Return of the Frozen Player - Chapter 41
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A Gift from Me to You
âItem info.â Seo Jun-ho remembered the effects of the item from Armaâs memories, but he wanted to see them with his own eyes.
ăAura Buff Ringă
Grade: Unique
Allies and summons within a 30-meter radius of the user are strengthened with a âStrength Buffâ.
âStrength Buff: All stats +5
Equipment Requirements: Level 25, 60 or higher on all stats.
âHehâŠâ Seo Jun-ho couldnât help but marvel. I heard the items from the Frontier are good, butâŠÂ He hadnât expected them to be this good. Simply wearing the ring would permanently raise all of his stats. Not only that, the effects were insanely good for summoners.
It has an area limitation, but it buffs both the user and their summons. It was a dream item for summoners.
The only thing was that its stat requirements were high relative to the level requirement. But that wasnât a problem for him. All of his stats were already over 60. If he just raised his level by 3, heâd be able to use this ring whenever he wanted.
âIâll see you soon.â Seo Jun-ho carefully placed the silver ring into his inventory. On the day he reaches level 25, this ring would sit on one of his ten fingers.
âThe rest of the items are whatever.â Armaâs items were mostly Rare or higher, but they were all specifically for magicians or summoners. Even though he could sell them on the Black Market, Seo Jun-ho didnât really want to.
Iâll make a pretty penny, but itâs not worth raising suspicions. He looked down at Arma the way heâd left him and started to erase his tracesâhis fingerprints and footprintsâuntil he was satisfied.
âPerfect.â
I learned this from watching Skaya, but I didnât expect it to help in this way. Heâd used magic to erase all traces of himself. Even someone with a psychometric skill wouldnât be able to trace him. It was invented by the Great Mage, after all.
* * *
The next morning, Gong Juha was staring at her subordinates with sunken eyes. The dark circles made her look like a panda.
âYou still⊠still havenât found it?â
âIâm sorry. We havenât.â
âUghhhh.â She sounded like she was about to cry. âWhere in the world is the Skeleton Mage guy?â
As her shoulders drooped, she remembered something from the night before. When sheâd been fighting the black skeletons with her teammates, theyâd suddenly crumbled to ashes.
âWh-what? Are they dead?â
âWhat happened?â
âGet it together. They wouldnât die all of a sudden,â Gong Juha inferred over her teammatesâ confusion with a charismatic voice.
âSo youâre saying the Skeleton Mage recalled them on purpose.â
âExactly. His original goal was probably to take Heavenâs Breath to a safe place.â
Gong Juhaâs face darkened. âIf weâd just fought a little longer, I couldâve found his locationâŠâ
Even during the fight, sheâd been analyzing the magic patterns on the skeletonsâ bodies. If sheâd had a little longer, she couldâve found his location.
The Skeleton Mage is an enemy, but heâs really smart. Heâd probably taken into account the time it would have taken her to trace him and cancelled his summons before then.
He really was terrifying.
ââŠWhat time is it?â
â7 AM.â
âUgh.â Gong Juha had sat on the sofa in the hotel lobby and waited, just in case the Skeleton Mage was discovered. She hadnât slept a wink as sheâd been on standby. For someone who loved to sleep in, it was the worst form of torture.
âGongju-nim.â
âMmm. What.â She rubbed her eyes as Ha Inho called her. He stepped close and carefully took out a box.
âThey said someone left this for you.â
ââŠWhat, a fan?â Gong Juha perked up despite her fatigue. She was a cute, globally-acclaimed ranker, which was rare. There were tons of people that liked her; her fan club already had thirty million members.
âWhy do they keep sending me things⊠I made an announcement on my cafe to not send me gifts unless itâs a fan signing event or something.â Even though she said that, she looked very happy. Ha Inho, on the other hand, looked serious.
âBut the contentsâŠâ
ââŠWhat? Is it something weird?â She suddenly looked scared. One time, sheâd received the skin of a thousand-year-old snake, saying it was good for her skin. She occasionally received weird things from obsessive fans. She was unexpectedly squeamish whenever she received those things.
âWell, itâs not anything gross. Itâs just surprising.â
ââŠWhat in the world is it?â She tilted her head and opened the box. Inside was a large gem. âHuh? ThisâŠâ
She held up the gem and muttered to herself. âWow, this is really well-made. It looks exactly the same as the Heavenâs Breath we saw at the auction hall.â
âItâs the real one. It was just appraised by an auction manager.â
âWhat?!â Gong Juhaâs eyes went wide in shock. âItâs the real deal? Didnât the Skeleton Mage take it?â
âThatâs whatâs surprising about it.â Ha Inho shrugged and held out a Post-it. âThis was inside the box. Would you like a look?â
âYes!â Gong Juha read over the elegant English script that was written.
â Dealt with the Skeleton Mage and two fiends. Retrieved Heavenâs Breath. Skeleton Mage in the back alley of XX Hotel. From a fan that was passing by.
