Debuff Master - Chapter 1182
Chapter 1182
Siegfried headed for the Ancient Dungeon closest to Preussen, the capital of the Proatine Empire.
This Ancient Dungeon was one of the twenty dungeons that had appeared and been discovered so far within the empire’s territory.
When Siegfried arrived at the dungeon, the area was already swarming with high-level Adventurers trying to form raid parties.
“Ah! Look over there!”
“It’s Siegfried!”
“Siegfried! Siegfried!”
As soon as the Adventurers spotted him, they rushed over to him. Each one of them fought to send him a party invite in hopes of raiding the Ancient Dungeon with him.
Being able to raid an Ancient Dungeon with someone of Siegfried’s caliber was an opportunity of a lifetime for them. This was the chance for them to bask in the glory of being in the same party as Siegfried, a bragging right that they could definitely flex on their friends.
“Okay, folks! Line up here if you want to apply for the party!” Seung-Gu shouted at the gathering crowd.
He stepped into the role of being Siegfried’s self-appointed manager and began screening potential party members.
This was Siegfried’s party, so there was no way he would let just anyone in.
“Go over there and take a break, hyung-nim. I’ll handle things over here,” Seung-Gu said.
“Y-Yeah, sure…”
Siegfried put Seung-Gu in charge of the screening process without any hesitation. Then, he stepped away to take a break with Hamchi.
“Oppa!”
“Tae-Sung oppa!”
Yong Seol-Hwa and Gosran arrived and joined the party.
They heard about the Ancient Dungeons, and they happened to run into Siegfried and Seung-Gu.
“Oh? What are you doing here, Han Tae-Sung?”
Even Cheon Woo-Jin showed up and joined the party, too.
Unfortunately, Daytona had yet to return to the game, so he wasn’t included in the party this time.
“The party is ready, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu said, walking up to Siegfried.
“Oh? Already?”
“Yes. I screened everyone based on stats and combat roles.”
“Nice work.”
With that, a party of around fifty people was formed.
“Let’s move out,” Siegfried said, leading the party toward the dungeon entrance.
[Ancient Goblin Empire]
[A nation founded by the ancient goblins from the time of Genesis.]
[Various goblin species inhabit this land.]
[Recommended Level: 400+]
[Max Party Size: 200]
[Warning: This dungeon is extremely difficult!]
‘Huh? What the heck? The recommended level is above 400? And the max party size is two hundred? That’s insane,’ Siegfried thought as he entered the dungeon.
The Ancient Goblin Empire was a sprawling jungle with dense, overgrown, and lush trees. Siegfried’s party moved cautiously as they made their way toward where they assumed the boss monster would be located.
It was then.
“Kyu? Did you hear that, owner punk?” Hamchi asked.
“Yeah,” Siegfried nodded in response.
The bushes were rustling, as something was pushing through the foliage.
“Prepare for combat. They’re close. About fifty meters away,” Siegfried said, drawing his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and waiting for the enemies to appear.
About a minute later—
“Kiee! Kihee!”
“Kikiki!”
“Kieee! Kikiee!”
Dozens of goblins swarmed out from the bushes and charged at the party.
Siegfried immediately cast Karma Flare and Embrace of Despair, reducing their defenses and slowing them down significantly, but…
“Agh!”
“Aaack!”
“Ghhhk!”
His party members dropped like flies as soon as the fight began.
“W-What the hell?!” Siegfried exclaimed.
He was stunned to see his party getting wiped out almost instantaneously, even though there were debuffs applied to the enemy.
“What in the world is going on?!” Siegfried exclaimed in sheer disbelief as he skewered two goblins like a kebab with a thrust of his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.
Then, he whipped the weapon sideways, slamming the goblins into the ground.
[Ancient Green Goblin]
[HP: ■■■■■■■■■■]
However, the goblins barely lost ten percent of their health even after getting hit by Siegfried’s attacks.
It wasn’t like he did zero damage; the goblins simply had absurdly high HP.
