It had been four days since he entered the Gate. Seo Jun-Ho strode up confidently to the door of the training ground. He was once more asked the same question he had been asked the past two days.
“Have you come again to prove your knighthood?”
“Of course.”
If there was something that changed, then it was Phil and Lance’s att.i.tudes. They shook their heads and refused to fight.
“Wandering Knight, you have already far surpa.s.sed our abilities.”
“We would be greedy if we continued to fight and hold you back.”
Yesterday, they had truly surrendered their matches. Perhaps that was why they looked at him with an air of respect. Today, they were only here to watch.
“Hooo, how interesting. If this continues as such, you will not even need to unsheathe your sword on the final day. You would be able to fight Sir Kis at your best condition.”
“...Yeah, I didn’t expect this.” While Seo Jun-Ho looked on with a baffled expression, his third opponent, Ticino, stepped up.
“Ah, Ticino. He was famous for having a fiery character.” The Frost Queen informed him.
“I know. I fought him on the first day.” Ticino also used a spear like Lance, but this didn’t mean that Seo Jun-Ho had nothing to learn from him.
‘Lance’s spear and Ticino’s spears are completely different.’
After fighting them both, it was hard to believe that they used the same weapon. Unlike Lance, whose spear was constantly moving, Ticino landed hard and heavy hits.
‘If Lance’s spear is like a machine gun, Ticino’s is like a cannon.’
Ticino gripped his spear with both hands and held it between his armpit as he charged.
“For the Queen!”
“Yes, yes, thank you.”
***
It had been two months since he entered the Gate. It had taken much longer than he had expected, but Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t scared or nervous. On the contrary, his eyes grew brighter as time pa.s.sed. The only thing that changed was that he was no longer receiving a knight’s acknowledgment every four days.
“Do you plan to train again today?”
“Yeah, it’s nice to learn new techniques everyday, but it’s also important to brush up on things I’ve already learned.”
His daily life was very simple. He would wake up, eat, fight the knights, practice the techniques, train some more, and sleep. The cycle was never-ending.
When he entered the Gate, he had been clean-shaven with neatly trimmed hair, but now, both his hair and beard had grown out quite a bit. The Frost Queen covered her mouth and giggled when she saw him. “Fufu, you look like a castaway.”
“Wouldn’t that make you Wilson?” Seo Jun-Ho retorted.
“I am not a volleyball.”
“d.a.m.n, when did you watch that movie?”[1]
If it weren’t for the Frost Queen’s constant chatter, he would have quickly grown tired of his current life, no matter how much he could learn. But thanks to her, he was able to continue to learn and train.
Exactly three months and two weeks after he had entered the Gate, he finally absorbed all the knights’ weapon techniques.
“No wonder he’s the captain. It took me four days to learn Horun’s techniques because it was so complicated.”
“They say that a single sword can cause ten thousand changes.”
Seo Jun-Ho finally received his proof of knighthood. The one hundred knights of the Winter Castle surrendered to him and started to treat him as a full-fledged knight.
“My stats also increased a lot after training like crazy for over three months.”
His stamina had increased by 2, and his strength, agility, and magic had all increased by 1. And that wasn’t everything he had received.
[Cold Tolerance]
Grade: C
Effect: You can tolerate the cold.
Humans were adaptable creatures. After he spent three months in the harsh cold of the Winter Castle, he had adapted to the climate and received the skill out of nowhere.
“I’m not cold at all anymore.” Those weren’t empty words. When he first arrived here, he had to continuously wear his thick padded jacket even after creating a large fire. But now, he felt fine even with a long-sleeved shirt.
‘I’ve also learned a lot of little tricks.’
He learned how to flex his muscles ever so slightly to fake a strike, how to read his opponent’s next move, and so on. He had also refined many of his other, smaller techniques that couldn’t be shown through text or numbers.
“I’ve worked really hard...I wonder what the reward will be.”
“Contractor, do not be so eager. The strongest enemy is still left.”
