“...Knowing you, I’m not gonna tell you to clean up,” Gilberto said as he looked around Skaya’s Lair. “But you should at least live like a human.”

“This is my house. And this is comfortable for me. I suppose you could say it makes me feel relaxed.”

“How strange. It only makes me uncomfortable.”

“Ugh, then just leave!”

Seo Jun-Ho clicked his tongue and shook his head as he watched the two argue again. “Stop fighting over nothing…Both of you, come here.”

At his beckoning, they stopped bickering and slowly approached him. Standing in front of the two ice statues, they were lost in their memories.

Seo Jun-Ho felt especially emotional.

‘...I’m almost there.’ 

If he closed his eyes, he could picture the day he had poured alcohol for the four statues like it was yesterday. That was the day he had sworn to become a Player again to save them.

‘Up until now, I freed exactly half.’ 

He had freed two out of his four comrades. And today, he would be one step closer to his goal.

“Jun-Ho, who will you wake up?”

“Hm…” Seo Jun-Ho was silent for a while as he examined the two ice statues.

Rahmadat Khali and Tenmei Mio. He took in his two sleeping friends and gave a small nod. He had already decided in his heart.

“Mio.” Seo Jun-Ho looked at her for a moment before he continued, “I’m sorry. Please wait a little longer.”

When he turned toward Rahmadat, Skaya looked surprised.

“Now that the 3rd floor has opened… Is there any particular reason you’re choosing Rahmadat?” she asked.

“Of course.” He looked at Rahmadat as he spoke, “Skaya. What comes to mind when you think about him?”

“He looks stupid.”

“...That’s too subjective.” Rahmadat was far better than the credit she had given him. He was a good man, and he was very muscular. If he truly looked stupid, he wouldn’t have been so popular. “Here’s another question. What do you think when you look at Mio?”

“...Oh.” Skaya understood the meaning of his question and nodded.

At the same time, Gilberto also had an amused expression on his face. “How did you… I see. Is it because of his skill?”

“Something like that.” Seo Jun-Ho looked back and forth between each statue. Mio was in a similar state to the two who had been freed before her. Her body looked fragile, as her muscles had atrophied after going so long without any nutrients.

But Rahmadat was different…

‘His muscles definitely shrank.’

But he had Super Regeneration(S). Even though his body was frozen, his skill was still active. So even though he was trapped in the ice, he still had his giant muscles.

“Thus, we can use Rahmadat in battle right away.”

“Makes sense,” Gilberto said.

“Yeah, considering how suspicious the fiends have been lately…” It would be more efficient to free Rahmadat instead of Mio.

The two of them nodded in understanding.

“Not only that, but this guy’s a tanker.”

When Players created a party, the first member they would look for wasn’t a skilled warrior, archer, or priest.

‘They look for tankers.’

Getting a tanker was the top priority, as tankers could block the enemy attacks like a wall. And among the tankers Seo Jun-Ho knew, Rahmadat had been the best tanker in the world.

“We don’t need to worry about him dying,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

He was a beast that would only die if his heart or brain was inflicted enough damage.

Such was Rahmadat Khali…

“So, Rahmadat, I choose you.” Seo Jun-Ho tapped on Rahmadat’s ice statue.

[Effect of the skill ‘Frost (EX)’ has been checked.]

[The ice seal can be removed with Frost (EX).]

[Your base magic stat is high enough to remove the ice seal.]

[Upon removal, you will be unable to remove another ice seal for another 90 days.]

[Are you sure you wish to remove the ice seal?]

‘I knew it.’ 

A million thoughts filled Seo Jun-Ho’s mind, but the first thing he felt was pride.

‘I don’t get a penalty for removing the ice seal anymore.’

When he awakened the two people behind him, he had lost 70 and 30 magic stat points, respectively. Of course, he had never told them about those, as he knew that they would only end up feeling apologetic to him.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“It’s nothing. When this guy wakes up, just make sure to treat him like usual,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

“...Like usual?” Gilberto asked.

