Chapter 190: Sun Swallowing Territory

"What? Isolation training?! Who said he could do that?!" As he lay in his VIP room in Hanguk Hospital, Gilberto seemed like he was about to rip out his IV. "You didn't encourage him, did you?" He looked at Seo Jun-Ho suspiciously, but the latter didn't waver.

Seo Jun-Ho was always prepared. Of course, that meant he knew how to calm Gilberto as well. "Just watch this. It's a gift from your son."

Arthur had asked Seo Jun-Ho to tell Gilberto where he was going, but Gilberto had never been the type to just listen. He was well-known to be a doting father, so they had prepared this for him.

[Father, I'm leaving you with this video message...]

Arthur had recorded a video for him with the Vita.

He had realized the limits of his power~ So he wanted to train in isolation with his comrades~ And he hoped Gilberto would stay healthy~

Something like that...

"I see... Arthur, so this is what you want," Gilberto muttered. He seemed to realize something. As a father, he would never get in the way of his son's ambitions. "Jun-Ho. Do you think I could catch up to him and scold him if I leave now? If they're training in isolation, I won't be able to see him for at least a few months."

"..."

Could he?

Seo Jun-Ho's face soured, and Skaya had Gilberto on his back. "Come on! Your son said he wanted to get strong. What are you so worried about?"

"...If he gets stronger, he'll start fighting stronger foes. It's dangerous, I'm telling you."

"That line of thought is what's dangerous... What are you gonna do, hold Arthur in your arms for the rest of your life?"

"Can't I do that?"

"Okay, I'm done. We've never really understood each other in the first place."

Frankly, there weren't many people that understood Skaya. So, Gilberto wasn't exactly an outlier.

"Geez, who would you guys hang out with if you didn't have me..." Seo Jun-Ho sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Skaya asked.

"Jun-Ho, aren't you the weirdest out of the five of us?" Gilberto added.

"...?" It seemed that the minority would always stand out, even if they would typically be considered normal. "Anyway, you won't be able to see your son for a few months. Good luck."

"Ugh..." Seo Jun-Ho watched as Gilberto's face fell, and opened his newspaper

[The Gray Envoy is the third Hero to return.]

[The silent assassin that only leaves bullet holes: Gilberto Green returns.]

[Specter, Archmage, and Gray Envoy have defeated seventy fiends on the 2nd floor.]

[The world's guardians are starting to return one by one.]

[Sky Soul Guild is preparing for the press conference.]

"Well, seems like things are going as I expected," he said. If something happened only once, it was a miracle, but if it happened a second time, people would expect it to keep happening.

"How funny. They're talking as if it's confirmed that the 5 Heroes will return," Skaya said.

"That's what the press is best at. They take the tiny bit of information they have and make inferences, and then sell it as fact."

"They still haven't changed after all these years," Seo Jun-Ho said, clicking his tongue. He started to reminisce after he saw one specific article. "The world's guardians, you say..."

In the past, that title belonged to the United States. But after the Gates manifested and opened, the country had been overrun with monsters and they lost the title.

'And we received it in return...'

The world's guardians, saviors, and heroes. They had simply done what they needed to be done, but at some point, people started calling them that.

"It reminds me of the past..." Seo Jun-Ho muttered.

"You liked it back then?"

"It wasn't bad. Why do you ask?"

"I hated it." Pouting, Skaya pulled at the Frost Queen's cheeks, who was sitting in her arms.

"Lemme ger rie ner..."

"Honestly, I don't need money or glory or whatever. I probably wouldn't have done it if you hadn't asked me," she said.

"...Yeah, we were pretty busy, weren't we?"

"Pretty busy? That's all?" Skaya scoffed. "Let me tell you, we probably did more than what tens of celebrities would do in a day."

"You're not wrong."

No matter how busy they were, celebrities could rest while flying to other countries. But when the 5 Heroes were really busy, they would plan their day down to the second and teleport to their destinations.

"When we were busiest, we would go to like seventy countries in a day..."

"Ugh, yeah. It was so tiring."

"No matter how much I wanted to create a peaceful world for my son, it almost wasn't enough for me to keep going."

The three of them looked at each other and laughed, thinking of their collective experience. It was a strange feeling, especially for Seo Jun-Ho.

'...Who knew I'd ever feel like this.'

He had stayed in this very hospital room when he had awakened.

Looking back, he had probably been lonely.

'I really don't know what I would've done without Deok-Gu.'

If he was being honest, he wouldn't have gone back to being a Player if he didn't know that he could save his friends with the Frost skill. He would've spent the rest of his life as Seo Jun-Ho—a quiet, peaceful life in the countryside, where he would sleep all day.

'I have to work harder.'

Now, only two of his comrades were left frozen in the ice. Of course, this meant that something else had started poking at his mind.

[Sky Soul Guild is preparing for the press conference.]

As he stared at the article, Skaya approached him. "That old man is still alive?"

"...Hey, he's still Mio's father. Don't talk about him like that."

"Hmph, I don't like him," Skaya huffed. She had been especially close to Mio.

The Big 6 Guild, Sky Soul, had its roots in an aristocratic Japanese clan with an extensive history: Tenmei.[1]

"What are her asshole brothers up to these days?" she asked.

"They're highly-respected High Rankers."

"Hmph! They're just scum that's jealous of their sister's talent."

"They're still Mio's family," Seo Jun-Ho said. It was hard to believe considering it was the 21st century, but Mio was an illegitimate child born from a concubine. However, only the 5 Heroes knew about this fact. Officially, she was known as the daughter of Tenmei Yugo, the family leader as well as the Guild Master of Sky Soul. "They're not in the Nine Heavens, but they're still powerful."

"They must've gotten a lot stronger. They were nothing back then," Skaya remarked.

