Debuff Master

Siegfried was in utter disbelief after reading the details of the quest Seung-Gu was struggling with. Soon afterward, he was all smiles.

He had no idea where to find the Golem King, and he had no clues whatsoever, but who would have known that Seung-Gu was going to bring him pillows when he was so sleepy?

[Rise of the Golem King]

[Head to the Sharp Forest and defeat the Golem King and its army.]

[Progress: Golem King (0/1)]

[Reward: Golem King’s Core, Class Change Book: Throne of Steel]

[Caution: The Golem King and his army are extremely powerful. Caution is advised against them.]

The quest was quite straightforward, and all they had to do was head to the Sharp Forest and kill the Golem King and its army.

“The Golem King’s Core is one thing, but what’s the Throne of Steel? I guess it’s some sort of class judging by how it’s a class change book?”

Seung-Gu looked troubled as he replied, “Even I have no idea what that is, hyung-nim. I guess it’s a high-ranking class? Something like a Unique or Legendary class?”

“It should be, right? Are you finally going to graduate from being a Normal class user?”

“I have a Rare class, hyung-nim! Rare!” Seung-Gu retorted and emphasized. “It’s not a Normal class!”

“What’s the difference?” Siegfried replied with a shrug. As the owner of a Hidden Class, there was no difference between a Normal or a Rare class to him.

Perhaps only a Legendary class would move his heart.

“I hope you’ll get a Legendary class.”

“Hehe~ I hope so too, hyung-nim.”

“So, when do you plan to depart?”

“A-Are you going to help me, hyung-nim?”

“Of course?”

Seung-Gu was one of Tae-Sung’s few friends not only in the game but also in real life, so it was only natural for him to help the former out. On top of that, Seung-Gu’s quest was related to the elusive Golem King, so there was no reason for him to refuse to help.

“I also have a quest, so I might as well.”

“Huh? You also have to hunt the Golem King, hyung-nim…? But then my quest will be…”

“No, we won’t be competing. I just need the Golem King’s Core,” Siegfried smirked and assured Seung-Gu, who looked as if he was about to cry.

Then, he shared his quest details with him as well.

“Vanquisher’s Grasp? What’s that?”

“My new weapon. Do you want to see its stats and options?”

“Yes!”

“Here, take a look,” Siegfried said as he shared the details of the Vanquisher’s Grasp.

“W-What?! H-Hyung-nim…? Isn’t this on par with the Hwaryongdo…?”

The Hwaryongdo was the main weapon of the Ranker, Yong Tae-Pung, and the Vanquisher’s Grasp looked amazing enough that Seung-Gu had compared it to it.

“Hmm… I tried using the Hwaryongdo once, but I think this weapon will be better than that.”

“What?! Really?!”

“Yeah, what happened was…” Siegfried explained what happened when he ran into Yong Tae-Pung’s party in a dungeon.

“The Hwaryongdo is… just insanely strong, but that’s about it…” he said.

“Wow…”

“But I can’t tell for sure since I wasn’t its original owner, so I wasn’t able to use its active skill. You know about it, too, right? The one where it burns everything around it.”

“Ah, Descent of a Flame Dragon? That skill is quite famous for being both strong and cool.”

“Hmm? That skill was called Descent of a Flame Dragon?”

“Yes, that skill is fucking awesome. It was used once in a guild war, and it burnt all of Yong Tae-Pung’s enemies to a crisp.”

“Wow…” Siegfried muttered in awe before he said, “I should look that video up. No wonder… The weapon was quite good, but it wasn’t that useful in my hands… Ah, I’m so jealous…”

“But you’re going to have a weapon like that soon, hyung-nim. Shall we go beat that Golem King up and take its core?”

“Sure, why not? When do you want to go?”

“Hmm… What about tomorrow morning? I know where we should go.”

“Let’s go!”

Siegfried decided to kill two birds with one stone by helping Seung-Gu and obtaining the material he needed while he was at it. Afterward, Siegfried turned his attention to the documents in front of him.

***

The next morning.

“Kissy kissy~”

“Kissy kissy goo goo~”

Mwah!

