Return of the Frozen Player

Spuuurt!

Seo Jun-Ho decapitated five Players in an instant.

Their blood spurted wildly into the air as if they were broken water pipes.

“Found you...”

‘One is down.’

The skin of one of the five Players started bubbling. At the sight, Seo Jun-Ho muttered into the air, “Rewind.”

The world abruptly stopped. The blood that fell like raindrops, the five heads in the air, and even the Players who were about to scream came to a halt.

‘I really can’t get used to this sight...’

A bizarre scene occurred afterward. The blood on the ground and in the air defied gravity and flew toward the decapitated Players. In addition, the five heads in the air settled on the stumps before the fine cut on their necks healed in the blink of an eye.

The Players started to get rowdy once more, and Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes.

‘I can just kill them and turn back time.’

Seo Jun-Ho had no time to suspect the players one by one and find clues. It was much faster and more efficient to find the monsters through Wheel of Time (S).

‘It’s inhumane, but it’s okay.’

No one had to know about the uncomfortable truth other than Seo Jun-Ho himself.

The Players let their guards down and started muttering among themselves.

“Hm. Since Specter-nim has spoken, then we should trust him. He is definitely trustworthy and reliable.”

“What do you mean, Specter-nim? Have you found a method to figure out which one of us is the monster?”

Seo Jun-Ho raised his sword and aimed it at a Player. The Player was the monster whom Seo Jun-Ho had identified by killing the entire party.

“Long story short, that’s the first monster.”

“Huh, what? No! I’m not…!” The monster jumped up, startled. “You got the wrong person. What makes you think that I’m a monster? Do you have evidence?”

“None, it’s just my intuition,” Seo Jun-Ho replied.

The monster was rendered speechless.

The other players spoke one by one.

“Um… I know how capable you are, Specter-nim, but don’t you think that’s too hasty of a judgment?”

“Yes. This is a matter of human life, so you can’t just rely on your intuition. We should be more careful.”

Seo Jun-Ho knew that there was no way he could persuade them. In the first place, he didn’t feel the need to persuade them, nor was he planning on telling them that he discovered the monster by killing the entire party and turning back time.

Rustle.

A light breeze tickled the Players’ faces.

Splash!

Blood splashed the Players’ faces.

“I-I told you…I’m…not…a m-monster…keuk…!”

The decapitated monster’s skin started bubbling, and it began to grow in size.

The surprised Players quickly composed themselves and raised their weapons.

“I-it’s a monster!”

“Specter-nim was right!”

The Players made quick work of the monster, turning it into a lump of meat. Once they were done, the Players turned to look at Seo Jun-Ho with profound surprise.

“How did you know that he was the monster?”

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s just my intuition.”

“I knew it. I remember reading it from a book. It was said that Specter-nim’s intuition is so keen that the other Heroes have never doubted Specter-nim’s intuition.”

‘This is why a good impression is important—people will believe me no matter what I say as long as I give a plausible explanation.’

Seo Jun-Ho nodded. “Yes, I suppose.”

“Then, we only have one left! Who is the other monster?”

“I think…”

Seo Jun-Ho swung his sword once again. This time, he cut down the five members of another party.

“Kweghhh!”

“It’s you.”

After discovering the identity of the monster, Seo Jun-Ho cast Wheel of Time (S) once more.

Then, he calmly pointed out the remaining monster. “I think it’s that guy.”

“What? That’s ridiculous! It’s not me. I swear!”

Splat!

“Liar...”

The decapitated monster quickly showed its true colors.

“But…! My acting was perfect…”

The monster died with bitter resentment.

The Players finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Sigh. You are as great as I expected, Specter-nim!”

“Thank you so much. We were suspecting the wrong person all along.”

“I told you, man! I told you I’m not a monster!”

The atmosphere turned lukewarm as everyone laughed and teased each other.

However, Seo Jun-Ho poured a bucket of cold water over them by saying, “It’s too early to be relieved. We’re not done with the verification just yet.”

“...I’m sorry?”

The Players blinked, confused.

“We heard that each party would only have one human-imitating monster…”

“We already caught two, so there are no more monsters here, right…?”

“If the circumstances were normal, then it would have been the case.”

Seo Jun-Ho coldly looked at the two teams consisting of four members.

This maze purposely brought the four teams together.

‘Why did they do that? Did they fail to consider the possibility of Players exchanging information to find the monsters more easily? Did they really take such a risk just to disrupt the Players?’ Seo Jun-Ho shook his head. ‘It can’t be.’

