Max Talent Player - Chapter 247

Hyukjin felt as if he were trapped in a dark place.

‘Where am I?’

It was silent. Amidst the stillness, he could see nothing.

‘What about the Black Pearl Centipede?’

He remembered enveloping Isabel in the blackfire that made up the Blackfire Bow with Athenae’s pure flames as a base. He also remembered burning the Black Pearl Centipede to a crisp with that. And then, his consciousness had dimmed.

‘Did I black out?’

But his mind was too clear for that to be the case. He tried moving his fingers—they moved normally.

‘What about Isabel?’

She wasn’t in his hand up until a moment ago, but he suddenly began to see her. He heard her voice.

(You killed me.)

Crack–

Cracks began to spider along Isabel’s blade.

Just like the glass of the compass that had broken earlier.

Crack–

Cra-crack–

With that sound, silver dust fell from Isabel’s blade.

He heard the same voice, speaking the same line.

(You killed me.)

Isabel’s blade broke in half.

Clang.

One half of the broken blade fell to the ground. The sword turned red. Blood seeped from it. Red blood.

(You killed me.)

The other half fell to the ground as well, leaving just the hilt. Blood seeped from the hilt, staining Hyukjin’s hand. The hot blood ran down his hand and down his wrist to soak his clothes.

(I wanted to live.)

Hyukjin felt dizzy, like he had lost a lot of blood.

(Why? Why did you kill me?)

Behind that voice…

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

He had the feeling he heard another voice.

Wake up. Please.

It rang faintly in his ears.

(I’m your bride. So why?)

And that other voice.

Husband!

It suddenly occurred to Hyukjin that something was strange.

‘She died?’

Isabel died?

‘Then who’s the one talking to me right now?’

She died, but she was talking. It was strange, something that couldn’t normally happen.

‘Something’s been distorted.’

That moment, Hyukjin realized.

He looked at the hot, red blood running down his hand and dripping onto the ground.

‘This place is really dark.’

There wasn’t a single ray of light.

‘And yet, I can see the red blood.’

He could see it strangely well. That meant this was a distorted space. As soon as he recognized the distortion, an incantation began to flow unbidden from Hyukjin’s lips, flowing out without his conscious awareness as if it were carved into his body and lips.

He had, after all, gone through the process of smashing through fabricated authorities and distorted illusions.

“Illusions and apparitions, distortions and lies, cannot covet me.”

“No matter what ravine of evil in this world I must traverse.”

“No evil power that seeks to harm me can violate me.”

“Such is the power of intuition.”

“The Eye of Insight that sees the true nature of things.”

Hyukjin’s voice changed. A low voice that was not his own rumbled from his lips.

[May all lies.]

[Be shattered.]

And then, the fake world enclosing him shattered. Light began to stream in.

(Are you awake now?)

This time, it was a white space. It wasn’t dark—there was light. But that was all. In his hand was a cracked Isabel. He heard her voice.

She spoke quickly, like she was being chased by something.

(No matter what happens, I won’t resent you, husband.)

(Even if I die.)

(So don’t be fooled by a false illusion like that.)

Hyukjin realized what happened. While he was unloading everything he had, he was hit by the Black Pearl Centipede’s illusion attack. Normally, Eye of Perception would defend him from such attacks, but he had just expended too much strength and was very mentally fatigued. He guessed that was why he hadn’t been able to fend off the Black Pearl Centipede’s final attack.

(I won’t ever blame you, never. Because that is the Sword’s Contract I signed.)

(The Tome of the Divine Sword Physique. You got it, right?)

Hyukjin remembered. Yes, he acquired it. It was a direct reward from the System.

[The quest ‘Hunt the Black Pearl Centipede Boss Monster!’ has been cleared.]

[Distributing the ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’.]

His briefly cut-off memories returned to him like the incoming tide.

[The ‘Dwarf Elder’s Blessing’ is in effect.]

There were twists and turns, but Hyukjin achieved the result he wanted. It had gone as Hyukjin planned.

[The ‘Breath of Production’ takes effect on the ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’.]

[The ‘Breath of Production’ produces another ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’.]

[The production success rate is determined by the Player’s enhancement talent.]

Hyukjin thought back to the situation that had just passed. When he took the Black Pearl Centipede’s illusion attack, and when he shattered the illusion with his incantation, that was when ‘Breath of Production’ took effect.

[The ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’ has been successfully produced.]

[You have acquired an additional ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’.]

[The additional ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’ will be valid for the remaining duration of the ‘Dwarf Elder’s Blessing’.]

In a few days, this Tome of the Divine Sword Physique would disappear. It was only duplicated for a very short period of time.

‘I got it. The Tome of the Divine Sword Physique.’

Isabel responded immediately.

(Use it right away.)

Cracks continued to spread along Isabel’s blade. Hyukjin knew that this time, it wasn’t an illusion. It was real. Isabel was really breaking. He could feel it, as someone who shared a mental connection with her.

‘I can feel… Isabel’s pain.’

She was truly in agony right now. She just wasn’t showing it. Despite suffering from the pain of her entire body burning and crumbling apart, she wasn’t showing him that. In his mind’s eye, he saw a woman thrashing in pain.

Hyukjin immediately used the Tome of the Divine Sword Physique without a word of resistance.

[Absorb the ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’?]

[Absorbing the ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’ requires the appropriate talent.]

A very short moment, just a few seconds, passed.

[Absorbing the ‘Tome of the Divine Sword Physique’.]

It was like when he absorbed the Tome of the Divine Bow Physique. A storm of blue mana enveloped Hyukjin, swirling violently around him before getting sucked into his body.

[The trait ‘Divine Sword Physique’ has been generated.]

