Max Talent Player - Chapter 239

Choi Sung-gu didn’t know yet that Hyukjin could use mana to make a Blackfire Bow, since it was a technique Hyukjin had shown for the first time in the Dewinged Angel Statue Gate. However, he didn’t insist on an explanation.

‘It’s Kim Hyukjin, after all. He’ll pull it off somehow.’

Hyukjin continued speaking.

“I’ll be the main, Sunghyun and Sung-gu will support.”

“You really intend on being the main, huh.”

Sung-gu realized that Hyukjin was going to use a fire element ability. Even in his eyes, his guildmaster’s fire affinity was beyond imagination. It wouldn’t be at all unusual if such a person said he was using a fire spell.

But to Sung-gu’s surprise, Hyukjin pulled out a bow.

‘A bow?’

Not magic, but a bow? But as Sung-gu watched, the bow suddenly changed.

‘A bow with black flames…’

It wasn’t a regular item. Even Sung-gu could see that. Kim Hyukjin was currently consuming his mana to temporarily create a ‘new item’.

‘Hah, you crazy mofo.’ Sung-gu shook his head in amazement. ‘It must suck up a ton of mana.’

Kim Hyukjin was one crazy Player, yes, but Sung-gu had his own role to play.

‘Let’s just focus on supporting.’

Sung-gu added his flames onto the Blackfire Bow. He might be shadowed by Hyukjin’s genius, but Choi Sung-gu was a magician talented enough to represent a nation, and that talent was further boosted by the Tome of the Divine Fire Physique.

Sung-gu’s fire attribute mana wreathed the Blackfire Bow. Jo Sunghyun also realized exactly what he had to do.

“I will increase the accuracy and destructive power.”

When assisting Sung-gu, the wind magician put a greater focus on accuracy rather than destructive power. But right now, the main DPSer was Kim Hyukjin.

‘Hyukjin hyung… doesn’t need any help with accuracy from me.’

Certain that was the case, Sunghyun focused on increasing the destructive power. Blue wind formed at his hands.

“The moment you fire your arrow, Hyung, I’ll support the arrow in my own unique way.”

Hyukjin nodded.

‘Flagship.’

He observed it with Observer’s Eye. The world fell away, a sensation he had already experienced many times. The flagship loomed large in his eyes. It felt as though he were looking at it with a magnifying glass, or that it was coming closer.

‘I can’t just destroy it.’

An image drew itself out in his head. His foes had the ability to revive. They had something that allowed them to do so, something like a mana crystal.

And that thing wasn’t an item.

‘It’s him.’

The ‘faceless commander’ in golden armor sitting high on the flagship platform, he was the key.

‘He’s my target.’

The man was so far away he couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, but he was visible when seen through Observer’s Eye.

‘What’s his weakness?’

As a human-type monster, his greatest weaknesses were naturally the head and heart. But Hyukjin aimed elsewhere.

‘Around his belly button.’

Powerful mana was billowing from his abdomen. Hyukjin was sure that was the mana of revival. There was something near the commander’s stomach, and only by destroying it would this naval battle come to an end.

“Hunter’s March.”

He could also use Conductor’s Hymn, but Hyukjin only used Hunter’s March this time. He focused more on boosting his abilities rather than buffing his guild members.

The blackfire arrow that had reaped the lives of many Gryphons blazed in his bow.

‘I’ll… kill him.’

Hyukjin fired. Pietro witnessed the Blackfire Bow in action once again. Just as he had seen when Hyukjin was killing the Gryphons, the arrow that shot off held tremendous power.

The blackfire arrow whizzed over the ocean, carving a shallow path in the waters below.

Tzzzz–!

Upon coming in contact with blackfire, the water vaporized into a cloud of steam so thick it could be mistaken as fog. The wickedly hot steam brought the battle to an instant standstill.

Pietro stared in dumb amazement.

‘It’s way stronger than back then.’

Had Kim Hyukjin experienced some rapid growth? No, that didn’t seem to be the case. This wasn’t just Kim Hyukjin. It was so powerful because of Choi Sung-gu and Jo Sunghyun’s assistance.

‘Giantgod Guild… is this strong?’

What he was seeing far outstripped his expectations. How could they achieve such power with a single arrow?

Goosebumps rose on his arms.

‘They’re this capable, but aren’t that well known?’

Giantgod had far less name recognition than Taeguk Shield or Wings. To Pietro the info merchant, that was what he found most frightening.

‘This guild is a gathering of insane individuals.’

But that was, in fact, somewhat of a misunderstanding. Choi Sung-gu and Jo Sunghyun were also surprised. Although they had assisted with all their might, neither of them had expected such a result.

There was still a shallow trail in the water where the Blackfire Bow’s arrow had flown. The ocean was split with a fissure thirty centimetres deep, and upon closer inspection, black flames were burning along the surface of the trail.

‘Oi, Jo Sunghyun,’ whispered Sung-gu. ‘What the hell is this?’

‘I don’t know, either.’

‘Have we always been this crazy fuckin’ strong?’

‘You know very well that’s not the case.’

Sung-gu and Sunghyun were just as bewildered. They stared at Hyukjin, who was, unlike them, feeling a strange sense of elation.

* * *

* * *

‘Just now…’

There was no System notice. But Hyukjin could analyze it with Observer’s Eye.

Tome of the Divine Bow Physique.

