Debuff Master - Chapter 1186
Chapter 1186
‘How does this even make sense…?’
Siegfried couldn’t believe that he had taken such massive damage from just a light graze.
‘Is it possible… that spear?’
He suspected that the source of the absurd damage was the weapon in Nox’s hand, as there was no other explanation for the ridiculous damage.
‘I’ll have to be careful from now on.’
Now being cautious, Siegfried began countering Nox’s spear techniques one by one, steadily gaining the upper hand.
“Y-You are a strong one! Are you a spear expert?!” Nox shouted in shock, realizing that Siegfried’s spear techniques were far from ordinary
“Nope. I’m a master of the spear,” Siegfried replied flatly. Then, he activated Skull Breaker.
Shwiiik! Shwiiik! Shwiiiik!
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp pierced Nox three times on both arms and chest.
Ding!
The Mark of Death appeared above Nox’s head.
‘It’s over,’ Siegfried thought, thrusting his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp faster than the speed of light straight to Nox’s face.
Boom!
The Mark of Death detonated, causing Nox’s head to explode into countless fragments.
Despite that…
[Hero: Nox the Immortal Warrior]
[HP: ■■■■■■■□□□]
His head was completely destroyed, but Nox’s HP only dropped by about thirty percent.
“Huh? What in the world…?” Siegfried muttered.
While he was stunned and reeling in surprise…
Shwaaak…!
Nox’s head fragments drifted toward him before converging above his shoulder and regenerating in an instant.
The goblins inhabiting the Ancient Goblin Empire couldn’t be killed by simply destroying their bodies. As long as they still had HP remaining, they could still keep fighting. The moment Nox’s head was restored, he said, “I must… fight with all I have against… you, powerful one.”
Whoosh!
Nox’s skin flushed a deep crimson red. He entered Berserk Mode, one of the most fearsome patterns often shown by high-ranking monsters.
‘Not good! I have to end this quickly!’ Siegfried panicked.
He could already imagine how much trouble he would be in if he were to let Nox make use of his Berserk Mode.
Without hesitation, he cast Absolute Zero and froze Nox on the spot.
“Grr… Grrrwaaaah!”
But that was not enough to completely immobilize him…
‘More! I need more!’
Siegfried unleashed Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain, summoning light blades imbued with frost energy to turn Nox into a pincushion.
“…!”
Nox’s movements slowed visibly, a stark difference from his frenzied berserk state just seconds ago.
‘I need more debuffs!’ Siegfried applied every debuff skill in his arsenal.
Bzzzt! Bzzzzt!
Then, he activated Overclocking and cranked it up immediately to the third stage.
‘Let’s see if you can survive this.’
A mass of energy gathered at the tip of his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, forming Touch of Death.
Touch of Death was Siegfried’s most powerful offensive skill, and none of his other skills came close to it in terms of raw damage output. Siegfried believed that not even a Hero Class monster from the Ancient Dungeon would be able to survive it.
Puuuuk!
The moment the spear tip charged up with Touch of Death pierced the center of Nox’s chest…
Kaboooooom!
The space and time around Nox distorted and warped before erupting into a massive explosion.
[Hero: Nox the Immortal Warrior]
[HP: □□□□□□□□□□]
Nox’s HP hit zero.
“You were… truly a master… of the spear…”
With those final words, Nox dispersed into microscopic particles and vanished completely without leaving a trace.
Thud!
The Relic: Sky Piercer fell to the ground.
‘Mine!’
Without missing a beat, Siegfried dashed forward and snatched the Relic-rated spear up. He did not even bother summoning the Three-Legged Crow, as he couldn’t wait to get his hands on the powerful spear.
[Alert: You have obtained Relic: Sky Piercer!]
Unfortunately, he couldn’t determine the exact details of the spear without an appraisal scroll.
‘I guess I’ll check it once I’m back.’
With that thought, he stored the spear in his Inventory and looked around the cave entrance.
“Kieeeek!”
“Kiki—!”
“K-Kiiiek!”
The thousands of goblins scattered in panic, fleeing for their lives.
