The passage of time?

When Seo Jun-Ho blinked, Manager Han let out a heavy sigh.

“In other words, it may be decades or centuries until a new Administrator is brought in.”

“...What?” Seo Jun-Ho was taken over by feelings of shock, disbelief, and rage.

“Then, what would become of us?” he demanded. They had climbed over mountains of corpses and endured so much suffering just to get here. What was the point of all that, then?

Manager Han saw the rage in Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes, so he hurriedly said, “That’s why I brought you here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right before the Administrator disappeared, she left something behind for you.”

“Yes. We’re hoping that it is some drastic measure that will help us overcome this.”

Seo Jun-Ho looked perplexed. Why did it have to be him?

Why had she chosen to give the item to him, specifically?

“What kind of item is it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. The only one who can see it is you.” Manager Han reached into his breast pocket and carefully pulled out a marble.

It was one of the marbles from the first city. He had been collecting them until he grew sick of it.

Seo Jun-Ho held out his hand and grabbed it. As soon as he did, a message appeared before him.

[Checking authorization…]

[Identification for Player Seo Jun-Ho complete]

[You have received permission to open the message.]

[Open?]

“Yes.”

When he gave the word, he started hearing a voice in his head. It was a gentle, motherly voice. His tired mind and body seemed to relax just from hearing it.

- ...I am sorry, child.

She said, sounding woeful.

Why were her first words an apology?

Despite his confusion, tears prickled his eyes. The voice sounded so sorrowful because the apology was so ardent.

Seo Jun-Ho was hit with a wave of emotions he couldn’t describe, and his heart grew turbulent. However, the voice continued.

- This is something only you can do.

- You are the only one who can do this, the only one who will not break.

- I am sorry. I am so, so sorry.

The voice stopped there. Before Seo Jun-Ho could even ask anything, a dizzying number of alerts appeared before him.

[The 1st Quest has changed.]

[The 2nd Quest has changed.]

[The 3rd Quest has changed.]

…

…

Every Player would receive the same quest chain upon entering the 4th floor, and Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t an exception. However, his quests suddenly changed. When he read the description, his face grew pale.

“W-what is…” Flustered, Seo Jun-Ho turned to Manager Han.

“What is this? Just who left this message?!” he demanded.