There was an enormous being. It was so big Seo Jun-Ho had to crane his neck all the way back to take in its full form. It was made up of fire and was continuously burning.
“...Come closer, one who has destroyed the Hellfire.”
The dignified voice came from afar. Seo Jun-Ho unwittingly stepped forward, looking confused.
‘I’m shaking? Me?’
He was a Player who had overcome countless hardships and adversities and fought against countless monsters and Players who were unimaginably strong. However, he could swear that this was the first time his body was shaking so uncontrollably.
“Do not be so shocked. Your soul is simply afraid because you have encountered someone of such high status,” the giant said warmly.
Seo Jun-Ho approached him, relieved. “...Are you the 3rd floor Administrator?”
“Administrator, you say. Indeed, that is one of my responsibilities.” The giant nodded and formally introduced himself. “I am the Spirit King Ignis, the one who shepherds all the flames in every world and every dimension.”
“Spirit King...?” Seo Jun-Ho started to tremble violently.
‘That’s...’
It was a being he had heard of only in books. There was no guarantee that the Frost Queen would ever become an Arch Spirit, but the Spirit King surpassed even that and was something of a god to the spirits.
“I apologize for not recognizing you,” he said.
“Pay no mind. Similarly, I would not be able to differentiate human kings,” Ignis said, understanding. “I called you here today to express my thanks.”
“Thanks...Are you talking about the way I put out the Hellfire?”
“Indeed. What you have accomplished today is no small feat.” Ignis’s voice grew warmer. “This is the first time a Player has purified a world polluted with demons.”
“Polluted with demons?” It was something Seo Jun-Ho had never even considered. He stared blankly.
Ignis let out a low groan “Yes. The Hellfire. It was an error of sorts.”
“If it was an error, can’t you just fix it?”
“If only I could. They are formidable and with many cunning tricks.”
“...I see. Did the demons come in through cracks that an Administrator can’t touch?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.
“Oh?” The flames on Ignis’s body flapped energetically, showing that he was very pleased. “Your astute nature makes you easy to talk to, human. You are correct. The accursed demons are always finding cracks in the System and creating errors in it. For example...”
“Fiends.”
“Oh!” His flames fluttered again.
The Frost Queen felt somewhat proud as she watched from the sidelines. “I do not know about other things, but our Contractor is indeed astute.”
Seo Jun-Ho didn’t know when she started to call him ‘our’ Contractor.
“As you said, fiends and demons are one type of error in the Floors,” said Ignis.
“To be honest, I have always wondered about how fiends were created,” Seo Jun-Ho said. Demons had never appeared in front of humans. They had never even appeared in Gates on Earth. However, the fiends existed because they had encountered demons and drank their blood.
‘...I’ve always wondered about this contradiction. I couldn’t find anything even with Confession of the Dead.’
Most fiends and Squadron Leaders became fiends by drinking demon blood provided by the Fiend Association.
“As you suggested, they are skilled in slipping through the cracks in the System. Each demon clan has a different method of creating new descendants, so I cannot explain all of them. However, I would say the most universal method would be sneaking into Gates and distributing their blood,” Ignis said.
Seo Jun-Ho had entered hundreds, thousands of Gates, but he had never encountered a demon before.
‘I suppose it is no small risk for even the demons to trespass into a Gate.’
That would mean they only appeared before those who were hopeless so they would be guaranteed to become the demon’s descendant.
“Can’t you just kill all the demons?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.
“...Overseeing a world is not such a simple task. Massive amounts of information are coming and going at all times, so it is very difficult to track down the demons who are in hiding.”
“So, they’re like cockroaches...”
“A fine comparison. Similarly, once we catch wind of them and turn on the lights, they would have already concealed themselves,” Ignis said, sinking in his chair. “Nevertheless, now that you have purified the Hellfire, Players will now be able to advance to the Balbortan area.”
“What a relief...”
“Considering the size of your contribution, I believe I should be able to grant you a small favor.”
Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes started to sparkle. He wouldn’t turn down an offer of help from the Spirit King.
“...Then, I have something to ask of you.”
“As long as it is reasonable, I will happily... Wait, why are you taking off your armor?” Ignis asked, surprised.
Seo Jun-Ho laughed awkwardly. “Please burn me.”
***
“...”
Ignis’s fiery figure looked down at the human before him. For a while, he was lost in flames and his thoughts.
‘It is the first time I have encountered such a human.’
He knew that Seo Jun-Ho was a unique Player, but he didn’t know it was to this extent. After all, he even dared to ask the Spirit King to burn him.
If Ignis released a serious amount of power, Seo Jun-Ho would disappear into ash, unable to even scream.
‘But... In the end, he received a great reward.’
Ignis was friendly to Seo Jun-Ho, and the Player knew that.
As such, this was the result...
[Fire Resistance has increased to high-level.]
[Fire Resistance has increased to the highest-level.]
[You have received a new skill: Fire Immunity (S).]
Fwoosh.
The flames receded from Seo Jun-Ho’s body, and he started to grab his clothes. His scorched skin and burnt hair quickly regenerated.
[Fire Immunity]
Grade: S
Effect: You have full immunity to fire.
“Nice.”
Thanks to the Spirit King’s special treatment, he even received the Fire Immunity skill. And it was even S-grade. Because it was a skill rather than a mere cellular resistance, the effects were far greater and more impressive.
‘I already have Cold Tolerance and Thunder Resistance. Is this my third resistance-type skill? It took me longer to get it than I thought.’
