Debuff Master

The physical form of the fragment of Apocalius, Hennessy, was starting to form and awaken.

”Crazy...” Siegfried grimaced. He was shocked by the massive amount of energy that Hennessy was unleashing.

Hennessy had merely crashed into the Great Jungle, but it had managed to mutate the creatures inhabiting it, turning them into vicious acid-spitting monsters. As if that was not enough, it even multiplied the number of monsters almost tenfold just by incubating in its cocoon.

The boss monster was a true monster, and nobody could predict just how powerful it would be once it was fully awakened.

“So we have less than a week remaining?” Siegfried muttered in sheer disbelief.

“What’s wrong? Do you know what’s happening?”

“One week.”

“One week?”

“That thing at the center of the Ishuka Ruin has to be killed within a week,” Siegfried said while pointing at the pillar of light. “If not...”

“If not?”

“That thing will probably melt everything it lays its eyes on until it is killed by the really powerful beings. That thing's capable of mutating the animals in this jungle into those acid-spitting monsters, so once it awakens, it should be capable of—I’ll just leave it to your imagination.”

“O-Oh my god! Then what should we do?! This is a huge problem!” Quandt exclaimed, his face turning ghastly pale.

“It is indeed a huge problem,” Siegfried replied.

“We have to stop that evil thing before it awakens!”

“I will do that,” Siegfried said with a nod. Then, he added, “But you will have to help me.”

“What does our workshop have to do? Just say the word!”

“Just make sure to repair the artifacts of the Adventurers as fast as you can so they can join the battle faster.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, and I’ll entrust this important request to you.”

“A-Alright! Leave it to me! I’ll make sure our blacksmiths work around the clock and repair their artifacts as fast as possible!”

“Excellent.”

“But can you really stop the awakening of that evil being in just a week?”

“I’ll have to come up with a plan.”

“Do you have anything in mind?”

“I guess I’ll incite the Adventurers to work harder?”

“Huh?”

“You will see what I mean soon enough, so please focus on repairing their artifacts as fast as possible.”

“Alright.”

“I will drop by later,” Siegfried said with a smile and left the mobile smithy.

He went to where the Adventurers had gathered and purchased the most expensive Magic Banner he could find and installed it immediately afterward.

[?? SOUTHERN GREAT JUNGLE ?? SPECIAL FOR JUST ONE WEEK! $$ 150% INCREASED EXPERIENCE POINTS! >> ?? MONSTER REGEN RATE +1,500% ￥ ★ THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO GATHER ESSENCE AND★ CRAFT YOUR OWN IGNITE CRYSTALS!! $$ ★ LIMITED TIME EVENT ★ @@ DoT DAMAGE IS OVERPOWERED! DON’T MISS OUT! BURNING EVENT!$$]

Siegfried made sure to fill up the banner with all sorts of keywords that would attract the attention of the Adventurers, and he even went as far as to hire an army of promoters for the Burning Event.

Of course, he did not forget to instruct the promoters to focus on using the words "giga exclusive," "limited time only," and "final chance to get ahead of others," which were sure to entice the Adventurers.

“The Southern Great Jungle’s Giga Event is ongoing!”

“150% increased experience points! Mobs will regenerate 100% faster! This is your golden chance to level up!”

“The Green Otherworldly Essence won’t drop anymore after this event ends! Hurry!”

“This is your final chance to become stronger! Gather the essences, upgrade your crystals, and shove them into your artifact’s sockets!”

“The Ignite Crystals are your only way to get ahead of others! Don’t miss out!”

The Adventurers were easily enticed by the words used by the promoters, and they started to gather toward the banner.

“Limited time only? What’s limited?”

“Burning event? Are they talking about that pillar of green light?”

“Giga event? For a week?”

“Hmm? What kind of event is this?”

They reacted just like how Siegfried expected them to react.

‘As expected,’ Siegfried thought with a smirk after seeing the Adventurers’ reactions.

He was now all the more certain he made the right choice. He was also a gamer so he best knew how a gamer’s mind worked. A gamer would definitely react if they heard the words level up, obtain item, event, gear up, etc.

