Return of the Frozen Player

Arnold’s teachings were simple and easy to understand. The problem was that it was extremely difficult to put into practice.

“Throw all those miscellaneous thoughts away. Stop thinking! Shatter all your beliefs!”

Arnold was basically telling Rahmadat to stop doing what every human being had always been doing. At that, Rahmadat couldn’t help but complain. “You know it’s hard to find people who rarely use their brain like me, right? How am I supposed to stop thinking when I’m not even thinking?”

“You still have too many thoughts inside of you. Miscellaneous thoughts are nothing but chains binding your body. You must cut them off.”

“...It sounds like you’re trying to turn me into a madman.”

Arnold spent the entire day teaching Rahmadat.

One day, Rahmadat asked out of pure curiosity, “Arnold. Is it okay for you to teach me exclusively? I mean, you’re the chief of this tribe.”

“...Don’t worry. I’m doing this for my own benefit as well.”

“Huh. So you have a motive for teaching me.”

Arnold nodded.

‘Perhaps we might be able to take the first step against those bats the day this guy learns to emancipate...’ Arnold’s gaze headed to the distant city. The red fog, which covered the entire city, was still expanding every day.

‘...Time is not in our favor.’

Rahmadat Khali was like a ray of hope. Unlike the werewolves, Rahmadat would be able to exert the entire one hundred percent of his power even within the red fog.

“I don’t want too much from you. I’m not even planning on asking you to kill the True Vampires.”

“Then, what is it that you want from me?”

“The red fog.”

Arnold wanted Rahmadat to find and destroy the facilities producing the red fog, nothing more, nothing less. The claws of the werewolves had to be the ones that should end this war.

***

It had been a week since Arnold started teaching Rahmadat, and the members of the Twilight Claw Tribe gathered at the open space of the tribe’s compound once again.

“Have you heard the rumors?”

“...I think it’s ridiculous.”

“But the chief announced it himself.”

The gathered werewolves whispered among themselves, but they only had one topic.

“A human will take on the trial of becoming an Arch Warrior!”

They couldn’t believe it at all. After all, it was hard to find someone capable enough of challenging the Arch Warrior trial, even among the werewolves.

“Chief used to turn us away all the time even if we applied because he thought we weren’t qualified…”

“I want to know what Chief Arnold is thinking. I thought he valued that human a lot?”

Failure in the trial meant sustaining severe injuries, and in the worst-case scenario, failure would mean death. Therefore, Arnold often ignored the trial challenge requests of the unprepared werewolves.

“Is he thinking that we’re worse than that human?”

“Who knows? We can’t say much because we haven’t really seen his skills personally.”

“What about the other Arch Warriors? Have they said anything yet?”

“You know that they’re not fond of speaking, so we haven’t really heard anything from them.”

Boom. Boom. Boom.

All of a sudden, the unique drums of the Twilight Claw Tribe were sounded as Arnold stepped into the open space.

Arnold sat down in his chair and spoke, “Rahmadat Khali. Step forward.”

“...”

Rahmadat stepped forward and looked up at Arnold.

“Passing the Arch Warrior Trial requires the achievement of becoming one in both mind and body. Those daring enough but unprepared would only suffer terrible pain as the consequences of their impudence,” said Arnold.

“I’m aware.”

“...To be honest, I’m still hesitating at this moment.”

The Chief of the Twilight Claw Tribe had always been confident in his decision-making, but right now, he was actually agonizing over a decision. He had no idea if it was right for him to accept this human’s request.

‘Rahmadat’s growth is remarkable.’

He was truly talented in that department. Rahmadat had instinctively understood and learned concepts that even werewolves with warrior’s blood would find hard to understand, which was why Arnold felt even more hesitant.

‘...Am I just being selfish?’

Most werewolves would prepare for the Arch Warrior Trial from early childhood until adulthood, which was a period of more than thirteen years.

‘But he managed to catch up to all the classes in just a week…’

It was only possible because he was a warrior who was already close to perfection.

Rahmadat still couldn’t quite grasp the concept of throwing his miscellaneous thoughts away and emptying his mind, but Arnold was convinced that it was only a matter of time.

To put it bluntly, Rahmadat’s chance of passing the trial was fifty percent.

