Artifact-Devouring Player

Chapter 193: Twisted Future - (4)

In truth, there were many things Sanghyun wanted to talk about with Park Jungmin.

The Park Jungmin he remembered from his previous life had always been a passionate reporter present at the scene of every big scoop.

He had a wide network that included various promising rookies, rising stars, and well-known figures, and he was trusted by many.

Of course, the fact that he had suddenly vanished one day, as if he had evaporated, was a bit of a mystery.

However, the disappearance of a Player was not unusual, as accidents in dungeons or gates happened quite often.

It was sad and unfortunate, but Sanghyun had moved on, thinking Park Jungmin must have gone missing due to an unexpected accident.

In other words, his memories of Park Jungmin were only filled with good things, with nothing questionable at all.

But now, the Park Jungmin in front of Sanghyun’s eyes was the most cowardly and insidious person in the world.

To think he was even one of the Constellation Devourers! That meant he was a member of the Devourer Network.

In that case, it was likely he had been involved when Tory came to kill him before.

And it also suggested that Park Jungmin might have had a considerable hand in the Player disappearance incidents that had occurred domestically.

The puzzle pieces behind those mysterious disappearances were starting to fit together.

Normally, Constellation Devourers consumed Players without a trace, leaving no evidence behind.

‘Looks like he charged in relying on his control abilities, but now that it’s not working, he’s switching straight to defense.’

Sanghyun gave a wry smile as he looked at Park Jungmin, who was obsessively keeping his distance.

He thought Park Jungmin might rush in emotionally, unwilling to miss a chance, but the man was surprisingly rational.

Park Jungmin kept glancing back and forth between himself and Marlos.

There was a clear intention in Park Jungmin’s gaze to use Marlos as a useful card in this situation.

‘Wouldn’t be bad to broaden the battlefield here.’

From this probing skirmish alone—

He had calculated that he could clearly overpower Park Jungmin in a head-on confrontation.

The biggest factor was that most magic skills didn’t work properly against him due to the Path of Magic Resistance.

However, Park Jungmin had more evasion and escape skills than expected.

He even had position-switching skills that didn’t suit a magician at all.

Seen from another angle, it meant he had undeniable proof of being a Constellation Devourer.

He must have stolen those abilities from the Constellations of other Player contractors he had devoured.

Just like how ‘The Arrogant Empress of the West’ was now bound to Sanghyun.

Sanghyun slightly lowered his sword to show he had no intent to attack for a moment.

Then, he spoke.

“Park Jungmin.”

“Trying to negotiate or something?”

The voice that returned wasn’t the one Sanghyun used to know.

It was creepy, sinister, and full of deceit—like he was intoxicated with victory.

“When did you start living as a Constellation Devourer?”

“I’m starting to think it might be wiser to ask when I started pretending to be normal instead.”

“Fine. Then let me ask you that way.”

“To me, being a reporter was just a socially acceptable mask. I could work openly, dig deep into someone’s life…”

“Because you were a reporter, everyone thought that was normal. So, you adapted your profession to fit your Devourer traits.”

“Exactly. Asking about someone's unique ability or skill never seemed impolite.”

“And as you became more famous, people probably revealed things without you even needing to ask.”

“That’s it.”

“Made it easier to decide who to consume and who to discard, I suppose.”

“Yeah! That’s how I’ve been eliminating the tasty ones. But more than any of them, you…”

“You wanted to eat me, is that it?”

“Yeah! It was so damn hard hiding that desire and pretending to be a reporter in front of you. Heheh.”

“Looking at your face now, it does seem like that was painful for you. You look so relaxed now, so at ease.”

Sanghyun thought to himself.

Unexpected variables like Park Jungmin would start appearing far more frequently from now on.

Even this rift he encountered today wasn’t something from his memories.

And didn’t Park Jungmin also return to the past without ever knowing he was such a hidden threat?

In the future, new people or places he encountered might reveal unexpected truths like this all the time.

Even someone like Jerron Decay might turn out to be an unexpected variable Sanghyun couldn’t have foreseen.

It might sound extreme, but perhaps even someone like the Goddess of Luck could turn out to be a Constellation manifesting on Earth.

“I’ve confirmed that you have an Artifact that can compensate for your dependency on skills. And while you’re extremely aggressive…”

“You’re the kind that’s hard to chase down when you make up your mind to run.”

“Keheheh, right. But now, maybe you should watch your back.”

Park Jungmin pointed behind Sanghyun with a triumphant expression—at Marlos, who was getting to his feet.

Marlos, whose stamina had recovered in the meantime, tilted his head and looked ready to charge.

His target was clear.

Sanghyun.

Even though Park Jungmin stood beyond him, Marlos didn’t spare him a single glance.

“Let me say just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“That delicious control ability you have—I'll be taking it and putting it to good use.”

“What?”

“That’s it. You can hear the rest when you’re dead—or kill me and then hear it!”

Sanghyun immediately began charging toward Park Jungmin.

Of course, since he couldn’t use any skills, it was a straightforward charge relying solely on his physical abilities.

However, there was one difference from before.

Fwaap.

