Chapter 156

Senia's words were rather shrewdly calculated.

"Player Kim Hyukjin has not shown his full strength, either."

The Guardians could only watch Hyukjin through her. The Intermediate Administrator named Roa took action to draw attention for her own profit, and Senia put the period on that endeavor. Naturally, the Guardians' interest converged on Senia.

He hasn't used his full strength. Those words worked the Guardians into a frenzy. Senia was growing nicely, as Hyukjin wanted.

Meanwhile, Hyukjin was busy observing the Guardian Tower Tintin with Observer's Eye.

'Defense has increased.'

The stat increase concealed a slight trick. The Guardian Tower's pixie, Lily, couldn't tap into the Guardian Tower's actual ability. She couldn't touch the current Guardian Tower's settings. That was the result of his observation.

'There's some other penalty to match the increase in defense.'

He didn't know what that penalty was. It could be that the attack power was decreased, or its recovery speed was slowed. In any case, he was sure some kind of penalty was in play.

'However.'

In the current situation, raising defense was quite a good call. Lily had a nearly exact gauge of Hyukjin's offensive ability, so if the tower's defenses exceeded his offensive output, the tower wouldn't take any damage.

'The attack speed has slowed a little.'

It was a very minute difference, but Hyukjin felt it. The speed at which the turrets took aim, fired, and even the timing at which the trajectory-less explosions went off, he was keenly attuned to.

THUD!

A weighty impact struck him. His chest felt as if it would be blown apart by the explosion.

'It hurts.'

It hurt, but not enough to knock him out. He intentionally didn't dodge so that he could get closer.

THUD!

Another impact.

'Hold on a little more.'

He put his trust in the Great Orc Warrior set. None of the attacks so far were ones he couldn't handle. But if they were too much, the set effect would trigger. It was that belief that drove him to push forward without hurrying to evade.

'It's better not to dodge attacks that have no trajectory.'

It wasn't efficient.

'I'll just take them with my body.'

It would consume too much focus to dodge attacks with no trajectory. It wasn't cost-effective, so it was better to hurt a little.

Whuuumpf–!

Bullets came hurtling at him. There were three of them.

Hyukjin stopped in place.

'This attack's a fake.'

Those three bullets would steer his movements, and then an even bigger hit would follow suit. He could avoid the attack that was to come if he stopped here.

'I can see the flow.'

Tintin's increase in defense was accompanied by a decrease in its offensive capability, and thanks to that, it became a little easier to figure out its attack pattern. To begin with, a 'Guardian Tower' was set by the System to 'guard' a field. It wasn't specialized to attack something, so its attacks weren't that complicated or difficult.

'Approach a little more, and then…'

Hyukjin heard Senia's words, too. Her claim that he hadn't used his full strength was, in some ways, not a lie. After all, he hadn't used everything at his disposal. He even had stats left over.

'Finish it a little more narrowly.'

His goal was to create content that could make the Guardians go wild. Investing all his stats and crushing the tower with pure physical ability was one method, but that was something only idiots who could only see the 'now' would do.

He got close to the Guardian Tower Tintin. Dozens of crosshairs appeared on his chest. At that moment, Hyukjin felt a peculiar sensation.

'It's a little weird to say that there's a soul area in the Guardian Tower, but…'

If Guardian Towers had a cradle for the soul, he got the sense that it was empty, that the current Guardian Tower was just a 'shell'. But he couldn't concentrate on the sensation—it wasn't the time for that.

'I'll draw out all of Isabel's ability.'

Being overgeared was a type of skill, an extremely important factor for Playing. And even if two people used the same effect from the same item, the effect would differ depending on the user. Just like how even if you cooked with the same ingredients and the same recipe, the taste would differ depending on the cook.

'Focus on Isabel.'

Isabel's blade seemed to hum in his hand.

[Activating Isabel's special effect.]

Isabel had a whopping eight effects. Six of them were disabled, and two were active.

