Chapter 445: Soul Collector (3)

"Hmm."

Seo Jun-Ho tossed and turned for quite a while, but he eventually opened his eyes. An unfamiliar ceiling appeared in front of him. For some reason, he could feel that there was a genuinely happy smile on his face.

It was all because he just had a pleasant dream in a long time.

“…”

Wait, a dream? Seo Jun-Ho blinked a few times before he abruptly sat bolt upright.

"What the hell?"

Was it really a dream? The Knights' Corridor, the reunion with Sir Hart, the duel, and Hart’s departure from the corridor with him…

'Come to think of it, Sir Hart said…’

He would lose all of his memories about the corridor, so the fact that he could still remember the events that had transpired in the Knights’ Corridor meant that it was probably just…

"Ha, haha...”

It was probably just a dream. Seo Jun-Ho chuckled dryly and sighed.

"Oh?” The Frost Queen was sleeping on the sofa, and she woke up with a groan and started rubbing one of her eyes. She stumbled up with a cushion in her arms. She stared at Seo Jun-Ho and yawned.

"Ha-am, Contractor, have you gotten into the hobby of collecting stones?"

"What do you mean, collecting stones?"

"There’s a stone right there."

Seo Jun-Ho followed the Frost Queen’s gaze and found a stone next to his pillow. The stone was tiny and was only as huge as two fingers. However, Seo Jun-Ho’s expression changed when he saw the unique pattern on the stone.

'Wait, this pattern…!’

He saw it drawn on the walls and statues of the Knights’ Corridor. Seo Jun-Ho's expression brightened.

"I-it’s Sir Hart."

He couldn’t explain it in words, but he felt it the moment he held it. This stone definitely contained Hart Weeper’s soul.

'So I wasn’t dreaming last night...’

In that case, why were his memories intact? Seo Jun-Ho found his answer after looking through the event logs.

[You are leaving the Knights' Corridor. Your memories of everything that had transpired in the corridor will be deleted.]

[Hero’s Mind (EX) has disabled the effects of Memory Delete (S).]

"I see…"

Honestly, he thought that Hero’s Mind (EX) wasn’t that great compared to Frost (EX), but he could have never expected that it would come in handy here.

‘A stone with a soul. I didn't expect Sir Hart would come with me in this form.’

Seo Jun-Ho told Hart that they would save the world together, but how could Hart contribute to saving the world when he was stuck in a stone? In addition, Seo Jun-Ho had no idea how he could make use of the soulstone in his hand.

The Frost Queen smacked her lips next to him and said, "Contractor, are you holding a Spirit Crystal? May I eat it?”

"No, you can’t. I will never allow you to do that." Seo Jun-Ho shook his head. He then lowered his voice as if he was to tell the Frost Queen a great secret. "This stone is Sir Hart. It’s not a Spirit Crystal."

“What? Oh… ah! Yes..." The Frost Queen stared at Seo Jun-Ho as if he was pitiful. A few moments later, she sighed lightly and said, "Whew, it seems that I must step forward once again."

"Step forward?”

"Do not mind it." The Frost Queen shook her head. She sat on the bed and smiled at the soulstone. "Oh, I see. This stone is Hart Weeper. I guess I should apologize for being ignorant, am I right?”

“Hey…” Seo Jun-Ho revealed a complicated look. “I know it sounds crazy, but this really is Sir Hart."

"Oh, I see. Where is his head? Is it on this side?”

"Hey!" Seo Jun-Ho exclaimed. The Frost Queen wasn’t even trying to be discreet about it anymore. She was openly treating him like an asylum patient. Seo Jun-Ho shook his head and smiled before explaining last night’s events to her in detail.

"You should have said that to me right off the bat!"

"You started treating me like I’m crazy before I could explain…”

"Well, to be honest, I was surprised. I thought you really went crazy…” The Frost Queen was relieved to find that Seo Jun-Ho was still of sound mind. "What are you going to do with that stone"

"I don't know…”

"Can you talk with it?"