Siegfried kissed Brunhilde quite passionately.

“I’m going now.”

“Please be careful, darling.”

Siegfried bid farewell to Brunhilde before heading to the Warp Gate, but…

“Good morning, Your Majesty.”

He ran into Kyle, no, Carlisle, while he was on his way outside.

“Oh? Kyle-nim! How are you? Are you better now?”

“You are far too gracious to worry about a servant like me, Your Majesty. I was able to recover quickly thanks to your concern.”

“That’s a relief! I was feeling really bad for running into you twice now.”

“It is fine, Your Majesty.”

“Oh, right!” Siegfried exclaimed as he thought of something, and then he asked, “Do you want to learn swordsmanship by any chance?”

“Huh? W-Why…?”

“I thought about it, and your body seems to be extremely durable. I think you were born with a gifted constitution, so why don’t you become a knight since that seems to be more fitting for you…”

“N-No!” Carlisle retorted while profusely waving his hand. ‘Damn it! He actually got interested in me!’ Carlisle felt his heart drop, and he felt suffocated. It was only a matter of time before Siegfried used his Rune of Insight on him, and if that happened...

It would be the end.

He knew very well what was going to happen to him if his identity was exposed.

Shwiiik!

A chill traveled down his spine when he imagined his head getting smashed open like a watermelon.

“Your Majesty, I have tried to become a knight in my younger days.”

“Really?”

“While it is true that my body is a bit sturdy, I have poor reflexes. I couldn’t make it.”

“Ah, I see…” Siegfried agreed while seemingly disappointed. “Well, there are people that are just absurdly strong but have bad reflexes…”

“Hahaha…”

“But let me know if you change your mind. I will ask Master to modify your body a bit…”

“H-Hiiik!” Carlisle was shocked at what he heard.

If the master Siegfried was referring to was indeed the master he was thinking of, then the suggestion was akin to stuffing him in a blender and mincing him up. How could he casually talk about sending someone to that being who was scarier than the Demon Lord himself?

‘Don’t tell me… does he already know my identity? Is he just playing with my heart, and am I already dancing on his palm?’ Carlisle considered the possibility that his identity had already been exposed after the subtle threat.

It was the only logical reason Carlisle could think of. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for Siegfried to talk about sending Carlisle to that terrifying being.

However, Siegfried was actually sincere. He had no ill intentions at all.

“N-Not at all! I am satisfied with my life as a servant, Your Majesty!”

“Really?”

“The pay is good, the work is not too difficult, and welfare is excellent! My dream is to meet a beautiful lady later on and start a family with her!”

“Ah!” Siegfried exclaimed and said, “Well, that’s not a bad dream at all. You know what they say, right? Living a normal life can be pretty difficult as well.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Oh, well, I guess I have no choice. Let me know if you do get married, I’ll make sure to send a hefty gift for you and your wife.”

“Thank you very much, Your Majesty!”

“Alright, I’m busy, so I’ll be going now.”

“Please have a pleasant trip, Your Majesty!” Carlisle exclaimed as Siegfried walked away.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

Meanwhile, Carlisle’s heart was beating wildly as if it was going to explode.

***

While Siegfried was on his way with Seung-Gu to hunt the Golem King…

“We lost our secret merchant company? What do you mean,” asked a man wearing a black mask toward the individual kneeling in front of him.

“Siegfried van Proa destroyed our secret merchant company and looted all of our money in the vault, Sect Leader,” said the kneeling man.

“So it’s Siegfried van Proa again…” the man muttered with a hint of anger in his voice.

Just how many times was this? This was probably the fourth or fifth time that some upstart greenhorn had ruined their plans.

“Y-Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Siegfried van Proa… He keeps interrupting our church’s plans…”

“We cannot sit around and do nothing! Please give me the command, and I will go destroy Siegfried’s kingdom as a repercussion!”

“That’s impossible,” the Sect Leader shook his head and explained, “Siegfried van Proa is under the emperor’s protection, and anyone daring enough to attack the Proatine Kingdom will face the wrath of the emperor, which will result in our cover getting blown.”

“But… if we allow him to continue disrupting our plans…”

“Do we have any followers in the Proatine Kingdom?”

