Return of the Frozen Player novel - chapter 153

Chapter 153

Seo Jun-Ho blinked. The ray of darkness looked dangerous, and it flew fast enough to leave afterimages as it passed by his head.

‘But…’

Who would’ve guessed? His enemy’s skill ended up prematurely releasing the Curse of Bitter Cold.

‘Status window.’ He checked just in case.

[Seo Jun-Ho]

Level: 65

Title: Bringer of Spring (2+)

Strength: 215 Stamina: 210

Speed: 212 Magic: 169

Fame: 2,720

He was sure of it. The troublesome curse was finally lifted. His stats had returned to their original numbers, and his body started to overflow with power.

‘…I didn’t think Wang-Heon would have that type of skill.’

Seo Jun-Ho was well-aware of Dispel’s effects. It was a famous skill.

‘It can remove the effects of magic and other powers.’

Wang-Heon’s Skill was also A-grade, which was very high. Despite this, however, it had only managed to shorten the curse by one hour out of 720.

‘The Curse of Bitter Cold… I was thinking about going to a purification priest or an exorcist next time, but I don’t think they’ll be able to help.’

Even an A-grade Dispel skill had only staved off one hour. A purification priest or exorcist wouldn’t be able to make a big difference, especially because the efficacy of such skills often decreased the second time it was used.

“Contractor. It appears that the effects of the transformation potion have been removed as well.”

“What?” Shocked, Seo Jun-Ho started to touch his face.

‘Shoot, Dispel removed my disguise too?’

He had put in so much effort to pretend to be Gouf, but he was caught red-handed in such an unexpected way.

‘This isn’t good…’

It was the worst possible situation. Seo Jun-Ho narrowed his eyes as he looked at Wang-Heon. If he had a means of contacting people outside of the Dungeon…

‘He could bring in some of the best fighters in the Fiend Association.’

This was dangerous.

Wang-Heon’s face stiffened slightly as he watched Seo Jun-Ho panic. “…Was that a polymorph spell?”

Not even Wang-Heon could have expected this situation. He had only had one goal when using Dispel.

‘He has impossibly high speed and reflexes. I thought he was being buffed by a spell.’

His skill was powerful enough to break artifacts.

‘I didn’t think it would reveal his true face. Two birds with one stone, I suppose.’

But even though he had discovered his opponent’s true identity, Wang-Heon still didn’t seem satisfied. Seo Jun-Ho slowly stood, watching his lukewarm reaction.

‘What is it? Why isn’t he attacking?’

He had expected the fiend to come running at him, furious for impersonating Gouf. But Wang-Heon seemed to be lost in thought with his eyebrows knitted.

“…This is confusing,” he muttered, looking up at Seo Jun-Ho. “When your polymorph spell was removed, I automatically thought that you were a spy. I thought you had infiltrated our ranks and pretended to be Gouf to interrupt the Association’s activities. If that were true, it would explain why Kal Signer’s plots against you had failed so many times. It wouldn’t have been hard if you were acting as his subordinate.”

“…What?”

“But I know for a fact that you debuted less than a year ago. On the other hand, Gouf has been a fiend for three years already… The timing isn’t right.” Wang-Heon rubbed his temples. There was a deep crease on his forehead. “So, I wondered if it were possible for you to have a skill that made him return to level 1. But that can’t be it. Gouf was on the 2nd floor at the time, so it wouldn’t work… and such a skill wouldn’t exist in the first place…”

Wang-Heon had judged that he would be able to kill Seo Jun-Ho any time he wanted, so the most important thing right now was to figure out who he was. He would decide whether or not to kill the Player afterward.

“Contractor. That man has been muttering to himself for some time now. Why is he acting like that?”

“…I don’t know.” Seo Jun-Ho tilted his head. He didn’t understand either.

‘Why is he still trying to connect me with Gouf even though the polymorph spell has already been removed?’

Anyone else would have simply considered him as ‘someone who pretended to be Gouf.’ But Wang-Heon was still trying to figure out the connection between them.

“What happened? He has Gouf’s memories, and can even use his skill. But the timing isn’t right…”

“…!” As soon as Seo Jun-Ho heard those words, he immediately understood what was going on.

‘Oh! He still thinks the Curtain of Darkness is part of Gouf’s Isekai Battlefield.’

It made sense now. Seo Jun-Ho had used Confession of the Dead to read Gouf’s memories. Thanks to that, he managed to casually greet Stan and the other fiends. He even knew their secret meeting point. They had had no reason to suspect that he wasn’t a fiend until now.

‘And I kept lying about Isekai Battlefield earlier…’

Wang-Heon simply couldn’t help but be confused after being caught in all the lies and misunderstandings.

‘If he’s dumb…I might be able to fool him.’

Seo Jun-Ho brightened. But as soon as he did, Wang-Heon looked up at him. “Wait, Gouf’s memories and skills? What if he has a skill that lets him copy another person perfectly? If not, perhaps he has a skill that lets him steal memories…”

“…”

The fiends associated with the Squadrons were exceptionally smart. Soon, he should discover the truth.

“Only the elite can join a Squadron. I have to live up to the name,” Wang-Heon said.

“Tsk.” Seo Jun-Ho sucked his teeth, staring back.

“It’s possible. If my hypothesis is correct… It’s possible.” He finally seemed satisfied and nodded. “Seo Jun-Ho, I watched your video. You aren’t very skilled, but you were able to play it up with the editing.”

