Chapter 447: The Insect Farm (1)

"Haha..." The Frost Queen's laughter trailed off. She was going to try to brush off the situation like that, but when she saw her Contractor's sharp eyes, she knew that it would be futile.

"Be honest with me. You don't know, do you?"

"You are being unfair."

"How exactly is this unfair?" Seo Jun-Ho snorted.

She crossed her arms and said coyly, "This is no fault of mine. It is yours."

"Oh, you're pushing the blame onto me now? You're being ridiculous."

"I have told you from the very beginning that when I became a Spirit, I lost my memories." The Frost Queen looked at Seo Jun-Ho sullenly and said, "So this is your fault. Definitely yours."

"Don't make me laugh." Still, it was undeniable that he had cut off her head and turned her into a Spirit. He scratched the back of his head and said, "Hey, you really don't remember a thing?"

"...I do remember the basics."

"That's better than nothing." If they combined her knowledge with the information from Moonlight, they should be able to figure it out somehow.

The Frost Queen turned to the World Tree and asked carefully, "The first step is to prepare the vessel that will hold the soul. correct?"

- I suppose I can at least tell you that. You are correct.

Fwoosh!

The Frost Queen's face brightened, and she looked like a child who had received a perfect score on their spelling test. Of course, she quickly shrugged with a smug expression, looking like she was saying that it was nothing.

'Look at how excited she is...'

As the Frost Queen's guardian, Seo Jun-Ho could read her like a book. "That's amazing. I'm surprised to see the power of the almighty Frost Queen of Niflheim..."

"Please, it is not that impressive. Well, I suppose you are right."

The Frost Queen hummed to herself. She was definitely in a good mood because she started rambling on topics no one really asked her about.

"The first thing you should know is that the vessel for the soul should be durable. Once a soul settles into it, it will be hard to transfer it to another vessel...

"And because Hart Weeper was a human, it would be best to prepare a humanoid vessel. Oh, and of course, it is taboo to use a living being as a vessel."

So they needed a sturdy and deceased humanoid vessel.

Seo Jun-Ho instantly thought of Neo City on the 5th Floor.

"Maybe we should make a robot or an android—actually, I don't think that works."

Now that he thought about it, Isaac Dvor possessed a gremlin's skill to interrupt electronics and machinery. Cyborgs were much more durable than humans, but cyborgs still had their distinct, unique weaknesses.

"This is hard."

And they couldn't use a human corpse as a vessel either...

While Jun-Ho was deep in thought, the Frost Queen shrugged and said, "Goodness, do you really need me to tell you everything? What's the use of having that skill if you are not going to use it?"

"...What do you mean? Are you telling me to make a vessel with the Frost Skill?" Seo Jun-Ho looked confused. "I suppose it would be very sturdy, but it won't be very mobile because the joints are made of solid ice."

"Of course. That is why I have never succeeded in creating a humanoid vessel." Indeed, her bulky ice golems were far from nimble. The Frost Queen continued. "But you are different. You possess another power that I do not."

"...!" Seo Jun-Ho's eyes widened upon realizing it. "I see, so you're telling me to create the joint with the Watchguard of Darkness."

He finally knew what he had to do, but it didn't mean that everything was fine now.

"I have a funny feeling that this will be a bit too difficult."

"But of course. Humans are more complex and sophisticated creatures compared to any cyborg out there."

The most important part was to create a thick, durable outer layer. Then, he would have to add bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons so that the vessel would have the ability to move as smoothly as a human being. However, if he wanted to make all that, he needed comprehensive knowledge about the human body.

'Maybe I should go back to Earth and read some books.'

Seo Jun-Ho thought about it for a moment. Eventually, he shook his head and made a decision.

'I should go to the 5th Floor...'

The 5th Floor definitely contained a lot more information about human physiology than any other Floor. After all, there were cyborgs on the 5th Floor.

***

- We finally meet again. Your Majesty.

Yeon said cheerfully in the shape of a human hologram.

They were currently on the top floor of the new Imperial Palace, which was previously the headquarters of the Murim Corporation.

Seo Jun-Ho looked out the window and into the city and said, "I am assuming nothing much has happened in the interim."

- Well, let me tell you.

