Return of the Frozen Player - chapter 204
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Chapter 204
âThe woundâs too deep!â Jang Hae-Won cried out with her hands placed on Gasman. She sounded like she was about to cry. That was how bad the wound was and how dangerous the situation was.
âCough! Gah!â Every time his chest heaved up and down, Gasman choked and coughed out blood.
ââŠMr. Jun-Ho.â Gong Ju-Ha said. The look in her eyes had changed as she watched them. She spoke in a low voice with her eyes still on Cheetey, âDid you see that?â
âI didnâtâŠâ
Cheetey the Cheetah was one of Forever Landâs mascotsâbut this wasnât some cute animal costume.
âThis is the original Cheetey.â
It was a humanoid cheetah that was so fast that Seo Jun-Hoâs eyes hadnât been able to register how it moved. It didnât seem unnatural for Cheetey to be standing on two legs, and they fit right in at Serengeti.
They lazily licked their blood-stained claws. âGas and fire are an annoying match-up,â they muttered, voice full of mischief.
Cheetey looked at Gong Ju-Ha. They had been aiming for her from the very beginning. After all, no matter how much gas there was, it was pointless if there was nothing to spark it.
ââŠThe human has better eyes than I thought.â
Their attack had failed because Seo Jun-Ho had tackled Gong Ju-Ha away. So, Cheetey had decided that Gasman would be the second-best target.
âI didnât see it,â Gong Ju-Ha said honestly. âLetâs move for now. So Hae-Won can focus on healing him,â she added. She calmly made the best decision she could in the situation.
âBut that guy wonât just follow along,â Seo Jun-Ho said.
âI know.â Gong Ju-Ha summoned her magic and placed her hand on the ground. âSo, letâs push them away.â
Fwoosh!
As a great amount of magic energy was released, a wall of fire shot up from the ground. With nowhere else to go, Cheetey retreated away.
âHuff, huff⊠Good.â Gong Ju-Ha looked back and met Jang Hae-Wonâs eyes.
âPrincessâŠâ
âDonât worry about us and focus on healing him. Iâm gonna win no matter what.â
Fwoosh.
A multi-layered wall of fire appeared around Jang Hae-Won.
âIsnât it dangerous for them?â Seo Jun-Ho asked.
âItâs alright. Itâs a type of fire that doesnât spread or go out.â Serengeti was much hotter now that it had become a sea of fire. Despite Gong Ju-Haâs usual complaints about the heat, her lips were pursed. She pulled her messy hair in a tight ponytail. âLetâs go.â
She extinguished the wall of fire as they went forward. It was obvious just how much magic the technique was using, so she wouldnât be able to maintain it for a prolonged period of time.
âDo you have a plan?â Seo Jun-Ho asked.
She shook her head. âIf Iâm being honest, I donât think Iâll be able to hit someone that fast.â Gong Ju-Ha flicked her finger, creating a fireball. It floated near her head like the sun. âBut Iâll tryâŠâ
ââŠ!â
One, two, three⊠She kept creating fireballs until there were a hundred of them in no time. The sight was majestic enough to make even Seo Jun-Ho swallow nervously even though he was her ally.
âThatâs⊠amazing.â The Frost Queen usually disliked Ju-Ha, but her face was full of shock.
âHmph, itâs still a slow attack.â Cheetey snorted, but the mischief had left their voice. There was no way they would be hit, but they would die even if they received just a scratch.
âHere I go.â
The moment Gong Ju-Haâs hand fell, a hundred fireballs flew into the savanna, each with their own time delay.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of explosions came from everywhere around them, turning the place they were in akin to a battlefield.
Seo Jun-Hoâs eyes flitted around.
ââŠNo. Sheâs too slow.â
The explosions were powerful, but Cheetey was still too fast.
âKeke, are you trying to catch me with these slow attacks? How ridiculousy.â[1]
Fwoosh.
All hundred fireballs had been launched, but Cheetey remained completely uninjured.
ââŠWhat should I do? Theyâre too fast. My skill canât keep up.â Ruler of Flames was a great skill, but it had one weakness. Actually, all elemental abilities had a shared weakness, except for lightning-affiliated ones. âItâs impossible for me to hit something that fast.â
ââŠâ Seo Jun-Ho slowly nodded. He wasnât sure if his own skill, Watchguard of Darkness, would be able to do that either.
âIn this situation, itâs nice to have a mage like Skaya to restrain the enemy for a momentâŠ;
But unfortunately, no one here had such a convenient skill. Seo Jun-Ho thought for a moment, then spoke with a grave voice, âTake care of the zookeepers first. Leave this guy to me.â
ââŠ.You? Itâs too dangerous. That guyâs insanely fast,â she said, eyes wide.
âBut we still need to do something about the zookeepers.â They had passed by the pair and were heading toward the place where Gong Ju-Ha had left Jang Hae-Won. If this continued, Gasman and Jang Hae-Won would be in danger.
