Debuff Master

“...”

The Santa Climbers were rendered speechless by how quickly Siegfried changed his mind. He was so indifferent to their plight to the point he sounded cruel yet he suddenly sprung into action the moment they gave him everything they had on their person.

In Siegfried’s defense, he was neither indifferent nor cruel to them. Yes, he did not do it intentionally but he did open a safe passage for the climbers, and he did not stop them from leeching off of him.

If he were to be accused of anything, then it'd be that he knew when to demand equivalent exchange.

Meanwhile, Siegfried was elated to see quite a few valuables mixed in among the random stuff that the climbers had spilled on the bunker floor.

‘Oh? There are a few valuable things,’ Siegfried thought while grinning inside. He had analyzed the more than two hundred miscellaneous items scattered on the floor and spotted a Rune of Transcendence: V among them.

The Rune of Transcendence: V from Elliott’s Inventory was a rock inscribed with ancient runic language, and it was known to possess a very unique power.

The official setting of BNW was that an Adventurer was capable of leveling up thanks to the Rune of Transcendence imprinted on the back of their hand. The Rune of Transcendence: V was an item that could be used to enhance an Adventurer’s Rune of Transcendence, and it would increase the experience point gained by the Adventurer by 3.3%.

‘Sigh... You should’ve given this to me sooner rather than later,’ Siegfried let out a sigh inwardly. He couldn't understand why Elliott did not give him a quest even though he had such a good item.

However, it was not that strange for Elliott not to offer the Rune of Transcendence: V as a reward. The item could only be used by Adventurers, and most normal NPCs would not even recognize its value.

Elliott probably thought it was some fascinating rock with rune inscriptions on it without realizing that it was an ancient artifact possessing tremendous value.

An NPC did not have the Rune of Insight, so it was impossible for them to recognize the ancient rune unless they were scholars or had a knack for appraising things. However, Siegfried could easily recognize it, as he was an Adventurer, and he immediately agreed to help the Santa Climbers after seeing the rune.

Of course, he could have thrown them out after they emptied their belongings, but he was not a scumbag who would do that.

‘I should hold up my end of the bargain if they paid me,’ he thought.

Give and take was his motto in life. Well, nobody knew when he would suddenly stab someone else in the back for his own profit, though.

‘I should quickly wrap this up and go to sleep,’ Siegfried thought while clenching his +13 Horse Fly as he walked into the darkness while a blizzard raged.

“I feel wronged...”

“It’s... too... cold...”

“Let’s go... Come with us... Let’s sleep together...”

The dark figures with red eyes murmured while walking toward him.

Siegfried nodded and replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that you won't feel cold anymore.”

Fwaaaaah!

He placed down Blaze Field. The flames brightly lit the snowy fields.

“Do you need friends, too?” Siegfried asked before placing down Shadow Swamp.

Seuruk...! Seuruk...!

Black shadows similar to the monsters rose up from the ground.

“Let’s go...”

“Together...”

“Let’s sleep... eternally...”

The black monsters lunged at Siegfried all at once.

Puk! Pukeok!

Siegfried infused lightning attribute mana into his +13 Horse Fly in preparation for fighting the black monsters, and this proved to be an excellent choice. Anyone could tell these monsters had the dark attribute, so lightning attribute attacks would be extremely effective against them.

‘Let me give you a taste of something good!’ Siegfried swung his +13 Horse Fly at the black monsters at the front.

Zaaaaap!

The black monster was electrocuted and grilled by the +13 Horse Fly. It fell to the snowy ground and dissipated into a thick black smoke.

Sseuuu...!

It seemed the attack of the +13 Horse Fly infused with lightning attribute was extremely effective against them.

‘Piece of cake,’ Siegfried smugly thought before beating the black monsters one by one.

The result was the same. The combination of his Blaze Field, Shadow Swamp, and the lightning attribute attacks made it extremely easy for him to kill the black monsters.

“What the...? Are they the weakest ones in Mount Kunlun?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion while looking at the black monsters he beat to the ground.

Mount Kunlun was teeming with powerful and aggressive creatures, but it was ironic how the most vicious-looking ones turned out to be the weak ones.

“Oh well, I guess you can’t judge them by their looks,” Siegfried shrugged and walked back to the bunker.

“Kyuuu! Owner punk! Behind you!” Hamchi cried out.

“Hmm?”

“Owner punk! Kyuuu!”

Siegfried turned around after hearing Hamchi’s cry and...

“Ughhh...”

“Cold...”

“Let’s sleep... together...”

“Let’s go...”

The black monsters got up from the ground.

***

“What the heck? They resurrect or what?” Siegfriedgrumbled in disbelief.

