Debuff Master

“Huh? Uncle?”

Siegfried recognized Yong Tae-Pung in a single glance.

“Long time no see!”

“Yes, it has been quite a while since we last saw each other.”

“How have you been?”

“I’m good,” Yong Tae-Pung replied with a shrug before asking, “What about you? I think you’ve been doing quite well! You’re quite hot these days! Hahaha!”

“Huh? Me?”

“All eyes are on you after you ranked first place and MVP in the first-ever war content. You even won the World’s Greatest Survival Tournament!”

It seemed that Yong Tae-Pung was keeping tabs on Siegfried.

It was a no-brainer that interest in him would skyrocket after the Constantine Civil War, as this was the second major event he placed first in.

Frankly speaking, anyone half-serious with BNW knew about Siegfried, and they would have heard of him even once, even if they did not care about him.

“Haha…”

“And you seem to have reached Level 230, too. Are you grinding hard in preparation to debut as a pro gamer?”

“Huh?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion. He shrugged and said, “No way, how can someone like me become a pro? I just came here to level up, that’s all.”

“Don’t you have plans to become a pro gamer?”

“Like I said, how can someone like me even dream of becoming one?”

“Ha?” Yong Tae-Pung grimaced before asking in response, “Why can’t you?”

“I mean, those kinds of things are reserved for the pros.”

“…?”

“Besides, I am not some masochist pervert who enjoys getting humiliated in front of a live audience. I prefer to just quietly play the game alone.”

“Don’t tell me…” Yong Tae-Pung muttered before he awkwardly smiled in disbelief and asked, “Do you really not have any idea how good you are? Or are you being sarcastic right now?”

“Huh? Sarcastic?”

“How can someone like you become a pro? Hey! Stop being so delusional!”

“Why… am I being delusional…?”

Siegfried was utterly at a loss. ‘I mean, I’m a bit good, but that’s only among newbies…’

He knew that he was good at the game after defeating those higher-ranked than him at the arena, but the thought of his skills being at a level where he could become a pro gamer never crossed his mind.

He believed that a pro gamer was innately born with talents, and that was not the only thing required. A BNW pro gamer had to have excellent gear, class, and many other things. In other words, a pro gamer not only needed skills but also money and luck.

Of course, Siegfried knew that he was blessed abundantly, but the pro gamers he knew of were beings that far transcended his current level.

He was not at the level where he could dare challenge them, and this was only obvious for him, who lived as a normal gamer his entire life.

“I know my place.”

“Your… place…?”

“The pro gamers are experts beyond my capacity, and someone like me won’t even last a few seconds against them.”

“Do you really think so?” Yong Tae-Pung said with a smirk before adding, “I believe that you’re already miles better than most pro gamers out there.”

“No way, that does not make any sense at all.”

“Hmm… This leads me to believe that you have no idea how good you are.”

“I think I do?”

“Then why are you saying stuff like you can’t become a pro gamer?”

“Because I can’t?”

Siegfried waved his hand in front of his face and said, “Please stop hyping me up just for the sake of it, uncle.”

“Ha!” Yong Tae-Pung scoffed in disbelief.

‘Does he really have no idea, or is he just playing dumb with me right now? He is more than ready to become a pro gamer with his current skills. What is this kid talking about?’

Yong Tae-Pung was extremely baffled at Siegfried’s lack of self-confidence, but he would never understand that the realm of pro gamers was not something that Siegfried, who lived as an unfortunate victim his entire life, was going to be able to even dream of challenging.

‘Hmm… He’s probably just hiding his claws right now. What a cunning fellow…’

In the end, Yong Tae-Pung came to the conclusion that Siegfried was probably preparing to debut as a pro gamer, but he was simply acting dumb to hide his plans.

“Ahem… Anyway, I’ll just leave it at that since you say so. You said you’re here to level up, right? Is this your first day?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Ah… That’s too bad…”

“Why?”

“I would’ve given you a bus ride[1] if you finished the entry-level quest at least.”

“Entry what quest…?”

“You have to clear certain conditions first before being able to enter the higher-ranking dungeons in the Great Rifts.”

“Oh?”

Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawℝead.com ].

“Hmm… Should I help you? I’ll put you on a bullet train instead of a bus if you promise to join our guild after…”

“No, thanks.”

Siegfried immediately shot down the offer.

“I am grateful for the offer, but I will have to refuse it.”

“But you’ll grow stronger much faster this way?”

“I like physical labor, so…”

“Are you sure it’s not because you don’t want to join our guild?”

“How did you know?”

“Tsk… Too bad, then…” Yong Tae-Pung clicked his tongue and grumbled.

‘Sigh… This old man is too clingy. I should maintain my distance from him from now on…’ Siegfried thought.

He found Yong Tae-Pung to be quite burdensome as he did not want to be under anyone else. It was much better for him to continue being the King of Proatine and guild master of the Head Crusher Guild instead of being a grunt in someone else’s guild.

“Just let me know if you need my help then.”

“That will not be necessary.”

“Haha… You’re too cold…”

“Then, I will get going now.”

Siegfried bowed to the living fossil of the gaming world, Yong Tae-Pung, before heading his way to receive the entry-level quest from the NPC.

***

“Welcome.”

Siegfried was greeted by the knight in charge of the Great Rift here.

“It is an honor to meet Your Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa.”

“Thank you for your warm welcome.”

“What brings Your Majesty here today?”

