novelraw Chapter 210 : Berserk Charm (4)
Chapter 210 : Berserk Charm (4)
Chapter 210: Berserk Charm (4)
"Let's go with this one."
He immediately expressed his intent to purchase.
He liked the options attached to the charm, and there was nothing lacking about it.
He gave the other charms one last glance, but none of them could compare to this one under the same price.
‘Finally, I have a Legendary Artifact. Bought it purely with cash.’
The feeling was refreshing.
Even after spending a hefty 625 billion won, he still had 102.2 billion won left in his balance.
That included the additional 10 billion won he received after the Ashtaroth Dungeon raid.
His sense of financial scale was starting to blur a bit.
But Sanghyun had never once thought that this amount of money was a lot.
He didn’t even consider it inflation.
Because as a player’s level and standards go up, so do the required specs.
From the moment one starts cutting down on spending, the gap with other players widens absurdly.
To players in the lower tiers, it might seem like another world, a far-off story.
But considering the world Sanghyun aimed to climb toward, even this much money wasn’t enough.
There were more than plenty of players who had full Legendary-grade Artifact sets as their baseline.
Just looking at China, the number of players was nearly equivalent to South Korea’s population.
So overall, it was only natural that Artifact prices continued to rise steadily.
‘Work hard, spend hard. Don’t get emotional over the numbers being big or small.’
Sanghyun organized his thoughts.
In the end, the peak a player aims for is to fill every gear slot with Almighty-grade Artifacts.
Until then, Sanghyun had no intention of getting lazy or satisfied with the present. He would continue pushing himself.
Han Hyunjeong informed the seller of the Berserk Charm of the final purchase decision and confirmed the meeting time.
She also received the funds from Sanghyun in advance through a separate escrow system.
Though it was under her control, the final payment wouldn’t go through unless Sanghyun approved it.
So there was no risk of being scammed or ghosted—payment would only be made after confirming receipt.
The trade prep was complete.
Since there was still time left, Han Hyunjeong brewed another cup of tea and brought it out.
He thought the business talk was over, but it seemed she still had something more to say.
After wetting her dry throat with a sip of cinnamon tea, Han Hyunjeong continued the conversation.
“Sanghyun-ssi. From now on, there will be just as many worries as there are expectations.”
“I’m aware. I also know things won’t be easy.”
“I’ll be frank. The Korean Player Union is taking a strong interest in you.”
“You mean Scout Team 4?”
“No. The association president is planning to move personally.”
“Huh...? You mean that faceless VIP? The one even Union staff have never seen?”
“That’s right. That person.”
It was unexpected.
For Han Hyunjeong to mention this meant she must have met the president herself.
He had been brought up in that meeting, and a rivalry must have sparked from it.
It clearly explained why Han Hyunjeong had been so aggressively persistent with him.
“I’m not saying you should take the president’s interest negatively. Just by moving, the Union will shine even more attention on you.”
“Right.”
Sanghyun didn’t take her words entirely at face value.
There was no way she was speaking out of pure goodwill. After all, she was in a position competing with the president.
Whether intentional or not, her words were bound to frame the president negatively.
So Sanghyun planned to listen to her words only halfway and filter the rest himself.
He appreciated her concern, but that didn’t mean he had to be thankful for everything. Her motives were clear.
Still, from the sound of it, the Union really was planning to move more aggressively.
Up until now, they had only been testing the waters. But now, they seemed intent on changing their approach.
‘Even in my previous life, the Union was an awful place. Stifling, full of restrictions on freedom.’
He had heard it more than a few times.
The Union claimed it wanted to nurture its affiliated players more closely.
But in the end, all changes occurred within the Union’s watchful eyes.
He couldn’t shake the discomfort of having every stat and move exposed.
If someone liked feeling part of a group, it might work for them—but Sanghyun didn’t want to live life on a leash.
This wasn’t something he felt because of Han Hyunjeong’s words. It was something he’d thought for a very long time.
“And just the fact that Mystery arranged the match means you’ve already become a target of Mystery’s interest.”
“I’m aware.”
“There’s no concrete evidence yet, but Mystery always shows up as a suspect in numerous player disappearance cases.”
“I heard the World Player Union couldn’t figure out Mystery’s face or name either.”
“That’s right. That’s why you need to pay even more attention to your personal security and protection. Going around alone is really dangerous.”
Han Hyunjeong’s expression turned serious.
This time, her concern felt genuine. Her gaze was different from the earlier conversation.
She added another thought.
“Not as a sponsor or investor, but as a fellow player, I want to say this. You’re a talent among talents, Sanghyun-ssi.”
“Thank you.”
“I don’t want to lose you. Even if you’re not my contractor or sponsor. Please, take care of yourself.”
Her earnest plea struck deeply in Sanghyun’s heart.
It wasn’t a sentiment of affection between a man and woman, but words filled with the worry of not wanting to lose a valuable talent.
