Debuff Master

Chapter 562

The next morning, Han Tae-Sung logged into the game early and descended upon the continent as the Adventurer Siegfried. He headed straight to Verdandi to spend some time with her.

“Papa! I love you, papa!”

Verdandi had grown a lot in the short period of time when Siegfried was absent, and she could finally speak a few words as well.

“I love you too, my daughter.”

Siegfried made sure to devote himself only to Verdandi and become the best father he could possibly become whenever he spent time with her. The time he spent with her was always valuable, as he rarely had time to spend with her because he had to leave the Proatine Kingdom often.

He vowed to shower Verdandi with as much love as he could to make up for his absence. Of course, it didn't mean that he'd neglect Brunhilde just to focus on Verdandi, as he would take Brunhilde out on dates and did his best whenever they were together.

Siegfried did his best to be a good father and a good husband, but the best part was that he really enjoyed doing his best for them.

Siegfried finished eating lunch and went back to his office to finish the remaining documents he had to work on.

“Hmm?” Siegfried got so engrossed in his work that the whole afternoon had passed. He checked the time and saw that it was already three-fifty in the afternoon, so he made his way to the arena.

[Arena: Hall of War God]

As always, the hall was packed with people.

“Oh? Isn’t that Siegfried?”

“Look at his record.”

“Whoa... two hundred victories yet not a single loss? Is that even possible?”

“Tsk... It’s obvious he’s an abuser.”

“But it’s Siegfried?”

A few of the Adventurers instantly recognized him and gossiped among themselves.

‘Argh... I should probably go into the automatic matching room and not come out to the lobby...’ Siegfried grimaced. He found the attention quite burdensome, and he also found it unpleasant to hear them gossiping about him.

However, he ignored the gossip and headed straight for the empty space located at the center of the hall, which was where he had agreed to meet with Hoshigi.

“Ah! Over here, Siegfried-nim!” Hoshigi called out, waving his hand.

“Hello, Hoshigi-nim.”

“You came right on time.”

“I have to,” Siegfried replied with a nod. Then, he added, “I really wanted to have a rematch with you, but I was really busy yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then shall we get right to it?”

Siegfried did not have to wait twenty minutes to be automatically matched with an opponent, as he went straight to a one-on-one room with Hoshigi.

***

Right before the duel started, Siegfried stared at Hoshigi and bowed slightly to show respect toward the pro gamer.

“I will be in your care," said Siegfried.

“I think I should be the one saying that,” Hoshigi replied. He seriously believed that he would be the one learning a thing or two from this duel.

‘He’s no ordinary abuser. He knows his stuff, and he has the skills to back it up. I’ll have to go all out this time,’ Hoshigi thought, feeling slightly nervous after recalling the precision and meticulousness that Siegfried had shown him during their previous duel.

A pro gamer getting pressured by an amateur even before the match had begun was an absurd sight.

‘Can I win as easily as I did yesterday?’ Siegfried thought, feeling slightly skeptical about his chances of winning.

“Shall we start?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes, let us begin,” Hoshigi replied.

[Ready?]

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

[Fight!]

The rematch between Siegfried and Hoshigi finally started.

Siegfried gripped his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp tightly and kicked off of the ground, dashing toward Hoshigi. He could tell from a single glance that Hoshigi was different today, so he decided to go all-out from the very beginning this time.

‘Oh? He’s going to use his main weapon today? I should watch out. He’s already very strong even when unarmed, so I’m sure he’s even stronger with his weapon,’ Hoshigi thought nervously. He was certain Siegfried would fight seriously this time, as everyone knew Siegfried was aware that blunt weapons were his choice of weapon.

However, he was not given the time to think more than that.

“...!”

Hoshigi doubted his eyes for a split second.

Whoosh!

Siegfried suddenly appeared in front of him with his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp in hand and unleashed a serious amount of bloodlust, causing Hoshigi to retreat a few steps.

‘I need to attack—’ Hoshigi clenched his golden maces and looked for a gap in Siegfried’s defense, but it was to no avail.

It was a mystery when it happened but—

Smack!

—Siegfried had managed to throw and connect a low kick at Hoshigi's calf.

“Ack!” Hoshigi screamed in agony from the excruciating pain radiating from his leg, but unfortunately, even screaming was a massive mistake.

