Max led Seo Jun-Ho to an open area behind the city hall, where dozens of Players and Adventurers were gathered.
“Commander Phivir.” Max walked up to one of the knights and bowed politely. The middle-aged man turned to him. He seemed quite powerful.
“Max. How is the situation outside?”
“There are still many people waiting. At this rate, it’ll take two days for the examinations alone,” Max replied.
“It can’t be helped. I only want the best fighters to participate in the competition.”
‘Only the best? They’re not letting all the applicants join in?’
Seo Jun-Ho blinked, and Phivir turned toward him.
“And who is this?” he asked.
“Oh, he’s a Player I know.” Max nudged Seo Jun-Ho. “Greet him. He’s the commander of Gilleon’s knights, Sir Phivir,” he whispered.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Seo Jun-Ho.”
“Hmm.” Phivir looked him up and down. He nodded slowly. “You look quite strong. Looking at that watch, you must be a Player… What level are you?” he asked.
“Level 50.”
“Interesting.” He didn’t look down on Seo Jun-Ho because his level was low. On the contrary, Phivir seemed even more impressed because his level was low. “You’re talented.”
“You flatter me.”
“Did you come because you wish to participate in the competition?” Phivir asked.
“Yes.” Seo Jun-Ho nodded firmly.
“My lord wishes to minimize unnecessary casualties during the hunt. Thus, I have been ordered to choose only those who have proven their skills. Even with Max’s recommendation, you cannot avoid it.”
“I have no intentions of taking a shortcut. How will you assess my skills?” Seo Jun-Ho said confidently.
Phivir turned to the stage, where his knights seemed to be standing. “It’s simple. You will spar with one of the knights for three minutes, and I will make the decision.”
“Ah…” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes turned to the knights.
‘They’re all pretty strong.’
“All the knights seem quite powerful… Is every knight in Frontier that strong?” he asked carefully.
“Most of them are. They’re knights, after all.”
“Then, wouldn’t it be pretty easy for them to take out the kobolds on their own?” he asked.
Phivir laughed bitterly and shook his head. “I cannot tell you the exact details… But at the moment, the knights can’t leave their posts for trivial matters. That is why we need the help of Players and Adventurers. Additionally, there are a fair amount of kobolds.”
Phivir pointed at the chairs under the tent. “Sit there and wait. When your turn comes, you will go up to the stage.”
“Thank you.”
Seo Jun-Ho didn’t forget to thank Max, who had brought him all the way here. “Let’s have a drink together sometime. I’ll bring a nice bottle of wine.”
“Rather than wine, I’d rather have you join the guards… Dammit, you’re not gonna change your mind, are you?” Max laughed heartily and waved at him to go.
Seo Jun-Ho arrived at the waiting area and checked the people around him.
‘Let’s see how strong they are.’
He got comfortable in his seat and watched the show.
“I am the Adventurer Fyx of Melbourne.”
“I am the knight Weaver.”
While the Adventurer was completely clad in armor, the knight was completely unarmed, save for a wooden sword and shield.
“Here we go!” Fyx raised a long spear and charged at Weaver like a boar, aiming for his stomach. He was fast, but his attack was too simple. Weaver watched indifferently and casually swung his sword to block the strike.
Clang!
The spear flew into the air and fell to the ground. The Adventurer scowled as he felt a prickling pain in his palms as he clenched his hands.
“Fail.”
Fyx picked up his spear and dragged his feet away. People started to whisper…
“Hey, aren’t the standards too high?”
“I think the passing rate has been one every thirty people so far.”
“Wow…?I thought the competition would be an easy opportunity, but this is intense.”
The Adventurers and Players were starting to get nervous, and it was showing. There were many more that challenged the knights, but none of them were strong enough.
‘So this is the standard for Frontier knights…It’s quite high.’
In terms of levels, they would be somewhere from level 80 to 85, only about two or three times weaker than the Demon Bow, Kal Signer.
‘From what I know, Gilleon has thirty knights…’
When considering the entire Empire, that meant there were thousands, maybe tens of thousands of these knights.
