The Frozen Player Returns

Midnight Visitor (5)

There were three things Seo Junho could say:

1. Wow! It’s Kim Woojoong!

2. What brings you to this humble place?

3. Um, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. 

He chose the third one. “Um, I—”

But before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain on his forehead. Dammit, he cut me. He furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to look at the wound, but there was no blood. The cut was so clean, a normal person wouldn’t have even known it was there.

“You tricked me last time with that cunning tongue of yours. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“This is insane.” Seo Junho looked dumbfounded. He’d almost died while trying to kill Kal Signer, and now he was up against the Sword Saint. Not only that—he also thought Seo Junho was a fiend.

So this is how he felt. He started to sympathize with Kal Signer’s fear. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like being chased by such a person for months.

“I surrender.” He put his hands in the air. Kim Woojoong’s eyes narrowed.

…How did he move? The last time they’d met, he hadn’t sensed so much magic from Kal Signer. But now he was moving like it was nothing. Had he gotten stronger since they last met? That was the only explanation.

It doesn’t matter. He stared down at his opponent coldly and pressed harder with his magic.

“It’s not me.”

“…!” Kim Woojoong was taken by surprise. He’d interrupted before he could speak. The man continued, noticing his shock. “I killed Kal Signer.”

“Lies.” Kim Woojoong’s face darkened. Kal Signer was much weaker than the Sword Saint, but he wasn’t weak enough to be taken out on the 1st Floor.

“Do you not know who I am?”

“No.”

“…Do you not look at the news?” Seo Junho muttered. He’d heard that his face was all over the 2nd Floor. He sighed and tapped on his Vita to make a call.

– “What is it?”

“Mr. President. I’m in a bit of a bind.”

– “What? What are you…” Deokgu paused, realizing that Seo Junho had used formal speech. He started again with a more dignified voice.

– “What is it, Player Seo Junho?”

“I ran into the Sword Saint, but he’s trying to kill me.”

– “What kind of nonsense…”

If they hadn’t been such close friends, Deokgu wouldn’t have believed him.

– “If this is a joke, end it here.”

“It’s not. Please save me.”

– “…I understand. Please wait a minute.”

A silence settled between them as the call ended. And then, Kim Woojoong’s own Vita rang.

“…” His eyebrows furrowed. There weren’t many people who had his number, but one of them was the President of the Korean Player Association. He didn’t break eye contact as he received the call.

“This is Kim Woojoong.

“Hello. Is Player Seo Junho telling the truth?

“No. It seems that I’ve made a mistake.

“Understood. Please come find me whenever you have time.” 

As the call ended, he immediately removed his hand from his sheath and released the magic. He walked up to Seo Junho and bowed at his waist.

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.” He didn’t try to make any excuses. It was a simple, honest apology.

Seo Junho was taken by surprise. He’s very respectable, like me.

It should’ve been difficult for one of the Nine Heavens to bow like this.1 After all, this was a world where even the weaker ones strutted around confidently.

He’s giving a genuine apology… He’s a good person. His apprehension quickly dissolved. There was no point in holding a grudge after receiving an honest apology. “Well, it was a misunderstanding after all. Your apology is enough.”

Kim Woojoong pulled out a bottle from his inventory. “I don’t know if this would count as compensation, but… can you tilt your head up a bit?”

A refreshing aroma spilled out of the bottle as he opened it. The smell of the potion alone relieved his physical and mental fatigue. Kim Woojoong tilted the bottle until a single drop fell on Seo Junho’s forehead. “One drop is enough. It’s an elixir.”

“An elixir?!” Seo Junho’s eyes went wide. A single drop could cure any disease in the world as long as one had the money for it. He was thankful, but it felt like a bit of a waste to use it on a small cut. “Wasn’t that too much? I could have just put some ointment on it.”

“No. I have to take responsibility for my mistake.”

“…You’re a good person.” Anyone who took responsibility like that was admirable.

“Just a moment…” Kim Woojoong tapped on his Vita. When Seo Junho peeked at his screen, he saw that he had searched up his name. There was a lot of information about him on the internet, especially on the wikis. He skimmed it over before turning off his Vita. When he looked up, he no longer had the cold look in his eyes. He was impressed.

“I didn’t know that you were such an amazing person.”

“I still have a long way to go.”

