Seo Jun-Ho knocked on the door of the president’s office before he entered. As usual, Shim Deok-Gu was sitting on the sofa instead of at his desk.
‘He looks… different.’
Shim Deok-Gu didn’t have anyone to take care of him, so he always looked frazzled with his wrinkled suit and crooked tie. But today, there wasn’t a single wrinkle on his suit, and his tie was tied properly. It was as if knew that this would be their last goodbye.
“You’re leaving right after?”
“Yeah. There’s no need to drag it out.”
“That’s just like you. I knew you’d do something like this.” As Seo Jun-Ho sat down, Shim Deok-Gu smiled as if he remembered something.
“It’s been about 7 months since you broke out of the ice, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah. A little more than that, actually.”
“I didn’t tell you this before, but I was really shocked. I thought it was some sick joke.”
His friend had been frozen in ice for 25 years, so how could he believe it when he was told that his friend had woken up? He had watched the video of Seo Jun-Ho waking up from the ice over and over all day.
“But when I saw you at the hospital, I finally believed that you came back.”
“I think that’s when I realized that I returned as well.”
“…And because of you, the last 7 months have felt like 10 years, you rascal.”
“I’m sorry that I gave you a lot of work to do.”
Shim Deok-Gu chuckled and shook his head. “It made me nostalgic. You know what they say: people get younger the longer they live.”
“Ew,?you sound so old!”
“Just wait until you’re my age.”
Physically, the two of them seemed to have a big difference in age. However, they snickered as they started to chat about old memories. From the first time they met in kindergarten, to their elementary school years, to the time when he helped Shim Deok-Gu confess to the girl he liked, to the times when they would sneak out during exam prep sessions to go to PC cafes, to the time they screamed and jumped when they found out that they got into the same university, and finally, to the days when the Gates first appeared and they fought for their lives. They had spent almost their entire lives together.
“We talked for too long.”
“This always happens when I talk to you!”
It had been three hours since they started talking, and they had become a little worn out. They paused to take a drink of water. At some point, the Frost Queen had gotten bored of their chatter and had fallen asleep on the sofa.
“I don’t have much else to say to you. Just keep living like yourself Jun-Ho.”
“Live like myself? What do you mean?”
“That’s up to you to decide. I’m not you. If I told you, then it’d be a Seo Jun-Ho defined by Shim Deok-Gu.”
“I see.” Seo Jun-Ho snickered. “I hope you don’t regret saying that. I’ll live doing whatever I want and causing all the trouble I want.”
“As long as it makes you happy…”
They embraced and patted each other’s backs.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help you much on the 2nd floor. The Association’s stronghold is in a remote desert.”
He quietly took note of the information. “Don’t be. Since you helped me so much on the 1st floor, it’s my turn to help you. And sorry for giving you so much work even till the day I leave. I’m counting on you.”
“The former sponsors? Don’t worry about them.”
“And take care of Secretary Cha too. Get her a good boss, if possible.”
“…You don’t have to worry. And if you can’t find any drinking buddies, come down from time to time. It doesn’t take long to come down.” As he spoke, he pulled out a large pouch and placed it on the table.
“What’s this?”
“The currency of the Ruben Empire. I don’t know about the capital, but you should be able to live in nice estates in most territories with this. It’s a lot of money.”
“Man, you didn’t have to…”
“What, and make you sleep on the streets? People are gonna say that we’re treating you badly.” He felt like a father giving his son an allowance to go study abroad. But of course, Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t his son, and the amount was too much to be called an allowance. “If you see Arthur, send my regards.”
“Yeah. I’ll contact you from time to time.”
“Mmm…” At that moment, the Frost Queen rubbed her eyes as she woke up. She flitted over to Jun-Ho’s shoulder and yawned as she waved. “I’ll take care of my Contractor, so do not worry.”
“Haha.?I’ll be counting on you, Your Majesty.”
“Who’s taking care of who now?” Seo Jun-Ho grinned.
***
After saying goodbye to Shim Deok-Gu, Seo Jun-Ho headed straight for the Seoul History Museum, entering through the back door like last time to get to the morgue.
“You guys are still the same…” Seo Jun-Ho stared at the four ice statues and tried to use his skill.
[Effect of the skill ‘Frost (EX)’ has been checked.]
[The ice seal can be removed with Frost (EX).]
[Your base magic stat is too low. Removal failed.]
“I knew it… It’s still too low.” Thankfully, there was one good news—the contents of the message box had changed.
‘Last time, it said that my base magic stat is “absurdly low” but this time it’s telling me that it’s “too low.”’
It wasn’t much of a difference, but it was still slightly comforting because it meant that the last 7 months hadn’t been a waste. He glanced down at the Frost Queen, but she looked away.
“Hm?” He moved around to look at her from the other side, but this time, she completely turned around to avoid his gaze. He squinted. “What’s up? Do you feel guilty or something?”
“O-of course not…” Despite her words, her eyes clearly showed how guilty and sorry she felt.
Seo Jun-Ho looked back to the statues. “They’re still alive, right?”
“…Yes. I’m sure of it. But if either of us wishes to remove the seal, we must become much, much stronger.”
He was relieved when she confirmed that they were still alive. Her words were good enough. As long as they were still alive, he could save them eventually.
“Let’s go.”
“So fast? Do you have nothing else to say?”
“I’ll say it later.” He could say it after he broke them out of the ice while eating and drinking together in a warm room. “Wait a little longer. It won’t be long.”
