Debuff Master

“What? True debuff? Then, what were the skills I have been using this entire—“

“What else? Those were appetizers.”

“What?!” Siegfried exclaimed as his eyes shot wide up. He doubted his ears for a second and decided to ask just to make sure, “T-Those were appetizers, Master?”

“What? You thought those were the 'real' skills?”

“Hmm…” Deus narrowed his eyes and inspected Siegfried.

“My beloved disciple.”

“Yes, Master?”

“Come closer.”

“Yes, Master.”

Siegfried unsuspectingly stood in front of Deus.

“My disciple.”

“Yes, Master?”

“You fool!” Deus shouted and whacked him on his head.

[Siegfried van Proa]

[HP: ⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜]

A single smack to the head took eighty percent of his HP.

Deus’ shout was powerful enough to burst his eardrums, and blood started flowing out from both of his ears.

“It’s a stretch for you to learn the 'true' debuff skills right now.”

“I-I see…”

“But there’s one skill you might find useful right now, so I plan to teach you that.”

In the end, Deus decided to bestow Siegfried with a new debuff skill.

“I must warn you. Learning it won’t be easy, and the process will be excruciatingly difficult.”

“It does not matter. I am prepared to drink even lye water if it means I can become stronger—no, I am willing to offer my soul if it means I can become stronger. I am prepared to endure anything to learn that new skill, master.”

“Haha…”

“Alright, this great being will teach you the skill you need right now.”

“Thank you, Master!”

“But for now, you will have to wait for a while.”

“Yes, Master!”

Deus left shortly after telling Siegfried to wait.

***

While Siegfried went to enhance his gear and train under his master, Deus, the dynamics of the Kyiv Civil War were shifting slowly.

Duke Taranis gave the command to defend the front lines at all costs before he made his way to his army at the southern front, waiting to invade the Horn Territory.

“I, Duke Taranis, will be commanding this army from now on,” Duke Taranis declared. Then, he gave his first command to the soldiers, “We will launch an all-out attack against the Horn Territory in three hours. All forces are to prepare for battle at once.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Three hours later, the massive Rebel Army marched toward the Horn Territory.

They laid siege to it, and ten hours later…

“Hurray for His Highness, Duke Taranis!”

“Hurrah!”

“Three cheers for His Highness, Duke Taranis!”

“Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!”

The Rebel Forces led by Duke Taranis managed to conquer the Horn Territory after a ferocious siege, and the numerous ploys Siegfried used to level the playing field of this war were flipped in less than a day by the loss of the Horn Territory.

It went without saying that the Royal Faction was in an uproar after news of the Horn Territory falling into enemy hands arrived.

The atmosphere in King Allen’s throne room was solemn.

Horn Territory was a strategic location with roads directly leading to the capital. In other words, the Rebel Faction was now a stone's throw away from the doorsteps of the capital city.

The Royal Faction was now in panic—no, the word 'panic' was an understatement to describe their current situation.

“…”

“…”

“…”

None of the nobles could utter a single word. They knew that they were now in grave danger. It was only a matter of time before the Rebel Forces came knocking on their doors now that the Horn Territory had fallen.

To make matters worse, most of their soldiers were guarding the front lines in case the Rebel Forces decided to attack, and they couldn't afford to pull them back to defend the capital.

Why?

The Rebel Forces’ main army would come charging to the capital the moment the soldiers were pulled back, and both armies of the enemy meeting up together was the worst-case scenario for the Royal Faction.

To sum their situation up, the only thing awaiting them as of current was defeat.

The one to break the silence was none other than King Allen.

“If I surrender and accept my uncle as the regent, then—“

“No! You must not, Your Majesty!” Duke Undertaker knelt and vehemently protested. “That traitor, Taranis, is the leader of the rebels who dared to raise their arms against our kingdom! How can we surrender and install a traitor as Your Majesty’s regent?!”

“But… we've lost this war.”

“Your Majesty! Please do not be of faint heart! We have not lost yet! We must fight till the end!”ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novelenglish.net . Fɪre.ɴet

“I am not scared, nor am I trying to surrender because I want to do so.”

“…?”

“It’s just that… I cannot bear to see our people suffering the longer this civil war drags on.”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“It is not I, but innocent people who are bleeding on the battlefield due to this power struggle, and I can no longer bear to watch my people kill each other because of me. Who knows? Maybe Uncle Taranis will be a better ruler than me?” King Allen said with a faint smile. Then, he added, “Do the people care who their king is? Far be it! All they want is a capable ruler who will—“

Duke Undertaker shook his head and interrupted, “You are mistaken, Your Majesty.”

