Player with Maxed-Out Talent

Chapter 10

The Hidden Piece of the Tutorial

[The ‘Lady of Scales’ starts watching you with interest.]

I paused for a moment.

‘The Lady of Scales?’

The name itself didn’t seem that impressive. However, I was already well aware of what kind of guardian ‘The Lady of Scales’ was.

‘Typhoon. Kwak Tae-woon’s guardian.’

One of the eight players representing South Korea. A guardian who prioritizes ‘impartiality’ and values players who can ‘exert a positive influence.’

‘A guardian whose nature is close to absolute goodness.’

Unlike the ‘Valiant Lion King,’ who doesn’t care whether the players they sponsor live or die, ‘The Lady of Scales’ is strict about ‘justice’ and prioritizes the welfare of her players.

‘She offers a fitting reward and generous support—one of those kinds of guardians.’

The fact that ‘The Lady of Scales’ was taking notice of me was undeniably good news.

‘The Lady of Scales responds strongly to fairness, justice, sacrifice, and devotion.’

I glanced back at Sun-hwa. Guardians are often described as ‘watching from above,’

‘Is it because from up high, it looks like I’m protecting Sun-hwa?’

That must be it. All the better for me. The fact that I, who was initially deemed ‘talentless,’ was now garnering the interest of three guardians and had even claimed some special perks meant I had made significant progress.

“Brother, what should we do now?”

Things had deviated a bit from my original plan.

‘Had things gone as planned... I would’ve escaped from here and hidden in a nearby safe zone, waiting for Kwon Wang Ma Sang-hyun to take down that creature on the second floor of D Tower.’

Once the ‘Goblin Soldier’ on the first floor is taken care of, there won’t be any more massive attacks like the ‘Goblin Assault.’ It means, from then on, safety is relatively guaranteed. Hence, I swiftly took down the Goblin Soldier.

‘For now, we’re safe.’

The creature on the second floor of D Tower, the boss mob. Claiming the title of ‘Finalizer of the Tutorial’ would’ve been great, but I wasn’t aiming that high.

‘Let’s make full use of the tutorial field’s perks.’

A goal emerged. A visible, immediate goal. First off, 1 billion in cash. That’s what I’ll obtain first.

‘And then...’

To be honest, I want to aim higher. I want to succeed like everyone else, to live well, to be happy with my family, to do all the things I want to do. It may be too early to say, but it seems I have a talent that could rival a ‘transcendent’ class. I don’t want to waste this talent. No more being a perennial student burden on my family.

I spoke up.

“I’m going to hunt monsters outside D Tower. As many as possible.”

“The Urban Foxes?”

“No.”

If we go a bit further toward Cheonggyecheon, we’ll find not ‘Urban Foxes’ but ‘Urban Wolves.’ Monsters that are far more vicious and move in packs. Although they’re only a little tougher than goblins.

“Their level is around 7. Sometimes there’s an alpha with a level around 9. We can definitely hunt them down together.”

“When did you see them?”

“I just know.”

“Of course.”

Sun-hwa didn’t express any doubt. She seemed to trust me completely. I didn’t talk to Senia about the ‘trade.’ I did it on purpose. And they hadn’t brought it up either. I smiled faintly.

‘Alright. Let’s do this. Flirting.’

Wondering who had the upper hand in this flirting game seemed like an interesting observation. Between a newbie BJ with no merits other than looks and a returnee who sees the future, it’s already too obvious who has the advantage. I’m not in a hurry.

‘Whoever gets desperate first will lose.’

* * *

Sun-hwa was indeed a remarkably talented tank.

───────────

Urban Wolf. LV 8

───────────@@@@

Awooooooo!

The Urban Wolves called out to their pack mates.

“Provocation!”

Without exception, the Urban Wolves charged toward Sun-hwa, and I struck them from behind. After a few fights, I realized that blunt weapons were more effective against them than blades, so I used a ‘Wooden Club’ I looted from the wolves to hunt them down.

[You have gained experience points.]

[You have obtained 8 coins.]

We hunted for about an hour, then took breaks at a nearby convenience store.

[Your level has increased.]

[Current level: 11]

Eventually, my level increased.

“As expected, you’re amazing.”

“Did you count that?”

“Of course. You are the strongest player in the tutorial field, Ma Sang-hyun, right?”

“Eh, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Although he pretended to be humble by saying, ‘It’s not that big of a deal!’ his earlobes were slightly red. Ma Sang-hyun was clearly feeling bashful at the moment. Despite looking like the friendly-idiot type, his muscles told a different story. Extraordinary muscles writhed on his body. Then suddenly, Ma Sang-hyun noticed someone.

