Artifact Devouring Player-Chapter 15: Moving - (3)

[Chapter 15]

Sanghyun, who had expressed his intention to participate in the Chunui Station Gate exploration to Kim Miso, left the house immediately.

Today, he planned to meet Yoon Daekyung, the leader of his former player team, whom he had contacted in advance.

Sanghyun went directly to Sillim Station, where Yoon lived, and met him in a small open space nearby.

Yoon was casually holding a takeout Americano.

"Ah, it's good to see you, hyung!"

"Why so formal all of a sudden, Captain?"

"Hey, you're getting famous now! I have to stay on your good side to get some scraps later, right?"

"You're flattering me."

"Look at this. It's news about you that just got posted on The Player's Journal."

"Really?"

On the tablet PC Yoon Daekyung suddenly handed over, there was indeed an article about Sanghyun, just as he had said.

A Promising Player Who Appeared Like a Comet: Shin Sanghyun!

Estimated to be below Level 30, Player Shin Sanghyun previously at the Jamsil Station Quest Area... (Excerpt shortened)

The contents were exactly what Kim Miso and Park Jungmin had discussed on the phone.

Sanghyun knew an article would be published, but he didn't expect it to grace the front page of today's newspaper.

Of course, it was located at the bottom of the first page, but just being on the front page itself was a huge deal.

Unless it was a major issue, articles usually got pushed far back in the newspaper.

"You should probably turn off your phone."

Bzzz! Bzzz!

Before Yoon Daekyung even finished speaking, Sanghyun's smartphone immediately started vibrating.

Countless notifications flooded in at once, and messages from unregistered numbers poured in like a storm.

Just from the preview screen, there were messages from acquaintances pretending to be close and even people claiming to be distant relatives suddenly wanting to meet.

Sanghyun turned off his smartphone right away.

He wanted to focus on his purpose for today.

"Captain, I came today because I want to buy the Artifact you have."

"Well, as long as I don't lose out, I don't mind selling it. But what's the reason?"

Honestly, Yoon Daekyung didn't understand why. There were plenty of places to buy quality Artifacts.

The same went for secondhand Artifacts—there were countless specialized markets for that.

So why was Sanghyun interested in his old, worn Artifact that had been used for so long?

"I want to inherit your fighting spirit and determination, Captain. You've always approached dungeon raids with passion, haven't you?"

"Well, yeah. I always gave it my all... but is that really the reason?"

"Yes. I feel like having a meaningful Artifact with a story behind it might make me feel safer."

"Sounds like you believe in jinxes or superstitions?"

"That's right."

It was just an excuse because Sanghyun didn't want to talk about the Artifact absorption rate, but it worked better than he expected.

In fact, many players believed in jinxes or superstitions.

Like entering a dungeon at an odd time, not bathing on the day of a raid, or going to the bathroom immediately after entering a dungeon.

There were countless stories that would make anyone laugh and call them crazy.

"I don't mind selling it if you pay a fair price. I can just buy a new Artifact with that money anyway."

"You brought someone to appraise it, right?"

"Of course. I figured you might try to lowball me if you brought your own appraiser, so I called someone I know."

"Haha. Just don't ask for too much."

"Hey! I might be short on money, but I'm not a crook. Anyway, I'll sell it, but there's one condition."

"What is it?"

"Watch my swordsmanship for me."

"Me? I'm really not...."

"Don't give me that fake humility."

Before Sanghyun could even politely refuse, Yoon Daekyung cut him off.

He genuinely felt the gap in swordsmanship between them.

Most of the team members were jealous of Sanghyun's dazzling sword skills at the time, even though they were impressed. But Yoon thought differently.

He believed that the roots and foundation of Sanghyun's swordsmanship were far from ordinary. For some reason, Sanghyun seemed to have a much deeper mastery than he did.

He believed that if he lowered himself and asked for help first, even a single piece of advice could be valuable.

"I get called thick-headed a lot. And yeah, I'm greedy too. But when it comes to learning, I keep an open mind."

Yoon Daekyung's eyes shone with earnestness toward Sanghyun. His pride was completely set aside.

"Alright, I'll be honest and direct with you."

Sanghyun nodded. If he was going to give a lesson, it was best to be straightforward.

If someone asked whether he had the right to critique another's swordsmanship, the answer was yes.

Thirty years of walking the path of the sword wasn't something just anyone could accumulate.

"Good. Once this is over, I'll sell you whatever you want. Heck, I'll even sell you my underwear if you need it."

"I'll pass on that, haha."

"Should I show you right now?"

"Just relax and show me your usual swordsmanship. Imagine a virtual opponent in front of you."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yoon Daekyung immediately began swinging his sword. It felt quite restrained, but there was more excess movement than expected.

"Hmm. Hmm. Hmm...."

With each hum, Sanghyun mentally stacked up Yoon Daekyung's shortcomings.

After about a minute of demonstration.

"How was it?"

"When you swing with your right hand, your left shoulder opens too early. That's a major weakness during a battle—it must've caused you trouble even during practice fights."

"...How did you know that?"

"I can see it."

Sanghyun answered immediately in response to Yoon's surprised reaction. He simply said it because it was visible.

"You're right. I have some trauma about defending from the left side."

