Debuff Master

It was only after he was driven to a corner that Siegfried learned the new skill Deus had been talking about.

[Grand Duel]

[Type: Active Skill]

[Mana Consumption: 10% of Total Mana]

[Cooldown: 60 seconds]

[Duration: 60 seconds]

[Effect 1: The Debuff Master slams the ground to create an indestructible Barrier of Victory.]

[Only the Debuff Master and the target can exist within the Barrier of Victory, and the barrier will not disappear unless either one dies or the skill duration ends.]

[Effect 2: The Debuff Master's strength is greatly enhanced inside the barrier, while the target is greatly weakened inside the barrier.]

[Effect 3: The Debuff Master will absorb the target’s HP if they defeat them inside the Barrier of Victory.]

[Effect 4: The Debuff Master will suffer heavy damage if he fails to defeat the enemy before the skill duration ends.]

[Effect 5: The Debuff Master's skill cooldowns are reset upon defeating the target.]

The new skill, Grand Duel, allowed Siegfried to set up a one-on-one duel to the death with a target. Nobody could interfere with the duel, and the Grand Duel would continue until either Siegfried or his target was dead or until the skill duration was over.

Of course, the Debuff Master’s skill would always debuff the enemy.

“So this is… my new skill…?” Siegfried muttered.

“Hey, what are you muttering about, Han Tae-Sung?” Chae Hyung-Seok asked with a grimace. Then, he snickered and sneered, “Why? Is imagining how I’m going to mess up your wife and daughter making you angry?

“…”

Siegfried slammed his fist on the ground.

The ground cracked open, and numerous pillars of flames shot up around them.

Then, the pillars of flames slowly solidified until they became a single towering barrier that completely surrounded both Siegfried and Chae Hyung-Seok.

The Debuff Master’s new skill, Grand Duel, had just created the Barrier of Victory.

***

“Are you making your last stand, you insect?”

“I’ll answer you after a good beating,” Siegfried said in a cold voice as he walked toward Chae Hyung-Seok.

“Have you gone mad?” Chae Hyung-Seok asked, smiling. He was confident that he could easily subdue Siegfried and beat him to a pulp, just like he had always done so over the past ten days.

“Huh?” Chae Hyung-Seok noticed that his body wasn't moving as he wanted it to move. He felt like spider webs were bogging him down. However, he wasn't imagining things, as his Movement Speed, Casting Speed, and Attack Speed had slowed down.

“What did you do?!“ Chae Hyung-Seok swung his fist.

However, something surprising happened the moment his fist landed on Siegfried’s face.

“Hey, that hurt a lot, you know?”

Siegfried was contradicting himself.

Did it really hurt? Not at all!

Chae Hyung-Seok’s punch wasn't painful at all while they were inside the Barrier of Victory.

“Is it my turn now?” Siegfried asked.

“W-What…?”

“It's my turn to punch you, right?”

Siegfried punched Chae Hyung-Seok so hard that the sound of the impact echoed loudly within the barrier.

The single punch was more than enough to prove the powerful effect of the Grand Duel. The skill buffed Siegfried while debuffing Chae Hyung-Seok, and it was miles stronger than Blaze Field and Shadow Swamp.

Siegfried grabbed his face by his mouth and growled, “Shut your mouth. This mouth of yours, this is your biggest problem.”

“The only cure for this filthy mouth of yours is to get crushed,” Siegfried said. Then, he grabbed Chae Hyung-Seok by his chin and punched his mouth again and again and again.

A tooth would fall out of Chae Hyung-Seok's mouth every time he was punched in the mouth.

Chae Hyung-Seok's face was already a bloody mess, but Siegfried had no plans to stop there.

“No, this isn’t enough,” Siegfried. said as he grabbed Chae Hyung-Seok by the face with a vice-like grip with his left hand while his right grabbed Chae Hyung-Seok’s jaw. Then, he pulled his hands as hard as he could in opposite directions.

The grotesque noise of bone and muscle being forced apart echoed.

Siegfried looked like he was trying to tear Chae Hyung-Seok's jaw off of his face.

“I’ll blend you like a smoothie and drink you up,” Siegfried added. Then, he took out two rainbow-colored disks and threw them in the air.

The two disks separated into one thousand projectiles, and a flower rain of death descended. However, the Torrential Flower Rain this time was markedly different from the previous ones.

The flying projectiles produced a noise reminiscent of a blender.

Why?

It was all because the Barrier of Victory had debuffed him while buffing Siegfried.