7) Ego activated (Activation time has been greatly increased due to a strong wish)

8) 30% offensive innate ability damage amplification

The effect Hyukjin wanted to use right now was effect #8.

[Using Isabel's #8 effect.]

It would amplify the damage of an offensive innate ability by an enormous 30%. It was time for Hyukjin's weak point targeting sword skill created from the fusion of Sword Path Tracing and Excellent Strike.

[Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.]

Isabel's ability, plus Hyukjin's ability.

'And—'

Just using it was meaningless. Simply using a skill without any finesse was something even a child could do. A smart Player, a talented Player, was constantly exploring how the same ability could be utilized in different ways. Hyukjin had such talent in abundance. He had a very perceptive mind.

'Unique Ability Fusion.'

[Unique Ability Fusion]

An innate ability that discerns the flow of all abilities that fall into the 'unique ability' category, thus combining 'unique ability' with 'unique ability'. However, fusion must be preceded by thorough observation.

He'd already preceded the skill with thorough observation. While taking hits with his body, aiming for the correct timing, and fighting tooth and nail with the Guardian Tower Tintin.

'I've done sufficient observation.'

Plus, Hyukjin already had the experience of blending Mettle and the unique ability of Noah's Helm. That experience wasn't completely unrelated to what he was trying to do now.

'Because the nature of the fusion is the same.'

He wasn't just using Sword of Insight and Isabel's #8 effect. He could, of course, just use them separately, but Hyukjin didn't do that. He discerned the true flow, extracting maximum efficiency, and applied the buff of Hunter's March as the cherry on top.

4. Increased effectiveness of a 'direct attack' ability of the caster when used in combination with Hunter's March (limited to innate abilities).

Each and every factor combined to produce a Sword of Insight far stronger than its usual form. This was the full strength Hyukjin was capable of right now.

'Now!'

Hyukjin thrusted his sword towards one spot.

"Nngh…!"

The problem was that the Guardian Tower Tintin had been waiting for the same moment.

CRAAASH!

Hyukjin's body went up in flames that sought to swallow him alive. A firestorm roared to life and engulfed him.

Lily blew a long whistle. "Tintin's capable of strong fire attacks, too. Tch, you had me scared for a moment with such a strong attack out of nowhere…" She giggled as she fluttered about. "One Guardian Tower Master candidate burned to death, check. Well then, who will be the next Guardian Tower Master candi… huh?"

Hyukjin already knew that Tintin was capable of a fire attack. He just hadn't known it would be used at that moment.

The optimal timing of both sides had overlapped, and with it, his items broke.

[Great Orc Warrior's Iron Armor has been destroyed.]

[Great Orc Warrior's Leather Shoes have been destroyed.]

[Great Orc Warrior's Leather Pants have been destroyed.]

[Great Orc Warrior's Gloves have been destroyed.]

As a result, the Great Orc Warrior set effect didn't trigger.

[The title 'Person of Fire' is resisting the fierce flames.]

Instead, it was 'Person of Fire' that allowed him to endure the flames. Hyukjin stood in front of the Guardian Tower, covered from head to toe in raging flames.

"That was close."

Cracks began to spread along Tintin's outer wall. Lily flew over in a hurry.

"Wh-What's going on? Tintin's attack definitely hit you!"

It really was a close call for Hyukjin.

'It was dangerous.'

The optimal timing. He did go into it knowing it was dangerous, but he believed in himself. In his Sword of Insight, boosted to max efficiency. In the amplified damage. And in the absorption ability his Legolas' Rings possessed.

[Absorbing HP.]

[Absorbing HP.]

…

[Absorbing HP.]

Eight HP absorption messages came in. The amount of HP Hyukjin absorbed increased in proportion to the increase in his offensive output.

Choi Sung-gu felt cold sweat run down his back.

'That fucking crazy bastard.'

He had seen it, too. How reckless Hyukjin had been with that last hit.

