Max Talent Player

The space distorted, and a female Streamer, Senia, appeared from within. She was a terribly beautiful Streamer, but she didn’t look beautiful at all to me.

“The Tutorial Field will be altered according to the suggestion of the Courageous Lion King.”

“…”

These kinds of events happened sometimes. A Guardian could use their special authority to make slight alterations. I knew what the Lion King would propose.

‘I hoped this wouldn’t happen.’ I bit my lip a little. ‘He will definitely try to induce me to fight.’

I was sure of it.

‘The best method at his disposal is to destroy the conditional Safe Zone.’

Guardians were limited in how they could engage with Players. They could do things like support a Player or sponsor them with COIN, but there were many restrictions on direct interference with Playing. But this was still within their limits. They could still ask an Intermediate Administrator to destroy a conditional Safe Zone.

“The trade has been concluded. According to the request of the Courageous Lion King, the conditional Safe Zone will be abolished in thirty seconds.”

She unblinkingly spoke such words with complete indifference, despite knowing all too well that I could not handle a Goblin swarm with my current strength.

‘I know you’re aware of that fact and more. I know about this world very well.’

It was possible that I knew more about the world than Senia. The Kim Hyukjin who became a Playing nerd over the three years of test prep was not to be underestimated.

I said, “If a Guardian forcefully alters the scenario, shouldn’t there be a corresponding reward for the Player?”

“…” 

Senia simply stared at me with her emotionless face. I couldn’t read her expression, but it looked like she was saying that the complaints of a level 1 insect mattered not a whit to her. She also wasn’t very ruffled by my talking down on her.

“The Laws cannot be ignored, especially if it is related to my life or death. You cannot ignore the Commandments.”

I heard a notice.

[The ‘Nameless Observer’ expresses their surprise.]

[The ‘Courageous Lion King’ is silent.]

“Did you just say Commandments?”

“That’s right. Commandments.”

In this System, there were rules, aka Commandments, that pervaded the entirety of the System.

“How do you know about the Commandments?”

“Is that important?”

How could that be important when I was at the fork between life and death?

“I’m sure you know that a Player doesn’t have to concretely explain their Playing methods, right?”

“…”

Senia didn’t say anything. Streamers were generally talkative, but this one seemed a little different.

‘The reason why such a beautiful person didn’t become well-known… must be linked to that frustratingly tight-lipped nature.’

I glanced at the time. Ten seconds had already passed.

“I’ve lost out on Safe Zone time talking to you, the Intermediate Administrator. My reward?”

“In accordance with the Commandments, I will increase the Safe Zone time. The Safe Zone will remain in effect for ten seconds after your conversation with me ends.”

That was excellent. That was exactly what I wanted. The 1st wave of Goblin attacks would end very soon. I only had to hold out for a little longer. The Courageous Lion King tried to start some nonsense, but it didn’t matter—the time was passing all the same. 

I spoke again, “This is a scenario alteration linked to my life or death. I think an appropriate reward is in order. Am I wrong?”

“…”

“Let me ask again. Am I wrong?”

“…”

I guessed she was rather flustered. A level 1 piece of trash was speaking to a Streamer with such impoliteness, yet there was no justification for punishment. That was because my argument was related to the ‘Laws’, or ‘Commandments’ that were only discovered seven years in the future.

‘She might be happy right now.’

My actions right now were definitely eye-catching and likely to draw the interest of many Guardians, so it could very well be that this Streamer was inwardly delighted by my actions.

“…” After a short moment, she said, “Player Kim Hyukjin. Your words are correct.”

As she said that, an item was sent into my Inventory.

[Quality Lubricant]

Good quality lubrication oil. It can sharpen the blade of an item with an edge, or be applied on a part that requires lubrication. It is characterized by its tremendous slickness.

‘The scenario alteration reward is only this?’

My face twisted into a slight frown. It seemed a bit weak for a reward. Still, a reward was a reward, and I had dragged out the time for as long as possible while talking to the Streamer, the Intermediate Administrator. That was a very valid way to think about it.

‘Lion King. You idiot.’

The Lion King actually ended up helping me. Thanks to him, I was able to drag out plenty of time, and do it safely. I’m sure nobody expected a level 1 Player to bring up the ‘Commandments’ in a little trick to drag out the time. Of course, that applied to me as well. Such a method only occurred to me on the fly.

[The 1st wave of Goblin attacks is over.]

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

I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

‘I survived the 1st wave.’

I couldn’t be sure, but the damned Courageous Lion King was probably scratching his ass like a dog with hemorrhoids. Why? Because the Goblins were going to disappear now from this field.

Kikik? Kikik! Kiiik!

The Goblins began to move. They had come like the rising tide, and now, they were disappearing like receding waters.

‘This is my chance.’

I jumped to my feet. The Streamer Senia leveled her gaze on my every movement, neither helping nor interfering. Seeing as she hadn’t yet disappeared, it seemed she had a certain degree of interest in me. 

I headed for the bus exit.

‘Urgh…’

A gruesome hell was laid out before me. There was hardly an intact body to be found. Up until a few moments ago, it was the inside of an all-too-ordinary bus commonly seen on the morning commute, but now, seven corpses were scattered about, some ripped to pieces and some missing parts.

‘Eughh.’

Bile rose in my throat. It was terrible. I didn’t want to look anymore. It felt like the splayed out man, whose arm was caught on the seat, was staring at me with his open, glassy eyes, like he would rise in the next moment and chase me.

‘Come to your senses.’

