Chapter 359. The Player Slaughterer (1)
Seo Jun-Ho watched the ocean waves overlapping gently as he swung on a hammock.
“Man, this is nice.”
He was currently at a private beach in Bali, one of the best vacation spots in the world.
‘I feel like I’m actually going to be able to relax for the first time in a long time.’
His eyes closed on their own. The warm sunlight felt pleasant as it shone on him. The sound of the waves was so refreshing it felt like it was reaching his very soul. His mind and body automatically relaxed. Everything on his vacation was perfect.
“...”
He looked up at the beautiful, cloudless sky and muttered, “Status window.”
[Seo Jun-Ho]
Level: 195
t.i.tle: Bringer of Spring (+4 more)
Strength: 635 Stamina: 619
Speed: 633 Magic: 657
“Hm.”
His stats were over 600. It felt like forever since he thought that he hadn’t grown stronger on the 4th Floor. When his score was calculated, and he received all his rewards at once, his level increased by 38. In total, he had leveled up 43 times on the 4th Floor alone.
“Ugh, so annoying.” However, even though anyone would have been jealous of his stats, he couldn’t stay happy for long.
‘When will I have the time to adjust to all this?’
To make full use of all those stats, he had to work just as hard.
‘And that’s not all. When I go up to the 5th Floor, all my stats will increase by 30 again.’
He could feel that all the annoying things he had to do were starting to pile up. Seo Jun-Ho closed his status window and closed his eyes.
‘Ugh, whatever. I’ll just leave it alone for now.’
Right now, he was on vacation. He didn’t want to think about these trifling matters as much as possible.
Still, there were some things that could help him.
‘I’m sure there’s something in the Administrator’s Store I can use.’
He fervently prayed that there was something in the Administrator’s Store that would help him overcome all this.
“Contractor! Contractor!” The Frost Queen ran over. She was wearing scuba goggles and had a flower-patterned tube around her waist. She was even wearing flippers, seemingly prepared for a pool party. “Why are you not swimming?!”
“Now that I’m older, I prefer to just lay here and rest,” he said, burying himself deeper into the hammock.
The Frost Queen squinted at him. “You are starting to sound more and more like an ahjussi.”
“Yeah, right. What kind of ahjussi is as youthful as…” Seo Jun-Ho suddenly lost his train of thought and stopped. Now that he thought about it, his birthday was June 6th, 1999. Naturally, a question came to him.
‘Am I an ahjussi?’
Certainly, he would be turning 52 in a few days. But if he included the time he had spent in the Cave of Trials, the goshiwon, and the 4th Floor…[1]
‘Oh my G.o.d.’ He felt like he had just opened Pandora’s box.
He instantly sat up. “F-Frost.”
“What.”
“Do I seem like an ahjussi?” He gave her his most refreshing, youthful smile.
The Frost Queen stared at his overcompensating expression. “No. You are like a child. You are always causing trouble, and you do not listen to me.”
“Phew, that’s a relief. I’m still young.” Just as he was letting out a sigh of relief, his Vita rang.
“...” He squinted and slowly stepped out of the hammock. “Unfortunately, I think our vacation ends here.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to look into the details, but it’s not good…” Seo Jun-Ho muttered while looking at the message on his Vita.
[Seven Players and twenty civilians were killed. Please come back as soon as possible.]
***
At once, Seo Jun-Ho rushed back to Korea, and he went to Shim Deok-Gu first.
“...You’re here.” Shim Deok-Gu looked haggard, like he hadn’t slept.
And the sight made Seo Jun-Ho feel bad. After all, his face was still bright and glossy after relaxing and resting a lot. “What in the world happened?”
“Take a look at this first.” Shim Deok-Gu pa.s.sed over a hologram photo. It showed several corpses hung on hooks from their upper or lower bodies, like pigs in a butcher’s shop.
“Holy s.h.i.t. What do we know about the killer?”
“...This is the signature modus operandi of the Player Slaughterer.”
“Player Slaughterer?”
“Yeah. It might be a copycat, but this is the same method the Butcher uses.”
The Butcher would put the Players he killed on display like they were pieces of meat. He was an executive of the Fiend a.s.sociation, and he instilled fear in the hearts of Players.
“...”
Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes grew cold. How dare he? He couldn’t endure running around while incognito that he wanted to start a killing spree on Earth? The Butcher was clearly trying to provoke him.
“This picture doesn’t look like it was taken in Korean. Where is this?”
“Baghdad.”
“Tsk.”
Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. Even though the world was in a golden age of science and magic, the nation’s public safety wasn’t as secure as Korea"s because they didn’t have many CCTVs.
“Clever b.a.s.t.a.r.d. If he carefully hides, we won’t be able to find him,” said Seo Jun-Ho.
“...”
Indeed, if the Butcher decided to run around the area with Baghdad at the center, it would be hard to catch him, especially because he was just one man, not many.
“What are the other Player a.s.sociations and Guilds doing in response?”
“For now, the Player a.s.sociation has decided to stop any outsiders from going in or out.” It was their immediate response. With that, the Butcher wouldn’t be able to leave Baghdad through any conventional means.
But of course, that was only in theory…
“Realistically, a restriction like that won’t work on someone as strong as an executive.” Seo Jun-Ho pointed out.
“He also chose a great spot. From there, he could go to Europe, Africa, China, Russia, or anywhere else.”
