Debuff Master

There was a forest around two kilometers away from the entrance of the Cheyenne Plateau, the Sword Gorge.

The Mandate of Heaven Guild had set up their war camp in the forest.

“Sigh…” Yong Seol-Hwa let out a sigh.

“Hey, why the long sigh, Seol-Hwa?”

“Tsk…”

“Hoho! It’s good to be young.”

“Is this Romeo and Juliet in real life?”

Kim Gi-Tae, Park Gi-Don, Han Sang-Gi, and Kim Han-Yong chimed in after seeing Yong Seol-Hwa sigh.

“Stop it, uncles,” Yong Seol-Hwa snapped at the four old men. Then, she glared at them and said, “I’m in a bad mood right now, so please keep quiet.”

“Ahem…”

“I should go teach that punk Tae-Sung a lesson!”

“H-Hey, let’s just be quiet…”

The four Legends started making excuses in response to Yong Seol-Hwa's nasty look.

“Sigh…”

Yong Seol-Hwa ended up letting out another sigh. She felt like her insides were rotting due to the indescribable negative feeling welling up inside of her.

Why?

It was all because Siegfried accepted Diesel’s offer and sided with the Oberg Guild.

“I will serve you to the best of my abilities, Master.”

“...?”

“Woof! Woof! Arf! Arf!”

The last offer Diesel made for ten percent of the Geyser of Life’s profits on top of the thirty million dollars had completely convinced Siegfried to become a mercenary of the Oberg Guild.

It went without saying that both Yong Tae-Pung and Yong Seol-Hwa were disappointed by his choice, but neither of them blamed him.

“I can’t criticize a gamer for going after money.”

“I guess we have no choice…”

This was the day and age where games were no longer just entertainment but were now a form of business. The time of famous gamers equated to money, and Siegfried had become far too famous to hold back just with their relationship.

Of course, Yong Tae-Pung wanted to make a better offer to Siegfried, but he couldn't make one, as the Mandate of Heaven Guild was not in a position to do so.

The guild suffered significant losses after getting ambushed by the Oberg Guild, and they were now in a corner after Diesel had recruited both Chae Hyung-Seok and the United Guild.

There was no way they could splurge all of their funds in recruiting Siegfried alone, as they needed to recruit other people, too. Moreover, the Mandate of Heaven Guild had to pay penalties to the numerous NPCs they contracted for failing to supply the Topaz Potions on time.

“Seol-Hwa,” Yong Tae-Pung called her.

“Yes, father?”

“Your sighs are getting too long.”

“I apologize…”

“You can join them if you want to.”

“Huh? W-What are you talking about?!” Yong Seol-Hwa retorted, flustered by the sudden suggestion.

“Wouldn’t you want to follow your prince to the ends of the world?”

“It’s not like that!”

Yong Tae-Pung smirked and said, “What do you mean it’s not that? I’m okay, so feel free to go to your prince if you want to do so. I understand since you can’t seem to live without him now. I’m just your father, right? We humans even sell our own country for love if we had to.”

“S-Sell our own country?”

“Princess Nangnang[1] did that, and so did Paris and Helen, which sparked the Trojan War—”

“Dad!”

“Bwahaha!” Yong Tae-Pung burst into laughter after seeing his daughter’s face flushed red. Then, he asked, “Do you like him that much?”

“I don’t!”

“Come on~ I can see you like him a lot.”

“Geez! Stop!”

“Bwahaha!”

“So this is how you wanna play, dad?”

“Hmm?”

“All right, if you insist. I’ll do as you say.”

“W-What?!”

“Take care, and see you on the battlefield.” Yong Seol-Hwa bowed and bade goodbye before storming out of the tent with a furious look.

“Hey! Daughter! Seol-Hwa!” Yong Tae-Pung called out to her, but his desperate calls were completely ignored.

“Bwahahaha!”

“You lost to Tae-Sung!”

“What’s the point of raising a daughter when she’ll choose her man over her father?”

“Kekeke! Serves you right, Tae-Pung!”

The Legends laughed until they started rolling on the ground after seeing Yong Seol-Hwa storm out of the tent.

