Debuff Master

“The prize prepared by His Imperial Majesty is this—”

The servants brought something covered with a crimson red covering into the venue at the host’s words and placed it down on the podium.

And the host pulled back the crimson-red covering to reveal the prize prepared by Emperor Stuttgart.

It was a fist-sized rock emanating a rainbow-colored hue along with a hint of strange mana.

“Oh!”

“Ooooh!”

“That's…!”

The rulers gasped in awe after recognizing it.

[B-Grade Stone of Transcendence]

[A mysterious rock holding powerful energy within it.]

[It is possible to absorb the energy sleeping within the rock and enhance one’s potential, provided they meet the requirement to do so.]

[Type: Consumable]

[Rating: Unique]

[Level Restriction: Under 250]

[Effect: Level +3]

Siegfried couldn't help but covet the prize after checking its details with his Rune of Insight.

He was suffering these days with the pace of leveling up. His level wouldn't rise no matter how much he grinded in the Great Rift, and the fact he had been scammed out of the quest rewards by Cheon Woo-Jin only made it seem like leveling would take him forever.

Well, Cheon Woo-Jin didn't scam him out of anything, to be precise, but nevertheless, the B-grade Stone of Transcendence was like a ray of hope in the darkness for Siegfried.

“Dame Oscar,” Siegfried motioned for her to come closer.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“We have to win first place,” he whispered.

“Pardon me…?”ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N(o)vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.nᴇt

“I have to win this contest. I must win it no matter what we have to do.”

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“I’ll bite my tongue and die if I fail to win this contest.”

Oscar was taken aback after seeing the fire in Siegfried’s eyes, and it seemed as if his determination to win was going to spread all over his body and set him ablaze. However, Siegfried wasn't alone. The other rulers seemed to be burning with equal determination to win the contest.

The Stone of Transcendence was not an item exclusive only to Adventurers, as it could also increase an NPC’s level as well. Thus, it was an item the ruler could use for themselves or use on one of their subjects.

“Can you do it?” Siegfried asked.

“Certainly,” Oscar replied with a confident smile.

***

The hunting contest was held within Emperor Stuttgart’s private hunting ground within the Marchioni Empire’s capital city.

Why?

The emperor’s private hunting ground was massive.

“T-This is a hunting ground? And a private one at that?! Impossible!”

Emperor Stuttgart’s private hunting ground stretched almost infinitely as it showed no end no matter how much Siegfried scrolled the mini-map. Its area was so vast that it was probably at least half the size of Seoul[1].

South Korea was a small country, so it might not sound all that impressive; however, the fact that the emperor’s private hunting ground was half the size of a country’s capital city was completely ridiculous to begin with.

“Each of our dignified participants will spread across the hunting ground and hunt their trophy!” the host shouted.

A message explaining the rules of the contest popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Hunting Contest]

[One of the events prepared for the World Peace Conference.]

[Whoever hunts the most game will win this contest.]

[Type: Time Attack Quest]

[Progress: N/A]

[Reward: Stone of Transcendence × 1]

[Points:]

- Rabbit: 1 pt

- Squirrel: 1.5 pts

- Badger: 1.2 pts

- Raccoon: 1.8 pts

- Deer: 2.5 pts

- Wild Boar: 5 pts

- Alligator: 8.5 pts

- Tiger: 12 pts

- Lion: 20 pts

- etc…

The rules of the Hunting Contest were exactly as the host explained.

“Then, I would like to courteously request our dignified participants to mount their steeds!”

The attending knights of each ruler brought their horses for their lords to mount.

The steeds entered the venue one by one, but…

“What the hell? Is this a supercar club or what?!” Siegfried exclaimed after seeing the steeds.

The steeds were far from ordinary horses. Each and every one of the horses was of extremely rare pedigree, such as white, black, yellow, red, blue, green, etc.

Horses were one of the main methods of transportation in the game, which meant they were similar to cars in real life. Therefore, Siegfried’s comparison of the parade of cars as a supercar club was not that far off.

It went without saying the steed with the strongest presence belonged to none other than Emperor Stuttgart. No, the emperor’s steed was not a horse but rather a dragon pretending to be a horse.

Siegfried used his Rune of Insight to check the details of the emperor’s steed.

[Dragonsteed Aventador]

[An extremely rare horse with the blood of a dragon running in its veins.]

[This majestic creature rivals Hyperion even though it lacks the ability to fly.]

[Type: Neutral Creature]

[Level: 250]

[Class: Dragonsteed]

[Warning: Those without the qualifications to become a true king will not be able to mount this steed. Please do not approach this horse if you know your place, as it could kill you in a single back kick.]

As expected of the strongest person on the continent, Emperor Stuttgart’s steed, Dragonsteed Aventador, was truly an extravagant steed befitting of his glory as the emperor.

However, the rulers seemed to disagree with that.

“Oh my god! Emperor Stuttgart is going to mount a mere Dragonsteed?!”

“Your Imperial Majesty’s mount would not live up to your glory! Is that alright?”

The rulers were praising the emperor for his modesty after mounting the Dragonsteed.

And that was when Siegfried suddenly thought of something.

Hyperion was the Proatine Kingdom’s best steed. Yes, it does belong to Brunhilde, but Siegfried felt he had the right to mount it as he was her husband now.

