Debuff Master

Chae Hyung-Seok’s head literally exploded.

The Sniper Mode of the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp on top of the one hundred fifty gold bullet had enough kinetic energy to not only penetrate an Adventurer's head but pop it open like a watermelon as well.

“Huh?” Siegfried muttered in disbelief, unable to believe his own eyes.

“Kyu? O-Owner punk…? Was that damage for real?”

“I-I’m not sure…?”

Siegfried looked down at his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp and saw that the nozzle was glowing bright red with white smoke coming out of it.

“...”

Yong Tae-Pung was speechless upon witnessing what Siegfried had just done. He did hear from the four legends that Siegfried was capable of absorbing knowledge like a sponge, but this was just completely absurd.

He could accept the monstrous damage that he dealt to Chae Hyung-Seok, as Siegfried was famous for his explosive damage, but Siegfried's accuracy at such a distance was what shocked Yong Tae-Pung.

“I still have four bullets left, so let’s use them all up,” Siegfried said.

“Kyuuu!”

“Do you see that guy?”

Siegfried and Hamchi proceeded to look for their next targets.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of gunfire rang three times afterward.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Three Oberg Guild members had their heads popped like a balloon, just like Chae Hyung-Seok, and they all died on the spot.

And…

Bang!

The final bullet flew toward the guild master of the Oberg Guild, Diesel, but—

Thud!

—the bullet hit him, but it unfortunately didn't kill him like the others. Instead, the very expensive piece of armor that he was wearing shattered completely upon impact, and he was thrown face-first to the ground.

Diesel’s Defense was absurdly high. After all, he managed to withstand an attack that Chae Hyung-Seok and the others couldn't withstand.

“Aww! Too bad!”

“Kyuu! That was close, owner punk!”

The two were disappointed upon seeing that Diesel was still alive.

Siegfried transformed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp back to a hammer and said, “It is a shame he did not die, uncle.”

“Y-Yeah, it is…” Yong Tae-Pung replied, sweating profusely.

“But I guess it is a relief we managed to conquer this place so easily.”

“And it’s all thanks to you.”

“Come on, I really did not do anything.”

“If it weren't for you—”

BOOM!

Yong Seol-Hwa swung her gigantic war hammer and smashed an Oberg Guild member into a bloody paste. She then walked up to Siegfried and Yong Tae-Pung.

“Tae-Sung… Oppa…” Yong Seol-Hwa muttered, tears forming in her eyes.

“Huh? Seol-Hwa?”

The two gazed into each other’s eyes, leaving Yong Tae-Pung standing awkwardly by himself. The living legend felt a sharp pain in his heart after seeing that his beloved daughter had not even spared him a glance and focused only on another man.

‘Argh!’ Yong Tae-Pung grimaced and almost clutched his chest from the pain.

Meanwhile, the four Legends snuck up behind Yong Tae-Pung and dragged him away.

“Hey, just let them be.”

“Let’s go.”

“See? There’s no point in raising a daughter!”

“Hey, man. I suggest you just leave before you get hurt even more.”

Thanks to them, Siegfried and Yong Seol-Hwa were left all by themselves.

“Oppa…”

“Yeah?”

“I thought you really joined them—”

Siegfried waved his hand and cut her off with a smile, “Come on. I do love money, but there’s no way I can do it at the expense of those I care about. Also, it’s not like I’m poor or something.”

Well, the amount Yong Tae-Pung proposed was definitely bigger than what Diesel had proposed. Diesel had offered thirty million dollars plus ten percent profit sharing, while Yong Tae-Pung had offered fifty percent profit sharing.

In the long run, Yong Tae-Pung’s offer was a far better offer than the one Diesel proposed.

“Hoho! It doesn’t matter since his money will be her money, anyway, if they end up getting married. I can even give him a hundred percent of the profit if he asks for it!”

The reason Yong Tae-Pung easily offered half of the Geyser of Life’s profits was that he had already placed dibs on Siegfried as his future son-in-law.

Of course, the person in question, Siegfried, had no idea about this at all.

“Y-You could have at least given me a heads up…” Yong Seol-Hwa said, sounding disappointed.

“T-That is… So what happened was…” Siegfried replied, looking troubled. Then, he looked around before putting his mouth right beside Yong Seol-Hwa’s ear to whisper into her ear.

Yong Seol-Hwa flinched and trembled when Siegfried's breath tickled her ears.

“Uncle told me that there might be a spy in the guild, so…”

Siegfried explained calmly, but Yong Seol-Hwa couldn't focus on whatever he was saying.

‘A-Ahng…’

Siegfried's voice sounded so sweet that it made her head go blank.

“Anyway, that’s what happened, so please don’t be upset.”

“Huh?”

“I said that’s what happened, so don’t be upset.”

“A-Ah, okay!”

In the end, Yong Seol-Hwa had no idea what he said, but she just went along with it.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

Her heart was racing so fast that she felt she could not breathe properly.

***

Diesel summoned all of his guild’s executive members and unleashed his pent-up rage.

“Damn it!”

He had every right to be enraged, as Siegfried had stabbed him in the back, which ended up in him handing over the Sword Gorge to the enemy. However, Diesel was more furious at Yong Tae-Pung than Siegfried.

“That sly old man finally noticed it… Haha…” Diesel muttered with a grin after realizing that Yong Tae-Pung was aware that he had planted a spy in the Mandate of Heaven Guild.

The reason Diesel had full trust in Siegfried wasn't only because of money but also due to the spy he had planted in the Mandate of Heaven Guild, who was constantly supplying him with insider information.

