Debuff Master

Chapter 173

“How can a greenhorn like you use the second stage of the Torrential Flower Rain…?!” Gerard exclaimed in disbelief.

The Torrential Flower Rain had three stages.

The first stage was to use a ton of throwable weapons, the second stage was to control many different weapons and use them, and the third stage was to conjure weapons out of mana, which was in the realm of the Heart of Swords.

Siegfried was currently in the second stage.

Gerard managed to control the weapons, but that wasn’t the only thing that Siegfried could do.

Whiiiish!

The weapons rapidly orbited him, and anyone witnessing this sight could tell that a flower rain of death was about to descend upon the battlefield.

“Watch closely and tell me who the charlatan is,” Siegfried said with a smug smirk.

Then, the flower rain of death came crashing down on Gerard.

***

Thud…!

Gerard fell to the ground.

He was in a mess, and he resembled a worn-out tattered rag.

It was actually a miracle that he was still alive despite being on the receiving end of the barrage of attacks unleashed by the legendary-level weapons.

“H-How… How can someone like you use the Torrential Flower Rain…?” Gerard asked.

“Because I’m better than you by… let’s see… ten thousand times?” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“I can’t accept this… I refuse to accept this…!”

“Huh? Who the hell are you to accept it or not? Just hurry up and die. I don’t feel like mixing words with you anymore,” Siegfried said and swung his hammer.

Whoosh! Pukeok!

Gerard’s head was squashed.

Then, numerous blue lights emerged from Gerard’s corpse and floated toward the Weapon Maestros. The abilities and techniques that he had stolen using dark magic finally returned to their rightful owners.

Shortly afterward, the Shadow Weapon in Gerard’s hand crumbled into dust and scattered away.

“Ah, that’s a shame… It would have fetched a pretty penny…” Siegfried grumbled.

However, he decided to forget about it because there was no point crying over a weapon that had already turned into dust.

“Are you alright?” Siegfried asked while extending a hand.

“Senior Brother…” Hakken looked at him with eyes full of emotions.

“Only unfortunate things seem to be happening these days, but what can we do? We just have to get back up and move on.”

“You are absolutely right, Senior Brother…”

“Okay, time to get up,” Siegfried said as he pulled Hakken to his feet.

***

Three days later…

“…May the blessings of the God of Justice be with you.”

A priest recited a prayer.

“May you rest in peace…” Siegfried said and placed three gold coins on the altar.

He was carrying out his duties as the Chief Mourner for Shakiro, Maxim, and Velkanto’s funeral.

“…”

A deafening silence descended on the entire Weapon Academy. The Maestros did not say a single word even after the funeral.

It was only a few days ago that they received news of their master’s passing, but two of their brothers, Maxim and Velkanto, ended up being murdered by the biggest son of a bitch, so there was no way that the mood was going to lighten up in the academy.

“Kyu…”?

Even the usually rude hamster, Hamchi, obediently stayed in a corner with his ears drooping because of the solemn atmosphere.

“Hakken,” Siegfried called out.

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

“Shall we have a chat?”

“Most certainly.”

Siegfried called Hakken aside and gave him an old book. “Take this.”

It was the skill book he received from Shakiro.

“W-What… is this…?”

“The Torrential Flower Rain.”

“…!”

“I don’t need it anymore, so you can have it.”

“But Senior Brother! I am not master’s rightful successor!”

Siegfried shook his head and replied, “No, you are Master Shakiro’s rightful successor.”

“But I am not talented with other weapons…”

“Me, neither. I just read that book and learned how to use the Torrential Flower Rain.”

“Hmm…”

“I have a true master I serve, and carrying his shoes is already too much for me. So, you should inherit Master Shakiro’s legacy. And…”

“…?”

“You will see that the ultimate skills of each weapon are also written in it. I skipped over them because I don’t really need them, but you will be able to fill the void left behind by Maxim and Velkanto with that. It’s going to be a problem if the blunt weapon and shield were to disappear from Master Shakiro’s legacy, right?”

“Ah!”

“I’ll leave that to you. It’s your duty to raise the Shield and Blunt Weapon Maestros.”

“I understand what you mean, Senior Brother,” Hakken replied as he received the skill book from Siegfried.

