The Frozen Player Returns

n his face. 

“Fuck off before I hit you.”

“C-contractor.
That human’s eyes are so disturbing.”

“I agree.” 

Shim Deok-gu’s eyes were filled with affection, but he stopped in his tracks.
“Geez, is it so weird that I want to hug my friend?”

“You’re acting super creepy.
What happened?” Seo Jun-ho asked, taking a seat on the sofa. 

“Hehe, you’ll understand why I’m acting like this when you see this.” Deok-gu tapped on his Vita.
A list appeared before them, and Seo Jun-ho blinked. 

“What is this?”

“A list of donations.” There were hundreds of pages of huge donations.
“They’ve been trickling in for a few months, but they started flooding in two days ago.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

Seo Jun-ho met his eyes and pointed at himself.
“Because of me?”

“Of course.
You’re the only reason they’ve been making these donations.
They want to make a connection.”

’

“…But why? There are tons of good players on the 2nd floor.” He looked confused.
Even if he broke Specter’s record, he was still a level 30 newbie. 

“From their perspective, you’re a completely different commodity.
The players on the 2nd floor have already gotten all their certificates and awards, and they can’t just wriggle in.
You, on the other hand, are brand-new and unlisted.”

“…Am I a stock or something?”

“It’s just a metaphor.
Anyways, if they make a connection to you now, they’ll be able to ask you for favors when you go even higher.”

“Ahh, so they’re trying to buy my favor,” he said flatly.
Basically, they were saying something like, ‘I’ll give you a lot of money, so please remember me! Hehe.’

“Yes, exactly.”

“How much have you received in total?”

Shim Deok-gu shook his head.
“I don’t even know the exact amount.”

“…Why not?”

“How would I? I get new donations every time I refresh the page.” He smiled happily and refreshed the window.
“Let’s see, two seconds ago, it was 454,070,473 USD… Oh, the smaller numbers keep changing so I can’t count it.”

(TN: For easier reading, I’ll be converting currency directly.)

“Wow, a lot of people want to be my friend.”

“Of course.
If you start using social media, you’ll probably get 5 million followers in a day.
Do you want to try YouTube? ‘Seo Jun-ho’s Survival Guide’ or something.”

“Nah, it’s too much work.” Seo Jun-ho shrugged and laid down on the sofa.
He looked at the Frost Queen. 

“…Why do you have such a pathetic expression?”

“Don’t you see? I’m too important.”

“Hah? Listen closely.
I am the monarch…”

“So what’re you gonna do with the money?” Seo Jun-ho asked, ignoring the Frost Queen’s ramblings. 

“I don’t know.
Do you remember the stipulations of the contract?”

“Yeah.
All donations are gonna be split 7 to 3.”

’

“Yeah, 70% of all this is yours.
Of course, the taxes will be high.”

“What a waste…” Seo Jun-ho sighed.
“I used to be exempt from taxes.” 

In the past, the government had exempted him from taxes, begging him not to go to another country.
Of course, that wasn’t the case anymore. 

“Hm…” Seo Jun-ho thought for a second, then pointed his finger.
“I got it.
I’ll invest the money into the Association.”

“…What are you saying?” Shim Deok-gu tilted his head. 

“I said I’ll invest it into the Association.
Recruit some people with the money.”

“What people? Employees?”

“No, players.
Players who can work on the 2nd floor.
Make them your agents.”

“Hey, do you know how expensive they are? It would be better to train players on the 1st floor…”

“Until when? If you keep this up, the Big 6 and the other guilds are gonna control the 2nd floor forever.”

“……” Shim Deok-gu had nothing to say.
He scratched his head.
“But do you think that can really change with just one Association…?”

“Of course.
You’d be stupid not to try, at least.” Seo Jun-ho’s voice was full of confidence.
“After all, the Korean Player Association has two things no other country has.”

“Two…? I know one of them is you, but what’s the other one?” 

Seo Jun-ho grinned.
“What do you think? It’s Specter.”

“……?” Shim Deok-gu’s eyes widened.
His face became serious.
“You want Specter to enter the Association?”

“No.
It’ll just be a simple working relationship.
But that in itself will be enough.”

“Of course… It’s more than just ‘enough’.” Specter was practically a religious figure.
The reason that the people were still living was because of him and the rest of the Five Heroes.

“We’ve gotten hundreds of millions in donations with just your name.”

Then how much would they earn with Specter? And what if they could use the money to expand the Association to the 2nd floor?

“For now, keep ‘em coming.” Seo Jun-ho crossed his legs and laughed.
“The donations, I mean.”