Chapter 416: Arcade Center (1)

"Please relax. Relax..."

"..."

'What is all this?'

Seo Jun-Ho wondered as he lay on his stomach. He felt like he was the most uncomfortable man in the world right now.

When the three of them returned home after dinner, he found someone waiting for them.

It was Cha Si-Eun. She then dragged him into the massage room.

"How is it, Contractor?!" the Frost Queen asked confidently while placing a hand on his lower back.

"How is what?"

"Doesn't it feel like your heart is healing? Don't you feel a sense of tranquility?"

"How could I feel tranquil when someone's staring straight at me while I'm getting a massage?"

Needless to say, this was another part of the Frost Queen's plan. Now that they were done with their 'happy dinner,' it was time for him to 'fully relax'.

"Do you feel uncomfortable, by chance?" Cha Si-Eun asked, sounding worried as she massaged his scalp.

"No... I have no qualms with you, Miss Si-Eun." He wasn't just being nice. He did feel very comfortable under her hands. It felt like his body and soul were settling down. He felt like he was melting. "It feels nice. It's making my eyes close."

"Please tell me if it hurts. Feel free to sleep as well."

Cha Si-Eun smiled lightly. She was stupefied when the Frost Queen contacted her. As soon as she said that her Contractor was in pain; however, Cha Si-Eun immediately came running straight from the manhwa bang.

'Still, he wasn't in a state that we could just ignore.'

Wounds of the heart would start eating away at one's body if they ever grew big enough. In other words, it was best to take care of them before they could grow big enough to do that.

"To treat anxiety, the first thing we need to do is calm the mind," she said.

"Well, it's not really a level of anxiety that we should be worried about," Seo Jun-Ho said, seemingly sulking. However, the two women wouldn't have it.

"Still, please take a good rest. You've been through a lot."

"Contractor, you are constantly running around despite your weak body. Take this opportunity to rest."

Surprisingly, Seo Jun-Sik took his side after standing around awkwardly. "I don't think it's that serious..."

"Hush. Jun-Sik, do you want to eat breakfast tomorrow?"

"Never mind. I'll be watching TV over there."

Once he left the room and picked up the remote, Seo Jun-Ho spoke to him telepathically.

'Don't play around and go train. Intensely.'

'You little shi—'

'Watch your mouth.'

'You little ship.'

Eventually, Seo Jun-Sik headed to the training room with a scowl.

***

Time went by in the blink of an eye. Time may have passed quicker for everyone because they had been having fun and enjoying themselves.

"Man~ It was so fun~ It's been a while~" Skaya was grinning like an idiot when she returned from Paris, where she was doing her magic research. She was always short on time, but she finally had time to work on her favorite thing without being interrupted by anyone. "Yeah, being locked up in my bedroom is better for a nerd like me."

"You're the only one who would say that a penthouse is a bedroom," Rahmadat said.

He visibly grew larger in just a week. Well, it probably wasn't too difficult with the help of Super Regeneration (S), which restored his tissues. As such, he didn't have to rest between workouts. However, it was surprising that he was in even better shape than he was before he took in the brunt of the Great Law of the Absorbing Star.

"Just what kind of training did you do?"

"Oh, you wanna know my secrets? It's nothing complicated." Rahmadat grinned in a way that made them uncomfortable. "I had 20 protein-packed meals a day and did nothing but work out."

"You're a monster..."

The stupidity that drove him to sleep only four hours a day to keep exercising was surprising, but the fact that he ate twenty meals a day was even more surprising.

"Mio, you look good as well."

"Yes." She looked much brighter than she had been a week ago. "As it turns out, there were many members of the branch families who were growing tired because our clan was being led astray. We decided to spend the next few years away from outside affairs to focus on stabilizing our internal affairs."

"Good work."

One by one, the party members patted her head with proud faces. It felt like their youngest had finally become an adult.

"Why are you all touching my head?" she asked.

"Because we're proud of you..."

