Debuff Master-Chapter 845

Siegfried summoned the Three-Legged Crow to safely gather the Amplification Shards scattered across the battlefield saturated with radioactive poison.

Caw! Cawww!

The crow swooped in and picked up the fragments while Siegfried watched from his spot.

[Alert: You have obtained Power Amplification Shard!]

[Alert: You have obtained Power Amplification Shard!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: You have obtained Wisdom Amplification Shard!]

When the crow was done, Siegfried had hundreds of Amplification Shards in his inventory.

Thanks to his Lucky Guy Earrings, he managed to collect an astounding ninety percent of the shards from the dice rolls. Considering he single-handedly carried the entire party through the dungeon, no one would complain, even if he were to take all of the shards.

“Hold on a moment. Let me use these first,” Siegfried told his party members.

Without hesitation, he began using the Power Amplification Shard on his +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

[Alert: The base attack power of +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp has increased by 5!]

[Alert: The base attack power of +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp has increased by 5!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: The base attack power of +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp has increased by 5!]

Then, something extraordinary happened when the shards merged with his weapon.

Sseuuu...! Flash!

The +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp began glowing in deep crimson before releasing a blinding flash of light.

Ding!

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

[Alert: Congratulations!]

[Alert: You have enhanced your +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp!]

[Alert: The enhancement level of Vanquisher’s Grasp has been upgraded from +15 to +16!]

To everyone’s astonishment, the application of multiple fragments had somehow increased the weapon’s enhancement level.

“...!”

The party members were utterly shocked by what they had witnessed. This phenomenon was unprecedented, as there were no prior reports or any documentation of this phenomenon.

However, no one was more surprised than Siegfried himself.

“It... enhanced the weapon...?” he muttered in disbelief. He was using the shards absentmindedly, so he hadn't expected anything special to happen, especially something as amazing as item enhancement.

“Not bad,” he said with a shrug.

Surprisingly, his response was quite nonchalant.

A stronger weapon? Great!

The reason he was so nonchalant about it was that the limitations of his level and skills weighed more heavily on him. Even though his weapon had become even stronger, he couldn't shake off the feeling that it wouldn't make much of a difference.

“Let’s go,” Siegfried said, strapping his newly enhanced +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp to his waist. While walking, his mind was consumed with thoughts of overcoming his current limitations.

‘What’s the point of a stronger weapon if my enemies keep getting stronger while I’m stuck in the same place?’

His weapon getting enhanced was indeed nice, but it did little to lift his spirits.

***

After exiting the dungeon, Siegfried saw that the other parties were still deep in their attempts to clear it. He checked the time and thought, ‘How long has it been? Five hours? There are still forty-three hours left then...’

From this point onward, Siegfried had nothing to do except wait in front of the Great Rift’s entrance and be prepared for the possibility of the other parties failing the raid.

“Alright, come on over!”

“Gather around, everyone!”

Realizing they would be waiting for a while, Siegfried’s party members quickly set up tables and chairs to enjoy a game of Hardstone.

“Aren’t you gonna play, oppa?” Yong Seol-Hwa asked.

“I’ll pass. I have some things to think about right now,” Siegfried replied.

“Okay, I understand. Let’s play later, then.”

Siegfried declined the invitation and sat atop a nearby boulder before sinking into deep thought.

‘My greatest strength is my debuffs. No one can deny that. But when my debuffs stop working, I become weak. And lately, they’ve been failing more and more...’

The first problem was that the monsters he had been encountering nowadays had Super Armor, rendering his debuffs less effective.

Even worse, there were far too many situations where he couldn't use his debuff fields. A good example was the raid earlier against the giants, where his debuff fields were utterly useless. The area of effect was so small that the giants could easily step out of it in a single stride.

And what about the Dragon Slayer, Phoenix, whom he had faced last time? The upstart knight simply flew out of his debuff field without breaking a sweat.

Now that he thought about it, every opponent he struggled against recently had one thing in common. They could easily escape from his debuff fields, rendering his greatest strength moot.

‘So that’s my biggest weakness. If the enemy leaves my debuff fields, I’m nothing more than a character with slightly stronger attack power,’

Just as he thought of that, Gosran walked past him.

“Mind if I join in?” she asked, heading toward the party members gathered around.

Gosran's voice triggered a memory from Siegfried’s training days under Deus.

“My disciple.”

“Yes, Master?”

“Be careful of the descendant of God Arrow Windforce.”

“Why is it specifically the descendant of God Arrow Windforce, Master?”

“The skills that you possess will be directly countered by God Arrow Windforce. You won’t be able to beat the God Arrow Windforce’s descendant unless you reach a certain level so remember to run away if you ever bump into them. You can stay if you want to become a porcupine, but I suggest retreating. Do you understand?”

“I won’t be able to beat them?”

“Yes.”

“How will they counter me?”

“You will realize it yourself once you clash with that descendant.”

“Then, will I be able to win if I reach a certain level?”

“Yes, you will be able to beat the descendant of God Arrow Windforce once you reach the second stage of the skills I created.”

“How strong is the second stage?”

“You will realize it once you reach that level, so don’t be too conscious of it and train hard for now.”

“Yes, Master.”

Memories of Deus' words resurfaced vividly in his mind.

‘The second stage of the skills that Master had created? Then...’ Siegfried thought. Then, he abruptly stood up and chased after Gosran. Gosran was walking toward the party members who were busy playing Hardstone.

“Seul-Gi!” Siegfried called out.

“Yes?” Gosran replied, stopping in her tracks and turning.

