The floor, walls, and ceiling were all painted gray. It was a bleak expanse.

“Contractor, I believe that the Cave of Trials is a place that disciplines your spirit.”

“…No, it’s not usually like this,” Seo Jun-ho muttered, knitting his eyebrows. The last time he had entered, it had been a normal-looking cave.

If I look at the message… Is it a problem because this is my second time entering?

Then what would happen to him? He tilted his head.

Riiip! The space ripped open, and a gentleman stepped out. He wore chestnut-brown dress shoes and a gray frock coat. He wore a top hat reminiscent of an old English gentleman. The brim was wide, so Seo Jun-ho couldn’t see his face clearly.

Tak, tak. He tapped his cane on the ground.

⦊ “Hello. I am the 1st Floor Administrator, Gray,” he said politely.

“…1st Floor Administrator? Does that mean you’re Earth’s god?”

Gray laughed lightly at his question and shook his head.

⦊ “Of course not. I was simply ordered by them to manage the 1st floor… You can think of me as a civil servant of sorts.”

“But if you manage Earth, doesn’t that make you something of a god?”

⦊ “It’s different. I didn’t even know this planet existed until about thirty years ago. Additionally, I only manage Gates, monsters, and floors.” He cut himself off and smiled brightly. “Anyhow, seeing a familiar face is a small joy.”

“You know me?”

⦊ “Of course. Player Specter. I’ve been watching you for thirty years. It’s late, but congratulations on your return.”

“…Thank you.” 

Seo Jun-ho didn’t even know such a being existed, but the Administrator seemed to know him. It was a strange feeling.

“Do you know who I am?”

⦊ “There’s no reason I wouldn’t. You are Niflheim’s Queen, the sovereign who controls all the cold in the world.”

“C-contractor…” Her voice shook as she pulled on Seo Jun-ho’s hair. “Did you hear that? You heard that, right? The Floor Administrator knows who I am!”

“…He knows me too.” He ignored her haughtiness and got straight to the point. “So, where is this place?”

⦊ “It’s a virtual space that I created to meet you. There’s a problem, you see.” Gray held out his hand, and a thick book appeared. The book fluttered open on its own, stopping on a certain page.

⦊ “Mhm, I was right. It says in the record that Specter-nim entered the Cave of Trials 28 years, 7 months, 16 days, 13 hours and 32 minutes ago.” Tap. He closed the book. “And those who have received the rewards from the Cave cannot enter a second time. You are aware, correct?”

“Yes. But I’m not Specter anymore. I’m Seo Jun-ho.”

⦊ “The nature of your existence does not change simply because you change your name.”

“But what if I don’t have the rewards?”

⦊ “…What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. I don’t have the rewards I received from the Cave of Trials. Not a single one.” He spread his arms as if to prove his point.

⦊ “Hm?” Gray sounded curious. He took off his hat, revealing his narrow, closed eyes. “Let me see…” He smiled with his eyes and opened them slightly. At the same time, Seo Jun-ho felt like a bug was crawling across his body.

He’s examining me. He felt like a rat being observed by a viper.

⦊ “……” Gray was silent for a moment before he closed his eyes again. “So it’s true.” 

He put on his hat again and slowly started to tap on the floor with his cane.

Tak, tak, tak.

⦊ “This is quite the predicament. You have entered the Cave of Trials… Yet you do not currently possess its rewards.”

“According to the rules, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to enter.”

⦊ “That’s not untrue. But I will be the one to make that decision as the Administrator.” He said this politely, but he was warning Seo Jun-ho to wait until he made his decision. About a minute passed, and Gray finally stopped tapping.

⦊ “Hmm. The problem lies in fairness. You’ve already entered the Cave of Trials, so you know what kind of challenges will appear. I think that it’s unfair to other players.”

“Then how about you raise the difficulty to balance it out?” Seo Jun-ho asked.

⦊ “…You wish to raise the difficulty? Are you sure you will be able to handle that?”

“I have to, if that’s the only way I can enter.” Gray chuckled at his dry response.

⦊ “I don’t know if you’re honest or just childish…” He laughed for a while and nodded happily. “Understood. You’ve entertained me plenty in the past, so you deserve this level of service.”

Tak. Gray tapped his cane once more.

⦊ “With the authority of the 1st Floor Administrator, I will allow Seo Jun-ho-nim to enter once more. However, I will change the difficulty and the subject of the Trials a bit,” he declared.

“It doesn’t matter.”

⦊ “I hope you have fun, then.” With his elegant goodbye, Gray turned to leave, but the Frost Queen interrupted him.

“Wait. Can you tell me why I lost my memories?”

⦊ “…Memories, you say.” He turned his head. “I’m not sure. But everything happens for a reason. I think it will be alright even if you don’t find them again.”

“I’m asking because it’s frustrating.”

⦊ “I cannot say anything about that. I’m busy, so goodbye.” Gray turned around again, and he stepped through a rip in space. The Frost Queen watched him disappear.