“You’re too modest. Not only did you clear all the Uncleared Gates in the country, you beat mine and Specter’s record in the Cave of Trials. You also have a star, just like me, and…” He looked around sharply. “You killed the Demon Bow all alone. And yet you’re barely over level 30. If I’m being honest… It’s hard to believe.” He stared him in the eyes, waiting for an explanation.

“Hm…” Seo Junho tapped his chin. It made sense. The last achievement was unheard of. But I can’t let him know for free…

Seo Junho smiled. Kim Woojoong was extremely skilled, but he wasn’t perfect. With his straightforward personality, his thoughts could be read all over his face. He was extremely curious.

It’s a good thing for me, though. “Well, I haven’t done anything bad, so there’s no need for me to hide it from you.”

“Then…”

“However, I have three conditions.” He held up his fingers.

“Conditions?”

“I have no reason to hide it from you, but I have no reason to tell you either.”

“…I agree.” Kim Woojoong nodded. No matter how curious he was, he couldn’t force Seo Junho to tell him if he didn’t want to.

“First, please claim responsibility for killing Kal Signer.”

“Why?” Considering how notorious the fiend was, it would launch his career forward. And yet, he was refusing the opportunity.

“I don’t want to reveal my abilities. That’s the second condition. Please keep this a secret.”

“Of course.”

“The last one is simple. Please help me one time when I ask for it.”

“…”

Kim Woojoong’s help was like a cheat key. He’d be able to get out of almost any situation.

“Hm.” He pondered this for a second, weighing the price of the knowledge.

His answer was obvious from his expression. He really wants to know.

Kim Woojoong was silent for a long time before speaking again. “I have two conditions of my own.”

“I’ll make my decision after hearing them.”

“First, I won’t let you go if you killed Kal Signer with an immoral power.”

“Of course. I can promise you that I didn’t use the power of the demon clans.”

“The second is similar. When you ask for my help, I will not do anything unethical.”

The conditions were so cute, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “That won’t happen.” He smiled. “Does that mean that you’ll accept my three conditions?”

“…” Kim Woojoong considered it one more time before nodding. “I accept. To be honest, I’m dying to know how you did this.”

“Alright. I take it that our deal is in place.”

He pushed out his magic. The Frost skill covered the ground, radiating power. Now, there were two people that knew of it.

This is a cheap price to pay for a favor from Kim Woojoong. It was more important to hide Watchguard of Darkness. He couldn’t hide Frost for the rest of his life, nor did he want to. It was going to be revealed eventually, so he’d make use of the secret while he could.

Kim Woojoong admired the ice crystals. “…It’s a surprisingly straightforward power. It wasn’t on your profile.” Players with elemental skills were the hardest to deal with, especially if you didn’t know about them beforehand.

“I now understand how you killed the Demon Bow. This skill would be able to compete even against other S-rank elemental… Wait.” He seemed to realize something and turned around to look at Seo Junho. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. He realized why the Korean Player Association was investing so much on him and why the President treated him like his heir. “It’s you. You’re the Association’s secret weapon, the one who’ll seal the heat on the 3rd Floor.”

“Man, I didn’t think you’d think that far.” Seo Junho sighed. He was smart.

“So I’m right.” His lingering suspicion of Seo Junho quickly dissipated, and he smiled.

“Please keep your promises.”

“Of course I will. I now understand why you gave me those conditions. If the fiends discover your skill, it’ll be troublesome.” His eyes shimmered, as if he were looking into the future. “I didn’t think we’d make it past the 3rd Floor… But there was a solution after all.”

“I’m still not sure if my skill will be able to withstand the heat.”

“It will.” Seo Junho tilted his head at the Sword Saint’s words. “I’ve been to the 3rd Floor. It’ll be able to freeze the altar, and then some.”

“Really? I’m glad to hear that. But like you said, the fiends must not find out.”

“I understand.”

Kim Woojoong looked around, and pulled part of his sword out of its sheath. Magic surged across the mountain, causing trees to fall and the ground to crack open. The entire terrain was transformed.

Kim Woojoong sheathed his sword again, as if nothing had happened. “I’ve been chasing Kal Signer for several months. I killed him here about an hour ago.”

Seo Junho grinned and tapped on his Vita.

“Can you give me your number? I’ll need a way to contact you when I need your help.”

—————