Return of the Frozen Player
chapter-381

- Ugh, Queen. I am tired.

"Wait a little longer."

The Frost Queen spoke as she stood on Wisoso and looked out the window. She landed on the floor a moment later with a sigh.

"There are a lot of martial artists on the empire’s side. I think there are at least a thousand people.”

"The future was set the moment Yoo Joo-Wan was killed.”

Seo Jun-Ho slightly lowered the blind curtain and looked at the Murim Alliance building in the distance. There was no need to read Namgung Jincheon’s thoughts, who was on the top floor of the Murim Alliance building.

"They’re obviously trying to stop and kill me. Still, they probably won’t be able to get inside."

Namgung Jincheon still wanted the citizens to believe that His Majesty the Emperor was still alive. What would happen if the martial artists forcefully entered the Imperial Palace? They would inevitably start asking questions if that were to happen.

"Thanks to you, I gained some time.”

There would be no problem holding out for a while. However, Seo Jun-Ho knew that he would eventually fall into a disadvantage.

‘The net grows thicker and thicker by the day.’

This was a battle of resources where Seo Jun-Ho was at a disadvantage. It was all because one couldn’t recover their magic naturally in Neo City.

"Contractor, how much magic do you still have?"

"About seventy-eight percent left..."

It was still plenty. Seo Jun-Ho was glad that the trial was carried out in his mind.

"I'll learn Cheon-Gwang’s martial arts here and try to break through that Heaven’s Net somehow."

"Are you prepared?"

Facing the Frost Queen's unwavering eyes, Seo Jun-Ho closed his mouth tightly. As he said earlier, he would try to somehow break the net after learning Black Moon. However, the Frost Queen was asking about the process.

‘She’s asking whether I can kill innocent people or not.’

Technically, they were also victims since they believed that Namgung Jincheon and the Murim Alliance were protectors of justice. Of course, those who were a part of it would believe that justice was simply being enforced.

‘Can I cut those people down?’

He had no idea.

Looking at his face from the side, Frost Queen sighed deeply.

"Of course, you still can’t make a decision. I can see what kind of decision you will make, but it is going to be a tough road."

"I'll do my best.” With that, Seo Jun-Ho turned around and looked down at the book he was holding.

Black Moon Martial Art.

‘What kind of martial art is it?’

Was this book the high-level weapon technique Sir Hart had told him to learn?

Seo Jun-Ho took a deep breath and opened the book. He saw an empty space when it opened.

"Huh? Shoot."

Seo Jun-Ho seemed hesitant because what was inside was a chip the size of a finger. He had no idea that Cheon-Gwang, who was looking for the Purebloods, would leave a martial arts book in the form of a chip.

‘No, considering the current era, it makes sense. What do I do with this, though?'

As Seo Jun-Ho stared at the chip with a troubled look on his face, Wisoso spoke.

- Huh, it's a recording chip.

"Do you know how to use this?"

- More or less.

As Wisoso spoke proudly, a small groove formed on their body.

- I am the latest machine ball model that can recognize chips as well as hack them.

"Ooohhh."

The heavy ball could be used like that?

Delighted, Seo Jun-Ho immediately put the chip in.

Bee, bee, beep.

Wisoso's eyes suddenly turned golden, and a hologram appeared before their eyes.

"Huk."

The Frost Queen flinched. The hologram was General Cheon-Gwang.

- …

Cheon-Gwang looked at them with dry eyes and spoke.

- Black Moon Martial Art is a martial art made to change the world.

"Contractor, I think it is impossible to converse."

"Yeah. It's just like an internet lecture. He only recorded the contents of the martial art."

Seo Jun-Ho started to concentrate on Cheon-Gwang's words. Black Moon Martial Art was a very difficult martial art to learn, after all.

‘It's so different from what I thought.’

Sir Hart said the reason why high-level martial arts were scary was because of their martial skills. However, Cheon-Gwang’s teaching was the opposite.

- This martial art is a martial art made to change the world.

- The day you complete this, you will no longer be bound by any laws of the world, let alone martial skills.

- Black Moon Martial Art is divided into three stages.

- First, empty yourself.

- Second, break away from the conventional world.

- Third, become one and shine.

- Remember, the first step in changing the world begins with changing yourself.

It was difficult. The explanation itself was simple, but the implied meaning was complicated and hard to comprehend.

"What? That’s it?"

Seo Jun-Ho thought Cheon-Gwang would at least teach him martial skills since it was a martial art skill book. However, it ended up like taking a philosophy class.

"Frost, did you understand it?”

