Return of the Frozen Player

Seo Jun-Ho stared blankly at the desolate scene outside for quite a while. In the end, he shut his eyes tightly as deep disappointment filled his heart.

“...”

‘No, I think I feel betrayed rather than disappointed.’

“I understand that things aren’t looking good, but the Aeon Empire. How could this happen to the Aeon Empire?”

Earlier, Seo Jun-Ho hoped the people of Earth would be able to smile like the denizens of the Aeon Empire once all Floors were cleared. He was determined to bring peace to Earth with his own hands.

“But, why…”

‘The empire should have been the most brilliant civilization of the universe, so what is this?’

Seo Jun-Ho turned around and cast a resentful glance at Gray.

“Hmm. I guess power can also be detrimental. This is why I didn’t want to show you the truth.”

“Is that why you showed me a fantasy?”

“Yes.” Gray shamelessly nodded his head. “However, please believe me that I had no bad intentions at all. I just didn’t want the Players to collapse upon seeing these desolate ruins.”

“Do you really expect us to succeed when even the powerful Aeon Empire failed?”

“...” Gray pursed his lips and stayed silent for quite a while before answering, “You’re right…”

He slumped in his chair helplessly.

“Why don’t you take a seat? You must have many questions.”

Seo Jun-Ho sat down and asked, “How did this happen?”

“It’s going to be a long story…” Gray trailed off.

He cleared his throat before continuing. “Once upon a time, the Aeon Empire was extremely powerful. Humans still hadn’t existed back then, and the Aeon Empire had more than twenty thousand Transcendents living under its banner.

“The Emperor of the Aeon Empire during those distant, ancient days was Rompel, one of the only three Absolute beings at the time.”

It would be an understatement to say that the Aeon Empire was the most brilliant civilization at the time. The Aeon Empire was simply that strong and prosperous back then.

“However, the emperor had lived for far too long even by Transcendents’ standards.”

Rompel had gotten tired of the monotonous work and fights. His fleshly body and mind went ill, so he had no choice but to make a decision.

“He was worried about going crazy and destroying everything.”

Rompel was a man who led the peace of the universe more than anyone else, and what he was the most afraid of was ruining what he and his subordinates had achieved with their own hands.

“So he made a decision just in case he went mad.”

He had decided to separate all the evil from his body and soul.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes.” Gray nodded. “The evil which was incinerated in the biggest star of the universe managed to survive.”

It had also become even more vicious and powerful, which gave birth to its ego.

“The evil at the time has become what we call the Archduke.”

The Archduke was born from the evils of the Absolute and defied providence to live.

“The issue was that no one noticed his birth.”

The Archduke hid from everyone’s eyes and kept a low profile until he gained enough strength.

“He was invincible the moment he showed up.”

“...What about the emperor?”

“The emperor was terrified of the horrifying existence he had created, so he tried to kill the Archduke.”

Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes at that. The winner was obvious.

“The weakened and old Absolute was not a match for the young Archduke.”

“So, how is the empire still intact?”

“This is because of Chaos’ intervention. Chaos is the ruler of the universe.”

Chaos governed the universe to keep everything in balance. He didn’t bother to eliminate the evil who had defied providence to stay alive, but he also didn’t want the universe to die.

“Therefore, Chaos locked the Archduke in the prison called the Floors.”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho blinked and asked, “Did you just say the Floors?”

“Yes.”

“Are you talking about the Floors that humankind is clearing at the moment?”

“Yes.”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho managed to hold himself back from cursing.

He rubbed his throbbing temples and said, “Why did that guy called Chaos leave the burden of the Archduke to us?”

“Well…” Gray hesitated.

Seo Jun-Ho urged. “It’s okay, so please tell me the truth. I really want to know.”

“If you say so, okay… Honestly, I don’t know.”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho stared blankly at Gray.

Gray hurriedly said, “I-I mean, it doesn’t make sense, right? How can the powerless humankind stop the monster who had killed tens of thousands of Transcendents?”

“I see. In other words, humankind’s job is to buy time.”

The only interpretation Seo Jun-Ho could get out of Gray’s story was that the Floors were chosen as the prisons to lock up the Archduke for the time being, and humans were just prisoners unlucky enough to get locked up with that monster.

