Chapter 572: White Lies (2)

“Ah... Mm...” the Frost Queen started nodding off after eating her snack.

She soon fell asleep.

“Hey, Original. Did you put sleeping pills in her tea or something?” Seo Jun-Sik asked.

“Nah. She just feels drowsy after eating,” Seo Jun-Ho replied.

“Why does she sleep so much when she’s a Spirit?” Seo Jun-Sik looked at the Frost queen in awe and turned around. “Huh? Where are you going?”

“Training room.”

“I wanna go, too. I don’t have anything to do, anyway, so I guess I’ll just train.”

“Sounds good. Follow me.”

They still hadn’t mastered all the things that Sung-Jun had told them. They had to train if they wanted to face the battle that was up ahead.

The two of them entered their personal training room, and their eyes were drawn to the same place.

“...Anyway, our dear Frost has some peculiar tastes,” Jun-Sik said.

“That’s just who she is,” Jun-Ho said jokingly as he headed over to one side of the hall.

There stood a giant statue of a slice of cake that wasn’t originally there.

Anyone would think that it was cute and laugh upon seeing it.

“I think he was around here.”

Seo Jun-Ho wiped the strawberry topping with his sleeve, revealing Kim Woo-Joong.

“...Am I the only one who finds this weird?” asked Seo Jun-said.

“Shit, I do, too. I feel like some psychopath from a horror movie who collects bodies or something,” Seo Jun-Sik muttered.

After all, a human trapped in ice inside a cake was in his own personal training room.

Seo Jun-Ho’s expression was grim as he took in Kim Woo-Joong.

Kim Woo-Joong’s eyes were closed.

“...I know how cold it is in there, but I need you to hold out for just a little bit more.” Seo Jun-Ho would recover the three holy relics, no matter what.

By then, Helic would turn him back.

That was all Seo Jun-Ho could tell him for now.

“Geez, now I feel all sad. Let’s just train,” Seo Jun-Sik grumbled. He created distance between them. “Hey, you got all the Overclocking theories from my memories, right?”

“Yeah.” Right now, Seo Jun-Ho could raise his output to 365%.

It was insane, but it was all because magic wasn’t the only prerequisite.

“I need really good magic control, the Frost Skill, the Black Moon Heart Method, and even Wheel of Time... there are so many things I need to keep an eye on,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

“There’s also the risk of injuries while using it on the battlefield.”

The two of them had to figure out how to use it effectively.

Seo Jun-Sik beckoned at him with his finger. “Well, I guess we can just train until we die. Come at me.”

“...Aw, you’re all grown up.”

“Hmph! Of course, I am. I’m an EX now!”

There were a few changes when Cloning became EX.

The most noticeable change was that it took more magic to summon Seo Jun-Sik.

‘It does consume more magic, but I can offset that with the Black Moon Heart method.’

It was almost like he had an unlimited amount of magic. He didn’t have to use a single drop of his own magic if he just absorbed the surrounding magic. Of course, it required using Black Moon Heart Method around the clock, which was exhausting.

“The cooldown time has gone from seventy-two hours to twelve, but the biggest change is...”

“Heh!”

Seo Jun-Sik could now use 95% of Jun-Ho’s stats instead of 70%.

Seo Jun-Sik flipped his hair and said, “You know, I’m pretty strong now. Who knows? Perhaps the great Seo Jun-Sik here might take you down, Original.”

“Where did you learn to be so annoying?”

“I’m self-taught~”

“Ugh, you’re pissing me off.” Seo Jun-Ho repressed his anger and quietly prepared his magic energy. He hated to admit it, but that punk wasn’t entirely wrong.

‘There’s only a five percent difference between us. He can beat me if I let my guard down.’

However, Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t afraid.

On the contrary, he was pleased.

“...Hey, why are you smirking all of a sudden, you pervert? Are you not scared of me?” Seo Jun-Sik asked with a frown. He felt that something was off.

“Why would I be scared? I was getting tired of going easy on you, but I don’t have to do that anymore. I’m happy about all this.”

