The Frozen Player Returns

Kwak Won-San hurried out of the room, and Namgung Jincheon started at the place where the former had been standing with cold eyes.

“Tsk.
I left him alive for too long simply because he is useful.” And he had also supplied Kwak Won-San with a great amount of neigong over hundreds of years.

However, he would outlive his usefulness by tonight.

‘I will kill Seo Jun-Ho with the Immortal Army and the Demonic Cult while we’re at it.’ 

After obtaining the Beta Neigong Chip from the Demonic Cult, his lofty plans would succeed.
He would naturally become the ruler of Neo-City, and he would also possess all the neigong on the lower Floors.

That was his ultimate goal…

‘If things turn out as planned, there will no more reason for me to fear the demons and the Transcendents.’

Even if an outsider tried to invade, he would have nothing to fear.

Namgung Jincheon stared out the window, and his figure melted to the ground.

***

The Conductor of Space, Shin Sung-Hyun, spent a long time with his eyes closed.
He seemed to be composing something in the spatial dimension.

“It’s done.
Everyone, stay five steps away from me,” he warned.

They shuffled back obediently.
He swung his baton with vigor.

Crackle! 

A fissure appeared out of thin air, creating a large hole.
Beyond the hole were the backs of the martial artists ahead of them.

Skaya’s jaw dropped, and she was surprised as she asked, “W-what? Did you just connect us to another location?”

“It is thanks to the training I received on the 4th Floor.” More precisely, he had created this new technique while challenging the Seo Jun-Ho difficulty of Another World.

“Hey…This isn’t just a projection, right? Can we cross over, too?” Skaya asked.

“Of course.
If we couldn’t cross over to the other side, I wouldn’t have made it in the first place.”

“No way! Even I can’t do this!” squawked Skaya.

However, Shin Sung-Hyun wiped the sweat gathering on his brow and shouted, “Hurry and go! I can’t hold it for long.”

“So this is what you meant when you said we’d catch them by their tails.” Rahmadat grinned.
He was the first one to cross over through the portal.
“Ahahaha! I’m first!”

The process was simple.
He crossed over like he was walking through a normal door and arrived at the target location.

He turned around and stroked his chin.
“This is pretty cool.
Skaya, this is a lot more convenient than your Teleport.”

“Then use that instead from now on!” she said angrily.

But just as she was about to cross over, a ghastly chill ran through her, raising goosebumps on her skin.

‘There’s something dangerous…?’ 

She sensed danger and summoned her magic as she dodged.

“Ah. You have good reflexes, girl,” an old man muttered dryly from beside her.
He was holding an arm behind his back.
It was Skaya’s arm, and he tossed it to the ground without a care.

“…!”

The Players held their breaths.
They couldn’t sense the old man before he arrived, and they also didn’t see him move.
By the time they registered his presence, he had already pierced through Skaya’s seven-layered Defensive Shield and cut her arm off.

“Skaya!” Gilberto screamed with fury.
He quickly equipped his sniper rifle and aimed it at their opponent.

However, he couldn’t see him through the scope anymore, even though the old man was supposed to be there.

“A gun with live ammunition? What an outdated relic.”

Just as the warm, amused voice reached Gilberto’s ears, his rifle shattered.

“Father!” Shocked, Arthur quickly used Telekinesis to pull Gilberto back.
The ground he had been standing on shattered into pieces.

“Ah, are you his son? He raised you well.”

If Arthur hadn’t pulled him back, the sniper would have shattered as well with his rifle.

The Players gulped.
It hadn’t been long since he appeared, but the old man’s shocking power made the Players freeze up.

‘He’ll kill us if we make the first move.’

‘But… He’ll kill us even if we don’t. ’

‘Just what are we supposed to do in a situation like this?’

This was completely different from the time they had faced Erebo on the 4th Floor.
Erebo hadn’t even been this strong, and they had insurance with them in the form of regression upon dying.

“It seems that the Players of Earth are quite taciturn.
I like that you are quiet.” He laughed warmly and raised his hand.
They were frozen with fear at the sight of him.
There was no need to prolong this battle.
He would kill them all with one blow.

Clang! 

Just then, his hand was blocked by a powerful strike of a sword.

“Hm?”

Namgung Jincheon squinted.
It seemed that there was someone notable among the Players other than Seo Jun-Ho.

‘He has a great amount of neigong.
I can absorb it once I kill him.’ 

The swordsman who blocked him spoke, “Hurry…”

Just from one strike, he knew that the old man before him was a monster with an astronomical amount of magic energy.

‘I can’t win.’ Kim Woo-Joong knew that he could only buy time.
It was a pathetic, painful truth.

However, Kim Woo-Joong grit his teeth.
“Hurry.
Heal the Archmage and rescue Specter!”

“I-I’ll do it!” Cha Si-Eun broke out of her shock and immediately ran over to Skaya to heal her.

“Hup. I’ll stay here too.” Rahmadat crossed through the portal once more and casually took his place next to Kim Woo-Joong’s side.
“You look like you need a sturdy tanker to take his attacks.”

“My skills are menial, but I will assist you,” Ha In-Ho muttered as he stepped up.
It was clear from his expression that he was under immense pressure.

“Hah.
You children sure know how to make someone laugh.” Namgung Jincheon smiled from ear to ear and lifted his hand.
“Now then.
Come at me, Players.”

“We’ll split into two groups! The main force will stay here, and the mobile troops will go and rescue Specter!” Shin Sung-Hyun nimbly gave his orders.
When he did, the Players started crossing over through the portal.

“Kyaa! M-Master? Why?!” Gong Ju-Ha cried out as she was thrown to the other side.

“I’m counting on you to lead them, Captain Gong.”

“B-But…!”

The rip in space was growing smaller and smaller.
Once it closed completely, Shin Sung-Hyun prayed.
He prayed that it wouldn’t be too late by the time they came back here.

1.
Heosu can mean scarecrow or puppet.
☜