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Chapter 23: Second Innate Ability (2)
There were more notices.
[The Innate Ability ‘Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth’ has been awakened.]
[Check the Innate Ability?]
‘Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth’ was among the relatively common innate abilities. However, there was a class Player who had won her fame with this ability as a foundation.
‘Sword Empress Shin Yeonseo.’
The Sword Empress never revealed the name of her innate ability exactly as ‘Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth’.
‘Hers was probably an innate ability of a higher grade.’
The innate ability of the Sword Empress ten years later was thought to be ‘Hammurabi’. Of course, that was just a guess—it wasn’t confirmed by the Sword Empress herself.
‘In any case, they’re the same in essence. There’s a high chance this is the ability the Sword Empress started with.’
The Sword Empress’ raiding capabilities were very outstanding, but her PVPing ability was even better than that. There were rumors on the Internet that the Fist King So Yoohyun and the Flame Lord Choi Sung-gu had lost in 1:1 PVP to the Sword Empress.
‘I think she had a tie with the Typhoon, Jo Sunghyun, right?’
It was said that the Sword Empress had the higher skills, but Jo Sunghyun had the advantage in playstyle. The people in question didn’t state it outright, but it was something known by most people who had an interest in ‘Playing’ or civil service students studying for the civil servant exam that had new questions every iteration based on the history the current figures wrote.
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player)
Level: 18
Title: [First Pioneer] [Excellent Player]
Innate Ability: [Eye of Perception] [Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth]
Strength: 17
Intelligence: 17
Agility: 23
Perception: 17
Constitution: 17
Willpower: 17 (+30)
Bonus stats: 6
Random stats: 3
Undistributed stats: 9
I clicked the innate ability.
[Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth]
It’s only right to return what is dealt to you, even more so if it’s revenge. This Innate Ability triggers when you are ‘dealt a preemptive attack by a Player’. However, if you remain passive after receiving a preemptive attack, all buffs will take effect as debuffs.
1. Attack power +7%
2. Attack speed +7%
3. Critical chance +7%
4. MP consumption -7%
If you remain passive after receiving a preemptive attack, points 1-3 will become -7% and point 4 will become +7%A low chance of having a seizure if you remain passive after receiving a preemptive attack.
‘You’ll become even stronger against a Player who attacks you first.’
Considering this was still the early stage, this ability was almost a cheat.
‘Is it okay for someone to get something like this in the early stage?’
This meant there was a far higher possibility for its growth. Things like titles were also easier to upgrade the sooner they were given. With that in mind, I really wasn’t sure if it was okay for me to get something like this in the ‘Seoul Station Dungeon’, a mere ‘beginner’ dungeon and essentially the ‘first dungeon’ outside of the Tutorial.
‘But wait, actually
 innate abilities are kind of like a talent my body was originally born with.’
The only issue was whether you could awaken them or not. In other words, these two innate abilities were abilities I always had within me.
Just then, another notice interrupted my thoughts.
[The Intermediate Administrator ‘Senia’ has requested a chat. Will you accept? Y/N]
However, it wasn’t a simple chat.
[A Pause has taken effect due to the Intermediate Administrator ‘Senia’.]
* * *
Senia reached out first and requested a chat with Kim Hyukjin. She was so curious that she really couldn’t hold back. To be more precise, it was the Guardians who were curious, especially the ‘Lady of the Scales’ who had expressed great disappointment in Hyukjin.
“A Pause has taken effect. Nobody else here can hear this conversation. Player Kim Hyukjin. This is a conversation between the two of us.”
Senia said it like it was just a chat between the two of them, but Hyukjin already knew.
‘The Guardians must be listening, too.’
It wasn’t a chat between him and Senia. If it was, they would be talking with an actual ‘whisper’. In other words, this conversation right now was a ‘Player Video’ being shown to the Guardians. Hyukjin had picked up on that quickly, unbeknownst to Senia.
She said, “There was a flash of light just now. What was it?”
Hyukjin looked around. Everything had become black and white—the world was on ‘PAUSE’.
‘I’m surprised she went for a pause.’
It was rare for an Intermediate Administrator to independently come out and use their ‘pause authority’ during a dungeon play. In most cases, that meant some Guardian—one with quite a lot of financial power—had requested a pause.