Yeon approached Seo Jun-Ho and started talking. The gist of it was that Neo City was growing very quickly, and the main reason was the Players' existence here.

[Recruiting party members for the cave in the west.]

[Looking to buy an oxygen mask filter and cleaning fluid.]

[Anyone wants to buy a radiation purifier for 3,000 credits?]

The community still couldn't be compared to the 1st and 2nd Floors, but it had grown much livelier than before. Of course, it was all because of money.

- Your Majesty was right. Money is bound to come flooding into the city.

The homeless vagrants and the unemployed, who had been unable to find any jobs, finally had something to do. After all, the Players would always need oxygen, mask filters, and cleaning fluid.

- If you haven't lowered the taxes, you could have collected more credits.

"Well, I don't really have the desire to suck other people dry."

Actually, the first thing that Seo Jun-Ho had done as soon as he became the Emperor of Neo City was to lower the astronomical tax rates.

- That is one of the reasons I like you, so did you come here to receive a report?

"Oh, I had a favor to ask of you. Can you give me the research papers on human physiology?"

- Of course.

After receiving the necessary documents, the Frost Queen and Seo Jun-Ho isolated themselves in a personal training room. They stared at the holographic documents floating in the air.

"I believe that this will be much more complicated than I expected"

"I don't have to make kidneys or any other organs, right?"

"That is up to you, but the cartilages and ligaments have to be as accurate as possible."

Seo Jun-Ho knew that he wasn't creating some kind of sculpture here but a vessel that Hart Weeper would use to charge into battle with him.

Seo Jun-Hoo looked at the anatomical chart and sighed.

"All right, let's get started."

***

Seo Jun-Ho got completely absorbed in creating a vessel to the point that he even abandoned sleeping. Finally, on his 73rd day of research on the 5th Floor, the first prototype was finally completed.

"That took longer than I thought..."

"Still, this won't fall apart like the other ones." The Frost Queen blinked. Dark circles could be seen underneath her eyes, but she still forced herself to speak, "Then, I'll start recording test number 3841."

Hoo.

Seo Jun-Ho pictured the prototype they had completed together in his head while focusing on the space in front of him

'First, I need to make the bones. They'll be the pieces that will lay out the shape of the vessel.'

Crackle!

The vapor in the air froze, and smooth bones started to manifest, starting on the feet.

'The phalanx, the metatarsals, the tarsus, the tibia, the fibula, and the kneecap...'

It took only two minutes and forty-seven seconds for him to create the bones from the phalanx to the skull. It was the culmination of the many hours of research practice and effort he had put into all this.

'Finally, the tendons and cartilage in the space between the bones.'

Darkness bloomed between his hands, and he twisted it several times like dough.

'Concentrate, and concentrate even more...'

Darkness wasn't a solid substance, so it would dissolve the moment he got ever so slightly distracted. Once he was done twisting and overlapping it as much as he could, the darkness had become extremely tough and durable.

'If I stick this between the bones, the vessel will have maximum mobility.'

He started attaching them with the heart of an artist excited to see his masterpiece.

Beaded sweat formed on his forehead, and sweat started dripping down his face like rain. Peak concentration, sufficient magic and mental energy were necessary to create the vessel.

'Lastly, I'll cover the whole thing with ice.'

Crackle!

Blue and white ice covered the entire frame, and it finally looked like a human being. It was 202.43 centimeters tall—taller than Sir Hart's actual height.

A giant knight made of ice appeared in their eyes

"So this is what the prototype truly looks like..."

"It is beautiful." The Frost Queen said, sounding sincere. "A vessel that is nimble yet sturdy is perfect for a knight."

"I want to add ice armor as an extra layer."

"If you do that, his agility will decrease."

"But he'll be stronger. Besides, I can just make it removable."

They quickly descended into a serious discussion. In the past two months, they seemed to have become actual researchers.

"I suppose removable ice armor is not such a bad idea. However, the promised day has come."

"Really?" Seo Jun-Ho checked his vita and nodded. It had already been a hundred days since they cleared the 5th Floor.

The 6th Floor was finally going to be unlocked today.

