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Chapter 155
Jo Sunghyun, whose future title was Typhoon, stood behind Hyukjin to his left and quietly recited a magic incantation. He didn’t know what kind of help Hyukjin would need, so all he could do was some basic preparation.
‘Hyukjin hyung
 is definitely going to raise his stats now.’
He could see what Hyukjin was trying to do. Hyukjin’s teammates knew that Hyukjin had some undistributed stat points piled up, though they didn’t know how many.
‘Even around seven undistributed stats
 will probably be able to break the balance.’
That was the conclusion Sunghyun came to after hearing Lily’s words. With seven stat points, Hyukjin should be able to destroy the Guardian Tower, though it might be a little tough.
‘Since it’s Hyukjin hyung we’re talking about here
 he might even have a few more than seven undistributed stats.’
Players kept stats on stock in preparation for the worst-case scenario. Even one stat could create leeway in a crisis. It was like their last resort insurance. Players on Sunghyun’s level who could think or had a brain did it as a matter of course, although in truth, the vast majority of Players who weren’t Rankers used their stats as soon as they got them.
Currently, Hyukjin’s level was 35. He hadn’t touched his stats since level 30.
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player)
Level: 35
Contracted Guardian: [Nameless Observer]
Title: [Pioneer of Victory] [Excellent Player] [First Adversary] [Person of Fire] [Phantom Thief Squirrel’s Master] [Starting Sovereign] [Starting Fighter] [Thousand Dog Master]
Dungeon title: [Conqueror of the Seoul Station Dungeon]
Innate ability: [Eye of Perception] [Sword of Insight]
Special ability: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth]
Strength: 22
Intelligence: 22
Agility: 28
Perception: 22
Constitution: 22
Willpower: 17 (+30)
Bonus stats: 22
Random stats: 17
Undistributed stats: 39
The number of undistributed stats Hyukjin had far exceeded Jo Sunghyun’s expected value.
‘39.’
He had far too many undistributed stats for a Player who received a ‘No Talent’ evaluation. The fact he had 39 stats in reserve meant that all this time, he was more than capable of progressing scenarios even without using his undistributed stats.
To put it another way, he was able to keep in step with his team, a party you could call Korea’s strongest at present, even without raising his stats.
He’d only know exactly after they clashed, but according to his simulations, ten was a good starting point. He decided to try putting in two points each into every stat except for Willpower. If that wasn’t enough, he could put in more.
“Hrmm~” Lily hummed. “Your overflowing confidence sure is great to see. Tintin’s going to attack you now. Resolve yourself!”
As she talked, Hyukjin invested his stat points.
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player)
Level: 35
Contracted Guardian: [Nameless Observer]
Title: [Pioneer of Victory] [Excellent Player] [First Adversary] [Person of Fire] [Phantom Thief Squirrel’s Master] [Starting Sovereign] [Starting Fighter] [Thousand Dog Master]
Dungeon title: [Conqueror of the Seoul Station Dungeon]
Innate ability: [Eye of Perception] [Sword of Insight]
Special ability: [Absorption] [Mettle] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth]
Strength: 24
Intelligence: 24
Agility: 30
Perception: 24
Constitution: 24
Willpower: 17 (+30)
Bonus stats: 12
Random stats: 17
Undistributed stats: 29
The numerous gunports dotting the Guardian Tower’s gray wall started taking aim at Hyukjin’s body.
[Guardian Tower is taking aim.]
Countless crosshairs appeared on Hyukjin’s chest. His heart began to thump.
The power he could feel radiating from the Guardian Tower with Eye of Perception was considerable. It was different from the ‘murderous intent’ exuded by living beings, but it was more reserved and blunt. But Hyukjin didn’t panic.
[Observing with Observer’s Eye.]
He maintained his composure. Composure was the core of ‘observation’. Without it, exemplary observation was impossible.
‘It must have a weak point.’
It wasn’t yet the evolved ‘Titan’, but the far weaker ‘Tintin’. It definitely had a weak point, one that Observer’s Eye could find.
‘Found it.’
The tower’s weak point wasn’t fixed. The Guardian Tower itself was unmoving, but the turrets opened and moved freely, making the Guardian Tower look as if it were turning in circles.
‘The weak point changes constantly based on that movement.’
How he attacked that weak point would become the cornerstone of this scenario.
‘While dodging the Guardian Tower’s attacks.’
He couldn’t dodge every attack. He had to take certain hits where necessary. If he used the Great Orc Warrior set effect and ‘Absorption’ with appropriate timing, he should be able to barely carve out a path to success.
An HP bar appeared above the Guardian Tower. If he brought that HP to 0, this scenario would be completed.
‘Okay.’
His mental preparation was complete. It was exactly then that a black bullet the size of a bowling ball came hurtling towards him.
‘A light attack.’
The Guardian Tower Tintin was sending him a light greeting to start things off.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Lei
Proofreader - Ash
* * *
Even without Hyukjin saying anything, his teammates were well aware of where and what roles they had to carry out. They were all people with top-class talent, and they even put in hard work alongside Hyukjin to make their talent bloom.
Sunhwa instantly made a call.
‘I have to take that hit.’
That ‘bullet’ attack was a teaser of sorts. It wasn’t an all-out attack, just the Guardian Tower’s greeting.
‘I can block it for sure.’
A shield formed at Sunhwa’s small arm.
“Oppa has to be the one to destroy it, but he doesn’t have to be the one to block it!”
She threw herself at the bullet.
CLANG! BOOOM!