"No, I do not know martial arts very well. I am having a headache."

In this regard, even the knowledgeable Frost Queen shook her head.

- Hmm, even I cannot say anything. It is too difficult.

"Even you..."

Even Wisoso, who should be the sharpest among them when it came to martial arts, raised the white flag. In the end, the only way left was to interpret it himself.

- Sit down and lead your neigong to where I am leading mine.

Cheon-Gwang then taught him how to operate the ‘Black Moon Heart Method’.

Fortunately, Seo Jun-Ho could do that.

“…”

However, he could only do it. Seo Jun-Ho’s shock grew the more he learned about the Black Moon Heart Method.

‘Was I such an ignorant man?’

Seo Jun-Ho had just realized that the way he was making his magic run through his magic circuits was actually an inefficient method of doing so. However, he couldn’t really be blamed because he had no other method to do so until now.

‘There were other heart methods in Frontier, but they were secret techniques akin to heirlooms in respectable households.’

Regardless of how much money one offered or how much debt those families owed, they would never share those heirlooms with someone else. After all, those heirlooms were the best treasures only available to the head of every household.

'It's hard, but it's worth learning…’

Seo Jun-Ho felt himself turning cold from the sweat. What he was doing was basically breaking the habit that he had been doing until now. Of course, he couldn't immediately adapt to it, so his magic would often get lost in the magic circuits and wander around.

"I'm going crazy."

Seo Jun-Ho sighed in frustration.

"Contractor, are you having a hard time?”

"I feel like I'm going to die.”

How should he explain the hardship he was experiencing? Seo Jun-Ho pondered about it for a while before saying, "I've been breathing through my nose all my life, but this martial art is teaching me to breathe in through my mouth and out through my nose.”

"Like this? Heup, heup." The Frost Queen tried a few times. Eventually, she frowned and quit. "I will just breathe through my nose."

"It's hard, isn't it?"

He said it was hard, but it was actually a lot harder than that. One could actually live breathing like that if one really tried, but one would eventually switch to automatic breathing once they forgot that they were supposed to breathe in through their mouth and out through their nose.

‘For the time being, I should focus only on the heart method.’

It was more correct to say that that was the only thing he could do. Seo Jun-Ho opened his Inventory and checked his food.

‘If I eat sparingly, It’ll last a week.’

Just a week. Still, he would have to go out after about five days. After all, he couldn’t really just eat all the food he had and leave.

‘Five days.’

He had to learn the heart method in five days. As such, Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes and focused with all his might.

***

"He’s holding out pretty well…"

The sect leader of Volcanic Wave, Kwak Won-San, shuddered. He was a longtime subordinate and a reliable helper of Namgung Jincheon. Naturally, he wasn’t really a fan of the imperial family.

"I have always said it, but you really have the tendency to worry too much.”

Namgung Jincheon laughed and scolded him. Five days had already passed, but Seo Jun-Ho was still not moving as if he had built his own nest in the Imperial Palace.

"Isn't it a big problem if he ends up learning Cheon-Gwang’s martial arts?"

"I already told you last time.” Namgung Jincheon turned his head. "It won't happen, but it doesn't matter even if he does. It's annoying, but we don’t have to be afraid of it. The martial arts I have completed is incomparably stronger than that trivial thing.”

"Still…"

“…”

Namgung Jincheon’s eyes narrowed, and Kwak Won-San closed his mouth at that. The words he couldn't say hovered in his mind.

'Hundreds of years ago, Cheon-Gwang's martial arts is strong. The Alliance Leader fought him before and ended up almost dying.’

The Alliance Leader judged that it was burdensome to face Cheon-Gwang head-on. As the years passed, Cheon-Gwang eventually died, as Namgung Jincheon expected. It was all because one couldn’t defy death regardless of the level of their martial arts. It was a part of nature, after all.

'…Yes, let's believe.'

Namgung Jincheon would soon become the god of this city, and he had been chosen by such a being.

"Anyway, what happened regarding Earth?"

"Oh, it worked out better than I thought." Kwak Won-san grinned. "We received the support of about four hundred Players from an organization called Climb."

"What's the price?"

"None. The organization we met from Climb was a Guild called Sky Soul, and they said that we don’t have to pay a price as long as their identities do not get leaked.”

"Hmm." Namgung Jincheon nodded. He had already made a rough deduction of the situation. He mumbled while arranging orchids. "It seems that the tallest tree really catches the most wind no matter what."

Seo Jun-Ho had already been identified. Information about him had long been gathered as well. He was a Hero of Earth. A legendary Player who had saved the world. He had countless admirers, but he also had many enemies.