There were those kinds of monsters from time to time that could replenish their HP or gain a two hundred percent buff if they were in danger. There were also rare monsters capable of resurrecting.

Siegfried suspected the black monsters were the type to resurrect and flashed his Rune of Insight at them.

[Night Stalker]

[The ghost of a climber who foolishly dared to scale Mount Kunlun.]

[It only appears in Mount Kunlun and attacks any living humans to appease their own anger.]

[Type: Undead]

[Level: 280]

[Class: Undying]

[Note: Unlimited Resurrection]

“W-What?! It can resurrect endlessly?!” Siegfried shrieked in horror. A monster that could resurrect endlessly? How was that any different from being immortal?

However, endless resurrection wasn't the only thing that the Night Stalkers could do.

“Where are you going?”

“Let’s go together.”

“Revenge...! Revenge...!”

The Night Stalkers lunged at Siegfried faster than before upon resurrecting.

‘They’re fast!’ Siegfried jumped back to widen the gap between them and used Splitting Heaven and Earth.

Krwaaaang!

Splitting Heaven and Earth targeted the area in front of him in a fan-shape, sweeping away every single Night Stalker to their deaths.

The Night Stalkers were littered across the now-decimated snowy ground.

“Will they still resurrect? No way, right?” Siegfried muttered while remaining on alert.

Seuruk... Seuruk...!

Shockingly, the Night Stalkers got back up.

Sseuuu...!

And their bodies emitted a much thicker black smoke than a while ago.

“Hmm...” Siegfried was clueless about what to do.

“It’s futile...”

“Let’s go...”

“We will... take you...”

“...With us.”

In fact, the Night Stalker grew stronger after resurrecting.

[Night Stalker]

[Level: 285]

They were Level 280 just a while ago, but they suddenly became Level 285 after dying just now.

Were they growing even stronger after dying and coming back to life? What kind of overpowered nonsense was this?

“Erm...” Siegfried couldn't tell how he was supposed to fight the Night Stalkers. How was he supposed to defeat a monster that not only came back to life but grew stronger every time it did? What in the roly-poly doll was this?

At least a roly-poly doll would stay the same whenever it got back up, but these Night Stalkers would gain five levels just by dying and coming back to life!

“Ah, this is so disgusting... Maybe I should become a monster or something. I'm busting my ass just to level up, yet these guys can level up from dying? What the hell,” Siegfried grumbled.

What was his strategy? He could not think of any strategy at all. Irradiate was not going to work, as they were undead, and his physical attacks proved useless against them.

Death’s Touch could probably kill them, but there were too many of them.

What was the point of killing one when he would have to deal with the others too?

Siegfried went back to the bunker while the Night Stalkers were still in the process of resurrecting and locked the door. Then, he turned around and said, “Alright, listen up.”

***

“...”

The Santa Climbers were at a loss for words at what they witnessed.

“Y-Your Majesty? Aren’t you going to fight and kill those monsters...?” Elliott asked.

“Let’s just ignore them.”

“Eh?”

“What’s the point of fighting when they don’t even die? It’s just a waste of energy.”

“B-But!”

“They will probably disperse once daylight comes,” Siegfried said while picking up the items littered on the bunker floor and shoving them into his Inventory.

[Alert: You have obtained Rune of Transcendence: V!]

[Alert: You may upgrade your current Rune of Transcendence: I!]

[Alert: Do you wish to upgrade?]

[Yes!]

A bright light enveloped the back of his hand the moment he pressed "yes," and the Rune of Transcendence: V was absorbed by it.

Ding!

A message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: You have successfully upgraded your Rune of Transcendence: I!]

[Alert: You will permanently gain 3.3% more experience points!]

Siegfried went back to his spot and sprawled out on the floor.

“You guys must be tired, too. Why don’t you get some sleep? I’m sure they will go away in the morning,” Siegfried said before taking two pieces of cloth and stuffing them into his ears.

A few minutes later.

“ZzzZz... Zzzz...”

He fell asleep while snoring and hugging Hamchi.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Meanwhile, the Night Stalkers were banging on the bunker like crazy, but...

“Haha...” Elliott ended up laughing in disbelief after seeing Siegfried's calmness.

However, there was nothing else they could do, as their last hope, Siegfried van Proa, had decided to come back inside the bunker and go to sleep.

“I guess we should sleep too. However, we will form pairs and stand watch just in case those monsters manage to break through the bunker.”

In the end, Elliott gave the order for the Santa Climbers to sleep.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The Night Stalkers banged on the bunker for the whole night, but it was to no avail. Their Attack Power wasn't that high, so they couldn't destroy the bunker.

Finally, the awaited daylight came.

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