Debuff Master

Chapter 608

“What’s that?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion after seeing the Hero Terracottas' defeat against the legends. He decided these monsters were just pushovers, so he swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp at the nearest Hero Terracotta.

Bam! Bam!

The +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp struck the Hero Terracotta’s head twice.

[Hero Terracotta]

[HP: ??????????]

However, the Hero Terracotta didn't fall down. In fact, it withstood the attack pretty well—no, it even had the luxury to counterattack by thrusting its spear even after getting hit twice by the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

‘It’s strong!’ Siegfried could tell that the monster wasn't a weakling at all.

“Hiyaaaah!”

Kim Han-Yong, the legend of the racing game Formula Rider, appeared while riding a pony. He swung his polearm at the Hero Terracotta that attacked Siegfried earlier.

Shwik!

The Hero Terracotta was decapitated by Kim Han-Yong’s polearm.

Thud...!

The monster’s head rolled on the ground, and its body fell backward.

“Huh?” Siegfried muttered in disbelief. How could Kim Han-Yong’s Normal polearm kill the Hero Terracotta in a single attack when the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp failed to kill it with two blows? On top of that, there was a clear gap between Siegfried and Kim Han-Yong in terms of levels, too.

This was something that made no sense.

‘Is this dungeon for low-level Adventurers?’ Siegfried suspected. However, it did not seem to be the case, as even though the Legends were defeating the Hero Terracottas, they were not massacring them left and right with ease.

In fact, they were fighting the Hero Terracottas with all of their strength.

The same was true for Seung-Gu.

“Time to bring out the big guns! Use the heavy artillery!”

“Alright!”

Seung-Gu and Reventon used their heavy artillery and unleashed a barrage at the Hero Terracottas.

‘Huh?’

Siegfried finally understood the characteristics of this dungeon after seeing the result of Seung-Gu’s attack. He was certain that the Ruin of Martial God: Valhalla was designed to make everyone struggle according to their own strength.

It did not matter whether one had a high or a low level, as the monsters would scale according to the Adventurers that they were fighting. Meaning, there was no difference whether the Hero Terracottas were fighting against Siegfried or the Legends.

‘This is for the better, I guess. At least they can fight themselves rather than just getting boosted,’ Siegfried thought before clenching his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp and rushing at the monsters.

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

The Hero Terracottas gave a lot of experience points and...

Thud...! Thud...! Thud...!

They dropped unidentified marbles in a variety of sizes and colors.

‘What are these?’ Siegfried wondered, but he decided to focus on the battle for now.

The battle lasted for fifteen minutes.

“Tsk... They’re quite the tough opponents,” Siegfried grumbled and clicked his tongue after finishing off the last remaining Hero Terracotta. The monsters were so strong and tough that he struggled a lot just to defeat them.

“There's something wrong with the dungeon’s difficulty level, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu remarked as he walked up to Siegfried.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Siegfried replied.

“It will only get tougher from here onward.”

“Hmm... Just what in the world is this dungeon?”

“I guess we will only find out once we go deeper, hyung-nim.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

While Siegfried was chatting with Seung-Gu about the dungeon, the Legends were on the ground trying to catch their breath.

“Huff... Huff...”

“I’m so dizzy my eyes are blacking out.”

“Ugh...”

“My joints are aching...”

Siegfried and Seung-Gu looked at them with a certain emotion in their eyes. Of course, they were absolutely speechless as well.

“...”

“...”

Their reaction was understandable, as the Legends weren't injured or anything. In fact, all of their HP bars were still above fifty percent; their Mana and Stamina were low, of course, but that was about it.

This was proof of their skills as gamers. They were old, but the Legends were capable of fighting toe-to-toe against the Hero Terracottas without taking many hits in the process.

So why were they on the ground huffing and puffing?

The reason was none other than their old age.

“I guess we’ve gotten old already.”

“I’m tired. This is exhausting.”

“I think my blood sugar level dropped. Can I log out and get some sweets?”

“My body isn’t like what it used to be...”

The Legends were not tired because their characters were tired. They were personally tired from playing the game.

