Debuff Master

Chapter 192

The green mist pervaded the tiny pub and siphoned the HP of the Genesis Guild members.

‘I’m dealing three times more damage since this is a cramped closed-off space…’

Siegfried was surprised to see Irradiate’s damage.

Of course, there was another reason why Irradiate was dealing so much damage, and that was none other than the singer on the stage a while ago. The singer on the stage was Gringore wearing a disguise, and he sang Ghost’s Song—a Phantom Singer skill.

[Ghost’s Song]

[Damages and disorients hostiles. Hostiles will receive additional damage from allies, and allies will have a higher chance of dealing critical hits.]

The song’s effect and the cramped space boosted Irradiate’s damage output by three times. Of course, Gringore’s song wasn’t as effective compared to when he was in an empowered state.

However, what if Siegfried’s debuff fields were added on top of it?

‘Let’s try it out…’?

He cast Blaze Field in the cramped pub.

Fwaaaa! Fwaaaa!?

The Flames of Destruction scorched the Genesis Guild members.

Puk! Pukeok!

Siegfried immediately started a massacre, but the Genesis Guild members had no plans of going down without a fight.

“Who the hell are you?!”

“You bastard…!”

“Do you have a death wish?!”

“Die! Die!”

The Genesis Guild members rushed at Siegfried.

Bam! Bam! Kablam!

The tiny pub soon descended into chaos as a brawl broke out. Well, the pub was already a mess thanks to Irradiate and Blaze Field, so there wasn’t really that much of a difference.

Puk! Puk! Pukeok!

Siegfried smashed the Genesis Guild members’ heads with his hammer.

[Alert: You have dealt a critical hit!]

[Alert: You have dealt a critical hit!]

[Alert: You have dealt a critical hit!]

The word Critical kept on popping up in front of Siegfried.

Thud… Thud… Thud…!

A minute later, the Genesis Guild members’ remains and their items littered the floor.

Siegfried picked up the items and put them into his Inventory before leaving.

Pat… Pat… Pat…

Blood dripped down his hammer as he left, and the rusty smell it emanated made it obvious that Siegfried hadn’t been able to clean his hammer at all.

[Alert: You have acquired a new title!]

[Alert: You have acquired a new title!]

Perhaps that was the reason why Siegfried acquired a new title.

“Sure, let’s see how far I’ve fallen.” Siegfried wasn’t happy about the titles at all.

[Alert: You have acquired the title ‘Hammer Murderer’!]

[Alert: You have acquired the title ‘Skull Breaker’!]

The titles’ effects were quite interesting.

[Hammer Murderer]

.

[A title given to Adventurers who has killed enough people—NPC Included—with a hammer.]

[Type: Title]

[Rating: Rare]

[Effects: The first attack upon an ambush will deal 10% increased damage.]

[Skull Breaker]

[A title given to Adventurers who has cracked open enough heads.]

[Type: Title]

[Rating: Unique]

[Effects: Head blows will deal 10% increased damage. Head blows are 35% more likely to result in critical hits.]

The two titles provided excellent bonuses, but the problem was the titles themselves. Siegfried was already known as Seggs Stamina King and Vulture, but now, it would only be a matter of time until he became known as the Hammer Murderer and Skull Breaker.

Siegfried couldn’t help but feel that the system was messing with him. He felt that the system was trying to drag his image all the way down to the earth’s mantle.

“I’m just reaping what I sowed…” Siegfried muttered and let out a sigh of resignation.

He had already given up on his titles.

‘Now, what comes next is…’?he thought while leaving the pub.

“Halt..!”

A knight and soldiers responsible for the village’s security blocked Siegfried’s path.

“Drop your weapon and get down on the ground, now!”

“Huh?”

“You are under arrest for murder, arson, destruction of property, and disturbance of public order!”

This was the main reason Adventurers avoided PVP in villages or cities. It was all because of the NPCs responsible for responding to any chaos within the safe confines of the villages and cities.

“I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t think I committed any crimes…” Siegfried brazenly told the knight.

“What?! There is overwhelming evidence of the atrocities you have committed!” the knight retorted.

“I only killed Adventurers, and I don’t think that counts as murder…”

“…!”

“Arson and destruction of property aren’t applicable as well because I own this place. I mean, I can do what I want to my own building, right?”

“The building is yours…?”

“Here you go,” Siegfried said. He handed over the building’s certificate of ownership and the land deed.

The document looked fresh, and the ink was still wet.

Well, the document was signed just an hour ago.

“Excuse me, can you sell your land and the building to me?”

“W-What do you mean?”

“I’ll give you double the market price right now—cash.”

Siegfried bought the pub and the land from its owner just an hour ago in cold hard cash.

“T-This…!” the knight was flustered.

“Sir Mobidick! It is true! That building belongs to that Adventurer! I just sold it to him!”

“I-Is that so…?”

“I sold it for twice its price! Kekeke!”

In the end, even the pub’s owner stepped in and testified that the pub indeed belonged to Siegfried, and the knight no longer had any justification for arresting him.

“Here you go,” Siegfried handed over a few gold coins.

“W-What’s this…?” the knight was flustered.

“The fine.”

“What fine…?”

“I deny committing murder, arson, and destruction of property, but I admit to disturbing the public order.”

“I-I see… It’s just a misdemeanor, but it’s still a crime!”