“Shut up, you bastards! How can you laugh at this?! And do you really think my Seol-Hwa is like that? She’s just annoyed because I teased her! Do you really think that she will abandon her own father? Get lost, you noobs!” Yong Tae-Pung lashed out at the Legends.

He was confident that Yong Seol-Hwa was not going to betray him, but why were his eyes trembling uncontrollably?

‘D-Don’t tell me she really went to the enemy? Did she really choose Tae-Sung over her own father? N-No! My daughter will never do that!’

Yong Tae-Pung was acting like he was confident about it, but he was actually extremely nervous deep inside.

***

Yong Seol-Hwa headed deeper into the forest after storming out of the tent until she reached a wide open space.

“Kiek?!”

“Kyak!”

A few goblins loitering around the place shrieked after spotting her, and they immediately attacked her.

Smack!

Yong Seol-Hwa took out her gigantic warhammer and swatted them away like flies as if she could not be bothered by them. Then, she drew a magic circle on the ground and summoned a mobile smithy. This mobile smithy was called Smithy of Creation. It was a magical smithy equipped with all sorts of tools and equipment required to craft artifacts.

This was one of the special facilities that Yong Seol-Hwa could use thanks to her class, the Radiant Blacksmith.

“Sigh…”

Yong Seol-Hwa sighed once again before putting on thick leather gloves. Then, she got to work immediately—well, it couldn't be called "work" technically.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

She tempered a red hot piece of mythril by smacking it with a hammer again and again.

Yong Seol-Hwa was not crafting anything. Surprisingly, this was her way of relieving stress, as hitting an annealed metal over and over again somehow allowed her to blow off some steam.

‘Yeah, it’s just business. Let’s not get upset. It’s not like me and Tae-Sung oppa have anything going on. Business is business, and personal is personal.’

Yong Seol-Hwa hammered away her stress and sorrows.

Shwooooo!

All of a sudden, the Smithy of Creation unleashed a large cloud of steam.

Thud!

A bunch of completed items emerged.

“Ah…” Yong Seol-Hwa muttered with a hint of disappointment after seeing the items.

She was disappointed because she had designed and had been crafting an item that she wanted to give to Siegfried as a gift. Ironically, the crafting process ended just as they were standing on opposite sides.

The items were the size of half a cigarette box. The sky blue one was called Whistle: Cowherd♥♂ and the pink one was called Whistle: Weaver Girl♥♀. These items were a set item called Cowherd and Weaver Girl Whistle[2], and Yong Seol-Hwa had designed them personally.

Yong Seol-Hwa had poured her heart into designing this item. She even carefully chose its options before naming and crafting it.

“I should… give this to him later… Sigh…” Yong Seol-Hwa muttered weakly, again letting out a sigh. Then, she put the Cowherd and Weaver Girl Whistle in her inventory and said, “Don’t rush it, Seol-Hwa. Take it slow, step by step.”

Yong Seol-Hwa decided not to let this incident get to her.

Why?

It was all because she was certain that there was no other man like Han Tae-Sung.

In her eyes, Tae-Sung was like a prince charming in shining armor.

***

Meanwhile, Chae Hyung-Seok failed to keep his temper in check and raised his voice at Diesel. “Hey, this is wrong! Fuck! Are you joking with me?!”

“Me? Joking with you? Do I look so bored that I would joke around with you, Chae Hyung-Seok?”

“Then what the fuck is this if it’s not a joke? You hired me then you brought that bastard in, too?”

“Why can’t I?”

“You fucker! Are you seriously asking that question?”

“Calm down. Easy now,” Diesel said leisurely. He did not seem to be flustered at all even though Chae Hyung-Seok was screaming right at his face.

“Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down? Don’t you know the history between me and him?”

“Is that important?” Diesel asked with a shrug.

“Did you just ask me if that is important?”

“Hey, Chae Hyung-Seok. Business is business. Act like a pro and set aside your feelings. Did I ask you to become buddies with Han Tae-Sung?”

“Still! You’ve gone too far—”

“Think about the five hundred thousand dollars,” Diesel cut him off. Then, he added, “Do you think the United Guild isn’t making any noises because they like him? Not at all! They know that this is just business so they’re staying quiet.”

