Max Talent Player

Chapter 17: Innate Ability Awakening (2)

I faintly heard some notices.

[Innate Ability Eye of Perception has been successfully fused.]

[Innate Ability Eye of Perception has awakened.]

I began to see the world around me again, and I also heard notices. It seemed, without a doubt, that I was alive. My ears picked up a voice.

What was a fellow who went to study doing instead of studying?

That truly blunt voice was my older sisters, the same idiotic sister of mine who worked herself ragged in a superconductor factory trying to support me and ended up developing leukemia.

Noona?

TN: Noona is a familiar term used by a male to refer to an older female.

My sister whipped around. As usual, she was the epitome of bluntness.

Its fine as long as youre not dead.

And then, she left the hospital room. I focused on the sounds around me, and as if to prove that clearing the Tutorial wasnt a dream, I clearly heard a notice.

Innate ability. Eye of Perception.

Calm Observers Eye and Sixth Sense fused and were reborn into a new ability called Eye of Perception. I had the feeling it was the biggest boon Id gotten from the Tutorial Field.

Eye of Perception is

I hadnt heard of it ten years ago. There was no Eye of Perception among the prominent Rankers and the countless innate abilities they boasted. The innate ability latent within my body had awakened.

First of all, I think its enhancing my senses to their limits.

I could hear every minute sound from outside the hospital room. They were really tiny sounds, but my ears picked them up. That had to be the power of Eye of Perception. I focused and listened.

Shoulda just gone and died if he was gonna die. Why make a person worry? someone said, before crying in full force. Outside the room door, my older sister was crouching and crying. It seemed she had left quickly on purpose so she could hide her crying face. She was making muffled uwahh, uwahhhh sounds, but the sobs went from rather pitiable to bordering on funny. I could only guess she was crying with tears and snot all over her face.

Noona. Sorry, but I can hear everything.

Thanks to Eye of Perception, I could hear every single thing. But the fascination about the fact I could hear such a minute sound came second. For some reason, my eyes began to redden.

After hearing my sisters sharp voice, it finally struck me.

Shes really alive.

I had returned to the past, with my knowledge of the future intact, plus an innate ability of the highest level called Eye of Perception. Enhancing my senses wasnt the only thing Eye of Perception could do.

[Unawakened]

Name: Kim Ahyoung

Age: 24

State: Relieved / Happy / Worried

Disposition: Self-Sacrificing / Brusque / Loving

Summary: Devoted tsundere

• Is unawakened.

• The state/disposition/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation.

• Because Eye of Perceptions proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible.

The summary seemed a little strange, but it wasnt really wrong. Devoted tsundere was right, after all. 

Noona. You dont have to go to the superconductor factory anymore.

No, it wasnt that she didnt have to go, but that I wouldnt let her go. Supporting her foolish little brother was something she didnt have to do anymore.

Ill make it so you can live in comfort.

I couldnt be a hundred percent sure, but there was no doubt that my talent wasnt the same as before. I saw with my own eyes that I had talent and skills even greater than So Yoohyuns. As long as nothing happened, as long as there werent any unexpected variables, there was a high chance that I could even become a Ranker. If that happened, our family would certainly be able to live well, without worries.

I filled my lungs, then belted out, Noona! Buy me a lot of honey! I want to eat honey! A ton of it! 

My sister, crying outside, muttered, Whats that idiot going on about? She got to her feet. Eye of Perception captured every sound she made.

Honey my ass. Does he wanna get beat up with honey, seriously.

She walked off, probably to buy me honey. I said I wanted to eat a lot of it, so she would probably go all out buying it.

I heard the sound of someone other than my sister sobbing.

Mom. That one word made my eyes well with tears, too. Dont cry. Your son isnt dead.

Mom wasnt able to stop her tears. Even though I was a son without a single redeeming feature, an eternal civil servant student, I was still her son.

My mom wasnt the only one next to my bed. There was also the kid who had helped me to the very end and called emergency services for me as soon as the Tutorial Field dissipated, Kang Sunhwa.

Oppaaaaaaaa!!!

Crying loudly, Sunhwa came bounding over to me as I laid on the hospital bed. She squeezed me tightly with her small body, which I found rather uncomfortable.

Oi, oi, hurry and get off me.

Im so glad. I thought you died.

I snorted to myself, looking at the girl who had no intention of getting off me. Telling her to get off just made her stick even closer. She must have really thought that I had died, and that must have scared her. Wed only known each other for a few days, but she was already this fond of me.

Though, well, we did save each others lives.

As far as relationships went, ours was indeed rather special. Wed gone through life and death together, so it wasnt surprising wed be fond of each other. Of course, I wasnt seeing her as a woman or anything like that. It was more like looking at a dear niece.

Hey, you smell like sweat.

Only then did the clingy Sunhwa scramble backwards. I felt like I could breathe again.

I-I-I showered yesterday!

But you still smell?

I-I-I dont smell, okay?!

Eww, the smell.

I squeezed my nose shut. Sunhwas face reddened, and she bolted out the door that my sister had left through.

In any case

However things turned out, I had returned to the past. Here, in this place that had become my reality, my mom was here, and so was my sister. There was also Sunhwa, who had saved my life and had likewise been saved by me.

This time

I would live well.

* * *

* * *

So Yoohyun, who received the Tutorial Ender title and was registered in the Hall of Fame, became a famous figure overnight. He appeared multiple times on TV and was even called the Tutorials Strongest. He was introduced as the most talented man in Korea.

