Max Talent Player

Back when Hyukjin cleared the Yellow Charm Gate, he already knew about the Yellow Charm.

–In some cases, the Yellow Charm can even bring luck.

At the time, it was dismissed as an unsubstantiated rumor floating around on the Internet. But Hyukjin knew it wasn’t just a rumor, but a real thing.

–Sometimes, the Yellow Charm turns into a Red Charm.

–That occurs when the person who made the Yellow Charm is in danger.

Originally, the charms were just one of many rumors going around, something he hadn’t paid much attention to before. But now…

–In the worst cases, blood will even seep from the Red Charm.

Hyukjin picked up the Red Charm.

‘There’s… no blood.’

Returning to the past was great, but there were too many oddities that bothered him. These charms, the Demon King, the unknown beings making Predator Trees, the people who said they weren’t Players being Players after all. Everything.

‘How did someone find out about this charm and release the info on the Internet?’

Normally, information with this level of veracity would be confirmed as a fact and become widespread knowledge one way or another, but that wasn’t even the case. He only remembered it as a rumor floating around on the Internet. It was only after he regressed that it struck him as odd.

‘Calm down. According to the info from the past, it’s not the worst case scenario.’

His heart thumped wildly, but he composed himself.

‘Where is Ahyoung?’

He didn’t have a location tracker on her, and she wasn’t the type to always say where she was going.

‘Hold on.’ Hyukjin remembered something. ‘Didn’t she say she was going on a quick trip to Yangpyeong around today?’

Ahyoung said there was a really famous bakery in Yangpyeong. As a major bread aficionado, she was going there to buy bread. Technically speaking, tasting that bread was a part of Ahyoung’s job. Eating delicious food was, after all, a form of studying.

‘2019. January 23rd.’

What happened in Yangpyeong then?

‘I don’t remember.’

It wasn’t like he remembered every incident.

‘Sunhwa’s not home, so…’

Sunhwa usually preferred to stay home or go around eating tasty things with Yeonseo or Ahyoung. Either that, or she was Playing.

‘If she was going to Play, she would have told me beforehand.’

When the guild members of Giantgod Played on their own, they usually told Hyukjin what kind of Play they would be doing. It wasn’t a rule Hyukjin set, but something they just automatically did.

He didn’t have any messages from Sunhwa.

‘I think they’re both in Yangpyeong.’

If Sunhwa was with Ahyoung, that reassured him a bit. The best tank in Korea would be by Ahyoung’s side.

‘If Sunhwa’s not with her… then it’s possible this wouldn’t be a Red Charm, but a bleeding one.’

Sunhwa wasn’t picking up, and neither was Ahyoung. Both of their phones were cut off. Hyukjin immediately called Jo Sunghyun.

–Did you get any summons from the government?

–I haven’t. What’s wrong?

–They’re not saying anything is happening in Yangpyeong?

–No. They haven’t contacted me about anything.

If a large-scale gate break or dungeon break had occurred, the government would have taken swift action. But that wasn’t the case, either. Since the charm still turned red despite Sunhwa being there, something was happening.

–Assemble in Yangpyeong.

–Now?

Sensing the urgency in Hyukjin’s voice, Sunghyun didn’t quibble.

–Should I call all the members of Giantgod?

–Please do.

–Where in Yangpyeong should we go?

–I’ll message you that soon.

–I’ll make a request to the government and go by helicopter.

After hanging up, Hyukjin called Song Kiyeol, who immediately lent Hyukjin his personal helicopter. He even departed in it with Hyukjin.

Song Kiyeol shouted over the whirring blades, “What’s going on?”

“I think something has happened to my older sister.”

“I’ve summoned Taeguk Shield just in case. It’ll take some time, but they’ll be there soon. Everyone will be coming by helicopter.”

“Thank you.”

That was something Song Kiyeol arranged independently, without Hyukjin asking for it. It was Kiyeol’s first time seeing his business partner look so harried. Hyukjin was taking calm, quick action, but he looked anxious.

