Artifact-Devouring Player Chapter 5

5
“Berserker Ring”

■ Artifact Grade: Bronze

■ Artifact Introduction: This is a ring that can only be obtained from the Orc Berserker, and it is a ring that boils your blood.

■ Strength +10

■ Special effects – Lightweight

“Lightweight? You’re giving me a concession even though there are special effects? That greedy guy wouldn’t do that.”

Sang-Hyeon tilted his head.

The special effects alone would be valuable, so why did they readily make that concession?

My doubts were immediately resolved the moment I saw the introduction to the lightweight effect.

■ Special effects – Lightweight

■ Effect Introduction – Consumes 1 mana per second, reducing the weight of all worn artifacts to 1g.

“It was because of Mana.”

I understand.

Currently, Sang-Hyeon’s mana stat is 10.

Even if you see the weight-loss effect, it’ll be over in 10 seconds. You’ll just end up being a hippopotamus that just eats up mana for nothing.

It seemed like Yoon Dae-kyung was doing a favor by throwing it to himself since he couldn’t handle the mana consumption at his level.

but…….

“I am different.”

Sang-Hyeon smiled faintly.

It was an unexpected blessing for Sang-Hyeon, who had a completely different perspective on looking at and accepting artifacts!

Sang-Hyeon, who only realized his ability to eat artifacts when he was fifty years old in his previous life.

Because it was a late start, I worked harder at my research and gained a lot of knowledge through numerous experiments.

What was interesting to Sang-Hyeon during the process was the change that occurred when he ate the artifact and inherited its special effects.

“After eating it, you won’t have to pay an excessive amount of separate cost for the effect.”

In simple terms, the inefficient operation method of consuming 1 mana per second for the previously mentioned lightweight effect will disappear.

Instead, careful judgment was essential because the effects obtained had to be combined with skills or other artifacts.

Of course, there was a way to remove the combined effect with a slight penalty and then re-target it.

In that case, a kind of downgrade is applied, such as raising the standard for 1g of weight reduction to 10g.

“There is something left to eat.”

It went straight into sync.

I was thinking of making the greatsword lighter to help my body, which was still slow to develop in terms of strength and stamina.

Of course, from Sang-Hyeon’s perspective, the great sword only felt light, but it was still a heavy attack to the opponent. There was nothing to worry about in other aspects.

“ah…….”

After the synchronization was over, Sang-Hyeon sighed as he faced the Berserker Ring shaped like food.

“Even if you get caught, will you get caught with cucumber soup?”

Sang-Hyeon hated any combination of things, starting with soap that smelled like cucumber.

Even for Sang-Hyeon, who eats hamburgers without cucumber pickles, the worst food has appeared.

“Someone more like a final boss than the Orc Berserker has appeared.”

I let out a deep sigh as I looked at the cucumber soup served in a huge bowl big enough to fit a person’s face.

But you still have to eat it deliciously.

It may be a bit superstitious, but coincidentally, there were many cases where hidden stats or skills were inherited when eating delicious food.

“Go, thank you… … . I will eat it.”

Sang-Hyeon began his meal with a long sigh. And for a long time, clear, retching sounds continued to leak out of Sang-Hyeon’s mouth.

* * *

30 minutes after that.

Sang-Hyeon was halfway up the mountain near the one-room apartment where he lived.

“It’s perfect for training.”

Sang-Hyeon looked around and put down the drink he had brought.

At some point, this place became a training ground for several players to practice their battle weapons. Someone had invested heavily in it.

Thankfully, anyone with a player’s license could come and play wood for free.

However, perhaps because it was an afternoon when it looked like rain might pour down at any moment, there was no one at the training ground.

“Ugh, damn cucumber. Ugh.”

Sang-Hyeon tried hard to suppress his nausea and tightly gripped the greatsword he was holding.

The lightweight greatsword felt infinitely light, like it was made of paper. It was like a feather.

If you were a normal player, you would have to continuously consume 1 mana per second to maintain this weight.

But Sang-Hyeon didn’t need to spend that kind of money. This was the special strength of Sang-Hyeon’s ability to eat artifacts.