“Ah… Sir Kissyface.” Seo Jun-Ho nodded strongly. “Let’s get him today.”
He had nothing left to gain from the Gate. It was time to fulfill his mission and return to Earth. He was now at his final task.
Creak!
After being used so many times in the past three months, the door now opened smoothly as if it had been oiled.
“The Wandering Knight is here!”
“I’ve never seen anyone who understands weaponry better than him.”
“Yup. He’s one of the few men that I acknowledge.”
“I was called a genius in my hometown, but the world sure is big.”
The knights approached him with faces full of admiration. Seo Jun-Ho felt a pang in his chest.
‘Ah, how nice would it be if I could take them back to Earth…’
They would have been a huge help in the future, but it was impossible to do that. There was a bitter taste in his mouth as Seo Jun-Ho gave his final farewell.
“You’ve worked hard, Phil. Ticino, tone it down a bit. Oh, that technique you taught me was great, Bogus…” He greeted each and every knight in the Winter Castle.
“Wandering Knight, your pride was unshakeable.” Captain Horun held out his hand. As Seo Jun-Ho shook it, he smiled for the first time. “May I ask for your name?”
They had never asked for his name before, only calling him ‘Wandering Knight.’ Seo Jun-Ho smiled happily. “Seo Jun-Ho. That’s my name.”
“What an interesting name.”
“Seo Jun-Ho, Seo Jun-Ho...I won’t forget it.”
“If there should be anyone who asks which knight left the biggest impression on me, I’ll tell them of you.” The knights of the Winter Castle smiled as they approached him one by one.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Each one patted him on the shoulder. It wasn’t much, but it somehow gave him strength.
Horun was the last one. He patted him on the shoulder and held out a metallic emblem in the shape of mist.
“What’s this?”
“It is a token of sorts. It shows that you have proven your knighthood.”
Seo Jun-Ho gripped the emblem made out of an unknown metal in his hand. He smiled. “Nice. I’m gonna brag about it to my friends later,” he muttered.
“Hahaha! I’m sure they will be proud of you.” Horun thumped his shoulder once more and stood to the side. The one hundred knights followed, cutting a path for him to walk.
“The one who has proven his knighthood may meet with the Lord of the Castle.”
“I bet he’ll like you too.”
“Let’s spar again when I get stronger.”
“...”
Seo Jun-Ho slowly started to walk down the path. He felt strange.
“Ha, you must feel something peculiar. Did you not know that such things could happen within a Gate?”
“...Yeah.”
“Pay attention to your surroundings. There may be other ways to reach your goal.” The Frost Queen seemed happy as she lectured him. Perhaps it was because not a single one of her knights had been injured.
Seo Jun-Ho arrived at the door and glanced behind himself. The knights of the Winter Castle waved as they smiled brightly.
“...Thank you,” he whispered. He forcefully pushed the frozen doors open.
Creaaak!
As he entered the room, Seo Jun-Ho drew in a harsh breath.
‘It’s different.’
The air was so heavy, it felt like his entire body was being weighed down.
And the source of this energy was one man sitting in a large throne.
“...Frost.” At his call, the Frost Queen flew from his shoulder to study the man.
“He is Kis Bremen. Niflheim and I’s most powerful knight.”
“He looks strong, just like you told me.”
Shing.
Kis slowly stood up from his seat and silently unsheathed his sword.
‘I can feel his hostility.’
The powerful bloodl.u.s.t he emanated was enough to make his skin tingle.
“It seems that Sir Kis is aware that you are a Player.”
“I agree. He planned to kill me as soon as he saw me.”
Seo Jun-Ho pushed his magic into Black Armor, causing it to unfold and cover him from head to toe. He pulled out a spear from his inventory.
Woosh, woosh.
He spun it around a few times.
“...”
The moment Kis glanced at Seo Jun-Ho’s weapon, which made him look away from his figure, Seo Jun-Ho disappeared from his sight.
