Max Talent Player

A tidal wave of mana that Hyukjin could only express as ‘absolutely terrifying’ rushed relentlessly towards him.

‘Mana isn’t a living creature or a monster.’

It was a part of the environment, which was a type of ‘setting’.

‘An innate setting of the Endless Sky field.’

Something Hyukjin had learned through his Playing so far was that settings had to be fought with settings. There was always a setting that could trump another setting.

‘The System gave me rewards just by coming here.’

Before setting off, Hyukjin was sure there was a definite reason why he would be given three rewards just by reaching the Endless Sky.

[Distributing ‘Blessing of the Whalekin’ as a clear reward.]

[Distributing ‘Whalekin Sinew’ as a clear reward.]

And one more.

[You have acquired the rights to the ‘Treasure of the Whalekin’ as a clear reward.]

Naphthan said he would find this treasure in the Endless Sky and give it to him. In other words, Naphthan needed some time to find it.

Thankfully, he already had the reward he needed now. Hyukjin took out an item the shape of a blue marble, the ‘Blessing of the Whalekin’, and crushed it.

[Blessing of the Whalekin is taking effect.]

[Blessing of the Whalekin will last for 24 hours.]

[Temporarily adding a physical trait due to Blessing of the Whalekin.]

On top of the two traits he already had, Divine Bow Physique and Divine Sword Physique, Hyukjin temporarily gained the trait ‘Whale Physique’.

[The Whale Physique trait is taking effect.]

[You can breathe the mana of the Endless Sky.]

The burning sensation on his back vanished.

‘Ah.’

Coolness washed over him, and then he was on the ground, vomiting all the contents of his stomach. He heaved multiple times, and everything he expelled was cleansed into nothingness by mana. After emptying his stomach, he felt all refreshed. He had the sensation of being perfectly full even without eating anything, and it felt like mana was entering his body.

‘This is how the whalekin live.’

This feeling of physical satiety and deep mental satisfaction, it was no exaggeration to call it ecstasy. It was peaceful and wonderful, like all the high of being pleasantly drunk with none of the tipsiness.

Hyukjin exited Naphthan’s body through the whalekin’s blowhole.

‘This… is the Endless Sky.’

It was like he was in a blue ocean. Everywhere around him was mana that looked like water. With every breath, the mana circulated through his body and was exhaled out.

‘I feel like I’m growing just by breathing.’

Hyukjin pulled out Isabel.

[A special condition has been temporarily fulfilled.]

[The majority of Isabel’s abilities have been unlocked.]

[Isabel manifests.]

There was a flash so bright that Hyukjin was briefly forced to close his eyes. He opened them again.

“Isa…bel?”

Before him was the white robed Isabel. Mana surged from the purplish gem at the tip of her staff.

Isabel stretched.

“I can finally breathe a bit. It’s gotta be at least Endless Sky level.”

Hyukjin couldn’t look directly at her. He didn’t know why—he simply could not raise his eyes. It wasn’t a response born of fear, but awe. So much awe that his body rejected the very notion of meeting Isabel’s eyes.

It felt as though he was looking at a massive sun.

‘Where did the whalekin go?’

All the whalekin were gone. In this blue cosmos were just the two of them.

“Husband. Since we’re at the Endless Sky, you may as well learn the breathing technique before we go.”

“Breathing technique?”

“You probably won’t be able to use it in other fields.”

“Then it’s meaningless to learn it.”

“Experiencing the farthest heights, if only for a moment, is something martial artists dream of. Because that alone is a valuable experience.”

Hyukjin realized what she meant. She was right. In all things, there was a world of difference between having experienced something once and having never experienced it.

The purplish necklace at Isabel’s neck sparkled.

“Sit down in the lotus position.”

“Lotus position?”

Hyukjin complied, feeling as though his body were floating in midair.

“You’re breathing the mana of the Endless Sky right now. Correct?”

“Yeah.”

Unlike usual, Hyukjin’s command over the conversation was completely snatched away from him. He moved exactly as Isabel directed, as she told him to do. And yet, he didn’t feel that it was strange or unpleasant to do so.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Isabel went to Hyukjin’s back, then reached out around him and placed a hand on his chest, making her look like she was hugging him from behind.

“Feel your heart beating.”

Isabel’s hand was warm. When her hand touched him, an indescribable sense of security washed over him, and her touch awakened a thrill he had forgotten for a long time.

His heart thumped loudly.

“Remember this sensation.”

Isabel stretched out her other hand and laid it on his lower belly. Her palm came in contact with his skin.

“Here.”

Isabel gently stroked Hyukjin’s lower abdomen.

“Think of there being another heart here. Visualize another heartbeat being here in your mind.”

Hyukjin’s view instantly turned inwards, showing him a different world. He became an observer of his own body.

‘This…’

He couldn’t be sure, but he knew that Isabel had helped him.

‘...is an opportunity.’

Most of Isabel’s abilities were unlocked right now. It seemed she had used some special method of her own to guide him.

‘That’s my heart.’

He saw the muscles of his heart.

‘Ah.’ He had experienced this before. ‘I saw the inside of Naphthan’s stomach.’

He had seen a living being’s insides, up close and personal. Maybe because of that, it was far easier to visualize the inside of his own body. He heard Isabel’s voice.

“Make an imaginary heart and put it in your lower abdomen.”

He could no longer see Isabel or feel her touch. Only he, Kim Hyukjin, existed in this microcosm that was a human’s body.

A heart formed before his eyes.

‘This… is an imaginary heart.’

It was imaginary, but it looked the same as a real heart. It was just a heart he couldn’t see unless he was visualizing it.

“Plant that in your lower abdomen. You need this in order to turn the mana of the Endless Sky into your own mana. I’ll help you, so just focus on visualizing. You just need to stay still,” came Isabel’s reliable voice. “I’ll do the rest.”