“...I don’t know what else to say other than that I’m ashamed.”

“You should be ashamed,” Seo Jun-Ho said coldly.

He stared blankly at the ceiling for a while before asking, “What are we supposed to do now?”

Seo Jun-Ho was the only Star Destruction Stage existence among the Players. The majority of the Players hadn’t even reached the Disaster Stage, not to mention the Liberation Stage.

‘And they expect us to stop Archduke who had defeated an Absolute? No way. There’s no way we can do that.’

It wasn’t a matter of will or determination. It was literally impossible.

Gray carefully said, “Chaos’ actions are always meaningful, so—”

“So just shut up and give it a try because we could probably defeat the Archduke if we raise our levels and become even stronger?” Seo Jun-Ho interrupted.

“...” Gray was too ashamed to speak.

Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes and muttered.“How long were you going to deceive us like this?”

“Trust me. I don’t know about the others, but I was definitely going to tell you the truth today.”

“I don’t even know if I can still believe you,” said Seo Jun-Ho in a somber tone.

Gray hurriedly said, “Didn’t I tell you earlier that I have a favor to ask of you?”

“You did, but I don’t really want to do anything for you now that I’ve heard of the truth.”

“The 8th Floor!” Gray shouted urgently, “I was going to ask you to enter the 8th Floor today, Mr. Jun-Ho.”

“What kind of ridiculous favor is that? I refuse,” said Seo Jun-Ho. Even if the 8th Floor was open, Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t planning on challenging it anytime soon. He would only challenge it once he was certain that his friends were ready.

“I promise you that the 8th Floor conquest won’t be that difficult. You could clear it in just a few hours if you’re fast enough.”

“What?” They had cleared the 6th Floor the fastest among the other Floors, but even the 6th Floor took them about a month to clear. ‘But the 8th Floor will only take a few hours?’

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes turned cold. “I understand that you’re in a hurry, but you should think before you speak. Lying will only attract my ire.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Then, how can a Floor be cleared in just a few hours?”

“Well, that’s…” Gray hesitated. Eventually, Gray said, “I can’t tell you. You just have to trust us and enter the 8th Floor.”

“Sigh. I really don’t know if I can even trust the Administrators at this point.”

The Administrators had already tried to deceive the Players using Ideal World (EX). In other words, Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t rule out the possibility that they were lying to the Players once more.

“I have no idea why Chaos entrusted such a heavy burden to humanity.”

“You’re filthy honest, you know that?”

“I know, and I also know one thing for sure.” Gray stared intently at Seo Jun-Ho with an unprecedentedly serious expression. “If Chaos had truly made an arrangement involving humanity, then his arrangement has to be you, Player Seo Jun-Ho.”

“...Why do you think so?”

“You’ll find out once you’ve arrived on the 8th Floor. You’ll understand why you’re special, why we have been paying so much attention to you, and why we’re expecting so much from you.”

“...”

Keen Intuition was telling Seo Jun-Ho that Gray wasn’t lying.

‘But he’s a Transcendent…’

In addition, he was an illusion-type Transcendent.

He could easily deceive Keen Intuition.

“I need you to take an Oath of Existence.”

‘He can deceive my senses, but the Oath of Existence cannot be deceived.’

“I understand.” Gray nodded and said, “I would have a difficult time believing myself if I were in your shoes.”

Gray circulated his magic and said, “I am the Aeon Empire’s head of assassins and a dagger hidden in the dark, ready to reap the lives of those evil. I swear on my existence that I have spoken and will speak only the truth.”

‘He really did it...’

Seo Jun-Ho could feel Gray’s words resonating with the magic in the air.

It felt the same as when the Frost Queen took her Oath of Existence.

“...So you weren’t lying.”

“I will hide things from you, but I will not lie. I am an information broker myself, so I don’t really like lying.”

Seo Jun-Ho stared at Gray as if he was strange.

“Were you not lying about the 8th Floor?”

“Yes, I wasn’t lying.”

“Can I really clear the 8th Floor in just a few hours?”

“Yes. Actually, the 8th Floor… is so easy that it feels like an insult to the word clear.”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes flashed once again. He had noticed the fluctuations in Gray’s emotions the moment the latter mentioned the 8th Floor.

