Max Talent Player

Chapter 26

Max Talent Player

Chapter 26: Flash Gate – Underground Tunnel

Many people described Song Kiyoung as a ‘scary person’.

Apparently, if this person was in front of you, you’d find yourself nervous and scared, or something like that. It was public knowledge that he had a strange ability to make people tense.

I felt like I had an inkling as to why.

‘Song Kiyoung was a Player, too.’

It was something no one had known. After all, President Song hadn’t revealed it. Although he had awakened as a Player, he didn’t do any Playing.

[Player]

Name: Song Kiyoung

Age: 68

Level: 11

Class: –

Guardian: –

Innate Ability: [Charisma] [Pressure]

State: Hope / Doubt / Fatigue

Disposition: Progressive / Neutral

Summary:

Through Eye of Perception, I was able to discover something interesting.

‘Charisma? Pressure?’

My current level was 19, and President Song’s was 11. Perhaps because there was a big level difference between us, I could even see his innate abilities. He was only level 11. It was very curious that President Song had already awakened his ‘innate ability’ when we had just gotten through the Tutorial and he hadn’t even Played.

‘And he’s even got two.’

As expected, a dragon was a dragon.

“This is the cure.” I extended the ‘Type B Recovery Elixir’. “I am a Player. I believe you need no explanation on what a Player is.”

“I see.”

The man on the sofa fixed his piercing gaze on the ‘Type B Recovery Elixir’ I presented.

“It should be possible to activate the item description. If the President has awakened as a Player, that is.”

“I am not a Player.”

Right… Not a Player, right.

“In that case, I will explain the effects for you.”

The ‘Type B Recovery Elixir’ was, by all accounts, a hair growth solution. It could make hair grow lushly on your head. Seo Joohwan used this to get a billion won, aka $1 million, from Song Kiyoung.

His summary said it all.

This person was generous. If you gave him something he wanted, he would give an appropriate reward in full.

“Simply ingesting it will make your hair grow.”

“How much growth?”

“Certainly as much as you want.”

Song Kiyoung glanced at me.

[Eye of Perception detects an Innate Ability.]

[The Innate Ability ‘Charisma’ is active.]

I could feel the President’s intensity through Eye of Perception.

‘My heart feels a bit itchy.’

I didn’t feel scared or fearful like people described.

‘Come to think of it, I think I heard your heart’s supposed to feel electrifyingly tingly when you talk to Song Kiyoung.’

He had an innate ability called ‘Charisma’, but he was only level 11. I wasn’t all that intimidated. I at least knew that this effect was the power of his innate ability.

“I do not tell lies. And I’m not so bold as to lie to the president of Sungshin.”

I looked straight into President Song’s eyes. After a moment, he chuckled.

“It seems to me that your assertion that you are not bold is a lie. I feel like it has been a truly long time since I’ve seen someone be so confident in front of me.”

The way President Song looked at me changed a little. It was a minute change, but I could definitely feel it.

“What is it that you desire?” he asked directly.

I didn’t intend on asking for pure cash.

“I would like one condo and a little money.”

A normal person might have yelled ‘You must be nuts!’, but not Song Kiyoung.

“A condo and money?”

“In a newly constructed apartment complex located near the Digital Media City. A condo costs about 900 million won.”

“A condo, huh?”

Song Kiyoung looked me straight in the eye.

[Eye of Perception detects an Innate Ability.]

[Detecting the Innate Ability ‘Pressure’.]

I received a notice from Eye of Perception.

A sense of oppression pressed down on me, and it became a little difficult to breathe. I confirmed the true nature of the innate ability called ‘Pressure’.

‘It feels… like I’m wearing a slightly thick face mask?’ It was exactly around that level. ‘It’s nothing much.’

To be honest, the effect was so light it was almost laughable. It made sense—I was nearly twice his level.

“I’m clear on the condo. How much money do you want?”

The condo’s market price was around 900 million won, or around $900,000. Seo Joohwan received 1 billion won, $1 million, in cash for this elixir. I didn’t complicate things.

“I would like 100 million won.”

Song Kiyoung continued to stare at me, almost as if probing my intent. It wasn’t just a simple stare. He used his abilities as a Player on me for a good ten minutes.

Time passed in silence.

“It seems you’re not lying.” Song Kiyoung stood up. “Very well. I will try believing you once.”

The president of Sungshin, who seemed unaware that ‘Pressure’ didn’t affect me at all, continued with a warning. “We’ll write the contract immediately. But if your words are a lie, then you will have to pay the price for robbing me of an entire forty minutes of my time.”

I nodded. I wasn’t all that scared of his warning—I was already very accustomed to the ‘new technology’ of the System. Feeling relaxed, I added something I almost forgot to say.

“I would like the world not to know of me. I don’t want any attention.”

I chose a different path from Seo Joohwan, who had decorated the newspaper headlines.

“Alright.”

That left just one more thing to say.

“One more thing.”

* * *

* * *

I left Sungshin’s headquarters with a light heart.

‘I thought I’d be super nervous, but…’

I had swung through the meeting with far more leisure than expected. The past me probably wouldn’t have even been able to meet the man’s eyes, but Hyukjin the regressor was different. Now, the aura exuded by the Sungshin President wasn’t anything much.

‘The trade is complete.’

The name of the apartment I asked for was ‘DMC Riverview Xi’. Later, when the Korean Players Association sprang up in the vicinity, the value of this cream of the crop apartment would skyrocket. It would be the safest place in the country, an apartment building that would become a landmark in Korea. I didn’t ask for this place just because of the price jump or the money.

‘And if I need money in three years, I can sell it then.’

