Before he actually started training, Seo Jun-Ho booked another guest room. He pushed all the furniture to one corner to create space. From now on, he would call this place his ‘training room.’
“What do you wish for me to do?” the Frost Queen asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you wish for me to guide you along the way, or for me to return to the room and edit the video?”
“…Just help me get started.”
The Frost Queen probably already knew about the Overclocking method that Skaya had talked about. She had once told him seriously that there was a good method, but she wouldn’t hold his hand along the way.
“Where do you think I should start?”
“10 percent.”
“Isn’t that too much for a start?” Seo Jun-Ho asked. This meant that he would have to infuse Frost energy into 10% of the magic passing through his circuits.
“You have more than enough power to endure it. After you strengthen your circuits, of course.”
“Strengthen my circuits…” Seo Jun-Ho looked down at the skill book in his hands. Simus had given it to him after the boy had given up on his dreams of being a mage.
“Learn it. That is what the child wants as well,” the Frost Queen said.
“I know…”
Using a skill book wasn’t very hard. When he opened it, a message appeared.
~
[Do you wish to learn ‘Circuit Strengthening?’]
~
When Seo Jun-Ho nodded, the book disintegrated like ashes and his magic circuits started to evolve. There was only a small impact at first…
“Ugh!” He cried out. Seo Jun-Ho quickly pulled himself into a lotus position and closed his eyes, preparing for the next shock.
The transformation began. The worn pathways were being repaired and the rougher patches were being smoothened out.
‘This is…’
The effects were shocking. Seo Jun-Ho’s magic circuits were inherently weak, and his magic stat was inherently low. Although he would clean his magic circuits every day to make them seem as if they were brand-new, they still remained weak. But now, they truly?became brand-new.
“…Mmph.”
It took 30 minutes for the transformation to finish. During that time, the Frost Queen was careful not to breathe too loudly as she covered her nose and mouth while waiting. Even a slight disturbance could cause dire consequences when one’s magic circuits were shifting.
“Phew…” Seo Jun-Ho let out a hot breath after he ran his magic one lap around. He slowly opened his eyes and turned to the Frost Queen, smiling. “You’re gonna suffocate yourself. You can take your hands away.”
“…What makes you think I would worry for you? I was merely stifling a cough,” she huffed, lowering her hands primly. “So, how are your circuits?” she asked.
“They’re stronger now.”
“Well, of course, they would be. Describe it in more detail.”
“Um… Oh! It’s like that,” Seo Jun-Ho exclaimed, clapping. “Before, they were a 2-lane road, but now, there are 4 lanes.”
“…So it has an increased magic capacity now?”
“That’s right. They expanded. Of course, if I fill up all the roads, I’ll be expending more magic than before.”
However, it still made a significant difference. In case of an emergency, he could use all his power at once and create twice as much destructive force.
“Oh my…?The skill’s effects are greater than I expected.”
“I was surprised too. What’s even better is that this isn’t a one-and-done deal.”
Right now, Circuit Strengthening was B-rank, but he could increase his proficiency in the skill. 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝒍．𝒆𝒕
“If it reached A-rank, I’ll get 8 lanes… And I suppose I’ll get 16 if I reach S. Do you think this skill has EX-grade too?” If so, he would be able to reach 32 lanes.
The Frost Queen clicked her tongue and brought him back to reality. “Impossible. Do not push your luck.”
She was nagging again, but Seo Jun-Ho was used to it by now. It went in one ear and out the other.
“Alright. Let’s start for real now,” he muttered.
When he activated Booster, his magic energy ran through his circuits at a rapid pace.
‘I can run them at up to 13 laps per second.’
But this wasn’t something he could always maintain. It was his hard limit, and at that pace, he would quickly overheat.
“With my new magic circuits, Booster should be twice as strong now,” he commented.
“Be careful. Your body will heat up just as fast.”
“I know that…”
Maintaining his lotus position, Seo Jun-Ho slowly closed his eyes once again.
‘I’ll circulate my magic first.’
One lap, two laps, three laps… As the magic energy flowed through the circuits, it started to speed up. His body started to flush with heat.
‘So this is the new Booster.’
He could only run his magic for about 13 laps per second around the circuit, but the effects were much greater than before.
‘Of course, they would be. There’s twice as much magic strengthening my body right now.’
But this didn’t mean he consumed twice as much magic energy. Since he didn’t expel any of it and simply kept them in his circuits, he didn’t lose any magic at all.
“Contractor,” the Frost Queen prompted. Seo Jun-Ho nodded in understanding.
‘I’ll infuse 10% of my magic energy…’
‘With Frost…’
As soon as he did, his hair stood on end.
“…!”
Unlike when he covered his body with ice, he felt Frost cooling his magic circuits from the inside, and the temperature dropped instantly. A chill ran down his spine and goosebumps rose from his flesh.
‘It’s still not enough.’
As soon as the magic energy passed by, the cold disappeared, leaving the sweltering heat behind. Because his magic circuits had twice as much capacity as before, his body had also become even hotter.
“Haa!” He couldn’t handle it any longer and released Booster. His body was drenched in sweat as if he had just come out of a sauna.