âKeke.â Cheetey laughed as they slowly approached the two. âYouâre chattering again? No matter what you try, you wonât even be able to graze me.â
âMr. Jun-HoâŠâ
âThereâs no time. Go.â
Gong Ju-Ha looked at him with worried eyes. ââŠAlright. Iâll be right back, so donât lose.â
âOf courseâŠâ
Realizing that she wouldnât be of any help here, Gong Ju-Ha bit her lip and turned around to leave. As she left, Seo Jun-Ho looked at Cheetey coolly. âItâs time for you to play with me now.â
âMm, about that⊠Why should I?â They stroked their chin and grinned. Gong Ju-Ha already had her back turned to them. âThat woman trusted you and left her back open. Donât she look like sheâll just die if I attack her right now?â
It was a rhetorical question. As soon as they finished speaking, however, Cheetey kicked off the ground and their figure blurred.
âKek. Stupid human.â
Did he think they would play fair?
Just as Cheetey was laughing and was about to pass by Seo Jun-Ho, the latter spoke, âDidnât you hear me? I said itâs time to play with me now.â
ââŠ!â
His voice had come from right next to them.
âImpossible IâŠIâm running right now!â
This meant their opponent was keeping up with their speed. Cheetey slowly looked up to the left.
Crack!
Something struck their head, and searing pain blossomed on their face.
ââŠâ
They were now at a complete stop. Cheetey blinked, unable to believe what had just happened.
âDid IâŠDid I fall over? Because he attacked me?â
Cheetey stood carefully, grabbing the ground. There was something hot on their face, and they touched their nose.
âBloodâŠâ
There was blood on their hand. How long had it been since they had last bled?
âHow?â They turned and stared at the human, unpanicked. âYou⊠Were you hiding your power?â Up until a moment ago, the girlâs aura had been the overwhelmingly powerful one. But now, they werenât so sure anymore. They didnât know how to explain it, but something had changed.
âI dunno, I just increased my output,â Seo Jun-Ho replied with a shrug.
âI donât know what youâre saying.â Cheeteyâs eyes narrowed and they lowered their stance. They looked at Seo Jun-Ho for a moment before disappearing again. This time, they were much faster.
âHe caught up to me before because I let my guard down.â
Now, they were running at their maximum speed. They were going so fast that they couldnât even control it properly.
Cheetey nodded as they ran.
âHe canât catch up to this. A mere human could never go as fast as a cheetah.â
It was their nature. Cheetahs were born fast, while tigers and bears were born with strong muscles.
âHumans are slower than cheetahs and weaker than bears and tigers.â
That was the natural order of things, and it couldnât be changed.
Or so they thoughtâŠ
ââŠ!â
Something was blocking the way. By the time they realized that they had to dodge, it was too late.
Crack!
Seo Jun-Hoâs knee buried itself into the cheetahâs chin. The pain made their head spin, and Cheeteyâs eyes rolled back as they collapsed.
âYou really arenât a normal monster. Usually, it would end here,â Seo Jun-Ho remarked.
Cheetey managed to pull themselves together and flipped their body in midair. Using their tail for balance, they landed safely.
But their face was hideous. âHaak, haakâŠ!â
Their jaw had been completely shattered, making it impossible for them to speak. Their lips wouldnât close; and teeth, blood, and saliva dripped out of it.
âHow dare he!â
Their fur stood on end in fury. All the original Forever Land mascots, including them, were superior to humans.
âBut how dare a mere humanâŠ!â
They were so enraged that their body was trembling. If they didnât rip apart the human with their claws, their head just might explode.
âRight this instant!â
But what could they do in this situation?
The question actually calmed Cheetey down.
âThis human is fast.â
They didnât want to admit it, they would rather die than admit it, but the human in front of them was faster than themâa cheetah.
The gears quickly started turning in their head.
âWhat if I just ignore him and kill the girl first?â
No. He would catch up.
âI canât fight him face-on eitherâŠâ
âEven if I order the other animals⊠Dammit, itâs impossible to catch this human.â
They flipped through dozens of possible solutions, but each one was rejected.
âNo, no, no, no, noâŠâ
Still crouching like an angered cat, Cheetey absentmindedly tapped their paws on the ground, but they couldnât muster the courage to pour strength into them and just run forward.
And then, Cheetey met the humanâs eyes.
ââŠWhatâs with him?â
Why did he look unhappy? His eyes were eerily calm. There was no joy, no interest, or a sense of superiority.
He looked as if he already knew the outcomeâas if he had already been through this hundreds; no, thousands of times.
ââŠâ The moment they realized this, Cheetey became filled with a newfound fear for the man in front of them.
ââŠItâs over.â
With that one word, the man leisurely walked away and disappeared from sight.
âIs he just letting me go?â
Why wasnât he attacking? Should they take this chance to ambush him? Or just run away?
Cheetey was pulled from their thoughts as they suddenly went stiff.
âWhy is it hot?â
Their whole body felt as hot as a volcanoâas if they had caught on fire.
âHaak, haak!â Cheetey drooled as they watched the man disappear with red eyes.
Gong Ju-Haâs flames didnât go out no matter how much they rolled on the ground. And the flames didnât stop until they had stopped breathing and their bones had turned to ashes.
ââŠWait, whyâs the cheetah suddenly acting like that? It doesnât look like theyâre dodging.â
âHuh? Didnât you just attack them with perfect timing?â
âO-Of course I did⊠Iâm pretty good at that.â
Gong Ju-Ha laughed bashfully; she felt proud of herself despite not knowing anything.
Seo Jun-Ho went with the flow and laughed along with her.
1. Cheetey ends their sentences with â-tahâ, as in chee-tah â