“I heard that I will need permission to hunt in the Great Rift, so…”

“Ah! Your Majesty must be here to receive the quest related to Dimensional Resistance!”

“Huh? Dimensional Resistance?”

This was Siegfried’s first time hearing such a term.

“The Great Rifts are different from ordinary dimensional rifts. The time and space within a Great Rift are quite different from the time and space we know of, thanks to the dimensional storm frequently brewing in it. Anyone that does not possess resistance to this will…”

“They will…?”

“Have their body twisted and folded countless times until they die, or there were some severe cases where the distortion in time and space swallows them whole; they’ll never be able to return.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“Unfortunately, I am. Were you not aware of this, Your Majesty?”

“Haha… I am not that educated, so…” Siegfried replied while awkwardly scratching the back of his head. He had no information whatsoever regarding the Great Rifts, as this was a place he would not have dared to venture anywhere near in the past.

“What should I do to increase my Dimensional Resistance, then?”

“Your Majesty currently does not possess any resistance, so you may not enter even the lowest dungeon in the Great Rift. You will need to have at least a little bit of resistance to enter.”

“So what should I do?”

“We will lend you an artifact that will give you this little bit of resistance, but…”

“It’s not going to be for free?”

“Hahaha…”

“What should I do to borrow that artifact?”

“The vegetation in the forest west of the Great Rift has mutated due to the dimensional energy leaking from the Great Rift…”

The knight explained the conditions he had to fulfill, or rather, the quest he had to clear before he could borrow the artifact.

[Onwards! To the Great Rift!]

[Go to the Evil Forest located west of the Great Rift and gather 1,000 D-rank dimensional energy fragments!]

[Reward: C-rank Dimensional Energy Crystal (Cannot be traded) + Dimensional Talisman]

“Huh? We can’t trade dimensional energy fragments?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The fragments are quite volatile, so there have been quite a few cases where they have disappeared or exploded, which is why they need to be handled with care. Please remember to store them in your inventory as soon as you obtain them, and you should never trade them with someone else.”

“How come?”

“There have been cases where the energy stored in the fragments mutates or simply dissipates while being transferred from one inventory to another.”

“Oh?”

“So please handle them with care, and I hope that you will be able to gather all of the required D-rank fragments.”

It seemed that the dimensional energy fragments were soulbound items.

“Too bad…”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?”

“I would’ve just bought them from others…”

“Haha… Many people had the same idea as you, Your Majesty.”

“Anyway, I’ll go and collect the fragments you require,” Siegfried replied as he accepted the quest.

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest – Onwards! To the Great Rift!]

He headed toward the Evil Forest located west of the Great Rift.

***

He arrived at the entrance of the Evil Forest and ventured deep into it.

“Kyu?” Hamchi popped up from Siegfried’s pocket with his ears perked up.

“Owner punk! Where are we? The air in this place smells like trouble!”

“Here? It’s the Evil Forest. Hey, what have you been doing this entire time?”

“Sleeping in your pocket while you’re running around is the best feeling ever! Kyu!”

“…”

“Your Hamchi’s mount. Remember that, owner punk! Kyu!”

Siegfried was speechless at Hamchi’s brazenness.

The giant hamster had gained quite a bit of weight in recent days, as there hadn’t been that much need for him to participate in battle.

‘No wonder my pocket felt heavier these days… Sigh… this lazy rat…’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly.

Boom!

Siegfried grimaced at the sudden loud noise.

“What was that? Did a bomb go off somewhere?”

“Kyu?”

However, the loud noises continued.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It sounded like thunder, and it grew louder and louder the deeper he ventured into the Evil Forest.

Flash!

In fact, even a bolt of lightning flashed where not a single ray of light could enter.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Siegfried could feel some sort of prickling static sensation all over his body.

‘Huh? What’s this?’ he wondered while he continued walking toward the source of the sound, but…

‘Eh? It’s a wasteland?’

He was surprised to find that quite a big chunk of the forest was razed to the ground as if a lightning storm had occurred over it, and there were remains of monster plants all over the ground as well.

‘Whatever that thing is… Is it sweeping everything in its path?’ he wondered while he followed the source of the sound.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound traveled quite fast.

‘Isn’t it just charging forward while laying waste to everything in its path?!’

He realized that whatever was causing the sound was rampaging through the forest like a bulldozer moving at incredible speeds.

‘I wonder who that is? Does it make sense for someone to be so strong?’

Siegfried ran after the source of the sound as his curiosity got the better of him. He ran for thirty minutes when he finally saw a man surrounded by a lightning current. He stood all alone in the field.

The man was completely surrounded by hundreds of plant-type monsters.

‘Should I help?’

The moment the thought crossed Siegfried’s mind…

Whoosh!

The man swung his fist.

Krwaaaaang!

And the sound of thunder echoed across the Evil Forest.

Fwaaaah! Fwaaaah! Fwaaaah!

The plant-type monsters were burnt to a crisp.

“…!”

Siegfried was shocked at what he witnessed just now.

“W-What the hell was that? How is he so strong?!”

The power the man displayed just now defied all sense of logic.

“Hmm? Oh, there’s someone else here? Hello!”

The man who had instantly defeated hundreds of monsters with a single swing of his fist waved his hand at Siegfried.

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

Ding!

[Alert: The Quest – Master’s Regret has been activated!]

The man who had swept across the Evil Spirit was none other than one of the descendants of the Grand Masters whom Deus had failed to defeat.

1. Bus ride is boosting in Korean gaming terms. ☜