Max Talent Player

Chapter 28: Flash Gate - Underground Tunnel (3)

I was progressing well. Way better than I thought.

After all, I could feel that even the Sword Empress, the strongest in 1 vs 1 PVP, was weaker than me, at least right now. I was progressing well, but it was still true that I hadnt gotten out of the beginner level yet.

You have to reach level 30 to stand at the real starting line.

Real Playing could be seen to start from level 40 and onward, at least according to the standards of the future.

Leveling from 30 to 40 isnt easy.

At level 30, there werent that many monsters good for leveling, and fast level ups were difficult. From that point, leveling demanded continuous grinding.

Lycanthropes that are on the high EXP side have way too low cost-effectiveness.

Unless there was something like a creek nearby, Lycanthropes were difficult to kill. People with a lot of money actually just went around with fire trucks and hunted them, but even that wasnt all that effective. Lycanthropes were only level 25. They didnt merit such exaggerated tactics in the level 30s. 

But its a different story if I have these guys.

I saw the monsters in front of me. Three of them were huddled together. They were huge rabbit-type monsters.

Monster Rabbit LVL 20

The two male Monster Rabbits were level 18, and the female Monster Rabbit was level 20.

Yeonseo said to me, One of them is coming up as red. Is it like a boss monster?

Her level was 19. It appeared she wasnt able to check the level of the level 20 female Monster Rabbit. 

They dont look all that strong mumbled Yeonseo to herself.

She was right. They werent very strong monsters. It didnt always apply, but normally, a monsters strength tended to be reflected to a certain degree in their appearance. Most rabbit-type monsters were weak. They might have become huge, but they were still confined to the constraints of the rabbit category.

Might be different if they were Demon Realm Rabbits.

A bunny inhabiting a field set as a different dimension entirely might be different, but these guys were still rabbits, even if they had monster attached to their name.

The problem is that theyre really tough to catch.

They had a habit of running away when they sensed danger. That was fine, but the problem was that they were so fast it was difficult to catch them. Because they fled through underground tunnels, unless you had an earth-attribute Player, these monsters were practically impossible to catch.

I looked closely at Shin Yeonseo.

She cleared this gate on her own.

That meant she had a method to catch these monsters.

But Im sure she just cleared it.

Simply clearing this gate was meaningless. I had to catch as many of those Monster Rabbits as possible. They were monsters that were absolutely necessary for later Playing, for level 30-40 Playing.

I never thought Id end up meeting them here.

I felt my mood go up, and I wasnt the only one feeling happy.

How about it? Shall we try catching them? It looks fun.

She seemed a little excited. Her cheeks had become ruddy, but her cuteness wasnt the only thing I noticed.

So the Sword Empress was always this way, starting from the low levels.

This, too, was the influence of talentthat she felt curiosity, not fear, towards a new monster. She might look cute, but there was surely an incredible battle instinct lurking within. The whole person changed as soon as there was a sword in her hand. Some people even gave her the nickname Rakshasa, aka demon.

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Sounds good to me, I said before giving an explanation. Rabbits usually have a tendency to run away when theyre in danger. It would be best to kill them in one shot if possible. Do you think you can do it?

For example, with your innate ability Single Hit Finisher.

Yeonseo innocently thumped her chest. Of course! I even have a skill that kills in one blow.

The two of us hunted the Monster Rabbits. Killing them in itself wasnt hard. The only attacks they had were kicking with their hind legs or biting with their fangs, so they werent all that dangerous.

Now.

That instant, Yeonseos sword glowed blue. For a very brief moment, it looked like her body whooshed backwards.

Swoosh!

The whistle of air being sliced rang out.

A straight trajectory of blue light was traced in the air.

Its fast.

Her movements were fast. For the briefest moment, Yeonseos body had shot backwards like a bullet, like her sword was almost a spear. 

Thats the Sword Empress innate ability, Single Hit Finisher.

It was already astonishing that shed already awakened an innate ability at level 19, but it was also surprising that she could use it so well.

[Monster Rabbit has been killed.]

[EXP acquired.]

[26 Coins acquired.]

One Monster Rabbit died, and the other two fled. I clicked the Monster Rabbits body.

It was a bit of a shame. Monster Rabbits dropped lifesteal items, and at a very high rate. Lifestealer items were absolutely necessary in order to quickly get through the level 30-40 stretch that was called the 1st Hell Phase'.

Aw. They all ran away.

Shin Yeonseo looked like she sincerely found it regretful. Here, I could feel it again, that this girl was really born to be a Player, that she truly enjoyed this. That was why she was later given the grandiose nickname of Sword Empress.

* * *

Theyll respawn quickly, Im sure.

But, um, Mr. Hyukjin? Hyukjin? Ah, whatever. Lets just drop the formalities. Whatever. Im just gonna be casual with you. Were like friend-age. Its actually hella embarrassing to speak politely when were the same age, she mumbled quickly to herself before simply deciding to drop the formalities.