I had to keep it together. This was the Tutorial Field, a place with an official survival rate of just 3 percent.

‘I have to hold out for one week.’

One week—that was how long I had to endure. I had ridden this bus day after day for three years and frequently went through this area. At the very least, I knew exactly where the streetside convenience stores were.

‘The fog’s grown thicker.’

After pushing open the bus door, I descended. The disgusting sewer smell together with the intense reek of blood crashed into me. I was actually glad the fog was there. If I had seen this place in the bright light of day with a clear line of sight, I might have gone insane.

‘First of all, I need water and food.’

It was nearly impossible to survive without drinking for seven days. The convenience store was my first destination.

I had a total of ten minutes.

‘Let’s go.’

Oddly enough, I moved as naturally as a person who had Played before, like someone who had done this many times.

Even up until that point, I hadn’t really realized how high my Intelligence was.

* * *

My surroundings looked very hazy. I saw cars amidst the metallic bloody stench, and bodies made into a mess of bright red blood were scattered along the pathway. From the midst of that devastation came the voices of survivors. Inside the fog, eyesight and hearing were greatly inhibited.

‘Considering we’re in the fog… quite a few people survived the 1st wave of Goblin attacks.’

I started running towards the convenience store. They said your sense of direction would pretty much disappear in this fog, and that seemed about right. I glanced back at the blue bus; After just a few steps, it was barely visible. I ran with the bus at my back.

‘This is the right way.’

If I went this way, there would be a convenience store not far from here. I ran forward, relying on my senses. A distance that had to be less than 300 meters felt so inexplicably long. I found out for the first time that I valued ‘life’ so fiercely.

But as I ran, my foot hit something, most likely a person.

‘Is it another body?’

But no, it wasn’t a body. Under my foot… lay a person who was not yet a corpse. 

A sobbing voice sounded in my ears. “H-Help me. Please. Please save me.”

It was a young girl in her early teens. Paralyzed with fear, the child was laying on the ground covering her head, trembling. She raised her head and stared at me with the gaze of a child looking at an adult, a gaze yearning for help.

I suddenly heard the sound of something being sliced. At that moment, I could only flinch in alarm.

‘There’s a Goblin here?’

I hadn’t seen it because of the fog, but there was still a Goblin here.

‘Even though the 1st wave of the Goblin attacks is over?’

According to countless records and VR dungeon simulations, the Goblins should be completely gone. That was the established theory, and none of the many guides described anything like this. In other words, this Goblin was a ‘variable’.

Kikik. Kikikik!

It was about fifty centimetres tall.

‘It’s not an adult?’

It wasn’t an adult Goblin, but a young one. Even so, it apparently knew a measure of the disgusting Goblin tastes, because it was hard at work slicing the girl’s ankles with the dagger in its hand. Slice, slice—came the gruesome sound. Faced with such a situation, I struggled to make a choice.

‘Do I run?’

To run, or not to run? To run, or not to run?

‘I do think I can defeat a baby Goblin, at least.’

It varied per person, but the universal recommended level for hunting a Goblin was around 5. The one in front of me wasn’t a real Goblin, but a baby one. For me, with the starting stats of a top-level Player, a baby Goblin should be manageable, at least if I were given a little time.

I heard the sobbing voice again.

“Heuk heuk. Please, help me, help me. Please, please, save me. I wanna see my mommy.”

I bit my lips. It was possible I might lose my sense of direction completely if I stopped to help this girl. That meant I could be exposed to the 2nd wave with no defenses.

“P-Please. Save me.”

While I was in the middle of struggling to decide what to do, I suddenly realized one strange point.

‘Come to think of it…’ Goosebumps rose on my arms. ‘I don’t see any blood. At all.’

This girl… wasn’t even screaming in pain. She wasn’t screaming in pain, just crying out in shock.

It might be a baby Goblin, but there was still a dagger in its hands. It was using the blade to hack away at this schoolgirl’s ankles. It seemed the baby Goblin was completely absorbed with the task of cutting the girl’s ankles.

‘She hasn’t taken any damage.’

Had this schoolgirl also received an Open Beta Bonus? She might have received something that could protect her body.

‘But even if that’s the case… How could a girl this young have…?’

At best, she was a middle school student. It was known that ‘talent plates’ typically opened up the most from one’s late teens to early 20s, meaning this girl in her early teens hadn’t even properly opened up yet.

‘She’s blocking that dagger without any armor, with just the abilities of her bare body.’

That would be impossible, even for the Fist King So Yoohyun at level 1. This girl didn’t even know about her own condition right now. She merely felt a sharp sensation at her ankles with some slicing noises. In her state of panic, she didn’t even realize that she was still perfectly fine.

‘Is this… the talent I’ve only heard about?’

What would happen if she were given a chance to really grow? And if he could make her an ally? Or even if he could just make her indebted to him for saving her life?

‘In the worst case scenario, she could…’

There probably wouldn’t be many opportunities like that, but this girl’s ‘resilience’ could be a huge help to me in the worst case scenario. She was orders of magnitude different from a guy like me who had received a ‘No Talent’ evaluation because I had no talent plates.

‘There’s no time.’

The 2nd wave of attacks would soon begin. 

Having followed me, Senia said, “Even though it is a baby Goblin, it would be very difficult for someone with level 1 abilities to defeat.’

Senia had apparently recognized me as ‘good quality content’. It seemed she had at least judged that it would be a waste to let me die here.

I had to make a decision.

‘I will…!’