Debuff Master - Chapter 1140
Chapter 1140
Thanks to Chae Hyung-Seok’s buffs, Siegfried managed to bring Betelgeuse and Daode Tianzun all the way to the Marchioni Imperial Army’s command center.
[Alert: You have cleared the Quest – Old Warriors Never Die!]
[Alert: Collect your reward from Emperor Stuttgart!]
Siegfried was now about to get his hands on an SS-Grade Stone of Transcendence, an item that granted the user a whopping twenty levels. Of course, the hassle was that he had to go back to Emperor Stuttgart to collect the SS-Grade Stone of Transcendence.
‘High-level quests and high-level dungeons are always a motherlode,’ Siegfried thought with a grin. Any gamer would agree that leveling up by huge chunks in a single go was about as sweet as it could get.
However, those happy thoughts didn’t last long.
‘But what do I do about them being brainwashed? It looks like the damage has already been done…’
Siegfried couldn’t help but feel deeply worried about Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse. He managed to barely rescue them before the brainwashing was complete, so he knew that it wouldn’t be easy for them to regain their senses.
Still, it was a relief that the brainwashing was still incomplete.
“Hey, you really got screwed over this time, didn’t you?”
Chae Hyung-Seok suddenly said something that was clearly out of place.
“Huh? What do you mean screwed over? By who? How?” Siegfried asked, blinking in confusion.
“Lee Geon called you out, no?”
“Ah, that? It’s annoying, but what can I do? We will just have to settle it by throwing punches or something. I’m not stressing over it.”
“I don’t think you’re in any position to be so chill, though?”
“What do you mean?”
“You got hit first. And really hard.”
“Huh? Me? Got hit by who?”
“You really took one hell of a blow this time, man.”
“What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean I took a blow?”
“Look, here’s the thing…” Chae Hyung-Seok started telling Siegfried what had happened while he was away. He recounted how Lee Geon and his fanatics had carried out terrorist attacks on Siegfried’s comrades.
“T-That son of a bitch!” Siegfried roared, clearly furious.
He could laugh off an attack on himself, but indiscriminate terror against the people around him was something that he couldn’t possibly tolerate.
However, Siegfried felt really enraged after hearing what Lee Geon had done to Daytona. No, rather than rage, he felt genuine hatred toward him now.
This was only natural. Anyone who played BNW would naturally form close bonds with NPCs. The NPCs in the game were so real that it was impossible not to get emotionally attached to them.
Thus, it was not uncommon for gamers to feel real heartbreak whenever they lost a beloved NPC. In fact, it had even gotten to the point where some psychiatric clinics offered special services for such gamers.
‘That bastard really crossed the line this time,’ Siegfried growled inwardly.
He would never take what Lee Geon had done to Daytona lightly. The psychological wound Lee Geon had inflicted on Daytona was, in Siegfried’s eyes, no different from murder.
Unfortunately, the incident occurred in a video game world, so there was no way to have Lee Geon legally punished.
Still, there was an unspoken rule among gamers about how they would not mess with someone else’s NPCs.
However, Lee Geon broke that rule without a shred of hesitation. He was someone who couldn’t care less about the rules if it meant getting the satisfaction he craved.
“How’s Daytona doing?”
“Daytona hasn’t logged in ever since that happened.”
“Damn…”
“And he won’t pick up his phone, either.”
“Ha…”
Siegfried let out a long sigh, as he couldn’t even begin to imagine how much pain Daytona was in.
“Well, I’m not really the type to get too attached to NPCs. But even then, I’d rather not mess with them if I can help it.”
“Ha! Don’t make me laugh. You tried to kill my wife and kid, too. Have you forgotten about that?” Siegfried scoffed.
“Fair point,” Chae Hyung-Seok replied with a shrug. Then, he continued, “But you and I had really bad blood back then. I wanted payback, so I did whatever it took.”
“Pfft!”
“But you and Lee Geon don’t even have any real bad blood, do you? And Daytona’s just an unrelated third party, right?”
“Well, yeah… you’re right about Daytona.”
“So yeah. Even I think he crossed the line this time.”
Even Chae Hyung-Seok, who had done his fair share of dirty deeds in the past, couldn’t help but shake his head at the things Lee Geon had done.
“Lee Geon definitely lives up to his name. The scale of his depravity is on a whole new level,” Chae Hyung-Seok added.
“Are you seriously impressed right now?” Siegfried growled.
“I mean, you kinda have to be a psychopath to pull something like that. I won’t be surprised if he gets stabbed to death somewhere. He’s just a total psycho piece of shit.”
“He’s going to pay for this. I’m going to make him pay.”
Siegfried’s eyes burned with hostility toward Lee Geon.
After what Lee Geon had done to Daytona, there was no way Siegfried could let Lee Geon go. Unless he paid him back a hundred times—no, a thousand times over, his rage would not be quelled at all.
***
First things first, Siegfried had to make sure Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse were stable. Then, he waited with them for the transport vessel that would take them to the Nurburg Continent.
He planned to entrust Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse to Dragon Lord Gerog. He believed that Gerog, as the Dragon Lord, was the only one who could break the brainwashing the Corals had put on them.
While waiting for the transport vessel to arrive, Siegfried headed to the marketplace to sell off the items he had acquired this time.
The Coral Ranger armors, regardless of their grade, came with a +10 skill level boost.
Unfortunately, none of them had skills that matched Siegfried’s skill set. Even so, the Coral Ranger armors were so good that Siegfried ended up making quite a profit off of them.
