# Player with Maxed-Out Talent Episode 55

The Orc Warrior sensed that it was the apex predator in this place. It let out a roar filled with confidence.

“KOOOAH!”

With its shout, it bared its large mouth. Small humans. Even in a swarm, they were no threat. It wondered how tasty human flesh would be and whether eating one would make it stronger. Only such primitive instincts dominated its mind.

But then…

PUSHUK!

Kim Hyukjin’s sword pierced through the Orc Warrior’s open mouth.

“KEEEEARGH!”

In the very moment of its roar, that’s when Kim Hyukjin struck. The Orc Warrior’s skin was tough. Even its eyeballs were hard. But the almost sole weakness of the Orc Warrior was the inside of its mouth.

‘Now. Inside its mouth!’

In an instant, Hyukjin didn’t miss the opportunity the moment the Orc Warrior opened its mouth.

“KUEEERK!”

With the sword lodged inside its mouth, the Orc Warrior collapsed with a scream. Hyukjin’s attack wasn’t over yet.

‘Finish the job.’

The Orc Warrior’s right fist came swinging, but Hyukjin dodged it with ease. A single blow could be fatal, but it meant nothing if it didn’t hit. Hyukjin then used an item he had picked up earlier.

He took an [Iron Rod] and stuck it vertically into the creature’s wide-open jaw.

‘Now it won’t be able to close its mouth…!’

Hyukjin made full use of the opening. The briefest gap. He stepped back.

“Ma Sanghyun!”

Ma Sanghyun quickly came running. By that time, the Orc Warrior had kneeled. The warrior seemed like it was trying to grasp its face but could not manage due to the agony, unable to handle the sword or even writhe properly.

“Go for the temples.”

The Orc Warrior was on its knees, at a height accessible for Ma Sanghyun’s fist.

“Yes, Hyung-nim.”

Ma Sanghyun moved in quickly. Twisting his pelvis with his left foot as the pivot, Ma Sanghyun’s right fist, heavy with his body weight, aimed at the Orc Warrior’s temple.

POK!

There was a loud impact as Sanghyun’s fist hit the mark precisely. Without pausing, Sanghyun shifted his weight again and extended his left fist.

A right hook followed by a left hook.

Ma Sanghyun’s sturdy legs maintained perfect balance. The Orc Warrior, unable to resist, might as well have been a punching bag. Its upper body wobbled.

“Hyung-nim! Can I go for its chin?”

“As long as the iron rod stays put, do it.”

“Understood.”

Ma Sanghyun grabbed the Orc Warrior’s head with both hands and delivered a knee strike to its chin.

[Activating skill ‘Basic Knee Kick.’]

The knee kick swung up at a 90-degree angle. The iron rod didn’t spring out; rather, it burrowed deeper into the creature’s mouth, locking even more firmly in place.

‘It worked…!’

Normally the Orc Warrior would have retaliated or defended itself, but not now. It had been firstly paralyzed by the ‘Mutant Wolf’s Fang’, and secondly struck in a vital spot in its mouth. The Orc Warrior at this moment was not at its usual strength. It was considerably weakened.

Shin Yeonseo also made her move.

[Activating skill ‘Sure-Kill Strike.’]

Yeonseo realized that the Orc Warrior’s weakness was its open mouth as well.

The blade, targeting a single point, Yeonseo’s sword penetrated through the Orc Warrior’s mouth. After about five minutes, the Orc Warrior finally collapsed to the ground.

PUSHUK!

Kim Hyukjin thrust his sword into the back of the Orc Warrior’s head.

[You have hunted the Orc Warrior.]

[You have gained experience.]

[You have obtained 50 coins.]

From the Orc Warrior’s corpse, they managed to salvage an item.

──────────

[Orc Warrior’s Canine]

A long canine tooth of the Orc Warrior. It is imbued with the Orc Warrior’s strength, and consuming it in a particular way could grant you special power.

──────────

No other items dropped.

[Secondary Gate Scenario Quest ‘Orc Warrior Hunt’ cleared.]

[You have received the quest reward for ‘Orc Warrior Hunt’.]

[You are rewarded with ‘Orc Warrior’s Iron Armor.’]

[You are rewarded with ‘Orc Warrior’s Leather Boots.’]

Hyukjin paid attention to the notifications.

‘The Orc Warrior set… It’s a pretty useful item, even in the intermediate sections.’

He received an iron armor and a pair of leather boots. Considering that most players hadn’t even progressed to proper job classes, these were excellent items for the beginner section.

‘It’ll be incredibly useful in level 30 areas.’

However, the rewards didn’t stop there.

[A special ability ‘Dominance’ has been bestowed upon you.]

The reward for hunting the challenging Orc Warrior was significant, especially since it would have been almost impossible without Kim Hyukjin’s quick wit.

──────────

[Dominance]

‘Dominance’ emanates an emperor’s aura, a higher-level ability than ‘Overbearing’. It invokes an instinctual fear and reverence in those of lower levels than the caster.

──────────

As a ‘Unique Ability’ inherently present within him, he now also acquired a new external power: a ‘Special Ability’. And among those, he obtained ‘Dominance’.