“Go somewhere nice and have a meal with your soldiers with this. I mean, the weather has been really hot lately, so wouldn’t it be great to drink a refreshing beer? Oh, can you drink while on duty?” Siegfried passed another gold coin before walking away.

‘I should repair that place later and open a shop at least. I lost money today, but I can recoup my losses later on,’?he thought. Siegfried had always been the type of person who knew when to spend his money whenever it was necessary.

***

Chae Hyung-Seok logged into the game.

“Kyung-Jin… Ho-Seok… Tae-Ho… Min-Ji… Jong-Won…”

Min-Woo made his report and recited the names of the deceased Adventurers, and hearing every single name made Chae Hyung-Seok’s blood pressure rise.

He tried his best to suppress the fury boiling in him.

“So… We lost thirty-three people while I was away…?” he asked in a low deep voice.

“Y-Yes…” Min-Woo replied.

Slap!

Chae Hyung-Seok slapped Min-Woo.

“H-Hyung…!”

“Hey, Min-Woo.”

“Yes…?”

“I told you to manage the guild members, right?”

“Yes…”

“But thirty-three died under your watch?”

“That’s because that bastard ambushed our guild members…”

“Shut your mouth, you incompetent bastard!”

“…!”

“I trusted you, but this is how you’re going to repay me?” Chae Hyung-Seok growled before saying, “Gather all of our guild members without leaving a single one behind. Pass down a kill order.”

“A kill order? Did you find the culprit?”

“Han Tae-Sung. No, I think his name is Siegfried now. That bastard is the culprit.”

Chae Hyung-Seok had no doubt that Siegfried was the mastermind behind all this.

***

“Hey, who the hell is this bastard?”

“I heard our guild screwed him over last time. I think his name was Han Tae-Sung?”

“Han Tae-Sung? I know him. He’s one stubborn bastard. He ain’t got rat’s shit worth of talent, but he is extremely stubborn. He doesn’t know when to quit.”

The Genesis Guild members gathered and started talking about the target of the kill order—Siegfried.

They looked around, but they were bound to fail because Siegfried was using the Metamorphosis Mask.

The Genesis Guild members went around flashing their Rune of Insight on every single Adventurer and NPC, but they couldn’t catch even a glimpse of their target. In addition, they couldn’t find Siegfried unless Siegfried himself appeared in front of them.

“Ah,?where can we find this bastard? Is he already hiding?”

“Hey! You guys over there!” someone exclaimed out of the blue, “Hurry up! Over here!”

A Genesis Guild member covered in blood was shouting at them.

“What the…? What happened to you?”

“In the forest! Our guild members and that Siegfried bastard is fighting in there! We’re losing, so we need backup. Hurry up!”

Fifteen Genesis Guild members entered the forest, but they couldn’t find anyone in the forest.

“Huh? There’s no one here.”

“Where is he? Are we at the right place?”

“Hey! Lead the way properly!”

The confused Genesis Guild members were flustered when shadows started rising from the ground.

Seuk… Seuk…

Puk! Pukeok!

The shadows delivered low blows to the manhood of the Genesis Guild members, and they quickly forced them to submit using submission holds.

The Genesis Guild members saw the same system messages while the shadows were restraining them.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: Your character’s important place was struck! You are experiencing an ‘Out of Body’ experience! Try to come back to your senses!]

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: You are being restrained!]

The Genesis Guild member who guided them to the forest threw his guild badge to the floor.

“Ew… I almost got cursed by that thing,” Siegfried grumbled while dusting off his chest where the guild badge sat earlier. He felt disgusted that he had to wear the Genesis Guild badge, even though he had done it to deceive his enemies.

“Hmm… I guess it’s time to clean up,” said Siegfried as he started swinging his bloody hammer.

***

“T-This…!”

Two hours later, Chae Hyung-Seok was trembling in anger once again. He had just received multiple reports about the deaths of his guild members. The reports only had an interval of twenty minutes between each report.

The Genesis Guild members died in strange ways.

Some got decapitated by a cape, while others died after following someone to a forest and getting their heads smashed in, but the strangest manner of death was dying after getting seduced by a beautiful NPC.

However, what enraged Chae Hyung-Seok the most was the fact they were all Buffers.

“Han Tae-Sung, you bastard…!”

Chae Hyung-Seok would become stronger on the field the more Buffers there were around him because those Buffers would amplify his massive AOE buffs.

The fact that they had lost so many Buffers meant that their guild was currently severely weakened. The Genesis Guild only managed to become one of the top ten guilds thanks to Chae Hyung-Seok and his Buffers buffing their horde of guild members.

Quantity over quality—this was the Genesis Guild’s motto.

Chae Hyung-Seok’s power depended on his guild’s numbers and their overall cohesion rather than the individual strength of their members.

However, their very foundation was currently being threatened, and the attack couldn’t have come at a worse time, as they were about to engage in a guild war with numerous rights and items on the line.

To make matters worse, the insect he had stepped on two years ago was the assailant.

The insect had come back to life to bite him.

“Gather the guild executives… We have to catch that bastard before the guild war starts…!” Chae Hyung-Seok issued a command.

Shwoooooong…

All of a sudden, the shrill noise of something ripping through the air echoed.

Kabooooom!

An explosion decimated the building that the Genesis Guild was using as their headquarters.