Debuff Master

Chapter 561

The reason behind Siegfried's shock was simple. The Adventurer he was matched with after waiting for twenty minutes had a purple logo above his head, and they had a familiar name as well.

“Hoshigi-nim...?”

The other party was a Korean Adventurer with the name "Hoshigi."

Hoshigi was a first generation BNW player as well as a pro gamer, and he was currently ranked War God III in the arena. He had won several BNW arena tournaments in the past, and he often streamed his arena matches.

Hoshigi's reams were so popular that even Siegfried used to be an avid viewer of him.

‘I didn’t expect to get matched with a pro gamer,’ Siegfried thought. He was slightly taken aback by his unexpected opponent, but he decided to greet him first.

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

“It is nice to meet you, Hoshigi-nim.”

“Likewise, Siegfried-nim.”

This was the first meeting between them but both of them greeted each other with respect. Hoshigi was a very famous streaming pro gamer, and he was famous enough for anyone to recognize him.

Meanwhile, Siegfried was an up-and-rising star these days.

“But Siegfried-nim...”

“Yes?”

“Your record is...” Hoshigi trailed the end of his words. Then, he said, “That does not look normal.”

“Oh, this is—”

“Well, I guess it is fine.”

Hoshigi did not bother pointing out whether Siegfried was an abuser or not. Instead, he asked, “Will you be alright?”

“Of course,” Siegfried replied with a smile.

“Then shall we start?” Hoshigi asked.

“Alright,” Siegfried replied with a nod. Meanwhile, he was still stunned inside.

‘I’m about to duel a pro gamer? This is insane...!’ Siegfried was feeling nervous. Hoshigi wasn't a top Ranker, but his PVP skills were widely recognized by many players. After all, there was a reason he was a pro gamer.

He was on a completely different level compared to the likes of Meowbro or Fighting Cock. Perhaps that was the reason, but Siegfried could feel his heart thumping more than ever.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

‘Can I beat him?’

[Ready?]

[3... 2... 1...!]

[Fight!]

Siegfried was feeling nervous as he stepped into the ring, but his expression instantly changed when the countdown ended.

‘Strike while the iron is hot!’

He rushed forward at insane speeds, closing the distance between him and Hoshigi in the blink of an eye.

***

Hoshigi was a melee combatant. His choice of weapon was two-handed blunt weapons, and he was currently using a golden mace in each hand that looked like...

‘Pfft! Those look like chicken drumsticks! Kekeke!’ Siegfried burst into laughter the moment he saw the maces.

The golden maces looked like gigantic chicken drumsticks that had been fried golden to perfection. Actually, Siegfried’s reaction was quite normal, as Hoshigi was also known as the Chicken Drumstick Master as a joke.

However, the Chicken Drumstick Master’s skills were nothing to laugh at, so Siegfried could not afford to lose concentration.

‘Focus! Don’t get distracted!’ Siegfried reminded himself that countless people had their heads split open by those golden chicken drumsticks. He clenched his fists and used the Grappling Master’s techniques to drive Hoshigi into a corner, but...

Whoosh!

Hoshigi easily evaded the punches and widened the distance between them. Then, he used the reach of his golden chicken—no, golden maces to counterattack from a safe distance.

‘His reaction speed is insane. He’s really different from the others,’ Siegfried thought. A chill traveled down his spine the moment he saw his opponent’s reaction speed, and he could tell why people often said that a pro gamer was different from ordinary gamers.

“Your attack angles are... very sharp,” Hoshigi said.

“Eh?”

“You caught me by surprise.”

Hoshigi looked completely different from before the duel started. He was initially relaxed after thinking that Siegfried was just another abuser, but he got serious after realizing from that single attack that Siegfried was more than just another abuser.

“Shall we go again?” Hoshigi asked.

“We should,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. Then, he dashed toward Hoshigi once again.

The exchange of blows between the two could only be described as fierce. They lived up to their roles as melee combatants and displayed insane combat sense and reflexes.

Thirty seconds later...

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Hoshigi swung both of his maces and spun like a top. Their exchange earlier was just something like a greeting to test each other’s level, and it was now time for them to get serious.

Siegfried knew that his opponent was going to unleash his true skills from now on.

‘I’m dead if I get sucked into that!’ Siegfried inwardly exclaimed, hurriedly widening the distance between them upon realizing that Hoshigi had used a pretty dangerous skill.

Shwoosh!

The skill was called "Tornado Strike," and it would drag everything around him into the eye of the storm before mincing them with his golden maces.

‘I guess it’s time for me to use my skills too. I should widen our distance and use Splitting Heaven and Earth first—Huh? Wait a minute...’ Siegfried was planning to immediately counterattack, but he stopped and observed Hoshigi for a second.

He noticed his opponent’s attack pattern had a huge weakness, and the realization made him realize that he had won this duel.

‘I won.’

He took out one projectile from his Black Crow Wing Suit and threw it at Hoshigi while using Flying Sword to control it.

Shwiiiiik!

The projectile flew at fierce speeds but it did not seem to be strong enough to deal any significant damage.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Hoshigi had already become a tornado, and the sheer wind pressure he was emitting was powerful enough to deflect the projectile.

However, Siegfried was after something else.

Whiiish!

The projectile flew low on the ground and flew toward Hoshigi’s ankle. To be prices, his Achilles heel.

Shwik

It pierced Hoshigi’s boots and dug into his left Achilles Heel. Siegfried had chosen to not fight Hoshigi head-on and go after his ankle instead.

“Ack!” Hoshigi screamed upon getting assaulted by a sharp pain that radiated from his ankle while he was in the middle of using Tornado Strike. The pain made him stagger and fall.