Two days ago, he received a report that both Yong Tae-Pung and Yong Seol-Hwa were greatly disappointed in Siegfried after his decision to join the Oberg Guild. The spy had also provided the exact time of the attack, which was the precise time the Mandate of Heaven Guild had attacked the Sword Gorge.

In other words, the cunning old man, Yong Tae-Pung, knew of the spy’s existence and used the spy against Diesel.

“Damn it… I should’ve listened to Chae Hyung-Seok…” Diesel grumbled under his breath, regretting not listening to what turned out to be sound advice.

“I can guarantee you that the bastard will show his true colors later. You made a grave mistake hiring him, Diesel. It’s not too late, so why don’t you cancel his contract?”

If he had listened to Chae Hyung-Seok’s advice, they wouldn't have lost the Sword Gorge to the Mandate of Heaven Guild so easily.

‘But it’s going to take him some time to catch the spy, so I’ll have plenty of time to regroup,’ Diesel thought. He made up his mind and turned to his executives. “We will regroup until our fallen guild members have returned. They can’t venture far from the gorge, so feel free to rest up.”

Diesel was absolutely certain that the Mandate of Heaven Guild would not be making any moves for the time being.

***

The Mandate of Heaven Guild quickly set up defensive lines and fortified the Sword Gorge after conquering it without much loss, all thanks to Siegfried’s treachery.

Yong Tae-Pung gathered all of his guild’s executive members and started talking about the Geyser of Life.

“We attacked sooner than expected, but thank you for doing your best. Great job, everyone.”

Yong Tae-Pung started the discussion by praising his guild members’ valiant efforts.

“And I’m sure all of you know Han Tae-Sung, right? A few of you are probably already acquainted with him. We couldn't have easily conquered the Sword Gorge if it weren't for him, so why don’t we give him a round of applause?”

Yong Tae-Pung clapped first, and the rest of the guild executives followed.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

“Also, I apologize for not telling you that Tae-Sung was on our side. A lot of things were happening at the same time, and it was quite a stressful moment for all of us. Hahaha!”

Yong Tae-Pung proceeded to discuss various things, such as how they could better defend the Sword Gorge with his guild executives.

It was then…

“When are we attacking?” asked an Adventurer by the ID, BadGuy. He was one of the oldest members of the Mandate of Heaven Guild, and he was a key member of the guild as well.

“We… can’t attack for the time being,” Yong Tae-Pung replied with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Huh? We cannot attack?” BadGuy asked in response.

“For the time being…”

“Why is that?”

“That is… I’m sorry for saying this, but it seems that there’s a spy among us,” Yong Tae-Pung said as carefully as he could.

The guild executives murmured among themselves.

“S-Spy? In our guild?”

“No way that’s possible.”

“I find that hard to believe…”

They were stunned by Yong Tae-Pung's declaration and couldn't quite accept it at all.

Their reactions were understandable, as the Mandate of Heaven Guild made up for their lacking numbers with very tight-knit members, which made it even harder to believe that a rat was among them.

“I don’t want to believe it either, but I’m certain after thinking about it over and over again. The fact that information regarding the Geyser of Life was leaked and how they kept on hitting us whenever we’re exposed… it just doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe you are just imagining it, boss? I mean, what if the enemy is just really good at gauging their—” BadGuy said.

Yong Tae-Pung shook his head and cut him off, “No, the opposite happened when I decided to keep Tae-Sung's cooperation with us a secret. What do you think would have happened if I had announced that Tae-Sung was on our side all along? Would we have conquered the Sword Gorge as easily as we had done today?”

“Hmm…”

“They would’ve prepared a trap to annihilate all of us.”

“R-Really?”

“There are plenty of other reasons why I came to the conclusion that there’s a spy in the guild, and that spy is probably… one of us—an executive member of the guild.”

Yong Tae-Pung scanned the room right after he said those words and all twelve executive members seemed shocked, unable to believe him.

“So until we find out who the spy is, we can’t attack carelessly and are forced to defend until—” Yong Tae-Pung said carefully, but he was interrupted by someone raising their hand.

“Can I say something?” Siegfried asked with his hand up.

“Hmm? You have something to say, Tae-Sung?”

“Yes, may I?”

“Sure.”

“Thank you,” Siegfried said with a bow. Then, he turned to the executive members and said, “I have a trustworthy lie detector, so would you all like to try it out? It is not a hundred percent accurate, but there is no harm in trying it out.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Yong Tae-Pung asked.

“It is as I said. It is an item that acts like a lie detector.”

“A-A lie detector?!”

“It does not gauge your heart rate like the ones used in real life.”

“Then?”

“Erm… It is a bit difficult to explain, so why don’t we just test it out?”

“Hmm…”

Yong Tae-Pung found it hard to believe that there was an item in the game that could work as a lie detector, and Yong Tae-Pung's reaction was perfectly normal.

Yes, this was a virtual reality game, but how could an item detect whether the player was lying or not? Technology had made great advancements in recent years, but there wasn't anything like that at all. Otherwise, the item would have long become ubiquitous among police or prosecutors.

In addition, if people could no longer lie to others, the world would then become an ideal place, just like in those novels or movies. Of course, it was all ifs.

“I find it hard to believe,” Yong Tae-Pung said with a hint of skepticism.

“There is no way a game item can detect whether the player is lying about something they did in real life.”

“Hmm?”

“But what if it could detect whether they are lying about something they did in the game?”

“Something they had done in the game—don’t tell me?” Yong Tae-Pung said, sounding shocked as his eyes shot wide open.

“Yes, that's right,” Siegfried replied with a smirk. Then, he added, “It can probably read the game logs and make a judgement based on those logs.”

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