“...If you really think that way, don’t you think there could be a reason to keep doing that?”

“Nope. You said it yourself. We’ll train until we die,” Jun-Ho laughed.

“I do not consent to dying...”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’re not gonna die,” Seo Jun-Ho reassured. He approached Seo Jun-Sik step by step with a grin. “It’s just gonna sting for a moment because there’s a bit of a delay when I unsummon you, you know? That’s all.”

“T-That’s even scarier! You’re just gonna beat me up when you summon me again!”

“Obviously,” Seo Jun-Ho said and smiled sweetly. “We’ll be together forever.”

“N-Nooooo!”

Somehow, this was even scarier than Sung-Jun’s training.

***

“Sniff! You brute...!” Jun-Sik sobbed pitifully as he quivered in the fetal position.

Cell Regeneration (S) was currently healing his injuries.

“Hm. It looks like I can only use a 365% output for one minute,” Seo Jun-Ho said while pressing two eggs against his black eye.

He was going over what he had learned today. Seo Jun-Sik managed to hit him with a few good hits, so he felt a bit out of it. “Realistically, I think using 300% output would be the most optimal. I can last thirty minutes with it rather than one.”

Three hundred percent Overclocking output was fine.

Seo Jun-Ho didn’t level up, but he felt even stronger than before.

“Hey, Jun-Sik.”

“What?” Seo Jun-Sik asked flatly.

He raised his head just a bit because his Original sounded pretty serious.

“Sung-Jun managed to raise his Overclocking output to 1000%, right?”

“Well, that’s why he was able to cut a dimension.”

“Yeah, he was amazing... And yet he lost on the 9th Floor.”

And it wasn’t a close call—he apparently got crushed.

Sung-Jun also said that he wasn’t sure if he could beat the Floor Master of the 9th Floor, even if he could still regress.

“That means we have to get even stronger...”

Their enemies in the future were powerful that it was hard for the two of them to comprehend it. Seo Jun-Ho and Seo Jun-Sik had to train nonstop so they could reach Sung-Jun’s level, but even then, their victory was still up in the air.

“We have to get as strong as—no, we have to get a lot stronger than Sung-Jun,” Seo Jun-Ho said. Seo Jun-Ho became filled with fierce determination upon seeing what Seo Jun-Sik had to go through upon meeting Sung-Jun.

Seo Jun-Sik could feel his determination as well.

Surprisingly, the little brat nodded seriously.

“Yeah. There are things that we need to do,” said Seo Jun-Sik.

“Yup. There are many things we need to do.” Seo Jun-Ho smiled lopsidedly and closed his eyes.

First of all, they had to clear the 7th Floor.

They had to empty their mind and focus on clearing the 7th Floor in the meantime.

***

Seo Jun-Ho showered and returned to the living room of his residence.

Someone was waiting for them...

“Huh? Mio?”

“Huh. What’re you doing here?” Seo Jun-Sik added.

Mio nodded at them and said, “I have been waiting for you, Jun-Ho.”

“I thought there was still some time left until our meeting.”

“Oh, that is not why I am here...” Mio blushed slightly and became as quiet as a mouse. “I-I wanted your advice on some personal matters...”

“Something personal?”

“Ooh, our youngest is asking for advice. That’s rare.” Seo Jun-Sik chimed in.

As far as Seo Jun-Ho could remember, this was the first time she came to him for advice. Meanwhile, Rahmadat had asked him many times before about what routines would be the best for certain muscle groups.

“Come in,” he said. He guided her inside and made tea. “What kind of advice are you asking for? What’s got you so shy?”

“Ah, is this about romance?”

“The gods frown upon such outrageous actions. I find romance humiliating.”

Seo Jun-Ho and Seo Jun-Sik looked at each other.

“Then, what is it?”

“...It’s about my family.”

“Your family?”

“Wait, why would you need advice about your fam—”

Seo Jun-Sik vanished into innumerable light particles.

“Sorry about that. He said he’s going somewhere,” Seo Jun-Ho said with a grin.

