Debuff Master

Right after Siegfried’s party had made a run for it...

“Boss! Booosss!”

“The boss monsters mine!”

“Booooosss!”

The Adventurers charged up the Sun Pyramid and instantly reached its peak.

“H-Hiiik!” Seung-Gu shrieked in horror after seeing the Adventurers. “What are they? A swarm of zombies?”

The Adventurers climbing up the Sun Pyramid looked like a bunch of hungry zombies, and this was a great example of just how obsessed Adventurers were when it came to obtaining items that could make them become even stronger.

However, nothing was waiting for them at the top of the Sun Pyramid. What welcomed the Adventurers was a cocoon that had burst open, the dead apparitions, and the remains of the boss monster, Hennessy.

“W-What the hell?!”

“What’s this?!”

“Son of a!”

“Give me my boss monster!”

“Where’s the boss monster?”

“Fuck!”

“Which bastard did this?!”

“Some rat stole my boss monster!”

The Adventurers raged after they belatedly realized what had taken place. Judging by the scene of the crime, they were certain that somebody had gone behind their backs to slurp up the boss monster while they were busy with the mobs outside.

“Which bastard did this?!”

“Who is it?!”

“They can’t have gotten far! Catch 'em’!”

“I’m going to wring their neck like a wet cloth if I catch them!”

The Adventurers were certain that someone or some ill-mannered bastard either manipulated them or made a fool out of them. Whichever the truth may be, the fact that the boss monster was stolen right under their noses remained unchanged.

Thus, they spread out in all directions in search of the criminal who had stolen the boss monster from them. They searched high and low to find the criminal, but it was to no avail.

Why?

It was all because Siegfried was already far away from the Ishuka Ruin.

***

Siegfried’s party was currently heading to the entrance of the Great Jungle.

“Phew!” Siegfried let out a sigh of relief as soon as they reached the entrance. He wiped away the sweat on his forehead and said, “It would’ve been bad if I had gotten caught! That was a close call!”

“Indeed it was! Kyuuu! The Adventurers would have beaten you to a pulp if they found out you used them and stabbed them in the back to monopolize the boss monster!” Hamchi exclaimed in response.

“Hey! What do you mean I stabbed them in the back?! Do you think I did that because I wanted to?!” Siegfried retorted.

“K-Kyuu?”

Siegfried took out the Ignite Soul and screamed at Hamchi, “Do you know how important this thing is?!”

“K-Kyuu?”

“What do you think is going to happen if this falls into the wrong hands?!”

“Kyuu?!”

“That’s right! I had my reasons! Got it?!” Siegfried screamed in anger.

He was right. The Fragment of Apocalius, the Ignite Soul, was an object that had to be destroyed. It was not something that should fall into the hands of an Adventurer.

Would Siegfried be able to obtain the Ignite Soul if he had hunted Hennessy together with the Adventurers?

It might have been impossible, as there was no guarantee the Adventurers were going to one hundred percent concede the Ignite Soul to him. There were bound to be arguments over the Ignite Soul, and it would most likely erupt into infighting among the Adventurers.

“You talk big, but you don’t know crap!” Siegfried screamed and stomped toward the Bavarian Workshop.

“Oh? You’re already here? Have you already managed to kill the ruler of the ruin?” Quandt asked while seemingly delighted by the visit.

“Shh!” Siegfried raised a finger between his lips and hushed him. Then, he whispered, “This is a secret.”

”Why?”

”The Adventurers will misunderstand if they find out.”

”A-Alright, I’ll keep it a secret. You and our workshop are already in the same boat, right? Bwahaha!” Quandt burst into laughter after learning that he now shared a secret with his beloved Siegfried.

“Hey! Keep it down! There are a lot of ears listening!”

”M-My bad...”

”Let’s talk inside.”

”Sure, let’s go in.”

Siegfried and Quandt entered the Bavarian Workshop’s mobile smithy and headed straight to the most secure room there was.

”Take a look at this,” Siegfried said while showing the Ignite Catalyst.

”Hmm?” Quandt raised a brow after seeing the foreign material.

”I got this from the high-ranking monsters guarding the Ishuka Ruin, and I think it can be useful somehow. I inspected it with my Rune of Insight, and it tells me that it can be used to enhance my Ignite Crystals.”

”Really? Why don’t you give me whatever you have with you? I’ll try to make use of them.”

”Thank you,” Siegfried said and opened his inventory to pass all of the Ignite Catalyst in his possession. Then, he added, “Also, there’s this, too.”

”Hmm?”

”I got this after killing the Ruler of the Ishuka Ruin... Do you think it can be destroyed?” He asked while showing the Ignite Soul to him.

”Oh?! So this must be the source of all the problems happening in the jungle.”

”You think so?”

”Yes, that looks like a core with a very dense concentration of the otherworldly energy in the jungle.”

”We need to destroy this. Do you think it’s possible?”

”Well, our workshop does have something we use to destroy these kinds of troublesome things...”

”Really?”

”Yes, we often research energy cores or strange minerals like that thing, but some of them tend to be extremely sinister. I heard there were some energy cores in the past that turned every animal around it into undead creatures too.”

“Hiiik!”

“Of course, those are highly unstable and dangerous, so our workshop has a moral duty to destroy them.”

”Then, can you destroy this, too?”

”Hmm... The energy it holds is on a completely different level from what we have dealt with so far, but I believe it's possible.”

”Then please destroy this, and make sure you destroy it as soon as possible.”

”It will take three hours to bring our equipment over, so why don’t you leave this with me? Besides, it will take around the same time for me to upgrade your Top-Rank Ignite Crystal, so you’ll have to come back anyway.”

