Debuff Master

“You’re Quandt’s elder brother? Then does that mean you’re with the Bavarian Workshop, too?” Diesel asked.

“I used to be one of them,” Avant replied. Then, he revealed a twisted grin and said, “But I left them on my own accord.”

“Why? The Bavarian Workshop is a conglomerate. Did you set up your own shop or something?” Diesel asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Who knows? You can call it setting up shop if you want to. Whatever it is, the Bavarian Workshop has changed far too much.”

“...?”

“We were once proud blacksmiths who pursued only artifacts that could be called weapons of mass destruction, but the workshop has become no different from those other workshops on the street crafting toys for kids.”

“Hmm…”

“The Bavarian Workshop of today is nothing but an empty shell of the past. That damned brother of mine is leading an empty shell.”

“I guess you left the workshop after not being happy with their direction.”

“Oh?”

“Anyway, enough about that,” Avant said with a snicker. Then, he grinned and asked, “So you want to let me develop the Geyser of Life?”

“Sure. You dwarves are the best when it comes to mining, and I’m sure your skills are vouched for if you were once a member of the Bavarian Workshop,” Diesel replied with a nod.

“That’s an excellent decision, Adventurer Diesel,” Avant said, extending his hand.

“I’m glad to have met a good business partner,” Diesel smirked and shook his hand. Then, he added, “Ah, I’m sure you heard about the mysterious mineral we found in the ground. Did you?”

“I did.”

“Did you see the dust?”

“Yes, I saw it.”

“What kind of metal is that?”

“I have no idea,” Avant replied, shaking his head.

“What? Even a dwarf has no idea what that is?”

“I initially thought it was a dragon’s scale, but that doesn’t seem to be the case after I analyzed its composition.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s mana within that mineral.”

“...!”

“Even a dragon’s scale, no matter how hard it is, can’t hold mana. But this mineral holds mana, albeit not much. In fact, it is infused with fire attribute mana.”

“Then that means…”

“It might be a mineral similar to the mana stones.”

“...!”

“If that’s the case, then I think it’s appropriate to call it… mana ore.”

“M-Mana ore? Is it because it’s a mineral that holds mana…?”

“Precisely.”

Diesel’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing Avant's words.

He was rendered completely speechless as well.

Mana stone was an expensive mineral, but it had limited uses, as it was technically a piece of stone only made special due to the mana inside of it.

However, a mana ore was a different story. An ore had far more uses than a piece of rock, and there was no need to list their uses down, as everyone would know that an ore was far more valuable than a rock.

With that logic, then…

‘It seems I’ve hit a far bigger jackpot than what I initially thought I did…’

Diesel once again reaffirmed that he had made the right choice by attacking the Mandate of Heaven Guild and forcibly taking away the Geyser of Life.

“That’s truly amazing.”

“I, too, believe that it is amazing, Adventurer Diesel. And it is an honor to be the first one to mine these new minerals.”

“Sure thing.”

“May I get to work immediately?”

“Go ahead,” Diesel replied with a nod. Then, he added, “Oh, one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“As you might be aware, we are currently defending against our enemies.”

“I have heard so. That made us go the roundabout way just to get here.”

“So I was thinking… Can you help us?”

“And how do you propose I be of assistance to you?”

“Perhaps you could craft us powerful weapons that could slaughter our enemies?”

“Oh?” Avant raised a brow at those words. Then, he grinned and asked, “Are you asking me to craft you an artifact for combat?”

“Yes, I am.”

“My services can be quite pricey though?”

“I will pay you handsomely for your service.”

“Then I shall assist you.”

“You must help us,” Diesel said firmly.

“Hmm? And why is that?”

“It seems that there’s bad blood between you and your brother, Quandt. My enemy, Siegfried van Proa, is very close to Quandt.”

“...!”

“I heard the Bavarian Workshop is giving him an extremely special treatment.”

“If that’s the case then…” Avant muttered. Then, he flashed an extremely sinister grin and said, “I must help you no matter what. This is excellent timing, as I brought my mobile smithy with me. I can get to work and craft you the lethal weapons you desire.”

“Oh!”

“I will get to work at once.”

“Thank you,” Diesel replied, smiling out of sheer satisfaction.

***

“What did he say?” Kink asked Avant about his meeting with Diesel.

Kink was Avant’s right-hand man and was also a dwarf. He too was a skilled blacksmith who was once a member of the Bavarian Workshop.

“It seemed he has no clue at all,” Avant said with a grin. Then, he snickered and added, “Keke! He’s just a fool dreaming about the money he could earn by exploiting the Geyser of Life.”

“Really? Hoho! That is great news!”

“It is indeed great news. That fool thinks this is some sort of tourist destination. He has no idea this is where the God of Blacksmiths, Vulcanus, resides.”

Vulcanus was the first blacksmith and the god of all blacksmiths. He was portrayed as a muscular man with flames engulfing his body, and every blacksmith on the Nurburg Continent worshiped him.

However, he did not have any shrine or church to worship him, as the blacksmiths were extremely proud and stubborn individuals. In other words, gathering them together under one banner was an impossible feat.

“I’m certain Vulcanus’ ruin is here judging by how a mineral containing mana was discovered beneath here. It’s highly likely that it’s a shrine set up by ancient blacksmiths, which ended up getting buried.”

“Oh! Then that means!”

“We might get our hands on the secret to craft the ancient artifacts. If we’re lucky, we might even obtain Vulcanus’ Holy Artifact.”

“Congratulations in advance on becoming the second God of Blacksmiths after Lord Vulcanus!”

“Hohoho! Yes, that’s how it will be!”

