Artifact-Devouring Player

Chapter 187: Unmeasurable - (5)

‘He’s more skilled than he sounds. No, maybe I should say that I should be nervous.’

So Hyeongjun’s gaze deepened as he watched Sanghyun.

Dokgo Yoon, sitting next to the commentator, had the same expression.

Whether he noticed the increasingly serious expressions on the two men’s faces or not, the commentator shouted excitedly.

– Aaah! Will he really allow such a strike! Player Ma Dongho is completely overwhelmed!

Splat!

Before the commentator’s sentence could even finish, a stream of blood burst from under Ma Dongho’s chin.

Sanghyun’s nameless sword had slashed right beneath his chin.

If Ma Dongho hadn’t thrown his body backward with all his strength, his face might have been sliced in half.

Sanghyun was dead serious about this death match.

He had not the slightest intention of letting his opponent live through it.

“Tch.”

“Keuheuheuhk.”

“Won’t be easy eating solid food from now on, huh?”

“Keuuurgh.”

Ma Dongho nervously wiped away the blood continuously flowing from beneath his chin, frowning.

A chunk of flesh had been cleanly sliced off.

It was hidden by the blood, but it was clear that his jawbone had also been damaged in some way.

“Our guild’s 4th-ranked member just got hit? And by some rookie with no real guild?”

“Why do you say Shin Sanghyun’s a rookie? He’s a top-tier prospect backed by Hyunjeong Corporation.”

“You dumbass. Do you think the Sun Guild sent out some nobody? They sent a named, our 4th-ranked guy! Doesn’t matter if the opponent is a top prospect or whatever, he should’ve crushed him!”

After Ma Dongho took the hit,

the members of the Sun Guild who had come to cheer for him began to stir.

‘Sanghyun has too many cards in his hand. Ma Dongho’s charge was definitely meant to be a decisive blow. But instead of being pushed back, Sanghyun stood his ground—and countered.’

So Hyeongjun sharply assessed the situation.

His analysis aligned almost perfectly with what had happened.

Ma Dongho didn’t show it, but he had just lost 33% of his stamina from that counterattack.

That was how desperate his counter had been.

He had to burn a massive amount of stamina—precious to a defensive swordsman—just to land it.

And yet it was blocked easily, he was countered, and ended up seriously injured.

From the gaping wound beneath Ma Dongho’s chin, blood was pouring out like a faucet.

It might not be obvious right now, but in just 30 seconds, the volume of blood loss would start becoming a serious issue.

So Hyeongjun’s eyes quietly turned to Dokgo Yoon.

Was he thinking the same thing he was?

So Hyeongjun kept his thoughts to himself, impressed by how unexpectedly strong Sanghyun was.

Unlike him, though—

– Seems like we’ve finally found an interesting rookie. Let me sum it up simply. Unmeasurable.

“……!”

Unmeasurable!

With those four syllables, Dokgo Yoon’s response froze the air in the arena like time had stopped.

It was even more shocking because he was known for his pride and how rarely he praised others.

– Whoa! Unmeasurable! I mean, is it even possible to hear praise like this? Saying even a named can’t be measured—do you realize how incredible that is?

The commentator’s excited voice echoed throughout the arena.

“Fck, sht...!”

Of course, the one who lost his cool was none other than Ma Dongho himself.

It wasn’t even something muttered under the breath—he’d been blatantly dismissed right to his face.

If Sanghyun was “unmeasurable,” then what did that make him, who had just been overwhelmed by Sanghyun?

Already filled with rage after taking a hit, Ma Dongho let out a furious scream and charged at Sanghyun.

The plan to fight with a solid defense had already been shattered by Sanghyun’s counter.

All that remained was a desperate, stubborn rush forward. That’s how deep his injury was.

For a moment, his mind felt dizzy.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

But almost cruelly, Sanghyun fended off Ma Dongho’s flurry of attacks by simply swinging his sword—without much effort.

Abandoning strategy and relying only on instinct made his sword too easy to read.

Worse, it was dull.

Blinded by emotion, Ma Dongho’s strikes were obvious and easy to predict.

‘I really was too cautious.’

Sanghyun let out a hollow laugh.

Because it was Ma Dongho.

Because he was a player considered a rival to Jo Jinho.

That was why Sanghyun had simulated countless combos and scenarios using all the skills at his disposal.

He believed Ma Dongho would have the skills to back it up, and would create a lot of variables.

He was mistaken.

Perhaps because he had soared through his career without any true rivals, there were many gaps in his game.

It felt like he was only familiar with standardized, pattern-based play.

He was stuck thinking only about textbook outcomes—like the typical flow of a swordsman versus swordsman battle.

That’s why, when Sanghyun used Recovery to ignore knockback and immediately countered, Ma Dongho had no response.

If it were a fight between low-level players, you might just call it a mistake.

A blunder you could laugh about later, or pat your chest in relief.

But battles between experts were different.

It ended in just that one moment.

And Ma Dongho’s fate was the same.

Though he was fiercely denying it himself, Sanghyun could clearly see Ma Dongho’s growing weakness.

The same flaw that Sanghyun had caught was also evident to the two named figures who were intently focused on the match.

– Ah, this is…

– He laid the board well.

There was a lot of meaning behind So Hyeongjun and Dokgo Yoon’s comments.

So Hyeongjun’s words carried criticism for the foolish charge of a man being thoroughly toyed with by his opponent.

