Debuff Master

“Are you kidding me?”

In Siegfried's eyes, Quandt was basically saying that there were no quest rewards, which enraged him.

“The Autonika Workshop has already trolled me, and you guys have decided to troll me as well?”

“C-Calm down!” Quandt waved his hands profusely in an effort to appease him.

“Calm down? Can you calm down if you were in my shoes? Do you have any idea what I had to go through just to collect all that for you?”

“No! That’s not it!”

“What’s not it?”

“It’s a misunderstanding!”

“A misunderstanding?”

“Geez... Don’t you know that you have to let the other person finish talking when they’re speaking in Korean? Listen to me first, and you can get mad after you hear me out!”

It was then.

‘Korean?! Did he just say Korean?!’ Siegfried was shocked after hearing an NPC mention his mother tongue, but he decided to ignore it.

It was a well-known fact that the NPCs in the game were starting to pick up slang and phrases often used in the real world through the Adventurers. Besides, Siegfried was probably not the only Korean customer that Quandt had ever had, right?

“Calm down, and listen to what I have to say. And please don’t get worked up.”

“Ahem...”

“Alright, I’m going to explain the situation now, okay?”

“Go ahead.”

Siegfried finally calmed down after Quandt appeased him.

Gosran was watching the entire exchange between the two, and a thought flashed in her mind after seeing their tirade.

‘I-It’s like they’re in a relationship!’ Gosran screamed inwardly.

Siegfried was moody while Quandt was trying his best to appease him, and this was something that people would often see between couples in real life.

“As I said, this material can’t be mixed with the metals or minerals in our world.”

“So?”

“It’s impossible to craft an artifact with it, but that’s not the case if we use an expedient.”

“What do you mean by an expedient?”

“That’s not your business. Keke! Anyway, we found out that these otherworldly materials can be combined into a crystal,” Quandt said with a laugh and presented a crystal crafted from the Green Otherworldly Essence.

[Low-Rank Ignite Crystal]

[A crystal containing otherworldly energy.]

[It is crafted by combining numerous essences from another world.]

[Type: Unique]

[Effect: Attacking an enemy will deal 15 damage every second for 5 seconds. (No cooldown)]

“Huh? Isn’t this DoT?” Siegfried said, slightly surprised after seeing the effect of the Low-Rank Ignite Crystal.

“DoT? What’s that?”

“Ah, that’s... How should I explain this? Hmm... It stands for damage over time. Instead of dealing damage at once, you deal it over time?” Siegfried explained.

“Well put! It’s just as you said, this is basically damage ober—”

“Damage over time.”

“Ah, that. This crystal deals damage over time rather than in one go.”

“This is quite impressive.”

Siegfried believed that the Low-Rank Ignite Crystal crafted from the Green Otherworldly Essence could deal significant damage to the enemy. The biggest reason why the Low-Rank Ignite Crystal was so powerful was that it didn't have a cooldown.

If calculated, then 15 damage per second over five seconds would equal 75 damage in total. It didn't look like much, but the fact that there was no cooldown meant that those who relied on dealing damage through basic attacks would have a clear advantage over their enemies.

What if the fifteen damage per second over five seconds could stack? What if every single one of the thirty hits dished out by Machine Gun Smash stacked up, all thanks to the Low-Rank Ignite Crystal's effect?

Siegfried would deal a total of 2,250 damage, which was 75 x 30, and the fact that this damage was True Damage—damage that ignored the target’s Defense and Magic Resistance, meant that a slugfest would be in his favor.

Of course, 2,250 damage wasn't that amazing, but dealing True Damage was definitely going to be helpful.

“Hmm... How should I use this? Do I have to hold it in one hand while fighting? I hope I don’t have to rub it on my enemy or something...”

“Bah! How will you fight like that?”

“I can’t. I’d rather not use it if that’s how it’s used.”

“Precisely! That’s too inefficient! But I’m unable to craft this into an artifact.”

“Can you get to the point? Can I use this or not?”

“You can.”

“Then how?”

“Our workshop has immediately worked on an alternative solution after realizing that we can’t craft an artifact with this; the alternative solution is none other than using this crystal to upgrade your artifact!”

“Upgrade my artifact?”

“I’ll carve a hole called a socket in your artifact and embed the crystal into it!”

“Socket...!”

“You will be able to enjoy the benefits of this crystal that way! Hoho!”

It was then.

Ding!

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

***

[Alert: Congratulations!]

[Alert: You have made a great achievement!]

[Alert: An honorable title is bestowed upon you for this achievement!]

[Alert: You have obtained the title Great Prophet: Socket!]

[Great Prophet: Socket]

[One of the Great Prophet[1] titles bestowed to great individuals ahead of their time.]

[This Adventurer has played a crucial role in helping the Head Blacksmith of the Bavarian Workshop, Quandt, to develop the Socket System.]

[Type: Title]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Effects: +5,000 Fame, +2,000 Respect from all workshops on the continent, +200% Chance to create a relationship with the Hidden Legendary Blacksmith, The name Siegfried van Proa will pop up whenever anyone uses the Socket System.]

The Socket System was a basic content commonly found in other games, but this basic content didn't exist in BNW until the historic achievement. Siegfried had contributed greatly to the development of the Socket System in BNW, and his name would appear in every socketed item, which would further increase his fame.

