Chapter 62. The Cave of Trials (2)

“Ugh...” Seo Jun-Ho opened his eyes with difficulty. He scratched his head and looked around. “Ah...”

He huffed out a sound with an extremely hoarse voice as he started to remember last night.

‘I came to the break room after finishing the Gravity Trial.’

It had a refrigerator full of food and a bathroom with a shower booth, but he was so exhausted he couldn’t even bother.

“Well, at least I made it to the bed somehow.” He vaguely remembered collapsing at the entrance, but seeing as how he woke up on a bed, it was probably a dream. He looked around and his eyes landed on the Frost Queen. She had wrapped herself in tissue and was fast asleep. She let out even breaths as she slept, and for some reason, she reminded him of a hamster.

‘Let’s take a shower first.’

He cleaned himself off in the bathroom. It was well-equipped with shampoo, conditioner, and even a toothbrush and toothpaste. When he came out, he found the Frost Queen sitting up, nodding in her sleep. It seemed like she wasn't fully awake yet.

“Are you up?”

“You’re supposed to ask...If I slept well...”[1]

“Do you think I would?”

Seo Jun-Ho smirked and took out cereal, a banana, and an apple from the refrigerator for breakfast.

“Hmmm. Is your body alright?” She seemed to be more awake now as she spoke and stretched.

“Somewhat. I think I slept for twelve hours.”

“You are at a healthy age, so I suppose it wasn’t too much of a problem,” she muttered, sounding like an old woman. She sat down in her self-designated seat which was Seo Jun-Ho’s shoulder.

“Today will be harder than yesterday.”

“As it should be. It would be quite boring if the difficulty decreased as the level increased.”

Seo Jun-Ho stepped out of the break room and spoke.

“I wish to continue to the Phantom Trial.”

[Level 3: The Phantom Trial will now begin.]

Woosh!

The torches in the cave fizzled out along with the message. When they flickered on again, there were four figures standing in the middle of the cavern.

“Oh my. Are those not your comrades?”

“I knew it...” Seo Jun-Ho bit his lower lip and looked around. His former comrades, the four heroes, surrounded him.

“Seo Jun-Ho, why did you throw us away?”

“Did you want to live on by yourself?”

“You promised to come back...You said we’d meet again...”

“Traitor. Liar.”

Their faces were contorted in a way he’d never seen before as insults poured out of their mouths.

“Contractor, pay them no mind. They are all...”

“I know, they’re illusions. I know...”

Seo Jun-Ho unsheathed his sword with his eyes as cold as ice.

“It feels a lot worse than I expected.”

The illusions cursed him with the same voices, faces, and bodies as his friends.

“Those idiots, they sent me up knowing that they would die.” The part that made Seo Jun-Ho the most upset was the way that the illusions were denying his friends’ resolve. “I won’t let you insult them like this.”

“Jun-Ho. If you still think of us as your friends, then you should just die.”

“It’s so cold here. The Frost Queen’s power is still keeping us frozen.”

‘Jun-Ho. Jun-Ho.’

He wanted to hear those familiar voices again. But he ignored them all.

“Contractor, can you defeat them?

“Yes. The Cave of Trials does not send you enemies you can’t defeat.” They were likely weakened to a state that he could fight them.

‘There’s no problem then.’

Seo Jun-Ho gathered his magic. He leaped off the ground and swung Black Dragon Fang. It left a jet-black afterimage as it felled the illusions.

“How could you?!”

“Gilberto!”

“I got it!”

At Skaya’s command, Gilberto fell to the rear and took out an enormous sniper rifle. At the same time, Rahmadat Khali blocked him with his large body.

‘They even got all the details down.’

Their tactics had been based on his memories.

‘Then that means…’

Seo Jun-Ho turned around. Tenmei Mio would take advantage of the confusion and assassinate him from behind. Her position would always be the same.

Slash!

A katana cut across Seo Jun-Ho’s forehead. If he had been a little slower, his head would have gone flying.

‘Dammit, the illusions are fucking fast.’

Not only that, but she was using her family’s sword technique, ‘Tenmei-ryu,’ perfectly. Seo Jun-Ho scowled and kicked her in the stomach. She went flying into the cavern wall. Behind him, he heard a gunshot.

