Debuff Master

Chapter 583

[Alert: You got mail!]

Siegfried was baffled by the sudden mail.

“What’s this?”

The mailbox in BNW was one of the most useless functions in the game, and many Adventurers wondered why it was even made in the first place. BNW placed great importance on being realistic that the Adventurers could not directly mail each other, not to mention send direct messages.

Thus, it was normal for most Adventurers to have empty mailboxes.

One could assume that the developers were using the mailbox to send updates about the game, but the beehive did not even use it for that purpose.

This was the reason Siegfried was baffled by the message that popped up in front of his eyes.

“Oh well, I guess I’ll find out once I open it,” he muttered with a shrug.

Then, he opened his mailbox and read the letter.

[Notice]

Title: To All Participants of the Super Rookie Tournament! (Important)

Hello, this is Hive Games Entertainment.

We would like to inform all of the participants of some things to keep in mind before the group stages of the Super Rookie Tournament.

(omitted)

The most important thing is your character’s survival.

As you might be aware, the group stages will be held live. Therefore, it is imperative that your character stays alive until the start of the group stages.

Our company will still impose the penalty for dying in the game before the group stages begin, and we will not, in any case, revive your character just for the tournament.

We stand by our commitment to turn BNW into an alternate universe rather than just a game, and this has been emphasized in the terms and conditions.

Therefore, please make sure that you will not miss the tournament due to your character's death before the group stages begin.

We pray for your victory at the Hall of Martial God.

Caution: Any Adventurer late to the group stages will face a three-month ban. A no-show will face a six-month ban from the game. We hope for your cooperation on the matter.

“Hmm... so they want us to play it safe until the group stages,” Siegfried said, understanding the core message of the letter.

The letter did not really bother him, as the beehive was infamous for not interfering with the game no matter what happened. One of the reasons they became so famous—no, infamous was their policy of not getting involved with the game.

An Adventurer who had ended up missing the group stages because they died was not going to receive any help or word of comfort from the beehive. In fact, they were going to get penalized for it. The fact that they had sent this mail to warn the participants beforehand was already quite nice of them.

“I just have to play it safe,” Siegfried said with a shrug.

He planned to focus on the Super Rookie Tournament for now anyway, so he was not going to do anything dangerous unless it was something urgent.

“Let’s continue where we left off, Bruce.”

“My name is Bruce—Bruce Wood!”

Siegfried restarted his duel with Bruce right after reading the mail.

***

Time flew quickly.

Was it because he was focusing on preparing for the Super Rookie Tournament?

There were only two days left before the group stages, but Siegfried did not receive any news regarding the Church of Osric or the Fragment of Apocalius.

“Are there any news?”

— Nope.

“It’s too quiet.”

— Yeah.

He was on a call with Cheon Woo-Jin, who could be seen grimacing from the communication device.

— I have a bad feeling about this. There’s no way both the Church of Osric and the Fragment of Apocalius will be this quiet.

“Hmm...”

— Well, I guess what’s good is good. Let’s just wait and see what happens and not be too anxious.

“Alright.”

— We will send some new information over soon, so wait for it.

“Got it.”

Siegfried ended the call with Cheon Woo-Jin and headed for the warp gate located in the capital.

“Kyuuu! Where are you going, owner punk?!”

“Huh? Where and what have you been doing all this time, Hamchi?”

“Kyuuu! I was busy playing with Verdandi!”

“Oh?”

“But where are you going, owner punk? Is your butt starting to itch that you have to wander around again?”

“No, it’s not,” Siegfried replied, pouting. Then, he said, “I’m going to the Bavarian Workshop.”

“Kyu?”

“I have to explain what happened that time and I also commissioned some items with them.”

“Kyu! I see!”

“Do you want to come with me?”

“Nah, it’s a hassle! Hamchi will take a nap! Kyuuu!”

“Do what you want.”

Siegfried did not force Hamchi to come with him. He only planned to visit the Bavarian Workshop, explain what happened to Quandt, and collect his items, so there was no need for Hamchi to tag along this time.

“See you later.”

“Okay! Kyuuu!”

Siegfried arrived at the Bavarian Workshop. The security around the workshop was airtight to the point it was too intimidating to even approach the place.

‘They’re going all out after that incident,’ Siegfried thought, noticing the levels of the knights guarding the perimeter were high enough to be royal knights of the most powerful kingdoms.

The Bavarian Workshop seemed to be showing their resolve not to suffer the same humiliation twice by bolstering their security.

“Welcome,” Quandt greeted Siegfried just as always.

“How are you feeling? Are you better now?” Siegfried asked.

“Of course! Keke!”

“That’s a relief.”

“So, did you get any leads?” Quandt asked, referring to the Weapon Seeker.

“Yes.”

“Oh! Really?!”

“But it’s not a simple matter...”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

“So what happened was...” Siegfried proceeded to explain how he faced off against the Weapon Seeker in one of the most important facilities of the Proatine Kingdom.

“R-Really?! That happened?!” Quandt exclaimed, shocked at what he was hearing.

“Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but I think that’s what’s going on.”

“Hmm... That Church of Osric is scarier than I thought. How could they even think of resurrecting Shakiro?”

“Yeah...”

“Then what should our workshop do?”

“What else? The Church of Osric is now our common enemy,” Siegfried replied, changing the target of the Bavarian Workshop’s wrath toward the Church of Osric.

Frankly speaking, how could they blame Shakiro at this point?

