Debuff Master

It was five in the morning in Korea and two in the afternoon local time.

The developer and distributor of BNW—Hive Games Entertainment—was holding a press conference at their headquarters in Tennessee, United States of America.

One minute before the start of the press conference…

Murmur… murmur…?

The Comb Section Stadium, where the press conference was being held, was filled with noise because of the crowd that gathered for the press conference. It was normal for such a crowd to gather and fill up an entire stadium since BNW was a game that boasted more active users compared to all previous games that held the top spot combined, and the influence of the game that commanded three hundred million active users was massive.

Their revenue?

It was a shocking figure, but that wasn’t important since a long time had already passed since BNW took over the world’s mainstream media through its three hundred million active users. In fact, there were many videos, comics, fan art, E-Sports, novels, movies, and a lot of other multimedia content that used BNW as their model.

Software power!

BNW was able to acquire significant influence over the world by offering ‘Earthlings’ an otherworldly experience, and this effect was similar to how Hollywood gave significant influence over the world in the early years of the film industry. Therefore, the Comb Section Stadium was filled with not only reporters from every mainstream news channel but from independent reporters, reviewers, and bloggers as well.

“Hello, my name is Oppenheimer, and I am the Vice Chairman of Hive Games Entertainment,” Oppenheimer said as he appeared in front of the guests, and then he continued, “Our stance on the recent event that has caused an uproar—”

However, Oppenheimer couldn’t finish his words.

“Is it an event by Hive?”

“There is a conspiracy theory that this is all a plot by Hive to restrain users! I would like your opinion on that!”

“What kind of an event ruins a user’s account? Isn’t this crossing the line?!”

“If the Rune of Transcendence is sealed, won’t leveling up be impossible?”

“What will happen to those who lose? Will Hive bend the rules and let them create a new account?!”

A torrent of questions came crashing down on Oppenheimer. There were bound to be a lot of questions from the community and media since all sorts of rumors and misinformation were flying around on the community forum related to the event.

However, it didn’t take Oppenheimer long to answer their questions.

“First of all…”

Oppenheimer’s words silenced the rowdy crowd.

“All of you will have to remember our stubborn stance on managing the game. I emphasize once again that our company does not get involved in the game unless there is a bug, graphical error, or technical issues, including but not limited to network connectivity issues. Therefore, this event was created by the NPCs rather than our company. In short, I am officially announcing that this event was fully planned and created by the officials under the Emperor of the Marchioni Empire,” Oppenheimer explained.

“Vice Chairman-nim! What does sealing the Rune of Transcendence when a player dies in the competition mean?” a reporter asked.

“It means that their level will be reset to one and they can no longer level up,” Oppenheimer calmly replied.

“Then the accounts of those who lose will be…” the reporter muttered.

“It will be no different from an empty can. The user will have their level reset to one, and they will be unable to level up for the next ten years,” Oppenheimer continued the reporter’s words.

“Isn’t it too much of a price to pay for losing an event…?” the reporter asked in response while seemingly taken aback by Oppenheimer’s straightforward response.

“All of you will have to remember the ‘high-risk, high-return’ philosophy. Nobody is forcing the users to join the tournament, and the decision to take the risk is solely up to them. They do not have to join if they are scared of the consequences,” Oppenheimer nonchalantly replied.

“The users still think that the consequences are a bit too much… Can’t Hive intervene in this matter and reduce the risk…?” the reporter asked.

“Does it not exist in hardcore modes?” Oppenheimer retorted.

‘Hardcore Mode’ was a difficulty mode in video games, and dying in that difficult mode meant that the game was over.

“H-Hardcore mode…?”

“Joining the event simply means that the users are switching on ‘hardcore mode’ by their own will. They do not have to participate if they do not want to,” Oppenheimer added.

Gasp!

The crowd was shocked by his words.

“In lieu of that, our company will not provide any support to the losers of this tournament, and this is something that will not change no matter what,” Oppenheimer emphasized once again.

“Then… the losers will have to delete their accounts and leave the game…” muttered a reporter.

“The answers can be found within the game,” Oppenheimer said. He paused for a moment and smiled before he continued, “Any issues that happen within the game may only be solved from within the game. Who knows? Perhaps someone will be able to find a solution to this? However, it is not going to be easy since there can only be one winner, and it would be better for the losers to just quit the game outright.”

“Can the losers in the tournament make a comeback?” asked a reporter.

“I do not know,” replied Oppenheimer with a shake of his head.