“Oh… Thank you…” the Frost Queen said shyly. Seo Jun-Ho shot her a disapproving look and raised Black Dragon Fang.

“What are you trying to say?”

“If my guess is correct, you’re not Gouf.” Wang-Heon tapped on the Curtain of Darkness with his fist and summoned his demonic energy. “You told me that this was Isekai Battlefield, but it’s not. Unless the creator dispels it, the Battlefield doesn’t disappear.”

In that case, it wouldn’t be hard to test its authenticity.

Bam!

Wang-Heon’s fist flew forward, filled with explosive power. It created a large hole in the Curtain of Darkness. Seeing that, he grinned widely. “As I thought. This isn’t Isekai Battlefield… And you’re just a thief who stole Gouf’s memories. And that probably means that you killed him.”

His deduction skills were befitting of an elite fiend. Just by finding out Seo Jun-Ho’s true identity, he was able to deduce all these things.

Wang-Heon looked at him greedily. “…You’re much more valuable than Gouf.” Seo Jun-Ho could control both darkness and ice. If he brought back the Player alive, he would receive a massive reward.

‘I won’t kill him. But…’

Wang-Heon would beat him down enough to bring him to the Fiend Association without a fight.

Wang-Heon’s scarlet eyes started to fade back to black as he activated Piercing Eyes. He rushed forward.

‘This is your final stand.’

He could read all of Seo Jun-Ho’s thoughts and actions. As such, he could always be one step ahead of the former.

Whenever Wang-Heon used this skill against weaker opponents, he would basically become invincible. He would dodge 100% of their attacks, while 100% of his own attacks would connect. It was basically a cheat code.

‘I can see it.’

He wasn’t foolish enough to take the incoming hit.

‘It’s coming from the left.’

Seo Jun-Ho’s fist flew toward him, but Wang-Heon casually dodged, avoiding the path of the strike. It missed by several inches.

Another attack flew towards him.

‘His right arm again? I can’t tell if he’s stupid, or just stubborn…’

Wang-Heon dodged again and let out an unconcerned sigh.

‘He’s so obvious.’

Despite his sparkling reputation on Earth, Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t a genius. He was another fake.

‘He beat Specter’s record? The new Kim Woo-Joong? Shin Sung-Hyun? It’s all bullshit.’

The latter two were Wang-Heon’s enemies, but he had acknowledged their skills. They were two people whom he feared the most in the world. But this newbie in front of him had merely been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

‘…Sigh, his right arm again?’

He sure was persistent. Wang-Heon clicked his tongue and dodged the path once more.

Pak!

“…?”

For the first time, Seo Jun-Ho’s fist had grazed his head. Wang-Heon narrowed his eyes.

‘He grazed me? Did I let my guard down because I already knew the trajectory?’

He had debuted less than a year ago, but he still managed to graze Wang-Heon? The fiend gnashed his teeth, feeling humiliated. He pulled himself together and struck at Seo Jun-Ho’s neck. He could see that Seo Jun-Ho was about to pull his head back to avoid it, so all he needed to do was follow Seo Jun-Ho’s trajectory.

“…?!”

But instead of hitting Seo Jun-Ho’s chin, Wang-Heon’s fist hit the air.

How?

Before he could even answer the question, he saw Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes through his White Armor. They stared at him, coldly.

An unexplainable chill went down his spine. At the same time, Seo Jun-Ho punched again. Like the previous two attacks, he used his right arm.

‘Again… His right arm again?’

This was lunacy. The way Seo Jun-Ho continued to aim at his face with his right fist wasn’t stubbornness or persistence, it was lunacy.

Wang-Heon thought he would be able to dodge the incoming attack as he had with the three previous ones.

“…!”

But he was wrong. His vision shook, and he unwittingly stumbled back. He stared at the ground, dumbfounded until he had finally realized what happened.

“…You hit me? Me?”

It was impossible. Didn’t Piercing Eyes (A) tell him the trajectory of the attack? He even used more strength to dodge after he got grazed. But this time, Seo Jun-Ho didn’t just graze him. He had landed a clean attack on him.

Wang-Heon shook his head, refusing to accept this. “Impossible. Am I still being careless?”

He summoned his demonic energy once more, raising Piercing Eyes (A) to its peak potential to read Seo Jun-Ho’s attacks.

‘From the left…’

Bam!

His head shook again. And another attack came…

‘Left again…’

Bam!

Pain exploded on his cheek, broken teeth rolled around in his mouth.

‘This time… He’ll actually come from the left!’

Bam!

Wang-Heon stumbled after three consecutive attacks. He had even tried to guard against the last one, but Seo Jun-Ho’s fist still pummeled through his defenses.

The fiend gripped the wall, staring down at his trembling legs.

“Bleck!” He spat out blood and looked up with his swollen face. “…All three of your attacks came from the left. I was sure of it.”

“You’re right,” Seo Jun-Ho said. His voice was void of any emotion. “I only used my right hand to attack. I didn’t use any feints either. I just punched straight through.”

“B-but how?”

“What do you think?”

It had merely taken some time for Seo Jun-Ho to adjust to his increased stats after the Curse of Bitter Cold was lifted. Overclocking was also at 15%, so he hadn’t been able to handle it in the beginning.

‘I think I’m starting to get a sense for it now.’

Even though Wang-Heon could read the trajectory of his attacks, he couldn’t dodge them. The reason for this was simple.

“My fist is faster than your eyes.”

Crack!

His fist buried into Wang-Heon’s face with a satisfying crunch.