Debuff Master

Chapter 566

“Serves you right!” The Adventurer with the ID, Kaosin, snickered while staring at Siegfried, who was being escorted away by the knights. “I guess he will have to quit the game now. Kekeke!”

“Hey, what are you going to do if he’s not an abuser? What if he’s just really good? I don’t think they’re going to let this slide.”

“What?” Kaosin grimaced in response to what the Adventurer with the ID, PizzaMan, said. Then, he glared at him and asked, “Do you really think that he’s not an abuser?”

“No, I think he is.”

“220 out of 220 matches. Even I can’t do that, you know? It’s a given that you'll lose one or two matches the more you duel, but he hasn't lost even a single match! If he’s not an abuser, then what the hell has he been doing?!”

“Yeah, I get what you mean, but...”

“If I can’t do it, then no one can! Period!” Kaosin said, emphasizing the word “I."

“Y-Yeah, there’s no way he can do what you can't,” PizzaMan said, nodding frivolously.

The reason he reacted that way was that Kaosin was one of the candidates to win the Super Rookie Tournament. He focused on honing his skills in PVP until he was recognized as one of the rising stars in the arena.

Kaosin’s skills had been acknowledged even by mid-tier pro gamers after he had wiped the floor with them, and his continuous victories against them gave birth to rumors that he had the potential to become a world-class player one day.

In fact, numerous pro gaming teams often sent their staffers into the game just to make contact with Kaosin in hopes of recruiting him to their team.

Thus, it was understandable why Kaosin would reach the conclusion that it was impossible for Siegfried to have a perfect record when even he didn't have one.

‘Does it make sense that someone like you can do it when a genius like me can’t?’ Kaosin growled inwardly.

His pride in his skills had already pierced the sky, as he knew people were already referring to him as a world-class player. Thus, he was one hundred percent certain that it was impossible for Siegfried to maintain a one hundred percent win rate.

Kaosin had no doubts that Siegfried was an abuser, and he couldn't have achieved that perfect record with his skills.

“That guy’s going to get disqualified from the tournament and get slapped with a one-year ban from the game. Hahaha!”

“But...”

“Again? What now?”

“What if... Just what if there was a 0.01 percent chance that he's not an abuser?” PizzaMan asked carefully. Then, he added, “I don’t think he will let it slide. He will chase whoever reported him to the ends of the earth.”

“Pfft!” Kaosin scoffed. Then, he asked in response, “What’s he gonna do?”

“Huh?”

“What can he do? Come at me?”

“He might. I mean, people tend to be reckless when they’re mad, right?”

“Then I’ll beat the shit out of him,” Kaosin replied with a shrug. Then, he said, “He’s either an abuser or just ridiculously lucky. But do you really think that luck will help him against me? There’s something called difference in class, you know?”

“Hmm... I guess you’re right.”

“Anyway, I’ll go practice now,” Kaosin said before walking away from the crowd.

PizzaMan hurriedly followed him and asked, “Who are you practicing with today?”

“Where else? It’s the Supernova Team.”

The Supernova Team was one of the top-ranking BNW PVP pro gaming teams in South Korea. Although they had never won the league, they were always ranked at the top of the league every season.

The fact that Kaosin was practicing with pro gamers from the Supernova Team meant that he could already be considered a member of the team. All they had to do was sign the contract to make it official.

“Are you really going to sign with Supernova?”

“Are you crazy?” Kaosin asked with furrowed brows.

“Eh?” PizzaMan was confused by his response.

As far as he knew, Kaosin had been maintaining a very close relationship with the Supernova Team in hopes of signing with them.

“Sure, winning the league with the Supernova Team is not a bad idea,” Kaosin said.

“But?”

“My value will skyrocket once I win the Super Rookie Tournament, right?”

“And?”

“That means I can sign with other teams on much better terms.”

“Huh? You’re not going to join Supernova?”

“Will loyalty put food on the table? They were the ones who offered to let me train with them. I've never asked for it.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Besides, I already planned to use them for now and discard them later on. What’s the point of joining a high-ranking team when they haven’t won the league once? I might consider it if they’re offering a fat paycheck, but it’s not even that.”

“Oh?”

“Anyway, I’m going now. See ya.”

Kaosin left PizzaMan and went to train with the Supernova Team.

***

Siegfried was escorted to an interrogation room in the basement by the knight templars. The basement was dark and damp. He could already feel his mood sour just from sitting on the chair provided.

“Whoa...” Siegfried muttered after seeing the chains, shackles, and handcuffs on the wall.

The interrogation room looked so rough that it could make even the innocent doubt whether they were really innocent or if they were guilty of something.

Ironically, the face of the knight templar tasked with interrogating Siegfried had the exact same mood as that of the interrogation room.

“Hello, King Siegfried van Proa. My name is Parkebros, a knight templar in the Church of the Martial God.”

The man who introduced himself as Parkebros had a large build like Hulk and scars all over his face.

“I have been assigned as the Inquisitor to interrogate Your Majesty on the truth of the matter as well as decide if there have been any wrongdoings committed.”

“Ah, okay,” Siegfried replied, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the man’s presence. Then, he stuttered and asked, “B-But how is the interrogation going to be carried out? Are you going to torture me until you get the answer you want...?”

“Would Your Majesty prefer that method?”

“O-Of course not...”

“Our church frowns upon such immoral investigation methods. Well, we did use it in the past—ah, there are indeed times I miss the traditional methods. Unfortunately, we cannot do such things in this day and age... but if Your Majesty wills it, then perhaps I can make an exception—”

“Nope. I don’t want it,” Siegfried cut him off without missing a beat. Then, he added, “I like things to be sensible and reasonable.”

“That is too bad...”

“...”

“Anyway, the method of investigating whether you have committed any wrongdoings is quite simple.”