‘Ah. This must be the higher version of Overbearing.’

Som Sikcheon, the chairman of the Holy Spirits, had used ‘Overbearing’. Now, Hyukjin had acquired ‘Dominance’, a higher-tier ability than ‘Overbearing’.

But then, another notification came.

* * *

[‘The Shepherd of Las Vegas’ begins to watch over you.]

Hyukjin couldn’t help question his own ears.

‘The Shepherd of Las Vegas?’

One of the well-known guardians. In the past, this guardian belonged to ‘Michelle’, one of the top-ranked players in America. Michelle was commonly known in Korea as ‘Gold Pyramid’ and in America, simply as ‘Pyramid’. More precisely, she was ‘Gold Pyramid’.

‘Michelle’s guardian is watching me?’

The Shepherd of Las Vegas greatly valued ‘efficient team play’ and ‘combinations’ with team members; Michelle was a player highly optimized for it.

‘The queen who stood at the pinnacle among many lord-class players.’

The players who were part of ‘Michelle’s group’ — each one of them represented a country’s top-tier force. Those players followed ‘Michelle’, their lord, and the ‘Shepherd of Las Vegas’ was the guardian who had contracted with Michelle.

‘I thought it was in the American server?’

A guardian, well-established on the American server, was now watching the Korean server. This was an unusual occurrence.

‘Only Michelle had successfully contracted with the Shepherd of Las Vegas…’

Thought to be almost exclusively supportive of Michelle within the American server, this guardian suddenly took notice of me. And it didn’t end with mere attention.

[‘The Shepherd of Las Vegas’ sponsors you with ‘Orc Warrior’s Leather Pants’.]

A grand sponsorship promptly followed. With this, Hyukjin secured the Orc Warrior’s armor, boots, and pants.

Hyukjin asked aloud,

“Has anyone else heard of a guardian called the Shepherd of Las Vegas?”

Everyone shook their heads. The Shepherd of Las Vegas showed interest only in Hyukjin.

[The scenario quest has been cleared, and the conditions are satisfied.]

[Hunt down the remaining orcs.]

Seoul Station’s dungeon, second basement level. The second gate originally required the destruction of a crystal followed by dealing with petrified orcs. Now, they had to hunt the living orcs. The difficulty had definitely increased.

However, they were just ordinary orcs, not even ‘Orc Warriors’, and they were already frightened. It wasn’t too difficult to hunt them down.

[You have hunted an orc.]

[You have gained experience.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Current Level: 29]

After about an hour of dungeon roaming,

“KUEEK!”

The last remaining orc was successfully hunted.

[You have cleared the second basement level of Seoul Station Dungeon.]

[You obtain 300 COINS.]

[You earn the dungeon title: ‘Conqueror of Seoul Station Dungeon.’]

Regular titles and dungeon titles differ; dungeon titles are unique to each dungeon and usually aren’t tremendously useful.

‘But it’s better to have them than not.’

Seonhwa was beaming brightly.

“We’ve cleared it!”

Her smile was truly adorable. It made Hyukjin wonder if that’s how it felt to have a daughter. They all savored the thrill of clearing the level.

Yeonseo also stretched herself gently.

“I need about three days of rest once we get out.”

However, Hyukjin noticed something odd.

‘Huh?’

There, near the tent where the Orc Warrior had been. A door appeared in thin air.

“What’s that door?”

Yeonseo turned her head.

“There’s nothing there?”

[20 seconds left to exit the dungeon.]

Seonhwa also looked puzzled.

“What? Do you see something?”

Ma Sanghyun agreed.

“There’s nothing there, Hyung-nim!”

[13 seconds left to exit the dungeon.]

Hyukjin was positive. That door was visible only to him. He hadn’t heard of any such ‘door’ in Seoul Station’s dungeon second basement level. Even the great explorer ‘Jackson’s expedition notes made no mention of it.

[9 seconds left to exit the dungeon.]

A door that only I can see. What could it mean? Hyukjin had encountered this phenomenon before.

[Additionally, an extra safe zone is set at D Tower’s second floor parking lot.]

A special alert that no one else heard.

‘That unfair notification determined by one’s talent.’

Hyukjin was hearing it now.

‘Because of that notification, I attempted to conquer the D Tower’s second floor.’

To put it bluntly, because of that extra safe zone notification, he had survived there.

A door visible only to me. Hyukjin made up his mind.

“There’s a door only I can see. It seems like a special hidden spot.”

[6 seconds left to exit the dungeon.]

“So you all go ahead. I’ll follow after clearing this up.”

Time was quickly dwindling. There were no moments to spare.

[3 seconds left to exit the dungeon.]

Using a swift change of titles, he activated ‘Abnormal Boundary Evasion’ and appeared before the door in an instant. From a distance, voices called out.

“Hey! Leader! What is that!”

“Hyung-nim!”

“Oppa!”

He couldn’t afford many words.

[1 second left to exit the dungeon.]

His hand touched the door.

[You have discovered the Special Hidden Piece ‘The Unknown Forest.’]

[Entering ‘The Unknown Forest.’]