Chapter 2: 25 Years Later (Part 1)
[The legend awakes.]
[A modern-day Captain Avalon? Specter returns 25 years after defeating the Frost Queen and saving the world.]
[Player Association's press conference: "Specter's health is our top priority."]
[Day of Heroes fundraiser breaks historical records.]
Tap.
Shade Hollow—known to the world as Specter—folded up the cluster of newspapers stacked beside him on the hospital bed.
"So… it's really been twenty-five years."
He'd blinked once—and a quarter of a century passed.
The world hadn't changed all that much, so he wasn't exactly shocked. He'd even briefly wondered if it was all part of some elaborate prank. But there was far too much evidence to deny it.
"My muscles… they're gone."
His gaze dropped to the frail outline of his arms. "They've completely atrophied."
The body he'd trained ruthlessly for five years had withered into skin and bone. It was almost like looking at someone else's reflection.
A nurse stepped into the room. "Specter, sir. The President of the Player Association is here to see you."
Wherever he went, the world's top doctors and officials bowed with clasped hands. It was the bare minimum they could offer to the man who'd once saved humanity.
"Is the President someone I know?" Shade asked. If not, he was going to send them away. It hadn't even been a full day since waking—he wasn't in the mood for formalities.
The nurse's response surprised him. "Yes. The President said… you're an old friend."
"Friend…?"
There weren't many people he'd consider a friend. "Well, I'll know when I see them."
Shade turned to the window. The skyline was a mesh of sleek towers and brilliant crystal infrastructure. The air was clean—magic had replaced pollution controls. There wasn't a single gate in sight.
Eventually, the door clicked open, and the man walked in.
He pulled up a chair, tears already in his eyes.
"…Jun-ho. You look exactly the same."
The man had aged, skin creased with time, a rounded belly under his coat. But Shade looked as he did the day he fell—frozen in time.
Shade's eyes narrowed. Then they widened.
"Wait… that voice. Deok-gu?"
It was rougher now, but unmistakable.
Shim Deok-gu, his childhood friend—now aged and weathered.
Shade blinked. "Hey, I told you that 'M' shape on your hairline meant you'd go bald!"
"That's all you have to say after twenty-five years?!" Deok-gu scoffed.
"Hahaha!" Shade held his stomach, wheezing. "You're telling me, even now, there's no cure for baldness?"
"…Wigs are advanced. You wouldn't even notice. I didn't wear mine today because I rushed over."
"Next time, you better show me. I want to be shocked."
They laughed like old times, talking nonsense without a breath in between. Deok-gu spoke about the world. Shade peeled fruit from a nearby basket and threw quips in return.
Deok-gu smiled. "You haven't changed one bit."
"Neither have you. Though… your belly did grow."
"Try getting old."
Shade sat up straighter. "Now that we've reminisced, why did those doctors look like they'd seen ghosts?"
Deok-gu's face turned sombre.
"The moment you defeated the Frost Queen, the world got a message."
[Congratulations. The Frost Queen has been defeated.]
[Safe zones will now appear across Area: Earth.]
Players and civilians rejoiced. Peace had returned. Humanity cried in relief.
But the system wasn't done.
[A dimensional elevator has been unlocked in the central region.]
[The 2nd Floor: Frontier Area is now open.]
[Level cap raised: 80 → 120.]
[Keep climbing until the final floor.]
"…What?"
"Yeah. That was everyone's reaction."
Panic spread.
"Second floor? So… that wasn't the end?"
Governments, guilds, and player associations worldwide scrambled for answers. Meanwhile, players kept receiving the same message:
[The only way to stop Earth's destruction is to ascend the floors.]
Again. And again. And again.
"Earth's… destruction?" Shade's voice was low, sharp.
Deok-gu nodded. "We had to act. So we formed an elite scouting party and sent them into the Frontier."
"…So?" Shade asked, tone turning cold.
Deok-gu hesitated. "It was a land of opportunities. New resources. Magic. Tech. Earth advanced leaps ahead in two decades thanks to it."
"That's not what I asked."
"There are ten floors." Deok-gu cut to the point. "The elevator shows buttons for all ten."
Shade relaxed a bit. His team had taken five years to beat Floor 1. And with 25 years passed…
Surely they'd reached Floor 6 or 7.
"Alright. So what floor are we on now?"
"…."
"Why aren't you answering?" Shade pressed.
A pause.
Then Deok-gu whispered:
"We've only cleared the 2nd floor."
Silence.
Shade stared at the ceiling. Blank.
"…Shit."
"I know."
"Twenty-five years. And just one floor?"
"There's a reason."
"There better be."
Deok-gu exhaled. "The 3rd floor is a volcanic biome. The heat kills most players before they even start. We tried everything. Nothing worked."
"And?"
"There's an altar—at the volcano's heart. If frozen with the Frost Queen's nucleus, it changes the environment. Makes it survivable."
"Did you find it?"
"…We searched the Queen's Nest dozens of times. Nothing."
Of course they didn't. The nucleus had been absorbed by Shade.
Shade stretched his neck, sighing. "There's nothing you could've done."
"You're not angry?"
Shade smiled faintly. "Everyone makes mistakes. We have to understand each other."
Deok-gu looked touched. He hadn't expected such maturity. Not from his reckless friend.
"I'm glad."
Shade looked away.
Quietly, to himself: Now… how do I tell him this without getting scolded?