Return of the Frozen Player - Chapter 27
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Return of the Frozen Player 027
The Dragon Without a Name (2)
[Your Magic stat has increased by 1.]
[Your Magic stat has increased by 0.5.]
[Your Magic stat has increased by 2.]
[Your Magic stat has increased by 0.5.]
[Your Magic statâŠ]
After absorbing nine Ice attribute items, his Magic stat had increased by 10.
âHm, now theyâre truly useless.â Without their Ice attribute, they became normal items.
Well, theyâre not the main dish anyways. He looked at the Glove of the Frost Fairyâs Wrath. Since it was a cursed item, it had Intermediate-level Frost energy.
âGimme those 5 points!â Seo Jun-ho placed his hand on the glove and started to absorb its energy. The cold sensation heâd gotten when heâd treated Choi Sun-hee started to set in. It created a new magic as it wove into his own.
[Your Magic stat has increased by 4.]
âAhâŠâ He let out a disappointed sigh. Heâd expected it to increase his Magic stat by at least 5, but it seemed that even items of the same grade werenât all equal.
Well, it makes sense that a disease from a person is stronger than an item.Â
Having eaten his fill, Seo Jun-ho looked again at the purified glove.
ăMagic-Infused Gloveă
Grade: Rare
Speed +1
Stamina +1
Magic +2
Equipment Requirements: Level 10, 40 Speed, 50 Magic.
âNot bad.â Since the glove had been fully purified, Seo Jun-ho could now use it. âThe requirements arenât too bad either.â The glove fit him perfectly like it was made for him.
With this, Iâm ready to take on the Nameless Dragon. After absorbing all the magic, his Magic stat was now at 67. He could now use other techniques without any reservations.
âItâll be fun.â He smiled wide.
* * *
The Eastern Sea Gate was at Ilsan Beach in Ulsan. For the people of Ulsan, the beach was one of the few ways to relieve the hot weather, and the Gate had stolen that. But now, it had become famous for being the last Uncleared Gate in Korea.
(TN: Ulsan is a city in the south of Korea near Busan.)
Ilsan Beach had been empty even during the height of summer, but now, it was full of chattering people. The domestic reporters were a given, but there were lots of foreign ones as well.
âThat just shows how much the world is watching.â The President of the Korean Player Association had come too, given that today might be the day that Korea became the worldâs first special safe zone.
(TN: Safe zone without any Uncleared Gates.)
âArenât you nervous?â
The person he was talking to was none other than Seo Jun-ho. They were riding in a big Cadillac van, the kind that American presidents rode.
ââŠVery nervous.â Shim Deok-gu whirled around, shocked by his answer.
Ping! Ping⊠dun, dun, dun.Â
Sad music played as he died in the game. He tossed the console aside.
âGeez! What a crappy game. How come it shakes so much during the boss fight?â
ââŠYou were talking about the game?â
âHuh? Were you talking about that?â Seo Jun-ho jutted his chin toward the beach. He waved his hands and looked at him like he was crazy. âI defeated the Frost Queen. Do you think Iâd be scared of a dragon whose name I donât even know?â Most boss monsters had a distinct name or sobriquet. For example, the Perrin that had only appeared once in Northern Europe. Or the Kraken from Norway that appeared from the ocean. Even the Cinder Fox heâd fought not too long ago had a name.
âWell, it is called the Nameless Dragon⊠If it doesnât have a name, itâs probably not all that great.â
âIf it was, it would have a name.â Seo Jun-ho spoke casually, but Shim Deok-gu was uncharacteristically nervous.
âDonât be careless. Donât forget that almost 9,000 people have died trying to defeat it.â
âIâm not like that. And by the way, a dragon is still a dragon.â They were one of the strongest monsters out there.
âDragons arenât easy opponents for those who are unprepared.â
âThatâs true.â
âSo donât worry.â
âIâm not.â
Shim Deok-gu grumbled. âThe most useless things to worry about are celebrities, rich people, and you.â
âIf you know that, why do you look so nervous?â
âJust⊠Itâs not just monsters youâll be going up against.â There were only three people going into the Gate today: Seo Jun-ho and the Shadow Brothers. âSeeing as how no one else is going in, itâs very likely that theyâre fiends.â
âTheyâre barely at level 25. I took down three players who were over level 20 not long ago.â
âHey, do you think the Shadow Brothers are that weak?â
âWell, considering their career, Iâd say theyâre a little better. Just a bit.â
âJust be carefulâŠâ The Shadow Brothers were revered as heroes back in America, which meant theyâd had a good, clean career thus far.
They havenât failed a single one of their 200 plus commissions.Â
However, their main business wasnât clearing Gates. Their specialty was acting as guards, so they were highly sought after.
âBoth brothers awoke shadow abilities. What luck.â Even if they were blood-related, it was unlikely for two people to awaken their abilities at the same time; even more unlikely for both to obtain skills with certain attributes. Even if that happened by some chance, the possibility of them awakening abilities with the same attribute was close to 0%.
âItâs like winning the Powerball, buying two more tickets, and then winning again.â
âThatâs why the Americans love them. Theyâre brothers with a heroic destiny,â Shim Deok-gu said at once. âAmericans love a good hero story.â
âYeah. All the Marvel and DC comics I read are from there.â
But if they truly were pawns for the fiends, why did they choose that path? People were expecting them to be heroes.
