Return of the Frozen Player

conversation without permission.”

“Thank you for your mercy.” Isaac bowed his head and cut off his own arm without hesitation.

As the scent of blood slowly started to spread, the Heavenly Demon spoke with his hands clasped behind his back, “There are not many of you.”

“The Chef is doing research to develop the darkness element, as usual.
And Nazad Hallow is currently in Outland.” The one who answered was a man covered in black bandages like a mummy.
He was Shadow, the head of the Fiend Association’s espionage department, the Darkmoon Pavillion.

“And the Players?”

“Most of them have gone up to the 3rd floor.”

“Hm?” This was the first thing that caught his attention.
“The heat of the 3rd floor shouldn’t be easy to handle.”

“The Floor Master of the 2nd Floor has been killed.
It was taken out by the Big 6’s expedition force, which included Specter, Seo Jun-Ho, and Gong Ju-Ha.”

“The Floor Master…They had one here?”

“They say that it was inside Blackfield.”

“A pity.” The Heavenly Demon looked genuinely disappointed.
“And this Seo Jun-Ho…? Have I heard of him before?”

“He is a rookie who debuted less than two years ago…But there are some things that you should know about him.
Please look through the documents I prepared for you.”

“Alright.” With that, the Heavenly Demon looked up at the ceiling, which was covered in glowing crystals.
“I should… Move on from living underground,” he muttered.

“Where will you go?”

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes curved into crescents at Shadow’s question.
He held out his pointer finger, and they expected him to point to the ceiling.

“…!”

“…?”

But he pointed to the ground instead…

“Down.” The Heavenly Demon looked delighted.
“We will go down.”

***

“The roots! These roots are the most important part.
Ya need to have a good foundation,” the Thunder God lectured angrily.
As he spoke, he hit Seo Jun-Ho’s head with his cane.
“Ya little rascal, did I not just say that the roots are the most important parts?”

“Dammit.”

“Dammit? Dammit?”

Seo Jun-Ho scratched his head and jumped up, holding a hoe.
“I said I wanted to receive training, so what the heck is this?”

“What do ya mean? It’s trainin’,” the Thunder God immediately said.

Seo Jun-Ho held up his other hand, holding a large deodeok.[2] “How is digging up deodeoks training?”

“Did I tell ya to just dig them? Ya have to dig them carefully, so ya won’t hurt the roots.
There’s yer trainin’.”

“We’re just doing chores!”

“No!” The Thunder God scolded.
“The pickled deodeok ya eat every day is dug up from here.”

“That’s not… Yes, I feel grateful every time that I get to eat it, but…” Seo Jun-Ho trailed off.
He was grateful every time he was given a meal here.
However, he was already pressed for time, so he wanted to learn something useful.

‘…So what the heck is this.’ 

Seo Jun-Ho sniffled.
He had been digging up deodeoks for three hours straight, ever since morning.

“Look at Geon-Woo.
Look at how well he’s digging them without complaint.”

“…”

Since he had put it like that, Seo Jun-Ho had nothing to say.
Baek Geon-Woo was carefully using the hoe, digging up the herbs with all his heart and soul.

“…You said this is training.
Then can you explain what exactly we’re training here?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.

“Yer balance, stamina, and yer concentration.
It is a great method that trains all three of these things.”

“How does that even…” Just as Seo Jun-Ho was about to refute him, he stopped.

‘Wait, this is the Thunder God we’re talking about.’

Out of all the Players in the world, he was nearly the strongest.[3] His time was precious.
Would he really waste his precious time spouting nonsense like this?

‘No, he’s not a normal person.
Actually…’ 

Seo Jun-Ho looked around.
The hill they were on was steep.
Most people would have trouble simply standing on it.

‘Wait!’ 

He compared his deodeoks to Baek Geon-Woo’s.

‘They’re different.’ 

Their roots were different.
All his deodeoks had some of their roots cut off, but Baek Geon-Woo only had a few that were slightly damaged.
If they were to sell them at a wholesale market, Baek Geon-Woo’s deodeoks would receive an A-grade.

“I see.”

The mere act of crouching down on such a steep hill improved one’s sense of balance.
And if they kept digging up deodeoks without rest, it would improve their stamina.
Lastly, hoeing them carefully so that their roots wouldn’t get severed would improve concentration.

Seo Jun-Ho finally understood the Thunder God’s deep meaning and nodded.

“…I’m sorry.
I understand now.”

“Hm, impressive.” The Thunder God nodded sternly as he stood with his cane.

After that, Seo Jun-Ho poured all his focus into digging the deodeoks.

‘I have to maintain a fixed position and be careful of the angle as well as with the strength of my hand when I dig out each root.’ 

He became so absorbed that his sharp nose had gotten sunburnt, and he was dripping cold sweat.

“Faster! Ya’ll spend all day diggin’ deodeoks at this rate!”

“Too slow! Even kindergarteners could dig them up at that speed!”

The Thunder God hit them with rebukes and orders.
Three more hours passed, and it became noon.
By then, Jun-Ho could finally dig them up perfectly.

“Yes!” The Thunder God was getting worked up again.
“Yer body is not tremblin’ even as ya crouch, and each strike of the hoe is careful.
And this deodeok has no flaws or damages… It’s perfect!”

“…I did it.”

“Good.
Very good!” The Thunder God patted Seo Jun-Ho’s sweat-soaked shoulders.

Just then, Baek Geon-Woo stood up, having finished harvesting all the deodeoks into his basket.
“Master, I dug them all.”

“Hm? Y’re already done? Ah, I suppose it went faster with the two of ya.
Chores always go faster with more people.”

“Excuse me? Chores…?”

“Ahem.”

The Thunder God disappeared in a flash.
Seo Jun-Ho stared blankly at where the former had been standing.

He turned to see Baek Geon-Woo’s bitter smile.
“Um, this is training…right?” he asked.

“…”

Should he tell a white lie or go with the dark truth? Baek Geon-Woo closed his eyes as he pondered his decision.
However, his hesitation seemed to have become a sufficient answer for Seo Jun-Ho.
He looked forlornly at the hillside, which had become a mess.

“Why did you work so hard even though it’s not training?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.

“…If we weren’t able to harvest them fast enough, we would have spent all night digging.” Baek Geon-Woo cleared his throat and bowed his head.
He placed his basket over his head and disappeared with short and quick steps.

“…”

Seo Jun-Ho’s first day of formal training session ended at noon, after doing nothing but harvesting deodeoks.

1.
A Korean idiom that means that you can’t understand what others have gone through because everyone’s experiences are different. ☜

2.
A root herb with medicinal properties.
It’s also used to make side dishes in Korea. ☜

3.
The Heavenly Demon/DK is considered a Player as well ☜