Chapter 67: Tory - (3)
It was a relentless exchange of slashes and cuts.
Neither of them lacked skill, allowing each other to land attacks. The stage was simply too small.
Thus, it was Sanghyun who strategically began allowing attacks.
From the start, he knew there was no way to escape unscathed, so he didn’t bother covering anything except his core areas.
He also conserved his solitary healing skill.
Even if he could heal while in complete stealth, stealth itself was meaningless in such a confined space.
There were too many factors that could still expose him, even if his enemy attacked blindly.
‘I feel like I’m walking on thin ice.’
Sanghyun thought as he watched his stamina rapidly deplete.
His opponent was skilled, and as an assassin, his attacks were well-calculated, making each strike highly effective.
His body was getting heavier, and the accumulated damage was beginning to take a toll.
However, being intoxicated by Over Psychedelic helped to counterbalance that burden.
“Huff, huff.”
Tori, also exhausted, panted heavily while checking his left arm, where pain was creeping in.
Thanks to Sanghyun’s Full Charge, a deep wound had been carved into his forearm, with blood pouring freely.
Holding the power of multiple Constellations, he was twice as fast as other level 250 players.
So, he initially thought it would be easy to overwhelm Sanghyun, a swordsman who was naturally slower and had a weakness in fine movements.
But that was a grave miscalculation.
Whenever Sanghyun combined Over Psychedelic with acceleration skills, he was actually faster than Tori.
‘So, it wasn’t just boasting.’
Tori had dismissed the media reports as mere exaggerations from reporters vying for sensational stories.
No matter how much of a rising star Sanghyun was, he had believed that someone backed by multiple Constellation contracts like himself was on a different level.
However, the more they fought, the more his confidence eroded, replaced by fear.
‘He’s tired too.’
Tori keenly observed Sanghyun’s fatigued state in real time.
His expression was more manic than before, but his body’s slowed reactions couldn’t be hidden.
At that moment—
‘Got you!’
Sanghyun’s weakness was suddenly exposed before Tori’s eyes.
It was completely different from the gap Sanghyun had deliberately shown earlier when he used Sacrifice.
And just ten seconds ago, he had already used Sacrifice once.
Knowing that the cooldown for that skill was much longer, Tori instinctively realized this was his chance.
Paht!
In an instant, Tori repositioned himself right in front of Sanghyun.
Using his high-speed movement skill, a technique specialized for assassination, he executed his finishing move.
“Die, you bastard!”
Tori thrust his dagger.
With Sacrifice on cooldown,
there was absolutely no way for Sanghyun to escape unscathed.
At the same time, Sanghyun swung his greatsword at Tori’s right arm, but Tori ignored it.
As long as his attack landed, the greatsword would stop before it could even reach him.
Shluk!
‘It landed!’
The exhilarating sensation in his hand.
Tori felt that his patience, waiting for an opening, had finally paid off.
But then—
Shwaaaak!
Without a moment’s hesitation, Sanghyun’s attack continued, and Tori’s right arm flew through the air.
//s_win
//win_h ◎ Overdrive.
◎ Invincibility active, 3 seconds remaining.
//e_win
‘This is nice.’
Sanghyun smiled as he confirmed the activation of Overdrive in his status window.
Invincibility was terrifying for this very reason.
His opponent couldn’t have imagined that he possessed two forms of conditional invincibility.
Acquiring even one conditional invincibility ability was rare and difficult.
Yet, not only did he have Sacrifice, but Overdrive also granted him another form of invincibility—something he himself hadn’t anticipated.
“Kraaaaagh!”
Tori screamed as he looked at his severed right arm lying on the ground.
Despite everything he had experienced, he had never lost a body part before. The shock was overwhelming.
Sanghyun seized that opening.
Even players with high Skill Resistance were vulnerable if they weren’t mentally focused.
Tori, consumed by pain and the horror of his loss, was an easy target.
『Demon Bash』
Shwaak!
“Gah!”
Demon Bash landed cleanly, causing Tori’s body to stiffen.
『Knockback Burst』
A calculated follow-up strike.
Completely unable to react in his stunned state, Tori’s body was flung backward.
Thud!
He crashed hard into the cold concrete wall, a shockwave spreading through his waist.
The impact was so severe that his head also slammed into the wall before he could regain control.
“Urgh!”
Even as he coughed up blood, Tori activated an Artifact to break free from his paralysis.
He had access to such an Artifact, so he wasn’t worried about staying immobilized.
But the timing was bad.
『Rising Airflow』
Just as he escaped paralysis, the Rising Airflow skill lifted Tori’s body into the air.
His body was suddenly floating, his vision scattered, and he momentarily lost track of Sanghyun’s movements.
Then, as his head finally turned back toward the ground, restoring his sight—
“Shit.”
Tori couldn’t help but curse.
While he had been airborne, Sanghyun had already positioned his greatsword below him.
Whoosh!
Tori wasn’t entirely without options,
so he tensed his entire body and angled himself diagonally to propel himself away.
It was a form of evasive movement similar to how Sanghyun used backstep skills in midair.