Thus, any Adventurer claiming not to be attracted to the weeklong burning event in the Southern Great Jungle was surely lying.

“All right, please give these away to the Adventurers,” Siegfried said as he hurriedly passed the Green Otherworldly Essences and Ignite Crystals to the promoters along with a pamphlet containing detailed information about the Great Jungle.

In other words, he was releasing the tips and tricks he gathered in the Great Jungle to the Adventurers for free so that they could focus on hunting monsters instead of wasting time trying to overcome the challenges the jungle presented.

The Adventurers did not waste time and instantly purchased the Kautschuk Tree Sap, went to the Bavarian Workshop to have their equipment coated, and rushed to the Great Jungle to hunt.

Meanwhile, those who already had Ignite Crystals hunted a decent amount of essences and rushed to the Bavarian Workshop’s mobile smithy to have their crystals upgraded.

The entire place was now in uproar as time was running out for them to craft their own Ignite Crystals.

“Does this mean we only have a week to craft the Top-Rank Ignite Crystal?!”

“Damn it!”

“Hey, run!”

“Hurry up!”

The Adventurers rushed into the Great Jungle, and it was all according to Siegfried's plan.

‘Excellent!’ Siegfried cheered inwardly with a victorious smirk. Then, he turned around and started the next phase of his plan. ‘So, shall I go and fulfill my role as a pioneer?’

***

Carrell was busy installing the gateways in the Great Jungle after receiving the command two days before Siegfried subdued Ingrid. Their mission was to install gateways from the entrance of the Great Jungle all the way to the Ishuka Ruin.

This was an extremely important job, as the distance from the entrance of the Great Jungle to the Ishuka Ruin was simply too far, and the Adventurers would waste a lot of time going back and forth to regroup or repair their gear if there were no gateways.

It would be difficult for the Adventurers to go all the way to the Ishuka Ruin without the gateways, as even the King of Stamina, Siegfried, tried going all the way to the ruin.

The Proatine Kingdom’s soldiers worked hard to install the gateways, but their mission was not as simple as it sounded. Well, it was not that difficult initially, but their mission became hell the moment Hennessy shot up the pillar of green light.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Kyak!”

“Kieeee!”

“Gwuuu Ooooh!”

The number of mutated monsters increased exponentially and made it impossible to install the gateway—no, forget about installing the gateways; the soldiers were busy fighting for their survival.

“Stop them over there!”

“Damn it! How are we going to install the gateways like this?!”

“Hang in there!”

“Hold the line!”

The Proatine Kingdom soldiers were armed with excellent gear coated by the Kautschuk Tree Mixture, and they were able to withstand the onslaught of the mutated monsters.

However, there were just too many monsters that the soldiers couldn't make any progress.

“For Proatine!” Carrell shouted. He led by example at the frontlines and cut down monster after monster to boost the troop’s morale.

“Oh!”

“As expected of Sir Carrell!”

“He is truly one of our kingdom’s finest knights!”

The soldiers were in awe of Carrell’s might, but that only lasted for a short while.

“Huff... Huff... My stamina is...” Carrell huffed and puffed after suffering from his lack of stamina. He was able to display explosive prowess thanks to his mechanical heart, but his stamina consumption was simply far too high to sustain it for long periods of time.

“Argh!”

In the end, he was struck and flung far back by a mutated monster.

“Kyaaaaah!”

The mutated monsters identified him as their biggest threat and immediately rushed to eliminate him.

“...!”

He was in a critical situation.

Shwiiiish! Bam!

The +13 Horse Fly flew in a parabola leaving a trail of rainbow as it smashed the heads of the mutated monsters rushing at Carrell.

“Y-Your Majesty!” Carrell exclaimed with his eyes wide open.

“Hey, I told you to exercise regularly, didn’t I?” Siegfried said with a smirk. Then, he asked, “How will you perform once you get married?”

“Y-Your Majesty! That is a different matter!”

“Shut up! You’re to run around the training grounds five hundred times every single day from now on!”

