Ding!
Seo Jun-Ho dragged his exhausted body out of the elevator and onto the 77th floor. He was imagining how good his bed would feel after he took a hot shower. As he entered through the entrance, the light turned on automatically.
“Ack!” He saw something as he was taking off his shoes. It was none other than the Frost Queen staring up at him while carrying a container full of onion-flavored popcorn.
Munch munch.
She spoke as she chewed on a kernel as big as her fist.
“Contractor, do you know what time it is?”
“Huh? I-it’s one in the morning,” he said, confused. He had come home later than expected after talking with Kim Woo-Joong and then meeting up with Shim Deok-Gu.
“Did you not say that you would be coming back soon after meeting a friend?”
“Well, I was going to… but things happened.” He scratched his head.
‘What’s up with this situation?’
He felt like he was a kid getting scolded by a parent after coming home late. It felt weird, considering that he owned the apartment.
“Hmph, come home earlier next time,” she ordered, inspecting the sweat and dirt on his body. “You’re a mess. Did something happen?”
“Yeah. Something big.” After taking off his shoes and jacket, he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a cold can of beer. The Frost Queen followed him like a little chick.
“What do you mean?”
“I killed Kal Signer.”
“Kal…Signer? I do not know him. Tell me.”
“He’s a fiend. One who’s a lot stronger than the ones we ran into last time.”
“How troublesome. All while you were simply trying to meet a friend…”
“We crossed paths while I was trying to get some food from the convenience store.” Seo Jun-Ho sighed and sat down on the sofa, taking a big swing of beer. “Ahhh,?that hits the spot…”
He felt his body relax as he sunk into the plush cushions. He stared up at the ceiling.
“Hey, Frost.”
“What is it?”
“The world is vast. There are people that are stronger than we can imagine.” Seo Jun-Ho was still in shock after Kim Woo-Joong.
‘I knew he was strong, but still…’
After awakening from the ice, he had met and fought against many Players. He had cleared multiple Gates and had won the respect of everyone as a super rookie.
But because of all that, he hadn’t realized just how strong the Players had gotten after 25 years.
‘The truly powerful ones are on the 2nd floor then?’
He hadn’t imagined that the difference between them would be so big. After being the strongest Player for so long, it was an unfamiliar feeling. Of course, the fact that he was even thinking in this way could be insulting to his opponent.
‘After all, Kim Woo-Joong has been a Player for twice as long as I have…’
The Sword Saint was 27. Technically Kim Woo-Joong was only a year older than himself, but because Woo-Joong had been active as a Player starting from the age of 17, there was a difference of 10 years in experience.
‘He’s such a well-rounded person… ‘
Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes. He now understood why they were called the Nine Heavens. Once you saw them in person, it all made sense as if someone had shoved the reason why they were the Nine Heavens into his brain.
‘He has a good character too.’
At first, Kim Woo-Joong seemed cold and distant, but he was surprisingly friendly. It wouldn’t be surprising for one of the Nine Heavens to be arrogant, but he had been kind. He knew how to take responsibility for his mistake and apologize.
“That’s not an easy thing to do.”
It was human nature to boast and be arrogant once they acquired power, authority status, and money.
“What are you thinking so deeply about? Tell me.”
“It’s nothing. I just think I need to try harder.”
“Why?”
“Because things will get harder if I don’t.”
There were eight people that were as strong as Kim Woo-Joong. It would be nice if they were all good people, but there was a fiend among them who was also his enemy.
“Ugh, fucking Nazad Hallow…” He was Skeleton Mage Arma’s teacher as well as the one who had sent Kal Signer to capture him. He was one of the Nine Heavens.?“I have to try harder because a monster has its eyes on me.”
Seo Jun-Ho didn’t know what was waiting for him in the unknown territory, Frontier, and after meeting Kim Woo-Koong today, both his interest and his anxiety had increased. Truthfully, he felt uneasy.
“I’ve done well because I have plenty of experience on the 1st floor, but I’ve never been to the 2nd…”
Would he be able to do it? His shoulders felt heavy from the burden.
“Contractor.” The Frost Queen patted his head like a teacher who was comforting an elementary student. “Things will go well. You’ve already come this far.”
“What the heck? Why are you comforting me?”
“Because you look like a sad little puppy sitting in the rain,” she said frankly.
Seo Jun-Ho stared at her before laughing. “Stop trying to act all cool. You haven’t even washed your hands after eating onion-flavored popcorn.” He felt his confidence rushing back as if it had never disappeared in the first place. “Of course, I can do it. Who do you think I am? I’m Seo Jun-Ho the living legend.”
“Haaa, I shouldn’t have said that. You’re being more arrogant than usual.” Despite her words, she still smiled in satisfaction. “Anyway, about that Kal… ah,?I forgot his name. That man. Was he that powerful?”
“No. The one who surprised me was the Sword Saint, Kim Woo-Joong. He was insanely strong.”
“It’s a pity that I wasn’t there. I would have been able to judge his worth.”
“Just so you know, he’s several times stronger than you. He’s the Sword Saint, after all.”
