Seo Jun-Ho sat on a folding chair in the training room. The Frost Queen was staring down at him. 

“Carve the sight of my power into your mind.”

“Gladly.” 

As she summoned her power, the temperature of the room quickly dropped. She spread her small hands. 

Crackle! 

Dozens of ice spears shot up from the ground. 

Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t even dream of doing that with his current level of magic. But he only watched more attentively. 

‘This won’t be all.’ 

He was right. Dozens of ice arrows formed in the air, and a shield also formed near the ceiling. As it fell to the ground, sturdy walls rose. 

“You could wage a war all by yourself.” 

With this, she could have easily killed 100 dark elves. But his judgment was anticlimactic. 

“Not bad.”

“W-what? Are you suggesting that this is merely ‘not bad’?” 

Naturally, she started to throw a fit, complaining that she was greatly weakened because she had become a spirit. 

“That’s none of my concern. Even though it might be a bit sloppy, even I can make everything that you just made.”

“Nonsense! Watch carefully.” 

As she raised her hand, the arrows, spear, and shield appeared in front of him. Seo Jun-Ho inspected them carefully. 

‘The quality is definitely a lot better than what I can make.’

The ice spears and arrows he made were rough imitations, but the Frost Queen’s were different. As if crafted by a master, the arrows and spear were brimming with destructive power.  

‘Each arrow and speartip have three edges.’ 

If you were hit by one of them, it would be dangerous to pull it out because doing so would only exacerbate your injury.

The same was true for the shield. It was designed to disperse impact as much as possible. 

“The quality of your weapons is much better than mine, but in the end, the enemies will still die if they were stabbed by my arrow or spear.” It would be nice to create weapons based on her designs, but Seo Jun-Ho was fine without them too. “and if I focus on improving my designs, I’ll get better at it eventually.”

He went straight to the point. “What I want from you is something that I can’t do.”

“...Something you can’t do, you say.” The Frost Queen stroked her chin for a moment before slowly drawing out her power again. “Perhaps something like this will do.”

“What is it? Show me.” 

Seo Jun-Ho didn’t expect much, but the spectacle made him knock his chair over. He started to clap. 

“T-that’s it! Yes, that’s what I wanted!”

***

Shim Deok-Gu finished his business and went to his office. He greeted the man who was using his office like it was his own room. 

“I’m so busy these days.” Deok-Gu sighed.

“Did you think that the position of a President would be easy and full of leisure?” 

Shim Deok-Gu raised an eyebrow at Seo Jun-Ho’s unenthusiastic answer. 

“And whose fault is it that I’m busy?”

“The heck. You’re not gonna say it’s because of me, are you?” Seo Jun-Ho frowned.

“So you are aware! It is because of you!”

If an Association Player was doing well, the rest of the Association would naturally get busy. Commissioners from all over the world would send emails, call in, or they might even come in person. When something as important as this happened, Shim Deok-Gu would sometimes go on business trips. These days, he often thought that it would be nice if he had ten bodies. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry. I’ll try my best not to stand out from now on.”

“Bastard...”

“Alright. I’ll stop joking.” Seo Jun-Ho quickly changed the subject. “Let me ask you something, do you know what the Frost Queen looks like?”

“What? How would I know?” Shim Deok-Gu placed his briefcase down on his desk and hung up his coat. He looked at Seo Jun-Ho with a strange look in his eyes. “Only the 5 Heroes saw her. Actually, you were the only one that went up to the 2nd floor.”

“...Really? I see.” Seo Jun-Ho stroked his chin and looked to the side. “Then I suppose it won’t be a huge problem.”

“Problem? What problem?” 

Seo Jun-Ho looked to the air at his side. “You can show yourself now.”

“Who are you talking to...Ahhhhhh!” Shim Deok-Gu let out a sudden scream. He had always been scared of ghosts as a child, and now, he had shrunk back all the way to the wall and was pointing a trembling finger. 

“Hey! N-next to you...”

“What’s next to me?”

“A-a girl. A tiny girl...” 

The little ghost girl spoke with pity. “Is that shaking human your friend?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“...??”

“Isn’t that...a ghost?”

“Ghost my ass. You look a lot scarier than her, you know?” To be honest, the Frost Queen was beautiful and elegant. 

Shim Deok-Gu carefully took a seat. Of course, he was still wary. He belatedly realized his predicament and blushed. “Hey, anyone would be scared if something like that appeared all of a sudden.”

“Something like that? Contractor. Did that human just call me a ‘something’?” the little ghost girl asked.

“I think so.” Seo Jun-Ho shrugged.

“How bold.” She spoke with a cold voice as she forced the temperature to drop. 

“Stop.” Seo Jun-Ho cut her off. “Don’t bother my friend. You remember the conditions of the contract, right?” He warned. 

