Return of the Frozen Player

A deafening silence descended upon the hall filled with bones, but it was no exaggeration to say that Seo Jun-Ho had never been this nervous before throughout his life.

Seo Jun-Ho anxiously looked around.

He didn’t dare to even wipe the sweat dripping down his face.

‘Where is he? Has Night Walking always been such an overpowered skill in the eyes of my enemies?’

The skill that completely concealed everything made Seo Jun-Ho feel primal fear.

“I can hear you.” Specter’s voice echoed.

‘Nonsense. I’m not making any noise right now…’

“I can clearly hear your fear.”

“...!”

The clump of darkness fell exactly where Seo Jun-Ho was standing.

Seo Jun-Ho summoned his own clump of darkness and slashed out.

“Argh!”

He instantly learned of one thing upon the collision between them.

‘Damn it… I can’t fight him head-to-head.’

Seo Jun-Ho’s Watchguard of Darkness was helplessly pushed back by Specter’s Darkness, and it was probably because of the huge difference between the two skills.

Seo Jun-Ho snapped his fingers as he stared at the darkness looming over him.

‘Rewind.’

The world was rewound for a few seconds, but another tidal wave of darkness came from somewhere else.

“Ah!” Seo Jun-Ho hurriedly pulled up his magic to block the attack, but he was sent flying upon impact.

Boom!

Seo Jun-Ho was stuck in the mountain of bones.

Specter approached him and said, “Fighting back is meaningless. I can do what you can do, and I am better than you at everything you can do.”

Seo Jun-Ho rubbed his aching ribs.

‘He knew I’d use Rewind, so he used it at the same time as me.’

Otherwise, the attack just now would have been impossible.

‘He uses the exact same skills as I do, and he’s way more skilled in using them.’

Specter was also a pro at dealing with Seo Jun-Ho. He had killed more than ten thousand Seo Jun-Hos, after all. ‘How am I supposed to defeat him? Can this monster even be defeated?’

Seo Jun-Ho was starting to panic.

- Partner! Watch out!

Seo Jun-Ho came back to his senses at Keen Intuition’s roar, and he hurriedly jumped away. He managed to roll away, but the mountain of bones where he got stuck earlier had vanished as if they had never even existed in the first place.

“Nineteen minutes and fifty-seven seconds.” The entire hall was filled with Specter’s crimson darkness as he said, “The Seo Jun-Ho I met right before you lasted the longest against me, and that’s how long he lasted.”

‘He’s talking about Sung-Jun. Sung-Jun didn’t even last twenty minutes?’

“Tsk…”

Seo Jun-Ho was so shocked that he unknowingly clicked his tongue.

Sung-Jun had definitely reached the Star Destruction Stage just like him and Specter, so Seo Jun-Ho found it hard to believe that there was still such a huge power gap between the two.

“You’re the second Star Destruction Stage Seo Jun-Ho I’ve ever met. I wonder how long you’ll last.”

Instead of answering, Seo Jun-Ho inhaled. His magic enveloped him.

He still had one more advantage over Specter.

‘The reason he’s hiding using Night Walking is simple.’

Seo Jun-Ho reckoned that Specter was too weak to actually fight him head-on, and he was convinced that it was all because of Overclocking.

‘Overclocking overloads the magic circuit in exchange for power.’

It was a technique that generated a tremendous amount of heat.

Seo Jun-Ho and Sung-Jun had only been able to quench the heat through Frost (EX).

‘But he can’t do that...’

Specter had abandoned his Frost (EX) for the sake of raising Watchguard of Darkness to EX. In other words, Specter couldn’t use Overclocking.

‘Come at me.’

Seo Jun-Ho thought that he just had to hit Specter once and keep on hitting him.

‘I’m faster and stronger than him because of Overclocking.’

Seo Jun-Ho exhaled slowly and let go of every unnecessary tension in his body.

His heart became as calm as a placid lake, and his head became as cool as the gentle winter breeze. Having entered the most optimal state for battle, Seo Jun-Ho waited for Specter’s attack.

The silence in the hall was deafening, but the tension in the air was palpable. The two fighters seemed to be asking each other how they would respond to each other’s attacks.

“...This is meaningless,” said Specter. It wasn’t his first time facing Seo Jun-Ho in a war of nerves.

“I agree,” Seo Jun-Ho responded as he prepared himself for the upcoming battle. “So just bring it on.”

Boom!

Seo Jun-Ho’s magic abruptly pervaded the entire hall. He was confident that he would be able to defend himself from Specter’s attack no matter when and where the latter appeared.

‘Come on. Show yourself so I can turn the tables around.’

Seo Jun-Ho’s pupils shone coldly.

“Pfft!”Specter chuckled and appeared in front of Seo Jun-Ho.

‘Wait, why did he show up? Is he bluffing, or is this a trap?’

Seo Jun-Ho was still thinking, but his body was already moving. He sent multiple strikes at Specter’s torso before grabbing Specter by his neck.

‘Got him.’

Seo Jun-Ho tightened his grip as he raised his other hand and covered it with a tremendous amount of power capable of annihilating a star.