Tome of the Divine Fire Physique.

Tome of the Divine Wind Physique.

The three tomes came together and produced a synergistic effect. That was also why Sung-gu and Sunghyun could work so well together. Hyukjin examined the phenomenon closer with Observer Eye’s innate ability, ‘Authority Analysis’.

He focused.

[Analyzing authorities.]

[Confirming the presence of three tomes.]

[The three tomes have astonishing fusion capability.]

Hyukjin hadn’t intended it, but his already activated Observer’s Eye actively assisted him.

[‘Unique Ability Fusion’ has taken effect on the astonishing fusion capability.]

Through Unique Ability Fusion, the three different types of ‘unique abilities’ weaved a Kim Hyukjin-exclusive arrow in a Kim Hyukjin-exclusive way. The result was an arrow so powerful it surprised even Hyukjin himself.

Observer’s Eye continued analyzing.

[You have succeeded in fusing three ‘tomes’ for the first time.]

[You have precisely analyzed the entire process.]

[A hidden condition has been fulfilled.]

Hyukjin’s ears pricked up at the notices. He had just triggered a ‘hidden piece’, his first in a while. Senia appeared right on cue, turning the field gray with a Pause authority. Apparently, Senia had become quite wealthy.

“Player Kim Hyukjin. Can you explain what is going on right now?”

“I succeeded in fusing three tomes and analyzed the process. With my class-exclusive skill.”

“That must be what triggered the hidden piece.”

Hyukjin realized something.

‘This… must be one of the hidden pieces in the manual.’

It seemed like a hidden piece Senia already knew, an arrangement put in place by the System rather than a product of chance. Hyukjin had unrooted one such hidden piece.

“That’s right.”

[One location where a ‘tome’ is slumbering will be made known to you.]

[Generating the conditions to acquire the ‘tome’.]

“I can choose one of various ‘tomes’. I’ll also know where it can be found.”

“Player Kim Hyukjin, do you know about the types of ‘tomes’?”

He had a general gist, though he didn’t know every type. Hyukjin intentionally smiled.

“Nope, I don’t.”

“In that case, may I share the information in the manual with you?”

He knew that was what Senia would do. But Hyukjin shook his head.

“No.”

“How come? You will be able to make a more efficient choice with the information from the manual. That is my role as your exclusively contracted Intermediate Administrator.”

He expected this line from Senia and was letting her say it to emphasize to the Guardians that checking the manual was the natural thing to do. From the manual, he could learn what kinds of tomes existed, and how they could be used. However, he intentionally didn’t do that.

It wasn’t a very big one, but he was using the ‘unexpected twist’ technique.

‘I already have my answer.’

Whether he checked the manual or not, he knew which tome he was going for anyway, and his answer wouldn’t change. That was why he said he wouldn’t check the manual. That was, after all, the all-too natural and sensible choice, the obvious choice.

From the viewpoint of the Guardians, developments that weren’t too obvious, developments that slightly overturned their expectations, were better.

‘However, the developments also have to satisfy their hype.’

The producer Kim Hyukjin knew very well how to achieve that.

“My choice is…”

He decided to make a lightning-quick choice without even checking the manual.

“…the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique.”

“Can you explain your reasoning?”

“Because I have Isabel, a transcendent item.”

“Is that all?”

“Also because I have an extremely important scenario related to the Sword Forest.”

The Sword Forest scenario involving Elder Bufafa was certainly content the Guardians would greatly enjoy. To put it this way, the current conversation was a teaser, one that would hype up the Guardians.

He heard a notice.

[The location of the ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’ is made known to you.]

A map was deposited in his Inventory. Upon opening it, the location automatically registered in his head, and the map disappeared.

But something was a little odd.

‘Wait, isn’t this…’

It was a place he knew.

‘Plum Blossom Island?’

That was the place Hyukjin had intended on visiting before.

‘The Centipede Cave on Plum Blossom Island.’

But because the same gate appeared in the park in front of the DMC Riverview Xi, he ended up not going there. Hyukjin combed through his memories.

‘I cleared the place that showed up in the park with Choi Sung-gu.’

And through their achievements there, they got a Predator Tree Colony map. He had thought it strange back then as well.

Why had a Centipede Cave opened in the central park in front of his house?

He had his doubts, but he was never able to come to a conclusion.

“Senia. How much time is left in the Pause?”

“If Player Kim Hyukjin wants, I can extend it by another five minutes.”

“Please extend it.”

“Understood.”

Like a good Player and Streamer pair, Senia took initiative to ask the question on everyone’s mind.

“Is there some sort of secret hidden in the location of the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique?”

“I don’t know exactly yet.”

“But it seems as though you have discovered something of note.”

“Yeah.” Hyukjin explained, “Normally, gates with the exact same name and content don’t exist, right?”

“That’s almost always true, yes.”

“But I once cleared an identical gate. Remember it?”

“Are you talking about the Predator Tree Colony?”

“Yeah.”

The Predator Tree Colony. He had cleared two Predator Tree Colonies in two different places. And he had uncovered a ‘secret’ there.

“I acquired information there about an unknown being who is artificially cultivating Predator Trees.”

At first, he thought only that was strange. But he had the feeling it was connected to something more. It was as if he were originally looking at a corner of the canvas and was zooming out to see the bigger picture.

Little by little, piece by piece, he started to see things he hadn’t before.