Chapter 54

The Price of a Gamble (2)

Ever since Seo Jun-ho acquired his Frost skill, he’d pondered how to use it. At first, he’d used it to reinforce his equipment. He’d had fun using Watchguard of Darkness in a similar manner. But it felt like a waste to only use it like that. He kept thinking that there would be a better way to use it. Eventually, he’d returned to the roots of his fighting style.

My fighting style is already complete from when I was Specter.

Players around the world had flattered him by calling him a ‘Completed Player’ because of how flawless his combat skills were. Even Seo Jun-ho thought that the only thing he lacked was magic.

…But I realized that was wrong while fighting the Frost Queen.

Even though he’d been the victor, there were many parts he regretted.

Watchguard of Darkness is the strongest spear. No matter how strong the opponent’s armor was, it didn’t matter as long as he could land a clean hit. Because of that, he enjoyed fights where he could corner his opponents in one direction. As long as he made a proper hit, the tides of the fight would turn in an instant.

But that didn’t work on opponents at a similar level as me. A strong enemy like the Frost Queen didn’t just take his hits. She used her powerful Frost skill to block his attacks and even counterattacked.

Watchguard of Darkness is the best for offense, but it lacks a lot of defensive capabilities, Seo Jun-ho thought. So when I got the Frost skill, the first thing that came to mind was defensive reinforcement.

His goal had been to increase his overall defense by strengthening his equipment, but the results weren’t great.

If I cover armor in ice… naturally, it’ll be heavy. It did help, but he lost mobility, and the increase in defense wasn’t significant.

Eventually, Seo Jun-ho had to make a choice.

Should I give up speed for a resilient body?

Or…

…Should I raise both my attack and defense but be in more danger?

When he recognized the two options, he was inclined to choose one of them. He preferred to fight one-dimensionally, like a tug-of-war.

Since I’ve already received the skill, I should use it to the best of my abilities.

After a lot of pondering and research, he decided on how he would use the Frost skill. It came down to three categories.

“The first is utility.”

Crackle. The ground beneath them started to freeze over. Rodomir’s eyes went wide when he saw that his ankles were starting to freeze.

Crash! The ice broke immediately.

– “You cannot trap me with such petty tricks.”

“I know.”

He didn’t plan to bind him.

I just need to distract you.

The floor had become like an ice rink. Rodomir would have to use more strength than usual to simply walk.

That’s good enough.

The icy ground would serve to distract his enemy and slowly eat away at his stamina.

This is the first way I can use the Frost skill: to create an advantageous battlefield.

The second use was more intuitive. Since it would be too heavy to constantly cover his armor in ice, he just needed to do it when he was attacked.

Of course, that means I have to pay extra attention to everything that’s going on…

But he was Specter. This level of fine control was nothing.

The final use of the Frost skill was his favorite.

Crackle.

The air around him froze, creating sharp icicles.

“Using the Frost skill to supplement attacks.”

Watchguard of Darkness can’t do this. Well, it was possible, but it was highly inefficient. The darkness was intangible, and though it was possible to make weapons out of it, it took up too much magic.

Technically, Cold energy is intangible too… But it would become solid as soon as moisture froze. It was a combat skill, something he’d dreamt of having since he was Specter.

“It’s like a magician wielding a sword or a swordsman wielding magic.”

It was the best possible skill for a magic swordsman. From now on, his opponents would have to avoid both his sword and the icicles that would come flying in all directions.

– “……” Rodomir quietly watched it all unfold. “Darkness and ice… Why did you hide such power?”

“It was something I couldn’t avoid. Besides, didn’t you hide your power too?” Seo Jun-ho jutted his chin toward the Dark energy shrouding Rodomir’s sword.

– “…My circumstances were different.”

Rodomir’s ability wasn’t something he could use whenever he wanted. He burned away at his soul to call upon the strength of a corrupt spirit.

– “But that doesn’t matter.” The black energy surrounding Rodomir’s sword wavered like it was about to explode. It was a violent energy that seemed like it would destroy everything it touched.

Seo Jun-ho didn’t back down.

Ten minutes… No, maybe five. The amount of time he’d be able to maintain his full power. He did the calculations in his head, considering his opponent’s abilities.

“……” A moment later, he made a decision. “Yeah, it’ll work. Five minutes should be enough.”

– “…Five minutes? Are you saying that you only need five minutes to kill me?”

“Yeah.”

Rodomir snorted at Seo Jun-ho’s unwavering response.

He knew very well that Seo Jun-ho had been hiding his true power. He’d brought him to this strange space, drawing darkness and ice out of thin air.

– But he says five minutes…

He composed himself. He thought that Seo Jun-ho was still gravely underestimating him, but Seo Jun-ho thought the opposite.

He’s extraordinary. I think he’ll actually last five minutes. He was amazed to think that his opponent would be able to hold out for so long.

Even if Seo Jun-ho wasn’t as strong as he was in the past, he considered it high praise.

“This will be fun.” His heart started to pound in excitement.

Black Dragon Fang started to cry out, black sword ki surrounding it.

It’s impossible for me to use a sword aura with my current level of magic. But this was close enough.

The sword suddenly started to tremble. The vibrating energy started to burn like fire.

