novelraw Chapter 161 : Invitation - (1)
Chapter 161 : Invitation - (1)
Chapter 161: Invitation - (1)
The distribution was neatly wrapped up.
Sanghyun also ended it with a feeling of having played the generous benefactor, and Han Hyunjeong tied things off feeling deeply considered.
"About 20 minutes of stabilization is necessary."
"Take as long as you need. There’s no reason to rush out."
"Please excuse me for a moment."
As soon as Sanghyun nodded, Han Hyunjeong sat cross-legged on a flat rock.
She appeared to fall into meditation.
It was probably a method to stabilize her overheated and twisted internal body caused by excessive mana usage.
Sanghyun had never been a magician-type player, but he had heard plenty about their hardships and troubles.
Even though they were players, it had only been two years since they began handling mana, a power that didn’t exist on Earth.
So, it wasn’t surprising that they went through a lot of trial and error.
Han Hyunjeong had chosen meditation as her method of stabilization, and in truth, that was the right answer.
‘Then.’
Sanghyun examined the Artifacts he had taken as his share.
Three in total— a belt, a necklace, and a piece of armor— all Unique grade Artifacts.
Of course, he was already wearing decent gear, so these weren’t replacements.
In other words, he could just consume them.
The Artifact meal proceeded swiftly.
Since Han Hyunjeong had her eyes closed, she didn’t notice the Artifacts disappearing from Sanghyun’s hands.
According to the 60% absorption rate formula, Defense increased by 30, Evasion by 36, and Agility by 42.
And then—
[You have gained an opportunity to inherit a hidden stat during the absorption process!]
[Stamina stat increased by 100.]
‘Starting from that lucky roll of 6— today’s seriously going well, huh?’
He even got a bonus during the absorption process. Hidden stats were basically bonus stats.
100 stat points— a precious number that would normally require leveling up 100 times to obtain. It was a massive gift.
‘Two left for now.’
Sanghyun counted how many Artifacts remained before he could obtain an Epic-grade Artifact through the first perk of his "777" title.
The title window was displaying exactly what he had in mind.
[777 - That First Happiness]
[05 / 07]
Unless he had some truly awful luck,
He was sure to reach the goal in the next dungeon run.
As long as there was a mid-boss or a boss monster, he would definitely be able to acquire two more Artifacts.
‘Now, what kind of skill setup will I get this time? Every time feels like scratching a lottery ticket— makes me nervous.’
Sanghyun began checking the hidden skills added through Artifact absorption.
There were two in total.
『Eye of the Abyss』
■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)
■ Skill Description: Designates a single target. One second later, it activates a fear-inducing status abnormality.
Targets afflicted with the 'Fear' state will see illusions completely different from reality and lose their sense of direction.
There is no cooldown, but it consumes 200 mana.
‘Wow, seriously, today is the day. This kind of luck doesn’t come often— what an insanely lucky day.’
He had obtained a fear-type status abnormality effect.
Fear made the target see a perfect illusion regardless of what it was, causing confusion.
The most vulnerable to this abnormality were magic users.
If they resisted the skill, fine, but if not, their magic casting would be disrupted no matter what.
Skills considered finishers for magician players required a minimum focus time of 0.5 to 2 seconds.
But if Fear was applied during that focus time, the casting would be interrupted, and the mana spent would vanish into thin air.
That meant taking a hit in two ways.
On top of that, they would be left completely open, giving the initiative to the opponent— the worst-case scenario.
In short, it was a trump card that would give him the upper hand in a rock-paper-scissors fight against magician-type players!
Sanghyun checked the next skill as well.
『Double-Edged Sword』
■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)
■ Skill Description: Reduces defense-related stats to 30% of their normal value, but triples all attack and skill damage.
You can freely toggle it on and off at will, and it consumes no mana.
‘This is a full-offense concept. Even better!’
He liked Double-Edged Sword too.
If the opponent didn’t require focusing on defense, he could maximize combat efficiency even further.
For example, when dealing with 'trash mobs' that posed no threat, he could keep Double-Edged Sword on at all times.
There was no real risk of getting hit, and even if he did, he could easily endure it.
[The God of Storms says that your contract with him must have had a significant impact on your growth.]
[The Goddess of Luck agrees, praising the divine foresight of the Constellation.]
‘The poor Goddess of Luck is working so hard to keep up with our picky Constellation. Kukuk.’
A smile crept onto his face.
It felt like watching a manager struggling to match the mood of a fussy executive.
[The owner of Torn Lips complains that the arrogant Empress of the West keeps trying to speak to you through him.]
‘Still got that annoying habit, I see.’
Since he had completely blocked the direct channel, it seemed the Arrogant Empress of the West was now looking for an alternate route.
Constellations who were bound by contract could never break free unless the Player wished to end it.
[The Ancient Swordmaster emphasizes that his interest in you has reached the maximum level following this battle.]
[The Holy King has cleared out several interest channels and added yours to his favorites list.]
“Oh.”
It seemed his recent performance in the labyrinth had greatly appealed to the Constellations. Was it a successful showcase?
Thanks to the consideration of the Goddess of Luck and the God of Storms, Sanghyun was still a Player open for contracts.
