Return of the Frozen Player

River's Moving House (B) was a large space. However, it felt much more cramped than usual, when 31 people entered it. They couldn't even stand on their own and were lying on the floor like caterpillars. To make matters worse, some Watchguards even groaned.

"Ughh… Fiend bastards...”

"I broke my arm."

"My legs are broken."

"River, please give me a potion."

"Okay, okay, wait a minute...”

River hurriedly brought a first aid kit and began treating his comrades. He sprayed the potion on the wounds and spilled some into their mouths. In the meantime, his comrades, tied to restraints, provided suggestions.

"How about we ask for help from a nearby Players’ Association branch first?"

"What are you talking about, those Association guys have no power. River, go to a Guild."

"Whether it's a Guild or the Association, we need to have these restraints released first so that we can help Arthur."

River's thin ears fluttered at the Watchguards' disagreement.

‘Should I go to the Players’ Association or to a Guild? Or should I figure out how to release the restraints first?’

The moment River’s eyes were about to spin in confusion, a Watchguard sitting quietly in the corner spoke in a terrifying voice, "…The fiend that deserves to be torn apart said that Specter and the archmage have come up to the 2nd floor."

As if they had just remembered it, the Watchguards nodded.

"Ah!"

"Certainly, if it’s them…”

"They should be enough to help Arthur with his current situation."

"But there's a fatal problem.” A magician Watchguard competent enough to be allowed access to the 4th floor of the magic tower said, "Where the hell is River going to find them?"

"Oh…"

pαпdα-ňᴏνê|·сóМ "That's true."

"So, the Association then?"

"I said it should be a Guild."

While the Watchguards put their heads together and whined for a long time, River muttered out of the blue, "City."

"What?"

"I need to go to the city.”

River began to pack up with a firm expression.

"Whether I ask the Association or a Guild for help, or find a way to release the restraints, or contact Specter and the archmage… Whatever it is, I have to go to a city first.”

This was because most community services were activated only in cities. It was the right answer, but the Watchguards expressed concern.

"…The fiends are probably gathering.”

"There must be a bunch of enemies outside. Are you sure you'll be okay alone?"

"I’ll be okay," River nodded valiantly. "There's a method of fighting for non-combatants."

River’s Holding Breath (D) and Cat Steps (C) skills greatly helped to erase his presence. Even if the fiends formed an inescapable net, it wouldn’t be very difficult to escape from them.

"And if it comes down to it...”

Boom!

River looked grim as he took a door out of his inventory.

"I can run away to the hideout."

“...”

The faces of the Watchguards, who were sending their youngest to the battlefield, were filled with sorry and remorse. The youngest was struggling so hard while they were overwhelmed by the fiends and could only stay lying down. They looked anxiously at River and nodded.

"Be careful."

"I wish you all the best."

"I'll be back." River stepped out of the door.

***

“…”

Jang Seon-Ho was smoking with a languid expression. He shook off the cigarette ash with his left hand and slightly looked up.

"I mean... why did you mess with me so recklessly when you knew it wouldn't work?"

"…Tweh."

Grabbed by the collar in Jang Seon-Ho’s right hand, Arthur spat arrogantly, but his condition wasn’t good. One of his eyelids was bloodshot and swollen, and his left arm was bent. There was a hole on the side to the point where the bone could be seen, and if left alone, he would die of excessive bleeding.

"Tsk, I can't really kill him."

Jang Seon-Ho clicked his tongue, wiped the blood off his face, and threw Arthur to the floor.

"Ugh..."

Over Arthur's body, struggling in pain… an expensive potion was sprinkled.

"Know that you’re lucky. If it weren't for the orders from above to bring you alive, you would be dead by now."

Arthur’s condition was so bad that Jang Seon-Ho didn’t even dare to cut off his limb since he would get in trouble if Arthur suddenly died. After finishing the treatment, Jang Seon-Ho lightly hit Arthur’s forehead.

"Oh, I almost forgot.”

He took a thick string out of his inventory and put it around Arthur’s mouth.

"It’ll be troublesome if you bite your tongue."

"…Ueup! Ueup!"

Now that it was impossible to kill himself, Arthur glared at Jang Seon-Ho with one eye. However, Jang Seon-Ho simply smiled and shook his head. "Kid, a biting dog never barks."

Thud.

With Arthur on his shoulder, Jang Seon-Ho opened the hideout’s door and stepped outside.

"Oh."

"You did a good job.”

When Jang Seon-Ho saw the two members of the Gluttony Squadron, who had been incomparably stupid earlier, anger rose from within him.

‘Should I just kill them?’

