Debuff Master

“Hmm? What’s this?”

Siegfried picked up the pocket watch and metallic flask that the disassembler had spat out. He then flashed his Rune of Insight at the Infinite Flask.

The Infinite Flask was shaped like a hip flask often seen in foreign films. It was a small rectangular flask designed to fit right inside one’s pocket.

[Infinite Flask]

[A flask containing infinite energy.]

[It has a bottomless spring of vitality, providing eternal sustenance to its holder.]

[Type: Potion]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Effects: Instantly restores 20% of MAX HP, MAX Mana, and MAX Stamina]

“Oh?”

Siegfried could not help but be astonished after reading that the Infinite Flask was essentially an unlimited potion that restored twenty percent of his HP, Mana, and Stamina with just a cooldown of one minute.

With this item, he could say goodbye to potion shortages forever.

“Now that’s what I call a jackpot!”

He had no idea why dismantling a +13 Maniac’s Blade had resulted in obtaining the Infinite Flask, but a good loot was a good loot, so he was not going to complain.

Siegfried had immense HP, Mana, and Stamina, but his skills were extremely mana-hungry, so the Infinite Flask would surely be a game-changer for him. As an example, he had to take two top-tier potions to restore ten percent of his HP.

Meanwhile, regular potions no longer did anything to him.

Now that he had the Infinite Flask, everything was going to change.

“Perfect! This is awesome!”

Satisfied with the flask, Siegfried turned his attention to the pocket watch, the Seeker of Faith.

[Seeker of Faith]

[Did you call for me, young lamb? Lift up your head, for I am here now.]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Current Status: Unusable]

[Effect: Descent]

“Eh? What the heck is this?”

The ambiguous description of the Seeker of Faith made Siegfried frown in disappointment. The item seemed to have some kind of religious connection, but its purpose was unclear.

In addition, the fact that it was currently unusable and the listed effect, "Descent," provided no further explanation made it even worse.

“Is this… a piece of junk?” Siegfried grumbled. Then, he rubbed the pocket watch in his hand and pondered briefly, “Hmm… Should I just dismantle it?”

The thought crossed his mind briefly, but he decided against it.

“Nah, I’ll keep it just in case.”

Siegfried had a habit of holding onto anything that looked potentially useful, so he stuffed the Seeker of Faith into his Inventory.

When it came to items with clear descriptions, Siegfried had no trouble deciding whether to use, sell, or dismantle them. If an item was vague, he'd rather stash it away just in case it proved to be something valuable.

It was a habit that explained why he was still carrying around items like the Shit-Stained Parchment he had picked up a long time ago.

Satisfied for now, Siegfried left the disassembly machine and made his way to Quandt.

“Here you go,” he said, handing over the Orbs of Enhancement.

“Y-You actually managed to gather them all?” Quandt replied, marveling at the sigh of the two hundred orbs.

“What other choice do I have? It’s not like I could let this weapon go to waste by risking it.”

“Fair enough. Hahaha!”

“How long will it take?”

“Half a day is all I need.”

“Alright, I will be back later.”

“I will have it prepared for you.”

Leaving the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp in Quandt’s capable hands, Siegfried headed toward the meeting room. It was time to finalize the party that would head to the Suzdal Empire Ruins as well as the strategy that they would be using in the raid.

***

Raiding the Suzdal Empire Ruins was no easy feat.

The fact that no one who entered had ever returned alive made even the thought of stepping inside it daunting.

Siegfried felt uneasy about the raid, too. He had Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance, but there was no guarantee that it would work within the Suzdal Empire Ruins. In other words, the raid was immensely risky.

Who would know what kind of dangers or traps were lying in wait inside those labyrinthine ruins?

However, this was a raid he couldn't afford to avoid. Allowing the Church of Osric to carry out whatever scheme they were planning with the four Soul Fragments of Apocalius was unacceptable.

Thus, Siegfried commanded the Proatine Alliance and the Iron Fleet to surround the Suzdal Empire Ruins.