‘I’ll die if I get hit.’

If he got hit by one of Gilberto’s bullets, it was game over. The bullets were most likely filled with magic that would make them spin and tear up his insides.

Crackle!

Three ice shields formed around him at the speed of light. But they weren’t as good as the Frost Queen’s. He layered them together.

‘And if that’s the Gilberto I know…’

Three ice shields wouldn’t be enough to block his shot. He fully expected the bullet, and it came a moment later, ripping through his shields. But it had lost most of its momentum by the time it reached him.

Slash!

Seo Jun-Ho swung Black Dragon Fang, cutting the bullet in half.

‘And right about now…’

Seo Jun-Ho leaped off the ground, sprinting across the cavern wall and toward the ceiling. Ivy shot out from where he previously stood.

“The bastard dodged it!”

“I got him!” Rahmadat leaped into the air. His enormous body flew toward him in a straight line, and Seo Jun-Ho frowned.

‘The illusions and the real thing are the same…’

Rahmadat was as unsophisticated as always and had left his back open.

“Jun-Ho, you’ve gotten a lot scrawnier!” He bellowed and swung a punch at his face.

Woosh!

The air screamed as his fist came forward. If Seo Jun-Ho took this, he would be knocked out.

‘We can’t have that.’

Seo Jun-Ho made the darkness explode, covering Rahmadat’s sight.

“Ha! This is nothing!” His fist ripped through the air where Seo Jun-Ho had been.

“I always told you, didn’t I? You only ever look forward and leave your back open.”

He used Shadow Step to travel across the shadows made by the flickering torchlight. He appeared behind Rahmadat. There was no way he’d let him get away. Black Dragon Fang stabbed through Rahmadat’s back.

“Keuh!”

“Rahmadat!”

“Dammit, support him!”

Dozens of bullets and fireballs flew below him, and Seo Jun-Ho swung Rahmadat’s body around to use it as a shield. The gruesome sound of tearing flesh filled the air, but Rahmadat only laughed.

“Why are you using others as you please, you bastard?”

“If you don’t like it, don’t leave your back open.”

“Since you’re done using me, pay up!” Rahdamat’s broken flesh mended at an unfathomable speed. He ignored the sword in his chest and reached behind him, planning to crush Seo Jun-Ho’s skull in his hand.

Slash!

But Seo Jun-Ho pulled out Black Dragon Fang and stepped out of his reach.

“Night Walking.”

He became one with the darkness and melted into the ground to watch over the battlefield.

“It’s Night Walking.”

“...Skaya, please track him.”

“Stop fretting, Mio. I’m already on my way.”

Having recovered from all his injuries at some point, Rahmadat tossed aside his blood-drenched shirt as he spoke.

“He’s watching and waiting for an opportunity like a rat. Get it together, everyone. Our opponent is Specter.”

Seo Jun-Ho was annoyed by the way they were talking ‘realistically.’ At that moment, the Frost Queen spoke. She had been watching quietly the whole time. “That muscle giant seems to have an ability that lets him heal his wounds as well as an overabundance of power.”

“Yeah. That’s why he’s annoying to fight.” In order to defeat him, he either had to land multiple hits to make him unable to regenerate or make him use up all his magic. But that was impossible when the others were watching him so closely.

“That’s why it’ll be better to take care of the others first.”

“An excellent choice. Then who will you kill first?”

“Gilberto and Mio don’t have good defenses. If I attack them while I’m using Night Walking, I can start by taking one of them down.”

The problem was Skaya. Most people were generally correct that mages had low defenses. But once they got past a certain point, there was no one else whose defense was stronger than a mage.

“Skaya protects her body with seven layers of magic shields around the clock.” Seo Jun-Ho commented.

“What a nuisance. Then, in what order will you take them down?” The Frost Queen asked.

“I’ll kill Gilberto and freeze Rahmadat’s body at the same time.” With his strength, the ice would be broken instantly. But Seo Jun-Ho thought that he could take down the other two during that short amount of time.

“It would be nice if I could use Night Walking again….But they won’t give me the opportunity.” They weren’t the kind of people who would let him use the same trick twice. “Next time, Skaya will use her magic detection to find me. Even now, she’s tracing me.”

