# Player with Maxed-Out Talent, Episode 62
31. Five Notes
The strange transformation began with Senia.
‘What? Is that, could it be…!’
I knew what this change was.
Crackle- Cracklecrack-!
With the noise, Senia’s body began to twist grotesquely this way and that. Parts of her body beca blurry, then clear again, repeatedly.
‘It’s server overload.’
Senia’s body continued to blur.
“Kim Hyukjin, playe…!”
Senia tried to say sothing to
urgently, but her figure completely vanished. The middle manager who exclusively relayed my progress. Senia was gone.
‘She got disconnected because of the server overload.’
I could be sure of one thing. The mont I reached level 30. That mont, nurous guardians were watching.
‘It’s rare for five guardians to rush to send ssages.’
Whether it’s six or ten, the number of guardians who can directly ssage
is limited to five. If that number is filled, it ans that more than five guardians may be trying to send
ssages.
‘Senia probably isn’t equipped to handle that many guardians yet.’
Well, how can I put this? In human terms, it’s like the server hasn’t been set up, right? I heard that personal broadcasters referred to as BJs or strears use high-spec computers for smooth broadcasting. It’s the sa for middle managers.
‘She got disconnected because she couldn’t handle the overload of guardians.’
This has happened to a few BJs during major events.
‘It also happened during the Maldives Battle where Shin Yeonseo played a major role.’
Although it’s not common, it’s not extrely rare either.
‘I need so ti.’
Obviously, I’m not going to choose a guardian just yet. It’s pretty good content for . I decided to save it for now. It will take so ti for Senia to restore the system and return. That’s probably why she called out “Kim Hyukjin player!” so desperately.
I smiled faintly.
‘Was she that desperate not to lose good content?’
Senia and I used each other. A relationship where pursuing each other’s benefits isn’t strange. I don’t believe in tales of BJs dedicated to players. In the end, they relay our gas, risking our lives, and satisfy their greed. During the tutorial, so of them even killed those who couldn’t adapt.
‘A relationship of mutual use. Perfect.’
It’s not bad. I’ll be able to use Senia more than she uses . I looked around.
‘The pause ability is lifted.’
Following that, notifications ca.
[You have acquired an ‘Amplified Magic Stone’.]
[Special Hidden Field ‘Mystic Forest’ has been fully cleared.]
[The exit to the Special Hidden Field ‘Mystic Forest’ will now open.]
In front of , I saw a squirrel with cheeks puffed from eating. Above the squirrel’s head, an [!] mark appeared.
“Are you telling
to follow?”
The squirrel strutted proudly, chest puffed out. It seed to demand, follow my lead! Its steps weren’t too fast.
I muttered unintentionally.
“Interesting.”
The squirrel stopped and tilted its head, a [?] mark above it, which seed a bit cute.
“What exactly are you?”
It’s not a monster or an NPC. It’s a squirrel that understands human language and presumably magic.
“How are your cheeks so puffed?”
Another question mark appeared, this ti three of them.
[???]
It scratched its cheek as if it didn’t understand my question.
“Well, alright.”
There’s no point in pressing further; it seems I wouldn’t get anything more. That’s as far as I’ll go.
‘It was in PAUSE until just now.’
A state referred to as ‘PAUSE’. A power that turned everything except
and Senia black and white, pausing the world. That power had been activated.
‘Until then, the squirrel’s cheeks were flat.’
But after the pause ended, its cheeks were puffed.
‘It ans it wasn’t affected by the pause.’
It suggests that the squirrel ate the fruit I gave it without being affected by the pause. This guy, its identity is really unknown.
An exclamation point appeared above the squirrel’s head.
[!!!]
It found the ‘Warp Crystal’ leading to the exit.
──────────
[Exit]
A warp crystal connecting from ‘Mystic Forest’ to Seoul Station Exit 2. If destroyed, you will escape from ‘Mystic Forest’.
──────────
Breaking the warp crystal was not hard.
[You are escaping from ‘Mystic Forest’.]
[You will be transported to Seoul Station Exit 2.]
As soon as I warped to Seoul Station Exit 2, I tried to use an item out of concern for potential hassles, such as being sward by reporters or soone trying to verify my identity.
‘Huh?’
But there was no need to warp.
‘Sothing feels… orderly here.’
There was no initial commotion. The people manning the ‘Seoul Station Exit 2’ were no longer just policen.
A lot changed.
* * *
I was astonished.
‘Three months have passed in the anti?’
Looking at the buzzing cellphone, it’s already September. Compared to when the Tutorial Field first appeared, it was much hotter.
‘It got a lot hotter.’
A glance at the news on my phone described it as a record-breaking heatwave, the most severe level since temperatures began being recorded.
‘Three months, huh.’
What was astonishing was astonishing, but a headache started throbbing. My phone was filled with an enormous number of missed calls.
[Sister]
[Mom]
[Kang Sanggu]
[Sister]
[Mom]
……
[Shin Yeonseo]
[Ma Sanghyun]
[Sister]
The thought of dealing with it felt even more terrifying than when I fought the Lycan Slope during the tutorial or faced the magical troll. Cold sweat ran down .
I chuckled unknowingly.
“Ha ha…”
I started walking ho.
“I should call, right?”
Calling mom now might induce a heart attack, so I decided to call sister first.
“Uh… sister?”
