Chapter 254: Forked Road (1)

"..."

Seo Jun-Ho gulped. After fainting in a ridiculous manner due to his carelessness, he renewed his determination.

'I'm going all out from the start.'

Whoosh!

Magic swept through his body. Overclocking's efficiency had increased since the opening of his Conception Governing Vessel.

'I think the performance has improved by thirty percent compared to before.'

However, it became that much more of a burdensome ability. Previously, he could raise the output up to eighty percent using Frost, but now, fifty-five percent was the limit. After his whole body's veins were opened and the paths for magic increased, it was much harder to control the heat from Overclocking. However, the fifty-five percent of today was overwhelmingly stronger than the eighty percent back then when comparing performance.

'I'll make it in one go with technique.'

The distance to the Thunder God was only a hundred meters. If the Thunder God let his guard down, Seo Jun-Ho could arrive in a blink of an eye.

"I'm going..."

Before his words could even come out, Seo Jun-Ho's figure had already shot forward.

Bzzzzzt!

As expected, the response was fast. The moment Seo Jun-Ho thought he saw a flower blooming in the clear skies, lightning had already penetrated his body.

'Guh?!'

However, Seo Jun-Ho did not faint. Unlike last time, his body was strengthened by Overclocking, so he managed to endure the thunderbolt once.

'But if I get hit by the same attack one more time...'

He would faint no matter what. Seo Jun-Ho hurriedly moved his legs before the next attack came. No, he tried to move.

"Ugh...?!"

As if it was paralyzed, his body did not budge. After being struck by lightning, the muscles in his entire body fiercely contracted, which didn't allow his body to move.

'At this rate, the next attack...'

He would be penetrated! When Seo Jun-Ho thought that and instinctively raised his eyes, a second lightning bolt penetrated his body. Seo Jun-Ho collapsed, rolled several times on the floor, and fainted whilst covered in dirt.

"Two meters..."

The Thunder God measured the distance Seo Jun-Ho had traveled and muttered while carrying him.

"It's a great start."

***

"Ah!"

When Seo Jun-Ho woke up in the room as usual, he jumped up and left the room. It was already his third try. As always, the Thunder God was sitting on the same rock.

"Ah, maybe because y'er young, ya have good stamina."

"...I will try again."

"Do what ya want."

Seo Jun-Ho stood in front of the Thunder God, but once again, he could not take the step. As soon as he took a step, lightning would come out.

'...It's too fast.''

Wasn't it literally the same speed as light? To avoid that, you also had to move at the speed of light. But despite pushing Overclocking to eighty percent, he still wasn't able to reach that speed. Now, his maximum output was probably around fifty-five to sixty percent at most.

'It's far.'

At first, the distance of a hundred meters felt short, but now, it felt as far as a thousand kilometers. There was no need to hold back. To be honest, when he first heard the Nine Heavens' results, he wasn't excited.

'I thought if I used Overclocking, I'd be able to easily reach seventy meters.'

However, that hadn't been the case. The thunderbolt was much faster and more refined than he thought. Above all, his body always stiffened whenever he got struck by a bolt of lightning, and subsequent hits after that would result in him being pushed back.

'Pheeewww...'

Seo Jun-Ho shook off the tension with a long breath and circulated magic throughout his body. The heat quickly warmed up the area.

"Shall I help you?" The Frost Queen offered.

"No, you must not help me," Seo Jun-Ho said firmly.

This was a test to prove one's ability. Of course, the Frost Queen could be considered a part of his abilities, but he wanted to do it without her help.

'...But what am I supposed to do?'

This time, he pushed himself and increased Overclocking's output from forty percent to fifty percent. However, it didn't seem like he would be able to avoid the lightning strikes he wasn't even able to respond to before, even with a higher Overclocking output.

'Let's change the plan.'

At first, he intended to pierce forward in a straight line, but he had changed his mind.

'Even if it's the Thunder God, he shouldn't be able to change the trajectory of the lightning after firing it.'

Every skill had its pros and cons. Although lightning was as fast as the speed of light, it would be equally difficult to control.

'Then I should run in a zigzag and get out of the lightning's path as much as possible.'

With shining eyes, Seo Jun-Ho kicked off the floor.

