Chapter 81. Winter Castle (1)

Chapter 81. Winter Castle (1)

“Ready!” Seo Jun-Ho looked up as the Frost Queen raised her ice flag. He was watching the timer. It counted down from 10 and when it read ‘start,’ an overwhelming force started to radiate from Seo Jun-Ho’s body.

It had been a week since he started, and he could now activate Booster in the blink of an eye.

Smash!

His foot connected with the abdomen of a sandbag on the opposite side of the room.

‘Let’s start by dealing with this one…‘

His opponents started to fire back. Seo Jun-Ho spun around and crouched down.

Phew, phew, phew

Dozens of lasers grazed past his head, shot by the hologram sandbags.

‘If I stay still for too long, my circuits will get clogged.’

He quickly kicked off the wall, dodging the volley of lasers as he tore off the heads of two sandbags with each hand.

‘AI technology has gotten a lot more advanced.’

Every time he repeated the drill, the sandbags got smarter.

“Players these days don’t know how lucky they are. It’s so much easier to train. Back in my day…”

“Contractor! Stop talking like an old man and concentrate!”

“...I know,” he grumbled. His body started to get hotter. He shot across the training room like a ray of light.

The sandbags were set to level 100. They were designed for 2nd-floor Players, but they couldn’t land a scratch on Seo Jun-Ho.

Boom! Crack! Crunch!

The sound of exploding sandbags filled the room.

“Keuk…” Seo Jun-Ho’s face was more serious than usual as he directed his body.

‘When I use Booster, I really have to focus.’

It was a support spell that strengthened his entire body. If he got distracted for even a moment, his body would become a bullet in the wall. Booster’s special trait was its extreme strength and speed that not even the user could quite control.

‘Just because your body gets faster doesn’t mean your brain does.’

Those who used Booster had to be smart. If you thought about what you were going to do after you flung your body forward, it would be far too late.

‘Let’s see…’

Dozens of sandbags were shooting lasers at him, firing in a straight line.

‘It would be best to start over there.’

He made the decision in a split second. Seo Jun-Ho’s body radiated heat like a steam engine. As he leaped off the ground, the world around him stretched like taffy. It was like he was looking out the window of a fast-driving car.

‘It has become a familiar sight.’

After all, he had been training in this room for a week now. He also had all the memories and experiences of using this technique when he was Specter.

Boom!

It was useless to simply be fast. Seo Jun-Ho used his speed to destroy the sandbags. Just as the burning heat started to permeate through the room, it was over.

“Phew.” He looked down at the 100th sandbag, which he had split in half. “That took around 28 seconds...Frost, what’s my temperature?”

“Wait a moment.” She turned the device to face Seo Jun-Ho. It was a little smaller than her body.

Beep—

“38.9 degrees...That is dangerous.”

“Tsk.” Seo Jun-Ho clicked his tongue. He let the magic running around his circuits disperse before he let himself collapse to the ground.

Sizzle.

As he covered his body with ice, his body temperature started to fall.

“I have enough magic, but my body can’t handle it.” His current magic stat was 143. It was at the same level as 2nd-floor Players. The only problem was the way Booster overheated his body.

‘The human body is designed to function best at 37.5 degrees or less.’

It couldn’t fall below 36 or go above 37.5. If it went even slightly above or below, it would break.

“Ugh. Even Players can’t do anything about the way they are designed.”

The longer he used Booster, the hotter his body got. And once it reached 39.5 degrees, the brain would start to overload.

“If I can just figure this out, I could use Booster for 5 minutes, not 30 seconds…”

“That is why I gave you a hint. I told you to use the Frost Skill to lower your body's temperature.”

“I’ve already tried it a few times,” Seo Jun-Ho complained. Booster was already a hard enough skill when he tried to balance its three components. “If I add the Frost Skill to the mix, I’ll consume more magic and the technique will become more complicated. It’s not very efficient either.”

He had already experimented with it a few times, but they all ended up in failure. He had tried using the Frost Skill to cover his body in ice, but it didn’t help with the heat.

“The heat it generates is no joke. Even if I cover myself in ice, it quickly melts.” It would also lower his focus and fine magic control, so he could easily run himself into walls. “I’ll need a few months at the very least if I want to incorporate it into real combat.”

“Hm. Is that what you believe?” The Frost Queen said cheekily.

Seo Jun-Ho frowned. “...You know, something, don’t you?”

“Of course. But I will not tell you.” She had always been stubborn about these things. “Indeed, I expect you to be able to master this yourself as my Contractor.”