"People have always told me that ever since I was young, but there weren't many people willing to pat my head."[1]

"Well, that's..."

Yeah, there probably weren't many people who would carelessly pat the head of the Tenmei's oldest daughter.

Seo Jun-Ho laughed awkwardly and turned to Gilberto. "Right, Gilbe. Your eyebags look heavier than usual, why is that?"

"..." Gilbeto's cheekbones were sunken, and he looked absolutely exhausted. As soon as Seo Jun-Ho brought it up, Gilberto's face darkened. "I fought with Arthur... Or rather, he yelled at me..."

"Wow."

The other members sensed that the story would get long, so they quickly prepared snacks and tea before settling on the couches in the living room.

Gilberto made a sour face when he saw that. "You guys look pretty excited for some reason."

"We're not excited at all, so hurry up and tell us what happened," Skaya said through a mouthful of popcorn.

Eventually, Gilberto sat on the sofa and started telling his story.

"It was your fault."

"Yeah, it was your fault."

"I think it's your fault, actually."

"You are the one at fault, Gilberto."

Gilberto jolted. He had been hoping that at least one—one person would take his side.

"I've always thought that you treat Arthur like a kid too much," said Seo Jun-Ho.

"Not only that, it was in front of other tourists as well. You sounded like a helicopter parent."

"Ugh, you're so cringey."

Gilberto rubbed his face with his hands after hearing their feedback. "Since even you guys are saying that, I suppose I was wrong."

"Try calling him and apologize."

"...Will Arthur would accept my apology?"

"Of course." Surprisingly, Rahmadat was the one who said this. "Blood is thicker than wine. You're family, and you're his father. Of course, Arthur will accept your apology."

"I suppose you're right." Gilberto looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He patted Rahmadat's shoulder. "Thanks. I didn't think you would be the one to give me such advice."

"Heh. That little geek thinks my brain is made of muscle, but the brain can't be trained to become muscles. It's impossible, and I speak from experience."

"...Um, sure."

Gilberto stepped out to take a short call. When he returned, his eyebags had disappeared. "My Arthur is the best son in the world."

"And you're the dumbest dad in the world."

"I don't care because I have Arthur."

Shortly afterward, Shim Deok-Gu and Cha Si-Eun came in.

"Alright, alright! Contestants, are you all ready?"

"Yeah." Seo Jun-Ho checked his Vita. The 5.5th Floor that the System had previously announced was going to open in ten minutes.

The party members each started asking burning questions.

"But don't you think it's too late for us to start lining up?"

"Even if we go right to the Pacific, it should take at least a few hours for us to get in."

"And it would be a little petty to try to cut the line using our reputation..."

"Hehe. Don't worry," Shim Deok-Gu said. He puffed his chest in pride and explained to them, "You'll take the Association's private Elevator today. It's in the basement."

"The Association's private Elevator?"

They were surprised to hear that. And Seo Jun-Ho was the most surprised of them all.

"Hey, you should've let us use it if you had it all this time. Why did you just leave it alone?"

"It hasn't been that long since we found it."

"Found it?"

Shim Deok-Gu cleared his throat. He had been waiting for that question. "I was sure that the fiends were hiding their own Dimensional Elevator somewhere. So, the Association Players had been looking for it."

"So they finally found it..."

"Bingo. Actually, we found thirteen Dimensional Elevators in total, and we took one for ourselves."

There weren't many entities with their own Dimensional Elevators. The American and the Russian governments, big Guilds like the Big 6, and a few Player Associations were the only ones with their own Dimensional Elevator.

"Now, right this way."

"Yessir!"

They headed to the basement and passed through a thick layer of security made up of Association Players and CCTVs before they reached a room.

Right in the middle of the room was a Dimensional Elevator...

"This is cool."

"We have a private Elevator as well, but this is my first time using one."

"Oh, can you let me inspect it sometime?"

"Of course, Skaya."

"You're the best!"

They couldn't admire the Dimensional Elevator for that long because a system message appeared in front of all the Players in the world.

