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Chapter 257. The Thunder God’s Teachings (1)

Seo Jun-Ho had finally identified his new power on the last day of the ten days the Thunder God had given Seo Jun-Ho to do his homework.

1. The power was termed as the power to freeze.

2. The power could slow down the target that comes in contact with the Frost energy, and when used to the limit, it could stop movements completely.

3. When using the power, a huge amount of concentration was required.

“Hmm.” Staring seriously at his notes, Seo Jun-Ho contemplated. "It’s possible to freeze a distant target through the air, but if I want to stop the target there…”

"You will likely need an incredible amount of magic. It might be impossible to use in a real battle," The Frost Queen chimed in.

"That's the problem. It’s almost like a double-edged sword.”

If he could stop the opponent’s movements and cut their neck, using it would be worthwhile. However, using it would be dangerous unless he were in a situation where he could use it with certainty.

"No matter how many times I think about it, I think only the slow-down effect is what I can use normally.”

"Actually, even that alone is ridiculously strong," responded the Frost Queen.

Seo Jun-Ho continued to train in increasing the output of Overclocking. If he could pull out a hundred percent of the output, only a few Players would be able to beat his speed.

"And I’ll slow them down, so the gap will widen even further."

Of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Seo Jun-Ho's current battle style was very difficult to do. First, he had to keep circulating magic in the magic circuit throughout his body. As a result, his physical ability would rise dramatically, but it would also be accompanied by tremendously high heat. Afterward, he had to restrain the heat with the Frost energy.

"In the midst of all that, I have to fight while grasping the enemy's movements...”

In addition, a higher level of concentration was required if he were to use the power to freeze. In other words, it was a combat style that would be difficult to do for an ordinary person, even if they had five heads.

"Sigh." Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t hide his sorrow.

‘Certainly, the power to freeze is different from the power to disregard.’

The power to disregard did not require additional magic or concentration. From the moment he learned it, he could apply the power to disregard on the darkness element. Simply put, it was a passive skill.

‘Meanwhile, the power to freeze is like an active skill.’

He could decide when to use it or not, and it was much stronger as well. However, a corresponding amount of magic and concentration would be consumed as a result.

"It's hard to use both, but if I mix and use them properly...”

"The Heavens we saw before? I think you will be on par with them."

"Hu." Seo Jun-Ho felt better as he smiled and nodded. "And on top of that, I'm lucky.”

Usually, the most helpful thing when it came to training such a demanding skill was real battle. It was important to gain hands-on experience after learning the skill’s basic theories and usage. In that sense, it was a tremendous work of fate that his practice partner was the Thunder God.

'The Thunder God’s attack is probably the fastest of all Players.’

He was a lightning user. His attacks flew at his opponents at the speed of light.

"If only I could slow down the lightning perfectly and stop it...”

"Then it will be hard to find a match for you."

Whoosh, whoosh.

The Frost Queen had been throwing something in the middle of their conversation since a while ago. Forks, wooden balls, stones, snowballs, and so on… The flying objects slowed down as if they were in a slow-motion film the moment Seo Jun-Ho's eyes caught them. The scene was created using Seo Jun-Ho’s ‘power to freeze.’

"Ugh!"

All of a sudden, Seo Jun-Ho’s face crumpled as he grabbed his head and sprawled out on the floor. He got a headache similar to a brain freeze one would get when eating ice cream or shaved ice too quickly. He would always get a headache whenever he used his power to freeze too much.

"Ehew. You have to be careful and extra careful not to let this happen in a real battle. You will really die." The Frost Queen blinked as she nagged at her patient for a long time. "…But you are gradually getting better. You could not even stop a wooden ball on the first day.”

"A wooden ball? I can handle even ten of those balls quite easily now."

Seo Jun-Ho had recovered before he knew it, and he replied as he wiped the sweat off his face. Except for sleeping three hours a day, eating, and bathing, he invested all of his time in practice. It would be more troubling if he couldn’t produce this level of results.

"Hmm, today is the last day of the promise with the Thunder God."

"It has been ten days. There’ll probably be a test tomorrow.”

"I see. Then...” The Frost Queen tapped the floor in front of her. "Contractor, sit here."