Dokgo Yoon’s tone held praise for the man who had driven his opponent into a corner, forcing him into the worst move possible.

The next moment.

Paang!

With a sound that split the air, Sanghyun's Illusion Arbitration skill activated in dazzling form.

The audience could clearly see Sanghyun’s figure split into two and then merge back into one.

And they also saw that the Sanghyun Ma Dongho emotionally charged at was nothing but an illusion scattered like smoke.

“Wow…”

– Oh! Is that what they call the clone technique? Player Ma Dongho has completely lost track of his opponent!

The crowd let out gasps of amazement.

To the average eye, it was nearly impossible to tell the illusion apart from the real one—so their reaction was only natural.

But even So Hyeongjun and Dokgo Yoon, who were watching with keen eyes, were no exception.

‘Shin Sanghyun never intended to maintain the illusion for long. Then, is it a selective position-switching skill?’

‘Can he choose which one becomes the illusion and which remains real? That… is that even possible?’

Both men were astonished simultaneously.

They had never heard of a skill like this before, and the activation mechanism was completely unfamiliar.

If the caster could freely decide which version was real and which was the illusion, the opponent would always fall into a binary trap.

Like playing rock-paper-scissors but being unable to choose one of the moves—it was a fundamentally unfair situation.

It’s true that players' skills are infinite and varied. There are plenty of rare and unique ones.

But a skill like Illusion Arbitration, where the caster is unconditionally favored, was virtually unheard of.

Skills that begin with terms like "unconditional," "complete," or "invincible" are rarely permitted.

From this moment on—

Sanghyun’s showtime began.

While Ma Dongho was spinning around, having lost his target—

Slash! Swish! Slice! Slash!

The nameless sword ceaselessly cut across Ma Dongho’s wide back.

Sanghyun’s attacks, enhanced with Weakness Amplification and all kinds of damage boosts, were each devastating.

By the time the fifth strike of Weakness Amplification hit, Sage’s Whisper had been cast as well.

From that point on, the finale had escalated beyond “destruction”—it was overwhelmingly devastating.

Everyone was stunned.

Ma Dongho, a player so tough he was nicknamed the Iron Wall, was melting like ice cream.

His flesh was shredded like tofu and scattered in all directions, and blood rained from above like flower petals.

Crack!

Then came a thunderbolt.

Even Ma Dongho’s massive frame, seemingly immovable, was helpless under the lightning that struck his crown.

“Kuheok!”

Even while being struck down by Sanghyun, Ma Dongho had clenched his jaw shut with everything he had.

At that moment, the audience witnessed it. Clumps of red blood poured endlessly from his open mouth.

From beginning to end, Sanghyun had never been pushed back once by Ma Dongho, nor had he taken a significant hit.

Everyone had seen with their own eyes how a core member of a major guild had been completely demolished.

Unmeasurable.

The phrase Dokgo Yoon had uttered now echoed vividly in everyone’s mind, refusing to fade.

And they felt fear—so much that even trying to measure his power now seemed like an insult.

– Ahhh! The wall we thought would never fall is now crumbling before us! Player Ma Dongho…!

Yes, someone was dying on this very stage, and yet the commentator shouted even more excitedly.

That was the nature of this death match—and the very essence of this stage, thoroughly bound by survival of the fittest.

It wasn’t a place to mourn the death of a person.

It was a dazzling showtime where a winner had produced a clear and total loser.

It was simply a sport where one’s life was wagered, and Ma Dongho had merely lost.

‘I was too dull.’

So Hyeongjun blamed himself for not taking Sanghyun seriously, even though he had been aware of him all along.

He had always thought of Sanghyun as a noteworthy rookie.

But that was it.

He had assumed Sanghyun didn’t have the skill to dare challenge him—an assumption that had proven completely wrong.

What he saw of Sanghyun today was surely just the tip of the iceberg. There had to be more hidden abilities.

If they ever fought at full power, So Hyeongjun realized there were many things he had no idea how to counter.

‘Crazy bastard.’

Dokgo Yoon’s final evaluation was even more concise.

And it reflected his personality well—he rarely used flattering words.

For someone like Dokgo Yoon, who had held such hostility toward Sanghyun, this was a conclusion he’d never wanted to admit.

A new figure had appeared—someone capable of cracking his belief that, under the skies of Korea, he alone reigned supreme in swordsmanship.

Thud! Thump!

Ma Dongho collapsed forward without strength—and he never got back up again.

In truth, even before his body hit the ground, Ma Dongho was already dead. He had died from shock due to blood loss.

– Death Match! The result predicted by every gambler across the globe—Player Ma Dongho’s victory—has been completely overturned!

– Could there be a more dramatic outcome than this? Did you see it? The winner is Player Shin Sanghyun!

– The blood flowing from him does not belong to him! It is the blood of glory, stolen from his enemy!

– Everyone, turn your gaze to the victor! An upset has occurred!

So fervent was the commentator’s voice, praising Sanghyun with veins bulging in his neck, it bordered on madness.

Every gaze in the arena was now fixed on Sanghyun—as if hypnotized.

In that moment, So Hyeongjun and Dokgo Yoon were sure of it.

Do Kyungsoo, So Hyeongjun, Dokgo Yoon, Jeong Heeseon, Kang Boah.

To this five-way battle between Korea’s top named swordsmen, a new rookie would soon be added.

That rookie—was none other than Sanghyun.