‘I want him to take a bit more time to prepare before he takes the trial, but…’

Rahmadat was both confident and stubborn. He often said that he would never be able to reach the summit if he were to stick to the safe path.

‘If he really ends up passing this trial, then I will have to admit it.’

He would have to admit the fact that he had developed a habit of avoiding challenges and being complacent without realizing it.

However, it couldn’t really be helped. After all, It had been quite a while since he became the Chief of the Twilight Claw Tribe, and he had nothing else to be worried about other than the tribe’s future since then.

“...Let the trial begin,” Arnold announced and beckoned.

Mone walked out with a wooden bowl in her hand.

The wooden bowl was filled with a dark purple liquid.

“What’s that?” Rahmadat asked.

“It’s an alcohol brewed using the arcane technology of the tribe,” Arnold issued a stern warning. “The moment you drink it, you’ll forget everything and be locked up in a prison of your own mind.”

“Does escaping that prison mean passing the trial?”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds. You have to be enlightened on emancipation to get out of that prison.”

“And what happens if I didn’t manage to come out?”

“If you didn’t manage to escape the prison on your own within a week, the other Arch Warriors and I will forcibly pull you out.”

It was clear that Rahmadat would get seriously injured in the process.

“Is that so?” Rahmadat grinned. He took the wooden bowl from Mone’s hands and downed the entire thing.

“...!”

Arnold was dumbfounded. He blinked a few times before erupting in anger. “Y-you idiot…! You should have waited until I was done speaking! You’re supposed to only take a sip!”

“Goodness! What if he dies before he can even take the trial? W-what should we do?!”

‘Uh… did I do… something…wrong…’

Rahmadat saw how Arnold had arrived in front of him in the proverbial blink of an eye and started shaking his shoulders. However, Rahmadat’s ears were ringing, and Arnold’s voice was growing distant from him.

“Restraints many times more difficult and strong… the prison… death… fight! You’re the only one…!”

The world was moving away from Rahmadat.

‘Or am I moving away from the world?’

The world stretched infinitely until they disappeared.

“Hm. Is this the prison of my own consciousness?”

Rahmadat figured that this desolate and empty space had to be his inner world. He thought he heard Arnold say something to him before he lost consciousness, but he didn’t take it too seriously because he successfully entered his inner world.

Rahmadat sat cross-legged and started meditating.

***

“Hmm?” Reiji couldn’t help but lift a corner of her lips when she saw how the two men dodged her attack with ease.

‘Now we’re talking…’

Seo Jun-Ho used to be like a child with the power of an adult. He had no idea just how valuable his power was, nor he had any idea of the concepts he should have been using to efficiently use that power.

However, he changed a lot after a year of training with Reiji.

Reiji loosened her clenched fist.

“I must admit that you have become quite competent now.”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho remained focused despite the compliment. This meant that Seo Jun-Ho had reached the state of imperturbable mind.

Reiji smiled bitterly. ‘It’s a shame that I can’t complete him with my own hands.’

Reiji was holding the final piece of the puzzle, but she held back. She knew that Seo Jun-Ho should be the only one who should complete himself.

‘As a human, Seo Jun-Ho’s growth is already at the limit.’

In fact, Seo Jun-Ho’s physical body had long reached its growth limit. But now, his mind had finally reached its growth limit as well, but it had a completely different meaning compared to Seo Jun-Ho’s physical body reaching its growth limit.

‘It means that he has finally arrived at the door.’

Many people had ended up dying without ever being able to open the door, and there was an overwhelming number of people who had died trying to open that door than those who actually managed to open it.

‘But I’m sure that this guy… he’ll definitely be able to open that door someday.’

However, Reiji couldn’t be happy about it because she had no idea what kind of result Seo Jun-Ho would bring in the future after being molded by her own hands.

“It’s about time we get out.”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho checked the time and exhaled.

“The end is near, but I still haven’t landed a direct blow on you.”

“Hey, you punk! Do you know how arrogant you sound right now?”

Reiji was outraged by the audacity of a mere peak Liberation Stage to a Transcendent, and any other transcendents out there would have turned him into ashes on the spot for being disrespectful.

“Thank you,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

“...At least you know how to say thanks.”

Seo Jun-Ho was truly grateful to Reiji. The skills and techniques she had taught him over the year couldn’t be brought, even if one had all the money in the world.

