Chapter 39: Artifact
I must have slept deeply, as when I opened my eyes again, I felt refreshed rather than cold.
But that sense of refreshment was brief, as the chill soon overwhelmed me.
I slowly raised my upper body.
Wearing several layers of clothing, it was difficult to move my body easily.
When I woke up and glanced through my blurry vision, I saw Jin Jae-hee holding a sword.
Seeing that scene first thing upon waking startled me, but I quickly realized it was part of her training preparation and muttered while rubbing my head.
"You scared me."
"It's time to get serious. You slept for 13 hours."
"Thirteen hours? What about roll call?"
"From today, the two of us are exempt. Lucky for us, one less hassle to deal with."
Listening to her, I lightly stretched my neck.
The creaking sound it made as I moved was oddly satisfying.
Jin Jae-hee handed me a bottle of water.
I took the water bottle from her, drank a sip, and sat on the edge of the bed.
I decided to check the artifact that must have been unlocked yesterday.
Inventory.
A place where only items specified by the League could be stored, excluding ordinary items from the general world.
In the first slot, there was the artifact.
An unopened artifact.
I casually pressed the artifact box in the inventory to open it.
Watching me, Jin Jae-hee looked slightly surprised and remarked.
"You’re opening it just like that? Usually, people build some anticipation before opening these things, don’t they?"
"Building suspense doesn’t change the outcome."
Fwoosh-! Drrrumroll.
The small square box began to glow, shaking side to side before bursting open in front of me.
Watching it, I felt a sudden sense of futility.
‘What a joke.’
In this world where lives were lost by the second, the flashy interface set up by the administrators felt absurdly out of place.
Inside the box was a sphere of light.
When I grabbed it, the light naturally dissipated.
[Opening the artifact.]
[The player’s artifact is a ‘Sphere’.]
- Artifact Details
- Name: Sphere
- Active Skill: Movement
- Grade: F
A simple status window.
Jin Jae-hee, watching, explained to me.
"To materialize the artifact in front of you, just say 'Open' out loud. That’s the default system setting."
"Open."
I immediately repeated after her.
As soon as I did, the light vanished, and a small sphere floated above my palm.
It didn’t emit any radiant light, nor did it have a transparent or flashy color.
It was a dense, gray, metallic sphere, like a steel ball.
"A bead?"
I looked at Jin Jae-hee, seeking an explanation for what this was.
She suppressed her initial surprise and answered.
"As expected, it’s a Sphere. Not bad. It’s not overwhelmingly powerful, but it’s useful."
"What does it do?"
"Think of it as an energy ball. A clone that moves as you imagine. I don’t know all the details about its modified skills. In your previous life, you were always extremely secretive about your abilities."
I listened to her while staring at the dense gray Sphere hovering above my palm.
Sitting on the bed across from me, she continued her explanation at a steady pace.
"Since it’s likely a growth-type artifact, for now, its only function is movement. Even that might be challenging at this stage…"
I envisioned the Sphere moving and gave it a directive with my finger.
Swish-, whoosh.
The Sphere shot straight into the air and hovered in the space to the left.
"Can’t its shape be changed?"
I looked at the Sphere floating mid-air and then back at Jin Jae-hee.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth was slightly agape.
Tilting my head slightly, I waited for her response.
With a trembling voice, she said.
"That’s incredible. No, I’m honestly shocked."
"What is?"
"You just saw this today, right?"
"And?"
Swish- whoosh.
I guided the Sphere back into the space between Jin Jae-hee and me.
She muttered something as she stared at the Sphere.
"No, maybe it’s to be expected… You’re Kang Sion. Kang Sion, after all… Kang Sion… No, so that means…"
"Don’t mumble. Explain properly."
"Ah, sorry."
After collecting her thoughts, Jin Jae-hee exhaled and started explaining again.
"Controlling artifacts is really difficult. Even I couldn’t use mine properly for a year after I first got it."
"Why can I do this, then?"
Swish, swish.
Now, I spun the Sphere around in mid-air.
Jin Jae-hee’s eyes began following the Sphere’s circular motion.
Her voice trembled.
