Debuff Master

“Eh?” Siegfried was flustered upon being informed that Yong Tae-Pung had come to visit him as well.

“T-That is…” Siegfried had no idea what to do.

The Oberg Guild led by Diesel had ambushed the Mandate of Heaven Guild led by Yong Tae-Pung to take the Geyser of Life by force.

Siegfried was currently in a meeting with Diesel, and if Yong Tae-Pung were to catch him in a meeting with Diesel, things would go ugly in the proverbial blink of an eye.

Why?

It was all because his meeting with Diesel could easily cause a huge misunderstanding.

Siegfried’s relationship with Yong Tae-Pung was that of a good junior and senior.

For some reason, however, Siegfried felt like he was in a romantic relationship with Yong Tae-Pung, so he felt like he was about to get caught seeing someone else behind Yong Tae-Pung's back.

“What should I tell him, sire?”

“Tell him I’m busy right now, so I’ll see him in a bit. Please emphasize that I apologize for making him wait, and I will be there as soon as I can.”

“As you command, sire.”

The chamberlain bowed and left the throne room.

“Are you worried about him?” Diesel asked.

“Not really. I just do not want any misunderstandings,” Siegfried replied.

“Isn’t that being worried about him? I heard you’re in some sort of relationship with Yong Tae-Pung’s daughter. Is that the reason why you’re—”

“I'm not. That was just some tabloid spreading rumors, so you can ignore that,” Siegfried cut him off and said sternly.

“Was it really just a baseless rumor spread by a tabloid?”

“That was the first time we had a meal together.”

“That’s good.”

“Why is that good?”

“You can join me if you’re not that involved with her.”

“Eh?”

“I already told you, right? I’m here to recruit you, Han Tae-Sung. I want you to fight alongside us in this war.”

“That is a bit…” Siegfried muttered while sweating profusely.

There was nothing going on between him and Yong Seol-Hwa, but his relationship with Yong Tae-Pung was something completely different. Cooperating with Diesel was something he could not imagine doing because of his relationship with the living legend.

“How much?” Diesel asked.

This question shook Siegfried’s resolve.

“H-How much, you ask…?”

“Give me a number.”

“T-That's…”

It was then.

‘Ughhh! The temptation is too strong…!’ Siegfried almost bit the bait cast by Diesel.

How could he resist the sweet temptation of being handed a blank check?

“Before that… Do you mind if I ask you a personal question? Why did you suddenly break bad?” Siegfried asked.

“Break bad?”

“I don't believe that you'd attack another guild without any reason whatsoever.”

“Hmm… If I tell you that I was tired, would you believe me?” Diesel replied with a shrug.

“Tired?”

“I was tired of doing things I don't really mean to do.”

“Hmm…”

“I've been pretending to be an apostle of justice for three years, and it really got to me. I couldn’t even go to my favorite strip shows because of those damn paparazzi,” Diesel said, taking out a cigarette from his inventory and lighting an ember with his finger.

Diesel smoked for a few seconds before grumbling, “I've already earned enough to last a lifetime, and I will keep earning anyway, so I decided to drop the act and just be myself from now on.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll kill if I want to kill someone. If I want something, I'll take it by force. Doesn’t that sound awesome? What’s the point of playing a game when you don’t do things you can't do in real life?”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“I just want to live freely. I have the power to do so, so why not, right?”

“That’s your freedom but…” Siegfried trailed the end of his words. Then, he grimaced and said, threateningly, “Why don’t you put that cigarette out? Don’t you know this is a no-smoking zone?”

“Eh?”

“You shouldn’t smoke in public places—”

It was then.

“You must not! His Majesty is busy right now!”

“I already told you I’m close with him!”

“Please wait outside!”

“I don’t have time to wait!”

Yong Tae-Pung and the chamberlain’s voices echoed right outside the door.

***

“Eh?” Siegfried panicked after hearing Yong Tae-Pung’s voice right outside the door, but it was already too late for him to do anything.

“I’ll just go say hello, don’t worry.”

Yong Tae-Pung forced his way into the throne room.

“Hey! Son-in—I mean, nephew!”

“O-Oppa!”

Yong Tae-Pung was not alone, as Yong Seol-Hwa had forced her way into the throne room, too.