‘If a Guardian stepped in
’
That meant the Guardians were going crazy with curiosity.
‘There was a flash of light like I got something, after all.’
It wasn’t time for a level up yet, so there was no reason for there to be a flash of light. I was well aware of that.
‘They’re probably making a fuss at her to find out what it is.’
After all, these damned Guardians were completely unable to resist their curiosity. I could see it in my head. Right now, I was merely a thing of amusement for the Guardians as a ‘Player’, but actually, I was the one who could make them antsy. If I played my cards right in the future, I could even lead the Guardians by the nose. It wasn’t possible right at this instant, but I could already see that possibility.
“I got an emergency quest.”
“
”
As an Intermediate Administrator, Senia was aware that Hyukjin’s words were a lie. At the very least, information related to ‘quests’ were shared to Intermediate Administrators.
“If I were to summarize the quest
 Kill those who are trying to kill me. Only, I couldn’t kill them directly.”
Senia didn’t say anything, maintaining her usual expressionless face. She simply listened.
‘A definite lie. What is this Player thinking?’
Hyukjin was an incomprehensible Player who couldn’t be predicted at all. Even Senia was curious about what words would come from the mouth of this strange Player who was only level 18.
‘Does he know
 that these words are being relayed to the Guardians?’
They were in a pause state right now. She hadn’t told him that the Guardians were listening in, but could it be that he knew?
“Please continue,” Senia said.
* * *
Reaper Scans
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Proofreader – Ash
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* * *
“If I were to summarize the quest
 Kill those who are trying to kill me. Only, I couldn’t kill them directly.”
The reason why I said this was because I was conscious of the ‘Lady of the Scales’ listening in. I’d heard earlier that the Lady of the Scales was greatly disappointed.
‘I killed someone, so she probably wasn’t happy about that.’
To say it in extremes, the Lady of the Scales was a Guardian with a very ‘moralfag’ personality. It wasn’t strange that she was disappointed in me, since regardless of the situation as a whole, I did end up killing them. This was why absolute good types were exhausting to deal with.
“That yellow light was the indicator for getting the quest reward.”
I stilled for a moment, examining Senia’s expression. What were the Guardians saying? But Senia was as expressionless as ever, and I wasn’t able to glean any hints from her expression.
“As the quest reward, I got an innate ability awakening.”
I decided to tell the truth on this.
“Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth. It’s an innate ability where I must attack back if someone attacks me first or directs ill will towards me. If I don’t do anything after getting hit
 I’ll have a seizure as a side effect. If you want, you can scan it.”
This much explanation was probably enough to appease the Lady of the Scales a little, too. I was simply following the rules of the System. A Player is an existence bound to scenarios and quests. That was, in effect, an ‘Absolute Law’.
‘It’s about time for the Lady of the Scales to bite.’
This time, I received a real whisper, a voice only I could hear. Even the Guardians couldn’t hear it.
Why did you lie?
Is the reason important?
Lies can lead to later problems.
This Streamer
 still had a long way to go. I could tell she was a beginner simply from the way she blatantly whispered to me.
Your objective is getting Coins, and mine is living a good life. If we can help each other in achieving those goals, there shouldn’t be any reason to butt heads.
Did you really get that ability?
It was true that I got an innate ability called ‘Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth’. Senia continued talking to me in a businesslike tone.
Your lie cannot be exposed, not even by mistake. The Guardians are sensitive to lies. They can even give the command to kill you for fabricating the quest.
How very cute. I grinned, but only inwardly. I couldn’t show the Guardians my expression.
What’s higher? The chance of you making a mistake, or of me making a mistake?
The fact she had aided and abetted my lie meant we were in the same boat.
You overlooked my lie. One misstep, and you’ll also become a target for the Guardians. After all, they can’t tolerate being deceived by lower beings.
It was a relief she wasn’t glib-tongued or talkative. She didn’t talk much, so there should be less of a chance for her to slip up.
‘It’s actually better than being talkative.’
Her talent as a Streamer was at the bottom of the barrel, but it didn’t matter—she could still survive if she had quality content that could cover for her lack of talent, and then some.
