Max Talent Player

They were the notices I’d predicted.

[There is a title that can be connected to the first discovery of the Hidden Piece ‘30 Seoul Station Dungeon Clears’.]

[The title that can be connected is ‘First Pioneer’.]

This was why I intentionally told So Yoohyun and Shin Yeonseo to only clear 25 rounds of the dungeon. Sharing the hidden piece was fine and all, but the ‘first’ had to be me.

[Will you connect the title ‘First Pioneer’ with the Hidden Piece ‘30 Seoul Station Dungeon Clears’ and trigger the linked scenario?]

I went on to see what kind of scenario it was this time.

If a Player with the [First Pioneer] title is the first to discover a [Hidden Piece], it is possible to trigger a linked scenario. Linked scenarios can be triggered three times.

• • Linked Scenarios Triggered: [1/3]

• • Linked Hidden Piece: [30 Seoul Station Dungeon Clears]

• • Scenario: Marked increase in the difficulty/rewards of the Hidden Field within the Seoul Station Dungeon.

I fell into a moment of deliberation.

‘If it was only a marked increase in rewards…’

Then I would have used one of my two remaining title effects, because the oft-mentioned reward from the ‘Seoul Station Dungeon Hidden Field’ was something I absolutely needed. If there was a marked increase of that reward, it would definitely be a big help to me.

‘But the difficulty goes up as well.’

What should I do? It was time to make my decision.

‘The party would be me and Sunhwa, Yoohyun and Yeonseo.’

The original difficulty was about the level at which this party of four could clear it. That was my objective assessment. A level at which we could clear it with everyone surviving. In other words, it wouldn’t be easy.

‘More than that would be greed.’

I decisively gave up on linking the title.

‘Normally, this hidden field is supposed to appear much later.’

In the history before my regression, this hidden field appeared when the average level of regular Players, not Rankers, was 30. Considering that regular Players were between level 15-20 currently, its appearance had been greatly accelerated in the timeline. The levels of those of us who could be called Rankers were in their mid-to-late 20s.

‘By the standards of 2018, the hidden field was conquered when the Rankers’ levels were in their mid 30s.’

At first, Players had struggled a great deal. Only later, when the strategy had been figured out, did the clear rate become much higher.

‘At our current level… This is perfect.’

Greed could invite disaster.

“Oppa, are we going in again?” asked Sunhwa.

“No. We need to rest a bit.”

Her face brightened at that. It seemed the continuous runs had taken their toll on her stamina. Potions could recover one’s actual stamina, but she had to have considerable mental fatigue.

‘It’s normal for your eyes to hurt and ache from just looking at your phone or computer for a long time, so…’

We had been in a dungeon, where you had to maintain a state of tension that looking at a phone couldn’t even compare to. It was only natural to feel tired as time went on. To put it in other terms, you’d lose your steam.

“Yeonseo and Yoohyun will also do their 30th clear soon. Sunhwa, you heard the notice too, yeah? About the hidden piece.”

“I did. Ah. So that’s why you told Mister Yoohyun and unnie to clear it 25 times.”

“Yeah.”

With Yeonseo’s personality, if she were told to do it 25 times, she’d probably do it around 28 times. And my prediction was right on the money. Yeonseo was currently on her 29th clear, and Yoohyun on his 28th.

Another day passed. Yeonseo and Yoohyun both fulfilled the hidden piece. We gathered again in front of the Seoul Station Dungeon.

I believed that with this combination of four Players, the hidden field was definitely possible.

[Enter the Seoul Station Dungeon?]

[The special condition ‘30 Seoul Station Dungeon Clears’ has been satisfied.]

[It is possible to trigger the hidden scenario and proceed to the ‘Seoul Station Dungeon Underground 2nd Floor’.]

[Proceed to the ‘Seoul Station Dungeon 2nd Underground Floor’?]

I turned to the others. 

“Everyone, move to the 2nd underground floor. There might not be a safe zone, so stay on your guard.”

It wasn’t a ‘might not’, but a certainty—there was no safe zone. There was also a high chance we would be attacked as soon as we ported in.

“Sunhwa, don’t forget what I told you.”

“Yep, got it.”

We did the final inspection. As long as we weren’t careless, we would be able to get through this without serious injury.

[Entering the ‘Seoul Station Dungeon 2nd Underground Floor’.]

Like I remembered, the attack started right away.