Their legendary hero, Nox the Immortal Warrior, was obliterated in an instant, so the mere presence of Siegfried alone had struck fear into their hearts, causing them to flee without looking back.
***
Siegfried did not bother chasing down the fleeing goblins.
“Hey, Hyung-Seok,” he said, turning toward Chae Hyung-Seok.
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go back now.”
“Go back? You mean retreat?”
“Yeah. I’m tired, and pushing further isn’t feasible. And you know, those guys might have run now, but we’re done for if they swarm us again.”
“That’s true.”
“We’ve gained a lot of levels and got some good loot. It’s time to head back, gear up, and then come back again.”
“Got it.”
Chae Hyung-Seok readily agreed with Siegfried’s suggestion. He knew that clearing the Ancient Goblin Empire with their current gear would take far too long, so retreating for now and coming back stronger was the wise decision.
“Time to go. Good work, you two.”
“Yeah.”
“Kyuuu!”
With that, Siegfried left the Ancient Goblin Empire dungeon and made his way to Quandt’s workshop.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Pssshhhh!
Quandt was hard at work alongside Yong Seol-Hwa. They were forging the new armor set that Siegfried would be using from now on.
“Welcome back, oppa!”
Even while immersed in her work, Yong Seol-Hwa spotted him and welcomed him warmly with a smile.
“I’m back,” Siegfried replied with a smile.
“Your new gear is still incomplete. I will need at least two more days to finish it.”
“That’s fine. Don’t push yourself too hard and just take your time.”
“Don’t worry about me! I’m enjoying the work!”
“Haha…”
“So, what brings you here?”
“Ah.”
Siegfried took out the Sky Piercer from his inventory and showed it to Yong Seol-Hwa.
“I picked it up in the Ancient Goblin Empire, but I didn’t have an appraisal scroll with me.”
“Hold on.”
As expected of a blacksmith, Yong Seol-Hwa had an appraisal scroll with her. She took it out from her Inventory and used it on the Relic-rated spear.
And the result was shocking…
[Relic: Sky Piercer]
[A sacred relic of the Ancient Goblin Empire.]
[A legendary spear imbued with immense power. It is said to reject those who are not true warriors.]
[Even though it was famed as the Ancient Goblin Empire’s divine relic, it was actually the magnum opus of an ancient blacksmith.]
[It is a weapon used by a valiant warrior from the dawn of ages, and it somehow found its way into the hands of a goblin purely by chance.]
[Type: Spear]
[Rating: Relic]
[Durability: 312/500]
[Attack Power: 15,000]
[Level Requirement: 500]
[Effects]
[+25 Spear Mastery Skill Level]
[+5 Invincible Spear Art Skill Level]
[+450 All Stats]
[+5% Chance On hit to deal damage equal to 30% of the target’s HP.]
[+1% Chance On Hit to instantly kill an enemy with a level lower than the user.]
The Sky Piercer turned out to be a weapon with absurd stats and effects.
Siegfried’s current weapon, the Vanquisher’s Grasp, had a base attack power of eight thousand without any enhancement. In comparison, the Sky Piercer had a base attack power of fifteen thousand without any enhancements.
This meant that the completely raw Sky Piercer could match the damage output of the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.
In other words, the Sky Piercer would easily surpass the attack power of the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp—which Siegfried had painstakingly enhanced with gut-wrenching suspense and stress—with just ten enhancements.
But that was not all…
The Sky Piercer also increased the level of the user’s Spear Mastery skill by a whopping twenty-five levels, and it also increased the Invincible Spear Art’s skill level by five.
As if that was not enough, it also had a five percent chance of dealing damage equal to thirty percent of the target’s HP in a single attack, and a one percent chance to outright kill those whose level was lower than the user.
‘Ah, so that’s what reduced my HP that time,’ Siegfried finally realized why a light grave had wiped out nearly a third of his health earlier.
“Wow… You really brought back something incredible, oppa,” Yong Seol-Hwa said with a look of amazement.
“If this becomes a Sanctified-rated item… then it will become even stronger.”