Siegfried didn't miss the opening, and he reached forward to grab Hoshigi by the neck.

“...!”

Hoshigi was shocked by the fact that Siegfried had managed to grab him by the neck.

‘W-When did he?!’

Hoshigi wasn't shocked by the fact that his ankle was attacked, as he knew that his ankle was indeed his weak point. He was shocked by the fact that Siegfried had managed to hit his Achilles Heel with pinpoint precision when it was exposed for only a fraction of a second.

Unfortunately, Hoshigi couldn't stay shocked for long.

“I will finish this duel now,” Siegfried said before slamming Hoshigi to the ground with both hands.

Baaam!

The ground cracked as Hoshigi crashed violently against it.

C-Crack!

Siegfried immediately locked Hoshigi's arm in an arm bar before he could even recover and twisted the latter's arm at an awkward angle.

Smack!

Then, he planted his elbow into Hoshigi’s face.

“Kuheok!” Hoshigi gasped.

However, Siegfried wasn't done yet.

Kwachik!

He wrapped his arm around Hoshigi’s other arm and twisted it, causing the sound of flesh being torn apart to reverberate throughout the ring.

“U-Ughhh...!” Hoshigi groaned and tried to get up, but his body wouldn't listen to him. He couldn't support his body, as both of his arms had been incapacitated. He was also in so much pain from having his nose broken.

Defeat.

The pro gamer, Hoshigi, had lost to Siegfried.

***

Right after Hoshigi collapsed to the ground...

[Alert: Victory!]

[Alert: You have obtained experience points!]

[Alert: Your current record is 200 matches 200 wins 0 loss!]

[Alert: You have been promoted to War God I!]

A string of messages popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

“And that’s a wrap! I should call it a day now,” Siegfried said triumphantly.

“Kyu! Great job, owner punk!” Hamchi exclaimed in response before passing a towel to him.

“But wow...” Siegfried muttered. He was having a hard time believing what had happened just now.

‘I won against a pro gamer? I won that easily?’

Hoshigi was past his prime and was considered one of the lowest-ranking pro gamers these days, but he was still famous for specializing in PVP matches.

Siegfried could not believe that he had won against such a person without even using his skills properly.

‘Hmm... I guess I got lucky?’ he thought with a shrug.

He was about to leave the arena when—

“E-Excuse me!” Hoshigi hurriedly called out to him.

“Siegfried-nim!”

“Yes?”

“Can we have a rematch?”

“A rematch?”

“Yes, just one more match.”

“Oh, that is...” Siegfried hesitated.

Frankly speaking, he wanted to have another duel with Hoshigi as well. However, he no longer had the time to do so today, as he had to return to the Proatine Kingdom to finish the mountain of documents as well as slaughter and harvest his piglets.

“I apologize. That is all the time I have today. I have to get going now,” Siegfried apologized with a bow.

“Just one match,” Hoshigi pleaded.

“I apologize.”

“Ah...”

“If it is alright with you, how about tomorrow? I am really busy today, you see.”

“Tomorrow? Sure. When would it be convenient for you?”

“Can we meet in the lobby at four?”

“Alright, I will see you tomorrow then.”

Siegfried left the arena after setting a time tomorrow for the rematch.

Hoshigi watched him walk away and muttered to himself, “Maybe... He isn’t an abuser?”

***

On that same evening, an advertisement video from BNW was posted on all media platforms in South Korea.

[Super Rookie Tournament!]

[BNW is looking for the next Super Rookie!]

[A total of 10 billion won up for grabs! A tournament that will pit the amateurs against each other!]

[1st Place: 5 billion won!]

[2nd Place: 2.5 billion won!]

[3rd Place: 1.5 billion won!]

[Popular Vote: 1 billion won!]

[Anyone with an arena rank above Hero III who is not a pro gamer may apply!]

[Apply now and test your skills!]

The advertisement was posted by the South Korean office of the developer and distributor of BNW, Hive Games Entertainment Korea. They were giving away ten billion won as a prize in a quest to find new candidates to become pro gamers.

The Korean gamers were now in a frenzy, as those who were confident in their skills hurriedly applied for the Super Rookie Tournament.

There was no way they would miss this opportunity, as even placing third would award them with enough money to buy a house in Seoul.

However, what was even more valuable than the prize money was the chance to get recruited by one of the top guilds as an executive or, even better, get recruited by a pro gaming team and sign a lucrative multi-million won salary.

In other words, the Super Rookie Tournament was a major event, searching for the next superstar.

“What the hell is that?”

Han Tae-Sung was relaxing at his home watching TV when the Super Rookie Tournament ad appeared on the screen.

His reaction to the ad was...

“Sigh... Who would do something so bothersome?”

Yes, he was treating the hottest event of the year, the Super Rookie Tournament, which everyone dreamt of winning, as something bothersome.

His reaction was somewhat understandable, as even the first-place prize money was not that attractive to him, making the Super Rookie Tournament sound like a hassle.

“I’d rather sleep if I have time to join those kinds of tournaments,” Tae-Sung grumbled before switching the channel. He picked a channel showing a movie he wanted to watch, and he comfortably laid down on the sofa to sleep.

‘Hmm... I wonder if I can win tomorrow as easily as I did today?’

The only thing on his mind right now was whether he could beat the pro gamer, Hoshigi, tomorrow or not.

Tokki’s Thoughts:

Hoshigi Doomari Chicken (Hoshigi Two Chickens) is a fried chicken franchise brand in Korea. They gained fame for selling two chickens cheaper than others, hence the dual chicken drumstick by the author.