Chapter 20: 20

Max Talent Player

Chapter 20: Mandra

The Demon King Army.

The brutal atrocities they committed were indescribable. This was slightly off topic, but the eight Heroes representing Korea earned their hero titles while confronting the Demon King Army. Most of their heroic tales originated from battles against the Demon King Army.

‘In other words, the Demon King Army is strong enough to resist and fight those heroes.’

In any case, it was valid to say that having become a lieutenant of the Demon King Army, he’d run the gamut of all sorts of despicable deeds, though that hadn’t happened yet.

“Hello! Didn’t think there was a senior here.”

Seo Joohwan made a rather polite bow. It was unexpected, but I understood after a beat.

‘Fake’ was unmistakably mixed into his disposition. He greeted me with a good-natured expression, but I was determined not to let my guard down.

“On the way to the 7th fork, we saw that the monsters had already been killed. Was that you, senior?”

“Yes.”

I looked at So Yoohyun. He was blinking at me in a daze, obviously very surprised.

“…You were al—”

I cut him off. “Nice to meet you. You must be So Yoohyun, the Tutorial Ender. I saw you on TV.”

“Uh… I… Ah… Yes. I mean, yes, thank you. You’re too kind. I’m truly humbled and don’t know what to say.”

After floundering for a short moment at my ‘nice to meet you’, Yoohyun promptly expressed his modesty. It seemed he really meant it when he said ‘you’re too kind’.

However, the look in his eyes towards me spoke volumes. They were filled with goodwill. I could feel through Eye of Perception that his look went beyond goodwill, almost into adoration. Those were Yoohyun’s sincere feelings. The ‘Debt-Repaying Magpie’ summary truly suited him to a T.

“We’ve come as support,” Seo Joohwan said. “Let’s work together.”

I stared at Seo Joohwan. “I wonder about that. You’ve seen the other paths already, I’m sure?”

Sunhwa and I had cleared most of the monsters in the forks. We had left the rest of the monsters simply because we didn’t need them.

Seo Joohwan was struck speechless for a moment. “…That’s true. You’re doing perfectly fine on your own already.”

“Yes.”

“But couldn’t you achieve a slightly more desirable clear with our help? This place isn’t a dungeon with a set owner, anyway.”

He was being roundabout, but what he was implying was, ‘You’re not the owner either, so you can’t refuse us’.

‘Right, Seo Joohwan was one of the first people to assert that dungeons had owners,’ I thought. Later dungeons fell under the possession of individual guilds. They taxed things like the items and Coins that were obtained from the dungeons at their own discretion, solely on the basis that they owned the dungeon. Later on, wars were even waged for dungeons. The Demon King Army committed murder for them without reserve.

“I think it will be fine if everyone Plays on their own. However, there’s an item I’m looking for. The Guardians said they wanted it.”

I sold off the Guardians. 

[The ‘Nameless Observer’ expresses their misgivings.]

[The ‘Lady of the Scales’ expresses her disappointment.]

[The ‘Whispering Devil’ is happy.]

The Guardians didn’t really like it when their names were used in vain. However, I had no choice. I couldn’t just carelessly give off the ‘I know everything’ feeling. This was the easiest road available to me.

‘Is the Whispering Devil a pervert?’

I did something Guardians usually didn’t like, but the Whispering Devil was happy about it.

“I’d also gladly Play with everyone. But I would like to ask that if an item bearing the name of this path, Lakitula, appears, that you concede it to me. Of course, I will fully compensate you.”

So Yoohyun and Seo Joohwan seemed interested in the item I was looking for. Joohwan asked, “An item bearing the name Lakitula? Did other items like that appear in the other paths, as well?”

I expected a conversation like this to come about even before coming here. It was all a part of the picture I was drawing. There was no need to lie, and even if I did, it would be quickly exposed at the next checkpoint. There was no real reason to lie.

“Yes, there were. I’m working on a quest to gather the seven items.”

“There was a quest like that? We didn’t get that.”

Because I had already predicted such a situation, my response was also prepared in advance. “It is a quest given to the first person who enters.”

“Aha.” Seo Joohwan seemed convinced.

“I think the item won’t be of much use to you even if you get it. They don’t really have any good effects. None of them are better than shop credit.”

These guys had passed level 15, so they could also use the Item Shop.

“If someone else ends up obtaining that item, I will buy it from them at a higher price than what is offered in the shop.”

* * *

* * *

On the 7th fork, ‘Lakitula’s Path’, black and purple yaks appeared together.

So Yoohyun extended his fist with a loud, rousing shout. “Hiyaa!”

One black yak fell over.

“Taunt!”

‘!!!’ marks appeared over the purple yaks’ heads, indicating that their aggro had been properly pulled. Two purple yaks fired their horns, and while they were doing so, Seo Joohwan and the three members of his group quickly approached the purple yaks and killed them. As she watched, Kang Sunhwa felt a little odd.

‘Those people are survivors of the Tutorial…’ There was another man. ‘And that mister using his fists is the Tutorial Ender, right? That super famous guy.’

There was no doubt he was currently the most famous Player in the world.

‘So why…’

She might just be imagining it…

‘How come…’

She didn’t know exactly why, but…

‘They look so weak?’

Somehow, she got the feeling that they were weak. After a moment of contemplation, Sunhwa realized the reason.

‘It’s because I’m comparing them to oppa.’

Be it Mr. So Yoohyun, the Tutorial Ender, or that nimble-looking Mr. Seo Joohwan, both of them had quick and concise movements, but—

‘Compared to Hyukjin oppa…’

She couldn’t help but think that they fell far short. But something else was strange, and it was that Hyukjin wasn’t showing his full prowess.