âOh my god,â Her mouth twitched in surprise. âM-my fan took care of everything?â
âIt seems so.â
âI didnât even do anythingâŠâ
âDoes it matter? It was taken care of. We wonât have to pay for the damages either.â Ha Inho let out a sigh of relief. âIf we lost it, we wouldâve had to pay an enormous amount.â
âMan, Iâm really grateful⊠Can you find out who sent this? I want to thank them in person.â
âYou think I havenât tried? I checked all over the Skeleton Mageâs corpse.â He shook his head. âYour fan is quite amazing. They didnât leave a single trace. Itâs the work of a pro. Theyâre at least a ranker, but I havenât the slightest idea who it is.â
âAh, who could it be? I really want to knowâŠâ They put their heads together and started to name rankers, when a familiar person appeared before them.
âHuh? Hey!â Gong Juha recognized him, blinking once as she called to him. âHeyyy!â
Gong Juha stomped across the floor just as Seo Jun-ho turned around. She looked up at him, and he had a refreshing smile.
âGood morning,â he greeted cheerfully.
âGood morning? Good morning~?â Gong Juha crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. âHow could you do that?â
âHuh?â
âWow, so youâre pretending you donât know now? You ran away yesterday!â
âRan away? IâŠ?â Seo Jun-ho tilted his head as he recalled the events of the night before. Oh, sheâŠÂ He seemed to realize. Heâd moved as fast as he could so he wouldnât miss the Watchdogs, but to her, it seemed like he ran away.
âHey, didnât you run away last time too? When you said you were going to the bathroom? Youâre a habitual offender!â
With the steam coming out of her ears, it was obvious how angry she was. She started nagging him as his sunbae.
âDidnât you watch Spider-Man? âWith great power comes great responsibilityâ! And Sir Specter said that too! Playersâ powers exist to protect the citizens.â
(TN: The suffix she uses is different and more respectful than â-nimâ.)
ââŠI did?â
âWhat? Not you. Sir Specter said that.â
âOh, Sir⊠Specter.â He tried not to cringe and laughed awkwardly. I said that? He didnât even remember. Aside from what he said at intermissions, most of his interviews had been scripted.
âFrom now on, if something happens, help people get to safety instead of running away. Okay?â
ââŠI understand.â Gong Juha was satisfied after she finished her lecture. She seemed like the type to air things out quickly.
âItâs good to see you adapt quickly. Oh, and have I told you?â She was waving her Post-it, clearly wanting to brag.
âNo, you have not.â
âWell, it just so happened that a fan of mine defeated the Skeleton Mage and the fiends and sent Heavenâs Breath to me. Oh, I wonder who has such a talented fan⊠Wait, itâs me!â She looked very pleased. If she had a tail, it would be wagging around.
âInho said theyâre at least a ranker. I wonder who it is.â
ââŠIs it possible that theyâre not?â
âNope, no way.â Gong Juha shook her forefinger and smiled knowingly, as if Seo Jun-ho still had a lot left to learn. âInho inspected the Skeleton Mageâs corpse, but there wasnât the smallest trace left behind.â
âReally?â
âYes. Isnât it amazing? Inhoâs also a ranker, but he couldnât find a single clue⊠How amazing of a player must they be?â
Now it was Seo Jun-hoâs turn to look pleased. Heâd cleaned up so well that even a ranker couldnât find him.
âHm, and seeing how natural their English handwriting is⊠Theyâre probably an American, right? Let me think of some.â
ââŠIs it necessary to seek them out? Theyâll reveal themself when they want to.â
âR-right? It would be rude of me, wouldnât it?â Gong Juha seemed embarrassed as she carefully put the Post-it into her inventory. âSo what will you do now, Mr. Snake head? My work is done, so Iâm planning to go back to the 2nd floor as soon as I receive my items.â
âI donât have any reason to linger now that the auction is over. Iâll be going back to Korea.â
âYou won the weird ball and the necklace yesterday, right?â
âYes. I came here because they said I could receive my items here.â
âYou can go to that desk over there.â Gong Juha looked to the wall, looking a little disappointed. âItâs sad that we have to part like this. Iâll ask one more time: wonât you respectfully join our guild?â
âIâll respectfully decline.â
âTch, that stings,â Gong Juha sulked as she held out her right hand for a handshake. âStay healthy until we meet again. Next time, itâll be on the 2nd floor.â
âIt wonât be long.â
âFufu, thatâs what they all say. But the pressure starts to build as you level up.â
âWeâll see.â
âWow, look at that confidence! Okay, if you come up to the 2nd floor within half a year, Iâll give you a present.â
âAnd if I canât?â
âThen youâll grant my wish. Deal?â
Her wish was pretty obvious: sheâd tell him to join her guild.
âNo complaining later, alright?â Of course, heâd never grant her wish. Seo Jun-ho took her small hand.
âThis is your Unknown Ball and Stamina Regeneration Necklace.â Seo Jun-ho received an expensive-looking box from the counter. It opened with a clack, revealing a ball sitting on a soft cloth.
Just what is it? He still didnât know why he wanted this. But whenever Keen Intuition (B) reacted that strongly, there was always a good reason behind it.
âThereâs no item window either.â Seo Jun-ho studied it carefully before trying to use magic on it.
Vrrrr. It vibrated for a moment, similar to the smartphones they used to use.
But nothing has really changedâŠÂ Seo Jun-ho shrugged and put the ball into his inventory. He was planning to infuse it with magic whenever he got bored.
âSomething will happen eventually.â Only time would tell if it was good or bad.