Seo Jun-Ho's current magic stat was at 361. This was because all stats had increased by 10 during the process of body transformation.

‘Magic stat alone is at 361... It's a figure I could never even imagine before.'

Still, even this many points felt insufficient. The tremendous magic that escaped from Seo Jun-Ho's body swirled around.

"Ha-a."

Seo Jun-Ho's expression became more serious as he let out a steamy breath. The magic flowing from his body immediately transformed into Frost energy, which hovered around him.

"This is how you want me to do it, right?”

"Hmm, it is pretty good for your first time." The Frost Queen nodded and admitted.

It may not be visible to others, but it was clearly visible to her.

‘One-meter radius around Contractor.’

From now on, it would become Seo Jun-Ho's ‘domain.’ If he couldn’t hit the target with the power to freeze, he just had to spread the power to freeze around himself.

‘However, this skill requires a lot of concentration and magic…’

The power to freeze devoured those two things horribly. Since it had to be spread out in a wide area, it could not be done with a normal amount of mental strength. Seo Jun-Ho wouldn’t even be able to dream of using it without his outstanding Hero’s Mind (S) skill.

‘I am worried about the future.’

Now, he was able to get by using the power to freeze, as he only had to focus on that. But to use it with Overclocking in a real battle, even having more than twice the magic power wouldn’t be enough.

'No, no. I have too many small worries.’

The Frost Queen tried to shake off her worries. Usually, if one started nitpicking at what was lacking, there would be no end to it, so she decided to simply dream of a positive future. If her contractor's magic power became much greater in the future, it wouldn’t be just a one-meter radius...

'It could eat up a much larger area. Until then, I will raise him well.’

Just imagining it made her heart full. Looking at her contractor's growth with pride, the Frost Queen set the pride in her heart aside, then criticized Seo Jun-Ho, "What are you so fascinated by? I do not think you have time to relax and admire it.”

"Yeah, I know," Seo Jun-Ho replied blankly. He looked around curiously. It was a one-meter radius.

‘By me, for me, my own space.’

Even the sharp mountain breeze became so slow, like a shy child in this space. He had the illusion that he could deal with anything in this space. However, the Frost Queen was right. The situation wasn’t so good that he could take his time in appreciating it.

‘What? What kind of crazy magic consumption…?’

Even a waterfall was slower than his magic consumption. Seo Jun-Ho was surprised by how fast his magic power was being drained, so he quickly came to his senses. All his senses were focused only on spreading the 'power to freeze' around him.

"Hoh."

When the Thunder God noticed Seo Jun-Ho's change, he let out a soft groan.

‘The power to slow down the target... Did he perhaps spread it all around him in a wide area?’

The Thunder God swallowed a laugh and had no choice but to admit…

‘That’s crazy. Ain’t this guy a real nutcase?’

It was the highest praise. The Thunder God thought that Seo Jun-Ho had to take the test at least two more times to defeat this pattern.

‘But to think he was able to come up with a solution as soon as he saw it.’

The only way to explain it was simply because he was a genius. No, honestly, he felt that the word genius wasn’t enough.

‘Oh geez, it’s almost like someone is next to him, telling him the answer right away...’

The Thunder God had gotten the correct answer without realizing it, but unfortunately, the Frost Queen’s existence was unbeknownst to him.

"Then shall we test the performance of yer new power?”

Tap! Tap, tap!

The Thunder God's cane tapped the ground lightly.

‘It's coming.’

Ruuuuumble!

The difficulty rose sharply as more than a dozen thunderbolts poured out. They emerged and wriggled like loaches. Even Seo Jun-Ho got dizzy trying to follow them with his eyes.

‘There's nothing to be afraid of.’

Seo Jun-Ho calmed down. He focused only on maintaining the power to freeze.

‘In this domain, I'm invincible.’

He brainwashed himself. For an ordinary person, self-brainwashing was a poison that harmed oneself, but self-brainwashing for a person with skills was a source of confidence.

Rumble!

The thunderbolts had invaded Seo Jun-Ho's space.

‘They’re coming in fearlessly.’

Seo Jun-Ho's domain thoroughly rejected the uninvited guests. As soon as they entered the space, the power to freeze forcibly slowed the thunderbolts down.

'I can do it.’

Seo Jun-Ho looked at the thunderbolts as he turned his body. However, problems always arose when they were least expected.

‘Slow…?’

He had neglected Overclocking to focus entirely on the power to freeze. As such, his body was moving much slower than expected.

"Ugh!"

Thanks to this, Seo Jun-Ho's body was hit by two thunderbolts and forcibly pushed back. His knees touched the ground as he gripped his chest over his tingling heart.

"Wake up, Contractor!" the Frost Queen let out a sharp cry.

‘Damn, it reminds me of the old days.’

He remembered that he couldn't even sleep properly under her training. All of a sudden, he felt that this was nothing compared to what he had to go through back then.

‘I didn't even know what to do back then...’

Right now, he knew what to do at the very least. He knew what he had to do. He just had to be a bit more focused.

“...Hmm?”

The Thunder God squinted his eyes. After being beaten back by the attack, Seo Jun-Ho's aura rose instead.

‘Huh, so he’s that kind of person, too.’

One would meet many types of people upon living up to the Thunder God’s age, but there were bound to be people who were really incomprehensible among them all.

‘Like weirdos who grow faster when in crisis or when they are driven into a corner.’

Seo Jun-Ho got up and started walking up to the Thunder God once again. The Thunder God tapped his cane without a word.

Tap, ta-ta-tap.

The thunderbolts crashed down. However, the thunderbolts seemed to have become powerless to stop the steps of the man walking in silence.

