Artifact-Devouring Player Chapter 17

17
“What is this?”

Kim Mi-so, who was enjoying an evening glass of wine at home, was looking around the P-Tube when she was startled.

The video that rose to the top according to the real-time hot issue algorithm was a scene of a duel between two players.

【Jamsil Station Player Town – Real Education Begins! Let’s Reclaim Player Dignity!】

The title itself was provocative. I wondered who it was, but when I saw the name of the channel that broadcasted it, I understood.

【Utopia Choi Young-cheol TV】

“Choi Young-cheol of the Utopia Guild. I heard that his maternal uncle is the guild leader and that he always acts like a brat.”

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, sis. I think Choi Young-cheol is picking a fight with someone again. Should I catch one of the poor players?”

“Who is it?”

The voice of the woman who was drinking wine with Kim Mi-so was low.

Shin Tae-ri. With the Eden Guild Assassin 3 option, she was a named player just like Jo Jin-ho and a high level player.

The calmly slanted black bob and the two blue eyes along the side of her face seemed like symbols representing her cold personality.

“First of all, it seems like the guy who started the fight is Choi Young-cheol, and the other person is… … Huh? What is it? Isn’t it Mr. Shin Sang-hyun?”

“You praised it?”

“That’s right, Unnie! Why is Sang-Hyeon here? Did he move to Player Town?”

When Kim Mi-so, surprised, zoomed in on the screen, she could clearly see Sang-hyeon’s face. It was Sang-hyeon’s face, not a look-alike.

“The camera is nice.”

“The guy who usually sticks around Choi Young-cheol is Jo Seong-ho, and he’s a professional photographer of this kind of stuff.”

“Let me take a look.”

“Oh, I’m so worried about this… … .”

Kim Mi-so bit the tip of her thumbnail. She acknowledged Sang-hyun’s outstanding skills. She knew that well.

But since he is the opponent, I am worried. Choi Young-cheol is a player who is good at using magic skills.

Unlike the monsters that Sang-Hyeon had previously cooked excitedly, he is a human who can make intelligent judgments.

“Both hands for 500 million.”

Shin Tae-ri read the conditions for winning or losing this match displayed on the right side of the broadcast screen.

Although that promise was obviously not legally binding, there was an unwritten rule.

If both players agree to a promise, it must be fulfilled.

If not, you will be considered untrustworthy and will lose your reputation among players.

So, up until now, unless he completely gave up his player life and disappeared, there has never been a time when a promise was not kept.

Also, even if a promise is kept, it is not a legal problem, even if the promise is a blow to the hand.

“Haaaah!”

The first one to open the door to a duel on screen was Sang-Hyeon.

At the same time, the space with a radius of 75 meters surrounding them was surrounded by a special protective shield.

The player town had a well-equipped system for training between players. The shield was one of them.

Even if Choi Young-cheol’s magic skill went in the wrong direction, it wouldn’t have hit any passersby or onlookers.

“You disgusting little bastard!”

Choi Young-cheol also stood up and did not back down.

When he saw Sang-Hyeon closing the distance, he immediately stepped back and created a large fireball in both hands.

And then he threw it right away, quickly blocking the approaching Sang-Hyeon’s path of movement.

Shhhhhhh!

Sang-Hyeon barely managed to cut the fireball in half with his greatsword.

It was a scene where if the timing had been just a little bit late, someone could have been hit in the body by fragments of the fireball.

Although it is called training mode, there is definitely a difference in level, and there is also a difference in the weakened damage.

Sang-Hyeon also kept that in mind and tightened his tension once more. Mistakes are not tolerated.

Meanwhile, Kim Mi-so, who was watching, expressed her thoughts.

“It would be better if I had a shield… … .”

“No. Then there won’t be a fight for dominance. It’s not that I don’t use it because I don’t know, it’s that I don’t use it because I know.”

Shin Tae-ri also added her thoughts.

After watching the battle unfold, Shin Tae-ri realized that her thoughts were correct.

Sang-Hyeon advanced forward, confronting and destroying Choi Young-Cheol’s magic.

It was a neatly refined movement that could ignore the level difference between Choi Young-cheol and Sang-hyeon.

