Chapter 99. Frontier (1)
“Firebird is recruiting Players with C-rank elemental skills or higher!”
“Is the 2nd floor intimidating and confusing? Then join Winner!”
“If you join Twilight right now, we’ll give you a Rare-grade item when you reach level 50!”
When you took a Dimensional Elevator to Frontier, you would arrive in Starting Square where there were dozens of Guild scouts trying to bait the newcomers into joining them. Of course, there were no scouts from famous Guilds or the Big 6 here. Most of the Guilds here were small, or Guilds that had just been formed.
One such Guild was Big Family, which had been founded 7 years ago. Every day, they sent scouts to Starting Square.
“Wow… It looks like more people came up than usual.”
“Sunbae, isn’t it amazing? So many newbies come up every day.”
“Nah. Tens of thousands of people register as Players every year.”
Among them, less than 0.01% would blow up on the news and become famous. Most Players ended up going around to lesser-known Gates to raise their levels. Just as the many people headed to uncharted territories chasing the American Dream in the past, they were now chasing after the Frontier Dream.
“You can only succeed if you have the skills… Players these days aren’t as good as in the past.”
“Why do you think so?”
“I suppose they don’t have enough role models nowadays. Think about it. When Players like Kim Woo-Joong and Shin Sung-Hyun were on the rise, they inspired others. For a few years, the Players’ skills increased a lot.”
“Ah. Do you think someone like them will appear again?”
“Of course. It’s a continuous cycle. Even now…” He suddenly stopped as he looked across the crowd of people.
“Sunbae, is something wrong?”
He pointed a trembling finger in reply. “Look, that person…Isn’t that Seo Jun-Ho?”
“Seo Jun-Ho?” The hubae turned to follow his finger. Standing there was a plain-looking man who was looking around in awe.
“Who is he? He looks pretty shabby.”
“What? You don’t know Seo Jun-Ho?”
“I don’t. Should I?” His sunbae slapped the back of his head.
“You bastard, I told you to read the news from the 1st floor when you have time!”
“W-why are you so mad? Who in the world is he?”
The sunbae looked as if he thought that the way his hubae was rubbing his aching head was pathetic. “He’s the person that made Korea into a Special Safe Zone. He conquered four Uncleared Gates, killed the Cinder Fox by himself, and ranked number 1 in the Cave of Trials. He had just cleared the Winter Castle on his own too, which had been one of the three remaining Uncleared Gates in the world.”
“Wow…Is he even human?”
“He’s a monster. They call him the Super Rookie on Earth.”
“Wow…” They looked at him with new eyes, as if he was a celebrity only seen on TV.
“It would be awesome if we could recruit him to our Guild.”
“Huh? He still hasn’t joined a Guild with all those achievements?”
“He’s part of the Korean Player Association. But since they don’t have much influence on the 2nd floor, he’s probably looking for a Guild to join. Now, what do you think would happen if we politely approached him first?”
“…He would be touched. You’re a genius!”
“Hehe, I’m your sunbae, after all. But the problem is…” He scanned the area, seeing the other Guilds’ scouts. As expected, they had also noticed Seo Jun-Ho and were salivating at the thought of having him in their Guild. “There’s too much competition. Well, there’s no way he wouldn’t stand out.”
He clicked his tongue and looked at Seo Jun-Ho like he was a toy that he couldn’t have. “The rumors say that his charisma makes him untouchable…”
“Who, that guy?” The hubae looked unconvinced.
Currently, Seo Jun-Ho had his arms spread as he took deep breaths. “Hmmm, ahhhh… Wow! Frontier’s great! The air is filled with magic.” He took in big breaths while grinning like an idiot.
“Is he really that amazing? He looks kind of scruffy,” the hubae asked again.
“Erm, well, what matters is what’s inside. You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
“Then let’s just go up to him…”
He swallowed and nodded at his hubae’s bold suggestion. “A-alright. We should get to him before the others…”
“Could you move, please?” They turned around at the voice.
“Hey, the street’s big so just…” The sunbae frowned, but then he froze when he saw the woman’s red hair. It danced fiercely in the wind as if it had caught fire.
“Why are two big guys like you blocking the way? Do you want to get in trouble?”
“I-I’m sorry! I promise to go on a diet!” The two Big Family scouts quickly moved aside. The girl walked by, not paying them any more attention.
“Oh, right.” She stopped and turned to glare at them. “Mr. Snake Head is mine. I was the first one to call dibs.”
“Excuse…me?”
“I’ll be the one taking him.”
“O-oh…”
They weren’t sure what she meant, but the two men nodded eagerly. They wanted to live, after all.
***
“Oh, Captain Gong!” Seo Jun-Ho waved. Her red hair made her stick out like a sore thumb.
She grinned as she skipped over. “Man, what a waste. If you were two days late, I would’ve won.”
“Sorry, but I hate losing.”
“Will you look at that? Looks like they didn’t teach you properly back on Earth.” She cleared her throat with a cute sound, but her eyes narrowed as she started to glare at him. “You have already broken two rules—be careful around nobles, be careful around Players.”
“Huh?” He looked surprised. “You’re a noble?”