On top of that, he stationed Duke Decimato, Lohengrin, and Beggarius around the perimeter of the ruins. This was a precaution for two possibilities—Siegfried's failure at his task and in case some horrifying creature emerged from the ruins.

Once the safety measures were in place, Siegfried formed an expedition team centered around Daode Tianzun, Betelgeuse, and Cheon Woo-Jin.

The party was truly formidable, as it had three Grandmasters, which was a formidable force. Siegfried himself, while not a Grandmaster, possessed exceptionally powerful debuffs as well as excellent combat prowess.

They were joined by Yong Seol-Hwa, Seung-Gu, Gosran, Daytona, and several Head Crusher Guild members. They had a lineup capable of reducing most small kingdoms to ashes in the blink of an eye.

“We will be setting out tonight, but make sure to prepare yourselves. There is a chance that we might not come back from this,” Siegfried addressed the group assembled in the meeting room.

“Hohoho! We can just live there if we can't come back out. What’s the big deal?” Daode Tianzun said with a hearty laugh.

“I have lived long enough anyway, so I don’t mind it,” Betelgeuse added nonchalantly.

Their confidence was truly awe-inspiring, but the Adventurers seemed uneasy.

“Hmm…”

“It’s that place…”

“Yeah, it’s a bit… unsettling…”

The Head Crusher Guild members seemed hesitant to tag along. None of them wanted to be forced to quit the game after being trapped in some cursed dungeon.

“Feel free to sit this one out if any of you feels uneasy. It’s your choice, and I won’t hold it against you,” Siegfried said. He did not want to force them into a raid with such high risk, so he gave them the option of not joining it.

Thus, a few guild members hesitated briefly before quietly leaving the room. This was the logical thing to do, as risking their character getting stuck in the notorious Suzdal Empire Ruins and being forced to quit the game was too steep of a price to pay.

Still, a few, such as Yong Seol-Hwa, Gosran, Seung-Gu, and Daytona, remained, not budging from their seats.

“I’m sure we will find a way out. And if we can’t, I trust you will get us out, oppa,” Yong Seol-Hwa said with a smile.

“I mean, what’s the point of playing this game if we’re scared of losing? Sure, we don’t have to go, but if we must, we will,” Gosran said with a determined voice.

“You know I’ll follow you to the ends of the world, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu said with a grin.

“I’m with you as long as you need me,” Daytona chimed in.

Their trust in Siegfried led them to join this dangerous raid without a hint of hesitation.

“I have to go, no matter what,” Cheon Woo-Jin added last, his voice brimming with a burning desire for vengeance.

“Alright, we will depart in a few hours. Get yourselves ready,” Siegfried said, concluding the meeting.

Just then, Metatron approached and announced, “The weapon enhancement has been completed, Your Majesty.”

“Okay, let him know I’ll be there shortly,” Siegfried replied.

“As you command, sire.”

Siegfried immediately went to meet Quandt.

“Oh? You’re already here?”

“Is it finished?”

“Yes, it is.”

Quandt revealed the +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp. It was still freshly enhanced, so white smoke was rising from it. Siegfried used his Rune of Insight to check its details, and its stats were nothing short of extraordinary.

[Vanquisher’s Grasp]

[A prototype of the Universal artifact designed by Legendary Blacksmith Herbert.]

[It can be upgraded to the specific Universal artifact.]

[Type: Weapon]

[Rating: Epic]

[Attribute: N/A]

[Level Requirement: 250]

[Attack Power: 8,000 + 6,811]

[Durability: Infinite]

Additional Abilities:

[MAX Mastery of All Weapons]

[Absorbs 30% of Enemy HP Upon Attack]

[Absorbs 30% of Enemy Stamina Upon Attack]

[Deals +200% Damage to Dragon-Type Enemies]

[All Stats +400]

The +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp was truly overwhelming. Its additional Attack Power at +13 had been +3,566, but at +15, it nearly doubled to +6,811.