Even these common goblins, which were nothing more than mere grunts in this dungeon, had almost the same, if not more health than the boss monsters from other high-level dungeons.
***
Meanwhile, Lee Geon and Duke Neighdelberg were once again meeting in secret.
“Why did you call me?” Lee Geon asked, his face visibly showing his irritation.
Ever since his battle against Siegfried had ended, his mood had been terribly sour.
He replayed the battle on loop, analyzing every move, and preparing himself for their rematch. He wanted to win so decisively in their rematch that nobody would doubt that he was clearly the winner.
With that burning resolve, he was putting in hours and hours to make sure he would emerge victorious.
Thus, it was only obvious that he would be annoyed to be suddenly called out like this.
“I have a request,” Duke Neighdelberg said.
“What now?” Lee Geon curtly replied.
The duke looked unbothered despite the rude response from Lee Geon.
“We need you to clear the Ancient Dungeons that have appeared within our borders. These dungeons are causing quite the damage to our empire.”
The Marchioni Empire was in utter chaos.
Dozens of Ancient Dungeons had appeared across their territory, each spewing out terrifying monsters en masse.
The empire had not even had the time to recover from the Coral Planet Expedition, yet now they were forced to deploy their troops once again, just trying to contain the dungeon outbreaks.
As a result, their plans to pressure the Proatine Empire were derailed, and they were also suffering massive casualties day by day.
They needed someone who could handle the Ancient Dungeons in their stead, and they chose Lee Geon.
The Marchioni Empire had the option of asking Siegfried just as they had always done in the past, but that option was now deemed far too risky. Siegfried’s popularity had skyrocketed in recent days to the point that even the people of the Marchioni Empire were practically worshiping him.
Temples devoted to the Church of Heroes were sprouting up everywhere, causing people to convert en masse.
In fact, even some of the Marchioni Empire’s troops and officers were hailing Siegfried as a living war legend.
Thus, if they called on him and allowed him to become the hero who saved the empire yet again, then he could actually become a credible threat to Emperor Stuttgart’s imperial authority.
In the Marchioni Empire’s eyes, Siegfried was now a double-edged sword, one that was useful but dangerous at the same time.
In the eyes of the empire, he was someone they would ultimately have to eliminate.
“So you need my help dealing with those dungeons?” Lee Geon asked, raising a brow.
“Precisely,” Duke Neighdelberg replied with a nod. Then, he added, “We want you to get rid of the Ancient Dungeons that have appeared in our lands.”
“And what do I get in return? I’m sure you do know that I don’t come cheap, right?”
“I’m very well aware of that. But rest assured, we have the resources, so you will be handsomely compensated.”
“Money is not enough. Do you honestly think tossing me a few coins would cut it?” Lee Geon smirked and said, his voice dripping with annoyance.
“That is not our offer.”
“Then what is it?”
The duke smiled and replied, “In one year… we will give you Siegfried von Proa’s daughter.”
“…What?” Lee Geon muttered.
He had expected the Marchioni Empire to make all sorts of offers, but this was something he had not expected at all.
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re going to give me his daughter?”
“In one year, the Princess of the Proatine Empire, Verdandi von Proa, will come to our country as part of a political exchange. Officially, it’s under the pretense of an arranged marriage with His Imperial Majesty.”
“And what does that have to do with me?”
“We will hand her over to you instead. Just make sure you don’t kill her. What you do otherwise is your business… as long as she stays alive.
“Deal.”
Lee Geon decisively accepted the offer.
‘Kekeke! This is fucking perfect! Let’s see how long you can act cool and composed, Han Tae-Sung! Can you really endure seeing your precious daughter being defiled by me?’
He welcomed the offer so much that he was practically trembling in delight. Lee Geon planned to break Siegfried’s spirit completely by using the same method he used against Daytona.
He knew exactly how to destroy the mental state of a gamer, and it was to kill or defile the NPC they cared about. The Marchioni Empire was handing Siegfried’s daughter to him on a silver platter, so this was an offer he couldn’t resist.
