[Unbelievable! Player Seo Jun-Ho says his next goal is a 1-star Gate.]

[Seo Jun-Ho has created the best career we’ve seen in 10 years. Is it greed or is it confidence?]

[Gate experts say it’s “impossible” after hearing Seo Jun-Ho’s announcement about the Winter Castle.]

[Seo Jun-Ho to go to the Cave of Trials! Will he be able to beat Kim Woo-Joong’s record of 9 floors?]

Seo Jun-Ho started his morning with a refreshing cup of Agarit tea from old man Kwon. 

“Mm, it’s good.”

“...” The Frost Queen peeked at his tea. She seemed to have decided on something and spoke hesitantly. “That tea has a fine aroma. If you so wish, I can take a sip...”

“No can do. This is an extremely rare tea. If you’re thirsty, drink some water over there.” He swatted her away like she was a fly. 

“...I will not forget this transgression,” she said coldly. Afterward, she disappeared into the study. Seo Jun-Ho ignored her and looked at the comments under the article.

[Isn’t it too early for him to go to the Cave of Trials? What level is Seo Jun-Ho right now?]

[Isn’t he around level 25? His stats haven’t been officially publicized so I don’t know.]

[Then it would be kind of difficult. Isn’t it best to go to the Cave of Trials at level 30?]

[Who knows. The stuff that happens inside isn’t known to outsiders.] 

“So people still think like this.” Seo Jun-Ho nodded. 

There were two requirements in the Cave of Trials. First, you had to be between levels 25 and 30. The second was that you couldn’t reveal anything that happened inside once you emerged. 

“The second rule is really strict.”

Of course, the System wouldn’t do something silly like trusting that the Players would act conscientiously. Instead, the system would forbid you from recording or sharing any information about the Cave of Trials, whether it was through speaking, writing, or telepathy. It was a high-level feature that Skaya couldn’t even crack. As such, it was impossible for humans to break through it.

‘I might be the only one who knows the secret of the Cave of Trials.’ 

Seo Jun-Ho had already gone to the Cave of Trials before. He entered at Level 30 as most players did.

‘But that would be pointless. It’s better to go in as soon as possible.’ 

The Cave of Trials gave better rewards based on the hardships the Player overcame, but its difficulty was fixed. 

‘So if you go in when your level is lower, you’ll experience the same things but get better rewards.’ 

The only person in the world who knew this fact was only himself. Seo Jun-Ho took a sip of tea. 

‘The only problem right now is whether I can go in there again…’ 

He couldn’t be so sure. No one had ever gone into the Cave of Trials twice. 

‘There are certain conditions.’ 

Those who possessed rewards from the Cave of Trials couldn’t go in again. That was one of the Cave of Trial’s rules. 

‘But because of the Frost Queen’s nucleus, I lost all the stats I gained at the Cave of Trials.’ 

If it worked in the way he thought it should, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to enter. Still, it wouldn’t be a big deal if he couldn’t enter the Cave of Trials. 

‘My stats will recover as long as I keep on leveling up anyway.

But if he could go into the Cave of Trials once more, he would get all the rewards he could. 

“Huh? Where did she go?” Seo Jun-Ho put his glass down and stood up to look for the Frost Queen. She appeared from behind the door, peeking out from the side. 

“...Why did you call for me?”

“Let’s go out to train.”

“To train?” At first, she looked reluctant. But then she smirked as if she thought of something. 

“Hmph! Now that I think of it, is the Contractor requesting my teachings?”

“You know how to use Frost better than I do. There’s nothing for me to lose.”

“To teach you… It means becoming your master.” She gave a smug smile and sat down on his shoulder. She nodded. “Lead on. As a sovereign, my duties include teaching you thoroughly.”

“I’m not your vassal or anything...But I’d be grateful if you taught me.” 

Seo Jun-Ho stepped out of the door wearing clothes suitable for exercise. Before he went to the training room, he stopped by the secretary's office and called for Cha Si-Eun. She put down the documents she had been organizing. “You called for me?”

“I’m going to the training room for a special session. Please take care of everything while I’m there.”

“Excuse me? How many days are you thinking of staying there?”

“About half a month.”

“...Wait. You’re not gonna come out of the training room for half a month?”

“It has a shower and a sleeping bag, so I can sleep there.”

“How about food? Shall I send meals?”

“No. This is good enough.” Seo Jun-Ho shook a small wooden case. They were pills made of grain, pine needles, prunes, chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and other similar ingredients based on the diet of Shaolin monks. They were ground and made into bead-shaped pills and were the most convenient way to get all the nutrients he needed. 

‘It was expensive because I got it from the Black Market, but there’s a small amount of magic in them too.’

They were the best in keeping his body running. 

Cha Si-Eun let out a light sigh and nodded. “Understood. For now, I’ll reject all personal commission requests and put all commercial offers, advertisement offers, and sponsorships on hold.”