As long as a Constellation didn’t have possessive tendencies, there was always room beside him. They could team up anytime.
Just then—
[A Hidden Quest has arrived.]
A Hidden Quest, something that had never been triggered even once since his regression, had appeared before Sanghyun.
Hidden Quests were provided by the system and required entry into a special area known as the Secret Area within Quest Areas.
What that meant was—
They were special missions granted only to Players contracted with Constellations or those who had cleared high-difficulty dungeons.
Of course, the exact content and purpose would be determined by the system, and couldn't be predicted in advance.
Sanghyun cautiously checked the quest’s contents. What kind of mission would he be given?
[Hidden Quest]
[Eliminate the Player contracted with the Constellation ‘Eye of Calamity’ and bind ‘Eye of Calamity’ to yourself.]
[One-time use: You may teleport to a random location within a 100-meter radius of the Player contracted with ‘Eye of Calamity’.]
[Warning! ‘Eye of Calamity’ and their contractor have become aware of your presence as a hostile force.
While neither of you know each other's appearance or abilities, the existence of the other is fully recognized.]
“……”
It was his first time seeing such a message, but Sanghyun instinctively understood what it meant.
There existed another Constellation hostile to the God of Storms.
And it meant that this Constellation was vile enough that even their Player needed to be eliminated.
The fact that the system had intervened this much suggested that, at the very least, the system was on the same side as the God of Storms.
Though it would be presumptuous to declare the God of Storms a force of "good".
Still, Sanghyun felt they were far more aligned with good than the ‘Eye of Calamity’.
[The God of Storms expresses deep-rooted hatred, declaring that the Eye of Calamity must be eradicated.]
[The Goddess of Luck, startled by the storm swirling around her, hurriedly tightens her robe.]
[The Owner of Torn Lips hastily combs out his beard, which had become entangled with his long hair.]
That single moment felt as if it stretched on forever.
It felt like being caught in the eye of a massive storm of fate.
Standing right in the middle of it, helpless against the raging winds.
‘Eye of Calamity, huh……’
No name, no face, no identity.
But the mere recognition of their existence had turned this mysterious Player into his greatest adversary.
He was curious about who they truly were.
After recovering all the loot and byproducts from the labyrinth,
Sanghyun had also sold off all the leftover goods from previous dungeon clears through Han Hyunjeong.
Previously, he had 47.2 billion won.
Combining that with the earnings from the last and current clear, the added amount was a whopping 320 billion won.
Total: 367.2 billion won!
At this point, money had simply become a byproduct of his activities as a Player.
He no longer had to worry about securing food, shelter, or basic necessities due to lack of funds.
Of course, that was only from the perspective of an average person.
To the top or elite Players, it was still a modest amount.
Even with all that money, he still couldn't purchase a single Legendary-grade Artifact.
“You really worked hard. You look exhausted, even at a glance.”
“I’m seriously tired. Haha.”
Sanghyun nodded.
Even though it had gone well, the battle against Werther had been one where he couldn’t afford a single moment of carelessness.
And today’s experience was merely the beginning.
If he were to face even tougher dungeons, gates, or rifts in the future, the difficulty would only increase.
At that point, he might not be able to handle things alone. He’d likely have more to think about too.
Of course, if he kept growing rapidly like now, he might just be able to pull off a one-man show even then.
“I’ll personally take care of summarizing this labyrinth strategy and negotiating its price.”
“It’s actually easier for me if I can speak directly with the master. The adjustments will be quicker too.”
“Right. Though I don’t really like going into negotiations with a disadvantage from the start.”
“Heh.”
Sanghyun laughed.
Because he understood the hidden meaning behind her words.
“This clear relied heavily on you, Sanghyun, so naturally, we’re indebted to you in many ways.”
“I’ll make sure to collect thoroughly. Let’s discuss those points honestly during negotiations.”
“Sounds good. In any case, thank you again. This clear is your achievement, Sanghyun, but it’s also one for our corporation.”
“I think it worked out well for both of us. A win-win.”
“On that note, what do you think about releasing an article or press release?”
“Let’s hold off on that. I’ve had enough limelight already.”
“But it would be a big help for improving your public image.”
“My life’s hectic enough as is.”
In any case, he hadn’t cleared the labyrinth just to gain public attention.
Honestly, it was enough that he had left an impression on Han Hyunjeong. His goal was accomplished— anything more was unnecessary.
Still, before parting ways, there were two things he definitely wanted to ask her for. It was time to use her now.
Sanghyun continued.
“There are two things I’d like to request.”
“Please, go ahead. If it’s a request from you, I’d get up even in my sleep to listen.”
“First, I’d like you to look into acquiring a Legendary-grade Artifact. A greatsword or longsword. Preferably a greatsword.”
“Got it. There’s none I know of domestically. I’ll check overseas.”
As expected of the so-called Queen of Sales and Brokerage— she instantly had a grasp of the domestic inventory.
If he could just gather a bit more money and get his hands on one Legendary-grade sword—
‘Then I’ll finally be able to wield a weapon of Almighty grade!’
He would obtain the ultimate weapon— a top-tier Artifact with no grade above it.
Now, that goal was finally within reach.
Sanghyun was steadily preparing to face a goal he had never dared even dream of in his previous life.