Max Talent Player

Chapter 189

There was no intel whatsoever regarding the new field within the Gwanghwamun Dungeon, the Purified Gyeonghoeru. That meant I had to find the clear method on my own.

The sailboat drew steadily nearer.

The sailboat is traveling faster than I thought.

It was extremely far away, but approached the pavilion much faster than expected. It almost felt like watching a wheel tumble faster and faster down a slope.

And.

I saw it.

Theres a Clear Crystal on the sailboat.

I had already cleared the Gyeonghoeru field many times. Having observed the field every time I cleared the Polluted Lifeforms scenario, I knew where and when the sailboat would pass by.

About one minute from now.

In one minute, the sailboat would glide past with the closest distance to where I was standing.

However

It wouldnt be a distance I could cross with Flash Step or a single leap. That left two optionsI would either have to walk over the sloshing water, or somehow swim through the Snow Leaden Water to reach the sailboat.

A long-ranged attack is impossible.

Of course, there were long-ranged DPSes who attempted to attack the sailboat. But very few people survived the attempt. That sailboat was essentially a neutral monster. If you left it alone, it wouldnt do anything, but the moment you messed with it, a rain of cannonballs would come shooting out of the sailboat to reduce the Gyeonghoeru to ashes.

It was a sailboat with a special defensive ability against long-ranged attacks.

The only answer, then, is to go there myself.

The course was set.

Snow Leaden Water.

I had to be careful. The water below me was truly heavy, and it would drag you to the depths like a sinkhole. Once you fell in, there was zero chance you would ever get back out by yourself. The moment I slipped, the water would suck me in from my ankles down, almost like a black hole.

Hoo.

I took a deep breath. Swimming was out of the question anyway. The only option I had was to jump over the water.

The location of the lotuses

They were floating so far apart from one another that the distance seemed impossible to jump. But those lotuses were definitely spaced so they could be used to ford the water, though messing up would mean death.

I just need to not mess up.

The sailboat was coming. I only had one chance. If I missed it, I wouldnt be able to catch up to the sailboat. If I didnt go, I would die here anyway. That was almost certain.

Here I go.

There wasnt much time. I couldnt think about it for too long. I fixed my eyes on my first landing point.

I jumped onto a lotus with Flash Step. It instantly buckled under my weight.

Okay.

I grasped the feeling of it. Getting my balance atop the lotus wasnt hard.

Over there.

Before jumping, I drew out the trajectory of my leap in my head.

And here.

I jumped again, going from one impossibly distant-looking lotus to the next.

As for this one

I had to choose between two lotuses.

Here.

I didnt stop to calculate. No, there was no time to think. The path Id drawn in my head in advance and the one I was experiencing in the flesh were a little different.

And here.

Some distance away, two lotuses were floating next to each other.

There.

The left lotus was smaller, and the right lotus was bigger. I jumped towards the right lotus. It was a little far, but I barely managed to land safely on it. There, I paused for a moment.

This lotus can hold my weight for three seconds.

The length of time a lotus could hold my weight was contingent on its size. This one could hold me for three seconds. I had chosen the right lotus with that in mind.

And.

The sailboat felt incredibly large. It was very close. Perched atop this lotus, where a tiny misstep could send me sinking to my death, the sailboat felt larger than life.

A little longer.

Three seconds. It was a very short time, but right now, the seconds stretched like taffy. Time slowed, and all I could see was the sailboat. Even in that slowed moment, the sailboat raced forward.

Itll pass there.

It was far. A distance so far I could never reach it with a single jump. So I made a decision. I had another lotus here, a lotus without roots, one I could lift. I bent to grab the lotus on the left.

And then, I threw it.

I jumped at the same time. My feet were damp. 0.1 seconds slower, and I would have been sucked into the depths.

The lotus I had thrown landed in the water. I used Flash Step towards it. I stepped onto the small lotus and leapt high into the air.

Whap!

I just barely caught the sailboat railing.

Drawing out all my strength, I hauled myself up like I was doing a chin-up and barely managed to get on the sailboat. Once I made it on the deck, a notice sounded to tell me that the Clear Crystal had been generated.

At the same time, the Guardians rushed to send me messages.

[The Nameless Observer observes.]

[The True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain is very content with your genius.]

[The White Hunter is delighted by your astonishing sense of balance.]

[The Barrier of Blue Light breathes a sigh of relief.]

[The Conductor of Sound is awed by your ability to assess the battlefield.]

They were all surprised by different things. Also, the True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountains message made me realize something.

No wonder my body felt so light.

I was focusing so hard that I forgot for a moment.

4. Amplifies all title effects when in a field pioneered by the Pioneer of Victory.

It amplified the effects of all my titles, including Excellent Player, which had the following effect:

2. +20% movement speed.

No wonder my body felt lighter than usual.

But that wasnt the important part. That wasnt why the True Master was impressed. He was impressed by my physical ability to freely control an abruptly lightened body. Looking back on it, I was shocked, too.

Was this kind of thing really possible?

I was the one who pulled it off, but I was surprised. My physical abilities suddenly shot up, but I wasnt flustered by the changes and moved with extreme ease, like my body had always been that way.

Its possible.

It was possible. My experience proved that. I walked towards the Clear Crystal in front of me.

If I destroyed it, this place would be cleared.