“I have something to tell you… Hmm? You had a guest with you?”

Yong Tae-Pung was about to say something, but he stopped upon seeing Diesel in the throne room.

“Haha… Hahahaha…” Siegfried awkwardly laughed while shrinking down like a criminal.

“Why don’t you wait for your turn, Yong Tae-Pung? Can’t you see he’s busy with me?” Diesel said curtly.

“How can I? I’m really close with Tae-Sung, you know? I’m his uncle. Do you know what an uncle is?” Yong Tae-Pung scowled in response. Then, he grinned and said, “Right, nephew?”

“Ah, yes… Well, it is a fact that we are close… Hahaha…” Siegfried replied awkwardly.

“See? So why don’t you scram now?”

“I’m here on official business.”

Yong Tae-Pung seemed intent on chasing Diesel away, but Diesel would not budge an inch.

“Business? What business do you have with him?” Yong Tae-Pung asked.

“I was asking Han Tae-Sung if he wants to be hired as a mercenary by our guild.”

“Asking…?”

Diesel turned to Siegfried and asked, “How does ten million dollars sound to you, Han Tae-Sung?”

“Eh? Only?” Siegfried responded with a hint of disappointment.

“Did you just say only?”

“I can easily earn ten million dollars after filming a few commercials, so why should I get involved in someone else’s war for that amount? I’d rather just stay loyal to Uncle if that’s all you’re gonna offer.”

“I didn’t expect you to be so expensive, Han Tae-Sung…”

“It’s not that I’m expensive, but rather you’re trying to get my services at a discount. I’m sure you will have to fork out more if you want to hire other Rankers or pro gamers, right?”

“Then I’ll raise my offer to twenty million dollars.”

“I’m starting to get offended by your offers,” Siegfried grumbled while pouting.

Yong Tae-Pung suddenly butted in and made an irresistible offer, “I will give you ten percent of the Geyser of Life’s profit, nephew.”

“What?! Ten percent?!”

“It's not much right now, but it will definitely be more than twenty million dollars in the long run, don’t you think so?”

Diesel smirked and sneered, “I thought you were uncle and nephew? Now you’re trying to convince him with money?”

“Personal is personal, and business is business,” Yong Tae-Pung retorted with a grin. Then, he added, “My nephew is pretty expensive, so how can I abuse him for free? Also, I’m not a fan of passion pay. Do you know what passion pay is?”

“...?”

“Just shut up and get lost if you don’t,” Yong Tae-Pung growled. Then, he added, “It’s better if you start getting ready to pay the price for messing with my rice bowl.”

“Do you really think so? We’ve already secured an alliance with the United Guild.”

“...!”

“They had some difficulties recently, but they’re still quite a force to be reckoned with. Also, we have Chae Hyung-Seok on our side.”

“Chae Hyung-Seok? You mean Desire?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Bwahahaha!” Yong Tae-Pung burst out into laughter. Then, he grinned and asked, “Are you even aware of Tae-Sung’s relationship with Chae Hyung-Seok? Also, he’s at odds with the United Guild, too.”

Anyone playing BNW had already heard of the animosity Siegfried harbored toward Chae Hyung-Seok and the United Guild.

However, Diesel had hired not only Chae Hyung-Seok but the United Guild as well and was now trying to hire Siegfried, too/

This was completely illogical; there was no way it would work!

“I know about them.”

“Yet you still want to recruit Tae-Sung?”

“As you said, personal is personal, and business is business.”

“...?”

Diesel turned to Siegfried and asked, “Am I right, Han Tae-Sung?”

“Yes, you are. Business is business indeed,” Siegfried replied nonchalantly.

“Are you bothered by Chae Hyung-Seok and the United Guild?” Diesel asked.

“Of course,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

“Is that so? Then I’ll add another ten million dollars.”

“Heok?”

“A total of thirty million dollars.”

“T-Thirty million dollars?!”

“I’ll pay five million dollars as a signing fee and wire the remaining amount the moment we conquer the Mandate of Heaven Guild’s headquarters.”

“Hmm…”

Thirty million dollars was equivalent to roughly thirty-six billion won, and that was enough to put Siegfried in a dilemma.

“That is a lot of money, but it is not enough for me to turn my back on loyalty.”