『Acceleration』
『Crushing Blade』
But Sanghyun had already anticipated Tori’s evasion skill.
It was a long-ingrained habit.
He didn’t just analyze his opponent’s skills—
he predicted when they would be used!
Having faced many tricky opponents in his past life, it was a habit Sanghyun had naturally developed.
You must be able to think and utilize things from a different perspective to turn a disadvantageous situation into an advantageous one.
If I were the opponent?
If I were exposed to danger in this situation while possessing this kind of skill?
It was a moment when my habit of constantly asking myself such questions and drawing conclusions shone.
Puuuk!
The clear sound of penetration that Tory had desperately longed to hear but never could finally echoed.
Right from his own left chest.
"......."
It was a miserable sight.
Tory's body, pierced by the Sword of Destruction, was skewered like a kebab and floated in midair.
His two legs dangled helplessly, unable to touch the ground.
"Did you think being a Constellation Devourer meant you could devour everything?"
"...Kuhh! E-even if I die, another predator will eventually devour you..."
"Losers always curse others as they die, like some kind of passive skill. You're no different."
"Go to hell, you bas—...!"
Puhwaaaak!
Before Tory could finish his sentence, Sanghyun pulled his greatsword and completed the horizontal stroke he had started.
A red line starting from the left solar plexus sliced through the heart in an instant, taking Tory's life.
[A-rank title, 【Demon Hunter】 has been granted.]
"Demon Hunter?"
The moment Tory died, an unexpected title appeared for Sanghyun.
Although he possessed considerable knowledge about titles, this was one he had never heard of before.
//s_win
//win_h 【Demon Hunter】
■ Title Rank: A
■ Title Description: Deals double damage to players who have contracted with and use the powers of evil-aligned Constellations.
//e_win
However, an adversarial relationship will be formed with the contracted Constellation and its allied factions.
"This is strong."
He instinctively realized it.
Dealing double damage meant that when combined with critical damage, it could lead to terrifying destructive power.
If he were to fight Tory again now, the battle would have played out completely differently.
"Hoo."
Sanghyun closed Tory's wide-open, lifeless eyes. He couldn't stand looking at them.
"I can collect the artifacts first and then report to the Union. It's not like it'll be too late."
Just as with the incident at Unseo Station, obtaining the possessions of an evil-doer was an unspoken rule.
It was recognized as the price of enacting justice. Sanghyun immediately began retrieving the artifacts from Tory.
//s_win
//win_h 【Talisman of Swiftness】
■ Artifact Rank: Diamond
■ Artifact Description: This talisman, specialized for swift movement, makes you faster.
■ Agility +100
//e_win
He obtained two talismans in total.
One was a valuable Diamond-ranked artifact that significantly boosted agility stats.
//s_win
//win_h 【Talisman of Resistance】
■ Artifact Rank: Diamond
■ Artifact Description: A talisman that allows you to proactively respond to unexpected dangers will be of great help to you.
■ Skill Resistance +7%
//e_win
"No wonder status-inflicting skills didn't seem to work well on him."
The other talisman increased skill resistance.
A 7% boost to skill resistance was roughly equivalent to raising both defense and evasion stats by 70 points each.
"The artifact setup is solid."
Although Tory didn't carry many artifacts, each one was of excellent quality.
And the ring Tory was wearing, which Sanghyun thought was merely a status ailment-clearing ring, turned out to be far better.
//s_win
//win_h 【Ring of Purification】
■ Artifact Rank: Diamond
■ Artifact Description: Using the power embedded within the ring, it completely removes all impure forces affecting you.
■ Special Skill - Swift Purification
//e_win
Unlike Recovery, Swift Purification had a considerably long cooldown of 10 minutes, but it consumed no mana.
Moreover, it was superior to Recovery, which only removed status effects.
According to the tooltip under the term "impure forces," debuffs and curses were also included.
In other words, even if someone subjected him to mental coercion, fascination, or subjugation, he could forcibly break free.
"He really had all the necessary artifacts lined up."
Sanghyun put on the ring.
Then, he pried the dagger from Tory's dead grip.
//s_win
//win_h 【Kudalumus】
■ Artifact Rank: Unique
//e_win
"Hmm..."
A Unique-ranked artifact.
Truthfully, for Sanghyun, whose main weapon was a greatsword, this dagger wasn't of much use.
Its stats were well-balanced, increasing strength, stamina, and agility, making it decently structured.
However, given Sanghyun's combat style, he was unlikely to use a dagger even as a secondary weapon.
"The absorption rate for Unique-ranked artifacts is 60%, so the stat inheritance isn't bad... But more importantly."
Sanghyun smirked as he skimmed through the details related to Constellation contracts.
Second: When consuming a Unique-ranked artifact or higher, the hidden effect will always be unlocked and inherited.
This part.
For artifacts below Unique rank, unlocking a hidden effect was based on probability.
But for Unique-ranked artifacts and above, a hidden effect would always be revealed in some form.
A 100% guaranteed jackpot!
"No way I can pass this up."
The temptation was too great to resist.