Max Talent Player

In the past, when the Herdsman of Las Vegas proposed a gamble with me, I refused. Back then, I said this:

–I want to be the one who orchestrates the probability and makes a situation where I can win. Only idiots would let themselves be blinded by the tantalizing reward and bet without any information.

–That’s why I refused. A gamble entrusted to luck alone is no different from throwing the game.

That was the answer I came up with after using all of the knowledge at my disposal and thoroughly analyzing the disposition of the Guardian that made the proposal.

Naturally, it was well received. The Herdsman of Las Vegas sent me signals that he respected my thoughts and was satisfied with them.

There was also a notice like this:

[A great number of anonymous Guardians ridicule you.]

Many of the same Guardians were probably watching me through Senia right now. Back then, they must have ridiculed me a great deal.

“I want to make a counter proposal. A kind of bet. I’d like you to convey my intent to the Herdsman of Las Vegas.”

To that, Senia responded like this:

–Player Kim Hyukjin. Are you out of your mind?

Of course, my mind was perfectly sound.

–Did you forget what I said before?

–What are you talking about?

–I don’t do luck-based gambles. I will orchestrate the chances and set the board.

–But even so, what qualifies you to make a counter proposal to a Guardian?

–Why not? Is there any law saying I can’t? Is that forbidden in the Commandments?

Senia was speechless. It was natural, since there was no notion of this in Senia’s mind. It was because I knew that the peak of sovereign classes, the Gold Pyramid Michelle, had made bets and counter proposals with the Herdsman of Las Vegas for many years that I could brazenly offer a counter proposal.

‘The Herdsman of Las Vegas… actually likes these kinds of counter proposals and bets more.’

It was different for every Guardian. You couldn’t make a counter proposal to a Guardian who was arrogant and looked down on Players as trash—they might label you as impudent.

‘But not the Herdsman of Las Vegas.’

Senia’s worries were indeed unfounded.

‘See? I said you didn’t need to worry, Miss Beginner Streamer. Matching your response to the other party’s disposition is Playing 101.’

[The ‘Herdsman of Las Vegas’ is interested in your counter proposal.]

Senia’s wingtips trembled. She was wearing a mask of expressionlessness, but I could see traces of shock, and she was saying something I couldn’t hear. She was probably explaining something to the Guardians.

[The ‘Herdsman of Las Vegas’ wants to hear the details of your counter proposal.]

As expected of the famous Gold Pyramid’s Guardian, he very generously used another Pause, even though it was said to be an extremely expensive authority.

[The Pause has been prolonged.]

[2 minutes have been added to the Pause.]

With that, I had a total of three minutes. I got a whisper from Senia.

–Do not underestimate the Guardians.

I knew that. If he didn’t like my proposal, I would be greatly penalized for the offensive crime of deceiving the Herdsman of Las Vegas.

‘I know that, too.’

There was no such thing as perfect. I was expanding and manipulating this board, but I couldn’t control everything and have things go exactly as I wanted. I wasn’t a god.

‘But the return is far greater than the risk.’

This sort of thing was called an investment. When the rewards I could expect were far greater than the risks I had to undertake, it was my belief that I should boldly advance. Because I resolved myself to live differently from the past. Because I decided to be the one to make my own path.

[The ‘Herdsman of Las Vegas’ is waiting.]

I began to speak. “According to what I have determined with my humble abilities, I believe that in this place, the Tomb of the Wind Warrior, a Great Orc Warrior, two Orc Archers, and one Orc will appear.”

I didn’t see it with my eyes, but my guess was likely spot-on. If we accepted the ‘Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior’, an additional five Orcs would spawn, which would make a total of six regular Orcs.

“The Herdsman of Las Vegas has not concretely stated the terms of the new quest.”

Sometimes, there were quests like this, insidious ones where the end goal was left up to interpretation. Such quests were undesirable. Quests with concrete tasks, like ‘Hunt the Great Orc Warrior!’ or ‘Destroy the Clear Crystal!’ were good quests.

‘The Herdsman of Las Vegas tested me with this proposal.’

He wanted to see if I was truly a Player worth his attention. There was no doubt that he had been curious to see if I was a Player he should sponsor.