* * *

Song Kiyoung, the first chairman of the Korean Players Association, as well as the president of the leading conglomerate, Sungshin, took the report he was handed.

“So the Seoul Station Dungeon has been cleared almost thirty times.”

“Yes, sir. Some time has passed since the start of the police records, so… it might have even been cleared more than thirty times.”

“More than thirty times, you say…” President Song Kiyoung’s eyes were serious. “And his clear speed compared to other Players?”

“He is so fast it is beyond comparison. I believe he has a special strategy.”

“As we thought.”

Name: Kim Hyukjin; age: 20 years old. Despite his young age, the young fellow hadn’t been cowed in the least by Kiyoung’s ‘Charisma’ and ‘Pressure’ and had left a very unique impression on Kiyoung.

“His party members are the Tutorial Ender So Yoohyun, a young woman named Shin Yeonseo, and a child named Kim Sunhwa.”

“I remember her.”

He had put in a special word and assisted in her adoption.

“The world has changed rapidly. We must walk in time with those changes.”

If they didn’t, they would be eliminated. Several advanced countries like the United States and Japan had already permitted Players to possess personal defense weapons. They were places where Playing using guns was possible. Naturally, their leveling speed was faster than the leveling speed of Players in Korea.

‘The United States is said to have already reached an average level of 20.’

Even though Korea had started first, there was a big difference in their average level, and that gap would continue to grow.

‘And Japan has a similar speed.’

Even China was the same. Their speed of growth made him feel a slight sense of crisis. Players, new tech… He didn’t know how such things would change the world. Though he didn’t know that, a sense of crisis that knew they couldn’t afford to fall behind was welling up within him.

“Approach Kim Hyukjin.”

If it were Sungshin, they should be able to give him a huge amount of support.

“Are you telling me to scout him, sir?”

The President was suggesting they scout Kim Hyukjin for the guild Sungshin was preparing and planning. ‘Taeguk Shield’. 

TN: Taeguk is the symbol used for the Korean national flag and means ‘the supreme ultimate’ or the ‘great duality’.

“What kind of position are you considering, sir?”

The assistant probed the President’s intentions. The Player Kim Hyukjin was definitely out of the ordinary. There was something about him. The mere fact that he was a cohort of So Yoohyun was enough to prove that. In addition, he had also sold the ‘hair growth solution’ that was ‘new tech’ to the President for a huge profit.

‘He will need to give him a middle manager position at the very least,’ thought the assistant.

So Yoohyun would probably be given the deputy position, and Sungshin would recruit a few Players who were distinguishing themselves.

The guildmaster role would probably be given to the President’s eldest grandson, ‘Song Jinseok’.

“Offer him the guildmaster position.”

“…Pardon? B-But…”

This was a guild receiving the powerful support of a conglomerate. The assistant thought it was only right for the guildmaster of such a guild to be Song Jinseok. The annual salary alone would be in the hundreds of thousands. He didn’t think that the value of new tech and Kim Hyukjin were that much.

“What? You think the guildmaster position is excessive?”

“To be honest, yes.”

Song Kiyoung shook his head.

“No.”

It wasn’t excessive. Kiyoung was sure of it. New tech was the future. And Kim Hyukjin had the potential to become the Player representing all of Korea at the center of the storm.

“It’s not excessive at all. In fact, the opportunity itself may disappear altogether with time.”

He was confident in his eye for people, his capability to differentiate a jewel from a stone. Song Kiyoung believed he had that ability. And he judged Kim Hyukjin to be a jewel among jewels. It was just that he hadn’t started to shine yet.

“I’m trusting you to relay my thoughts to him faithfully.”

“Yes, sir. For Kim Hyukjin, it will be a big honor.”

“Go.”

“Yes, President.”

In the solitude of his CEO office, Kiyoung sat on his chair and visualized the future.

‘If we can obtain Kim Hyukjin and wield him at will…’

If the future he was imagining was correct…

‘If we can raise Taeguk Shield really well…’

Then Sungshin would be able to take one step forward. No, it would be able to jumpten steps forward.

‘Kim Hyukjin.’

He couldn’t forget the look in that young man’s eyes. He could forge him into an excellent blade.

‘Work for Sungshin.’

The one doing the honing would be him,the president of Sungshin. He was confident he could bring Hyukjin under his banner and raise him into a faithful dog for Sungshin. That was what he had always done, and that was what he was sure he could continue doing.

‘I’ll let you become my hunting dog.’