Both Diesel and Chae Hyung-Seok looked at the United Guild…

“That bastard…”

“Here dares to come here?”

“I’ll close my eyes just this time.”

The United Guild members were gnashing their teeth and growling at Siegfried as if they were going to pounce on him at any time now, but they seemed to be doing their best to keep their calm. They had accepted Diesel's offer of a share in the Geyser of Life’s profit, so they had no choice but to stay quiet and stare at Siegfried from afar.

“Damn it…”

Chae Hyung-Seok decided to keep calm for now.

‘I’m short on this month’s interest. Let’s just hold back for now no matter how annoying it is…’

Chae Hyung-Seok was still struggling with his debts, and he was still living in poverty. Whatever amount he'd earn from carrying out favors for others went straight to paying the interest of his debt, so every penny counted for him right now.

Thus, he had no other choice but to calm down even though he wanted to rip Siegfried to shreds with his bare hands.

‘Yeah… Let’s just ignore him. I don’t have to get mad if I don’t look at that bastard…’ Chae Hyung-Seok calmed himself down and walked away.

It was then.

“Kyu! Owner punk!”

“Yeah?”

“Chae Hyung-Seok is worth five hundred thousand dollars! He’s worth sixty times less than you! Kyuuuu!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I just heard it! One owner punk is equivalent to sixty Chae Hyung-Seok! Kyuuu!”

Chae Hyung-Seok was shocked upon hearing how much Siegfried was getting paid.

Thirty million dollars? This was an amount that even he did not receive during the peak of his fame! Funnily enough, he had yet to learn that Siegfried was going to receive ten percent of the Geyser of Life’s profits, too.

“H-How does that make sense…?” Chae Hyung-Seok was more baffled than offended. He couldn't wrap his head around Siegfried’s valuation

“Kyuuu! Chae Hyung-Seok’s value has plummeted to the ground! I wonder if he’s even eating properly these days!”

Chae Hyung-Seok’s blood pressure skyrocketed, and he almost fainted upon hearing Hamchi's words. Five hundred thousand dollars was a lot of money. There was no way earning six hundred million won after just a week of work could be considered little.

However, this was nothing but chump change when compared to how much Chae Hyung-Seok used to earn during his heyday.

On top of that, he was knee-deep in debt, so he could not use even a penny of the money he was earning these days. Forget about paying the principal amount, he was barely paying the interest on his debts.

“That rat dares to…!” Chae Hyung-Seok growled in anger. He wanted to go buy a bottle of rat poison and shove it down Hamchi’s throat right this instant, but…

‘No, let’s calm down. I'll really die from a stroke if I get more worked up. Calm down…’

Chae Hyung-Seok gnashed his teeth and forced himself to calm down due to his health. He had already suffered two strokes, so he could end up with permanent brain damage if he suffered another one.

Chae Hyung-Seok closed his eyes and covered his ears before scurrying away somewhere.

“Tsk… He's gotten a lot more patient compared to before. He's become boring…” Siegfried grumbled and clicked his tongue before sulking.

“Kyu?”

“It’s only fun if he goes batshit crazy and starts screaming. Sigh… I guess Chae Hyung-Seok is no fun now. He was my only source of joy in life…”

“Kyuu! Cheer up, owner punk! There’s always a next time!”

“Do you think so?”

“Kyuuu! Yes! It’s not like he’s Buddha or something! He won’t be able to hold it in forever! Just keep getting on his nerves and wait for the fun to begin!”

“I really hope so!”

Both Siegfried and Hamchi earnestly prayed that Chae Hyung-Seok would start going batshit crazy like usual.

***

On that same evening, Chae Hyung-Seok went to find Diesel.

“Hey, can we have a chat, Diesel?”

Diesel agreed easily and replied, “Sure, why not? But what do you want to talk about at this hour?”

“I’ll get straight to the point. Do you really trust that bastard, Han Tae-Sung?”

1. A princess that appears in the ancient records of Korea. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_of_Nangnang_(1st_century) ☜

2. This is a legend in parts of Asia, mainly China. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cowherd_and_the_Weaver_Girl ☜

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