The Frozen Player Returns

“Mm…” Seo Jun-Ho let out a loud yawn as he sat up. His hair was a rat’s nest.

‘Ugh, I’m so tired.’

He was used to hunting for days straight, but it was his first time defending someone in court. The fatigue had built up while he had been preparing for the trial. As he stretched his sore body, his nose twitched. He sniffed.

It smelled pleasantly of toast and bacon.

‘Is this the food from the inn’s restaurant?’

He decided that he would eat it for breakfast. Seo Jun-Ho licked his lips and stood.

His eyes widened when he saw the cooked toast, bacon, and milk on his table.

“...What? Is room service included?”

“I wonder. I did not think it was such a luxurious inn,” the Frost Queen said. She was already watching dramas on her tablet.

“Then who put this here?” He asked.

“If it was not the inn and it was not yourself, Contractor, would you not think that it was me?”

Seo Jun-Ho pointed at her. “...You can cook? You?”

“Why are you reacting like that? I’m good at cooking. I learned from watching TV, after all.” She seemed slightly offended.

“Then where did you get the ingredients from?”

“I bought them from a store. I am not an average Spirit.”

“Well, you are a self-proclaimed grade 2 Arch Spirit.” Though she had been as small as his finger, a single evolution had made her grow like a tree. Right now, she came up to his knees… “Wait, aren’t you too small?”

Would a store sell items to such a young child? As Seo Jun-Ho tilted his head, the Frost Queen’s lip curled, and she laughed.

“Ha. They said I was commendable for speaking so politely and being so straightforward. They even gave me a cookie for it.”

“...Yeah, sure. Congratulations.” It probably did look commendable, considering that they thought a five- or six-year-old child had come to get groceries on her own.

Seo Jun-Ho sat down in front of the table and carefully picked up a fork. The Frost Queen looked up from her drama and watched him intently. She kept sneaking glances, so she must’ve been quite curious about what he thought.

‘I’m a little nervous.’

She had lived her whole life as a queen and had never had to lift a finger. It was probably her first time cooking, too.

‘Plus, she said she learned from watching TV…’

He swallowed and slowly bit down on a piece of toast.

“...!” He was shocked. “Wow, it’s good!”

“...Hmph.” The Frost Queen puffed out her chest proudly.

‘Well, there’s no way this wouldn’t be good.’

She had spread strawberry jam and butter on the toast. She had also probably bought the bacon at the market, so it would’ve tasted good nonetheless.

“Still, I’m surprised.” He admitted.

“What is so surprising?”

“I never expected these kinds of things from you.”

“...” Her face wrinkled like a crumpled piece of tissue. It was unfair, considering how much she had taken care of him whenever he collapsed.

‘I made him breakfast because I was proud of him, but he only knows how to speak nonsense…’

She turned her head away, thoroughly annoyed, and went back to her dramas.

Meanwhile, Seo Jun-Ho quickly finished his meal and was dabbing his face with a napkin. “Thanks for the meal. It was really good. You’re good at cooking.”

“...”

She didn’t respond at all, but there was a faint smile on her face.

***

They left the inn at noon. Seo Jun-Ho had earned enough money to last him for a while, so he no longer had any business in West Sun.

“I wonder what I should do now…” he muttered as he looked up at the sky. It was a clear day with clouds floating around. It would be so much easier if he were on Earth. He could simply get a list of Gates and choose a place he wanted to go.

“Excuse me…” The Players who had been waiting by the inn started to gather around him.

“Oh… Are you all from the Blue Guild?” He asked.

“I wanted to thank you, however belated. You saved us.”

“Truly, thank you. If you hadn’t come, I don’t know what would’ve happened to us…”

Each person came up and thanked him.

“This is a dagger forged by the famous assassin clan Yonetsuki.”

“These are wrist guards made of high-quality steel.

“This is… A fig from Frontier. It’s good for when your blood sugar drops…”

He received a lot of miscellaneous gifts. Just as his pockets started to become too heavy, Oh Dae-Sik came up to him. “I didn’t stop them because they wanted to thank you, but I hope they’re not too much of a bother…”

“Of course not. Thank you.”

Dae-Sik smiled warmly and held out his business card. Players in Frontier would write down their phone number on Earth, their Guild’s headquarters address, their Community ID, and so on. “If I ever get the chance, I’d love to hunt with you.”

“I’ll let you know if I ever find a good hunting ground,” Seo Jun-Ho replied. Even though he hadn’t known them for long, he could tell that the Guild had a good atmosphere.

‘It’s a people-centered Guild. They’re hard to find these days.’

Because the Guild Master wasn’t overbearing, the Guild naturally had a lighthearted vibe. He thought that it might be nice to hunt with people like them. Of course, he would be able to help them out a bit by then. Like right now…

“If you keep filling a jar with water, it will eventually overflow,” he said.

“...?” Oh Dae-Sik blinked at his strange words. But a moment later, he instinctively sensed that he should listen carefully.

“It’s already full. Stop trying to fill it up and close the lid.”

Focusing on ripening the soy sauce inside the jar was enough. Oh Dae-Sik’s achievements would keep increasing, even without the help of new skills, gear, or potions.[1]

His face brightened and he bowed to Seo Jun-Ho. “Please contact me if you ever find a good hunting ground.”