“So. What’s this about your family?” he asked.

“Oh, I have told the others, but this is about Shoot.”

Mr. Shoot?

Cha Si-Eun had treated him, but as far as Seo Jun-Ho knew, he was still in a coma.

“Mr. Shoot? What about him?” he asked and started drinking water.

“He’s actually my younger brother Ibuki.”

“Pfff!”Seo Jun-Ho spat the water he was drinking. He couldn’t believe his ears, so he asked her once more, “Can you say that again?”

“Shoot is my brother.”

Seo Jun-Ho chose his words carefully. “So Mr. Shoot’s true identity is your brother who died decades ago in a fire... Tenmei Ibuki?”

“Indeed.”

“Wow.” He never would have guessed it.

Sung-Jun probably didn’t know as well because he hadn’t said anything about it.

‘I see.’ Mr. Shoot’s identity answered a huge burning question.

Seo Jun-Ho had always been wondering why Mr. Shoot saved him in Neo City.

“I got the vibe that Deok-Gu knew his identity, but I finally understand why he never told me,” muttered Seo Jun-Ho. Tenmei Ibuki was a name that carried too much weight to go around telling people.

He finally understood now. “So, what advice do you want to ask?”

“...Ibuki is currently older than me,” Mio started.

“Right.”

Time doesn’t wait for anyone. And they had been frozen for twenty-five years.

“Hm.” Seo Jun-Ho immediately picked up on what she was trying to say. And in the same moment, he discovered a question of his own. “This isn’t related to your situation at all, but can I ask why you came to me specifically?”

“Hm? Why? It’s because I thought your opinion would be helpful,” she replied.

“Hey, Gilbe has a son...” Seo Jun-Ho trailed off and paused. ‘Wait.’

His eyes widened. Now that he thought about it, he had always been thinking about Mio’s conundrum as well.

“So you’re saying that I’m the most sensible out of the five of us?”

“...Pardon?”

“Let’s be honest, neither Gilbe, Skaya, nor Rahmadat has any idea of how this stuff works. They don’t know anything.”

“Gilbe is not so bad,” Mio said. She didn’t even try to defend the other two.

“True. But he’s still an idiot despite knowing how to deal with family.”

“Precisely.” Mio nodded. “You see, you’re the only one who is nearly rational among the people I know...”

“I don’t like that you said nearly, but I’m glad.” Seo Jun-Ho calmed down after confirming that he was correct.

The counseling session finally started. “What exactly are you struggling with?”

“Ibuki is my younger brother, and yet he is older than me. You know?”

“That’s right.”

“Should I... speak to him formally[1]?”

“I don’t know about that. I think that will hurt Ibuki’s feelings.” Seo Jun-Ho could still remember the few times they had met. “He has been following you around everywhere saying, ‘Big Sis, Big Sis!’

”In other words, if you suddenly started speaking formally to him, Ibuki might misunderstand and think that you’re distancing[2] yourself from him...”

“Oh...” Mio’s eyes widened. She gave him two thumbs up and said, “You’re amazing, Jun-Ho. I could have ended up hurting Ibuki deeply without realizing it.”

“Eh, it’s not that big of a deal. It has been a long time since then, but you will always be Ibuki’s Big Sis, and he will always be your younger brother. That’s just how family works,” he said with a shrug.

“Thank you. I shall repay you by cooking you a five-course meal next time.”

“Mio, we’re friends. You don’t really have to give me anything for something like this.”

“No. My mother told me that I must be even more prudent to my friends...”

“Uh... Your mother’s pretty wise.” Seo Jun-Ho laughed awkwardly. He looked down at his watch and stood up.

“Let’s get going,” he muttered. “It’s time for the meeting.”

In other words, it was about time for them to spread lies.

1. People have to speak formally to those that are older than them, regardless of age. It’s disrespectful not to do so unless they give permission. ☜

2. Usually, people only speak informally to those they’re close with. It implies some level of connection. It’s the same dilemma that Woo-Joong experienced. ☜