“I need to develop some two-handed sword training skills before I go to the next dungeon.”

Sang-Hyeon’s fighting spirit burned as he looked at the wooden statue towering in front.

Two-handed sword training skill.

This would allow for more controlled and rapid attacks while handling the greatsword as is the case now.

In the previous battle in the Orc Dungeon, Sang-Hyeon was not satisfied with his movements.

The players watching continued to applaud, but it was such a natural reaction that it didn’t even feel exciting.

However, if a high level player had seen it, it would have been enough to make them point out some crude swordplay.

And training with a two-handed sword was a good choice that could successfully fill that dissatisfaction of Sang-Hyeon.

“Let’s take a closer look.”

For the first time since his return, Sang-Hyeon checked the status window in its entirety. It was for a general inspection.

■ Level: 7

■ Title: 3

■ Constellation: None

■ Status Status

[Strength 13 / Stamina 12 / Agility 12 / Mana 10 / Luck 16 / Evasion 15 / Defense 10]

[Undistributed points: 0]

When you start your awakening as a player, all your basic stats are 10.

In the process of eating the artifact, strength increased by 3, stamina increased by 2, and agility increased by 2. Also, due to the title effect, evasion stat increased by 5.

Only the luck stat is increased by directly investing bonus points.

“A little goes a long way.”

The march towards being a few steps ahead of other players has already begun.

Sang-Hyeon looked at the constellation-related information that was the only one marked as None in the status window and collected his thoughts.

Since we decided to train him to specialize in obtaining hidden stats and skills from artifacts, luck is essential.

In that case, not only the title but also the constellation needs to have a significant effect on the luck stat. Absolutely.

In my previous life, I realized the importance of luck 25 years later, so I invested time and points late.

But now that I’ve returned, things are different.

From the very beginning, you are prepared to steadily increase your luck stat to its maximum.

“I need to get the attention of the constellations.”

I know the method very well.

This is because there were quite a few stories that I had heard from players who had told me stories like heroic deeds in their past lives.

In any case, one constellation cannot make duplicate contracts with two players. It’s 1 player – 1 constellation.

In other words, even if you tell them the method, there is no way for another player to steal the constellation.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule of regressing and hitting the player, but who would have thought of such an unrealistic situation when talking about it?

Even Sang-Hyeon had never thought that he could return to the past before he regressed.

“It’s been a while since I bought something, so I’m going to have a hard time.”

Sang-Hyeon smiled bitterly.

The conditions for the lucky constellations to appear are so complicated and perverted that it makes you wonder how they figured it out.

But I had no intention of giving up, as having that constellation would make future training easier.

It’s best to pull out the bull’s horn in one go.

* * *

Two days later.

『Two-handed sword training』

■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)

■ Skill Introduction: Increases adaptability to all swords except daggers and one-handed longswords.

After training every moment except when he was sleeping, Sang-Hyeon created a two-handed sword training skill.

It was an arduous journey because even if the skill linkage was 99%, the skill would never be created unless it was 100%.

“It’s so deserted, it’s not Seoul.”

We arrived at the dungeon entrance before we knew it.

Nearby, there was a sign indicating that there were about 5km left to Jeonju City, Jeollabuk-do.

It was a solo play dungeon that took three full hours of running from Jamsil.

While I was looking into dungeons to obtain constellations and titles related to luck, I was assigned a dungeon.

Seoul is a place where personal dungeon applications are often delayed for months without support from a guild.

I was prepared, but the assigned dungeon was much farther than I expected.

“Actually, unless you’re trying to sneak up on someone in a dungeon, there’s no real safety issue.”

Sang-Hyeon was a little nervous because he had come to the southern region where the Players Union’s management and supervision were relatively lax.

Of course, if you try to follow them with poor skills, you will be defeated by any guy.

‘Those guys have been catching my eye for a while now… … .’

Sang-Hyeon glanced at the sedan that was standing at an appropriate distance from him.

At first, I didn’t feel it, but at some point, I felt myself being followed along the same path.

