Return of the Frozen Player

They鈥檙e only 30 centimeters away. Both of them were within Seo Jun-ho鈥檚 range. If he made a surprise attack, he could cut their heads off with a single stroke.聽

But鈥?I don鈥檛 have a good pretext to do that.聽

He knew that they were fiends, and he鈥檇 gotten that information from reading another fiend鈥檚 memories. But if he killed them, he would have no way to prove that.聽

The best-case scenario would be for them to reveal that they鈥檙e fiends themselves鈥?But that was impossible. They weren鈥檛 amateurs; they wouldn鈥檛 reveal themselves in a place with lots of players.聽

Then the only thing I can do is to make my own playing field. Luckily, they didn鈥檛 know that he knew who they were. Seo Jun-ho calmed himself as he turned to Gong Juha and laughed.聽

鈥淚sn鈥檛 this fun? I鈥檒l play a few more rounds.鈥?/p>

鈥淕eez, gambling is a scary thing鈥︹€?Even as she expressed her concerns about gambling addiction, Seo Jun-ho didn鈥檛 let his attention on the Watchdogs waver.聽

鈥淪hall I start?鈥?The two Watchdogs nodded as they pushed forward ten chips each. At that, Seo Jun-ho pushed all twenty of his chips forward.聽

鈥淧lease begin.鈥?/p>

鈥淪ince there are three people this time, I鈥檒l be using five cups.鈥?The dealer began to elegantly shuffle the cups. As he got faster, it began to look like there were twenty.聽

鈥淲ow, that dealer is no joke.鈥?/p>

鈥淲ho is he? With that level of skill, he was probably big.鈥?Even onlookers admired his beautiful skills.聽

Tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap!

The dealer finished shuffling and looked at the players, waiting for them to choose.聽

鈥淭he far right.鈥?As soon as Seo Jun-ho answered, the delinquent woman and the skinny man followed.聽

鈥淭he middle.鈥?/p>

鈥淟et鈥檚 go with the far right.鈥?/p>

The dealer flipped the cups. Seo Jun-ho and the skinny man were right.聽

Gong Juha鈥檚 eyes sparkled at his forty chips.聽

鈥淲ow. Mr. Snake head, you have a talent for this. How are you so good?鈥?/p>

鈥淭hat鈥檚鈥︹€?Seo Jun-ho trailed off as he reminisced. Green taught me.聽

One of the Five Heroes, Gilbert Green. Seo Jun-ho鈥檇 been curious while Green was teaching him marksmanship, and asked how he dealt with an enemy that made good feints or an enemy who moved faster than his eyes could follow. Green had said only one thing:

鈥榃atch the substance, not the shell.鈥?/i>

His advice had helped immensely. It still did.聽

If you look at their stats, Gong Juha鈥檚 are probably higher than the dealer鈥檚. But there鈥檚 a reason she can鈥檛 win despite that.聽

She only watched the shell, or in this case, the cup. On the other hand, Seo Jun-ho was able to tell which cup the ball was under right away.聽

The dealer鈥檚 ability has nothing to do with speed. The afterimages from his movements weren鈥檛 from how fast he was moving. The answer was 鈥榠llusions鈥? They were illusions that the dealer was creating.聽

If you watch his shoulders, wrists, and the cups at the same time, it鈥檚 obvious that something鈥檚 off. The dealer would use the illusory skill after he started shuffling and change the cup the ball was under. It really was something of a scam. But if you could see through the trick, it wasn鈥檛 hard to guess the answer.聽

You just have to watch his shoulders. The way his muscles move are telling. It was easy. You just needed to watch his shoulder muscles and count how many times his arms moved, how they moved, and in which direction. If he just told Gong Juha the basics, she wouldn鈥檛 lose a single time.聽

鈥淚鈥檒l tell you when we鈥檙e done.鈥?Seo Jun-ho organized his chips and looked at the skinny man next to him.

Did he guess it by chance? To check that, he played the game three more times. The delinquent woman didn鈥檛 win a single time, but the skinny man and Seo Jun-ho won all of them.聽

He鈥檚 not just copying my answer. In two of the games, the man had answered before him. That meant he鈥檇 figured out the trick.聽

That man鈥?he鈥檒l be harder to deal with than the woman. If possible, he wanted to take one of them out tonight. It was important to evaluate their skills before the battle.聽

As he finished his thought, the dealer got up and spoke sadly.

鈥淧lease wait a moment. There will be a dealer change.鈥?/p>

Seo Jun-ho had won all four of his bets. On top of that, they were all all-in. His 1 million won had quickly become 16 million.

