Debuff Master

The Debuff Master could use the following weapons, and Siegfried had to choose one from them.

[Blunt Weapon Mastery]

[Shield Mastery]

[Greatsword Mastery]

[Gauntlet Mastery]

[Spear Mastery]

The reason Siegfried initially went with a blunt weapon was that it was not only cheap but easy to use as well. However, it was now time for him to seriously choose a weapon that he would be using from now on. On top of that, he could not help but be very careful when choosing his weapon since the type of weapon would affect his skills’ damage, cooldown time, and attack speed.

‘Hmm… A shield is a no-go. The Debuff Master is a melee-type physical damage dealer. A shield might reduce damage taken, but it will take too long for my skills to cool down and that is going to reduce my DPS,’?he thought while going through the list.

DPS, otherwise known as ‘Damage per Second,’ was the term used to calculate the total damage dealt to an enemy, and it was also one of the most important factors when measuring the worth of a DPS player.

Why?

That was because no matter how strong the attack of a DPS player was, it was bound to be useless if they had slow attack speed and skill cooldown that made them fall behind those who could consistently deal damage.

‘Let’s test things out,’?Siegfried decided to test each and every weapon out since his decision today would affect his future, and that was why he could not carelessly decide on a whim.

“Excuse me,” Siegfried called out to the weapon shop owner before saying, “Give me each and every one of these.”

“Hmm? All of these?”

“Yes.”

“If you say so…”

“Here you go,” Siegfried placed a pouch filled with gold on top of the counter.

***

Someone in the weapon shop was observing Siegfried while he was busy purchasing weapons. The person’s big body was covered from head to toe in a dark hood, so Siegfried did not particularly pay any attention to him.

Smirk…!

He was intently observing Siegfried with a smile.

“Thank you,” Siegfried said before leaving the weapon shop.

“Interesting…” the person muttered as he continued to observe Siegfried.

That was not the end of it…

Step… step…?

He walked out of the shop as well and followed behind Siegfried.

***

Siegfried checked in to the Intervention Hotel after purchasing his test weapons and immediately headed to a private training ground.

[Alert: You have entered a private training ground!]

[Alert: Do you want to summon a Shadow Boxer?]

A Shadow Boxer was a sandbox dummy with decent defense and unlimited HP. It was more like a test dummy Adventurers often used to check their damage and skills from time to time.

“Summon, Shadow Boxer,” Siegfried summoned the test dummy and tested his skills and damage with each and every one of the weapons.

As expected, the specialty of the shield was its destructiveness. It dealt the most damage compared to any other weapon, but its main weakness was the fact that his skills had a long cooldown time when using it. ｂ𝚎ｄｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

‘The DPS is lower than a blunt weapon… I could swap out the blunt weapon with the shield from time to time, but the shield is not suitable as my main weapon,’?Siegfried thought that it was a waste to master the shield since he could switch his weapons around, but he could only choose one weapon to master.

‘Then, it’s the greatsword this time…’?Siegfried thought as he put down the shield and equipped the greatsword.

Siegfried’s test continued on for hours. He equipped the different weapons he purchased and tested out his skills on the Shadow Boxer. He kept track of the maximum damage each weapon dealt and calculated the total damage each weapon had done after a certain period of time. He was intent on testing his skills as earnestly as he possibly could.

Around two hours into the test, someone suddenly said, “What you’re doing is useless.”

‘What the?!’?

Siegfried jumped up in surprise and immediately turned around toward the voice.

This place was a separate dimension created solely for personal use, and it was designed in a way that nobody else aside from the user could enter this place.

‘How did they get in? No, can someone come in and out of this place in the first place?’?Siegfried thought, perplexed by the fact that someone was able to force their way into this place.

“Who are you?” Siegfried said in a polite manner. He was certain that someone capable of intruding into this place was powerful.

“I’m just a passing wanderer,” said the intruder.

“You must be joking…” Siegfried muttered.

“You have an excellent physique,” the intruder said while inspecting Siegfried from head to toe, and then he continued, “I saw you by chance at a shop in Sukhumvit.”

“Did you trail me all the way from there…?”

“I did…”

“Why would you trail me?”

“I told you, didn’t I? You have an excellent physique that only appears once in five hundred years.”

Siegfried was suddenly reminded of his meeting with Betelgeuse.

‘Why does this feel exactly the same as that time…?’

His instincts were right on the money.

“To be honest… I want to have you as my disciple,” the intruder started courting Siegfried.

In the end, Siegfried’s excellent physique managed to seduce yet another NPC aside from Betelgeuse.

“You excellent physique… Your reaction speed… You can become a Master if you train your combat sense just a little bit…!”

“I hope so too, but do you really think that’s possible for me? Haha…” Siegfried said with an awkward laugh while scratching the back of his head.

“Hmm… What a humble person.”

“Not at all…”

“Your talent is outstanding, but you are humble on top of it. That’s admirable of you.”

“Not at all…” Siegfried muttered in embarrassment.

“What is your name?” the intruder asked.

“My name is Siegfried.”

“My name is Shakiro,” the intruder introduced himself as he took off the hood covering his face.

“Don’t tell me…?” Siegfried was surprised because he knew Shakiro.

***

Weapon Master Shakiro. He was a martial artist and one of the Five Star Heavens along with Betelgeuse. He was a Master of eight weapons, and he became famous for his capability to wield any weapon at a certain level at any time.

The title Weapon Master was truly a befitting title for him.

[Shakiro]

[Type: Named NPC]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 354]

[Title: Weapon Master. ★Five Star Heaven★]

Siegfried was astonished after he confirmed that the man in front of him was indeed Weapon Master Shakiro, but he did not express it outside.

