Debuff Master

“You’re not going to do it?” Cheon Woo-Jin asked, seemingly taken aback.

“Nope. You can go and do that quest yourself,” Siegfried replied nonchalantly.

“Why?”

“I don’t like the reward.”

“…”

“What the hell is a random box? Are you making fun of me? Do you really think I’m dumb enough that you can undercut me like that?” Siegfried grumbled.

The Autonika Workshop Random Box was exactly as the item name stated—a random box. An artifact manufactured by the Autonika Workshop would appear once the user opened the box.

As obvious as it sounded, the chances of good items coming out from random boxes were extremely small because they were RNG-based.

“What’s the problem with random boxes? The quest is not that difficult, so ten random boxes from the Autonika Workshop is pretty reasonable, don’t you think? You can earn at least thirty thousand gold if you just sell it in the market,” Cheon Woo-Jin retorted.

The random boxes from the Autonika Workshop were more of an entertainment, but the Autonika Workshop was still one of the top three workshops on the continent, so each random box would fetch at least three thousand gold in the market.

“And you can earn at least fifteen thousand gold if you use the boxes yourself and sell the artifacts, and that is the minimum, provided that the artifacts you get are all trash,” Cheon Woo-Jin added.

“It’s still a no for me.”

“C’mon, why are you so adamant in refusing this quest?”

“I know I look like this, but I’m expensive, you know? How dare you try and make me work for a measly thirty thousand gold.”

“…”

“You can either fork up more or find someone else to do it.”

‘Come on… You should fork out a bit more… You’re rich, so why are you so stingy?’

To be honest, the rewards weren’t that bad. They were actually pretty good. Siegfried just wanted to try his luck and get more out of Cheon Woo-Jin.

“C’mon, are you going to do this to your friend? Cut me some slack, will you?”

“I thought money was the only thing you have?” Siegfried retorted before saying, “And who’s your friend? I have no friends. I thought I heard someone say I had no friends? Oh, was it you?”

“…”

“Fifteen boxes. Otherwise, good luck,” Siegfried gave an ultimatum.

“Sigh… Alright, I’ll give you fifteen boxes, is that okay?” Cheon Woo-Jin sighed in resignation. He increased the rewards from ten random boxes to fifteen random boxes.

The back-and-forth bickering ended up in Siegfried’s victory.

[Alert: Quest Maker Cheon Woo-Jin has adjusted the quest rewards for the Quest – ‘Rowdy Northern Shores’ to fifteen ‘Autonika Workshop Random Boxes’!]

[Alert: Do you wish to accept the Quest?]

[Yes!]

Siegfried immediately accepted the quest.

Smirk!

He flashed a triumphant smile after successfully haggling with Cheon Woo-Jin.

“Tsk…! You’re too much. Just wait and see what happens later,” Cheon Woo-Jin grumbled.

“Aigoo~ You’re making me shake in my boots~” Siegfried replied sarcastically.

“Oh, right, I won’t take any responsibility for the rewards if it becomes a chain quest.”

“A chain quest?”

“Who knows, right? A quest can be quite spontaneous. We agreed on fifteen random boxes, so just deal with it if anything else comes up.”

“Fine,” Siegfried agreed to Cheon Woo-Jin’s terms without giving it much thought.

He knew that he would be pushing the envelope if he demanded more rewards for possible additional quests.

“Then, I will be off now,” Cheon Woo-Jin bid goodbye and left the throne room.

Smirk!

Siegfried couldn’t see it, but there was a wide smile on Cheon Woo-Jin’s lips when he turned around and started walking away.

***

Two hours later, Siegfried finally arrived at the northern port city, Masava, together with Hamchi, Seung-Gu, and Oscar.

Masava was a city-state that wasn’t affiliated with any kingdom. Their main industries were fishing and maritime transportation, so it was a trading port city with traffic consisting of thousands of ships.

However, the Masava Siegfried saw wasn’t what he had been imagining on the way here. There were only ten battleships out in the sea, and the other boats—such as fishing boats and transport ships—were anchored at the harbor. It looked as if all of them had gone on strike together or agreed to go on a vacation together or something.

'It does look like something bad is happening here,’ Siegfried muttered to himself.

Siegfried looked at his party members and said, “First of all, let’s go check in at the Intervention Hotel and then head toward the Mercenary Guild.”