(TN: ~10k USD -> ~160k USD)

The loss was too great, so the casino had decided to change the dealer.聽

鈥淎-amazing. You made 16 million in five minutes鈥︹€?Gong Juha looked at him in envy. It wasn鈥檛 the money she was jealous of, but purely his game skill.聽

Perfect timing.聽

鈥淭he dealer鈥檚 gone, so let me show you something interesting,鈥?he said loudly. He reached into his jacket and fumbled around the inner pocket. Of course, there was nothing in it. But when he pulled his hand out, he was holding an ice compass. He鈥檇 used his Frost skill in that short amount of time.聽

鈥淲ow, that鈥檚 pretty.鈥?Gong Juha鈥檚 eyes sparkled as she studied it. The two fiends next to them were also secretly interested. Seo Jun-ho smiled faintly.聽

鈥淧resident Shim Deok-gu lent me this. It鈥檚 quite an interesting artifact.鈥?/p>

鈥淚t鈥檚 an artifact? Now that you say that, I feel like I sense magic from it鈥︹€?Of course she did. It was made of magic.聽

鈥淚f you use magic on this compass, it helps you find certain people.鈥?/p>

鈥淐ertain people?鈥?/p>

鈥淗aha, well, there鈥檚 no reason that they would be here, but鈥︹€?As he spoke, he poured magic into the compass, and the needle started to spin violently. When it finally stopped, Seo Jun-ho looked up to where it was pointing.聽

鈥溾€uh?鈥?Gong Juha had been staring at the needle, and she blinked. It was pointing at the two people next to Seo Jun-ho.聽

鈥?i>Uhm, Mr. Snake head. The needle鈥檚 pointing at them.鈥?Seo Jun-ho feigned a shocked expression and pretended to hide it.聽

鈥淥h, why鈥?why is it doing that?鈥?He swallowed, his face unreadable. 鈥淭eam Leader, my stomach hurts, so I鈥檓 gonna go to the bathroom鈥︹€?/p>

鈥淥h, go ahead.鈥?As Seo Jun-ho got up and waved to Gong Juha, so did the skinny man.聽

鈥淚鈥檓 going to the bathroom too.鈥?/p>

鈥淲ill it take long?鈥?/p>

鈥淣o, I鈥檒l be back in five minutes,鈥?he replied with a firm voice.聽

* * *

Seo Jun-ho did not go to the bathroom. He ran out of the hotel as if he was being chased, and hid inside a back alley.聽

Blink, blink. It was a dark alleyway, with the only light coming from a streetlamp that would blink occasionally.聽

鈥?i>Huff, huff鈥︹€?To anyone else, it would seem like Seo Jun-ho was hyperventilating. The skinny man who had been following him stepped casually into the alleyway.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this is the bathroom.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€︹€?Seo Jun-ho stared at him wordlessly. The man smiled as he spoke.聽

鈥淵our luck is really bad. Don鈥檛 you think so?鈥?At least, that鈥檚 what he thought. An ice compass. It鈥檚 probably a tool to find fiends. He鈥檇 never imagined that such an artifact would exist. If the needle hadn鈥檛 pointed exactly at him and the delinquent woman, he wouldn鈥檛 have known what it was.聽

No one can know who we are for tomorrow鈥檚 attack. That鈥檚 why he鈥檇 come.聽

His bones were visible in his hands as he gripped a sword.聽

鈥淚鈥檒l kill you painlessly.鈥澛?/p>

Before he could attack, Seo Jun-ho looked down at the ice compass in his hand. It had started to melt, and he tossed it aside without a second thought. As the skinny man watched it shatter on the ground, his forehead wrinkled.聽

It broke? An artifact broke so easily? Artifacts had magic in them and were highly durable. Even if it was weak, it wouldn鈥檛 break from simply falling to the ground. The look in his eyes changed.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 fake鈥?In other words, this is a trap.鈥?/p>

鈥淚 already thought so while playing, but you catch on quick.鈥?/p>

As Seo Jun-ho unsheathed his sword with a shing, the fear on his face disappeared. He now looked like a hunter contemplating his prey.聽

鈥淗ow did you know?鈥?/p>

鈥淣o comment.鈥?/p>

鈥淚s there anyone else who knows who we are?鈥?/p>

鈥淣o comment.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€ow much do you know?鈥?That was a question worth answering. It would keep him from running away. Seo Jun-ho gave a lopsided smile.聽

鈥?i>Hm, well, I know your schedule for tomorrow.鈥?/p>

鈥淚 see.鈥?Someone who knew that wouldn鈥檛 be able to live. The skinny man swung his sword without warning.聽

Woooosh! The sword pierced through the air, aimed at Seo Jun-ho鈥檚 neck.

