Max Talent Player

Chapter 130

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I had already experienced ‘Precognitive Dream’ once.
That weird feeling of déjà vu still lingered within hand’s reach, and that experience allowed me to make an inference about the sensation I was feeling now.

‘Just now, that was Precognitive Eye.’

Precognitive Eye.
An eye that sees the future.

It wasn’t that I specifically saw some kind of future.
But I could tell.

‘Someone around me is in danger.’

Or they would meet danger in the future.
The famous astrologist of Japan, ‘Itachi’, once said:

–The ability to see the future is accompanied by constant, extreme pain.
That is why seeing the future is dangerous.
There are those who are unable to overcome the pain and become madmen, or even die.

I was sure of it.
Someone was in danger.

‘Is there anything that could pose a threat at this point in time?’

I thought back to the past.
Today was October 10th, 2018.
I couldn’t recall anything in particular that happened in Korea that could bring danger to Sunhwa and my party members.

‘The possibility Mom or Noona are in danger is…’

I didn’t think it was something like a car accident.
The sensation I just had, what my ‘Eye of Perception’ told me upon sensing danger in the future, wasn’t something so mundane.

‘It’s not Mom or Noona.’

It was related to Players.
That was a sure fact.

‘So that just leaves Sunhwa and the others…’

What could possibly endanger them? Even now, they were Players at the front of the pack.
We hadn’t even entered the ‘Gwanghwamun Dungeon’ we were going to tackle soon.
Nothing particularly dangerous would happen to them.

‘If not them, then…’

Could it be related to my ‘Find the Red Eyes’ quest? Could it be that some danger would come to Ahn Seohye, a person I was in close contact with?

‘Currently, that’s the most likely possibility.’

I had to confirm it.
The most important person to me was Sunhwa, so I called her first.

–Hi, Oppa.

For now, it didn’t seem like anything bad had happened to Sunhwa.

–I’m at home, but I’m going out now.

–Where are you going?

–I have a date with Yeonseo unnie.

–With Yeonseo? Where?

–Hongdae! We’re gonna eat tasty cake.
Oh, right.
Seohye unnie is also gonna be there…

From the way she was talking, she seemed to be saying ‘Do you want to come too, Oppa?’ or ‘It’d be great if you could come too!’, but she didn’t say it outright.
She probably thought I was too busy for that.

–You said you’re going to Hongdae?

–Yep! There’s a place with superduper tasty carrot cake in Hongdae.
It’s supposed to be like suuuuuuper tasty.
You’d probably like it too, Oppa.
Like really really like it.

–Then buy me one too.

Sunhwa gave me a slightly morose ‘Okay…!’ at that.
After hanging up, I thought for a moment.

‘Hongdae.’

Mid-October, 2018.
Hongdae.
Sword Empress.
Sunhwa.
Ahn Seohye.
When I put these keywords together, something seemed to dislodge itself from the depths of my memory and float to the surface.

‘Ah.’

There was one incident.
It happened not in Hongdae, but the directly neighboring Hapjeong.
There was an incident called the ‘Mad Dog Tamer’s Hostage Crisis’.
It didn’t have much to do with the future I was drafting, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.

‘Some dude tamed a bunch of monsters and created a violent hostage crisis.’

I didn’t remember his name.
By future standards, this was just one incident among many.
Although people died, there were far fewer losses than the breaks of the Seoul Station Dungeon, U-Plex Dungeon, or the Gwanghwamun Dungeon that would soon open.

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‘He killed a bunch of innocent civilians.’

In the end, that tamer was killed by Players.
Hongdae and Hapjeong were exactly one bus stop away.
If the ‘Precognitive Eye’ I felt was real, there was a high chance something could happen to the three girls.

Did that mean I should tell them not to go to Hongdae or Hapjeong because it was dangerous?

‘No.’

I remembered what Itachi said.

–The ability to see the future is a cursed ability.
Do not divulge the future you glimpsed.
Something terrifying is bound to happen.
Do not try to change the future with your ability to see the future.
That will only result in a far more terrible outcome than the misfortune you saw.

That was the wisdom left by Itachi, one of the top Players with the ability to see the future.
He had met an early death at 28 years old.

I called Sunhwa again.

–Are you calling again because you want to eat carrot cake too, Oppa?

Sunhwa’s voice was bright with anticipation.
It felt like she was practically flashing ‘Come with us, Oppa!’ in neon lights.

She diligently cast an incantation—if you could call it that—like she was trying to entice me into coming.

–Carrot cake! Carrot cake! Su! Per! De! Li! Cious!

–Sunhwa.
If you happen to meet a dangerous tamer, call me right away.

–A tamer?

–Yeah.
And you said you were meeting up with Ahn Seohye, right?

The Ahn Seohye from the past and the current Ahn Seohye were different.

‘In the past, Ahn Seohye wasn’t in Hongdae.’

