Chapter 83 of the Player with Maxed-Out Talent

Four men stood before me, among them I recognized two familiar faces. The one leading the pack was Kim Kang-chul, who had ties with me even in my previous life, and another was Song Jin-cheol.

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[Unawakened]

Name: Song Jin-cheol

Age: 14

Status: Ignored/Slight anger/Jealousy

Disposition: Arrogant/Destructive/Selfish

Summary:

1) Self-proclaimed chosen one

2) Thinks of himself as a master of negotiation and intimidation

+ Unawakened status.

+ Disposition and traits are representative and subject to change depending on the situation.

+ Due to a low proficiency in the Sensory Eye, detailed information is unavailable.

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Although the note still stated [Detailed information view is unavailable due to low proficiency with the Sensory Eye], I could now read much more information than before. The summary had increased to two items.

‘Last time, it just showed the self-proclaimed chosen one.’

This time a new piece of information was displayed.

‘Self-proclaimed master of negotiation and intimidation?’

Currently, we were in the 12th floor hall, ‘The Hill Where the Wind Blows,’ the gateway we entered at the very beginning. The 12th floor hall had several entrances, and from afar, I could see members of what would later become Korea’s top guild, ‘Taeguk Shield.’

They had come here deliberately late.

‘The reason they appeared only now.’

I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now I see things differently.

‘Probably because Ham So-hyeon, the seer awakener, is here.’

I don’t know the extent of her foresight abilities, but it’s likely she predicted some danger occurring here, which is why Taeguk Shield, the main force of Seongshin, arrived late.

‘Or maybe they wanted to make an impactful late entrance like the protagonists in stories.’

No matter the reason, the members of Taeguk Shield, who weren’t here during the clearing of the Windy Hill, are now visible.

Song Jin-cheol’s elder brother, Song Gi-yeol, was also present. He is the guild master of ‘Taeguk Shield.’

‘He’s in his early thirties as of now, I guess.’

The guild master of Taeguk Shield. His nickname was the same as the guild’s name, Taeguk Shield (太極防牌). He was known as an outstanding tanker.

Others include the Witch of Poison (毒魔女) Cheon Su-ji, the Golden Priest (司祭) Kong Jin-hoon, and the Spear Ghost (槍鬼) Byeon Gil-seop…

‘Wow. There are quite a few heavy hitters here.’

Now they’ve finally revealed themselves. I’m going to create a picture with them—the very people who will skyrocket my value shortly. They are, so to say, supporting characters in my scenario.

Separate from them, many players were celebrating:

“We’re back!”

“We survived!”

The players were reveling in the joy of their return and discussing the rewards they obtained. Some were even crying with somber expressions.

A voice reached my ears.

“Mr. Kim Hyuk-jin. It’s a relief to see you safe.”

Following that remark, Song Jin-cheol stepped forward. Just a first-year in middle school, he was short and skinny, but his voice was shrill, though filled with enormous self-confidence. It seemed they had some business with me, as Song Jin-cheol pushed aside Kim Kang-chul, a much older adult.

“Are you Kim Hyuk-jin?”

“…”

I looked at the brat, Song Jin-cheol—the third generation of a rich family. Our first meeting hadn’t been particularly pleasant either.

“Why does Grandpa care so much about this guy?”

Jealousy over his grandfather’s attention? Ah, that explains his state.

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Status: Ignored/Slight anger/Jealousy

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It was more amusing than infuriating to see his jealousy, yet he seemed to be looking down on me.

‘The reason Chairman Song Gi-young sent this juvenile to me.’

I quickly grasped his intent.

‘He must be curious to see how I handle you.’

The probability is quite high. He wants to see if I’m the kind of person who can reject the position of ‘Taeguk Shield’s guild master’.

‘If that’s what you’re curious about, I’ll show you.’

For now, playing along with the chairman’s tune wouldn’t be bad. It’s going to increase my value and worth.

