# Player with Maxed-Out Talent, Episode 37

19. Are You Not Paying Attention?

“What on earth are you?”

I faced an entity visible to the eyes yet undetectable by my senses. This meant it was a being with abilities far superior to mine, something my power could not fathom.

I already knew of such entities. Senia, who I treated casually ‘as if’ on a whim, holds a power far greater than my own. The same goes for that tiny fairy who talked to me.

‘BJ.’

I already knew the BJ in question. A middle manager who would become famous in the future, ranking among the top three popular figures in Japan.

‘Fairy. Celine.’

She was about the size of my palm with yellow hair. By her face alone, she gave off the feel of Tinkerbell from the fairy tales we commonly imagine. Except, her belly was prominently bulging out. Celine, the plump fairy. There was another name for Celine, a BJ like me with a nickname.

‘Talent Scout.’

Celine has discovered many players of genius-level and above. In Japan, it’s rumored that those who receive her endorsement have more than a fifty percent chance of succeeding.

Before I could reply, Senia stepped forward. I was a player who produced ‘high-quality content’ under an exclusive contract with Senia. It seemed she had stepped in because she was worried Celine might cause trouble. Conversations between BJs couldn’t be heard by us.

‘Celine here means…’

Celine is here?

‘There must also be a player present.’

Surely they’d be broadcasting. But that player isn’t detectable. I can’t tell where they might be. They might be using a ‘perk’ from the guardians, allowing them to hide themselves.

‘Just out of the tutorial phase in Japan… Could a player have already awakened and entered this place?’

I couldn’t tell. The experience from the past led to one conclusion: the ‘Turtle Nest’ must have experienced a ‘break’. If it’s broken, it means it hasn’t been cleared. If history repeats itself, it means that any player who entered here has died.

‘Even if they’ve awakened already, they’ll still be low-level.’

While I sorted out my thoughts, the conversation between Celine and Senia seemed to have concluded. Celine, chuckling, turned to us.

“From what I see, you guys have something. There’s a scent of something.”

She stroked her protruding belly.

“My belly tells me. You hold something special. A scent of deep experience, perhaps.”

Celine narrowed her eyes as if scrutinizing us.

“I have this feeling that I might have picked the wrong server.”

She said with disappointment, rubbing her nose while smacking her lips. Shimmering dust fell from the small wings attached to her back.

Mumbling to herself,

“Might as well switch to the Korean server at this chance…?”

She pointed at me with her tiny finger.

“You, especially you. You’re holding onto something big. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it feels massive.”

She turned and fluttered away like a butterfly, fading into the distance.

“We’ll probably see each other again.”

* * *

I scoured the surroundings with the kids. Sticky mud and thick vegetation, whether it be reeds or something else, I couldn’t tell. Underfoot, small crabs and insects I couldn’t name crawled about.

After about an hour, Shin Yeon-seo asked me,

“So, if we keep looking, will we find a clear crystal?”

Clear crystals are important too. To clear a gate, you need to destroy a ‘clear crystal’ or hunt a ‘boss monster’. Usually, you have to do one of the two.

“Yeah. I too am unaware of the strategy. We need to look for anything that could be a clue. Whatever it is.”

It wasn’t a lie. I know somewhere here the ‘Gold Turtle’ exists for sure, but I don’t know where. Considering this place is called ‘Turtle Nest,’ it must be closely related to the gate concerning the ‘Gold Turtle’.

‘Moving all together isn’t efficient.’

I spoke,

“Let’s split up into pairs and move.”

Shin Yeon-seo looked at me with a ‘huh?’ expression while Sunhwa slightly tugged at my clothes. Sunhwa didn’t want to separate from me. It was clearly a show of coyness. I did not entertain each instance of it.

‘It shouldn’t be too dangerous here.’

A gate newly formed in Japan having just completed their tutorials. The level of the gate should be adjusted to that. ‘Gold Turtle’ itself isn’t that dangerous. Relative to the difficulty and danger Sunhwa sensed, the actual threat level here was low.