When Seo Jun-Ho sat down calmly, The Frost Queen crossed her arms and spoke. "Now, you must have mastered the power. It seemed that you have also gotten quite used to using the Frost energy."

"Well, that's right."

"I believe it is okay to take it now."

"Take it... Oh, are you saying…?" Seo Jun-Ho recalled the elixir lying dormant in his Inventory and nodded. "That’s unexpected. Last time, you told me to take it if I wanted to die.”

"You were lacking in many ways at that time, but I think it will be okay now."

He had continuously practiced his usage of the Frost energy inside the goshiwon. After the battle with Janabi, he had even mastered the power to freeze under the Thunder God. At this rate, Seo Jun-Ho could be called a veteran ice user.

"Hmm. I see."

Seo Jun-Ho took out the Amitabha Holy Water from the Inventory. A glass bottle the size of a lens barrel contained only one drop of transparent liquid.

"This is the Amitabha Holy Water formed once in a thousand years...”

"Didn't the lazy Administrator say so? If you drink it, you could even undergo a body transformation."

"Body transformation…"

Seo Jun-Ho's body became lighter just by opening the Conception Governing Vessel. He remembered that even his magic stats went up quite a bit on that day as well.

‘Furthermore, if I also undergo body transformation...’

In old martial arts manga and novels, the body transformation was compared to being reborn as a new person. Even if only half of the novel were true, one’s physical ability, as well as their magic stats, would greatly improve.

"Status window."

Seo Jun-Ho brought up his status window for the first time in a long time.

[Seo Jun-Ho]

Level: 96

Title: Bringer of Spring (+3)

Strength: 291 Stamina: 300

Speed: 297 Magic: 351

Fame: 41,780

"Oh…"

His stats had improved quite a lot since he last saw them. The first thing that caught his eye was definitely his level.

‘I leveled up a lot in Blackfield.’

It was inevitable since he had defeated the Floor Master who gave the most experience in Blackfield. Moreover, experience wasn’t the only thing he had received there.

‘There was a title…’

Seo Jun-Ho's eyes stared at the title space. After a moment, the newly acquired title appeared.

[Exterminator]

Grade: A

Description: Title given to the person who killed Janabi, Frontier’s Floor Master.

Effect: Insects are afraid of you. All stats are increased by 15.

‘It's sad every time I see this.’

It was a pity since the title he had received after defeating the Frost Queen was S-grade, and he felt that the battle with Floor Master Janabi was harder than the battle he had with the Frost Queen.

‘However, my fame has increased tremendously, perhaps because I was the one who defeated Janabi.’

It used to be about 4,000 in the past, but it jumped to about ten times higher.

‘They said fame is the quantification of my recognition in the Frontier continent.’

It may not be as accurate as a game, but it would be helpful as a reference. Since his fame was over 40,000 points, even the imperial family probably knew his name.

‘And all stats will soon exceed 300.’

If he was lucky, the body transformation might help him pass it today. Of course, Seo Jun-Ho was no longer obsessed with his stats.

‘Your stats being a little higher doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re stronger. And besides, when you’re around my level…’

The battle would be about how well one utilized their skills. No matter how high one’s stats were in the status window, one would die the same if they were sneak attacked.

"I'm opening it."

Seo Jun-Ho sat comfortably in the room and took a deep breath. The moment he reached out and opened the bottle cap, a chill that made his skin numb filled the room.

‘I can't believe I can still feel the cold even though I have B-grade Cold Tolerance...’

He gulped a mouthful of his own saliva before pouring the Amitabha Holy Water into his mouth. The single drop of elixir went down his throat in the blink of an eye.

‘…!’

Seo Jun-Ho hurriedly closed his eyes and gathered his Frost energy to control the extreme cold energy.

‘Ugh.’

The Amitabha Holy Water was as cold and haughty as the lake water in a snowfield, and it was even more stubborn than an iron cord. It never followed Seo Jun-Ho’s guidance, and it only chose the paths Seo Jun-Ho hated for it to roam about.

‘So arrogant…’

The scene was like a scoring officer trying to decide whether this new house was acceptable or not. However, Seo Jun-Ho’s pride was nothing to scoff at as well as he was being made a fool of and dragged around by the energy.