Jang Seon-Ho’s eyes glistened for a moment, and the fiends gulped. Even if they were members of the Gluttony Squadron, there was a difference in skills between themselves and Jang Seon-Ho.

"Listen…"

No matter how heated you became, killing a fiend from another Squadron was crossing the line. Managing to calm his anger, Jang Seon-Ho threw Arthur at them. At the same time, the tattoo on the back of his left hand began to glow blue. It meant that communication magic had been activated. The incomparably arrogant Jang Seon-Ho spoke with a stiff look as if he was a new recruit.

"Yes, Squad Leader."

Jang Seon-Ho couldn't show himself to the other person, but his shoulders shrunk nonetheless. A stranger's voice came from the back of his left hand.

- The target?

"We have secured him. All we have to do is return."

- Good. Don't let your guard down until the end.

"Of course…"

Jang Seon-Ho was oblivious to the operation that had already failed.

‘I've secured Arthur's form...’

Below the cliff, the fiends, numbering over seventy, looked as small as ants. Most of them were small fries, but there were as many as seven fiends from a Squadron among them. Including the three on the cliff, there were ten Squadron members. This force was enough to easily occupy a city if they invaded it.

‘It’s a shame we lost the Watchguards, but it doesn't matter.’

No matter how much the trash crawled around, they wouldn't be able to interfere with the fiends’ activities.

"I will see you at the association, Squad Leader."

After politely ending the conversation, Jang Seon-Ho spoke, "Let's go."

He jumped down the cliff.

***

"How about now?"

"…We’re close. Very." Gilberto's eyes shone coldly.

Arthur's position could be felt from the tattoo on his left forearm.

"North, 10 kilometers."

"We're here."

"…Yeah. It seems we've arrived.”

The three people slowed down. Among them, Seo Jun-Ho’s aura sense was the most outstanding.

"The air stinks,” Seo Jun-Ho remarked.

The faint stench of demonic energy lingered in the air. Seo Jun-Ho looked around and started giving instructions.

"Skaya, connect communication magic between the three of us."

"Wait a moment... It’s done.”

Skaya instantly cast communication magic on the three of them. As long as her magic permitted it, the three of them would be able to talk as if they were right next to each other, even if they were far away.

"Gilberto, take point."

"…All right."

Gilberto wanted to go see Arthur in person, but he held back. His most brilliant moment was when his enemies couldn’t find him.

"Let's go."

As Gilberto disappeared in a flash, Seo Jun-Ho and Skaya walked along the road. As they walked toward the mountain, the demonic energy they felt began to grow stronger.

Skaya narrowed her eyes. "Can you feel this?"

"Yeah."

"There are more than I thought."

"They're small fries, though.”

Having encountered fiends several times since his return, Seo Jun-Ho could feel it.

"There are about ten decent ones... The rest are about level 100."

"It reminds us of the old days, right?" said Skaya with nostalgia.

It was a long time ago...

Seo Jun-Ho smirked. "Right, although we’re missing two."

"…We will all gather eventually. Definitely."

As they crossed the ridge, they could finally see the mountain range. At the same time, they could start taking notes of the fiends’ positions.

"What do you want to do? Shall we move first?"

"No." Seo Jun-Ho shook his head.

Seo Jun-Ho would have liked to run over and sweep all the fiends, but that role didn’t belong to him.

"We should leave it up to the father to start things off. Don't you think so, Sucker-for-your-son?”

Gilberto’s answer to the question was simple.

- I’m not a sucker for my son.

He didn't say that he wouldn't start it off himself.

***

There was an awkwardness in the fiends’ procession. In fact, it hadn’t been easy for the fiends to cooperate in this way.

'What's this? It's so awkward, I’m gonna die.’

‘Why is there a group cooperation order all of the sudden? Who the hell is that mess of blood anyway?’

‘Those people in the front... Are they associated with the Squadrons? They’re definitely strong.’

The fiends followed after the ten squad members while immersed in their thoughts.

Udduk.

Jang Seon-Ho stopped walking and smirked.

"What is this?"

Members of the Gluttony Squadron approached him to gauge why he stopped. It was because they also felt the aura of Players beyond the ridge. The distance was only about one kilometer.

"This is River's magic?"

"River?"

"It's one of the Watchguards."

"That rat!"

Two fiends were particularly angry as they were members of Gluttony Squadron, yet they were tricked by River and were kicked out of the hideout.

"Hey, leave that guy to us."

"Anyway, the orders were for all the Watchguards except Arthur to be exterminated, right?”

"…There’s nothing bad about that." Jang Seon-Ho nodded slowly.