For comparison, Yong Tae-Pung’s Hwaryongdo had an additional Attack Power of around +4,500, and this showed the gap between the two weapons.

‘Yeah, I need to use whatever means necessary right now… Even if it means relying on being overgeared,’ Siegfried thought, clutching the weapon. His growth had already hit a ceiling, as leveling up through normal means was no longer an option.

He only had one option—enhance his gear and maximize their potential.

‘I’ll have to enhance my armor, too,’ Siegfried decided.

After accepting the +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp, Siegfried bowed in gratitude.

“Thank you for creating such an incredible weapon.”

Quandt’s face lit up with pride as he chuckled heartily. “Hohoho! Think nothing of it! I’m just glad I could forge something that satisfies Your Majesty’s needs!”

“Quandt-nim…”

“It would be my honor to continue crafting your weapons for as long as I can.”

“Likewise.”

Siegfried had Dragon Blacksmith Yong Seol-Hwa by his side, but he had no intention of getting rid of Quandt. The bond they had forged together was so strong that it could be considered unbreakable, and they still had one more task left to finish together.

The two dreamed of completing the incomplete masterpiece left behind by the Legendary Blacksmith, Herbert. Of course, whether their dream of completing the Universal Artifact, capable of annihilating entire kingdoms with its power, would come true or not remained uncertain.

“Thank you again. I will definitely put it to good use,” Siegfried said earnestly with another bow.

“To think that a weapon I forged is going to help save the world… Hohoho! There’s no greater honor than that! Bwahaha!” Quandt exclaimed, laughing boisterously.

After a few more lively conversations with Quandt, Siegfried set off for the Suzdal Empire Ruins.

***

The expedition team arrived at the warp gate leading to the Suzdal Empire Ruins, which was installed by the Proatine Alliance.

Oscar stepped forward and greeted Siegfried with proper decorum. “Your Majesty.”

She had led their forces to maintain an encirclement around the Suzdal Empire Ruins.

“How’s the situation?” Siegfried asked.

“It is quiet. The entire ruins are eerily silent, and not even a single wild animal was seen thus far, sire,” Oscar replied, her tone solemn and serious.

“Really?”

“We have tried observing from the skies, but we failed to detect anything unusual within the ruins.”

“What you see on the surface is rarely the whole story in places like this,” Siegfried said with a shrug.

“I agree, sire,” Oscar affirmed with a nod.

“We will be entering in an hour. Until then, keep the perimeter secured, air-tight.”

“As you command, sire!”

After issuing his orders, Siegfried joined the expedition team members for one final check before venturing into the ruins.

The expedition team finally entered the Suzdal Empire Ruins.

‘I wonder what kind of place this is…’ Siegfried wondered while walking.

He was quite frankly curious, as he was a gamer too. A gamer was bound to be curious about the unknown mysteries in the game after all.

‘I wonder if this place has anything unique…’

If there was one thing Siegfried was obsessed about whenever he entered a new map, then that would be speculating whether there was any unique loot available in it or not.

Just then, Hamchi tugged at his pants.

“Kyuuu! Hey, owner punk! I’m getting really bad vibes from this place!”

“We don’t have much of a choice, do we? Those bastards decided to hide here, so what else can we do but go after them? Haha…” Siegfried replied with an awkward chuckle.

“Kyuuu… That’s true…”

“But where’s Cheon Woo-Jin…?” Siegfried muttered, looking around for him.

It was then.

“Huh?! W-Where is everyone?!” Siegfried froze and gasped, his eyes widening in shock.

His comrades who had been walking with him just moments ago had all vanished without a trace. There was no one left by his side except for Hamchi.

‘T-This can’t be real!’

Siegfried panicked at the sudden disappearance of his comrades, so he immediately activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance to scan the Suzdal Empire Ruins. A map formed in front of his eyes, and a notification popped up, informing him of his current location.

[Suzdal Empire Ruins: 4,581]

“Eh…?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion after seeing the number "4,581" written next to his current location.