'During the first and second challenges, lightning penetrated my body twice in... 0.012 seconds.'

Seo Jun-Ho twisted his body like a ghost following that timing and turned directions.

Rumble!

He clearly felt the lightning falling behind the top of his head.

'That's the answer!'

Seo Jun-Ho thought his strategy was right, and he changed direction once again.

Flash!

The lightning falling vertically from the sky suddenly bent at a right angle and struck the back of his head.

"Arrgggh..."

As Seo Jun-Ho was foaming at the mouth, another thunderbolt landed on top of his head.

Thud.

The Thunder God looked down at Seo Jun-Ho, who had fainted once again, and sipped from his bottle of alcohol.

"..."

Seven meters. It was the new record that Seo Jun-Ho had set in just his third challenge.

***

"Let's think about it some more."

After finally coming back to his senses, Seo Jun-Ho raised his upper body. He decided to make plans first rather than recklessly attempting the fourth challenge. Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen attended the meeting.

"I am always thinking. You are the only one who hasn't been thinking," said Frost Queen.

"Listen, the Thunder God's lightning is fast."

"It definitely seemed fast."

"Normally, it should be considered unavoidable."

"But are there not as many as four people who have broken through fifty meters in that grave of thunderbolts?"

The people she was referring to were the three Heavens and the disciple of the Thunder God. Seo Jun-Ho recalled the Nine Heavens momentarily.

"Yeah, I don't know about Wei Chun-Hak... but how did the other two break through?" Seo Jun-Ho wondered.

"Well, I think I know how the master of the Goblin Guild did it."

Shin Sung-Hyun, the Master of Space, would have used his skill to move forward by twisting the space the lightning bolts were falling in.

"But even with that ridiculous cheat-like ability, he still couldn't reach the end..."

"Perhaps in this test, there is a high possibility that the intensity or the number of lightning bolts will increase as you move forward."

The two had no idea about it at this point, but the Frost Queen's reasoning was correct.

"Then what should I do..."

"Actually, during the time you fainted, I have thought about how to attack this."

The Frost Queen raised her chin, straightened her back, and put on a front as confidence gushed out of her.

"So, what's the way you have thought of?"

"Before I speak, perform a ceremony and accept me as your teacher."

"It's annoying, so let's negotiate with ten cakes."

"Twenty."

"Fifteen."

"...Not bad. Instead, I will take the flavors I want."

"Agreed."

At the end of the negotiations, the Frost Queen continued, "So, do you remember when you fought with me?"

"It's still vivid. I won't forget it even after a lifetime."

"That is good. Then think carefully. Did I not stop your attack at that time?"

"Ah."

Seo Jun-Ho recalled the situation and nodded fiercely.

"Yeah. I was very surprised back then. I didn't expect that my attack would get blocked."

The Watchguard of Darkness had the power to 'scorn' which would allow it to disregard defense.[1] It should have been able to easily ignore the opponent's defenses, but the Frost Queen managed to block his attack every single time. That was why the battle lasted for three days.

"Then what do you think is the reason? Even though the darkness element has the property to scorn."

"Hmm... well?"

"There are two main reasons." The Frost Queen extended two fingers. "First, there is a difference in rank. Second, due to the nature of the skills."

"What do you mean difference in rank...? Does Frost Queen-nim mean you can't be hurt by a commoner?"

"That is not what I meant. What I am referring to is the real rank."

"Real rank?"

"Hmm, it would be bothersome to explain everything to you, an Earthling. You do not have to know this."

"If you're going to say that, why did you bring it up..."

Seo Jun-Ho's complaints were put to rest when the Frost Queen continued.

"Be quiet, Contractor. Look at this."

Crackle.

Her raised hand froze in an instant. Seo Jun-Ho stared blankly and said, "You froze it using the Frost skill."

"That is right. Now try to cut my hand with the Watchguard of Darkness."

"...But it'll get cut?"

"You do not have to worry about that."

"Are you sure? It won't be my fault if you cry from the pain after getting cut."

"..."

Come to think of it, since she had become a Spirit; she had never been directly cut by the Watchguard of Darkness. The Frost Queen contemplated for a while, then said in a shriveled voice, "T-then cut it gently with a small knife..."