‘That is the destiny of the outstanding.’

Namgung Jincheon thought he could understand Seo Jun-Ho a bit.

"It seems that he’s too kind because he spared such enemies…”

“Perhaps he spared them because it’s bothersome to clean them up?”

“Well, I don’t know."

Namgung Jincheon smiled faintly. Those at the summit could do practically everything they wanted, but he actually dared to spare his enemies?

‘He’s too soft.’

Namgung Jincheon spoke, "Have you finished arranging the support Players?"

"No, I was just about to do it."

"Send them all to the pub."

"...The pub?”

Kwak Won-san frowned. The support Players had high levels, but they were weaker than the Murim Alliance’s elites.

"They won't be able to stop Seo Jun-Ho."

"It's fine."

Namgung Jincheon was sure of it. Seo Jun-Ho wouldn’t be able to cut those Players down.

‘If he cuts them down…’ Namgung Jincheon revealed a strange smile. ‘It’ll still be fun.’

A hero's fall to depravity had always been a fun spectacle to watch.

***

"Contractor, let’s eat."

The Frost Queen brought the food she had piled up in one corner of the room and held them out to him. Seo Jun-Ho then ate the dry food.

"Do not worry. I do not know well either, but I know it is hard to learn martial arts in a short time.”

Seo Jun-Ho smiled weakly at the Frost Queen’s consolation. In the end, he wasn’t able to learn the Black Moon Heart Method in just five days.

‘I had no idea that it would be this hard.’

He hadn’t slept in the past five days, and he only circulated his magic. In this world, he did something called Qi circulation. He was talented, so he had some achievements in it, but that was it.

‘The effectiveness of the Black Moon Heart Method is supreme.’

Based on his experience, he thought it deserved at least an A-grade rating. The issue was that he couldn’t continuously use it.

'Cheon-Gwang said it as well. Using the Black Moon Heart Method should be as natural as breathing.’

Unfortunately, even the smallest distraction would ruin his Qi circulation through the heart method. In fact, it was even difficult for him to walk while using the Black Moon Heart Method, let alone using it in the middle of a fight.

Seo Jun-Ho clicked his tongue.

‘Unfortunately, we’ve run out of food, so we have to move.’

He shook off his lingering feelings and stood up. He frowned as he looked out through the window.

‘What’s going on?’

He thought that the net would become stronger over time, but the number of people involved in the net had decreased. The net had also become looser compared to five days ago, and it seemed as if the net was telling him to hurry up and leave.

"Hmm, that is suspicious," said the Frost Queen while standing on Wisoso.

"It's definitely suspicious," replied Seo Jun-Ho.

Seo Jun-Ho could use Night Walking and scour the city. It meant that he could go anywhere aside from the Murim Alliance.

‘They’re not going to block me?’

He couldn’t see the sect leaders of the Ten Great Families whom he had seen at the conference the Alliance Leader had thrown. Most of those surrounding the imperial palace were first-grade martial artists. Of course, there were hundreds of them, so they couldn’t be trifled with. However, Seo Jun-Ho had Night Walking.

"Perhaps he thinks that you cannot maintain your Night Walking for very long?"

"If it’s like that, then I would be glad, but...”

Seo Jun-Ho didn’t think that Namgung Jincheon was that naive and sloppy. He thought about it for a moment before moving downstairs.

"Contractor, have you decided on your destination?"

"First, let’s take a look around the pub area."

If the opponent were not a fool, he would have certainly placed the sect leaders there.

"If I see a gap, I'll go downstairs through there.”

"What if you cannot find any gaps?"

"In that case…”

He would have no choice but to live the life of a fugitive.

Seo Jun-Ho activated Cloning.

"Jun-Sik, I’ll leave it to you."

"You always call me when you ask me for things like this, but you don't even buy me food when I’m done." Seo Jun-Sik pouted his lips. However, he still stretched his neck and said, "But since the Original is asking, I can’t help it. Who else could do this other than me?"

Seo Jun-Sik kicked the imperial palace’s door open, and hundreds of pairs of eyes were immediately drawn to his body. Seo Jun-Sik grabbed one of his legs with a scornful look and wriggled his eyebrows.

"What? Is it your first time seeing someone so handsome?"

“My god..."

Seo Jun-Ho had told Seo Jun-Sik to attract their attention, not to kick up such a fuss.

The Frost Queen held her belly and laughed. “Who cares? As long as it works.”

"Yeah, it’s definitely effective.”

Hundreds of martial artists started chasing after Seo Jun-Sik with fire in their eyes.