Debuff Master

‘Hmm… I should kill that guy first then,’ he thought of executing Duke Alto first.

“You’re going to give me the contents of your secret vault?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes!”

“Oh!”

“So please forgive me and punish that vile criminal by cutting his head off!”

Siegfried looked at the Proatine Marines and said, “Please cut his head off and display it on the city walls.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The Proatine Marines grabbed Duke Alto and prepared to carry out their king’s command.

“W-Waaaait Your Majesty! I-I also have a treasure handed down generation after generation!” Duke Alto screamed.

“So?” Siegfried scoffed and said, “Hey, this guy is giving me his entire secret vault. How can you compare just one treasure with an entire vault? Have some shame, will you?”

A secret vault versus an heirloom passed down for generations.

The answer was obvious.

There was no way a single treasure of the duke’s family could compare against the immense treasures a king’s vault has.

“You are wrong!”

“I’m wrong?”

“Our family’s treasure is far more valuable than whatever riches that incompetent king has amassed.”

“There’s still a difference in quantity, though, right~?”

“I am speaking the truth! Please believe me! You are free to execute me if our family’s treasure is less valuable than the content of that bastard’s vault! However, if you decide that our family’s treasure is far more valuable, then I implore you to forgive me and execute that bastard instead!” Duke Alto exclaimed with a confident look.

“What?! This son of a bitch dares to!” Fernandes the Third lashed out and started hurling curses at the duke, “How dare you compare your toy to the vast riches I have amassed as king?!”

“Silence! The trash you collected will never compare to our family’s treasure!”

The once king and subject completely forgot about their relationship and started hurling curses at each other.

“King Proa! My secret vault is far more valuable! Execute that imbecile at once!”

“Your Majesty! Our family’s treasure is immensely valuable! I am certain you have heard of the saying quality over quantity, right? Please execute that cunning king and forgive me!”

Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto tried their best to appeal the value of their bribes to Siegfried.

“Hmm… Then why don’t show me your hands,” Siegfried said after pondering for a short while.

Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto were seemingly confused by what he said.

“Show? What do you mean by that?”

“Show you our hands…?”

“Tsk… I’m saying, show me what you got,” Siegfried grumbled in response out of frustration, and then he smirked and added, “You can simultaneously show me what you have, and I will judge which is far more valuable as well as who’s going to lose their head.”

“Fine! I will show you just how much wealth I have amassed in my secret vault!”

“Sounds good to me! I am confident I will win!”

Both Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto seemed quite confident of what they had.

‘Oh? These two look quite confident for some reason. Hohoho!’

Siegfried was elated after sensing that he could make some serious cash from these two. After all, there was no reason for them to be so confident if what they had was not valuable.

***

Three hours later, Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto brought their treasures and knelt in the throne room once again.

“Hmm… This smells really good.”

“Owner punk! Those two are back!”

“Oh, they are?”

Siegfried placed down his teacup and headed for the throne room.

“King Siegfried! I am back!”

“Your Majesty! I have brought the treasure to offer to you!”

Both of them looked extremely confident as they exclaimed as soon as he appeared.

‘Wow… They’re really doing their best to survive,’ Siegfried could not help but laugh at how desperate both of them were, but he cleared his throat and put on a serious face before speaking to them.

“Alright, shall we have a look at what you got?”

“Wait!” exclaimed Fernandes the Third with his hand in the air.

“What now?” Siegfried grimaced and asked.

“It is only fair that I should first tell you how much gold I have in my possession!”

“Oh? Are you saying you have more?”

“Precisely! I not only possess gold but also precious jewels!”

“Oh!” Siegfried exclaimed in response as he grinned ear to ear.

A mountain of gold and precious jewels!

It became obvious that the winner of this bribery for survival would be Fernandes the Third.

“I can confidently say the value of the gold and precious jewels in my vault will amount to one hundred thousand gold!” Fernandes the Third proudly declared.

“O-One hundred thousand?!” Siegfried stuttered as his eyes almost fell out of his eye sockets. The price of gold had dropped recently, but one hundred thousand gold was still worth a whopping four billion won.

“Yes! I will start off with one hundred thousand gold!”

“Wow… I don’t think we need to continue when the winner is obvious. What do you think, Duke Alto?” Siegfried asked as he looked at the duke.

However, Duke Alto was smiling. He seemed unfazed despite hearing the value of his opponent’s treasures.

“Ha! Your Majesty! One hundred thousand gold is nothing compared to the treasure passed down for generations in my family!” Duke Alto proudly exclaimed with a scoff.

“Silence! One hundred thousand gold is just the surface of my riches, I have more! Your pitiful heirloom will never be worth this much!” Fernandes the Third lashed out after hearing what the duke said.

“Pfft!”

“T-This fucking bastard…!”

“Hey, can you shut up? You heard the man; he said his treasures are more valuable, so let’s hurry up and take a look,” Siegfried grumbled.

“A-Alright…”

“I’m saying you should let your treasures do the talking and not your mouth. Geez…”

“Ahem…!” Siegfried looked at both of them and said, “You’re going to show what you have on three. Got it?”

“Sure!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Both Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto agreed.

“Alright! On your marks! Three, two, one!”

The desperate prisoners took out their most valuable treasures after Siegfried counted down to one.

***

First up was Fernades the Third with his treasure.

