Return of the Frozen Player

Midnight Visitor (2)

Seoul glowed with its fluorescent lights and flickering signs. The moon shined down on the rooftops, where two men were running.

Kal Signer kept looking behind him to make sure Seo Junho wasn’t trying to run away.

…This is unexpected. His face soured as he turned back around. Seo Junho was following him much better than he’d expected. I thought I’d need to slow down for him, but I suppose I don’t need to.

Either he had underestimated him, or Seo Junho was wearing himself out while trying to keep up.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s the latter. Seo Junho’s posture, steps, and even breaths were enough to tell him as much. Well, he broke Specter’s record after all. And he has a star*, which is a prerequisite for joining the Nine Heavens. I should be more careful. After clearing the Winter Castle, he had become the only player on the 1st Floor to get a star.

But Signer thought Seo Junho was foolish for trying to make him nervous. No matter how talented he might be, Seo Junho would be the one fighting for his life.

The hardware’s good, but his software’s lacking. People like him were easy to deal with.

After all, he was the infamous Demon Bow who had killed countless players.

“This is good enough.” They’d left the city behind for a secluded area about halfway up a mountain.

(TN: In case you don’t know, Korea is very mountainous.)

He turned around. “You’re impressive.”

“……?”

“First of all, you didn’t try to run away and followed me until the end. Second, you didn’t try anything stupid.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was watching you the whole time to make sure you wouldn’t contact other players through your Vita.”

“Were you scared I’d call up some friends?”

“Of course not. Things would just get more troublesome.” Signer reached into his inventory and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “I’ll give you two choices. You can either come quietly and let me put these magic-blocking cuffs on you, or…”

He released a tiny amount of magic coiled inside his body. A powerful gust blew through, kicking up dirt and bending the trees.

The simple act of releasing magic twisted the area around him. This was the power of a level 100 ranker.

“…You’ll come with me with your legs cut off, crawling like a dog.”

“Where are you planning to take me?”

“I don’t need to answer. Choose.” He stared sharply at Seo Junho, leaving no room for compromise.

“Hm…” Seo Junho thought for a second and held up three fingers. “I like the third option the best.”

“There are only two choices. There is no third.”

“That’s because your brain’s too small to see it.”

Signer raised an eyebrow, annoyed. He let out a resigned sigh and put the handcuffs away. “Humans are so pitiful. They always need sense beaten into them. So, what would the third option be?”

“Well, we’re in a remote mountain. I’ll just bury you here.”

“Ha, you have a good imagination.” He snorted before moving.

In the blink of an eye, six arrows had been fired at Seo Junho. Signer lowered his bow. There’s no way he could’ve dodged or blocked that.

He opened his inventory again, getting ready to leave. No matter how remote this area was, he had to be careful about letting him scream.

But he was wrong. Seo Junho had cut every single arrow with Black Dragon Fang. Cut perfectly in half, twelve fragments laid on the ground.

“…!” Signer was frozen in shock. He looked down at the broken arrows. “…Well, he does have a star.”

Before, Signer had thought that Seo Junho was just a lucky newbie. But that had changed once he met him in person. He was lucky and skilled. That was how Signer had judged him about half an hour ago, but he revised his opinion once more.

Okay, let’s say that it was possible for him to follow me. Signer hadn’t been using his full power, so it was possible. But cutting down his arrows was a completely different story.

…Is this possible with luck alone?

No. No matter how much he thought about it, it was impossible.

He shook his head. “This doesn’t make sense.” Yet it had happened right before his eyes. “Haha…”

He was so dumbfounded that he started to cackle. “What are you?” To his knowledge, no such person could exist.

It hasn’t even been a year since he debuted… And yet, he was able to cut down six of my arrows?

“Well, I get why you’re confused,” Seo Junho said, unconcerned.

“Humans all have the same fundamental limits. It’s common sense. They can’t fly like birds. They eat when they’re hungry. If they don’t breathe, they die.”

“So you’ve surpassed that.”

Kal Signer’s understanding was starting to fall apart. Everyone knew that a level 30 player couldn’t defeat a level 100 player.

“What can you do? There are things in this world that surpass common sense.” Seo Junho patted his chest. “Like me.”

“Hm.” Signer let out a short breath and nodded. “I acknowledge my mistake. You’re talented. You broke Specter’s record and even cleared a 1-star Gate on your own. Your skill is great and undeniable.”

There was probably no one stronger than him on the 1st Floor. And if he went up to the 2nd Floor, he’d grow even faster. He had the potential to even become a high-ranker. And if, by chance, he was still stronger than what Signer now thought…

He’ll join the ranks of the Nine Heavens.