In comparison, Cold Tolerance seemed pathetic. When he first received it at the Winter Castle Gate, it had merely been C-grade. He finally understood why it took so much longer for him to receive resistant-type skills for thunder and fire.
‘It’s possible for humans to tolerate the cold, but they have absolutely no resistance to thunder or fire.’
This was his favorite reward from the ones he had received after coming to the 3rd floor, as it was a skill he didn’t even expect to receive.
“With that skill, you should be able to meander around the Balbortan Area quite easily,” Ignis said.
“Probably. Most of the monsters on the 3rd floor use fire, too.”
“S-grade Fire Immunity is indeed a great skill, but do not rely on it too much,” Ignis advised.
“Of course.” Seo Jun-Ho nodded. Ignis could even burn him to death right here and now if he wanted to, regardless of Seo Jun-Ho’s S-grade Fire Immunity skill and his highest-level cellular Fire Resistance.
“...In particular, be careful of the demons who created the Hellfire. Their flames are dangerous,” Ignis warned.
“Do you think I’ll ever run into them?”
“You will. As long as you keep advancing through the floors, you will. And—” Ignis paused. Seo Jun-Ho had snuffed out the Hellfire. The demons would probably be hellbent on taking revenge. “Become stronger. There is nothing more I can tell you right now.”
“I will heed your words.”
With that, Ignis glanced at the Frost Queen. “And you...”
The fire giant had a faint smile on his face as he waved his hand. “I will happily be watching over you two.”
With that, the scenery around them changed.
***
pαпᵈα-noνɐ1·сoМ It felt like waking up from a dream.
“...That wasn’t actually a dream, was it?” Seo Jun-Ho checked his skills and let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. It wasn’t a dream.”
Then, a message popped up, confirming that this was indeed reality, not a dream.
[You have received Title ‘Demons’ Foe’]
And even a new title?
Seo Jun-Ho checked the information, feeling uneasy.
[Demons’ Foe]
Grade: C
Description: A Title given to the first Player who destroys a demon’s curse.
Effect: Demon’s Bane
“Huh?”
However, the effect of the title was very vague. This was the first time he couldn’t understand the effects of a title or a skill.
As he pondered, the Frost Queen suddenly exclaimed.
“Wow! Contractor! The temperature has certainly gone down.”
“...Really?”
Now that she mentioned it, it did feel like that. Seo Jun-Ho scrolled through the articles that were popping up in Community.
[The average temperature of 3rd floor Balbortan has gone down to 35°C. What happened?!]
[Shin Sung-Hyun of Goblin remarks, “We must keep watch for a few days, but it is now possible to go around Balbortan with no fire-resistant gear.]
[Can we finally climb the floors in earnest? Players are preparing to go up on a great scale.]
...
The articles were uploaded between two days and a few minutes ago.
“It’s already been two days? I had no idea. I guess I was too distracted by the heat,” Seo Jun-Ho remarked. But thanks to that, he now had another resistance-type skill and even a new title effect. He was very pleased. “Since we’re done here, let’s start heading down.”
He would come back here soon enough. Seo Jun-Ho rode a Dimensional Elevator and soon arrived on the 2nd floor. The first thing he did was contact his friends.
[Sonny: I’m going to catch some fiends. Raise your hand if you want to come.]
He immediately received a response.
[Skaya: I can’t go because I have an exam at the Magic Tower this week. Rahmadat’s gone to a Dungeon.]
[Arthur’s Dad: I have time. The kids’ training period is over.]
Unfortunately, it seemed Skaya and Rahmadat were busy.
[Sonny: I’ll go to you, then.]
Gilberto told him that the Watchguards were done with their training and that they had gone up to the 3rd floor. Thanks to that, Gilberto had nothing else to do. Seo Jun-Ho headed to the Wailing Mountains to meet him.
‘Maybe I should meet up with the old man on the way.’
He remembered his promise to bring him alcohol sometime, so he sent the Thunder God a message. However, despite waiting for a long time, there was no reply.
“Oh, now that I think about it...”
He recalled the Thunder God’s personality and typed on the hologram keyboard once more.
***
“Excuse me, Master,” Baek Geon-Woo called as he read the message. He was cleaning up his simple breakfast.
“Why’re ya callin’ me.”
“Do you check your Community messages?”
“Ah, the texting thing? D’ya think I would?” The Thunder God chuckled and shook his head. Baek Geon-Woo looked like he expected as much.
“Jun-Ho contacted me. He said he said hello, but you didn’t reply.”
“Huh? Jun-Ho?” He quietly sat up and opened his Community window. “Ahem... hm... How do I do this?”
“Shall I help you?”
“Go ahead.”
With his permission, Baek Geon-Woo opened his message inbox. He started to sweat profusely.
‘The Six Masters, High Rankers, presidents and prime ministers from different countries, and even famous CEOs...’
Their messages had piled up like a mountain. Needless to say, the Thunder God hadn’t read a single one of them. Baek Geon-Woo felt a newfound sense of awe at how great of a Player his master was. He quickly found Seo Jun-Ho’s message and opened it.
“Here it is.”
“Ahem.” After he read the message, the Thunder God let out a light laugh. “He said he’s bringin’ some booze... Tell him to get some traditional liquor.”
“Understood. When should I tell him to come?”
“Hm, in two months?”
“...Come on, why are you telling him to come so late?”
The Thunder God chuckled as he stood. “In two months’ time, I won’t have anything left to teach ya. Don’tcha think that would be a good time to share a drink?”
Two months...
Baek Geon-Woo stared blankly at his master and nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes, Master!”
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