There were three things Seo Jun-Ho could say. 

1. Wow! It’s Kim Woo-Joong!

2. What brings you to this humble place?

3. Um, I think there has been a misunderstanding. 

He chose the third one. “Um, I—”

But before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain on his left cheek.

’Dammit, he cut me.’ 

He furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to look at the wound, but there was no blood. The cut was so clean that a normal person wouldn’t even notice that it was there. 

“You tricked me last time with that cunning tongue of yours. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“This is insane.” Seo Jun-Ho looked dumbfounded. He had almost died while trying to kill Kal Signer, and now he was up against the Sword Saint. Not only that, but the Sword Saint thought that he was a fiend. 

‘So this is how he felt.’ 

He started to sympathize with Kal Signer’s fear. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to be chased by such a stubborn and terrifying person for months. 

“I surrender.” Seo Jun-Ho immediately put his hands in the air. 

Kim Woo-Joong’s eyes narrowed. 

‘...How did he move?’

The last time they met, Kal Signer hadn’t been able to deal with the amount of magic he was exuding, but now he was moving like it was nothing. 

‘Had he gotten stronger since they last met?’

That was the only explanation. 

‘It doesn’t matter. It changes nothing.’

He stared down at his opponent coldly and pressed harder with his magic. 

“It’s not me.” 

“...!” Kim Woo-Joong was taken by surprise. He had interrupted him before he could speak. The man continued when he noticed his shock. “I killed Kal Signer.”

“Lies.” Kim Woo-Joong’s face darkened. After fighting against him, he knew that Kal Signer was much weaker than him, but he wasn’t weak enough to be taken out on the 1st floor. 

“Do you not know who I am?”

“No.”

“...Do you not look at the news?” Seo Jun-Ho muttered. He had heard that his face was all over the 2nd floor so what was with this short, firm answer? He sighed and tapped on his Vita to make a call. 

- What do you want?

“Mr. President. I’m in a bit of a bind.”

- What? What are you… 

Shim Deok-Gu paused, realizing that Seo Jun-Ho had used formal speech. He started again with a more dignified voice. 

- What is it, Player Seo Jun-Ho?

“I ran into the Sword Saint, but he’s trying to kill me.”

- What? What bullshit is that…

Who would believe that? If they weren’t close friends, Shim Deok-Gu wouldn’t believe him. Still, Shim Deok-Gu’s voice became dignified once again.

- If this is a joke, end it here.

“It’s not. Please save me.”

- I understand. Please wait a minute.

A silence settled between them as the call ended. And then, Kim Woo-Joong’s own Vita rang. 

“...” His eyebrows furrowed. There weren’t many people who had his number, but one of them was the president of the Korean Player Association. He didn’t break eye contact with Seo Jun-Ho as he received the call. 

“This is Kim Woo-Joong.”

- Hello. Is Player Seo Jun-Ho telling the truth?”

“Oh no, It seems that I’ve made a mistake.”

- Understood. Please come find me whenever you have time. 

When the call ended, he immediately removed his hand from his sheath and released the magic around him. He walked up to Seo Jun-Ho and bowed at his waist. 

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.” He didn’t try to make any excuses. It was a simple, honest, apology. 

Seo Jun-Ho was taken by surprise. 

‘He’s very respectable, like me.’ 

It should’ve been hard for a member of the Nine Heavens to bow like this. After all, this was a world where even the weaker ones strutted around confidently.[1]

‘He’s giving a genuine apology… He’s a good person.’

Seo Jun-Ho’s apprehension from this misunderstanding quickly dissolved. He wasn’t someone to hold a grudge after receiving such an honest apology. “Well, it was a misunderstanding after all. Your apology is enough.”

Kim Woo-Joong pulled out a bottle from his inventory. “I don’t know if this would count as compensation, but… can you tilt your head up a bit?”

When Seo Jun-Ho did as asked, Kim Woo-Joong opened the bottle. 

“...!”

A refreshing medicinal scent spilled out of it. Just the smell of the potion relieved his physical and mental fatigue. 

Plop.

Kim Woo-Joong tilted the bottle and poured a single drop on Seo Jun-Ho’s forehead. “One drop is enough. It’s an elixir.”

“...An elixir!” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes went wide. An elixir was a legendary potion that could save even a dying person. 

‘A single drop…’

A single drop could cure any disease in the world as long as one had the money for it. He was thankful, but it felt like a bit of a waste to use it on such a small cut. “Isn’t this too much? I can just put some ointment on it.”

“No. I have to take responsibility for my mistake.”

“...You’re a good person.” Anyone who took responsibility like that was admirable. 

“Just a moment…” He tapped on his Vita. When Seo Jun-Ho peeked at his screen, he saw that he had looked up his name. 

“Hm… Ooh… Huh?... Wow.”

There was a lot of information about Seo Jun-Ho on the Internet, especially on the wikis—it was enough to write a thesis. Kim Woo-Joong skimmed it over before he turned off his Vita. When he looked up, he no longer had the cold look in his eyes. Instead, he was impressed.

“I didn’t know that you were such an amazing person.”

