Debuff Master

Cheon Woo-Jin pointed at the map and said, “As of now, our best course of action is... The Sky Fortress and the Black Desert. We have to hit both at the same time.”

“Since we don’t know which one is the real one, we're going to hit both at the same time and destroy them before time is up?”

“Yeah,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied with a nod. Then, he further explained, “Only destruction awaits us if we fail again. We don’t have a way to tell which one is the real altar, but we know either one of those two is the real altar.” freew ebnove l.com

“Tsk... We already got the shorter end of the stick before the fight even started. I’m not a fan of fights like these,” Siegfried grumbled.

Cheon Woo-Jin smiled bitterly and replied, “This is our best option. We have no other choice.”

“How many people do we have?”

“We don’t have enough people we can trust,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied.

“Not enough people we can trust? Why?”

“I filtered out most of the Adventurers. Why, you ask? Because they can be unpredictable. Who knows? Maybe one of them finds others being ahead of them unfair and decides to reset the game on purpose.”

“Oh, you’re right...” Siegfried immediately agreed.

Adventurers were one of the least trustworthy people on the continent, and those addicted to the game were probably one of the most dangerous ones among them.

A significant number of gamers were extremely normal in reality, but they were some of the worst criminals in the game.

In fact, there was one Level 290 American Ranker named PhantomLord. He was twentieth on the ranking list, and he was infamous for role-playing as an Evil Black Magician in BNW.

He went as far as abducting innocent NPCs and carrying out all sorts of human experiments on them, and he would livestream the atrocities he was committing for the world to see.

What if he ended up joining the party, which was created to stop the Church of Osric? There was a very high chance he would end up as an enemy rather than an ally, and there was an even higher chance he would choose to destroy the continent just for the hell of it.

“So, are we working with NPCs this time?”

“We can’t trust the NPCs, too. I mean, do you think they aren’t members of the Church of Osric just because they’re NPCs?”

“Hmm... That makes sense...”

“We can’t let anyone suspicious join. Ah, don’t even think about asking for help from the emperor. We don’t know how deep the Church of Osric has infiltrated the empire.”

“We’re really in a pinch right now. We have an uphill battle ahead of us, but we can’t trust anyone?” Siegfried grumbled.

“That’s why I’m here asking for help...” Cheon Woo-Jin said as his face darkened. Then, he continued, “Besides, not only are you strong, but you have something even better.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Your connections.”

“...!”

“You know a lot of powerful yet trustworthy NPCs, right?”

“R-Right...”

Cheon Woo-Jin was right now that he thought about it. He did know a lot of powerful NPCs such as the Sword Emperor Betelgeuse—who had been relegated to a slave under Deus, Daode Tianzun, the Great Wizard Decimato, Taycan the Descendant of Thunder, Saintess Janette, along with the numerous allies of the Proatine Kingdom.

His connections were indeed a force to be reckoned with.

But that was not the end of it...

He also had personal relations with the living legend, the Ranker, Yong Tae-Pung.

Siegfried's eyes narrowed. “Hey, tell me the truth. You only need me for my connections, right?”

“N-No,” Cheon Woo-Jin flinched and feigned ignorance. Then, he went on the offensive, saying, “Hey! I came to you because you’re my friend and I can trust you! Ha! Do you really think that I'm that kind of a person? Also, who else other than you can gather so many people together? That makes you great—a great person!”

“Something’s fishy...”

“I-I already told you it’s not!”

“This bastard is acting fishy...”

“It’s not good to doubt your friends! Haha... Hahaha...” Cheon Woo-Jin said with an awkward laugh while profusely sweating. Then, he grumbled inwardly at Siegfried’s insight, ‘Damn... This guy’s too sharp for his own good...’

***

Siegfried was still disgruntled at Cheon Woo-Jin for conning him out of his previous quest rewards, but he agreed to help stop the Church of Osric from destroying the world.

