Artifact-Devouring Player Chapter 96

96
‘Considering the amount of mana used, it is not a cheap exchange. However, I think it is the best in that it can increase the durability of the shield as much as possible.’

This was the thought that occurred to Sang-Hyeon as soon as he blocked Shadow Lord’s first attack.

I was secretly worried that this amount of mana would not be enough for a perfect defense, but I was wrong.

Swish swish! Swish swish!

In the meantime, Shadow Lord’s clone passed by Sang-Hyeon in a dizzying manner, but only an empty wind blew.

『Will to Charge – Selected Target: Shadow Lord』

The will to charge, sacrificing Shadow Lord, was immediately activated.

The moment he was designated, Shadow Lord’s body glowed red. It was now possible to clearly identify the enemy.

‘For someone who uses a whip, close combat is the answer. That way, the optimal angle for swinging the whip is not revealed.’

“acceleration”

Quickly increasing his mobility, Sang-Hyeon blatantly approached Shadow Lord.

At that moment, as if this was the expected response, Shadow Lord snickered and walked away from Sang-Hyeon.

Needless to say, he went into hiding again. He seemed to regard the failure of his first attack as an accident.

One second after the chase began.

Whoa whoa… … .

A red aura began to rise fiercely, and a transparent curtain formed in front of Sang-Hyeon.

As the skill name suggests, a defensive measure has been added to make the caster more powerful when the will is activated.

Clang! Clang!

Shadow Lord, who had opened up the distance, swung his sharp thorn whip, but Sang-Hyeon quickly dodged it.

When the phenomenon of additional acceleration being applied to the pursuing target was added to the existing acceleration skill, it became a true monster.

Even Sang-Hyeon was confused as to whether he was avoiding it because he saw it, or if his body was instinctively avoiding it as it accelerated.

Anyway, the thorn whip failed to achieve its intended purpose and went astray, and Sang-Hyeon took the opportunity.

『Cold Blast』

Another cold storm exposed clones to freezing or slowing, exposing their weaknesses.

Shadow Lord continued to step back and increase distance between them. This was what Sang-Hyeon had wanted.

‘A monster that specializes in clones is completely countered thanks to one Cold Blast.’

Sang-Hyeon was amazed.

Due to the body’s undeniable over-spec, it aims for the difference between the slow and freeze caused by Cold Blast.

I thought to myself that it was a pretty good gamble.

When Sang-Hyeon was not at all taken in by the clone and aimed for the main body, Shadow Lord counterattacked with a bitter expression.

Clang!

Each strike of the thorn whip was powerful enough to burst a human body like a balloon.

However, it was an attack that Sang-Hyeon could easily dodge if he chased the Shadow Lord accurately without losing focus.

If I knew I could be attacked, I wouldn’t have been able to grow to this level in the first place.

at that time.

『Rising Current』

Sang-Hyeon suddenly created an air current. The target was not Shadow Lord, but Thorn Whip.

With a loud noise, the air current that started from the greatsword instantly changed direction and covered the whip that was flying towards it.

Whirlirik!

Then, the whip caught in the air current started to point upward, and Shadow Lord lost control of his whip.

It was the whip’s weak point.

The moment the whip flies to hit the target is when it is difficult to respond to the changes that occur in the whip.

“… … !”

A momentary distraction of Shadow Lord’s concentration to control the whip’s direction.

『Brave Charge』

Sang-Hyeon, who had explosively reduced the distance between himself and Shadow Lord, reached him in an instant.

A state of will to charge that has steadily built up while chasing the Shadow Lord who keeps retreating.

Thanks to this, a thick and strong defensive barrier was activated in front of Sang-Hyeon.

Shadow Lord used his free left hand to take out a poisoned dagger from his bosom and aimed for Sang-Hyeon.

Sieeeeing! Thud!

But it was too honest.

The Shadow Lord’s surprise attack, blocked by a transparent barrier, was immediately rendered useless.

The turn came to Sang-Hyeon.

There was no need to think any further.

The whip is still out of control, and the use of the remaining hand is impossible due to the failure of the attack just now.

Sang-Hyeon gave the fastest option to Shadow Lord, who was no different from a stopped target.

『Whispers of the Wise』

『Sword of Crushing』

Phew!

He extended his greatsword straight ahead.

Shadow Lord, who had all his moves read by Sang-Hyeon, was unable to respond, let alone defend himself.

All he could do was take the attack with his body! However, Shadow Lord’s neck was too weak to take the sword of pulverization.

The greatsword pierced through the Adam’s apple, completely shattering the entire cervical spine, taking the Shadow Lord’s life.

It was a miserable end for a monster that had never succeeded in a water fight.

“Level 121!”

The level immediately jumped up by one level.

I expected to gain a fair amount of experience, but even taking that into account, the amount was still large.

Perhaps because it was a monster that had never been conquered before, the amount of experience points given as a reward was considerable.

Moreover, what fell from Shadow Lord was a diamond-grade belt artifact.

This is an area where it is impossible to wear multiple items due to the Epic-grade belt worn by Sang-Hyeon, the Belt of the Rising Current.

So I just ate the belt.

If you ever want to wear a belt without eating it, you’ll need to get a belt of at least Epic quality.

“50% absorption rate, inheriting 50 agility. Agility stat farming is really great in this expedition.”

It was a very satisfying growth.