[The 5.5th Floor, 'Arcade Center', has opened.]

['Arcade Center' will be available for two weeks.]

[All Players may enter 'Arcade Center'.]

[It will be difficult, but we hope that as many people as possible would enter this Floor.]

"It's time."

The six Players went into the Dimensional Elevator and faced Shim Deok-Gu.

"Good luck. Don't get hurt," he said.

"We'll be back."

"Thanks for this."

"Not bad..."

Shim Deok-Gu met each of their eyes and nodded without saying anything. Afterward, the doors of the Dimensional Elevator started to close.

"What do you think the 5.5th Floor will be like?" Skaya said.

"This is the first Floor that's not a whole number. Don't you think it'll be like some special event?" Gilberto suggested.

"If that's the case, I suppose there won't be that many strong enemies," Rahmadat grumbled.

"It's called the Arcade Center. Perhaps we'll play games and receive prizes," Cha Si-Eun said.

"I agree with Si-Eun," Mio agreed.

They were brimming with excitement for the 5.5th Floor.

There was just one problem.

"Huh. Hm. Guys?" Seo Jun-Ho turned around awkwardly.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and press the button."

"Well, there's a problem." He took a step backward and showed them the buttons that he was blocking from their line of sight.

The party members squinted.

"...Now that I think about it, there were only ten buttons on the Dimensional Elevator."

They were numbered from 1 to 10. There was no 5.5th button anywhere.

"Which button do we have to press?"

"..."

No one had the answer.

***

While Seo Jun-Ho and his party were blinking with confusion, there was an uproar in a particular artificial island in the Pacific.

"Hey! Why aren't they going?!"

"The line isn't moving at all!"

"What happened up there?"

The Players in the back started complaining because they had no idea what was going on. However, it wasn't like the Players in front of them knew what was going on, either.

"Hey, it said the Floor has opened. So, why can't we go?"

"It's the 5.5th Floor. Perhaps we should press the space between the 5th and 6th Floor buttons?"

"Come on, that won't work."

"Let's disassemble the elevator! Maybe there's some kind of lid on the ceiling?"

The Players tried everything to try to get the Dimensional Elevator up to the 5.5th Floor, but they failed. It was to the point that the top searches on both Community forums and the Internet rapidly changed to reflect the issue.

It was total chaos. A new Floor had opened, but they couldn't go up to it?

The Players were frustrated. They could have never imagined something like this.

Finally, someone spoke, "Wait. Doesn't that mean that the two weeks could pass by without anyone ever going up to the 5.5th Floor?"

"That's crazy. Is the System fucking with us?"

The Players started burning with rage, but it quickly settled down. The gears in their heads started turning after they realized what was going on.

'It's a waste of time to get mad.'

'Finding a way to go up to the 5.5th Floor is the top priority.'

'No one should have gone up yet. In other words...'

'The first person to get there can take all the rewards for themselves.'

A never-before-seen psychological warfare among the Players started.

***

Skaya thought about it for a long time. Eventually, she spoke, "We have five buttons available right now. 1 through 5. Maybe we need to press a combination to make some kind of password?"

She pressed the buttons this way and that, but that only made them change Floors.

Rahmadat, who had always been impatient, was ready to destroy the Dimensional Elevator. "Can't we just rip open the floor, the ceiling, and the space between the 5th and 6th Floor buttons?"

"You idiot. Do you really think that you can just break the Elevator just because you want to?" Skaya scolded.

"Hmph." Rahmadat stepped back and sulked.

Honestly, they were all frustrated. Aside from Seo Jun-Ho, who was staring at something intently.

"An Arcade Center...I see."

It seemed that it lived up to its name.

He turned to the others, looking very refreshed. "Sherlock Holmes said that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

"So what's the truth?"

At that, the corner of his lip curled up.

1. The phrase used here literally translates to 'You're admirable/commendable', so it doesn't quite have as much emotional weight as the English phrase. ☜