It felt like I had been following him for quite some time. I was keeping a thorough distance so that I wouldn’t be caught if I wasn’t conscious of it.

‘I don’t think I did anything that would attract anyone’s attention… … . Oh no. Maybe there was someone who looked down on me in the dungeon with Yoon Dae-kyung.’

After thinking about it carefully, a very plausible idea came to mind. There must have been people like this in my past life.

Maybe it was Yoon Dae-kyung, or maybe one of the other five players held a grudge.

It wouldn’t be strange if he laughed in front of himself, but then turned around and thought about stabbing me with a knife.

There might have been one piece of trash who wanted to show the world’s bitterness to a rookie player who didn’t like it. It was highly likely that it was Sajoo.

But I wasn’t worried.

I would have been cautious if he had seemed like a difficult opponent, but I was confident that he wouldn’t be.

There wasn’t an inch of life left.

The spirit of murder. The energy of death.

It was his own intuition, having lived a long time in his previous life, covered in blood in countless dungeons and battlefields.

It was acquired naturally as I was constantly exposed to the threat of killing monsters or myself.

The fact that the enemy didn’t seem to have any life in him gave him the confidence that he wouldn’t be a threat to himself at least.

The truly difficult and fearsome ones tend to emanate a threatening aura even from this distance.

‘Even if I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have suffered, but now that I know, I won’t suffer with my eyes open.’

Sang-Hyeon smiled faintly.

First of all, there were enough supplies.

I bought plenty of stamina potions, mana potions, and vitality potions.

Vitality Potion is a potion that increases concentration and helps increase the accuracy of swordsmanship.

For Sang-Hyeon, who seeks short engagements, this is the most important auxiliary potion.

‘Should I just go in and wait? If we’re going to fight each other, it would be better to go to a dungeon free from outside gaze.’

Sang-Hyeon thought so.

If you think about it the other way around, your opponent will also want to target you after you enter the dungeon.

There are no CCTVs in the dungeon, so whatever happens inside will not be recorded or made known.

“Implementing justice is my specialty.”

Sang-Hyeon grabbed a greatsword from the backseat. It seemed like the invisible fight had already begun.

All that remains is to see who can cast the fishing rod more neatly.

* * *

15 minutes later.

Sang-Hyeon, who was sitting on a large rock at the entrance to the dungeon, waved at the four men who had followed him.

“Are you all happy?”

The four people’s expressions distorted at the same time at Sang-Hyeon’s unexpected greeting.

I thought I was following them without making any noise, but it seems they knew from the beginning.

“Are you unnecessarily perceptive?”

“Even so, he’s just a loser, right?”

“Hey, young man. Do you know that if you die in a place like this, you won’t even leave a trace?”

A total of four people.

Only one of them was holding a bow, while the rest each held a usable sword.

The professions that are recommended for training and apprenticeship at the Player Academy are swordsmen and magicians.

So it was common to see a lot of people using swords. Sang-Hyeon also held a sword in his past life for that reason.

“I don’t know who the owner is, but you know, everyone is having a hard time because they’re working day and night! But if you have to move four times to catch one person, isn’t it a waste of time?”

Sang-Hyeon shouted.

In fact, it was close to a provocation.

“That kid is fearless.”

“I can see that you left it outside. It’s a total piece of shit. Are you driving around in a piece of shit and getting caught?”

“All the guys who use greatswords are like that. They think they’re warriors from a game or a novel.”

“What a braggart you little brat.”

The four-member gang looked at Sang-Hyeon with contemptuous eyes, making Sang-Hyeon’s provocation seem meaningless.

This is because he was driving a junk car that even the most frugal player would never drive.

Honestly, it was a miracle that the fire started a long time ago and didn’t explode.

‘I’m really worn out. In the meantime, I’m happily worrying about what to eat.’

Sang-Hyeon was unconsciously examining the artifacts of the players sitting in front and behind him, rather than their faces.

It’s definitely a dangerous situation.

It felt like I was at a buffet, having a hard time deciding what to eat first.

Gulp.

The saliva that filled my mouth without me knowing was a bonus.

It’s dinner time.