Debuff Master

“What in the hell is happening…?” Siegfried muttered while looking around in confusion.

Then, he turned and said, “Hey, Hamchi.”

“Kyu?”

“Stay right next to me, and don’t leave my side, no matter what. Got it?”

“Kyuuu! Got it!”

With that, Hamchi shrank his body and leaped onto Siegfried’s shoulder in one smooth motion.

“Now I won’t be separated from you, owner punk! Kyuuu!”

“You little rascal,” Siegfried said with a smirk.

With that, he began wandering through the Suzdal Empire Ruins without turning off Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

After just a few steps, a notification popped up in front of his eyes.

[Suzdal Empire Ruins: 4,885]

The number had changed all of a sudden. The map was labeled "Suzdal Empire Ruins: 4,581" when he first activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance, but just after a few steps, it changed to "Suzdal Empire Ruins: 4,885."

Only the number had changed—the terrain, the field, and even the map structure had not changed at all. Additionally, he could confirm from the mini-map that there was still no one else around.

“Is this… what it feels like to be lost?” Siegfried grumbled as he studied the mini-map.

It was then.

“Huh?!”

Siegfried spotted a green dot labeled "Seung-Gu" not that far away from him. He quickly headed in that direction, excited to be reunited with at least someone, but his efforts were in vain.

Before he could reach the green dot, it disappeared without a trace.

Then, as if mocking him, a notification popped up in front of his eyes.

[Suzdal Empire Ruins: 91,311]

The number had changed once again. Siegfried sat down on a nearby pile of rocks and tried to make sense of his situation.

‘The numbers keep changing. Does this mean the Suzdal Empire Ruins have been divided into multiple maps?’

This was the only logical conclusion he could reach. He remembered the warnings about how one would be doomed to wander aimlessly until their demise upon entering the Suzdal Empire Ruins.

Now that he was experiencing it firsthand, Siegfried finally understood why so many people ended up quitting the game after getting stuck in this place. In addition to the fact that the place was just massive; it was also bizarre. Walking in one direction would make anyone appear in another dimension of the Suzdal Empire Ruins.

‘I need to think this through before continuing…’

Siegfried pondered deeply for a while before he pulled up the search function of Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance. Then, he typed in "Seung-Gu" and clicked "Enter" to start the search.

[Alert: Searching…]

[Alert: Search Complete!]

[Alert: Unable to locate Seung-Gu!]

Even the search function proved useless, as it was unable to locate Seung-Gu.

‘There has to be a way out. Every puzzle has a solution. It’s just that sometimes… it can be hard to find,’ Siegfried thought.

Determined, he continued moving.

Each step he took triggered changes in the map’s numbers.

[Suzdal Empire Ruins: 718]

[Suzdal Empire Ruins: 32]

[Suzdal Empire Ruins: 911]

(omitted…)

[Suzdal Empire Ruins: 2,932]

The numbers would shift with every step he took, and the environment was changing rapidly as well. One step, it was night; one step, it would be a hot humid summer day.

Then, snow would fall as if it were peak winter.

The map was still the Suzdal Empire Ruins, but the numbers next to the name of the map, the time of day, and the climate were seemingly ever-changing.

‘So this is why they say you'll wander forever once you’re trapped inside,’ Siegfried grumbled, clicking his tongue.

Just then, a message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: Keep moving! Do not stop!]

[Alert: Almost there!]

[Alert: The Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance is gathering data about the map!]

[Alert: Keep exploring to obtain more information about the map!]

[Alert: The Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance will provide accurate information once sufficient data has been gathered!]

Siegfried’s face lit up with joy the moment he read the string of messages.

“Yes! I knew you would come through for me!”

At last, Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance had proven its worth once again.

“Kyuuu! What’s going on, owner punk?! Why so happy all of a sudden?!” Hamchi asked, startled by Siegfried’s sudden change of mood.

“I think I can find a way out of here.”

“Kyuuuu?!”

“For now, we just need to keep moving. This thing is collecting data as we go.”

“Kyuu! Got it!”

With renewed determination, Siegfried pressed on, letting Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance gather information about this bizarre and mysterious place, the Suzdal Empire Ruins.

***

Siegfried continued his exploration of the Suzdal Empire Ruins. He diligently collected data and fed them all to Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

The task was excruciatingly dull and boring, as all he did was walk, walk, and walk some more. There was nothing exciting about trudging through these seemingly endless ruins.

[Alert: Collecting map data for Suzdal Empire Ruins…]

Still, Siegfried trusted that the Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance and marched on.

Ten long hours later…

[Suzdal Empire Ruins: 39,487]

Siegfried decided to take a break, as walking continuously for so long had turned the task into something akin to a grueling march. He sat against a stone pillar and shared a snack with Hamchi.

“Kyuuu! How long are we gonna keep walking like this, owner punk?!”

“I have no idea. But this is our only option right now,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“Kyuuu! I hate to admit it, but you’re right!”

“We need to gather information if we want any chance of figuring out how to escape from this place.”

“Kyuuu! Sounds good!”

