Chapter 524: Corrupt Star (1)

The aura was withdrawn. The Players stopped what they were doing and stared at Ceylonso in front of them.

"Ugh..." a few Players groaned.

Seo Jun-Ho asked in a low voice. "Are you the emperor of this world?"

"Yes."

Crunch!

Seo Jun-Ho trampled on his chest and growled. "Where's Rahmadat?"

"...Ah. Are you talking about that human with great vitality? Do not worry. He is still alive..." The desolate-faced Ceylonso trailed off before saying, "...For now."

"You bastard...!"

Seo Jun-Ho thrust his White Dragon toward Ceylonso's neck, but Seo Jun-Ho's eyes shot open. His arm wouldn't move. He felt like he was trying to attach two magnets on the same pole. No, Seo Jun-Ho was being repelled.

"You are rude and undignified."

Seo Jun-Ho mustered all his remaining magic, but he couldn't push the emperor's Force away. The emperor raised his upper body and stared at Seo Jun-Ho. Those eyes definitely belonged to Ceylonso, but they gave off a completely different light.

'It's violent and... vicious.'

The calm exterior was a mask. Seo Jun-Ho could see that there were many emotions behind the mask, and the most pronounced one was fury.

"I saw you through Sherid's memory. You have an interesting talent."

"Sherid...?"

Sherid was the name of the puppeteer that Seo Jun-Ho had killed in the village of failures.

However, how did the emperor see him through Sherid's memory?

"Was it called the Confession of the Dead?"

"...!"

It was a skill that would make things difficult if it were discovered, and the emperor knew its existence. At last, Seo Jun-Ho could finally see why he borrowed Ceylonso's body to come here.

"Perhaps you came here because..." Seo Jun-Ho trailed off.

"Ceylonso was a fine subject, but alas..."

Scatter!

Ceylonso's body slowly turned into dust that scattered into the air.

"He knows too much, including information that our enemies shouldn't know..."

"Damn it!" Seo Jun-Ho cursed and hurriedly used Rewind.

However, it was a mistake.

"You can even interfere with time?"

"...!" Seo Jun-Ho's eyes widened. He took a few steps back without realizing it. The emperor's eyes on him were starting to make him feel uncomfortable. He felt nauseous while under the scrutiny of those eyes.

'He can see through... everything?'

Seo Jun-Ho felt like the emperor's gaze was peeling him like an onion. Seo Jun-Ho's expression turned ugly. He was struggling to keep his emotions under wraps.

Fortunately, the emperor spoke once more, "Well, I am looking forward to seeing you again, Outsider."

When Ceylons finally turned into ashes and disappeared into the wind, Seo Jun-Ho could finally exhale the breath that he had been holding.

"Haaa... ha..."

The shock was still there.

'He saw through everything...'

The emperor saw through his thoughts and the skills he could use. The emperor knew everything, while Seo Jun-Ho knew nothing.

They were at a disadvantage.

They had to turn the tables if they wanted to win.

"What a troublesome opponent..." Skaya walked over to Seo Jun-Ho and said grimly, "It's going to take a lot of time."

"A lot of time?"

"I'm saying that we can't use the same method we used in Trium. We'll have to grind outside and accumulate enough information before we should attempt to clear this Floor."

"..." Seo Jun-Ho was silent. He was doubtful. Could they really defeat that monster, even with enough information?

Chomp!

Seo Jun-Ho bit his tongue, and the sharp pain woke him up.

"Bleck!" He spat the blood in his mouth.

He couldn't afford to think like a loser.

He had to win somehow.

"Jun-Ho." Skaya looked around and sighed before saying, "We have to move; nothing good will come out of staying here for too long."

"..."

Skaya was right. An outsider couldn't relax in this world.

***

Brrr...!

Tenmei Mio's belly let out a loud cry.

She was hungry, but it wasn't like there wasn't any food. There was a huge fish in front of her, and it had been grilled to perfection.

However, Mio didn't do anything other than just stare at it.

She was acting like the grilled fish was an expensive gem in a display case

- Are you not going to eat it? It's delicious.

The individual in front of Mio was wearing a helmet, and the LED display of his helmet displayed words for him.

Mio replied coldly, "Martial arts practitioners are trained to maintain their composure, even if they have been starving for ten days. I was trained like that as well."

- But...

Mr. Shoot trailed off and glanced at her abdomen.

Brrr... brrr...!