“Splitting up is more efficient.”

Shin Yeon-seo retorted,

“In this vast place? What if we can’t find each other? What if we get lost since our phones aren’t working?”

“Buy a gate map from the item shop.”

“Huh? There’s such a thing?”

Of course. It costs 1,000COIN, which is the issue.

“Huh? This costs 1,000COIN?”

“That’s cheaper than your life.”

Shin Yeon-seo frowned.

“I just managed to save up 1,000COIN…”

The future Sword Queen whined and fussed. Despite being a future Sword Queen or whatever, an amateur was still an amateur. Of course, I wasn’t planning to indulge in such whining. Ma Sang-hyun took the initiative, uttering ‘if brother says to buy it, let’s buy it,’ and purchased the gate map right away. I opened the item shop as well.

[You have purchased the Gate Map.]

[-1,000COIN]

A gate map is a ‘minimap’ that you can use within a gate. You can check the location of party members in real-time, and if necessary, send a signal on the minimap.

“The instructions should be there.”

The activation command is ‘Gate Map.’

“If you find yourself in danger, need help, or have to say something, you can signal through the minimap.”

I demonstrated. The gate map projected like a hologram, and our locations appeared as ‘red dots.’

“If it’s not dangerous, but you need to alert us about something, use yellow light.”

A yellow light flashed from my position.

“If it’s dangerous, use red light.”

Red light twinkled.

“Always pay attention to the gate map as you move. Be careful, as making too much noise could attract unexpected aggro. Signaling will be done with yellow and red lights. Everyone got it?”

Ma Sang-hyun and Shin Yeon-seo practiced a few times and seemed to get the hang of it quickly. Same with Sunhwa.

“Yes, hyung-nim. I’ll move with Shin Yeon-seo.”

We separated, each searching for something that might serve as a clue.

* * *

Ma Sang-hyun’s middle manager character, Neptune, was faced with an unbelievable situation.

The ‘nameless guardians’ were just riffraff. In BJ lingo, these types were commonly known as ‘beggars’, but even they were crucial entities. The more of these ‘beggars’ there were, the higher a guardian’s viewership count would rise, boosting the middle manager’s rank and expanding exposure to a greater audience.

‘My channel’s guardians…’

It wasn’t just a slight decrease.

‘They left in droves.’

How could this be?

[The ‘Red Desire Throne’ has exited.]

The ‘Master of the Whirling Wind’ has exited.]

Even two named guardians also exited.

‘Shin Yeon-seo is here as well!’

Shin Yeon-seo is also an extremely talented player. Currently, ‘Pearl of Cheonma Mountain,’ a guardian with her eyes set on Shin Yeon-seo, very promising. Yet viewership was nearly halved despite the two of them. The reason was one.

‘It must be due to Senia.’

While Ma Sang-hyun was definitely producing ‘high-quality content,’ Senia held content that was even more ‘high-quality,’ and it seemed like guardians had flooded her channel in droves.

Neptune started role-playing through his unique style as a middle manager.

“Guardians. Isn’t this player Kim Hyukjin a bit too strange? Do you think Senia already explained the gate map to him? He seems to know it too well.”

Kim Hyukjin had already signed an ‘exclusive contract’ with Senia. Only through Senia could he be closely observed.

It was time for an unrelated ‘aggro’ to be necessary regardless of the actual circumstances.

“I will clarify the doubts of the guardians. I shall formally raise an issue. It seems like he might be using a bug, I get a strong feeling about it. I will investigate it.”

* * *

Ma Sang-hyun trudged through the reed beds,

“Careful, careful.”

Kim Hyukjin had told them always to be cautious of their footing. There could be a quagmire anywhere. These marshlands usually have swamps. That’s why they purposely moved in pairs. Front and back. If the person in front fell in, the person behind could help them escape.

“Is that a monster over there?”