Relic-rated items were already formidable, but by using the Legendary Fragments, they could be upgraded into even more terrifying weapons.
“I’ll upgrade it to a Sanctified-rated item for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Give me two days. I’ll finish both the armor set and the weapon by then.”
“I can wait even if it takes longer, so just take it easy and don’t strain yourself.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself just fine.”
“Okay. And thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Just go and get some rest for now, oppa.”
“Alright.”
With that, Siegfried entrusted the Sky Piercer to Yong Seol-Hwa and logged out.
He was completely exhausted and desperately needed to take a break after a grueling seventeen-hour marathon grinding session in the Ancient Goblin Dungeon.
***
Two days later, after attending to his duties as the Emperor of the Proatine Empire and spending time with Brunhilde and Verdandi, Siegfried headed back to the workshop late in the afternoon.
Today was the day Yong Seol-Hwa and Quandt had promised to complete Siegfried’s armor set and to upgrade the Sky Piercer.
“Hi, oppa.”
“Welcome, sire.”
The sight of Yong Seol-Hwa and Quandt was truly something else. Neither had slept a wink since they started working on Siegfried’s items.
Their eyes were sunken like zombies, and their cheeks were hollowed from sheer exhaustion.
‘Whoa… They really went through hell just for me…’
Siegfried understood just how much effort they had poured into his items, so he made sure to show just how grateful he was regardless of the result.
Perhaps it was the fruit of their painstaking labor, but the finished products were nothing short of outstanding.
[+10 Sanctified Relic: Sky Piercer]
[A sacred relic of the Ancient Goblin Empire.]
[A legendary spear imbued with immense power. It is said to reject those who are not true warriors.]
[Even though it was famed as the Ancient Goblin Empire’s divine relic, it was actually the magnum opus of an ancient blacksmith.]
[It is a weapon used by a valiant warrior from the dawn of ages, and it somehow found its way into the hands of a goblin purely by chance.]
[It has been upgraded through modern crafting techniques into a Sanctified weapon.]
[Type: Spear]
[Rating: Sanctified]
[Durability: 1,000/1,000]
[Attack Power: 17,000+5,000]
[Level Requirement: 500]
[Effects]
[+30 Spear Mastery Skill Level]
[+7 Invincible Spear Art Skill Level]
[+500 All Stats]
[+5% Chance On hit to deal damage equal to 30% of the target’s HP.]
[+1% Chance On Hit to instantly kill a target with a level lower than the user.]
[90% Chance On Hit to inflict Status Ailment: Bleeding on the target.]
[Special Effect: +250% Damage against targets with a level lower than the user.]
The +10 Sanctified Relic: Sky Piercer was powerful enough to replace Siegfried’s current weapon.
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp gained about seven thousand five hundred additional attack power from having sixteen enhancement levels, but the Sky Piercer gained five thousand additional attack power with only ten enhancement levels.
If the fact that the bonus attack power would surge explosively past the tenth enhancement was taken into consideration, then it could be said that there was still plenty of room for it to grow even stronger.
“I’ll keep this for safekeeping,” Quandt said, carefully accepting the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp. Then, he added, “I’ll dismantle the parts and store them well. Once we have the final material needed, I will complete it.”
“Okay.”
Siegfried bid farewell to the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, the weapon that had served him well for so long. Though it had been a faithful companion, it was time for it to step down from active duty.
‘We will meet again. I’ll find the Eye of the Storm and come back for you,’ Siegfried thought.
He was looking forward to the day that the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp was reborn as a Universal-rated weapon, so he parted with anticipation rather than regret. With his new weapon in hand, Siegfried turned his attention to his new armor set.
It had been a long time since he wore a complete set of armor. Until now, he had been making do with whatever he found, so his anticipation and excitement were really high.
“Here, take a look,” Yong Seol-Hwa said, revealing the new armor set from under a canvas cover. Then, she explained, “It’s a Transcendent-rated armor set. I’ve been researching for a long time to make the perfect armor set for you. I hope you’ll like it, oppa.”
Before using the Rune of Insight to check the stats and effects of his new armor set, Siegfried took a moment to appreciate the design first.