She smirked arrogantly. It was as if she was saying, ‘So what if he’s the Sword Saint?’
“You know, I have the power to freeze the entire world…”
“Don’t get started again.” He shook his head and finished his beer before he stood up.
She scowled. “It’s true! Why won’t you believe me?”
“I do believe you. I’m sure you were so much stronger than the Nine Heavens.” He chuckled as he walked to his bedroom after teasing her. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
***
Starting tomorrow, the two of them would have a lot to do.
‘I have to hurry if I want to win the bet against Gong Ju-Ha.’
The days had been in a blur for some reason and there were only ten days left until the promised date. As such, from the moment he woke up, Seo Jun-Ho sat down at his desk, worked his sleepy eyes, and started studying.
Actually, it was more like memorizing all the information about the 2nd floor than studying. When lunchtime rolled around, the Frost Queen appeared before him. She looked extremely exhausted with her hand on her forehead.
“Phew,?it’s hard work to watch dramas and movies all day.”
“…Get out.”
Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t neglect his training either. He spent an hour in the morning and in the evening, sweating and relieving his stress in the training room.
After a week, Seo Jun-Ho finally stood up from his desk.
“Are you finished?”
“Yeah.” He tapped his head with a finger. “It’s all in here.”
“Hmmm, it seems that you are smarter than you appear.”
Seo Jun-Ho grinned. He put on a coat and stepped out of the house.
“Are you not going up?” the Frost Queen asked as he pressed ‘1’ on the elevator. She assumed that he was going to meet Shim Deok-Gu.
“No. I need to say goodbye to some people before I go to the 2nd floor.”
Kwon Noya, Kwon Palmo, Cha Si-Eun, Shim Deok-Gu… and his friends. They were the only people he had to see before going up to the 2nd floor.
***
“Woo-Joong. Hey, Woo-Joong.”
He let out a long sigh. There was only one person in the world who would call him so casually—Son Chae-Won. She was his childhood friend and the Guildmaster of Silent Moon. In other words, she was his boss.
“What?”
“Hey, do you remember what your mission was? Did you forget after chasing him around for so long?” She was sitting on the mahogany desk of the Guildmaster’s room with a cheerful smile.
It had always made him nervous whenever she made that face.
“…Of course not.”
“Right? There’s no way our super elite Sword Saint Kim Woo-Joong would forget, right?” She smiled and held out her hand. It seemed like she was asking him to give her something she had lent him. “ Where’s Final Horizon?”
“…”
The only reason he had chased Kal Signer so long was that one of the nobles wanted the bow.
“Say something. You killed him, didn’t you? I’ve seen it all over the news.”
“Yes, I did. I killed him.”
“…You don’t have to emphasize that. Who else would kill him besides you?” She tilted her head. “But why didn’t you bring back the bow? Was Kal Signer way stronger than you expected?”
“…” That wasn’t it. If he had wanted to, he would have been able to kill him with a wave of his hand or torture him until he spat out everything he knew. But Kim Woo-Joong hadn’t been able to do either of those things. ｂｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐
‘By the time I got there, he was already…’
Seo Jun-Ho had already killed Kal Signer before he could.
Kim Woo-Joong knew that Seo Jun-Ho had Final Horizon, but he couldn’t just ask the latter to hand it over.
‘It’s his trophy.’
After all, he hadn’t lifted a finger in killing Kal Signer. Seo Jun-Ho had fought and killed Kal Signer alone. As such, it was his spoil, and it belonged to him alone.
“I killed him by accident.”
“What?” Dumbfounded, she looked at him. How could the perfect Kim Woo-Joong make any kind of mistake? Was he injured? “Hey… Are you okay?” She looked worried. After all, no matter how important the quest was, he was her friend first and foremost.
“I am…”
“That’s all that matters. As for the quest…It’s a shame, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” The quest had come from one of Ruben’s dukes, so if they had succeeded, Silent Moon would have left behind the other Big 6 and become the strongest Guild in the empire.
But she didn’t linger on what had already happened. “I’ll report to the duke myself.”
“I’m sorry…”
“I said it’s fine. No more apologies, okay?” Son Chae-Won chuckled and shook her head. “So what’s the real reason? Don’t give me a lame excuse like that.”
‘She didn’t believe me.’
He sighed. He had never been able to lie to Son Chae-Won. She knew him better than his own mother.
He thought for a second. He had no intention of breaking his promise with Seo Jun-Ho, but for some reason the thought of that person made him laugh.
“…What’s with that? I haven’t seen you laugh like that in a long time.” She sounded bitter. It was the first time in 4 years since she had seen him make such a bright expression.
‘He looks happier than when he became the Sword Saint.’
Her curiosity made her impatient.
“I couldn’t retrieve Final Horizon, but I got something much more valuable.”
“And what would that be?”
Kim Woo-Joong looked out the window into the never-ending sky. He smiled.
“The future.”
He could see that man’s face etched in the clouds. Kim Woo-Joong felt as if he was looking at his past self.