"I-it’s natural talent. Honestly, your ability isn’t a beginner-level one but more advanced, closer to late-game potential. Growth-types are like that. As it develops, the artifact’s grade will gradually increase… but aren’t you dizzy right now?"
"No, I’m fine. So, are artifacts abilities everyone gets?"
"No. Like K mentioned, only special players are granted artifacts. If you received one, it means the system has chosen you."
I clenched my fist.
The spinning Sphere halted in mid-air.
Jin Jae-hee’s gaze finally stopped moving.
I retrieved the Sphere and grasped it in my hand.
Its surface was smooth.
It really felt just like a steel ball.
Manipulating this steel ball freely made me feel like I had become a superhuman.
"So, how do I train with this artifact?"
Jin Jae-hee hesitated, her words faltering as if unsure how to respond.
I waited for her answer, but when it didn’t come, I furrowed one eyebrow in frustration.
Placing the Sphere on my index finger, I spun it like a basketball and asked.
"What’s wrong?"
Curiosity about its destructive power suddenly struck me, so I launched the Sphere toward the wall on the left.
Swish- thunk.
The Sphere struck the wall and vibrated.
There were no cracks or other notable reactions.
‘So, no destructive power, huh.’
Whoosh-.
I then directed the Sphere toward Jin Jae-hee’s head.
Honestly, I thought she would dodge.
She always sensed and avoided my attacks beforehand.
Even during practice the day before yesterday and yesterday, she’d told me to surprise her with effective strikes anytime.
But my expectations were proven wrong.
Plop.
The Sphere hit her cheek, slightly pressing her cheek flesh outward.
It still didn’t seem to have any destructive power.
"You’ve already… done it…"
"What?"
Her voice was so faint I couldn’t make out what she was saying.
I asked again.
"I’m asking, what’s the training regimen?"
"It’s… already… done…"
Pushing the Sphere off her cheek with her fingers, she finally answered.
I returned the Sphere to my hand and balanced it on my finger.
The Sphere started spinning again atop my finger.
"What do you mean by 'done'?"
"You’ve already mastered a year’s worth of training compared to others. So… now you probably just need to learn growth quests or other crafting skills. Or, you could obtain rewards from hidden dungeons."
I looked at her hesitating face and then at the Sphere spinning on my finger.
A year’s worth of training for others.
It seemed I had mastered it within a minute of unlocking the artifact.
‘This doesn’t make sense.’
Jin Jae-hee watched the Sphere spinning like a basketball on Sion’s finger and thought to herself.
‘…Is it because he’s a player chosen by the administrators? No, even so, this growth is far too rapid. Actually, can it even be called growth? It’s complete from the start.’
Even among those chosen to wield S-grade artifacts, none had ever grown this quickly.
Jin Jae-hee herself had an S-grade artifact.
S-grade, Sword Saint.
The Sword Saint ability meant she no longer needed to carry a cumbersome real sword around.
At any time, anywhere, she could summon a sword embedded within the system.
But even Jin Jae-hee hadn’t perfected her artifact.
There was no definitive explanation of what it meant to fully materialize an artifact.
With no scholars left to study the phenomenon after the world’s collapse, there were no papers or articles on the subject.
However, most players believed artifact abilities could be categorized into two major aspects.
The first was imagination.
The imagination required to use an artifact as a weapon.
This imagination wasn’t merely about mental thoughts but demanded the activation of all senses.
If the sword Jin Jae-hee envisioned deviated even slightly from a real sword, her ability wouldn’t manifest.
The second was mental acuity.
Players referred to this as "intellect."
Although it sounded similar to willpower, it was an entirely different concept.
Intellect was a distinct force of the human brain, used alongside imagination and thought.
The more an artifact was used, the more disoriented the mind would become, until one eventually lost consciousness.
How much power and recovery could be maintained depended on this intellect.
Achieving this required not only innate talent but also countless hours of practice.
Even a regressor like Jin Jae-hee couldn’t fully implement her skills because of these limitations.
She hadn’t returned with all her abilities intact and, while she knew training methods for quick artifact growth, she wasn’t a completed version from the start.
Perhaps, within the League, Kang Sion was the only one with such innate talent.
He was truly extraordinary.
‘…Was it because he slept well?’