"Oh."

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t thought of that. Holding the stone to his ear, Seo Jun-Ho whispered, "Sir Hart, Sir Hart?"

The two patiently waited for a response with their ears perked.

- Um, excuse—

"Sir Hart?!"

- No, this is Intuition. I think you can't communicate with this stone.

"What?” The two revealed despondent looks. The Frost Queen was especially disappointed as she crossed her arms and scolded Keen Intuition.

"How tactless. Do you not know the saying, ‘two’s company, but three’s a crowd’?”

- What does that even mean?

"It means that one should know when to join and butt out!"

- That’s a little weird. Is that really what it means? [1]

The two quarreled as usual.

Seo Jun-Ho ignored them and said to the soulstone in his hand, “I will figure out things as soon as possible. Hang in there until then.”

He carefully stored the soulstone in his Inventory, and once he was done, a guest knocked on the door and announced.

"His Majesty has told me to escort you to the palace."

"The palace…" Seo Jun-Ho had an idea why he was being summoned to the Imperial Palace. In response, Seo Jun-Ho nodded heavily and said, "Let's go.”

***

There were complicated formalities and procedures one had to go through before entering the Imperial Palace, but Seo Jun-Ho didn’t have to go through all those, and it was probably because Seo Jun-Ho’s appearance was due to His Majesty’s summons.

"Is this our second meeting?"

The Iron Blood Emperor commanded an overwhelming presence, and it felt like he wouldn’t spill even a single drop of blood even if he were stabbed.

“Hart was with us the last time we met.”

The emperor had an empty look as he continued while staring at the silent and kneeling Seo Jun-Ho.

“Our relationship was inconsistent and indefinable. Sometimes he would be like a friend, sometimes he would be like a teacher, and sometimes he would be like a loyal subordinate.”

The emperor’s expression was complicated as he asked, "What were his final moments like?"

"He remained chivalrous until the end."

If Hart were on board with the water offense strategy, then he wouldn’t have any issues holding out. However, Hart decided to prioritize the safety of the people of Merhen, especially when Hart saw the collapse of the castle walls.

He tried to kill Nazad Hallow as well, but he ultimately failed.

"He was a true hero who prioritized the safety of the people before his own."

"Hart would be very happy to hear that.” Gauss smiled faintly. "He had always been a fan of your story, Specter. He also praised you a lot for your mettle and achievements despite your young age."

“Sir Hart did…?” He had no idea. Sir Hart had never given off such an impression.

Gauss stood from his throne and spoke, "The empire has lost a great star. The empire would have undoubtedly suffered against a necromancer who could command hundreds of thousands of troops no matter the distance."

Gauss slowly walked down the stairs and stood in front of Seo Jun-Ho.

"Player Seo Jun-Ho, raise your head."

"Yes."

"You have contributed greatly to the war effort, so I hereby bestow upon you the title of Count and a fief."

"Thank you."

Of course, this was just a formality. The fall of a brilliant star would have tremendous effects on the mental status of the empire’s subjects, and the announcement of a new star’s birth was the only way the citizens could be relieved of their worries.

"And..." Gauss beckoned at the knight at the entrance.

The knight walked over carefully with a sword in hand.

"I hereby award you the national treasure, Twilight. You are an outsider, but you contributed tremendously to the safety of the empire."

The sword seemed to be the perfect definition of the night sky.

'This is what Sir Hart used to use...’

Seo Jun-Ho stared at the sword.

[Twilight]

Grade: Unique

Description: A famed sword made in the glory days.

*Concentration: The wielder’s mind will remain clear.

*Indefatigable: The wielder will not tire easily.

*Twilight Time: The effects of the sword’s options are doubled when the sun sets. The wielder’s strength increases as the wielder’s stamina decreases.

The sword’s options were great. It was a perfect match for him since he had Hunter’s Night (A), which was a passive skill that only remained active during nighttime.

