Debuff Master

“Mmm...” Siegfried woke up and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

Hamchi pulled out the piece of cloth from both of his ears and greeted, “Kyu! Good morning, owner punk!”

“Did you sleep well?”

“I did! Kyu!”

“I think I did too, but it’s not enough.”

“Yeah! You didn’t sleep that long! Kyu!”

“I know right...” Siegfried replied with a nod before walking over to the firing port. He took a look outside, ‘Are they gone?’

There was nothing outside the bunker. Only the ground he turned upside down with Splitting Heaven and Earth was there, but there were no signs of the Night Stalkers anywhere.

“They left,” Siegfried muttered after confirming the Night Stalkers were only active at night. Then, he proceeded to wake up the climbers, “Alright, rise and shine.”

The Santa Climbers woke up one by one.

“Ahh...!”

“I didn’t get a wink of sleep all night...”

“You’re weird if you did. How could you have slept in that situation?”

Siegfried and Hamchi had a good night's sleep, but it wasn't the case for the Santa Climbers. It was understandable why they could not sleep soundly, as they trembled in fright all night and flinched whenever the Night Stalkers banged at the bunker.

‘How will you climb to the top being such a coward?’ Siegfried thought and smirked.

“Alright, time to get out.” Siegfried shooed the climbers out of the bunker before putting it back in his Inventory. He looked up at Mount Kunlun’s peak in the distance and muttered, “Ah... When am I going to go all the way up there?”

Mount Kunlun’s peak was barely visible behind the thick fog, but the red glow from the lava in the crater made it possible for anyone to tell that it was indeed the peak. Also, there were streams of lava flowing down from the Ancient Crater, which further proved that it was indeed the mountain’s peak.

However, just because it was visible did not mean it was close. Siegfried had to cross numerous steep cliffs and snowy fields to reach where the lava streams had formed a pool.

‘Tsk... The base is cold, yet the top is hot? This is probably the most bizarre mountain there is...’ Siegfried clicked his tongue in both frustration and awe. How was it possible for both temperatures to coexist in a mountain? ‘Am I going to run into some mountain deity?’

There was no way something like that was going to happen, as the master of this mountain was none other than Deus. Something like a mountain deity wouldn't dare infringe upon his territory.

“Let’s go, Hamchi.

“Kyuuu! Alright!”

“We need to reach the top as quickly as possible–”

It was then.

Woooong!

The space beside Siegfried suddenly twisted and his Inventory automatically opened.

“...!”

His eyes shot wide open from shock.

Was this even possible? Why would his inventory suddenly open on its own?

Well, it did happen once when the Soul Separation Device came out of his Inventory on its own accord and flew to Verdandi, but this was a completely different situation.

“What the heck?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion.

Sseuuu...!

The Ignite Soul emerged slowly from his Inventory while letting out green smoke.

“Heok?!” Siegfried gasped.

Then, a message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: The Ignite Soul refuses to stay in your Inventory!]

[Alert: The Ignite Soul is trying to escape from your Inventory!]

The Fragment of Apocalius, the Ignite Soul, seemed to possess its own ego judging by how it was trying to get out of Siegfried’s inventory.

‘What nonsense is this?!’ Siegfried exclaimed in horror and realized the Ignite Soul was something that had to be destroyed at all costs.

He previously thought he could just keep it with him until a dimensional storm occurred in the Great Rift and he could simply chuck it in there if he failed to destroy it now, but that would have been a huge mistake on his part.

The Ignite Soul was not something that could be hidden or kept against its will!

***

“Get back in there!” Siegfried gathered his mana and tried to shove the Ignite Soul back into his Inventory.

However, the Ignite Soul was not an easy opponent.

Wooooong!

It retaliated by unleashing a massive amount of energy after it realized that Siegfried was trying to shove it back into the Inventory.

Sseuuuu!

The green smoke around it grew thicker, and Siegfried instantly knew that the smoke was poisonous.

“Get back! Don’t come near if you value your life!” Siegfried hurriedly warned the climbers and mustered more of his mana to contain the Ignite Soul, which proved to be not so easy.

‘D-Damn it! What is this thing?!’ He was shocked by the sheer amount of energy the fragment was unleashing. He trembled as if every single vein in his body was wriggling out of control. His face turned blue, and he was quickly covered in sweat.

“O-Owner punk! Hamchi will help!” Hamchi exclaimed and took out his magical hamster wheel. He ran as fast as he could and injected a large amount of mana into Siegfried.

“I-It’s not enough! I need more!” Siegfried shouted.

[Alert: Warning! Warning!]

[Alert: You are running out of mana!]

[Alert: The Ignite Soul is pushing your mana back!]

The message window in front of his eyes turned red.

“Argh...! H-Hamchi! I need more mana!”

“A-All right, owner punk! Huff... Huff...! KYUUUUU!” Hamchi spun the wheel as fast as he could after seeing the seriousness on Siegfried’s face.

The magic wheel rotated at the speed of light and supplied even more mana to Siegfried.