“...I won’t ask. You’re too much.” Seo Jun-Ho sighed.

‘There’s nothing I can do. Even when I was Specter, I couldn’t even use it for longer than 10 minutes…’

He had used artifacts and the likes to keep his body temperature low, but they had strict restrictions, so he couldn’t use them at the moment.

“Are you done watching your drama?”

“I watched everything up to season 8. I’m looking for a new drama to watch.”

“Before you do that, we need to get to work.”

The week of training ended after he achieved his goal. He had honed Booster to a point where he could use it in a real battle. If he trained any longer, it would only dull his instincts. Seo Jun-Ho didn’t linger and sent a text to Cha Si-Eun.

[Secretary Cha, please find a teleporter who’s on duty.]

[A teleporter? Are you going somewhere?]

[Yes.]

[Where are you going, and when? I’ll look into it.]

[I’m going to Antarctica tomorrow.]

Only two months after he cleared the Wild Forest, he was about to enter another Gate.

***

“Brrr...I-it’s cold.” The teleporter had foolishly decided to wear only a single coat. His entire body trembled, and white vapor came out of his mouth as he spoke.

“What did I say? I told you that you’d need a winter jacket.”

“I-I-I’m only here to transport you, so I’ll be leaving…” He couldn’t even breathe properly because his lungs stung from the cold. “T-Then, Player Seo Jun-Ho...I wish you luck in y-your conquest...”

“I get it, so go back already. You’ll get sick.” Seo Jun-Ho looked at him pitifully and waved at him to leave. The teleporter didn’t look back as he activated his magic and disappeared.

“He is a weak man. This is the perfect weather to have a picnic.”

“Sorry, but there’s no one in the right mind on Earth who’d go for a picnic in this weather.” Seo Jun-Ho tightly zipped up his bulky down jacket. He had even put on a mask and goggles. He had developed a little resistance to the cold thanks to his Frost skill, but Antarctica’s climate couldn’t be handled with just a little resistance. On the other hand, the Frost Queen was looking around like she had returned to her homeland.

“Over there! That is where the Gate is.” Just as she said, there was a blue portal on a snowy hill in the vast whiteness. Seo Jun-Ho started to walk over there.

“At least there’s one good thing that comes out of the cold,” he muttered. He liked that there weren’t any annoying reporters in front of the Gate.

“Gate information.”

[Winter Castle]

Entry requirement: Level 80 or lower

Party cap: 30

Clear requirement: Defeat the Lord of the Winter Castle

Difficulty: Brutal

“So this is one of those three Uncleared Gates.”

Every 1st and 2nd floor Player had failed to clear the Gate, and it had been granted a single star.

“Contractor. Do you need time to prepare yourself?”

“Nah. I did that when I washed my face this morning.” Seo Jun-Ho stepped into the Gate without hesitation. No one was there to watch the world-famous rookie step into the snowy Gate.

Wooooshhh!

As soon as he entered, his face stung from the bitter cold.

“...It is a pleasant northern wind.”

“What? It blows from the north?” Seo Jun-Ho squinted and tightened his collar. The powerful wind blew through the gaps in his jacket. “Ugh, it’s cold. Still, I chose well.”

The reason why this was the best choice as his final Gate on the 1st floor was because of Booster. In the bitter cold, he would be able to use the skill for at least a few seconds longer.

“The clear requirement is to defeat the Lord of the Castle...But where’s the castle?”

The blizzard made the entire world white, limiting his vision, and the snow even came up to his knees.

“...Go northwest.” The Frost Queen muttered, sitting on his shoulder. Seo Jun-Ho glanced at her.

‘What’s with her?’

Her voice was softer than usual. Even before they entered the Gate, she had suddenly gotten quiet. She didn’t talk much, so Seo Jun-Ho reached the castle in no time. It only took him 30 minutes to walk where she was pointing. As he got closer, the blizzard weakened, and he saw something big and hazy behind it.

“I think I can see something.” When he took one more step forward, the blizzard disappeared without a trace.

“Huh?” He turned around, surprised, but the blizzard was still blowing a single step behind him. “Wow, is this a trap? That’s really cool.”

However, he still couldn’t see the fortress before him very well. It blended in with the whiteness of the snowdrifts. The Frost Queen looked up at the castle and muttered something to herself.

“...It really is the Winter Castle,” she said faintly.

Seo Jun-Ho finally decided to ask. “Hey… Do you know where we are?”

“Indeed.” She didn’t deny it. In fact, she looked proud as she straightened her shoulders. “Because this is the country that I used to rule, the Ice Kingdom Niflheim.”