Return of the Frozen Player

Slam!

The giant anaconda’s tail struck where the party had been standing. The giant body itself was its weapon. Trees fell to the ground as if they had been hit by an explosion.

“Kyaa! Princess!”

“On it!” Gong Ju-Ha had rolled five times across the ground, and she shot up, dirt streaking her face. She held out her hand.

Fwoosh!

A wave of flames swallowed the giant anaconda.

‘Did it work?’

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyebrows furrowed as he waited. It would be ideal if her attack had taken it out. If they continued to run toward their destination, it would take them less than an hour.

“Ssss!”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“I-It’s resistant to fire?”

“That’s crazy. Are all anacondas like that?”

“Of course not!”

Obviously, the giant anaconda didn’t manage to escape completely unharmed. Beneath the tree, there were dozens of molted snake skins.

‘So it just sheds the skins that got burned?’

It managed to molt in the blink of an eye, which was why it had been able to get away just fine.

“Miss Ju-Ha! Can you make your flames stronger?” Seo Jun-Ho called out.

“Ugh… I can, but is it okay if I set the whole forest on fire?”

“That’s a little…”

“Kyaa! It’s moving again!” As Jang Hae-Won screamed, the giant anaconda flicked its tail again. It sounded like an entire building was collapsing as the ground shook.

‘Despite its size, it’s fast.’

The giant anaconda reached the top of the tree in an instant and started to attack in earnest. It had judged that it could withstand Gong Ju-Ha’s flames.

It stretched its mouth open. The giant anaconda was the only animal that could open its mouth up to 180 degrees, and it could even unhinge its jaws to make it wider.

“Gasman!”

“A-Alright! Please excuse me!” Gasman grabbed Jang Hae-Won by her waist and moved out of the way. The giant anaconda bit down on the large tree that had been behind them, and it splintered apart.

“H-how does a damn snake have such a strong bite…”

“You shouldn’t think of it as a normal animal.”

Swish.

The giant anaconda slithered around them, surrounding the party.

“If we get caught, it’s over.” The scariest part of an anaconda wasn’t its fangs, but its grip strength. It always used its large, powerful body to wrap around its prey until it suffocated and died.

Seo Jun-Ho used the time to quickly flip through the safari pamphlet.

‘If we keep getting swarmed with these kinds of monsters, it’ll be hard to get through them with our current party.’

He found a straight path to Serengeti and shouted as he pointed. “Miss Ju-Ha! You can burn everything toward that direction in a line!”

“Finally some good news!”

“I’ll help!” Gasman pulled up both his sleeves and scattered gas.

‘He can control the gas on top of releasing it?’

The green smoke pushed toward the anaconda.

“Everyone, get back! At least twenty steps!” Gong Ju-Ha warned.

“Hurry!” Jang Hae-Won waved her arms, she had already retreated. Gasman and Seo Jun-Ho ran toward her.

Fwoooooosh!

“Ugh.” Seo Jun-Ho instinctively covered his nose as heat filled his lungs.

‘So this is the power of a gas explosion.’

It was destructive. Even though they were so far back, the heat was scalding. He swallowed as he imagined what it would be like if he was on the receiving end of this attack.

“Ssssss!”

As an onlooker though, he could see that the giant anaconda was about to die. It writhed in pain and had become noticeably slower when it tried to shed its skin. Gong Ju-Ha’s attack had been too powerful for it to handle.

‘But it’s still breathing...’

Sensing that its life was in danger, the giant anaconda coiled back the tail that had been surrounding them. It was now completely on the defensive.

“Huff, huff…” Gong Ju-Ha looked like she was in more pain even though she had been the one behind the attack. But it wasn’t the use of her skill that exhausted her…

“It’s so… Huff, it’s so hot…!”

She was just bad at handling the heat.

‘But this isn’t something to ignore…’

In the humid rainforest, overheating could be fatal.

‘I have to step in.’

Seo Jun-Ho retrieved Cruel Executioner from his inventory. A halberd would be best to cut through such thick, durable skin.

“Huff, huff…”

Gong Ju-Ha looked like she was melting, and her flames also started to weaken. The wild giant anaconda didn’t miss the opportunity.

Swoosh!

