Chapter 434: Connected (1)

Seo Jun-Ho's mind finally cleared, and before he returned to Earth, the Sage warned him.

"Beware of the demons. They will continue to attack you and try to corrupt your heart using all sorts of different methods."[1]

"You don't have to worry about that." He was sure of it. After looking back on his past, his determination had strengthened. "There was only one reason why I decided to become a Player in the first place.

He wanted to exact revenge on his parents' enemies—the monsters and fiends. "If you think about it, the demons are my enemies as well because they created the fiends."

He wouldn't get off this train until he annihilated them completely, even if there was someone among them that he feared. And even if they weren't his current goal, he had too many things to protect that he couldn't afford to hesitate.

"I will continue on to protect everything that I swore to protect," he said.

"...I wish you luck." The Sage placed his wrinkled hands on top of Seo Jun-Ho's hand. "No matter how weary you become, I pray that you will not abandon humankind."

Somehow, he said the exact same thing as Seo Jun-Ho's master had, perhaps because the two were great friends.

Seo Jun-Ho nodded gravely. "See you next time."

"Be healthy."

"I think you should worry about your own health first."

"Now that you say that, I believe you are right." The Sage chuckled.

After saying his farewells, Seo Jun-Ho soon returned to Earth as a wiser man.

***

"It can't be..."

The Frost Queen's face crumbled as if she had been slapped.

"Hey, why do you keep making that face? Are you that blown away?" Seo Jun-Ho asked, sounding offended. He was putting on a special performance for her as a celebration of his full recovery.

"...Yes. It is indeed fascinating," muttered the Frost Queen.

Her contractor was making shadow puppets in front of the lamp, including a pigeon, a dog, and a rabbit. Seo Jun-Ho was being plagued by his illness of the heart for so long that the Frost Queen didn't expect him to fully recover in just a day.

'Can I return this herbal medicine?' She retrieved a wrinkled receipt from her pocket and read it carefully.

[This item cannot be exchanged or returned.]

"No! My money!"

The medicine cost a whopping half a million won, but now, it was useless. She worked such a hellish job to earn that money.

'Those... Those rude customers...!'

The memories of handling them flickered through her head like a panorama. After making just enough money to buy a medicine rather than the restorative elixir, she was actually more excited to buy the medicine than whenever she went out to buy cakes.

Seo Jun-Ho had given her a lot, and she finally had the opportunity to pay him back.

'But...'

She couldn't believe that all her work had been for nothing. Her eyes started welling up with sorrowful tears, but she managed to tightly cover her mouth with her hands. It was all because she felt that she would start blurting out rude, hateful things.

"...Are you crying?"

"Sniff. I am not crying," she said as she sniffled.

"No, you're crying."

"I swear I'm not—sniff! Crying." Even as she denied it, fat tears dripped down her adorable face.

"What are those tears, then?"

"Ugh, whatever!" The Frost Queen fled to her room and slammed the door behind her.

Seo Jun-Ho was stupefied. He called up Seo Jun-Sik. Seo Jun-Sik looked bored when he was summoned, but his face instantly fell when he discovered why he got summoned.

"Ugh. I didn't think you'd actually bring me into this."

"I had no other choice. I'm telling you, I don't know why Frost was acting like that."

"Excuse me, sir. I am your clone, Mr. Me. Do you think really that I would know?"

"Then, just help me figure it out."

"Sure thing."

Seo Jun-Sik and Seo Jun-Ho put their heads together, trying to deduce why she was crying.

Seo Jun-Ho proposed an idea. "Perhaps someone attacked her?"

"You sure have a big imagination. That person would be a beautiful ice statue by now, don't you think? Oh! If you're saying that you think she's crying because she feels guilty about freezing them, you might be on to something."

"Geez, then those must be crocodile tears."

All of a sudden, Seo Jun-Ho's Vita rang, interrupting their moronic conversation.

[Deok-Gu: You're back? Did you take the herbal medicine Frost gave you? Lol, isn't she cute?]

Seo Jun-Ho and Seo Jun-Sik looked at each other.

"Herbal medicine?"

"Original. Ask him for the details."

Seo Jun-Ho immediately called Shim Deok-Gu.

- Hey, what's up?

"Herbal medicine? What was that about?"

- Huh? She hasn't given it to you yet?

"That's what I'm asking about."

-Well... Frost made money to buy herbal medicine so you'd feel better.

"She made money?"

-Yeah. She took care of a lot of rude customers at the call center, and she was also a lot better than..."

"Got it. Bye."

- Wait! Hey! Hey! Why did you even call—

Beep! Beep!

As soon as Seo Jun-Ho hung up, Seo Jun-Sik nodded. "Jun-Sik's got it! Frost is cwying because she's sad."

"You look exactly like me, so stop acting cute, or I'm actually gonna get mad."

"Yeah, whatever." Seo Jun-Sik sulked. "Anyway, I guess she's mad because you suddenly got better even though she worked so hard to buy you medicine."

"Dammit. What should I do, then? I already told her I'm all better and even showed her those shadow puppets."

"Heh. And what if Agent Jun-Sik enters the field?" Seo Jun-Sik revealed a cheesy grin, showing his teeth.

"What are you..."

"I can clear up the situation for you." His face—no, his expression looked really suspicious.

Seo Jun-Ho thought for a second. "Okay. If you sort things out, I'll let you eat anything and everything you want until you're sick."

"Goodness me. Now we're talking." Seo Jun-Sik smirked.

