Artifact-Devouring Player Chapter 16

16
『Psychedelic』

■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)

■ Skill Introduction: When you use this skill, all stamina is instantly restored and you enter an awakened state over 100 seconds.

The human body and mind enter a state close to runaway, producing output far beyond their limits.

In a state of awakening, we are capable of making judgments, acting, and processing information much faster than usual.

When the psychedelic effect wears off, you will become extremely exhausted for 10 minutes due to the accumulated damage. Cooldown is 1 hour.

“I’ve seen Do Kyung Soo, the Demon Swordsman, use his psychedelic skills. He really was like a demon swordsman. He fought like a madman, one against a hundred.”

A vivid memory came back to me.

According to what I heard from Do Kyungsoo before, when you enter a state of awakening, your physical and mental abilities increase by up to 5 times.

Of course, the aftermath will be enormous, but it is worth it.

If Sang-Hyeon were to use psychedelics, even if only temporarily, it could be seen as a chance to fight against a level 200 player.

“Then did Do Kyung Soo acquire a hidden skill like me? Or maybe he bought an expensive skill book.”

If Sang-Hyeon’s memory is correct, the price of the psychedelic skill book he last saw before returning was 50 billion won.

By inheriting the hidden skill, he was able to reduce future costs by that amount. The corners of Sang-Hyeon’s mouth twitched several times, unable to hold back.

[The goddess of fortune grumbles that she should be grateful to herself for things going so well.]

“Thank you, our Goddess. What an honor it is for you to be with a lowly player!”

Sang-Hyeon buried his face in the table and bowed politely. Of course, he was full of sincerity.

[The goddess of fortune advises us to be thankful for everything. She says that nothing in life is free.]

“Yes, I should. I feel that much responsibility. Thank you.”

Sang-Hyeon bowed his head again.

I never once thought that all of this was a given, let alone the regression.

I believed there was a reason. A reason why I had to go back 30 years to the past.

I really want to meet the ‘model student of longevity’ who was my constellation in my previous life, but I have no idea how to do it.

“Goddess. Do you happen to know of a constellation that has the epithet of a model student with longevity?”

[I say that I neither know nor want to know the constellation with such an embarrassing adjective.]

“You don’t know?”

[The Goddess of Luck says that there are many such weirdos in the vast dimension. However, she says that she can find out if you want.]

“Please take a look. It’s a constellation that means something to me.”

The conversation with the goddess of fortune, which had lasted for a short time, ended.

As Sang-Hyeon steadily prepared for the future, he also wanted to resolve the questions surrounding the past.

Because I didn’t want to live my life overflowing with only rosy outlooks. There must be a reason for the regression.

“Now that the predation is over, let’s check it out.”

Sang-Hyeon started to look into the stats that he had steadily raised through leveling up and eating artifacts.

■ Level: 27

■ Title: 7

■ Constellation: Goddess of Fortune

■ Status Status

[Strength 77 / Stamina 90 / Agility 28 / Mana 60 / Luck 167 / Evasion 30 / Defense 49]

[Undistributed points: 0]

“Just looking at the number of titles, it’s Another Level. In a time when people say they’re jealous of someone who has just one title before reaching level 100.”

I felt proud as I watched the titles pile up without stopping.

Even if only the number of titles were disclosed to the press, it would probably receive a huge spotlight.

Titles were the most important factor in creating a significant skill gap between players of the same level.

It wasn’t an achievement for nothing. The number of titles was a sign that he had accomplished something special that was different from others.

So when famous named players form free teams, they sometimes set the cutoff line based on the number of titles.

Only level 300 and 5 or more C-class titles can be applied for, the same conditions.

Since the status window can be made public to others with the player’s consent, verification is possible at any time.

“I think it would be good if you could just raise the luck stat a little faster. Once it goes over 200, the probability goes up again.”

The direction of the training is the same from the beginning to now. Luck stat is the only thing that matters. The other things will naturally increase when you eat artifacts.

“Either evasion or defense, you need to really increase one of them. It’s not fun to always hit with your body.”

Since it’s time to start paying attention to the defensive aspect, I decided on the sub stat to pay attention to next after luck.

For now, it was right to focus on defense.

Skill resistance increases when defense and evasion stats are high, but defense stats play a more central role in increasing resistance.

“We still have a long way to go, haha.”

I thought it was just the beginning, but paradoxically, my expectations were even higher.

Even at level 27, his potential is already bursting.

So what would it be like when you reach level 270, which is 10 times that? Honestly, I couldn’t even imagine or guess.

* * *

“This is no joke.”

As Sang-Hyeon drove into Player Town, he saw many car dealerships near the town.

The store was filled with countless expensive cars of all kinds, making his shabby used car pale in comparison.

Prices in the hundreds of millions are standard, of course, but there were also quite a few cars that were well over 1 billion won.

Among them, there was a sports car with a base price of 7 billion won without any additional options and a limited production run.

I spent all the money I earned from quests to buy artifacts, but I quickly earned more and thought I could buy a reasonably expensive car.

However, even if Sang-Hyeon were to buy a car, he wanted to buy an RV that was durable and fuel efficient.

This is because there are dungeons and gates scattered all over the country that we plan to conquer soon.

Luxury cars and sports cars with poor fuel economy may look good, but they are a burden for long-distance driving.

“what?”

As Sang-Hyeon approached the entrance to Bronze East, two men stood blocking his way.

It was an intentional blocking of the road, with no sign of anyone moving to get out of the way, even though they had been standing there for a while.

Bang!

I honked the car horn.

But the two men just kept pointing their fingers at Sang-Hyeon’s car and clicking their tongues.