“What is it?”

“Your Majesty just has to put your hand here,” Parkebros said, taking out a round artifact from his inventory and placing it on the table.

“I-Isn’t that a lie detector...?” Siegfried said, immediately recognizing the artifact.

The artifact looked like a bowl upside down with an indent in the shape of a person’s hand on it, and it looked oddly similar to a toy used in reality for entertainment purposes.

“This is not a lie detector.”

“T-Then?”

“This artifact is called the Hand of Verification.”

“And...?”

“The Hand of Verification will discern whether Your Majesty is telling the truth or not once you place your hand on it.”

“...That’s what a lie detector is.”

“What does Your Majesty mean by that?”

“No, it’s nothing...”

“Then, please place your hand on it.”

“Sure.”

Siegfried placed his right hand on the Hand of Verification without any hesitation.

Then, the Inquisitor, Parkebros, tightened the leather belt around the Hand of Verification, tightening Siegfried’s hand to the artifact.

“What is this?”

“The Hand of Verification will unleash a massive current that will zap Your Majesty should you tell a lie.”

“Tell me honestly. This is a lie detector, right?”

“Pardon?”

“Yeah, I’m right.”

“...”

“Anyway, please continue.”

“Yes, Your Majesty...” Parkebros nodded and pressed the button.

Woooong!

Then, the Hand of Verification trembled before playing some kind of background music.

Wee, woo, wee, wooo!

Exactly three seconds later...

Swoosh!

The Hand of Verification unleashed a golden light that formed a golden halo behind Siegfried.

Ding!

Then, a string of messages popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: The Hand of Verification has proven your innocence!]

[Alert: The Halo of Innocence has manifested behind you!]

[Alert: From now on, nobody will doubt your words about the subject matter!]

The artifact confirmed Siegfried’s innocence and granted him with something that would prove it to all of his doubters.

***

When the Halo of Innocence had manifested behind him...

“Untie me,” Siegfried said.

“Pardon?”

“I said, untie me.”

“Ah, y-yes,” Parkebros replied, feeling a bit flustered. His hand was already on the whip on his waist, as he was confident that Siegfried was an abuser. However, the Halo of Innocence had actually manifested behind Siegfried, stunning him.

‘Oh my god...! His unbelievable record was true all along!’ Parkebros exclaimed inwardly. He did not want to believe the result of the interrogation, but the truth was not going to change just because he refused to believe it.

The Halo of Innocence was absolute, and it would not show up if the suspect committed wrongdoings in the arena, even if it was only for a single instance. The halo was not only recognized by NPCs but even by Adventurers too, as it was the ultimate symbol of a person’s innocence..

Why was the halo deemed to be absolute? Because the beehive’s artificial intelligence would scour through every single piece of data regarding the Adventurer before making a verdict and granting the player the halo, making it impossible to tamper with.

“P-Please excuse me while I untie Your Majesty,” Parkebros said, hurriedly untying the leather strap and freeing Siegfried’s hand.

“Suspecting royalty is a grave crime.”

“K-King Siegfried...”

“I'm the king of a weak and small kingdom, but arresting a royal, locking me up in this place, and suspecting me of crimes I did not commit is a huge offense.”

“B-But we've received complaints that Your Majesty was–”

“I will be appealing this matter to His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Stuttgart.”

“...!”

“Ah, you must have heard about it too, right? Emperor Stuttgart greatly favors me,” Siegfried said with a smug and sleazy smirk. He was not a fan of using his connections to strong-arm others, but this was an exception. He was up against the Church of the Martial God, which boasted a huge following, so he needed a name at least on the level of Emperor Stuttgart to pressure them into a corner.

Why?

It was all because even the Church of the Martial God could be razed to the ground if they got on the bad side of the continent’s most powerful man, Emperor Stuttgart. Well, they wouldn't actually get razed to the ground, but they'd suffer irreversible damage.

“K-King Siegfried, please overlook our insolence just this once. We have received complaints regarding Your Majesty, so we had a duty to investigate the matters–”

“Yes, I agree that you were just doing your job. However, I clearly remember the way your knight templars treated me while arresting me in public.”

“T-That was...”

“And was there a need to do the interrogation in this filthy place?”

“Your Majesty... What can our church do to appease your anger...?”

“I want the knight templars who came to arrest me handed harsh punishments for insulting me, a king. It’s only fair they pay the price for insulting royalty, right?”

Siegfried did not forget the way the knight templars treated him.

“Catch him!”

“He’s over there!”

“Surround him so he doesn’t escape!”

Moreover, he clearly remembered that their knight captain had treated him like a criminal from the start instead of showing him courtesy as royalty.

‘People will look down on you if you don’t retaliate. I’ll have to use them as an example so nobody will dare to insult me in the future,’ Siegfried thought. Then, he continued his demands, “And I want whoever assigned this filthy interrogation room to be harshly punished, too.”

“T-That will be a bit–”

“What? Do you want me to go to the communications room now? I was thinking of saying hello to His Imperial Majesty one of these days anyway. Should I greet him today?”

“N-No! Your Majesty!”

“Send a report to the Proatine Kingdom after they have been dealt with.”

“I understand...”

“Ah, don’t even think of weaseling your way out of this. I’ll be sending people to monitor the situation around the clock and check whether they’ve been properly punished or not.”

“Ah!”

“Were you planning on fooling me?”

“N-No! That did not cross my mind one bit!”

“Good. Let’s not make things any more difficult, capiche?”

“Yes, Your Majesty...”

Siegfried nodded satisfiedly. Then, he flashed a sleazy smile and added, “Also, my last demand is...”

“P-Please tell me.”

“I want the names of everyone who dared to accuse me.”

Siegfried van Proa was not going to let this incident slide without any retribution.