The tent was dark inside. As their eyes adjusted, an announcement was played.
[Please take your seat.]
âWe should sit down,â Seo Jun-Ho said.
âI donât think theyâre telling us to sit on the ground. We should sit there, donât you think?â Gong Ju-Ha pointed to the rows of blue, cheap-looking plastic chairs.
âLetâs do as they say for now. Thatâs the only way we can progress.â
Gong Ju-Ha sat in the very front row. He couldnât tell if she truly wasnât scared, or if she was pretending.
âDoesnât this make you think of the old days?â she asked.
âWhat do you mean by that?â
âBack in Las Vegas.â
âAh.â Back then, they sat in luxurious couches that couldnât even compare to these hard, uncomfortable chairs.
[The show will begin shortly.]
With the next announcement, noises started to come from behind them.
âHuh? Isnât this attraction for two people?â Gong Ju-Ha said. Her face fell when she turned around. Seo Jun-Hoâs eyes widened as he did the same.
âThis is bad.â
The empty seats were now completely filled, without a single empty chair. The stuffed animals in the audience started at them ominously.
âI-isnât this a little scary⊠No, a little creepy?â
âJust a little.â Seo Jun-Ho looked calmly back at the stage, but Gong Ju-Ha couldnât do that.
âL-Letâs watch them together! What if they ambush us from behind while weâre both looking at the stage?â
âIf they were gonna ambush us, they wouldâve done it already. The non-originals are weak anyway,â he said.
Funnily enough, the Dungeonâs announcements were always honest.
âItâs as if they genuinely want us to enjoy the amusement park.â
Click.
The faint yellow light switched off and the curtains on the stage opened just as the ground started to vibrate.
â...Mr. Jun-Ho.â
âYes, I understand now why itâs called Traveling Troupe of the Sky.â
The seats and the stage started to lift up into the sky like they were riding a drop tower. The tentâs flaps disappeared into the wind, and they could see all of Forever Land as the theater was lifted 80 meters off the ground.
âHmmm, itâs too high. We wonât be able to run away,â Seo Jun-Ho observed.
âIs this really the time to be saying that?!â Gong Ju-Ha sounded like she was about to cry. Her fingers were twitching. If she saw any suspicious movements, she would burn everything.
[The show has begun.]
Oriental music started to play with instruments that sounded like geomungos and gayageums.[1]
âHup!â The first one that stepped onto the stage was a face-changing performer. They made silly movements and every time they shook their head, their face somehow changed.[2]
âWow, they mustâve practiced a lot.â
âYeah⊠No, wait! Get it together! This is the highest difficulty attraction!â
After that came a strongman, and then a performer that juggled knives with their eyes closed. They really were like a traveling troupe, and both Seo Jun-Ho and Gong Ju-Ha watched a slew of fun performances.
âGuhâŠâ
âGuohâŠâ
Suddenly, the stuffed animals went wild and started waving their hands.
[The most popular performance in the Traveling Troupe of the Sky, Bearyâs Execution, is about to begin.]
The one they were waiting for stepped onto the stage.
â...It really is big.â
The Frost Queen had said as much, but up close, Beary was impossibly huge. Their arm was thrice as thick as Seo Jun-Hoâs entire body.
â...â
Beary stepped onto the stage and looked around the audience as if looking for something.
[Beary is looking for someone to execute.]
â...Yikes, I have a bad feeling about this,â Gong Ju-Ha said, frowning.
She disappeared like a ghost. Her hunch had been right.
âMiss Ju-Ha?â
She reappeared on the stage.
âHuh? Huh?â Startled, Gong Ju-Ha instinctively tried to get back to Seo Jun-Ho, but there was a transparent wall between the stage and the audience.
â...!â Seo Jun-Ho sprung up, but the hundreds of stuffed animals followed as if warning him of what would happen if he interrupted the show.
âWe were planning to fight together, but now, itâs a one-on-one match.â
Seo Jun-Ho bit his lip. This wasnât good. He didnât think Gong Ju-Ha could defeat Beary on her own. Even Gong Ju-Ha herself seemed to have realized that.
â...Itâs dangerous.â
She realized that from the moment she faced Beary on the stage. That giant, fluffy animal was stronger than her.
