Debuff Master

Chapter 224

There was an Adventurers’ Guild in almost every nation on the continent, and they were some sort of an international organization. The main objective of the Adventurers’ Guild was to keep the Adventurers' power struggles in check and safeguard the interests of the NPCs and their assets.

There was not a single day on the Nürburg Continent that went by without a group of Adventurers fighting against each other back when the guild content, namely the Adventurers’ Guild, hadn’t been released just yet.

Humans were bound to form factions and try to take control of things, so the Adventurers had already formed their own groups and started fighting against each other even before the guild content was released.

This led to a lot of small and big conflicts on the continent among the Adventurers. It wouldn’t have been a problem if the Adventurers fought amongst themselves, but the main problem was that the NPCs were getting swept up in their fights.

Many NPCs lost their lives or their livelihood at the hands of the barbaric Adventurers who instantly PVPed the moment they saw each other, and those Adventurers never bothered to compensate the NPCs.

Soon, their actions became a social problem throughout the continent, and the nations gathered together to find a solution to the brewing social problem.

***

Three years ago…

“Those damn bastards! They dare come from their world and wreak havoc in ours?! Let’s just kill all of them!”

“You want to kill the Adventurers on sight? Then who’s going to stop those vicious monsters? We need the Adventurers to stop the sudden increase in monster population all over the continent!”

“So what if we kill them? They’re just going to come back to life and seek revenge. How are we supposed to fight immortal beings?”

The lords or the Minister of State from each of the participating nations debated for three consecutive days to come up with a solution to the problem. It was quite a difficult and tricky situation for the NPCs, as the Adventurers were something like a necessary evil for them, and the situation was made even trickier by the fact that these necessary evils were immortal beings.

All of a sudden, a ruler who had been silently observing for the past three days finally said something for the first time.

“Allow me to give my input.”

Everyone in the room stopped talking.

The man was none other than the most powerful ruler in the world, the ruler of the strongest nation, the emperor of the Marchioni Empire, Emperor Stuttgart.

The Marchioni Empire was the most powerful nation in the world, and it was so strong that it wouldn’t be defeated even if every other nation decided to form a coalition against it.

Emperor Stuttgart attended the meeting for three days, but he simply sipped on his wine without saying anything. Therefore, everyone fell silent the moment he opened his mouth for the first time.

“It sounds like the problem will naturally go away the moment we create a large battlefield in an alternate dimension. Then, those Adventurers can wage war against each other to their hearts’ content without causing any damage to our people,” Emperor Stuttgart said.

He took another sip of wine and closed his eyes before nonchalantly saying, “Humans are instinctively bound by laws. They’re from another world, but they are still humans in the end.

“They are bound to follow whatever rules we set, and we could simply punish them once they break the rules we set. If we do that, then we will have the justification to punish them.”

“…!”

The representatives of each nation felt like they were hit by a hammer at the back of their heads. Emperor Stuttgart’s idea precisely solved the main issue that the continent was facing.

They simply had to create a place for the Adventurers to fight, and they would punish them whenever they broke laws. It was a move that would surely reduce civilian casualties, and it would even give them the justification to punish criminal Adventurers.

It was truly a crafty plan that sent chills down the spine of the representatives.

‘H-he’s crazy… scary…’

‘Don’t tell me…?’

‘Did he have this idea all along and just watched us for the past three days to amuse himself…?’

They didn’t have any proof to back their assumptions, but they knew that the emperor had completely deceived them and had been treating them as entertainment for the past three days.

Why?

Because he was the emperor of the world’s strongest nation…

This was true not only for Stuttgart but any other emperor as well. Emperors held great authority and wisdom, so they usually entertained themselves by toying around with those beneath them.

However, the purpose of it was not only to entertain themselves but to send a warning as well.

‘I already know the answer, and I can read what’s on your mind, so don’t even dream of trying to pull anything behind the scenes. I can thoroughly crush you once I’m done toying with you anytime I want.’

…or something along those lines.

“It seems that all of you agree with my idea judging by your expressions. Then, we shall proceed with that. Ah,?I forgot to mention that my empire will shoulder three percent of the annual budget of this new international organization, and the rest of you will divide the remaining ninety-seven percent. Then, I will excuse myself,” Stuttgart said.

He one-sidedly decided the amount he was going to pay and leisurely left the conference room, leaving the representatives to discuss by themselves.

“…”

They were stunned after getting toyed around with by the emperor. Then, they belatedly realized that the emperor had pulled a fast one on them, but it was already too late.

Well, it was not like they could do anything about it, even if they realized it sooner…

Emperor Stuttgart was known as a delinquent who did whatever he liked among the international community, but that was only possible since nobody was powerful enough to stand up against him.

What followed after the delinquent left the room was… pure chaos.

“I’ll pay five percent!”

“What bullshit are you spouting?! I heard your territory is experiencing an economic boom right now! Shut it and pay fifteen percent!”

“We don’t have any money! I can’t pay that much, so deal with it!”