Between the bushes, something moved slowly.

──────────

Gold Turtle LV11

──────────

“It’s only level 11. Should we catch it?”

“Let’s send a yellow signal to hyung first.”

As they sneaked up on the Gold Turtle with a yellow shell, the creature seemed to be rather sensitive.

“Muscles, it hid inside its shell. What should we do?”

“Guess we could smack it open?”

“But the swamp here looks dangerous. Maybe it’s better to be cautious.”

After sending a signal through the gate map, they decided just to watch. This was a gate. Anything could happen. They agreed to wait until Kim Hyukjin arrived.

A little while later, someone emerged from the reeds.

“It’s hyung-ni… no, it isn’t. Who’s that guy? A player?”

It seemed to be Japanese. A promising Japanese player broadcast by ‘Celine,’ a BJ renowned for discovering talents. Ma Sang-hyun and the Japanese conversed through hand gestures, foot movements, and a sprinkle of awkward English.

“So, that. That’s you hunting?”

The meaning was something like, are you going to catch that? The Japanese seemed to understand. He shook his head.

“No. Monster. Defense. Very very strong.”

Seemingly to indicate that the monster’s defense was very strong. The Japanese took something out of his inventory. Ma Sang-hyun’s and Shin Yeon-seo’s eyes widened.

“What’s that, is he a fisherman?”

Inside the Japanese’s inventory was a net-like item, which held about a dozen ‘Gold Turtles’ trapped within. All of them, however, were hiding in their yellow shells.

Shin Yeon-seo had a hunch.

“So… he caught them, but can’t kill them because their defense is too high. So he collected them. Anyway, they don’t seem to be that strong of monsters.”

The only monster they had seen so far here was the ‘Gold Turtle’. Could that be the key to clearing this gate? The chances seemed high. Ma Sang-hyun and Shin Yeon-seo, still fairly novice players, couldn’t quite grasp it yet.

“When will Hyukjin come?”

It felt like the solution would become clear once Kim Hyukjin arrived. The reeds shook. Someone was approaching. But then. The Japanese yelled out.

“Aaaah! Nanda yo!(What the!)”

While screaming, he grabbed Shin Yeon-seo’s ankle. Suddenly, Shin Yeon-seo felt as if being sucked into somewhere. She caught sight of something.

‘What is that!’

Something completely different from the turtle appeared. It jumped out of the swamp, and the creature bit the Japanese’s leg and dragged him down into the swamp. The swamp was quickly stained red with the blood that poured from the Japanese’s leg.

“Tasukete!(Help me!)”

He thrashed in desperation, his grip on Shin Yeon-seo’s ankle tight with all his might; he didn’t want to be sucked in. Shin Yeon-seo realized then that if this continued,

‘I might get sucked in too.’

The will to live, the longing for life—it all drew out a ‘hidden strength’. A power far greater than usual congregated in the player’s right hand. Perhaps some guardian had gifted her with ‘desperate gripping strength’ or the like.

‘What do I do?’

Close to an ordinary person than a player, Shin Yeon-seo couldn’t handle the sudden emergency. Neither could Ma Sang-hyun. Despite their genius, they had both lived mundane lives for twenty years. Their minds went blank, unable to cope properly.

The Japanese was submerged up to his chest in the swamp, his surroundings a sea of blood. Desperation was written all over his face. Like most humans, his eyes were thick with the desire to live.

“Tasukete!(Help me!)”

Shin Yeon-seo’s body tilted, tipping over. Ma Sang-hyun grabbed her arm from behind, trying to stabilize her. However, the pull of the swamp was stronger than Ma Sang-hyun’s grip.

Unable to take any action, Shin Yeon-seo found herself at a loss.

‘Uh… huh?’

It was almost certain; she would be dragged into the swamp with her body. That’s when Kim Hyukjin showed up.

Right at that moment, something unexpected happened that Shin Yeon-seo couldn’t have imagined.