"Well, if it's just that..." Seo Jun-Ho gathered the darkness and made a small sword the size of a cutting knife, and said, "I'm going to cut."

"W-wait!" The Frost Queen turned her head and covered her eyes with her other hand. "I don't want to watch... I will keep my eyes closed."

"Why did you tell me to do this if you're going to be like that?"

Was she just messing around? With a bitter expression, Seo Jun-Ho held out the knife and cut Frost Queen's hand at once.

Screeech!

But contrary to his expectations, the ice remained firm.

'The power to scorn didn't work?'

There was a small scratch, but the ice was fine. It was like when he fought with her before. Seo Jun-Ho held her hand and checked around it, then asked with a serious look, "Hey, it's over. Now open your eyes and explain."

"...I-is my hand bleeding...?"

"It's not. What's going on?"

Slowly opening her eyes, The Frost Queen checked several times to see if it really wasn't bleeding, then cleared her throat.

"Khmm, did you see, Contractor?"

"Yeah. Why did the power to scorn not work?"

"You're an elemental user, so you probably thought of this, but each element has its own power."

"...I have been vaguely thinking about that for a long time."

It would have been too good to be true that only the darkness element had a special power. As such, the other elements likely had their own special power.

'Although all I know is the power to scorn.'

At this point, it was easy to grasp the answer.

"In a word, the Frost skill also has a unique power, and it blocks the power to scorn?"

"Correct. It is nice that you are quick to understand."

"Frost skill is EX-grade, so it is higher than the S-grade Watchguard of Darkness..."

"You are saying the obvious."

"So what is it? Frost skill's unique power."

"To block." Frost Queen said firmly. "I have the power to block through the Frost skill."

"...Block? I don't think I'm fully understanding."

"You can think of it as blocking all interference from the outside. Simply put, if the Watchguard of Darkness is the strongest spear, the Frost skill is the strongest shield."

"The strongest shield..." Seo Jun-Ho murmured blankly, then suddenly frowned. "Wait, isn't something weird? When I fought with Janabi, my ice shield broke like crackers."

"...Sigh, to master the power of an element, you need skill, understanding, and a fervent heart. How does Contractor not know that?"

"It's my first time hearing it, so how can I know..."

In hindsight, the Watchguard of Darkness also couldn't cut through all defenses from the beginning. At first, it was only possible to strengthen his offense by simply covering weapons in darkness.

'Then I met a turtle boss in a dungeon who could withstand any attack...'

On the verge of death, he desperately wished to cut the bloody turtle in half. That was likely the first time he managed to use the power to scorn.

"But just because I have it, there is no guarantee that you will have the power to block as well."

"What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"It means that powers can be different, just as each person's personality is different."

When Seo Jun-Ho seemed like he was having a difficult time understanding, the Frost Queen told him an anecdote, "When I was still a person, I knew a man, a user of darkness, who had mastered the power of the dead."

"The power of the dead?"

"He was a necromancer who had rejected nature's providence with the power of darkness and raised corpses."

"Oh? Then, perhaps I..."

Tempted, Seo Jun-Ho opened his mouth, but the Frost Queen saw through what he was trying to say and shook her head.

"Wake up. The power of an elemental skill is like a vessel made suitable for your soul. Once made, you cannot make another one later."

"Ah..." Seo Jun-Ho seemed regretful as he nodded slowly. "So, you're saying I could get a completely different power than the power to block."

"Of course..."

"Then will I gain another power even though I already have the power to scorn...? Has there been anyone like that before?"

"What?" The Frost Queen smirked. Her ignorant contractor had just said something refreshing, and she found it cute. "This universe is so vast, so how could there not have been a single person? Well, I have not seen any, though."

Come to think of it... The Frost Queen tilted her head and glanced at the ceiling.

'If Contractor really awakens the power of Frost, following darkness...'

Maybe he would really be the first to do so among the people of Earth. And in addition to going crazy at the word 'first,' perhaps it could greatly stimulate the special 'existences.'

'Well, nothing will probably happen.'

To lead her stagnant contractor to new heights. Wasn't that a faithful Spirit's duty? The Frost Queen smiled at her contractor.

1. The original word used was 멸시 which usually translated as scorn, but we added in further details to help explain the properties of this power which is to ignore or disregard defense. ☜