‘He will be quite surprised.’

Even I’m astounded by it.

My party members.

The Taeguk Shield guild members.

Kim Tae-cheon.

The brat, Song Jin-cheol.

Using these keywords, I’ve drawn a completely new picture. Together with my party members, we’re going to use all these elements to maximize our value.

“Ah, I am Kim Hyuk-jin.”

“And you. Did you just speak informally to me?”

“Ah, spoke informally.”

“Are you crazy? You don’t know who I am?”

“Ah, I don’t.”

The third-generation rich brat got excited. Ranting, he said:

“If you don’t know who I am, then I need to teach you. This guy. Get on your knees before me right now!”

That youthful defiance. Is this what they call “second-year middle school syndrome”?

“What are you waiting for? Capture those scumbags and make them kneel before me now! Didn’t you hear me?”

Members of Taeguk Shield glanced over here as well.

It seems they require some suppression.

[Special Ability. Domination (霸氣) is activated.]

Even an orc with the brute strength to tear apart these four men with one hand succumbed to my aura, a power superior to the ‘Overwhelm,’ a unique ability possessed by Song Jin-cheol’s grandfather, Song Gi-young, the first chairman of Seongshin.

The aura oppressed the four men.

“Uh…?”

Song Jin-cheol’s face paled. Kim Kang-chul was the same. It was my first time using it on a person, and the effect seemed pretty good.

I patted Song Jin-cheol’s shoulder.

“Be respectful. You’re only truly cool when you treat others with decency, kid.”

I walked past the terrified Song Jin-cheol, and behind me, Seonhwa stuck out her tongue, making a small ‘meh’ gesture. I let her be. Probably, for Song Jin-cheol, this was even more humiliating. To be scorned by a girl of his age whom he’s never met before.

The kid. It will take some time to shake off the influence of the aura.

* * *

I can sense it with the Sensory Eye (感覺眼). There are quite a number of people here to control this area.

‘I’ll generate an oppressive atmosphere.’

It’s been deliberately orchestrated.

Long after, the ‘Players Association’ will officially apologize for the incident.

‘They’re trying to tame the players.’

The Players Association tried to dominate the players who hadn’t grown yet at that time. At least initially, it wasn’t considered a bad strategy. Anyway, thanks to that, the ‘Players Association’ quickly took its place, and the players somewhat cooperated (?).

‘Sometimes, beating them up might be more effective than democratic and peaceful methods.’

Didn’t Ma Sang-hyun prove that? It seems Seongshin made the same judgment.

‘Situation intentionally orchestrated by Chairman Song Gi-young.’

All of these situations and the picture are drawn out. This is interesting.

“You cannot leave.”

People with big frames, though not as big as Ma Sang-hyun, blocked the door. They wore black suits.

‘Mostly unawakened.’

Seeing this makes me laugh. Even the great Chairman Song Gi-young hasn’t fully grasped the power of the players yet.

‘What if the players couldn’t adapt to this atmosphere in the past and had caused a riot?’

Even if someone like Kim Tae-cheon wielding an axe had made a fuss, those bulky men would have been knocked out cold. The difference between a player and an unawakened is truly enormous.

“Why not?”

“There were instructions from the chairman of the Players Association.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

‘So far, it’s the same as the past.’

I looked around once more. Many people surrounded the 12th floor. I didn’t know who, but someone holding a microphone began to speak.

“Players, considering the situation, I’ll get straight to the point.”

The story was simple. There were many casualties, and the Players Association decided they needed to know exactly what had happened. They said they would ask each person for cooperation and hear them out to build a database. The atmosphere was almost like an interrogation room.

‘The novice players seem half-frightened.’

Or they might be unwillingly submitting to the authority posed by the seemingly credible organization, the Players Association.

Regardless, I play my game my way.

‘Leave the big picture as it is.’

I decided to leave the overall situation as is. Eventually, not far into the future, players will realize they don’t need to be too submissive to the ‘Players Association.’