"And because of the pressure to switch between offense and defense quickly, you can't fully extend your strikes. It feels like your attacks get cut off at the end."

"Hmm."

"Right before the sword hits the target, you probably flinch your shoulder or elbow, losing some power."

"Sanghyun, are you reading my mind or something?"

"Your center of gravity also tends to stay too much in the middle. To balance aggressive attacks, you should lean your body forward a bit more."

"Honestly, I knew that but couldn't fix it. I was too embarrassed to admit it, but you caught it right away."

Yoon Daekyung looked at Sanghyun with a mixture of admiration and fear, his face slightly flushed.

"It can be fixed."

"It can?"

"We can find a compromise—a solution that suits your cautious nature."

"Really?"

"It might feel awkward, but bear with me. I'll need to help you hold the sword from behind, like I'm hugging you."

Sanghyun moved behind Yoon Daekyung and began a close-contact correction.

It might have looked awkward, but it was an effective way to help him get the right posture.

After about five minutes passed.

"It really feels much more stable! My shoulder doesn't open too early now, and the psychological burden feels lighter too!"

"You can feel the difference, right?"

"Yeah! Sanghyun, you... Wow! This... No swordsman in the world could have pointed this out so clearly."

"Not at all. There are plenty of people who could've helped—you just happened to ask me first."

"Thank you. Really, thank you! It feels like you've straightened out the twisted swordsmanship I learned the wrong way. I guess you can only see what you understand!"

Yoon Daekyung cheered enthusiastically.

It felt as though his swordsmanship had reached a new level of completion and charm. The improvement was clear and undeniable.

Thanks to that, Yoon Daekyung's decision to sell his Artifacts gained momentum.

He sold Sanghyun all his Artifacts except for the sword he held, only charging the base appraisal price.

He didn't even try to negotiate for more. In fact, he even handed over a Bronze-grade Artifact for free as a token of gratitude.

After completing a transaction worth a total of 400 million won, Yoon Daekyung expressed his gratitude to Sanghyun until the very moment they parted ways.

It was genuine thanks for helping him awaken as a swordsman anew.

Sanghyun felt proud as well.

He realized how truly valuable the thirty years of accumulated experience and memories he had built were.

He knew that from now on, there would be endless opportunities to benefit from them.

* * *

As soon as he parted ways with Yoon Daekyung, Sanghyun headed straight to a nearby park and found a spot to sit.

He laid out all the Artifacts on the wooden table in front of him, ready to devour them.

'You never know what's going to happen in life. If I can eat them now, I should do it right away.'

In the player's world, anything could happen. There were even cases where dungeons suddenly exploded.

Since it wouldn't take too long anyway, he planned to finish absorbing the Artifacts right here.

After a while.

"This is insane."

Sanghyun's jaw dropped as he inspected each Artifact one by one.

[Measuring absorption rate.]

[The base stat absorption rate for Bronze-grade Artifacts is 10%.]

[Due to retroactive application of usage time, the final absorption rate is 90%.]

It was because of the absorption rate measured from Yoon Daekyung's Artifacts.

All of the Artifacts had been used for over a year at minimum, and since they were always worn, their affinity was high.

In other words, the longer an Artifact had been in contact with a person, the higher its absorption rate became.

This was a result that perfectly aligned with Sanghyun's reason and purpose for coveting Yoon Daekyung's Artifacts.

"Even the lowest absorption rate is 50%. Most are hitting 80% or 90%. This is more than enough!"

He couldn't help but let out a cheer. If he managed to inherit even a hidden stat or hidden skill from this, his investment would be well worth it.

Crunch, crunch. The absorption began.

Contrary to his worries, the manifested food appeared as delicious dishes like soybean paste stew, kimchi stew, seaweed soup, and beef radish soup.

They were all Yoon Daekyung's favorite dishes—meals that Sanghyun also enjoyed with his team back in the day.

Each time he finished one meal, an Artifact turned to a handful of ash, and its stats were absorbed.

The stats focused on strength, stamina, and defense, matching the Artifact's characteristics.

[You have gained an additional 25 Luck stat as a hidden stat.]

A sudden, lightning-like message appeared, granting him extra Luck—a welcome bonus.

Just from devouring the Artifacts, Sanghyun's stats had risen by 40 in strength, 30 in stamina, 25 in defense, and 25 in luck.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

The explosive increase in stats was so significant that converting it to levels felt meaningless.

Since the stats increased in areas crucial to a swordsman like Sanghyun, the difference was especially noticeable.

"With this, I'd probably be at about Level 130, even if I assumed I was just a moderately wealthy player."

By looking at the total and average stats, he could roughly estimate his level.

For an average player who couldn't stack overlapping Artifacts, Sanghyun's stats were exceptionally high.

Unlike others, Sanghyun could devour all Artifacts, rendering restrictions on overlapping equipment meaningless.

This was the core potential of his ability to consume Artifacts.

"Urgh, that was satisfying."

At the very moment he finished devouring the final Artifact, the Crimson Meditation Bracelet.

[You have acquired the hidden skill Psychedelic.]

"Wow, it dropped here?"

The appearance of an awakening skill he had really hoped for made Sanghyun's lips curl upward uncontrollably.

It seemed doing good deeds really did bring rewards.