Chapter 260: A New Man (1)

"...I passed out again." Seo Jun-Ho rubbed his face as he woke, as usual. He could feel the softness of his uncalloused palms.

'Oh, right. I went through a body transformation.'

As he realized this, he pulled off his blanket and looked down at his body.

"Now that I'm looking at it..."

He thought he might have grown a little taller. And overall, his proportions had become better.

"Hm."

It was his first time feeling a dissonance because his body didn't seem like his own. Usually, it was best to adapt to physical changes as they came over time, but this wasn't the case for him.

'I suppose I'll be busy for a while.'

He needed time—time to adapt to his new body.

"I already have a mountain of stuff to do. This will be troublesome," he muttered. He wanted to read Janabi's memories and free his friends from the ice. However, he could do both of these things whenever he wanted if he just set his mind to it.

'The problem is the fiends...'

Seo Jun-Ho opened the Community window and scrolled through the news bulletin board with a serious expression on his face.

As he thought, there was nothing. There was no news about the fiends, even when he rubbed his eyes. "This is weird."

Numerous Players and Guilds went up after the 3rd floor was opened. Everyone had naturally assumed that the fiends would also go up to hone their skills. If that were the case, the fiends and Players would have been unable to avoid conflict. So, everyone had been on edge...

But when the time came, their expectations were completely subverted.

"Why isn't there anything?" Seo Jun-Ho wondered. Not a single fiend had been discovered on the 3rd floor so far. No matter how many times he thought about it, he found this suspicious.

'Once time passes, the Players will keep leveling up, and there will be a gap in their skill levels...'

This wasn't something the Fiend Association would want, especially because they were already outnumbered. They would have to go up to the 3rd floor no matter what, so why wasn't there a single peep?

'It's suspicious. I should meet with Deok-Gu soon.'

Seo Jun-Ho wanted to discuss their individual opinions on the matter, and he had things to care of with Shim Deok-Gu, anyway. He decided to finish his training in one month.

'A month should be good. The Big 6 is doing a good job of holding things up.'

According to the news, they had been on a winning streak. They had already cleared several Dungeons on the 3rd floor and had even found clues about the Floor Master.

'They've stayed put for too long.'

He had this thought a few times in the past, but the Rankers' skills were commendable. They must have been quite antsy after being restricted to the 2nd floor for so long. Now that they were free, they were having the time of their lives running around the 3rd floor.

"Hm." Seo Jun-Ho finished sorting his thoughts and stood up from his seat.

Now that he thought about it, this morning had been quiet.

'Oh, now I know...'

The Frost Queen was still sleeping in the corner of the room, without a care in the world.

"Hey, wake up." Even though he poked her with his finger, her reaction was very different than usual. She didn't complain about wanting five more minutes, and she didn't try to hide under the covers or escape by rolling away in her blanket like a burrito. She lifted the covers slightly and shaded her eyes. Her eyes were drooping with heavy fatigue.

"...I am very tired today. Do not bother me."

"Huh? Why are you tired? You haven't even done anything," Seo Jun-Ho said sourly. At that, tears filled her eyes, and she shot straight up. She swung her tiny fists, hitting Seo Jun-Ho over and over again at random.

"You think I have not done anything? Do you really?! Because you were injured, I...Ugh, you don't even know anything!"

"Hey, hey, why are you acting like this?" He was pushed into the corner by her onslaught. It was the first time she had attacked him like this.

The Frost Queen breathed heavily as she stared at him coldly for a long time. Then, she slipped back under the covers. "I suppose a stork would never understand the mind of a kingfisher."[1]

"Huh? It's the other way around. A kingfisher can't understand the mind of a..."

"...W-well, the stork might not understand the kingfisher either! Anyway, I am sleeping in today, so go away!"

Seo Jun-Ho scratched his head and slowly stood. He didn't know why, but the Frost Queen was very moody today.

'I suppose everyone has those days.'

He nodded and quietly opened the bedroom door. "I'm going to train, then."

There was no response, but the blanket shifted slightly.

***

Several people were standing at the entrance of a dark underground cave illuminated only by glowing crystals. The first one to break the long silence between them was a man.

