Fourteen days into the experience…

“...” The Frost Queen stared at Seo Jun-Ho. It had been a week since he had gotten out of bed. He wasn’t dead, but he had practically become one with the mattress because he didn’t need to eat or use the bathroom. On the outside, he seemed a little pathetic, but this was proof of his amazing willpower.

‘A normal person…No, even most Players would have lost their minds by now.’

If someone were locked in a completely silent room for about two weeks, they would start to experience auditory and visual hallucinations, but Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes and ears were still working perfectly fine.

[I am a warrior! I won’t die in a place like this! Hiyaaaa!]

[...Hey. Once this cruel war is over, I’m gonna confess to her.]

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes were shifting all around. On his Vita, he was watching a cartoon and a movie on the split screen while his left hand was holding a comic, and his right hand was holding a book.

‘How hectic.’ 

Even she was taken aback by the intensity, but he had been doing this all week.

“Phew.” A moment later, Seo Jun-Ho closed his eyes and rubbed his eyes. Even though Players were superhuman, this was intense, even for him.

“Contractor, can you actually absorb the contents if you do that?” she asked.

“Yeah, if I concentrate…”

“I see. Then I bid you luck. You are almost done with them.”

“Well, that’s only the case for the movies.” The only thing that frustrated him about the goshiwon was that there was no internet. The content he could consume was only limited to the videos, books, and comics he had bought and downloaded ahead of time.

‘Hm, I think I can finish the cartoons and the movies in about two days…’ 

And if he kept reading the comics and books at this rate, he could go for another two weeks.

“Man, if I knew this would happen, I would’ve just downloaded everything,” he complained.

“How could you have known? Actually…” The Frost Queen looked at him sideways. “I do not understand why you collected this much content in the first place.”

“The same goes for you.” Her tablet had a lot more dramas and movies of different genres. However, none of them contained any information that might help him with the Frost skill, so there was no need for him to watch them.

“You’re lucky. Even if you take it slow, it can easily last you until we leave.”

“Of course I’m… Ahem, what makes you think that? We are still trapped in this place.” The Frost Queen quickly fixed her expression and denied the truth. “You do not need to worry much either. Once you finish consuming it all, there will not be many days left.”

“Hm…” Seo Jun-Ho trailed off. She still firmly believed they would only be trapped in the goshiwon for a month. But he was naturally suspicious of things, so he started to suspect.

‘I don’t know why, but something bothers me.’ 

Whenever he was reminded that it was only a month, Keen Intuition ate at him.

‘What will we do if it’s not actually a month?’ 

If they were here for longer than a month, then the meaning of the number 1 would change.

‘Is it… One year?’ 

If that was the case, he vowed to give Gu Shi-On a violent death once they were out of this place.

‘Whether I chose 1 or 12, I still would’ve been trapped here for a year. He cheated!’ 

He scowled and looked down at the book in his hand. He enjoyed reading them for fun, but not when he was actively trying to learn something. “At this rate, I might lose the only hobby I have left.”

He let out a light sigh and rubbed his dry eyes. Even though he didn’t need sleep, he felt like the fatigue was starting to pile up for some reason. “That’s enough of a break. I’m going back in.”

Two new videos started to play, and his eyes started to flit back and forth once more.

***

Thirty-two days into the experience...

“Hm.” Now, he was sure of it.

Next to him, the Frost Queen looked completely drained. She looked like she wanted to be put out of her misery.

“So it wasn’t a month…” They had been locked up here for thirty-one days, and now, it was the dawn of the 32nd day. Despite that, the door was still closed. “The skill lasts for a year.”

“Nooooooooo!” She fell to her knees and wailed, but the look in Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes settled. He had half-expected this already.

‘Still, this sucks.’ 

He had considered the possibility, but the confirmation still stung him.

They would be trapped here for a whole year; they would be trapped in this room that had nothing—not even white noise.

‘This skill is scary.’ Seo Jun-Ho possessed the Hero’s Mind skill, but he still shook his head. It wouldn’t be very difficult for him to get through this, but not all Players were like him.

‘I wonder how many people went crazy and ended up taking their own lives here… I can’t even imagine it.’ 

He bit his lip and looked at the Frost Queen, worried. “I think I’ll be fine, but I’m worried about you.”

“...Me?” She sniffled and looked up. She considered this for a moment and let out a deep sigh. “You do not need to be so concerned. Not only do I have a resilient spirit, but I am also a Spirit.”

Now that he thought about it, he had never heard of a Spirit that had lost their mind.

“More importantly, I still have many dramas and movies…”

She claimed to be fine, but she still sounded gloomy. It was understandable. She loved watching shows, but she would probably end up hating them if she was forced to do nothing but watch them for a year.

“What will you do now?” she asked.

