Artifact-Devouring Player Chapter 6 : Luck - (2)

Chapter 6: Luck - (2)

During the brief silence that lingered as we kept our distance and scouted each other.

'They're after my organs.'

I could easily guess their true goal.

The person who ordered this attack was probably just a front—there had to be another, more genuine objective behind it.

These days, it wasn’t uncommon for players to push themselves beyond their limits, damaging their health in the process.

In those cases, the heart, liver, or lungs would often take the brunt of the strain, leading to future complications.

The important fact was that with the ergence of magic stones alongside players, dical science had also undergone a significant shift.

The most notable advancent was organ transplantation using the engraving of magic stones.

For ordinary people, organ transplants typically required post-surgery immunosuppressants, but for players, once a magic stone was engraved into the organ and underwent a simple bio-activation process, immunosuppressants weren’t necessary.

A new era had begun—an age where organs could be swapped out easily. Naturally, this led to increased demand for organs, both legal and illegal.

'If I get caught here, my corneas will end up in Seoul, my lungs in Daejeon, and my liver in Busan. A nationwide tour, huh?'

A bitter smile crept onto my face.

Of course, that wasn’t going to happen.

If I had thought there was any real danger, I wouldn’t have started provoking these guys in the first place.

Piiing!

Just then, I heard the subtle twang of a bowstring being drawn and an arrow flying through the air.

I had fought countless archers who relentlessly targeted swordsman-type players like in my past life.

Conflicts and wars between players—those had beco commonplace after the collapse of global order in 2040.

Even though my eyes were fixed entirely on the swordsn ahead of , not on the arrow.

'About now.'

Saaaak!

With flawless precision, I swung my greatsword and sliced the arrow mid-flight.

Even though it had been a strike charged with mana, its force was rendered aningless and the arrow was effortlessly neutralized.

"I’ll take care of this!"

One of the three swordsn, a player with a particularly severe scar over one eye, confidently confronted .

"You should all co at together."

"Quit wasting ti, bastard!"

"Yeah?"

I laughed and charged straight toward the 'One-Eyed' guy. He held a longsword in one hand.

'Pathetic.'

The scarred swordsman realized imdiately that it was a mistake to face head-on.

He was far too dull.

It was a common trait among players who wielded greatswords—relying purely on brute force to crush their opponents.

'If I just sidestep and jab at his side, it’ll be over.'

He finished his calculation quickly.

As I barreled toward him, he smoothly dodged and went to strike at my side, just as planned.

"……?"

That’s when sothing unbelievable happened.

In an instant, the forward montum of my body shifted, and the greatsword's trajectory dramatically changed.

A massive blade that looked heavy at a glance—I swung it effortlessly with just my right hand, slashing toward his side.

A perfect feint. A deceptive, unpredictable strike that defied any expectations!

Shwaaak!

"Argh!"

The edge of my greatsword grazed his side, cutting dangerously close. If anything, it was a stroke of luck that it wasn’t worse.

But the real problem ca next.

"Uh?"

His body froze.

It was as if he had been pinned down by an invisible weight, like the crushing paralysis of sleep without the ability to resist.

At first, he thought it might be an illusion, but it wasn’t.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing just standing there?!"

The shout from one of his companions, seeing him standing helplessly exposed, broke through the confusion.

"I told you all to co at together."

"Ugh…!"

It was a chilling voice—the kind the one-eyed swordsman had never heard in his entire life.

And then, he understood.

He finally realized why I had warned them so clearly before.

But the realization ca too late—and at a hefty price.

By the ti it dawned on him, my greatsword had already cleanly severed his neck, sending it flying toward the clear dungeon sky.

Thunk!

His headless body collapsed in the opposite direction, convulsing for a mont before going still.

"Juntae is dead!"

"No way, how…?"

The remaining three were thrown into a panic.

This death wasn’t sothing they had accounted for.

They had gathered enough intel on beforehand and hadn’t charged in recklessly.

They even knew that I could cause a stiffening effect with my skills and had practiced against it in training drills.

But the outco was decided purely through basic swordsmanship—completely outside their expectations.

On top of that, the man who had just lost his head was the highest-level player among their group of four.

Level 100. Not extraordinarily high, but certainly not soone who should have fallen so easily at the start of a battle.

Yet, without landing even a single scratch on , his head had been cut off while he was still standing.

"Who's next?"

"Eek!"

My words shot through them like a dagger.

With their strongest fighter dead, the morale of the remaining trio shattered.

Still, they couldn’t afford to back down now. Just as I had suspected, they were after my valuable organs.

If anything, now that there was one less person, they could look forward to getting a bigger share if they managed to kill .

"Die, bastard!"

Piiing! Piiing!

The archer, who had repositioned behind , fired two more arrows.

Clang! Tang!

But this ti, without even turning around, I effortlessly deflected them both.

"Shit."

The archer's face twisted in frustration.

No-look defense! It was the first ti he'd ever experienced such humiliation.

"Prove your skills with your sword."

"Screw you, asshole!"

Provoked by my taunt, the one-eyed swordsman’s companion—a buzz-cut player—rushed at .

Why weren’t two of them attacking at the sa ti?