Cheon Woo-Jin bestowed a new quest to fight against the Church of Osric.

[Alert: You have received a quest from the Quest Maker, Cheon Woo-Jin!]

The quest details popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Two Altars and Two Battlefields]

[Destroy the Suspicious Altars set up by the Church of Osric.]

[Type: Epic Quest (Very Important!)]

[Progress: 0% (0/2)]

[Reward: +10 Levels]

[Locations: Sky Fortress, Black Desert]

[Warning 1: The world might be destroyed if you fail this quest!]

[Warning 2: You will have to win both battles at the Sky Fortress and the Black Desert to clear this quest!]

The quest—Two Altars and Two Battlefields—where the fate of the world hung in the balance was a whopping Epic-rated quest.

Anything with an Epic rating meant it could affect the flow of the game, and the success or failure of this quest was going to dictate the final scenario of BNW.

[Alert: Do you wish to accept the quest?]

[Alert: YES!]

Siegfried accepted the quest without an ounce of hesitation.

[Alert: You may choose which battlefield you wish to join between the Sky Fortress and the Black Desert!]

[Alert: Please choose your destination!]

Two choices popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Sky Fortress]

[Black Desert]

Siegfried pondered for a moment.

“Where should I go...”

“Hey, this is just my idea, but I think it’s better if you go to the Sky Fortress,” Cheon Woo-Jin advised.

“Why so?”

“Because the battlefield is smaller. I think it was around... the size of one of Seoul’s townships?”

“Oh? Then I should probably go there,” Siegfried said. He decided to accept Cheon Woo-Jin’s advice.

Why?

Because the Debuff Master held a great advantage in small battlefields.

His debuff fields could easily cover the entire battlefield if it were small enough, which would be a huge boost to his allies.

Meanwhile, the Black Desert was far too vast to cover with his debuff fields, and he would not be able to showcase one hundred percent of his abilities on such a battlefield.

[Selection: Sky Fortress]

Siegfried chose the Sky Fortress as his destination for the Two Altars and Two Battlefields quest.

“Yeah, you handle the Sky Fortress while I take care of the Black Desert. Ah, speaking of...”

“Speaking of?”

“You’re not the leader.”

“Ha?”

“A Ranker is going to the Sky Fortress. He’s really strong, and he agreed to lead the expedition, so please just follow whatever he says.”

“Sure, whatever,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

He was not the type to obsess over positions or lead others, so it was not difficult for him to accept Cheon Woo-Jin’s earnest request. He was the type to mind his own business regardless of what others did, and the only time he would go against the leader’s decision was whenever they gave a stupid order.

“I’m busy with other things, so I’ll be going now. You will receive the detailed schedule this evening.”

“Sure.”

“Alright, I’ll see you in a—huh? What’s wrong with you? Are you sick? What’s with the nosebleed?”

“Eh? Again?” Siegfried grumbled before wiping the blood with his hand. He could not bring himself to mention his nose was bleeding from enjoying the adult content all night long.

“Take care of yourself. We have an important battle up ahead,” Cheon Woo-Jin said.

“I know.”

“Then, see you later,” Cheon Woo-Jin said before disappearing like a mirage.

***

“I couldn't understand what the discussion was about, Your Majesty...” Michele said.

The reason he did not understand their conversation was that certain speech between Adventurers was not transmitted directly to the NPCs. This was to prevent the NPCs from realizing the shocking fact that this world was just a game and that they were merely pixels and data created by artificial intelligence.

“I don’t have plans to watch this game shut its servers down. I mean, how many years has it been since this game first opened? There are plenty of mediocre games that have survived for ten years, so I’m not going to let this one shut down after only a handful of years.”

Michele heard a different version of what Siegfried had said earlier.

“I don’t have plans to watch the world get destroyed. Not that many years have passed, and there are plenty of ?? that survived for more than ten years, so I’m not going to let this world be destroyed so soon.”

