Return of the Frozen Player

After killing Pride, Seo Jun-Ho waited for Skaya to come.

“You actually killed a Squadron leader? The Fiend Association must be pretty weak,” she said. Seo Jun-Ho watched her approach with envious eyes as she hummed.

“You’re lucky. Whenever I dig deeper into the Fiend Association, it adds another weight on my back.”

“Huh? Isn’t it obvious that I’m happy?”

“It’s my bad for speaking up.” It was his fault for trying to have a normal conversation with Skaya Killiland.

“Remember this house,” he said, pointing to a building with a blue roof. “I put his body in the third room on the first floor.”

“You’re gonna read his memories after the battle?”

“Of course…” They could still see the beach from here, and the battle was still going strong. Looking at the monsters, it would probably last a few more hours. They could also feel a powerful force calling for them from Dragon Rock, so they couldn’t just stay here. “If we go to the beach first, they’ll probably destroy the entire city and kill all the citizens.”

“What a textbook threat. As expected of a fiend,” Skaya scoffed.

“Yeah.” Skaya took note of the shape of the building and the color of its roof before she spoke again, “By the way, why are you asking me to do that? You can just come here yourself after the battle’s over.”

“We don’t know what will happen.” Whoever was calling to them was incredibly powerful. They would be just as strong as Pride, if not stronger. “I bet they’re a Squadron leader as well. They’re probably the Despair Squadron leader.”

Jang Seon-Ho’s memories had been incorrect. Seo Jun-Ho hadn’t thought that the Despair Squadron leader would be joining in on this mission.

“A Player must always be prepared. If something goes wrong, you’ll have to retrieve the corpse.”

“You’re right. You had always been the most Player-like out of all of us.” She shrugged. “So, what abilities does that Squadron leader have?”

“...Unfortunately, I don’t know.” Though Jang Seon-Ho had been a promising fiend, he had spent too long being a Watchguard. In fact, it was an entire two years. During that time, the Fiend Association kept their contact to a minimum while he flawlessly masqueraded as Player Jang Seon-Ho. “That was probably why he didn’t know much about the skills of other fiends and Squadron leaders.”

“Aw, that’s too bad.” With that, Skaya casually walked up to the Frost Queen and lifted her. As the Frost Queen thrashed in her arms, Skaya inhaled the smell of her hair. “I’m done charging up. Shall we?”

“Let’s go.”

When they climbed up to Dragon Rock, Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes flashed.

‘It’s that guy...’

Two fiends were standing there, but it was easy to tell which one had called them here. The short fiend had an unwavering, lazy smile as he looked at them. It wasn’t like he was giving off a powerful vibe, but he had a large presence.

‘As Gilbe had said, he doesn’t seem like a physical fighter.’

This meant he had some kind of special skill.

The fiend spoke first, “You actually came. How obedient. I suppose that’s why they call you Heroes.”

“Are you Gu Shi-On?” Seo Jun-Ho asked. Gu Shi-On seemed a little surprised hearing that.

There was a dark look on his face for just a second as he looked at the other fiend standing behind him. “Your Squadron leader must’ve sensed my presence and opened his mouth.” Gu Shi-On turned back to Seo Jun-Ho and nodded. “Yes. I am the Despair Squadron leader, Gu Shi-On.” He smiled brightly as if nothing had happened. “I enjoyed watching you kill Pride. Actually, I want to thank you.”

‘He’s thanking me for killing his comrade…’

They were both Squadron leaders as well. This immediately told Seo Jun-Ho something about the Fiend Association’s structure.

‘As expected, the Fiend Association isn’t a unified group with a singular goal.’

After Seo Jun-Ho had returned, the thing that shocked him most was the existence of the Fiend Association. He couldn’t understand how they came to be.

‘I always wondered how the fiends could come together like that.’

But now, he understood. The fiends hadn’t stuck together because they had the same goal; it was for their own safety.

‘It’s simple, then.’

