Debuff Master

“Ah! You are absolutely right. It must have been embarrassing that the welcome was not adequate for a person of your status! I apologize for this. I will make sure they will prepare an even grander welcome for you next time!”

He decided to wear the Metamorphosis Mask because Quandt had promised an even grander welcome on his next visit. Lo and behold, there was a whole parade of marching bands, a huge banner, and fireworks prepared in front of the entrance.

‘Damn it! This is so embarrassing!’ Siegfried exclaimed inwardly as he entered the building with his head down so as not to attract any attention.

A few minutes later…

“You should’ve told us if you were coming!”

Quandt rushed over after hearing of Siegfried\'s visit.

“You should know how to take it easy! Do you have any idea how much I prepared to welcome you since you seemed disappointed the last time?!”

“I was right…” Siegfried weakly muttered under his breath and patted himself on the back for using the Metamorphosis Mask.

“Geez! You really—”

“Enough,” Siegfried cut him off and changed the subject, “Have you finished my item? I need to use it in three days’ time.”

“Of course! Have I ever broken my promise when it came to finishing my work?”

“Not at all.”

“Wait here, I’ll bring it for you.”

Quandt left the room to get the Vanquisher’s Grasp, and he returned shortly after.

“Here you go! What do you think? This is now your new weapon! Hahaha!”

“Hey…” Siegfried uttered with obvious disappointment in his voice before he asked, “What the hell is this? Are you joking with me right now?”

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

“Are you seriously asking me that right—“

“Kyu! Horse fly! That’s a horsefly!” Hamchi exclaimed while pointing at the Vanquisher’s Grasp.

The most befitting word to describe the Vanquisher’s Grasp was horsefly.

Its design was actually quite modern. No, it was more accurate to describe the way the large hammer’s head was connected to the Rod of God by the Omnipotent Mechanical Gear made it look quite futuristic.

But what was the problem?

The color...

Perhaps the reason was that the Chromatic Dragon’s Horn was used as one of the materials, but the head of the Vanquisher’s Grasp was shining brightly in various colors that made it look like a flashing rainbow.

It sounded cool if it was described with words, but the way it glistened made it look like the body of a horse fly…

“Hey… I know you were doing your best, but…” Siegfried grumbled in complete disbelief before he glared at Quandt and said, “Don’t you think you went too far with this color? It looks like a freakin’ horse fly!”

“H-Horse fly?! What do you mean?!” Quandt retorted, and then he showcased the weapon with both hands and exclaimed, “Look how magnificent these colors are! It looks luxurious just by looking at it!”

“No? It doesn’t? It just looks like the ass of a horse fly to me,” Siegfried curtly replied.

“Ha! Look at it from an artistic perspective! How can something this marvelous look like a horsefly?”

“…”

“Bah! I guess you’re just hopeless when it comes to art!”

Siegfried was flabbergasted at Quandt’s brazenness, but then he suddenly remembered, ‘So is this why the Autonika Workshop always makes fun of them?’

He finally realized why the Bavarian Workshop was always teased for its ugly artifacts. If their Head Blacksmith was this hopeless when it came to designing artifacts, it was probably the biggest reason their workshop was getting bashed for having such poor aesthetic taste.

‘Ah… How am I supposed to bring this around? Should I go to the Autonika Workshop and ask them to alter the design?’ Siegfried looked at his new weapon and lamented while thinking of the numerous cool artifacts displayed at the Autonika Workshop.

However, doing that was out of the question. Quandt had forged this weapon with his blood and sweat, and bringing the weapon to someone else to alter its design was akin to disrespecting him.

“Tell me honestly! Is it that bad? Does it really look like a horsefly?”

“Who knows…”

“Look at it again! How can you say this is a horsefly?”

“I guess its function is more important than its design…” Siegfried weakly said before he flashed his Rune of Insight at the Vanquisher’s Grasp. He was hoping that the utterly abysmal design was going to be made up for by its function and stats.