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?Seo Jun-ho barely managed to dodge. His face fell as he touched his neck.聽

鈥淵ou dodged? Not bad.鈥澛?/p>

He did his best to dodge, but the skinny man was relentless. They were thinking the same thing.聽

鈥e鈥檚 fast.聽

Seo Jun-ho鈥檚 Speed stat was over 60, but it was hard for him to keep up.聽

But it鈥檚 not just a difference in stats. Even if the skinny man鈥檚 Speed stat was over 80, he wouldn鈥檛 be so fast. That left one option.聽

Skill. Seo Jun-ho stared at his opponent with a hard look in his eyes, and the man tilted his sword.聽

鈥淪o you鈥檝e figured it out. I鈥檓 an acceleration skill user, and I have three levels. That was the first one鈥︹€?He readied his stance again. 鈥淎nd this one will be the third level.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€hy are you telling me that?鈥?/p>

鈥淚 evaluated you with the first attack. You won鈥檛 be able to block this one even if you know it鈥檚 coming.鈥?/p>

He realized. He was correct. It would be impossible for Seo Jun-ho as he was now to keep up with the man鈥檚 speed. Not only that, his opponent鈥檚 eyes were starting to turn red. He鈥檚 going to use Demonic energy on top of his acceleration. The skinny man was planning to kill him with the next attack.聽

鈥淒ammit.鈥?Seo Jun-ho clicked his tongue.

He catches on quickly, and he鈥檚 cautious. But once he decides to do something, he doesn鈥檛 back out. He鈥檇 figured that out after watching the skinny man at the casino and in the alley.聽

There鈥檚 no use in dragging this out. Everything will end in the next strike. Seo Jun-ho鈥檚 eyes were cold. Each member of the Watchdogs was stronger than he was. If his concentration faltered at all, his head would go flying.聽

鈥?i>鈥hew.鈥?Seo Jun-ho changed his mind. He took his stance and slowly closed his eyes. He no longer needed his sight for this battle.

鈥淵ou won鈥檛 be able to follow me with your eyes, so you鈥檒l just close them鈥?Not a bad choice.鈥?The skinny man stared at his opponent and lowered his stance. He planned to cut through Seo Jun-ho鈥檚 windpipe with this attack. Let鈥檚 see, the best place to aim鈥?/i>

Out of all the pressure points on a human body, the best places to kill with a sword were the head and heart. He checked Seo Jun-ho鈥檚 stance, and the skinny man鈥檚 eyes flashed.

There are a lot of openings around his head. I can slice through his neck with a single stroke. He made his decision. I鈥檒l go with the heart.聽

It was a cautious decision out of the one-in-a-thousand chance that Seo Jun-ho had intentionally made the opening. On the off chance that was true, he wouldn鈥檛 put himself in danger.聽

鈥淕oodbye.鈥?With that, the man leapt off the ground.聽

Tap. Wooooshh!

At the sound of his footsteps, darkness seemed to explode from the void and covered the alleyway. It blocked the man鈥檚 vision, filling his sight with darkness.聽

鈥?i>Guh?!鈥?He was surprised by the unexpected situation, but he didn鈥檛 stop. A smokescreen won鈥檛 change anything. He knew where the heart was. Even if his opponent tried to dodge, he wouldn鈥檛 be able to deal with his speed.聽

I just need to stab the target with my sword. He didn鈥檛 hesitate, and his sword didn鈥檛 waver. The skinny man accelerated and swung.聽

A terrifying sound was heard as his sword buried itself into Seo Jun-ho鈥檚 chest.聽

As expected. A corner of his lip curled up. As expected, his sword had been faster.

But there was something he鈥檇 overlooked.

Crackle!聽

Seo Jun-ho never intended to dodge. He knew that he wouldn鈥檛 be able to.聽

鈥淚 said this before, but you鈥檙e too careful.鈥?/p>

鈥溾€︹€?鈥?/p>

The skinny man鈥檚 caution had been his downfall. Especially because his opponent had been someone like Seo Jun-ho who knew how to engage in psychological warfare.聽

Crackle? That鈥檚 not the sound a sword makes when it hits flesh鈥?

Realizing that something was wrong, the skinny man quickly dropped his sword and drew back. But Seo Jun-ho wasn鈥檛 so careless.聽

鈥?i>Kuh?!鈥?/p>

The man finally realized that his hand and sword were frozen in ice.聽