“Alright,” Siegfried passed the Ignite Soul to Quandt and left the Bavarian Workshop.

Siegfried looked at Gosran and asked, “I believe we have something to discuss, no?”

”I think so?”

”Shall we talk about it over a cup of tea?”

”Sure.”

Siegfried and Gosran left the mobile smithy.

***

Most games did not require players to consume food or drinks.

Why?

Because it was just a game and only NPCs were designed to eat for survival.

However, BNW was not just a game. An Adventurer did not have to eat three meals a day, but they had to eat at least more than one meal three to four days a week.

BNW was a game known for its realism, and this was reflected in their system where an Adventurer’s HP and Stamina would get debuffed from a status ailment called Hunger if they did not eat properly.

Growl!

Siegfried’s stomach was growling, so he headed to a nearby pojang macha[1] at the entrance.

The two started their discussion after ordering their food.

”I was quite surprised to learn that you were the descendant of the God Arrow, Windforce,” Siegfried broke the silence first.

”Were you?”

”Since when did you become the God Arrow’s descendant?”

”It was around when I just started playing the game.”

”Oh?”

”So that’s probably around six months before I met you. I was hunting in the beginner’s hunting ground when my master saw me and took me in as a disciple.”

”I see...” Siegfried muttered. Then, he asked, “But why did you hide it?”

”Because you hid it too?” Gosran retorted, pointing out that Siegfried was hiding his true strength back at the Sohoca Ruin.

”T-That was...! Ahem!”

“I mean, there’s no reason to brag about it, right? Things will just become troublesome if other people find out about it.”

”I agree with that.”

Siegfried was rendered speechless and could no longer say anything. However, it was not that he was completely silenced.

”Then why did you suddenly attack me last time?” Siegfried asked while recalling the time they fought together to bring down the Ultra Minotaur.

At that time, Gosran shot arrows at Siegfried right after they defeated the Ultra Minotaur.

“No reason, really.”

“Ha?”

“You seemed quite strong, so I shot a few arrows out of curiosity. I didn’t have any hostility toward you.”

“...”

“And as expected, you were quite strong.”

“T-Then, why did you suddenly disappear that time?”

“Ah, you mean at Mount Kunlun?”

There was a time when Gosran went to Mount Kunlun together with Siegfried and she suddenly disappeared right after.

“Yes, you disappeared without saying goodbye that time.”

“The elder-nim at that time asked me to scram, so I had no choice.”

“Huh? Master did?”

“He told me not to be around you since I’m the God Arrow’s descendant.”

“Oh?”

“Elder-nim seems to loath God Arrow Windforce. He mentioned that he would beat him to death if they met now.”

“Ah!” Siegfried suddenly realized something. If there was one time that Deus acted like a mortal and expressed his emotion, it was when they were discussing the powerful beings that he could no longer defeat.

“My disciple.”

“Yes, Master?”

“Be careful of the descendant of God Arrow Windforce.”

“Why is it specifically the descendant of God Arrow Windforce, Master?”

“The disciple of the God Arrow Windforce has skills that are direct counters of your skills. You won’t be able to beat the God Arrow Windforce’s descendant unless you reach a certain level so remember to run away if ever you bump into them. You can stay if you want to become a porcupine, but I suggest retreating. Do you understand?”

“I won’t be able to beat them?”

“Yes.”

“How will they counter me?”

“You will realize it yourself once you clash with that descendant.”

“Then, will I be able to win if I reach a certain level?”

“Yes, you will be able to beat the descendant of God Arrow Windforce once you reach the 2nd stage of the skills I had created.”

“How strong is the 2nd stage?”

“You will realize it once you reach that level, so don’t be too conscious of it and train hard for now.”

“Yes, Master.”

From what Siegfried had heard, Deus had struggled the most against God Arrow Windforce, and he had never won a single battle against the latter. In other words, God Arrow Windforce’s descendant, Gosran, was Siegfried’s natural predator, which was the reason why Deus was not so fond of her at that time.

“So something like that happened...”

“I didn’t mean to deceive you, and neither do I plan to start now. I’m your comrade and not your enemy, right? Also, we are on the same side.”

“On the same side?”

“I’m a member of the Guardians.”

“What?!” Siegfried was shocked after hearing the word "Guardians" from her mouth.

“Woo-Jin Oppa recruited me, and I'm here because of the quest he gave to me.”

“Oh?”

“So there’s no reason for me to be hostile toward you, do you agree?”

“I guess...?” Siegfried trailed the end of his words. Then, he said, “We don’t have a reason to kill each other, but there’s a reason for us to fight—well, at least for me.”

“Then what if we make time later and have a proper duel?”

“Should we?”

“It’s not impossible, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Siegfried and Gosran agreed to set a date and have a proper duel in the future.

“Okay, so we won’t hold back that time and have a proper duel–”

It was then.

Kaboom!

The sound of an explosion reverberated and rocked their seats and tables.

Bam! Crash!

The tent they were in failed to withstand the wind pressure caused by the explosion and flew away, causing Siegfried, Gosran, and Hamchi to get swept up by it.

“W-What the hell happened?!” Siegfried pulled the tent off of him and inspected the situation.

“...!”

Then, his eyes shot wide open.

Fwaaaa! Fwaaaah!

A section of the Bavarian Workshop’s mobile smithy had been completely destroyed and was engulfed in flames.

1. This is known as a Pojang Macha in Korea. These are tents set up on the side of the road where people can enjoy booze and food. ☜

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m