Max Talent Player

Chapter 33: Display of the Guardians

Six-Tailed Fox. This spirit monster with six tails used special skills called spirit arts or Taoist magic. In all actuality, it was because the Six-Tailed Fox was categorized as a spirit monster that its skills were called that, but it was perfectly fine to just call them skills.

The Six-Tailed Foxs skill, Doppelgnger, allowed it to divide its body into two separate entities.

That ones a fake.

The clone had a physical form, but that thing that was created as a doppelgnger was weaker than the true body. If it had been the true body, the woman pressed underneath it would have already died. Her stomach had been slashed and blood was seeping out, but that level of injury was a blessing.

If it were the real one, it wouldve already gobbled everything up.

She wouldve been far beyond Hyukjins help.

Wheres the true body?

Hyukjin honed Eye of Perception to the max. He didnt even hear a notice like Eye of Perception has been activated. One month had already passed since he first gained the ability.

No one had taught him how to use it, and he never learned how best to use it. But Hyukjin naturally, so very naturally, became familiar with Eye of Perceptions use. Just like how a baby didnt need to be taught how to breathe, it was the same with Hyukjin and Eye of Perception.

The true body.

Hyukjins innate ability heightened his senses to the greatest degree, and that same ability thoroughly swept through the surrounding area.

Found it.

At Hyukjins 11 oclock, sitting in a tree, was the Six-Tailed Fox, the color of its body cleverly changed to match the color of the branches and leaves. Most spirit monsters protected themselves with this kind of camouflage. It wasnt anything special.

Sunhwa. Aggro it, Hyukjin said to the girl next to him.

For now, he acted as if he hadnt noticed the true body. Six-Tailed Foxes had an uncanny sense for running away, so if the true body figured out its cover was blown, it would immediately flee.

Got it.

Sunhwa used her skill right away.

[Using the skill Taunt.]

The Six-Tailed Foxs clone was chomping at the stomach of the woman underneath it. Green !!! marks appeared above its head.

[Using the skill Taunt.]

The !!! marks turned yellow. Sunhwa used Taunt one more time.

[Using the skill Taunt.]

Finally, the !!! marks turned red, indicating that Sunhwa had completely drawn its aggro. With Eye of Perception active, Hyukjin watched the true bodys movements.

Come. Even the true body in the distance nearly got aggroed.

By Hyukjins evaluation, Sunhwas aggroing ability was so outstanding that no one of the same level could hold a candle to her. A Player in their early level 20s who could successfully draw the aggro of a Six-Tailed Fox with prey in front of it?

I cant remember anyone who could do that.

As expected, Sunhwa was

A damn genius.

In any case, the aggro was properly applied, and the Six-Tailed Foxs clone with the red !!! over its head charged towards Sunhwa.

Six-Tailed Fox LVL 22

The true bodys level was 27, but the clones level was set to 22. Both the true body and clone had physical form, but a decrease in ability was an unavoidable side effect. The Six-Tailed Fox opened its jaw full of sharp teeth wide as it bit Sunhwas throat.

Cruuuunch!

The clones teeth were unable to pierce through Sunhwas neck.

Meanwhile, Hyukjin finished his calculations.

The true body has no intention of coming here.

If they attacked the clone too fiercely, the true body would unconditionally flee. That left only one optionhe had to catch the true body.

My 11 oclock. About thirteen meters away.

Eye of Perception pinpointed the Six-Tailed Foxs location, but he had no way to drag it down or hunt it right now.

Or wait.

Upon second thought, there was a way to kill it.

[You have opened the Item Shop.]

Like a long-term Player, Hyukjin opened the Item Shop with practiced ease and selected the sub-category he wanted.

Weapons & Armor.

[Item Shop Beginner-grade Weapons & Armor]

1. 1. Beginner Iron Sword 500 Coins

1. 1. Beginner Helmet 470 Coins

11. 11. Beginner Dagger 260 Coins

20. 20. Beginner Shoes 480 Coins

They werent in a dungeon or a gate, but a regular field. There was no restriction on shop use.

[Beginner Dagger purchased.]

[-260 Coins]

[Beginner Dagger purchased.]

[-260 Coins]

The Iron Sword disappeared from Hyukjins hand and was replaced by a Beginner Dagger. He would throw this dagger to kill the true body hidden in the tree.

Ive never done it before, but

Somehow, he was full of confidence. Hed never thrown a dagger before, and never hunted anything like this, yet the evolved form of Sixth Sense, Eye of Perception, was drawing out Hyukjins success. It outlined exactly how he should throw the dagger and the exact trajectory it would follow.

If I throw this

The question wasnt will it hit?

I can hit it.

It was an instinctive feeling.

[The Courageous Lion King shows interest in your throwing ability.]

[The Nameless Observer observes you.]

[The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain sneers at you.]

His intention indeed merited ridicule. After all, Hyukjin had no System skill whatsoever, and certainly nothing like Knife Throwing.

Here I go.

He didnt think about it for too long. He simply threw the dagger, unassisted by any kind of skill. Hyukjin threw the dagger, relying purely on his physical ability.

Fwip!

The dagger left Hyukjins hand and whistled forward like an arrow.

And shortly afterwards

Thud!

A thump came from afar. Something fell from the tree. Hyukjin ran to his 11 oclock, and as he did so, the clone Sunhwa had been fighting grew faint before disappearing.

Oppa? Sunhwa exclaimed, staring at Hyukjin as he ran past.

His movements were extremely fast. Sunhwa followed his path to the base of the tree, where she saw a fox with a dagger planted precisely in the middle of its forehead. Blood was flowing freely from its forehead, and the fox was convulsing with occasional twitches.

