Max Talent Player

Chapter 171

I had the feeling that this place was very familiar to me. That was because the current D-Tower 1st floor looked the same as the 1st floor when it was the Tutorial Dungeon. In addition, I discovered a certain fact.

The ATM machine has been punched through.

That was the strategy I had used in the past. There was a hole in the ATM machine, as if someone knew the same strategy and followed it, be it a coincidence or something they came up with on their own.

Whats important is that there are traces of the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier having been here, but no (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier.

That meant

Someone hunted the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier.

The Scenario Outline had also been modified.

(Enhanced) Goblin Soldier: 1 (D-Tower 1st Floor)

And I didnt feel any living humans on the 1st floor. So someone had hunted the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier without losing their life and gone up to the 2nd floor.

But I have to go find the mana crystal on the underground 1st floor.

A sense of urgency bubbled within me.

The 3rd floor is a hidden field.

Even if the 3rd floor wasnt cleared, clearing just the 2nd floor would end this scenario.

Clear Crystal will be generated upon hunting all monsters on the 2nd Floor. Destroying the Clear Crystal will end the entire scenario.

That cant happen.

I had to hurry. Thankfully, there were Trolls on the 2nd floor, and among them were Troll Soldiers whose endurance was second to none in the beginner period.

Lets hurry and go up.

I moved to the escalator.

[Escalator Going to the 2nd Floor]

An escalator going to the Main Field of D-Tower, the 2nd Floor. Can transport fifteen people at once.

Cooldown: 8 minutes

If this place had the same settings as the Tutorial Dungeon, the original cooldown should have been twenty minutes.

12 minutes have elapsed since it was used.

Before I blocked the way to the D-Tower front doors, someone had already gone inside. After hunting the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier, they went up to the 2nd floor about twelve minutes ago.

I cant go up to the 2nd floor.

Then that left finding the mana crystal on the underground 1st floor within eight minutes. It was still efficient, at least.

I have to find the way down to the underground 1st floor.

Perhaps because of my urgency, I couldnt see it immediately. There was probably a condition to activate it. My thoughts once again flickered to the personor peoplewho were up on the 2nd floor right now.

Looking at the state of the 1st floor

The corpses strewn about. The punctured ATM machine. A body part of a monster I guessed was a Troll. The smell of a fierce battle still lingering in the air. The atmosphere. The time I spent using Cognitive Dissonance outside.

All of that was information for me, an Observer.

I dont think it took very long for them to hunt the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier.

They did it quickly, and that party probably didnt take much damage to speak of, either. Then, they moved on confidently to the 2nd floor.

Its possible to infer who it was if they were that skilled.

I cast my eyes around again.

My gaze stopped at the punctured ATM machine.

Theres a hole.

The hole was created by the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldiers spear. It threw the spear, the spear rotated, and the people avoided that spear with the help of the ATM machine. Over there was the bathroom.

That moment, I could feel it.

This is!

There was the slightest sense of budding enlightenment, the same sensation Id felt when fighting Kim Taechun. Similar in essence to when I felt the ominous future with Precognitive Eye.

Im on the verge of seeing it.

It might be because this situation was one that I had already experienced. I, too, had fought the (Enhanced) Goblin Soldier, and I knew about the hunting method the unknown party used. Whatever the reason, I was able to read what had happened a few minutes ago.

Focus.

I focused a little more. The ATM machine. That was the key point. Whatever it had to show me was dancing in and out of my reach.

I can see it!

I could see it.

Is this the opposite of Future Sight?

Future Sight could see the future. But what I just did wasnt Future Sight. I glimpsed into the past. It felt like a video was playing back in my head.

Ah.

The battle they fought with a formation looked very familiar.

There are many of them.

At the very least, it wasnt just a few people. I felt like I could see many Players who had worked together for a long time.

They set up a circular formation.

A circular formation.

Many Players fitted in silver armor.

