Chapter 33: Display of the Guardians

Six-Tailed Fox. This spirit monster with six tails used special skills called spirit arts or Taoist magic. In all actuality, it was because the Six-Tailed Fox was categorized as a spirit monster that its skills were called that, but it was perfectly fine to just call them skills.

The Six-Tailed Fox's skill, Doppelgänger, allowed it to divide its body into two separate entities.

'That one's a fake.'

The clone had a physical form, but 'that thing' that was created as a doppelgänger was weaker than the true body. If it had been the true body, the woman pressed underneath it would have already died. Her stomach had been slashed and blood was seeping out, but that level of injury was a blessing.

'If it were the real one, it would've already gobbled everything up.'

She would've been far beyond Hyukjin's help.

'Where's the true body?'

Hyukjin honed Eye of Perception to the max. He didn't even hear a notice like 'Eye of Perception has been activated'. One month had already passed since he first gained the ability.

No one had taught him how to use it, and he never learned how best to use it. But Hyukjin naturally, so very naturally, became familiar with Eye of Perception's use. Just like how a baby didn't need to be taught how to breathe, it was the same with Hyukjin and Eye of Perception.

'The true body.'

Hyukjin's innate ability heightened his senses to the greatest degree, and that same ability thoroughly swept through the surrounding area.

'Found it.'

At Hyukjin's 11 o'clock, sitting in a tree, was the Six-Tailed Fox, the color of its body cleverly changed to match the color of the branches and leaves. Most spirit monsters protected themselves with this kind of 'camouflage'. It wasn't anything special.

"Sunhwa. Aggro it," Hyukjin said to the girl next to him.

For now, he acted as if he hadn't noticed the true body. Six-Tailed Foxes had an uncanny sense for running away, so if the true body figured out its cover was blown, it would immediately flee.

"Got it."

Sunhwa used her skill right away.

[Using the skill Taunt.]

The Six-Tailed Fox's clone was chomping at the stomach of the woman underneath it. Green '!!!' marks appeared above its head.

[Using the skill Taunt.]

The '!!!' marks turned yellow. Sunhwa used Taunt one more time.

[Using the skill Taunt.]

Finally, the '!!!' marks turned red, indicating that Sunhwa had completely drawn its aggro. With Eye of Perception active, Hyukjin watched the true body's movements.

'Come. Even the true body in the distance nearly got aggroed.'

By Hyukjin's evaluation, Sunhwa's aggroing ability was so outstanding that no one of the same level could hold a candle to her. A Player in their early level 20s who could successfully draw the aggro of a Six-Tailed Fox with 'prey' in front of it?

'I can't remember anyone who could do that.'

As expected, Sunhwa was…

'A damn genius.'

In any case, the aggro was properly applied, and the Six-Tailed Fox's clone with the red '!!!' over its head charged towards Sunhwa.

Six-Tailed Fox LVL 22

The true body's level was 27, but the clone's level was set to 22. Both the true body and clone had physical form, but a decrease in ability was an unavoidable side effect. The Six-Tailed Fox opened its jaw full of sharp teeth wide as it bit Sunhwa's throat.

Cruuuunch–!

The clone's teeth were unable to pierce through Sunhwa's neck.

Meanwhile, Hyukjin finished his calculations.

'The true body… has no intention of coming here.'

If they attacked the clone too fiercely, the true body would unconditionally flee. That left only one option—he had to catch the true body.

'My 11 o'clock. About thirteen meters away.'

Eye of Perception pinpointed the Six-Tailed Fox's location, but he had no way to drag it down or hunt it right now.

'Or wait.'

Upon second thought, there was a way to kill it.

[You have opened the Item Shop.]

Like a long-term Player, Hyukjin opened the Item Shop with practiced ease and selected the sub-category he wanted.

'Weapons & Armor.'