'It was a close call, even with healing pots and his absorption ability.' That was how strong Tintin's attack had been. 'I think he endured the brunt of the attack with those two and is now blocking the flames with the Person of Fire title, but…'

If that last attack hadn't been a fire attack, but a 'regular' one, would Hyukjin still be alive right now? Sung-gu didn't know. What he knew for certain was that Hyukjin's clear had been dangerous to the extreme.

Cr-crack– cr-cr-aaack–!

The cracks continued to spread along Tintin's outer wall.

[Guardian Tower Scenario 02 - 'Acknowledged Guardian Tower Master', has been completed.]

[All Guardian Tower scenarios have been completed.]

[With the completion of the Guardian Tower scenarios, the 'Guardian Tower' is being restored.]

The restoration process began. The Guardian Tower Tintin returned to its original appearance.

[With the completion of the Guardian Tower scenarios, the 'Guardian Tower Master' is being decided.]

The Guardian Tower Master's name was Kim Hyukjin. He became the owner of the Guardian Tower Tintin.

[The Guardian Tower is being activated.]

[The Guardian Tower is starting to guard the Guardian Field.]

Hyukjin saw a green 'light' extend to the surroundings. It wasn't actual light, but an effect visible only to Hyukjin's eyes. It was almost like countless laser beams were radiated out into the surroundings.

'This is… the Guardian Tower's Guardian Field.'

A flawless 'Guardian Field' deployed before his eyes. The green energy covered the DMC Riverview Xi and the entire Namgajwadong/Bukgajwadong area.

'An energy I can't see even with Observer's Eye.'

It was visible only to the Guardian Tower Master's eyes. In other words, the energy and flow were higher in grade than Hyukjin's current Observer's Eye.

'It's covered this whole area.'

This energy would now protect the entirety of this field from most things under 'calamity' level. But for some reason, Hyukjin still had the niggling sense that something was missing. He just didn't know what it was.

Sunhwa ran over.

"Oppa!"

Her heart was in her mouth. She really thought for a moment that her brother was going to burn to death.

Summary: Relieved Brocon

Hyukjin happily gave Sunhwa a little hug, a very light embrace.

"It's okay, it's okay. I didn't die."

"I totally saw how dangerous it was, oppa!"

Thud! Thud! The ground shook.

"HYUUUUNGNIM!!!"

He and Sunhwa shared a very light hug, but Yoohyun swept him into a complete bear hug.

"I'm so relieved! Wasn't it a little dangerous at the end there?!"

Because Yoohyun was so big, Hyukjin looked as if he was half swallowed up by the larger man.

"If you don't let go, you're dead."

"S-Sorry. I was just too happy."

Hyukjin got a new title.

[The title 'Guardian Tower Master' has been generated.]

Lily flew around, trailing dust everywhere. "Woooow–! It was fun, it was really fun. I've completely fulfilled my duty~!"

Sparkly dust scattered all over the place. Hyukjin turned his gaze to Lily. The pixie's body was slowly disappearing, starting from her feet. But it looked like she was having fun.

"It was fun!"

Her entire lower body faded away.

"I had fun! And I think Tintin's found a good owner!"

Her stomach disappeared little by little, and then her chest.

"Though a sacrifice will be necessary to make it 100% complete!"

After her chest, her neck disappeared. And in the end, so did her face.

'I did hear that pixies oxidize and disappear when they achieve all their goals.'

Pixies called that an extremely happy event. Apparently, it was a different concept from human death, or something like that. Even the other pixie, Roa, was staring with a look of extreme envy. In the end, Lily completely disappeared, leaving only sparkling dust behind.

Taeguk Shield's Guildmaster, Song Kiyeol, came up to Hyukjin.

"Great work."

"Thank you. I'm afraid cleaning up the aftermath will be a little troublesome."

"Please don't worry about it."

The area was in complete ruins. At the very least, no civilians were harmed due to the 'Guardian Field' being isolated from the 'regular field'.

"The damage restoration will be handled by Taeguk Shield and Sungshin."

It looked like the road would have to be entirely replaced. But just then, Eye of Perception picked something up. Hyukjin sensed someone's familiar presence.

'He's here… again?'

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