That question was quickly answered. Their movent patterns weren’t suited for teamwork from the start.

Usually, an ordinary player wouldn’t notice the difference, but for Sanghyun, who had seasoned himself on the battlefield, it was clear as day.

The buzz-cut guy's sword movents were faster than the one-eyed man's, but his shoulders opened up too early when swinging.

'This one doesn't even need Demon Bash.'

Thinking it wasn’t even worth using a skill ant that his abilities were downright pathetic.

In truth, the buzz-cut was a fairly skilled player at level 80, but to Sanghyun, he was like a child.

"Hup-cha!"

Sanghyun instinctively took a half-step backward.

Whoosh!

The buzz-cut’s sword narrowly swept across where Sanghyun had just been.

Using such an important turn first ant the chance for an equal exchange was already gone.

Flash!

Sanghyun instantly launched himself forward off his back foot and slashed at the man's neck with a tightly gripped greatsword.

It was a ticulous counterattack—one the buzz-cut couldn’t have predicted, let alone blocked.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

His severed head hit the ground and rolled pitifully through the dirt grooves.

Shuaa!

At that mont, another arrow flew in from behind with a sharp, powerful sound.

'No doubt a charged shot.'

They say even a dog can recite poems after three years in a schoolyard—Sanghyun had thirty years of player experience.

Just from the sound of the wind shifting, he could easily sense the archer’s intent.

'How about this?'

An amusing idea struck him, and Sanghyun spun his body with full force.

He gripped the greatsword above his right hand and hurled it toward the archer like a spear.

He even activated Demon Bash to add extra propulsion.

The skill granted a slight boost of thrust to the weapon—an efficient decision.

Swaaaak!

"No way..."

The archer was struck with despair at the sight before him.

The mont Sanghyun turned around, the thrown greatsword sliced the incoming arrow to pieces and ca flying straight at him.

It was far faster than he had anticipated.

The sight of the massive greatsword barreling toward him was terrifying enough to drain the color from his face.

He had never seen anyone use a greatsword for long-range attacks like this before.

Thwack!

"Kegh!"

Before his body could even react, the greatsword pierced straight through the middle of his face.

Blood gushed from the back of the archer’s head as he died, still clutching his bow—a miserable end.

"Haa…"

The last of the four-man group—now just a lone survivor—turned deathly pale.

This ambush was supposed to follow their foolproof formula, one that had always led to success.

They had targeted a player who was alone and believed their skills were more than enough to overpower him.

They had even accounted for his ability to induce stiffness, with pre-planned strategies and training.

But they had been utterly crushed—and the price was steep.

While the survivor stood there in shock, Sanghyun appeared right in front of him like a grim reaper.

"One more left."

That was the last thing the player heard.

After that, his mory was cut off forever—he had crossed a road from which there was no return.

* * *

"In this life too, I won’t be making any contracts with those 'holy ones' known as Constellations. Not with this much karma stacked up."

Sanghyun muttered with a flat expression as he washed the blood off his greatsword in a nearby stream.

So Constellations particularly despised killing, and players contracted with them were usually healers.

Since healers focused solely on curing others, they rarely had to kill monsters directly—and the sa applied to hostile players.

There were many famous Constellations among the holy ones, but it seed unlikely that Sanghyun would ever form any ties with them.

Sanghyun began collecting artifacts from the four dead players, one by one.

He gathered the archer’s bow, the swords from the other three, and their accessories—eight silver-grade artifacts in total.

Selling them would easily fetch at least 40 million won each, but he had no intention of selling.

Since they were all specialized in agility and strength stats, consuming them would be far more beneficial.

Money could always be earned again, but once an artifact was sold, it wouldn’t return unless bought again.

"Oh?"

Then, sothing caught Sanghyun’s eye—a ring worn by the buzz-cut player.

A dazzling gemstone, resembling the deep blue of the ocean, was embedded in it, giving off an unusual aura.

「Recovery Ring」

■ Artifact Grade: Silver

■ Artifact Description: Consus 10 mana to instantly remove all status effects on yourself.

If used again within one minute, the mana cost doubles.

■ Special Effect - Recovery

"Didn’t expect to find a status-clearing ring here. t the wrong owner though—guess he didn’t even deserve the chance to use it since I took his head off right away."

Turning back, he saw the buzz-cut’s head lying pitifully on the ground, eyes still open. Of course, Sanghyun felt nothing.

"Can’t let this go to waste."

He imdiately began the synchronization process.

For a swordsman who had to endure many physical trials, the ability to instantly remove status effects was invaluable.

Rebound damage and stiffness that could co back when facing strong opponents were all considered status effects.

If he could shake them off instantly, it would allow him to gain a more aggressive advantage in battle.

Shaa…

Soon, within his subconscious, the ring materialized in the form of food—a dazzling, radiant dish.

"Slls like fried chicken, but what’s up with the sauce?"

What appeared before Sanghyun was an abomination he hadn’t expected—perfectly fried chicken drenched in a bright erald-colored sauce.

A sharp, minty scent assaulted his nose.

It was mint chocolate chicken.

Hell had opened its gates in the most unexpected form.