Debuff Master

Chapter 613

“Tsk...” Siegfried clicked his tongue and pouted.

The Ruin of Martial God: Valhalla had disappeared right in front of his eyes. He was planning on bringing all of his comrades, their cousins, and even their distant relatives to the dungeon to give them a chance at obtaining a Legendary class.

Unfortunately, the dungeon had disappeared, ruining his plan.

However, there was nothing he could do to stop the dungeon from disappearing, so he had no other choice but to be satisfied with the Legends receiving their Legendary Classes.

Class Dungeons were rumored to appear and disappear without any notice, and it seemed that the Ruin of Martial God: Valhalla wasn't an exception.

“I guess there’s nothing I can do,” Siegfried grumbled. Then, he turned to the Legends and said, “Thank you for your hard work. You leveled up a lot and even received Legendary Classes, so you may rest now—”

He had to stop mid-sentence because...

Swoosh...

The Legends were slowly fading away.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

In other words, they had exhausted all of their stamina, causing them to fall fast asleep in their VR capsules.

“Hey, Seung-Gu.”

“Yes, hyung-nim?”

“Great job today.”

“You did all the work, hyung-nim.”

“Let’s go and get some sleep too.”

“Yes, hyung-nim. I hope you sleep well,” Seung-Gu said with a bow before logging out.

“Great job too, Hamchi,” Siegfried said.

“Kyuuu! You too, owner punk! Go and get some rest!” Hamchi exclaimed in response.

“See you later.”

“Kyuu!”

Siegfried logged out after saying goodbye to Hamchi.

***

Tae-Sung woke up the next afternoon.

“Whoa... I knocked out,” he grumbled after checking the time. It seemed that he was truly exhausted upon accommodating the Legends yesterday, judging by how he had slept for eight hours without waking up at least once in the middle of it.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

His phone vibrated.

“Hello?”

– Hello, Mr. Han Tae-Sung! This is Choi Bong-Geun from the marketing team of...

“Yes, hello. Good morning to you.”

– Huh? But the time is...

“Oh, right. It’s already the afternoon.”

– ...

“How may I help you?”

– Ah! We have decided to increase our offer.

“How much?”

– Based on our internal discussions, we can offer you ten billion won...

“When should we meet? I am free today.”

– ...

“I am going to meet another company later, so I can come over right away after that meeting is done. Would you like to sign the contract today, too?”

– Y-Yes, that would be great.

“Then I will see you later. Ah, I will send you the time and location later, too.”

– I understand. I will wait for your message then.

“Sure.”

And just like that, Tae-Sung managed to close another commercial deal worth ten billion won...

“Ah, I forgot to ask him that...” he grumbled after suddenly remembering something. Then, he clicked his tongue and said, “Tsk... How the hell did they get my number in the first place?”

He could not help but wonder how the companies knew his personal phone number.

Yes, celebrities had very little privacy in this day and age, but it had not been that long since he changed his number, so it was unlikely that his number had already been leaked.

“Oh well, I guess I’ll just ask once we meet,” Tae-Sung muttered and shrugged.

***

That evening, Tae-Sung went with his lawyer to meet with Dongnae F&B and White Liquor to discuss the contract for the commercial of their products. They agreed on a term of two years for twelve billion won and ten billion won, respectively. The contract would last its full length unless the marketing tarnished his reputation.

He included the clause regarding his reputation just in case they wanted him to wear a tuna costume and dance to some tacky song.

‘Being a clown in the game is more than enough,’ Tae-Sung grumbled inwardly. He was prone to being subjected to humiliation plays in the game, so he desperately wanted to keep his handsome guy reputation in real life, at the very least.

After he signed the contract, he asked the managers of Dongnae F&B and White Liquor about how they managed to get his personal phone number.

“Young Master Cheon Woo-Jin gave it to us.”

“Our chairman has received a call from the young master, asking him to hire you as our model from now on.”

It turned out that the culprit behind this incident was none other than Cheon Woo-Jin!