“Ah!”

“I suggest we just watch for now. I mean, there’s no way Master Shakiro attacked the Bavarian Workshop out of his own will, right?”

“Yeah, but...”

“The Church of Osric is my nemesis, too, so you will definitely get your chance to exact revenge if you wait for me.”

“If you say so... I’ll tell our workshop to be patient and trust you then.”

“Thank you very much for your kind consideration.”

“Haha... What consideration? I mean, what’s the point of getting revenge on someone who just came back to life and has no memories of who he is? That’s only going to leave a bitter taste in my mouth,” Quandt replied, smiling bitterly.

“Yes, you are right.”

“Ah, the armor set you ordered is ready.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yeah, here, take it,” Quandt said, opening his inventory and taking out a leather armor set painted with the Dark Imperial Ink.

“Oh? It’s made of leather rather than metal? Won’t the defense suffer by using leather?”

“I crafted this from the hide of the Chromatic Dragon you brought with you last time and painted it with the Dark Imperial Ink. It's leather armor, but it’s tougher than most plate armor!”

“Oh! As expected of Quandt-nim!” Siegfried exclaimed. He was once again amazed by the technology of the Bavarian Workshop.

He excitedly flashed his Rune of Insight at the armor set.

[Deep Dark Soul Set]

[A leather armor set crafted from the Chromatic Dragon Leather and painted with Dark Imperial Ink.]

[This armor is made for one-on-one combat.]

[Set Effects]

[+80% Attack Speed]

[+25% Movement Speed]

[+45% Casting Speed]

[+20% HP Regeneration]

[+20% Stamina Regeneration]

[+20% Mana Regeneration]

[+150 Hit Recovery]

[+15% Striking Damage]

[+15% Submission Move Damage]

[-25% Damage Received from AOE Damage]

[1.5% Chance Enemy Attack Will Miss]

The Deep Dark Soul Set was designed specifically with PVP combat in mind, and every single one of its effects was invaluable in one-on-one combat. On top of that, it was crafted from leather, making it extremely light, which would allow Siegfried to move freely.

“What do you think? Do you like it?” Quandt asked confidently.

“This is the best! How much is it?”

“We want you to win the tournament wearing that armor set. That’s the only thing our workshop desires from you.”

The Bavarian Workshop wanted Siegfried to win the tournament wearing the armor set they crafted instead of getting paid in gold. The prestige they would gain from crafting the armor set the tournament’s victor was something that could not be calculated in gold.

In fact, this was a marketing strategy often used by major sports brands or car companies in real life.

“Yes, I will definitely win.”

“Haha! You should!”

“I will share the information regarding the Church of Osric as soon as I obtain it.”

“Our workshop will be grateful if you do that.”

“And I hope you will leave Master Shakiro to me.”

“There’s nothing we can do about him, right? Haha...”

“Thank you once again. It feels like I’m always indebted to you.”

“It’s better for us not to talk about debts to each other. Haven’t we passed that stage now?”

“Quandt-nim...”

“King Siegfried...”

A hot vibe simmered between Siegfried and Quandt.

Friendship was always like this. This was the loyalty between two people who had promised to become partners for life.

‘Ack! What the hell am I doing?!’ Siegfried snapped out of it.

The vibe between them lasted only for a short while, as Siegfried realized the kind of gaze he and the old dwarf were casting at each other.

“Ahem... Then, I will take my leave now. I’m quite busy with other things.”

“Alright, goodbye.”

“I will come visit again.”

Siegfried left the Bavarian Workshop and headed toward the warp gate leading to the Proatine Kingdom.

***

Right after he left the Bavarian Workshop...

‘Sigh... How am I going to appear on TV?’ Siegfried let out a sigh after imagining himself standing in front of a sea of cameras. His sister and mother were definitely going to see him on TV.

‘Argh! So embarrassing!’ He cringed at the thought that his family would be watching him play games on live TV.

It was then.

‘Hmm? What’s that?’ Siegfried grimaced after suddenly sensing something insidious coming toward him.

Swoosh!

Siegfried’s vision turned faintly red.

‘This is killing intent!’ He immediately realized that killing intent was being directed at him.

The more sensitive a player was, the more information BNW’s system would provide to the player. It would amplify faint sounds, make distant objects appear larger, make dark places brighter, and a slew of other things.

Siegfried’s senses were incomparably more sensitive than the average player, so the video and audio quality he was experiencing were much sharper and crisper compared to other players.

This was one of those instances where his keen senses were coming into play.

Han Tae-Sung and Siegfried’s senses were so sharp that he could sense the killing intent directed at him.

‘They’re coming after me so blatantly out in the open?’ Siegfried thought. He did not show any reaction and continued walking while observing his surroundings.

The city was bustling with people. There was a loud merchant shouting at customers, a gentleman passing with an umbrella to his side, an old man reading a book on a bench, and many other pedestrians walking past him.

‘Where is that coming from...?’ Siegfried's sharp senses were warning him of danger, but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Then, a thought suddenly popped up in his mind, ‘Hold on... An umbrella when it’s so dry today?’

He remembered seeing a gentleman with an umbrella passing by him just now, causing him to suddenly turn around. The fact that someone would carry an umbrella with them in such nice weather with zero chances of rain was suspicious.

“...!”

The gentleman was holding the umbrella like a rifle and was aiming it straight at Siegfried.

Then—

Bang!

—A gunshot reverberated in the air as the tip of the umbrella spat fire.