âHaa, haa.â She leaned against the wall as she tried to catch her breath. Beary just stood there, staring at her with curiosity, as if studying an ant trapped in a cage.
âDonât be scared, Gong Ju-Ha. Youâre the girl who killed Cheetey.â
Wasnât this a better situation than before? She hadnât been able to see Cheeteyâs movements at all, but the bear obviously looked slow.
âMy skill was strong enough to kill Cheetey with one hit.â
So as long as her attack landed, she would probably win. Gong Ju-Ha swallowed and watched for an opportunity. The moment Beary made an opening, she would release all her magic power and burn Beary down.
âNow, hurry up and move. Show me an opening.â
They stared each other down for about fifteen seconds.
Bam!
â...?!â
There was a loud slam from the stage, and Gong Ju-Haâs face twisted. She spat blood and doubled over, hugging her stomach in pain.
âI got hit? WhenâŠ?â
The bear looked slow, but it was even faster than Cheetey.
âMiss Ju-Ha!â
âUrk, I-Iâm okayâŠâ She stepped hard on the ground, forcing her trembling legs to stand. It hurt so much that she wanted to just lay down, but if she gave up here, she would die.
âAnd if I dieâŠâ
The next victim would be the man behind the transparent wall, Seo Jun-Ho.
âDonât. Worry.â She slowly held up her hand.
Thankfully, the location was good.
âWeâre floating off of the ground, and thereâs nowhere to dodge.â
If her opponent was so fast she couldnât see it, thenâŠ
âI just need to burn everything down.â
Gong Ju-Ha gestured with her finger. An enormous amount of magic power poured out of her and filled the night sky. It was so bright that it looked like it was daytime for a moment.
Fwooooosh!
Beary couldnât dodge the flames that filled every inch of the air.
âI-I did it.â Gong Ju-Ha chuckled as blood dripped down her lips. Ruler of Flames had carried her to her current status, and now, it was burning more beautifully and powerfully than it ever had.
â...â
But as she watched, the Frost Queen closed her eyes and hung her head low. She didnât want to watch what was about to happen.
âHuh?â A short mutter emerged from Gong Ju-Ha's lips as a giant paw pierced through the sea of flames.
At that moment, she only had one thought.
âWait, I⊠Am I gonna die?â
She usually boasted of her intelligence, but her mind faltered at this question. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldnât think of a way out.
âThis is kinda pathetic...â
If she had known that she would die so helplessly, she wouldnât have tried so hard. Why had she put in such grueling effort if it was going to end like this?
Her eyes brimmed with tears of frustration, reflecting the bearâs magnified paw. It inched forward like it was in slow-motion.
â...â
As she accepted her fate, she looked back at the last moment. She gave Seo Jun-Ho an apologetic smile as her last goodbye.
âIâm sorry. I lost.â
Slam!
A bone-shattering crash sounded from the stage.
âGuoooh!â
âUooooh!â
The stuffed animals cheered, applauding the powerful executionerâs masterpiece.
â...â
But when Beary looked down at their arm, it was twisted several times around like a pretzel.
How? Did that girl have some kind of hidden trump card?
â...â
No, it wasnât the girl. It was the man.
â...Huh?â Gong Ju-Ha slowly opened her eyes when the pain she expected didnât follow. âMrâŠJun-Ho?â she asked meekly.
The man in front of her seemed nothing like the Seo Jun-Ho she had seen several times before. It almost felt like she was looking at a different person.
âAre you sure you wonât regret this?â the Frost Queen asked.
âI wonâtâŠâ Seo Jun-Ho grinned. He didnât mean to, but he laughed. âRegret it.â
Actually, he should have done this earlier.
He hated seeing the way Gong Ju-Haâs face paled and the bright red blood on her lips. He hated how the bear unfairly tried to make this into a 1v1 fight.
But what he hated most was his stupid self and the way he hadn't acted until the last moment because he was afraid of revealing his abilities.
âYou idiot. You idiot.â
He had forgotten the most important thing because everyone had always praised him as a hero.
âA hero must take action.â
Even if ten thousand people; a million people, or even the whole world were frozen with fear, a hero would still move. Seo Jun-Ho believed in this.