“…I cannot tell what he is thinking.”

“He seemed to know you. Do you have no memory of him?”

“That’s why it’s even more frustrating. I recall nothing about the floors.” She let out a soft sigh and looked up at him. “Anyways, it turned out well for you. We didn’t ride the floaty-float here for nothing.”

By “floaty-float”, she meant the airplane.

“It’s a good thing that we were able to resolve this.” 

Seo Jun-ho closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the area around him had changed; they were inside of a cool, humid cave. It looked just as he remembered.

“I heard that there are ten levels. What kind of Trials appear?”

“Um… I can’t really tell you in detail.” Seo Jun-ho paused, then sighed. “But this Gate has everything you can imagine,” he muttered.

* * *

The Cave of Trials was divided into ten levels, and the mechanics were simple.

As the system message rang, numerous balls formed inside the cavern. They were blue spheres of different sizes.

“This seems too easy.” 

“That’s because it’s level 1. It’s like a tutorial,” Seo Jun-ho replied lazily, arms crossed. He pushed his magic outward.

Pop! Pop! Pop! 

The cave was filled with the loud popping noises. It sounded like dozens of balloons were being popped. It took him twelve seconds to pop all the balls in the large cavern.

“Not bad. Of course, I would have been able to do it in less than a second.”

“Stop bluffing. You lie every time you open your mouth,” Seo Jun-ho snorted.

His answer was obvious. “Go.”

One of the walls shone brightly, and a door appeared. Inside were food, drinks, a bed, and a bathroom.

“Contractor, you are not planning to rest already, are you?”

“‘Course not.”

He wasn’t even warmed up yet. “Continue to level 2.”

“Keuk…!” 

In this Trial, the force of gravity on the body changed every minute.

Right now… It’s a little heavy. It was about five times the force he usually felt.

Just like this, the force would change as many as sixty times in an hour. Last time, it lasted for five hours… Who knew what would happen this time.

After one minute passed, his body started to float in the air.

“Geez, why does this always happen to me?” 

He floated in the air with a nauseous expression until the gravity changed again.

“Contractor, you should not pass up this valuable opportunity.”

“Opportunity?” He wasn’t sure what she meant.

“There won’t be many times in your life where you will be under such strenuous circumstances.” She sounded excited. “You should train.”

“…In this state? It might look easy, but—Gah!”

The gravity changed again, and Seo Jun-ho’s body fell to the ground with a loud slam.

Eight times stronger! 

It was hard to even look up, but the Frost Queen was relentless.

“A strong body comes from a strong mind.”

“So you’re telling me to… Huff, huff.” It took much more effort than usual to simply talk. His lungs strained to help him breathe. “Do push-ups or something?”

“That’s not a bad idea either.” The Frost Queen looked around the cavern. “And once you become accustomed to the weight, you should start running.”

“You’re crazy.” He thought that she was being unreasonable.

“If you’re able to move freely no matter how light or heavy your body is, it will be extremely helpful in the future.”

“Easier said than done.”

“I will not force you to do it. I’m simply suggesting a path you can take to become stronger.”

Ultimately, it was up to Seo Jun-ho himself.

“…Dammit,” he grumbled. If she put it like that, he had no choice but to do it. He didn’t want to give up a chance to get stronger simply because he was scared of tiring out.

“Hnnnn!” He put all his strength into his arms and slowly pushed off the ground. His whole body trembled. He couldn’t even go up all the way. He wanted to let go and lay back down.

But…

Even though Seo Jun-ho didn’t trust the Frost Queen yet, he’d learned in the past two weeks that her methods were effective.

I have no choice but to follow.

Eyes full of spite, Seo Jun-ho slowly lowered his body.

The level 2 Trial lasted for 24 hours.

* * *

Seo Jun-ho didn’t have the strength to speak. He laid on the ground, staring up at the cavern ceiling.

“Contractor, you look exhausted.”

“……” He tried to say with his eyes that he was really fucking tired, but he also tried to relay his thanks.

The Cave of Trials rewards the player based on their effort. The Trial had lasted much longer than last time, and he had also trained during it.

The force of gravity returned to normal, and Seo Jun-ho felt three times lighter than usual. Once he leaves the Cave, the rewards would make him even stronger.

“…Phew.” After a long while, he finally stood up.

“Contractor, what is the next Trial?”

“…The Phantom Trial.” His face was grim. The Phantom Trial showed players hallucinations. In the past, he’d seen his parents.

I fought like crazy to save them from monsters. He’d suffered for half a day until it was finally over.

At his current state, he wasn’t worried about fighting for half a day. He was worried about something else.

“Why are you looking at me? I feel as if you are boring a hole through my head.”

…I feel like it’s either going to be her or the others this time. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it.

He had a strong feeling that he would have to fight either the Frost Queen or his four friends.

It would be a lot easier if it were the Frost Queen… But I feel like it’s gonna be my friends.

And because of Keen Intuition (B), he’d never been wrong about these things.