Artifact Devouring Player-Chapter 37: Open Market - (1)

[Chapter 37]

「Lich Ring」

■ Artifact Grade: Platinum

■ Artifact Description: A ring frequently used by the Arch Lich. It was an essential tool for casting the Swamp of Silence spell.

The silence energy contained within the ring seeks to devour all light and warmth of the world.

■ Mana +25

■ Special Effect - Silence

"It would be better to consume it and apply it."

Mana synchronization proceeded immediately.

The manifested food was, oddly enough, a glass of red wine. Among all the foods consumed so far, it was the simplest.

Gulp—gulp—.

As soon as I finished the wine in one go, everything from the Lich Ring was absorbed into me.

First, based on the absorption rate formula, 40% was applied, and my mana instantly increased by 10.

Just like when I had previously applied weight reduction, various fusion options became available.

"The time to induce silence is 0.45 seconds. That's fine. I just need it to interrupt a skill once."

The absorbed silence effect was confirmed to last 0.45 seconds.

It might feel a bit short now, but I wasn't worried since it could be enhanced later through skill upgrades.

"Combine it with basic attacks."

I chose the most aggressive option.

It was a basic attack that was used much more frequently than sword skills and practically formed the foundation of combat.

Even when facing bosses or mid-boss monsters, the ratio of skills to basic attacks was at least 1 to 5.

In other words, basic attacks had such overwhelming importance that comparisons were meaningless.

[To apply the absorbed silence effect to basic attacks, an additional condition is required.]

[You must consume 1 mana for each basic attack to activate the silence effect.]

"That's insane."

It was insane in two ways.

Being able to apply silence to basic attacks made it easier to create variables—crazy.

Consuming 1 mana each time meant a proper mana-devouring monster had appeared.

The effect was certain, but it wasn't free.

Usually, once consumed, effects wouldn't demand an extra cost.

But silence seemed to fall into an exceptional category. In a way, that meant it was absurdly powerful.

"I'll do it."

I immediately proceeded with the fusion.

I could just raise my mana stat.

Besides, my mana had just increased significantly thanks to the newly acquired title. Plus, with mana feedback, there were plenty of recovery options.

I checked the title.

[End of Twisted Desire]

■ Title Grade: B-rank

■ Title Description: A pure magician's misguided research ultimately touched the power of darkness.

But even within the fate twisted by darkness, his pure passion survived.

You have obtained the mana power left behind by the Arch Lich's remorse before death.

■ Mana +150

"So this is the difference between C-rank and B-rank. The scale of the stat boost is on another level."

I clicked my tongue in amazement.

Mana 150.

Comparing it by level was meaningless, and even by artifact standards, this was at least worth a unique-grade value.

It was questionable why the title was classified as B-rank—it could easily be considered A-rank or even S-rank.

Mana 231. The number had skyrocketed to an unbelievable extent.

For a mage player, this was a level you could only reach after surpassing level 100—especially for a class where mana was the main stat.

But my joy didn't stop there. The Arch Lich had left another piece of loot: a necklace.

「Telekinesis Necklace」

■ Artifact Grade: Gold

■ Artifact Description: Allows you to summon one designated object using telekinesis.

However, objects over 200kg cannot be summoned, even if designated.

Additionally, the summoning speed varies depending on the object's weight; the lighter it is, the faster it is summoned.

"Telekinesis, huh? This would be perfect for retrieving a greatsword after throwing it."

My interest was piqued.

As someone who often threw greatswords or longswords for strategic reasons, this ability was a perfect match for me.

I had seen mage players use it before, but I had never tried it myself.

Without hesitation, synchronization proceeded instantly, and the meal finished in a flash—it was a glass of white wine this time.

Judging by the constant wine appearances, this mage must've been a serious wine lover in life.

Quality wine is indeed an irresistible temptation.

I reviewed my significantly increased mana, the silence effect on basic attacks, and telekinesis with a satisfied expression.

[Telekinesis - Greatsword of Fighting Spirit]

I designated my main weapon, the Greatsword of Fighting Spirit, as the object for telekinesis.

Now, even if it strayed far from me, I could recall it just by thinking of it.

"Whew."

The lingering fatigue wouldn't fade easily.

I lay my body down on the cold, dirt floor. The aftereffects of Psychedelic couldn't be ignored.

[The Gladiator of Blood and Sand praises your bravery displayed in the Dungeon Arena as an honor that cannot be exchanged for anything.]

[The Sun King emphasizes that a hidden gem like you needs a sponsor capable of providing proper rewards and consideration.]

[The Great Conqueror of Mongolia was deeply impressed by your belligerence.]

[The Goddess of Luck is extremely smug, claiming to be your destined soul mate.]

"Are the monarchs showing interest in me? That's flattering. Does anyone have a deep connection with the Constellations by any chance?"

[The Sun King rebukes, claiming that since he is practically a god, what meaning could the Constellations possibly have?]

[The Great Conqueror of Mongolia also emphasizes that Constellations are mere fantasies and there's no need to indulge in such delusions.]

