Debuff Master

Chapter 203

A mace dropped to the ground when Taecilius finally died.

Thud!

‘Huh? Is that what I think it is…?’?Siegfried saw the dropped weapon, and it was kind of ironic since Taecilius fought with his bare fists.

It was the item that Siegfried had been looking for—Gaia’s Fist.

However, the item’s description was a bit different from the stats of the Gaia’s Fist he had seen in the Mercedes Workshop’s catalog.

[Gaia’s Fist]

[A mace infused with the power of the Earth Goddess, Gaia.]

[The mace’s power brings forth destructiveness equal to a calamity.]

[Rating: Mythic]

[Attribute: N/A]

[Level Restriction: 210]

[Attack Power: 4,500]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Additional Stats: +1,000 Strength]

[Additional Options: Hits grant a stack of Earth’s Strength. At 100 stacks, consume all stacks to cast Earthquake. (Earthquake may be combined with Splitting Heaven and Earth!)]

The real Gaia’s Fist gave an extra five hundred points in Strength compared to the high-quality replica of the Mercedes Workshop. It seemed that the saying about how an imitation would never be better than the original was true here.

“Hey, youngster!” Yong Tae-Pung shouted.

“Yes?”

“You want that, don’t you?”

“That is the reason I came here…” Siegfried replied.

“Take it. That belongs to you.”

“Really?”

“We would have been annihilated if it hadn’t been for you, so it’s only right that you take it. You guys agree as well, right?”

Yong Tae-Pung looked at the Mandate of Heaven Guild members.

“I have no problem with that.”

“I almost got the death penalty, so I’ll just think of it as payment for my life.”

“I’m just glad that it didn’t drop the weapon type that I use. Haha! Yes, that youngster can have it…”

The Mandate of Heaven Guild members unanimously agreed that Siegfried was the rightful owner of Gaia’s Fist.

‘Well, I guess losing a level after dying is much more critical to them than this item,’?Siegfried thought. Indeed, dying was a horrifying experience for any Adventurer above Level 250, and it could break the mind of the player.

Why?

It was all because they could also lose the item they had painstakingly enchanted in addition to losing their precious levels. Dying was only acceptable for those below Level 200. It was an entirely different ball game once an Adventurer’s level went past 250.

“Then, I will help myself to it,” Siegfried said before picking up Gaia’s Fist.

“But, youngster…” Yong Tae-Pung called out.

“Yes?”

“Can you return my weapon? I hope you’re not planning to run away with it…”

“Ah!?No, here it is,” Siegfried immediately returned the +15 Hwaryongdo to the old pro gamer. He would be lying if he said that he hadn’t thought about running away with the weapon, but Siegfried wasn’t stupid.

‘I’m really going to get fucked if I run away with that weapon.’?

Siegfried knew very well that he would have to quit the game if he were to start a war against a top 5 guild of the game, considering that he was already at odds with the Genesis Guild.

He could end up dying again and again until he dropped everything he had, including the +15 Hwaryongdo.

“Great job, youngster.”

“Thank you.”

“This must be fate, so why don’t we go to a café and have a cup of coffee—”

Siegfried immediately ran away before Yong Tae-Pung could even finish speaking.

“Let’s go, Hamchi!”

“Kyu!?Good job, owner punk!”

“Thanks for the buffs!”

“Hamchi was really exhausted! You better give me a lot of nuts later!”

“Let’s go buy some nuts!”

Siegfried and Hamchi knew that the old pro gamer was up to something, so he decided to run away immediately. However, Siegfried wondered while running, ‘Is it just me, or am I getting a bit too involved with old men…?’

He couldn’t help but wonder if he were secreting a pheromone that specifically attracted middle-aged men…

***

Decimato’s eyes snapped open, and a light flashed in both of his blue pupils. He was completely naked, and he saw his charred robes next to him.

“This feeling is…” Decimato muttered as he touched his arms, chest, and legs.

‘What’s going on? Why is my skin so smooth?’?he wondered.

The wrinkles that had completely covered his old hands were nowhere to be seen.

“Did I die…?”

“No, you didn’t...”

“…!”

“You have become a Master, so you’ve gone through body transformation as well. You’re still alive.”

Decimato lifted his head and looked toward where the voice had come from and found the First Circle magician that would be in charge of the Proatine Kingdom’s Magic Academy, Percival.

The old magician was smiling and was looking at him with warm eyes.

“What do you mean by Master, sir…?” Decimato asked tentatively.

Decimato instinctively knew that Percival was extraordinary, so he instinctively used honorifics to address the old First Circle magician.

“Yes, that is indeed the case. Why don’t you check it out for yourself rather than me explaining it to you? Go on and count how many circles are in your heart,” Percival replied.

“How many circles—WHAT?!”

“Kekeke!?It’s exactly eight! Am I right?”

“How can this be possible?!”

“It’s all because you have been studying and researching magic for such a long time that you immediately reached an epiphany after receiving just a hint.”

“God…”

“Ah, but it’s going to take you at least another thirty years to be enlightened to what a single circle really means. It is highly likely that you’ll be gone by then.”

“Just who are you, Elder-nim? Wait… No way…” Decimato wanted to ask if the old magician—Percival—was the individual that suddenly popped up in his mind.

“Keke! Why is it important who I am? I’m just Percival, a First Circle magician. I’m in this backwater kingdom to run the Magic Academy, and my life’s motto is—deepen your foundations! Kekeke!”

“Elder-nim…”

“I got you some new clothes, so wear those clothes before you go. I’m a bit tired after watching over you all this while.”

“Y-Yes, Elder-nim!”

“Oh, by the way, congratulations…” Percival trailed off and smiled as he opened the door. Then, he looked back at Decimato before continuing. “...for becoming a Great Wizard.”

