Chapter 616: One By One (1)

The area ruined by the battle was blocked by the Players of the Association, police, and even the military. Not only was the place so barren that everything had to be redeveloped from scratch, but there was also a chance that the remaining demonic energy left in the area could cause lingering damage.

“Hmm?”

“

Sniff, sniff.

It smells good.”

When Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen returned home, the scent of coffee stimulated their senses of smell.

It was Shim Deok-Gu who walked out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

“Oh, you’re here.”

“...What are you doing at my house?”

“I thought you might feel lonely now that your revenge is finally over. I figured no one would come visit you, since you’re single, so I came.”

“You didn’t have to. Can you grab me some coffee too?”

“I want hot chocolate,” the Frost Queen said.

Seo Jun-Ho lay down on the couch in the living room and stared blankly at the ceiling. The fact that the revenge was over hadn’t felt real to him until just a moment ago, but after hearing Shim Deok-Gu’s words, he was starting to acknowledge it.

“Then…is it all over now? The revenge.”

“It is over.”

Shim Deok-Gu put down a cup of coffee and hot chocolate on the table and said in a firm voice, “Your parents’ revenge, your colleagues’ revenge, and the Thunder God’s revenge are all over.”

“...You’re right.”

The fact that he could now focus on the quests and the fact that fiends no longer existed in this world began to feel more and more real.

As his thoughts reached that far, Seo Jun-Ho suddenly stood up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that I feel like I can’t stay still.”

“How old are you? Five?”

Shim Deok-Gu smirked and took a sip of his coffee.

“How do you feel now that you’re done with your revenge?”

“Hmm. Hey, Shim Deok-Gu. You know how people say that the only thing that’s left at the end of revenge is emptiness?”

“Yeah. People say that.”

“But I feel like that’s bullshit.”

Shim Deok-Gu looked at Seo Jun-Ho with a strange gaze.

“Why do you say that? Do you not feel empty at all?”

“Nope, not at all. It just feels…refreshing. I used to feel a tickling sensation all the time before, but that’s gone now.”

Seo Jun-Ho thought that if he hadn’t finished his revenge, he would have always felt anxious somewhere deep down in his heart, a sensation rooted in his concerns about the Heavenly Demon coming down to Earth again and somehow creating more subordinates.

“That’s great. You’ve done a great job.”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho took a sip of coffee brewed by Shim Deok-Gu.

It was warm and delicious.

“And thank you.”

“Ah, about what? Getting rid of the fiends?”

“No.”

Shim Deok-Gu shook his head and looked at Seo Jun-Ho.

“I’ve been worried a lot about how you would feel…you know, once the revenge was over. I was concerned that you might feel all kinds of empty uselessness in the world and become a living corpse.”

“You worry too much. It’s been a long time since I stopped caring about the fiends.”

“It sure seems like it. I worried for nothing.”

Shim Deok-Gu felt relieved that the fiends did not seem to mean much to Seo Jun-Ho, unlike before.

“Hmm. But now that you said that, I’m worried about something else.”

“Are you serious? Can you stop worrying for a minute? What is it now?”

“The fact that you don’t care about the fiends as much as you used to means that some other being is eating up on your attention.”

‘

This is why I get scared sometimes when I talk to him. How does he read my mind so accurately? Are all best friends like this?

’

“...Come to think of it, I’m kind of pissed off. Hey, Woo-Joong’s best friend is Master Son Chae-Won. How come I’m stuck with you?”

“What are you gonna do about it? Huh?”

“

Sigh.

Whatever.”

Seo Jun-Ho lightly clicked his tongue and leaned against the backrest.

“As you just said, my current focus is on the floor master of the 9th Floor and the Archduke.”

“They… must be strong, right? They must be much stronger than the fiends.”

“I’m assuming that the fiends are nothing but ants compared to them. It’s like comparing an ant to a combat plane.”

“Well. They sound like filthy strong beings.”

“They are filthy strong beings.”

Shim Deok-Gu let out a deep sigh.

“But is it even possible to face people that strong?”

“Facing the Archduke is impossible for now. But…I think I’ll be able to deal with the Floor Master of the 9th Floor.”

Seo Jun-Ho had become much more confident after finding the name of his star through the battle against the Heavenly Demon.

He smiled and relieved his friend’s worries.

“In case you forgot, I’m one of those filthy strong beings.”

“...It’s your judgment, so I won’t doubt it.”

“I’ll take care of just a few things and go up to the 9th Floor right away.”

“A few things?”