“Am I…?”

“I applaud Your Majesty’s heart for your people fighting on the battlefield, as that is what an upright king should do. However, Your Majesty is only looking at half the picture right now.”

“Why do you say so?”

“Taranis is a man blinded by power. He even plotted against Your Majesty’s father and grandfather. Now, he’s blatantly trying to steal the throne from his own nephew by putting Your Majesty’s life in danger. An ambitious man blinded by his greed for power will never create policies that would benefit the people, and he is bound to destroy this kingdom our ancestors have painstakingly built.”

The other nobles raised their voices to give support to Duke Undertaker.

“Duke Undertaker is right, Your Majesty!”

“I implore you not to surrender to the traitor, Taranis!”

“We cannot let him wield power, Your Majesty!”

King Allen seemed to be moved by their voices as his expression slightly changed.

Duke Undertaker continued, “Your Majesty, we must hold on for as long as we can and request help from our allies to—“

“No, I will never allow that,” King Allen instantly struck down the suggestion.

“I have learned that allowing outsiders to influence the outcome of this civil war is as good as handing them the right to meddle in our kingdom’s affairs later on. I'd rather Uncle Taranis become the king than allow outsiders to gain authority in our kingdom’s affairs!”

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“I do not wish to sell my own kingdom to a foreign nation just to save myself. I will continue to fight as you all requested, but I will never seek help from a foreign nation. That is my will and decision as your king, so do not bring this up ever again,” King Allen said.

Duke Undertaker bowed and replied, “I, Undertaker, accept Your Majesty’s command!”

The other nobles followed suit, “We accept Your Majesty’s command!”

That was how the Royal Faction decided to fight until the very bitter end without seeking help from their allies.

***

Siegfried wasn't sitting around doing nothing while waiting for Deus. He used this opportunity to spend some quality time with Brunhilde and Verdandi.

Not only that…

Verdandi even tried to stand up on her own and walk toward Siegfried and Brunhilde.

“Omo!”

The couple couldn't help but be shocked at their daughter’s development progress.

Oh my god! How could a baby less than a year old try to form words and attempt to walk? Her growth was truly frightening, but that was somewhat understandable as she consumed ten times the amount of milk ordinary babies would consume.

“Honey, I think our daughter will grow up in no time.”

“I agree with you.”

“Do you think she’ll turn into a teenager in two or three years…?” Siegfried asked worriedly.

Verdandi was on track to grow enough to be in grade school in a year’s time, and she was probably going to be a teenager within two or three years at this rate.

Siegfried imagined Verdandi growing up to be a teenager and berating him in numerous ways imaginable.

“N-No!” Siegfried screamed.

“Honey? What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing… It’s nothing…” Siegfried replied.

However, his imagination was interrupted by the servant’s voice.

“Your Majesty! The Elder-nim has come to see you!”

“Yes! Your Majesty!”

“Let Master in this instant! And don’t forget to treat him with the utmost respect!” Siegfried shouted in response before instantly getting up and tidying his clothes.

Someone knocked on the door.

Deus had never knocked once ever since he visited Siegfried in the Proatine Kingdom, and there were even times when he had suddenly appeared out of thin air.

It was then.

Deus knocked again.

“The door is open, Master.”

“Honey, you should probably open the door for the Elder-nim.”

“Welcome, Mast—“

But…

“…?!”

Siegfried froze the moment he opened the door.

Why?

Because the one outside was not Deus but someone else.

That person was…

“It’s been a long time, Han Tae-Sung.”

“C-Chae Hyung-Seok?!”

…none other than Chae Hyung-Seok.

“How did you get in here?!”

“Who knows?”

“This is absurd!” Siegfried doubted his eyes.

Why was Chae Hyung-Seok right here? The last news he had ever heard of the former was that he had decided to quit the game and was going through hell trying to repay his debt interest to the loan shark, Ma Dong-Po.

Why was he back in the game? Why was he in the Proatine Kingdom? How did he get so deep inside the castle? Was this some kind of prank?

“How did you get in here—“

Chae Hyung-Seok swung his mace and struck Siegfried’s chest.

"Honeeey!" Brunhilde’s scream filled the room afterward.