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25 years later (3)

[The One Who Opens Spring]

Rank: S

Description: A title given to the one who defeated the master of the starting floor, the Frost Queen.

Effects: +500% Stamina and Magic regeneration speed, +30 to all stats every time you go up a floor.

“……”

At a loss for words, Seo Jun-ho’s eye widened, as if an earthquake was occuring. He re-read the effects of the title over and over.

These are the effects of the title?

He thought it would have raised his stats by a little at best, just like Skaya’s.

Bloody hell. This is far greater than that.

To be honest, the +500% regeneration speed for Stamina and Magic was nice to have, but it wasn’t essential. However, the second effect was something else.

“So all my stats will increase by 30 everytime I go up a floor…”

In other words, the effect would activate every time he went up a floor on the dimensional elevator. Hypothetically, if he made it up to the 10th floor, all his stats would be greater than 270 at the very least.

“Oh my god.”

Jun-ho got goosebumps all over his body thinking about such ridiculous stats. When he defeated the Frost Queen, his highest stat was Speed at 225. His lowest stat was Magic at 183.

I wasn’t afraid of anything before. So if all my stats become higher than 270…

The look in Seo Jun-ho’s eyes changed. His stats would be a little over 270 at the bare minimum. Now, what if he was fully equipped and maxed out his levels?

And on top of that, if I restore my original stats…

He could picture it clearly in his head. The Frost Queen had an incredible amount of magic. The world froze over at a simple flick of her wrist.

That power… No, I could obtain an even greater power than that.

That amount of power should have no trouble thawing the ice statues.

“……”

After collecting his thoughts, Jun-ho silently stared at the four ice statues in front of him. After standing there for a good while, he quietly left the morgue. When he exited the Museum, there was a resolve in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

There’s 10 floors? I guess I’m climbing it.

Did he want to reach the top floor to achieve humanity’s desire to clear the game?  Or perhaps to save the Earth from destruction?

“Bullshit.”

Seo Jun-ho knew better than anyone else that he was a selfish person. There was only one reason he decided to not quit as a player.

To free my friends from their freezing, ice prison.

That was the only reason he decided to become a player once again. He buried his resolve deep into his heart.

* * *

“What?! You want to become a player again?”

The next day, Shim Deok-gu was shocked by Jun-ho’s sudden declaration. Jun-ho looked up at him slyly while chowing down a large bowl of Seolleongtang (Korean ox bone soup).

“Why are you so surprised? It’s not like I know how to do anything else.”

“But it’s so sudden. Aren’t you the same guy that used to whine about how you want to retire everyday?”

“People can have a change of heart.”

“That’s true, but… I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

Because he thought that his friend would have been fully on board with the idea, Jun-ho put down his spoon and questioned him.

“Why do you say that?”

“First of all, I want you to get some rest. I’ve personally seen how hard you pushed yourself. I think you’ve done enough. It’s about time you let go of all your burdens and find something you want to do.”

Nagging, nagging, and more nagging. This guy was always nagging him, but Jun-ho was well aware that his friend nagged him out of genuine concern. His heartfelt concern made Jun-ho smile as he asked the next question.

“So what’s the second reason?”

“It’s because of the fiends.”

“Huh? Are they at it again?”

“…..”

The silence affirmed his question. Jun-ho quickly got the gist of the situation.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that there are more of ‘em when the world is like this. They’re harder to get rid of than cockroaches.”

Fiends. They are people who had no interest in closing the gates or exterminating monsters. Instead, they were the scum of society, using their powers to commit crimes, murder, and terrorism.

“The fiends have been rampaging lately.”

“That’s funny. When I was around, they didn’t even dare to peep.”

“Well, that was back then.”

28 years ago, all the fiends in the world went into hiding. It was because they feared the Five Heroes. They accepted the fact that they were no match and went incognito into the underworld.

“Once the 2nd floor opened up, things changed due to the lack of video surveillance and satellites in the Frontier.”

It meant that there was no means of monitoring and restricting the actions of the fiends. Shim Deok-gu stared at Jun-ho.

“And we lost our Five Heroes.”

“They were probably unbelievably elated.”

“They must have been really pent up because they started going even crazier than before.”

The absence of someone to fear, someone to teach them a lesson with overwhelming power, meant that the fiends no longer had a reason to hold themselves back.

“I think I get why you don’t want me to go back to being a player.”

Jun-ho slowly nodded his head. If Deok-gu was telling the truth, it wouldn’t be weird if he dropped dead at any moment. He was the perfect prey to the fiends who have accumulated more power over the last 25 years.

With a hesitant voice, Jun-ho asked, “Do they… still hate me a lot?”

“Are you kidding? They were probably happier than anyone to hear the news of your return, since they can finally kill you.”

“Fuck,” said Jun-ho with a frown. He thought he’d get to level up easily while being treated like a hero, but things had taken a turn for the worse.

“That’s why I’m telling you that it’s a bad idea. The only way you could be a player right now is to abandon your mask and nickname of Specter… but do you really want to do that? You could live being treated like a king while being protected 24/7 by the greatest players.”

“…The 10th floor. I need to get there.”

“Wait, why all of a sudden?”

Deok-gu clearly didn’t understand what was going on. The Jun-ho he knew should have been scheming how to collect the reward for saving the world.

“The 3rd floor. Have you guys found a way to clear that floor yet?”

“I already told you yesterday. There’s no way to do it as of now.”

