Chapter 140

『Counter Veil』

■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)

■ Skill Description: Creates a veil that perfectly counters one of the opponent’s skills.

To activate the Counter Veil, 100 stamina must be consumed, and its duration is 0.4 seconds.

The Counter Veil can counter only one skill projectile. However, if the counter is successful, no damage is taken.

‘It perfectly counters it. So it’s a 100% counter. It doesn’t just reduce the damage—it completely returns it.’

Sanghyun’s eyebrows twitched.

It was a very useful skill.

Of course, since its duration was only 0.4 seconds, it couldn’t be pre-activated and maintained in advance.

True to its name, the veil must be timed precisely to intercept the attack.

‘It can respond to both melee and ranged attacks. If I time it right, I could even counter high-damage skills like my Blade of Ruin.’

He ran through multiple scenarios in his head. But one uncertain aspect remained: proficiency.

It seemed to require considerable practice.

Even now, he could likely use it instinctively, but achieving perfect timing would take time.

‘Back in my past life, when I awakened the ability to devour Artifacts late, I used to wonder how amazing this skill might be.’

Now, it was beyond his imagination.

Even though he already possessed plenty of skills, their number kept increasing.

Or they were synthesized into stronger skills for various reasons, or re-forged through skill enhancement.

What was even scarier—

Every time he consumed a valuable Artifact going forward, he would likely gain more skills thanks to the Constellation’s benefits!

‘Like that lonely healing skill—I made it but haven’t even properly used it yet.’

A laugh, tinted with happy frustration, escaped his lips. It wasn’t a lack of skills causing concern—but an excess of them.

It was the kind of worry that, if confessed openly to other Players, would earn him a few stones thrown his way.

Sssk. Sssk. Sssk.

Sanghyun immediately slipped the rings onto his fingers.

The ring names were pretty simple.

Frozen Blue, Frozen Red, Frozen Green Ring. Named after the colors of the embedded gems.

Since he had acquired them by killing Frozen Mages, the options were identical.

Each one provided 5% increased freezing resistance and an additional 100 mana.

That totaled to 15% freezing resistance and 300 extra mana.

‘Mana 1,090. How is it that a swordsman has more mana than stamina? Isn’t this crazy?’

It felt like watching a physical-type magician. An impossible sight for a swordsman Player.

His stamina stat hadn’t even reached 1,000 yet, but his mana had already soared past it!

Still, it didn’t feel excessive. That’s how many mana-consuming skills he had.

Conditional skills with 100% effects, like Full Summon and Absolute Freeze, required 500 mana each.

With his current mana, he could only use them twice before having to wait for recovery.

‘Anyway, I’ve wrapped up Phase 1 and Phase 2 swiftly. Good. I gained a lot.’

Feeling pleased, Sanghyun headed toward the room assigned to him.

Since the undead army had been driven out and the royal palace seized, they now had access to its rooms.

Do Kyungsoo had decided to take a full day’s rest before tackling Phase 3, so everyone was heading to their rooms one by one.

Sure enough, after a full day on the battlefield, fatigue caught up. While not deeply, he did want to close his eyes.

* * *

The quiet royal palace.

Most of the players from the Sword Demon–Sword God team, worn out from the battle, fell asleep as soon as they entered their rooms.

But thanks to Sanghyun’s contributions, Lee Gah Hee and Jung Junhyuk had managed their stamina well and were still wide awake.

Maybe that’s why Gah Hee was now having tea time with Junhyuk, mixing coffee in hot water in his room.

The subject of their conversation wasn’t themselves, but Sanghyun, who was deep asleep.

Gah Hee asked Junhyuk,

“What did you think about today’s battle?”

“Honestly, it was kind of scary. Sanghyun knew everything. I kept wondering—how did he know?”

“I felt the same. Judging by Do Kyungsoo’s reaction, it didn’t seem like even the Sword Demon–Sword God team knew the strategy.”

“It was too detailed to be called foresight.”

“I think Sanghyun must have a very capable information source.”

“Maybe he got top-tier information from Hyunjeong Corporation, where he recently signed a sponsorship deal.”

“Right. This kind of knowledge isn’t something you get from ordinary intel networks. He knew everything about the dungeon.”

Gah Hee’s sharp (?) reasoning missed the mark entirely.

No one would ever suspect regression. It was only natural for her to think this way.

“More than just information, I was deeply impressed by Sanghyun’s fearlessness in one-on-one combat.”

Junhyuk clenched his fist tightly, recalling Sanghyun’s magnificent performance.

As a magician Player, it was the ideal form of a swordsman that he had always admired.

The dignity of a swordsman who didn’t fear facing many opponents alone, charging right into the middle of the battlefield!

Especially during the early part of Phase 1, when he killed the Frozen Mage at the very start, gaining momentum.

He had trembled from the thrill rising up from his toes.

It was clear that this initial domination had heavily motivated the Sword Demon–Sword God team as well.

Gah Hee also shared her thoughts.

“I was amazed by Shin Sanghyun’s strange recovery ability and his high stamina. Not to mention his mental strength.”

“You said healing didn’t work on him, right?”

“Yes. It was a situation where he was clearly exhausted, but he recovered completely while killing Ghouls.”

“Was it like vampirism?”