He took out a sky-blue jewel, which was carefully placed in a small chest.

“King Siegfried! This is a treasure befitting of someone like you! This jewel is… Ice God’s Essence!” Fernandes the Third proudly introduced his treasure. “This is the very essence of the Ice God! A befitting treasure for you!”

“Hey, don’t pronounce[1] it like that…” Siegfried muttered.

“Ahem! Nevertheless! You will be able to handle freezing cold if you consume this!”

“Really?”

“Have a look!”

Siegfried flashed his Rune of Insight at the jewel.

[Ice God’s Essence]

[A jewel containing the Ice God’s powers.]

[You will receive the power of the Ice God upon consumption.]

[Type: Consumable]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Remarks: You can obtain the superior version of Shadow Swamp if you consume this jewel!]

“Oh!” Siegfried exclaimed after reading that his skill could evolve once he consumed the jewel.

“Do you agree this is a treasure, King Siegfried?”

“I agree!”

Siegfried was satisfied with the bribe offered by Fernandes the Third.

“Then hurry up and execute that treasonous fool!”

“What’s the rush? I have to see what that guy has first, right?” Siegfried replied with a shrug, and then he turned to the duke and asked, “So, what do you have?”

“Your Majesty! This is my treasure!” Duke Alto proudly exclaimed as he took out two pieces of paper.

Well, to be precise, they were Enhancement Coupon and Equipment Protection Coupon.

[Bavarian Workshop Enhancement Coupon]

[An enhancement coupon officially issued by the Bavarian Workshop.]

[The Bavarian Workshop will enhance a +10 or above artifact requested by the coupon holder one time with a 100% success rate. (No level limit)]

[Type: Coupon (Consumable)]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Remarks: Using this on a piece of equipment with the highest enhancement rank will yield the most reward.]

An enhancement coupon was bound to make anyone playing BNW feel extremely greedy. It was coveted because Beehive placed great importance on game balance, so these coupons weren’t for sale.

If they were to sell these coupons, they would earn a ton of money in the short term, but it meant breaking the game’s balance, which meant they would suffer in the long term.

In fact, there were numerous cases of Korean game companies losing all of their users after they tried to make a quick buck by selling balance-breaking items for cash.

It did not matter whether a person was rich or poor, as it was impossible to buy an enhancement coupon with gold or real-world money. In other words, enhancement coupons were so scarce that they became extremely valuable in the game.

An enhancement coupon was an item that one could not buy even if they had all the money in the world.

“Oh!” Siegfried exclaimed after seeing the enhancement coupon. If he managed to enhance his Vanquisher’s Grasp ten times, then it was going to become a guaranteed +11 if he used this coupon.

However, that wasn’t the end of it.

[Bavarian Workshop Equipment Protection Coupon]

[Prevents the equipment from being destroyed upon enhancement failure.]

[Type: Coupon (Consumable)]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Remarks: Prevents the player from ruining their life once.]

The Equipment Protection Coupon was basically an insurance that protected an Adventurer from what they feared most—the destruction of their equipment in the event of an enhancement failure.

As expected, this was also a coupon one couldn’t buy with money.

“So, what do you think? These coupons no longer exist on the continent! I am certain that Your Majesty will have to acknowledge these as worthy treasures!”

“Yeah, I acknowledge them, alright,” Siegfried replied. He was extremely satisfied with the duke’s bribe. One hundred thousand gold and Ice God’s Essence versus the Bavarian Workshop’s Enhancement Coupon and Equipment Protection Coupon.

The two contestants were neck and neck.

“What do you think? My treasures are far more valuable, right?”

“Your Majesty! My treasures are much more valuable!”

Both Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto tried to argue the value of their treasures.

“Hmm…” Siegfried pondered for a while as it was difficult to assess which of these treasures was more valuable than the other. Then, he grimaced and grumbled, “This… It’s so difficult to choose… I mean, the other will feel wronged if I pick the other…”

In the end, Siegfried decided to make the wise decision.

“Guards.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“In the spirit of fairness, behead both of them and hang their heads on the walls.”

He decided to take their items whilst executing both of them—for fairness\' sake.

“W-What do you mean by that?! Hey, you fucking hooligan! You should be fair if you’re taking my precious treasures!”

“You son of a goat-fucking whore! You call yourself a human?!”

Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto hurled curses at him.

Siegfried responded by blocking his ears and humming a tune. “Lalalala~ Lalalala~ Doo Bi Doo Bi Doo Bap~”

“Please hurry up and take them away; they’re too noisy,” added Siegfried.

“Yes! Your Majesty!”

And that was how both Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto had offered their treasures to Siegfried, only to have both of their heads hanging on the city wall.

***

While Siegfried was busy making a fool out of Fernandes the Third and Duke Alto…

“Kyle-nim?”

“Yes?”

“Can I speak to you in private?”

“Sure.”

Carlisle went to a room away from the eyes of the maids and servants to meet with a maid called Jessie.

“What is it about?”

“Yes?”

“Tell me, who are you?”

“W-What do you mean by that…?”

“I know that you have been poisoning Her Majesty’s snacks.”

A chill traveled down Carlisle’s spine, and he instinctively reached for his pocket. There was a sharp dagger in his pocket, and he was prepared to use it anytime.

1. Ice God in Korean sounds similar to retard. ☜