And that was how one of the subordinates whom Siegfried had obtained through his quests became a Great Wizard…

***

“I should call it a day earlier today and go roam some dungeons,” Seung-Gu muttered to himself while he was on his way to the construction site.

Seung-Gu’s daily routine consisted of logging in, going to the construction site, going to a dungeon, and then logging out. It was a bit monotonous, but Seung-Gu found no issues with it.

“Marquis Decimato-nim!” exclaimed Seung-Gu after noticing the familiar back of the old magician.

“Good morning, Sir Seung-Gu. Did you have a pleasant night’s sleep?” Decimato replied with a smile.

“Huh??You’re not Marquis Decimato?” Seung-Gu inspected Decimato from head to toe with narrowed eyes. “I thought I was correct since you looked like him from the back…”

“What are you talking about, Sir Seung-Gu? It is me, Decimato.”

“Cut the crap.”

“…!”

“Marquis Decimato is not as young as you, you know? He’s an old man who should have been in a nursing home by now.”

“A-a nursing home…?”

“Where are you from? Are you a spy from the Genesis Guild?” Seung-Gu asked before flashing his Rune of Insight at the middle-aged magician.

[Decimato de Mickelson]

[Type: NPC]

[Level: 300]

[Sex: Male]

[Age: 72]

[Class: Wizard]

[Tier: Beginner Great Wizard (Master/8th Circle)]

[Affiliation: Proatine Kingdom]

[Title: Marquis]

[Position: Head Royal Magician]

[Titles: Struggling Magician, Renoma’s Rain, Proatine’s Wisdom]

Seung-Gu doubted his eyes.

‘What the heck…? The details are definitely Marquis Decimato, but—wait, could it be that he improved so much overnight?’

Seung-Gu suddenly recalled an announcement from BNW.

[A Sudden Growth event could be triggered for an NPC once certain conditions were satisfied. The NPC’s that had triggered their Sudden Growth event would quickly surpass Level 200.]

[They will undergo body transformation, and their stats will increase explosively.]

[For example, a normal Level 70 knight could suddenly become a Level 300 Sword Master.]

“No way… Marquis Decimato-nim?”

“Kekeke! I was fortunate enough to have attained enlightenment, Sir Seung-Gu,” Decimato replied and chuckled.

“Crazy… aren’t you a bit overpowered…?”

“Hmm?”

“N-No, nothing…” Seung-Gu shook his head. He then said with sincerity in his voice, “Congratulations, Marquis Decimato-nim.”

“Thank you, Sir Seung-Gu.”

“Hyung-nim will be delighted once he hears of the news,” Seung-Gu said.

He was raring to see Siegfried’s reaction.

***

Siegfried and the Mandate of Heaven Guild members separated.

Siegfried decided to go straight to the Mercedes Workshop after obtaining the real Gaia’s Fist.

“I will leave the Gaia’s priests in your care.”

“…”

“Then, I will be on my way.”

Of course, he didn’t forget to give Yong Tae-Pung the responsibility of taking care of Gaia’s priests before leaving.

He was now at the Mercedes Workshop.

“God… You really managed to obtain it,” Wilhelm muttered in disbelief.

He could have never imagined, even in his wildest dream that someone would dive into a dimensional rift just to retrieve an artifact, not to mention that the dimensional rift in question was known to be a large rift with numerous smaller rifts within it.

“God… Your Majesty truly deserves to become a VVIP customer of the workshops…” Wilhelm acknowledged.

Wilhelm’s acknowledgment was a big deal because the top three workshops were extremely picky with their clientele.

The Mercedes Workshop was especially infamous for its pickiness.

In addition, the Mercedes Workshop was infamous for its unwillingness to be diplomatic, so the acknowledgment of the Mercedes Workshop’s Head Blacksmith was truly a remarkable feat.

Perhaps that was also the reason that Siegfried obtained a new title…

[Alert: You have obtained the title Triple Crown!]

[Triple Crown]

[A title given to the VVIP customer of all three top workshops on the continent.]

[Type: Title]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Effects: 30% discount from the top three workshops, +3% enhancement success chance when enhancing equipment with the top three workshops.]

‘I-It increases the enhancement chance of my items?!’?Siegfried was stupefied.

Games had always been extremely conservative when it came to success rates, and it had always been like that since time immemorial.

It had also long become an unwritten rule among developers. There were even some developers that had gone as far as deliberately making it nigh impossible to enhance items at higher enhancement levels.

Their reasoning was simple—enhanced equipment could break the game’s balance.

In fact, there were games that lost all of their players after tweaking their enhancement system to be favorable to spenders.

This game was no different.

BNW made sure not to include any cash items that could increase enhancement success rates to prevent any imbalances in the game. There had been some special cases like enhancement coupons, but those cases were extremely rare.

Every Adventurer had the same enhancement success rate, which leveled the playing field for everyone.

Of course, there were some rumors and superstitions floating around that a certain enhancement machine in a certain area was more generous than others, but those were just baseless rumors that the Adventurers had spread out of desperation.

“Then, may you kindly give us two days? We will enhance your weapon in two days,” Wilhelm said.

“Sure,” Siegfried replied with a nod before asking, “But is it fine, even if the weapon wasn’t crafted by the Mercedes Workshop?”

“Yes, we have no problem with that,” Wilhelm replied with a smile. He then explained, “To be honest, it is not important where the equipment had come from or which organization had made it. We were just limiting things for the sake of tradition.”

“I see…”

“Then, I will see you the day after tomorrow,” Wilhelm said before disappearing into the workshop with Gaia’s Fist.

“Hey, owner punk! What are we going to do in the meantime? Kyu!”?Hamchi asked.

“Well, I guess we have a few days to hunt in the dungeons around here,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.