Seo Jun-Ho smiled in response.

***

Gong Ju-Ha had recently adopted a strange hobby. Every morning, she would absentmindedly stare up at the sky, holding a picture of a cloud.

“...”

She stared up for a long time. But suddenly, her expression changed, as if she had been struck by lightning. “W-Wait! It’s here!”

She instantly scurried over to the office, waving the picture. “In-Ho! It’s here! The gimlet cloud!” She cried.

“I still don’t know what’s a gimlet cloud or whatever that is,” Ha In-Ho said with a sigh. He couldn’t understand this weird new hobby of hers.

“He said that if I invite Mr. Jun-Ho to an expedition on a day when there’s a gimlet cloud, there’s a high chance that he’ll accept.”

“Wait. Are you telling me that you went to meet the Sage solely for that reason?”

“What do you mean, ‘solely?’ You’re too harsh.” Gong Ju-Ha carefully placed the picture of the gimlet cloud into her pocket. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve worked on him? I called dibs on him first.

“Wow… Mr. Jun-Ho? You just call me In-Ho,” he complained.

“Yeah, but you’re my servant.”

“Can’t you at least call me your subordinate?” When had his life become like this? He let out a heavy sigh and looked back down at his files. “Anyway, I don’t think it’ll matter. If I were him, I wouldn’t accept.”

“Why not?”

“He was appointed as Specter-nim’s proxy. If you were him, why would you accept the offer and come all the way here?” In-Ho pointed out.

“...But he’s being scouted by Goblin.”

Ha In-Ho sighed again. She needed a harsh reality check. “Princess, don’t you think Specter-nim is quite amazing?”

“Of course. I don’t think we’ll ever get another Player as special as him.”

“And the Goblin Guild is pretty amazing too, isn’t it?”

“Of course. We’re part of the Big 6, and one of our members is even a part of the Nine Heavens. We have the world in our hands.”

Specter had captivated the whole world back in his time. But Goblin was currently only one part of the Big 6. There was no point in comparing the two.

“Do you really think we could compare to him?”

“But still, isn’t Goblin a little better right now? We have our Guildmaster,” Gong Ju-Ha said. Goblin was known for being made up mainly of High Rankers. They only recruited the best of the best. On the other hand, most experts were saying that Specter wasn’t the unrivaled Player he once was. “Specter-nim is amazing, but that was in the past.”

“Well, go ahead and contact him if you think that. You even said you have the cloud or whatever.”

“I’m nervous. That old man isn’t always right, you know.”

“Come on. You shouldn’t underestimate the Sage of the Observatory Tower.”

The Sage of the Observatory Tower had predicted many campaigns from the fiends and saved a lot of people. He had no desire for fame or earthly desires, so he was famous as an eccentric individual. According to the rumors, even the Big 6 Guildmasters sought him out whenever they had a big campaign ahead of them.

“No, I’m just saying. I trust him…”

Gong Ju-Ha nervously opened the Community forums. The impressive old man had marked today’s date.

[iluvac: Mr. Jun-Ho, are you busy?]

“Ahh! I sent it!” she yelped. It had taken her over a month to send this short message.

‘Now that I think about it, the only thing we have going on is that I was the first one to approach him.’

After that, they had seen each other once in Las Vegas, and once more when he came up to Frontier. They had actually only met three times before. In other words, it was possible that they weren't as close as Gong Ju-Ha thought.

Ping!

“H-He answered.”

“Aren’t you gonna check it?”

“What if he told me to fuck off because he’s busy?”

“...From what I know, Seo Jun-Ho isn’t that rude.”

Gong Ju-Ha groaned and carefully checked the message.

[Sonny: I was just about to leave town. What’s up?]

[iluvac: Oh, nothing…Do you want to go to a dungeon together?]

[Sonny: A dungeon? I’d love to. But why all of a sudden…]

[iluvac: Our Guild is planning to challenge a fairly difficult dungeon, so the Guildmaster has invited a number of guests. I thought it would be nice if you could come if you’re free.]

It didn’t take long for a reply to come.

[Sonny: Thank you. Where and when is it?]

Gong Ju-Ha sent him the details. Her face brightened. “In-Ho! He said he’s coming!”

“...Are you a mossol?” Why was she so happy with such a short conversation?[2]

“Huh? What’s that?” she asked.

“...It’s nothing.” She was an idiot who only cared about hunting.

Gong Ju-Ha didn’t notice the tears and sympathy from Ha In-Ho. “Ah, I’m so excited,” she mumbled enthusiastically.

“About what?”

“The Guild Master’s coming with us this time. Don’t you want to know what he’ll think about Mr. Jun-Ho?” she asked.

“...Yes, I actually want to,” Ha In-Ho replied, nodding. After Seo Jun-Ho had cleared the Cave of Trials, he quickly became the top rookie. However, he still didn’t have any outstanding achievements to live up to the name. “Don’t you think that we’ll be able to see if he’s the real thing this time?”

Thinking about that, Ha In-Ho was also starting to get excited about the campaign.

1. Jun-Ho specifically refers to a type of ceramic jar most often used to ferment and store food. ☜

2. Mossol is someone who’s never dated anyone before, aka perpetually single. ☜