Return of the Frozen Player - chapter 202
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Chapter 202
One side of the empty food court was converted into a makeshift conference room. The participants were Guild members who were Vice Team Leaders or higher, along with the additional two guests.
âTheyâre pretty good on these things.â
The two guests werenât being included because they were more powerful or of a higher level than normal Guild membersâit was because they were outsiders. They had a chance to voice their dissents if they disagreed with the Guildâs decisions. After all, every Player had the right to prioritize their own life above anything else.
âThere are twenty-eight,â Shin Sung-Hyun. âTwenty-eight rides in the park.â
âThatâs a lot,â someone said.
Shin Sung-Hyun nodded. âWeâre lucky.â
They all understood what he meant.
âItâs a good thing that there are enough rides.â
Of course, so did Seo Jun-Ho. Eighty Players had entered the Dungeon.
âIf any more people joined, we wouldâve been in trouble.â
Forever Landâs guide map showed the names, locations, difficulty, and the maximum number of participants for each ride. In other words, there were enough rides for every Player to ride in.
âIsnât this too easy?â
âAll we have to do is stand in line and ride the rideâŠâ
âI feel a little uncomfortable because this used to be a real amusement park, but other than that, it seems easier than I thought.â
âWe donât even need to cut in lineâŠâ
Even though the Dungeon had a strange theme, Goblinâs members didnât seem scared at all.
ââŠIs it because of their faith in him?â
They looked at Shin Sung-Hyun with boundless, glowing faith. And as a leader should, he rewarded their loyalty. âThere are five rides of the highest difficulty that require one rider. Iâll take care of them.â
âOohhh.â
After he made the first decision, the rest of the assignments went smoothly. Following the Vicemaster Jang Kyung-Hoon, the Team Leaders each chose a ride they were confident they could clear or otherwise simply wanted to experience.
Except for oneâŠ
âCaptain Gong. I donât think youâve mentioned which ride you will take,â Shin Sung-Hyun said.
âI-Iâll just take anythingâŠâ she said.
âThen Iâll leave you with the four-person haunted houseâŠâ
âEek, no!â She immediately refused. Everyone turned to stare at her. âUm⊠WellâŠItâs not like Iâm slightly scaredâŠOf ghostsâŠâ she said in a small voice.
âThen how about the safari?â
âOh? They have one here? I like animals. Iâll take it!â
Shin Sung-Hyun turned to Seo Jun-Ho, meeting his eyes. âI know it may be difficult, but will you go with Captain Gong?â
âOf courseâŠâ
âThank you for cooperating.â
After he finished assigning most of the members their own rides, the Guildmaster spoke to them once more. âNo matter what happens, do not cut in line or give up halfway through,â he said.
âOf course not. Thereâs no reason to, is there?â
âYou all got that, right? Just follow the rules, and we can clear this safely.â
The Players here were Rankers. They were confident that they wouldnât bog down the conquest.
âWe should get going.â Gong Ju-Ha grabbed Seo Jun-Hoâs arm and stood up. A man and a woman followed them.
âIâm supposed to go with you, Princess.â
âHullo! You look like a small little sparrow. Iâm also on the team!â[1]
âHae-Wonâs a team member, but who are you?â Gong Ju-Ha said, narrowing her eyes at the skinny man.
âIâm Gasman.â As he spoke, he pulled up his sleeve. There were black holes in his arms, and they puffed as they released green smoke in unison. âIf you ever need gas, just say the word.â
ââŠOoh-kay,â she said, sounding a little annoyed.
Gasman pulled his sleeves down. âSpeaking of safaris, do you like animals, Seo hyung?â
ââŠSeo hyung?â
âYes, isnât your surname âSeo,â Jun-Ho hyung?â
In the blink of an eye, he became a hyung. âDo you know how old I am?â he asked.
âCâmon, anyone whoâs stronger than you is a hyung in this line of business. Hahaha. I can tell just by looking at you that youâre stronger than me.â Gasman laughed heartily.
The Frost Queen returned from wandering the park, carrying cotton candy with her. On the other hand, she was holding a teddy bear, which was the mascot of Forever Land. Seo Jun-Ho wondered where she got it from.
âThat man looks as thin as a stick. I do not think we would get along,â she declared.
ââŠHey, where did you get the cotton candy? Donât just eat it carelessly.â
âIâm a Spirit, do you really think I would die? I want to eat it.â As she glared at him, Gong Ju-Ha turned toward them.
âWhat did you say?â she asked.
ââŠItâs nothing. Letâs go.â
âAhhhh!â A scream came from above. As the four of them turned to look up, they were stunned into silence.
âKill them! Kill them all!â
âDonât let them get close!â
âIâm telling you, itâs hard to move because of the damn safety bar!â
As the rollercoaster shot by them like a bullet, Seo Jun-Ho finally spoke, âSo thatâs what it is.â
âUgh⊠Thatâs too much. I hate thisâŠ!â Gong Ju-Ha whined, gripping her head. âMr. Jun-Ho, werenât those things crawling on the rollercoaster⊠animal costumes?â
âYes. To be exact, they were the mascots of Forever Land.â With the bear at the lead as the main mascot, there had been a variety of animals, including a tiger, rabbit, mouse, and cheetah. They approached the Players by crawling on the rollercoaster.
âEek, we have to fight those things while on a rideâŠ?â Gong Ju-Ha turned pale, and she looked like she was about to cry. âItâs too much. I am afraid of heights. NoooâŠâ
âHaha, whatâs there to worry about? Theyâre just dolls, canât you just burn them all?â Gasman suggested.