He didn’t want to admit it, but that was Seo Junho’s ‘potential’ and ‘possibility’.

What a waste. In the end, none of that would happen. If only he hadn’t come to Las Vegas, his bright future would still be in front of him.

“This will hurt, but I won’t kill you,” he warned.

Signer released his magic, bringing a powerful gust that blew his hood back and whipped his hair.

Is he gonna infuse the arrows with magic? Seo Junho raised his sword, grip tightening. No matter what attack came, he was ready to receive it.

Signer whispered as he drew his bowstring. “Rip him to shreds, darters*.”

(TN: A type of freshwater fish. The hanja literally reads as ‘arrow fish’.)

In the blink of an eye, twelve arrows flew toward him, and Seo Junho swung his sword to cut them.

“…?!” However, the arrows dodged his strikes, changing direction as if they were alive. They ‘swam’ through the air like fish.

I see. Darters… They’re fish arrows? He had to admit that it was an impressive technique. Of course, the arrows weren’t actually alive. Signer must be controlling them carefully with his magic.

But Signer drew his bowstring once more. “Welcome to my ocean.”

He fired 12 more arrows. There were now a total of 24.

Signer’s magic started to scream inside him, pressing against his body. …It’s heavy.

Seo Junho’s head started to spin. Dammit, they’re all over the place. When fighting an archer, you usually only needed to focus on the direction the arrow was coming from and the straight line it followed. But the Demon Bow’s arrows were different. The arrows attack from all directions imaginable. And that wasn’t all. Aura started to spin around each arrowhead. If he was hit in the arm by one arrow, it would rip right through his shoulder.

They’re fast too. The air screamed every time they zipped through the air.

“No matter how beautiful a flower is, it doesn’t matter if it never blooms.” No matter how talented Seo Junho was, he was still a mere sprout. “Since I’ve taught you a lesson, I’ll take those legs in exchange.”

The darters all shot at him at once.

Booster! The heat from his body made the cool mountain air sweltering, but Seo Junho began his sword dance nonetheless. He moved slower than usual because of the disturbance in his magic, and the arrows pushed him and his sword back. But he didn’t let his concentration break and continued to slash at every darter that came at him.

Faster. Seo Junho quickly adjusted to the speed of Signer’s attack. The darters were fast, but so was his sword.

Not enough. Faster. The darters chased him relentlessly, coming at him from ten different directions.

“Hup!”

He threw his body, rolled on the ground, and hid behind trees as he took them out, but he grew faster still.

Faster. Faster. Faster.

His eyes started to glow. And with his sword, he deflected an arrow.

The darter ripped through the mountain as it hit the bottom, creating a small crater. It was as if a dragon had run through.

“…He hit it?” Signer scowled. He looked down at his hand. Am I unconsciously going too easy on him?

No, that wasn’t it. He was using his full power to try and cut off Seo Junho’s legs.

Then how? Seo Junho was talented, but so was he. Not only that, Signer’s skills had already bloomed. But… I can’t hit him. Usually, the darters would tear through their target like piranhas, but they were being cut apart.

If his arrows were fish, then Seo Junho was a shark. He’d already started to get the hang of it. Every time he swung his sword, the darters would fall to the ground in pieces, and Signer couldn’t infuse his magic into broken arrows.

They’re decreasing. The fish in the sky were starting to fall, one by one. He couldn’t do anything but stare until only one was left.

That, too, was killed.

“…”

He felt hazy, as if he had just woken up from a dream, or as if he were drunk and dizzy.

“…I see.” He nodded at Seo Junho, who was breathing heavily. “You’re lucky, but you’re no novice.”

He was a player. A player that Signer would have to risk his life to kill. “…It’s been too long. My senses have dulled.”

Kal Signer closed his eyes. It had been over half a year since he’d had a proper battle because Kim Woojoong was chasing him, and as a result, he had gotten rusty.

It was a good thing he realized it before it was too late. Signer let go of all the arrogance and preconception.

“…” When he opened his eyes, they were burning crimson.

Seo Junho had never seen eyes that were so blood-red. Is this… the power of the Demon Bow, the symbol of fear on the 2nd Floor?

He swallowed. All the magic within Signer had morphed into Demonic energy. The feeling made him shiver.

Was I too arrogant? The magic storm that had kicked up had all but disappeared, but that only made him more nervous.

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The wind only sounded dangerous. The truly powerful storms were silent.

“You should feel honored.”

Signer drew Final Horizon.

“Storm Dragon’s Arrow.”

When he let go, a ferocious dragon swallowed the earth around them.