Artifact Devouring Player-Chapter 48: Rising Airflow - (1)

[Chapter 48]

「Belt of the Rising Airflow」

■ Artifact Grade: Epic

■ Artifact Description: A belt imbued with Roblus's fighting spirit, capable of generating powerful gusts of wind.

The whirlwind that starts from the ground triggers an updraft, making it specialized for control.

Roblus's fighting spirit has become excellent nourishment, allowing for a rapid increase in various stats.

■ Strength +200

■ Stamina +80

■ Agility +40

■ Special Skill – Rising Airflow

■ Special Effect – Ultra Awakening State

'The stat distribution is insane.'

While no stat is unimportant, if you can only gain stats from a limited pool, three are essential.

Strength, Agility, and Stamina—commonly referred to as the "Core Three."

Power to suppress, endurance to withstand, and mobility for evasion. These three are essential.

As expected of an artifact of Epic grade, the amount of stat boosts it provided was overwhelming.

Just the Strength boost alone nearly doubled his original stat, pushing it well over 400.

At this level, even a swordsman-type player would need to be at least level 180 unless they were exceptionally wealthy.

But Sanghyun's level was only 85. His growth was explosively fast to the point where comparisons were meaningless.

Among the eye-catching special skills and effects, he decided to check the skill first.

■ Special Skill – Rising Airflow

■ Skill Description – Creates an updraft that causes the Airborne effect on enemies.

The duration of the Airborne effect is proportional to the total Strength stat, generating 0.2 seconds per 100 Strength.

However, the duration may be reduced depending on the target's Skill Resistance.

'I never expected to gain another crowd-control effect here.'

Airborne.

It refers to a state where the opponent is lifted into the air. Their body rises regardless of their will.

This can interrupt an opponent's focus when they are about to use a skill or completely disrupt a well-formed defensive stance.

It wasn't as commonly seen as status effects like Stiffness or Freeze, but its utility was extremely versatile.

Additionally, it could be used to destabilize an enemy's sense of balance and center of gravity while they were airborne.

'There was an artifact that enabled a similar technique. Wasn't it a combination of Airborne and Knockback?'

A memory of a named player surfaced.

So Hyeongjun. His signature combination came to mind.

Lifting enemies into the air with Airborne and immediately following up with a Knockback to push them backward.

This grotesque combo had claimed many monsters and hostile players.

If someone was caught by this in places like rooftops, dungeons with cliffs, or high-altitude zones, they were as good as dead.

Without being able to properly defend themselves, they would get pushed backward mid-air and fall to their death.

The number of monsters that had met their end through this method was impossible to count.

'With my current Strength, it lasts 0.8 seconds.'

Sanghyun frowned as he checked his Strength stat, which was still under 500.

Since the duration updated in increments of 100, he hadn't reached a full second yet.

However, the amount of Strength he needed to reach 500 wasn't that high, so he would likely achieve it soon.

Sanghyun then moved on to check the special effect. Since he had never experienced it before, he couldn't guess what it did.

■ Special Effect – Ultra Awakening State

■ Effect Description – Removes all penalties associated with Awakening-related skills and doubles their effects.

■ Applicable Skill – Psychedelic

'It removes the exhaustion effect and doubles the duration?'

The drawback of Awakening skills was that their effects came with severe recoil.

It was similar to caffeine, borrowing power from the future to use in the present. That's why rest was always required after using an Awakening skill.

Many had died in dungeons or gates because they overused Awakening skills without managing their stamina properly.

But the Ultra Awakening State effect completely erased the most troublesome penalty.

For Sanghyun, who often relied on the Psychedelic skill when he needed a decisive blow, this was a priceless advantage.

'The power of high-grade artifacts is undeniable. If Epic-grade is this strong, what would Legendary or Almighty-grade be like?'

He couldn't even begin to imagine. The highest-grade artifact Sanghyun had ever used in his past life was only Epic.

And even then, it was a lower-tier Epic artifact that was barely worth equipping.

But now, he had an artifact specialized for his class and combat style, making his satisfaction immeasurable.

At that moment, after finishing her own examination of her new Epic artifact, Kim Miso spoke to Sanghyun.

"Oppa, thank you so much."

"You did well. Thanks to you, we cleared the gate cleanly without a single scratch."

"Do you want to see my reward?"

"Of course. Just from looking at it, I can already tell your bow has changed."

"It's so much better than the bow I borrowed from the Kurokawa Guild. Look at this!"

As usual, she nocked an arrow onto the bowstring and fired it forward with full force.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

Along with the primary arrow, nine streams of mana arrows surged forward in a vortex, roaring through the air.

"It looks like a special effect that generates mana arrows?"

"That's right! I can split the number of arrows however I want and fire them.

As long as I have enough mana, the more, the better!

It even has a knockback effect!"

"Knockback? That's perfect."

"What about you? What's yours?"