“…”

Tap, ta-ta-tap, tap, tap!

The cane tapped the dirt more cheerfully and more heavily. Seo Jun-Ho had already surpassed the 50-meter mark.

"T-this is...”

Baek Geon-Woo was shocked as he looked at the yard. Dozens of thunderbolts had engulfed the area, and the scene looked like the end of the world.

“…”

However, Seo Jun-Ho was still walking. Even dozens of thunderbolts couldn’t stop his steps.

‘...Look at his face.’

The Thunder God laughed dryly as he had found it astonishing. In a thunderstorm that would make even High Rankers wet themselves, Seo Jun-Ho had a detached expression as if only he existed in the world.

‘…’

The Thunder God contemplated for a moment. It was enough. Not only had Seo Jun-Ho exceeded the passing score, but he had smashed the record itself. But, as a warrior, the Thunder God’s blood was boiling.

'I also have a... desire.’

The corners of his mouth were filled with joy.

‘Y’ll pass regardless of whether ya can block this or not.’

He knew he was being unfair, but he really wanted to test Seo Jun-Ho.

‘...Can yer fist reach meh?’

The Thunder God put down his cane. With his hands clasped together like a monk, he slowly closed his eyes.

‘Thunder Dragon Shakes the Heavens.’

It was a scene that no one would believe even if they were told about it. No, it would be good if they didn't sarcastically ask if you were drunk when you described them this scene. It was because a huge thunderbolt in the shape of a dragon had risen like a mountain and floated around in the sky. The dragon moved with grace and rushed fiercely toward one point.

Ruuummmble!

- The dragon of thunder shakes the world.

Just as its name suggested, it was a technique with enough power to shake the world. Seo Jun-Ho stared at the approaching dragon.

'Dragon...'

As a Player, Seo Jun-Ho had defeated and captured a few fantastic dragons. However, he swore he had never seen or heard of a more intimidating dragon than the dragon he was seeing right now.

"He must be crazy, crazy!"

The Frost Queen screamed, putting her hands on her cheeks like Macaulay Culkin. In her opinion, this attack was definitely not something Seo Jun-Ho could handle. Seo Jun-Ho unconsciously opened his mouth and said, "So, this is a Heaven."

The person regarded as the representative of all Players had sent an attack with all his soul and mind. It was an attack that literally carried the full strength of the caster’s soul and mind.

"Ha, haha."

Seo Jun-Ho laughed. He laughed with joy, not because he had lost all hope.

‘So there was someone this strong...’

So, there was someone else similar to a deep-rooted tree who wouldn’t budge even if Seo Jun-Ho struck him with all his might. Now, Seo Jun-Ho didn’t have to do it all alone and overexert himself. It was ridiculous, but Seo Jun-Ho felt relieved knowing this fact.

'But... that's a little too much.'

Seo Jun-Ho's eyes trembled. No, not just his eyes; his entire body was trembling. The power to freeze? It had been quite a while since it disappeared. It was too much to stay sober in the face of a great attack that suppressed even human instinct itself.

"Go to sleep."

When Seo Jun-Ho's unconscious figure collapsed forward, ice rose from the floor and gently caught him. At the same time, the Frost Queen reached out.

‘And before Contractor becomes completely unconscious.’

She had to give at least a warning to be satisfied.

Craaackle!

What she created was an ordinary ice wall that didn’t seem special in any way. In fact, this ice wall didn’t have any significant differences from what Seo Jun-Ho had made so far.

However—

Ruuummmble!

The thunder dragon struck the wall and vanished without a trace.

“…?!”

The Thunder God’s eyes suddenly opened wide as he shot up from his seat. It was the first time in the last few decades of testing that he had seen such a thing.

‘Just now…?’

He hurriedly canceled the attack when he saw Seo Jun-Ho fall. But just before the thunder dragon scattered, he strongly felt as if someone had forcibly dispersed his attack. It was as if they were telling him that he should never play this kind of trick again.

‘No... Was I mistaken?’

His serious gaze fell upon Seo Jun-Ho. The latter’s breathing was even, similar to the breathing of someone who had truly fainted.

“…”

Gulp.

The Thunder God unwittingly gulped a mouthful of his own saliva and released his clenched fist. The sweat on his palm fell to the floor.

"Yeah, I must be mistaken...” He shook his head and said to Baek Geon-Woo, "Geon-Woo, put him in the room. Also, buy some chickens. What kind of man falls so easily? Let's have some chicken soup."

"Yes, but Master, your complexion...”

"Hey, are ya lookin’ down on me? This much is nothing, so get a move on.”

"Yes..."

Baek Geon-Woo looked worried, but he slowly lowered his head. After carefully laying Seo Jun-Ho in the room, Baek Geon-Woo went down the mountain, but on his way there, he saw the Thunder God slumped on the rock.

"Uwaaack!"

Out of nowhere, he vomited blood and held his trembling fist firmly with his other hand. The Thunder God led his old body into his room, picked up one of the dozens of bottles, and poured the contents into his mouth.

"Ha-a, ha-a…”

He drank the legendary elixir that could apparently even save the dead, but his expression remained unpleasant.

"…Damn it."

The moment he discovered he didn’t have much time left, he had to choose whether to use the rest of his life to heal his body or plant an apple tree for tomorrow.[1]

The Thunder God chose to plant an apple tree.

‘It’s going to be busy from now on.’

His face became relaxed and comfortable as he closed his eyes. Today, he had confirmed that there was another apple tree growing well aside from the apple tree he had already planted.

1. Invest in the future. ☜