Return of the Frozen Player - chapter 144
Reader settings
font size
A- A+Font type
background color
Chapter 144
Most fiends were stronger than Players. Players would frown and protest if they heard this, but it was the truth. While Players only learned how to hunt monsters, fiends learned how to hunt both monsters and Players themselves. While Players let their guards down as soon as they left a Gate, fiends would constantly be on edge because their identity could be discovered at any moment. In other words, fiends took their skills to the next level. There was a great difference between a monster hunter and a professional killer.
âConsidering the targetâs current path, heâll definitely pass through here.â
âThen, itâs there,â Gouf muttered, looking up at the small cabin. There were traps around the perimeter that would alert of a monsterâs presence. Perhaps it belonged to a hunter.
The fiends scanned the area and started to speak.
âSeo Jun-Ho has shown a tendency to play hero.â
âItâs a mistake that all overconfident rookies make.â
âIf he sees an injured person, he wonât be able to just pass them by.â
They had plenty of time to collect information about Seo Jun-Ho in the last month and a half.
âWeâll take advantage of that.â Gouf jutted his chin. âNino, Shiso. Hide yourselves and get ready to ambush him.â
âAlrightâŠâ
âWeâll attack him first, so get ready to join in.â
The twins left, and all that remained were Gouf and one other fiend. The latterâs face was filled with intense emotions, but they disappeared as quickly as they came.
âGet in place,â Gouf ordered him.
âYes, sir.â
As the man left, Gouf studied the road leading up to the cabin with cold eyes. It was unheard of for a fiend to get revenge for their dead superior, but that was how much Kal Signer had meant to him. The latter had saved Gouf when he was dying in a Gate and granted him great power by making him a fiend.
âSeo Jun-HoâŠâ
The Player was only the beginning, not his final target. His final target would be none other than the Sword Saint, Kim Woo-Joong. Compared to him, Seo Jun-Ho was just a small fry.
âSigner-nim said you were born with luck.â Gouf acknowledged that luck was also a skill. But today was different. He was sure of it. âBut today, no amount of luck will save you.â
***
Seo Jun-Ho laughed. It had been a while since he had let loose like this. He felt refreshed after stretching his stiff muscles.
âI know I lost 50% of my statsâŠâ But he didnât feel as if he had gotten any weaker. In fact, he felt like he had gotten stronger, thanks to Overclocking. âHeh, itâs only natural that Iâd want to try out a nice weapon.â
âAnd you have already done that, several times. While laughing like a child.â The Frost Queen jutted her chin and pointed to the pile of dead whip wolves. âYou should test it out properly, not on weaklings like these. Hm⊠Perhaps fiends will do.â
âFiends? How cute.â Seo Jun-Ho grinned. âNo matter how many of them there are, Frontier is huge. Thereâs no way Iâd run into them in a place like this.â
âContractor, humans are unpredictable.â The Frost Queen seemed to have noticed something. âLook, a fiend could be living in the cabin over there.â
âNo way.â Seo Jun-Ho looked at the cabin. It was placed near the entrance of the forest. âSee those wires on the trees? Theyâre basic traps to alert you of monsters. The cabin probably belongs to a hunter,â he said confidently, calling upon the things that Hakan had taught him.
He started to walk toward it, for no other reason than the fact that the path passed through the cabin.
âHm?â
âHuh?â
Seo Jun-Hoâs nose twitched. The Frost Queen gripped his hair.
ââŠContractor,â she said in a low voice.
âI smell it too.â
The smell of blood.
As he approached the cabin, he saw the corpse of a middle-aged man next to a stack of firewood. A deep, straight cut ran across his chest, and the blood was still hot and flowing.
âA murder?â
There were no CCTVs in Frontierâs field, which meant that these kinds of cases would remain unsolved unless the culprit was caught right away.
Seo Jun-Ho stepped closer to the body and studied the wound. âHeâs dead. They killed him in one strike.â The cut was clean, and there had been no hesitation. Whoever had done this was skilled. âFrost, sweep the area.â
âLeave it to me.â
He turned back toward the corpse and activated Confession of the Dead.
ââŠâ There was no need to look deep into the past. Seo Jun-Hoâs eyebrows furrowed as he looked back to half an hour ago when the man died.
He recognized the killer.
ââŠâ
âC-Contractor, Iâm sorry, IâŠâ As she watched the playback over his shoulder, her face turned even paler than usual. She almost felt like she had brought this upon him by suggesting it earlier.
ââŠItâs not your fault.â
The victim was just an ordinary hunter. The man who had killed him was a fiend Seo Jun-Ho had seen in the memories of the fiend that Skaya had brought over to him.
The gears started turning.
âThere are two possibilities.â
Either the killer was merely acting like a fiend and killed the hunter because he felt like it. And the secondâŠ
âThis is a trap,â he whispered. As soon as the words left his lips, his temples started ringing, as if Keen Intuition was agreeing with him.
Seo Jun-Ho remained expressionless as he started to hear someone running toward him. He looked up.