Mio's tactless belly kept on crying and crying. It seemed like it was complaining about why she wasn't eating such a delicious-looking fish.

- You can eat it, really. Didn't you see me cook it in front of you? I didn't put anything weird into it.

"..." Mio remained silent. She knew that Mr. Shoot couldn't have added anything weird while cooking the fish, but there was a reason why she didn't want to eat the fish.

She simply didn't want to be indebted to someone who could be her enemy.

'He was my father's ally. Caution is necessary.'

Mr. Shoot had told her why he was helping her, and he said that he was simply trying to repay her mother's kindness, but Mr. Shoot's words didn't explain everything. Above all, he was rather suspicious of him because he was extremely kind and considerate to her.

- Are you sure you don't want it?

"...I can just eat what I catch."

There were a few grilled anchovies next to the huge fish.

Mio reached out for them and ate them, but they disappeared in just a few seconds.

"..."

Brrr...!

Mio kept on glancing at the big fish.

- I'm already full. If the fish gets cold, it won't be that tasty anymore.

"..."

- This is not a charity act. I will suffer if my party member can't use her full strength due to hunger.

Mio's ears perked up at the explanation. "You need my help, but if I'm hungry, I won't be able to use my full strength. Therefore, you want me to eat the fish. Am I correct?"

- That's right.

"Hm."

It looked like Mio was slowly getting convinced, so Mr. Shoot hurriedly showed more words on his LED display.

- Please eat not for yourself but for ours.

"...Well, I see. Indeed, eating is necessary if that's the case."

Mio nodded lightly.

He reached out with her slender hand and picked up the skewered fish.

She took a bite, and her eyes widened.

'It's delicious...!'

With that, Mio made quick work of the fish, and she cleaned her oily lips with her arm.

- How was it?

"It was fine. I think our cooking skills are roughly the same."

- I am glad you liked it. Anyway, let's plan our route this afternoon.

With that being said, the two put their heads together and started planning their afternoon route. It had already been twenty days since Mr. Shoot and Mio appeared on the eastern side of the continent.

Mio heard Seo Jun-Ho's voice, but the rendezvous point was too far for her.

'Perhaps they have grouped up by now...'

Mio felt uncomfortable at the thought of finding a way to meet them again on this vast continent.

She exhaled at length without realizing it.

Mr. Shoot's helmet shone.

- Everything will be fine.

"..." Mio wordlessly nodded. Afterward, she retrieved an old booklet from her Inventory.

The booklet's cover said—Purple Dawn Style.

'Only the head of the Tenmei Family is supposed to learn this sword style...'

She gripped the booklet tightly. She was vexed; she had a book with a sword style in it, but she was struggling to learn it.

"Ha..."

The booklet contained nothing but the vague form of the sword style. In other words, it only depicted what the sword style was supposed to look like.

The meticulous and careful ancestors of the Tenmei Family feared an information leak, so they decided to create a safety mechanism.

'The former head of the family is supposed to teach the new head of the family; that is how the sword style was passed down...'

The head of the family would end his duties prior to retirement by teaching the sword style to the new head of the family. However, Tenmei Yugo died without completing his duties. In other words, the method was now lost.

'I keep getting stuck...'

Mio had been trying to restore the method somehow, but it was an extremely difficult task. This was one of the reasons she had been dual-wielding recently rather than using only one sword.

'Until I restore the Purple Dawn Style, I have no choice but to rely on the Red Sun Style and the Blue Moon Style...'

Of course, dual-wielding in itself was extremely difficult.

An ordinary person would have struggled to wield two swords effectively in a short period of time, but Mio was a genius.

"Ha..." Mio sighed once more.

Mr. Shoot glanced at her.

- Is there something bothering you?

"Do not mind it. It is personal."

- I see. Let me know if you wish to talk.

Pat, pat.

Mr. Shoot got up and erased all of their traces.

- We should get going...

They had to go to the middle of the continent for a chance to meet a Player or an Overmind, and they still had a long way to go.

***

Seo Jun-Ho and the Players arrived at the Brahms Snowfield, where dwarves could be found in Frontier.

"This place is nice. It reminds me of my hometown." The Frost Queen was excited to see a snowstorm.

However, the Players weren't happy at all.

"I-it's cold..."

"Do we really have to hide in a place like this...?"

"I'm going to freeze to death rather than die in the hands of an Overmind."