“Are you alright?” the Frost Queen asked.
“I am, but… Wow… I definitely won’t be able to use this on the field until I can handle the heat. Actually, it’ll be dangerous even when I’m training.”
The heat erupted way too fast. Before, he had been able to use Booster for about 5 minutes, but now, it would be hard to maintain it for even 1 minute.
“I think 10 percent is way too little to handle it.”
“Hmmm…?Then raise it to 15, and increase it by increments of 1 after that.”
“Increments of 1? Isn’t that too little? If we do 5 percent at a time…”
“No,” the Frost Queen said firmly. She was uncharacteristically serious. “Be warned, Contractor. My power is poisonous. You would not have been able to infuse your magic into your circuits if it was in its previous state. If the Frost energy stops the heat but freezes your circuits on the way… You may never be able to use magic again.”
Seo Jun-Ho swallowed and nodded. For a Player, not being able to use magic was the same thing as a death sentence.
“I’ll raise it 1 percent at a time. I promise.”
“Good.” The Frost Queen nodded, finally satisfied.
“I think I’ve got the hang of it now, so you can go edit,” Seo Jun-Ho said.
“…May I?”
“Yeah…”
“Ahem.?Well, you are not a child, so I trust that you will do well. If something happens, call me. I shall come immediately.” She quickly turned around and left as if she was afraid that he would change his mind.
This was why he sometimes thought that she was useless…
“Phew…” Now, the real race would begin. Every time he ran a test, he would have to rest for at least an hour to restore his body to its normal temperature and recover his magic.
Overclocking was a race against time. Seo Jun-Ho recalled Skaya’s advice and waited.
***
The Frost Queen stretched her arms into the air, fists clenched. She looked up at the ceiling and let out a victorious cry. “Yes!”
The long hours, hard labor, artistic anguish, and the compromises between marketability and quality were finally over. In other words, she was done editing the video.
‘It has been five days since Contractor started training.’
She had been checking on him at least twice a day to make sure that he was still alive. She felt a bit of pity whenever she saw his gaunt face, but training wasn’t supposed to be easy.
“I must tell him this good news.” She flew over to the training room, hologram window in hand.
As soon as she opened the door, she was hit with an unpleasant heat.
“Ugh…” Seo Jun-Ho groaned.
“Did you fail again?” the Frost Queen asked, looking down at her Contractor. He was twitching as he lay on the ground.
His voice sounded as tired as his body felt. “Yeah… This is so much harder than I thought…”
“Then, let me tell you two pieces of good news.”
“Two?” Seo Jun-Ho sat up instantly. “What is it?”
“The first is that I have finally finished editing.”
“Wow,?this one took really long. Congratulations. And thanks…” He had expected her to say this. “What’s the next one?”
“The second piece of good news is that I have used all the PP.”
“Wow! Huh?” Seo Jun-Ho squinted. “Wait. You used up all the PP?”
“Yes…”
“So you’re telling me you used more than 4,000 points to make this single video?”
His first video, ‘Test,’ had been steadily earning PP after the day it was uploaded. So, he had earned over 4,000 PP in total so far.
“Yes, I did.”
Seo Jun-Ho’s face went pale. Sure, he expected this one to do better than ‘Test,’ but was it really worth 4,000 points?
He opened his mouth to tell her off, but the Frost Queen held out her hand and shook her head. “Think about it, Contractor. Would it really be right to scold me right now?”
“…Yeah, I’m pretty sure it is.”
“I-if the video does not earn ten times as much PP as I spent, then I will leave this industry.”
“What industry are you talking about…?” Seo Jun-Ho muttered. He let out a long sigh and nodded slowly. “Fine. Show me the video first. I’ll judge it when I see it.”
The Frost Queen nervously moved over the window like a child showing their parent a report card.
“…Wait, it’s only 35 minutes? That’s a lot shorter than I expected. I thought it would be at least an hour long.”
“You know nothing, Contractor. Experts say that 35-minute videos are the most popular.”
“…” Well, he couldn’t contradict an expert’s opinion.
‘This better be good…’
Seo Jun-Ho evaluated the video as an objective critic. When 35 minutes passed, he replayed the video, his expression still heavy. The Frost Queen wasn’t sure what that meant, and she kept watching him nervously. Once 35 more minutes had passed, Seo Jun-Ho spoke.
“Frost Queen,” he said seriously.
She swallowed. “W-what is it…Mr. Contractor…”
Seo Jun-Ho looked at her and broke into a grin. He patted her head. “Be honest. You spent all your time in Niflheim watching plays instead of doing governmental work, right?”
“No. I excelled at my duties.”
“Then, why are you so good at video editing? I couldn’t even tell how much time had passed because it was so good.”
All he could think after watching her video was that it was entertaining. “With this, you’ll definitely gain ten…No, twenty times as much PP than you spent.”
“Ahem!” She shrugged off the high praise and her confidence was instantly restored. “I am a genius, after all.”
30 minutes later, her self-proclaimed debut piece, ‘Salmon in the mountain,’ was uploaded into the video forum.