[Dwarf Special Bomb]

Seo Jun-Ho hadn’t planted just one, but as many as thirty bombs. These devilish things made by the hands of dwarfs could shake not just a battle, but the entire battlefield.

"Is it a shame that I didn’t get a chance to use these… Or should I be glad that we didn’t have to use these?”

"Of course, it is the latter. The bombs do not have an expiration date. They can be used later."

The Frost Queen seemed to be proud of Seo Jun-Ho for winning the battle without the help of the bombs.

"By the way, when will we be done filling these up again?"

Sweaty all over, Seo Jun-Ho mumbled while looking at the ruined hill with his chin on the shovel. He managed to dig up the ground somehow and take out the bombs, but now, just thinking of having to fill the holes up again made him tired.

"Hmm?"

At that time, his senses began to pick up on people.

Bustle.

It was none other than the residents of Port Lane who climbed up to Dragon Rock.

"Hello?"

A middle-aged man in the lead spoke pleasantly, "My name is Harveson, the lord of this city."

'… A noble!' 

Seo Jun-Ho quickly straightened his back and assumed good posture.

"I am Player Seo Jun-Ho."

“Player Seo Jun-Ho, Player Seo Jun-Ho...”

Harveson rolled the name around like candy in his mouth before clasping his hands with his head down. It was a movement similar to putting one’s hands together in Buddhism.

"Please forgive me. This is the only thing I know of Earth's etiquette.” Raising his head, Harveson seemed to have a lot to say to Seo Jun-Ho. "It has been more than a decade since Players stopped visiting Port Lane."

"I know..."

It was a fact that Seo Jun-Ho learned while investigating the data on the city. Port Lane was not an attractive hub for the Players.

'Because of the ferocious waterways, they couldn’t even set off a boat easily without an experienced helmsman. Also, it's not like the land route is that developed either. It's an ambiguous city for Players.’

As Lord Harveson had said, it had been a while since Players had visited the city. It was by the sea, but it was far from a vacation spot.

"When I thought it was the end, I had never imagined we would get help from Players."

"Of course, it's something we should help with. Also, I didn't do it on my own."

"Ah."

As if recalling someone, Harveson's mouth formed a soft line reminiscent of a smile.

"The woman who guided us in the shelter was Skaya Killiland, a legendary Hero on Earth. She said she came with Sir Gilberto Green."

After a few experiences, Seo Jun-Ho realized that the name of the 5 Heroes was also well-known in the Ruben Empire.

"Being with the Heroes, you must also be an extraordinary figure."

"I am still lacking, but thank you for thinking so highly of me."

Harveson took a step back and beckoned toward the back. "I brought over residents who wanted to thank you... I've reduced and reduced the numbers, as we were afraid it would be a nuisance, but there are still a hundred of them.”

"A hundred people...”

It was a tremendous amount considering that Port Lane’s population was only a few thousand. At the same time, Seo Jun-Ho thought it was a relief. If thousands of people had come to this hill, he would have had to give up on sleep tonight. The residents approached Seo Jun-Ho and greeted him one by one.

"Thank you for saving me, my wife, and my daughter in the park. I will never forget your kindness."

"Thanks to your comrades, I was able to meet my mother safely."

"No matter where you are and what you do, I will pray for your success, as well as the success of your two other comrades."

The thanks he received from the residents were direct and sincere. Seo Jun-Ho felt emotional after he was showered repeatedly with words of appreciation. Knight Commander Trevor looked at him quietly as Seo Jun-Ho silently shook hands and exchanged greetings with the residents.

‘He's really strong.’

Trevor had seen countless overconfident and unhinged Players. However, Seo Jun-Ho and his comrades were certainly different from those people.

'That is what real strength is…’

Those with real strength would be gentle towards the weak, and show strength towards the strong. Those with real strength would stand up to the strong’s persecution, and they would listen to the sobbing of the weak. Trevor's eyes glistened. It seemed like the dream he had after seeing a strong knight walking through his town as a child was being revived.

‘You still have a long way to go, Trevor.’

He bowed lightly toward Seo Jun-Ho, vowing to devote himself more to the road of knights in the future.

"Please leave the hill alone. We will take care of it."

"Yes? But this is something I did...”

"I'm really ashamed to say this, but the current state of the city is beyond words, and we can't reward you separately. Please allow me to do something like this for you."

At Lord Harveson’s earnest request, Seo Jun-Ho had no choice but to nod bitterly. The work, which would have taken him a full day to do alone, ended in half a day with the dozens of soldiers and knights deployed.

“…”

The Frost Queen watched the scene from beginning to end and smiled faintly.

“I picked a good contractor."

"Hmm? Did you call me?"

"Contractor, are you overly self-conscious? I never called you.”

The Frost Queen shrugged and feigned ignorance.

***

A strange rumor began to spread. The rumor started in Port Lane, but it suddenly expanded to the metropolitan area.

‘Player Seo Jun-Ho is actually an ice elemental skill user.’

‘Along with Skaya Killiland and Gilberto Green, they wiped out a hundred fiends.’

‘The Fiend Association has suffered a lot of damage, so they have their sights set on those three.’

For a rumor, the details were true. Players on Frontier often brought them up with each other in their parties.

"Did you hear that? Seo Jun-Ho’s an ice elemental user."

"Huh? That's nonsense. So he’s been hiding that skill all this time? Just why?"

"Who knows? He could have been testing how far he could go without using his skill… Perhaps, he has just recently obtained that skill?"

"Those who are destined will be successful, while those without fate won’t succeed even if they try… The heavens are indifferent to us. Why give that skill to someone already successful?”

"Do you laze around doing nothing all day? Successful people usually soar through the ceiling, and they have the tendency to keep on doing well."

