Debuff Master

Chapter 331

Antiope was strong for a Level 270 individual, but she wasn’t as strong as Siegfried’s wife, Brunhilde.

However, Antiope still managed to overwhelm Siegfried.

‘Our level difference is too big…!’

Siegfried was barely able to block Antiope’s vicious attacks, and he could clearly feel the difference in their level.

He was currently Level 243, while Antiope was Level 270. If taking into consideration the fact that every single level from Level 200 was a qualitative change, then the twenty-seven-level difference between them was not something that he could easily overcome. No, it was more likely impossible for him to overcome in the first place, and he would have already lost by now if it hadn’t been for his class as the Debuff Master.

The only reason Siegfried was able to fight toe-to-toe against Antiope was thanks to his skills as the Debuff Master. However, he was still struggling against her.

Why?

It was all because Antiope’s mana pool was five times bigger than his mana pool.

Fwaaaa! Fwaaaah!

A blue aura burned brightly like fire whenever Antiope swung Theseus.

Just how much mana was she injecting into her spear that it actually looked like it was on fire?

Antiope possessed a ridiculous amount of mana thanks to living her whole life in the Great Jungle, which was rich in mana.

Bam!

Theseus struck Siegfried’s side.

“Keuk!”

Siegfried was flung five meters and crashed to the ground.

“Is this all the challenger of the Great Jungle Challenge is capable of?” Antiope asked while looking down at him with a condescending look.

“Nope, not at all,” Siegfried replied with a smirk as he wiped the blood off of his mouth.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Sparks started flying all around Siegfried’s body after he activated Overclocking.

“Here I come again,” he said before lunging toward Antiope.

The duel restarted immediately.

“Oh!”

“H-How is he moving like that?!”

“He’s strong! Strong!”

The tribe people of the Great Jungle could not help but exclaim in awe while watching the duel.

The strongest warrior of the Great Jungle, Antiope, and the challenger from the continent, Siegfried.

Anyone could tell that Siegfried was slightly losing to Antiope, but the duel was so neck-and-neck that those watching were so filled with suspense that they started sweating.

‘What should I do…? I can’t win with these kinds of attacks… Quick Draw? Torrential Flower Rain? Or Touch of Death? I need something big…’ Siegfried was in a dilemma. He knew that normal attacks weren’t enough to hit his opponent.

Their difference in level and stats alone was already quite big, but Antiope’s battle sense and physical control were absurdly good that easily winning this duel was clearly out of the question.

‘I should use my radioactive energy first…’ Siegfried thought as he activated Irradiate in an attempt to poison Antiope.

Sseuuu…!

He started emitting green fog around him.

“This fog is quite repulsive,” Antiope said before she easily pierced through the fog and continued attacking. Her poison resistance was simply too high for Irradiate to deal any significant damage to her. “Did you really think that you could beat me with this trick?”

“Keul!”

“You’re a disappointment!”

Shwiiik!

Theseus struck Siegfried’s thigh as if intent on drilling a hole through it.

“Ack!” Siegfried screamed and fell down.

“You’re not showing any value even as a slave! I might just outright kill you at this rate!” Antiope exclaimed before she unleashed a barrage of attacks against him.

“Kyuuu! Owner punk is in danger!”

“Hyung-nim! Hang in there!”

“You must win, Your Majesty!”

Hamchi, Seung-Gu, and Gringore cheered loudly for Siegfried.

However, he could not easily regain the momentum that he had lost to Antiope, and he was forced to defend himself.

‘Keuk! I will lose if I try to use my ultimate skills… I must hold on or now…!’

Quick Draw, Torrential Flower Rain, and Touch of Death were all skills that dealt great damage but came with great risks. Quick Draw didn’t have that big of a downside aside from its long cooldown, but Torrential Flower Rain and Touch of Death had too big of a risk if he failed to defeat his opponent with them.

These were not skills he could carelessly use just because he was getting driven into a corner.

‘What should I do? I can’t overcome our difference in stats, and the difference between our mana pool is too big…’

He realized that the reason he was losing was because of Antiope’s vast mana pool. She was able to use her skills without reserve thanks to her mana pool, and she had so much mana that she was using it to empower not only her body but also her weapon.

In other words, he was fighting a battle of attrition against her ridiculous mana pool.

‘I have to play the long game,’ Siegfried decided to hang on for dear life—for now.

***

Antiope was the first person in a long while to drive Siegfried into a corner, but she was also struggling against him.

‘I can’t finish him off…!’

Siegfried was quite stubborn. He was already in a bloodied state and had suffered three critical hits, but he refused to give up. In fact, he looked quite calm as he continued defending against her attacks, and he was so stubbornly persistent that she was slowly starting to feel tired despite being the attacker.

If there was a comparison to be made, then he was like an impregnable fortress wall. It seemed that he was going to collapse any moment now, but he would maintain his defensive stance and avoid any critical attacks that could potentially end the duel.

His unyielding grit and concentration that made him narrowly avoid defeat while walking on thin ice was truly remarkable.

“Give up, you can’t win against me. Just accept your fate and live as my slave! You have proven your worth to be my slave!” Antiope exclaimed.

The tribeswomen of the Amazoness Tribe chimed in as well.

“Yeah, outsider! You fought well!”

“You’re worthy of becoming the chieftain’s slave!”

“The chieftain might let you sleep with her! Kekeke!”

The way they worded it was a bit strange, but it seemed that they had already acknowledged his efforts.

‘Who’s going to be a slave?!’ Siegfried gritted his teeth and twisted his body in mid-air.

Chwaaaak!

Then, he activated Quick Draw as his Blood Butterfly’s Wings fluttered.

“Ack!”