If one possibility were taken into account, then it would make sense why the maze purposely brought four teams together.

“It’s a whole different story if the two teams that claimed to have already eliminated the monsters are made up of nothing but monsters.”

“...!”

The Players who had already been verified felt a shiver down their spines after hearing Seo Jun-Ho’s hypothesis. The two teams in question quickly protested against Seo Jun-Ho’s words.

“That’s a false accusation! If you’re speaking the truth, then why would we tell them about the monsters?”

“That’s right. If the eight of us are monsters, it means that the number of monsters, including the two that died earlier, exceeds the number of humans. It would have been much more efficient for us to just attack them in the first place.”

‘That also makes sense...’ Seo Jun-Ho nodded and answered, “I’m hoping that my intuition is wrong.”

A pitch-black wave of darkness burst from the tip of Twilight, instantly decapitating eight Players and leaving behind an S-shaped ink-like line in the air.

Those who had claimed to have killed the monsters before grouping up with the other teams were killed instantly.

‘Now. The number of monsters among them is…’

Seo Jun-Ho’s indifferent gaze swept across the headless corpses. Four men had proven their innocence by dying, while four monsters had proven their impurity in the same way.

“Rewind.”

Seo Jun-Ho could only reverse time by a second, but it had proven more useful than he thought. Of course, the magic consumption of the skill was greater than any other skill in his arsenal.

“Hmm.”

Feeling a little dizzy, Seo Jun-Ho managed to speak. “Prepare for battle.”

“...Pardon me?”

The players asked in a daze.

Halgi and Nilbas grabbed their weapons, proving that they truly trusted Seo Jun-Ho.

Shwik!

The four blades of the Freedom Blade flew toward the four monsters.

Slash!

“Geuk, Geuagh…”

“H-human… I’m… also… a human…”

“Oh my goodness, what the heck!”

The players freaked out. Their reactions weren’t strange. After all, the people whom they believed to be humans suddenly turned into monsters.

“Get out of the way, you idiots!”

Halgi’s ax and Nilbas’ javelin destroyed the monsters. It hadn’t even been five minutes since Seo Jun-Ho arrived, but he had already found six monsters.

“Specter-nim was right.”

“I can’t believe that there was an entire team with nothing but monsters…”

The Players turned to Seo Jun-Ho in awe.

Then, the Players pointed at another team and asked, “By any chance, are they monsters as well?”

“Should we kill them?”

“W-what? I’m a human! Human!”

“Hmph. The monsters we killed earlier also said that they were humans.”

Seo Jun-Ho calmed the Players down and shook his head. “No. There are no more monsters here. Everyone is human here.”

“Sigh…”

The chaotic situation was finally over, and the Players were furious.

“Those bastards. The monsters would have killed all of us if it wasn’t for Specter-nim.”

“We almost traversed the maze with a dagger being pointed at our backs.”

“Thank you, Specter-nim. We will repay you today’s favor in the future.”

Seo Jun-Ho quietly received their words of gratitude before turning around to leave.

‘I bet the same situation is happening all over the maze.’

Seo Jun-Ho had to move as fast as possible, so he could save even one more person

“Ah-ha. So that’s what happened.” The Frost Queen nodded. She finally figured out how Seo Jun-Ho discovered the monsters. She crossed her arms and started nagging at him. “That was very unlike you, Contractor.”

“...I know, but it’s the most efficient way.”

The Frost Queen shrugged lightly. “I have to admit that it was a very efficient way, but if you keep on shaving off your humanity just to efficiently find out the truth, then you’ll soon exhaust your humanity.”

“It’s fine. I have an Imperturbable Mind.”

“Have you already forgotten how badly you were ruined by your blind faith in Hero's Mind?”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t retort. If it hadn’t been for his friend’s help, then he would have lost everything.

Seo Jun-Ho stared at the Frost Queen and asked, “What are you trying to say?”

“What I’m trying to say is that I understand you. I know that you made that decision to save more people, and I also know that it must have been a painful decision.”

“It wasn’t really painful, though…?”

“That’s a lie,” The Frost Queen answered in a firm voice. She was confident because she had solid evidence. “Jun-Sik—that dumb guy—is the reflection of your true nature.”

“Well, I agree that he’s dumb.”

“No matter how much you deny it, Jun-Sik is the contractor’s reflection in the mirror.”

After all, Seo Jun-Sik was basically the juvenile version of Seo Jun-Ho.