“What if I told you I knew a way how?”

“……”

* * *

* * *

Deok-gu frowned his eyebrows. He knew Jun-ho wasn’t the kind of guy who would joke around with this kind of topic.

“Can you explain what you mean by that?”

“You said you were looking for the Frost Queen’s nucleus, right?”

“Yeah. Why? Do you perhaps know where it might be?”

“I think I do.”

Slurp. 

Jun-ho picked up the bowl and downed the remaining broth before continuing.

“Ugh. I ate well.”

“We were in the middle of talking… whatever, so what do you know?”

“I ate well.”

“Hey, now isn’t the time for you to talk about your Seolleongtang…”

“But that’s not what I’m talking about, though?”

Deok-gu started blinking in disbelief.

“So if you’re not talking about the Seolleongtang… Wait, did you…?”

“Ehem.”

“Please tell me I’m wrong. You’re not actually saying something crazy like how you swallowed up the Frost Queen’s nucleus, right?”

When his friend suddenly got up in fury, seemingly ready to split his stomach open, Jun-ho tried to calm him down.

“Whoa, whoa! You’re still as hot-headed as always, huh. First hear me out.”

“You, you, you…! Did you really fucking eat it?!”

“I didn’t eat it because I wanted to! It’s not my fault that it got absorbed into my body as soon as I touched it!”

“……Oh lord. My doctor warned me I need to avoid stress.” Deok-gu said, massaging the back of his neck. After a brief moment, he continued, his face now drained of energy. “I know you’re not the type to bring things up if you don’t have to. So, you have a solution, right?”

“Yep.” Jun-ho nodded his head. “I got a Frost ability after absorbing the nucleus.”

“…Is it possible to freeze the 3rd floor’s altar with it?”

“It’s possible.” Jun-ho answered confidently.

It was an EX-rank ability. If he couldn’t with this ability, it would also be impossible with the Frost Queen’s nucleus.

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

Deok-gu nodded his head to Jun-ho’s plan. He had zero doubts. His friend was the guy that defeated the Frost Queen, something everyone else deemed impossible. If Jun-ho said it was possible, then it meant that it was possible. This also gave Deok-gu an insight as to why he wanted to become a player again.

“This is related to your comrades, isn’t it?”

“None of them kept their promise to see me again later. I need to wake them up, so I can yell at them.”

“Wake them up… Is that actually possible?”

“The system told me it was.”

“Really? That’s great news.”

While giving a wide smile, Deok-gu started calculating things in head. It didn’t take long for him to realize what Jun-ho wanted right now.

“If I recall correctly, the doctors saw your face earlier, right?”

“Nine of them saw, to be exact.”

“I happen to have a subordinate with the ability to erase memories. It’ll be best if we take some precautionary measures.”

They were like two matching puzzle pieces. Seo Jun-ho felt more comfortable chatting with Shim Deok-gu than anyone else.

“Oh, by the way, my level was reset, so I’m level 1 now.”

“…Did that also reset your stats?”

“Bingo.”

“Sigh, why do you always save the bad news for last?”

After pinching the bridge of his nose, Deok-gu tried to think positively about the situation.

“Let’s look on the bright side. Others are probably assuming that you’re still as strong as ever.”

“They probably can’t imagine The Specter being only level 1.”

“You won’t have to worry about your identity being revealed for a bit.”

“You’re able to issue player permits with your authority, right?”

“Well, the thing is…”

Deok-gu made an unhappy face.

“After the 2nd floor opened up, guilds have become more powerful than the World Players’ Association.”

“Did you guys lose the authority to issue permits?”

“No, that’s not quite it. Instead, a few guilds now stand in as observers during the association’s player permit test. Only people who have passed this open exam are able to receive a player permit. I can’t get around this rule even with my authority.”

“Tsk, that’s annoying.”

“There’s a lot more rules and regulations than before, but think about this as an opportunity.”

Deok-gu’s eyes glimmered as he spoke with excitement.

“Think about it. In order for me to fully back you, I need a proper reason.”

“…Aha, I see.”

Deok-gu was telling him to get the best possible results on the test. If Jun-ho proved that he was a player worthy enough to grab the attention of all the guilds, Deok-gu would be able to provide massive support in the name of the association.

“Of course, you can’t use your Darkness skill at all. If possible, you should also hide your Frost skill.”

“I get Darkness, but why Frost as well?”

“The fiends also know that ice-related skills are the key to clearing the 3rd floor. It’ll be best if you don’t stick out in that regard.”

“Hmm, I get it.”

Laying on the hospital bed, Jun-ho lightly cracked his neck.

“My body is ready… What equipment am I going to use for the test?”

Unfortunately, his first-rate equipment was currently unusable due to the level and stat restrictions. So, they were just being safekept in his inventory for the moment.

“You’ll be able to select them on the day of the test. Everyone has to use the same grade of equipment for it.”

“Seems fair.”

Jun-ho couldn’t help but smirk.

“It’s honestly quite refreshing. Can you believe that I’m being evaluated like this after all I’ve been through?”

“Just don’t go too crazy. As for me, I guess I’ll need to create an identity for you. Date of birth, background story, acquaintances… I guess I’ll be pretty busy for a while.”

“How long do you think it’ll take you?”

“Four or five days. How long do you think it’ll take you to get ready? About a month?”

After hearing that question, Jun-ho had a cocky smile on his face.

“One week. That’ll be more than enough.”