It was then.

“All right! It looks like you’re asking for it, Han Tae-Sung!” Diesel exclaimed as his eyes flashed. Then, he smirked and roared, “Ten percent of the Geyser of Life’s profit on top of that!”

“What?!”

“I can’t offer any more than this! So it’s time to choose! Will you join me, or will you choose your loyalty?!”

Yong Tae-Pung offered ten percent of the Geyser of Life’s profits, but Diesel was making the same offer on top of adding thirty million dollars, which was roughly around thirty-six billion won.

“Diesel! You crazy bastard!”

“Impossible!”

Both Yong Tae-Pung and Yong Seol-Hwa were shocked by Diesel’s offer.

“What do you think, Han Tae-Sung? Will you join hands with me?” Diesel asked with a smug smirk.

***

The Cheyenne Plateau was located in the Brigger Province, and it held no particular value both resource-wise and strategy-wise. It spanned nine square kilometers with numerous rivers, lakes, mountains, forests, wastelands, gorges, and hundreds of geysers.

After falling into the hands of the Oberg Guild, however, the Cheyenne Plateau became a battlefield teeming with Adventurers.

On that afternoon at the Sword Gorge—the entrance to the Cheyenne Plateau, thousands of Adventurers gathered on both sides of the gorge, flanking it.

“Hey! Over there! Hurry up!”

“Set up another anti-air cannon over there!”

“What about the magic circle? Is it still far from complete?!”

The Oberg Guild was busy installing anti-air defenses, traps, and magic circles to defend the gorge.

“Is this what they call spending money on defense? Well, I guess you have to spend this much if you want to protect a goose capable of laying golden eggs,” Chae Hyung-Seok muttered with a smirk while staring at the Oberg Guild members hard at work.

The Geyser of Life was no different from a goose laying golden eggs, as it did not require any effort to make money out of it.

Why?

It was all because all they had to do was collect the jets of water it would shoot out every two hours. The water would only go through a bit of processing before being packaged as Topaz Potion, which was a top-tier HP potion.

What would they do afterward? They just had to sell the thousands of bottles they'd obtain every two hours. The Topaz Potion would replenish a ton of HP and cure most status ailments, which meant that it was famous for being a panacea.

In other words, the NPCs throughout the continent were the potion’s customers as well, along with the Adventurers.

“I can make a comeback if I have something like this, too. I should’ve bought something like this back when I used to be a big shot,” Chae Hyung-Seok muttered under his breath and smiled bitterly while reminiscing about the past.

“Hey! Hyung-Seok!”

“Who the hell was that…?” Chae Hyung-Seok growled and grimaced before looking around. Someone had just shouted his name from the other side of the gorge. He froze instantly upon recognizing the person waving at him.

Han Tae-Sung.

The one waving at him was none other than his arch-nemesis. The latter was walking toward him with a massive grin as well.

To make things even more annoying…

“Long time no see, Chae Hyung-Seok! Kyuuuu!”

The annoying hamster sidekick of his arch-nemesis was waving at him as well as if they were best buddies.

Kwachik!

Chae Hyung-Seok tightly gripped his Dark Scythe and was about to attack Siegfried, but…

“No.”

Diesel appeared and grabbed the Dark Scythe.

“Fuck! What the fuck is this?! Why the hell is that bastard here?!” Chae Hyung-Seok lashed out.

“Why else? I hired him,” Diesel replied with a smirk.

“H-Hired…? You hired him?”

“You’re on the same side now, so try to get along.”

“What?” Chae Hyung-Seok could not believe his ears.

“Heave-ho! Nice to see you again, Hyung-Seok~”

Siegfried crossed over to the side where Chae Hyung-Seok was located, and he grinned with his hand extended toward Chae Hyun-Seok.

“Let’s get along from now on!”

“What the hell…?”

“From today onward ♫” Siegfried hummed a tune. Then, he snickered and said, “We are all—wait for it—allies!”

“Allies? You and me?” Chae Hyung-Seok asked, pointing at Siegfried and himself.

“Yes! We’re allies now, so I’ll be in your care!”

“You fucking…!” Chae Hyung-Seok growled. His current situation was so absurd that he couldn't believe it at all.

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