Bam!

Siegfried swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp as if throwing an uppercut, hitting Hoshigi on the chin and sending him flying before crashing to the ground.

‘Kuheok...! I can’t afford to get hit again....!’ Hoshigi rolled backward and instantly recovered even after taking such a powerful hit. Then, he got ready to use another skill, ‘I need to buy time with shockwaves and go on the offensive.’

He used his skill Monster Spin Top and sent shockwaves to deflect Siegfried.

He was about to seize the momentum and go on the offensive, but...

Boom!

Siegfried’s figure abruptly emitted a radiant golden light, and then he took the brunt of the shockwaves.

“...!”

Hoshigi was stunned to see that his shockwaves were doing nothing against his opponent, but he immediately came back to his senses and jumped to the side, rolling on the ground.

Bam!

Siegfried’s +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp hit the ground where Hoshigi’s head was at just now.

‘Heok! I-I almost died!’ Hoshigi gasped in horror and was relieved that he had listened to his instincts. He got up and started channeling his most powerful skill. He raised both golden maces above his head, and the maces started spinning faster and faster until it was almost impossible to see them.

This was Hoshigi’s ultimate skill, the upgraded version of Tornado Strike—Fire and Ice Strike.

Whoosh!

The golden mace in his left hand emitted freezing cold air while the one in his right one emitted blazing flames.

Sseuuu...! Fwaaaah!

Hoshigi spun like a top, causing the two polar opposite energies to intertwine with each other, which created a ferocious tornado of fire and ice. The tornado grew stronger and stronger until it was powerful enough to devour everything in its path, and Hoshigi finally started moving toward Siegfried.

Most Adventurers often called him half-half chicken as a joke[1], but they were all silenced whenever he used his ultimate skill.

‘Hmm... I can’t win against this with my projectiles.’ Siegfried instantly knew that this tornado was different from the previous one, so before doing anything else, he placed down Shadow Hell to slow Hoshigi down.

Shadow Hell had an immediate effect, and Hoshigi became visibly slower than before, buying Siegfried the time he needed to make preparations.

‘I need a weapon with a long reach for this one,’ Siegfried thought before changing the form of his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

‘His weapon can change forms?!’ Hoshigi was shocked upon seeing the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp transforming into a spear. Still, he was confident he'd win, as he had faith in the destructive power of his ultimate skill—Fire and Ice Strike.

‘You can’t stop me with that!’ Hoshigi roared inwardly and inched closer to Siegfried.

Krwaaaang!

The Fire and Ice Strike unleashed frozen icicles and blazing flames that froze and burned everything they touched.

‘I’m going to get caught up in that if I slip up,’ Siegfried thought, acknowledging the destructiveness of the skill. He decided to keep a safe distance while looking for an opening he could exploit.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The golden maces spun like fan blades at max speed, so trying to attack between the gaps was close to impossible.

0.01 seconds...

That was the window of opportunity Siegfried had to slip his spear in between the gaps and pierce Hoshigi’s heart, and the difficulty level of what he was trying to pull could only be described as insane.

‘Concentrate!’

However, he did not shy away from the challenge despite its difficulty.

He gathered all of his focus and timed his attack.

‘Now!’

He thrust his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp forward.

Shwiiiik!

The secret technique of the Weapon Master, Shakiro, Lightning First Form, was activated, propelling Siegfried's spear into the fire and ice tornado.

Shwik

The +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp pierced Hoshigi’s heart dead center.

“A-argh...!” Hoshigi gasped in shock, and he looked down at his chest to see blood streaming down the wound. ‘H-He managed to stab me through that...?!’

Hoshigi couldn't believe that Siegfried had completely bypassed his Fire and Ice Strike to kill him with a spear thrust. Regardless of whether he could believe it or not, the duel ended with Siegfried's victory.

“You are... amazing...” Hoshigi muttered before collapsing to the ground.

Thud!

Just like that, Siegfried won the rematch against the pro gamer specializing in PVP.

***

Hoshigi went to Siegfried to congratulate him on the win. Hoshigi requested to shake hands and said, “You are truly a monster.”

“Gee~ You are praising me too much,” Siegfried replied, looking embarrassed. He shook his hand while squirming, not knowing how he was supposed to react to Hoshigi's words.