[Item Shop – Beginner-grade – Weapons & Armor]

Beginner Iron Sword 500 Coins

Beginner Helmet 470 Coins

…

Beginner Dagger 260 Coins

…

Beginner Shoes 480 Coins

They weren't in a dungeon or a gate, but a regular 'field'. There was no restriction on shop use.

[Beginner Dagger purchased.]

[-260 Coins]

[Beginner Dagger purchased.]

[-260 Coins]

The Iron Sword disappeared from Hyukjin's hand and was replaced by a 'Beginner Dagger'. He would throw this dagger to kill the true body hidden in the tree.

'I've never done it before, but…'

Somehow, he was full of confidence. He'd never thrown a dagger before, and never hunted anything like this, yet the evolved form of Sixth Sense, Eye of Perception, was drawing out Hyukjin's success. It outlined exactly how he should throw the dagger and the exact trajectory it would follow.

'If I throw this…'

The question wasn't will it hit?

'I can hit it.'

It was an instinctive feeling.

[The 'Courageous Lion King' shows interest in your throwing ability.]

[The 'Nameless Observer' observes you.]

[The 'True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain' sneers at you.]

His intention indeed merited ridicule. After all, Hyukjin had no System skill whatsoever, and certainly nothing like Knife Throwing.

'Here I go.'

He didn't think about it for too long. He simply threw the dagger, unassisted by any kind of skill. Hyukjin threw the dagger, relying purely on his physical ability.

Fwip!

The dagger left Hyukjin's hand and whistled forward like an arrow.

And shortly afterwards—

Thud!

A thump came from afar. Something fell from the tree. Hyukjin ran to his 11 o'clock, and as he did so, the clone Sunhwa had been fighting grew faint before disappearing.

"Oppa?" Sunhwa exclaimed, staring at Hyukjin as he ran past.

His movements were extremely fast. Sunhwa followed his path to the base of the tree, where she saw a fox with a dagger planted precisely in the middle of its forehead. Blood was flowing freely from its forehead, and the fox was convulsing with occasional twitches.

'Wha—?' Seeing it now, the situation became clear to her. 'He threw a dagger and hit it?'

That was absolutely no small distance.

'From here, to there??'

But he had hit it, and squarely in the middle of the head.

'Did oppa have a throwing skill?'

She didn't think so. Sunhwa dazedly saw that Hyukjin had already re-equipped his Iron Sword. He swung his sword at the Six-Tailed Fox standing briefly stunned at the base of the tree, precisely slitting its throat open.

Hyukjin's movements weren't very flashy. They were clean.

Thump.

The fox's head fell to the ground.

[Six-Tailed Fox has been killed.]

[EXP acquired.]

[30 Coins acquired.]

A ray of blue light shone from Hyukjin's body.

[Congratulations.]

[Your level has increased!]

[Current level: 26]

Hyukjin himself was a little bewildered.

'It really worked?'

Before throwing the dagger, he was sure it would hit, but seeing it really become reality was a strange feeling.

[The 'Courageous Lion King' is pleased by your dagger throwing ability.]

[The 'True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain' is flabbergasted.]

Hyukjin tapped the body of the 'Six-Tailed Fox', and a yellow light flashed from its body. An item dropped onto the ground.

'Oh.'

It was only a slim possibility, but he really did get it. Later, he'd be able to make good use of it in the Shot Table Dungeon.

['Fox Tail' acquired.]

He was packing it away when Senia appeared.

"Player Kim Hyukjin. What is your level?"

I didn't answer Senia's question. I was sure she was curious about my level. The Guardians were probably itching to know as well.

"Scan me."

Shortly afterwards, Senia's wingtips trembled.

"You're level 26."

I shrugged. Her words weren't said to me, but for the benefit of the Guardians. Sure enough, a stream of notices showed the Guardians were shocked by my leveling speed.

[The 'Nameless Observer' finds your leveling speed intriguing.]

[The 'Courageous Lion King' feels pride in your leveling speed.]