A very subtle ripple in space—visible only to Sanghyun—briefly shimmered in the air.

It was a faint change that neither Marlos nor Park Jungmin noticed.

But a slight smile formed on Sanghyun’s lips, who had already cut off the starting point of Park Jungmin’s trap perfectly.

Meanwhile.

‘Easy, too easy. I may not be able to overpower him, but if I use Marlos well, the game’s already won.’

Park Jungmin was quite satisfied with how the situation was flowing according to his own strategy.

He had long since figured out illusion-type skills like Sanghyun’s illusion arbitration.

And he had already sealed them off well with his control.

There was no way to overcome control. The only downside was that it consumed a lot of mana, but Park Jungmin was a magician with strong mana reserves.

That was because he had killed many Players and bound their Constellations, acquiring considerable abilities in the process.

In fact, the majority of the Players he had consumed were mages, which played a big role.

‘What does he think he can do with that?’

It was true that Sanghyun was approaching him at a considerable speed even without using any skills.

But there was a limit to the speed one could reach with physical ability alone. So Park Jungmin felt no tension.

‘As long as I line up myself, Marlos, and Shin Sanghyun in a straight line, it’s enough.’

Park Jungmin analyzed the situation calmly, and his thinking was spot on.

As long as he lined up himself and Sanghyun on a straight path—

No matter how fast or nimble Sanghyun was, he would end up colliding with Marlos first.

Since Marlos didn’t appear to be just a regular monster, once Sanghyun got seriously injured—

He’d disappear from Marlos’s attention, and Park Jungmin could simply return and devour Sanghyun.

A perfect plan!

Fsst. Fssst!

Park Jungmin used his movement skill to continue adjusting his position.

Even though Sanghyun tried zigzagging or making unpredictable moves to confuse his field of vision—

It was all meaningless.

‘He’s underestimating me too much. If I were that dull, do you think I could have devoured so many Constellations?’

Park Jungmin felt an indescribable sense of superiority toward Sanghyun.

He had killed Ma Dongho with his own hands and stirred up a great deal of controversy. Wasn’t Sanghyun even a promising talent acknowledged by Do Kyungsoo?

Yet he was now maneuvering that very person to his liking.

Even the flow of events was playing out exactly as he calculated!

What did that mean?

‘It means I’ve always been a better Player than Shin Sanghyun. The guy just had good luck, that’s all!’

It meant that he believed he was far superior to Sanghyun.

His heart pounded, and euphoria surged through him.

A grand scheme he had prepared for a long time by observing Sanghyun!

And now, the final piece of the puzzle was about to fall into place. All variables had been eliminated.

At that moment—

As Sanghyun sprinted right up to his face, and Park Jungmin prepared to use a backward movement skill with a calm demeanor—

Kuaaaah!

Marlos lowered his solid head, fully ready to charge at Sanghyun.

Everything was going according to plan!

Park Jungmin began deploying a defensive skill just in case.

If Sanghyun, after crashing into Marlos, were to be flung in his direction, he’d just deflect him and dodge accordingly.

But then—

Fssht!

“…?”

Sanghyun vanished.

It wasn’t an illusion, nor was it a mistake.

He disappeared right before Park Jungmin’s eyes and reappeared at the edge of his vision.

In other words, he had returned to his position from before the charge.

“Ah…?”

Park Jungmin gasped at the completely incoherent scene he was witnessing.

What Sanghyun had just used was clearly a spatial movement ability.

But to use that kind of ability, one absolutely needed a skill.

And that very skill was supposed to be sealed off completely by Park Jungmin’s control.

He quickly checked the status window, just in case—control was still active, and Sanghyun was still affected. Nothing had changed.

Yet Sanghyun had disappeared, and now Marlos’s target had changed to Park Jungmin himself.

“Hah.”

To be exact, Marlos had lowered his head, believing Sanghyun would be there, and was now charging forward with full force.

Park Jungmin’s defensive skill was indeed for defense, but it wasn’t nearly enough to withstand a monster like that.

At the same time—

[Safe Teleport]

[You can instantly teleport to a memorized location. After use, this ability cannot be reused for 24 hours.]

Sanghyun checked the effect of his unnamed sword’s unique ability that had just activated.

Safe Teleport.

It was a precious effect that could only be used once per day, but in a situation like this, it was worth using without hesitation.

If he just took Park Jungmin down, the status ailment from control would be lifted anyway.

As expected—

Thwack!

“Graah!”

Marlos, filled with explosive hostility originally aimed at Sanghyun, slammed his head directly into Park Jungmin.

At that moment, Park Jungmin’s concentration was completely shattered—more precisely, he didn’t even have the presence of mind to maintain it—and his control ability was instantly lost.

“Whew.”

The influence of the control that had functioned like a shackle was annoying and tricky enough that Sanghyun felt noticeably lighter now that it had been broken.

Sanghyun felt this anew.

One should never be arrogant in thinking they understood all the status ailments in the Player world.

He was lucky to have the right tools and methods to deal with it—otherwise, he would have already become a ghost by now.

But enough reflection.

Now it was time to properly collect compensation for nearly getting stabbed in the back.

It was time for skill copy.