“Wow...” Siegfried muttered in amazement. Then, he smiled and said, “They only gave me crappy titles, but it seems this one makes up for those.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing, don’t mind me,” Siegfried shook his head and replied. Then, he quickly changed the subject, “So you’re going to carve a socket on my artifact and put this thing in it. And that should make it work?”

“Yes, precisely.”

“How are you going to carve the socket?”

“Hmm... Based on my analysis of this crystal, inserting it into a piece of armor on your hand will be the most efficient way to use it.”

“But I don’t use any gauntlets...?”

Siegfried did not wear any gauntlets as his Quad-Turbo Shoulders extended from his shoulders all the way down to his hand.

“That’s not a problem. I can carve a socket on your shoulders as well as on the back of your hand—well, your Quad-Turbo Shoulders. Then, I can insert crystals in each of them.”

“Oh?”

“But I’m just going to carve a socket on your hand area this time, so give them to me. I’ll carve them in no time.”

Siegfried took off his Quad-Turbo Shoulders and passed it to Quandt, “Here you go.”

Quandt received it and was about to turn around. However, he stopped and looked at Gosran and Seung-Gu before saying, “Ah, why don’t you two give me your gloves too?”

With that, Quandt took their items away and went inside the mobile smithy.

***

“Here you go.”

Quandt returned with their items equipped with the Low-Rank Ignite Crystals but...

[Quad-Turbo Shoulders]

[First Socket: Empty]

[Second Socket: Mid-Rank Ignite Crystal]

[Mid-Rank Ignite Crystal: Deal 17 damage per second for 5 seconds, May interfere with energies of a similar nature, Item has +150 resistance against poison or acid.]

The crystal in the Quad-Turbo Shoulders was not low-rank but mid-rank.

“Huh? This is a mid-rank crystal? And I think its effects are better than the low-rank ones?”

“You can craft a mid-rank crystal by fusing together three low-rank crystals. I had some leftover crystals, so I decided to combine them for you.”

“Oh?”

“I will need seven mid-rank crystals to craft a high-rank one, and the top-rank crystal will require thirty-three high-rank ones.”

Ding!

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Otherworldly Crystals]

[Description: Gather more Green Otherworldly Essences and bring them to the Bavarian Workshop. You may upgrade your existing crystals into crystals of higher ranks.]

[Type: Repeating Quest]

[Progress: N/A]

[Requirements:]

[Low-Rank Ignite Crystal: 100 Green Otherworldly Crystals + 100 Gold]

[Mid-Rank Ignite Crystal: 3 Low-Rank Ignite Crystals + 150 Gold]

[High-Rank Ignite Crystal: 7 Mid-Rank Ignite Crystals + 500 Gold]

[Top-Rank Ignite Crystal: 33 High-Rank Ignite Crystals + 1,500 Gold]

It turned out that the Otherworldly Essence was a new content that demanded people to grind in the Great Jungle.

‘I love grinding!’ Siegfried thought with a smirk.

Most people disliked grinding, but Siegfried was different. He believed grinding was honest work, and he preferred it to other content that heavily relied on one’s luck.

Grinding would allow him to earn gold, level up, and achieve a goal at the end, so he would rather sweat it out than rely on something superficial like luck.

“As you might already know, the crystals will give you more powerful effects the higher their ranks are.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“So I would advise you to keep collecting the essences and enhance your crystals! Ah, you and your friends are exempted from the cost of crafting the crystals, so feel free to come anytime you've collected enough essences.”

“Really?!”

“Yes! It’s free for you and your friends! Bwahaha!”

“You are really the best, Quandt-nim!”

“Kekeke!”

And that was how Siegfried completed the Sample Collect: Green Otherworldly Essence quest. He also managed to part ways with Quandt on a good note.

“Anyway, you must be busy so go on your way. I’m going to get some sleep now,” Quandt said.

“Rest well,” Siegfried replied before leaving the mobile smithy.

Then, Siegfried and the others made their way to the entrance of the Great Jungle, but they noticed there was some sort of commotion near the entrance—no, it was more like a brawl was happening near the entrance rather than a commotion.

Bam! Bam!

There were thousands of high-level Adventurers brawling at the entrance.

“Die, you bastard!”

“Go to hell, son of a whore!”

In fact, there were some Adventurers who unsparingly used their skills and engaged in PVP even though they were still in a neutral zone.

“W-What the hell is going on? Is there a guild war or something?” Siegfried was stunned. Then, one name crossed his mind, “Don’t tell me... Is it the United Guild?”

He thought that the United Guild came to occupy the Great Jungle, but that did not seem to be the case.

“No, look at that. All of them are familiar faces,” Gosran said while pointing at the brawling Adventurers.

“Huh? You’re right... Then what’s going on? Why are they fighting? I think all of them belong to different guilds...?”

“That... I have no idea.”

“Did they get heat stroke or something and went bananas?” Siegfried grumbled. In the end, he decided to ask one of the Adventurers nearby to find out what the hell was happening.

“Excuse me!”

1. Great Prophet sounds weird for something related to innovation, but the author is hinting at more good stuff to come so we will keep it as Great Prophet. ☜

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