It uncoiled its tail and swung it toward Gong Ju-Ha like a whip.

“Princess! It’s dangerous!” As Jang Hae-Won called out, Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes flashed and he shouted.

“Duck!”

Gong Ju-Ha was quick to catch on and she hurriedly crouched like a mole. Seo Jun-Ho jumped over her, moving as fast as lightning.

Slice! Slam!

Cruel Executioner cut through the tail. It was as thick as a tree trunk. It had gone soft from the heat, so the halberd sliced through it like butter.

Ssss!

The giant anaconda’s yellow eyes became filled with fear as it sensed that its life was in danger. It didn’t even look back at its tail and started to slither away in the opposite direction.

But the Ruler of Flames was waiting on the other side.

Fwoosh!

A wall of red flames blocked its retreat.

Ssss--!

The anaconda turned, panicking.

Slice!

A cold blade sliced through its neck. It was a clean attack, one that Seo Jun-Ho had put his entire body weight into.

“...Phew.”

“Wow, that was so cool!” Gasman exclaimed. He wasn’t wrong. It was the first time Seo Jun-Ho and Gong Ju-Ha had fought together, but they coordinated better than Seo Jun-Ho had expected.

‘Is it because she’s part of the Big 6?’

People would either misunderstand his orders or miss the timing—but she was different.

“What, why are you looking at me like that? Do you have a different impression of me now? Hehe.”

“...You’re like an ahjussi.” Seo Jun-Ho put away his weapon and turned. The trees and mud were still smoking, but a clean path was now ahead of them.

“Why did you say that I could burn everything in this direction?” Gong Ju-Ha asked.

“This is the direct path to Serengeti,” he answered.

“Wow, as expected of Seo hyung. So we just need to keep going in this direction to reach the goal?”

“This is easier than I thought.”

The moment their faces brightened, the speakers in the trees made an announcement.

[The anaconda in the safari, ‘Konkoni,’ has been killed by poachers.[1] ]

[Zookeepers will be dispatched to protect Forever Land’s safety and integrity.]

[The original Cheetey will also be dispatched.]

“...!”

“Oh, come on! It’s just one thing after another!”

“First animals, now zookeepers…”

Naturally, they all turned to Seo Jun-Ho.

“Jun-Ho nim, do you think that the zookeepers might help us…?” She asked carefully.

“No way. That’s expecting too much,” Gasman said.

“...Sniff. I can smell Hae-Won’s hope burning away,” Gong Ju-Ha said.

Seo Jun-Ho slowly nodded with a deadpan face. “I think they don’t like that we tried to take a shortcut.”

“But still, isn’t this too unfair?”

“Yeah. They’re adding manpower just because we killed a monster… It’s not fair.”

“I wasn’t thinking about this the right way.” He had only been thinking about clearing the safari as fast as possible. After all, a Player’s instincts would lead them to think that way.

‘But it came to bite me in the back.’

This wasn’t a normal Dungeon. It was based on Forever Land, which was an amusement park.

“Taking the fastest way out wasn’t the answer.”

The correct way to enjoy a safari was to take your time looking at the animals.

“Then what should we do?”

“We have no other choice. We’ve already disturbed the hornet’s nest,” he said. They had already been branded as illegal hunters.

“And what’s a Cheetey?”

“Oh, that’s this guy.” Gasman held up the guidebook and pointed to the five stuffed animals happily holding hands. “A teddy bear, a tiger, a cheetah, a mouse, and a rabbit…?”

“Yes, Their names are Beary, Tigery, Cheetey, Mousey, and Rabbity.” They were the five mascots of Forever Land.[2]

Gong Ju-Ha’s eyes narrowed. “...They look cute, but do you think they’ll be strong?” she asked.

“They’re the same ones crawling on the rollercoaster earlier. I think they might be weak.”

“But don’t you think the ‘original’ Cheetey might be different?” Gasman pointed out.

“There’s no point in pondering,” Seo Jun-Ho said as he looked down at the clean path. “We should get moving first.”

They still had a long way to go.

***

“Oh, a crocodile!”

“Oh, a swarm of piranhas!”

“Kyaaa! Spiderspiderspiderspider!”

Hot flames continued to spill out of the humid riverbank. It was because Gong Ju-Ha burned every single monster they came across.