“Could you spare me a minute?”

Unfortunately, his voice was too loud, prompting both Yong Seol-Hwa and Yong Tae-Pung to turn in his direction.

‘O-Oppa?!’

‘That little punk!’

The father-and-daughter duo had already reserved him as a future son-in-law and husband, so seeing him talk to another woman kept them on their toes.

Completely oblivious to their reaction, Siegfried looked apologetic as he said, “Sorry to bother you, but I really need your help."

“Of course, oppa,” Gosran replied with a smile.

“Let’s go somewhere quiet.”

“Sure, grab on, oppa.”

Gosran extended her hand to Siegfried.

Siegfried grabbed Gosran's hand, and...

Flash!

Gosran used her teleportation skill, whisking the two of them away.

“N-No!”

“Ack!”

The father-and-daughter duo screamed at the same time.

***

Upon arriving at a secluded place somewhere...

Ding!

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

[Alert: The quest, Master’s Regret, has been triggered!]

It made perfect sense that the quest would trigger, as Gosran was the descendant of God Arrow Windforce.

[Master’s Regret]

[Type: Quest]

[Details: Find and crush the seven successors of the people known as the strongest eight on the continent five hundred years ago.

[Progress: 57.10% (4/7)]

[Descendant of Thunder God Vajra 1/1] ✓

[Descendant of Sword Saint Murcièlago 0/1]

[Descendant of Great Sage Sieghart 1/1] ✓

[Descendant of Blood Master Berserk 1/1] ✓

[Descendant of Enlightened King Maugris 0/1]

[Descendant of God Arrow Windforce 0/1] UP!

[Descendant of Supreme King Braum 1/1] ✓

Siegfried steeled his resolve. He was certain that sparring with Gosran would somehow lead him to a breakthrough. After all, there was no way Deus’ warning about the descendant of God Arrow Windforce being unbeatable was baseless.

In fact, Deus had even driven Gosran out of Mount Kunlun before.

This could only mean one thing—Gosran was the ultimate nemesis of Siegfried, the Debuff Master.

“What’s the matter, oppa?” Gosran asked, sounding curious but cautious.

“I need to spar with you,” Siegfried replied.

“Spar?”

“Yeah.”

“Right now? All of a sudden?”

“There’s a reason.”

“Huh?”

“Go all out. Don’t hold back at all. I don’t care even if you end up killing me, okay?”

“Are you sure you want me to go that serious?”

Gosran was slightly taken aback by how serious Siegfried sounded.

However, Siegfried knew that he had to stake his life if he wanted to break through his limits, so he was not afraid of dying at all.

“All right, if you insist,” Gosran replied with a nod. Then, she took out her bow and said, “Let’s spar.”

“Thank you,” Siegfried said, gripping his weapon, the newly enhanced +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

Sseuu...!

The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp glowed crimson from its immense power, and it was radiating heat even though Siegfried had yet to infuse any mana into it.

‘One hit from that will kill me,’ Gosran thought as a shiver ran down her spine.

As a long-ranged damage dealer, her defenses weren't that strong. She knew that Siegfried would not need any big skills to kill her while she was debuffed, as a few basic attacks would be enough to finish her.

“Three, two, one...” Siegfried muttered, counting down to start the match.

As soon as the countdown ended...

Flash!

Gosran immediately activated her teleport skill and distanced herself from Siegfried.

Then, she shot a barrage of arrows at him.

‘She’s fast,’ Siegfried thought after transforming his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a shield to block the oncoming arrows. Then, he charged toward her right after blocking the final arrow.

However, catching up to Gosran was no easy task, as she was extremely fast.

‘If I could catch her with Shadow Hell, I’d have her cornered,’ Siegfried thought, gritting his teeth.

Unfortunately, Gosran’s mobility made such a strategy useless. She stayed far away from his debuff fields and attacked only from a safe distance. She gave Siegfried no chance to utilize either Blaze Field or Shadow Hell against her.

To counter her mobility, Siegfried used his +10 Black Crow Wingsuit. This was his only option to boost his mobility, as he had no movement-related skills.

However, Gosran responded almost instantaneously by using her own flight ability to maintain the distance between them.

An intense aerial battle began...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Siegfried alternated between the revolver and sniper form of the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp to retaliate from range against Gosran.

Shwiiik! Shwiiik!

He even launched his ice shurikens from the Blood Frost Orb and controlled them using Flying Sword. Unfortunately, no matter how resourceful he was, he couldn't catch Gosran at all.

She was a natural long-range specialist, and to make matters worse, she was capable of continuously using teleport to widen the gap between them.

Shwiiiish!

An arrow whistled through the air toward Siegfried.

‘I have to dodge this!’ Siegfried thought, swiftly evading the oncoming arrow.

But—

Swiiish! Puuuuk!

Siegfried was certain he evaded the arrow, but the arrow suddenly altered its trajectory and embedded itself into Siegfried’s side.

This was a skill of the God Arrow known as Homing Arrow. The skill turned a projectile into something similar to a homing missile that would chase its target until the very end.

“Argh...!” Siegfried gasped.

The arrow had not only pierced his side but pierced his lungs as well.

Ding!

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: Your character is out of breath!]

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[Alert: It is becoming harder to breathe!]

While Siegfried was gasping for air, he finally understood Deus' words.

‘So this... this is what it means to face my natural predator...’ Siegfried finally realized why Deus had insisted that he flee from God Arrow Windforce’s descendant.

Gosran was the perfect counter to Siegfried, as she was an enemy who could neutralize his every move.