***

Skaya and Rahmadat were already in the room where the Korean Player Association's Dimensional Elevator was located. It seemed that Seo Jun-Ho arrived a bit late.

"Skaya, Rahmadat."

"Yo, Specter, my man! Welcome back!"

"I heard that you spent the last two months doing nothing but training. Do you really think that you're such a big shot now for you to call me like that?" responded Seo Jun-Ho.

Seo Jun-Ho and Rahmadat were still acting the same as always.

Seo Jun-Ho looked around and saw many familiar faces.

"Hello."

"Oh, hi," Kim Woo-Joong still found it a bit weird to speak casually to Specter.

"It feels like it has been a long time since we met."

"Yeah, the last time we saw each other was when we ate with Jun-Sik."

Gong Ju-Ha seemed happy as she stood there with a mini fan around her neck.

"How's your hand?"

"The tremors have stopped. The treatment was completely effective."

Even their Healer, Cha Si-Eun, was here...

Seo Jun-Ho checked, and upon seeing that everyone was there, Seo Jun-Ho turned to Shim Deok-Gu and said, "The group is way smaller than I had expected."

"Well, you guys are only going to scout out the 6th Floor rather than clearing it." Shim Deok-Gu quickly explained. "As we progress through the Floors, the enemies we're facing have been getting increasingly stronger as well..."

"Unfortunately, the higher we go, the lower the number of Players who can safely navigate the higher Floors. I'm sure everyone is already aware of that, so in a nutshell, I want everyone to prioritize safety over anything else."

This way, they could avoid their cream of the crop Players dying in vain like what happened on the 5th Floor. Not to mention, the Heavenly Demon could still attack at any time, so they needed people to stay on Earth and protect it.

"Anyway, the decision is to send a team of seven to scout the 6th Floor."

"Seven? There are only six of us here, not including you..."

"Someone else isn't here yet, but it's likely that she'll fly solo."

"Who is it?"

"Yuri Alekseyev, the Eighth Heaven."

The Eighth Heaven. She[1] was as mysterious as Mr. Shoot. No one really knew anything about her other than her nationality, which was Russian.

"Then, will Mio, Gilbe, Shin Sung-Hyun, and Wei Chun-Hak stay on Earth?"

"They have to stay here. If we send all of our best Players to scout, Earth will be in danger." Shim Deok-Gu glanced at the time and turned to the players. "Your mission is to gather information on the 6th Floor as safely as possible. If anything happens, don't take any risks. Just retreat."

"You don't have to worry about that. No one here wants to die."

The six of them crammed themselves into the elevator.

"Then, good luck."

The elevator doors finally closed.

Gong Ju-Ha gulped. "I'm going to press six, okay? I'm actually going to do it."

"Miss Ju-Ha, please, just do it."

The 6th Floor button finally lit up, and they stared at it.

Gong Ju-Ha carefully pressed the button.

[6th Floor. Doors are opening.]

The scout team carefully stepped off of the elevator

"We're in an alleyway?"

"So this is the 6th Floor..."

While they were looking around, the Dimensional Elevator transformed into a red telephone booth.

"Huh, what? Why did the elevator turn into a telephone booth?"

"Look around, and you will find your answer," Skaya said.

At Skaya's words, Rahmadat quietly stepped out of the alleyway.

"Hooo."

He was greeted with the sight of polished streets, horses, carriages, and vintage cars. There were even Gothic buildings reminiscent of architecture from the British Victorian era.

Skaya caught up with him.

"I have never heard this language before, so this definitely isn't Earth but the architecture and the clothing styles are similar to that of 19th century Europe. Obviously, there are no elevators back then."

"Makes sense. So it turned into a telephone booth to fit the time period..."

Gong Ju-Ha tilted her head while looking around the beautiful streets. "This place looks so peaceful that it's a bit unbelievable. Was there some kind of error?"

Skya shrugged and asked, "Hey, Jun-Ho, what do you think?"

However, she received no answer.

"...Jun-Ho? Jun-Ho?"

The scout team looked around, and they finally realized that Seo Jun-Ho had disappeared the moment Gong Ju-Ha pressed the elevator button.

1. Yuri's gender was unclear, so now that we have found the answer, we have decided to fix it. Thanks. ☜