"There's no need to worry." Seo Jun-Ho looked around before calling out. "Frost."

"...Huh?"

"We need a place to hide."

"Hmm. Would the Queen's Nest be fine?"

"That'd be perfect."

The Frost Queen nodded.

"Well, it is not that difficult."

"You're the best."

Shrug.

The Frost Queen shrugged, but she was clearly pleased by the compliment. She promptly flicked her fingers.

Rumble!

Rumbling noises echoed as a large ice castle emerged from the ground.

The castle was surprisingly warm because it was almost airtight.

"Skaya, please handle the interior..."

"No problem," Skaya replied.

In the blink of an eye, simple beds and furniture made from her magic filled the castle.

Seo Jun-Ho looked around and nodded. "It's been hard on you guys. You should go ahead and rest."

The Players could finally take a breather, and they quickly collapsed to their own beds in their own rooms. The Players hadn't been saying anything, but they were obviously tired from their exhausting journey from the Wailing Mountains to the Brahms Snowfield.

"And here..."

Skaya was standing in the hall on the first floor.

Seo Jun-Ho approached her and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Huh? Weren't you going to use this place as your headquarters?"

"Headquarters... Well, if I had to say, then I guess so..."

The enemies would definitely have issues finding them here, considering that this place was extremely hostile to life and was enveloped in a blizzard all day long.

Skaya rubbed her hands to warm them up. "Anyway, I'm thinking of turning this place into a kind of hub."

"A hub?"

"You'll know when you see it," said Skaya.

A few moments later, dozens of magic circles appeared in the air. The magic circles looked extremely complex, and when they converged, a small portal was created.

"What is that?"

"I created a node in the Wailing Mountains before we left, and I'm currently connected to that node."

Seo Jun-Ho's eyes shone, and he hurriedly said, "Are you saying that if I step into that portal, I'll arrive in the Wailing Mountains?"

"What are you talking about? That's impossible." Skaya replied sharply. However, her frowning visage was replaced with a sunny demeanor as she continued. "It's indeed impossible for an ordinary mage, but I'm not normal, am I?"

"That's true. You're a genius."

If Rahmadat were here, he would have been rendered speechless by the portal.

Seo Jun-Ho noticed something and asked, "Wait, what happened to the alarm magic you placed in the rendezvous point?"

"It still works. Once a Player arrives there late, then we can bring them here."

"Ho... I'm surprised..." Even the Frost Queen was nodding in awe, and she would always avoid Skaya if she could help it.

Seo Jun-Ho asked, "Skaya, how many of these portals can you install?"

"Five. However, I can do up to eight if I don't do anything else..."

"What do you need to install them? Are there any conditions?"

"Well, I need to install the nodes myself, so I have to be there..."

"Hm..." Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes, troubled.

Running eight portals around the clock meant that the powerful card—Skaya Killiland—would be out of commission.

'However, it would be a waste for her to be a combatant right now...'

What if he created eight portals throughout the continent and disturbed the peace of the empire?

Seo Jun-Ho made a decision and nodded.

"Skaya, I'll assign all twelve mages here to you..."

"Oho~" Skaya looked like she had an idea about what Seo Jun-Ho wanted to do.

Skaya nodded and asked, "Are you telling me to focus on this place?"

"Yeah. Make sure that the Overminds will never be able to find this castle."

"That shouldn't be an issue. In the first place, they can't even detect magic—oh, am I wrong?"

"Yeah. I think the empire has its own archmage as well. The empire's archmage created a magic detector."

"Hm. I guess we can add a layer of wavelength distortion around the castle and a stealth spell on top of it for further obfuscation. Then..."

Skaya fell into her own world once again.

The Frost Queen turned to look at Seo Jun-Ho and asked, "Contractor, won't guerilla tactics be insufficient, considering the lack of numbers here?"

"That's right. We need to solve that, too." Seo Jun-Ho shook his Vita.

The Vitas of the other Players were dead here, but his Vita was functioning thanks to Yeon's modifications.

"Aha! You're going to contact Yeon and ask him to send a message to Earth!"

"That's right..."

However, there was still an issue.

The empire had moved the 7th Floor's Gate somewhere.

"If they somehow manage to move the Gate to the middle of the empire, the Players will get caught the moment they come up here."

"Ah...!" the Frost Queen exclaimed, "What do we do then?"

Seo Jun-Ho tapped on his Vita and said, "What else? We should use every card we have in times like these."