He left the morgue with the Frost Queen
***
Dimensional Elevator. It was a massive facility that had first appeared after Seo Jun-Ho defeated the Frost Queen 25 years ago in the Pacific. It took them seven hours to get there by plane.
“Woah…” He stepped onto the large, artificial island. The Dimensional Elevator was in the middle of the ocean, and waves splashed on the shore.
The Frost Queen was full of admiration. “To think that they made an island in the sea… Earth’s technology is greatly admirable.”
“You can do it too. You froze the entire ocean, after all.”
“That was more akin to a glacier. This looks like a real island.”
She was right. The only thing that distinguished it from other islands was the sheer number of Players on it.
“…There are so many. Though, they’re all weaker than you are.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen something like this.” Recently, the most number of Players he had seen in one place was at the Wild Forest. At that time, there had been 200 Players but it was incomparable to the number of Players on this island.
‘There are at least a thousand people here. It reminds me of the old days when a Gate would open in the middle of a city and everyone would have to go out and fight. ‘
The Players milling around were waiting to use the Dimensional Elevator, and everyone who seemed wary of others was most likely affiliated with a Guild or an Association.
“I can feel their eyes on you.”
“Well, I expected as much.”
Just like the Frost Queen said, he could feel their eyes on him.
“Hey, look, that’s Seo Jun-Ho.”
“So he’s going to Frontier…”
“…Doesn’t that mean that he’s gonna break the record?” 𝘦𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑜𝑟𝘨
“Yeah, I think. The fastest before him were Shin Sung-Hyun and Kim Woo-Joong.”
“Normal people take at least a few years, but he only took 7 months…”
The people were looking at him with a mix of apprehension, envy, and respect, but he didn’t pay them that much attention as he strode forward.
“It looks simpler than I expected…” Based on the name, he had expected something grand, but it was nothing more and nothing less than the size of a normal elevator. A Player Association employee was standing in front of it.
“Please show me your Player license.” The employee checked it and handed it back. “Please make sure to be careful of three things in Frontier.” He tapped on the sign in front of the elevator.
1. Nobles
2. Fiends
3. Unfamiliar Players
“In Frontier, you must adhere to the customs of the Ruben Empire. The nobles are very powerful, and some of them are quite fickle, so you must not meddle in their affairs. Second, although there are fiends on Earth, they are more dangerous in Frontier. Please be careful. Lastly, the Player Association, unfortunately, does not have much influence on the 2nd floor, so there are Players who’ll take advantage of this to extort, assault, and kill. Please be cautious of other Players.”
It felt like he was receiving a tutorial for a game. Seo Jun-Ho nodded, and the employee pressed the button to open the elevator.
“Player Seo Jun-Ho, I wish you luck.”
“Thank you…”
When he stepped in, he heard a pleasant voice saying the familiar “the door is now closing” from the speaker. The inside of the elevator was a little bigger than what it looked like from the outside. It looked like it could hold about 12 people, and the outside world could even be seen from the inside.
“Wow…” The Frost Queen pressed her hands to the wall and watched. “Contractor, there is something I would like to know.”
“What is it?”
“How do fiends go to the 2nd floor when the island is so closely guarded?”
“This isn’t the only place with a Dimensional Elevator.”
Just like she said, famous fiends wouldn’t be able to come here. Seo Jun-Ho heard that they used the Dimensional Elevators that would appear randomly in the Pacific.
“I see…I guess it would be difficult to guard every single Elevator.”
“The Pacific is so large. How could they keep an eye out on everything in there?”
This man-made island was simply the biggest platform. Looking around, there had to be about thirty Dimensional Elevators, and people kept coming in and out of those Elevators.
“Let’s go.”
Seo Jun-Ho’s heart pounded as he was filled with anticipation. He was on an Elevator, about to step into a different dimension, a whole new world.
“C-Contractor, what shall we do if it goes too fast? I dislike having too much movement…”
“Really? I’m excited. The internet says it has things you can’t imagine.”
“I prefer sights that are familiar.”
“Stop whining. Let’s go.”
He held out his hand. The buttons were numbered from 1 to 10, but they were only lit up to 3. He pressed ‘3’ out of curiosity, but the voice rang once again.
[Your level is too low to enter the 3rd floor.]
“So you can’t cheat…” He expected as much.
He pressed the 2nd floor, and the Elevator trembled and shone. Their hearts pounded in anticipation as they waited for it to move.
“Hold on tight!”
“Yes, I am!” She gripped his hair hard.
[2nd floor. Doors are opening.]
[The effect of Bringer of Spring has been activated. All stats increased by 30.]
“…?”
The announcement was repeated. The Frost Queen spoke with uncertainty. “Contractor… Have we arrived?”
“Seeing how the title effect has activated… But no way.”
Depending on the user, teleporting even a short distance could cause motion sickness, and this was an Elevator that crossed dimensions, so it should have been no different, but they had felt nothing. How was this possible?
“That was… anticlimactic,” he muttered, looking around as he stepped out of the Elevator.
“Daybreak is looking for new Guild members… Achoo! Join the family!”
“The adventurer Guild Blackfoot is looking for ambitious Players!”
“Come here for a short tutorial if this is your first time in Frontier!”
Among the recruiters, there were guards to make sure that no one would stir up trouble. The buildings resembled architecture from the Middle Ages. Most notably, the magic in the air was much more abundant than on Earth.
“…I see. This truly is something I have never experienced before.” The Frost Queen nodded.
Seo Jun-Ho had to agree. He had never seen something like this before.