“Eeeeh?!”

Carrell could not help but doubt his ears after hearing that he had to run around the training grounds five hundred times every month.

Why was he so surprised?

The distance was akin to running a full marathon, so Siegfried was basically asking him to undergo such grueling hardship that would make the marathoners lose several kilograms after one race.

“Y-Your Majesty, please reconsider–”

“This is a royal command.”

“A-Are you serious...?”

“You have to improve if you’re incapable. Your stamina is a vital part of our kingdom’s power!”

“...”

“Anyway, make sure you carry out my command!” Siegfried said before he suddenly stopped the incoming rush of mutated monsters with a swing of his weapon.

Sseuuuu...!

Then, a green fog started arising out of his body and soon surrounded the mutated monsters. The power of Irradiate, which was a skill he had not used for a long time, could only be described as shocking.

“Kyah! Kyaaaah!”

“Kieeek! Kiek!”

“Kyak! Kyak! Kyaaaaak!”

The mutated monsters squirmed in agony and started to fall one by one after getting exposed to Siegfried’s Irradiate, which was a superior form of poison.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Of course, even Siegfried too, was shocked by what he was witnessing.

‘D-Damn...! Look at their HP dropping like crazy!’ He was shocked to see their HP get deleted.

This was the first time he was using Irradiate in the Southern Great Jungle. The reason he held off using it was that the monsters here had high resistance against poison. In other words, it wouldn't be efficient to use Irradiate.

Still, the reason he used Irradiate this time was solely to test how it would synergize with his Ignite Crystal and see how much damage he could deal with it.

‘I wonder what will happen if I combine it with the Ignite Crystal’s DoT?’

The result was shocking. The mutated creatures exposed to Irradiate had their HP bar deleted in just a single second, and it seemed that the two Top-Rank Ignite Crystals slotted in his Quad-Turbo Shoulders became magical erasers that erased the enemy’s HP.

“Oh!”

“His Majesty is here!”

“Three cheers for His Majesty!”

“Hurrah!”

“Long live the Proatine Kingdom!”

The Proatine Kingdom’s soldiers were so in awe that they completely forgot they were still in battle and started to praise Siegfried.

However, that was only for a short while.

“Don’t forget our mission!”

“Resume the work!”

“Move it! His Majesty is buying time for us!”

The Proatine Kingdom’s soldiers hurriedly resumed their work of installing the gateways.

Five minutes later.

Woooong!

The newly completed gateway let out a blue hue as it activated and—

Flash! Flash! Flash!

A group of burly tanned men emerged from the gateway, and one of the soldiers first recognized them and shouted, “Ah! It’s the Labor Force!”

They were the barbarians of the north subjugated by Siegfried and absorbed into the Proatine Kingdom, and their outstanding physical prowess turned them into excellent laborers.

In other words, Carrell’s first mission was to install the gateway and his second mission was to immediately mobilize the Labor Force to the Great Jungle.

Why?

The magicians were in charge of installing the gateway, but it was the Labor Force who would build the fortifications around it.

What was the point of having a gateway if the monsters would smash it into smithereens just a few hours later?

“Set up the barricades!”

“Install the cannons!”

The Labor Force immediately got to work as soon as they arrived, and they installed all sorts of defensive fortifications around the gateway.

“All forces! Focus on installing the cannons first!”

The leader of the Labor Force was none other than Seung-Gu, who was currently using his Iron Golems as a replacement for heavy machinery by lifting the heavy materials around. Thanks to his golems, the fortification of the gateway occurred in an instant.

This job would have taken another kingdom at least a full day to complete, but it only took the Proatine Kingdom ten minutes to complete it.

Thus, the gateway was now fully fortified against the mutated creatures.

Wooong!

The gateway glowed brightly once again.

“Let’s go!”

“The portal is open!”

“Go go go!”

Hundreds of high-level Adventurers emerged from the gateway and joined Siegfried in vanquishing the swarms of mutated monsters. In other words, the Adventurers at the entrance of the Great Jungle had warped to where the gateway was installed.

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