Return of the Frozen Player

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Once inside, no one could leave until the Players or the enemies were dead, just like a Gate.
Seo Jun-Ho had been to a door-type Dungeon once before this.

‘The Dungeon with wall mantises, when I killed Wang-Heon.’ 

The boss monster had definitely been dangerous.
Of course, he hadn’t actually fought it, so he hadn’t been able to personally experience its power.

“When are we leaving?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.

“In four days.
Do you need more time to prepare?”

“No, four days is enough.” He did the math in his head.

‘We have about three whole weeks until we meet in Port Lane, so that’s more than enough time.’ 

Even if the Dungeon conquest lasted longer than expected, it still wouldn’t take three weeks.
At most, Seo Jun-Ho thought it would only take one.

“Oh, you also have the participating members listed here,” Seo Jun-Ho noted.
He was quite impressed with the list.
“They’re all level 120 High Rankers.
As expected, Goblin’s fighting prowess is second to none.”

That was all he said.
As he nodded in understanding, Shin Sung-Hyun stared with a peculiar expression on his face.

“…” Shin Sung-Hyun had spoken to the other guest, Gasman, only two hours before.
His reaction had been very normal.

– Huh? Why are level 120 Players going in? They don’t need any more EXP.

His question was understandable because neither he nor Seo Jun-Ho had reached the maximum level just yet.

‘Only those who had reached it would know.
Even if you can’t level up anymore, you have to keep hunting.’ 

If they didn’t train, they would get rusty.

But only those who had reached the summit and experienced it could truly understand, especially because most Players’ goal was to simply reach level 120.

‘How curious…’ 

Shin Sung-Hyun thought that Seo Jun-Ho’s reaction was quite interesting.
Seo Jun-Ho thought that it was natural for level 120 Players to join the conquest.

One might even think that he had reached the maximum level before.

‘Well, those with a deeper or more extraordinary mindset tend to see things that others can’t…’ 

Shin Sung-Hyun moved on.
He didn’t make a big deal out of it as he held out a pen.
“This is a contract.
Even though you are a guest, we’ll make sure that you are appropriately compensated.”

There weren’t any predatory clauses in the contract.
When Seo Jun-Ho was done signing, Sung-Hyun held out his hand once more.
“Ju-Ha will be escorting you to your lodgings.”

“Thank you.
I’ll see you in four days.”

About ten minutes after Seo Jun-Ho left, the Vice Master Jang Kyung-Hoon came in.

“…What are you doing?” he asked.

Shin Sung-Hyun was sitting on the sofa he used to greet guests.
He was staring at the pen, an unreadable smile on his face.
Jang Kyung-Hoon followed his line of sight.

“The tip is blue…? Did Ju-Ha come by?” he asked.

Though there were countless blue pens in existence, this pen was special.

‘Blue…’ 

The nib was normally black, but the moment an elemental ability user held it, it would turn blue.

Shin Sung-Hyun chuckled and placed it down.
“I didn’t hear about this.” As he thought, it was best to keep someone close if he wanted to know more about them.
It was true this time, as well.

He was starting to look forward to the Dungeon conquest in four days’ time.
“Be thorough with the preparations.
You must not leave anything out,” he said.

“Your wish is my command.”

***

“This is where you’ll be staying.
Isn’t it impressive?” Gong Ju-Ha asked.

“Yeah…”

Seo Jun-Ho wasn’t just saying that for the sake of it.
His building looked over the pond, where lotuses were floating on the water.

“Is it really alright for me to stay in such a large section of this place?” he asked.

“I wasn’t the one that decided this.
The Guild Master did.”

“Mr.
Shin Sung-Hyun…”

Gong Ju-Ha cleared her throat when he said his name.
“Um… This was your first time meeting him, correct?”

“Yes, I haven’t really had any opportunities to meet him otherwise.”

“Hmm… I see…You’re already calling him Mr.
Shin Sung-Hyun even though you’ve only met him twice…”[1]

“Oh, I’m sorry if that was rude.
I just wasn’t sure what to call him.” He apologized right away, but Gong Ju-Ha still looked sour.

“I wasn’t asking you to apologize,” she said.

“Then what is it?”

Tap. 

Gong Ju-Ha placed a hand on her chest.
“You’ve met me three times, we text often, we’ve been through hardships together, and we’re quite close.”

“Close…?”

“A-are we not?” She looked shocked.
“But you even got Specter-nim to put hearts on his autograph for me.”

“…”

Did that mean they were close? Seo Jun-Ho looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment.
“Well… yes, I do think we’re quite close.”

“Phew, I was worried that I was misunderstanding.” She let out a sigh of relief.
“But you still call me Captain Gong.”

“Isn’t it courteous to call you that?”

“No, no.
Isn’t ‘Mr.
Shin Sung-Hyun’ much more casual?”

“Then, Miss Gong Ju-Ha?”

“Personally, I think the ‘Gong’ is a little too formal.”

“…Miss Ju-Ha.”

She finally looked satisfied, and that was that.
“I like it.
To be honest, I’ve always called you Mr.
Jun-Ho, and you always called me Captain Gong, so…”

The Frost Queen squinted at her as Gong Ju-Ha mumbled.
“…Fox.”

The temperature around them suddenly dropped.

“Huh? It’s cool all of a sudden! What’s that? I love it!”

It did negative damage…

1.
The suffix used here is -ssi, while using his title with -nim (sir, ma’am) would be most appropriate. ☜