The Frozen Player Returns

Vice Master of the Goblin Guild, felt worries echoing from the same sounds he heard every day.

“Do you have any concerns?”

“…”

Shin Sung-Hyun stopped taking notes and shook his head.
“Did I get caught?”

“It's the approval documents that we receive together, and first of all, I’m also a Player.”

With a light sigh, Shin Sung-Hyun pressed his finger against his nose.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a worry.”

’

“Still, try letting it out.
You don't know if my balding head might be of help.”

Shin Sung-Hyun smirked at Jang Kyung-Hoon's self-burn.
It would have sounded like an insult if it had come from someone else, but it seemed like a joke when Jang Kyung-Hoon said it.

“It sounds like deceit when someone who graduated at the top of their class from Yale at 15 years old says it.”

“But even then, I'm playing on the master's palm.”

Shin Sung-Hyun felt refreshed thanks to his good comrade and spoke, “I was thinking about the Archmage.”

“Oh! She was a great woman.
She was, say, greater than what was written in the textbook.
In many ways.”

“Did it look like that to you?”

“Yes, I thought she would be calm, but she was more energetic than I thought…
To be honest, she seemed to be at a higher level than me.”

“You saw well,” Shin Sung-Hyun nodded.
“If I had to compare, I’d say she is at the same level as Ju-Ha.
If they were in a life or death situation against each other… the Archmage would probably prevail.”

“Huh, I thought the Archmage would be strong, but I didn't know she would be that strong.”

Jang Kyung-Hoon’s mouth opened wide in surprise.
Wasn't Skaya Killiland a person of the past? In reality, only two of the five Heroes had returned, but there had always been noise in newspapers and magazines dealing with gossip.

“They made a fuss about her being a relic of the past, but… as expected, class is eternal,” said Jang Kyung-Hoon.

A person from twenty-six years ago was stronger than Gong Ju-Ha, a High Ranker, despite having just woken up from a long sleep.
Jang Kyung-Hoon was at a loss as to whether he should be happy or sad about this.

“Although I have only seen the Archmage for a moment, it did not seem like she would be joining any guild.”

The Big 6 had always been rivals to each other.
They had always wanted to take the lead over the other Guilds so they worked hard every day for this purpose.
Naturally, they would react sensitively to the possibility of an archmage joining one of the Big 6.
But as far as they could see, she wasn't the kind of person that would go under anyone.

“Isn't it a good thing?” asked Jang Kyung-Hoon.

The Big 6 coexisted while having a competitive relationship at the same time.
This was because they had one common enemy.

“We have more power to deal with the fiends now.”

If the Big 6 hardened their hearts and started a war even though they were at a disadvantage, they would have been called the Big 3 right now instead of the Big 6.
The fight between whales would have destroyed the small and medium-sized shrimp-like Guilds.
However, the Big 6 refrained from doing such a thing.
Rather, they instilled hope in the latecomers, in the underdogs.
It was a vain hope that with a little more effort, they would be able to follow in the Big 6’s footsteps.
In particular, Shin Sung-Hyun of the Goblin Guild was paying keen attention and investing in the growth of rookies.
It was no coincidence that he attempted to contact Seo Jun-Ho before any other Guild in the world.

“Skaya Killiland is a strong Player.
No one will deny this fact,” Shin Sung-Hyun remarked.

The Archmage was strong.
She was definitely strong.
She was strong enough to be considered a High Ranker right now.

“But she is a magician and a very famous one at that.” Shin Sung-Hyun added.

This was her problem.
A magician always created unexpected variables to neutralize their opponent.
However, Skaya Killiland's magic was already being used by all magicians like textbooks.

“At this rate, she will only be good prey for the fiends.”

The wall Shin Sung-Hyung felt when he met the Demon King, the tightening of the blood vessels in his heart, the dry bitterness rising up to his neck—he didn’t feel any of that in her.

’

“Of course, in the past… 26 years ago, she was definitely a person worthy of being labeled as an ‘absolute being.’”

Still, if she was given a year or two more to adjust to the modern times, Skaya would inevitably become even stronger.
She would become strong enough to threaten one of the Nine Heavens.

“To do that, she has to stay alive first.”

So, he issued a warning in a rather fierce way.
The tall pride of the Archmage may have been hurt, but she would have understood what he had meant, as she was a smart person.

'…I'm not sure if she understood me well considering that she was quite angry, but…’

With a self-deprecating smile, Shin Sung-Hyun asked Jang Kyung-Hoon, “By the way, did you tell Ju-Ha to invite Seo Jun-Ho sometime?”

“Yes, she seemed to like it.
I don't think she has told him about it yet.
Since we have plenty of time before our next raid, it seems like she is looking for the right time to bring it up.”

“There's no need to rush.”

Seo Jun-Ho had recently become one of the figures garnering Shin Sung-Hyun's interest.
But a few days ago, another figure similar to Seo Jun-Ho popped up.

“How's the location tracking coming along?”

“Are you talking about Newbie 76?”

“Yes.”

Newbie 76 was a hot newbie who had turned the matching system upside down.
He was also a terrifying monster who defeated Gong Ju-Ha.

‘I didn't expect such a monster to exist.’

People praised the information network of the Big 6 for having reached the sky but considering this situation, they still had a long way to go.
There were too many beings who had fallen through the gaps in their information network like grains of sand.
Shin Sung-Hyun was not happy about it, of course.

“Let's invest a little bit more in the Information Department and Future Strategy Office.”

“What? But I reorganized and delivered the new budget just four months ago…”

“It's still not enough.”

Shin Sung-Hyun thought that these were turbulent times.

‘Seo Jun-Ho, Newbie 76…
People like them are appearing one by one to shake up this stagnant situation.’

On top of that, there was also the return of the 5 Heroes.
Thinking about what would happen in the future, Shin Sung-Hyun knew he had to prepare as soon as possible.

“It's going to be fun.”

Ssk, ssk!

The sound of the fountain pen flourishing a signature on a document sounded excited.