"Today is the day," he said.

"Yes, it has been a long time."

"A long time? Mr. Charbork, you must be more patient than you seem."

"..." Charbork didn't reply. His eyes widened. Something powerful was approaching them, and even the aura was enough to knock the wind out of him.

"I sincerely congratulate you all for finishing your seclusion training."

One of the women among them dropped to one knee, facing the cave. One by one, the others lowered themselves in respect.

The crystals bathed the man in soft light. His hair and eyes were snow-white.

The woman looked up at him. "Even though you have attained..."

"No, this was my own choice." He shook his head. The man had been born as an albino, but he had gone through a body transformation. Even though his hair should be black, he had purposefully left his hair and eyes white.

Everything seemed to be just as he calculated.

'However...'

His eyes grew thoughtful.

'I did not expect this.'

The System awarded titles to those who were the first to achieve something. However, he did not receive a title for his body transformation.

That meant someone other than him had gone through it first.

"This will be fun." He grinned, showing teeth. Someone could find him beautiful, but the people in front of him started trembling in their prostrated position.

The man watched them and turned to the woman. "Why are you shaking?"

"...W-well." She swallowed, dripping cold sweat.

Suddenly, he leaned his face toward hers. "Are you scared of me?"

"...!"

It was a straightforward question, but she was unable to find a way to respond. However, she was saved.

"Your joke was too harsh."

"Hm." The man turned, looking interested. "Why do you think that, Isaac?"

"You inspire awe in us, Heavenly Demon. Though we are afraid of you, we respect your strength. Of course, I am scared of you, but I wish to follow in your footsteps with respect. I believe everyone else here feels the same."

"You're as good with words as always." The Heavenly Demon smiled and nodded. "I'll only take one arm for interrupting my conversation without permission."

"Thank you for your mercy." Isaac bowed his head and cut off his own arm without hesitation.

As the scent of blood slowly started to spread, the Heavenly Demon spoke with his hands clasped behind his back, "There are not many of you."

"The Chef is doing research to develop the darkness element, as usual. And Nazad Hallow is currently in Outland." The one who answered was a man covered in black bandages like a mummy. He was Shadow, the head of the Fiend Association's espionage department, the Darkmoon Pavillion.

"And the Players?"

"Most of them have gone up to the 3rd floor."

"Hm?" This was the first thing that caught his attention. "The heat of the 3rd floor shouldn't be easy to handle."

"The Floor Master of the 2nd Floor has been killed. It was taken out by the Big 6's expedition force, which included Specter, Seo Jun-Ho, and Gong Ju-Ha."

"The Floor Master...They had one here?"

"They say that it was inside Blackfield."

"A pity." The Heavenly Demon looked genuinely disappointed. "And this Seo Jun-Ho...? Have I heard of him before?"

"He is a rookie who debuted less than two years ago...But there are some things that you should know about him. Please look through the documents I prepared for you."

"Alright." With that, the Heavenly Demon looked up at the ceiling, which was covered in glowing crystals. "I should... Move on from living underground," he muttered.

"Where will you go?"

The Heavenly Demon's eyes curved into crescents at Shadow's question. He held out his pointer finger, and they expected him to point to the ceiling.

"...!"

"...?"

But he pointed to the ground instead...

"Down." The Heavenly Demon looked delighted. "We will go down."

***

"The roots! These roots are the most important part. Ya need to have a good foundation," the Thunder God lectured angrily. As he spoke, he hit Seo Jun-Ho's head with his cane. "Ya little rascal, did I not just say that the roots are the most important parts?"

"Dammit."

"Dammit? Dammit?"

Seo Jun-Ho scratched his head and jumped up, holding a hoe. "I said I wanted to receive training, so what the heck is this?"

"What do ya mean? It's trainin'," the Thunder God immediately said.

Seo Jun-Ho held up his other hand, holding a large deodeok.[2] "How is digging up deodeoks training?"

"Did I tell ya to just dig them? Ya have to dig them carefully, so ya won't hurt the roots. There's yer trainin'."

"We're just doing chores!"

"No!" The Thunder God scolded. "The pickled deodeok ya eat every day is dug up from here."