“As such, I would like to ask that the quest terms be concretely stated, and at the same time…”

With this, I should have secured an easy pass for the Herdsman of Las Vegas’s test. Considering his disposition, this answer should score a hundred points in his book.

“I would like to propose those concrete terms as a counter proposal.”

Senia’s wings continued to tremble. Her impudent(?) Player dared to make bets and counter proposals with a Guardian, so she, a powerless beginner Streamer, was unsurprisingly nervous. She seemed way more nervous than me, the person involved. She really had to grow a spine.

“I will make an offering using proof that we have hunted the Great Orc Warrior.”

* * *

Jo Sunghyun did his best to not miss a single word Hyukjin said.

‘He’s making a deal not just on the level of Intermediate Administrators, but… on the Guardian level.’ 

It was a Playing method he’d never even considered.

‘Today… I’m really learning a lot.’

It felt like a new world opened up to him, like he received enlightenment. Not only that, but even his body changed. His affinity with the wind attribute dramatically increased, and he felt abundant mana, as well as the confidence to be able to achieve all things related to the wind.

‘This is the Venti Body Tome.’

The person who gave him such an incredible item was Kim Hyukjin. Just who was this person? He became curious, and beyond that, he was awed.

‘In the end, he successfully made the deal.’

Sunghyun didn’t quite get it.

‘Proof that we have hunted the Great Orc Warrior.’

Just what could that be? Did something drop if you hunted a Great Orc Warrior? Did they just have to offer that? Like how they put Coins into the Offering Box?

‘No idea.’

He didn’t get it, but the quest was about to begin. Hyukjin turned to his party members.

“The quest is starting.”

They heard a notice.

[The quest ‘Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior’ has been activated.]

Thanks to Hyukjin’s efforts, they could now read the quest details.

[Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior]

A Great Orc Warrior has been set as the guardian monster protecting the ‘Tomb of the Wind Warrior’. In order to find out the secret within the tomb, acquire the ‘token’ that proves you have hunted the ‘Great Orc Warrior’.

• An additional five Orcs will be spawned
• Upon quest failure, all party members will die.

The Paused field returned to life and began to move again. Tombs began to surge up, and the monsters began to appear.

Shin Yeonseo was a bundle of nerves.

‘Just what the heck is this boss guy thinking?’

Rather than a regular hunt, they had to offer the proof of the hunt. If they failed, all of them would die.

‘What’re we gonna do if nothing drops?’

They needed a ‘token’ proving that they hunted the Great Orc Warrior. She had no idea what that could be, but what if it didn’t drop? Even if they barely managed to hunt the Great Orc Warrior, if that didn’t show up, then they would fail the quest, right?

‘Ah, fudge.’

Whatever. Yeonseo still trusted Hyukjin. Now wasn’t the time to be quibbling over what was right or wrong. They had to join forces to clear this quest.

“Boss guy. Should I harass the monsters while Sunhwa pulls the aggro like last time?”

“...”

However, Hyukjin did not respond.

“Boss?”

“...”

In the meantime, the Great Orc Warrior emerged completely, along with the Orc Archers and regular Orcs. The pressure they put out was incredibly intense.

Sunhwa swallowed nervously as well. She had seen them before, but she still found monsters scary. They were all gross and too large.

‘Do I just need to pull the aggro like last time?’

Her target would be the Orc Archers. She just needed to block their attacks.

‘If I hunt the regular Orcs and buy time with Sung-gu mister, Sunghyun oppa, and Yoohyun mister…’

Then Yeonseo unnie and Hyukjin oppa would be able to hunt the Great Orc Warrior together in the meantime. Hyukjin didn’t tell her what to do, but she was able to come up with a plan.

‘But…’

To Sunhwa, it looked a little dicey. It wouldn’t be easy. She judged that hunting that many monsters with a Great Orc Warrior of all things thrown into the mix with their current party and abilities… would be very difficult.

‘What in the world could oppa be thinking?’

* * *

I waited a little longer, until the Great Orc Warrior and the Orcs fully discovered our presence and were directing hostility towards us.

‘By now, there should be plenty of attention on us.’

Countless Guardians had to be curious as to how we would clear this difficult quest. That was enough.

“Senia. Here.”