“First of all, now that the threat of the Heavenly Demon has completely disappeared, I will send the elite Players, including the Nine Heavens, to the Aeon Empire.”

Seo Jun-Ho figured that the Players would become much stronger once they trained under the Transcendents.

“I’ll take care of that part for you.”

“I’d appreciate it a lot, thanks. I’ll let Yeon know about it then. And you know about what happened to the Silver Constellation and Miss Si-Eun. Right?”

“I did receive the information about it through the moonlight. But I’ve just been collecting the data because I didn’t know what you wanted to do.”

“Good job.”

Fortunately, Shim Deok-Gu seemed to have made all the preparations to some extent.

Seo Jun-Ho nodded his head.

“Let’s release the articles then. You can sell my name to your heart’s content.”

“What’s the purpose?”

“The fall of the corrupt Players in Silver Constellation, and the reformation of the Church of the Sun as a bonus.”

“I understand the downfall of corrupt Players, but what’s up with the Church of the Sun?”

“Oh, I made a deal with the Sun God that I’ll help her get some more believers.”

“...”

Shim Deok-Gu stared at Seo Jun-Ho with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“You’ve been hanging out with a god recently?”

“It was unintentional, but yes. Just think of it as a business relationship.”

“Oh, my goodness.”

Shim Deok-Gu continued to laugh and nod, dumbfounded.

“That’s rather good. The heads of companies, heads of associations, and even the presidents kept bothering me to schedule a meeting with you. I’ll just tell them Mr. Specter is busy talking to a god.”

“...But wouldn’t that make me too deified again?”

“Probably. But I’ll be free of stress in return.”

‘

This punk….

’

Seo Jun-Ho decided to remain silent upon seeing the dark circles beneath Shim Deok-Gu’s eyes.

“I’m going to buy a bottle of good liquor and go up to the second floor.”

“Ah.”

Shim Deok-Gu nodded. He instantly understood Seo Jun-Ho’s intention.

“Yes. You should.”

“I’ll go up early tomorrow morning. I might go straight up to the 9th Floor from there if I feel like it.”

“Then, I came at a perfect time. What a relief.”

“What’s a relief?”

When Seo Jun-Ho asked, Shim Deok-Gu pulled out a briefcase that wouldn't have been out of place in a James Bond movie and placed it on the table.

“I wouldn’t have been able to give this to you if I didn’t come today.”

“What is this?”

Click.

Seo Jun-Ho saw five colorful medicine bottles inside the suitcase.

“These are the potions made by processing the elixir collected based on the information collected by Moonlight. It was a bit difficult to find and convince Miss Shasha Alkheni, but she made it for us in the end.”

“Wow, Shasha? I haven’t heard that name in a while. How was she doing?”

“She was having some trouble restoring her family, so I helped her a little.”

“That’s nice of you.”

Seo Jun-Ho hadn’t expected such a gift. Looking at the effects of the potions, they all seemed to be recovery medicines equivalent to an elixir.

“She said that the Players above a certain level will need recovery medicine rather than whatever elixirs.”

“That’s a very smart judgment.”

As Shasha said, whether a couple of Seo Jun-Ho’s abilities improved to some extent or not, it made no significant difference. However, recovery medicines like the ones in the briefcase were like an extra life and could save him in a crisis.

Seo Jun-Ho carefully received the briefcase.

“Thanks. I’ll make a good use out of it. Tell Moonlight and Shasha that I appreciate them.”

“No problem. I’m giving this to you not to die. So…don’t die.”

Seo Jun-Ho smiled softly at his friend’s worried nagging.

“Let’s have a drink the next time I come down.”

“I don’t like that line. It sounds like ominous foreshadowing.”

***

There was someone waiting for Seo Jun-Ho at the entrance of the Wailing Mountain.

“You’re here.”

“You could have gone up first without me.”

Baek Geon-Woo shook his head at Seo Jun-Ho’s words.

“I’m sure he’d prefer to see us together.”

Seo Jun-Ho nodded his head as he agreed. He recalled the Thunder God sitting on the rock in the yard with a smile on his face and watching them come up together when training.

“...Let’s go.”

The Wailing Mountain, which used to feel so steep before, was no longer a problem for the two. Seo Jun-Ho and Baek Geon-Woo ran along the familiar path in an instant and reached the top, neither of them shedding a single drop of sweat.

“Master, we are here.”

Baek Geon-Woo bowed deeply in front of the tomb and sat in front of it. Seo Jun-Ho also sat down after bowing and put down three bottles of liquor.

“...I couldn’t bring his head with me.”