In three years, the Players Association would already be mostly established, and the DMC Riverview Xi condo would be a nest egg I could cash in at any time. I might not have gotten cash from the President, but this condo was basically the same as getting cash.

‘I’ll need a billion won in three years.’

My final bastion was prepared. I now had a property I could convert into cash at any time.

‘More than anything…’

Our family no longer needed to squeeze together in a half-underground room. My older sister, who’d been getting up at the break of dawn to support me, could have her own room now.

My mom’s lifelong wish was to live in a real apartment once. I would finally be able to realize her wish.

‘We’ll have a home to call our own.’

We had been anxious that we might be kicked out of even that tiny half-subterranean room because of the possibility that every two years, the rent would increase, but now, that was a worry of the past. Because in my hand right now was the contract.

The president of Sungshin had been truly amazed.

“I can’t believe it. Is this… the new technology?”

He was no longer bald. He was frozen in front of the mirror for a long time. He called up his secretary on the spot and had him find out about the DMC Riverview Xi. For the president of Sungshin, buying a single condo was no big deal.

“Of course. I agree to all of those contract conditions. Secretary Kim! Come into the bathroom.”

Everything was handled with lightning speed. There happened to be an empty condo for sale, and Secretary Kim was able to purchase it right away.

“Ah. And about that child named Kang Sunhwa. If she wants it, assist in her adoption to a woman named Lee Soohyun. Ensure there are no setbacks.”

Like a true magnanimous person, President Song settled everything quickly. My mom kept saying she wanted Sunhwa to live with us, so I asked him to help in the adoption proceedings. For my mom, for Sunhwa, and for me.

‘Going into dungeons later will be way easier if we’re brother and sister, too.’

She was a genius among geniuses whose talent plates hadn’t even fully opened yet. Keeping Sunhwa by my side had many plusses for me as well. More than anything, it was true that I wanted to protect her.

‘I’m sure Sungshin has realized the potential of new technology now, too.’

I had to keep the general flow of the timeline the same. Due to Seo Joohwan, ‘Sungshin’ became very interested in the ‘new technology’. Under President Song’s lead, Sungshin provided active support to ‘Players’ and unfurled business ventures related to ‘Players’, all because President Song had the chance to experience the marvels of the new technology for himself. 

‘They’ll move quickly now.’

It was the same as the past. Things had progressed like that in the past, too. In the same big events, I would do the best I could.

Not long afterwards, I got a text.

I could hardly believe it. In my hand, I held the condo ownership contract, and in my bank account, was 100 million won, or $100k. It was difficult to believe this was reality. It really didn’t feel real.

Still marveling, I walked quite a distance until I reached Hongje-dong, a neighborhood in Seoul. I waited about fifteen minutes in front of a certain building.

“Noona. You’re off work?”

The ultimate boss of tsunderes, my older sister, stared at me up and down like she was looking at a ghost.

“…What do you want?”

“I just dropped by somewhere and was going home, and it coincided with you getting off work, so I wanted to go home with you.”

“…”

My sister didn’t really respond. She acted as if I were a huge pain in the ass, turning around and walking to the bus stop, her attitude utterly frosty.

‘She’d probably wanna die if she knew I was reading her mood, right?’

I inwardly grinned. 

‘What’s with the relief?’

I guessed it was a residual emotion from the relief of my being alive, because I had been one of the few to come back alive from the ‘Cataclysm’.

“The bus is here.”

The two of us got on the bus, and Eye of Perception immediately picked up on the gazes of people. Actually, even before I had Eye of Perception, I had been keenly aware of people’s looks. My sister was someone who could draw the eyes of everyone in the room despite not having a trace of makeup on her face. My sister and I didn’t pay much attention to those gazes.

“Noona. How about we move?”

“Got a lotta money?”

“Yeah. About 100 million won.”

“You drunk? Wake up.”

“I’m serious though?”

“…”

My sister clearly dismissed my words as pure nonsense. She didn’t even bother responding and just stared fixedly out the window.

I knew, of course, that my sister wanted to move. She wanted to move out of the house where cockroaches came skittering out with every thump. She just didn’t show it.

Like the brother and sister we were, we didn’t talk. My sister just kept looking out the window, and so did I. It was totally fine even if we didn’t talk. The silence wasn’t awkward between us.

‘She’d probably faint if she knew this paper in my hand is the new condo contract.’

And if she also found out there was 100 million won in my bank account? I felt happy just imagining her reaction.

“Noona.”

“What?”

“I’ll make it so we can move to a nice place.”

“…”

My sister continued to look out the window.

“Let’s live… in a good place from now on. I’ll make it so you can also quit your job.”

You don’t have to get something like leukemia in the future. You don’t have to work at a factory because we have no money.

“Today, let’s go with mom and…”

I was about to propose going out to eat with the family, but at that moment, I found myself unable to continue.

‘Huh?’

I saw something outside the window. A golden light was shimmering next to a roadside tree. It didn’t look like the people passing by could see it. That was only natural—after all, they weren’t Players. That light could only be seen by Players.

‘A flash gate?’

The Seoul Station Dungeon had just been cleared. Did a flash gate form in Hongje-dong at this time before? I combed through my memories and had a very faint recollection of something.

‘Yes. There was one.’

It wasn’t considered important on the civil servant exam, simply and briefly described as a gate in the early stage that was cleared by the Sword Empress.

The weak golden light shimmering next to the tree, and the woman standing in front of it… I knew her.

“Noona. There’s something urgent I have to do, so I’m getting off first.”

The strongest juggernaut of PVP, a Player so strong you would have nothing to fear from if you were on the same side as her. The Slayer of Two Faces.

I had found the Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo, along with a very small flash gate.

____

____