It was the most effective defensive method against players specialized in long-range attacks. Of course, it was easy to say, but it was also a technique that was very difficult to apply in real combat.

Who doesn’t know that offense is the best defense?

However, the aftereffects of failure are so severe that there is no answer. If it were real combat, you would die immediately.

“Does it look different to you, Sister?”

“In the short time I’ve been skill-checked seven times already. But I haven’t been hit by a single skill. Not even a slight graze.”

“Are you in training mode?”

“I put both hands on the line as a sacrifice, so you’re going to let it go because I’m in training mode?”

“but…….”

“You’re making all your skills dodge by a hair’s breadth. It’s a high level of power control. That’s what I see.”

“If you see it that way, then it means that Sang-Hyeon has higher skills than I expected.”

“Then that must be it.”

Shin Tae-ri crossed her arms and focused more on the screen. It seemed like she had found a player who would be quite interesting in the future.

* * *

‘Why? Why is it so fast?’

As the battle atmosphere gradually ripened and his body relaxed, Choi Young-cheol’s expression became more and more distorted.

It was strange.

Even though I was moving as quickly as possible using the acceleration skill, Sang-Hyeon kept catching up with me.

Moreover, it was much faster than the physical movements that any player who uses a greatsword can show.

【Isolation: Player Choi Young-cheol. There are no support troops within a 5m radius other than you. Your instinct for a real fight is triggered.】

Choi Young-cheol, who didn’t know that he was already in a state of a showdown that only Sang-hyeon could see, couldn’t help but feel flustered.

Because they are demonstrating physical abilities that are 20% more enhanced than usual, they are being pursued more quickly.

There was a bigger problem.

『Forced Freezing』

Phew!

Swish.

“Alright… …! Ahh.”

One of Choi Young-cheol’s ultimate skills, the forced freezing skill, had no effect on Sang-hyeon at all.

A skill that applies absolute freezing for at least 1 second once it is cast, instead of having a long cooldown!

It was a skill that was especially effective in trampling on those who were Choi Young-cheol’s bread and butter and had yellow hair like Sang-hyeon.

But even before his entire body froze, Sang-Hyeon immediately came up with a prepared countermeasure.

『Recovery』

The advantage of Recovery was that it could be used preemptively before the abnormal status engulfed the entire body.

So, the moment Sang-Hyeon felt his body slightly sluggish, he immediately used recovery to break the ice.

Phew!

“Ugh!”

And as he flew forward with all his might, Sang-Hyeon’s greatsword extended forward and stabbed Choi Young-Cheol’s left shoulder.

If it had been a real match, my left shoulder would have disappeared, but because it was training mode, it was replaced with a pain closer to a bruise.

Of course, it was such a heavy pain that Choi Young-cheol couldn’t bear it and groaned.

Sang-Hyeon’s attacks continued.

Phew!

Sang-Hyeon, who had attacked Choi Young-Cheol’s weak point and stuck his sword into the floor, used the greatsword as a lever to immediately turn his body.

I found a faster way to strike than to forcefully swing my greatsword again.

Phew!

“Cough!”

It was an attack that kicked Choi Young-cheol’s chin with the hind leg.

Of course, it was different from swordsmanship, but it definitely fit the purpose of taking advantage of the opponent’s weakness.

Needless to say, the sound of a squeak was accompanied by the loss of several teeth in his mouth.

“It wasn’t just the sword… … .”

“Wow, I never thought of an attack like that.”

“Choi Young-cheol was completely caught off guard. Can you see his eyes are wide open?”

The passers-by who were watching each had surprised expressions on their faces. Even though they were passers-by, they were all players who were residents of the town.

People who have the insight to judge the victory or defeat of a battle and the pros and cons. In their eyes, Sang-Hyeon was not ordinary.

For players who knew Choi Young-cheol’s skills well, this was a surprising situation.

Hurray!

Sang-Hyeon pulled out the greatsword that was stuck in the ground and continued his attack without giving even a moment’s pause.

It was a powerful attack aimed at striking down Choi Young-cheol’s upper body, which was lying on the floor.

“Choi Young-cheol is in danger!”

“If you’re not an idiot, would you openly expose yourself to that attack?”

“also!”

As Sang-Hyeon’s greatsword began to descend along the flow of gravity, Choi Young-Cheol utilized his second plan.