Steel met steel with a loud crash, followed by an explosion. The pungent smell of gunpowder filled the field. Having blocked the bullet with her body, Sunhwa rolled several times backwards. Her body was dirtied all over, but she seemed mostly unharmed.
Hyukjin didn’t miss the opening Sunhwa made for him.
‘Well done, Sunhwa.’
[Using the special skill Flash Step.]
Flash Step was a technique that approached the enemy in a ‘straight line’. Sunhwa had just blocked an attack that came flying in a ‘straight line’, which opened up the path for him, as Hyukjin knew it would. He knew Sunhwa, and he knew the turret’s attack. He believed in her, and she didn’t betray his trust.
At that moment, he used a different ‘song’ that he hadn’t shown before and hadn’t applied to the Kim Hyukjin of a few minutes ago.
Conductor’s Hymn for group battles, Hunter’s March for solo ones. Two similar but different songs he had gotten from two rival Guardians.
[Using the special skill Hunter’s March.]
The two favors he had gotten in the beginning were ‘Conductor’s Song’ and ‘Hunter’s Song’. Other than one taking effect in group battles and the other in solo battles, their effects were pretty much the same. That was how they were at first. But just because they were the same at the beginning didn’t mean they had to be the same later.
That applied to the upgraded Conductor’s Hymn and Hunter’s March.
[Favor Granted by the White Hunter]
Type: Special skill
Name: Hunter’s March
Effect:
Medium chance to cure abnormal statuses in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds)
+6% crit chance in a solo battle (duration: 120 seconds)
+30% increase in effect of consumable items in a solo battle
Increased effectiveness of a ‘direct attack’ ability of the caster when used in combination with Hunter’s March (limited to innate abilities).
Cooldown: 360 seconds
Proficiency: [1]
Up to effect #3, Hunter’s March was similar to Conductor’s Hymn, but diverged a little starting from #4. Conductor’s Hymn could be used in combination with Mettle, while Hunter’s March could be used in combination with a ‘direct attack innate ability’.
‘And I
’
He stabbed the wall of the Guardian Tower with Isabel.
‘Have never shown Hunter’s March.’
+10 boosted stats. And on top of that, a solo exclusive ability, Hunter’s March. A red energy began to rise off Hyukjin’s body.
If Conductor’s Hymn produced a golden splendor, Hunter’s March was like a wash of red madness.
It felt as if his entire body were overflowing with fighting spirit. The ability wasn’t just a technical buff, but was actually fulfilling the role of a march. His blood was boiling, and his heart itched with the instinct to destroy.
‘Next, here.’
After instantly closing in, Hyukjin stabbed hard at another place on the Guardian Tower with Isabel. It was another of the weak points that could only be captured with Observer’s Eye, a schism between flow and flow. He continued to find and stab the continually changing ‘point’.
The crosshairs for his body shook wildly, scattering outward and causing explosions all over the field.
BOOOM!
BOOOOOM!
No one got hurt, but there was damage all over the road. Hyukjin jumped back.
‘The first turret attack was a straight line attack.’
But the next attacks that bombarded the road weren’t straight shooters. They didn’t have a ‘trajectory’. Like a kind of magic, it wasn’t that the bullets themselves flew out, but that they exploded the target itself. So it was meaningless to close in on the tower.
The Guardian Tower’s gunports continued to open, changing locations by the second. He had shaved down a fifth of the Guardian Tower’s HP.
Hyukjin became more confident.
‘I can do this.’
It was just one exchange of blows, but he could tell. His level was a step higher than the Guardian Tower set by Lily’s observation.
* * *
When the Guardian Tower’s HP fell to about half, Lily shook her head.
“Looks like our Tintin needs to show his true strength, too. You’re doing way better than I thought!”
Every Player heard a notice.
[The Guardian Field’s ‘isolation function’ is taking effect.]
[Switching to ‘Full One-on-One Mode’.]
[Players other than the Guardian Tower Master candidate cannot participate in battle.]
A full one-on-one mode was established. Kim Hyukjin vs. the Guardian Tower. Only the two of them could participate in the scenario.
[In the case of the Guardian Tower Master candidate’s death, another Guardian Tower Master candidate can take up the gauntlet.]
Lily seemed to think that wasn’t enough.
“I need to activate Tintin’s outer wall defensive mechanism.”
Another pixie (though her physique was too different to really be called the same race), Yeonseo’s Streamer Roa, protested.
“Aren’t you destroying the already determined balance too much?”
“Woah, you scared me. There was a pixie Intermediate Administrator here, huh? But what kind of pixie is so huge?”
“Answer the question being asked. There’s reason to suspect a balance break here. It’ll be hard to deal damage if an outer wall defensive mechanism kicks in when it’s already hard enough to close in and attack. Isn’t that right? If you have any conscience, think about it.”
Lily snickered. “That’s up to me! Stay out of my jurisdiction, giant pixie!”
Roa didn’t take a stand for Hyukjin’s sake. She didn’t care for him that much. She only wanted to become the subject of attention by making such an appeal. She couldn’t properly stream Kim Hyukjin, but she could stimulate the Guardians’ imagination. Alternatively, it was also a win if she could form a cooperative relationship with Senia, Hyukjin’s exclusive contracted Intermediate Administrator.
Since drawing attention was her goal anyway, she didn’t really push the protest. Lily must have known that as well, because she giggled, saying, “It’s gotta be this hard to be fun! I want to open up that man’s skull and lick the insides!”
“...”
Just then, a certain angel whose knack for talking was far too low considering she was a Streamer opened her mouth.
“Miss Roa. It’s alright.” Her voice low, Senia continued. “Player Kim Hyukjin has not shown his full strength, either.”
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