“The day you will reclaim the Bavarian Workshop is almost near,” Kink said, sincerely.

He chose to become a Blacksmith of Darkness after getting bewitched by Avant’s ideologies, so every single word that came out of his mouth was to curry favor with Avant.

“Thank you for saying that and for always supporting me.”

“Not at all!”

“Let’s start developing the Geyser of Life and inspecting the underground minerals while crafting artifacts for them.”

“Yes! Head Blacksmith!”

Kink referred to Avant as the head blacksmith, and the reason was that he believed Avant was the rightful head blacksmith of the Bavarian Workshop.

***

The war entered a period of lull after the Mandate of Heaven Guild occupied the Hell’s Staircase.

The Oberg Guild had to defend the Geyser of Life at all costs, so they did not make any moves and simply waited for their fallen comrades to come back to life. On the other hand, the Mandate of Heaven Guild was preserving their strength for the decisive battle over the ownership of the Geyser of Life, so they did not make any moves as well.

The two sides decided to regroup before the final battle.

Two days later, the Mandate of Heaven Guild held a meeting to discuss how they could retake the Golden Country, which was the next location they had to seize from the Oberg Guild.

This place had more than three hundred geysers that shot out sulfur, and the Geyser of Life was in the middle of it.

“We’re planning to launch a full-scale assault tomorrow. What do you think, nephew?” Yong Tae-Pung asked.

Siegfried was the first person he asked, as he had acknowledged that Siegfried was extraordinarily talented at coming up with strategies.

“We have to attack,” Siegfried replied.

“Do you have any strategy or tactics we could use?”

“No, I don't have any. It's going to be a massive battle, so strategies aren't really going to be that effective."

“Hmm… So this will be…”

“A clash of strength. Everything will be decided after the massive battle.”

“I see…”

“I would attempt to encircle and starve them if they were NPCs, but our opponents are Adventurers, so that would not work. Also, they have too many troops for us to ambush and annihilate.

“I guess we have no other choice, then.”

“Yes, we do not have any other option this time. It is fortunate that we did not suffer much losses in our previous battles. Most of our men survived, so I think we have a shot on this one.”

“Yes, you’re right. Also, the Oberg Guild had lost a lot of their key members.”

The Oberg Guild wasn't exactly stable right now. Diesel suddenly breaking bad made quite a few Rankers leave the guild.

“Good. Then, we should…”

“We'll attack tomorrow evening.”

“Sure, let’s do that. What does everyone else think?” Yong Tae-Pung asked the guild executives.

“Sounds good to me.”

“It’s time for our fists to do the talking!”

“Excellent.”

And that was how the Mandate of Heaven Guild decided to launch a full-scale attack on the Golden Country tomorrow night…

The next evening, Yong Tae-Pung led two thousand five hundred guild members toward the Golden Country.

On their way to the Golden Country, Yong Seol-Hwa couldn't help but ask, “Do you really think that we can win this battle?”

“Who knows? We will only find out once we clash,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“I see…”

“It’s difficult to tell the result when two major forces clash. But I know we are at a disadvantage, as the defenders always have the upperhand.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“The only thing we can do is fight with all of our strength.”

“I understand, oppa,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied with a nod. Then, she added, “If we win this battle, then—”

It was then…

Ding!

A golden exclamation mark appeared on top of her head.

Wooong!

Then, her Inventory opened on its own and her item, the Hammer of Creation, came out of it.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Siegfried asked, curious about the whole situation.

“T-That is…”

“Hmm?”

“I received a class change quest.”

“C-Class change quest?!”

“It’s telling me to meet the ancient god residing under the Geyser of Life.”

“Ancient god?”

“Let me show you,” Yong Seol-Hwa said and shared the quest details with him.

[Ancient Creator]

[Objective: Meet the ancient blacksmithing god sleeping under the Geyser of Life]

[Reward: New Class]

[Warning: This is a special event that will only appear to those who are in possession of the Hammer of Creation]

[Hammer of Creation]

[A hammer that Vulcanus had personally crafted using his left rib.]

[Type: Blunt Weapon]

[Rating: Mythic]

[Effects: +300% All Stats, +15 All Skills Levels, +200% Crafting Speed. +150% Success Rate to Apply Magic on Item, +100% Item Repair Success Rate… (omitted)]

“An ancient blacksmithing god?” Siegfried muttered in surprise after reading the quest details. Then, he asked, “But Seol-Hwa…? Isn't your class already legendary?”

“Yes, it is.”

“If that's the case, then… doesn't this mean that you'll become a Hidden Class user?”

“No way,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied with a smile and shook her head. Then, she said, “Maybe it’s just my second advancement? I mean, it’s not like Hidden Classes are common, right?”

“You think so? But who knows, right?” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“Maybe…?”

“Oh well, I guess that’s another reason we have to win this war. We need to reclaim the Geyser of Life to clear your quest.”

“Yes!”

It was then…

Shwoooong… Kaboom!

Mortar shells came flying toward the marching Mandate of Heaven Guild, and they all landed in the midst of them.

“Enemy bombardment!”

“Spread out!”

“They’re firing at us!”

The Mandate of Heaven Guild reacted and spread out before the shells blotted out the sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Kaboom!

Mortar shells rained down from the sky.

“Run!”

“Kyuuu!”

“Okay, oppa!”

Siegfried, Hamchi, and Yong Seol-Hwa ran as fast as they could, but…

Sseuuuu…!

A thick green fog spread throughout the area where the Mandate of Heaven Guild was located, and…

“Argh…!”

“Kuheok?!”

“I-I can’t… breathe…!”

“Aaaaack!”

The Mandate of Heaven Guild members collapsed one by one.

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