Max Talent Player

Chapter 156

Senias words were rather shrewdly calculated.

Player Kim Hyukjin has not shown his full strength, either.

The Guardians could only watch Hyukjin through her. The Intermediate Administrator named Roa took action to draw attention for her own profit, and Senia put the period on that endeavor. Naturally, the Guardians interest converged on Senia.

He hasnt used his full strength. Those words worked the Guardians into a frenzy. Senia was growing nicely, as Hyukjin wanted.

Meanwhile, Hyukjin was busy observing the Guardian Tower Tintin with Observers Eye.

Defense has increased.

The stat increase concealed a slight trick. The Guardian Towers pixie, Lily, couldnt tap into the Guardian Towers actual ability. She couldnt touch the current Guardian Towers settings. That was the result of his observation.

Theres some other penalty to match the increase in defense.

He didnt know what that penalty was. It could be that the attack power was decreased, or its recovery speed was slowed. In any case, he was sure some kind of penalty was in play.

However.

In the current situation, raising defense was quite a good call. Lily had a nearly exact gauge of Hyukjins offensive ability, so if the towers defenses exceeded his offensive output, the tower wouldnt take any damage.

The attack speed has slowed a little.

It was a very minute difference, but Hyukjin felt it. The speed at which the turrets took aim, fired, and even the timing at which the trajectory-less explosions went off, he was keenly attuned to.

THUD!

A weighty impact struck him. His chest felt as if it would be blown apart by the explosion.

It hurts.

It hurt, but not enough to knock him out. He intentionally didnt dodge so that he could get closer.

THUD!

Another impact.

Hold on a little more.

He put his trust in the Great Orc Warrior set. None of the attacks so far were ones he couldnt handle. But if they were too much, the set effect would trigger. It was that belief that drove him to push forward without hurrying to evade.

Its better not to dodge attacks that have no trajectory.

It wasnt efficient.

Ill just take them with my body.

It would consume too much focus to dodge attacks with no trajectory. It wasnt cost-effective, so it was better to hurt a little.

Whuuumpf!

Bullets came hurtling at him. There were three of them.

Hyukjin stopped in place.

This attacks a fake.

Those three bullets would steer his movements, and then an even bigger hit would follow suit. He could avoid the attack that was to come if he stopped here.

I can see the flow.

Tintins increase in defense was accompanied by a decrease in its offensive capability, and thanks to that, it became a little easier to figure out its attack pattern. To begin with, a Guardian Tower was set by the System to guard a field. It wasnt specialized to attack something, so its attacks werent that complicated or difficult.

Approach a little more, and then

Hyukjin heard Senias words, too. Her claim that he hadn't used his full strength was, in some ways, not a lie. After all, he hadnt used everything at his disposal. He even had stats left over.

Finish it a little more narrowly.

His goal was to create content that could make the Guardians go wild. Investing all his stats and crushing the tower with pure physical ability was one method, but that was something only idiots who could only see the now would do.

He got close to the Guardian Tower Tintin. Dozens of crosshairs appeared on his chest. At that moment, Hyukjin felt a peculiar sensation.

Its a little weird to say that theres a soul area in the Guardian Tower, but

If Guardian Towers had a cradle for the soul, he got the sense that it was empty, that the current Guardian Tower was just a shell. But he couldnt concentrate on the sensationit wasnt the time for that.

Ill draw out all of Isabels ability.

Being overgeared was a type of skill, an extremely important factor for Playing. And even if two people used the same effect from the same item, the effect would differ depending on the user. Just like how even if you cooked with the same ingredients and the same recipe, the taste would differ depending on the cook.

Focus on Isabel.

Isabels blade seemed to hum in his hand.

[Activating Isabels special effect.]

Isabel had a whopping eight effects. Six of them were disabled, and two were active.

7) Ego activated (Activation time has been greatly increased due to a strong wish)

8) 30% offensive innate ability damage amplification

The effect Hyukjin wanted to use right now was effect #8.

[Using Isabels #8 effect.]

It would amplify the damage of an offensive innate ability by an enormous 30%. It was time for Hyukjins weak point targeting sword skill created from the fusion of Sword Path Tracing and Excellent Strike.

[Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.]

Isabels ability, plus Hyukjins ability.

And

Just using it was meaningless. Simply using a skill without any finesse was something even a child could do. A smart Player, a talented Player, was constantly exploring how the same ability could be utilized in different ways. Hyukjin had such talent in abundance. He had a very perceptive mind.

Unique Ability Fusion.

[Unique Ability Fusion]

An innate ability that discerns the flow of all abilities that fall into the unique ability category, thus combining unique ability with unique ability. However, fusion must be preceded by thorough observation.

Hed already preceded the skill with thorough observation. While taking hits with his body, aiming for the correct timing, and fighting tooth and nail with the Guardian Tower Tintin.

Ive done sufficient observation.

Plus, Hyukjin already had the experience of blending Mettle and the unique ability of Noahs Helm. That experience wasnt completely unrelated to what he was trying to do now.

Because the nature of the fusion is the same.

He wasnt just using Sword of Insight and Isabels #8 effect. He could, of course, just use them separately, but Hyukjin didnt do that. He discerned the true flow, extracting maximum efficiency, and applied the buff of Hunters March as the cherry on top.

4. Increased effectiveness of a direct attack ability of the caster when used in combination with Hunters March (limited to innate abilities).

Each and every factor combined to produce a Sword of Insight far stronger than its usual form. This was the full strength Hyukjin was capable of right now.

Now!

Hyukjin thrusted his sword towards one spot.

Nngh!

The problem was that the Guardian Tower Tintin had been waiting for the same moment.

CRAAASH!