“Keep in mind that a monarch with no humanity will become a tyrant.”

“...”

“I want you to stay the same. If you change… I’ll be a bit upset.”

‘It seems that she has truly matured after evolving. She has become thoughtful, too.’

Seo Jun-Ho smiled lightly and patted the Frost Queen on the head.

“Wow, I’m really proud to see that you’ve matured. I promise; I’ll keep it in mind around the clock.” One had to become a monster to defeat a monster. However, once the fight was over, the monster wouldn’t be able to live among people.

‘It’s a difficult conundrum—what is right and what is wrong?’

Seo Jun-Ho decided to postpone his answer.

“G-get your hands off my head! You’re messing my hair up! Hey! Stop it!”

“Stop it~ You’re messing my hair up!”

“I hate you, Contractor!”

The Frost Queen was currently in puberty, and she glared hatefully at Seo Jun-Ho when the latter made fun of her.

‘If you were going to get angry, then you shouldn’t have pretended like you’re an adult...’

***

“...I’ll be rooting for you.”

Halgi and his team members didn’t bother saying that they would follow Seo Jun-Ho.

However, it wasn’t because they were safe among the other Players and that they were afraid of following Seo Jun-Ho.

‘Their eyes are literally on fire.’

Seo Jun-Ho could tell from their eyes that they wanted to follow him. They simply couldn’t bear to say it out loud because they knew that they wouldn’t be able to do anything other than hold him back.

“I’ll get going, then.”

There were a total of fifteen Players between multiple teams, so Seo Jun-Ho was convinced that they wouldn’t be in any significant danger.

In the end, Seo Jun-Ho decided to leave on his own. The Players stared at his back until he turned a corner and disappeared.

‘Black Moon Heart Method.’

Seo Jun-Ho quickly breathed according to the Heart Method upon turning a corner, and the magic in the air filled him up.

‘I’ll have to borrow some magic.’

If he wanted to move without wasting the magic in his reservoir, then this was the best way to do so. He had to borrow nature’s magic and use it without sparing even a single drop.

“Contractor! Watch out!”

Crash!

Dozens of walls sprung in all directions to try and trap Seo Jun-Ho to no avail…

‘I wouldn’t even have to freeze the walls if I’m moving at this speed.’

Seo Jun-Ho jumped off the walls and ground to slip between the gaps in the closing walls. He was moving at a speed that he didn’t even dare to imagine doing while he was still with his other party members.

- Partner, go right.

‘Right?’

Keen Intuition suddenly spoke when Seo Jun-Ho was about to reach a crossroads. Seo Jun-Ho turned right, and a firecracker exploded in front of his eyes.

A few system messages appeared in front of him.

[Welcome to the road of hidden hints.]

[Every party has a monster hiding among the party members.]

[The maze is ever-changing.]

[Every time a Player dies, the remaining time will decrease by twelve minutes.]

[Once time is up, the remaining Players in the maze are expelled downstairs.]

The Frost Queen grumbled after reading the hints.

“They call these hints? How absurd.”

“...”

Meanwhile, Seo Jun-Ho felt a great sense of incongruity after reading the hints.

“Don’t you think so, Contractor? We already know all these.”

“No, we weren’t really sure about the others until now. The only information we knew for sure was the first three.”

There was a monster hidden in each party, the maze was ever-changing, and a Player’s death would reduce the time remaining by twelve minutes—These were the rules that Seo Jun-Ho had figured out by himself.

He was unaware of the fact that they would be expelled downstairs once the time was up.

“Isn’t that a relief? I thought running out of time meant death. That is what happens in most movies.”

- Partner. Ignore that kid and review the system messages that appeared when you first stepped foot into this maze.

“This punk is so rude. I’m not a kid anymore, you know?”

“Give me a minute.”

Seo Jun-Ho searched the system log on the advice of Keen Intuition.

[Welcome to the Maze of Exiles.]

[The Players have been divided fairly into 30 teams, and the Players must escape within the next 24 hours.]

[The goal of this evil maze is to kill intruders by misleading them, so please keep that in mind.]

[There are hints hidden in multiple places; please use them wisely.]

“...”

‘Goodness, I’ve made such a dumb mistake.

Seo Jun-Ho slapped his own forehead and asked, “Intuition, Is this what I think it is?”

- I was also confused at first, but when I saw those hints, I became sure of it.

Keen Intuition confirmed in a firm voice.

- The System messages you’ve read ever since you entered the maze were fake. In other words, this is a huge scam.