I was about to just accept it… … but that was just a thought, and it wasn’t a good(?) solution, so Sang-Hyeon opened the window and stuck his head out.

“Would you please step aside?”

“You’re asking me to get out of the way when you’re trying to enter our complex in a piece of crap like this? Don’t you know what dignity is? If a junk car drives around the complex, it lowers the dignity of the people living there, you punk!”

The response to the single word “get out of the way” was truly sharp.

Speaking informally at first sight is a passive skill. It seems that manners have long since been traded off, as there is no trace of them at all.

“It’s my car, not yours?”

“That’s why it’s more of a problem. Should I hear that there’s a beggar in the Jamsil Station Player Town?”

“Hey, why is that kid speaking informally to me?”

“You guys started it first, right?”

It didn’t seem like it would end with good words. Sang-Hyeon hurriedly picked up the great sword that he had left lying on the back seat.

And I looked at the faces of the two men outside the window. At first, I didn’t recognize them, but when I looked closely, their faces were familiar.

‘Jo Seong-ho. Choi Young-cheol.’

Two of the ‘T4’ members in the Utopia guild who are known for their dirty personalities.

The T in T4 is an abbreviation for the English word Trash, meaning human waste.

‘There’s no need to say how much of a villain he was if he comes to mind right away even with my poor memory.’

Sang-Hyeon recalled his memories.

At this time, both of them were probably at a similar or lower level than Kim Mi-so.

‘Of course, even if the level was higher, my response would have been the same.’

Click.

Sang-Hyeon opened the door and went outside. He had expected that flies would come at some point, but it was faster than he thought.

“Get out of here right now. It’s unbecoming. I can’t stand seeing Player Town smelling like shit.”

“No, it’s your dignity, not mine? Why are you being so mean?”

“Hey, you. Don’t you know who this guy is?”

“I know. You know too well, that’s the problem. You’re the kind of guy who keeps a good-natured brat by his side because the players hate him so much. While acting as the bully of the alley?”

1 hit, 2 kills!

The expressions of Jo Seong-ho and Choi Yeong-cheol, who were shocked by the facts of Woo Moon-hyeon’s answer, simultaneously distorted like a crumpled can.

Whoosh whoosh.

As soon as he finished speaking, Choi Young-cheol filled both hands with his selfish desires and created a huge magical body.

It was a magical skill full of life and death, ready to attack Sang-Hyeon at any moment with just a snap of a finger.

“Is it classy to get upset over a single word and buy cheap food?”

“You provoked me first.”

“Do you have short-term memory loss?”

Sang-Hyeon shrugged his shoulders.

Because it was obvious to anyone that the two guys were the ones who first picked a fight with him as he quietly walked home.

I wondered if he needed someone to vent his anger on in the first place. He had no luck, it seems he just got caught up in bad timing.

“What, what’s going on?”

“Did something go wrong?”

“Hey, it’s Jo Seong-ho and Choi Yeong-cheol. Those guys are relying on their guild connections to do something like that again.”

“One more poor player has been screwed.”

“Can I help you?”

“What are you helping me with, you idiot! Is there anything we can do together that will cause trouble?”

Only the residents who were entering, that is, the town players, kept a distance and watched cautiously.

Everyone was careful because the fights between players could easily cost them their lives if they got in the wrong way. They could die from a single skill.

“If you apologize to me right now and scrap that piece of crap car, I will forgive you generously.”

“I think it’s not my car that needs to be scrapped, but you two. Especially you who are treated like an older brother.”

Sang-Hyeon pointed specifically at Choi Young-Cheol. Even the finger he was pointing at was his middle finger. It was a perfect provocation.

“This kid… … . As expected, a stick is the best medicine for a useless kid like you. I’ll show you what you have to be ashamed of. Let’s have a go.”

“Should we fight properly? Or should we go into training mode?”

When Sang-Hyeon obediently accepted the challenge to a duel as if he had expected it, Choi Young-Cheol and Jo Seong-Ho were startled.

Training mode.

This is a system that uses the power of the player system to lower the firepower used in battle as much as possible.

Lowers the firepower to a level where the opponent won’t die, and activates automatic protection when health is in danger.

That’s why many players used it as a mode dedicated to sparring and training.

Of course, it did not activate against monsters, and it could not be activated inside the dungeon.

“Training mode.”

Even in the midst of all this, Choi Young-cheol spoke in a low voice, as if he wanted to have some kind of insurance.

I thought Sang-Hyeon wasn’t a bad choice either. If I got carried away by my emotions and ended up cutting off the guy’s head, the story would become complicated.

The guy’s punishment wasn’t enough to get his head chopped off. At best, he was just a troublemaker.

“Okay. So what are you going to do here? It’s not like you’re just going to sweat a few drops and be done with it, right?”

Sang-Hyeon provoked Choi Young-Cheol with a subtle voice. Then Choi Young-Cheol blurted out words mixed with impulsiveness.

“I’ll bet 500 million and put my hands on the line. The loser’s hands will be crushed to dust.”

“You want me to make you a cripple?”

“That’s it.”

“Call. The negotiations are over. The players are watching. If you come back later and say something different, the picture will be funny.”

“fu*k you, kid.”

That’s how the game was set.

Jo Seong-ho, who had taken his place in the back, started broadcasting on Pl-Tube while filming a video with his smartphone.

Sang-Hyeon made a circle by curling his index finger and thumb toward Jo Seong-Ho’s camera, which was filming him.

Now, one of you, Choi Young-cheol, will have your dark history completely erased through a live YouTube broadcast.

Of course, Sang-Hyeon had no intention of losing.