‘To think he would look this restless…’

This was Kim Hyukjin, someone with a greater precognitive ability than Ham Sohyun. A person like him looking this restless had to mean that something big was happening in Yangpyeong, didn’t it?

‘Did monsters like the Fire Giants that appeared in the DMC show up again?’

Back then, they had the support of the Guardian Tower. But not this time.

‘If monsters that strong show up again, what should I do?’

He had to run. There was no other way.

‘Just what in the world is happening?’

* * *

* * *

Since they went by helicopter, they reached Yangpyeong quickly. After making a permitted landing on a helipad, they got into the waiting vehicle.

Before coming here, Hyukjin had gone into Ahyoung’s room, checked her Internet search history, and found Yangpyeong’s famous pastry shop, Ludipan Patisserie.

‘We’re almost there.’

He extended his senses as much as possible, scanning his surroundings with Eye of Perception.

‘I don’t feel any monsters.’

Was it a gate, then?

‘No gates, either.’

Nor were there any noticeable dungeons. The only monsters were a few neutral herbivorous rabbits hopping around on the street.

Hyukjin opened the door to the patisserie, letting it swing shut behind him. The bell on top of the door jingled, and a cheerful welcome greeted him.

“Welcome in!”

The inside of the patisserie was quite peaceful. The sweet, appetizing smell of bread stimulated Hyukjin’s nose, and a wide range of pastries that looked even more sweet than they smelled were lined up in the display case.

Standing next to Hyukjin, Song Kiyeol thought quizzically, ‘What business does he have here?’

Around the tables were seated small clusters of people, many of them being couples. There were also groups of just women. There were three floors in total. As Kiyeol watched, Hyukjin ascended the stairs.

The second floor was packed as well. There, Hyukjin’s gaze lingered on one person, a person he knew. He went up the stairs again, going up to the third floor, which was equally full.

“Mr. Kim Hyukjin. What’s going on?”

“I’m looking for my sisters.”

Hyukjin analyzed and took in everything with Observer’s Eye. And then, he found them.

“Huh? Oppa. What are you doing here?”

“...”

Sitting on the opposite side of Ahyoung, Sunhwa looked up from the bread she was cutting and stared at Hyukjin.

Song Kiyeol was a little taken aback. From the way Hyukjin was acting, he thought some kind of national disaster had occurred. He even heard that all of Giantgod was coming. But there was nothing out of place.

“What kind of sick joke do you think you’re playing?” asked Kim Hyukjin, his voice low.

Kim Sunhwa got up. “Aw, shucks. You’re so perceptive that it’s really no fun, dude.”

A chill ran down Song Kiyeol’s spine. The patisserie was the picture of tranquility around them, but there was something off about this peace. He had the bizarre feeling that everything in front of him was a lie.

“How did you know?” asked Kim Sunhwa.

“Ban Kimyung is on the 2nd floor.”

“Ban Kimyung? Ah. So his name is Ban Kimyung?”

Hyukjin had noticed the strange sensation as soon as he heard the jingling of the bell when coming in. He had gained the Endless Sky Physique, and through it, the ability Assimilation. That was the innate power to absorb all the mana around him and make it his, the special ability to breathe mana.

So he could tell.

‘The mana here is different from the outside.’

The entire interior of this patisserie was no different from a dungeon. With his heightened mana sense, he was able to assess the patisserie with a method other than Observer’s Eye or Eye of Perception. His body automatically knew. This was an artificially created space.

“I never thought an Intermediate Administrator would get this involved in the System.”

“As you know, we’re a bit special.”

Hyukjin knew. The race his opponent belonged to were Intermediate Administrators who ate Players—evil spirit caspers.

“That aside, what do you think of that fellow on the 2nd floor? Think he’d make a good new vessel for me?”

“You want to leave Sunhwa and go into Ban Kimyung?”

“That’s why I’m going through all this trouble.”

Hyukjin felt blood seep from the Red Charm in his hand.