"That's not true. They were some of the strongest Players aside from us."

Sky Soul would probably take advantage of Mio when she came back.

'If that happens, the delicate balance of the Big 6 will tip over.'

Seo Jun-Ho didn't want that. Dealing with fiends was hard enough, and he didn't want to have to take care of bickering Players on top of that.

"There's nothing we can do about it right now. Just forget it."

"...That's true."

They could think about it once Mio awakened. "What will you guys do now?" Seo Jun-Ho asked, looking at Skaya and Gilberto. "There's still a whole month until the Port Lane operation. I was planning to raise my level until then."

"Hmm. I want to study up on magic until then. I've been putting it off," Skaya replied.

"...I should focus on recovering first," Gilberto said. It was a good thing that Seo Jun-Ho had been the only one whose level had completely reset. It would have been a real headache if the same thing happened to Gilberto and Skaya.

"Two whole Squadrons will be there. It's a big-scale operation. And I think it would be better for me to get there ahead of time. If I get to Port Lane later on, it could seem suspicious."

"Then, we'll meet up in Port Lane a month from now," Skaya concluded.

"And I'll recover as much as I can before then," Gilberto said.

They needed some time to themselves because they had different goals.

"One month..."

"I hope you get stronger by then, Frost Queen~"

"I'll see you guys then."

When the door opened, the Frost Queen was the first to run out.

***

"...Money?"

"Yeah, money."

Seo Jun-Ho felt sorry for Shim Deok-Gu, but this time he went back up to the 2nd floor without meeting his friend.

He called two people over to the inn he was staying at.

"Aren't you guys experts in money?" he asked.

"..."

"..."

Seo Jun-Ho was speaking to a loan shark and a casino owner at the Starting Square: Ply and Haus. After Seo Jun-Ho summoned them out of the blue, Ply and Haus exchanged confused glances.

'Dammit, he'd been quiet for a few months...'

'Didn't this bastard leave the city?'

He summoned them like a bolt from the blue. Of course, they had no intention of disobeying him.

'That look in his eyes...'

'Last time, I couldn't estimate the limits of his power, but now, it feels like he's not even human anymore.'

But they didn't sense anything strange from him. They almost started to wonder if he had lost his power.

The people around them started to bustle. Their subordinates were making the patrons nervous. Seo Jun-Ho pointed at them with his steak knife as he spoke, "Get rid of them. They're making the customers uncomfortable."

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Wait outside the building... No, wait back at the shop!"

However, there would always be a few stragglers in such a large group. Two of Haus and Ply's subordinates stayed behind as the others left.

'Hm, I haven't seen them before.'

Seo Jun-Ho hadn't seen them the last time he had beaten up their men. They seemed to be around level 100. They stuck out their chins, confident in their strength.

"Who is this pretty boy... Hey! What makes you think you can order around hyung-nim like this?!"

"Sir, just give me the order. I'll take care of him."

"..." Seo Jun-Ho silently cut up his steak. He seemed unbothered. He spoke to the bald man and the casino owner, who had both gone pale. "Must we really do this again? Honestly, it's kind of annoying."

"N-not at all!"

"It's my fault for not teaching the newbies...M-my apologies. Please forgive me." They waved their hands desperately, gesturing at their subordinates to leave.

"Oh, just a second. Let me answer that question." He slowly lifted the steak knife up at the two subordinates.

"...!"

"...!"

They were struck with fear, freezing like two frogs faced with a snake. They had never felt such intense bloodlust in their lives.

Seo Jun-Ho went back to cutting his steak. "That's the kind of person I am..."

They stroked their necks as their backs dripped with cold sweat once the threat of death subsided.

"You should oversee your subordinates better. Your businesses will go flying if I hear anything bad."

"O-Of course. I've even lowered my interest rate to a legal amount."

"I also stopped rigging the games and became a better man after you taught us."

Surprisingly, they were both telling the truth. They had been planning to go at least three months living like that as they were wary of Seo Jun-Ho.

'I have to scare these guys every once in a while so that they'll listen.' Ply and Haus were on the good side compared to some bad men, but they were still criminals. Seo Jun-Ho popped a large piece of meat into his mouth and spoke, "So, I need some money. Is there any way to make a lot of money while hunting?"

The two men considered this for a second before replying...

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Ohhh, do tell." He looked up at Haus.

The man spoke first, "Do you know what Quests are?"

"Of course. I'm a Player."

"Then, have you seen the Bounty Quest that went up a week ago?"

"...A Bounty Quest? Aren't bounties only attached to humans?"

"No," Ply said. "They also attach bounties to dangerous monsters. If someone kills that monster and brings in a body part as proof of that monster's death, the Adventurer Guild or the affiliated city will pay a bounty."

"How much is it?"

"150 gold."

"Woah, 1.5 billion...? That's more than I expected." He was tempted. But Quests like this always had fierce competition. "There must be a lot of competition."

"There was, but there isn't any competition anymore."

"Why not?"

"120 Players and mercenaries have already died thanks to one monster."

"...120?" Seo Jun-Ho's eyes darkened. It was a similar amount of casualties as an Uncleared Gate on the 1st floor. Not only that, unlike on the 1st floor, people could run away at any time here in Frontier. But the monster still managed to kill 120 people?

"Because it's so strong, no mercenary or Player wants to take up the challenge anymore."

"There was a rumor recently that a Player Guild would go on an expedition to challenge it."

A bounty and a monster.

'Yeah, it's been a while since I've hunted.'

Not fiends or liches, but real monsters. Seo Jun-Ho's interest was piqued. His eyes sparkled like a carnivorous predator. "Tell me more about that Quest."

1. The characters for 'Tenmei' can be read as 'Sky Soul'' ☜