“I still have a long way to go.”

“You’re too modest.” He started listing Seo Jun-Ho’s accomplishments. “Not only did you clear all the Uncleared Gates in the country, but you also beat mine and Specter’s record in the Cave of Trials. You also have a star, just like me, and…” He looked around sharply. “You killed the Demon Bow all alone. And yet you’re barely over level 30. If I’m being honest… It’s a bit hard to believe.” He stared at him right in the eyes, waiting for Seo Jun-Ho’s explanation.

“Hm…” Seo Jun-Ho tapped his chin. 

‘It makes sense that Kim Woo-Joong would be curious.’ 

After all, a level 30 Player singlehandedly killing the Demon Bow was an unbelievable, unprecedented feat. It was an unheard-of achievement. 

‘But I can’t let him know for free…’

Seo Jun-Ho grinned. Kim Woo-Joong was extremely skilled, but he wasn’t perfect. With his straightforward personality, his thoughts could be seen all over his face. As such, Seo Jun-Ho could tell that he was extremely curious. 

‘It’s a good thing for me, though.’

“Well, I haven’t done anything bad, so there’s no need for me to hide it from you.”

“Then…”

“However, I have three conditions.” He held up his fingers.

“Conditions?”

“I have no reason to hide it from you, but I have no reason to tell you either.”

“...I agree.” Kim Woo-Joong nodded. No matter how curious he was, he couldn’t force Seo Jun-Ho to tell him if he didn’t want to. 

“First, please claim responsibility for killing Kal Signer.”

“Why?” Considering how notorious the fiend was, this achievement would immediately launch his career forward. And yet, he was refusing to take such an opportunity. 

“I don’t want to reveal my abilities; that’s the reason why. As for the second condition, please keep my abilities a secret.”

“Of course.”

“The last one is simple. Please help me one time when I ask for it.”

“...”

Kim Woo-Joong’s help was like a cheat key. It was basically a get-out-of-jail card. 

“Hm.” Kim Woo-Joong pondered this for a second, weighing the price of the knowledge. 

His answer was obvious from his expression, though. 

‘He really wants to know.’

Kim Woo-Joong was silent for a long time before he spoke again. “I have two conditions of my own.”

“I’ll make my decision after hearing them.”

“First, I won’t let you go if you killed Kal Signer with an immoral power.”

“Of course. I can promise you that I didn’t use the power of the demon clans.”

“The second is similar. When you ask for my help, I will not do anything unethical.”

The conditions were so cute that Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t help but chuckle. “That won’t happen.” He smiled. “Does that mean that you’ll accept my three conditions?”

“...” Kim Woo-Joong considered it one more time before he nodded. “I accept. To be honest, I’m dying to know how you did this.”

“Alright. I take it that our deal is in place.” 

He pushed out his magic. The Frost skill covered the ground and unveiled its might. Now, there were two people that knew of it—Shim Deok-Gu and Kim Woo-Joong. 

‘This is a cheap price to pay for a favor from Kim Woo-Joong.’ 

It was more important to hide Watchguard of Darkness. He couldn’t hide Frost for the rest of his life, nor did he want to. It was going to be revealed eventually, so he had to make use of the secret while he could. 

Kim Woo-Joong admired the ice crystals. “...It’s a surprisingly straightforward power. It wasn’t on your profile.” Players with elemental skills were the hardest to deal with, especially if you didn’t know about them beforehand. 

“I now understand how you killed the Demon Bow. This skill would be able to compete even against other S-rank elemental… Wait!” He seemed to have realized something and turned around to look at Seo Jun-Ho. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. He realized why the Korean Player Association was investing so much in him and why the President treated him like his heir. “It’s you. You’re the Association’s secret weapon, the one who’ll seal the heat on the 3rd floor.”

“Man, I didn’t think that you’d think that far.” Seo Jun-Ho sighed. He was smart. 

“So I’m right.” His lingering suspicion of Seo Jun-Ho quickly dissipated, and he smiled. 

“Please keep your promises.”

“Of course, I will. I now understand why you gave me those conditions. If the fiends discover your skill, it’ll be troublesome.” His eyes shone as if he was looking into the future. “I didn’t think that we’d make it past the 3rd floor… But there was a solution, after all.”

“I’m still not sure if my skill will be able to withstand the heat.”

“It will.” Kim Woo-Joong said with certainty. Seo Jun-Ho tilted his head at him, and he heard the former speak. “I’ve been to the 3rd floor. It’ll be able to freeze the altar, and then some more.”

“Really? I’m glad to hear that. But the fiends must not find out.”

“I understand.” 

Kim Woo-Joong looked around and pulled part of his sword out of its sheath. Magic surged across the mountain, causing trees to fall and the ground to crack open. The surrounding terrain was transformed in an instant.

Kim Woo-Joong sheathed his sword again as if nothing happened. “I’ve been chasing Kal Signer for several months now. I killed him here about an hour ago.”

Seo Jun-Ho grinned and tapped on his Vita. 

“Can you give me your phone number? I’ll need a way to contact you when I need your help.” 

1. In Korea, bowing at the waist is a sign of subservience ☜