'I'll bring you to your knees no matter what it takes.’

A warfare took place throughout his body. It was a battle between the Frost energy grabbing the Amitabha Holy Water’s hair and trying to drag it where he wanted it to go versus the Amitabha Holy Water trying to go wherever it wanted while saying, ‘let go.’

***

"…This is taking quite a while."

The Frost Queen fluttered around the room with a restless face. It had already been three hours since Seo Jun-Ho had taken the elixir, but he still wasn’t showing any signs of opening his eyes.

‘Nothing will go wrong, right?’

The Frost Queen's face was already like white jade, but it became even whiter. She was the one who encouraged him to drink the Amitabha Holy Water, after all.

"N-no. It will be fine."

Nibble, nibble.

She told herself it would be fine, but she had been biting her nails from anxiety.

"Huh?"

All of a sudden, Seo Jun-Ho's hair began to shatter with a thud. The Frost Queen covered her mouth as she looked at the black hair that fell on the floor.

‘No way. The side effect of the Amitabha Holy Water is… losing your hair?’

Shim Deok-Gu said he was going to Gangnam with his friend, but it seemed that Seo Jun-Ho would also have to go to a Gangnam dermatologist along with Shim Deok-Gu. The moment the Frost Queen looked at Seo Jun-Ho with trembling eyes—

Th-th-thud.

As if an old cement wall was peeling off, Seo Jun-Ho's skin fell piece by piece this time.

"Wait, this is...”

When the Frost Queen picked up the pieces, her eyes shone.

'I was mistaken. It was not a side effect!’

Seo Jun-Ho's body was going through body transformation. It was a perfectly natural phenomenon as his body abandoned the old and took on the new. As soon as the skin pieces fell off, a new piece of skin sprang up from underneath. It was a much smoother and more elastic skin than before.

"I envy you... No, I am glad it is going well."

The transformation process alone took about two hours. Just a while ago, the Conception Governing Vessel was opened, and the process cleansed his body, which resulted in an awful smell. But now, an even worse smell filled the room.

***

“…”

On the promised day…

The Thunder God sat on a rock in the vacant yard early in the morning and waited for Seo Jun-Ho. The Thunder God thought Seo Jun-Ho would come out to take the test first thing in the morning based on his personality. However, Seo Jun-Ho did not come out of the room even when it was already noon.

"Geon-Woo."

"Yes, Master."

"What is that punk doin’ these days?"

When the Thunder God pointed at the room with his chin, Baek Geon-Woo shook his head.

"I have not seen him in the last few days either. But, I had often run into him at the well every morning...”

"Hmm."

It likely meant Seo Jun-Ho was that immersed in training.

"Well, he’ll come out if I wait."

Half a day passed, and dusk was nigh.

Thud.

The door opened, and Seo Jun-Ho walked out.

“…?”

The Thunder God rubbed his eyes. A crease formed on his forehead as he stared at Seo Jun-Ho as if he wanted to see through the latter with his eyes.

"Hmm? Something seems to have changed. Your hair has grown to your waist in just a few days…”

“…”

Despite Baek Geon-Woo's exclamation, The Thunder God remained silent. Inside, however, he was at a loss for words.

‘This is not why I gave ya time…’

The Thunder God had just asked him to briefly understand the concept, but he came out having completed the entire curriculum.

"I guess he really is a genius."

The Thunder God didn't say it simply in the sense of talent. The Seo Jun-Ho that the Thunder God had seen had been working harder than any other Player. However, Seo Jun-Ho’s achievement still wasn’t something that could be achieved with just genius-level talent and hard work.

'Well, he’s pretty loved.’

One also had to be heaven’s beloved, just like the man walking toward him.

"You should go over there, too."

The Thunder God made even Baek Geon-Woo, who was next to him, move far away. The Seo Jun-Ho, who had fainted like a frog in front of him until just a few days ago, had completely disappeared.

‘Hmm.’

The Thunder God smiled as he looked down at his ever so slightly trembling hand.

‘Oh, my. He’s at such a level?’

It was a feeling he had never felt before. The Thunder God was ‘excited’ as a warrior at the thought of competing with Seo Jun-Ho.