“Yes, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu nodded.

“Your Majesty, I have somewhere I wish to drop by. May I go sort it out?” Oscar asked.

“You have something to sort out? Sure.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Then, I will see you later.” Oscar bowed before disappearing into an alley.

“Where is Dame Oscar going, hyung-nim?”

“How would I know?”

“I thought you knew everything, hyung-nim.”

“You think I’m a clairvoyant? Let’s just go and check in at the Intervention Hotel first. I have a feeling that we will be staying here for a few days,” Siegfried said as he headed toward the hotel.

***

“Hmm… Siegfried…”

The receptionist at the Mercenary Guild was looking at the license Siegfried had submitted.

“Silver III?” asked the receptionist.

“Well, yes…” Siegfried replied awkwardly.

“The other one is Silver I?” said the receptionist while looking at Seung-Gu.

Seung-Gu’s rank as a mercenary was higher than Siegfried, but that was only because Siegfried preferred to do personal quests rather than take quests from the Mercenary Guild.

“It’s a shame that both of you are just silvers, but we need all the help we can get because we are in a state of war. Alright, I wish you the best and hope you will do your best for this city,” said the receptionist with a shrug.

Then, a message popped up in front of Siegfried and Seung-Gu’s eyes.

[Alert: You have received the Quest – ‘Subjugate Pirates’ from the Mercenary Guild!]

The quest was pretty straightforward.

[Subjugate Pirates]

[Type: Repeatable Quest]

[Description: Subjugate the pirates attacking the harbor.]

[Progress: 0% (0/10)]

[Reward: 100 gold]

Siegfried and Seung-Gu immediately got into action after accepting the quest.

“Where are the pirates?” Seung-Gu asked.

“They will ambush you if you loiter near the harbor,” replied the receptionist.

“Thank you.”

Siegfried and Seung-Gu left the Mercenary Guild and headed toward the harbor where the ships were moored.

“What are you doing, hyung-nim?” Seung-Gu asked while tilting his head in confusion.

“What else? I’m wearing my mask,” Siegfried replied while putting on his Metamorphosis Mask.

“Why are you wearing a mask and covering your handsome face?”

“I told you. I have a lot of enemies, and I don’t think I can be considered handsome, though?”

“C’mon, how could you be not handsome? If you aren’t handsome, what am I? A squid?”

“I think you kind of look like one…”

“H-Hyung-nim…!”

“All right, shut up. Let’s get moving.”

After leaving the Mercenary Guild, they walked around for fifteen minutes when the sound of cannon fires reverberated.

Booom! Booom!

“It’s the pirates! The pirates are here!”

“Those bastards are coming!”

“Ambush! It’s an ambush!”

The soldiers and the Adventurers at the harbor busily moved about as they prepared to defend against the invading pirates.

“Geez… We just got here, but we have to fight already?” Seung-Gu grumbled. Of course, he still summoned his golems.

“It’s actually a good thing.” Siegfried smiled while holding his hammer.

***

The pirates' attack could only be described as ferocious.

The speedboats they were using, which were called ‘Aqua Runners’ easily avoided the cannonballs the Masavara Marines were shooting, and they effortlessly landed at the beach. Then, all hell broke loose as the battle descended into melee combat.

The problem was that the pirates weren’t a ragtag bunch of people. They were north islanders renowned for their combat prowess.

[Nordic Marines]

[They are known as the rulers of the sea, and they possess the renowned combat prowess of the Nordic tribes.]

[Type: NPC]

[Level: 110]

[Rank: Private]

[Class: Battle Warrior]

The Nordic Marines wore horned helmets, and they wielded axes, greatswords, hammers, and other menacing weapons. They quickly overpowered the Masavara Forces and the Adventurers.

“Ack!”

“These crazy bastards are tough! Watch out!”

“They’re too strong!”

“T-There are too many of them!”

The Masava Forces and the Adventurers couldn’t withstand the onslaught of the Nordic Marines, and they were now being pushed back.

The outcome wasn’t surprising at all. After all, the Nordic tribes were well known for their tenacity, and every single one of these warriors easily surpassed Level 100.

“Bwahaha! Look at these weaklings from the continent! Die! I—Warking—has come!”