“…!”

“I could find out if I wanted to, but our company is not interested in finding out, and we do not have any plans of looking into it as well,” Oppenheimer added with a grin.

“Haha…”

“I think I have resolved all of your queries so shall we call it a day? Thank you very much for coming here today. Then, I shall excuse myself,” Oppenheimer said before directly leaving the press conference.

The press conference was supposed to end right there and then, but…

“Vice Chairman-nim!”

“Please wait a moment!”

“Aren’t you being too irresponsible?!”

“How is this any different from making content that’s basically no different from gambling, then pushing all the responsibility and consequences to the users?!”

It seemed that the people at the press conference were not satisfied with his response, as they desperately tried to prevent him from leaving, but Oppenheimer had already left the stage, and he soon disappeared from their view.

***

Tae-Sung logged out of the game after upgrading his gears. He accessed Trade Mania to exchange his gold for cash.

In front of the bank, Tae-Sung smiled while looking at his remaining debt. “Yes, there’s only a bit more to go.”

He was really about to repay all of his debt.

He only had three hundred million won left to pay back before he could kiss his debtor life goodbye. A hundred million won to the loansharks, and two hundred million won to the bank.

He would end up penniless after repaying all of his debts, but he was sure that his life would take a turn for the better compared to when he was still drowning in debt. In addition, he wasn’t really worried about the future anymore because he would start earning more money from now on.

“So the day when I can pay off all of my debt is coming…” he muttered while looking up into the sky.

He could finally see the light at the end of the hopeless tunnel he was in, and when he stretched his hand out, he could see that there were only a few steps left before he could finally escape from this life.

“I should pay off all my debts as soon as possible and buy a small building to—” Tae-Sung was suddenly interrupted by a call.

Vrrr!

He took his vibrating phone out and looked at the screen. It was a call from…

「Incoming call from ‘Scumbag’」

***

“What is it?” Tae-Sung curtly said after answering the call.

Then, an image of the caller appeared through the hologram display his phone was equipped with. Tae-Sung was using one of the new generation phones that succeeded the smartphones of old—the V-Phone.

— How have you been?

The image of the scumbag being projected by the hologram asked.

The scumbag was none other than Cheon Woo-Jin.

“I’m still doing the same thing, but why did you call?” Tae-Sung asked.

— There’s no particular reason. I just thought of calling you and saying hi. Have you leveled up quite a bit?

“Not really.”

— Why?

“I had some business to take care of.”

— In the game or in real life?

“In the game.”

— What is it?

“No comment.” Tae-Sung curtly said. He didn’t feel the need to divulge the details of what he had been doing to Cheon Woo-Jin.

— Well, I guess I can’t force it out of you… I’ll just figure it out myself.

“That’s up to you,” Tae-Sung nonchalantly replied. He had no plans of stopping Cheon Woo-Jin from doing what he wanted.

— How much have you earned so far?

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

— How much did you earn since January?

“Huh? Why are you asking that?”

— You earned more than five hundred million won, right?

“Of course...”

— Hmm… You will get bombed soon.

“Bomb?”

— I’m sure the tax people will love you. You sure are a patriot.

“Oh… right…” Tae-Sung muttered.

Then, he grimaced the moment he recalled it.

Tax…

Cheon Woo-Jin was talking about the tax office, which was known to be more vicious than loan sharks. Yes, taxes were horrifying to face. In fact, it was extremely fearsome that the founding father of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin, once said that there were two things one could not avoid in life: death and taxes. And the alpha and omega among scientists—Albert Einstein—once famously said: the hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.

— The ongoing tax rate for income above five hundred million won is forty percent so…. I guess you will have to pay at least two hundred million won if we say that you made around five hundred million won?

Cheon Woo-Jin’s holographic projection said with a mischievous grin.

“Ah…” Tae-Sung muttered. He looked heartbroken as if he would burst into tears at any moment.

He wouldn’t have any money left after paying off his debt, and he only had until May of next year to start earning as much as he could to pay off his tax bill which would be at least two hundred million won.

“I completely forgot about that… ugh…”

— I’ll introduce a good accountant to you so ask them to calculate things for you. They will be able to shave off some of your tax bills.

Cheon Woo-Jin was offering Tae-Sung help—help he desperately needed right now.

— They won’t be able to shave off much since you are a gamer, but it’s better than paying the whole bill, right? You also have the option of paying 100% of your taxes and contributing to your country.

“Give me their contact details,” Tae-Sung said without an ounce of hesitation.