Sad to say, they no longer had the same physical and mental capabilities they once enjoyed in their heyday.

Siegfried shook his head and thought, ‘Tsk... Why won’t they just enjoy their retirement? I mean, they’ve already made a lot of money, haven't they?’

Just then, the marbles that the Hero Terracottas had dropped upon death caught Siegfried's eyes. The marbles were flashing on the ground as if they were asking Siegfried to take a closer look at them.

[Marble of Strength]

[A marble containing the essence of Strength.]

[Type: Energy Core]

[Rating: Unique]

[Effect: +3 Strength]

[Marble of Accuracy]

[A marble containing the essence of Accuracy.]

[Type: Energy Core]

[Rating: Unique]

[Effect: +2.5% Accuracy]

[Marble of Speed]

[A marble containing the essence of Speed.]

[Type: Energy Core]

[Rating: Unique]

[Effects: +1% Movement Speed, +1% Casting Speed, +1% Attack Speed]

[Marble of Wisdom]

[A marble containing the essence of Wisdom.]

[Type: Energy Core]

[Rating: Unique]

[Effect: +3 Intelligence]

[Marble of Proficiency]

[A marble containing the essence of Experience.]

[Type: Energy Core]

[Rating: Unique]

[Effect: +1 Skill Level]

The marbles turned out to be energy cores that would permanently increase the stats of the user.

“Oh?” Siegfried's face brightened up

The easiest way to increase one’s stats was to equip items or invest the given stat points upon every level up, but it turned out that it was possible to increase one's stats permanently by consuming energy cores.

Consuming these energy cores would eventually have the same effects as leveling up if enough of them were consumed. On top of that, the Marble of Proficiency was even better than any of the other marbles.

It was common knowledge that increasing a skill’s level was exponentially harder at a higher skill level. It would take immense time and effort just to increase a skill's level by a single level once that skill's level was high enough. Thus, this made the Marble of Proficiency very attractive due to its effect of bestowing upon a single skill level.

“Hyung-nim! We hit the jackpot!” Seung-Gu exclaimed.

“Y-Yeah, I think so too. These things are no joke, and they give so much XP, too,” Siegfried replied, sounding slightly flustered.

“Yes, these are amazing, hyung-nim.”

“Good!” Siegfried exclaimed. Then, his nostrils twitched as he said, “This is a good dungeon! I can smell it! Sniff! Sniff!”

“What can you smell, hyung-nim?”

“Something as sweet as honey.”

“Haha...”

“Let’s keep going.”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

Siegfried summoned the apparition of the Three-Legged Crow to sweep up the loot and place them in his inventory before continuing into the dungeon.

“Sunbae-nims! Let’s keep moving!” Siegfried said, but...

“Ugh...”

“M-My joints...”

“I can’t feel my legs!”

“B-Blood sugar... I need to eat something sweet. I’ll be right back.”

The Legends were out of commission after just a single battle.

In the end, Siegfried had no other choice but to rest to accommodate the Legends, who were actually nothing more than a bunch of old men.

“...Let’s rest for ten minutes then.”

***

Ten minutes later, the Legends still looked tired, and they didn't budge, even after resting for ten minutes. In the end, Siegfried had no other choice but to tell Seung-Gu to summon his Iron Golems.

Seung-Gu’s Iron Golems picked up the Legends and gave them a free ride on their shoulders.

Unfortunately, their problems didn't end there.

“Hmm... This is very uncomfortable.”

“It’s too hard! Is it because it’s a golem?”

“It would’ve been nice if they at least prepared a chair.”

“My crotch hurts...”

The Legends complained and grumbled about the ride comfort of the Iron Golems.

Kwachiik!

Siegfried and Seung-Gu tried their best to suppress their annoyance and accommodate the Legends, but this wasn't the end of it yet.

“Please wear your helmet properly! Please do not drag your weapon on the ground! Your armor will not protect you if you do not wear it properly!”

Siegfried had to stress over the gear of the old men, too. They did not wear their helmets properly, wore their armor loosely, and even untied their bootlaces. Of course, they also did other things just to become comfortable.

