Seo Jun-ho rubbed his eyes. But the message in front of him didn’t disappear. 

In my 25… no, is it my 50 years of life? I’ve never seen anything like this before. 

The Frost skill really was all-powerful in all aspects. 

I can even absorb the Magic stat.

It really was the perfect skill. Not even Watchguard of Darkness could let him do anything like this. 

No. It’s too early to draw conclusions. 

If the Frost skill could absorb Yin energy from a rare disease like this… It was possible that Watchguard of Darkness could absorb something with a ‘Darkness’ element.

Something with a Darkness element… I’ve never seen anything with it, but I’ll have to do some research. 

This situation wasn’t bad. Actually, it had turned out for the better.

If it’s gonna raise my Magic stat, I’m definitely gonna absorb it. 

And if it worked, he would be able to save the Cinder Fox’s core for another time. 

Seo Jun-ho slowly closed his eyes and grabbed Choi Sun-hee’s wrist. He concentrated all of his attention into his hands. 

Shwaaaa.

All of the magic in her body pooled into her wrists. 

First, let me take a look at her magic circulation. 

He pictured the magic circuits in her head like a drawing. It was much more crowded than an average person’s. The Yin energy had frozen into icicles. 

I should do this with one push. If he prolonged the treatment, it would be hard on the patient. 

Crackle!

Seo Jun-ho’s magic pierced through Choi Sun-hee’s circuits. The icicles cracked and shattered into fragments from the collision of magic. But it wasn’t over yet.

It… looks like a snowball. Like a snowball being pushed around in a field, the shards gathered around his magic energy until it started to enlarge. Seo Jun-ho switched his attention over and checked on the patient. 

“…Oh?” His face became curious. 

This is beyond my expectations.

In the past, he’d used the Cinder Fox’s core to cure Nine Yin Severance Syndrome, using its Yang energy to melt down the frozen magic circuits. 

It wasn’t good for the patient. The two extremes would clash, and he had to work to cancel them out. They were like little explosions within the patient’s body. It was unimaginably painful, both mentally and physically. 

But now, it was the opposite. 

Choi Sun-hee let out a slight groan, breathing evenly with a peaceful look on her face. 

I’m relieved. 

After making sure she was ok, he no longer felt nervous. Seo Jun-ho grabbed her wrist with both hands, using both of them to absorb the Yin energy. It was faster than using just one. 

“……”

Of course, it also helped him concentrate. Magic circuits required care and focus. If he made the slightest mistake, he wouldn’t know how it would affect her. So he went slowly, keeping his focus as if he were crossing a rope bridge. 

Drip. 

A drop of sweat fell from the bridge of his nose onto the bed sheet, and Seo Jun-ho let out a long sigh. It was finally over. 

“Phew… I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this again.” When he glanced at the clock, he found that four hours had passed since he started. 

Using the core only took about two hours and ten minutes last time… 

Perhaps it was because the method was different, but it had taken nearly twice that time. But the successful results made him proud. 

“She probably won’t have any side effects either.” He’d absorbed all the Yin energy that had spread throughout Choi Sun-hee’s body. It was good for her, but it was even better for him.

Finally, his Magic stat had gone up. 

“Status window.”

[Seo Jun-ho]

Level: 13

Title: The One Who Opens Spring

Strength: 46 Stamina: 44

Speed: 50 Magic: 51

As he took in his stats, Seo Jun-ho’s lips curled. 

“Hehe…” He laughed like a senile old man. There was no helping it. Even compared to his peak, his stats were crazy good. 

People tend to deviate slightly from the average stats of their level… But he was sure. My stats are similar to someone around level 35. 

In other words, there was no one at his level who could compare to him. On top of that, his Magic stat had finally passed 50. 

Now I can use Watchguard of Darkness properly. The skill required a crazy amount of magic. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to use it as he’d had at his peak, but he’d at least be able to use it at the level it was when he’d first started out as Specter. 

As he opened the door and left the room, Choi Pil-ho stood up from his seat right outside. 

“Th-the treatment…” Hearing the trembling in his voice, Seo Jun-ho gave him a bright smile. 

“It went well. The disease is cured, and there won’t be any side effects either.”

“…Urk.” 

There was nothing else he needed to say. President Choi Pil-ho couldn’t form the words. He simply gripped Seo Jun-ho’s hands as his tears fell. 

The gratitude spilled from his touch, hitting him like a wave. 

“Please, go in.”

“Really… I’m really thank… Sniff…”

Crying like a child, Choi Pil-ho asked him to wait as he stepped inside. 

* * *

Choi Pil-ho’s estate. 

Seo Jun-ho sat on the sofa opposite the President. 

“Really, truly, thank you,” he said once again. His complexion was much brighter after checking on Choi Sun-hee. 

“I just did what I had to.”

“No. Technically speaking, you were only contracted to bring me the core. You could have demanded me to write up a separate contract and reward for the treatment itself.”

It was true. But Seo Jun-ho hated the dirty feeling of making money with others’ lives on the line. 

“I’ve been thinking a lot in this short span of time about how I could possibly repay you.” Choi Pil-ho looked up at him with warm, grateful eyes. Seo Jun-ho glanced away, feeling pressured by his gaze. 

“At first, I considered giving you more money… But I remembered that when we first made the contract, you didn’t seem like the type of person who’d want that.”

“I feel like my finances are stable enough.” Seo Jun-ho already enjoyed luxuries that money both could and couldn’t buy. For him, money was something that was nice to have and something he could always earn if he didn’t. 

“So I’ve decided. One time.” Choi Pil-ho raised an index finger. 

“One… time?”

“If you ever need our help, the Myungho Group will do everything in our power to assist you that one time.”

Only once. 

