Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: The Long Road to Solitary Cultivation (7)
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Artifact names were usually given temporarily by their discoverers or owners. The lightning axe that Suhyun possessed probably had a fitting name among the other races as well. Most people named them intuitively to match the superpower they granted.
However, a few famous artifacts had distinct names attached to them. Whether due to the artifact's performance or the achievements of the user wielding it, artifacts with such names proved they were no ordinary items.
And this artifact had a very famous name.
‘Fishgut Sword…!’
It was a sword of moderate length—not too short like a dagger, nor as long as a longsword. It didn’t look particularly special at first glance, but Suhyun, who knew its true value, felt a chill run down his spine.
‘These mad bastards stole an artifact from the Chinese government?!’
The ability of that artifact was severance. It possessed an extraordinarily powerful cutting enhancement. In the future, a Chinese superhuman named Liu Xin would gain infamy wielding that very Fishgut Sword.
Considering the circumstances, it was highly likely that China had kept it in their possession all along. For some reason, it had fallen into another’s hands, and that person had come to a Korean city to offload it.
‘Impressive. Truly impressive.’
It wasn’t something Suhyun—who wouldn’t hesitate to clash head-on with the Chinese military if things went south—would normally say, but he was genuinely awed. No matter how good the money was, swiping an artifact managed by the Chinese government? That was playing with fire.
No matter how tightly they controlled information, once today was over, word of which artifact had surfaced would leak out. The moment they got wind of it, the Chinese government would come charging in like avenging furies. If the organizers didn’t want to die, they’d have to run.
In the future he’d seen, that Fishgut Sword would undoubtedly return to Chinese hands.
If Suhyun hadn’t been there.
‘Sorry, but I can’t let the Fishgut Sword slip away.’
It wasn’t just that it was Liu Xin’s signature weapon—there was another hidden secret to the Fishgut Sword. Suhyun had nearly died because of it. Knowing that, he couldn’t yield it.
Even if he had to paint this place red with blood, he’d take it.
Suhyun held back his twitching hand and waited. No matter how easy they seemed, he couldn’t afford to get careless. He ran endless simulations in his mind. How to steal it, how to get out with it.
‘I’ll wait. But… the organizers are being pretty blatant. They’ve got something hooked, huh.’
Suhyun sensed faint killing intent from behind him. No matter how well they hid their presence, they couldn’t fool his senses.
A sniper. The organizers had clearly placed them there in advance.
Even among superhumans, only a tiny fraction could block a sniper shot coming from a blind spot. If your head got blown off, even a superhuman was done.
If anything went wrong, the sniper hidden above would blow the head off whoever caused the commotion. This auction was worth that much.
“Alright, everyone. Thank you for waiting!”
The masked auctioneer appeared with a greeting, and mechanical applause scattered sporadically. No one cared about the auctioneer’s jokes. Everyone here had come for the artifacts.
“First up, a dwarf sculpture! From the dwarves of the northern lands! As you know, items from the north are hard to come by because of Russia and China. Starting bid: 30 million won.”
“Yawn.”
The man sitting next to Suhyun yawned openly. Everyone knew this was just the warm-up to hype the real artifacts.
* * *
“Pretty boring for a black market.”
“Can’t be helped. We’re here for the artifacts.”
Unofficial auctions like these on the black market had the advantage of a much wider range of items for sale. Anything that existed could be sold here.
But today’s items were all mundane, so they passed without much competition or went to immediate bids. Suhyun could hear the other participants murmuring lowly.
“Alright, now for the final item…….”
“!”
Everyone’s eyes snapped wide open. Savoring their attention, the auctioneer gestured smugly. Armed men wheeled out a case displaying a sword from the back.
“Sword-type artifact. Check it out.”
“What ability type is it?”
Hands moved busily. These weren’t naive folks. They naturally suspected it might be stolen goods and were trying to figure out its origin. Knowing that would let them weigh the risks against the rewards.
‘No info will come up.’
The Chinese government managed artifact information with ironclad secrecy—almost paranoid levels. They weren’t sloppy enough for the people here to uncover it on the spot.
“Thank you for waiting. This is the artifact.”
“What’s its ability?”
As if he’d been waiting for that question, the auctioneer drew the sword from its case and stepped up to a thick rock.
Slash!
The rock cleaved clean in one stroke. A low exclamation escaped someone’s lips.
–Severance type, at least A-rank or higher.
They were quickly reporting the info back to their connections. Suhyun observed the scene with a relaxed gaze.
“This is an extremely rare item of incalculable value. The lucky person who takes it home…….”
Thud!
“?!”
The lights in the auction hall went out all at once. As others panicked and looked around, Suhyun grasped the situation immediately.
Someone else was after the artifact too!
‘Damn, I had a feeling.’
He’d considered that such a prize might attract this kind of chaos, but actually happening left a bitter taste.
More variables meant more hassle. He’d planned to snatch it during the bidding and slip out……
‘But they sure managed to kill the power. Security wasn’t half-bad.’
Suhyun could have gone in guns blazing anyway and used future sight to exploit gaps, so he hadn’t bothered fixating on a blackout. The organizers’ defenses were tight enough that there was no need to waste energy on it.
But now the auction hall was plunged into pitch blackness. Whoever it was, they had some serious skills.
“Everyone freeze! Anyone who moves is an enemy!”
