Debuff Master

Chapter 491

“Let’s go back for now. The monsters are getting more challenging, and I think it’s time we go back to upgrade our crystals and repair our gear.”

The reason he decided to retreat despite the Ishuka Ruin being right in front of them was that it was starting to become harder to kill the monsters. The number of essences that the monsters were dropping upon death increased the closer they got to the Ishuka Ruin, but it also meant that the monsters\' barriers were becoming increasingly stronger.

Thus, it was starting to get more challenging to get past the barriers possessed by the monsters the closer they were to the Ishuka Ruin.

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Gosran and Seung-Gu agree with his idea.

The party ventured back to the Great Jungle’s entrance.

“Hey, Seung-Gu.”

“Yes, hyung-nim?”

“I have a favor.”

“Hmm? What favor?”

“I’ll give you my item, crystal, and essences, so can you go to Quandt and him to work on it? Ah, give this letter to him too,” Siegfried said as he passed a small piece of paper.

“Okay, but where are you going? Are you busy with something?” Seung-Gu asked.

“Yeah, I plan to go start making some money.”

“Making money...? But I thought the vending machine was already doing that for you, hyung-nim?”

“There’s something like that.”

“Huh?”

“Anyway, I’ll see you later.”

Siegfried passed his crystal, item, and essences to Seung-Gu before heading straight to his vending machine.

***

Information was power!

It was a truly terrifying power. One could amass wealth or wield immense power depending on how they used the information in their hands.

A good example of this was when someone had information regarding the government’s development plans and used that to buy lands or properties in that area. Another example was if one had information about a company winning a huge tender and purchased their stocks before the project was awarded.

However, most people were wary of acting on any information, as there was a possibility it could be fake news. In other words, going all-in on such information could end up with that individual going to the Han River Bridge to test the Han River’s temperature.[1]

However, what if this information was true and tested, and it was something people would be willing to die for?

As mentioned, it was possible to amass great wealth or wield immense power with such information, and this was something Siegfried was clearly aware of. He knew from experience just how powerful information could be, and he also knew how to use such information to his advantage.

Thus, he planned to use the information he had to his advantage and maximize whatever profit he could squeeze out of it.

The first thing Siegfried did was go to his vending machine and withdraw all of the gold it earned from selling the items.

Kaching! Brrrrrr!

The vending machine spat out a stream of gold the moment he clicked the withdraw button.

“A-Ah...! Hnngg...! T-This feels so... good...!” Siegfried moaned and squirmed while experiencing another bout of eargasm. His ecstasy ended the moment the vending machine finished spitting out gold.

He immediately came back to his senses and began to start the next phase of his plan.

He proceeded to register the vending machine with the Kautschuk Tree Sap. The sap was stored in two hundred fifty milliliter cans, which were about the size of a canned cola.

[Kautschuk Tree Sap]

[A sap extracted from the Kautschuk Tree.]

[The Bavarian Workshop can craft a coating mixture to protect your defensive equipment from corrosion.]

[This sap is also effective in repelling the Mutated Great Jungle Sandfly and neutralizing its poison.]

Siegfried ordered the promoters to promote the Kautschuk Tree Sap he had just registered, and they wasted no time and got to work.

“Kautschuk Tree Sap for sale!”

“For sale! For sale! Get your Kautschuk Tree Sap here!”

“Have you heard of the Kautschuk Tree Sap, which is a must-have item to hunt in the Great Jungle? Get yours now!”

“Stocks are running out fast! Better grab a can quickly!”

The promoters spread all over the place and marketed the Kautschuk Tree Sap.

“Get your holy water here! My puppy that died last year came back to life after drinking this Kautschuk Tree Sap!”

“My airship was instantly fixed after I poured this on it!”

“An IV drip of the Kautschuk Tree Sap can cure your migraine, toothache, slip disc, blood pressure, and even heart disease! I’m a doctor, believe me!”

Some of the promoters hired by Siegfried had exaggerated their claims greatly to the point they were basically scamming people at this point, but it proved to be extremely effective in getting the attention of the Adventurers.

“What? It will protect my gear from corrosion?”

“It can keep those pesky sandflies away?!”

