Return of the Frozen Player

“...”

Kwon Noya glared with a piercing gaze. He was lost in thought for a long time before he carefully raised his hand.

Clack!

There was a sharp sound. And then, an announcer’s voice read out his move.

[Small point below the star point.]

“...What? No, that’s not it. I put it beside it!” Flustered, Kwon Noya clicked the “undo” button on the hologram window over and over again.

[You have requested to undo a move.]

[Your request has been rejected.]

[You have requested to undo a move.]

[Your request has been rejected.]

“Look at this bastard...?” Kwon Noya’s face started to redden. He had let them undo their move twice before!

To top it off, the chatting window appeared before his reddened face.

[Go Genius: lolololol you’re really bad. If you’ve played for 30 years I’ve played for 100 lolol]

“Dammit!” They were referring to his ID, ‘30 Years of Go’. Kwon Noya immediately wanted to shoot back, but unfortunately, he didn’t know how to use the chatting feature. All he knew was how to play, and his grandson had taught him.

[Go Genius: Thanks for the points lolol victory is sweet~]

His opponent teased him all the way to the end of the game. However, Kwon Noya was madder about the fact that he couldn’t say a single thing to his opponent than losing the match.

“If I didn’t mess up, I would’ve won by a point and a half!”

There was no point in complaining. Defeated, Kwon Noya closed the window and went downstairs.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

His grandson was hammering away, as usual. Kwon Noya sneaked up from behind him.

‘Hm, not bad.’

Kwon Palmo’s hammering skills were now first-rate. He was still far from meeting Kwon Noya’s standards, but no one would look down on him.

Kwon Noya observed his grandson for a long time before he spoke, “You rascal, you have to hammer harder on this part. Once you start something, see to it until the end.”

“...Sigh. Grandfather.” Kwon Palmo frowned and stopped hammering. He wiped his sweat-drenched face with a towel. “You said you wouldn’t lecture me while I’m working.”

“Ahem, you kept hammering it strangely. I always tell you—”

“I’ll take care of it myself. Myself. Why are you so interested when you have already retired?”

“...Sseup. You dunce.” Kwon Noya sucked his teeth and went out back to the small yard behind the workshop. It was a small yard, only a little more than 5 pyeong.. He came here often when he wanted to take a break from work.

“...Tsk, tsk. What a mess.”

It had already been two weeks since he put down the hammer. Meanwhile, the area had become overgrown with weeds because he hadn’t come out even once.

“That brat. He should have taken care of these things.” Kwon Noya bent down and started to pull out the weeds. He stopped. There were weeds in his hands now instead of a hammer, but it didn’t seem all that strange.

‘...I’m retired.’

Yes, he was. But the reality of it still hadn’t sunk in yet.

‘But my old body is still strong.’

He had been holding a hammer for over 90 years now. Just because he woke up one day and wanted to put it down didn’t mean that he could. But lately, his grandson had been openly treating him like a frail old man.

‘...No, this might be the normal thing to do.’

Any other person would have started to live this kind of life decades ago. Most of the smiths that had started around the time he did were already either dead or retired.

“...” Kwon Noya laughed bitterly. He had a feeling that he wasn’t so different from the weeds in his hand. “If I can’t, then you should live.”

He scattered the weeds across the ground and stood up. At that moment, he heard the ground rumble as his grandson ran over.

“Grandfather! Grandfather!”

pαпᵈα-nᴏνɐ1·сoМ “I can hear you, you bastard!”

It was like Kwon Palmo had never started to treat him differently. His voice was cheerful as he responded to his grandson’s cries.

Kwon Noya’s mouth puckered and gave his grandson a curious look. “What’s all the ruckus?”

“There’s a customer!”

“A customer?” Kwon Noya combed through his memories for a moment before he spoke, “Did I not tell you that you’d be handling all the customers from now on?”

“That’s not it. Player Seo Jun-Ho is here.”

“...That brat?” He had disappeared all excited with the Sword of Ambition. So, why was he here?

Actually, now that he thought about it, it wasn’t unlike Seo Jun-Ho to do that. After all, he didn’t even try to stop him from retiring, despite having done so much for him.

“Where is that troublemaker?”

“I don’t know if I’m a troublemaker, but I’m right here.” Seo Jun-Ho looked up and waved his hand. Kwon Noya was about to smile, happy to see him, but he quickly fixed his expression.

“What’s the occasion? You’d usually go months without contact after going up,” he said curtly.

“I brought a customer who wants to meet you.”

“...Meet me?” His eyebrows furrowed as someone walked out from behind Seo Jun-Ho’s legs. At first, he thought it was the Frost Queen from last time.

‘But she... she was a girl, wasn’t she? And she was smaller than that.’

The child standing beside Seo Jun-Ho was clearly a boy.

“Who is that child?” Noya asked with his hands clasped behind his back

“Ahem. You are the smith who created White Armor and the Sword of Ambition, are you not?” The child’s voice was surprisingly mature.

Kwon Noya frowned. “So it seems. But you should watch your mouth, boy.”

“Ah, do you value age and manners so much?”

“Well...” Kwon Noya saw Seo Jun-Ho shaking his head, but he pretended that he didn’t see it. “In the east, there is a principle that states the younger should give precedence to the elder. It means that an adult stands over a child in a hierarchy.”

“...A wise principle.”

Kwon Noya felt a strange unease when he saw the little boy grin.

***

“Hoho, you are quite skilled with the hammer for a human, younger brother.”

“...I am nothing compared to you, hyungnim... You are blessed by Mother Earth.”