‘Oh, this is gonna be fun. I’m going to break you until you completely lose your mind,’ Lee Geon thought, his heart pounding with excitement.
With that, he accepted the duke’s offer to raid the Ancient Dungeons spreading across the Marchioni Empire’s territory.
Just as the saying went…
‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’
Both Lee Geon and the Marchioni Empire started an unofficial alliance, one united by a single shared goal—crushing Siegfried von Proa.
***
The raid on the Ancient Dungeon: Ancient Goblin Empire was brutal. It was beyond anything Siegfried had ever imagined.
Not only were the monsters tenacious, but they also had insanely high HP and Magic Resistance. However, the biggest problem was their damage output, as these seemingly normal goblins dealt absurdly high damage.
“G-Ghhk! I-I need a heal! Heal me!”
“I’m still bleeding! I can’t stop the bleeding!”
“A-Aaargh!”
Siegfried’s party members were dropping like flies, falling victim to the core ability of the goblins.
The goblins could afflict their target with the status ailment Bleeding. Upon getting hit, they would start losing ten percent of their MAX HP every second.
Even with full health, getting hit by the goblins’ attacks meant death by blood loss in ten seconds or less.
But that was not even the worst of it.
“N-No! My items!”
“M-My sword! My sword!”
The goblins didn’t simply overpower and kill the party members.
Their armor would shatter into pieces after receiving a few hits from the goblins, and every clash against the sickles drastically reduced their weapon’s durability.
It was a complete nightmare.
This new endgame content, Ancient Dungeons, was straight-up impossible to clear with their current gear.
‘I can’t let this continue!’
Siegfried shot forward as the party was on the verge of getting wiped out.
Flash!
He unleashed Absolute Zero, freezing the goblins in place.
Fwoooosh!
Infernal Hellscape appeared immediately afterward, and it unleashed molten lava that engulfed the goblins.
Shwaaaa!
Frozen Hell was cast next, freezing the goblins once more.
Woooong!
Last but not least, the Wave of Annihilation.
The combo completely disintegrated the goblins into microscopic particles, making them vanish into thin air without leaving even a trace.
Even these absurdly powerful monsters were erased by Siegfried’s skills.
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
(omitted…)
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]
As expected of a dungeon with such a high difficulty level, the experience points given were massive. Siegfried managed to fill almost ninety percent of his experience points bar toward his next level.
Unfortunately, this was as far as they could go.
“I think we should pull out, oppa,” Yong Seol-Hwa said.
“Yeah, I think so too,” Siegfried replied, taking a quick glance around him.
“Ah…”
“Ugh…”
“My weapon… My weapon is gone…”
The party was in tatters.
Half of them had died in the skirmish, and those who survived had all their gear either destroyed or severely damaged.
Going further into the dungeon was no longer an option.
Surprisingly, Siegfried was no exception.
The durability of his armor was hanging by a thread, and it could shatter if they ran into another group of goblins.
He could ask Yong Seol-Hwa to set up her portable forge and repair their gear, but that was just a band-aid fix.
The bigger problem that the party was facing was their lack of firepower.
‘It’s hopeless like this. I’m also at my limits,’ Siegfried thought, looking down at his weapon.
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp was already at the end of its rope.
An Adventurer’s damage output was directly tied to how powerful their weapon was, but the absurd Defense and HP of the goblins made something painfully clear—the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp was no longer enough.
‘I need to replace everything,’ he thought.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he overhauled his gear. He did upgrade his gear one by one, making a few tweaks and enhancements along the way. But a real upgrade? That was ages ago.
“Seol-Hwa.”
“Yes, oppa?”
“We have to overhaul our gear.”
“I think so, too.”
The game had evolved with this new endgame content, making Unique and Legendary gear no longer enough. To keep up with the game, a minimum of Mythic gear was needed, as even Epic gear was barely enough.
BNW demanded that the Adventurers innovate and evolve with the times, or they would get left behind.