That was a definite fact.
If she hadn’t become friends with Yeonseo or Sunhwa, she would have never gone to hang out on such a busy street.
In the past, she might have even been nursing the wounds Seo Joohwan inflicted on her while becoming the ‘Red Demon’.

‘The key is Ahn Seohye.’

Starting from the Predator Tree Colony, the threads of fate that bound us were running unsevered.
It was even possible that me ‘sensing future danger’ out of the blue had something to do with the ‘Red-Eyed Girl’.

–Also, Sunhwa.

I decided to say the most I could tell her in the current situation.

–If by any chance you see Seohye’s eyes turn red, be sure to call me.

 

Hongdae University Station, Exit 9.
Feeling a little nervous, Ahn Seohye met up with Shin Yeonseo.

“It’s so fascinating to me that I’ve become friends with you, Unnie.”

“Really?”

Yeonseo flashed her a bright smile.
Facing those dazzling smiling eyes, Seohye actually felt her heart flutter.

“I think I’m getting a crush on you, Unnie.”

The fluttering in her heart was a little different from attraction towards the opposite sex, but in any case, her heart was thumping, since Shin Yeonseo was something of an idol to Seohye.

At some point, Sunhwa arrived as well.

“Hehe.
Sorry for being late!”

The three walked together to their destination.
Yeonseo sighed.

“Why’s it so complicated to get there?”

Of course, the path wasn’t hard at all.
They just had to go in a straight line.
It was just that Yeonseo had an incredibly hopeless sense of direction.
Seohye didn’t bother to point that out.

“We just have to go this way.
It’s in between Hongdae and Hapjeong.”

“Wow.
You’re a real pro at reading the map.”

“No, it’s because the app has gotten really good these days.”

For Sunhwa, the path there was of zero concern.
Her attention was completely absorbed by the prospect of carrot cake.

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“Carrot cake! Carrot cake!”

The three girls entered the café, where they proceeded to spend a staggering three hours chattering about this and that.
Even after all that talking, it still wasn’t enough.

Seohye hesitantly spoke up.
“Kim Hyukjin.
That person… What kind of person is he, really?”

“My oppa?”

Seohye noticed that Sunhwa put special emphasis on the word ‘my’.

“Looks like you guys have a close sibling relationship.
That’s pretty rare.”

“I really like Oppa.”

Naturally, the group’s subject of choice became ‘Kim Hyukjin’.

“He seems like a really fascinating person,” said Seohye.

“My oppa is fascinating?”

“Yeah.
Or should I say mysterious?”

“My oppa somehow feels way adult-like, right?”

Because Sunhwa insisted on peppering every sentence with ‘my oppa’, the flow of the conversation was a little awkward, but Seohye just disregarded that.

“Yeah.
Your oppa really is.”

Sunhwa puffed her chest out at that, smiling happily like she was the one who had been complimented.
“That’s just how my oppa is.”

While saying so, Sunhwa examined Seohye’s eyes.

‘Red… eyes?’

They weren’t completely red.

‘Since when?’

It was only a hint of color, like she was wearing very slightly tinted circle lenses. 

‘I think they’ve been like that since we started talking about Oppa.’

Sunhwa didn’t outwardly display her thoughts.
She just naturally picked up her phone and sent Hyukjin a message, telling him that Seohye unnie’s eyes had turned just a little red.
It was faint enough that you could only tell with close inspection, but they were definitely red.

The next moment, a siren went off outside.

Blaaaaaaare–!

–All civilians, please evacuate.

An evacuation notice was broadcasted.
The people inside the coffee shop jumped to their feet.

“Wh-What’s going on?”

“Wasn’t that an evacuation notice?”

“Have monsters appeared?”

They checked the situation with their phones.

“Oh my God!”

There was a hostage crisis in Hapjeong.
A crazy Player was leading strange monsters from Hapjeong towards Hongdae.

Articles and social media posts poured out in real time.

[Random Killing in Hapjeong]

[Random Murder Incident Using a Player’s Strength]

Some tamer started killing people for no reason and was now holding hostages in a standoff with the dispatched police.
Seohye also jumped up.

“Let’s go.
It’s right next to us.
If we run, it’ll only take ten minutes.”

Yeonseo’s reaction was a little more cautious than Seohye’s.
‘The police have surrounded him.
Even if we come forward, not much will change.’

There were even people streaming the scene live through mediums like YouTube.
The man on the screen was throwing his head back in mad laughter.

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–This is it! This is what I wanted! This is what I always wanted!

The broadcast suddenly cut off.
Someone had been ripped apart by a monster.

 

* * *

 

Even the police found their hands tied in the sudden wanton murder and hostage crisis in Hapjeong.
Strangely enough, weapons like guns didn’t work on Players.

A man named Kang Younghan walked step by step from Hapjeong towards Hongdae University Station.