"Are you curious?"

"Of course, I am! Honestly, not just anyone can get an Epic-grade artifact, right?"

In fact, Kim Miso's reaction was calmer than Sanghyun had expected.

Most players would have clutched their chests the moment they saw an Epic-grade reward.

It wouldn't be strange if their hearts stopped.

But to Kim Miso, whose worldview was entirely different due to her economic background, it was only slightly surprising.

'Well, I guess I'm also not too moved by sums in the billions anymore.'

Sanghyun nodded.

Since she was curious about his ability, he decided to give her a demonstration.

『Rising Airflow』

Sanghyun prepared the Rising Airflow skill using his Battle-worn Greatsword.

He didn't necessarily have to use a weapon, but as a swordsman, he couldn't cast it barehanded like a mage.

To use Rising Airflow effectively in battle, he needed to master channeling the skill through his sword.

"You're not planning to attack me, are you?"

"Just stay still."

With a gentle smile, Sanghyun sent a wave of Rising Airflow toward her with his greatsword.

"Huh?"

At that moment, Kim Miso's body lifted into the air.

She was caught off guard, making her an easy target, but even so, the skill worked despite her relatively high skill resistance.

Her body floated about 1.5 meters up before the duration ended, and she fell back to the ground.

Bending her knees to absorb the impact, Kim Miso looked at Sanghyun with a surprised expression.

"Another status effect?"

"Looks like it."

"Not many players use Airborne effects, but that just makes them even harder to counter, right?"

"I'll need to practice a lot."

It definitely required precise control.

Unlike other status effects that were triggered through direct hits, this one relied on repeated usage.

That meant improving accuracy and disguising its use properly would be crucial.

"Hah, seriously, oppa..."

"What's with that look? Like you're staring at some kind of monster."

"I feel like you really are one. Jinho oppa is going to freak out when I tell him about this."

Kim Miso understood.

Just as a mage's increasing number of spells was a valuable asset,

so too would a swordsman like Sanghyun benefit immensely from his growing number of status effects.

"Should we head out? The porters should be coming in soon to collect the loot."

"Yeah! Oh, right! Oppa, are you going to publish the gate strategy or keep it confidential?"

She asked.

The first players to clear a gate had the option to share or withhold their strategy.

They could decide whether or not to reveal shortcuts to those who came after them.

If they made it public, the Player Union would compensate them based on the gate's level, the number of players involved, and the difficulty.

"I'll open it up. From what I've seen, this place is hell if you don't have good teamwork.

But not right away—maybe two weeks later."

Sanghyun answered with a smile.

Black Gates weren't something to be taken lightly out of mere bravado.

Even if people knew the right strategy, they could still fail in the execution.

Selling the strategy at its peak value was the best move.

The perfect timing would be when a few teams attempting it failed.

"Got it. There might be interview requests, so I'll let you know if that happens."

"Thanks."

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Six hours later.

The final settlement was complete.

Even after splitting the profits with Kim Miso, he had earned a total of 3 billion won.

Since this was the first raid, the dungeon yielded a large amount of loot, and its quality was quite high.

The challenge of taking on a near-impossible dungeon with a minimal team had resulted in massive gains.

If they had only tackled safe dungeons appropriate for their level?

Their share wouldn't have been 3 billion won—it would have barely been around 10 million won.

10 million won wasn't a small amount, but Sanghyun didn't think it matched his abilities.

'Once I reach level 100...'

Skill enhancement would become available.

That was why so many players desperately pushed themselves to hit level 100.

It allowed them to permanently upgrade one of their main skills.

For a player, reaching level 100 was considered the most crucial turning point in their career.

'I need to decide which skill to enhance to maximize its value.'

Planning ahead was essential.

If he waited until the time came, it would be too late.

It felt like an endless cycle of pushing himself.

So many things to do, it was almost suffocating.

But Sanghyun liked it.

Compared to his past life, when he had nothing to do and his future felt bleak, this was much better.

Click. Click, click.

In a dark room, a man's hands moved busily over a mouse.

The glow of the monitor reflected off his glasses, hiding his murderous gaze.

His eyes meticulously scanned through players' profiles.

It was information on up-and-coming players who were making waves in the media.

Gulp—

As if he had spotted a delicious meal, he swallowed his saliva.

It was an unconscious reaction.

'Who should I eat? Overcoming stagnation requires feeding, after all.'

He spoke of consuming players as he studied their faces.

He was none other than a 'Constellation Devourer,' just like Luca Viole.

And the site where these player profiles were being shared?

It was an encrypted, secret network for Constellation Devourers—'The Devourer Network.'

'This guy, huh?'

The man returned to the first profile he had pulled up on the Devourer Network.

He enlarged the image.

And displayed on the screen was—

[Player - Shin Sanghyun]

[Nationality - South Korea]

It was Sanghyun's face and personal information, including even his place of residence.