The leader's order to stay vigilant to the end came to Jang Seon-Ho’s mind for a moment, but he shook his head.

‘I don't have to worry about a mere River.’

When Jang Seon-Ho, the person in charge of the operation, gave his permission, the two fiends kicked off the ground and disappeared from sight in a flash.

"…Did you see their movement just now?"

"I couldn't see it..."

"That's the power of the fiends in Squadrons...”

The fiends gushed with admiration. They were also level 100 fiends and had always been treated as strong beings wherever they went. However, it was different here. The level of the fiends in the Squadrons was so high that they could not even estimate it.

"Leave River to those two. We'll keep going." Jang Seon-Ho smiled and looked back at Arthur.

On the shoulders of a large fiend, Arthur twisted and groaned, "Ueup! Ueup!"

Tears flowed from his swollen eyes, but it only made Jang Seon-Ho happier.

***

Step, step.

There was little sound even though he was sprinting on leaves. River gained confidence in that fact.

‘You can do it. It won't be long.'

Whenever he thought of the fact that there were many fiends nearby, he felt like his legs would give out. Each time that happened, however, he steeled his heart and worked his legs as hard as he could.

‘Is Arthur okay? He’s okay, right?’

Arthur would be okay because the fiends’ purpose was to use him to bait Specter out. Of course, the safety of the hostage would be their first priority.

'If I run diligently, I'll get to the nearest city in two hours.’

In fact, he, a non-combatant, rarely ran as much as he had done today. He didn't expect that the hard physical training he had done with the advice of the other Watchguards would be helpful at a time like this.

‘I'm going to train even harder after this ends.’

He decided to start hunting again, which he had given up on in the past because he was afraid. That way, if something like this were to happen again—he would be able to help Arthur.

‘Being weak is a sin…’

River thought of the words that spread among the Players. The words he thought were a joke seemed to ring especially loud today.

‘To help the Watchguards who took me in when I was dying and had lost my parents…’

He decided to start hunting again. The moment he made up his mind, however, the world around him shook.

Chwaaaaaaak!

In an instant, blood from his whole body was directed to his head, and a beat later, he felt pain shooting up from his ankle.

"Kuhuhu, you rat! Why don't you use that skill again this time?"

"Did you say it was Moving House? Try opening it.”

The two fiends from the Gluttony Squadron had caught up with River and grabbed River up by his ankle. River struggled with a pale complexion. "L-Let go! You evil punks!"

"Cute. It’s almost a shame to kill you."

"Honestly, your skill is useful. If it had been our first meeting, I would have suggested you become a fiend.”

But they couldn’t keep this River guy alive. After all, he was the reason why Jang Seon-Ho was now treating them like idiots after River had tricked them into being kicked out of the hideout.

"It's all because of you..."

"It has been a long time since I've received such an insult."

Demonic energy condensed in the fiend’s hand as he chuckled. At that moment, his hand became a sword sharper than anything.

"You don't mind if I kill him, do you?"

"Well, I'll compromise this time. Instead, if there's anyone to kill next time, I'll kill them."

"All right."

After calmly having such a horrifying conversation, one of the fiends slowly reached out to River.

Plop.

But at that moment, the fiend fell forward all of a sudden.

“...?”

River, who was being held by the fiend, also fell to the floor. His wide open eyes were filled with bewilderment.

"Hey, it's no time for this lame joke. If we're late, Jang Seon-Ho will nag us again...”

As soon as the frowning fiend tried to pull his fallen comrade’s body off the floor, his expression hardened.

‘...Wait a minute, this punk’s got a hole in his head.’

There was a big hole in his comrade’s skull.

"A bullet?"

The first thing that came to his mind was a bullet—from a sniper. But the wound was too hideous for it to have come from a bullet because his whole face was simply sunken in.

'This level of destruction is beyond logic unless the bullet’s loaded with magic...’

No, it didn’t make sense. He didn't hear the sound of gunfire, and he also didn't hear the bullet’s approach.

‘I didn't even feel any magic.’

Then what? Did this guy go crazy and suddenly committed suicide? The fiend gulped and straightened his back. He started to get wary of River.

"Was it you?"

"I-It's not me."

When River shook his head and answered stupidly, the fiend began to look around.

‘Then where? Where is it from?’

Since the victim was right in front of him, there must be a sniper somewhere. But as to where the enemy was, who he was, and what skill was being used, the fiend could not figure anything out.

"...Huh?"

Plop.

Even until the moment when his view flipped upside down, and he turned into a cold, lifeless body, he still couldn’t figure it out.