âHuff, huffâŠâ It was a handsome young man. His face was covered in sweat as if he had run the whole way, and his shoulders heaved as he tried to catch his breath. ââŠDid you do this?â His face twisted, eyes filled with rage. âIâm asking you a question! Did you do this to him?!â
ââŠâ
Seo Jun-Ho didnât reply. He held up his hands as he slowly stood up. The man expected him to explain, but he didnât.
Swoosh!
Black Dragon Fang pierced through his heart.
ââŠHuh?â
âWhy are you asking me that? You killed him 10 minutes ago. Are you crazy?â
The fiendâs acting was impressive. If Seo Jun-Ho hadnât seen his face in Confession of the Dead, he just might have been fooled.
The man stumbled back, staring blankly at the sword in his chest. âHow⊠Did you know?â
Even though he was about to die, his main concern was that Seo Jun-Ho had seen through his acting. He really was crazy.
âHow did I know? ThatâsâŠâ
Swoosh!
Seo Jun-Ho swung Black Dragon Fang upwards, cutting his upper body in half. He had no intention of answering the question in the first place. But for what he had done, the bastard would probably curse him for it.
âContractor.â
âI knowâŠâ
As he looked down at the fiendâs corpse, he came to a conclusion.
âIf this was a random incident, he wouldâve run away.â
But he didnât run away. Instead, the fiend had gone through all the trouble of pretending to be someone else to approach him. This only meant one thing.
âThey set a trap for me.â
Keen Intuition confirmed his suspicions. But this wasnât the endâŠ
âIf Iâm their target, he wouldnât have come alone.â
Even Kal Signer had failed to kill Seo Jun-Ho. Of course, the fiends would definitely think that this was because Kim Woo-Joong had interfered in their fight. But humans were predictable. If 5 people failed to kill him, next time they would send no less than 3.
âHeâs not the only one whoâs trying to kill me.â
Seo Jun-Ho finished his thoughts and pushed out his magic. It spilled out his body, spreading across the area and relayed information to him.
âDammit.â
âThat idiot! How did he mess up?â
When the fiends realized that they had been discovered, they no longer tried to hide.
ââŠâ
There were three of them, four if you counted the dead one.
âWith that number, they should have all bases covered.â
Seo Jun-Ho paused as he took in the fiends. There was a very familiar face among them.
âContractor, that manâŠâ
It was Gouf. Kal Signerâs aide and right-hand man. They had been very close with each other, which was uncommon for fiends.
âGoufâs Skill is Isekai Battlefield.â
As the name implied, it allowed him to create a battlefield in an alternate reality for his fiends and allies. As a trade-off, he would also be transported. It was an annoying skill that was hard to escape from once it was activated.
âGouf would activate his skill and Kal Signer would kill the people inside of it.â
The pair had killed countless Players using this method. Even if he was faced with an army, the skill allowed him to create an advantageous battlefield for himself and his comrades.
âCreate Isekai Battlefield,â Gouf whispered.
The cabin and forest disappeared. Seo Jun-Ho looked down and saw sand flying through the hot wind.
âSo this is how that worksâŠâ
They had been transported in an instant. The air was dry, and the scorching sun was high above his head.
âShit, itâs a desert map?â
âI hate the heat,â the twins complained.
âGouf has the advantage in here.â
The skill allowed him to adjust stats, topography, weather, and anything else.
âIâve studied his skill in great detail thanks to Kal Signerâs memoriesâŠâ
But he didnât know what skills the twins had. As such, he activated Overclocking from the outset to the max.
Woosh!
His body heated up almost instantly, but it quickly subsided as frost energy cooled his body whilst running through two circuit lanes.
âItâs hot. Letâs finish this up quickly. Hyung, should I go first? Or you?â
âGo. I went first last time.â
âOkay.â The younger of the two, Shiso, rolled his shoulders. âIâm ready. Shoot.â
At his cue, they activated their skills. The whole area became filled with a humming sound, like a cicadaâs cry.
âPhew, it worked.â
Tap!
Shiso smiled lazily as he kicked off a red rock and dashed toward Seo Jun-Ho. He laughed when he saw that the Player hadnât even noticed that he had made his move.
âEarthâs top super rookie? The great Black Knight who broke Specterâs record? Donât make me laugh!â
The twin fiendsâ skill was Hyper-Magnetism. They could push and pull each other like magnets; it was such a peculiar technique.
âWhen we push each other, we can get close to the speed of sound,â
It had taken them 3 years of nonstop training to reach this level. A mere rookie that had debuted only a year ago couldnât possibly come close to their level.
Swish.
A spike peeked out from Shisoâs sleeve. He gripped it in his hand and aimed it toward Seo Jun-Ho to stab him.
âHuh?â
A strange feeling of fear overtook him.
âWhat is this? This feelingâŠâ
He felt like he was being stripped naked. His hair stood on end, and goosebumps prickled his skin.
ââŠ!â
Despite his extremely high speed, Seo Jun-Hoâs eyes were following him.