“Hey, have you heard of this Kautschuk Tree Sap everyone is talking about?”

“No, what’s that?”

“It’s all the craze suddenly!”

The Adventurers looked possessed as they gathered in front of Siegfried’s vending machine.

Cha-Ching!

They went crazy purchasing the Kautschuk Tree Sap from the vending machine.

[Alert: A Canned Kautschuk Tree Sap has been sold!]

[Alert: A Canned Kautschuk Tree Sap has been sold!]

[Alert: A Canned Kautschuk Tree Sap has been sold!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: A Canned Kautschuk Tree Sap has been sold!]

[Alert: A Canned Kautschuk Tree Sap has been sold!]

Siegfried had set the price of the Kautschuk Tree Sap to be quite high, but they were still selling like hotcakes. Not a single Adventurer thought twice before buying the sap—no, it was more like they had no other option but to buy it.

The Kautschuk Tree Sap was expensive, but it was the only way they could protect their defensive gear from corrosion. None of the Adventurers had been able to venture deeper into the Great Jungle due to their defensive gear being repeatedly corroded.

In other words, being able to protect their gear from corrosion was something worth paying for.

“Hohoho!” Siegfried covered his mouth with the back of his hand and let out a peal of laughter that only those who were rich could let out while watching the Adventurers flock to his vending machine.

‘The information has already been made public, so I might as well further capitalize on it,’ Siegfried thought.

His party members back then had already divulged that there was a solution to the corrosion, as evidenced by Siegfried\'s progress through the Great Jungle. People were bound to actively look for this solution.

Siegfried had already cleared the Sample Collection quest, and Quandt had offered to craft the crystals for free for him and his comrades.

In other words, he had already managed to reap whatever profit he could reap from monopolizing the information regarding the Kautschuk Tree Sap.

Thus, he decided to make the existence of the Kautschuk Tree Sap known to the public by selling it. He didn\'t give the solution to the Adventurers for free, but rather, he was making a killing by providing the solution to them.

But why was he sharing this with them, to begin with?

The reason was the next phase of his plan for the Great Jungle.

‘The Great Jungle belongs to me, and I’ll need an army to conquer the Ishuka Ruin. Hohoho! Go forth and be my army, you gamers!’

Siegfried was planning to use the Adventurers to start an expedition into the Great Jungle. He needed to defeat the boss monster conquering the Ishuka Ruin to clear the quest "Return of the Great Chieftain," but he could not achieve that alone.

Siegfried reckoned that he needed an army to reclaim it.

He initially thought of bringing the Proatine Kingdom’s army, but it was extremely unfeasible, as the numbers did not add up. It was going to cost a kingdom a ton of resources to launch an expedition, and there were certainly going to be casualties and lives lost in the process of trying to reclaim the Ishuka Ruin.

Siegfried was not going to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers—even though they were just NPCs—to reclaim the Ishuka Ruin.

But what if his army was made up of Adventurers?

It would be possible for Siegfried to clear the quest without losing a single Proatine Kingdom soldier.

The Adventurers would instinctively and voluntarily head toward the Ishuka Ruin, so all he had to do was use that to his advantage.

However, this was not the end of the big picture he was drawing...

‘I trust that you’re doing your job...’ Siegfried thought while looking at the mobile smithy of the Bavarian Workshop.

***

Ten minutes ago.

“Hmm? King Siegfried sent me a letter?” Quandt asked.

“Yes, please read it,” Seung-Gu replied as he extended the letter.

“Alright,” Quandt took the letter and proceeded to read it.

The Adventurers will start coming to you with the sap to craft the coating mixture. Don’t do it for free and make sure you charge them a fair yet high price.

Also, I won’t have to tell you that thirty percent of the revenue will be... right?

- Siegfried van Proa

“T-This is!” Quandt exclaimed after understanding what the letter was trying to convey.

The Adventurers were going to buy the Kautschuk Tree Sap, and they were going to come to the Bavarian Workshop to have it crafted into the coating mixture. The Bavarian Workshop would charge them a fair yet high price to craft the coating mixture.

Siegfried would then get thirty percent of the revenue.

But that was not the end of it...

