A Gate message appeared before Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes. 

[You have cleared the Winter Castle.]

[You have received the Armory Key as a clear reward.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[5 speed regained.]

[2 strength regained.]

[2 strength and 1 magic received from Limit Breaker’s effect].]

[The Gate will automatically disappear in one hour.]

“...This isn’t all, is it?” He squinted suspiciously at the message. There was another one below it. 

[You have cleared the Winter Castle’s hidden quest, ‘Proof of Knighthood.’]

[Weapons Mastery (A) has evolved to Weapons Master (S).]

[You will be able to understand the principles and use of any weapon when you hold them.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[2 strength received from Limit Breaker’s effect.]

‘The rank increased!’’

He clenched his hands into fists. Not long ago, at the Cave of Trials, Hero’s Mind had become S-rank and Keen Intuition had become A-rank. Today, Weapons Mastery’s rank increased to S-rank. 

“Man...That was so worth it.” The reward made up for the three months he had spent in the Gate. Those hard, tedious times had become nothing but memories now.

‘Limit Breaker’s effect is useful too.’ 

He received it for overcoming the limits of a Player and it increased a random stat by 1 every time he leveled up. 

“Hehe…” Seo Jun-Ho chuckled like an old man as he looked at his status window. The Frost Queen stared at him over his shoulder and gave him a look of disgust when he started to laugh. 

“Your laugh is disturbing.” The Frost Queen flew backward. 

“Sorry, I can’t control it. Any Player would react the same way.” That was how great his status window was.

[Seo Jun-Ho]

Level: 34

Title: The Bringer of Spring (+2)

Strength: 108                        Stamina: 119

Speed: 111                            Magic: 150

He was barely level 34, but all of his stats were over 100. He could compete with low Rankers. 

“The numbers are so beautiful.” It reminded him of the times he played games at PC cafes when he was a student. It had been so satisfying to see his game character’s stats increase one by one. 

“Honestly, I’d be proud if these were just my character’s stats…” But they were his own. How could he not be happy? 

“...I understand, so go check the Gate’s rewards.” The Frost Queen reminded.

“Oh, it was a key or something, right?” He reached into his inventory and pulled it out. “An Armory Key…”

“The armory is in the basement of the castle.” She quickly checked the time. There were only 58 minutes left until the Gate closed.

“I should hurry.” Seo Jun-Ho stood up and followed the Frost Queen to the basement. When they arrived before a large door, he unlocked it with the Armory Key.

Creeaaak.

Hundreds of weapons filled his vision the moment it opened.

“...Frost, there’s no limit to how many I can take, right?”

“If my memory serves, there is not.”

“Then…!” His mouth spread into a wide grin.

[You have entered the Winter Castle’s Armory.]

[When a weapon is selected, you will automatically be teleported outside the Armory.]

“Ah.” His face fell. 

The Frost Queen cackled at the sight. “Grey, was it? That Administrator must be watching over you still.”

“I don’t want that kind of attention from guys,” he grumbled. Seo Jun-Ho slowly turned back toward the armory. Worthy of being a sacred ground for knights, the Winter Castle’s armory was full of high-quality weapons. 

“There isn’t a single one that isn’t a masterpiece.”

He walked around the armory for 40 minutes, lost in thought. 

‘The best weapon grade is Unique. As long as I choose one of those, it doesn’t actually matter which one it is.’ 

First, he ruled out a sword. Black Dragon Fang was already a Unique weapon, and there wouldn’t be a sword better than it. 

“The one I prefer…” In front of him were a spear and an axe. They were both Unique-grade, so it all came down to preference. “The spear is nice because it lets me maintain a distance from the opponent, but the axe can be used unrestricted…” He had also enjoyed using the spear when he was Specter. 

As he pondered, the Frost Queen looked around the armory on her own. “Why are you thinking so hard? You can simply choose a weapon that combines their merits.”

“A weapon that combines… Ah!” Realizing something, Seo Jun-Ho whipped around to the corner of the armory. A long halberd was hung on the wall. “I want both, so that’s not bad either.” 

The halberd was also called a barbed spear or an axe-spear. The spear tip was combined with an axe blade, so it contained the best parts of each weapon. It was hard for beginners to use, but he was no beginner. 

“Thanks for the tip.” Seo Jun-Ho expressed his gratitude. The Frost Queen simply nodded in response. Afterward, Seo Jun-Ho spun the halberd in his hands a few times. It shone with an inky light. It had a thick shaft, and a sharp spearhead was attached to one end, along with a heavy axe blade.  

“The length and weight are pretty good.” 