âThatâs true, butâŠâ
It didnât seem to cheer her up in the slightest. In fact, it seemed like he made it worse.
âHmmmâŠâ As they spoke, the Frost Queen stealthily threw away the plushie. Seeing the rollercoaster made her uncomfortable.
âSigh.â
Seo Jun-Ho calmed himself down. Between all these cowards, the only person he could trust was himself.
***
ââŠYouâre sure this is the place?â Gong Ju-Ha asked carefully.
âYes. It says so on both the map and on the sign,â Seo Jun-Ho replied.
ââŠAm I the only one who finds it weird?â The sign had
written on it. âWhy would you put âhorrorâ in front of âsafari?â Itâs awkward! Itâs weird! And it even says itâs âreal!ââ
âIt probably means that there are a lot of carnivorous animals. Letâs get in line.â Of course, they were the only ones there.
âCome on!â Gong Ju-Ha protested. It didnât seem like she would move from her spot, but when the other three got in line, she sniffled and followed.
âIâm gonna burn them allâŠIâm gonna burn anything that comes closeâŠâ she whispered, unsettling her teammates.
âSo this is the safari carâŠâ
The SUV had tiger stripes on it and had iron bars fashioned on the windows. The engine turned out to be powered by magic.
âDarn it. I donât know much about this type of stuff.â Magic engines had been developed while he was still frozen. âIs there anyone who knows anything about magic engines?â Seo Jun-Ho asked.
âOh, I know a bit.â Once Gasman was done checking the engine and confirmed that there werenât any problems, the four of them got in the car.
As the doors of the Real Horror Safari opened, the car moved forward. Jang Hae-Won was the designated driver because she wouldnât be of much help in battle as a healer.
âW-weâre off,â she mumbled. Once the car started moving, there was an announcement on the TV inside.
[The first area is the Amazon.]
âThe AmazonâŠâ
âSafaris usually have two main areas, right?â
âThatâs right. The Amazon River and the Serengeti Plain,â Gasman said, nodding.
âWhat animals appear in the AmazonâŠ?â Gong Ju-Ha asked.
Seo Jun-Ho answered. âAnacondas, crocodiles, piranhasâŠâ
âReally? Thatâs not as scary as I thoughtâŠâ
âAlong with spiders and centipedes,â Seo Jun-Ho finished.
âWhy did you save that for the end?!â As Gong Ju-Ha yelped, the car suddenly stopped. âEek! Why did it stop?!â
âI-Iâm sorry, Princess! The brake jammed, and the engineâŠâ Jang Hae-Won tried to get the engine going, but the car remained unmoving.
âGasman, didnât you say there werenât any problems with the engine?â Seo Jun-Ho asked.
âT-Thatâs weird. It was fine when I checked it,â he said, flustered. He got out of the car and checked the engine once again.
ââŠâ
ââŠâ
It had been as good as new just a few minutes ago. But now, it was rusty as if it had been in use for decades.
Seo Jun-Ho took in the dense, tropical air. âI think weâre gonna have to walk.â
âWhat?! It said it would take two hours by car!â
âIf we walkâŠâ
It was impossible to tell how many hours it would take until they reached the end. Moreover, they were inside the safari. Who knew how many predators were lurkingâŠ
âWe donât have a choice.â
âHuh? But the entrance is right thereâŠâ Jang Hae-Won pointed, but Gong Ju-Ha shook her head. âSafety rule number 3. Visitors who do not enjoy the ride to the end will die.â
âOhâŠâ
âMiss Ju-Ha is correct. We can only keep going forward,â Seo Jun-Ho said. No one knew for sure how the penalties were enforced, but no one wanted to risk their life to find out. âBefore we leave, please burn that.â
He pointed to the pile of brush he had made by cutting up the grass
âI donât know why youâre asking me to⊠But okay.â With a flick of her wrist, it set on fire.
Seo Jun-Ho stepped over the fire, covering his body with black smoke.
ââŠWhat are you doing?â
âThe most dangerous creatures in the jungle arenât anacondas, crocodiles, spiders, or centipedes.â Theyâre bugs, especially mosquitos. âThe smell will make insects stay away. You should all do the same.â
They seemed uncertain, but the party members obeyed without complaint.
Gasman looked at him in awe. âHave you ever been to a jungle, Seo hyung? You seem pretty well-versed in this.â
ââŠI havenât.â He had actually been to a lot when he was Specter. He had cleared hundreds of Gates with many different environments.
âLetâs go.â Seo Jun-Ho and Gasman took the lead, with Gong Ju-Ha and Jang Hae-Won trailing behind them. They skillfully cut through the thick brush and walked for about ten minutes.
All of a sudden, Seo Jun-Ho suddenly held up his fist.
âOh, itâs the signal to pause!â
âDid he sense something?â
âI-I donât know. I didnât feel anythingâŠâ
The other party members hadnât noticed anything, but Seo Jun-Ho crouched down and studied the ground.
âIt looks like something was dragged through here.â
The tracks were thirty centimeters wide, much bigger than a carâs wheels. They were also in a uniform S shape.
Only one animal could leave such tracks.
âBut the biggest problem isâŠâ
They stopped at the tree right in front of them.
âGet ready to fight.â
Above them, the half-asleep anaconda opened its yellow eyes. As it moved, a shadow fell on the party.
âWhat is that⊠Why is it so bigâŠ?â
âAre anacondas usually that big?â
âOf course not!â
Sssss!
The 70-foot-long giant anaconda flicked its tongue.
1. He speaks with a slight Hamgyong accent, which is used in the northernmost parts of Korea and by Chinese-Korean people living near the border. It is not used in South Korea. â