Tae-Sung had not an ounce of patriotism in him.

Why?

It was because he would have to pay at least tens of millions of won if he didn’t hire an accountant to get his taxes in order. Tax evasion was a crime, so he had no plans of going anywhere near that, but to reduce one’s tax payment was a whole different story. It was illegal to evade taxes, but reducing taxes was completely legal as long as it was within the boundary of the law.

— I guess even you are scared of the law.

“Of course.”

— You better start stockpiling cash if you don’t want to cry tears of blood next May.

“Alright…”

— Ah, also… I’m just curious but… do you have any plans of joining that ‘World’s Greatest Survival Tournament’…?

“I was taught not to get involved in those kinds of things,” Tae-Sung said with a grimace, and then he added, “I don’t have any plans of ending my life so soon. I would be insane to join that tournament. Why would I kill a goose that lays golden eggs?”

He was absolutely correct. His account had the potential of turning into a cash cow, and he would inevitably earn heaps of cash sooner or later, so he had no reason to take on such a huge risk by joining the ‘World’s Greatest Survival Tournament.’ 𝘣𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙．𝘤𝘰𝘮

— Fine then.

Cheon Woo-Jin nodded, seemingly satisfied with Tae-Sung’s response.

— I was worried that you would—

“You don’t have to worry about that at all…” Tae-Sung cut him off before adding, “I have no plans on joining even if they offered to make me the emperor as the reward.”

Tae-Sung proved that someone who had a lot of things to lose would be more careful than anyone.

***

The next day, Tae-Sung logged into BNW as usual and descended into the Nürburg Continent as Adventurer Siegfried. He boarded a small aircraft known as a Zeppelin that was heading toward the southern seas. Siegfried was heading toward the southern seas because the completed treasure map was guiding him there.

Of course, he had no plans of looking for Herbert’s life’s work since it would be impossible. It was an impossible endeavor to do with his current level, and right now, it was nothing more than a pie in the sky.

‘I’ll just go and take a look,’?Siegfried thought.

The reason Siegfried was still heading to the place the map had indicated was that he wanted to know the difficulty of the dungeon where Herbert’s life’s work was located. It would help him roughly gauge when he should attempt to retrieve the treasure.

‘They said it’s going to take about an hour, so… I should probably read a book or something,’?Siegfried thought. He plopped down on the aircraft floor and retrieved books from his Inventory. They were the books Weapon Master Shakiro had left behind, and they contained the skills he had asked Siegfried to practice from time to time.

[Book 1: Lightning]

[Book 2: Torrential Flower Rain]

The books Shakiro had left behind were titled ‘Lightning,’ which contained spear arts comprised of multiple forms, and ‘Torrential Flower Rain,’ which was a skill that could basically be considered as the amalgamation of everything he had learned throughout his lifetime.

These two books contained the secret skills Shakiro had created, and the Lightning Spear Arts alone was already more than enough to be considered a very high-level skill.

“Lightning is a very simple spear art comprised of Form 1, Form 2, Form 3, and Form 0…” Siegfried read the words in the book while engraving every single one of them into his brain.

Around thirty minutes since he started reading, a piercing alarm rang throughout the Zeppelin.

Beep! Beep! Beep!?

‘What’s that sound?’?Siegfried thought. He turned his gaze toward the cockpit.

The cockpit door suddenly swung open, and the captain came running out while shouting, “T-There’s an emergency!”

“Huh? What emergency?” Siegfried asked. He had no idea what was going on.

“There is a storm headed straight for us!” the captain exclaimed.

“Huh? What are you talking about? You said that the weather today was clear—” Siegfried argued.

However, the captain completely ignored and cut him off with a shout, “But do not worry! I have been driving an airship for more than twenty years! I will certainly bring you safely to your destination, so please trust me and—”

Boom!

Something exploded on the right side of the airship.

[Alert: Warning! Warning!]

[Alert: The airship’s right engine has exploded due to its age and poor maintenance!]

A message popped up. The message gave no credibility to the captain’s plea to trust his twenty years of experience driving an airship, as the captain had actually neglected the maintenance of his airship while driving it for the past twenty years.

However, their troubles didn’t end there…

Dudududududududu!

The airship wildly shook, signaling its descent—they were about to crash.

1. This means that it’s useless and can’t do anything.

2. In Korea, they call getting a huge tax bill getting ‘bombed by taxes’. Nobody loves taxes. Nobody… but feel free to comment if you do. lol