“You asked if I wanted to kill you, right?” Siegfried said while controlling the projectiles. Then, he aimed his right hand at Chae Hyung-Seok and added, “I’ll kill you in the most painful manner possible.”

“I’ll grind you to a slush.”

The projectiles swirled around Chae Hyung-Seok and zeroed in on him the moment Siegfried clenched his right hand.

However, he couldn't blend Chae Hyung-Seok into a slush as he wanted.

It was all because the supposedly indestructible Barrier of Victory ended up crumbing.

***

Deus appeared and said, “That’s enough.”

The Level 999 Hidden NPC, Deus, had destroyed the barrier, which was supposed to be indestructible.

“My disciple.”

“Yes, Master?”

“That’s enough.”

“But…”

“You have done enough.”

“…”

“It’s a waste to destroy such a useful doll, right?”

“Rise,” Deus commanded Chae Hyung-Seok.

“B-Bruce?!”

It turned out that the one who had been pummeling Siegfried for the past ten days was not Chae Hyung-Seok but rather the World’s Strongest and Most Terrifying Training Dummy, Bruce Wood.

“My name is Bru… ce… Bruce… Wood…”

Bruce couldn't coherently after getting his jaw ripped off..

“My name is Bru… ce… Br… u… ce… Woo..”

Deus walked over to a piece of wood, which was Bruce's jaw just a while ago, and put it in his pocket.

“It was Bruce, Master? That wasn't Chae Hyung-Seok?”

“Who’s Chae Hyung-Seok?”

“Pardon me, Master…?”

“Do you really think this great being knows the name of such an insignificant creature?!”

“N-No, Master!”

“Bruce simply sensed the anger, malice, and hatred in you and transformed into the very existence that can drag all of those emotions out.”

“Ah!”

“My disciple.”

“Yes, Master!”

“You must not forget where you started.”

“…”

“Humans are bound to become lazy the stronger they become, and laziness will soon extinguish the fighting spirit burning within you. Losing your fighting spirit will rob you of your competitiveness, and that will eventually make you give up easily. The skill you learned today is something you can only use when you’ve realized your shortcomings.”

Just how desperate was he? How badly did he want to win? Most importantly, how badly did he want to kill Chae Hyung-Seok?

His new skill, the Grand Duel, was a conduit for him to channel the powerful emotions within him. Most Berserkers possessed skills that allowed them to fight at the expense of their own HP, and it was the same with the Grand Duel, which granted the Debuff Master one minute to kill their opponent.

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: You have completed the Quest – Special Training From Hell!]

[Alert: You may now fight against one of Thunder God Vajra’s descendants, Taranis!]

The quest was finally over.

“Do you understand?” Deus asked.

“Yes! Master!” Siegfried replied enthusiastically.

“Go and beat Vajra’s descendant to a pulp,” Deus said with a smirk.

“Yes, Master! I will be going now!” Siegfried exclaimed. Then, he turned around and said, “Thank you, Bruce! And I’m sorry! But you also abused me, so we’re even, alright?”

“My name… is Bru… ce—Bru… ce… Woo…d…”

Siegfried did not forget to thank his sparring partner before leaving.

“Let’s go, Hamchi!”

***

Siegfried headed straight to the Bavarian Workshop to meet Quandt.

Quandt looked exhausted. He looked so exhausted that he looked like one of the beggars on the street.

His exhausted look showed just how difficult it was to guarantee the enhancement of the +12 Epic artifact to +13.

“Here… you go…” Quandt muttered laboriously and passed the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp to Siegfried. Then, he added, “I’ve put my blood, sweat, and tears into it, so I’m confident that it will be to your liking.”

“Oh!” Siegfried exclaimed and immediately flashed his Rune of Insight at the item.

[Bonus Attack Power: 3,566]

The +13 Horse Fly received a whopping +711 attack power compared to when it was +12, which was at 2,855.

The +13 Horse Fly’s enhancement level was lower than the +16 Thunder God’s Knuckles, but an Epic artifact would receive more bonus points when enhanced so they could be considered as equals.

“Thank you for your hard work. I’m sure it must have been exhausting,” Siegfried thanked Quandt sincerely.

“I will use this well.”

“I hope you will. Also, I hope you will not forget our workshop’s dedication to you.”

Siegfried smirked. “Don’t worry. I will never forget it.”

“Good,” Quandt replied with a nod and said, “I heard you’re busy. Hurry on now.”

“Yes, I’ll come visit you soon,” Siegfried replied, bowing.

Siegfried then left the Bavarian Workshop and headed for his next destination.

Where?

His destination was the battlefield where the climax of the Kyiv Civil War would happen.