“Huh?”

Near Cheonggyecheon, another team was hunting Urban Wolves. A young man and a young girl. The girl seemed to be acting as the tank, and the man was apparently the damage dealer.

“There are more survivors!”

Ma Sang-hyun strode toward them.

“Hello!”

Kim Hyukjin, who had just finished hunting an Urban Wolf, looked at Ma Sang-hyun. He recognized him immediately.

‘The Fist King.’

Fist King (拳王) Ma Sang-hyun. He was actually meeting him in person. Behind him were many followers. He must have saved all those people. Unlike himself, who had ignored many, Ma Sang-hyun saved them.

‘To actually see the Fist King.’

One of the eight most famous players in Korea. He seemed to be about 190cm tall. His build was also quite large, but his eyes looked incredibly naive. As they said, kind and friendly. Before undergoing the trials and tribulations and becoming refined ten years later, his current state was even more naive. The dark circles under his eyes gave him a large panda-like image.

After a brief conversation, Ma Sang-hyun made an offer.

“Why don’t you join us? It’s good for survivors to stick together, isn’t it?”

Kim Hyukjin looked straight at Ma Sang-hyun.

‘If the past I know flows in the same way.’

All those people behind him will die. At Gwanghwamun D Tower. On the second floor, the only one who survived hunting ‘that creature’ was Ma Sang-hyun alone. According to Ma Sang-hyun’s recollections, he regrets going to the 2nd floor of D Tower with those people most.

“No.”

He rejected Ma Sang-hyun’s offer. I have no intention of taking down ‘that creature.’ It is much more dangerous than the Goblin Soldier, and the chance of death is high. It’s a rare opportunity, and I can’t afford to waste it.

Kim Hyukjin said.

“If you survive for 7 days, the tutorial field will be over.”

Kim Hyukjin’s primary goal is to earn 1 billion won, and to do that, he must survive this tutorial field. There’s no need to take excessive risks to go after the boss mob of the tutorial field. Once the Goblin Soldier is taken down, there are no more ‘raids’ or ‘waves.’ There’s no need to push too hard.

Ma Sang-hyun said.

“Hmm, there’s nothing we can do, then.”

Ma Sang-hyun didn’t seem too hung up on it. That was just his nature. Whatever happens, it happens, kind of attitude. However, the people following Ma Sang-hyun thought Kim Hyukjin seemed a little arrogant.

‘He doesn’t know the power of Ma Sang-hyun yet...’

‘Tsk, he just kicked away a great offer.’

They were doing fairly well, but they figured they wouldn’t match up to the monstrous strength of Ma Sang-hyun, who could one-shot Urban Wolves.

‘What can you do? Karma...’

They didn’t openly show any discomfort, but Kim Hyukjin generally sensed their feelings. Kim Hyukjin said.

“Survive. Good luck. If you encounter a really powerful monster and find yourself in a dire situation... Aim for the left eye.”

Ma Sang-hyun to Ma Sang-hyun. I have to figure out the best way to escape from here. History will flow on its own. In that history, within the current of events flowing as they should, Kim Hyukjin was resolved to gain the maximum benefit possible.

The hunt for the wolf pack continued.

[You have obtained ‘Mutant Wolf Fang.’]

[Your level has increased.]

[Current level: 12]

Considering it was the early stages of leveling up, and with the ‘First Pioneer’ buff, the leveling speed was much faster than I had expected. I gained plenty of experience even from hunting the relatively weak ‘Urban Wolves.’ As time went on, I got better at it, hunting faster than they could respawn.

‘I’ve hunted down all of them here.’

The pack of wolves had been wiped out. But then, a new notification arrived.

[You have hunted more than 500 ‘Urban Wolves.’]

[Hidden Piece eligibility is being confirmed.]

[Hidden Piece eligibility requirements have been met.]

‘Hidden Piece eligibility?’

That notification sounded just like the one I had heard in ‘D Tower 1st floor.’

‘It’s the same alert I heard when I downed the Goblin Soldier, right?’

I didn’t know what it meant then, but now it’s come into play.

[You meet the three conditions of ‘Hidden Piece eligibility & Limit Level Breakthrough & 500 Urban Wolves hunted.’]

Three conditions no one else had achieved. Kim Hyukjin had met all three.

[You have completed the Hidden Piece.]

In the past, an alert that never existed in the game guide kept coming.