The game server shutting down was altered to the world getting destroyed, and the word game was outright censored. This was the filter at work to prevent the NPCs from realizing that they were just artificial intelligence.

“But if I will summarize it, then this is a battle against the Church of Osric that would decide the fate of the world, am I correct?”

“I can’t say for sure, but it’s something like that,” Siegfried replied.

“If that is the case, then I will do whatever I can to the best of my abilities to assist Your Majesty.”

“Thanks.”

“I believe Your Majesty will be busy from now on, so please feel free to go now. Meanwhile, I will prepare our elite forces to be ready at a moment’s notice.”

“Sure.”

Siegfried immediately left after putting Michele in charge of the kingdom’s affairs.

“Kyu! Where are we going, owner punk?!” Hamchi asked.

Siegfried hurriedly walked past Hamchi.

Hamchi chased after Siegfried and exclaimed, “Hey! Wait for me! Where are you going, owner punk?”

“First things first... I have to see Master,” Siegfried replied.

“Kyu?! Then why are you heading to Mount Kunlun? Master is here in the palace!”

“He said he had some business to tend to and went back to Mount Kunlun.”

“Kyu?”

“Anyway, let’s hurry.”

Siegfried and Hamchi headed for Mount Kunlun to look for Deus.

***

A few hours later, Siegfried used the Super Airship, Huracan, to arrive at Deus’ residence in Mount Kunlun.

“Master? Huh? Where is he?”

Surprisingly, there was nobody home.

“Kyu! Sniff! Sniff! Master is at the stream!”

“Really? Let’s go,” Siegfried followed Hamchi as he tracked Deus’ scent.

[Mount Kunlun: Oblivion Falls]

The Oblivion Falls was a huge waterfall in Mount Kunlun, and its sheer size would make the Niagara Falls and Victoria Falls in reality a run for their money. In addition, the water pressure from the falls was so powerful that standing under it for even a single second would knock anyone unconscious.

Then, they would get dragged down into the abyss underwater.

And that was the reason it earned the name—Oblivion Falls.

SHWAAAAAA!

Deus was staring at the falls.

“I greet the master!” Siegfried exclaimed.

“Are you here to see Blockhead?”

“Huh?” Siegfried blinked a few times.

‘How did he know...?’

The reason he came to Deus was to borrow Blockhead for a while.

Why?

It was all because Blockhead was of the Five Star Heavens, and he was the renowned Sword Emperor as well, which meant he would definitely play a crucial role in the battle that would decide the fate of the world.

“My beloved disciple.”

“Yes, Master?”

“Why are you so surprised? I already taught you a new skill not that long ago, so why else would you come looking for me? It’s not even time for you to come just to greet me, too.”

“Oh!”

“Wait a while. Blockhead will be coming out soon.”

“From where, Master? I don’t see anywhere he could be around here...?”

“Over there,” Deus said while pointing at the Oblivion Falls.

“Huh? O-Over there? Elder Blockhead is going to come out from there...?”

The reason Siegfried was so shocked was that the Oblivion Falls was not something that could be underestimated, and even a Master could end up in real trouble if they were to stay under the crushing pressure of the waterfall.

‘He could die from that, no...?’ Siegfried wondered.

Yes, even a Master like Blockhead could die from the sheer pressure of the waterfall

“He went in, so he should come out, right? Well, it’s a matter of whether he comes out dead or alive.”

“Haha... Hahaha...” Siegfried awkwardly laughed in response.

“Kyu? Someone’s coming out, owner punk!” Hamchi exclaimed while pointing at the silhouette.

‘Well, I guess it’s expected for Elder Blockhead to survive...?’ Siegfried thought.

Then, he waited for Blockhead to come out, but...

“Huh? That’s not Elder Blockhead...” Siegfried muttered while squinting.

The man who emerged from the waterfalls wasn't the old man whom Siegfried was familiar with, but a man who looked like he was only in his mid-forties.

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