He opened the door to the Frost Queen's room and walked inside. "What troubles you, Your Majesty—"

"...Based on that revolting manner of speech, you must be Jun-Sik. Leave."

"Come on, why are you acting so cold to me? Here, wipe your tears with this for now." Unbothered, Seo Jun-Sik walked up to her and offered a handkerchief.

And the hand that was holding it was trembling very convincingly...

"Oh?" The Frost Queen's eyes widened when she noticed it. "Why is your hand trembling? I saw that Contractor was fully recovered."

"Ahem. This is actually supposed to be a secret, but I'll make a special exception." He went so far as to scan the room even though there was no one else. Then, he whispered into her ear. "Original is acting like that because he doesn't want to worry you. He hasn't actually fully recovered just yet."

"Huh? Are you telling the truth?" the Frost Queen asked, jolting upright. "I'm warning you, I will start using mean words if you're lying."

"Geez, really? Look at the honesty in my eyes."

"There is no honesty there... They seem suspicious..."

"Goddammit! Hey! Do you really think that you know him better than his own clone?" He insisted.

And that made her quiet...

"Hm, I suppose I could not possibly know the contractor better than you do."

"See? That's what I'm saying."

Now that she thought about it more, it was possible.

'Am I an idiot? I should have paid better attention, but all I did was cry like a child.'

She kicked away the covers with a flushed face. 'Ah, I am usually much more intelligent and discerning.'

The Frost Queen had always been uncomfortable at times like this because it made her feel like her mind and her emotional maturity had regressed along with her body.

"You have given me important information. Thank you." She hopped off the bed and dug out the herbal medicine she hid.

Seo Jun-Sik nodded solemnly. "Go. You're the only one who can cure him."

"...Yeah!"

When she snuck over to her contractor's room, she heard a small sigh coming from inside. She peeked through the crack of the door only to see that Seo Jun-Ho was in pain while sitting at the edge of the bed with clenched, trembling hands.

"Keuk. I managed to hide it from Frost, but the tremors just won't stop. I don't know what to do. Is there some kind of medicine I can take?"

'So Jun-Sik was not lying.'

Her eyes sparkled brighter than they ever had as a spirit. She flung the door open and strut in with confidence before holding out the bundle of medicine to her contractor.

"Woah, what's that wonderful, amazing, and deliciously delightful smell?"

"It is herbal medicine," the Frost Queen declared, smiling with a face filled with pride. "It is unacceptable for my contractor to be sickly. Take this so you'll get well as soon as possible."

"I-I don't believe it. Just how did you manage to buy something this expensive when you don't have any money?"

"Ahem. Are you that curious? I suppose I have no other choice but to indulge you, then." She readily took a seat next to him and described her day with eloquence.

"...And in the end, the employees at the call center were begging at my feet not to go."

"Wow. that's amazing!"

Seo Jun-Ho had an idea of how it went. Shim Deok-Gu probably intervened to take care of the rude customers personally.

'But still...'

However, it couldn't be denied that she worked hard. Moreover, she refused to back down from something she had never done before because she wanted to help him feel better.

'That's really impressive.' He smiled as he ruffled her hair.

He gulped down the medicine. "Mm. It's bitter."

"H-how do you feel? Tell me."

"Hm." Seo Jun-Ho held out his hands without a word. "Wow, this is really effective. Look! I'm not shaking anymore!"

"Ahem. But of course. That medicine was expensive."

The Frost Queen shrugged, but her puffy eyes were smiling brightly.

***

It was said that the best way to hide a tree was to hide it in a forest, and it seemed that the demons were extremely good at concealing the truth.

"Dammit, are they actually gonna wait a hundred days to open the 6th Floor? I thought they were bluffing."

"I have a feeling that things are going to become much harder starting from the 6th Floor."

"Yeah, Otherwise, why would they ask us to wait a hundred days when we have already cleared half of the Floors."

It was the first time in a while that Seo Jun-Ho's friends had come over to his house.

They were muttering to themselves. They had eighty-four days left until the 6th Floor opened. Most Players would be training on their own until then.

"I should go hunting as well, so I can keep my senses sharp," Rahmadat mused.

"Are you gonna go to the 4th Floor, then?" Skaya asked.

"Where else would I go?"

Seo Jun-Ho suggested. "The 5th Floor's not a bad option."

"The 5th Floor? But there aren't any monsters there." Rahmadat pointed out.

"Just take a look." Seo Jun-Ho revealed a mysterious smile, and his friends turned to look at him dubiously.

"Hehe. You guys will be shocked when you see for yourselves. The 5th Floor isn't what it used to be," Seo Jun-Sik said triumphantly, putting down his orange juice.

Seo Jun-Ho gave him a dirty look. "Hey, why are you trying to take the credit for yourself when I'm the one who worked his ass off there?"

"We're one in body and in spirit."

"We're neither one in body nor spirit, so watch yourself."

"Please. I'm wearing your underwear right now, you know?"

"What? What's wrong with you?"

"Hey, I'm your clone. Why does it matter?"

The two bickered as usual.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Suddenly, all their Vitas rang wildly.

'A disaster alert...!'

Their faces fell in an instant as they rushed to tap on their Vitas.

[The biggest Gate in history has appeared in a plain at Semey, Kazakhstan.]

[We ask all capable Players to come.]

These two sentences shattered their peaceful lives.

1. This is the intended meaning, but it can also be read as "Beware of evil". ☜