“Hup!” In a split second, Seo Jun-Ho’s spear divided into eight, aiming at vital points across Kis’s body. They weren’t just mere illusions; they were real spearpoints.
Clang!
Kis easily blocked the attack.
‘He’s too relaxed.’
Determined, Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes narrowed as he called upon his magic. The darkness wavered and bloomed, covering his spear like a snake.
“Contractor! You shouldn’t use such a powerful technique so early…”
“It can’t be helped. I can’t afford to go easy on him.”
The aura wrapped over the spearhead and started to whirl.
‘It consumes a lot of magic, but this can pierce through anything.’
Kis eyed the spear and wordlessly ignited a grey aura over his sword, compressing it several times. He instinctively sensed that Seo Jun-Ho’s attack would be dangerous. Seo Jun-Ho watched as he pulled his spear back in preparation.
‘He’s strong.’
He was the Lord of the Winter Castle, the Sword of the Niflheim Empire. A weapon aura wouldn’t be enough to hunt a monster like him.
“Frost, what’s the time for Booster?”
“With this temperature, it should last for 1 minute and 2 seconds.”
“1 minute and 2 seconds…” He took a mental note of the number. “Start counting!” he shouted.
Seo Jun-Ho’s started to give off an explosive magic energy, and his body temperature started to rise.
‘It’s hot. But I feel full of energy.’
He thrust his spear sharply at Kis. The spearhead burst into sixteen different pieces, flying into the air. He felt certain that Kis wouldn’t be able to block it.
“...”
But that was an arrogant mistake. Kis coolly blocked each projectile. Seo Jun-Ho’s body locked up at the sight.
“Contractor! Get it together!”
“s.h.i.t…!”
He ducked back a beat too late, and he felt his head sting. Seo Jun-Ho wiped the blood from his forehead and bit his lip. The alarm bells were going off in his head.
He looked down at his spear. The tip had been broken off with a single hit.
‘I can’t use this.’
He couldn’t estimate how the battle would go anymore. It wasn’t a matter of technique, rather, there was too much of a difference in the quality of their weapons. He tossed the spear aside and unsheathed Black Dragon Fang.
“...”
Kis swung his sword slowly as he stepped forward. Grey mist started to surround his body. It covered the field in an instant, blocking Seo Jun-Ho’s vision.
“...Ashen Mist. This is Sir Kis’s ability.”
“What does it do?”
“All it does is block one’s sight by covering the entire battlefield. However…”
He was the Sword of the Empire, the Knight of the Mist. And the reason he was feared was because of the way he slew his enemies in battle with this very technique.
“Take heed, Contractor. You don’t know when or where he will attack you.”
“I’m already watching myself. But…” Seo Jun-Ho’s face fell. He couldn’t see a single step in front of him. It felt like a tight, solitary cell. Even if he walked forward, all he saw was grey.
‘My skin feels tingly.’
He couldn’t tell where Kis was, but he could feel him watching from somewhere through the mist. But Seo Jun-Ho was pondering over something more important.
‘Should I turn off Booster? Or should I keep going?’
Time wasn’t on his side. With every second, his body heated up even more.
“Frost, time.”
“42 seconds, 41 seconds, 40…”
He was running out of time. If Kis waited for 40 more seconds, Seo Jun-Ho would lose all chances of winning.
‘Dammit.’
He gritted his teeth as he made his decision. The magic that ran through his circuits dispersed back to normal speeds.
‘Phew, time to cool off.’
He quickly covered Black Armor with ice. He felt his body temperature start to fall bit by bit, but he couldn’t let his guard down.
‘Where is he? I can’t sense anything at all.’
He was completely blind, and he couldn’t even sense a trace of magic. As the Frost Queen said, he didn’t know from where or when Kis would attack.
Sweat dripped down his face. A single drop dripped down to his chin and fell to the ground with a…
Plop!
“...!”
Seo Jun-Ho felt a chill go down his spine.
Shing!
A sharp sword swung down on his head.
1. This is a reference to the movie Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks. ☜