And then, time passed. Hyukjin could feel the newly formed, additional heart in his lower belly beating.

“Breathe in.”

* * *

* * *

The cosmos cracked, and then he was once again in the real world. The Endless Sky, this new place full of blue mana. He could feel Isabel’s warmth again.

“First, move this blue mana into your lower abdomen’s heart.”

The mana moved like it had a will of its own.

“After converting the mana into your own through this heart, send it to every corner of your body. Ah, actually.”

Isabel came to stand in front of him.

“Get up real quick.”

He did as she asked.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

She leaned forward, and then put her lips on his.

“Open your lips and hold still,” she murmured.

That moment, Hyukjin felt an ecstasy even greater than any flutter of the heart, even more intense than the delight he experienced when he first came to the Endless Sky. He felt the mana that had been purified by Isabel’s body push its way through every part of his body.

‘Stuff from within my body… is being expelled.’

From his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, even his anus and the pores of his skin, smelly black pus oozed out. Some of it even trickled into Isabel’s mouth, but she revealed no revulsion.

“Don’t think about other things. What’s most important right now is purifying your body, Husband.”

It was as if the impurities in his body were expelled and his body was being purified by the Endless Sky’s mana. It also felt like the Athenae’s flame dwelling inside his body was reacting with the Endless Sky’s mana.

His body was cold. It was cold, but simultaneously hot, a strange sensation.

Isabel said, “Remember this feeling. This is how mana flows within our bodies. It passes through the second heart and through the imaginary artery. Then, it passes the real heart and travels to every part of the body.”

It was like all the vessels in his body were changed from red to blue, like the blood flowing through his veins was blue instead of red.

Isabel moved away.

“You can do it on your own, right?”

The impurities that had seeped out of Hyukjin’s body had already been cleansed by the Endless Sky’s mana.

“I think so.”

“You need to remember this pathway and feeling. Only then can you attain ---.”

Hyukjin asked one thing.

“Isabel. Would this have been possible if I hadn’t had your help?”

His body’s impurities were expelled, and he had observed the inside of his own body. He was able to watch and contemplate how the mana inside his body flowed as if it were some exhibit at a museum. Hyukjin knew such a feat was not as easy as it seemed.

“It would have been impossible.”

For the slightest moment, he felt a spike of extreme pain. A jolt ran down his spine and blitzed through his entire body. Hyukjin nearly passed out.

“The pain you just felt, I took it in your stead.”

“...”

“You and I are bound by a Sword’s Pact. I assumed the pain you should have felt.”

“I see… Without you, I would have fainted.”

“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, such a thing won’t happen.”

It was a funny feeling. Up to this point, he had done everything independently. But it was a little different now. The absolute being called Isabel was doing everything for him.

“And though it may be a very painful sensation for you, it isn’t much to me.”

“...”

Now that he thought about it, how was it that Noah of the U-Plex Dungeon had a ‘transcendent’ artifact like this?

‘It’s no simple matter.’

Isabel was an existence powerful enough to directly interfere with the System. It made no sense for a meaningless NPC like Noah to possess such a being. There was more to uncover about Isabel, Noah, and the U-Plex Dungeon.

“Okay, try it a bit longer. Focus, and don’t move for about three hours.”

That was easy enough to say, but hard to do. Hyukjin sat in lotus position and devoted his utmost attention to breathing the Endless Sky’s mana and casting it into every part of his body.

And then, after three hours, he heard a notice.

[You have succeeded in absorbing the ‘mana of the Endless Sky’.]

[A new trait, ‘Endless Sky Physique’, has been generated.]

[A new heart has settled in your lower abdomen.]

[A new name must be imprinted on the new heart.]

“What does it mean to imprint a name on the heart?” Hyukjin asked.

“Eh, it’s nothing much. You’ve created something that didn’t originally exist, so the creator must give the creation a name. Just pick whatever name you want.”

Hyukjin grinned. He had a good idea. He knew this happy chance landed on his lap thanks to this absolute being named Isabel, and that this ‘Endless Sky Physique’ was better than just good.

“Isabel.”

“What?”

“I choose the name Isabel.”

“...”

While he was learning, he allowed things to go as the absolute being wished. That was far better than clumsily taking control. He needed Isabel’s guidance to grow properly.

[The new heart’s name has been set to ‘Isabel’.]

[The heart has been named.]

Isabel blushed a little.

“That’s embarrassing, what the heck?”

“A heart can also mean another life.”

In other words, his other life was Isabel.

“Whatever. I don’t wanna hear such flattery.” Isabel’s face reddened even more. “I merely did what I should as a Sword Pactee and your bride.”

Eye of Perception read Isabel’s emotions. The fact that he was able to do so despite the huge power gap between them meant her emotions were just that intense.

State: First Flutter in Ten Thousand Years / Happiness / Embarrassment

Hyukjin added insult to injury.

“Never thought I’d have my first kiss like this.”

“Th-That wasn’t a kiss.”

“Say what you will, but it was a kiss to me.”

Just then, he heard a voice.

“Hrrrrm? You kissed?”

It was Natalie. After three hours away, the whalekin were back. Natalie was in her glowing human form. She jumped up and down with a hand over her mouth.

“A kiss! A kiss! A kiss! Ooh, how thrilling.”

“Whale child, refrain from pointless imprudence.”

“But Lady Isabel, did you really have a kiss?”

The leader of the whalekin, Naphthan, interrupted with an ahem.

“Natalie. That’s not what’s important right now.” Naphthan turned to stare at Hyukjin. “There’s something we need to tell you.”

The leader of the whalekin started saying something very interesting.

“I think something has happened to the Endless Sky over these 500 years.”