“I’m confident I can do that. Very confident, in fact. Leave it to me,” Skaya said.

Seeing their strange confidence made Seo Jun-Ho hesitate. He added, “No, I’m not telling you to bully him like usual.”

“Jun-Ho, what do you take us for?” Gilberto protested.

“...”

Seeing how Skaya had grown quiet, it became obvious she was planning to do just that.

“Open.”

When the ice statue received the order, there was a loud cracking sound as a large crack appeared.

‘Based on what I’ve experienced so far…’ 

Seo Jun-Ho knelt to one knee and lowered his stance.

Because Rahmadat would fall forward any time now…

“Raaaa!”

Crash! 

As the ice statue exploded, the giant let out a loud yell.

“Frost Queen! Did you really think you could stop me with only this much ice?! Ahahaha!” He puffed out his chest and let out a roaring laugh before suddenly looking down. He frowned when he saw Seo Jun-Ho holding his hands out as if trying to catch something. “Huh? What are you doing, Jun-Ho? Why are you holding that stupid pose?”

“...”

Skaya approached him from behind. “Hey. Since he looks pretty good, I can bully him like usual, right?” she asked carefully.

“...” Jun-Ho looked at her as though she was pathetic, and she stepped back after saying, “Okay~ sorry”.

“Hoo…” 

Of course, Seo Jun-Ho hadn’t expected to have an emotional reunion with the likes of Rahmadat. On the other hand, he hadn’t expected their reunion to go like this either.

‘Yeah, it’s my fault for expecting something from him.’ 

Seo Jun-Ho nodded slowly. Once again, he got the sense that he was the only sane one in this party.

“Hm?” Rahmadat looked around and blinked. “How strange. This does not seem like the Nest.”

“That’s right. This is my Lair,” Skaya said.

“Makes sense. That’s why it’s so messy.” Rahmadat turned. “But why are we in Skaya’s Lair and not the Nest?”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho swallowed. If he was being honest, he was more nervous about moments like this than he was about waking his friends up.

“Rahmadat. Don’t take this the wrong way, and just listen to me.”

“Sure! I don’t really know what you’re talking about, but say whatever you need to. And stop standing around like constipated puppies.”

“...A lot of time has passed.”

“Time?” Rahmadat rubbed his chiseled jaw. “Now that I think about it, I don’t know how long I was trapped in the ice… Has it been a few days? A week? A month?”

“No.” Seo Jun-Ho shook his head, looking grave. “It’s been 26 years. 26 years since the day we cleared the Nest.”

“Pffft, you’ve gotten better at making jokes…” Rahmadat thought it was a prank at first, but his face fell when he saw Gilberto’s serious face. He knew that Gilberto was too uptight to make those kinds of jokes.

“...Mm.”

Bam! 

When Rahmadat sat his 2.12m body down, the Lair shook. He crossed his legs and puffed out his chest, closing his eyes. “26 years, you say…”

He was lost in his own thoughts for about ten minutes before he slowly opened his eyes. “Let me ask you something. Was the world destroyed?”

“It’s the opposite. I killed the Frost Queen, and the world has become peaceful.”

“That’s really good.” Rahmadat smiled brightly and started to ask all sorts of questions, and the three of them patiently answered each one.

“Ahahaha!” Rahmadat laughed as he slapped his knee with his thick hand. “The world’s become fun! To think that there’s another floor. And the Frost Queen became your Spirit? Bahahaha!”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho didn't buy Rahmadat’s laughter. Whenever he was faking it, he had a habit of looking up.

“Take this.” He handed a small post-it to Rahmadat.

“Huh? What’s this? An address?

“It’s Ms. Joya’s current address. I thought that you should meet her at least once.”

Joya Vishuta was the name of Rahmadat’s lover 26 years ago.

“...” He was silent as he reached for the post-it. His hand suddenly stopped in mid-air, and it started to shake uncharacteristically.