If they lost their common interest, they would go back into hiding, just like in the past. They wouldn’t be able to walk around with their heads held high, wreaking terror and havoc like they were currently doing.

Gu Shi-On tilted his head when he saw Seo Jun-Ho’s lip tilt up. “Why are you smiling? Well, I suppose it is funny to hear a fiend say ‘thank you.’ But seeing how an ice elemental user is running around with the 5 Heroes, I suppose you’ll free the remaining two."

“That’s right.” Seo Jun-Ho wouldn’t be able to hide this from anyone, not just from Gu Shi-On or Pride. They already had all the information. It wasn’t hard to guess what kind of relationship he had with the 5 Heroes.

‘And that’s not a bad thing…’

It was actually beneficial. They would come to the conclusion that Seo Jun-Ho and Specter weren’t the same person.

“I freed Specter-nim and awakened the Archmage and the Envoy with his help,” he said confidently.

He was barking like a cute little puppy because he had the support of the 5 Heroes. Gu Shi-On couldn’t hold back his laughter. “Ha…Hehehe… God, you’re adorable.”

He faced two of the 5 Heroes, but Gu Shi-On wasn’t particularly scared. After seeing the Archmage in person, he became confident.

‘Even though Specter’s the strongest, he’s probably not so different.’

Perhaps that was why he hadn’t come with the others.

‘He doesn’t want to show us.’

Gu Shi-On was sure that it was because he didn’t want to show off his abilities to sharp-eyed fiends. It must be because once they took off his mask, the fiends would no longer be afraid of him.

‘This is some good intel.’

Gu Shi-On watched as Seo Jun-Ho stood there stupidly. “What do you think of joining the Fiend Association? With your abilities, you could become the new Pride Squadron leader right away. You killed Pride, so you’re qualified,” he proposed.

Gu Shi-On liked him, which was why he asked.

Of course, it wasn’t merely an extension of goodwill. His intentions were much darker.

‘If this idiot becomes the Pride Squadron leader, it won’t be difficult to control him.’

Unfortunately, Seo Jun-Ho didn’t even bother considering it before he refused.

“You don’t want to? Oh, well. Just let me ask you one question. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12. Which number is your favorite?” Gu Shi-On asked.

‘...Is the question related to his skill?’

Seo Jun-Ho’s first thought was this. Some skills had certain terms to be fulfilled before they could be activated.

“I’m gonna count. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho remained silent until the end, but Gu Shi-On didn’t seem to care. “It’s your fault for not answering, okay?”

He lifted his hand to them. “Let’s just go with 1, then. It’s my favorite number, you see.” He slowly curled his hand, grinning wide. “Bye, I’ll see you soon. You don’t have to pay me extra for rent.”

“...!”

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes widened slightly. He had been focusing entirely on Gu Shi-On, and a great amount of demonic energy exploded from him.

‘He’s fast!’

The demonic energy covered him in the blink of an eye, making him a little nauseous. The scenery around him rapidly changed.

“...”

“...”

Both Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen were speechless. Neither Skaya, Gilbert, nor the fiends were there anymore.

The Frost Queen’s hand shot up in the air. “I… I think I know where this is.” Her eyes sparkled. She was a huge fan of dramas, after all. “Is this not a goshiwon? I’ve seen it on TV.”[1]

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho wanted to say no, but he couldn’t do so. The room was a little more than three pyeong. He looked around and nodded. “This is that bastard’s skill.”[2]

“I suppose the number he gave you has something to do with this, then.”

“Number…” He could clearly tell that it didn’t indicate size. It was too big to be one pyeong.

“1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12…They are not just odd numbers. What kind of rule is it, I wonder?” the Frost Queen pondered.

pᵃпdα-ňᴏνê|·сóМ “...The length of stay?” For the first time in a while, Keen Intuition told him something. Seo Jun-Ho was confident when he spoke. “It would be too obvious if he asked you to choose a month, so he cleverly labeled them as numbers instead. And he probably added the 12 at the end so that you wouldn’t just focus on the odd numbers.”