But Kang Sion had mastered both aspects of the ability at once.
In fact, it seemed Jin Jae-hee herself could learn more from his artifact skills.
What remained for him now was to collect mana stones to level up the Sphere.
Such stones dropped from specific monsters or were rewards for special quests.
However, that wouldn’t be easy right now.
These challenges were only available later in the League.
Unless, of course, he discovered a hidden dungeon.
"Got it?"
Hearing Jin Jae-hee’s explanation, Sion seemed unconcerned.
When his thoughts ceased, the materialized artifact also disappeared.
Sion then asked Jin Jae-hee, "So, what’s your ability?"
Distracted by his abilities, Jin Jae-hee didn’t respond immediately.
Sion asked again.
"Jin Jae-hee."
"Oh? Right. My ability."
Jin Jae-hee swallowed nervously and extended her hand.
Sword Saint.
Her first task was to materialize the sword.
Swish...
A bright beam of light began to form in her hand.
Watching quietly, Sion’s pupils trembled slightly.
It was an impressive glow, taking shape as a blade.
The light gradually started forming into the shape of a sword.
"Ugh…!"
For a moment, Jin Jae-hee nearly lost consciousness but managed to hold on.
She had promised to train with him today, and failing to even materialize her artifact would be too humiliating.
The light flickered more intensely.
Sion focused on her hand.
The blade, guard, and hilt began to take form and shine in sequence.
Just a little more, and she would succeed in materializing the sword.
But it still wasn’t enough.
"Phew…!"
Jin Jae-hee exhaled heavily, as if surfacing after being underwater for too long.
Her forehead was drenched in sweat.
Despite the room being as cold as a refrigerator, she was soaked.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
She struggled to steady her breath.
Even in her previous life, she rarely pushed herself this hard.
She was only pushing herself now because she didn’t want to disappoint Sion.
‘…In the end.’
But she had failed.
Jin Jae-hee had unlocked her artifact less than an hour ago.
Even her level of materialization was impressive—no, exceptional.
Of course, it couldn’t compare to Kang Sion.
"Sorry."
"For what?"
"Nothing, really."
Even Jin Jae-hee didn’t fully understand why she was apologizing.
It was simply the thought of letting him down that made her say it.
Sion casually reassured her.
"No need to apologize. If there’s no training to be done, that’s actually better for me."
Jin Jae-hee lifted her bowed head to look at him.
Sion was staring at his own hand.
Then, he flipped it over and studied the back of it.
"Honestly, I couldn’t spend too much time on artifact training anyway. Starting today, I’m the administrator of this faction. Which means, I’m going to be busy."
"Oh, right."
In front of Kang Sion, Jin Jae-hee was like a docile lamb.
Despite his youthful appearance, his voice was commanding, dignified, and resolute, surpassing that of any other ruler.
"The decree of the Monarch must have reached the citizens by now, so people should already know about me. My task is to identify and resolve the issues within the police station. Ideally, I’ll gain their trust and increase my support rate. If I can complete quests simultaneously, that would be even better."
Sion rose from the bed.
He zipped up his padded jacket to the top.
"I’m going to inspect the police station, including the basement. I have authority now, after all."
"I…"
Jin Jae-hee tried to say something, but Sion interrupted as he grabbed the doorknob.
"Don’t follow me around like a puppy. I know you’re a regressor and that you want to protect me, but at least in a place like this, find something to do on your own. Training your artifact would be a good start."
"Ah, it’s just…"
Creak.
Jin Jae-hee tried to speak again.
Bang!
But Sion had already left the room.
Her hand, stretched out in vain, hung in the air.
Left alone in the room, Jin Jae-hee retracted her hand and rubbed her cheek, which had earlier been pressed by the Sphere.
It didn’t hurt, but there was a lingering tingle.
She could sense his potential for growth.
Rubbing her cheek as if massaging an egg, she murmured to herself.
"Open."
Fwoosh!
A faint light flickered in her right hand.
It still existed only as a vague shape, far from complete.
He was right.
If she couldn’t even fully unlock her artifact, how could she claim to protect him?
‘…I need to grow first.’
Left alone, Jin Jae-hee began her artifact training.
She had to grow quickly to protect Kang Sion.