Debuff Master

Chapter 770

Chapter 770

“Oh?!”

Siegfried’s face lit up with pure joy after seeing Diesel and Palchuck.

“Guys!” Siegfried called out with a bright smile. Then, he grinned in joy and said, “It’s been ages! I missed you all so much!”

“Kyuuu! Same here! Hamchi missed you too!” Hamchi chimed in.

However, neither Diesel nor Palchuck shared the same sentiment. In fact, they were utterly baffled by Siegfried’s sudden joy and enthusiasm.

“What the hell is wrong with this guy?” Diesel muttered.

“Has he completely lost his mind?” Palchuck added.

Their reactions were justified, as the history between them was nothing short of hostile; they were rivals and were nursing a grudge against each other.

On top of that, their last encounter was an absolute disaster for Diesel and Palchuck, as not only were they humiliated in a live match, but they also had to shave their heads live.

In their eyes, Siegfried was not just an enemy. He was a sworn nemesis—their worst nemesis.

But here he was, beaming and waving at them as if they were old friends.

“I’m really happy to see you! How have you guys been? All good?” Siegfried asked warmly.

Diesel and Palchuck’s unease and suspicion grew even stronger as they exchanged confused glances.

‘What’s wrong with this lunatic?’ Diesel thought, throwing a glance at Palchuck.

‘What’s his angle…?’ Palchuck thought, returning Diesel's glance. Before they could process this whole bizarre situation, Diesel noticed something.

“Hey, are you here… alone? Just you and your pet?” Diesel asked.

“Yeah, of course. I’m here to trade some items, so there’s no reason to bring anyone else with me, right?” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“Hmm…”

“Why are you asking?”

“Ah, no reason. I was just curious after seeing you here,” Diesel replied.

However, his hands were already channeling mana into his guild insignia, sending a summons to all of his guild members.

“But seriously, what’s with this sudden friendliness? We’re not exactly what you can consider as friends, right?” Diesel probed.

“Fair point,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. Then, he continued, “But hey, we’ve clashed weapons enough times to build some sort of—camaraderie built on grudges, right? It really feels good to see you two.”

“A camaraderie built on grudges…?”

“Yeah! Anyway, how have you guys been? Are you holding up alright?”

“Do you think we’re beggars or something?” Diesel growled in response.

“No, not at all,” Siegfried replied with his hands up. Then, he added, “Even if things aren’t as they used to be, I’m sure you guys are doing just fine.”

He was not wrong. Despite their fall from glory, Diesel and Palchuck still boasted impressive items. They were no longer at their peak, leading a top ten guild on the continent, but they were far from destitute or poor.

“Anyway, why don’t we sit down and chat for a bit since we’ve already run into each other like this?” Siegfried asked.

“Chat? What is there to chat about?” Diesel grumbled in response.

“Well, we’ve had our troubles. But I’m sure we will keep running into each other, right? I was hoping we might as well use this chance to build some rapport and put things behind us.”

“...Rapport? Put things behind us?”

“I mean, what else can we do? Keep fighting every time we run into each other?”

“That’s…”

“Let’s talk first. Who knows? We might even end up hunting together or doing business someday.”

“Fine, where do you want to talk?” Diesel conceded, but he still remained skeptical.

“See that cafe over there? Let’s go sit at the outdoor terrace and grab some mint choco lattes or something. I’ll go ahead and grab a table, so you guys take your time,” Siegfried said before strolling off toward the cafe.

“Hey, what the hell do you think he’s plotting? And are you seriously planning to sit down and chat with that bastard?” Palchuck whispered as soon as Siegfried was too far away to hear him.

“Talk? Do you think I have anything to say to that asshole?” Diesel replied icily.

“Huh?”

“He said he’s alone, right? This is the perfect chance to wreck him completely.”

“Oh!”

“Just act cool for now. I’ve already called the guild, so they will be here soon.”

“Got it,” Palchuck replied with a nod. Then, he grimaced and added, “But seriously, mint choco latte? That’s disgusting. What kind of twisted freak likes that crap?”

“It looks like his taste buds are just as gross as his personality,” Diesel said with obvious disgust in his voice.

Unbeknownst to the scheming duo, Siegfried and Hamchi heard every single word they were whispering to each other. Neither of them was trying to eavesdrop on their conversation; their ears were simply too keen.