“...Hmph, if he addresses me like that again, I will not forgive him even if he’s your friend.”

“Hear that? This is the Queen, and everything in the world is beneath her. Be careful when you speak.”

“Queen? What kind of queen...” Shim Deok-Gu trailed off, his eyes widening. He remembered what Seo Jun-Ho had just asked him. “The...Frost Queen?”

“Bingo. I knew you’d catch on.” As Seo Jun-Ho replied casually, Shim Deok-Gu stood up from his seat again. He loosened his necktie and pushed his hair back as he started pacing around the room while rubbing his forehead. 

The Frost Queen watched quietly. “Contractor, what is that human doing? He looks unstable.”

“I dunno, he’s probably trying to process your existence.”

“I see…You did not talk to me for the first two days either.” She seemed to have understood and crossed her legs haughtily. Seo Jun-Ho glanced at her. “But why do you keep sitting on my shoulder?”

“I like the view from here. The chair is firm, yet soft and comfortable.”

“It’s not a chair, it’s my shoulder.”

“If I say it’s a chair, then it is a chair.”

“Ugh.” Seo Jun-Ho knew better than to argue with her and shut his mouth. 

“Fine. Fine. Fine.” Shim Deok-Gu took a seat. He looked at the tiny Frost Queen. “So let me get this straight. That’s...The Frost Queen.”

“Yes. All the cold in this world...”

“Simply put, she’s the queen of some well-to-do ice kingdom. That’s what she’s saying.” Seo Jun-Ho cut her off. 

“...” The Frost Queen looked at her contractor in displeasure.

“Then, can you explain how this happened?” Shim Deok-Gu asked again.

“It’s simple.” 

He won the egg at the Las Vegas auction. Rodomir helped him hatch it after his defeat. Then, ta-dah! The Frost Queen emerged from the egg. 

“Hm…Well, alright.” After listening to the story, Shim Deok-Gu was taking it surprisingly well. “You have the biggest grudge toward her, and you’re fine with it. I’m in no place to say anything.”

“She’ll be a big help in battle. She’s really strong.”

“Strong? What’s her spirit class?”

“...Class?” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes went wide. 

Shim Deok-Gu looked at him like he should know this. “Lesser, low, common, high, arch. That’s how spirits are organized based on strength.”

“How do I figure out her grade then?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.

“Only she herself knows...” They both looked at the Frost Queen, but she slowly looked away. 

Seo Jun-Ho shook his shoulder. “Hey, what’s your grade?”

“Ah...You’re a chair, stop moving around!”

When Seo Jun-Ho ignored her and continued to move his shoulder, she eventually flew into the air, pouting. She crossed her arms and looked down on the two men. “Listen closely! I was a high and noble being from the moment I was born.”

“So you’re an arch spirit?”

“Y-yes...”

“I don’t think so.” 

When they heard how her voice trembled, it seemed like she lied. Seo Jun-Ho and Shim Deok-Gu stared at her with doubtful eyes. Eventually, she couldn’t endure it anymore as she conjured a snowball and threw it at them.

“It’s extremely rude to ask about my class!” 

It was the first time they had heard of such a rule. The two exchanged glances and nodded. 

‘She’s a lesser spirit, isn’t she?’

‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s at the lowest.’ 

“I know you’re thinking of disrespectful things!”

She was smart. Seo Jun-Ho waved her off and changed the subject. “Anyway, she’s strong, so I want my next Gate to be super hard.”

“Super hard? You’ve only ever done Uncleared Gates and Gates with powerful boss monsters...” Shim Deok-Gu’s face fell. “Wait, are you talking about a 1-star Gate?”

“You know I never insist on doing something that I can’t do.”

“...That’s true.”

Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t greedy when it came to Gates. He only attempted those that he knew that he could clear. The only exception had been the Frost Queen’s Nest.

“I did see the report. They said that the Wild Forest was a 1-star Gate.”

“I got a lot stronger after fighting that guy. I can clear a 1-star Gate on my own.”

“Well, if you say so. There are only three 1-star Gates in the world right now, though.”

“I already decided where I’m going.” Seo Jun-Ho tapped on Vita, and a world map popped up in front of them. 

“There’s one in South America, one in China...” Shim Deok-Gu pointed to the bottom of the map and Seo Jun-Ho zoomed in. Shim Deok-Gu glanced at him for a moment and said, “Will you...Be alright?”

“Is there a reason I wouldn’t be?” Seo Jun-Ho blinked.

“Well, you know. Trauma exists...”

“Nah. Even if I were traumatized, the one who would cause it will be the one right next to me.” He tapped on the map. “I already failed once, so this time, I’ll succeed,” he said confidently. 

It was an Uncleared Gate near King Sejong Station.[1]

The Winter Castle. 

1. A Korean research base in Antarctica. ☜