[The 'True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain' feels a sense of kinship with your leveling speed.]

'That's right. Enjoy yourselves to your heart's content and be intrigued. Because I can be your 'good quality content' anytime.'

[The 'Whispering Devil' is spurred by your leveling speed into contemplating giving you a trial.]

'Don't think about something like that. The Courageous Lion King' is crazy enough for me.'

[The 'Lady of the Scales' complains to the Intermediate Administrator.]

Hm?

'Complain?'

I thought about what kind of complaint it might be. The Streamer Senia opened her mouth, but I couldn't hear her voice. She was most likely conversing with the Guardians.

'What the Lady of the Scales could be complaining about in this situation has to be…'

It was obvious.

'I'm level 26. But I haven't advanced yet.'

I hadn't had my first advancement yet. The Guardians knew that when Players hit level 25, they were supposed to advance.

'That the System update hasn't happened yet is one thing, but…' I hummed to myself. 'The problem is that Senia didn't make any notice about it to me.'

I became level 26 without getting a notice from her. The Lady of the Scales prioritized fairness above all. Her complaint was probably something along those lines.

'This is gonna be troublesome.'

So I approached Senia. The Lady of the Scales was an extremely famous and powerful Guardian. She was an upper being so powerful she could easily bury a new Streamer like Senia six feet under.

'I also need Senia.'

Where else would I find such an inarticulate and lousy Streamer? A Streamer like her was the easiest to take advantage of. I sent Senia a whisper request. Although she was expressionless, considering the intensity of her wingtip trembling, she was apparently having quite the mental breakdown.

I whispered to Senia.

–You're in trouble because of the advancement notice, yeah?

Unable to pay much attention to me, Senia continued to mumble.

–I'll tell them that I already got the advancement notice and I'm waiting to advance when I reach level 30.

Only then did Senia turn to stare at me. Her eyes were trembling ever so slightly, but I could see countless questions within them, almost like she was asking, 'Just who are you?' Of course, I had no intention of answering that.

'You and I are already in the same boat,' I thought. 'You've just got to believe me. What other choice do you have?'

And it wasn't going to be for free.

–3,000 Coins.

To get 3,000 Coins, you'd have to kill a whopping 100 Six-Tailed Foxes that gave 30 Coins each.

–…

–If you don't want to, forget it. The Lady of the Scales' temper has got to be something else, but oh well. Do your best to figure it out.

I turned without reluctance. I heard Senia's voice. Naturally, it was a whisper only I could hear.

–How about 2,000 Coins?

–3,000.

–2,200.

I shook my head. She was the one in the frying pan, not me.

–3,000.

–…

She had to have made at least 5,000 Coins while streaming me as her content. Since it seemed she wasn't grasping the gravity of her situation, I said a bit more.

–Senia. You're getting pressure from the Lady of the Scales right now, right? The Lady of the Scales is fundamentally a Guardian who's capable of acknowledging her own mistake. As long as I put in a good word for you, the Lady of the Scales will probably apologize to you, you know? She'll send at least a few thousand Coins.

Actually, I didn't know whether the Lady of the Scales would send that much or not, but it didn't matter. It wasn't my problem.

–How about 2,700?

–3,000.

Senia's wingtips trembled once again.

–I agree to 3,000.

Senia was a nearly expressionless rock, but somehow, I had the impression she was speaking through gritted teeth.

–Send the contract. I'll sign it.

A contract was sent to my Inventory, meaning our deal was a success.

Feigning total ignorance, I said, "Oh, right. I'm gonna advance when I reach level 30, Senia. So don't nag me about it."

Even if the situation hadn't been like this, I had been planning on saying this anyway. I said them to the Guardians, making it clear that I would advance at level 30.

'Level 30.'

That was the one and only time when a Player could stand above the Guardians—the time when the Player selected their Guardian.

The flurry of unexpected messages that came next took me by surprise.

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