“That thought crossed my mind too. But it’s not like he was sucking the Ghouls’ blood or anything.”

“Well, that’s true, but...”

“It’s mysterious, isn’t it? And his stamina is almost at 1,000. That doesn’t match his level.”

“……That’s insane.”

“If I threw out all my preconceived notions about levels, I’d honestly believe he was a level 300 or 400 swordsman.”

“I agree. His capabilities aren’t what you’d expect from a level 160 swordsman based on averages.”

“Same here. Honestly, the whole time it felt like Sanghyun was laying the groundwork for every fight.”

“I felt that way too.”

A comfortable battle.

It was a strange phrase, but it described exactly what Gah Hee and Junhyuk had experienced with Sanghyun.

It was practically the first time they only had to focus on their own roles during a battle.

Lee Gah Hee, a pure healer, had switched to a battle healer because healing alone had become insufficient.

Junhyuk had started training brutal self-sacrificing skills like Mana Amplification and Attribute Amplification for similar reasons.

In team battles, if he didn’t perform beyond his standard strength, unexpected variables often arose.

But with Sanghyun, that wasn’t the case. In fact, there was nothing left for them to do.

They had only overextended themselves because they felt like they had to do something—there was no pressure to do so.

“I really want to match our teamwork more, but it’s a shame we’ll be split up from Phase 3.”

“Today won’t be the only opportunity. Let’s make another chance next time. I think you and I work well together too.”

“Yeah. But I don’t think the puzzle will fit without Shin Sanghyun.”

“I think so too. Let’s definitely get the three of us together again. I’ll find us a good dungeon.”

“Sounds great!”

The conversation ended with nothing but talk about Sanghyun, even though he wasn’t present.

It was a quiet, unspoken ‘crush’ from other skilled individuals who had fallen for Sanghyun’s abilities and brilliance.

* * *

3 a.m., when nearly everyone was asleep.

As if prearranged, Sanghyun and Do Kyungsoo both woke at the same time and moved the morning briefing ahead of schedule.

In truth, the briefing needed by the other team members had already been done. They’d discussed things before even entering the dungeon.

The only reason Kyungsoo had called Sanghyun was because the only ones who could see the end of this phase were the two of them.

Just Sanghyun and Kyungsoo.

As he had when meeting Han Hyunjeong previously, Sanghyun was served mana coffee by Kyungsoo as their conversation began.

“You probably know why our team failed to clear Phase 3.”

“You said it was a timed challenge, and everyone was forcibly ejected from the dungeon for exceeding the time limit.”

“Right. Phase 3 begins at the ‘Altar of the Defeated,’ and the moment we cross its boundary, a debuff is applied.”

The debuff—Scorn of the Defeated.

It occurs the moment you pass through a snow-covered area on the way to the snowy mountain where the Altar of the Defeated lies.

You’re given a five-hour time limit, and if you don’t defeat the boss monster within that time, everyone gets kicked out.

It’s a debuff that heavily disadvantages the attackers. It causes panic, too.

“According to the documents I received in advance, the entrance to the snowy mountain isn’t too problematic.”

“Yeah. The issue is the relentless interference that continues as you ascend toward the altar at the mountain’s summit.”

“If you’re willing to share, could you tell me the current best record for this phase?”

“We got to the mid-slope of the snowy mountain right as the time ran out. That was a case where we got lucky.”

“And that was despite using an optimized strategy?”

“Yeah. Both Sihoo and I concluded that it’s practically impossible to optimize any further.”

“There’s actually a way to reduce the time delay.”

Sanghyun smiled as he spoke.

Even Do Kyungsoo wasn’t invincible, so it was only natural for him to struggle under the hail of magic and arrows.

But what if that interference could be nullified to the maximum extent, while still maintaining mobility?

They’d be able to secure much more time.

The reason Kyungsoo had failed to beat the record until now was because he had killed the mages and archers that interfered.

But what if he didn’t kill them?

What if he ignored them and simply pushed forward, leaving them behind? The time saved would be significant.

“Do you have a solution?”

“Yes, coincidentally.”

Sanghyun nodded.

The skill he had just acquired—Counter Veil—was a perfect solution for a situation like this.

Since it couldn’t be explained without mentioning the skill, Sanghyun decided to be honest with Kyungsoo.

“It requires some timing, but I have a skill that allows me to counter an enemy’s skill.”

“You wouldn’t lie in a serious situation like this.”

“Haha. If I had time to joke, I would’ve done it already. It needs practice, but the method exists.”

“Can I see a demonstration?”

“I was actually about to ask for your help with that.”

Sanghyun stood up from his seat.

Kyungsoo also had a few projectile-type skills.

Among them, the most straightforward and visually noticeable was the skill ‘Great Offensive.’

It involved continuously firing sword energy at the enemy—an effective ranged suppression skill.

Kyungsoo stood up to follow Sanghyun and asked him,

“It’s fascinating. How do you always seem to have the perfect skill for the critical moment?”

This wasn’t just Kyungsoo’s question—every Player who had built a connection with Sanghyun wondered the same.

In today’s world, even having just ten specialized skills would get you labeled a skill-rich Player.

But Sanghyun was like an endless spring, always overflowing with new skills.

Why was that? Kyungsoo wanted to know.