“One more thing,” Siegfried said.

“What is it, Senior Brother?”

“What are your plans from now on?”

“We, brothers and sisters, are planning to take revenge on the Church of Osric…”

“What about the Weapon Academy?”

“I am afraid it will be difficult for us to continue running it…”

“Hmm… Then, I have a proposal, do you want to hear it?”

“What kind of proposal do you mean, Senior Brother…?”

“You see… I run a small country…”

“A-Are you telling me that you are a king, Senior Brother?!”

“It’s nothing amazing. It’s just a small rural province that I run.”

“Oh…”

“What do you think about running the Weapon Academy over there while going after the Church of Osric from time to time? The Church of Osric is also our kingdom’s mortal enemy. Well, I also have some personal beef with them, too. Anyway, what do you think?”

“We will go,” Hakken immediately accepted the proposal and explained, “We have been making plans and looking for another place to move our academy, so your offer is perfect for us, Senior Brother.”

“Good choice. The Weapon Academy is going to be targeted by the Church of Osric if you’re out in the open.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“All right, it’s decided, then. You guys will wrap things up over here and come with me to Proatine.”

“Proatine? Did you just say Proatine?”

“Yeah.”

“Senior Brother, I apologize, but…”

“Hmm?”

“Where is Proatine?”

Hearing that, a tear fell from Siegfried’s eye.

***

Siegfried went to the Sunset Forest to hunt the Blood Moth while waiting for the Weapon Maestros to finish preparing to move the Weapon Academy.

[Alert: You have reached Level 191!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 192!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 193!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 194!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 195!]

He reached Level 195 after killing a ton of Petite Blood Moths, which was the normal mob in the Sunset Forest.

[Alert: You have obtained a ‘Blood Moth Wings’!]

Siegfried went to the Thierry Merchant Company after obtaining the Blood Moth Wings.

“Welcome, Your Majesty,” Guccio greeted him and said, “I have heard the news that you ran into some unfortunate circumstances.”

“It turned out that way,” Siegfried replied.

“I truly wonder how this world will turn out when such evil beings are running amok… Haha…”

“But what are your plans from now on?”

“What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?”

“Did you not hear the news that the Weapon Academy is moving to Proatine?”

“Ah,?you do not have to be concerned if it is about that issue,” Guccio replied with a smile before continuing. “There is bound to be a solution to all problems, but it is truly a shame that the Weapon Academy is leaving this town. After all, they have greatly contributed and assisted White Town whenever help was necessary...”

Guccio was sincere. He didn’t personally attend the funeral, but he sent quite a lot of funds for the funeral. Thanks to him, the Weapon Maestros didn’t have to spend a dime for their treatment as well as for the priest who held the funeral.

“It is truly unfortunate indeed… Ah,?this is the Heavenly Silk I promised to sell to Your Majesty,” Guccio said and extended a roll of fine silk.

[Heavenly Silk]

[A silk produced by a mysterious worm. It can be purchased from the ‘Thierry Merchant Company’ at White Town, and it is quite expensive.]

[It is harder than steel but softer than silk.]

The Heavenly Silk truly lived up to its reputation because it looked quite mysterious and shiny.

Of course, It also looked expensive.

“How much is it?”

“With the thirty percent discount, that would be…” Guccio calculated.

“Huh…?

“Haha! It’s difficult to believe, yes, but it’s true. Was Your Majesty perhaps… not aware of its price?”

.

“Yes, I was not aware of it. So, is it possible to get an additional ten percent discount…?”

“No, thirty percent is already a huge discount, Your Majesty,” Guccio flatly rejected.

“Then… F-Five percent…?”

“I apologize, but I cannot do that.”

“Okay…”

In the end, Siegfried was forced to purchase the ridiculously expensive Heavenly Silk while crying tears of blood.

***

Siegfried had gathered four out of the five materials he needed after purchasing the Heavenly Silk. Now, he only needed dimensional fragments.

He didn’t bother wasting his time farming the 3,188 Dimensional Fragments he required. He simply bought them off the market. He didn’t really need that much, and it wasn’t that expensive as well, so it wasn’t that painful for him to purchase them.

[This is All You Need!]