And

The silhouette of a girl.

That was all for the image I glimpsedseveral men wearing silver armor and a girl holding a wand. 

The Steel Bulwark Kim Donghyun and Steel Mage Kim Ahyun brother and sister duo.

The elite guild Wings led by the Steel Bulwark Kim Donghyun and supported by the Steel Mage Kim Ahyun. I, an Observer, thought of the Wings guild.

They were already active at this time?

Wings was one of the major guilds in Gyeonggi Province. They were called the Guardians of Gyeonggido, and they made a significant contribution in blocking the 1st Monster Wave Scenario that began in Seoul and moved to Hanam in Gyeonggi Province.

A guild made up of twelve knights and one magician.

The guild was known to have avoided expanding into Seoul because they disliked the complicated politics and elbowing for privileges in the city.

When it comes to fighting in a formation, theyre a cut above Taeguk Shield. They arent super strong as individuals, but their defense-oriented Playing is built on a foundation of outstanding and sturdy teamwork.

That was the kind of guild Wings was, at least according to the information I knew.

Thats a relief.

It was a good thing. They were cautious Players; their playstyle wasnt super aggressive. They moved in formation like a sturdy shield, slowly strangling the enemys windpipe. As a result, their raids tended to take a relatively long time.

I cant think of any way to get down to the underground 1st floor.

If it was completely the same as the Tutorial Field, I would be able to figure it out right away, but unfortunately, that wasnt the case.

And I dont know what the condition is, either.

Even my intuition couldnt figure anything out. It was either an extremely hard hidden piece to find, or there really was no path down there.

I couldnt rule out that possibility. And if there was no path?

I have to make a path.

I couldnt go down there. But I had a very skilled pet with me.

[Phantom Thief Squirrel]

Name: Darongi

Age: 7

Level: ?

Innate ability: [Pickup] [Pathfinding] [Gnawing] [Theft] [Subspace] [Big Belly] [Hole Digging] [Stealth] [Master Selection]

State: Joyful / Full / Lazy

Disposition: Confident / Insatiable / Intimate

Summary: Gluttonous Theft Genius

• The disposition/state/summary only show the most representative and can change according to the situation.

• Because Eye of Perception's proficiency is not high enough, viewing more detailed information is impossible. 

Even though I had reached level 38, I still couldnt see the level of my amazing pet.

Darong, there should be a mana crystal on the underground 1st floor. Find it.

[;;;] marks appeared over Darongis head.

No, you can do it.

[;;;] [;;;] [;;;]

It was shown three times. This was a first.

Ah. You think itll be that hard? Even with your remarkable skills?

Darongi nodded.

Im disappointed. And here I was, planning on giving you soy sauce fried chicken with pickled radishes to boot.

[!!!] popped up over Darongis head. The pickled radishes that came with fried chicken was precisely the food Darongi was obsessed with these days. Considering how he savored each and every little nibble of pickled radish, the food seemed to suit his tastes to a T.

Cant be helped. Well have to give up on soy sauce fried chicken and pickled radishes.

Darongi leapt off my shoulder.

What? You can do it after all?

Darongi frantically nodded.

See? You can do it. If you bring me the mana crystal, Ill give you two soy sauce chickens and two boxes of pickled radish.

Darongi began to dig.

* * *

* * *

The Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, spoke to the man sitting on the opposite side of the table.

As we have clearly stated, the Guardian Tower is not a deleterious object, and it will absolutely not decrease the value of the DMC Riverview Xi.

Yes, yes. Youve said the same thing at least five times.

Sitting next to the man were four other men and one woman. They had red bands wrapped around their heads.

We have announced this fact several times, said Song Kiyeol. This is a contract related to it. Please read and sign it.

The contract was three pages total. It could be summarized concisely into two points:

1. If the residents of the DMC Riverview Xi so desire, Sungshin will purchase their property  for an additional $100,000 above market price.