Even centuries ago, Baghdad was a merchant city famous as the center of the world. It was an advantageous location, as it was sitting in the middle of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
“And most members of the Big 6 can’t be dispatched right now,” Shim Deok-Gu said. “As you know, it’s because of…”
“The 4th Floor.” They should all be running wild right now, trying to clear the Seo Jun-Ho difficulty in Another World. “Then, there’s no point in discussing this anymore. Get me a Teleporter.”
“...” Concern and complicated emotions pa.s.sed through Shim Deok-Gu’s eyes. “Will you be okay by yourself?”
“He’s just one executive, so it should be fine.” Even if the Butcher was strong, he couldn’t be any stronger than Erebo.
“It’s could be a trap as well, considering how unclear the Heavenly Demon and the executives’ whereabouts have been so far. You should know that,” Shim Deok-Gu warned.
“...”
Shm Deok-Gu was right. There weren’t any traces of them on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Floors.
“If there’s more than one of them, it’s very likely that it’s a trap to kill you.”
“So you think I should let it go?” Even at this very moment, the Butcher could be stalking his new prey. The entire world was trembling in fear, not just the residents of Baghdad. “That’s what they want.”
The Fiend a.s.sociation had put in a lot of effort to sow distrust and make the Player a.s.sociations, Guilds, and Players helpless.
“...” Shim Deok-Gu closed his eyes. He thought for a moment and made his decision. “Fine. But I’m going to dispatch a squadron of a.s.sociation Players, too.”
“It doesn’t matter to me. I’m going to be moving on my own, though.”
“...I’m counting on you.”
“Have I ever let you down before?” Seo Jun-Ho grinned and left the room.
There was a man waiting outside for him. He was the Teleporter who had helped Seo Jun-Ho several times before.
“It’s an honor to serve you again,” he said.
“We’re acquainted, aren’t we? I’d love to catch up, but I’m in a rush.”
“I am aware.” The teleporter nodded gravely and carefully held out his hand. “Where should I take you?”
“To…”
Seo Jun-Ho answered him and took his hand. As soon as he did, there was a great fluctuation of magic, and the two men disappeared.
***
Baghdad. It was a beautiful place that was also known as the Garden of G.o.d, and it was also the setting of One Thousand and One Nights. It was a unique place outfitted with both modern and historical buildings. Usually, it was full of tourists, but right now, the streets were void of any people.[2]
“Omar! Pa.s.s!”
“Woah! Block it!”
A group of children was playing soccer in a quiet street. Their mothers approached them and mercilessly hit their backs.
“I told you not to play outside!”
“Why won’t you listen? I told you it’s dangerous!”
They s.n.a.t.c.hed their children up, looking fearful as they rushed to their homes.
The streets were completely still.
Seo Jun-Ho took the sight in from the top of the building the Korean Player a.s.sociation had provided, and he said, “Everyone is frozen with fear.”
“It cannot be helped. A sinister killer is active in this area.” The Frost Queen crossed her arms. “Can you feel it?”
“Yeah.” He felt it as soon as they entered Baghdad.
‘That b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s stronger than I thought.’
The Butcher’s magic power was spread all over the city like a spiderweb. In other words, they would have been in big trouble if they had directly teleported here.
“It was a prudent choice,” the Frost Queen said.
“That’s the basics of the basics. You know how many fiends I’ve killed before, right?”
Seo Jun-Ho didn’t immediately teleport to Baghdad. He went to Fallujah, which was an hour away by car, and he walked all the way here while concealing his presence.
‘The other Players are hiding as well, but… I don’t know.’
Even Seo Jun-Ho could sense several Players located all around the city. As such, his opponent could probably sense them as well.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts hunting tonight or maybe even right now if he wants to start earlier.’
Another thing to consider was that the Butcher was a complete psychopath, and he didn’t care if he was killing Players or civilians. Seo Jun-Ho looked down at the city, keeping his guard up. The time quietly pa.s.sed by, and night soon fell.
[Night has fallen. Hunter’s Night (A) has been activated.]
[All stats increased by 10%.]
[Your senses have been sharpened.]
Using his enhanced senses, Seo Jun-Ho carefully observed.
‘Let’s trace back his magic.’
It was a technique Skaya had taught him. His skills weren’t that impressive with it, but he could at least find someone’s approximate location.
‘He’s north.’
And Seo Jun-Ho was in the eastern part of the city. The Butcher wasn’t far off.
Using Night Walking, he hid his traces and jumped out the window.
“...”
The night was pitch-black, and there weren’t many buildings with their lights on. The city was like a ghost town, and it was completely silent as everyone held their breaths.
Just as he started to dart through the city, a brilliant firework went off in the night sky.
Booom!
“It’s red! Contractor, the signal!”
The members of the Korean Player a.s.sociation used a red flare to signal that they had encountered an enemy.
However, Jun-Ho’s face darkened as he stared. The firecracker had gone off in the complete opposite direction, the south.
“Does he have some kind of teleportation skill?” he muttered before quickly making his way to the south.
Booooom! Boom! Boom!
Fireworks started going off with no end in sight, and the horizon looked as if there was an ongoing festival. Seo Jun-Ho stopped and looked up at the night sky, and his eyes widened.
“...What?”
North, east, south, and west. Fireworks were blooming all over Baghdad.
1. For those curious, if you exclude the time he was frozen, his mental age is still around the mid to late forties. Physically, he is around thirty. ☜
2. I’m not sure where the nickname comes from, but it may be a reference to the hanging gardens of Babylonia, which were located in present-day Iraq. ☜