Debuff Master

Siegfried placed Carell in the medic’s care and immediately went to meet Lieutenant General Overlock.

“Welcome, Lieutenant Colonel Sieg! So, did you manage to finish—” Overlock greeted with excitement.

However, Siegfried cut him off and said, “Please prepare the Warp Gate.”

“Hmm? Warp Gate? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Lieutenant Commander Carell is dying.”

“What?! Lieutenant Commander Carell is what?! Was the rescue operation that fierce—”

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“No, that was not the case.”

“Hmm?”

“There was a rat among us.”

Siegfried immediately explained what Pyo Cheol-Ju and his gang had done.

“What?!” Overlock shouted in anger. His face slowly turned red in fury as well before he exclaimed, “They dare ambush and kill their own allies? They even tried to kill you as well! Ha! I know they’re Adventurers, but how can they be so despicable when they’re also uniformed soldiers?!”

“There are many of them out there. Something like this isn’t so rare,” Siegfried replied.

“I will immediately arrange for them to be put on the hit list. I will not simply let this matter slide! This is not a simple matter of military law or discipline but a blatant attack against our kingdom! How dare they commit such atrocious crimes while hiding amongst us! Lieutenant Colonel Sieg, don’t worry, I will immediately form a squad from our kingdom’s Order of the Knights of Punishment and...”

The Knights of Punishment were an order of knights established by each country on the Nürburg Continent to hunt down and punish Adventurers who had committed serious crimes.

“Do you really think that they haven’t thought of that? I am pretty sure that they have taken that into consideration before committing to their plans. I am certain that they planned to strike it big and relocate to the other side of the continent to avoid being caught,” Siegfried said.

“Ehem…” Overlock faked a cough in embarrassment.

“I will take care of it, so please do not concern yourself with them, sir.”

“Alright, but I will still issue a warrant of arrest against them, so don’t concern yourself too much with them as well. Ha… anyway, is Lieutenant Commander Carell’s state that bad?”

“He is barely breathing.”

“That’s a huge problem! Lieutenant Commander Carell is someone I have been eyeing for a while now! I will immediately ask for a high-ranking medic to come from the capital and—” Overlock exclaimed.

However, he was interrupted by Siegfried once again. “No, sir.”

“I will take care of Carell, so please just open a Warp Gate to Mount Kunlun and prepare an airship for me,” Siegfried added.

“W-What are you talking about? What do you mean by Mount Kunlun? I have no idea why you want to go there of all places, but that’s simply too far! Lieutenant Commander Carell would have already passed away by the time you get there!”

“I have to go. That is the only way if we want Carell to survive.”

Lieutenant General Overlock tried to stop Siegfried out of concern, but he seemed like he wouldn’t change his mind at all.

‘I’m sure that Master will be able to save Carell,’ Siegfried deeply believed that Deus could save Carell even though the medic here had already asked him to prepare for the worst.

“Hmm… I’m sure that you have your own reason for being so adamant about it. Alright, I will make the necessary preparations for you to quickly and safely reach Mount Kunlun. Lieutenant Commander Carell is a precious asset of our kingdom as well.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Hoho! You are truly surprising.”

“Huh?” Siegfried was baffled.

“Most Adventurers would not be concerned about us, and they would never go to great lengths like you to save us. I have always felt that most Adventurers treat us like we are not even human beings to them…” Overlock pointed out the fact that most players had always been treating NPCs as just AIs rather than real humans.

“I could be just like them, but not with Carell. He is basically my disciple, and I also owe his father. He is one of the few people whom I must look after no matter what it takes.”

“Hoho! I had no idea that you were the type to get attached to people. Alright, I hope that you will be able to save Lieutenant Commander Carell.”

“Thank you.”

“But what is that Cryptid you brought? It’s my first time seeing that type of Cryptid…” Overlock changed the topic.

“It is called the Mother of the Colony,” Siegfried replied.

“Mother of the Colony?”