Woooong!

Siegfried was no longer being pushed back by the Ignite Soul.

‘You want to have a go, eh? Let’s see who wins!’ He was now armed with Hamchi’s support and decided to go on the offensive against the Ignite Soul.

Their struggle continued for ten more minutes.

“Huff... Huff... Huff...!”

Siegfried successfully managed to force the Ignite Soul back into his inventory. He fell on his butt right after, and Hamchi collapsed on the ground beside him.

“Huff... Huff... Kyuuu...!”

The two were completely exhausted.

[Siegfried van Proa]

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

[Mana: ??????????]

[Stamina: ??????????]

His HP, Mana, and Stamina were almost at rock bottom. Trying to force the Ignite Soul back into his Inventory had used up most of his energy.

“Ah, what the hell is this so early in the morning...? Huff... Huff...”

“Owner punk... Huff... Hamchi is tired...”

Siegfried and Hamchi stayed on the ground catching their breaths for quite a while after that.

Hamchi got up after somewhat recovering and turned to Siegfried, who was munching on a Smoked Three-Legged Octopus, before saying, “Kyuu...! Owner punk.”

“Hmm?”

“We need to destroy that Ignite Soul! That thing shouldn’t exist! Kyuu!”

Siegfried nodded in agreement and said, “Yeah, we need to, no matter what it takes. This has to be destroyed no matter what, and I’m thinking of asking help from Master if I have to.”

“Kyu! That’s right! We need to destroy it ASAP!”

“Let’s go,” Siegfried said and continued climbing while chewing on his Smoked Three-Legged Octopus.

“...”

“...”

“...”

The Santa Climbers watched with their mouths agape as Siegfried and Hamchi walked away. They were absolutely stunned by what they had just witnessed, even though they had no idea what exactly happened.

***

Siegfried and Hamchi resumed their climb at an even faster pace after they forced the Ignite Soul back into the inventory.

Whiiiiiish!

The blizzard grew fiercer and blew snow the size of an adult’s finger.

Elliott approached Siegfried and warned, “Your Majesty, we are now stepping into unexplored territory.”

“Unexplored territory?”

“This is the place where we failed our past seven attempts.”

“Why though?”

“We were unable to see ahead of us because of this blizzard that rages so strong that it completely blocks the sun, making it impossible to see ahead. Not to mention, it drains our stamina quite rapidly, forcing us to quit.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“We will reach the lava streams once we get past this point, and the peak awaits us behind that.”

“Hmm...” Siegfried rubbed his chin. Then, he said, “Let’s just go back.”

“Ehhhhh?! W-What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?!” Elliott fiercely retorted in sheer disbelief.

“Why are you so desperate to throw your life away?”

“...”

“You said you failed seven times here, right? I’m sure the weather was not the only reason.”

“T-That is...”

“Do you even know what shame is? Did you want to climb all the way to the peak with that flimsy party of yours? Let’s be honest, did the thought that maybe you guys have mental problems ever cross your mind?” Siegfried said icily.

“B-But Your Majesty has already taken everything we own! Please do not give up now!”

“Yes, I did receive what you gave,” Siegfried replied with a smile. Then, he added, “But I believe I have already done more than enough for you. Wait, I don’t think I got paid enough if you consider that I paved the way, saved, and provided shelter.”

“Ahem...”

“Let’s just go back now. Even I can’t save you if something happens in here–” Siegfried said but he was suddenly interrupted.

“Kyu! Owner punk! Look over there!” Hamchi cried out while pointing into the blizzard.

“Hmm?”

“It’s those guys! Kyu!”

Siegfried looked where Hamchi was pointing.

“Let’s go...”

“Together...”

“I feel wronged...”

“Let’s sleep... together...”

There were numerous red circles from within the blizzards approaching them, and Siegfried knew that they were the Night Stalkers. It was still daytime, but the blizzard had covered the sun completely, making it possible for them to move about.

“Tsk...” Siegfried clicked his tongue after seeing the monsters.

Those monsters would come back to life and become stronger upon getting killed. The only way to deal with them was by waiting for the sun to shine. However, the blizzard had blocked the sun completely, which meant waiting for sunlight wasn't an option.

Siegfried considered the possibility of placing down the Mobile Bunker and turning this into a battle of attrition, but there was no guarantee that the blizzard would even subside this high up in the mountain. He also didn't have the time to sit around in a bunker, as he had to either race to the peak or descend from the mountain and find another way to deal with the Ignite Soul.

“What should I do...? Do I have to wait for the blizzard to subside? Maybe it will tomorrow...?” he muttered.

“The blizzard here will never subside, Your Majesty,” Elliott said.

“Huh? What? It won’t stop?”

“Yes, it keeps raging regardless of whether it is night or day. Of course, that means the Night Stalkers are active—Y-Your Majesty?!” Elliott screamed after Siegfried suddenly did something totally unexpected.

Siegfried suddenly dashed forward and ran past the Night Stalkers.

A frontal breakout!

He had chosen to charge into the blizzard.

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om