‘Just who the hell is he...? Now that I think about it, I don’t really know anything about him...’

He suddenly became curious about Cheon Woo-Jin’s real identity.

‘He’s not a chairman of any conglomerate, but neither is he a con artist... yet he has a lot of money? I really have no clue what he is...’

Tae-Sung had known him for a year and a half now, but he had just realized that he knew basically nothing about Cheon Woo-Jin.

‘I have to find out who he is,’ Tae-Sung thought and called Cheon Woo-Jin.

Unfortunately, Cheon Woo-Jin couldn't be reached.

– The customer you have dialed is currently not available. Please leave a message after the beep.

It seemed that Cheon Woo-Jin was currently playing the game.

‘Oh well, I can just ask him later,’ Tae-Sung thought with a shrug. He decided to go home after finalizing the contract and log back into the game.

***

Siegfried returned to the Proatine Kingdom as soon as he logged in.

“Oh, right!”

He rushed to his office after remembering that he had some paperwork due today.

“I have to finish them today or else Michele will—Aaack!”

He jumped in fright the moment he opened his office door, and it was all because Cheon Woo-Jin was sitting at his table, sipping on a cup of tea.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing here?!” Siegfried exclaimed.

“Me? Why else would I be here? I came to see you,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied nonchalantly.

“You should have told me that you’re coming! You almost scared the crap out of me!”

“Are you guilty of something? Why are you so surprised?”

“Won’t you be surprised if you were me?”

“Not really?”

“Really? Make sure you remember what you said today,” Siegfried growled, gnashing his teeth. Then, he asked, “But what brings you here? Well, perfect timing since there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it you wanted to ask?”

“Who the hell are you?”

“What the heck? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“It’s strange no matter how much I think about it. Are you some big shot’s kid? Fifth-generation chaebol? How can you have so much money at your age?”

“Is that what you were curious about? Keke!” Cheon Woo-Jin asked, snickering. Then, he said, “What took you so long? We’ve known each other almost for two years now, you know?”

“Huh?”

“You’re making it sound like I've been purposely hiding my wealth from you.”

“Y-You weren’t?”

“Why should I? I mean, everyone knows who I am. It’s just that they’re keeping a lid on it.”

“Really...?”

“Anyway, my identity isn’t what’s important right now, so let’s talk about that later.”

“Then what’s important?”

“We found the location of the soul fragment.”

“...!”

“I think it was yesterday? We detected the soul fragment’s energy here for a brief moment but we were able to catch its location before it disappeared.”

“Oh! Really? Where?”

“Here,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied, pointing at the floor.

“Huh? Where?”

“I said, here.”

“Here where?”

“Here.”

“Here?”

“Are you stupid or dense?! I said here! HERE!” Cheon Woo-Jin lashed out in frustration.

“That was uncalled for! Where is here?!”

“I said here! Your house!”

“Eh? The Proatine Kingdom?”

“YES.”

“R-Really?”

“I already said it so many times! Aaarghhh!”

Bam! Bam!

Cheon Woo-Jin beat his chest twice out of frustration.

“How can you be so dense? Hey, you’re so cunning and clever, yet you can’t understand what I’m saying? People are going to talk behind your back if you keep that up, man.”

“What did you say?! Are you picking a fight with me right–”

“You’re really a strange one. Your brain calculates faster than anyone when it comes to money or backstabbing people, but you’re so dense with everything else. How would you start dating in real life if you keep—”

“DIE!” Siegfried roared and lunged at Cheon Woo-Jin.

Crash! Kablam! Bam!

Siegfried’s office was turned upside down from the brawl.

“How dare you!”

“Ack! H-Hey! Don’t pinch me there—Aaack!”

“Let go of my hair!”

“Aaaack!”

“Oh? You don’t wanna let go? You coward–!”

“Why, you little!”

Siegfried and Cheon Woo-Jin scratched, clawed, pulled each other’s hair, wrestled, and did a variety of other childish things.

It was then.