2. However, Sungshin has announced multiple times that the Guardian Tower is not a deleterious object.

Han Myungsoo, who had been appointed chairman of the Urgent Resident Emergency Countermeasure Committee, was happy.

This is an adequate resolution to our strike.

It says Sungshin will add $100,000 to market price, and theyll even pay for the moving fees.

And what if the market price drops?

We have set the market price as the highest it has been per square meter.

The committee achieved the marvelous feat of setting the market price of the most common size of apartment, 110 square meters, to a staggering $1.5 million, plus an extra $100k.

But would Sungshin have done this without any thought at all? Theyre a conglomerate that dislikes incurring losses.

Thats an issue we have to think about, yes.

Its because Sungshin has no choice but to pay attention to their image.

Might it be that they have put the focus on improving their image using this situation?

The people were very divided. Some were of the opinion that they should quickly sell their homes and find new ones, while others believed there was a reason Sungshin would go so far and that they should wait and see.

It was approximately a 6:4 split, the larger group believing they should wait and see, and the smaller group wanting to sell and leave. Sungshin said they would respect all opinions.

Sungshin will gain a lot from this as well. Its an era where image is king, after all.

I heard Sungshin is gaining millions of dollars from the publicity theyre getting from this issue. Were actually on the losing end, if you think about it.

Most of the people on the sell and leave side were also people who had actively demanded compensation from So Yoohun. They were the most enthusiastic in calling for the eyesore to be taken down, in advocating for the destruction of the tower that had attracted calamities like the Fire Giants. People who shouted that if it couldnt be destroyed, they should be compensated with a truckload of money. The most vocal people accepted Sungshins proposal.

After the contract was signed and done, the CEO of Sungshin, Song Kiyoung, had tea with Song Kiyeol.

TN: Song Kiyoungs title has been changed from President to CEO.

Doing this means youre prepared to pay a huge expense. What are you thinking?

I already know the true worth of the Guardian Tower.

Song Kiyeol was truly amused.

Kiyeol has changed.

He wasnt the same grandson who quailed in front of him. CEO Song was extremely happy about that.

The true worth?

Yes.

He was happy on the inside, but he didnt show it.

Fine. Lets say youve recognized its true worth. He said sternly, And lets say the areas prices skyrocket because of the Guardian Towers worth. What will you do afterwards? Do you want to advertise that Sungshin has reaped a profit from real estate speculation when public sentiment is already rocky as is?

No, sir. Kiyeol shook his head. He was respectful, but firm. His eyes glowed with confidence. As the Guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, I have decided to create a 1st generation Player town by lawful and humanitarian means. And it happens to be close to the Players Association as well.

A Player town?

The idea is to have a ready force that can quickly react to emergency crises. As you saw with the Fire Giants Even stronger monsters will appear in the future. We need people who can create parties on the spot and go out to hunt. If we can gather outstanding Players in one place, we will be able to react far more strategically in a crisis.

The goal was not real estate speculation, but to create a Player town, a concept of a force prepared for emergency situations. CEO Song smiled inwardly.

How fun.

Judging from Kiyeols palpable confidence, that Guardian Tower was likely extremely valuable. The short-sighted people who lunged for a pittance of $100k without recognizing that value were pitiful.

Kiyeol changed after meeting Kim Hyukjin.

As time went on, his curiosity towards the person named Kim Hyukjin grew. CEO Song concealed his inner thoughts and spoke again.

Excessive confidence breeds failure. There are times when bold and swift decision-making is necessary, but the process cannot be just as bold and swift. Understand?

I will bear that in mind.

He couldnt wait to see. Was the Guardian Tower truly an eyesore that attracted monsters like Fire Giants, or was it really a tower that protected, as its name suggested?

Its probably a tower that protects.

He couldnt suppress the smile that escaped him at the thought of the worlds furor over Guardian Towers in the near future.

It could be

That Kiyeol was more outstanding than Junghye.