âIf I had stepped in just a moment later, I wouldâve regretted it for the rest of my life.â
He was immensely relieved that he hadnât lost Gong Ju-Ha or himself.
âInterestingâŠâ Beary looked at Seo Jun-Ho with curiosity. They tapped on the wall in front of them to make sure it was still there. It was in perfect shape, so how did he manage to go through it?
âBooo!â
âGuooh!â
The mascots stood up from their seats and started to shout, booing Seo Jun-Ho for interrupting the sacred execution.
âAll of you, shut up,â he said with a cold, icy voice. Using a powerful Frost Breath, he froze all the stuffed animals at once. This was the power of his EX-grade skill, which surpassed what was thought to be the most powerful grade, the S-grade.
â...I knew this would happen eventually,â he said. But he hadnât expected it to happen here and now. According to his plans, it was supposed to be a long way off.
âI thought this would happen at Port Lane at the earliestâŠâ
He instantly felt the frustration of his plans crumbling. But fortunately, the person in front of him could take full responsibility for it.
***
âWhatâŠWhat am I looking at?â
Gong Ju-Ha was confused. Was this a dream?
âThatâs the same bear as before, right?â
It was indeed the bear that she couldnât even lay a hand on. So how was Seo Jun-Ho fighting it on equal footing?
âNo, he actually has the upper hand.â
She had always thought of him as a mysterious person. Ever since she first met him, something about him had pulled her in, but she dismissed it and thought that it was simply because of his potential.
âBut it wasnât...â
It was because he was strongâunimaginably strong. Players were attracted to powerful people, after all.
âAndâŠâ Above all, it was beautiful. The ice crystals that reflected the moonlight were more beautiful than any jewel.
Crackle!
Every time Seo Jun-Ho moved his hand, Beary would lose their balance. This wasnât a technique that could be performed simply by having a good skill.
âHe has a scarily good fighting sense.â
He kept doing things that annoyed them. That wasnât something that could simply be taught.
Craaaack!
Five minutes after the battle began, Beary could no longer move. All their limbs were frozen.
âI-Is it over?â
âNo,â Seo Jun-Ho said flatly, disappointed.
âThe thick muscles and hide are natural armor.â
Instead of poking at it with small attacks, he had to land a big hit.
âWill it work?â
He glanced at Gong Ju-Ha. If just for a secondâŠ
Beary broke out of the ice prison and struck the ground. Their overwhelming strength made the entire theater tilt.
âKyaaa!â The entire theater was frozen at this point, and Gong Ju-Ha started to slide toward Beary.
Seo Jun-Hoâs eyes flashed.
âPerfect timingâŠâ
He ran down the slanted ground and stretched his hand out toward her. âGrab on!â
âO-Okay!â
He pulled her in and hugged her close to his chest so that she wouldnât be able to see anything.
âWinter Fangs.â
Crackle!
Dozens of icicles shot up from the ground. Having been poked by them before, Beary ignored the icicles, but it was a mistake.
âDarkness pierces through everything.â
Their muscles and hide were nothing for an element as violent and stubborn as darkness. This time, the icicles were covered with darkness.
Beary slowly looked down at their body. Dozens of spikes emerged from their chest as if they had become a hedgehog.
âM-M-M-Mr. Jun-Ho. This is a bitâŠWeâre not that close yetâŠâ
âOh, Iâm sorry. I was too focused on the battle.â Seo Jun-Ho instantly let her go and gestured with his finger.
Paaak!
The ice exploded, and Beary shattered into thousands of ice shards, scattering on the stage.
Gong Ju-Ha fanned her face. âB-Besides, my parents are a little conservativeâŠâ
âItâs over.â
âOh, come on, are you really saying that after just one hug?â
âHuh? What have you been talking about? Iâm saying that the battleâs over.â He pointed to the shards that had been Beary just a moment ago, and Gong Ju-Ha flushed red.
âIâm sorry, but can you hit my head really hard? I want to forget what just happened.â
She knew that this would haunt her for the years to come.
1. Traditional Korean zithers. â
2. Also known as bian lian, this is a performing art in Chinese opera. â