‘Her attack power is outstanding…’

Seo Jun-Ho remarked. Thankfully, the giant anaconda had been the only monster with fire resistance. The crocodiles, piranhas, and even the spiders and centipedes couldn’t handle the heat. Surprisingly, Gong Ju-Ha didn’t fall victim to the heat this time.

“Weird, I feel pretty refreshed! Maybe it’s because it has been a while since I went on a run?”

Of course, it was all thanks to Seo Jun-Ho. He had made a deal with the Frost Queen, promising her a limited-edition cake and tea set.

“Ahem, you seem to have been in quite the predicament, so I’m merely helping you. It is not that I was appeased by my personal desire for food.” She drastically lowered the temperature around them, and thanks to that, they were able to move faster.

“Oh, up there! I see a plain!” Jang Hae-Won shouted cheerfully. Up ahead, the seemingly-eternal line of trees came to an end, and a yellow savanna came into view.

‘38 minutes left from here.’

They were going at a good pace, and Serengeti was smaller than the Amazon.

‘If we can hurry it up, we might even be able to get there in 20.’

The moment they stepped into Serengeti, the climate changed. The sticky, humid air disappeared and was replaced by a dry, stuffy heat like they were in a sauna.

“It’s not as hot as I thought, though.”

“The real Serengeti should be super hot, but maybe they couldn’t replicate the climate in a Dungeon.”

“You should all thank me,” the Frost Queen said, puffing her chest.

Seo Jun-Ho concentrated his magic into his eyes.

‘A rhino, a lion, a giraffe, a hippo…’

A variety of animals dotted the savanna. But there was something else that caught his eyes…

“...There are people.” The party ceased their chatter and concentrated, enhancing their eyesight. They nodded.

“They’re wearing zookeeper uniforms.”

“...Do all zookeepers carry around weapons?”

“Just think about it, Mr. Gasman. Of course they don’t.”

The zookeepers were steadily closing the distance between them, but there was nowhere to hide in the open plain.

“They’re closing in on us. Mr. Jun-Ho, what should we do? I vote that we kill them all,” Gong Ju-Ha said. Seo Jun-Ho considered this for a moment.

‘If we kill the zookeepers, they might dispatch more forces.’

But if the party ignored them and ran, they would be instantly discovered. They also had to consider the possibility that they might encounter a giant animal like the anaconda and end up being surrounded. “...I agree. Let’s kill them all,” he said.

At some point, Gong Ju-Ha had started asking Seo Jun-Ho’s opinion before they took any action. Obviously, she respected his knowledge and judgment.

“Gasman. Do it stealthily.”

“Leave it to me!”

This time, Gasman cuffed his pants. Gong Ju-Ha’s eyes widened. “Wait, I can’t see anything. Are you sure there’s gas coming out?”

“Yes. They probably won’t be able to notice it since it’s colorless and odorless,” he explained.

“But they’ll definitely feel it…”

The invisible gas slowly approached the zookeepers. After some time, everything would end once Gong Ju-Ha set it off.

Tatatata!

But at that moment, a strange noise reached Seo Jun-Ho’s ears.

‘Footsteps?’

He squinted. Something in the distance was moving so fast that it was hard for even his enhanced eyes to track.

“W-What? My gas is being dispersed…” Gasman gasped, shocked.

“...Dodge!” Seo Jun-Ho grabbed Gong Ju-Ha and flew out of the way.

But Gasman had been one step too late. Fresh blood stained the grass.

“Ugh…”

The wound was deep enough that it revealed the bones underneath. As Gasman grasped the wound on his ribs with a contorted face, Jang Hae-Won covered her mouth.

“Treat him first!”

“Y-Yes!” Jang Hae-Won hurriedly activated her skill and started to heal him.

Seo Jun-Ho looked up with a solemn expression.

“I’m the original Cheetey.” The lanky cheetah in front of them was standing on two feet like a human, its tail swaying back and forth. “I came to avenge Konkoni.”

1. This is a cutesy/childish name, similar to what one might name a pet ☜

2. Their names are the first character of the animal + “suni” or “dori” to make it cutesy. The bear’s (Gomdori) name means teddy bear, but the other animals’ names don’t mean anything specific. ☜