‘There’s no way he can avoid this.’

Seo Jun-Ho was stronger and faster.

In the blink of an eye, a fist that would end the fight flew toward Specter’s face.

‘...Huh?’ Seo Jun-Ho muttered blankly to himself. ‘His eyes… why are they shining in joy?’

“As expected. This is really fun.”

“...!”

Tremble.

Seo Jun-Ho looked down at his own fist in disbelief.

His fist was in Specter’s palm, and it wouldn’t budge an inch.

“You’re moving according to my script, so how can I not enjoy it? I’m sure you thought I couldn’t use Overclocking because I no longer have Frost, right?”

Specter’s voice was both languid and nonchalant.

He sounded as if he knew Seo Jun-Ho’s thoughts and what he would think.

Crack, crunch!

“Argh!”

Specter proceeded to crush every joint in Seo Jun-Ho’s right hand, one after another.

- Partner! Calm down! Melt into the shadows and retreat!

Keen Intuition roared at Seo Jun-Ho to Darken, but Seo Jun-Ho was too shocked to hear Keen Intuition. Seo Jun-Ho hurriedly let go of Specter’s neck and started swinging his fist like crazy.

However, Specter easily avoided Seo Jun-Ho’s punches by tilting his head a few times.

“This is absurd…”

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes quivered. His punches were definitely packing the power of a thousand percent Overclocking output. In theory, he was ten times faster and stronger than Specter.

“Your expression is the same as those Seo Jun-Hos, but it never gets old.”

Specter grabbed Seo Jun-Ho’s left hand.

Crack!

“Argh!”

The bones in Seo Jun-Ho’s hands were reduced to fine powder, and Specter even squeezed the blood out of Seo Jun-Ho’s hands as if he were squeezing a sponge.

Seo Jun-Ho’s survival instincts allowed him to melt into the shadows.

Seo Jun-Ho retreated far away and looked down at his hands.

‘Damn it.’

His hands had become a bloody mess that wouldn’t heal, and it was all thanks to Specter’s Darkness flowing through his veins, preventing him from recovering.

‘I don’t think my hands will heal by normal means. Perhaps this is why Sung-Jun failed to heal his left arm.’

Seo Jun-Ho stared at Specter standing in the distance and organized his thoughts.

‘How is he doing this? Is there a gap between us that can’t be filled even with Overclocking?’

Specter wasn’t a Transcendent.

‘Then…’

It was ridiculous and unbelievable, but it was the only explanation.

“You’re using Overclocking as well.”

‘But how is he using Overclocking without Frost?’ Seo Jun-Ho found another question. ‘I can’t feel Overclocking’s unique heat from him, so…’

“Wait. Don’t tell me…” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes widened.

Specter pointed out in amusement. “Hmm. You’re the fastest Seo Jun-Ho to have ever noticed it.”

Seo Jun-Ho was finally convinced.

- Partner. What’s going on? How is he using Overclocking?

“He’s using the Wheel of Time to suspend the heat while getting rid of them at once using his darkness.”

“That’s correct.” Specter nodded and stuck out his arm. “Darkness is flowing in my magic circuit, and I’m eliminating the heat the moment it appears.”

Specter’s way of using Overclocking was different from the way Seo Jun-Ho had been using Overclocking with the help of Skaya and Frost, but both ways led to the same effect.

‘But isn’t it dangerous to use darkness inside one’s magic circuit? One single mistake, and he’ll end up killing himself.’ Seo Jun-Ho figured that Specter was only daring enough to do such a thing because he was out of his mind.

Seo Jun-Ho took a deep breath. He constricted his blood vessels and forced the darkness flowing through his veins to his forearms. Then, he chopped off his forearms using the Freedom Blade.

The darkness vanished, and Cell Regeneration quickly jumped into action.

Seo Jun-Ho’s arms grew from the stump.

Seo Jun-Ho nodded as he stared at his healed arms.

‘I knew it, Sung-Jun was strong enough to recover his left arm, but…’

Sung-Jun had decided against recovering his left arm as a form of atonement. He had done it so that he wouldn’t forget the fact that he had run away from Specter as well as how he had failed to protect those precious to him.

“...You’re abnormal,” Specter murmured.

A normal person couldn’t possibly chop their arms off without hesitation.

“Yes, we’re both abnormal.” Seo Jun-Ho stretched his arms before continuing. “I think we’re both done probing each other, don’t you think?”

“I suppose so.” Specter mustered his crimson darkness. “You’re the best Seo Jun-Ho among the Seo Jun-Hos I’ve ever met, but you’re still too weak to beat me. Anyway, what are your last words?”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho remained silent.

“All right, then.”

Snap!

Specter snapped his fingers, and a crimson darkness pervaded the entire hall, bringing with them the power of extinction.

The scene was horrifying, but Seo Jun-Ho remained calm.

“Summon Spirit…”

He had something that neither Sung-Jun nor Specter had.

“The Frost Queen.”

The cold winter breeze swept past Seo Jun-Ho’s cheeks.