The appearance of the two-meter-tall Nordic General, Warking, struck fear into the hearts of the Masavara Forces and Adventurers. Their morale decreased, and the tides of war swung even further in their enemies’ favor.

[Warking]

[General of the Nordic Marines]

[A skilled and powerful commander.]

[Level: 190]

[Type: NPC]

[Rank: Brigadier General]

[Class: Warhammer/War Buffer]

Warking was a Level 190 NPC, and he was wielding an enormous hammer with no trouble at all. As such, it was an understatement to say that he ‘crushed’ his opponents with his hammer.

Moreover, the Nordic Marines would gain a buff called ‘Bloodlust’ whenever Warking let out a shout, which further pushed the Masavara Forces back.

“That looks good,” said Siegfried the moment he spotted Warking.

Actually, he was staring at Warking’s large hammer.

[Frost Dragon’s Foot]

[A hammer infused with the breath of a frost dragon.]

[A magic hammer infused with powerful cold energy. It was crafted from the bones of a White Dragon.]

[Type: Blunt Weapon (Hammer)]

[Tier: Unique]

[Attribute: Water]

[Level Restriction: 140]

[Attack Power: 1,650]

[Durability: 28/30]

[Effects: Dragon Slayer, Creeping Chill, Stacking Chill.]

[Dragon Slayer: Deal 8% additional damage to dragon-type monsters.]

[Creeping Chill: Enemies are slowed upon being struck.]

[Stacking Chill: Freeze the enemy for one second after three consecutive strikes.]

The ‘Frost Dragon’s Foot’ Warking was wielding was very attractive in Siegfried’s eyes because Stunner’s durability was about to be exhausted. In addition, he leveled up a lot, so it was about time for him to use even more powerful weapons.

“Hey, Hamchi. Time to get up.”

“Kyu?! Why are you waking me up, owner punk!” Hamchi grumbled while rubbing his eyes. He was sitting on Siegfried’s shoulder.

“I need you to buff me.”

“Kyu? Why do you need it so soon?”

“I have my reasons.”

Siegfried looked at the Adventurers around him.

‘There are many people from Genesis here, so I will attract a lot of attention if I were to use my debuffs here,’ he thought.

He had just used his debuffs to wipe a raid party of the Genesis Guild not too long ago, so he had to be careful about using them around members of the Genesis Guild.

“Kyu! Alright!” Hamchi exclaimed. He then activated Give it your best! Go, Go, Go! and summoned his magical hamster wheel.

“Fight as you see fit, Seung-Gu, but don’t you dare die,” Siegfried warned.

“Yes, hyung-nim! I will fight to my heart’s content!” Seung-Gu replied enthusiastically before charging into battle with his golems.

Ddruu…! Ddruu…! Ddruu…! 

Meanwhile, Hamchi hopped into his magical hamster wheel and started to run on it.

[Alert: Your pet Hamchi has used his skill ‘Give it your best! Go, Go, Go!‘ increasing all your stats by 15%!]

Siegfried’s stats increased explosively after receiving the buff.

‘Shall we have a go?’ he thought as he confidently ran toward Warking.

***

“What is this little greenhorn?” Warking said when a kid was suddenly picking a fight with him while he was busy showing off his strength.

“An anchovy like you dares to wield the weapon of true men?! I will teach you a lesson and show you that not everyone has the right to wield hammers!” Warking growled in anger at the scrawny Adventurer.

Siegfried was actually pretty well-built at 75 kg and 181 cm both in the game and in reality, but he was nothing more than an ‘anchovy’ in the eyes of Warking.

The Nordic General found it laughable that a mere anchovy was wielding the weapon of true men—the hammer.

A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

‘Bring it on! I’ll smash you to a pulp in one fell swoop!’ 

Warking prepared to swing his hammer and crush the little greenhorn.

Bam!

“Heok…!”

However, when their two hammers collided, Warking almost let go of his Frost Dragon’s Foot. His hand immediately went numb the moment it made contact with the greenhorn’s hammer.

‘How is this anchovy so strong?!’ Warking couldn’t believe it.

Unfortunately, that was his final thought.

Puuuk!

A spear pierced his abdomen…

Sukeok!

And a sword chopped off his head…

Thud… Roll…

Warking’s severed head rolled on the harbor.

The skill that severed the mighty Warking’s head in a single move was none other than Quick Draw.