It seemed cheap. But Seo Jun-ho tried to imagine what he could do with their power. 

…No, it would be quicker if I considered the opposite. 

Rather than what they could do, it was faster to list what they couldn’t. The Myungho Group was Korea’s number 1 company. 

They also had one particular weapon in a specific field. A guild. 

The Scarlet Tower. 

The guild whose leader was Choi Pil-ho’s eldest son. 

People called it a nation of players, ranking as the top 5 guild in Korea. 

I’ll be able to call them up as reinforcements when I really need them. Overwhelmed by the thoughts of his reward, Seo Jun-ho bowed his head lightly. 

“I’ll make sure to use it carefully so as to not harm the Myungho Group’s reputation.”

“Hahaha, just give me the word. You’re our family’s savior.” Choi Pil-ho gave a generous look. “Then, how about we have a meal together? We missed it last time.”

“Of course.”

“Your secretary should come too.” Seo Jun-ho was hungry and didn’t refuse. 

It was the best meal he’d had after being freed from the ice. 

* * *

Cha Si-eun wouldn’t stop repeating herself after they returned to the Association. 

“The doctor said you should rest… At least four days… Don’t do any strenuous exercises… Understand?”

“I said I got it. But Secretary Cha should go home early today too. You’ve worked hard since early in the morning.”

“…Really?”

“Of course.” As he nodded, her face brightened a bit. 

“Th-then… I’ll go home early and spend some time reading.”

“You like to read?”

“The old scholars would say that books hold the secrets of the world.” To think that she would voluntarily spend her free time studying; she really was a model student. Deok-gu kept praising her as an elite, after all. 

“Then, I hope you enjoy reading.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow. And I’ll just say this one more time…”

“I’ll rest for at least four days and not do any strenuous exercises.”

“Wow, you’ve memorized it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Seo Jun-ho watched her leave blankly with a satisfied look on his face. 

“…Why does everyone nag me so much?” Were the people around him just like that? Or was he himself the problem? He shook his head as he went up to the Association’s executive office. 

“Oh!” Deok-gu exclaimed as he saw him. He grinned as he patted Seo Jun-ho’s shoulder. “I just got off a call with Choi Pil-ho. I heard she made a full recovery. He was really happy.”

“He wouldn’t stop smiling.”

“That’s great. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m fine. My muscles are just a bit sore.”

“…Did they give you an elixir or something?”

“That’s what I thought, but they said they didn’t.”

“Your body’s amazing.” The two sat down on the sofa as they talked. “The press is a mess right now. They’re calling every few seconds, asking when you’ll be free to give interviews.”

“Interviews…? Tsk, that’s annoying. I held a press conference not long ago.”

“That was for Leuf’s Garden, but this time, you defeated the Cinder Fox. Aren’t you starting to realize how great your feats are?”

“It’s so annoying…” When Shim Deok-gu saw how serious he was about it, he spoke with a wave of his hand. 

“Then just ditch it. Just do what you did in the past.”

“In the past?”

“Unless it’s really important, don’t do interviews at all… You know, the ‘mysterious’ concept.”

Seo Jun-ho considered this, then nodded. 

“I won’t go all the way, but I’ll pass this time. They’d probably ask really basic, simple questions, and I don’t want to waste my precious time.”

“Alright. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks. Oh, and…” Seo Jun-ho took out the Cinder Fox’s core from his inventory. The temperature in the room suddenly shot up, and Shim Deok-gu frowned as he loosened his tie. 

“Hey, it’s hot. What is that?”

“The Cinder Fox’s core.”

“……”

Shim Deok-gu looked between Seo Jun-ho and the core with a confused look. 

“What? It gave you two?”

“Hey, the core isn’t a ramen soup packet. It only gave me one.”

(TN: He’s saying that the core doesn’t drop by accident. It sounds funnier in Korean lol)

“What? But Choi Pil-ho’s daughter made a full recovery…”

“I didn’t use the core for that.”

Crackle. 

As he activated the Frost skill, the temperature went down again. Shim Deok-gu looked happy as he tightened his necktie again. 

“Ah, that’s nice. You’re lucky. You can save money on your electricity bills during the summer.”

“Pfft. Anyways, I cured Choi Sun-hee with the Frost skill. I absorbed all the Yin energy from the disease.” Shim Deok-gu tilted his head. 

“…Is that possible?”

“Yeah, it worked. It even raised my Magic stat.”

“Damn, you really can use that skill for anything.”

Shim Deok-gu looked momentarily bored, but his eyes flashed as he realized something.

“Hold on. Does that mean you can absorb items with Yin energy?”

Smart dude. 

Seo Jun-ho grinned. He’d been thinking the same thing. “Why else would I mention it?”

“Aha. You want me to find those items for you.” He snorted as if annoyed, but he didn’t look mad. 

“Thanks. There’s a problem, though. The disease’s energy level was only Intermediate, and it only raised my Magic by five.”

“Hm. Nine Yin Severance Syndrome is so potent that modern medicine can’t even touch it… but it’s only Intermediate-level? That means most items won’t even trigger the message.”

“There’s one more thing.” Shim Deok-gu raised his hands, surrendering to Seo Jun-ho’s continuous demands.

“Ah, yes, yes~ Your wish is my command, Seo Jun-ho-nim.”

“I want to know if Watchguard of Darkness is able to absorb things too.”

“…Of course. It would be good to know.”

Skills with specific elements were rare. And Seo Jun-ho was the only player who had elemental skills that were S- and EX-rank. That meant he had no other choice but to do the research himself. 

Shim Deok-gu considered this for a moment before nodding. 

“Alright. I’ll look for items you can use while you go look in the Market.” Of course, he wasn’t talking about the neighborhood supermarket. 

He was talking about the global Player Market.