Debuff Master

The Hunterian appeared like a mirage, but this Hunterian was far from the ordinary one Siegfried faced last time.

[Mutated Hunterian]

[A monster inhabiting the Southern Great Jungle.]

[It is an evolved primate that exists solely to hunt.]

[It has been mutated by an unknown energy and has become incomparably stronger.]

[Type: Monster]

[Race: Hunterian]

[Level: 280]

[Class: Mad Hunter]

[Note: It has an excellent camouflaging ability to approach unsuspecting victims. It is pretty good in combat as well.]

The Hunterians were the creatures that ruled over the Ishuka Ruin in the past, but they scattered all over the Great Jungle after Siegfried defeated the Hunterian King.

The Hunterians had mutated and had returned to the Ishuka Ruin as Mutated Hunterians. It could only mean that these Hunterians had been chosen to act as elite guards to defend their new leader, Hennessy.

“Their camouflage ability is really amazing,” Siegfried grumbled while swinging his +13 Horse Fly mercilessly at the Mutated Hunterian.

[Alert: You have killed a Mutated Hunterian!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: Your level has risen!]

[Alert: You are now Level 273!]

Siegfried’s experience bar was stuck at 99.9% and finally reached 100% after killing the Mutated Hunterian.

Thud!

The Mutated Hunterian dropped a green jewel.

“Hmm?” Siegfried picked up the jewel and inspected it.

[Ignite Catalyst]

[A jewel compressed with otherworldly energy.]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Effect: N/A]

[Note: This could be used to enhance the Top-Rank Ignite Crystal.]

Surprisingly, the Mutated Hunterian dropped an item that was completely different from anything the mutated creatures had been dropping so far.

“What?! Even the Top-Rank Ignite Crystal can be upgraded?!” Siegfried exclaimed in shock after reading the description of the Ignite Catalyst. The Top-Rank Ignite Crystal was already quite powerful, but the fact that it had another tier above it shocked him.

“Siegfried-nim! It’s a new material!”

“Yeah, I guess things are better here since the boss is here?” Siegfried replied with a smirk before picking up the Ignite Catalyst.

“But Siegfried-nim.”

“Yes?”

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That there was a monster beside me? I didn’t even notice it.”

“Ah, I didn’t either,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

“Huh?”

“Those guys are really good at hiding.”

The camouflaging ability of the Hunters was indeed something to be reckoned with, and the mutation meant that their ability to camouflage had become even stronger than before.

“Then how...?”

“This,” Siegfried replied while pointing at his monocle. Then, he added, “This shows me the entire area like a maphack.”

“Oh?”

“There was nothing when I looked, but the mini-map told me that there was a Mutated Hunterian hiding next to you.”

The Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance was indeed impressive. Not only was it able to see through the Mutated Hunterian’s camouflaging ability, but it even showed Siegfried the monster’s location as well.

“That’s a very useful item. It’s as useful as an Epic item...”

“The problem is... it’s not mine...”

“Huh?”

“I own two-thirds of this item and the remaining one-third belongs to someone else.”

“W-What do you mean by that?”

“There’s something like that... Haha...” Siegfried laughed awkwardly as he recalled Beowulf's face.

‘Ah... I have to tell him, but I can’t reach him...’

Siegfried tried numerous times to contact Beowulf regarding the incident, but it was impossible to get a hold of the latter. In fact, he was so difficult to contact that Siegfried started wondering whether he had quit the game or if something had happened to him in real life.

“Anyway, it seems that it’s not going to be easy,” Siegfried said while inspecting the Ishuka Ruin’s mini-map.

“Why?”

“The other mutated creatures have already left to hold off the Adventurers, but the monsters around the boss monster haven’t budged an inch.”

“Oh?”

“I guess we will have to break through them.”

“Yeah, it makes sense if you think about it since the elite guards in charge of protecting the king won’t leave their post just because the enemies are on the walls, right?” Gosran replied with a nod.

“Alright then. Shall we go? Ah, be careful not to get ambushed by them,” Siegfried said before making his way to the center of the Ishuka Ruin.

***

Siegfried ran up ahead away from the two and activated Irradiate.

Sseuuu...!

A green fog filled with his radioactive energy radiated from him.

Something shocking happened soon afterward.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of something falling to the ground echoed, and the Mutated Hunterians appeared on the ground like a mirage.

“Kuueook!”

“Keoook!”

Irradiate dealt an insane amount of damage to the Mutated Hunterians that they collapsed to the ground and spasmed until they met their demise.

“...”

“...”

Thud! Thud!

The Mutated Hunterians would always drop Ignite Catalysts upon death, and these materials that could later be used to enhance Top-Rank Ignite Crystals were littered all over the ground.

“Kyuuu! Run, owner punk, run! Don’t worry, Hamchi will pick them all up!” Hamchi exclaimed. He was wearing a gas mask, which he had pulled out from somewhere, and was using a pair of long tongs to pick up the catalysts. He urged Siegfried to run further ahead of them, as the giant hamster seemed scared of getting affected by Irradiate.

The duo worked quite efficiently together as Siegfried would sweep away the monsters using Irradiate and Hamchi would make sure that no Ignite Catalysts were left behind.

Of course, Gosran was not simply freeloading; she was doing her part as well.

“Lugha Arami Frost!”

“Shkrall!”

“Lugha Frost! Frost! Frost!”

Gosran cast her spells, erecting obstacles of ice walls that made it extremely difficult for the monsters to get in close proximity of Siegfried as the latter continued his run toward the Sun Pyramid located at the center of the Ishuka Ruin.

His goal was none other than Hennessy's cocoon.