[Bring the following materials to Quandt, the chief blacksmith of the Bavarian Workshop.]

[Progress: 100%]

[Dimensional Fragment: 25,000/25,000] ?

[Heavenly Silk: 10/10] ?

[Blood Moth Wings: 2/2] ?

[3kg of Black Steel Ore Lump: 3/3] ?

[Titan’s Tendons: 30/30] ?

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes after he had collected all of the required materials.

[Alert: Go to the Hometown of Death at the Bavarian Workshop and collect your rewards from Quandt!]

Siegfried told Hakken to find his own way to Proatine before setting out for the Bavarian Workshop with Hamchi.

“Ack!?It’s King Siegfried van Proa! Where’s the team in charge of welcoming His Majesty? Hey! Welcoming team?!”

However, one of the gatekeepers shouted after spotting Siegfried walking toward the Bavarian Workshop.

‘Damn it!’?Siegfried cursed inwardly.

He had no plans of being subjected to the same torture last time, so he ran as fast as he could all the way to where Quandt was located.

“Oh! You’re already here? I thought that it would take you a month at least!” Quandt exclaimed in delight.

“I got lucky and managed to gather it quickly,” Siegfried replied.

“But why didn’t you tell us you were coming? We would have prepared a grand welcome for you if you had told us…”

“Can you stop doing that strange thing?”

“W-Why? D-Don’t you like it?”

“Are you even aware that you’re subjecting me to public humiliation by doing that…?”

“Ehem…!?It seems you didn’t like it…”

“Please stop it. I beg you.”

“All right, I will tell them to prepare something else next time,” Quandt replied with a nod.

Siegfried couldn’t help but feel like crying after hearing Quandt’s response.

***

Siegfried returned to the Proatine Kingdom after passing the materials over to Quandt.

Then, he ran into someone he was quite familiar with.

“So, Your Majesty decided to take in the Weapon Maestros?”

“I wouldn’t call it take in. They can run the Weapon Academy here and fight together with us against the Church of Osric. It’s killing two birds with one stone, right?”

“Excellent choice, Your Majesty. The Weapon Maestros are definitely going to be skilled, so they will be a huge support in our fight against the Church of Osric,” Michele said with a smile.

He was delighted by the news of the Weapon Maestros joining their side, as the Church of Osric was his sworn nemesis as well.

“Please give the Weapon Academy the funds they need to start again,” Siegfried said.

“I will carry out your commands, Your Majesty.”

“And…”

Siegfried thought of something all of a sudden. He figured that it was best to build the new Weapon Academy in a suitable place. It should also be great if they built facilities that synergized with the Weapon Academy.

“Let’s build the Weapon Academy at a place where monsters frequently appear. Not somewhere where the strong ones appear, but somewhere where the likes of goblins or orcs often show up.”

“What do you mean, Your Majesty…?”

“Think about it. Who are the ones who will go looking for the Weapon Academy? It’s going to be the Adventurers, right?”

“D-Don’t tell me…”

“The Adventurers are going to come to change classes or learn some skills, so they will hunt the monsters on the way to the academy. Then, they will need to eat to replenish their Stamina, and they would need to drink potions to replenish their HP and Mana… Not to mention, they will need to repair their gears at a blacksmith…”

“…”

“Should we just build an inn as well? Well, I’m sure you get what I’m trying to say right now. Something like a place where one can learn knowledge and grow stronger at the same time?”

“Oh!” Michele exclaimed in awe before he continued, “That is an excellent idea, Your Majesty! The Weapon Maestros will have no problem running the Weapon Academy with that, and our kingdom will be able to drain the pockets of—”

“What do you mean drain the pockets?” Siegfried interrupted Michele and rebuked, “You have to watch your mouth as the Minister of State. I just wish to ensure that all of the Adventurers coming to the Weapon Academy will have every facility they need. I wish to cater to their convenience, that’s all.”

“I have made a mistake just now, haha…”

Hamchi was watching the exchange between the two while thinking, ‘What a match! Those two are putting bandits to shame. They’re practically plotting a highway robbery…!’

All of a sudden, one of Siegfried’s subjects announced.

“Your Majesty! A retired serviceman seeks an audience with you!”