‘It doesn’t matter if it's Betelgeuse or Shakiro… I don’t have anything to do with them,’?Siegfried thought since his standards had become too high after serving Deus, who was the very definition of invincibility itself.

“I apologize, but I cannot be your disciple,” Siegfried said.

“I’m sure you already have a master. A talented young man like you is bound to have one,” Shakiro said.

Fortunately, it seemed that Shakiro wasn’t the type to force himself on someone like Betelgeuse.

“But it’s alright,” Shakiro added.

“What is alright…?”

“I already have a multitude of disciples.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“I had a disciple for each weapon I master, but ironically, none of them could reach my level of mastery.”

It was obvious since everyone was born with different talents, and it was not an overstatement to say that nobody else could be as skillful as Shakiro with so many types of weapons.

“I do not think I will be any different since I doubt I will be able to display the same skills as Shakiro-nim no matter how talented I—” Siegfried said.

“That is exactly the reason,” Shakiro interrupted.

“Huh?”

“It’s true that you don’t have the same talent as I have since I was born with this talent, but my talent has nothing to do with my strength since I had to train for it as well.”

“But, why me…”

“Your skills. There are some differences depending on the weapon you use, right?”

“Did you see it?”

“Yes, I saw everything from the very beginning.”

“Huh?!”

“It’s a waste to use your skills with just one weapon. You need to use other weapons as well for the situation you are in.”

“But that is impossible…” Siegfried shook his head and said, “There is the issue with proficiency, and a weapon isn’t that cheap as well. On top of that, carrying all of them around is—”

“I’ll solve that for you,” Shakiro interrupted him.

“…!”

“I won’t force you to become my disciple. Just think of it as a senior giving a bit of advice to his junior while passing by,” Shakiro said with passion seemingly burning in his blue eyes.

***

Shakiro wasn’t fickle like Betelgeuse, and that was because he was well aware that his ability to handle all weapons was a unique talent only he possessed. As such, Shakiro chose to equally distribute his knowledge to numerous people instead of cramming everything he knew into one person.

He realized the limitations of having a single disciple and decided to compromise accordingly to it. That was why he had numerous disciples under him, and that was also the reason he chased after Siegfried. He wanted to teach Siegfried at least one weapon technique just as he did with his numerous other disciples.

However, Siegfried was different from all of his other disciples, and he saw that the young man was not lacking in any way. Of course, he was not a hundred percent satisfied with Siegfried.

‘You are different from me. You might be talented, but you do not have the same talent as I do,’?Shakiro thought.

Unfortunately, Siegfried did not have the talent to use every single weapon just like the disciples he previously taught, but there was one thing different about Siegfried, and it was Siegfried’s skills. Shakiro could not help but be shocked after seeing the skills Siegfried was using, which were the Debuff Master’s skills.

‘This guy’s skills… There’s a multitude of differences based on the weapon he is using…! Oh my god! Who created those skills?! How is it possible for a skill to have such differences based on the weapons being used? Not to mention, the effects perfectly match the weapon as well!’?Shakiro thought.

Shakiro, who was truly befitting of the title of Weapon Master, was able to get a glimpse of the greatness of Siegfried’s master through the skills Siegfried had showcased.

‘How is this possible?! I’m certain that the person who created those skills has the same talent as I do! No, I’m certain that they’re someone better than me at handling weapons! That is the only explanation of how somebody can create such skills!’?Shakiro inwardly deduced, and his deduction was spot on.

Why?

It was because Siegfried’s master—Deus—was an invincible being who had reached the pinnacle of everything. He was capable of displaying far greater control over any weapon compared to Weapon Master Shakiro.

‘I have to impart my wisdom to this kid! He might not become a Weapon Master like me, but it’s possible for him to switch weapons according to his needs!’?Shakiro thought as he steeled his resolve to teach everything he knew to Siegfried.

***

“Did you say your name was Siegfried?” Shakiro asked.

“Yes.”

“I cannot dare to become your master.”

“Huh?”

“That’s because… your master is a person who has reached the pinnacle. Someone like me can’t even dare to compare against your master.”

“How did you know?” Siegfried asked, seemingly surprised at Weapon Master Shakiro’s words.

“I got a glimpse of the shadow of your master’s greatness thanks to my innate talent. Your master is a being far greater than someone at the pinnacle—no, he’s at the level of a god in my opinion. Even the Great Grandmasters would not dare to compare against him.”

“…!”

“Even Grandmasters will not be able to create the skills you are using. Creating a skill that promptly adapts to the weapon being used and is affected by it… It might sound easy, but that is something only possible for someone who has reached the pinnacle of the pinnacle,” Shakiro explained.

He could say what he said since he had reached the pinnacle of every single weapon type.

“You are the disciple of such a being, so how could I dare to ask you to become my disciple?” Shakiro added.

“I am very grateful that you were able to recognize my master’s greatness,” Siegfried said as he respectfully bowed toward the Weapon Master.

It was his way of showing respect toward his senior.

‘As expected of Master,’?Siegfried thought. He was filled with pride.

The fact that the master he was serving was someone Weapon Master Shakiro had described as ‘someone at the level of a god’ made Siegfried feel extremely proud.

“That is why I won’t ask you to become my disciple since my pitiful teachings will only tarnish what your master has taught you,” Shakiro said.

“Please do not mention it…”

“But I want to provide you with some help at least.”

“What kind of help are you referring to?”

“I wish to teach you everything I know about weapons and help you find the most suitable weapon for yourself.”

“…!”

“And…” Shakiro muttered before he extended a cool-looking belt toward Siegfried and said, “Take this. It’s my heirloom.”

‘This guy’s crazy! Is he really giving this to me?!’?Siegfried could not help but inwardly exclaim after checking the information about the belt Shakiro had extended over to him.

In fact, he felt dizzy when he saw it.