Getting down to one knee, I held out an item to Senia with two hands. My posture was reverent, as if I were offering something.

I already had proof that we hunted the Great Orc Warrior.

[Great Orc Warrior’s Molar]

A long molar of the Great Orc Warrior. It is imbued with the Great Orc Warrior’s strength. If processed in a special way and ingested, you will be able to acquire a special power.

Senia took the item with a sour expression. She might look expressionless to others, but I could see she was wearing a bitter expression. It was written pretty clearly over her face.

“What? Is there any problem?”

“Well… no.”

I tsked inwardly. Other people aside, Senia should already know I had acquired the ‘Great Orc Warrior’s Molar’.

‘When I got the Great Orc Warrior’s Molar, the Herdsman of Las Vegas wasn’t watching me yet.’

To be more precise, it was after we killed the Great Orc Warrior and got all the rewards that the ‘Herdsman of Las Vegas’ started to watch me. The timing simply aligned like that, and that was why I made a bet like this.

[The quest clear condition has been satisfied.]

[A portion of the ‘Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior’ has been cleared.]

[The approval of the ‘Herdsman of Las Vegas’ is necessary for the complete clear of the ‘Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior’.]

Looked like that would take some time.

[The System has forcefully applied a Pause.]

The monsters stopped in place. My party members stared at me in total shock. They must have been racking their brains to figure out what to do, but the quest was partially cleared out of nowhere.

[The ‘Whispering Devil’ is delighted.]

[The ‘Courageous Lion King’ is greatly disappointed.]

[The ‘Nameless Observer’ continues to observe.]

This time, I was the one to send Senia a whisper request.

–What are you doing?

–What do you mean?

–I’ve set the stage. I pulled a fast one on the Herdsman of Las Vegas just now, and a lot of Guardians must be watching.

The Herdsman of Las Vegas wouldn’t be displeased. I was sure of it. He would definitely just think that my hand of cards was better than his. That was confirmed by the notice I heard next.

[The ‘Herdsman of Las Vegas’ is impressed by your hand.]

[The ‘Herdsman of Las Vegas’ is debating whether he should acknowledge the complete clear.]

‘I know the Herdsman of Las Vegas is satisfied with my clear,’ I thought. ‘He acknowledged that I had a good hand.’

So the reason why he was debating acknowledging the complete clear was solely because of the other Guardians. That was why I whispered Senia.

–Aren’t the other Guardians kicking up a fuss, saying this isn’t a proper clear?

Guardians like the Courageous Lion King would be particularly outraged. Even I had to admit that my Play just now was a little sneaky.

This kind of Playing was polarizing. Guardians with dispositions like the Herdsman of Las Vegas would definitely be okay with it, but there were bound to be quite a lot of Guardians who wouldn’t like it.

–That’s why you need to step up and take an active role. You’re an Intermediate Administrator.

Obeying the rules of the System, while saving the Herdsman of Las Vegas’s face and simultaneously pushing for content that would satisfy the Guardians, wasn’t that what an Intermediate Administrator, a Streamer, should do? They were producers of content that could satisfy a great number of Guardians.

–You should either give me a new quest… or round up the suckers.

In other words, what Senia needed to do right now was guide the situation so that another Guardian would issue a new quest in a way that didn’t violate the rules of the System, thus satisfying the countless Guardians who wanted to see us hunt that horde of Orcs.

‘One of these amusement-addicted Guardians will issue a quest for us to hunt those Orcs. Definitely.’

But they couldn’t just issue it outright. I had already satisfied the clear condition. As far as the System was concerned, the quest could be cleared with one word from the Herdsman of Las Vegas. So if the Guardians wanted to dismiss that clear and make us clear it again, they would need to offer something more.

‘An extra reward… should be attached.’

In cases like this, where the quest had to be cleared a second time, it was typical to offer a bigger reward. Of course, the Player would be able to choose whether they accepted or not.

–We will hunt the Orcs.

That was my plan from the beginning. I was just trying to maximize the rewards right now, but I always intended on taking on the original gamble. For a moment, Senia was speechless, perhaps out of shock. I grinned.

–Do you really intend on hunting them? That horde of Orcs?

Her wings quivered.

–I told you, didn’t I? I will set the stage.