“This thing is…” Siegfried recounted his whole ordeal and every piece of information he came upon regarding the Mother of the Colony. Afterward, he passed the Memorize Monocle over to Overlock.

“As expected! So the Cryptids truly had a commander among them! No wonder they suddenly started using tactics and strategies, and the way they fought changed all of a sudden! But how did you even think of capturing this thing alive? Your mission was to just collect information, right?”

“I believe that we can cause great confusion among the Cryptids as long as we make proper use of this thing, so I decided to capture it…”

“H-How did you even think of something like that?! Is that even possible?”

“We won’t know for sure until we try. What do you think about locking it up and running some experiments for now? Perhaps something like a biological experiment or a biological experiment on a living creature. Maybe a biological experiment on a living breathing creature that could possess emotions…?”

“Oh! An excellent idea! This grueling battle of attrition might just come to an end if things go as you said!”

“I hope that will be the case…”

“Great work! Excellent job! I was right to place my hopes in you! Hahaha!” Overlock exclaimed and boisterously laughed.

It had been quite a while since he laughed so heartily. Of course, he was only able to laugh so freely since a sliver of hope to end this long and burdensome war had finally appeared in sight.

“It was well worth putting my trust in you. Thankfully, the troops who had to sacrifice themselves in this diversion operation didn’t die in vain…”

“I truly hope that will be the case,” Siegfried sincerely replied, and then a message popped up in front of him.

[Alert: You have successfully completed the Quest – ‘Investigate the Cryptid Greater Colony’!]

Lieutenant General Overlock handed Siegfried a golden check—a piece of paper made from a special type of metal—worth one hundred thousand gold and the ‘Book of Absorption: Chi’.

“Here, these are your rewards.”

“Thank you very much.”

“I will quickly prepare the Warp Gate to Mount Kunlun, so wait until first aid has been administered to Lieutenant Commander Carell.”

“Yes, I probably should.”

“Hoho, it would be great if Lieutenant Commander Carell survives this ordeal. It is too much of a waste for him to die just like that. I hope he recovers and blossoms into a wonderful young man.”

“Do you like Carell that much, sir?” Siegfried asked. He couldn’t understand why Overlock seemed to be obsessed with Carell.

That was only normal since Siegfried didn’t get to see Carell in action because he was busy infiltrating the Cryptid Greater Colony.

“Of course, he is one of the most promising officers I have seen in the past few years, and it is impossible not to look forward to what he is going to become since he is still very young.”

“Hahaha… Please do not worry about that. I will definitely save him as I myself do not want him to die. Then, I will take my leave now.”

“Get some rest. I will call you once everything has been prepared,” Overlock said.

Siegfried felt somewhat proud as he left Lieutenant General Overlock’s tent.

***

However, keeping Carell alive was not an easy task at all.

“I think it will be difficult to keep him alive unless we freeze him...” said the medic with a troubled look.

“What do you mean?” Siegfried asked.

“He is losing so much blood that his organs are already shutting down. We will not be able to stop his organs from decaying even with the best potions…”

“What do we propose we do?”

“A skilled Water Mage could freeze his organs, but that is a truly difficult thing to do because going even a little bit overboard could cause the organs to completely freeze up. Moreover, finding such a skilled Water Mage in the first place would be difficult as well…”

“I’ll try and look for one. I’m sure that there’s someone since we have a ton of Adventurers in this place,” Siegfried said.

“We will be able to extend Lieutenant Commander Carell’s life by then.”

“How much time do we have?”

“We have approximately six hours. Any longer than that will be a stretch for him.”

“Just wait for me. I will definitely return with a Water Mage,” Siegfried said. He immediately left the medical tent and went to Lieutenant General Overlock again.

“I will definitely help you!” Overlock exclaimed after hearing Siegfried’s request.

At that, Lieutenant General Overlock sent a notice and blasted announcements to the entire corps in search of a high-ranking Water Mage. Of course, there was no such thing as free lunch in this world, so a reward was necessary to move the Adventurers. The army would pay for it, so Siegfried didn’t have to spend a single penny from his own pocket.