* * *

[Entering the ‘Seoul Station Dungeon 2nd Underground Floor’.]

As soon as they entered, Sunhwa used her skill. She had already heard the general strategy from Hyukjin, who had purposely picked a time when the Intermediate Administrator (Streamer) wasn’t there to explain it to her. Because she trusted and relied on him completely, Sunhwa didn’t pay much attention to the fact that Hyukjin knew this sort of stuff.

[Using the skill Taunt.]

Like the natural-born tank that she was, she could sense that she had successfully pulled the aggro even without seeing the ‘!!!’ marks. She figured out where the attack would come by feeling. This was, in every sense of the word, the influence of ‘genius’.

[Using the skill Platinum Shield.]

Her Platinum Shield had grown a little. It now took the fairly tangible ‘shield’ shape. Holding up her golden circular shield that glowed white, she blocked something.

‘Urgh…!’

Sunhwa felt quite a lot of pain in her shoulders.

Plop!

Something fell to the ground. With her sword aloft, Yeonseo went and checked what it was.

“An arrow?”

The 2nd underground floor of the Seoul Station Dungeon was a cave-type dungeon. Rough breathing noises were coming from some distance ahead in the cave.

‘There’s more than just a couple,’ thought Yeonseo. She didn’t have a skill like Hyukjin’s ‘Eye of Perception’, but she knew there were living beings of some sort in the far corner.

In a small voice, Hyukjin said, “There’s a monster capable of long-ranged attacks.”

He knew what this monster’s identity was.

‘Orc Archer.’

Actually, ‘Orcs’ were the starting point for true monsters. That was because from Orcs onward, monsters had a strong resistance to modern weapons. It was difficult to face an Orc with guns or knives that weren’t items. Of course, it was a different story if you had something like a machine gun, but in any case, from Orcs onward, it was real monster territory.

‘No matter what normal people do, they can’t win.’

Even with the strongest monster in the Tutorial, the ‘Lycanthrope’, it was possible for a regular person to prevail if they had the strategy and modern weapons. But not with an Orc. It was impossible for a regular person to kill it with ordinary weapons.

Notices came in.

[You are given the 1st flash quest.]

[Hunt the Orc Archer first.]

‘This is a kind of tip.’

Though it came in the form of a quest, the notice was basically a tip telling challengers that you had to hunt the Orc Archer first in order to clear this place. Since it was a tip, there would probably be no rewards for the quest.

‘I see… the Orcs.’

They were about 170 centimetres tall and had muscles on par with Yoohyun’s, grotesquely twisted faces, protruding fangs, and monstrously large mouths, from which disgusting smelling saliva dripped profusely.

“Chwik–! Chwiiik–!”

They could hear the sound of the monsters’ rough breathing, as well as footsteps coming from a distance away.

Yoohyun’s brows furrowed. “They’re real… monsters, hyungnim. Are we really going to square off with them right away?”

“No.”

In the meantime, Sunhwa had blocked another arrow using ‘Platinum Shield’. Her arms were trembling. Hyukjin had realized that.

‘Two more is her limit.’

She couldn’t keep blocking the arrows.

“Chwik–! Chwiiiiiiiiiik–!”

The footsteps drew nearer, and the Orcs became visible from within the darkness.

Orc LVL 27

It wasn’t just one or two Orcs. There were close to ten of them. The closer they came, the greater the stench of their breath became, to the point that it was painful to breathe. And then, they saw two red Orcs.

Orc Archer LVL 28

One of them was nocking another arrow. ‘!!!’ marks were above its head. Its target was Sunhwa.

‘Let Sunhwa take one more, and then.’

There was no room for mistakes. If Hyukjin slipped up, one of their crew could die.

“Sunhwa. Block that one’s arrow. And Yeonseo, follow me. Stay within three footsteps of me.”

“What are you planning on doing?”

“No time to explain.”

He purposely didn’t explain to Yeonseo. There was a reason for it.

‘From now on.’

They had to move organically, each person faithfully carrying out their role. If they didn’t, they could all be wiped out. That was the level of danger this place posed. But you could also think about it in the reverse.

‘We’ll move as a real party.’

If they moved as a real party, smoothly and organically, they could kill the Orcs without taking any damage. Hyukjin was sure of it. He made a conscious decision to believe they could do it.

‘We can do it.’

Ready, set—

The Orc Archer fired.

Go!

Hyukjin surged forward.