Siegfried killed thousands of mutated creatures and hundreds of Mutated Hunterians before finally reaching the footsteps of the Sun Pyramid.

‘It’s over there!’ Siegfried looked up at the top of the pyramid that stood at least two hundred fifty meters tall.

The ordinary rocks used to build the pyramid were nowhere to be seen, as they had been replaced by golden building blocks shining majestically.

‘What?!’ Siegfried screamed inwardly after seeing the pyramid. Then, his eyes flashed and turned into a certain monetary sign as he thought, ‘If that’s made of real gold then...! It’s going to be worth a lot!’

However, that was not what was important right now.

“Grrrr!”

“Kyaaaak!”

“Kyaaah!”

The Mutated Hunterians were standing atop the pyramid and screaming threateningly at Siegfried as if they were showing their resolve to protect their new boss.

‘Here I go,’ Siegfried clenched his +13 Horse Fly tightly and activated Irradiate once again.

Thud...!

He took his first step up the Sun Pyramid and started his ascent.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Grrr!”

The mutated creatures rushed at him, but the combination of Irradiate and the +13 Horse Fly annihilated them completely.

The Sun Pyramid was two hundred fifty meters tall, and Siegfried was running up its steps, leaving behind a long trail of dead mutated creatures and Mutated Hunterians.

Death was all over the place as he climbed the steps, and anyone who witnessed this sight would have called his climb the Climb of Death.

Siegfried was soon barely thirty meters away from the cocoon where Hennessy was in.

Badump! Badump!

The cocoon spasmed, beating like a heart to show that Hennessy was in the middle of hatching.

Siegfried grimaced while looking at the grotesque sight and thought, ‘I just have to destroy that thing, and this will all be over.’

Thus, he decided to ignore the mutated creatures blocking his path and used Flying Sword.

Shwiiiiik!

The +13 Horse Fly drew a parabola in the air and flew around the monsters. It flew along the side of the Sun Pyramid until it struck the cocoon.

Splat!

A grotesque sound, which sounded as disgusting as the cocoon’s appearance, echoed as the cocoon squirmed.

However, that was about it.

[Hennessy’s Cocoon]

[HP: ??????????]

The cocoon lived up to its name as a cocoon and boasted extremely high Defense. It was impossible to deal even a single damage against it, even using the +13 Horse Fly.

‘I’ll have to play down all of my debuff fields and use Touch of Death... Even Torrential Flower Rain if I have to,’ Siegfried thought, acknowledging that the cocoon was indeed worthy of housing a boss monster. He decided to use all of his most powerful skills in quick succession to destroy it.

‘I’ll start with Splitting Heaven and Earth...’

The first skill in his lineup was none other than Splitting Heaven and Earth, which was indeed the most efficient way to get rid of all the annoying mobs trying to protect the cocoon.

Siegfried clenched his +13 Horse Fly tight and was about to slam it to the Sun Pyramid but...

“That is as far as you go.”

“That is as far as you go.”

“That is as far as you go.”

“That is as far as you go.”

He stopped and looked around after hearing four identical voices come from the four cardinal directions.

***

[Henessy’s Apparition]

[A creature formed from the consciousness of Apocalius’ fragment, Hennessy.]

[It is not as strong as Hennessy, but its combat prowess cannot be underestimated.]

[Type: Alien]

[Race: Coculas]

[Level: 300]

[Class: Poison Fighter]

The four humanoid monsters surrounding him were called Hennessy’s Apparitions, and they were a whopping Level 300.

‘Crazy...’ Siegfried cursed under his breath after seeing their details.

He was up against four Level 300 monsters. How was he supposed to defeat all four of them and destroy the cocoon? This was definitely not going to be an easy task.

‘I’ll evade them for as long as possible while focusing all attacks on the cocoon.’ Siegfried made up his mind, but...

Woooong!

The tip of the Sun Pyramid unleashed a green pillar of light.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

The cocoon pulsated at speeds incomparably faster than before, and a message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Hennessy]

[Status: Hatching]

[Time Remaining: 9 minutes, 59 seconds...]

There were supposed to be around twenty-four hours remaining before the boss monster emerged, but the timer was suddenly reduced to less than ten minutes. The only plausible explanation was that Hennessy felt threatened even after sending four of its apparitions, so it decided to hasten its hatching process.

Yes, it was most likely going to be unstable if it awakened earlier than scheduled, but what was it supposed to do? Awakening in such a manner was definitely much better than outright dying without seeing the light of day after all.

‘It looks like I’m in trouble...’ Siegfried grimaced and grumbled inwardly.

However, Siegfried did not give up and tightly clenched his +13 Horse Fly before immediately placing down Blaze Field and Shadow Swamp. Then, he rushed to the Hennessy’s Apparitions without wasting any time.

“O insignificant creature.”

“You cannot win against us.”

“Die!”

“Have a taste of our venom!”

The apparitions defended themselves against Siegfried’s attacks by using all sorts of strange spells. They clearly had the advantage when it came to strength and speed, but Siegfried held the clear advantage when it came to technique and movement.

Bam!

The +13 Horse Fly smashed one of the apparitions.

Puk! Puuuk!

His attack was immediately followed up by the striking techniques he had learned from Leonid.

‘They’re quite strong, but they’re techniques are—what?!’ Siegfried's train of thought was interrupted when he noticed something amiss. His vision was dimming, and he felt extremely dizzy all of a sudden.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: You have been afflicted by Poison!]

Shockingly, Hennessy’s Apparition hadn't been able to hit Siegfried at all. In fact, it was the other way around, but they managed to poison him for some reason.

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