“Then that skill will be useless.”

“Yeah, so I’ll have to face them head-on.” The time it would take for Rahmadat to break out of his ice and catch him would be 5 seconds. He would have to take out both Gilberto and Mio in order to win.

Seo Jun-Ho looked at the Frost Queen. “The thing you showed me last time can distract Skaya and Rahmadat, right?”

“Yes, but it will consume a sizable amount of your mental power.”

If his mental energy plummeted in the middle of battle, he would become dizzy and his movements would become sluggish. But Seo Jun-Ho thought that it was worth the risk. “It doesn’t matter. Besides, it’ll be more disadvantageous for me if this drags out.”

Rahmadat had regeneration, stamina, and destructive power.

Skaya had a seemingly endless amount of magic and wisdom.

Gilberto had his focus and Mio had her composure.

With them as his opponents, a dragged-out battle would be suicide for him.

“How many seconds do you think you can buy?”

“...” The Frost Queen pouted and muttered her answer, clearly displeased. “30 seconds...”

“Are you sure? Even if they’re weakened, they shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“Sometimes I feel as if you forget who I am.” She muttered something about her desolate circumstance and slowly raised her hand. She looked up at Seo Jun-Ho. “Do not worry about me and concentrate on your own role.”

“Use as much as you want as long as you can hold out for 30 seconds.”

“Gladly.” The Frost Queen looked forward and held out her hand. “My soldiers! Arise from the cold earth and fell your enemies!”

“Keuk...!” As she cried out, Seo Jun-Ho felt a stinging pain in his head. It was similar to a brain freeze when one ate ice cream too quickly.

‘But… it’s not too bad.’

Frost energy filled the cavern, and ice golems were created. They looked big enough to overpower Rahmadat.

“What are those?”

“Be careful! Specter is using a new ability!” The illusions’ attention turned to the golems, and Seo Jun-Ho took the opportunity to launch his attack.

‘I can’t do this again.’

Even if they were illusions, he was killing the figures of his friends. He didn’t want to go through this again.

“Guh...?” Seo Jun-Ho used Night Walking to quietly appear behind Gilberto and stab his heart. The cold feeling seeped into his chest, and Gilberto realized that he was dying. He knew that he didn’t have much time left, so he reached into his waist pocket.

‘Tch….They got all the unnecessary details down.’

He grabbed the revolver from his belt as blood dripped from his mouth. With the last of his strength, he pushed his body back.

“Gah!” Seo Jun-Ho’s back slammed into the cavern wall.

Click!

He loaded the bullet and pressed the muzzle to Seo Jun-Ho’s chin.

“You won’t… be able to dodge this.”

Gilberto had always been tenacious. If he was going to go down, he would take his enemy with him. He pulled the trigger.

Click! Click!

Not a bullet came out...

“...?” Shocked, Gilbert quickly checked his revolver. There was no way a bullet could leave the revolver when the barrel had frozen over.

Slash!

Seo Jun-Ho took the opportunity to twist his sword inside Gilbert’s chest.

“Keuk!” Blood poured from Gilberto’s mouth, and his body started to crumble.

‘I can’t afford to stop.’

Seo Jun-Ho didn’t give a second glance at the crumbling illusion and held out his hand.

Crackle!

Frost energy shot out toward Rahmadat, freezing his enormous body.

“Let me go, you bastard!!!” Rahmadat’s bellow resonated and shook the cave, and the ice covering his body shattered like ice.

“That’s crazy...He broke the ice with his roar?” Seo Jun-Ho's face fell. He lowered his stance, preparing to face Rahmadat.

“Contractor! Don’t mind him and do what you have to!” Four golems attacked Rahmadat and Skaya, slowing them down.

“Nice! Just a bit more!” Seo Jun-Ho shouted.

He quickly turned around when he sensed something ominous.

“...”

Mio stood behind him, gripping her katana. There should not have been any wind in the cave, but her ponytail swayed.

‘She’s angry.’

She was quiet and composed most of the time, but her anger was terrifying. A wild storm of magic surrounded her. His hair stood on end as he faced her.

“This fucking Cave of Trials… are you sure I can defeat them?”

1. She uses a very formal/old-fashioned phrase, implying that she’s above SJH in status ?