Wha? Seeing it now, the situation became clear to her. He threw a dagger and hit it?

That was absolutely no small distance.

From here, to there??

But he had hit it, and squarely in the middle of the head.

Did oppa have a throwing skill?

She didnt think so. Sunhwa dazedly saw that Hyukjin had already re-equipped his Iron Sword. He swung his sword at the Six-Tailed Fox standing briefly stunned at the base of the tree, precisely slitting its throat open.

Hyukjins movements werent very flashy. They were clean.

Thump.

The foxs head fell to the ground.

[Six-Tailed Fox has been killed.]

[EXP acquired.]

[30 Coins acquired.]

A ray of blue light shone from Hyukjins body.

[Congratulations.]

[Your level has increased!]

[Current level: 26]

Hyukjin himself was a little bewildered.

It really worked?

Before throwing the dagger, he was sure it would hit, but seeing it really become reality was a strange feeling.

[The Courageous Lion King is pleased by your dagger throwing ability.]

[The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain is flabbergasted.]

Hyukjin tapped the body of the Six-Tailed Fox, and a yellow light flashed from its body. An item dropped onto the ground.

Oh.

It was only a slim possibility, but he really did get it. Later, hed be able to make good use of it in the Shot Table Dungeon.

[Fox Tail acquired.]

He was packing it away when Senia appeared.

Player Kim Hyukjin. What is your level?

* * *

I didnt answer Senias question. I was sure she was curious about my level. The Guardians were probably itching to know as well.

Scan me.

Shortly afterwards, Senias wingtips trembled.

Youre level 26.

I shrugged. Her words werent said to me, but for the benefit of the Guardians. Sure enough, a stream of notices showed the Guardians were shocked by my leveling speed.

[The Nameless Observer finds your leveling speed intriguing.]

[The Courageous Lion King feels pride in your leveling speed.]

[The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain feels a sense of kinship with your leveling speed.]

Thats right. Enjoy yourselves to your hearts content and be intrigued. Because I can be your good quality content anytime.

[The Whispering Devil is spurred by your leveling speed into contemplating giving you a trial.]

Dont think about something like that. The Courageous Lion King is crazy enough for me.

[The Lady of the Scales complains to the Intermediate Administrator.]

Hm?

Complain?

I thought about what kind of complaint it might be. The Streamer Senia opened her mouth, but I couldnt hear her voice. She was most likely conversing with the Guardians.

What the Lady of the Scales could be complaining about in this situation has to be

It was obvious.

Im level 26. But I havent advanced yet.

I hadnt had my first advancement yet. The Guardians knew that when Players hit level 25, they were supposed to advance.

That the System update hasnt happened yet is one thing, but I hummed to myself. The problem is that Senia didnt make any notice about it to me.

I became level 26 without getting a notice from her. The Lady of the Scales prioritized fairness above all. Her complaint was probably something along those lines.

This is gonna be troublesome.

So I approached Senia. The Lady of the Scales was an extremely famous and powerful Guardian. She was an upper being so powerful she could easily bury a new Streamer like Senia six feet under.

I also need Senia.

Where else would I find such an inarticulate and lousy Streamer? A Streamer like her was the easiest to take advantage of. I sent Senia a whisper request. Although she was expressionless, considering the intensity of her wingtip trembling, she was apparently having quite the mental breakdown.

I whispered to Senia.

Youre in trouble because of the advancement notice, yeah?

Unable to pay much attention to me, Senia continued to mumble.

Ill tell them that I already got the advancement notice and Im waiting to advance when I reach level 30.

Only then did Senia turn to stare at me. Her eyes were trembling ever so slightly, but I could see countless questions within them, almost like she was asking, Just who are you? Of course, I had no intention of answering that.

You and I are already in the same boat, I thought. Youve just got to believe me. What other choice do you have?

And it wasnt going to be for free.

3,000 Coins.

To get 3,000 Coins, youd have to kill a whopping 100 Six-Tailed Foxes that gave 30 Coins each.

If you dont want to, forget it. The Lady of the Scales temper has got to be something else, but oh well. Do your best to figure it out.

I turned without reluctance. I heard Senias voice. Naturally, it was a whisper only I could hear.

How about 2,000 Coins?

3,000.

2,200.

I shook my head. She was the one in the frying pan, not me.

3,000.

She had to have made at least 5,000 Coins while streaming me as her content. Since it seemed she wasnt grasping the gravity of her situation, I said a bit more.

Senia. Youre getting pressure from the Lady of the Scales right now, right? The Lady of the Scales is fundamentally a Guardian whos capable of acknowledging her own mistake. As long as I put in a good word for you, the Lady of the Scales will probably apologize to you, you know? Shell send at least a few thousand Coins.

Actually, I didnt know whether the Lady of the Scales would send that much or not, but it didnt matter. It wasnt my problem.

How about 2,700?

3,000.

Senias wingtips trembled once again.

I agree to 3,000.

Senia was a nearly expressionless rock, but somehow, I had the impression she was speaking through gritted teeth.

Send the contract. Ill sign it.

A contract was sent to my Inventory, meaning our deal was a success.

Feigning total ignorance, I said, Oh, right. Im gonna advance when I reach level 30, Senia. So dont nag me about it.

Even if the situation hadnt been like this, I had been planning on saying this anyway. I said them to the Guardians, making it clear that I would advance at level 30.

Level 30.

That was the one and only time when a Player could stand above the Guardiansthe time when the Player selected their Guardian.

The flurry of unexpected messages that came next took me by surprise.