Chapter C.175: Watchguards (2)

Seo Jun-Ho ran from Del Ice to nearby territories to stretch his restless body. He did not even lose his breath despite traveling a distance that would take 10 days for an average person in half a day.

"Not bad."

Looking down at his clenched fist, a smile unknowingly appeared on his face.

"You are really growing at an outstanding pace. Of course, luck has also been on your side …" praised the Frost Queen.

"In the end, everything will go back to its rightful place," responded Seo Jun-Ho.

In the first place, the way up to level 80 was a staircase that Seo Jun-Ho had already stepped on once when he had been Specter. Of course, even if it was a staircase that he had climbed once, it would still be hard to climb it again from the beginning. But having never done it before and having done it once was a bigger difference than you could imagine.

"I just need the will to do it the second time around.”

After all he already knew the ‘results’ that would be waiting at the end of his efforts. The problem was after level 80.

"…It's an unknown area that even I hadn't stepped onto when I was Specter."

"Then I suppose getting to level 80 first must be the priority."

"There's no need to hurry. We have more than a month left until the decisive battle in Port Lane, so we have plenty of time."

The most important thing was to improve his form since his stats had risen sharply recently. It meant that it was time to tune up once again.

"Getting to level 85 in a month is my primary goal."

"...Hmm, just from listening to you, I cannot tell if that is an easy or difficult thing to do."

"Getting to level 85? Ayy, that's not hard even for anyone else."

However, it was almost impossible to achieve it in a month.

"If you risk your life every time you hunt, anyone can do it," Seo Jun-Ho added.

"Contractor, listen to me well. That in itself is not something just anyone can do."

"That's what talent is…"

It may sound like bragging, but it was a fact that no one could refute and he had enough guts to throw his life around like it was nothing. Whether you had the guts or not was the biggest factor that determined the speed of a Player's growth.

"You can never outrun others if you only use the path that someone has laid for you," Seo Jun-Ho told the Frost Queen as he entered the teleport management office. Then to the magician, "To Port Lane."

"Please use gate number 12."

When he stepped forward, he arrived at the southern territory, opposite from where he had been, which was in the northern part of the continent. From the moment he stepped out, the smell of the sea assaulted his nose.

"It's the ocean!" the Frost Queen shouted in glee and pointed to the ocean in the distance as she came out of the teleport management office.

"Why are you so excited?"

"Because it’s the ocean!"

"Geez, you've seen the ocean with me several times."

"...Hmm? The ocean? You and I?" asked the Frost Queen in a startled voice.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t remember seeing the ocean with him.

"You saw it through the window in the plane."

"...That wasn’t the ocean."

No, of course, that was also the ocean, but... It was far from the ocean she wanted. The blue horizon you could see in the distance—was the ocean for her. The Frost Queen was briefly lost in the lingering imagery.

"When I was a child, my father and I went to the ocean with him holding my hand."

"He’s a good father."

"Of course. That is why I always feel so nostalgic when I see the ocean." The Frost Queen pulled Seo Jun-Ho's hair as she whined. "Let's hurry up and go."

"…Sigh."

Port Lane was a typical port city. Ironically, however, there were only a few ships settled in the harbor.

"Contractor, shouldn't there be lots of ships in this big of a port city?"

"Yea, but ships don't come to Port Lane very often."

"Why?"

Speaking of the conditions alone, Port Lane was destined to be the best port city. It was in a great position to settle and distribute goods.

"The surrounding currents are a mess."

It was easier to think of currents as a road where seawater flowed. The currents near Port Lane were very fierce, causing countless captains to go around the port here.

"That’s too bad. If the ocean currents were normal, it could have become the best port city...”

"Maybe that's why the fiends have selected this place since there aren’t a lot of people here."

Except for the merchants who came to sell goods via land, no tourists visited Port Lane. This place was far from a vacation resort.

"Let's take a look around first."

Seo Jun-Ho took a big walk around Port Lane. In the process, he heard detailed information from the local residents.

"Is it here? It's really nice."

The cliff that Seo Jun-Ho arrived on due to a resident's tip was to his liking. It was a place where you could see the panoramic view of Port Lane and the sea in front of it at a glance.

"It's a perfect place to snipe from."

The cliff, called Dragon Rock, actually looked like a dragon's head. Various thoughts went through Seo Jun-Ho's head.

'If I use this position… I can make the most of Final Horizon.’

It wouldn’t matter whether the fiends were in the ocean or hiding in the city center. This was a place where lighthouse keepers were active even before lighthouses were built on Port Lane. The advantage was that you could see the ocean and the city center at the same time without obstruction.

"It was worthwhile to do preliminary research. Since you found a good place, you can use it to your advantage later,” the Frost Queen cheerfully said.

Seo Jun-Ho blinked and asked, “What are you talking about? We can't use this place."

"…Why can't you use it?"

"Listen, the fiends are not idiots. They're rather smart."

Considering the fiends, they would definitely search for an advantage in their operation. Would anyone with a brain just walk past this cliff?

"Would they not use this when this place is telling them that it’s a great place? What would you do if it were you?"

"…I think I would use it,” the Frost Queen answered honestly.

"See? Now, we have to make a plan. We need to be prepared in advance for the enemies to occupy this cliff."

"But around the village, is there even a place higher than this cliff?”

There was only one…

"Oh, the lighthouse!"

But that was also the wrong answer...

Seo Jun-Ho shook his head firmly. "No, that's too noticeable. It's also an easy place to get trapped."

The lighthouse at the end of the coast was a perfect place to be surrounded. If Seo Jun-Ho sniped from a place like that, the fiends would come at him like a swarm of locusts in an instant.

"I think it's rather nice over there."