“Lieutenant Colonel Sieg, we have found a high-ranking Water Mage and sent them to the medical tent. Why don’t you hurry up and go there as well?” Overlock said.

“Thank you very much,” Siegfried replied.

Fortunately, there was a high-ranking Water Mage within the army barracks.

‘Yeah, you can’t die here. Just hang in there. You will be as good as new as long as you can make it to Master…’ Siegfried thought. He clenched his fist and ran as fast as he could toward the medical tent.

He entered the tent and saw the Water Mage, but…

“Hmm?” he muttered in surprise when he recognized the Water Mage’s face,

‘Gosran-nim…?’

The high-ranking Water Mage they found was none other than Gosran.

***

Gosran…

She was the player who volunteered to become Siegfried’s manager at the Sohoca Ruins, and there was genuine camaraderie between them. She was a Frost Mage who specialized in water attribute magic.

[Gosran]

[Type: Adventurer (Player)]

[Level: 189]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Frozen Mage]

[Affiliation: 6th Corps, 2nd Infantry Division (B Rank Area)]

[Rank: First Sergeant]

[Title: Owner of the Cold, Lord of the Battlefield: Martial]

Siegfried used his Rune of Insight and saw that Gosran had grown quite a lot. Well, she had always been at a much higher level than Siegfried, anyway.

‘What business does Gosran-nim have here? And when did she level up so much…?’ Siegfried had to wonder.

He instantly recognized her, but he didn’t act as if he knew her because he was currently incognito using the Metamorphosis Mask.

“I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but…” Gosran muttered. She gathered water attribute energy in both hands and slowly injected it into Carell.

Sseuu…!

Gosran injected water attribute energy into Carell, and thirty minutes later…

“It’s done. Phew…!” Gosran said while wiping the sweat off of her forehead.

The fact that her character sweated meant that she had to exert a ridiculous amount of concentration to control her water energy.

“It felt like I would freeze his organs if I exerted a bit too much, yet it felt like there wouldn’t be any difference if I didn’t put in enough effort. It was a very tricky and difficult job to pull off. Anyway, the operation was successful, so his organs have stopped dying for now,” Gosran explained.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Siegfried expressed his gratitude.

“No problem, Sieg-nim,” Gosran said coyly.

Siegfried flinched for a split second when he heard the way she said ‘Sieg-nim,’ but he composed himself and replied in a manner that made it seem like he was meeting her for the first time.

“This guy is like my little brother, and he survived thanks to you. Thank you very much,” Siegfried said calmly.

“You are welcome. I am happy to be of help to Sieg-nim anytime,” Gosran said with a smirk.

“Hmm…?” Siegfried feigned ignorance.

However…

“Did you really think that you could fool me? You could fool anyone else but not me, Sieg-nim—no, Sieg-f-r-i-e-d-nim.”

“Heok!”

“Long time no see.”

‘How did she find out?’ Siegfried wondered, but he extended his hand in response.

“H-How did you notice?”

“I have my ways.”

“How? Is it the system? Or is it a skill?”

“That is a trade secret, so I am afraid I will not be able to tell you~ Hehe~”

“Haha…”

“You see, I can tell where and what Siegfried-nim is doing.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that…?”

“I am omnipresent you see.”

“C’mon, no way.”

“I’m serious. I have always been close to you, Siegfried-nim.”

“You sure know how to jest.”

“But it’s true…”

“…” Siegfried didn’t know what to say.

“Anyway, did you really plan to hide your identity even from me? How could you pretend to meet me for the first time like that? Ah… you really made me sad…”

“Because I have a lot of enemies,” Siegfried honestly answered without trying to hide it.

He felt sorry for having to pretend as if he couldn’t recognize Gosran, but he had his own reasons for doing so.

“I know, but I’m not your enemy,” Gosran muttered, seemingly disappointed.

“There are many eyes and ears here.”

“Is that so? Then…” Gosran hesitated for a moment before she meekly muttered, “Shall we go somewhere quiet?”