‘On the other hand, the average Player in Frontier is level 95.’
Even though 25 years had already passed, the average level rose very slowly. Because of the nature of the job, many Players died early. There were also many who retired once they started to find it more difficult to level up.
“Huh?”
At that moment, after watching all the challengers fail, a man of about thirty stood up on the stage. He was wearing a yellowed martial arts uniform that seemed as if it had once been white. The sleeves and hem were worn and tattered. Seo Jun-Ho watched him with interest.
‘He has a Vita on his left wrist… So he’s a Player.’
However, he had little to no magic power. If the average Player’s magic capacity was that of a small pond, his was like a dried-up well.
The man bowed to the knight. “I am Player Baek Geon-Woo.”
“…I am the knight Weaver.” He finished his introduction and raised his hand to stop the challenger. “You might get seriously injured. Is that really okay with you?”
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s have a good fight,” Baek Geon-Woo said politely. Weaver nodded slowly.
As soon as the duel began, Baek Geon-Woo immediately rushed at Weaver.
‘His movements, speed, and strength aren’t bad, but…’
They were too normal. It almost made Seo Jun-Ho wonder how this Player on the 2nd floor could be so normal.
However, Baek Geon-Woo’s gaze was piercing. His sharp eyes watched and analyzed every single one of his opponent’s movements, and his body reacted without a moment to rest. It was only for an instant, but he even moved five times faster than Weaver at one point.
Woosh! Woosh!
Baek Geon-Woo circled the stage, never stopping as he raised his fists. But Weaver’s sturdy shield blocked every single attack, and he couldn’t get in a telling blow.
‘But still…’
Baek Geon-Woo didn’t seem disappointed. In fact, he seemed to have expected it and went right into the next attack.
He wasn’t sure why, but Seo Jun-Ho felt a strange feeling pass through him. It was like he was holding back tears. As he watched Baek Geon-Woo and was deep in his thoughts, he started to hear the other Players’ voices.
“What the heck, that guy’s still alive?”
“Well, whenever he disappears he comes back with a bang a few months later.”
“I heard that he’s training whenever he disappears.”
“That man was sixteen when he debuted… Wow, I guess it’s his 16th year of being a Player.”
“What? He’s already thirty-two? What an idiot…”
“Why does he try so hard?”
“It’s for revenge, isn’t it? His family was murdered by fiends.”
Fiends. Revenge. Seo Jun-Ho immediately understood the man.
‘He has lived a hard life.’
Baek Geon-Woo lacked talent. It was such a simple yet cruel thing. Countless people had despaired at hearing those words. At the same moment, Seo Jun-Ho finally realized why the man had given him such a feeling.
‘They’re oddly similar.’
Once upon a time, there had been a gunslinger who was looked down upon for having only a D-rank skill. He lost his wife, yet he still wanted to create a peaceful world for his son. In the end, that man had become one of the five strongest Players in the world.
‘Of course, Gilberto’s a little stronger…’
When it came to natural talent, with 10 being the highest, Gilberto would be 2 while Baek Geon-Woo would be about 0.5.
“…”
Weaver blocked each attack and then stabbed Baek Geon-Woo in the stomach.
“Gah!” He wiped away the spit on his face as he was knocked back, but he got back up and charged at Weaver again as if nothing had happened. Weaver gave an exhausted look and turned to Phivir as if asking what he should do with him.
Woosh! Woosh!
Baek Geon-Woo’s fists sliced through the air. His strikes were clean, without any unnecessary movements. They would be powerful enough to take out monsters on the 1st—no, 2nd floor.
However, it still wasn’t enough to defeat the knight.
Slam!
Weaver grabbed Baek Geon-Woo’s wrist and slammed him onto the ground. But as he fell, his eyes flashed as he punched Weaver in the face. His willpower impressed everyone that was watching.
“…!” Weaver twitched as his head was knocked back. He instinctively raised his sword.