“Kyu… What are you going to do about them, owner punk?” Hamchi whispered.

“What do you think?” Siegfried asked in response. Then, a sly grin crept on his face as he said, “I’m going to farm them, of course.”

“Kyu?”

“They will come charging in with an army, won’t they?”

“Kyu? That’s true.”

“Then I’ll just kill them all and loot their artifacts. Easy money! Cha-ching!”

“Y-You’re too scary, owner punk… Kyuu…”

“Hey, it’s very efficient though, right? What a considerate bunch, though, bringing me so much loot for free.”

Siegfried couldn't hide his excitement. He had come to Sicario to spend money to buy enhanced items, but it seemed that fate had handed him a far better alternative.

Who could have known that these good people would donate their items to him?

***

Siegfried passed the time by exchanging meaningless chatter with Diesel and Palchuck, who were waiting for the rest of the Pandemonium Guild to arrive. Their conversation was meaningless and full of trivial topics, but neither of them complained, as all three of them harbored ulterior motives.

‘Damn it… Hurry up already. I don’t have all day,’ Siegfried thought impatiently. His sole focus right now was gathering as many enhanced items as possible so that he could enhance his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp to +15.

On the other hand, Diesel and Palchuck were equally preoccupied with their plans to ambush him with their guild. Thus, this made it impossible for them to have any genuine and meaningful dialogue.

“So, do you know what Chae Hyung-Seok has been up to these days? I haven’t seen him around lately, and last I heard, he got dragged off somewhere?” Siegfried asked out of the blue.

“Ah, he’s in the demon world right now,” Diesel replied.

“What?! The demon world?!”

“Yeah. I heard he supposedly became the slave of some NPC? I think he’s the demon lord’s son or something?”

“What…?”

“They say his character’s race was forcibly changed into a demon. He’s somehow managing, but apparently, the lack of freedom is killing him.”

“That’s unacceptable,” Siegfried growled, turning serious.

“Huh? W-What’s unacceptable?” Diesel stammered in response, flinching when Siegfried became serious from out of nowhere.

“Hyung-Seok belongs to me.”

“...Eh?”

“I live to torment him. I haven’t seen him in ages, so I got a huge load waiting for him.”

“Y-You… really are insane,” Diesel muttered, visibly uncomfortable by what he heard just now.

“Oh well, I guess I’ll have to go rescue him when I have time,” Siegfried mused, but his tone sounded eerily serious.

A chill shot down Diesel and Palchuck’s spines.

‘W-What kind of deranged lunatic is this guy…?’

‘I… I think he’s insane…’

The sheer malice and madness behind Siegfried’s words made their skin crawl.

“Hmm… I wonder how Hyung-Seok is doing in the demon world… I hope he’s alright…” Siegfried said feigning concern.

Just then, a loud commotion broke out.

“There he is!”

“Surround him!”

“Don’t let him escape!”

The Pandemonium Guild members instantly surrounded the outdoor terrace of the cafe.

***

“Gotcha! You bastard!”

“Hahaha!”

Diesel and Palchuck finally revealed their true colors.

“Hey, Han Tae-Sung. I have no intention of playing nice with an asshole like you. No matter how lucrative your proposals are,” Diesel growled, getting up from his seat.

“I’d trust a stray dog passing by than trust you. Do you think we’re crazy enough to form a camaraderie with a despicable bastard like you?” Palchuck spat, his face brimming with hostility.

Siegfried flatly ignored them. Instead, he downed the rest of his mint chocolate latte before rising from his seat.

“Is everyone here? Raise your hand if you’re not here yet!” Siegfried exclaimed.

“Kyuuu! Raise your hand if you’re not here!” Hamchi repeated.

Diesel, Palchuck, and the rest of the Pandemonium Guild members grimaced at Siegfried’s response.

He was completely surrounded and cornered. There was no way he could act in such a carefree way in this kind of situation, but he was grinning confidently and mischievously as if he were enjoying every second of this.

A thought suddenly flashed through Diesel’s mind, ‘Is this… a trap?! Was he luring us in?!’

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Siegfried’s +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp transformed into a revolver and unleashed a deafening roar.

“...!”

Caught off guard, diesel collapsed with three bullets lodged in his skull.