Push-shu!

It was a method of using the skill of releasing wind from both hands and using it as thrust to quickly escape the expected impact point.

“ah……!”

But at that moment, cheers erupted from all directions, and everyone’s expressions distorted.

The only person who smiled in conversion was Choi Young-cheol.

Choi Young-cheol, who had expected a perfect evasion, had no idea what fate was coming to him.

Phew!

“Ugh!”

Choi Young-cheol, who was trying to use the wind to sweep away the ground, screamed at the dull feeling that hit his head.

The worst happened.

It seemed as if Sang-Hyeon had anticipated his response early on, as he swung his greatsword and slammed it into the expected path.

If it weren’t for training mode, my head would have been neatly split in half from the crown to the top.

‘You read it… … ?’

‘You didn’t panic in a pinch. Doesn’t that mean you have the skills to believe?’

Choi Young-cheol’s half-stunned expression, unable to accept the fact that his plan had been discovered.

Sang-Hyeon’s mocking eyes, which had seen through the shallow next move early on, crossed at one point.

The old saying that you only see as much as you know was truly true.

If he had been a rookie player with little experience, Choi Young-cheol’s evasion would have been a surprising move.

However, Sang-Hyeon had seen many magic players escape crises in this way in his past life.

So, let’s first scare him by making him look like he was going to attack, and Choi Young-cheol reacted just as he had expected.

In response, Sang-Hyeon threw his greatsword at the expected escape route and stuck it in, and this is the result.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Sang-Hyeon immediately climbed onto Choi Young-Cheol’s body. Then he pulled out the greatsword that was stuck on the nightstand.

From this point on, Sang-Hyeon’s one-sided offensive began. Choi Young-Cheol, whose movements were limited, could do nothing.

Phew! Phew! Phew!

“Eww! Kwak!”

Every time he swung the greatsword, Choi Young-cheol screamed in unbearable pain.

It was a poisonous attack from Sang-Hyeon that even training mode could not cover.

Shin Tae-ri, who was watching on TV, could also see that Sang-hyun was displaying incredible strength that far surpassed the level she knew.

“fu*k… … !”

Choi Young-cheol didn’t just take it. In the meantime, he somehow stretched out both his hands and aimed for Sang-hyeon’s stomach.

Even when pushed to the edge of a cliff, he definitely had the tenacity to fight back like a devil.

“That looks like a fatal blow!”

“Too close!”

As the flash of skill created by Choi Young-cheol flashed in front of Sang-hyeon’s ship, the expressions of the people watching also changed.

It was an admiration for Choi Young-cheol’s mental strength and judgment, which allowed him to create a counterattack even in the worst of situations.

At this close range, the caster Choi Young-cheol would have been hit, but there was no way Sang-hyeon would be unharmed.

Sang-Hyeon knew this fact best, because he was a level 27 player and Choi Young-Cheol was at least a level 100 player.

Even if training mode is applied, there is a difference in the damage and destructive power inflicted on the opponent.

‘then!’

Sang-Hyeon immediately took action.

Everything was in Sang-Hyeon’s calculations from the beginning. There was no panic at all.

Cookies, cookies, cookies!

Smoke immediately rose.

Anyone could see that it was a counterattack made with determination, and those watching expected Sang-Hyeon, who had been in the lead, to withdraw.

“Unless you have some kind of iron plate on your stomach… … .”

“Look at the smoke. Even if it was hit in training mode, it would be like foaming at the mouth.”

The predictions of the players who were watching were not much different from those of the viewers watching Ptube or Kim Mi-so.

Just one person.

From the beginning, only Shin Tae-ri, who had been watching Sang-Hyeon’s offensive and defensive transitions and all of his responses with interest, had sparkling eyes.

Because I felt the variable emerge from the small greenish light source leaking out through the smoke.

‘I had a plan.’

Thud!

“Cough!”

As expected, Shin Tae-ri’s two hands emerged from the smoke and grabbed Choi Young-cheol’s neck.

It was Sang-Hyeon’s hand that not only blocked the skill attack with Sacrifice, but also recovered all of his health.

“Was this your plan?”

“ah……!”

Sang-Hyeon’s voice, full of life, was cold. It was like a death sentence.