-…
No voice ca through. Click. It got disconnected. I scratched my head.
“Uh-uhm.”
This wasn’t my sister hanging up because she was angry. I was 120% sure of that.
‘She must have started crying.’
It seed she’d probably hung up hastily, not wanting to show
the hiccuping sobs.
Just then, Shin Yeonseo called . Shin Yeonseo poured out words frantically.
-Oh? What? You picked up? What happened? Are you alive?
“Of course.”
-Woah. Aweso. Did it really take three months to clear that place? Woah. Aweso. Aweso. Anyway. Anyway, I’m glad you’re alive! I was a bit worried! Ah, anyway! There’s sothing very important I need to talk about, so as soon as you have ti, let’s et face to face!
Shin Yeonseo was with Ma Sanghyun. Although I couldn’t see it, it seed like Ma Sanghyun hurriedly snatched Shin Yeonseo’s phone. Agh! My phone! Give it back! If you’re going to act like that, my phone will break you muscle dummy! I could hear the desperate, but not quite desperate, cry.
-Bro, brother! Are you well?
“……”
Where does he learn such weird expressions?
“I’m fine.”
-Broooootherrrrr!!!
I could hear Shin Yeonseo’s voice too.
-Hey! Muscle pig! Just cry, why are you sniffling? It’s disgustingly dirty!
It seems to the people in this world, three months is a very long ti. Anyway, I returned to the world after three months.
I took a taxi.
DMC Riverview Xia.
Our new ho. This is where Mom, Sister, and Seonhwa were.
“……Huh?”
But our family was in better shape than I thought. Everyone’s eyes looked red from crying, but still, they were relatively okay. It seed like their attentions were diverted to sothing else.
“What’s going on?”
Why is this thing here?
“Brother!”
Seonhwa ran towards . Trotting and hugging
tightly, she resembled a dog greeting its owner. My sister didn’t give
a glance. Mom ca to the entrance to greet .
“It’s a relief, Hyukjin.”
“Of course.”
Although her eyes were a bit red, the tear-jerking drama I was worried about did not unfold. Because ‘that thing’ was here.
“Why is this here?”
A yellow question mark appeared overhead.
[!]
That thing. The thing whose identity I don’t understand was showing itself to my family. Seonhwa had the squirrel on her palm.
“Brother, I think this one’s really cute.”
Looking closely, it seed they’ve bought sunflower seeds and spread them on the table to feed the squirrel.
“We nad it Darongie!”
“……Darongie?”
The squirrel on Seonhwa’s palm, for so reason, once again puffed up its chest proudly. Unlike in ‘Mystic Forest’, I could use my Sense Eye to scrutinize the creature’s information a bit.
──────────
[Phantom Thief Squirrel]
1. Na: – (Naming required)
2. Age: 7
3. Level: ?
4. Unique Abilities: [Harvest] [Find Path] [Gnaw] [Theft] [Subspace] [Eating A Lot] [Digging Tunnels] [Stealth] [Choosing a Master]
5. Status: Happy/Full/Lazy
6. Traits: Confident/Uncontrollable Appetite/Affectionate
7. Summary: A gluttonous genius in thievery
The state/traits, etc., are only a few representative ones, and they may change depending on the situation.
Due to low proficiency in Sense Eye, detailed information access is not available.
──────────
‘Why does a squirrel have so many unique abilities?’
Geniuses like Shin Yeonseo or Ma Sanghyun have only managed to exhibit one or two unique abilities so far. But this one already has nine unique abilities. At this point, one wonders what kind of squirrel this is.
A notification ca.
[The ‘Phantom Thief Squirrel’ wishes to choose a master.]
[A ‘Ruler of Seoul Station’ title is needed as a basic condition.]
[Will you beco the master of the ‘Phantom Thief Squirrel’?]
[Upon acceptance, the ‘Ruler of Seoul Station’ title will change to ‘Master of the Phantom Thief Squirrel’.]
The unique ability, [Choosing a Master], seems to have manifested here.
‘Maybe I can scrutinize the condition of this creature with my Sense Eye because…’
Maybe the creature is allowing
to see because it feels a strong affinity towards .
‘For now, I’ll accept.’
[You have beco the master of the ‘Phantom Thief Squirrel’.]
[The title, ‘Ruler of Seoul Station’, has been removed.]
[The title, ‘Master of the Phantom Thief Squirrel’, has been created.]
Just by becoming the master, a new title was generated.
──────────
[Master of the Phantom Thief Squirrel]
This is the title held by the master of the Phantom Thief Squirrel. You can bestow a na on the Phantom Thief Squirrel, and once it has a na, it will be loyal to its master for life.
──────────
[Bestow a na upon the ‘Phantom Thief Squirrel’.]
A na. Wasn’t it already decided? Every ti Seonhwa called it Darongie and its head snapped to attention, the squirrel seed to like the na Darongie.
[The na of the ‘Phantom Thief Squirrel’ has been changed to ‘Darongie’.]
Ridiculously, I beca the master of ‘Darongie’. Thanks to Darongie, Mom, Sister, and Seonhwa’s attention was diverted, and I was able to rejoin the family (?) more or less after three months.
‘In the past three months… shall we see what has happened?’
It’s been three tumultuous months. Enough ti for many things to happen.
But then the world began to turn black and white, as if the ‘Pause’ ability was manifesting.
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