The Adventurers would soon gather a ton of Green Otherworldly Essences from the Great Jungle, and they would come to the Bavarian Workshop to have it crafted into Ignite Crystals.

Afterward, they would come back later to upgrade their Ignite Crystals.

In other words, the Bavarian Workshop would make a killing from this deal.

Siegfried\'s business model meant that he and the Bavarian Workshop would completely dominate the Southern Great Jungle market. Siegfried owned the Great Jungle, where the Kautschuk Tree and the Green Otherworldly Essences could be found, while the Bavarian Workshop had the patent to craft the essences.

This meant that there was no place for a third party to try and enter the market.

“Oh! King Siegfried! You’re certainly a master of the carrot and the whip! Bwahaha!” Quandt exclaimed and burst into laughter in delight. He was extremely impressed and delighted by the business model that Siegfried had come up with.

The Bavarian Workshop had indeed suffered a huge financial blow because of him, but this monopoly of a brand-new dungeon was indeed as sweet as rain during a drought for the workshop.

“You’re a genius, King Siegfried! How did you come up with such an idea?!” Quandt exclaimed and started praising Siegfried’s name.

It was then.

“Excuse me! I heard you can craft the Kautschuk Tree Sap into a coating mixture?”

“How much does it take to make the coating mixture?”

“Please craft this for me!”

“I was here first!”

“I need the coating mixture! Make it as fast as possible!”

“TAKE MY MONEY!”

The Adventurers converged in front of the mobile smithy, asking for their cans of sap to be crafted into coating mixtures.

Quandt raised his hammer and exclaimed, “Hear my words, Blacksmiths of the Bavarian Workshop!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Our customers are knocking on our door! Spare no effort in crafting the coating mixture!”

“Yes, sir!”

The blacksmiths sprung into action and got busy crafting the cans of sap brought by the Adventurers into coating mixtures.

Kaching!

***

The Southern Great Jungle became even livelier after Siegfried started selling the Kautschuk Tree Sap. More and more Adventurers gathered at the Great Jungle after hearing the news of the solution to the corrosion being found, and even those who left after getting sick and tired of their defensive gear being corroded had returned as well.

Thanks to that, the Southern Great Jungle instantly became the most famous dungeon among the high-level Adventurers.

Heh.

Siegfried smirked after seeing his work.

“Is this how those NPCs giving quests to the Adventurers feel? No, they have to give them a reward for finishing the quests, but I don’t have to give them jackshit! Kekeke~!” Siegfried cackled as he stared at the Adventurers.

He felt high from watching the Adventurers come to the Great Jungle, buying the Kautschuk Tree Sap from his vending machine, paying to craft them into the coating mixture, and voluntarily fighting to help reclaim the Great Jungle, which would soon end up becoming the territory of the Proatine Kingdom.

“Mwahaha! Now, shall I put my next plan in motion—” Siegfried laughed like an evil villain and was about to proceed further with his plan when a group of Adventurers caught his attention.

“Fuck! Why is an NPC so strong?!”

“That was my first time seeing such a perverted NPC... What kind of name is the Queen of Pain?”

“Hey, can you not mention her name? I feel like puking from hearing her name alone...”

Siegfried raised a brow after overhearing their conversation, ‘Queen of Pain?! Are they talking about Ingrid?’

He remembered that Ingrid was currently brainwashed by the Church of Osric and turned into one of their Four Heavenly Kings, the Queen of Pain.

“Excuse me,” Siegfried stopped one of the Adventurers.

“Oh? You’re Siegfried-nim, right?” the Adventurer replied.

“Yes, but did you say Queen of Pain just now?”

“Ah, yes, I did.”

“Did you meet this NPC called Queen of Pain?”

“Yup.”

“Where?”

“She was in the jungle.”

“...!”

“We almost died after running into her. Her skills were as bat-shit crazy as her—”

It was then.

‘The Church of Osric!’ Siegfried realized that the Church of Osric was plotting something in the Southern Great Jungle.

1. This basically means jumping from the bridge to commit suicide. It came from how a lot of people jumped off the bridge after going bankrupt during the Asian Financial Crisis. ☜