The Frozen Player Returns

hundreds of cockroaches appeared shortly afterward.

The Players faces fell, and they started cursing.

Shit! Im gonna throw up everything I ate during the break!

Kill them all! Burn them!

In the blink of an eye, they took battle-ready stances, and the Players eradicated the cockroaches without much difficulty.

They fight better than I thought.

As Seo Jun-Ho watched them, he couldnt help but feel a small sense of pride.
All of them were playing their own part, and this was what the 5 Heroes wanted so much, decades ago.

Weve killed them all.

They had been fighting these cockroaches for a pretty long time now, so they had long learned how to kill them.

All eighty members can either use a weapon aura, or they have skills similar to one.

Seo Jun-Ho finally understood why Shin Sung-Hyun had chosen them as elite fighters.
After winning a swift, overwhelming victory, their confidence naturally increased.

This is easier than I thought

Since were supposed to explore their cave, I was a little nervous, but maybe it was for nothing.

Maybe its because we only have combatants, but this is easier than when we were fighting them in the city.

Seo Jun-Ho didnt want to lose this momentum either, so he led them deeper.

– Sasasak!

– Shoop!

Theyre coming again.

Just how many of them are in here?

Jun-Hos eyebrows knitted.

Wait, somethings different

These cockroaches were different from any other he had ever seen.
They were slower, and the lower halves of their bodies were enlargened as if they were about to explode.

Stop for a moment.

He instinctively sensed that something was wrong and stopped the party from attacking.

Then, he stepped forward.

Freeze.

’

The cockroaches froze just like that, and then he released a shower of icicles onto them without mercy.
He added a layer of darkness at the icicles tips, so the icicles easily ripped through the cockroaches exoskeletons.
As expected, they fell from the attack.

Theyre too weak…
Was I wrong?

He frowned

Baaang!

The cockroaches stomachs expanded, and they exploded one by one.
The explosions were so powerful the cave itself trembled, and even though Seo Jun-Ho was standing far away, he was still stupefied by the scene.

…What the fuck? Youre telling me there are exploding cockroaches?

I-Ive never seen anything like that before

If they had exploded right in front of us

The party members gulped as cold sweat started dripping down their bodies.
If Seo Jun-Ho hadnt stopped them, they would have fought these monsters the same way they fought the previous horde of cockroaches.

If we had been closer to the explosions and received a direct hit, could we have survived it?

They couldnt have survived it

The Players ran the scenario through their heads, and they grew pale when they realized that they had nearly stumbled upon death.

T-thank you, Specter, sir.

You saved us.
Exploding cockroaches I never imagined that.

The Players barely managed to pull themselves together as they started thanking him one by one.
Seo Jun-Ho nodded in response, but his face remained taut.

Even I have never seen cockroaches like those despite all my regressions.

He had come across dozens of various special entities.
However, most of them were cockroaches that resembled animals.
They werent anything like those exploding cockroaches.

I think I finally know why the expedition forces were always annihilated every time they came here.

There was something here.

He looked back at the party members, who seemed to have calmed down.

Lets go.

***

The deeper they went, the stranger the types of cockroaches they encountered became.
Once they finished off the fourth horde, the Players confirmed something.

These bastards Theyre using weapons now.

Right? Im not the only one who thought of that, right?

After the exploding cockroaches, there were ones that shot out spikes like machine guns.
The ones they had just killed were monsters that used missiles.

However, the Players seemed even more bewildered than scared.

How in the world is this possible?

If you think about it, it is possible, considering that there are cockroaches that look like elephants and crocodiles.

’

I have never really thought about it until now, but how the hell are special entities created?

No one could answer because no one knew

Seo Jun-Ho thought for a moment.

The special entities Theres no way they exist naturally.
That bastard Erebo is probably creating them.

He was a monster that had eaten the 4th Floor Administrator, the World Tree.
It wouldnt be surprising if he could make the cockroaches evolve.

And this cave

Seo Jun-Ho stared into the depths of the dark cave.
They saw more and more cockroaches of different types as they went deeper into the cave.

And this could only mean one thing

This place belongs to Erebo, so it means that its really important.

Putting powerful forces to guard an important area was a very basic battle strategy.

When Seo Jun-Ho thought about it, he started to feel impatient.

Lets move.

…Specter, cant we just rest a little longer?

I used a potion, but my wound hasnt closed yet

Normally, Seo Jun-Ho would have readily allowed it.

But now, it was different.

The fact that there are so many new types of cockroaches means that this place is extremely important to them.

They were doing heavy damage to the cockroaches right here and now.
Would Erebo be in the dark about what they were doing when he had the hivemind?

Of course not

The cockroach army could already be on its way.
At this point, they only had two options: get out or go deeper.

And Seo Jun-Ho chose the latter option…

Even if I die, I have to gather information no matter how small.

Of course, the best-case scenario would be his survival.

Seo Jun-Ho sighed and looked at the party members as they stood up.

From now on, you all better be on guard.

But not even thirty minutes after saying that, the expedition force was thrown into disarray.

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