“Thank you.”

“I hope you’ll have good results.” 

Cha Si-Eun saw him off, and Seo Jun-Ho headed to the training room. 

***

“Contractor, you can currently use two different elements.” The Frost Queen paced back and forth in front of him with her hands clasped behind her back like a drill sergeant. “The first is darkness, and the second is frost, which is the same as mine. Am I wrong?” [1]

“No, that’s right. But why are you bringing it up?”

“In order to use elements, you must first understand precisely what that energy is. Let me test you. What do you think darkness is like?”

“It’s violent and prideful. It disregards others and has a scornful nature.”

“Hooo, a decent answer. Then what do you think frost is like?”

“...Cold?”

“Haaa.” She let out a disdainful sigh. “Well, there’s no helping it. It’s only been three months since you’ve started using frost...” She muttered to herself. 

“You could say that the frost element is a jack of all trades. It is more aloof, haughty, and elegant than all other energies.”

“Makes sense.” Seo Jun-Ho nodded in understanding. “I think I know what you’re saying. I have to balance out the battlefield.”

“Ah! Good, your head isn’t just for decoration.” She clapped and spoke cheerfully. “You are correct. Darkness, fire, and wind are all suitable for offense and don’t work too well in defense. Conversely, elements like water and earth are best used for the defensive and are wasted on attacks.” Basically, Players who could only use one element were either offensive or defensive in battles while Players who could use two or more elements were all-rounders. 

“I will teach you how to use the frost element. But before that...” The Frost Queen pointed her finger. At her command, a number of weapons, armor, and shields appeared in the air. “Make duplicates of each one. I shall teach you thereafter.”

“Huh? Wait. I don’t want to focus on making equipment.” He tried to refuse, but the Frost Queen was stubborn. 

“Those who use the frost element are respected by others and called one-man armies. Do you know why?”

“...Because they can create all the weapons needed for one.” Seo Jun-Ho knew that all too well. “I’ve fought them before. It’s annoying to fight enemies who keep on changing and replacing their weapons.” 

The Frost Queen had done that as well. The Frost Queen smiled and nodded. “I still recall that battle fondly.”

“Not me.”

Back then, he just wanted to quickly defeat her and save his friends. But her shield was stubbornly strong, and her swords and spears were as sharp as they were cold. 

“If you understand, get to it.” She crossed her legs and jutted her chin. “Make them.”

***

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes were closed and his face was damp with sweat. Considering that the room was chilly because of his continuous use of the Frost skill, it meant that he was sweating profusely. 

‘This is the handle…’ Eyes still closed, he slowly moved his hand. He pictured the Frost Queen’s sword and created a similar one. 

Crackle!

Every time he moved his hand a bit, the moisture in the air would freeze into the shape of a sword. 

“Phew!” 

He finished the sword and looked nervously up at the Frost Queen. She grinned and held out her hand. 

“Show me.”

The sword floated in the air toward her. Whenever she moved her finger, the sword would turn and spin so she could inspect the details. It only took 10 seconds for her to make her decision. 

“Rejection,” she said firmly. Afterward, she shattered his sword. 

“Ugh, why?” Seo Jun-Ho cried out. He already made dozens of attempts. He needed to make a hundred swords, but not a single one had succeeded yet. Just like that, half a day had already passed. 

“The blade isn’t sharp enough; it needs to be about five degrees sharper. The center of weight is also a mess.”

“Dammit.” He felt like she was being too strict. It wasn’t like he was gonna be a blacksmith or something. Still, he was too prideful to ask her to be lax.

‘I feel like she’s getting back at me for not letting her drink the tea this morning.’ 

Either way, she had good reasons to reject him. Like she said, his sword wasn’t good enough. 

‘I’ll wipe that grin off her face.’ 

With a new fire burning inside of him, Seo Jun-Ho started to think about how he could fix this attempt’s mistakes. 

Meanwhile, the Frost Queen looked at him, deep in thought. 

‘He is… quite a formidable human.’ 

The weapons she made were national-level weapons that were usually kept in Nilfheim’s royal armory. They often came up in fairytales and legends. It wasn’t something a human could make just by looking at it a few times. 

‘But he can replicate Fragarach’s appearance at 62% with only 34 attempts…’[2]

She had been planning to tease him a bit before teaching him properly, but now, she wasn’t sure about that anymore. She became curious and wanted to see if he would be able to create the sword, or if he would give up before succeeding.

‘Watching this human grow is also enjoyable.’ 

Seo Jun-Ho had been so strong 25 years ago that she couldn’t believe that he was an Earth human. 

Being weakened had almost destroyed her, but what if someone could inherit her essence?

‘I… I may be raising a monster.’ 

She smiled. If that was true, then things would become even more fun. 

1. ‘Frost’ skill is separate from the element. Also, from now on attributes -> elements ☜

2. In Irish mythology, Fragarach was the sword of Nuada, the first high king ☜