“I just got lucky, that’s all. But thank you for the kind words, I guess?”

“Those were not kind words.”

“Huh?”

“Those are facts,” Hoshigi said. Then, he let out a sigh and asked, “Sigh... Your record. You are not an abuser, right?”

“Ah... That is—”

Hoshigi cut him off and said, “There is no way an abuser can be as good as you.”

“T-That is...” Siegfried stuttered in response. He couldn't find the words to say right now after not only defeating a pro gamer he once looked up to but even getting praised by him.

“You are not an abuser. I am confident that you won against everyone else with those skills,” Hoshigi said, acknowledging him.

“Haha...”

“I was really shocked, though. I did not expect there would be someone as good as you in PVP.”

“Thank you for the kind words—”

“No, I already told you I am just stating facts,” Hoshigi shook his head and said. Then, he added, “With your skills... I think you would stand a chance against the top pro gamers in the country.”

“That is a bit too much...”

“I am being serious,” Hoshigi said. Then, he continued, “I am a pro gamer myself, you know that, right? You must also know that pro gamers tend to train with other pro gamers before a tournament,too. I'm old, and I've been phased out by the younger generation of pro gamers, but I can still put up a fight against the top pro gamers.”

“Y-Yeah, I am sure you can.”

“And I am telling you my honest opinion. You can defeat the top pro gamers, Siegfried-nim.”

“Hmm...”

“There are not that many top pro gamers capable of defeating me so easily.”

“R-Really?”

“Well, I cannot guarantee you will keep your one hundred percent win rate if you fight them.”

“Haha...”

“But it doesn't necessarily mean that you will lose to them.”

“Hahaha...”

“Anyway, you are really amazing.”

“T-Thank you!” Siegfried exclaimed, smiling brightly. This was the first time in a long while he smiled so big after getting praised by someone. He felt like he was on cloud nine right now. He had always been chasing after the shadows of those at the top, but now, he felt like he had finally caught up to them.

“But Siegfried-nim...”

“Yes?”

“You are going to join the Super Rookie Tournament, right?”

“No,” Siegfried replied without hesitation.

“Huh? You are not going to join the tournament?” Hoshigi asked, doubting his ears. He was confident that Siegfried would win first place without any problems, which would give him five billion won on top of becoming a star.

However, he was actually passing up on such an opportunity?

“Are you really not going to join...?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I really hate bothersome things.”

“Oh...”

“Anyway, I really had fun dueling with you. Ah, thank you for the kind words too.”

“It was my pleasure, and it is an honor to have dueled with someone like you, Siegfried-nim.”

“Haha...” Siegfried laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head in response to the praises. Then, he gave a quick bow and said, “Then, I will be going first.”

“Already?”

“I am short on time, you see. Haha... Have a nice day.”

“Alright, have a nice day too.”

“See you around,” Siegfried said before queuing with the automatic matching system and looking for a new opponent.

***

While they were waiting for the automatic matching system to find him a new opponent...

“Kyu! Owner punk!”

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you go all out? You would have finished the duel way faster if you used all of your skills! Kyuuu!”

“Oh, that? My skills are too overpowered,” Siegfried replied with a grin.

“Kyu?”

“I can’t call it a duel if I use all of my skills because they are too overpowered. The balance would be broken if I do.”

“Is that your reason? Kyu?”

“Yeah, I held back on purpose. What’s important to me is winning with only the basic fundamentals and using as few of my skills as possible.”

Yes, Siegfried would have easily won against Hoshigi if he had used the overpowered skills of the Debuff Master to the fullest, but he had placed greater importance on testing his reflexes and combat IQ.

This was the reason he had used as few skills as possible and stuck to the basics whenever possible.

The Debuff Master was a Hidden Class, so a person would need to have at least a Legendary Class to match up against him in the class department, as the gap in the power of their skills would be far too big.

‘At least I managed to test myself. I just have to meet top pro gamers from now on. I should be able to go all out without any worries if I fight them, and that is when I can truly test my limits,’ Siegfried thought while waiting to be matched against an opponent.

Siegfried couldn't hide his excitement at the thought that he'd soon be able to test his true limits.

1. A popular menu item in Korean fried chicken. You get to choose half only fried and half marinated or whatever combination you want. ☜