Sin Yeon-seo asked me.

“Captain. The atmosphere feels rather coercive… Have we committed some wrongdoing? It’s as though they’re treating us like criminals.”

She smiled brightly, but I could feel a tinge of killing intent. The bulky man blocking our way flinched perceptibly.

Kang Sang-gu commented while picking his nose.

“Just say the word. I’ll set fire to this place. You know my ID, right? I’m the arson master of Jangyang-dong.”

Leave the big picture as it is. But there’s no need to lower my value or our value. I’ve decided to live differently this life. I’ve resolved that I will create my own life.

I said,

“Right. We’ve done nothing wrong. And this semi-coercive atmosphere has been deliberately created by someone. I won’t say who.”

I said it loud enough for people around me to hear.

Now free from the influence of the aura, Song Jin-cheol practically had a fit as he yelled at me.

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting! Stop with that illogical bullshit!”

Whether it makes sense or not, I’m about to show you, kid. No. Chairman Song Gi-young.

‘I’ll show you how I shape the game.‘

That game. It’ll be bigger than you think.

Then, I received a whisper request from Senia.

– Player Kim Hyuk-jin, I have a question.

– Ask away.

– What is the final picture that Player Kim Hyuk-jin is drawing? I’m unable to grasp its direction.

Fair enough.

– You want a spoiler for the guardians?

– No. But knowing the details would allow for a more appropriate execution.

Indeed. Senia is also growing. This is very promising.

– Listen carefully, I’ll explain just this once. It would be nice if you could use the Time Pause ability once or so.

Senia seemed to contemplate before finally using the ‘Time Pause’ ability. The entire world except me and Senia was tinted in monochrome.

I said to Senia,

“I’ll make it brief. I’m going to use that youngest Song Jin-cheol to send a message to Chairman Song Gi-young. To not underestimate us and to properly assess our value.”

“Is that the conclusion?“

“No, it wouldn’t be fun if that were the end.”

One must design it step by step.

“Listen carefully. Primarily, I will provoke Song Jin-cheol. After that, Kim Tae-cheon will take action, and then Taeguk Shield will move accordingly. After that, other members of Taeguk Shield will probably follow.”

“…”

“Even if you don’t understand the process, it’s okay. I’m only talking about outcomes. Align your execution accordingly.”

“Is provoking Song Jin-cheol just a bait then?”

“That’s right.”

Senia seems to have grown a bit. From a complete novice to just a novice.

“Then will Kim Tae-cheon move as a result?”

“I have to make it happen.”

Okay. That too is settled.

“How are Kim Tae-cheon’s actions and Taeguk Shield’s movements related? They seem entirely unrelated.”

Senia spoke up to that point, her wings fluttering slightly.

“Ah. Don’t tell me…!”

Oh. She seems to have caught on without me saying. Right. As you guessed, there are other elements at play in this picture. Invisible to the eye, but potent.

“Your guess is correct. I’ll make it happen.”

“Song Jin-cheol is bait. Kim Tae-cheon is bait. The real target is Taeguk Shield, it seems.”

“You’re fairly close.”

Senia seems to roughly understand. She has become much smarter.

“Do you intend to gain control of Taeguk Shield?”

“Ah, somewhat, yes.”

But there’s a bit of simplification. Several steps are required. It’s not something I can just swallow up whenever I want.

“The conclusion I understand, but I can’t visualize the process.”

“That’s why I’m the one who’ll create it.”

Senia’s wings flapped lightly once.

“I will prepare the scene for that. I cannot clearly visualize the process, but I’ve grasped the direction.”

You’ll understand if you just wait and see.

‘In the end, Taeguk Shield will come under me.’

I will share the immense support of Seongshin. I’ll obtain everything that can be obtained. It will enable a much more efficient gameplay.

The initial design of that plan starts now.

[Time Pause ability has been lifted.]

Color returned to the world.