Caught off guard, the organizers dropped the pretense and bellowed savagely. To them, the artifact was as good as their life. A couple of lives meant nothing to protect it.
“Turn the lights on!”
“Power’s dead!”
“Damn it…….”
All their electronic gear was fried too. Suhyun realized the intruder had set off a small EMP.
Whoosh—
Flames ignited on the wall decorations. One of the superhumans had done it. A solid snap judgment for an emergency. It revealed the view around the case.
The auctioneer clutched the Fishgut Sword and frantically scanned his surroundings. Thanks to his shouts, the participants were all seated. But he couldn’t relax. That blackout was no accident.
Someone was targeting his artifact!
“You, you. Stand next to me. Kill anyone who approaches!”
“Yes!”
He looked like a cornered rat, eyes bloodshot as he whipped his head around. Hard to believe this was the same guy who’d been smoothly introducing items moments ago.
‘So, what’s your move, Mr. Intruder?’
Suhyun was the calmest one there. Realizing the Fishgut Sword hadn’t vanished yet, he waited leisurely for the intruder’s next play.
They probably hadn’t expected such a quick recovery of visibility after the EMP. Retreat, or try another attack?
The intruder shattered all expectations by materializing out of thin air.
‘Teleporter!’
A rare and unique superpower. The intruder was a teleporter. Suhyun now understood how they’d breached the tight security and triggered the EMP.
Dressed head to toe in black—like they favored the color—the intruder tossed water to douse the wall flames immediately after appearing.
Darkness returned. But the intruder had already locked onto the Fishgut Sword’s position.
‘I’ll take good care of it.’
Another teleport. The auctioneer was too panicked to even notice the appearance behind him. The intruder jabbed a tranquilizer into his neck.
“Urk…!”
The intruder reached for the Fishgut Sword in the collapsing auctioneer’s hand. But their fingers grasped only air.
“?”
It was dark inside, but she wore night-vision goggles. Blinking, she checked the auctioneer’s hand again. The hand that should’ve held the Fishgut Sword was empty.
“!”
Only then did she realize where it had gone. One of the seated participants held the Fishgut Sword.
‘How?!’
Her eyes met Suhyun’s. She couldn’t see his face behind the mask, but in that instant, she swore she saw him smirk.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Argh!”
“Help!”
The intruder had made things easier. While she appeared, doused the flames, and drew eyes, Suhyun had telekinetically snatched the Fishgut Sword. Then he knocked out all the superhumans.
All that was left was firing shots to stir chaos. The participants had been cowed by the organizers’ threats, but with gunfire and screams in the dark, they weren’t staying put.
At Suhyun’s fake shouts, they surged like a snapped taut string.
“Uh, uh…….”
The auctioneer who should’ve given orders was out cold. The other superhumans were down too. Guards couldn’t stem the fleeing crowd and got swept along.
Suhyun slipped out leisurely in the chaos, blending into the scattering masses and widening the gap. He let out a hollow chuckle. He almost owed this other thief a thanks. Making it this easy?
Plus, any factions hearing about this would peg the culprit as a teleporter and hunt accordingly.
“Hold it, right there.”
“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.”
As soon as he ducked into an alley, a voice called from behind. Suhyun replied calmly.
“Why not just hand it over if you’re grateful? Honestly, isn’t this a bit shameless? Crashing my setup and running off with it.”
“Getting called heartless by a thief is whatever, but I was after it first. You’re the one muddying my waters. I’m letting it slide since you helped. If you’d actually hindered me, I wouldn’t be this nice.”
His brazen attitude—like his face was made of steel—left the intruder dumbfounded.
“You should yield while I’m asking nicely. Didn’t you see my power?”
“I did. Teleportation.”
“I could teleport this blade to your throat right now.”
“You’re underestimating me. If you can, go ahead.”
From Suhyun’s nonchalant demeanor, the intruder realized he knew teleportation inside out. Teleporting a blade straight to his throat wasn’t feasible with her ability.
‘Can’t take the easy way, huh…….’
With that thought, she moved. She flung knives rapidly, teleporting them midair to disrupt Suhyun’s vision.
“Lacks killing intent.”
‘How?!’
Like he had eyes in the back of his head, he casually dodged and blocked, then aimed at her. She was stunned. And Suhyun still wore the mask from inside, with its narrow field of view. Dodging attacks like that?
Swoosh!
A bullet embedded where she’d stood moments ago. Suhyun smirked and spun a back kick.
Thud!
“Guh?!”
“Teleporting behind the opponent is a bad habit for teleporters.”
Suhyun’s prediction was spot-on: dodge, counter, and she’d try flanking via teleport. She tumbled back from the solid hit.
“Scared of killing while stealing? Interesting.”
‘This, this arrogant human…!’
Luiril ground her teeth inwardly. She’d never been so one-sidedly dominated. Against her, a teleporter, opponents always lost their breath and panicked.
‘Teleport again…!’
She staggered and attempted it, but nothing happened.
“Having trouble locking coordinates?”
He’d used the Ring of Confusion to halt her movement for a split second. Teleportation required instant coordinate calculation—fail that, and it wouldn’t activate. Suhyun grabbed Luiril’s throat and slammed her against the wall.
“Don’t try teleporting. At this range, snapping your neck is faster than you can activate.”