– “Hmph! A sword aura…?” Rodomir looked slightly surprised for a moment, but then he snorted. “I saw wrong.”

It couldn’t be called a sword aura; perfected auras burned much more fiercely.

– “Do you think you can defeat me in five minuets simply because of that sword?”

“Of course not.” Seo Jun-ho shook his head and smiled. “A long time ago—that is, around 27 or 28 years ago—I was fighting a boss monster called an Ironshell Turtle. Its hide and shell were so thick that I couldn’t even scratch it with sword ki.”

– “……?” Rodomir frowned. The human looked like he was in his mid-twenties, so why was he talking about something from 27 years ago? Nevertheless, his voice was too pure to be a lie, and he had a faint air of nostalgia about him.

“At that time, I thought to myself: ‘this is how I die’. But as death approached, I didn’t want to die, you know? So I thought to myself that I’d have to use sword aura. But it’s not that easy. It’s not like you can pull it out whenever you want to. Naturally, I failed. In front of me was the Ironshell Turtle and behind me was the sea. Thinking about it still makes me shiver…”

Woosh! Black Dragon Fang seemed to laugh, as if anticipating its transformation.

“So I made this.”

The darkness around him covered the blade, reinforcing the sword over the magic.

Magic and darkness. The two energies collided.

Cla-ang! Clang!

It wasn’t just one clash. They fought like children fighting over a toy.

Kuh… Because of that, Seo Jun-ho’s magic was quickly depleting, but it wasn’t just for nothing. The magic that had been burning like a candle started to grow.

“One day, Rahmadat saw this.”

Rahmadat Khali, the King of Destruction. The so-called second coming of Shiva, India’s hero, and his comrade.

“He said that out of all the unpredictable techniques he’d seen in his life…”

Claaang! After one more fierce clash, the two prideful energies had reached a truce.

“This one was the best.”

A black fire burned off of Black Dragon Fang, resembling sword aura.

I can maintain this state for ten minutes at most.

You couldn’t compare it to sword aura, but it was much stronger and sharper than sword ki. It was a miracle born out of Seo Jun-ho’s desperation to live and ingenious creativity.

“Law of Life (必死則生).”

If you were prepared to die, you would find a way to live*. He got the name of his technique from Admiral Yi Sun-shin’s War Diary.

(TN: The name of the technique is literally this entire phrase but in hanja, so I shortened it. Yi Sun-shin is a famous Korean war general.)

– “……”

When Rodomir saw the sword, he realized that his opponent hadn’t underestimated him after all.

– “Five minutes,” he smiled bitterly. “Not bad.”

He’d thought of him highly.

* * *

– “Cough.” Dead blood poured from Rodomir’s mouth. He slowly looked down at the pitch-black sword that had pierced his heart. It had taken five minutes and two seconds for Seo Jun-ho to do that.

– “Really… not bad…”

The power of the corrupt spirit wasn’t so easily overpowered by the makeshift sword aura. It had been his opponent’s own skills that had decided the outcome of the battle.

Clatter. Rodomir placed his sword down and fell on his knees.

He’d inevitably betrayed the World Tree, but he wished to die as the knight of an Elven clan.

– “…Human.”

He was starting to see light, as bright as the sun in the sky.

For someone who was about to die, his eyes were clear, and his expression was peaceful.

“Any last words?”

– “…Here.”

He tapped his neck with two fingers. Rodomir was asking him to end it.

Seo Jun-ho nodded, then rummaged through his inventory.

“I’ll do as you ask, just answer my question.”

– “……?”

“Do you know what this is?” Rodomir looked carefully at the item the human was holding. His eyes widened.

– “That’s… Spirit Egg!”

“Ho?“

Rodomir reached out his hand and stroked the precious egg, entranced.

“No-no, you’re corrupted. Don’t infect my child.” Seo Jun-ho quickly pulled it back, putting it in his jacket. Rodomir looked shaken.

“So it’s a Spirit Egg?”

– “…Yes.”

“Then will a spirit be born from it?”

Instead of responding, Rodomir ripped off his necklace made of rotten wood.

– “Yes, if you go to a place with even a trace of the World Tree.” He tossed the necklace to Seo Jun-ho.

– “Take it if you want. It’s weak, but it contains some power from the World Tree.”

“Well, I won’t say no. Do you have anything else? Elixirs?”

– “……” Rodomir looked at him with disgust. “To think that I fell to such a human…”

“If you don’t, just say no.”

– “No.”

“Then we’re done here.”

Before he pulled out his sword, he asked one more question.

“Oh, how do I hatch it?”

– “…Infuse it with your magic. Then the spirit will recognize you as a friend.”

“Thanks.”

– “Hmph,” Rodomir snorted and closed his eyes.

– Please be satisfied with just me… Forgive the fools who decided to follow me.

He gave a prayer that would not reach the World Tree.

Slice! The sword was pulled from his chest and slashed across his neck, thus ending High Elf Rodomir’s life.

Seo Jun-ho was a monster, but he looked down at Rodomir vacantly. He’d died as a knight.

“Now that I think about it, there was one more thing I wanted to ask… but I forgot to.”

He wondered why he hated cockroaches that much.

“Well, it wasn’t that important.”

He shrugged and looked down at the Spirit Egg in his hand.