“Well~ It’s nothing much. I’m just a baronet. I don’t even have a territory yet.” Despite what she said, she crossed her arms with a smug expression. Seo Jun-Ho suddenly felt pressured to compliment her.
“You’re amazing.”
“Nah, as I said, it’s nothing big,” she said, waving her hand as she smiled. “Follow me. I’ll show you around.”
She walked to a nearby cafe, but it was empty. “Only nobles and their companions can come in here. It’s a good place to talk.”
“So I wouldn’t be able to come in here without you?” Seo Jun-Ho took a sip of the coffee that was placed before him. “…Isn’t this just an Americano?”
“It has been 25 years. Earth food isn’t uncommon in the Empire.”
“That’s cool.”
“Hehe. So, what do you think?”
He looked out beyond the terrace. “It’s so new. It feels completely different from Earth.”
“Doesn’t it feel like you’ve fallen into a fantasy world? It’ll probably take you some time to get used to this place.” She poured four spoonfuls of syrup into her ice coffee and stirred it. “Mr. Snake Head, have you ever thought about what would’ve happened if we couldn’t close the Gates 30 years ago? If we couldn’t defeat all the monsters?”
“…I dunno. I don’t think that it would have been very pleasant.”
He had already lived in such a world before. Dozens of Gates opened, and hundreds of monsters had come pouring out. Cities had burned, buildings had crumbled, and the sounds of screams had filled the air. If the whole world had continued to endure such a calamity for a long time, then the human race might have been driven into extinction by now.
“It’s terrible just to think about, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But why did you ask me that?”
“That’s exactly what’s happening here in Frontier.”
“…!”
She took a large swig of her iced coffee as Seo Jun-Ho waited for her explanation.
“Thousands of years ago, this place was filled with Gates. But they couldn’t fight off the monsters, and human civilization was destroyed.”
“It seems quite peaceful now, though.”
“Because it had been a long time. Frontier doesn’t have a single Gate anymore, but the monsters from the past had survived and bred; their descendants are still alive and in hiding.”
“That’s unexpected…” He looked out into the city once more. It was strange to think that this peaceful place had once been a place of ruin.
“So you know how Players on Earth get rewards by clearing Gates?”
“Of course…”
“It’s not much different here. You hunt monsters in the field and explore dungeons…But we have something called Quests.”
“Quests? Like, game quests?”
“Exactly. If you take requests from people and fulfill them, you’ll receive EXP and rewards.”
“I see…
“It’s the same thing, really. You just need to hunt monsters and clear Quests to level up.”
“I assume that Quests from people of higher status give better rewards?”
“Precisely. That’s why everyone’s trying to build relations with the aristocracy.” After that, she started to list off miscellaneous advice.
“Fuwaa…” Gong Ju-Ha finished her coffee. Afterward, she seemed a little nervous as she spoke softly. “So, Mr. Snake Head…About the favor that I asked you…”
Seo Jun-Ho nodded and reached into his inventory, pulling out the book that he had signed. Gong Ju-Ha’s eyes sparkled as she took it into her hands.
“Ahh! Thank you! He even drew hearts?! I love him so much! I’ll treasure this for the rest of my life. Seriously, I’m gonna make this my family heirloom.”
“…I’m glad that you like it so much.” He had been so embarrassed while signing it, but it became clear that his embarrassment had been worth it when he saw her reaction.
“Oh, right.” Gong Ju-Ha quickly reached into her inventory, pulling out something that looked like a letter. “This is your letter. It’s your prize for winning the bet.”
“…This isn’t a card or something, is it?”
“Hey, what do you take me for?”
“Then is it a coupon or…”
“I’m telling you, it’s not!” Her face turned red.
The envelope was fancy, and when he flipped it over, there was a firework pattern.
“So, what is this?”
“A letter of introduction.”
“…A letter of introduction?”
“Yup. It’ll let you dine with Viscount Hosen in Maliva.”
“A meal with the Viscount?” The letter suddenly felt heavy in his hand. If what she said was true, then this was something that most Players couldn’t buy with money.
“It’s not something huge. As I said, it’s just one meal with him.” She smiled. “Well…If Viscount Hosen ends up liking you, you might get a Quest from him.”
“So you’re just setting the stage for me…”
“You’ll have to prove yourself on your own. You’re not even a member of our Guild.”
“This is more than enough. It’s a much better present than I had expected.” He previously thought that he would receive a Rare item or something. He knew from the Las Vegas auction that her pockets were deep, but he didn’t know that they were this deep.
‘There are many Players who will never get a chance like this.’
He was lucky to receive such a huge opportunity as soon as he arrived in Frontier.
“It doesn’t have an expiration date or anything, right?”
“It’s a letter, not a carton of milk. You can go there whenever you want.” She chewed on a piece of ice as she continued. “So, what will you do now? I’m planning to go and finish a Quest.”
“I’ll be raising my level. I’m thinking about going to a place called Dustang if I have time. I know someone there.”
Gong Ju-Ha crunched hard on a piece of ice in surprise. She stared at him. “Dustang? Did I hear that right?”