Antiope hurriedly retreated after getting caught off guard by the Blood Butterfly’s Wings, but…

Wooong!

A blue circle appeared beneath her feet, and the blue flame emerged from it, engulfing her.

“Kyah!”

Antiope screamed, but she immediately realized that the fire wasn’t hot at all.

“Ha! Did you really think you could defeat me with this flimsy fire?!”

“Maybe?” Siegfried replied nonchalantly with a smirk before lunging at her again.

“I already told you! You can’t beat me, so give up and become my slave!” Antiope shouted.

Antiope was about to block Siegfried’s +15 Gaia’s Fist with her Theseus, but…

Clang!

“Kyah!”

Antiope dropped her spear, Theseus, upon clashing against Siegfried’s +15 Gaia’s Fist.

Plop…! Plop…! Plop…!

Blood started dripping down her arm.

“M-My mana… My mana is gone!”

Antiope was more shocked by her mana disappearing rather than the pain radiating from her arm. The reason she dropped her weapon was that she was overpowered by Siegfried’s strength after losing all of her mana to something.

“Phew… I thought I was going to keep blocking your attacks until I died,” Siegfried let out a sigh of relief.

Then, he gripped his +15 Gaia’s Fist and started walking toward Antiope.

“H-How…? Don’t tell me…! Was it that fire a while ago?!”

“Bingo!” Siegfried exclaimed with a grin.

[Mana Burn Fire]

[Summon a pillar of flame that burns mana. A direct hit will burn up to 80% of the target’s mana.]

Siegfried’s skill Mana Burn Fire was only the size of a manhole cover despite being buffed by his Quad-Turbo Set, so it was extremely difficult to time its activation and make sure that the opponent would get hit.

However, what if he managed to hit his enemy with it?

Jackpot!

Antiope was hugely dependent on her mana, so she was bound to suffer irreversible damage once struck by Mana Burn Fire.

“…”

Antiope was silent.

Thud… Thud…

Siegfried walked toward her with his weapon in hand.

“I…” she muttered before conceding defeat, “…lost.”

“WHOAAAAA!”

The barbarians watching the duel simultaneously exclaimed at her admitting defeat.

***

“Here you go,” Antiope said as she handed over the insignia to Siegfried.

[Alert: You have obtained the Amazoness Tribe Insignia!]

[Alert: The progress of Quest – Great Jungle Challenge has increased by 100%! (5/5)]

[Alert: You have completed the Quest – Great Jungle Challenge!]

Then, the quest clear message popped up in front of his eyes.

Flash!

A bright light flashed as the insignia of the five tribes started to combine before suddenly dissipating.

[Alert: You have obtained the Challenge Ticket!]

[Alert: You have received the buff Brave Challenger!]

The Challenge Ticket didn’t have any effect other than giving him the right to challenge the Hunterian King to a one-on-one duel, while the Brave Challenger buff was quite amazing.

[Brave Challenger]

[+50 Level when dueling against the Ruler of the Ishuka Ruin.]

It was a massive increase of fifty levels!

It was a shame that he could not use this buff in other places, as it would only activate while he was in a duel against the Hunterian King, but this was more than enough as a reward.

It was impossible for Siegfried to defeat the Hunterian King, as the boss monster was Level 300 while he was only Level 243.

However, the fifty levels provided by the buff were going to reduce their level difference from fifty-seven down to seven, making it possible for him to defeat the Hunterian King.

‘Hang in there… I will be there soon…’ Siegfried rushed while thinking of his dying wife.

“Where are you going?” Antiope asked.

“The Ishuka Ruin,” Siegfried replied.

“Already? It has only been ten minutes since the duel ended, you know?”

“I’m in a rush.”

“Why are you rushing?”

“I have people waiting for me.”

Siegfried had no time to waste as he had to bring back the cure for Brunhilde’s condition, the Dragonian Mango.

“Let’s go.”

He urged Hamchi, Seung-Gu, and Gringore.

Unexpectedly, his body refused to move as he wanted.

“Huh?” he grimaced as his vision started getting blurry.

“T-This is… Argh…!”

Ding!

A message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: Excessive gaming is harmful to your life!]

[Alert: Please get some rest!]

[Alert: You have been playing the game for forty-nine hours now!]

The messages were the game’s safety warnings.

“Huh?”

Siegfried was severely exhausted without even realizing it, as he had been playing the game for forty-nine hours without stopping.

Seuruk…! Thud!

He fell face-first to the ground.

“Omo!” Antiope exclaimed.

“Owner punk! Kyu! Breath! You could die at this rate!”

“Hyung-nim, why don’t you rest and continue tomorrow? You still have a few days remaining, right?”

“I implore you to get some rest, Your Majesty!”

Hamchi, Seung-Gu, and Gringore urged him to rest after seeing his current state.

“Hyung-nim… Your control will suffer if you’re tired, right? Please think about resting and challenging it tomorrow when you’re fresh.”

“Should I…?”

“You won’t be able to log into the game for forty-nine hours if you slip up and die in the duel, and that’s going to make you lose more time.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“So please rest; you really look horrible right now.”

“Alright…”

Siegfried pressed the log-out button and…

Seuruk…!

He closed his eyes.

***

Ten hours later…

“Ah… I slept like I was dead…”

Han Tae-Sung closed the lid of his VR capsule and ran the BNW client.

[Loading…]

[Connection Established!]

[Great Jungle: Amazoness Tribe Village]

He descended upon the Nürberg Continent and opened his eyes as Siegfried.

“Huh? Why is it so dark?”

He noticed that he was lying down in darkness.

“Where am I…?”

His eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness just yet, so he started feeling around him to get an idea of where he was.

Boink!

He found himself groping something strange.