The jungle-like world of Players had no ceilings or floors.

"What do you think of this rumor?”

The rumor entered the ears of the Big 6 leaders before the regular Players. Silent Moon’s information department head answered Son Chae-Won, the Guildmaster of Silent Moon’s question.

"I think the credibility is very high. Most of all, isn’t it a rumor from the imperial family?"

"Very high…? That's surprising. It has been a long time since you said such words."

When she asked with a slightly surprised look, the head of the information department extended two fingers.

"There are two parts that make me believe the rumor is true. First, the rumor came from the imperial family. Second, the locals in Port Lane admitted it was true."

"Hmm."

Son Chae-Won scanned the report again without saying a word. Honestly, she was already convinced it was true when she saw the report.

"Yeah, looking at the information, it’s definitely true, but... I asked because it seemed too unrealistic.”

"It’s definitely true? What part were you sure of, Master?”

"The Leviathan." Son Chae-Won replied firmly. "East, west, north, south. The monsters protecting the cardinal directions can't be treated recklessly even in the Ruben Empire. They’re even building a symbiotic relationship with the monsters. There are also rumors within the imperial court that the Leviathan gave the information to the imperial family."

"Oh my, really? How come I didn't know?"

“For now, it’ll be difficult for our guild’s information department to access that source. I basically had to empty my wallet to obtain this information.”

The South Sea Blue Snake—Leviathan, also known as the Blue Snake of the South Sea, had been a helper of the Ruben Empire for hundreds of years.

"And an existence like that acknowledged Seo Jun-Ho. It even rated him higher than the Archmage and the Gray Envoy."

"That is quite unexpected… I thought Player Seo Jun-Ho would only gain a small amount of benefits this time."

"That's why I didn't believe it right away. It's just too out of the blue.”

The members of the Big 6— no, none of the veteran Players could ignore Seo Jun-Ho anymore. He had proven that he was not only a sparkling star on Earth, but he was also skillful enough for the Frontier.

"He already proved it with the thunder bear hunt and in the Kobold Hunting Competition."

"So it's three times in total now with Port Lane…?”

"I don’t know about once or twice, but if it’s three times, then it’s real."

"It's four times...”

A heavy, deep voice interrupted the conversation. A man had entered the Guildmaster's office and sat down on the sofa without asking for permission.

"Hey, I told you to knock first, didn't I?"

"You must have already felt my presence anyway."

"Whew."

Son Chae-Won frowned and asked Kim Woo-Joong, her childhood friend and the guild's headhunter.

"…So, what do you mean by four times?"

"In the dwarf case that had been resolved a while ago, Seo Jun-Ho was the Player I asked for help."

"What? No, how... Wait a minute." Son Chae-Won's thoughts spun quickly. She quickly began to retrace the link between Seo Jun-Ho and Kim Woo-Joong.

‘Nothing. There has never been a point of contact between Woo-Joong and Player Seo Jun-Ho.’

This meant there had been a point of contact between them that she had no idea about. She pointed out the most incomprehensible part of Kim Woo-Joong's recent activities.

"Kal Signer?"

“…”

"No way. A guy who wasn’t even at level 30 caught Kal Signer?"

When Kim Woo-Joong grinned at Son Chae-Won, she covered her mouth in shock.

"Of course…"

"He's more amazing than I thought… But why do you like him?"

"Because I was the first to notice it," Kim Woo-Joong said proudly. He was the first in the world… no, second after the Association President Shim Deok-Gu, to notice Seo Jun-Ho's extraordinary talent. "The awl in the pocket is bound to show itself to the world someday.”[1]

"If what you said is true, it's not just an awl. Is he carrying a spear in his pocket or something?”

"Huh." Kim Woo-Joong looked like he understood everything. He had always been called a genius, so he had felt the same way when he had first seen Seo Jun-Ho.

'I couldn't believe it.’

He couldn't believe that a Player on the 1st floor had ended Kal Signer’s life. Kal Signer's level was barely over 100, but he was much stronger than most level 120 fiends. Kal Signer had proven his skills by enduring months of Kim Woo-Joong’s pursuit.

"Then that means this is the real thing...”

"Don't call it this."

"...Since when did we become so close?"

"I decided to drop the honorifics the next time I see you."

Son Chae-Won looked disgusted at the unusual look on her old childhood friend’s face.

"Well, that's fine. That's all for the gossip. Now, I'll explain why I called you." She beckoned the head of the information department, who had been standing like a totem in the corner of the room. "Speak."

"Yes..."

The light atmosphere earlier had flown away like dust, and a serious atmosphere hovered in the office. The head of the information department gulped and spoke, "We have a commission from the imperial family."

"What's the grade?"

"S-Grade."

"What?"

Kim Woo-Joong unknowingly straightened his posture. This was the first time he had seen an S-grade commission.

"If I remember correctly, there has never been an S-grade commission since the 2nd floor opened.”

"That is correct. This is the first time."

"…What’s the content?"

"I will explain." The head of the information department opened the report. "First, the commissioner is the Schumern Saintess. She informed the Church of the Sun about ‘this’ thing that she discovered, and the church understood the seriousness of the situation and immediately reported it to the imperial family."

"Is it a monster?"

"…It is a little complicated."

She walked to one of the office walls and placed her hand on the map attached to it. Her hand continued to rise until it eventually passed by the Wailing Mountains, the northernmost part of the continent.

"Here." The head of the information department’s hand went beyond the Wailing Mountains to an area not even marked on the map. At the same time, Kim Woo-Joong's expression hardened like stone. 

"The S-grade commission from the imperial family: filling the crack that appeared in Blackfield."

1. Idiom for ‘talent is bound to show itself or be discovered.’ ☜