Debuff Master

Siegfried snuck into the Bavarian Workshop like a rat and made it all the way to the Hometown of Death to see Quandt.

“Oh! You’re here!”

“How have you been?”

“Same old, same old! Hohoho! It has been a long time since you came here.”

As usual, Quandt welcomed Siegfried warmly.

“But what brings you here today? I heard you’re really busy these days.”

“Ah, that is…” Siegfried said awkwardly. Then, he took out what remained of the Quad-Turbo Set and showed it to Quandt before continuing, “...These got destroyed.”

“It looks like those Autonika bastards made it,” Quandt said, immediately recognizing the pile of scrap.

“Yes, they did.”

“Haha…”

“So you’re looking for something to replace these?”

“Yes, I am.”

Quandt caressed his beard and replied, “Hmm… Actually, this isn’t our specialty.”

“Eh?”

“What you want is for your debuff fields to expand, right?”

“Yes.”

“As much as I don’t want to admit it, those bastards are better when it comes to something like that. Our workshop’s style focuses on something else, so our technology isn’t that good in that department. I’d suggest you go to either the Autonika Workshop or the Mercedes Workshop for that.”

“Huh? What happened to you…?”

Siegfried was surprised when Quandt coolly admitted the weaknesses of the Bavarian Workshop. Even more surprising was that he acknowledged the fact that the Autonika Workshop was better at something than them.

Was it not normal for Quandt to growl even at the mention of the Autonika Workshop and try to put them down as much as possible?

“Hahaha! This is all for your sake,” Quandt replied with a laugh.

“Huh?”

“Unfortunately, our workshop doesn’t have the technology to satisfy your requirements one hundred percent. So why should I insist that we’re better than them?”

“Quandt-nim…”

Siegfried could not help but be moved by Quandt’s words.

“Our workshop will not compromise on anything if it’s for you.”

“I am always grateful to you and your workshop.”

“Haha! This is nothing! I can do even more for you!”

Siegfried took out his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp and asked, “Then, can you make it possible for this to transform into a gun?”

“Hmm? A gun?”

Siegfried nodded and replied, “Yes, I tried to, but it won’t transform into a gun.”

“That’s because a gun is a very complex weapon.”

“I guess so…”

“But why do you need a gun suddenly? A gun can be quite handy, but it’s not a very good weapon.”

Quandt was telling the truth. The guns used in reality were far different from the guns used in BNW, as guns had a very clear weakness in the game. The class specializing in using guns, a Gunner, could level up very quickly in the early stages of the game.

Why?

It was all because they could kill weak monsters such as goblins just by pulling a trigger.

However, a Gunner would reach its limit far earlier than other classes, and it was all because it was impossible to pierce the hide of high-level monsters with ordinary bullets.

Others would think that they could be useful in PVP, but an Adventurer's HP and Defense would increase the higher their level. In the end, a Gunner would face the exact same problem with Adventurers, as their bullets would fail to pierce an Adventurer's defenses.

A good example of this was how Siegfried had survived a headshot with just a bump on his head, and the bullet failed to penetrate his skin.

“I'm sure you're aware, but bullets are mana hungry. You lose a good chunk of your mana just by pulling the trigger, which is an absurdly inefficient use of your mana. Why don’t you use a bow instead? Your mana loss would be significantly reduced by using a bow instead.”

Quandt was correct. A weapon with complex mechanical parts was bound to be mana hungry. Thus, weapons such as projectiles or bows were the most efficient among ranged weapons followed by the crossbow and lastly by firearms.

To make matters worse, guns relied heavily on their enhancement level to dish out damage, which was the reason why Gunners often risked their lives just to enhance their weapons.

“I know but… I have the opportunity to learn how to use it, so… Haha…” Siegfried replied while awkwardly scratching the back of his head. Then, he justified it by adding, “I was sniped twice and ended up with lumps on my head. So I thought it wouldn’t be bad to learn a secret weapon I could use.”

“Oh!”

“It doesn’t have to be rapid fire. I just need a gun I could use in clutch situations.”

“Hmm… I think it's possible.”

“Really?”

“I mean, our specialties are closer to this rather than making something like the Quad-Turbo Set.”

The Bavarian Workshop prided itself in crafting extremely lethal weapons, so they were definitely more confident crafting those kinds of items rather than utility-type items like the Quad-Turbo Set.

“Just give me a few days. I’ll try to figure something out.”

“I am always grateful to you, Quandt-nim.”

“Kekeke! This is nothing!”

“Do you require any materials?”

“Let me work on it first then I’ll let you know if I need anything. But I don’t think I’ll need anything out of the ordinary.”

“Alright.”

Siegfried handed the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp to Quandt and left the Bavarian Workshop.

***

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

The head blacksmith of the Autonika Workshop, Boothroyd, welcomed Siegfried with open arms.

“I am honored and grateful that you would visit our humble workshop.”

“Thank you for the warm welcome.”

“If I may ask, does Your Majesty require any of our services?”

“Well, this happened so…” Siegfried said before taking out the Quad-Turbo Set and showing it.

Boothroyd inspected the scrap and said, “I regret to inform you that it is impossible to repair this, as it is in a very bad shape.”

“I know.”

“Then… Your Majesty must require a new set of armor?”

“Exactly.”

“I suppose it is obvious that it has to be better than the one Your Majesty previously used.”

“Don’t forget about the durability. This one broke far too easily,” Siegfried added.

“That is probably due to Your Majesty becoming significantly stronger compared to when you first obtained this set.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Hmm…” Boothroyd contemplated for a second. Then, he nodded and said, “I will do my best to craft a new set worthy of being used by Your Majesty.”

“Thank you,” Siegfried replied. Then, he took out something from his inventory and said, “Ah, can you use this after you finish crafting it?”