But

Where in the world was this sailboat going? It was surging along even with me on it. If I stayed on it, where would it go? Where was the far off destination this sailboat was skidding towards like a sled?

Maybe I should wait a little?

I intentionally didnt break the Clear Crystal. I could just immediately break it if something dangerous happened.

Some time passed.

Crash!

The sailboat crashed into something with a reverberating thud.

What it collided into was an invisible wall.

[The Sailing Sailboat has reached the End of the Gyeonghoeru.]

[The End of the Gyeonghoeru does not permit further approach.]

The sailboats hull began to quiver, and the ship began to very slowly sink into the water.

Thats

I could see them.

The things past the End of the Gyeonghoeru, past the invisible wall.

* * *

* * *

I went back home to rest a little, exhausted. The Gyeonghoeru field had consumed too much stamina, and I needed rest. In the meantime, I got a progress report from Song Kiyeol, who told me that Song Junghye was using gate Players she had gathered to play a little trick.

Thats good.

The Gran Seoul Dungeon clear would be even more delayed now.

And theres still a long time before the dungeon breaks.

The Gran Seoul Dungeon break occurred fairly late. There was plenty of leeway, time-wise. I really had to thank Song Junghye. She delivered the Tomb-Pilfering Shovel to me at the Guardian Tower on a silver platter, and her sloppy Playing helped me slot in a puzzle piece.

At this point, isnt she kind of a tsundere?

She seemed to think she was acting for her benefit, but it sure felt like she was working for mine.

In any case.

I couldnt shake off the bad feeling that lingered after clearing the Gyeonghoeru field.

Did the Great Explorer Jackson really not know about the Purified Gyeonghoeru field?

I believed there was a very high chance that he knew about the Purified Gyeonghoeru field. In ten years, Players were far more capable than they were now. There was no way the Jackson from back then didnt know.

That would be ridiculous.

He knew; I was sure of it. He just didnt tell the other Players about its existence.

The problem is

Then what about other explorers?

There were a lot of outstanding explorers in Korea, too.

Jackson was the most famous explorer, but he wasnt the only one. Countless explorer Players had to have gone into the Gwanghwamun Dungeon. At least one of them would have known about this Purified Gyeonghoeru field, because there was a seemingly unnecessary sailboat in the field. An explorer would have found it curious.

Its definitely weird.

There was no way none of those explorers knew about it. But no one had ever mentioned anything about a Purified Gyeonghoeru.

Someone intentionally covered it up.

That was the only conclusion I could reach.

Come to think of it what did I see?

At the end of the Gyeonghoeru field, I remembered colliding into a transparent barrier. And I remembered seeing something past that barrier. But I didnt remember what that something was. I definitely saw it, but it was like someone had tampered with my memories.

This feeling

It felt similar to what happened when I was talking with the Demon King.

Did you hunt s toys?

. Cant understand me?

It was like that. It felt like the System, or possibly some kind of force that wasnt the System, was forcibly acting on me.

In the Gwanghwamun Dungeon there are secrets I dont know.

I happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror across from my bed.

Huh?

I didnt realize it, but I was smiling. I was smiling like someone who had found a fun game to play.

This is gonna be fun.

* * *

After taking a short break, I headed to the Tutorial Building.

The D-Tower, please.

It sure was nice. This ultra-luxury sedan, complete with a veteran chauffeur. This environment where I could focus solely on Playing was truly a blessing to me.

I ran into Choi Sung-gu on the 1st floor.

Hey! Hyukjin! he called, so loudly his voice could be heard throughout the D-Tower. He waved enthusiastically. The hell is with you, man?

What?

You cant feel it? The air around you is hot af.

Really? I cant feel a thing.

Some people could feel the fire ki I possessed, and some couldnt.

Hey. Just what the hell happened to you? Fuck. Its so hot I cant even get close.

That was probably because of the Millenium Lava in my Inventory.

Urgh, so blinding.

Sung-gu wasnt able to get close to me.

Youre like a pillar of fire or something. Fuck. What the hell are you going around doing?

What do you mean?

Your body looks like its gonna explode, dude. Sung-gu peered at me from a distance. Like an energy of opposing nature is tamping down the fire ki coming out of you, keeping you alive.

Sung-gu looked tearfully at me. Dude, you cant leave me and die. If you go, we have to go together.

...

How am I supposed to Play without you? Playing these days is really so suffocating I could die.

Apparently, it was really, really frustrating to work in conjunction with other Players. I could imagine that Players with low basic defense like Choi Sung-gu felt particularly endangered.

So I gave him a little reassurance.

Yeah, youll be fine. You wont die.

Hey, hey! Have a heart, man! I seriously feel like Im gonna die here!

But youre alive.

Th-Thats true, but

Thats enough.

I bypassed the loudly complaining Sung-gu and got onto the Teleport Gateway. I teleported back to Italy.

Pedro was waiting for me.

Welcome back!

Anticipation for giving something?

Giving something? What was he planning on giving, and why did he feel anticipation when he was giving it? Was he the type of person who liked being generous?

Velas taking care of a personal matter in another dungeon right now. As for me, Ive been waiting here a long time to give you this.

He came up to me and handed me something without notice.

Why are you giving me this?

That item was a bow, and not just any bow, but the starting weapon of the Divine Archer, Hyun Junghwa.