Seo Jun-Ho complained as if he was disappointed.

“That cheap bastard scattered away like dust when he died.”

“Yeah. I should have hit him a little more gently.”

The two had a light conversation and whined about the things they wanted to tell the Thunder God all along.

They felt like they had gone back to the past.

Even back then, the old man used to quietly listen to the conversation between the two disciples rather than talking too much. Sometimes, he would just click his tongue and yell some warm words of encouragement.

“...Today’s a day I want to be yelled at.”

“Wow. You and I must have been thinking the exact same thing.”

Seo Jun-Ho and Baek Geon-Woo smiled bitterly.

Revenge had been taken, but the avenged one had not returned. Such was death.

Seo Jun-Ho belatedly felt the emptiness that he had not felt the day before.

***

Seo Jun-Ho said his goodbye to Baek Geon-Woo in front of the dimensional elevator.

“I’ll head over to the Aeon Empire.”

“All right. Take care.”

“You should be more careful than me, Jun-Ho.”

Baek Geon-Woo smiled faintly and advised Seo Jun-Ho with a serious look on his face.

“If it’s too hard to get through on your own, just run away. You don’t have to overdo it until we arrive. Got it?”

“Okay. I don’t intend to overdo it and risk my life, so don’t worry.”

Seo Jun-Ho saw off Baek Geon-Woo, who was going up to the 5th Floor. Just as he was about to take the next elevator, the scene in front of his eyes suddenly changed.

“...Ah.”

When the messy room came into sight, Seo Jun-Ho let out a deep sigh.

“Is this a pigsty or what?”

“Excuse me? You’ve become pretty arrogant since I’ve last seen you.”

Reiji was standing in the middle of the room, hips cocked. She glared at Seo Jun-Ho and snapped her fingers.

“Hey, you, come here right now.”

“...Why?”

“Just come here when I tell you to come, you punk.”

‘

But I’m scared.

’

As Seo Jun-Ho flinched and approached Reiji, she reached out her hand.

“First of all, hand over the Holy Sword.”

“...But that belongs to Helic.”

“She told me to take it for her. She said she’s busy right now.”

“You’re not lying, are you?”

“Why, you little punk…”

“Here you go.”

Seo Jun-Ho quickly handed over the Holy Sword, and Reiji took the sword and threw it to the corner of the sofa. Then she nodded as she gestured for him to follow.

Seo Jun-Ho quickly followed her as she stomped away.

“Where are you going now? You brought me here out of the blue.”

“I heard from Gray that you’re going to clear the 9th Floor.”

“Well, rather than clearing the quest, I’m just going there casually to—”

Swoosh!

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes opened wide at the sight of a fist flying at him all of a sudden. Reiji’s fist stopped right next to Seo Jun-Ho’s temple and gently tapped him.

“Did you just say ‘casually’? If you were on the 9th Floor, you’d be dead by now, you fucking moron.”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho swallowed dryly.

“What do you mean?”

“You think you’re really something right now, don’t you? Because you reached the Star Destruction Stage and found the name of your star?”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho could not deny it; he truly did feel that he had become strong enough to think that he was on the right track to some extent.

But Reiji’s words were like a cold shower.

“This is the most dangerous time. It’s the time when those who reached the Star Destruction Stage die the most. You understand?”

Now was a time when everyone acknowledged that Seo Jun-Ho was strong. In fact, it was true that most people were no match for Seo Jun-Ho. The Star Destruction Stage was not something easily dismissed.

“It seems like you aren’t aware, but the energy you are radiating right now is enormous.”

“...Oh!”

Seo Jun-Ho looked as if he had been struck in the back of the head. At the same time, both shame and enlightenment swept him.

“I’m going to stand out too much.”

“Exactly. If you go up to the 9th Floor right now as you are, it would be no different from asking the Counts to join forces to kill you right away.”

“...But they’re all Counts. Would they really join forces to kill just me? I feel like they’d look down on me.”

“

Sigh.

You really don’t know anything, do you? The demons don’t care about anything else other than victory. They laugh and hold hands with those who had betrayed them yesterday for the benefit of today.”

Furthermore, Seo Jun-Ho was not only a Player who had reached the Star Destruction Stage, but also a Player the Archduke was keeping an eye on; it was only natural that he would draw the demons’ attention.

Reiji let out a deep sigh.

“So let’s first learn how to be humble, okay? I’ll beat that piece of wisdom right into you, and then you can go.”

“...Please go easy on me.”

Seo Jun-Ho sounded gloomy.