Chapter 23 (1/2)
Max Talent Player
Chapter 23: Second Innate Ability (2)
There were more notices.
[The Innate Ability ‘Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth’ has been awakened.]
[Check the Innate Ability?]
‘Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth’ was among the relatively common innate abilities. However, there was a class Player who had won her fame with this ability as a foundation.
‘Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo.’
The Sword Empress never revealed the name of her innate ability exactly as ‘Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth’.
‘Hers was probably an innate ability of a higher grade.’
The innate ability of the Sword Empress ten years later was thought to be ‘Hammurabi’. Of course, that was just a guess—it wasn’t confirmed by the Sword Empress herself.
‘In any case, they’re the same in essence. There’s a high chance this is the ability the Sword Empress started with.’
The Sword Empress’ raiding capabilities were very outstanding, but her PVPing ability was even better than that. There were rumors on the Internet that the Fist King So Yoohyun and the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu had lost in 1:1 PVP to the Sword Empress.
‘I think she had a tie with the Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun, right?’
It was said that the Sword Empress had the higher skills, but Jo Sunghyun had the advantage in playstyle. The people in question didn’t state it outright, but it was something known by most people who had an interest in ‘Playing’ or civil service students studying for the civil servant exam that had new questions every iteration based on the history the current figures wrote.
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player)
Level: 18
Title: [First Pioneer] [Excellent Player]
Innate Ability: [Eye of Perception] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth]
Strength: 17
Intelligence: 17
Agility: 23
Perception: 17
Constitution: 17
Willpower: 17 (+30)
Bonus stats: 6
Random stats: 3
Undistributed stats: 9
I clicked the innate ability.
[Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth]
It’s only right to return what is dealt to you, even more so if it’s revenge. This Innate Ability triggers when you are ‘dealt a preemptive attack by a Player’. However, if you remain passive after receiving a preemptive attack, all buffs will take effect as debuffs.
1. Attack power +7%
2. Attack speed +7%
3. Critical chance +7%
4. MP consumption -7%
‘You’ll become even stronger against a Player who attacks you first.’
Considering this was still the early stage, this ability was almost a cheat.
‘Is it okay for someone to get something like this in the early stage?’
This meant there was a far higher possibility for its growth. Things like titles were also easier to upgrade the sooner they were given. With that in mind, I really wasn’t sure if it was okay for me to get something like this in the ‘Seoul Station Dungeon’, a mere ‘beginner’ dungeon and essentially the ‘first dungeon’ outside of the Tutorial.
‘But wait, actually… innate abilities are kind of like a talent my body was originally born with.’
The only issue was whether you could awaken them or not. In other words, these two innate abilities were abilities I always had within me.
Just then, another notice interrupted my thoughts.
However, it wasn’t a simple chat.
* * *
Senia reached out first and requested a chat with Kim Hyukjin. She was so curious that she really couldn’t hold back. To be more precise, it was the Guardians who were curious, especially the ‘Lady of the Scales’ who had expressed great disappointment in Hyukjin.
“A Pause has taken effect. Nobody else here can hear this conversation. Player Kim Hyukjin. This is a conversation between the two of us.”
Senia said it like it was just a chat between the two of them, but Hyukjin already knew.
‘The Guardians must be listening, too.’
It wasn’t a chat between him and Senia. If it was, they would be talking with an actual ‘whisper’. In other words, this conversation right now was a ‘Player Video’ being shown to the Guardians. Hyukjin had picked up on that quickly, unbeknownst to Senia.
She said, “There was a flash of light just now. What was it?”
Hyukjin looked around. Everything had become black and white—the world was on ‘PAUSE’.
‘I’m surprised she went for a pause.’
It was rare for an Intermediate Administrator to independently come out and use their ‘pause authority’ during a dungeon play. In most cases, that meant some Guardian—one with quite a lot of financial power—had requested a pause.
‘If a Guardian stepped in…’
That meant the Guardians were going crazy with curiosity.
‘There was a flash of light like I got something, after all.’
It wasn’t time for a level up yet, so there was no reason for there to be a flash of light. I was well aware of that.
‘They’re probably making a fuss at her to find out what it is.’
After all, these damned Guardians were completely unable to resist their curiosity. I could see it in my head. Right now, I was merely a thing of amusement for the Guardians as a ‘Player’, but actually, I was the one who could make them antsy. If I played my cards right in the future, I could even lead the Guardians by the nose. It wasn’t possible right at this instant, but I could already see that possibility.
“I got an emergency quest.”
“…”
As an Intermediate Administrator, Senia was aware that Hyukjin’s words were a lie. At the very least, information related to ‘quests’ were shared to Intermediate Administrators.
“If I were to summarize the quest… Kill those who are trying to kill me. Only, I couldn’t kill them directly.”
Senia didn’t say anything, maintaining her usual expressionless face. She simply listened.
‘A definite lie. What is this Player thinking?’
Hyukjin was an incomprehensible Player who couldn’t be predicted at all. Even Senia was curious about what words would come from the mouth of this strange Player who was only level 18.
‘Does he know… that these words are being relayed to the Guardians?’
They were in a pause state right now. She hadn’t told him that the Guardians were listening in, but could it be that he knew?
“Please continue,” Senia said.
* * *
* * *
“If I were to summarize the quest… Kill those who are trying to kill me. Only, I couldn’t kill them directly.”