A variety of emotions filled him as he trembled. Guilt. Regret. And fear.

“...Yeah, I was gonna ask you for it anyways. Thanks.” Rahmadat took the piece of paper as the air around them became awkward. He stood. “For now…”

He looked at his comrades looking up at him with a cheerful face. “Let’s get some food.”

***

The hotel restaurant was in a skyscraper looking down the nightscape of Seoul. Rahmadat stuffed his mouth with a medium rare steak as he spoke, “I bet I’ll be busy for a while trying to recover my muscles and catch up on EXP and levels from the last 26 years.”

“...You just woke up, and you’re already thinking about that?”

“Hehe, they call me the reincarnation of Shiva. I have to be stronger than everyone else.” He gave a spirited reply before remembering to thank Seo Jun-Ho. “And I know this is late, but thanks for getting me out. Though, of course, I don’t like that you took out the nerdy mage and the scrawny gunslinger before me.”

“...What? Nerdy?”

“Hey, even I will get offended if you call me scrawny.”

As Skaya and Gilberto fumed, Rahmadat spoke as he hit his chest, “If you have complaints, let’s have a battle of strength like real men!”

“...You’re saying you’ll fight with your body in that state? Just eat your steak and your ego while you’re at it,” Gilberto said.[1]

“Yeah. And I’m a mage, you know? I’m not even a man either,” Skaya complained.

“Well, you’re more ill-tempered than most men, and you don’t even clean—” Gilberto pointed out.

“Hold up, Mr. Married Man. Why are you attacking me all of a sudden?”

“I’m not really attacking you. I’m just telling the truth.”

It was noisy. The number of speakers had only increased from two to three, but it had become louder than a busy market.

“...”

Moreover, Seo Jun-Ho hated noise. It was part of the reason why he had always worked alone.

But, how should he say this?

‘...It feels like home.’ 

He snorted. Not even he understood why. He had never thought that a day would come when he would find their quarreling endearing.

‘Just one more.’ 

He fixed his eyes on the empty seat at the round table. Once Mio was awake and sitting there, then the picture he wanted would be complete.

“Huh?” When he looked up, all three of them were staring straight at him. “What. What is it?”

“I was just wondering why you were laughing, Jun-Ho,” said Skaya.

“Were you thinking of a funny story? I want to hear it, then,” said Rahmadat.

“Happiness grows when it is shared,” said Gilberto.

‘...How should I put this.’ 

‘I’m so happy that you guys are back that I didn’t even realize I was smiling.’ It was too embarrassing to say. And considering these guys’ personalities, he knew he would be teased about it for years.

“It’s something private. Mind your business,” he said.

“Hm, then it can’t be helped! That was a good meal.” Rahmadat stood up. He had eaten over 20 steaks by himself. “Oh right, Nerd. Lemme ask you a favor.”

“...What’s the occasion? You, asking a favor?” Skaya said, sounding surprised. Rahmadat scratched the back of his head. He held out a hand, holding a certain post-it.

“Take me here. Oh, I should change before I go.”

“Huh…? Oh, sure.” Skaya quickly caught on and nodded. She stood up and addressed Seo Jun-Ho and Gilberto, “Then, I’m gonna go with this meatbag…”

“Don’t worry about us. Take your time, and be careful on your way back.”

Skaya and Rahmadat waved, and they disappeared as they teleported away.

Gilberto looked down at the Seoul nightscape. He took a sip of beer as he spoke, “She’s married, right?”

“Her kid is entering college this year.”

Everyone wanted to be a hero. However, those in that position had to give up on the joys of life.

“...A lot of time has passed.”

“I see.”

If there was one thing that could be guaranteed with the passage of time, it was that some things would fade away.

Neither of the two men said anything as they emptied their cups of booze.

1. He’s basically telling Rahmadat not to get too arrogant, but the phrasing used can also mean “eat”. ☜