The cool metal felt good under his hands. He made up his mind when he saw the item data. 

[Cruel Executioner]

Grade: Unique

*Bleeding: Those who are injured by the weapon will bleed more than usual. 

*Lightweight: There is magic attached to the weapon that makes it lighter.

*Blood Pact: Every time an opponent’s blood stains the weapon, the user’s stamina is recovered. 

Use requirements: Level 30, 100 strength, 100 speed. 

“Wow! Blood Pact!” Seo Jun-Ho never even expected it. Players usually called Blood Pact the final boss of weapon effects.

[Select Cruel Executioner?]

Seo Jun-Ho nodded vigorously. “Of course!” The magic wavered as it teleported him outside of the armory, but he was grinning like a child. 

“Is the weapon that great?” The Frost Queen asked. 

“What do you think? The Blood Pact effect is super OP.” It would be extremely useful for the majority of his opponents. He would be able to keep fighting them without losing any stamina.

“Well, as long as you like it. We should hurry on our way.”

“Right.” Seo Jun-Ho checked the time and started to sprint down the hall. There were only 10 minutes left until the Gate collapsed. Considering the time it would take to go back, he was cutting it close. 

“At least we were not too late.”

“Yeah...huh?”

He made it to the front of the Gate just in time, but something caught his eye. A big portrait was hung on the wall of the hall. 

“Was that always there? I didn’t even notice it when I was fighting Kis.” He reached out and touched the painting. The portrait contained a beautiful woman who sat on a chair with her legs crossed. 

“Wow...She’s really pretty…” She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She wore a blue dress, and her silky silver hair reached the floor. She held a white scepter in her pale hand, indicating that she was a queen. Her eyes looked down in a prideful stare. Even though it was just a painting, she exuded an aloof, charismatic air that made her feel unapproachable. 

“Looking at her clothes, she’s probably a queen… Huh? Wait a second.” He belatedly realized who it was. Seo Jun-Ho slowly shook his head as he looked between the queen in the portrait and the little Frost Queen. “N-no way...That’s not you, is it?”

“Hmph, it is.” The Frost Queen turned around. Seeing how her long ears were red, she must be feeling shy.

“Can you take off that weird visor thing just once?”

“No! Stop saying useless things and just get out!”

He couldn’t win against her pestering, so he stepped out of the Gate. 

***

Cha Si-Eun tapped her fingertips nervously against her desk. It was the latest habit she had developed since it had already been three months since her boss, Seo Jun-Ho, had left for one of the 3 Uncleared Gates in the world. Even with the Gates’ time differences accounted for, no one had ever stayed inside one for three months. 

“Haa…” She let out another sigh as she read over the new articles. 

[Player Seo Jun-Ho breaks Guinness World Record for longest time spent in a Gate.]

[Will the 3 Uncleared Gates remain untouched forever?!]

[Korea’s Player Association President Shim Deok-Gu: “The Gate conquest isn’t over yet.”]

The Association’s atmosphere wasn’t great these days. They were being harassed by netizens that were accusing them of forcibly sending Seo Jun-Ho to the Winter Castle to boost his reputation. 

‘Why aren’t you coming out…?’ 

She gloomily closed the articles. Funnily enough, she had a lot of time on her hands now. 

‘People are so funny.’ 

As Seo Jun-Ho’s conquest dragged on, the sponsorship proposals and personal commission requests had stopped coming in. She hated how they were all assuming that he had failed. 

“Why do Players climb the floors for people like this…?” Cha Si-Eun couldn’t understand. They worked hard to clear Gates and climb floors for these selfish people, but no one ever recognized their efforts. 

Chime~

At that moment, her Vita rang with a message notification. 

“Ah.” She opened it as quick as lightning. 

[Sender: Pegasus]

☗☗Enter the best✩game☗to a world of imagination$$

Register now☜☜for a free 1-month coupon#

Come into the world@@of swords and magic☜☜

“Ugh!” Cha Si-Eun angrily shut off the message. She laid down on her desk, sulking. 

‘I never got a message from him, and all I ever get is spam…’ 

She wondered if she should change her phone number. 

Chime~

Her Vita rang and notified her again of another message.

“Geez…” She wrinkled her nose and unenthusiastically tapped on her Vita, still laying down. 

Crash! 

The other people in the secretary's office stared at her as her chair fell over. But she was in a daze. With wide eyes, she read the message once again. 

[Sender: Seo Jun-Ho]

- hai secretary cha~ please send me a teleporter. 

The contents were a bit strange, but he finally sent her a message.