“I…” Seo Jun-Ho didn’t know what to say. He had already consumed all his cartoons, movies, comics, and books. In other words, he would have to spend the rest of his time doing something else. “I’m gonna do some practical training now.”

It was time to start practicing all the techniques he had seen in those stories.

“Tell me if you ever get stuck. I shall explain it to you nicely.”

“Of course. I’ll be counting on you.”

Seo Jun-Ho stood up and did a light stretch. “You can use the bed. I won’t need it anymore.”

“Then where will you sit?”

“Meditation is usually done sitting on a hard surface.” Such as the cold floor of a goshiwon. He assumed the lotus position and closed his eyes, recalling all the different techniques he had seen in the past month.

‘Now, I just need to test them.’ 

To see if he could use them. This was the one thing he had to do by himself. It was his skill, after all.

“I’ll let you know if I need any help.”

“...Good luck, my Contractor.”

The Frost Queen held up her two adorable fists in support.

***

A hundred days into the experience…

“How could you not know such a simple thing? You ignorant Contractor!”

“How is this simple? It doesn’t even show up in textbooks!”

Unsurprisingly, they were fighting over the Frost skill.

“Hoo, listen carefully and watch closely.”

Crackle. 

In an instant, the Frost Queen created Fragarach out of ice. She jutted her chin, gesturing for him to do the same.

“That’s easy. You made me make a million of these before,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

Crackle. 

He made the same sword as her. As always, it looked perfect. But now that he looked at it, he noticed one difference between their swords.

‘The opacity.’ 

His sword was white and hazy inside, but the Frost Queen’s sword was as clear as glass and had an elegant blue hue.

She smiled triumphantly. “Now, try hitting my sword with yours.”

“Yours is gonna break.”

“Will it? Give it a swing without using magic.”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho gripped his sword and stared at her sword. She was trembling as she held it up. “I’m actually gonna do it, okay? Don’t go crying when it breaks.”

“T-That will not happen, so hurry up. My arm hurts.”

He got into position, taking the stance of an expert swordsman. Meanwhile, the Frost Queen looked like a child kneeling in the hallway, raising her arms in punishment.[1]

‘In that position, there’s no way that sword has any power.’ 

Seo Jun-Ho still looked doubtful. “Hey, Frost. I’m going.”

Hup! 

He had spent a hundred days in the goshiwon, but his body and abilities hadn’t deteriorated in the slightest. He closed the distance and struck the Frost Queen’s sword.

“Ah!”

Clang! 

The Frost Queen was knocked backward. However, the one frowning wasn’t her.

“...” Seo Jun-Ho’s sword had broken in half, and only the handle remained in his hand.

‘How?’ 

His eyebrows knitted; he had no idea how.

“Did you see?” She had ended up rolling across the ground, but she remained confident in her speech as she spoke with her arms crossed, “This is the difference between us.”

“Explain...”

The only reason they had fought in the first place was that Seo Jun-Ho had been wondering about the transparency of the ice.

‘Why is my ice always opaque even though we have the same skill?’ 

With this, he finally understood that opacity was affecting its durability, and it wasn’t just a matter of aesthetics.

“It’s because of the air,” the Frost Queen said.

“The air?”

“Hm, perhaps I should put it like this.” She explained in a way modern humans might understand. ”Your freezer has ice in it, no?”

“I guess?”

“How does it look?”

“It’s opaque...” Unlike clear glass, it was very murky.

“But when you see frozen puddles in the winter, the ice looks very clear, correct?”

“Well, I suppose… What are you trying to say?”

“There is a very simple explanation for this difference.”

“The air?” he asked.

“That’s right. If it freezes too fast, the air gets trapped inside, making the structure of the ice uneven.”

“I see.” Finally, he understood why her sword had been stronger than his, even though they were both made of ice. “Let me ask you, then. How do I make sure the air doesn’t get trapped inside?”

“Simple. Just freeze it slowly.”

Crackle. 

She instantly made a spear out of ice.

“...Wait, that’s not what you said. You’re still going fast.” Seo Jun-Ho pointed out.

“But it is slow for me. Of course, it must have been impossibly fast to you.” The Frost Queen smiled devilishly. “You have plenty of time, either way. How about you try to perfect your ice?”

“Hm. Perfect it, you say.”

“Once you can make it like this, you may finally call yourself a novice in the Frost skill,” she remarked. They wouldn’t be doing this if it was only a matter of aesthetics.[2]

Seo Jun-Ho stroked his chin. “So if I can do that, my ice will become more durable?”

“Isn’t this a good enough answer?” She kicked the broken Fragarach. “If you can do it, you will get stronger. You have a lot of time, anyway.”

After all, they still had 265 days.

1. A common punishment for children in Korea is kneeling with their hands held up. It also used to be used in schools. ☜

2. While the Korean raws transliterated the word ‘design’ 디자인, design also refers to structure and so, we went with a synonym ☜