“Is it really fine for me to receive this sword?”

"Yes," Gauss spoke in a determined voice. "It’s because you’re Specter that I have to give you that sword."

In addition, Seo Jun-Ho was the only man whom the indifferent and stoic Hart had praised without any sugarcoating.

"Soon, I’m going to send a letter down to Earth." Gauss had long deployed troops to the massive gate in Outland, which was connected to Earth.

Gauss stared at Seo Jun-Ho and declared. "Frontier will be an eternal ally of Earth, and when danger comes, I will be there before anyone else."

***

Hart Weeper's funeral was held as a state funeral.

"Contractor, I saw on TV that a funeral can tell you about that person’s life."

"Then, Sir Hart lived a very great life.”

The people on the streets wept without restraint.

After a while, Seo Jun-Ho finally returned to Earth through the Semey Gate with the empire's delegation.

"You’re not going to stop by your territory?"

"Well…"

Seo Jun-Ho had asked Emperor Gauss to hire an administrator for the former’s territory, so the territory wouldn’t run into problems.

He also told Moonlight to establish their headquarters on his territory. With his backing, Moonlight should have an easier time operating there rather than somewhere else.

Seo Jun-Ho returned home. He sat the Frost Queen in front of the television and headed to the Office of the President.

"You're here." As usual, Shim Deok-Gu’s greetings were warm.

"I heard it. You two were pretty close as well, right? If you need someone to drink with, then tell me."

"You can't drink. You get drunk off of two glasses of soju."

"I can still listen...”

A drinking partner was nice to have whenever one felt blue and sad. After all, even if they couldn’t handle their drink, they could still listen.

"If I feel like drinking, I’ll call you."

With that, Seo Jun-Ho sat down and asked, "What's going on with the Semey Gate?”

“Skaya said that it would take her five years to close the Semey Gate.”

"Five years?"

Five years was longer than what Seo Jun-Ho had in mind. It was especially long considering how the Heavenly Demon was still out there.

‘We will be okay for a while because he’s still definitely in the middle of recovering…’

However, Seo Jun-Ho was sure that the Heavenly Demon would recover in the next year or so. By then, the Heavenly Demon would become a massive headache.

“I think only a few people should come up to the 6th Floor.”

"We already came up with that idea. Earth also needs Players to protect it.”

Still, Shim Deok-Gu remained positive.

"Let's wait and see. The Ruben Empire also said that the empire would provide full support, so we should be able to close that Gate earlier than five years."

Seo Jun-Ho was the reason why the empire was kind to Earth.

"Well, let's end that topic here. Anyway, are you planning on going out for a hunt until the 6th Floor opens?"

"I think I’m just going to travel around."

"Wait, why?" Shim Deok-Gu looked surprised. After all, Seo Jun-Ho was a battle maniac. Eventually, Shim Deok-Gu nodded in understanding and said, "Makes sense. Namgung Jincheon, the demons on the 5.5th Floor, and Nazad Hallow right afterward… It would be strange if you aren’t tired after dealing with them without rest."

"Yes, I'm tired. How about you give me a raise."

"Get lost. Most of the Korean Player Association’s annual profits are already going to you."

"That makes me feel bad."

"Should I decrease your salary?"

"Get lost."

Seo Jun-Ho was planning to use all the money he had accumulated so far into the development of his information organization, Moonlight. Expanding Moonlight’s operations meant he would soon be able to find a way to use the soulstone.

Seo Jun-Ho got up from his seat, and Shim Deok-Gu also stood up.

"Are you not going to see the others?"

"They must be busy."

It was fun to be with friends, but Seo Jun-Ho knew that the others needed time for themselves.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"…Oh, I almost forgot. There is one."

Seo Jun-Ho finally remembered the biggest reason he came down to Earth and requested. “Get me some alcohol. Give me lots."

1. The Korean slang doesn’t translate well here, so it sounds normal in English. ☜