Did you always know about this place? Have you been here before?

Hyukjin also naturally dropped the formalities. It wasnt all that important to him.

Its my first time, though?

That was the truth. It was just that he knew most of the strategies of the future.

Really? Its your first time?

Yeonseos eyes grew wide. It was hard to believe this woman and the woman who unleashed Single Hit Finisher on a Monster Rabbit just now was the same person.

But how can you be so calm? To me, it looked like you already knew a lot about this place.

Thats

The air began to shimmer again, right on cue. It saved me from talking, since Monster Rabbits appeared again.

Lets keep catching these guys.

Got it.

Yeonseo seemed to subconsciously trust me quite a lot. She followed my lead without protest. The two of us continued to hunt Monster Rabbits.

[Monster Rabbit has been killed.]

[EXP acquired.]

[25 Coins acquired.]

After we hunted around eight of them, an item dropped.

[Quality Iron Sword]

An iron sword that has likely been made by a fairly high-level craftsman. It has excellent durability and attack power.

Grade: Normal

Attack Power: 7-18

Durability: 300/300

Dammit. Something like this was meaningless. It was pretty decent for a beginner item and even had a durability meter, but I didnt need something like this.

Mm.

But I pretended to be troubled. There was one item, but two people.

You have it, I said, as if doing her a kindness.

Really?

Yeah. It looks like youre better at the sword than me.

For a moment, Yeonseo looked like she was wondering if it was really okay, but then she nodded.

Got it. Ill take it with gratitude! In exchange, Ill definitely give you the next item that comes out.

She grinned, as if thinking she owed me one. That smile was certainly pretty.

Yeah, I thought. You take that trash loot. Ill take the lifesteal item, thanks.

[Legolas Ring]

A ring made by refining a topaz that holds a mysterious power.

Defense: 1

Effect: 2% attack damage HP absorption.

It finally showed up. Yeonseo didnt recognize this items value.

Ehhh, its only 2%?

It was indeed only 2%. But it was possible to equip a total of ten rings, and it was even possible to strengthen them as long as you could satisfy the conditions.

Yeonseo, who didnt know that, looked apologetically at me. Feels like only I got a good item.

Were gonna keep hunting monsters anyway, so its fine.

A long time passed. I didnt measure exactly how long, but at least five hours passed of doing the same thing. Apparently, the Guardians didnt find our Playing very fun.

[The Courageous Lion King is bored.]

[The Nameless Observer has stopped observing.]

[The Lady of the Scales finds the actions of the Players odd.]

Normally, I would try to keep their interest up, but not right now. The frustration and repetition now would actually come back as intense gratification later.

In that time, I acquired a whopping eight Legolas Rings. My heart thumped. The only issue was that Yeonseo became a little uneasy.

But isnt it taking too long? I feel like weve been doing the same thing for too long. Well be able to get out of here, right?

If I kept too tight of a lid on the information, Yeonseos unease would hit a peak. The two of us were a team. There was no need to put a damper on the teams morale.

Ive already found a way to go out.

Hm? How?

Her eyes grew round again. She looked up at me with such surprise that even her lips turned into an O. I really didnt understand how the gap between when she had her sword and didnt could be so big. I wasnt so sure about the easily lovestruck part, but the two faces part was definitely right.

Over there.

I pointed some distance away at a certain spot. It was dark.

I dont see anything.

A Clear Crystal has formed there.

Like I expected, it wasnt a high difficulty gate. After killing a certain number of Monster Rabbits, a Clear Crystal would form. If that crystal was destroyed, the gate would be cleared, as simple as that.

A Clear Crystal?

We can get out if we destroy that.

Aha. Then you dragged it out on purpose, huh?

That was the moment Yeonseo seemed to have realized something. That in the beginner period, lifesteal items only dropped from these rabbits. Yeonseo stared absentmindedly at me. I could feel goodwill from her through Eye of Perception.

And then, she said something Id never even considered.

Is it because youre interested in me?

She said it cheekily, but why did her ears redden? She should decide whether she was going to be cheeky or embarrassed, and not mix the two of them. What kind of answer did she want to hear?

I was saved by the clock when a notice came in.

I was a bit sorry to hear it, but I was still able to acquire nine Legolas Rings.

[Monsters will not respawn.]

[The Clear Crystal will be forcefully destroyed.]

[Flash Gate Underground Tunnel has been cleared.]

When a gate closed once, it wouldnt open ever again. That was another trait that differentiated gates from dungeons, which remained in place.

It had grown very dark outside. It looked like it was dawn.

A lot of time has passed.

At that moment, Eye of Perception picked up on two things.

Huh?

One was my sisters presence. My head whipped around, and I saw my sister, who was slumped on the ground with swollen eyes. I also felt another presence.

Ah, fuck. What is it this time?

The next moment, the world changed.