“We have one, Sect Leader. Our followers were rooted out by Siegfried van Proa last time, so…”

“We have just one? Where in the kingdom is that follower?” the Sect Leader asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“She’s currently disguised as a maid in the Proatine Kingdom’s castle, as far as I know, Sect Leader.”

“Really? Tell her to gather information on the castle’s inner workings for now.”

“I will do my best, but it will not be that easy.”

“Why so?” the Sect Leader asked.

The bishop in charge of collecting information for the Church of Osric chimed in, “It seems that follower has had a change of heart.”

“What? Change of heart? Are you telling me her desire to sow chaos and discord in this world has weakened?”

“From what I have gathered, it seems that follower is currently content with her life in the Proatine Kingdom.”

“How foolish…” the Sect Leader muttered with a chilling smile that was hidden from view by his mask. “This world is created from pain and suffering. A fallacy like happiness can’t exist in this world full of contradictions and unfairness.”

“She is indeed a fool, Sect Leader. She will soon realize that the happiness she thought she had obtained could come crumbling down at any moment.”

“Yes, we have to teach her that and open her eyes to the truth,” the Sect Leader said with a hint of amusement in his voice before saying, “Contact that follower and command her to faithfully carry out her task as a member of our church.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“If she refuses, then…”

“How could she refuse, Sect Leader? Siegfried van Proa loathes our church, and she probably knows better than anyone that getting discovered by someone like him is not going to end well for her.”

“Good,” the Sect Leader replied with a satisfied smile hidden by his mask before adding, “Use that follower to gather information regarding the inner workings of the Proatine Kingdom. Then, I want you to create a plan based on that information. Remember, it’s still too early for our church to appear in this world, so do it surreptitiously.”

“I hear and obey, Sect Leader,” the bishop replied before he retreated back out of the Sect Leader’s presence.

“Siegfried van Proa… So you’ve decided to enter the abyss on your own accord?” the Sect Leader muttered in a sinister-sounding voice.

***

[Southwest Region of the Nürburg Continent: Sharp Forest]

Siegfried arrived at the forest where the Golem King was supposedly located, and a message appeared in front of his eyes.

“But why is this place called Sharp Forest?’ he asked as he entered the forest.

He pushed aside a bunch of leaves when he felt something sharp cut across the back of his hand.

“Huh?” Siegfried muttered as his eyes shot wide open.

Plop…!

His hand was bleeding. It seemed that a leaf had wounded it.

“You have to be careful here, hyung-nim. This place is called Sharp Forest for a reason, and if you look here…” Seung-Gu warned as he carefully grabbed a leaf and crushed it.

Clang!

The leaf was crushed into pieces, but it sounded as if Seung-Gu had crushed a piece of metal rather than a leaf.

“What the hell? How is that a leaf?”

“The vegetation in this forest has very high metal content in them.”

“High metal content in plants? Is that even possible? And does it even make sense for a leaf to injure me?”

“Hyung-nim… I don’t know how to convince you if you try to use logic in a game…”

“Oh, right, we’re in a game…” Siegfried muttered in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head.

‘Am I really going to turn into an addict?’ he wondered as he carefully walked down the forest.

“How many times have you attempted this quest?” he asked.

“Around seven times, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu replied.

“Was the boss too strong?”

“T-That’s…”

“What? Are you trying to say that you didn’t even manage to reach the boss?”

“Yes…”

“…”

“Hehe… Even the mobs are strong here, and there are so many of them that I couldn’t handle them by myself.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Deep, heavy footsteps abruptly reverberated from somewhere.

“Is it an enemy?” Siegfried asked. He gripped his +15 Gaia’s Fist tightly and ran toward where the footsteps had come from.

Ten minutes later, Siegfried pointed at something and asked, “H-Hey, isn’t that the Golem King?”

A huge Iron Golem, presumed to be the Golem King, was going somewhere with golems of various shapes and sizes in tow.

“I think so, hyung-nim…?” Seung-Gu muttered, sounding unsure.

“Where are they going?”

“I have no idea…”

“Let’s follow them for now,” Siegfried said.