Thats not true. I was simply lucky.

So Yoohyun replied with those words. Everyone thought he was just being modest, but So Yoohyun was dead serious.

The true Tutorial Ender isnt me.

The moment his consciousness began to trickle back, he saw the back of two people. One young girl, and one man. His eyesight was fuzzy, so he didnt get a clear look, but he was sure of it in his mind.

Its the man I saw in Cheonggyecheon.

There was no doubt. It was that man.

Come to think of it, what was his name again?

They hadnt exchanged names.

Did that man die?

That man had come up to the 2nd floor of the Gwanghwamun D-Tower and tried to save the others, ultimately saving only Yoohyun before fleeing. The Magic Troll had gone off in hot pursuit. Yoohyun didnt think there was much of a chance hed survived.

To the press, he said the following:

There was a true hero in the Tutorial. I simply benefited from his kindness.

Yoohyun only said that much, no more and no less. He judged that if that man was alive, he would show himself on his own initiative. It could be disrespectful to run his mouth off when that person hadnt stepped forward yet.

Could he be alive?

Of course, he didnt know if that hero was alive, or if he was dead.

If hes alive

If he was alive, then he was Yoohyuns life savior. Yoohyun owed that man his life, owed that man a favor that he absolutely had to repay.

I hope youre alive, somewhere, thought Yoohyun from the bottom of his heart. He hoped there would be a chance for him to repay the favor.

* * *

One month passed.

Slimes, neutral monsters that even civilians could kill if they put their minds to it, were a common sight along the road. It became daily life for local kids to play around with slimes. Within one month, the world became prepared to accept the existence of monsters, and concepts like Player and Playing began to take root.

Difficulty: low.

For the time being, it would be safe other than the dungeons or gates. At most, only monsters like City Foxes or City Wolves would show up. That being said, even City Foxes and City Wolves could be pretty dangerous for civilians.

Two injuries and one death have come about from City Wolves

Incidents caused by City Foxes or City Wolves occurred nearly every day. They were conditionally passive monsters, so they wouldnt attack if they werent messed with, but people dying or getting injured because they provoked them for no good reason was commonplace.

The authorities immediately sent police to suppress the City Wolves

Foxes and wolves didnt have shields because they were such elementary monsters.

In time, monsters that cant be killed with scientific technology will start showing up.

That would happen in one year. By then, the Players Association would be established, Players would have formed guilds among themselves, and the world would be more or less used to the System. From that point on, the world would begin to change again, little by little.

Until that happens, Ill make full preparations.

I would use my knowledge of the future to the fullest, in order to live differently from the past. To live not as an eternal civil servant student, but as an upright and successful person.

Todays date was the 7th of June.

Seoul Station.

I took Sunhwa with me to Seoul Station. It was around 6 in the evening. Because people were getting off work and heading home, Seoul Station was extremely crowded.

Seoul Station, Exit 2.

Here, a small gate would form, a gate connected to the Seoul Station Dungeon. The grade would be indicated as . In other words, it had no grade. For conveniences sake, I called it a beginner dungeon.

People began to murmur.

Huh? Whats that?

Some people even screamed. No wonder, because near Exit 2, something akin to a blackish red shimmer began to spread out in the air. The gate was around 2 meters large, at mostit wasnt a very big one. People kept their distance from it.

Monsters wont pop out, will they?

People hadnt yet forgotten that day in Jongno, the fateful beginning of the Cataclysm. It was the site of a terrible disaster where only 5,000 out of 150,000 people survived. Normal life was just beginning to resume, but another strange thing appeared before they could even fully get past the trauma of that day. It was only natural they would be apprehensive.

But the world will change too much for you to be surprised by something like this.

These people would also have to adapt in the future, to the new System and the new world. Those who werent able to adapt would be eliminated. Just like me in the past.

Lets go.

I headed towards the gate with Sunhwa. The gate was clickable.

[Seoul Station Dungeon Gate]

The gate to Seoul Station Dungeon.

There was no particular explanation. Perhaps because a gate had appeared, I heard the sirens of police cars coming from afar. The police were probably coming over to check the situation.

Itll be troublesome if the police come.

It would be best to go in quickly.

[Only Players can utilize the gate.]

[At least seven Players are recommended for this dungeon.]

[Required level: 10]

Both Sunhwa and I were Players, and we were over level 10.

Were going in.

I moved a few steps forward, and then, the world around me changed.

[You have entered Seoul Station Dungeon.]

[Channel #19207 has been opened.]

[Guardians have begun to enter.]

There, I was greeted with a familiar face, an Intermediate Administrator so beautiful it couldnt be put into words, with a pair of wings behind her back. It was, in our worlds terms, Streamer Senia.

With an expressionless face, Senia said, At least seven Players are recommended for this dungeon.

I ignored her, starting to walk forward.

Player Kim Hyukjin. I offer this warning as an Intermediate Administrator. At least seven Players should enter. Do not leave the Safe Zone.

How come?

Tackling this dungeon with two people is dangerous.

The manual encourages this dungeon be Played by at least seven Players.

For a very brief moment, I waited. During this time, there were probably many Guardians streaming into Senias Channel #19207.

This should be long enough.

After waiting a moment, I spoke to Senia. Or rather, I spoke to the Guardians watching down on us for their amusement.

I said it before, didnt I?

Said what?

That I would show you how I Play.

If that was the way one had to adapt to this world, if that was the path to my success

Ill show you.

I walked forward.

How I adapt to this world.

At the same time, I heard a new notice.