“It wasn’t much, but you did learn from me. You better not embarrass me. Make sure that you don’t get beaten up somewhere.”

“I will try my best.”

“Well, I highly doubt that someone out there can beat you. Anyway, you’re going to clear the 6th Floor, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…” Reiji thought about it for a moment before continuing. “Let me correct myself. Someone on the 6th Floor is capable of beating you up…”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes sank.

“Did Administrator—no, did Miss Reiji’s superiors really think that we—the Players—could clear the floors against such beings?”

“Of course not. We didn’t create those beings for the Players to beat.”

If Reiji’s memories were serving her correctly, the Players had to support the werewolves so that they would have a chance of clearing the 6th Floor. However, the appearance of that damned Archduke changed everything.

“Honestly, there were certain tactics to clear every Floor.” However, those tactics were no longer usable because of the changes. “In other words, even I, an Administrator, have no idea what the future has in store for the Players.”

“That sounds irresponsible.”

“...I know, and I’m sorry,” Reiji muttered.

Seo Jun-Ho was genuinely surprised.

He didn’t expect such words to come out of Reiji’s mouth.

“Clear the Floors, and everything will become clear by then.” Until then, Reiji had no choice but to ask for the Players’ understanding.

Reiji tapped Seo Jun-Ho’s shoulder.

“Well, it’s time to say goodbye.”

“Wait, Miss Reiji! I still have many questions—”

“Time’s up. Your request for extension is declined.”

Swoosh!

A rift in space swallowed Seo Jun-Ho. The last thing he saw was the kitchen and the training hall where he had spent most of his time over the year and Reiji’s bitter expression.

‘I hope I didn’t make the wrong choice.’

***

Shim Deok-Gu was currently facing a huge dilemma.

Should he welcome his friend first or express his anger first?

“Damn it…”

Unfortunately, it seemed that Shim Deok-Gu just couldn’t bear to express his fury without welcoming his friend first.

Tap! Tap!

Shim Deok-Gu gave Seo Jun-Ho a tight hug.

“I’m a bit upset that you didn’t contact me as soon as you got back, but I guess you definitely have your own reasons,” said Shim Deok-Gu.

“Thank you. I’m always grateful to you,” replied Seo Jun-Ho.

“Hmph.”

‘Well, this is kind of overwhelming. This isn’t like him.’

Shim Deok-Gu sat on a couch and spoke, “So tell me. Where the heck have you been this week?”

“I’ve been a bit far…” Seo Jun-Ho didn’t know what to say. ‘Come to think of it, I should be a year older now, even though it had only been a week here.’

“What happened to the others? What happened to the 6th Floor scout team?” asked Seo Jun-Ho with a sullen face.

“They continued without you.”

“Is that so?” Seo Jun-Ho nodded. As expected, they weren’t the type of people to kick up a fuss and get anxious to the point of not being able to function just because he had disappeared.

“Skaya strongly insisted on continuing the reconnaissance. She said that she had no idea know where you went, but you will definitely come back on your own one day, so she told everyone to proceed as usual.”

“Aw, come on.”

‘They could have been a bit more worried, couldn’t they?’

Shim Deok-Gu handed over a report made by the scout team.

“Read it. Miss Si-Eun made it.”

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes deepened as he read the report.

‘True Vampire Ghost…’

Ghost managed to overpower Skaya, Rahmadat, Kim Woo-Joong, and Gong Ju-Ha’s combined force.

Upon reading the report, Reiji’s words suddenly came to Seo Jun-Ho’s mind.

“Someone on the 6th Floor is capable of beating you up…”

‘So it’s one of them…’

Seo Jun-Ho figured that the True Vampires had to be as powerful as True Vampire Ghost at the very least.

‘There are four True Vampires, huh? This Tepes is apparently stronger than the other three.’

The True Vampires were overwhelmingly stronger compared to the Players’ current forces.

“I’ll have to go up right away. You said Rahmadat was in danger, right?”

“Yes. It’s up to you whether you want to go up right away or not, but are you sure you’re not forgetting something here?”

“What did I forget?”

“...Well, you’re in trouble, but that’s none of my business.”

Seo Jun-Ho blinked.

He had no idea what Shim Deok-Gu was talking about.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

All of a sudden, a person’s tread echoed just beyond the door.

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