Chapter 491: Mysterious Guardian Talent

Chapter 491: Chapter 491: Mysterious Guardian Talent

"How was the haul?"

Dexter Luther’s exhaustion vanished the moment he heard that, replaced by a smug grin.

"Heh heh heh..." He rubbed his hands together. "Crystal Lynn and I, we each found a Treasure Chest!"

As he spoke, he even made a "two" gesture with his fingers. The look on his face all but screamed ’Praise me now!’

Flora Sullivan snorted, her little face full of disdain.

"Tch. Only two?"

She copied Dexter Luther’s pose, holding up four fingers and wiggling them.

"Sullivan and I found four!"

That arrogant expression, combined with her deliberately drawn-out tone, was the perfect picture of a humblebrag.

Seeing Dexter Luther’s crestfallen expression, Crystal Lynn couldn’t help but cover her mouth and stifle a laugh.

Dexter Luther: "..."

He opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but realized he didn’t really have a comeback.

They had four, he had two. A total defeat.

Seraphina Sullivan ignored their bickering and turned to look at Sean Chandler.

Sean Chandler was as calm as ever, leaning against a wall and holding a glass of ice water, as if the outside heat had nothing to do with him.

But Paul Payne, sitting next to him, looked far less composed.

Paul Payne and Matthew Dawson glanced at Dexter Luther, then at Seraphina Sullivan, their faces a mixture of indescribable, complex emotions.

"You guys..." He hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Is that all you found?"

Seraphina Sullivan raised an eyebrow. "All?"

"Chandler, Matthew, and I..." Paul Payne swallowed hard, his voice sounding a bit faint. "We found fifteen."

"..."

The entire underground garage fell silent for three seconds.

The cup in Dexter Luther’s hand nearly slipped to the floor.

Seraphina Sullivan’s hand, holding her cup, froze mid-air.

Flora Sullivan’s mouth formed a perfect "O".

Even the ever-composed Crystal Lynn couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed.

"Fif... fifteen?" Dexter Luther’s voice cracked. "Did you guys go out to stock up or something?!"

Paul Payne scratched his head, a hint of confusion on his face. "Actually... I thought it was a bit low. If it hadn’t gotten light out, we could have found more."

"..."

Dexter Luther was rendered completely speechless.

He silently lowered his head, looked at the single Treasure Chest he’d found, and fell into a deep pit of self-doubt.

Seraphina Sullivan stared at Sean Chandler’s placid face with only one thought in her mind:

’This has to be the effect of his King of Fortune halo.’

’How else could it be possible?’

’How is it that we all went out looking for Treasure Chests, yet they found fifteen while we only found four?’

’How can the gap between people be so huge?’

She silently picked up her cup and took a sip of ice water.

’Forget it. I’m not competing with the King of Fortune.’

’It’s impossible to win.’

"Let’s put the Treasure Chests aside for now."

Seraphina Sullivan put down her cup, her expression turning serious. "Did any of you encounter a Lord Level Monster on your way?"

Dexter Luther paused, then shook his head. "No. Just finding Treasure Chests in the dark was hard enough. Forget a Lord Level Monster, I didn’t even see a ghost on my route."

Crystal Lynn also shook her head.

Sean Chandler’s expression remained calm, but he gave a slight shake of his head.

Paul Payne shook his head as well.

"Sullivan, you guys ran into a Lord Level Monster?"

Dexter Luther’s eyes lit up as he realized what she was implying.

Seraphina Sullivan nodded and recounted her and Flora Sullivan’s encounter with the Raging Cat Demon.

She described its enormous size, its inextinguishable blue Flame, its terrifying [Fury] Talent, and... the Cat Demon’s cunning, pretending to be weak to lure them in.

"It’s that smart *and* that strong?"

Dexter Luther’s brows furrowed deeply after hearing the story.

"Then how do we fight it? Melee is out of the question; that Flame will kill you on contact. Ranged..."

He glanced at Seraphina Sullivan. "Sullivan, can your sniper rifle do the job?"

Seraphina Sullivan considered this for a moment.

Her [Universal Sniper Rifle] could indeed attack from a distance, but a monster on the level of the Raging Cat Demon would surely have high defenses.

One or two shots might not be enough to cause fatal damage.

Besides, the Cat Demon was too smart. The moment it realized it was being sniped, it would definitely find a way to dodge or counterattack.

"We can try a ranged approach," she said, "but we can’t rely solely on it. The Cat Demon’s movement speed isn’t slow, and its two tails have a massive sweep range."

Sean Chandler spoke up suddenly. "The key is still its Talent."

"Right." Seraphina Sullivan nodded. "Its Talent is disgusting.

"Touch it and you die, unless you cut off the burning body part.

"If we can’t solve that, there’s no way to fight it."

The group fell into contemplative silence.

Just then, Paul Payne cautiously raised his hand.

"Um..." His face was a little red. "I think... I might have a solution?"

Everyone’s head snapped toward him in unison.

Being stared at by so many pairs of eyes, Paul Payne’s face turned even redder.

He swallowed hard, his voice a bit unsteady. "So... while we were looking for Treasure Chests, Chandler found a [Player Key]. I’ve already used it, so I’m a Player now too."

He paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "And I awakened a new Talent... It should be able to counter that Lord Level Monster’s Talent."

Seraphina Sullivan’s eyes lit up, and she immediately activated her [Eye of Resume].

Paul Payne’s information appeared before her—

[Name: Paul Payne]

[Gender: Male]

[Level: Level 1]

[Professional Skills and Talents: Blast Flash, Mysterious Guardian (New)]

[Talent: Mysterious Guardian]

[Effect: Can apply a layer of "Mysterious Guardian" to oneself or a designated ally.

While the guardian effect is active, the target is immune to negative status effects such as poison, burn, Frozen, paralysis, Mind Control, etc.

The duration and strength of the guardian effect are related to the caster’s spiritual power and the target’s own strength.]

After reading it, Seraphina Sullivan couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows.

’Immunity to burn.’

’A perfect counter to the Raging Cat Demon’s [Fury] Talent.’

Her gaze toward Paul Payne became somewhat intrigued.

Then she glanced at Sean Chandler again.

’Paul Payne went out with Sean Chandler on this trip.’

’Fifteen Treasure Chests.’

’A Player Key.’

’And now he awakens such a specifically tailored Talent.’

She took a deep breath and spoke slowly:

"Having Paul Payne in Sean Chandler’s group... was a truly wise decision."

Dexter Luther looked completely lost. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t explain.

But she sighed internally:

’Do people around the King of Fortune always awaken Talents that are the perfect remedy for the current problem?’

"It’s a good Talent." Seraphina Sullivan looked at Paul Payne, her gaze appraising. "But we need to test its Effect first.

"You’ve just become a Player, so you’re probably not proficient with this Talent yet. We need to get a clear idea of how long you can maintain it and how strong the effect is."

She raised her hand, and a faint glow appeared at her fingertips as a vial of liquid materialized in her palm—[Anesthetic].

This stuff could knock a person out instantly, making it a good tool for testing resistance to mental effects.

"I’ll do it!" Dexter Luther immediately stepped forward, looking eager to try. "I also want to see if my [Shield] Talent can stack with this thing.

"Come on, Paul Payne, cast it on me!"