It was an amusing scene. Kwon Noya clearly looked older, but he was speaking so politely to the child. In fact, Kwon Palmo had gotten himself kicked out because he kept on laughing, while Seo Jun-Ho also had to actively suppress his smile.

“...Why didn’t you mention the kind of valuable customer he is?” Kwon Noya scolded Seo Jun-Ho. Kwon Noya was asking why Seo Jun-Ho hadn’t told him that Graham was a dwarf from the beginning and made him suffer through the humiliation.

“That’s why I shook my head at you.”

“Hey! How was I supposed to get that?! You have a mouth, so use it!” Seeing Seo Jun-Ho’s grin really pissed him off.

“Haha. Do you hate speaking formally to me that much, brother?”

“No, that’s not it...”

“I feel a bit sad. Though I look like this, I should be at least 300 years older than you...”

“...” Kwon Noya’s shoulders slumped. “I apologize for acting arrogant.”

“Not at all. Now, let us get into the main order of business.”

“...And that would be?”

Graham pointed at Jun-Ho.

“You are aware that he needs a new set of armor, correct?” he asked.

“Yes, he asked me to make one and I declined.”

“And why did you do that?”

“Well...” Kwon Noya stopped. It wasn’t that he didn’t know the reason, but he was a little embarrassed to say it in front of Seo Jun-Ho himself.

“Go ahead. Speak freely before me.”

“...” Why did he suddenly feel like he was a young man in the military again? Kwon Noya forced a laugh as he spoke, “I just... I just thought my level of skill would only weigh him down. And I was so angry I could not bring myself to lift my hammer.”

“Noya, I’ve never—”

“Jun-Ho, you stay quiet.” Graham held up his hand and cut him off. He then looked at Noya and said with warm eyes, “Continue, brother.”

“...I personally think that blacksmiths should not weld for their own satisfaction.”

“And why is that?” the dwarf asked.

Kwon Noya was quiet. Why? Why couldn’t they?

‘Well, if I kept giving Jun-Ho my creations for my own self-satisfaction...’

Someday, Seo Jun-Ho might return as a cold corpse. The incompetent old man’s greed might cause the death of someone precious to him.

Graham seemed to have seen right through him and said, “That is because your skills are lacking.”

Kwon Noya immediately scowled. Even though Graham was a dwarf blessed by Mother Earth, Kwon Noya didn’t like that Graham was looking down on the skills he had cultivated his whole life.

“Why are you angry? You retired because you knew this better than anyone else, no?”

“...”

It angered him, but Graham was correct. Kwon Noya had realized his incompetence, and he put down the hammer as a result.

“It’s somewhat pathetic.” Graham chuckled and placed down his cup of tea. “Thank you for the tea. Let us return, Seo Jun-Ho.”

“Excuse me?” Surprised, Seo Jun-Ho stared at Noya and Graham. “You’re leaving just like that?”

If this was how it was going to end, then there had been no point in coming down from the beginning.

Graham pulled on his coat. “Not even I can say much to help a blacksmith who has reached their limits. But if one has realized their limits but gave up without even attempting to overcome them, how could one call themselves a blacksmith? They did not even deserve to stand in front of the forge.”

“...!” Noya’s entire body flinched. The harsh criticism instantly woke him up.

‘I...Gave up?’

No. He hadn’t. He had simply let go of his greed. He had stopped his old man’s stubbornness for the sake of the young Jun-Ho’s future. And that was all.

But... Why did Graham’s words make him feel empty inside?

‘Did I try?’

On the day Seo Jun-Ho awkwardly handed over the broken White Armor and Black Dragon Fang to him, Kwon Noya decided to retire on the spot. At the time, he felt bitter and frustrated, but the sense of freedom he felt was even greater. His role was over. He thought that he had worked long and hard enough.

‘Did I... Even try?’

He hadn’t even tried to repair the equipment. He hadn’t told Seo Jun-Ho to give him some time. If he had, the stupid man would have believed him and waited until the end, even if he seemed uneasy on the outside.

‘Perhaps... Perhaps I did give up.’

Kwon Noya slowly closed his eyes as he realized just how empty and lethargic his entire body felt.

‘I didn’t even light the fire.’

Kwon Noya had always been telling his grandson to finish whatever he started. It was also the motto of the Kwon clan.

‘...So that’s what it meant.’

He was ashamed that he still hadn’t realized this in a hundred years. However, Kwon Noya would never make the same mistake twice. With a determined look, he stood up.

“Wait for me.”

“...”

Graham looked over his shoulder just as he was about to walk out the door. But Kwon Noya was looking at Seo Jun-Ho, not at the dwarf.

“I can’t tell you when the time will come, but wait for me until I am skilled enough to create your armor.”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho revealed a wide smile. He hadn’t even received his armor yet, but he already felt protected. “Of course, I will.”

“It seems that you have finally come to your senses,” Graham said.

“I apologize for my unseemliness, Graham.”

“Not to worry. You are only a hundred years old, but you are wiser than some who are two or three hundred years old working under me.” Graham’s eyes sparkled as he sat back down. “Then, let us start discussing the construction.”

“...The construction of what?”

“What else? We will have to make his armor together. Let us discuss how we will make it.”

Although Graham said that they would work together, it would actually be no different from a lesson. A private lesson by the chief of the White Anvil Tribe, blessed by Mother Earth. It was an opportunity money couldn’t buy—or perhaps—this was fate.

Kwon Noya’s eyes sparkled. “Palmo! Bring me my hammer!”

For the first time in ten days, Kwon Noya’s voice sounded energetic.