“I see…Wait, does that mean we will be trapped in this tiny space for a whole month?”

“Yeah. One second.” He tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

Boom!

He sent a magic-enhanced kick everywhere, but not a single crack appeared on the floor, ceiling, or even the walls.

“...This isn’t a normal room.” It was completely indestructible. There weren’t any hidden clues similar to an escape room, so the only way to get out was to wait until the time was up.

‘There’s just one problem.’

The Frost Queen started complaining about how they would have nothing to do for a month, but he was lost in thought.

‘Why did he give me number 1?’

Did it actually signify the shortest length of stay? Or…

Seo Jun-Ho’s face darkened.

***

“Urk… Cough…”

“...”

Gilberto closed his eyes.

‘She’s really mad.’

He looked down at the heap of flesh and blood that had once been a fiend. “So you’re telling me that Gu Shi-On's skill is called Goshiwon Landlord (A)?”

“...I think he’s lying. What kind of skill is that? Let’s torture him a little more.” She looked at Fuze with sharp, cat-like eyes.

“G-guh…Blegh!” Fuze vomited blood, but he chuckled. He knew he would die, but all he could do was laugh. “Your friend…cough! It’s…Over for him…”

“What do you mean?”

“Ugh… Do you… really think I’d tell you? Ha!” He spat at them.

“...” Gilberto looked at the bloodstain on his shirt and pulled the trigger, his face expressionless.

Bang!

Fuze let out another strangled scream as the bullet lodged into his abdomen.

“I can kill you painlessly. Since you’re gonna die anyway, shouldn't it be better for you to die peacefully?” Gilberto tossed his long hair and crouched down to Fuze’s height. “Let me ask you again. What did you mean when you said it’s over for him?”

“...” The only part that wasn't stained by blood were Fuze’s eyes. He trembled.

‘These bastards…They’re too good at this to be called heroes.’

Their carrot-and-stick approach was excellent. From what he had seen so far, he could tell that they were well-trained torturers.

“If I wanted to, I could keep you alive for another year just to torture you. Is that what you want?” Gilberto’s emotionless voice told him that he wasn’t lying.

“...”

No one would expect loyalty from fiends. Fuze decided to confess so that he could die a painless death, “The goshiwon… Nothing changes in that tiny space.”

“What do you mean?”

“Time comes to a halt. You don’t get hungry…cough! And your muscles don’t grow either.” In other words, it was a place where time was suspended. “Gu Shi-On can keep…cough! Cough! He can keep someone in a goshiwon for up to a year.”

“...A year, you say?”

He felt satisfied as he watched their faces crumble. “Heh, yeah. Though, in reality, only about an hour passes. In… About an hour, Seo Jun-Ho will have gone crazy.”

There was no one to talk to, no food, no hunger, or any way to check the time. Even a week was enough to drive someone crazy. But Seo Jun-Ho wouldn’t be there for just a few days.

“He’ll be there for a whole year… Hehehe. Cough! Even if… Even if Seo Jun-Ho returns, he won’t be able to free your teammates.” He would be a husk of a man. But that was assuming that he could even come back. “Eighty percent of people that Gu Shi-On had trapped for longer than six months had taken their own lives.” Fuze looked forward to seeing a cold corpse appear in an hour and seeing the two Heroes’ despair.

But their reaction was totally different from what he had expected…

“Geez. That’s all? I thought we’d never be able to get him back…”

“It’s just a year. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

Fuze was shocked by their nonchalant response. “W-what kind of crazy… H-he’ll be there for a year. A whole year!” Fuze started to curse them. “He’ll go insane! He’ll bash his head against a wall and kill himself.”

“That won’t happen.” Gilberto loaded a bullet with a click. “You don’t know him.”

“...What kind of bastard is he then?” he asked, defeated. As soon as he did, Gilberto pulled the trigger and sent a bullet through his head. However, he replied to the fiend’s final question.

“Whether it's one year or ten, he’s someone we’ll always believe in.”