“Stop right there! If you move, we’ll shoot!” warned the policemen.

“Try it then.”

Bang! Bang!

The policemen really fired.

“Hihihihi! You think guns can do anything to me?” After laughing his heart out, Kang Younghan shouted, “SIC ‘EM! Bite to your heart’s content! Rip everyone apart! Kill them all!”

He didn’t have a particular reason to kill.
He just found it fun.

“This is a game, a game!”

Yes, a game.
This was all a game.
He never knew that watching begging and screaming people get eaten alive could be so fun.

 

[Weredog’s level has increased.]

[Weredog’s level has increased.]

 

The levels of his monsters were even going up.
How wonderful was that?!

‘Soon, they’ll evolve to Warriordogs.’

Then, they would become much stronger.
He began to feel confidence that his monsters might even be able to devour the hugely famous Tutorial Ender, So Yoohyun.

“Sic ‘em!”

Weredogs.
Just like how Lycanthropes were humanoid wolves, Weredogs were humanoid dogs.
Their original level was 20, but after taming and buffing, and through the hunting of humans, his Weredogs had become level 30.
EXP went up exponentially by hunting humans, and it didn’t even take that long to reach this point.

Six Weredogs peeled away from the pack and ran off.
Two went in the direction of Yeouido, and four towards Hongdae.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

The bipedal dogs ran around in a frenzy of bloody activity, ripping apart policemen and civilians alike.

The Hapjeong and Hongdae areas were in absolute and utter chaos.

One of the Weredogs stood in place, sniffing.
It continued to flare its nose, as if it were looking for something.

Shortly afterwards, it began to howl.
Its cry also reached Kang Younghan.

“Oho? There’s tasty prey that way, you say?”

Prey more delicious than regular people.
Even more delicious if they were Players, who possessed magical power.
Right now, Younghan was full of confidence.
He felt like he could hunt down any Player, no matter who, as long as he had his twenty Weredogs specialized for ‘hunting’.

The Weredogs that had run off towards Yeouido also rejoined the pack.

‘The police can’t stop me!’

The police were helpless against him, and people were fleeing from him in terror.

‘What absolute ecstasy!’

Just then, he spotted someone.

“Hrm?”

It was a Player who was renowned for 1 vs.
1 PVP.
Even from afar, she was truly pretty.
In his eyes, Shin Yeonseo was like an angel.

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“Shin Yeonseo?”

How beautiful would it be if he ripped that angel’s arms and legs off her body? She would look like a bleeding doll, wouldn’t she?

“She’s strong in 1 vs.
1, but…”

His Weredogs stood in front of him like sturdy soldiers.

“Go.
You have new prey, children.”

The Weredogs began to sprint towards Shin Yeonseo.
She took out her sword.

‘Individually, they’re weak.’

But there were just a bit too many of them.

‘Twenty in total.’

Could she face them all? There was no need for that.

“Sunhwa?”

“Got it.”

She had a tank second to none by her side.
The Weredogs’ teeth couldn’t penetrate Sunhwa’s defenses.

 

[Using the skill ‘AOE Taunt’.]

 

[!] marks popped up over the heads of the Weredogs at the same time.
Sunhwa successfully pulled every single one of them.
The Weredogs swerved to rush towards Sunhwa.

“Sunhwa, hold tight for a bit.”

“Got it!”

Yeonseo knew that this monster swarm wasn’t naturally made.
That man over there, who she figured was the tamer, was the culprit behind all this.

‘I have to kill him.’

It just so happened that the path to him was free.
If she rushed through, she could kill that man.
However, she didn’t heedlessly run in.

‘I have a bad feeling somehow.’

That feeling was something akin to instinct.
The way was clear, but she didn’t rush through.
She could make a beeline towards him, but she didn’t.
Was it because that man was dangerous? No.

‘Seohye’s eyes…’

Ahn Seohye’s eyes were red.
The world of ‘new culture’ where anything was possible had arrived, and someone’s eyes becoming red wasn’t that remarkable on its own.
How could someone’s eyes turning red be a big deal in a world where magic existed?

‘But they’re ominous.’

Yeonseo got a bad feeling from them.
That was why she didn’t take action.

While she was thinking, one of the de-aggroed Weredogs made a mad rush towards Seohye and bit the back of her neck.
Yeonseo swiftly brought down her sword on it.

“Seohye.
Are you okay?”

The Weredog’s teeth didn’t cut deep into the skin.
Yeonseo had acted quickly.
It wasn’t a serious injury.
A little blood ran down Seohye’s neck.

“Blood…” she mumbled to herself.
“Blood….!”

She continued to mumble. 

“Blood…!”

Ahn Seohye touched the blood with her index finger and brought it to her lips and licked it.
Her eyes turned crimson red, becoming Red Eyes in full.

And that change was witnessed by the ‘Observer’ Kim Hyukjin, who was watching the situation some distance away.

 

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