The servant outside the door announced, “Your Majesty! The Minister of State, Sir Michele, is requesting an audience!”

“Heok?!” Siegfried gasped in horror. Then, he stuttered as his face turned ghastly pale, “B-But I haven’t finished my work yet...!”

Thud!

The door opened, and the most cold-blooded person in the entire Proatine Kingdom entered the office.

“I, the Minister of State, Michele, greets my liege,” Michele greeted as he knelt.

“H-Hi, Michele,” Siegfried replied awkwardly.

“But Your Majesty...” Michele muttered and looked around. Then, he narrowed his eyes and asked, “What... are you doing right now?”

“That is...” Siegfried stuttered, profusely sweating.

“Sigh...” Michele let out a sigh. Then, he closed his eyes and said, “Your Majesty, please remember to maintain your prestige as our kingdom’s ruler at all times.”

“...”

“What is this? How can a ruler spend his time fighting like a kid with his friend?”

“S-Sorry...”

“Anyway, let us put that aside, as I have something urgent to report to Your Majesty.”

“Urgent?”

“Our envoy we sent to the Espadrille Province returned in bruises.”

“From the Espadrille Province?! Wait... Where’s that?”

Kwachik!

A cross-shaped vein bulged on Michele’s forehead. His reaction was very normal, as Siegfried was supposed to at least know the names of the provinces under his rule. Yes, Siegfried had a penchant for fulfilling his wanderlust, but a ruler ought to know whether they were currently in their own land or not, right?

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes?”

“Have you still not read the reports that I have submitted to you?”

“O-Of course, I read... them...?”

“Then, did you go through the paperwork that needs your approval and signature?”

“I must’ve read them, right? Wait, did I...? Haha... Hahaha...” Siegfried replied with a bright smile that made him look like a saint.

“I will go use the washroom real quick,” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered under his breath and hurriedly left the office.

“Eh? I think I also have to use the—” Siegfried tried going after Cheon Woo-Jin, but...

Creak...! Thud!

Click...!

Michele blocked his path, closed the door, and locked it.

“Where do you think you are going, Your Majesty?”

“H-Hiiik!” Siegfried shrieked, and his face turned ghastly pale as if he had seen a ghost.

To be exact, he did see a ghost.

Shiver!

A chill traveled down his spine upon seeing Michele’s face. His Minister of State, the young Michele, looked far scarier than anything else he had ever seen in his entire life.

***

One hour later...

“I have requested your approval many days ago, but why are you not doing it? Are you really that busy? Are you trying to tell me you are busier than I am? Yes, I admit Your Majesty has been busy in recent days, but does that mean that it is alright for you to neglect your duties to your own kingdom?

“Also, please pay attention when reading these documents and do not just gloss over them! And do not even try to deny it, as I am aware of everything! I submitted an absurd document once, and you just signed and stamped your seal on it despite how absurd it was! Did you really think I was not aware of what you were doing?

“If Your Majesty keeps this up, then I will have no other choice but to—”

“E-Enough... Enough...” Siegfried muttered like a soulless person. His eyes were hollow, his mouth was agape with saliva drooling out of it, his cheeks were sunk in, and blood was flowing out from his ears.

Plop...!

Regardless, Michele continued his lecture for another hour, which brought Siegfried right to the doorsteps of Death.

“Anyway, I hope Your Majesty has deeply reflected and finally understands the gravity of your job,” Michele said.

“I-I did. I really did, so let’s do our best together from now on...” Siegfried muttered in response, still sounding lifeless. Being on the receiving end of a lecture for two hours had exhausted him both physically and mentally.

“Ahem... With that, let us go back to the Espadrille Province. The province in question is the name of the region where the upper stream of Piaro River and the Cronasia Plains is located, which His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Stuttgart, has gifted to Your Majesty.”

“Oh? I-I see... But why? Why did they beat our envoy?”

“It seems the feudal lords and nobles are revolting against Your Majesty.”

“Revolting?”

Michele’s face darkened as he said, “They're going against your crown’s authority.”

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