‘Yeah, what’s the use of a cool design? It just has to have good stats! Just like my titles… Sniff…!’ Siegfried thought as droplets of tears formed at the edge of his eyes.

[Vanquisher’s Grasp]

[A prototype of the Universal artifact designed by the Legendary Blacksmith, Herbert.]

[It can be upgraded to the specific Universal artifact.]

[Type: Weapon]

[Rating: Epic]

[Attribute: N/A]

[Level Requirement: 240 ▾ ]

[Attack Power: 7,500 ▾ ]

[Durability: Infinite]

The stats of the Vanquisher’s Grasp forged by Quandt were slightly different from the stats written on the blueprint. The level requirement was reduced from Level 250 to Level 240, but the Attack Power was nerfed from eight thousand to seven thousand five hundred.

However, it was hard to say that the weapon had become weaker.

[Additional Options: MAX mastery for all weapons, +30% HP Life steal when attacking enemies, +30% Stamina steal when attacking enemies, +200% damage against Dragon-type monsters, All stats +400, +15% additional damage to enemies afflicted with debuff skills (NEW!)]

[Active Skill: Scourge of God, Transform Weapon]

The Vanquisher’s Grasp had its level requirement lowered, and its Attack Power was reduced. However, it gained a new option that dealt fifteen percent more damage to debuffed targets.

In short, the weapon looked like it was nerfed from the perspective of other people, but it had received a massive buff and was reborn as a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of the Debuff Master.

“Oh? There’s a new option, and it’s better than before?”

“We couldn’t use the Golem King’s Core, so I replaced it with the Swamp Drake’s Soul.”

“Swamp Drake’s Soul?”

“It’s a dragon-type monster living in the Southern Great Jungle. I found one lying around in our storage. Anyway, how do you like it?”

“This is the best,” Siegfried replied with a grin.

He was extremely satisfied with his new weapon. There was no way he would not be, as the weapon would further enhance the potential of his debuff skills at the cost of losing some Attack Power.

He was more than happy to give up the extra 500 Attack Power in exchange for dealing fifteen percent additional damage against his enemies. However, the biggest irony was the fact that the reduction in level requirement from Level 250 to Level 240 was actually a blessing in disguise.

He was not yet Level 250, so he would not have been able to use his new weapon if the level requirement hadn\'t been reduced.

“See! What’s the point of having a nice design? It’s all about the function! Power! Destruction!”

“I… I agree?” Siegfried awkwardly replied.

He was about to say that an appetizing meal started from the eyes or something similar to that, but he decided not to say anything about the weapon’s design as Quandt seemed to have done his best for him.

‘Let’s just use it…’ Siegfried thought as he looked down at the Vanquisher’s Grasp and laughed, ‘Oh well, your name’s going to be Horse Fly from now on.’

He gave the Vanquisher’s Grasp a cute nickname—Horse Fly.

“I told you! Only those losers from the Autonika Workshop are going to obsess over useless things like designs! All that matters for a weapon is how destructive it is and how many it can kill! Yes! That’s right! Bwahahaha!”

“That’s right! Hahaha! Hahaha!” Siegfried tried his best to match Quandt’s energy right now. Then, he said, “I can’t wait to try it out.”

He grabbed the handle of Horse Fly and noticed something strange.

“Huh? This feels a bit…”

Perhaps it was because the handle was covered with the Arachnid’s Leather, but there was a strange sensation the moment he grabbed it. It felt as if he and Horse Fly had become one.

“Oh!” Quandt exclaimed and said, “You’re quite the quick one!”

“Huh?”

“The Arachnid’s Leather connects to the senses of a human.”

“Oh?”

“Anyway, why don’t you test it out since you’ve already grabbed it? That should be faster to understand.”

“How?”

“Ah, that is…” Quandt proceeded to explain how to use Horse Fly.

***

Siegfried returned to the Proatine Kingdom.

“Honey.”

“Yes?”

“We need to talk.”

He followed Brunhilde to his office while frantically wondering, ‘What’s this all about?! Did I do something wrong?!’