Just as Siegfried was about to resume his grueling task, a sudden voice broke the silence.

“Look! There’s someone over there!”

“Captain! It’s a person!”

A group of NPCs appeared in the distance and approached Siegfried.

“Hmm?”

Siegfried looked toward the direction of the group of NPCs, but then, his eyes shot wide open from surprise after recognizing one of them.

“A-Amundsen…?”

Among the NPCs was none other than Famed Explorer Amundsen.

Siegfried first met Amundsen during his initial exploration of the Southern Great Jungle, and they forged a bond that led to them supporting each other in their endeavors.

Siegfried approached and asked, “What are you doing here, Amundsen?”

“Hmm? Do I know you?” Amundsen tilted his head, looking confused.

“What?”

“I’m not that famous, so I’m surprised you know my name! Hahaha!”

“...Wait, you seriously don’t remember me? I’m Siegfried van Proa! Don’t you remember me?”

“Siegfried van Proa, you say…? Hmm… With a van in the middle, you must be royalty. And Proa… isn’t that the surname of the rulers of the former Proatine Province?”

“Yes, exactly!”

“But Proatine fell ages ago? How could someone still carry that name? Who are you, really?”

“W-What…?” Siegfried stammered, stunned by Amundsen’s response. Then, he pointed at himself and asked, “You don’t recognize me? It’s me! Siegfried van Proa!”

“Listen, young man. I have no idea who you are,” Amundsen replied while laughing in disbelief.

“But we met in the Southern Great Jungle!”

“The Southern Great Jungle?” Amundsen furrowed his brow. Then, he said, “But I’ve never been there? I might go in ten years, but definitely not now.”

“What…?”

“Besides, if you’ve ever been there, does that mean you survived that jungle? That’s preposterous! How could anyone make it out alive from those savage tribes, venomous creatures, and bizarre beasts?!”

Amundsen’s disbelief left Siegfried completely confused.

‘Eh? Is he suffering from memory loss…?’

Funnily enough, Amundsen also believed that Siegfried had a few screws loose.

“Hey, young man. How long have you been here?” Amundsen asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Me? Above eleven hours, give or take?” Siegfried replied.

“Hmm… That’s far too soon for madness to set in…”

“Madness?! What are you talking about?!”

“Well, maybe you weren’t in your right mind to begin with? After all, no sane person will ever willingly enter this place,” Amundsen muttered, stroking his chin. Then, he clicked his tongue in mock pity and said, “Tsk… Poor kid…”

“Huh…?”

“But don’t you worry! You’re in good hands now that you’ve met me! I’ll get you out of here.”

“Wait, really? You know a way out of here?”

Siegfried’s ears perked up at Amundsen’s confidence in getting out of the Suzdal Empire Ruins.

“Of course!” Amundsen replied with confidence. Then, he smirked and said, “Do you think I’m mad like you to come here without a plan? I wouldn't have entered if I weren't confident about escaping."

“But how?” Siegfried asked.

Amundsen grinned and raised his staff. “With this, of course! There’s no risk of getting lost as long as I have this with me!”

“What the—?!” Siegfried gasped in shock.

The staff Amundsen was holding was none other than Inzaghi’s Wooden Staff, one of the artifacts from the Inzaghi’s Set.

***

Siegfried froze, and his mind spun violently.

‘T-This doesn’t make any sense…!’

The Inzaghi’s Wooden Staff was an item that Siegfried had obtained long ago from the Daedalus Underground Labyrinth. He had obtained it after defeating Chae Hyung-Seok.

He had already fused it with Inzaghi’s Compass and Inzaghi’s Map to create Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance. In other words, the Inzaghi’s Wooden Staff no longer existed, as it became an integral component of the Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance.

It was possible for items to have duplicate copies, but for Amundsen to have it and not recognize Siegfried?

Something was definitely wrong here.

‘Hold on…’ Siegfried was suddenly struck by an epiphany.

He flashed his Rune of Insight at Amundsen.

[Amundsen]

[A renowned adventurer from the Nurburg Continent.]

[Type: NPC]

[Level: 50]

[Class: Frontier Explorer]

[Affiliation: Amundsen Expedition Group]

[Position: Head Explorer]

‘Eh? What the heck? Level 50? He doesn’t recognize me, his level is way lower, and he has the Inzaghi’s Wooden Staff. Could it be that…?’

Siegfried clearly remembered that Amundsen was Level 100 when they first met, so he found this to be quite strange.

He hesitated for a bit, but he decided to ask carefully, “Hey, Amundsen. What year is it right now?”

“What year? What kind of question is that?” Amundsen replied, looking baffled.

“Please, just think of it as you’re humoring a mad young man,” Siegfried replied.

Amundsen told him the current year without any hesitation.

“I see…” Siegfried muttered, and his face twisted in realization.

The date that Amundsen had told was nine years ago.

With that, everything fell into place; it all made sense now.

‘That explains it. He doesn’t recognize me because… he hasn’t met me yet…’

Siegfried had been wandering in a section of the Suzdal Empire Ruins that existed in the past. To be precise, he was in a place that existed nine years ago.