He got another trait. That made two—one being the Divine Bow Physique, the other the Divine Sword Physique.

[An entity in a ‘Sword’s Contract’ exists.]

[The damage to the entity in the ‘Sword’s Contract’ is severe.]

Hyukjin knew that the ability he had just used wasn’t his own.

‘Isabel helped me.’

She had majorly overdone it. It was no wonder manifesting blackfire had felt so easy. That wasn’t Hyukjin himself, but something he achieved through Isabel’s help.

The question of how Isabel, a sword, managed that, didn’t occur to him. The only thing he could think of right now was that Isabel had helped him.

‘This is the aftermath.’

She had drawn and used too much of a sealed ability. For him, Kim Hyukjin, Isabel risked her own destruction.

* * *

* * *

He heard her voice.

(Husband. Don’t just stand there all starry-eyed with gratitude. I’ll really die at this rate.)

Hyukjin snapped back to his senses. She was right. This was no time to be immersed in gratitude. Hyukjin had the feeling he would regret it his whole life long if Isabel was really destroyed. Even though she was just an item, that was how it was.

‘I…’

He instinctively knew what he needed to do. He knew, without anyone teaching him how.

‘…will invest everything in my Willpower stat.’

Now wasn’t the time to be flicking abacus beads. There wasn’t much time. The destruction Isabel had undergone in the illusion was becoming a reality. 20 bonus stats. 25 random stats. He still had a staggering 45 stats in reserve, stats he’d been saving to use at a critical time.

[Investing stats in Willpower.]

He used all 45 in one go, not skimping on a single one. He had the feeling he couldn’t afford to be stingy. At least in this moment, he didn’t stop to make any rational calculations whatsoever.

[Willpower is increasing.]

His Willpower was originally 17 (+30), which made 47. 45 was added to that, bringing it to a total of 92. Technically, it was 62 (+30).

The Status Window popped up on its own.

[Status Window]

Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player)

Level: 39

Contracted Guardian: [Nameless Observer]

Title: [Pioneer of Victory] [Excellent Player] [First Adversary] [Pure Person of Fire] [Phantom Thief Squirrel’s Master] [Starting Sovereign] [Starting Fighter] [Thousand Dog Master]

Dungeon title: [True Ruler of the Gran Seoul Dungeon] [True Ruler of the Predator Tree Colony]

Innate ability: [Eye of Perception] [Sword of Insight]

Special ability: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth] [Immortal Fleet]

Trait: Divine Bow Physique, Divine Sword Physique

Strength: 24

Intelligence: 24

Agility: 30

Perception: 24

Constitution: 24

Willpower: 62 (+30)

Bonus stats: 0

Random stats: 0

Undistributed stats: 0

His Willpower stat shot up, and with it, his connection with Isabel solidified. Hyukjin let out an unconscious cry of pain, his heart feeling as if it would explode.

‘This… is just a small part of the pain Isabel is feeling.’

A portion of her pain was being relayed to him. Even that small portion was unbearable. It felt like he was going to die, that his skin was boiling up and would soon burst.

[Confirming the presence of the ‘Divine Sword Physique’ trait and the linked ‘Sword’s Contract’.]

His much higher Willpower stat strengthened the contract further, enhancing his connection with Isabel.

[The ‘Sword’s Contract’ is elevated to the ‘Sword’s Pact’.]

[Partially unsealing Isabel’s abilities.]

Golden light began to shimmer from Isabel’s blade, expanding outwards. That very moment, he had the feeling that something immense, something he couldn’t handle, was destroying his body.

‘Now!’

Hyukjin instinctively realized that now was the correct time to use Absorption. There was no time to think. It was because he had thought about Absorption multiple times before entering the gate that he was able to use it in that fleeting moment.

[Using the special ability Absorption.]

He used the ability that absorbed all physical damage taken over 0.5 seconds.

‘The pain is fading.’

It eased a little. He had no idea what just happened, but he knew he had just blocked ‘something dangerous’ using Absorption.

‘Isabel’s body… is recovering.’

[Isabel’s innate authority, Repair, is taking effect.]

Hyukjin nearly collapsed. It was like all the mana in his body was being rapidly sucked out. If he hadn’t thrown 45 stats into Willpower, he might have very well become a mummy.

‘But this…’

Only then did he realize the strangeness of the situation.

‘…feels like magic.’

It then occurred to him that Isabel had also helped him light the blackfire earlier, too. Applying the blackfire to her blade was, of course, her power as well. Thinking back, he was sure of it.

‘It wasn’t me.’

He was convinced that Isabel, a sword, had freely used magic.

[Isabel’s seal has been partially lifted.]

At the same time, he heard a voice.

“Don’t think anything weird, Husband.”

The words weren’t coming from inside his mind. They were spoken aloud and registered by his ears. In this world full of light, appeared a woman.

She was a woman with golden hair, amber eyes rimmed by gold and yellow, and wreathed in white light.

He could only see her face.

‘Ah…’

Kim Hyukjin couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Be it Shin Yeonseo, acknowledged by all as pretty, or Cheon Sooji, acknowledged by all as bewitching, or even Senia, who drew the gazes and admiration of all whenever she appeared, he could not see any of them as women.

He had never once thought, ‘She’s really, truly beautiful’ about any woman. It was only ever at the level of, ‘Oh, she’s pretty’.

But what he felt now was completely different. He couldn’t see her body. The light was too strong. He could only see her face. And yet, Hyukjin felt that this woman was truly beautiful. He couldn’t tear his eyes away. His heart began to thump wildly.

‘Oh my God.’

The woman’s hair swayed gently, even though there was no wind. Her lips parted, and her face reddened a little.

“I’m a sword.”

She smiled.

“Not a lousy magician.”