The thing he had taken out and showed Boothroyd was none other than a +10 Enhancement Coupon issued by the Autonika Workshop.

“Haha… Hahaha…” Boothroyd laughed awkwardly while sweating profusely.

The enhancement coupons were pieces of paper that would always make a workshop suffer huge financial losses.

‘I guess we need to have another sale this month… Our balance sheet will take a massive hit for the next three months…’ Boothroyd lamented and cried tears of blood, but he did not let it show on his face.

Why?

It was all because these coupons were issued by the pioneers of the workshop hundreds of years ago, and a customer was finally going to use it. If he was to curse anyone, then it wouldn't be the customers, but his predecessors in the grave.

“Then, I’ll wait for your word.”

“Please have a nice day, Your Majesty…”

Siegfried finished his business in both the Bavarian Workshop and Autonika Workshop before happily skipping back to the Proatine Kingdom.

***

Three days later, he received word from the Bavarian Workshop to come collect his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

Quandt extended the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp to him and asked, “Here, take a look. What do you think of it?”

“Wow… This looks really cool.”

“It’s in Sniper Mode right now.”

“Is it just this one, or does it have other modes, too?”

“Try switching it to Tactical Mode.”

“Like this?”

Siegfried changed the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp to Tactical Mode.

Chwak! Click… Clack!

The +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp transformed into a heavy revolver.

“The Sniper Mode has five bullets while the Tactical Mode has six.”

“Oh?”

“It will enter into a twenty-four-hour cooldown once you've used up all of its ammunition. There’s nothing I can do about it, as that’s the best way to reduce its mana cost.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I’ve decided to become a Gunner or something.”

“Also…” Quandt said, taking out two boxes the size of tissue boxes. Then, he said, “These are gunpowder.”

“Gunpowder?”

“There’s a limit to how much mana loss can be prevented by tuning your weapon.”

“So…?”

“That’s where that custom-made gunpowder mixture comes in. This will reduce its weaknesses and maximize its firepower, but the long cooldown is something we have to concede.”

“Oh?”

“Also, each of the bullets used in Sniper Mode will cost you one hundred fifty gold, so keep that in mind.”

“W-What did you just say?!” Siegfried cried out in horror after hearing the price of the bullets.

Did it make sense that a single bullet would cost one hundred fifty gold? How was he supposed to use it when it was so expensive? Yes, the price of gold did fall in recent times, but one hundred fifty gold was still no joke.

“The revolver’s bullets cost one hundred ten gold each. It’s impossible to reduce the price, as metallurgy, alchemy, and magic are involved to make one.”

“I-I will use them sparingly, then…”

“You can’t spam it even if you wanted to because of the cooldown time. So don’t worry about that. Besides, you’re rich, so what are you worried about? Kekeke!”

“I-I guess you’re right…”

Quandt took a bunch of ammo boxes from the shelf and said, “These practice bullets are very weak, but they’re cheap, so feel free to fire them as much as you want.”

“I am always grateful to you.”

“Don’t be…”

“So I was thinking…”

“Hmm?”

“...Of giving you exclusive rights to operate the smithies and workshops in the Espadrille Province. What do you think?”

“A-Are you serious?”

“Yes, we are doing a massive redevelopment of the Espadrille Province. Why don’t you hitch a ride on this Redevelopment Coin?”

“R-Redevelopment?!”

If there was one thing that was the same both in reality and in the game, then that was the fact that redevelopment was synonymous with money.

Siegfried was aware of his relationship with the Bavarian Workshop, so he planned to give them exclusive rights in the redevelopment of the Espadrille Province. After all, he felt bad for only taking things from them by using Herbert’s Legacy as an excuse.

“So? What do you think? Will you do it?”

“O-Of course! Only a fool would pass on the Redevelopment Coin!”

“Good. I hope we will build great things together.”

“Excellent!”

And that was how Siegfried further solidified his relationship with Quandt and the Bavarian Workshop...

***

On that same afternoon, Siegfried went to the Battle Homeground Legend, Han Sang-Gi, to learn his techniques and tactics.

‘I have to use this opportunity to become stronger.’ Siegfried resolved to learn every single one of Han Sang-Gi’s marksmanship and survival techniques. Siegfried gnashed his teeth upon remembering the times he was sniped from afar. ‘Just you wait, you damn snipers.’

There was a saying that if one knew of one's enemy and oneself, then one need not fear the results of a hundred battles. This was why Siegfried wanted to learn how to become a marksman, as it would allow him to understand how they think and operate.

In addition, he wanted to have the ability to shoot back at them and beat them at their own game.

“Before we start.”

“Yes, sunbae-nim?”

“Let me teach you handgun techniques that are extremely useful in close combat.”

“Oh!”

“Time for a demonstration then. Instructor! Please come forward,” Han Sang-Gi called for his assistant.

“My name is Bruce—Bruce Wood!”

The instructor was none other than Bruce, who was wearing a red cap. He hit his chest twice as if telling him to bring it on.

“Come at me first, wooden friend,” Han Sang-Gi told Bruce.

“My name is Bruce—Bruce Wood!” Bruce exclaimed and rushed at Han Sang-Gi.

Whoosh!

Han Sang-Gi identified a gap in Bruce’s defense and threw a left hook before pulling the trigger.

Bang! Bang!

Two bullets struck Bruce in his abdomen.

Bang!

And one bullet struck his head...

Han Sang-Gi managed to keep Bruce at bay with a simple punch followed by two bullets to his abdomen and one to his head.

He had perfectly subdued Bruce—no, this would be a perfect kill if he were against a human opponent. This was one of Han Sang-Gi’s trademark techniques—his unparalleled ability to use firearms from point-blank range.

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