However, what he wanted the most was to find items that boosted his skills rather than making more gold. He especially wanted a Coral armor that boosted the skill level of Karma Flare, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find any that were for sale.
“Damn it…”
When the transport vessel’s arrival time drew near, Siegfried left the marketplace with heavy regret.
He had been combing the market every chance he got for days now, but he had yet to find a single item that he really needed.
“Let’s go, Hamchi.”
“Kyuuu! Let’s gooo!”
Just then, an Adventurer shouted, “Chestplate with Level 5 Touch of Death for sale!”
Siegfried stopped dead in his tracks.
‘What?! Level 5 Touch of Death?!’
The moment he heard that, Siegfried made a beeline straight toward the voice.
Even though it wasn’t Karma Flare, he couldn’t just ignore this opportunity. After all, Touch of Death was one of his most powerful offensive skills, his finisher and ultimate offensive attack skill.
Not many managed to remain standing after getting hit by Touch of Death, and he had never doubted its power ever since he first learned the skill.
Yet now there was a piece of armor that boosted its skill level by five?
‘I have to get that!’
This was the time for him to flex.
“Hey, I will buy that chestplate,” Siegfried approached and called out.
“Huh? You want this?”
“Yeah.”
“Just take it for the standard price, then. Market price.”
The Adventurer did not seem to know how much Touch of Death meant to Siegfried, so he just offered it at market price.
In truth, an armor that provided five skill levels was fairly common, so the market price for such items wasn’t that high.
“Thank you.”
Siegfried bought the Coral Royal Chestplate that boosted Touch of Death by five levels at the standard market price without hesitation. Considering how much he relied on Touch of Death, he had basically gotten it for a steal.
After the deal, Siegfried called out, “Hey, wait a second.”
“Yeah? Is there a problem?”
“I think I got this too cheap,” Siegfried said, opening his Inventory and taking out a few gold bars. Then, he handed the gold bars to the Adventurer.
“Whoa! Why are you giving me all this?”
“I know I paid the market rate, but this item is worth way more than that to me. Please, take it as a token of appreciation.”
“Thank you so much!”
A huge smile spread across the Adventurer’s face. He could have just walked away without knowing a thing, and it would not have made much difference to him, so Siegfried’s thoughtfulness genuinely made him happy.
“Thank you! Wow! This is more than what I can make in a month!”
“No, I am the one who should be grateful. Have a good time gaming.”
“You, too! Have fun out there!”
After that short yet satisfying transaction ended—
“Kyuuu! The transport vessel is about to depart, owner punk! Hurry up!”
“Yeah, I know.”
Siegfried ran and quickly boarded the transport vessel that would bring him back to the Nurburg Continent.
***
After arriving on the continent, Siegfried immediately took Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse to see Dragon Lord Gerog.
“Ughh… Welcome.”
Gerog lay sprawled inside his lair, groaning in pain.
He did not look well at all. A single look at the countless wounds covering his massive body was enough to tell just how fierce the battle against the Corals had to have been.
“Thank you for your hard work, Elder,” Siegfried said with a bow, offering his sincerest respect.
Lately, Gerog and the other dragons had been fulfilling their duty with absolute dedication. They had willingly joined the expedition to fend off the Coral Race and protect the world, becoming true guardians of the world, which was their raison d’être.
They had been lazing around since the dawn of creation, so it was about time they pulled their weight.
“Worked hard? I was merely carrying out the mission the Creator had entrusted to me when I was created. Hohoho!”
“Still, you have done so much. Thanks to you, the expedition is proceeding smoothly.”
“Well, I am delighted to hear that. Hoho! Makes it worth the effort.”
“It is all thanks to you, elder.”
“So then, will there finally be some lasting peace?”
“Well…” Siegfried hesitated for a moment. Then, he carefully said, “The ancient monsters sealed in Purgatory have escaped.”
“What?!”
“…So things have gotten a bit messy again.”
“This is terrible! We are in no shape to deal with those fiends!”
Right now, the dragons were completely worn down from fighting against the Corals. They were so drained that they would need at least a few centuries of rest to fully recover from it.
In other words, they had nearly exhausted all of their combat power.
“I will handle it somehow. Please, do not worry about it, Elder.”
“Hoho! It’s truly a relief that we have you.”
“By the way… Is it possible for you to cure them, Elder?” Siegfried asked, gesturing to Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse.
“Cure them? But they do not seem to be wounded.”
“They were brainwashed by the Corals.”
“Brainwashing… Hmm… Manipulating the mind is a delicate art, and undoing it is just as difficult.”
“But I know that if there is anyone who can do it, then it is you, Elder.”
Siegfried knew how to handle dragons so well that he started appealing to Gerog’s pride as a dragon.
“Hoho! Do you even have to ask? It may take a bit of time, but nothing is impossible for me, the Dragon Lord!”
“As expected! You are truly the greatest individual to have ever lived in this world!”
“Kekeke! This is nothing to me! Just leave them here in my lair. I will heal them bit by bit whenever I can.”
“Thank you, Elder. Now, I have to be on my way, as I cannot waste a single moment when the ancient monsters are running freely across our world.”
“Very well. Off you go.”
With that, Siegfried entrusted Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse to Gerog and left the lair.
“Kyuuu! So what’s the plan now, owner punk?” Hamchi asked.
“I’m going to take a break for a bit,” Siegfried replied.
It had been quite a while since he had last logged out, and this was not just about getting rest.
‘I wonder how he’s doing…’
Siegfried couldn’t help but think of Daytona, who was probably a wreck by now. Even if his wife was just an NPC, Siegfried couldn’t help but worry how badly Daytona was hurt after losing his beloved wife.