The feeling was strange.
Had he ever heard such words in his past life?
Not even once. Whether he was there or not didn’t affect the team, and even when he was there, he didn’t shine.
The Sanghyun of his previous life wasn’t a player whose worth was evaluated by others.
He had to constantly promote his own value with his own words, like a salesman.
But in this life, even if he stayed still, many people worried about him and treasured his high value.
That’s why he felt especially thankful for the Constellation Late Bloomer Model Student, who he guessed might have given him this second chance at life.
Where in the world was he now, and what was he doing? He wanted to hear at least a single word from him.
The conversation that had taken a rather serious turn now shifted back into business mode.
There was still one thing Han Hyunjeong hadn’t settled with Sanghyun.
It was the sale of the strategy for the Labyrinth of Tranquility they had once conquered together.
Since it wasn’t being sold externally but to Hyunjeong Corporation, her evaluation of its worth was critical.
She had even offered to handle the deal directly right after the raid.
“Sorry for the delay in response. There was a meeting inside the corporation. They said I was overinvesting.”
“It’s not easy to find a reasonable price. I understand the process. Have you reached a conclusion?”
“Fifty billion won. How about that? With the condition that the information we gathered back then is used only within our corporation and never shared externally.”
“So the core details would be known only to you, Ms. Hyunjeong.”
“That’s right. I’ll make sure every raid involving it requires my participation, and that I’m the key to it.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go with that.”
The amount she offered wasn’t far off from what Sanghyun had in mind, so he accepted it immediately.
Anyway, a labyrinth was a place where mysteries got unraveled more and more over time.
Tomorrow, and the day after, its price evaluation would only fall further.
So it was only natural to sell it today, when the value was highest.
Of course, Hyunjeong would put in as much effort into the Labyrinth of Tranquility as the money she paid for it.
Since recovering her investment was her area of expertise, there was no need for him to worry about that.
With that, the only remaining unsettled item—the strategy sale—was concluded.
They signed the transfer contract for the strategy right away, and 50 billion won was promptly deposited by Hyunjeong.
Balance: 1.522 trillion won.
Somehow, earning and spending money felt unusually easy today—it wasn’t just his imagination.
After that, the seller arrived.
Under Han Hyunjeong’s mediation, the transaction for the Berserk Charm was completed.
Back in the day, when he tried on an expensive Artifact, his hands and even his whole body would tremble.
But now, that trembling had lessened, and he was filled more with excitement and anticipation as he put it on.
Hyunjeong tactfully stepped away to let Sanghyun examine the charm’s options in detail.
“Seriously… This is insane.”
「Berserk Charm」
■ Artifact Grade: Legendary
■ Artifact Description: A charm that allows you to specialize in more frenzied, insane combat.
Once equipped, the following effects are applied as passive skills.
When HP drops below 75%, damage increases to 2x of the current output.
Below is a simplified listing:
At 50% HP, 3x damage.
At 25% HP, 4x damage.
At 10% HP, 5x damage.
■ Agility +250
■ Evasion +250
■ Defense +250
■ Special Skill - Madness
■ Special Skill - Radiance
■ Special Skill - Frenzy
■ Special Option - Charm Integration
There was so much content that it couldn’t all be grasped in one glance.
The stat bonuses alone had risen to the point where he could nearly acquire the Versatile Title just by raising Agility another 15 points.
He was on the verge of reaching 1,000 in all stats.
And the final line, the special option marked as Charm Integration, was a highly valuable feature.
With Charm Integration, he could absorb up to ten charms into the Berserk Charm without losing any stats or abilities.
While there was no limit to how many charms one could carry, it was known that carrying too many induced mental fatigue.
There were even actual cases where players suffered from sudden shock or exhaustion during combat due to excessive charm possession.
So it was time for a "charm inventory diet," and the integration option resolved that issue neatly.
This allowed him to enjoy all the stats while keeping his total charm count at one.
“The damage multiplier formula is just insane... In a Frenzied state, I’d be running wild with 5x damage.”
It was a charm that retained the full traits of a Berserker—becoming explosively stronger the lower your HP dropped.
Since Sanghyun also had the awakening skill called Frenzy, the return when his health dropped was even greater.
Moreover, the stat bonuses were heavily focused on Defense and Evasion, which helped increase resistance to skills and status effects.
These were stats hard to gather through Artifacts, making this charm perfectly hit all the right spots.
And the gift box wasn’t fully opened yet. The three special skills embedded in the charm were still waiting to be revealed.
He had seen them on the pre-purchase list, but seeing them with his own eyes now gave him a fresh feeling.
And then came the first one:
『Madness』
■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)
■ Skill Description: You can recover health from all corpses that haven’t lost their warmth.
Per corpse, the maximum recoverable HP is 50, with no limit on the number of corpses.
The first skill of the Berserk Charm, hidden under the name “Madness,” was revealed.