He seemed to have obtained the passive skill that all married men possessed Guilty Conscience, and the skill was triggered after Brunhilde cast We Need To Talk on him.

Ah~ The sorrow of a married man! They had no idea what they did wrong, but the mere mention of those four words was enough to make them nervous and tremble in fear!

“W-What is it about? Hahaha…”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, honey? Do you feel unwell?” Brunhilde asked out of concern, and then she followed it up by saying, “Or did you do something wrong?”

“NO!” Siegfried shouted but immediately apologized. “I’m sorry. I was a bit too loud.”

“Hmm?”

“S-So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Ah, that is…” Brunhilde said as she hesitated for a while before…

Smooch!

She kissed him on the cheek.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

Her kisses never failed to make his heart race.

“W-what\'s up with this all of a sudden?”

“I have a favor to ask~”

“What is it? Tell me anything! I’ll do anything for you!”

The anxiety on his face disappeared and was replaced with a confident smile just from one kiss on the cheek.

“But it’s quite a difficult favor.”

“How difficult is it? Do you want the emperor’s head?”

“It’s not that difficult, silly.”

“Then what is it? Tell me.”

“I…”

“…?”

“Jessie…”

“Ah?”

“Can she continue staying by my side?” she asked in a firm yet pleading voice.

“Jessie? That\'s a bit…” he found it difficult to accept her request.

He knew that Jessie had a reason for doing what she did, and he felt sorry for her as he knew that she only did all of those to survive. However, the fact that she had tried to hand over Gyul to the Church of Osric wasn\'t something he could easily forgive.

He decided not to punish her any more than to terminate her employment as a maid. Of course, he planned to find a suitable job for her and protect her family from the Church of Osric as well because she had turned herself in.

“That child has been through a lot, honey…”

“I know, and that’s why I plan to forgive her.”

“She listens to me very well and sincerely cares about me. She’s quite quick-witted and wise; she\'s really good at her job.”

“I know that too, but I can’t allow it.”

“Really?” Brunhilde asked before she hugged him. Then, she moved her lips up his neck and started kissing it.

“Ah, n-no…”

“Still? Hng~?”

“I can’t…”

“Darling~”

“Over my dead body— Ah~“

He stood his ground and flatly refused her request, albeit with a bit of difficulty.

However, she resolved herself to win this battle, and she went all-out on the offensive.

“I will never allow…”

“Even if I do this, baby?”

“I will ever allow…”

“What did you say~?” she asked in a sensual and teasing voice.

“I allow…” he replied as his eyes started to shake.

“Really, baby?”

“Since you’re the one asking… Euk…!”

In the end, he was utterly defeated by her attacks. Well, it was not that he stood a chance to begin with, as he was completely under her mercy.

***

“Thank you all for coming here today.”

Three days later, Chae Hyung-Seok was standing in front of ten thousand Genesis Guild members at a place roughly three kilometers away from the Proatine Kingdom’s borders.

He started with a short speech. “I will keep this short. This will be our last mission, so do your best. We’re going to hit the mother lode one last time and go our separate ways.”

He was talking about disbanding the guild, but not a single one of the guild members seemed to be disappointed.

‘I guess it’s really over for this guild…’ Chae Hyung-Seok bitterly thought as he looked at the faces in front of him.

Since when did things become like this?

The Genesis Guild was completely different from how it was just a few months ago. The guild members beaming with pride as one of the top ten guilds on the continent could no longer be found anywhere, and their morale that once reached the heavens was no more.

The guild members who had sworn absolute loyalty to him and the guild were now no different from mercenaries that could only be swayed by gold. There were still a few loyal members who had rallied at his call, but even they did not seem as passionate as they once used to be.

‘Oh well, I’m never going to see these guys again, so let’s not think about it,’ Chae Hyung-Seok thought as he steeled his resolve.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

Chae Hyung-Seok turned around and started walking with the ten thousand Genesis Guild members following him.

Their destination?

It was none other than the Proatine Kingdom.