"That's not... Yes, I feel grateful every time that I get to eat it, but..." Seo Jun-Ho trailed off. He was grateful every time he was given a meal here. However, he was already pressed for time, so he wanted to learn something useful.

'...So what the heck is this.'

Seo Jun-Ho sniffled. He had been digging up deodeoks for three hours straight, ever since morning.

"Look at Geon-Woo. Look at how well he's digging them without complaint."

"..."

Since he had put it like that, Seo Jun-Ho had nothing to say. Baek Geon-Woo was carefully using the hoe, digging up the herbs with all his heart and soul.

"...You said this is training. Then can you explain what exactly we're training here?" Seo Jun-Ho asked.

"Yer balance, stamina, and yer concentration. It is a great method that trains all three of these things."

"How does that even..." Just as Seo Jun-Ho was about to refute him, he stopped.

'Wait, this is the Thunder God we're talking about.'

Out of all the Players in the world, he was nearly the strongest.[3] His time was precious. Would he really waste his precious time spouting nonsense like this?

'No, he's not a normal person. Actually...'

Seo Jun-Ho looked around. The hill they were on was steep. Most people would have trouble simply standing on it.

'Wait!'

He compared his deodeoks to Baek Geon-Woo's.

'They're different.'

Their roots were different. All his deodeoks had some of their roots cut off, but Baek Geon-Woo only had a few that were slightly damaged. If they were to sell them at a wholesale market, Baek Geon-Woo's deodeoks would receive an A-grade.

"I see."

The mere act of crouching down on such a steep hill improved one's sense of balance. And if they kept digging up deodeoks without rest, it would improve their stamina. Lastly, hoeing them carefully so that their roots wouldn't get severed would improve concentration.

Seo Jun-Ho finally understood the Thunder God's deep meaning and nodded.

"...I'm sorry. I understand now."

"Hm, impressive." The Thunder God nodded sternly as he stood with his cane.

After that, Seo Jun-Ho poured all his focus into digging the deodeoks.

'I have to maintain a fixed position and be careful of the angle as well as with the strength of my hand when I dig out each root.'

He became so absorbed that his sharp nose had gotten sunburnt, and he was dripping cold sweat.

"Faster! Ya'll spend all day diggin' deodeoks at this rate!"

"Too slow! Even kindergarteners could dig them up at that speed!"

The Thunder God hit them with rebukes and orders. Three more hours passed, and it became noon. By then, Jun-Ho could finally dig them up perfectly.

"Yes!" The Thunder God was getting worked up again. "Yer body is not tremblin' even as ya crouch, and each strike of the hoe is careful. And this deodeok has no flaws or damages... It's perfect!"

"...I did it."

"Good. Very good!" The Thunder God patted Seo Jun-Ho's sweat-soaked shoulders.

Just then, Baek Geon-Woo stood up, having finished harvesting all the deodeoks into his basket. "Master, I dug them all."

"Hm? Y're already done? Ah, I suppose it went faster with the two of ya. Chores always go faster with more people."

"Excuse me? Chores...?"

"Ahem."

The Thunder God disappeared in a flash. Seo Jun-Ho stared blankly at where the former had been standing.

He turned to see Baek Geon-Woo's bitter smile. "Um, this is training...right?" he asked.

"..."

Should he tell a white lie or go with the dark truth? Baek Geon-Woo closed his eyes as he pondered his decision. However, his hesitation seemed to have become a sufficient answer for Seo Jun-Ho. He looked forlornly at the hillside, which had become a mess.

"Why did you work so hard even though it's not training?" Seo Jun-Ho asked.

"...If we weren't able to harvest them fast enough, we would have spent all night digging." Baek Geon-Woo cleared his throat and bowed his head. He placed his basket over his head and disappeared with short and quick steps.

"..."

Seo Jun-Ho's first day of formal training session ended at noon, after doing nothing but harvesting deodeoks.

1. A Korean idiom that means that you can't understand what others have gone through because everyone's experiences are different. ☜

2. A root herb with medicinal properties. It's also used to make side dishes in Korea. ☜

3. The Heavenly Demon/DK is considered a Player as well ☜