‘Blood… is coming out.’

He didn’t know what the evil spirit inside Sunhwa’s body was planning on doing, but the situation was worsening.

“What is this ‘trouble’, exactly?”

“This.”

Sunhwa reached out and grasped Kim Ahyoung by the neck. Ahyoung didn’t resist—her eyes were unfocused, like her soul had departed her body. She didn’t even scream.

[The ‘Lady of the Scales’ is furious with the Intermediate Administrator’s excessive involvement.]

[The ‘True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain’ ridicules the Intermediate Administrator’s shameful conduct.]

[The ‘Barrier of Blue Light’ reproaches the Intermediate Administrator.]

[The ‘Nameless Observer’ observes.]

Kim Sunhwa smirked.

“No matter what you say, great Guardians, what I’m doing isn’t illegal. Our people are permitted by the System to do this sort of thing.”

That seemed to be the truth. The Guardians might be furious and ridicule and reproach, but they were unable to directly interfere.

Cold sweat trickled down Song Kiyeol’s back. He checked the precognitive note inside his Inventory.

–A false, sweet fragrance shall permeate you.

–The prophecy of the true seer doth come to be.

The true seer. In the past, Song Kiyeol saw the same wording at Michelle’s auction, and he thought that it referred to Kim Hyukjin.

‘A false, sweet fragrance… Is that the bread I smelled earlier?’

Ham Sohyun said that whenever she had precognitive dreams about Kim Hyukjin, they were very explicit. And that was the truth—a precognitive dream of this level really was direct and concrete.

‘Then what does ‘The prophecy of the true seer doth come to be’ mean?’

Just as Kiyeol thought that, Hyukjin spoke.

“You will die here.”

“What?” Kim Sunhwa broke into a loud cackle. “You? Will kill me? How?” She continued to laugh with amusement. “You’re a mere level 39 Player. I get that you’re a producer of unique content or whatever, but how do you plan on killing me? Did you know? That I can make your head go boom with a few twists of my finger?”

“...”

“I really never thought I would one day be threatened to be killed by a beginner period shrimp.”

Hyukjin broke his silence. “If you could, you would have killed me in the time it took to say all that. Casper.”

It was a new word to Song Kiyeol. Casper.

“You have made direct involvement in my Playing. I do understand that you’re from a race that’s allowed to do so.”

However, Intermediate Administrators were often called upon to be ‘administrators’. That was their set role. As such, an Intermediate Administrator jumping directly into Playing was a violation of the System’s basic rules.

“But even so, bending the basic rules to participate in Playing will have cost you a lot of strength.”

The casper had already consumed a great deal of strength.

‘In order to devour Ban Kimyung on the 2nd floor.’

One of the future 8 Heroes, the unlucky Enforcer of Commandments who would be eaten by a devil casper. That was the person he had seen downstairs.

‘The casper has taken a greater fancy to Ban Kimyung than Sunhwa.’

And he was going through all this in order to switch bodies.

‘Before he transfers from Sunhwa to Ban Kimyung, he needs to inflict a major mental blow on Sunhwa.’

If left unstopped, he would have most likely controlled Sunhwa’s body to heavily injure or kill Ahyoung. Afterwards, while Sunhwa was reeling in shock, he would use some kind of sorcery to transfer to Ban Kimyung.

“More interesting… is the fact that Ban Kimyung is level 1.”

He was a future member of the 8 Heroes and would grow into a top Ranker. And yet, his level was 1, and he was newly awakened, at that. Hyukjin recalled Ban Kimyung’s summary.

Summary: Newly Awakened Person Intending on Committing Suicide

He wasn’t awakened before, but was suddenly a Player now, in the ‘patisserie’ a casper was expending a huge amount of strength to dominate.

‘The casper forcefully awakened him into a Player.’

And that, too, would have cost a major chunk of the casper’s energy. So right now, the casper was extremely fatigued.

“You messed with someone you shouldn’t have.”

Hyukjin seized a once-in-a-lifetime chance.