‘Was it both distress and pity? Just what is on the 8th Floor that it disturbs even the emotions of a Transcendent?’

In the end, Seo Jun-Ho said, “I see. I will accept your request.”

Seo Jun-Ho said that he would accept the request rather than say that he would clear the 8th Floor.

Gray noticed the meaning behind Seo Jun-Ho’s words, but he still bowed and said, “I really have to thank you this time. Thank you so much. We will prepare ample compensation for this unofficial quest.”

“Sounds good. What about the rest of the party…?”

“They’re having fun right now. Do you want to take a look?”

A mirror manifested in front of Gray.

Seo Jun-Ho looked up and saw his friends scattered throughout the empire, exploring the fantastic, ideal world of Aeon.

- The winner of this year’s cooking contest is Tenmei Mio from Earth!

- This potion can distinguish every Royder in the world. I’ll give it to you for free.

- This cake right over here is made with the rarest Spirit Crystal in the universe!

“...”

‘Okay, that’s enough.’

Seo Jun-Ho was relieved to see everyone having fun.

“Do I have to go there by myself?”

“Yes. You’re the only one who can freely move there, anyway. However, the Frost Queen must accompany you no matter what.”

“Is there any special reason for that?”

“That’s…”

“I’ll find out once I get there. Is that what you were going to say?”

Seo Jun-Ho sighed and stood up.

He glanced at Gray and saw that the latter truly looked both apologetic and ashamed.

“Please prepare what’s necessary as soon as possible. I’ll go to the 8th Floor once you’re done.”

“Thank you for your understanding. I’ll take you to the Elevator.”

***

The Imperial Palace had become vastly different after Ideal World (EX) was dispelled.

The dust here and there made it obvious that it had been a while since the Imperial Palace was last cleaned.

Gray blushed and explained, “We’re too busy to hire cleaners…”

“I understand. I guess the Administrators are truly busy.”

“The Floors were designed and built by Chaos, but the maintenance and repair of the Floors were entrusted to the hands of the Aeon Empire’s officials.”

The officials’ job was to scour for bugs and patch them up, no matter how tiny.

“We’re here.”

Seo Jun-Ho and Gray found themselves standing in front of an ordinary-looking door. The Aeon Empire’s Dimensional Elevators didn’t look that much different from the Dimensional Elevators back on Earth.

“Recall Spirit; Summon Spirit.”

“This really tastes great! Ah… it’s super delicious! I think it’s the most delicious cake in the entire universe—wait, what?”

The Frost Queen blinked upon seeing Seo Jun-Ho.

Moments later, she looked down and stared blankly at her empty hand.

“Um, Contractor? I don’t know what’s going on here, but I was in the middle of a very important business. Please send me back.”

“Eating cake is a very important business?” asked Seo Jun-Ho.

“...” The Frost Queen puffed her cheeks and glared resentfully at Seo Jun-Ho.

However, Seo Jun-Ho ignored the Frost Queen’s glare and turned to look at Gray.

“I’m going, then,” he said.

“All right. Have a safe trip.”

‘I’m definitely the first Player to have received a ninety-degree bow from a Transcendent.’

Seo Jun-Ho entered the Dimensional elevator and swept his gaze across the flashing buttons.

[Administrator Gray has granted Player Seo Jun-Ho access to the 8th Floor.]

As always, Seo Jun-Ho saw familiar System messages the moment he pressed the button for the 8th Floor.

[This is the 8th Floor. The doors will open shortly.]

[Bringer of Spring’s effect has been activated. All stats increased by 30.]

“Ugh, seriously! I was eating cake, and why are we suddenly attempting the 8th Floor?”

“I have no idea what’s going on, but it’ll only take us a few hours to clear this Floor, so just endure it for now.”

“But that cake doesn’t exist on Earth, I have to—”

The Frost Queen abruptly stopped talking.

The extremely cold air of the outside world filled the Dimensional Elevator as it slowly opened its doors.

“...” The Frost Queen’s eyes quivered as she stared beyond the doors.

[You have arrived at Niflheim.]

[Cold Tolerance (B) is keeping you warm.]

A frozen world was beyond the Elevator doors.