"Are you guys selling nonsense now?"

I wore a dumbfounded expression.

Of course, currently, about 99.999% of players had no idea of the Constellations' existence.

The few who knew—those chosen by the Constellations—naturally kept their mouths shut in silence.

Because of this, even players with enough potential to contract with a Constellation were often deceived by other beings posing as such.

In any case, when a player with upward potential contracts with a Constellation, it increases the stature of that Constellation as well.

In fact, there were quite a few cases where beings had risen from Constellations to higher ranks this way.

[The Goddess of Luck says she found the Late Bloomer Model Student in the Empty Seat

Village of the Dimensional Group.]

[She says the Late Bloomer Model Student wasn't even qualified to be considered a Constellation, a subpar being below standard.]

"Empty Seat Village? Isn't that where the lowest-ranked Constellations gather?"

[The Goddess of Luck says she doesn't understand why anyone would care about a Constellation who can't even take care of their own life.]

[The Holy King says he saw the Late Bloomer Model Student once before, but back then, he was a madman obsessed with the dimensional group's doomsday theory.]

"A doomsday theory, huh?"

[The Holy King emphasizes that if you want to hear more, you should form a contract with him.]

"..."

Sanghyun was left speechless.

It was an interesting offer, but not enough to sacrifice himself for a contract.

"I understand for now. Thank you for your attention—and that of the other Constellations as well."

Sanghyun offered a polite bow.

As long as they weren't disqualified Constellations, their attention was worth being honored.

"I should rest for 30 minutes before heading out."

Sanghyun finally laid his body down properly.

At that moment, nothing mattered more than sleep—neither place nor surroundings.

After leaving the Silent Ground Dungeon, Sanghyun immediately sent off the porters, ensuring a swift collection.

Since it was an undead-focused dungeon, there weren't any expensive by-products.

But after thoroughly gathering everything and paying the porters their full wages, he still made a profit of 300 million won.

Driving back home, Sanghyun glanced at his account balance and fell deep into thought.

"3.9 billion..."

3.9 billion won. In his previous life, it had taken him until nearly fifty to save that much.

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And that too was during a time when inflation had severely devalued cash—so it wasn't worth the same as now.

To gather this amount in under a month, his level would've needed to be at least five or six times higher than it was now.

And even then, it would've required tight dungeon raids with fewer members and good artifact luck.

But for Sanghyun, it wasn't particularly difficult to achieve alone.

If making money was this easy, he would've wanted to regress over and over again! Isn't that the true taste of capitalism?

"I need to boost my stats more."

There was a sense of inadequacy that he had felt during his battles with the Death Knight and Arch Lich.

Even though he lacked nothing in terms of sword skill combinations, applications, and the use of status effects.

The stats themselves were definitely lacking. He had felt sluggish, finding it hard to chase after them with ease.

Of course, this problem arose because Sanghyun was attempting to clear challenges far above his level—completely on his own.

A player focusing on team play in dungeons suited to their ability wouldn't even have to consider such worries.

But Sanghyun had always aimed for the top, and he had no intention of looking down now.

And there were plenty of ways to grow.

Now that he had gathered enough money, he just needed to consume decent artifacts to boost his stats.

Buying artifacts didn't require risking his life or taking dangerous chances like in a dungeon.

All that was needed was the willingness to spend money boldly—and a sharp eye to find valuable artifacts!

"I already boosted my mana stat a lot this time, so I'll exclude that from my priorities. Evasion and defense should be raised together, but that would require a higher investment."

Sanghyun began narrowing down the important elements using the process of elimination.

"Raising agility would be best. Throughout the last battle, there were countless moments when I wished for better mobility."

He felt a strong desire for higher agility stats.

Being a swordsman relying on close-range attacks naturally made him sensitive to reaction speed and mobility.

Furthermore, the Psychedelic skill had the best synergy with the agility stat.

The reason why Do Kyungsoo was called the Sword Demon was primarily because when using the Psychedelic skill, he became completely invisible.

His movement speed became so fast that it was nearly impossible to even track his afterimages. The foundation of that was the agility stat.

"With 3.9 billion, I should be able to buy three to four Platinum-grade artifacts. But just boosting stats feels like a waste—I need to find artifacts with unique options."

He recalled the time he obtained the weight reduction option.

Squad leader Yoon Daekyung had given up the artifact after seeing how absurdly high its mana consumption was.

To anyone else, it would've seemed like worthless junk, but for Sanghyun, it was a treasure beyond compare.

Once absorbed into his body, the weight reduction effect transformed into a form that consumed no mana at all.

This time, Sanghyun planned to search for artifacts with similar hidden options during his shopping spree.

"Should I try going to Hyunjeong Market?"

A suitable marketplace came to mind.

An offline open market exclusively for players, created by player Han Hyunjeong, who had purchased an entire nine-story building near Myeongdong Station.

It seemed like it was time to hunt for artifacts again.

It was time to search for hidden treasures—trash to others, but gold for him.