This was an unacceptable lack of discipline, as no one knew when and where the monsters would hit them.

“It’s too heavy. Ah... I’m not sure how I could carry such heavy stuff back then.”

“What can I do? It feels suffocating to wear them! I gained a lot of weight, so my armor is too tight!”

“It’s fine! Don’t stress about it! Haha!”

“Is there a shop nearby? I need to replenish my sugar level even if it’s in the game...”

The Legends ignored Siegfried’s repeated pleas to fix their gear and continued on as they pleased.

“Argh! Arghhhh!” Siegfried groaned and grabbed the back of his neck.

“H-Hyung-nim!”

“I’m getting... cancer...! I need anti-cancer pills!”

It was then.

“Kyu?” Hamchi peeked out from his pocket after reacting to the word anti-cancer pills. Then, he jumped down and grew larger in size before shoving small round candies into Siegfried’s mouth.

“Get a grip, owner punk!”

“C-Cancer... I’m getting cancer...!”

“Kyu!”

Swoosh!

An arrow flew and struck Seung-Gu’s butt while the three were busy with their comedy.

“Huh?” Seung-Gu muttered and looked at the arrow. Then, he collapsed to the ground.

Thud!

The sound of a projectile cutting through the air echoed right as soon as Seung-Gu collapsed to the ground.

Shwiiiik!

The arrow seemed to have been shot from miles away at great speeds because the arrow arrived and struck Seung-Gu before the sound could even reach their ears.

‘A sniper!’ Siegfried instantly knew the moment he saw Seung-Gu on the ground.

“Get down! Get down!” Siegfried exclaimed.

Shwaaaaa!

A rain of arrows rained down upon the party right after Siegfried's warning.

***

Siegfried’s party hurriedly took cover as arrows rained down on them.

Shwik! Shwik! Shwiiiik!

The arrows were raining down on them so fast that they were more like bullets rather than arrows. This was no surprise, as there were traces of mana being infused into the arrows.

“Argh!”

Siegfried hid behind an Iron Golem but the golem ended up getting destroyed by the rain of arrows.

Shwiiik!

An arrow flew straight toward Siegfried’s head, but it was deflected by the Iron Golem's debris.

“Hiiik!” Siegfried shrieked in horror after realizing that he had almost died just now.

“Kyuuu! Are you alright, owner punk?!”

“Yeah.”

“The arrows are too fast, and I can’t see them! Kyuuu!”

“You’re right,” Siegfried nodded in agreement. Then, he gritted his teeth and thought, ‘We’re in a tricky situation. I can’t see properly because this place is too dark. Also, one mistake means becoming a pincushion.

'Should I use Flying Sword and shoot back at them? No, they’re too far for me to do that. I should just transform my weapon into a shield and move slowly toward them.'

While Siegfried was in a dilemma on what to do, the Legends called out to the Battle Homeground legend, Han Sang-Gi.

“Hey, Sang-Gi! Do something!”

“Yeah! They’re shooting at us!”

“This is your specialty, right?!”

“Should I?” Han Sang-Gi smirked and replied. Then, he raised his +3 Rusty Mosin-Nagant and grumbled, “Tsk... I can’t aim properly with this.”

The other Legends instantly threw shades at him upon hearing the latter's words.

“Are you blaming your equipment right now?”

“I think he’s preparing his excuses in case he fails.”

“Maybe he’s not confident?”

Kwachik!

Their comments struck a nerve in Han Sang-Gi, causing a cross-shaped vein to bulge on his forehead.

“What did you say?! Who the hell do you think I am?! Just watch and learn! I’ll show you what I’m made of!” Han Sang-Gi lashed out at them before quickly calming down. He calmed his breathing and closed his eyes as if he was meditating. Then, he dashed out from behind his cover and pulled the trigger of his +3 Rusty Mosin-Nagant.

Bang!

Exactly one and a half seconds later...

Ding!

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

“I-Impossible! How the hell does that even make sense?!” Siegfried screamed in sheer shock upon realizing what had happened right in front of his eyes.

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