‘Oppa’s movements have gotten much slower and cruder than before.’

Sunhwa couldn’t be sure whether he was doing it on purpose, or if he was just tired. In any case, as it was right now, Hyukjin, Yoohyun, and Joohwan all looked to have about the same level of skill, though their Playing styles were a bit different. What was significant was the fact that only 14-year-old Kang Sunhwa was able to precisely compare their movements. However, Sunhwa herself did not think of that as an impressive feat. She wasn’t even cognizant of what she was doing.

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* * *

The person who acquired the item was none other than Seo Joohwan.

“I got the item.”

“I see.”

“It’s the Lakutula’s Earrings. It has no defense or durability, so it’s nearly about to fall apart. It’s also got no special effects. You really want to buy this?”

“Yes. It’s a quest item, after all.”

Joohwan nodded. “I’ll just give it to you, then. Take it as a sign of my goodwill to you, senior,” he said with a smile. It was a friendly smile, but I didn’t really like it. I activated Eye of Perception again.

Disposition: Evil / Violent / Fake

Summary: Violent Pedophile

This was definitely not goodwill. He might call it goodwill now, but I didn’t want to accept it at all. 

“I appreciate the thought, but I won’t accept goodwill without good reason. Your intent is enough for me.”

“Oh, come on, senior. Why so rigid? And if I won’t sell it?”

For a moment, Seo Joohwan’s eyes subtly changed. They quickly returned to normal, but I didn’t miss the change.

He had clearly thought that Hyukjin and Sunhwa were extremely strong at first.

‘But he probably felt that we weren’t much after actually fighting together.’

I purposely didn’t show my full strength, matching my skill level to Yoohyun and Joohwan, and that had quickly drawn out Joohwan’s true colors. He was still calling me ‘senior’ and acting polite, but I could faintly feel venomous fangs hidden behind his smiling façade.

‘Because you have a talent more specialized to hunting Players than hunting monsters.’

After a beat, Seo Joohwan laughed with a ‘haha’. “Just kidding, just kidding. It’s useless to me anyway. I’ll sell it for just 500 Coins.”

To get 500 Coins, you had to kill a staggering forty black yaks. For reference, the ‘Beginner Iron Sword’ in the Item Shop cost 500 Coins. The ‘Lakitula’s Earrings’ could probably be sold in the Shop for about 15 Coins at most. It was neither expensive nor cheap, but somewhere vaguely in between.

“Alright.”

The trade system could not be used inside dungeons. As such, I took out 500 Coins from my Inventory, and Seo Joohwan passed over the ‘Lakitula’s Earrings’ like a trade in real life. With that, the trade was complete.

I stowed away the item. “Let’s move.”

The group led by So Yoohyun and Seo Joohwan ended up being led by me, a change that occurred all too naturally.

* * *

I went through the 7th fork with So Yoohyun and Seo Joohwan.

‘After this, we’ll reach the Statue of Mandra.’

When we reached the end of the 7th fork, a clearing appeared.

In the underground cavern, I spotted a stone statue some distance away.

The stone statue’s eyes flashed open. Frightened, Sunhwa clutched the hem of my clothes. An androgynous voice that was neither female nor male echoed through the cavern.

I walked towards the statue bearing the ‘Mandra’ name.

[One without qualifications. You shan’t escape punishment.]

The cavern began to quake, making it feel like something dangerous was about to happen. Pebbles fell from the ceiling.

“I have come to prove my qualifications.”

The Seoul Station Dungeon was a ‘beginner’ dungeon. It didn’t involve complicated, bizarre tricks or solutions. All you had to do was clear it straight and simple with a frontal assault.

[Prove your qualifications.]

A red light shot out from the Statue of Mandra like a laser pointer and focused on my chest. If I messed up here, my heart would be penetrated and I would die. Before coming into the Seoul Station Dungeon, I reviewed the process again and again, coming here only after running at least a hundred simulations in my head to avoid making any mistakes.

‘In order.’

Any mistake would be my death. Before the strategy was discovered, within the scope of the beginner grade, the Seoul Station Dungeon was considered to be nearly impossible to clear.

‘I’ll die if I make a mistake.’

But I made no mistakes. I thought of the order once again in my mind.

1st. Nepalas’ Path.

2nd. Dyugo’s Path.

…

…

7th. Lakitula’s Path.

You had to put the items on the Statue of Mandra in order. An inventory window appeared before my eyes, probably visible only to me. Just like when a Player equipped an item, I had to drag items with my eyes into that inventory window.

‘As I thought, it’s the same.’

It was exactly the same as what I had seen in Youtube videos. I went through seven prompts.

[Transfer Nepalas’ Ring? Y/N]

…

…

[Transfer Lakitula’s Earrings? Y/N]

I answered ‘Y’ to all seven prompts. The items were equipped on the ‘Statue of Mandra’, one after another. Then, the red light coming from the statue’s eyes disappeared, and the tremors shaking the cavern subsided as well.

[You have proven your qualifications.]

[Speaker. Your name is?]

The question I had been waiting for so eagerly appeared at last.

‘Finally.’

I had gathered the seven items in order to be asked this question.

“My name is…”

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I wasn’t going to say Kim Hyukjin, my real name. If I said my name, I would get an ordinary reward. I decided to give the answer that Mandra wanted to hear.

I would be the first to use the ultimate clearing method that had been discovered by the Great Explorer, ‘Jackson’.

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