Hyukjins body went up in flames that sought to swallow him alive. A firestorm roared to life and engulfed him.

Lily blew a long whistle. Tintins capable of strong fire attacks, too. Tch, you had me scared for a moment with such a strong attack out of nowhere She giggled as she fluttered about. One Guardian Tower Master candidate burned to death, check. Well then, who will be the next Guardian Tower Master candi huh?

* * *

* * *

Hyukjin already knew that Tintin was capable of a fire attack. He just hadnt known it would be used at that moment.

The optimal timing of both sides had overlapped, and with it, his items broke.

[Great Orc Warriors Iron Armor has been destroyed.]

[Great Orc Warriors Leather Shoes have been destroyed.]

[Great Orc Warriors Leather Pants have been destroyed.]

[Great Orc Warriors Gloves have been destroyed.]

As a result, the Great Orc Warrior set effect didnt trigger.

[The title Person of Fire is resisting the fierce flames.]

Instead, it was Person of Fire that allowed him to endure the flames. Hyukjin stood in front of the Guardian Tower, covered from head to toe in raging flames.

That was close.

Cracks began to spread along Tintins outer wall. Lily flew over in a hurry.

Wh-Whats going on? Tintins attack definitely hit you!

It really was a close call for Hyukjin.

It was dangerous.

The optimal timing. He did go into it knowing it was dangerous, but he believed in himself. In his Sword of Insight, boosted to max efficiency. In the amplified damage. And in the absorption ability his Legolas Rings possessed.

[Absorbing HP.]

[Absorbing HP.]

[Absorbing HP.]

Eight HP absorption messages came in. The amount of HP Hyukjin absorbed increased in proportion to the increase in his offensive output.

Choi Sung-gu felt cold sweat run down his back.

That fucking crazy bastard.

He had seen it, too. How reckless Hyukjin had been with that last hit.

It was a close call, even with healing pots and his absorption ability. That was how strong Tintins attack had been. I think he endured the brunt of the attack with those two and is now blocking the flames with the Person of Fire title, but

If that last attack hadnt been a fire attack, but a regular one, would Hyukjin still be alive right now? Sung-gu didnt know. What he knew for certain was that Hyukjins clear had been dangerous to the extreme.

Cr-crack cr-cr-aaack!

The cracks continued to spread along Tintins outer wall.

[Guardian Tower Scenario 02 - Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master, has been completed.]

[All Guardian Tower scenarios have been completed.]

[With the completion of the Guardian Tower scenarios, the Guardian Tower is being restored.]

The restoration process began. The Guardian Tower Tintin returned to its original appearance.

[With the completion of the Guardian Tower scenarios, the Guardian Tower Master is being decided.]

The Guardian Tower Masters name was Kim Hyukjin. He became the owner of the Guardian Tower Tintin.

[The Guardian Tower is being activated.]

[The Guardian Tower is starting to guard the Guardian Field.]

Hyukjin saw a green light extend to the surroundings. It wasnt actual light, but an effect visible only to Hyukjins eyes. It was almost like countless laser beams were radiated out into the surroundings.

This is the Guardian Towers Guardian Field.

A flawless Guardian Field deployed before his eyes. The green energy covered the DMC Riverview Xi and the entire Namgajwadong/Bukgajwadong area.

An energy I cant see even with Observers Eye.

It was visible only to the Guardian Tower Masters eyes. In other words, the energy and flow were higher in grade than Hyukjins current Observers Eye.

Its covered this whole area.

This energy would now protect the entirety of this field from most things under calamity level.  But for some reason, Hyukjin still had the niggling sense that something was missing. He just didnt know what it was.

Sunhwa ran over.

Oppa!

Her heart was in her mouth. She really thought for a moment that her brother was going to burn to death.

Summary: Relieved Brocon

Hyukjin happily gave Sunhwa a little hug, a very light embrace. 

Its okay, its okay. I didnt die.

I totally saw how dangerous it was, oppa!

Thud! Thud! The ground shook.

HYUUUUNGNIM!!!

He and Sunhwa shared a very light hug, but Yoohyun swept him into a complete bear hug.

Im so relieved! Wasnt it a little dangerous at the end there?!

Because Yoohyun was so big, Hyukjin looked as if he was half swallowed up by the larger man.

If you dont let go, youre dead.

S-Sorry. I was just too happy.

Hyukjin got a new title.

[The title Guardian Tower Master has been generated.]

Lily flew around, trailing dust everywhere. Woooow! It was fun, it was really fun. Ive completely fulfilled my duty~!

Sparkly dust scattered all over the place. Hyukjin turned his gaze to Lily. The pixies body was slowly disappearing, starting from her feet. But it looked like she was having fun.

It was fun!

Her entire lower body faded away.

I had fun! And I think Tintins found a good owner!

Her stomach disappeared little by little, and then her chest.

Though a sacrifice will be necessary to make it 100% complete!

After her chest, her neck disappeared. And in the end, so did her face.

I did hear that pixies oxidize and disappear when they achieve all their goals.

Pixies called that an extremely happy event. Apparently, it was a different concept from human death, or something like that. Even the other pixie, Roa, was staring with a look of extreme envy. In the end, Lily completely disappeared, leaving only sparkling dust behind.

Taeguk Shields Guildmaster, Song Kiyeol, came up to Hyukjin.

Great work.

Thank you. Im afraid cleaning up the aftermath will be a little troublesome.

Please dont worry about it.

The area was in complete ruins. At the very least, no civilians were harmed due to the Guardian Field being isolated from the regular field.

The damage restoration will be handled by Taeguk Shield and Sungshin.

It looked like the road would have to be entirely replaced. But just then, Eye of Perception picked something up. Hyukjin sensed someones familiar presence.

Hes here again?