Debuff Master

“Ugh…”?Tae-Sung groaned after logging out from the game.

“I should get a new capsule or something… The stench is giving me a headache…” he grumbled with a grimace.

The capsule he was using was so old it was already giving off a dank smell.

“Have I used it for too long? No… it’s not supposed to stink this bad just because it’s old…” he wondered for a while before the stench suddenly gave him another bout of migraine.

“It could be because I have been sweating a lot these days…” He suddenly remembered that he would always be drenched in sweat while playing the game for the past three months, and the reason was none other than the tempering and quenching process he had to undergo under his master.

It was inevitable for him to sweat so much since the tempering and quenching Deus had put him through made him experience the maximum pain threshold allowed by the capsule in real life, and his body reacted to the pain by excreting sweat from every single pore on his body.

“Yeah… I think it’s because of my sweat. I should get a new capsule as soon as I make some money…”

He found it surprising that the capsule could stink so badly just because of his sweat. Nevertheless, he still decided to purchase a new capsule as soon as he had the money for it.

***

Fwaaaa!

The stench clinging onto Tae-Sung’s body was finally washed off.

“Ah, that feels good…”

The cold shower made him feel cleansed for the first time in a while.

“But…” He tilted his head in confusion as he looked into the mirror.

“Did I become handsome…? My complexion looks better, too…” he muttered, seemingly deluding himself.

It seems that even Tae-Sung was no exception when it came to men looking in the mirror after taking a shower, thinking that they were handsome.

“I only look good right now. There’s no way I look good at all, keke.” Tae-Sung chuckled.

***

Tae-Sung went to the nearby convenience store an hour after taking a shower to purchase his daily provision of triangle kimbap and noodles.

“That will be 17,600 won,” Kim Young-Hee said.

“Here you go,” Tae-Sung replied.

“I received your card…” Kim Young-Hee said upon receiving Tae-Sung’s debit card.

For some reason, she was smiling after receiving his debit card, and she was treating him a bit differently today.

‘I thought he was just a nuisance, but he can look pretty good, too. But how did this happen? I don’t recall him being so good-looking…’?she thought while staring at him.

‘Did he get plastic surgery? I don’t think so… hmmm… his skin looks too good. Haa… I want to touch his face… should I ask him for his number?’?she wondered.

Tae-Sung suddenly looked handsome in her eyes, and the way she looked at him changed had changed at some point.

“I have received your payment of 17,600 won,” Kim Young-Hee said.

“Ah, okay,” Tae-Sung replied.

“Excuse me…” she muttered.

“Yes?” he responded.

“Uhm… do you live around here…?” she carefully asked.

“Yes, why?”

‘What the hell is wrong with her? She is giving me the creeps…’?he thought.

Tae-Sung could still remember the way she glared at him with contempt and disgust, and she had always been treating him like a cockroach at the side of the road.

“Ah, I see…” she muttered.

“Why do you ask?” he asked.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I just thought that you come by quite often so…” Kim Young-Hee paused before continuing, “Uhmm… if it’s alright with you—”

Tae-Sung immediately cut her off. “Please give it to me.”

“Huh?” she muttered in confusion.

“I said, please hand it over,” he repeated with his hand extended toward her.

“Ah! Yes!” Kim Young-Hee exclaimed. Her face brightened up as she proceeded to give her phone to him.

“H-Here you go…” she muttered with a shy look.

“…?”

“You can save your number here…”

“Not that,” Tae-Sung said with brows furrowed before continuing, “My card. Give me my card back.”

It turned out that he was asking for his debit card, and it also seemed that he wasn’t at all interested in the phone number of someone like Kim Young-Hee.

“I-I’m sorry…” she said as she returned the card.

A different type of embarrassment made her face flush red.

This was a classic case of an extremely embarrassing misunderstanding.

“Then, have a nice day,” Tae-Sung said before leaving the convenience store.

“Oh my god… that was so embarrassing!” Kim Young-Hee exclaimed while pulling on her hair.

***

Tae-Sung went home and ate the food he had purchased from the convenience store while sitting in front of the TV. The channel he was watching was ‘G-TV,’ which was a gaming channel he patronized.

「The Genesis Guild is attacking the castle of Premier Guild!」

Of all things, G-TV was broadcasting the battle between the Genesis Guild and the Premier Guild.

“This is making me lose my appetite…” Tae-Sung grumbled.

However, he did not let go of his chopsticks. After all, there was no reason for him to starve just because his arch-nemesis was doing well. In fact, he had to sleep well and eat better so that he could become stronger and avenge himself sooner or later.

Slurp… Slurp…

Tae-Sung’s eyes were fixated on the TV while he was slurping his noodles.

「Amazing! The Genesis Guild! They are known as the weakest among the top ten guilds, but will they finally climb up to Rank 9 after toppling the Premier Guild today?!」

It seemed that the Genesis Guild had a high chance of winning the war.

「The Genesis Guild is dismantling the Premier Guild’s castle walls as we speak! They are truly amazing!」

「Yes! They are putting up an amazing display of power!」

The broadcasters started shouting in an effort to incite their viewer’s excitement.

「Their buffs are really powerful! Isn’t this all thanks to the Guild Master of the Genesis Guild, Desire?!」

「That’s right! Desire’s buffs are truly astounding!」

.

「This would have turned out entirely different if it weren’t for Desire’s buffs! There would have been no way the Genesis Guild could have beaten the Premier Guild if it weren’t for the buffs they were getting! Desire is truly the Buff God!」

The broadcasters seemed to have simultaneously agreed that the main reason why the Genesis Guild was winning was due to Desire’s buffs, and they were correct.

Player ID Desire—real name Chae Hyung-Seok.