[Diesel]

[HP: ??????????]

[Mana: ??????????]

[Stamina: ??????????]

His health dropped to zero. He died after taking just three bullets.

“W-What?!”

“Huh?”

“Eh…?”

The Pandemonium Guild members gasped out of shock when their guild master fell in an instant right before their eyes.

Unfortunately, they did not have the luxury to worry about him as…

Sseuuu…!

Siegfried activated Eraser Swarm and followed up with Torrential Flower Rain, summoning a flurry of ice shurikens that swept toward the Pandemonium Guild members.

Then, he placed down Blaze Field and Shadow Hell to debuff the Pandemonium Guild members before slaughtering them mercilessly.

“A-Aaah!”

“T-This psychopath!”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

“H-How do we keep losing to this bastard?!”

The Pandemonium Guild members swarmed Siegfried, but the latter was Level 299, which meant that he had become a completely different monster from the one they faced before.

Flash!

Absolute Zero was cast, and a bright white flashed.

“...!”

The Pandemonium Guild members froze, trapped in ice. They were frozen solid.

Swoosh!

Siegfried threw his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp and controlled it with Flying Sword to annihilate the frozen guild members, smashing them into pieces one after another.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The blocks of ice were smashed and…

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Countless random drop items scattered across the ground…

“Kieeeeek!”

The Three-Legged Crow darted around, collecting the items that Siegfried’s victims had dropped. It deposited them into his Inventory before the others could even react.

[Alert: You have obtained +13 Invader’s Spear!]

[Alert: You have obtained +11 Crimson Moon!]

[Alert: You have obtained +15 Full Moon Staff!]

[Alert: You have obtained +12 Etranger Dagger!]

[Alert: You have obtained +12 Nameless Spaer!]

(omitted…)

[Alert: You have obtained +12 Left-Handed Hammer!]

[Alert: You have obtained +13 Maniac’s Blade!]

Siegfried looted all of the items dropped by the Pandemonium Guild members.

Ten minutes later, there wasn't even a single Pandemonium Guild member anymore. It took Siegfried exactly ten minutes to annihilate Diesel, Palchuck, and the entire Pandemonium Guild.

“Burp!” Siegfried let out a satisfied burp upon consuming hundreds of enhanced items dropped by his enemies./

“...”

The Adventurers who had witnessed the battle were left speechless, and they could only cast a dumbfounded gaze at Siegfried as the latter disappeared into the warp gate.

It was a stupefying and outright terrifying fact, but he was basically a one-man army capable of massacring an entire guild on his own.

***

Siegfried returned to the Proatine Kingdom and headed straight to the Bavarian Workshop to use the enhanced items that he had looted.

[Alert: You have hit the jackpot!]

[Alert: You have obtained Orb of Enhancement!]

[Alert: You have hit the jackpot!]

[Alert: You have obtained Orb of Enhancement!]

[Alert: You have hit the jackpot!]

[Alert: You have obtained Orb of Enhancement!]

(omitted…)

[Alert: You have hit the jackpot!]

[Alert: You have obtained Orb of Enhancement!]

Siegfried truly struck the jackpot, as he obtained a large number of Orbs of Enhancement.

Some time later, Siegfried had amassed all two hundred orbs he required to enhance his weapon.

[Orb of Enhancement × 200]

“Damn… How much money did I burn just to gather all this…?”

Despite his grumbling at the sheer cost, Siegfried forced himself to move on, as dwelling on the enormous loss he had incurred would only sour his mood further.

However, it was a completely normal loss, as enhancing an item such as the Vanquisher’s Grasp, which was an extremely powerful Epic weapon capable of transforming into other weapon types, from thirteen to fifteen was no easy feat.

Enhancements were a sacred territory that not even the developers could get involved in, so this price was something he had to be ready to pay in exchange for ensuring that his weapon would not break.

“Tsk…” Siegfried clicked his tongue and decided to forget about his massive loss.

Then, he decided to throw the last remaining enhanced item into the disassembly machine, as it wouldn't make a difference whether he disassembled it or not.

[Alert: You have hit the jackpot while disassembling the +13 Maniac’s Blade!]

[Alert: You have obtained Infinite Flask!]

[Alert: You have obtained Seeker of Faith!]