I said a few more things aloud. If a whisper went on for too long, the Guardians would definitely think something was up, though this blockheaded Streamer didn’t even know that.
“I don’t feel good about it,” I said, making a dark expression. “I was also an ordinary person until very recently, and leading someone to their death like this is scary and terrifying. I feel that way, even now.”
Lady of the Scales, are you listening? I didn’t want to have to say this much, but I had no choice.
“But I’m even more fearful of someone precious to me getting hurt. I would rather become a murderer
 than let something terrible happen to a child who sacrificed her life for me.”
This was the final nail in the coffin.
“Because that is what I consider to be the greatest justice I can carry out.”
I finally heard a notice.
[The ‘Lady of the Scales’’s misunderstanding has been resolved.]
[The ‘Lady of the Scales’ acknowledges the ‘Absolute Law’.]
[The ‘Lady of the Scales’ understands your true heart.]
The lovely notices continued.
[The ‘Lady of the Scales’ has gifted you 300 Coins.]
[The ‘Lady of the Scales’ is seriously considering bestowing a ‘large gift’.]
[The ‘Lady of the Scales’ decides to postpone the ‘large gift’.]
Ah. The result fell a little short of the mark. If possible, I would have liked to make her feel a bit sorrier and direct the play a bit more dramatically so that she wouldn’t just consider, but actually ‘bestow’.
‘Well in any case, I’ve acquired the possibility of getting a large gift from her.’
You couldn’t expect too much with the first swing.
‘The pause will end soon.’
Shortly afterwards, the pause ended.
* * *
So Yoohyun was a future Ranker. He was someone who would rise to the position of ‘Fist King’ even without my help or meddling. Naturally, he was a Player of overwhelming talent, and so I thought he would quickly become accustomed to death.
“I would have done the same. Even death was too good for them. Hyungnim, don’t be too torn up about them for no reason.”
I expected this response from him. However, Sunhwa’s reaction was unexpected. She was unexpectedly extremely calm, and was unmoved by the indirect murder I had committed.
“It was really scary, but those were bad people.”
She didn’t go so far as to say “good riddance”, but it didn’t look like Sunhwa was all that fazed by their deaths. The phrase ‘influence of talent’ was a very famous set of words that described why someone could adapt so quickly in a situation like this.
‘Hm?’ Come to think of it
 ‘The person most unfeeling about this situation
 is me.’
I had just essentially killed Seo Joohwan’s group with my own hands, but despite that, I suffered absolutely zero mental shock. On the contrary, I was calm enough to use the situation to soothe the Lady of the Scales and paint the situation I wanted. It was enough to make me wonder if I was a psychopath.
‘Though they were trash who deserved to die.’
In any case, it was surprising to me that I could be so aloof to someone’s death.
“I trust you, oppa.”
I picked up on an intense emotion via ‘Eye of Perception’.
State: Trust / Reliance / Respect
Under my direction, Yoohyun and Sunhwa hunted the ‘Buzzing Bees’ littered on the ground with reddened bodies and bulging bellies. You couldn’t even really call it hunting. You just had to nudge them and they would explode with a pop! It was a side effect of having sucked too much human blood.
We didn’t get any notable items.
[Acquired Buzzing Bee’s Stinger.]




[Acquired Buzzing Bee’s Stinger.]
The most we got were Buzzing Bee Stingers. The monsters also didn’t give much EXP.
We hunted all of the Buzzing Bees we could see. The time had come to advance.
“Let’s go.”
At the end of this path was a ‘crystal’, a crystal that would allow us to clear the ‘Seoul Station Dungeon’.
There was one in this path, and one in the path that Joohwan had gone to. Once we got both, we could achieve what I wanted.
We continued forward, hunting the Black Yaks and Purple Yaks along the path.
[Acquired Black Yak’s Lean Meat.]
[Acquired Black Yak’s Lean Meat.]
Yoohyun and Sunhwa showed a fairly impressive Play.
“Oppa, over there.”
I saw a crystal exuding purple light floating in the air, around thirty centimetres in size.
Just then, a notice came in.
[The ‘Seoul Station Crystal’ does not welcome intruders.]
An ominous purple energy began to spread from the crystal like a fog.
[Eye of Perception detects danger.]
It was a vicious poisonous gas.