“Ha! Why are you fighting among yourselves? I’ll gladly shoulder seven percent of the remaining ninety percent so you can—What? Did you just laugh at me, you bastard?! Do you want to die?!”

“I’ll pay six percent! Nothing more and nothing less!”

The representatives of each nation were arguing to contribute less to the new international organization required to control the Adventurers. The argument went on for nearly a week, and there were even instances of the representatives cursing, shoving, and even punching each other.

The organization born from that chaos was none other than the Adventurers’ Guild, and it was a patch that was released to BNW three months after the chaotic conference.

The NPCs basically created an entire game content for the Adventurers by themselves, and this was one of the reasons BNW was able to captivate the entire world.

***

The Adventurers’ Guild was the only organization established under the cooperation of the nations on the continent, and its headquarters was located in the city on the easternmost region of the Continent, Arcticland.

The reason the Adventurers’ Guild’s headquarters was located at the end of the continent was for the sake of the gateway to the dimensional realm where guild wars often happened.

The authorities of this world—the NPCs—did not wish to have the Adventurers clump together.

Who would think that such an idea was a good idea? These otherworldly beings possessed powerful abilities, and they were going to be an unstoppable force if thousands or ten thousands of them gathered.

The NPCs were well aware, and they were scared that the Adventurers would gather together and overthrow their kingdoms.

Flash!

It was midday by the time Siegfried arrived at Articland.

‘What do I need again…’?he tried to remember from his previous experience of running a guild while walking toward the Adventurers’ Guild.

It was then.

“Hey, isn’t that the bastard?”

“Hey! It’s him, right?”

“Has he gone nuts? How dare he set foot here!”

The Genesis Guild members appeared one by one and started stirring up trouble with Siegfried.

“Kyu!?It’s them! What are we going to do, owner punk?!” Hamchi cried out.

“What else? Just do this…” Siegfried replied as he raised his right hand and showed his middle finger to them along with a hideous smile.

“That crazy bastard! Hey, fucker! Do you have a death wish?!”

The Genesis Guild members walked toward Siegfried in a threatening manner.

“Why? Do you want to take a swing at me?” Siegfried taunted while openly displaying his cheek. He sneered at them and said, “Take a swing. I dare you~ I’m curious about what’s going to happen if you do. Kekeke!

“This bastard…!”

“I said hit?me~ Why? You can’t? Tsk tsk… How can you call yourself a man when you’re all bark but no bite?”

“This fucker…!”

“Pfft! Big talk for someone who can’t even punch me~” Siegfried smirked. He taunted them even further. “Just shut up if you don’t have any guts and go on your way~”

“…I’m going to kill you.”

“Oh my~ So scary! I’m shivering in my boots~” Siegfried sneered before turning around.

Showing his back to his opponent was basically asking for trouble, and the fact that he even raised his middle finger while walking away was him begging for trouble.

However, the reason Siegfried could nonchalantly do all of this was that Articland had banned all PVP.

Of course, it was possible to kill another Adventurer. It was possible to attack someone else since there were no auras or system interventions that prevented it.

However, stirring up trouble here was basically picking a fight against every nation on the continent.

Crack!

Thanks to that, Siegfried was able to make a fool out of the Genesis Guild members without suffering any consequences.

“Hey! It looks like that bastard’s about to make his own guild! Hurry up and report this to the management!”

The only thing the Genesis Guild members could do was report the fact that Siegfried was trying to create his own guild.

***

It was not that difficult to establish one’s own guild, and the process was quite straightforward.

1. Fill up the registration form.

2. Submit the registration form and get evaluated by the Adventurers’ Guild—It was called an evaluation, but they casually stamped on every form that was submitted to them.

3. Submit the land deed where the guild’s headquarters will be established upon approval.

.

4. Build the guild’s headquarters on the land.

5. Create a guild logo to use for badges, icons, flags, etc.

6. Inform the Adventurers’ Guild once the badges, icons, flags, etc., with the guild logo, have been created.

7. Pay 1,000 gold to finalize the guild creation and submit a minimum of three guild members to complete the guild formation—three, including the guild master.

The guild creation process was quite straightforward, and it was even easier for someone like Siegfried, who was a king.

Land?

The Proatine Kingdom was small, but all of its lands belonged to Siegfried.

Constructing the headquarters?

Seung-Gu and the Labor Force could be mobilized for that, and they could easily build a small castle in less than a week.

Guild logo?

He could give the task to the renowned artist—Gringore.

Lastly, one thousand gold was a drop in the bucket for Siegfried’s deep pockets.

Scribble, Scribble, Scribble!

Siegfried filled up the Guild Registration Form and submitted it.

‘I’m going to choose the best location for the guild once I return to Proatine, and I’ll ask Gringore to work on the logo…’?he thought.

However, his plans were shattered in an instant.

“Siegfried van Proa… You wrote that you’re a king, is it true?” the receptionist asked.

“Yes, that is correct,” Siegfried proudly replied.

“I apologize, but it is not possible for you to establish your own guild. I am afraid that I will have to reject your application.”

“What?!” Siegfried exclaimed and doubted his ears.