“That’s enough.” Phivir halted their match. He looked silently at Baek Geon-Woo. He considered him for a while before he spoke. “…You could die,” he said heavily.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Haaa.” Phivir let out a deep sigh and eventually nodded. “In four days, come to the plaza in front of the city hall before the sun rises.”
“…Thank you!” Baek Geon-Woo’s face brightened, and he quickly walked down the stage. Gripping his fists, he was smiling like he was on top of the world. Seo Jun-Ho passed by him as he got on the stage for his turn.
“I am the knight Weaver.”
“I am Player Seo Jun-Ho.” He strode over and held out his hand. Weaver frowned at his arrogance and swung his wooden sword. Seo Jun-Ho’s hand weaved across the blade like a snake and grabbed Weaver’s neck.
“…!”
Only three seconds had passed since the match had started.
“I-I let my guard down…”
“That’s enough. You pass.”
Seo Jun-Ho let go of his neck when Phivir spoke. He bowed.
“That’s Seo Jun-Ho for you… Have you seen his video?”
“Of course. But I think his attack just now was even better.”
“He probably didn’t use his full power. He’s a genius, after all.”
Baek Geon-Woo listened in on their conversation as he gulped down cold water. He stared at Seo Jun-Ho.
‘Natural talent…Is it?’
Seo Jun-Ho probably didn’t even know who he was, but Geon-Woo knew him very well. How couldn’t he? Seo Jun-Ho was the Super Rookie that had caused such an uproar on the 1st floor before he came up here in Frontier. Articles had been popping up on the news board since the day he arrived.
‘…I wonder if he’s even human.’
He smiled weakly and shook his head in regret. Chasing things he couldn’t have would only leave him with a sense of emptiness.
As he stared at the ground, he didn’t realize that Seo Jun-Ho was looking at him from the stage.
***
On his way back to the inn, Jun-Ho stopped by a toy store and bought a big dollhouse. It was a simple, one-story model, with a fluffy bed inside. The doorbell could even play music and allowed the roof to open and close.
The cashier smiled. “Who are you giving this to? You look too young to have a daughter. Is it for your niece?”
“Well…” Seo Jun-Ho thought for a second and shrugged. “It’s for a princess that never listens.”
“Hahaha,?so it’s for your daughter. You’re a young father.”
The dollhouse cost 2 Silvers, or 200,000 won. Seo Jun-Ho grumbled as he put it away in his inventory.
The cashier’s smile didn’t fade as they sent him off. “She’ll love it~ Sometimes kids even forget to eat if you buy them one just to play with it.”
“She doesn’t eat much in the first place.” Except for cake and tea… .𝒄𝒐𝒎
Seo Jun-Ho waved and returned to the inn. The Frost Queen had woken up at some point and was in the midst of making a snowman.
“…What are you doing?” he asked.
“Practicing. It is important to continue using it like this, even in everyday life,” she said.
“I do that too.”
Clatter.
Seo Jun-Ho created a few ice cubes and filled his cup. He poured in water and drank it down.
He watched her play for a bit before retrieving the dollhouse with an embarrassed look on his face. “I, well… I found this on the way home, so you can use it or whatever.”
“…”
The Frost Queen quietly finished her snowman and patted its head before she scrunched her nose. She slowly stood and flew over to the dollhouse.
“Hm… I cannot deny your sincerity, so it can’t be helped,” she muttered. As she pressed the doorbell, the music box started playing and the roof opened. “There is no antique furniture, and there’s only one bed… Hm.?Though, it does look quite comfortable…”
The Frost Queen trailed off and entered the house. A moment later, the music started playing again and the roof closed.
Seo Jun-Ho quietly knocked on the door. “How is it? Do you like it? The cashier… I mean, the person who sold this to me said that it’s a really good toy.”
“…”
There was no response. Did she not like it? He started to feel disappointed.
“Zzzz…Zzzz…”
He heard familiar snoring from inside the dollhouse.
“….What the heck?”
She was sleeping soundly.
Seo Jun-Ho breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, satisfied.