Seo Jun-Ho pointed his finger at the tallest building in the city, the clock tower.

"Hmm, it is not bad, but... I do not think it’s good if you think about the fiends occupying this cliff."

"That's why we came for preliminary research. Every plan requires a plan B."

After speaking, Seo Jun-Ho opened his inventory, took out a shovel, and shoved it into the ground. Afterward, he started rolling up his sleeves.

Staring blankly at Seo Jun-Ho’s action, the Frost Queen asked, “Contractor, what is that?"

"This is a shovel."

"I know what that is. I am asking why you are taking it out all of a sudden?”

"Of course, that’s because I have to dig."

Chuck!

Seo Jun-Ho explained as he put one leg on the shovel.

"Think it over carefully. I sit on the clock tower, and the fiends sit on the cliff. Who’ll be at a disadvantage then?”

"You..."

"That's right, but that's not until a month from now at the earliest. What do you think I should do for now?"

"…Set up a trap?"

When the answer he was looking for emerged from the Frost Queen’s mouth, Seo Jun-Ho smiled. "Correct."

He glanced over at the Dragon Rock and murmured, "As you say, the altitude here is higher than the clock tower. If they really take this location…”

Seo Jun-Ho would rather die than see his enemies take a terrain advantage over him. It made him feel like he had lost strategically. As such, what he needed to do from now on was simple.

"I'll crush them under my feet."

Even if there was a limit to collapsing all of these cliffs, he would still do his best to crush them.

Pabababak!

As Seo Jun-Ho burst into laughter and dug at a frightening speed, the Frost Queen shivered.

"…What a scary human being."

She was glad that he was her contractor.

Wait, maybe she shouldn’t be glad?

***

"It’s done."

The construction alone took five days. What Seo Jun-Ho had done so far was simple. First, he had dug, then dug under that, and then dug some more, for two entire days. During the last two days, he had covered the land once more, and there was a free day in the middle.

"…I did not expect that there would be bombs in the weapon box you received from the dwarves,” said the Frost Queen.

Seo Jun-Ho corrected her. "They’re not just bombs. They’re special bombs.”

Each of the bombs was powerful enough to collapse the cliff. Seo Jun-Ho planted the bombs in the ground for the rest of the day, like radishes. This was also why Graham had repeatedly told him to use them carefully.

"Contractor, did you know that you would have to collapse the cliff?"

"Huh? How would I have known that? It's not like I can see the future."

"But then how did you prepare the bombs in advance?"

"A bomb is powerful. It can be used in any situation."

Would he avoid using bombs to fight the fiends without a trap? No, he would still use them. Seo Jun-Ho was preparing for a "war" rather than a "battle" with the fiends. Of course, the fiends would have no idea what was coming for them.

"Getting hit by a fist when you’re defenseless hurts the most," Seo Jun-Ho remarked.

If you were going to attack anyway, it was better to go all-out. In that sense, a bomb was nothing short of a universal weapon that could be used in more ways than one.

"Well, it would definitely hurt since you used them all up." the Frost Queen commented.

Seo Jun-Ho seemed as if he had predicted the future, but the answer was the opposite. It was exactly because Seo Jun-Ho had no idea about the future that he used all the bombs to set up a trap.

"There's only this one remote control left."

When Seo Jun-Ho threw the remote control in the air and caught it, the Frost Queen’s face turned white. Stretching out a small hand, she floundered and tried to stop him.

"C-contractor. B-be careful. What if it explodes…?”

Ssok.

Seo Jun-Ho safely stored the remote control in his inventory and got up. Although a great construction project had been carried out, the place looked no different from before they had covered it up so well.

"Now, let's just look around the clock tower then go hunting."

As soon as Seo Jun-Ho was done storing the shovel back into his inventory and was about to leave, he heard a sound.

Ring.

A message arrived in front of him.

“…”

Looking at it, his gaze became serious.

[Shim Deok-Gu, the President of the Players Association has requested an urgent call.]

This was a message from Gilleon's 'Korean Players Association Branch.’ And it was about an urgent call?

"Contractor, something must have happened on the 1st floor."

"…A fiend probably appeared."

Seo Jun-Ho quickly cleaned up his surroundings and headed for the teleport gate.

'Unfortunately, it seems that I don't have any fate with the clock tower today.’

Moving to Gilleon via the teleport management office, he returned to Earth using the Dimensional Elevator.

"Welcome Jun-Ho-nim, I will take you over."

Below was the teleporter from the association who had taken him over to Rome back then.

"Did you call me?"

"…You're here."

Entering the association president's office, his best friend offered him a seat with a stiffer complexion than usual.

"Sit down first."

"What happened? That’s the first time you sent an urgent call. You scared me."

Knowing his friend's personality better than anyone else, Shim Deok-Gu opened his mouth to speak first rather than offering tea.

"Arthur is in danger."

“…!”

Seo Jun-Ho's eyebrows twitched.

Arthur Green was a child left by his comrade Gilberto and a nephew to himself. Seo Jun-Ho hurriedly spoke up, "What's wrong with Arthur? Is there something going on in Dustang? Is there a problem there?”

Gong Ju-Ha previously said that Dustang was a very dangerous place. Therefore, it was a place where Seo Jun-Ho only planned to visit when his strength had recovered to some extent.

"First of all, before I can tell you why Arthur is in danger… There's one thing I need to explain before that."

Shim Deok-Gu always spoke sparingly whenever he talked about Arthur. Seo Jun-Ho thought that it was all because Deok-Gu didn't know much about Arthur… but it seemed that it wasn’t the case after all.

"By any chance..."

Shim Deok-Gu placed his palm on his dry face and looked at Seo Jun-Ho with tired eyes.

"…Have you ever heard of the Watchguards?"