He was a Priest and Knight Templar hybrid who could dish out powerful buffs, and he was ranked 49th in the World Ranking.

Wide Area Buff.

Desire could provide buffs to all of his allies in a 1-kilometer radius, and he led the Genesis Guild, which used to be nothing but an empty shell, to consecutive victories.

“It seems they are doing pretty well… Tae-Sung muttered while glaring at Desire on the television screen.

“Just wait a year. I will crush you and your guild in a year,” Tae-Sung declared.

It was serendipitous how buffs could be countered with debuffs.

Tae-Sung would be capable of getting his revenge against Chae Hyung-Seok if he managed to grow at least eighty percent as strong as the latter. However, that was only if he were going to fight one on one without taking the Genesis Guild into consideration.

“I’m sure there’s a way,” Tae-Sung said as he steeled his resolve to take revenge.

He took his anger out on the noodle he was eating by slurping it as hard as he could.

“Master’s skills are the very definition of invincibility. I’ll just have to trust in them and move forward…” he muttered.

Deus’ skills debuffed his enemies to allow him to beat them in a single hit.

The combat style his master had passed onto him was the very definition of perfection itself.

***

After getting enough rest, Tae-Sung logged in to BNW the next morning. He was now ready to devote himself as Adventurer Siegfried on the Nürburg Continent.

However…

Ding dong…!

His doorbell rang.

‘I wonder who that is…?’?he wondered. He was not expecting anyone, and there wouldn’t be anyone who would visit him either.

Was it a friend of his? No, they had left him a long time ago.

The only people who would find him were debt collectors, his landlord, or religious folks.

‘Is it a debt collector? No, it can’t be. I already paid this month’s interest. I also paid the rent already…’?he thought.

He couldn’t repay the principal just yet, but he had been religiously paying the interest.

As such, he could not help but wonder who it might be because he couldn’t think of anyone paying him a visit.

He opened the door.

“Huh? Who are you?” he asked. 𝘣𝑒𝑑𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘤𝑜𝑚

A woman wearing a formal suit was standing in front of the door.

“Are you Han Tae-Sung?” the woman asked.

“Yes, and who are you?” he replied.

“Hello, my name is Cha Hye-Mi from the User Supervision Department of Hive Games Entertainment,” the woman introduced herself.

“Hive? Do you mean beehive? The one that’s running BNW?”

“Yes, that is correct,” she replied.

“Why would Hive come and visit me…?” he muttered in confusion.

However, when he was about to ask the woman what business she had with him, a thought suddenly came to his mind.

‘Don’t tell me…?’?he thought as nervousness started to creep up on him.

***

‘Monitoring?team…? Then, is she here because they discovered my meeting?with Master…?’?

Hive was the industry leader when it came to virtual reality games, and there was no way that such a multinational corporation would randomly come and visit someone like Tae-Sung.

The only reason he could think of why they would bother to come and visit him had to be his meeting with Deus.

“What business… do you have with me…?” Tae-Sung asked carefully.

“That is because you, Tae-Sung, have inherited the Epic Code 007,” Cha Hye-Mi replied.

“007…?” Tae-Sung muttered in confusion.

“That is correct,” Cha Hye-Mi replied with a smile.

“What is that…?” he asked.

“007 is the codename given to the one chosen by the Hidden NPC, Deus,” she explained.

“Oh… so you knew about it…” Tae-Sung muttered nervously.

‘Don’t tell me… I’m sure it’s not… there’s no way…’?he thought as he bit his lips.

The reason why Tae-Sung was so nervous right now was due to the possibility that his meeting with Deus could have been a ‘bug’ from the developer’s side. If that were the case, then they might revoke his class, the Debuff Master.

“Of course. We, Hive, are always monitoring our users. Did you really think that we will be unaware of you activating 007?” Cha Hye-Mi asked.

“So… what is the reason for your visit? Don’t tell me it’s because my meeting with my master was a bug…?” Tae-Sung asked slowly and carefully.

Tae-Sung found himself unknowingly clenching his fists.

“A bug?” Cha Hye-Mi muttered. She seemed taken aback. Then, she smiled and chuckled before saying, “Hahaha! You are more innocent than you look.”

“Huh?” Tae-Sung muttered with a confused look.

“Mr. Tae-Sung, BNW is a perfect game,” Cha Hye-Mi elaborated with a smile.

“…?”

Tae-Sung couldn’t keep up with the conversation anymore.

“There are no bugs in the game, and it is impossible for a bug to occur as well,” Cha Hye-Mi said with a hint of pride in her voice.

“T-Then, that means…?” Tae-Sung asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

“Yes, your meeting with the Hidden NPC, Deus, was not a bug, and it is a perfectly normal part of the game,” Cha Hye-Mi said.

“Phew!”?Tae-Sung finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Boy, am I glad to hear that… haha…” he said before letting out a weak chuckle.

He felt his lifespan decrease by ten years at the thought of possibly losing his class.

“Well, I guess it’s understandable for you to have thought that way,” Cha Hye-Mi said with a smile before adding, “The meeting with the Hidden NPC, Deus, is an event that will shock any gamer out there, and I am sure that they will even be more shocked when they realize how glorious it is to become his disciple.”

“Yes… I completely agree.” Tae-Sung nodded in agreement.

Cha Hye-Mi was absolutely right. Tae-Sung was flabbergasted when he first met Deus, and he suspected that the old man was a bug or a glitch. At that time, the only other explanation he could come up with was that he was being pranked by the moderators.

“So, you do not have to be worried. I did not come to visit you today to revoke your rights as the Debuff Master,” Cha Hye-Mi said, reassuring him.

“So why did you come here?” Tae-Sung was confused.

“The reason I visited you today is…”