Since participating in the 2nd Gaeseong Expedition, every single step of the attack has been a continuation of unstoppable growth.

It’s not a biased situation where you only earn money or only gain experience.

It’s a situation where you can kill three birds with one stone by making money, gaining experience, and even getting hidden stats and skills!

You can’t help but feel your nose twitching with excitement at the pouring rewards.

Right then.

[Wind Mastery has been created.]

The mastery in areas other than agility and stamina that Sang-Hyeon had been working hard to cultivate was activated.

Wind Mastery.

In other words, it seemed like the experience accumulated through practical training and practice over time regarding the wind skill had been turned into a skill.

It wasn’t sudden or surprising.

It’s true that I used skills like updraft and downdraft as often as I could.

However, since it was a mastery skill I had never obtained before, I was most curious about what its composition was.

『Wind Mastery』

■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)

■ Skill Introduction: This is a mastery skill that can strengthen all wind-related skills.

Using 50 mana, you can increase the number of projectiles of wind-type skills by up to 2.

When skill level 5 is reached in the future, the maximum number of projectiles that can be increased will be adjusted to 3.

“So now the updraft and downdraft can be released in three branches? And the cold blast can be released in up to seven branches?”

It was a situation that was no different from a complete transformation of wind-type skills.

Now, the rising air current can be turned into a wide-area skill that can cause an airborne effect on multiple enemies.

“Upgrade complete.”

Sang-Hyeon snickered and expressed his current condition in words more certain than anything else.

Now it is time to meet Lee Se-hwa at the gathering point.

* * *

Rally point.

“I expected you to come early since you’re my brother, but you’re really quick.”

Kim Mi-so, who was resting near the 6-5 route where Sang-hyeon was supposed to come from the beginning, greeted him warmly.

The only ones who arrived at the gathering place for the Eden Guild members before Sang-Hyeon were Jo Jin-Ho, Shin Tae-Ri, and Kim Mi-So.

In addition, players from the Association gathered at a distance of about 300m from the Eden Guild.

Among them, only a few named people, including Lee Se-hwa, arrived ahead of Sang-hyeon.

Considering that Kim Mi-so was a three-person team and Lee Se-hwa was of an incomparably higher level… … .

It was definitely a big surprise that Sang-Hyeon arrived so early after attacking Watergate in the middle.

Of course, Sang-Hyeon didn’t show any sign of it as if nothing had happened.

“When did you arrive?”

“About 10 minutes ago? There were more Shadow Stalkers than I expected, so it took quite some time.”

“It definitely helps if you bring plenty of mana emitters and magic stones, right?”

“That’s right! What my brother told me to pack generously really helped! It seems like there were no casualties on the other teams either.”

“That’s good news.”

“There is no better news than not losing valuable power.”

Kim Mi-so struck the janggu.

“By the way… … .”

“yes?”

“Smile, what level are you now? When we first met, weren’t you just over level 100?”

Sang-Hyeon asked casually.

Thinking about it, I think I was close to Kim Mi-so, but I was indifferent to her growth.

“Right now? I just got 185.”

“185?”

“Yes. But it’s still a lot slower than my brother.”

“I expected it, but this capitalist-style attack… is really that great?”

“Haha. I won’t deny it.”

Kim Mi-so nodded.

It is true that Sang-Hyeon has grown rapidly, but Kim Mi-So also seems to have grown tremendously.

Of course I understood.

For high difficulty dungeons, you can somehow push through them with your specs, even if it means renting expensive artifacts.

This is because the guild is supporting Kim Mi-so’s growth in all directions by using outrageous tricks.

‘It’s not just Kim Mi-so, all wealthy players do that.’

It was nothing new.

Capitalist strategy and growth.

Because of this, poor players could never catch up with the growth of rich players.

Once a gap opens, catching up becomes an impossible task.

“By the way, what’s your level, oppa?”

“121.”

“What? 121? You’re not lying?”

“What good will it do me if I lie?”

“No… … . No matter how fast it is, there has to be a limit, right? You didn’t receive any support from the guild, did you?”

“I still have a long way to go.”

“That’s not what I’m saying! Your growth itself is an absurd upward curve!”

“That makes sense?”

“You’re crazy, you’re crazy… … When we’re not in contact, what on earth are you doing by yourself?”

Kim Mi-so stuck out her tongue.

As she said, Sang-Hyeon is not receiving any support for growth from the guild, such as renting expensive artifacts.

To achieve this level of growth, you would have had to constantly go through dungeons and clear gates.

Moreover, it must be played mostly solo, not in teams of multiple people.

Even though she grew up with determination and support from the guild, she did not experience explosive growth like Sang-Hyeon.

It was amazing.

How on earth does she grow so much that she can’t even imagine it?

Kim Mi-so, who knew nothing about the process, had no idea what it was like, even if she had to admit it was unexpected.

At this point, I had to frequently visit the dungeons and the gates that gave me a lot of first-time bonuses whenever I had time.

It was easier said than done, but even for Kim Mi-so, who had a solid financial background thanks to her father, it was definitely not something she could do easily.

“Don’t try to know too much about my private life, it’ll hurt you.”

Sang-hyeon smiled and said something to Kim Mi-so as if he was joking, but his words sounded sharper and more serious to her than ever.

Just a month ago, a man who was considered a monster prospect had now become a ‘monster’.

A deep tremble arose in Kim Mi-so’s eyes as she watched Sang-hyeon.