Unfortunately, reality was not as kind to him as his fantasy was shattered in an instant.

“W-What’s that?!”

“What in the world…?”

The rulers started scoffing at something.

He grimaced until his face crumpled and distorted.

Why?

Oscar entered the venue dragging Hamchi by his reins. The giant hamster had enlarged itself and was wearing a saddle on his back…

***

He wasn't ashamed of Hamchi or anything like that. It was more like he was embarrassed to death and wanted to hide in a hole at the fact that everyone was going to mount their extremely rare and valuable steeds while he was going to mount a hairy hamster.

It was common courtesy to mount at least a horse, even if it were not a rare breed, to show off a ruler’s majesty, so what the hell was a hamster doing here…?

“Y-Your Majesty… I have brought your mount…” Oscar forcefully squeezed the words out with her eyes on the ground. Obviously, she felt extremely embarrassed by the fact that she had to bring a giant hamster into the venue.

“He’s my mount…?”

“Y-Yes, Your Majes—“

“Dame Oscar.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you avoiding my eyes? Are you ashamed of me?”

“N-No…”

“Then why can’t you look me in my eyes?”

“No, Your Majesty I… I will excuse myself,” Oscar said before passing the reins to him and hurriedly mounting her steed.

She was a loyal knight who had sworn to put her life on the line for her liege, but it seemed that she was not prepared to be subjected to this level of embarrassment for him.

“Hey, why are you here?”

“I asked you a question, bastard.”

“Hey! You little!”

A vein bulged on Siegfried’s forehead after being unable to find an outlet for the rage welling up inside of him.

“Siegfried van Proa,” Emperor Stuttgart called out to him.

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty!”

“Your mount is very adorable.”

It was only for a split second, but Siegfried could swear that he saw the emperor smiling condescendingly at him.

“Haha… T-Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty…”

Still, Siegfried had no choice but to thank the emperor for his praises or whatever that smirk was supposed to mean.

Siegfried jumped up and mounted Hamchi.

One silver lining was probably the fact that Hamchi’s fur made him extra comfortable to mount, and Siegfried felt he was sitting on the leather seat of an expensive sedan.

“Now! Let the Hunting Contest…!”

The Marchioni Empire Soldiers beat the drums at the host’s shout.

“BEGIN!”

The host officially announced the start of the World Peace Conference Hunting Contest.

The rows of rare steeds lined up kicked off the ground as soon as the signal was given.

***

Thirty minutes later…

“Hey, why are you here?” Siegfried asked.

“I asked you a question.”

“There’s nobody around us, so quit the cosplay, you bastard.”

“Why the hell are you here? Where’s Hyperion? Isn’t Hyperion supposed to be here?”

“Yes,” Siegfried replied without decisively and retorted, “Everyone’s riding a horse except for me! I’m stuck with a damned hamster! Wouldn't you be embarrassed if you were in my shoes?!”

“This isn’t about vanity! It’s respect!”

“Stop changing the subject and answer me. Why are you here instead of Hyperion?”

“Whose mind is twisted enough to send you here instead of a proper horse?!”

“R-Really?” Siegfried was flustered at those words, and he carefully asked, “Are you sure it wasn’t Michele…?”

Siegfried could no longer complain after learning that this was Brunhilde’s idea.

“Let’s just go hunt.” Siegfried stopped grumbling and started walking away. It was exactly as he said. This wasn't the first time he became a laughingstock, so what was the problem of becoming a laughingstock again?

“Let them laugh at me if they want. I’m going to win this while they’re busy laughing,” Siegfried clenched his fist and exclaimed, “Let’s go, Dame Oscar!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Siegfried decided to ignore everything else and solely focus on winning the Hunting Contest.

***

Siegfried’s hunting speed was extremely fast.

A rainbow-colored projectile flew through the forest and stabbed a rabbit in the distance.

[Alert: You have hunted a Wild Rabbit!]

[Alert: You have gained 1 point!]

But it was not only Siegfried picking up the pace.

Oscar let an arrow loose and pierced a wild stag’s neck.

[Alert: You have hunted a Wild Stag!]

[Alert: You have gained 2.5 points!]

Siegfried and Oscar’s combined hunting speed was extremely fast, and the numerous trophies hanging from Hamchi and the horse’s saddle were proof of it.

The reason they were able to hunt so fast was thanks to Inzaghi’s Compass and the Lucky Guy Earrings. He made full use of these artifacts to easily locate game to hunt, and the effectiveness of these artifacts even surprised him.

The artifacts led him to places filled with game to hunt, and they found not even a single competitor there. Thanks to this, Siegfried managed to earn tons of points without encountering any issues.

“Let’s go search for our next prey.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Let’s see… Where should we go…?” Siegfried muttered as he waited for Inzaghi’s Compass to finish searching, but…

He doubted his eyes for a second after Inzaghi’s Compass suddenly pointed to his right and warned him of danger.

it was warning him of something far more dangerous than the game.

Inzaghi’s Compass started heating up to warn him of the great danger lurking to his right.

A piercing cry echoed, and it had come from Siegfried's right.

1. Seoul is half the size of Los Angeles or New York State. So you can think of it as a quarter the size of LA or NY State. ☜