âŠWell, Iâll find out soon enough.
Seo Jun-ho drank a soda as he looked out the window. âHuh? Theyâre here?â
âSeems like it. Letâs get off too.â The car carrying the Shadow Brothers had parked in the lot. As Deok-gu and Seo Jun-ho made their way over, the car door opened and two tall men stepped out. They smiled brightly as they saw him.
âHey! Iâm a big fan of yours, Sir Jun-ho!â
âThanks, but I am not a sir. My name is Jun-ho Seo.â
(TN: These lines are originally in English but I fixed up the grammar.)
As the perfect English spilled from his lips, the surrounding reporters, as well as the Brothers, looked surprised.
âDamn, youâre good at English.â
âYour pronunciationâs good. Did you study abroad?â
âNo, Iâm just familiar with it. I have a friend from England, you see.â An eccentric young lady who spent all her time locked in her room to study magic.
The Shadow Brothers fist-bumped him and laughed heartily.
âHahaha, thatâs a relief! Vitaâs interpretation feature has a slight delay, so we were worried that it might be inconvenient when we go inside⊠But it seems like that wonât be a problem!â
âI didnât know you were so good at English either. You should introduce us to your friend if we ever get the chance.â
âWell⊠Weâll see.â As they introduced each other warmly, the atmosphere around them also lightened. Only Shim Deok-gu didnât seem to notice.
Just by looking at them, Iâm already starting to doubt myselfâŠÂ Was that really a mask? If so, he was worried about how things would unfold within the Gate.
One of the brothers noticed Deok-gu staring and turned to him.
âHm? Is there something on my face?â
âIâm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just amazed by the sight of Americaâs hottest heroes.â
(PR: Smooth, Deok-gu. Smooth.)
âOh, well, no need to be sorry about thatâŠâ They finished exchanging greetings and started the interview. They didnât ask any questions about their favorite K-pop stars or their thoughts on kimchi.
âWhy did you come here to participate in the raid today?â
âUh⊠Well. Iâd say the biggest reason is the man called Seo Jun-ho.â
âPlayer Seo Jun-ho?â
âCorrect. When we read that he defeated two Uncleared Gates and the Cinder Fox⊠we felt our blood boiling.â
(TN: In Korean, this doesnât always insinuate anger. Usually itâs just used to denote strong feelings/passion.)
âYou felt competitive?â
âHaha, letâs just call it respect.â The interview went on for another hour and ended pleasantly. The Shadow Brothers and Seo Jun-ho then gathered at the shore during their short break.
âThis is Koreaâs last Uncleared Gate, isnât it?â
âWeâll give it our all so that Korea can become a special safe zone.â
Hearing their encouragement, Seo Jun-ho laughed lightly.
âDonât worry. Iâve prepared as much as I can.â
When do you think players are most nervous when challenging a Gate? Some might say itâs when theyâre facing the boss, others might say itâs when their teammates get injured. But most players are most nervous when they enter the Gate.
They donât know what environment, monsters, or traps await them. Thatâs when they are most on edge.
Thatâs why we thought it would be easyâŠ
The Shadow Brothers had been planning to ambush Seo Jun-ho as soon as they entered the Gate. But as they stared at his defenseless back, their hands wouldnât move.
Is it⊠truly an opening?
Seo Jun-ho looked careless, but there was an irrationally strong feeling that he would perfectly block their attacks. The two exchanged looks and widened their steps to flank Seo Jun-ho.
âPretty breezy, isnât it?â
âI never knew the inside of a Gate could look like thisâŠâ
Currently, they were on a lonely-looking island. Besides the small forest area in the east, they were surrounded by shorelines.
Shwaaaa! The rough, fierce waves hit the beach without rest.
âI donât see a single monster. Whereâs the Nameless Dragon?â
âA dragon⊠Iâve always wanted to fight one.â With their arms crossed, the Shadow Brothers looked confident.
âŠSomethingâs weird. The Nameless Dragon didnât even have a proper sobriquet. But Seo Jun-ho got a too-familiar feeling. This is the same feeling I get when I enter a 1-star Gate.Â
Of course, the Shadow Brothers wouldnât know. They chattered away as they watched Seo Jun-ho for an opening.
Wooooooosh!
At that moment, a great shadow covered the island.
âHuh? WhatâŠâ
âIs it a cloud?â As they squinted up to the sky, the Shadow Brothersâ necks craned.
âWhat⊠is that?â Above the white clouds, something black and enormous flickered.
âIs it the Nameless Dragon?â
âWell, weâve confirmed its location now. But how are we supposed to hunt something that flies above the clouds?â They turned to Seo Jun-ho. Heâd been standing between the two of them just a moment ago, but he had disappeared.
âWh-when did heâ?â
âNo way! I didnât even feel his presenceâŠ!â A great cry resonated above the two confused brothers.
â âGuoooohhh!â
It was 15 meters long and covered in black, tumor-like scales. The Nameless Dragonâs fierce, red eyes glared as it finally descended.
[The Forgotten Dragon has appeared.]
* * *
At the same moment, the darkness in the eastern forest wavered. Seo Jun-ho stepped out and looked down at the panicked Shadow Brothers with cold eyes.
âNow, show me. Whether youâre working with the fiends⊠or not.â