Debuff Master

Chapter 142

“I can’t sleep at night because all I can think about is you!” Ingrid screamed passionately at the top of her lungs.

Everyone’s eyes on the battlefield darted toward Siegfried. It was unknown whether she had inherited Lionbreath’s loud voice, but her voice was so loud that everyone on the battlefield had heard what she had said.

‘W-What did you do to make her say something like that so loudly?!’

‘Wow... I wonder how good he is to make a beauty like that sleepless at night...’

‘His Majesty seems to be young and full of vigor! Hoho!’

‘Wow! He is a man indeed! A true man!’

The soldiers wore sleazy smiles as they looked up to their strong king.

A vein protruded on Siegfried’s forehead as a result of the misunderstanding. Now, it wasn’t just the Nordic Tribesmen; his entire kingdom would also misunderstand him now.

Even worse, the elves of the forest and the elves of the elven kingdom would definitely start having the same thoughts as well.

‘Hamchi... I’m going to kill that perverted rat!’ Siegfried instantly turned and glared at the hamster because his public image had just plummeted to the ground. However, the quick-witted hamster had already run away and was nowhere to be seen.

Unfortunately for Siegfried, someone important heard Ingrid’s scandalous confession.

“To think that his Majesty had this side of him...! I must record this for the history books!” The scribe and historian of the Proatine Kingdom, Gringore de drawer, started frivolously writing down on a piece of parchment with sparkling eyes.

***

A scribe was someone that recorded the history of their nation, and the most important task of a scribe was to observe the king at all times and leave behind records of them.

However, Gringore had become something akin to a salary thief because Siegfried was always away from Proatine. There was nothing for him to record because the king—Siegfried—was always full of wanderlust and away from his throne.

Thanks to that, Gringore had become a strange civil servant that had been spending more time with his hobbies rather than working on what was supposed to be his full-time job.

One day, the Minister of State, Michele, called Gringore to his office. Michele had realized that the salary being used on Gringore wasn’t really being put to use.

“Scribe Gringore.”

“Yes, Sir Michele?”

“I heard you are quite free these days, so why don’t you take a side job?”

“Pardon me? A side job...?”

“I heard that you are quite an artist, and you have reached a certain level above most artists.”

“That is only because I used to study at the Empire’s Academy of Arts...”

“I heard that you are good at writing poems, singing, playing stringed instruments, dancing, and even acting?”

“You flatter me too much... Anyway, what ‘side job’ do you want me to do?”

“Why don’t you perform this and that at the Royal Theatre if you’re going to be playing all day? You can write poems on the side and recite them from time to time too.”

“What...?”

“I mean, you’re probably bored as well, and your performances at the theater are going to help our coffers as well.”

“A-Are you telling me to earn my keep...?”

“Precisely.”

“...”

“Perhaps it’s because of your academic qualifications, but your salary is quite high for someone not doing anything.”

“...”

“We are conducting a lot of projects in the kingdom, so our budget is quite tight these days. This is the only way I can think of that will not deduct your salary.”

Michele was telling the truth.

The three-year plan he had developed put a heavy strain on the financial situation of the kingdom. In fact, the kingdom’s financial situation was so bad that Michele personally volunteered to have his salary slashed to set an example for the people.

“P-Please! Anything but that, Sir Michele! I have my mortgage to pay off, and I still have thirty-four months remaining on the airship I purchased!”

“Then, I guess you won’t have any qualms about earning your keep?”

“...”

“I will inform the Royal Theatre to make preparations for your shows, Scribe Gringore.”

And that was how Gringore ended up becoming the lead actor, singer, speaker, musician, and dancer of the Royal Theater. Even more shocking was that his performances were always blockbusters, selling tens of thousands of tickets.

This was all thanks to Siegfried’s wanderlust.

However, today was different.

King Siegfried was currently in Proatine, and he was valiantly fighting against the monsters that had crawled out from the Dimensional Rift. In short, Gringore was finally able to work on his main job instead of his side job for today.

Scribble! Scribble!

Gringore moved his pen as fast as he could, jotting down every detail he could see after finally being able to work as a scribe.

His Majesty has personally led the charge against the evil creatures. He used his mighty and mystical skills to protect the breached gate and protect his people, but the evil creatures numbered more than one hundred thousand.

The outlook was bleak.

Ah! Is this the end?

The cries of the soldiers reached the heavens, and their cries were heard as help came from above!

A fleet of airships appeared out of nowhere and rained down fire at the evil creatures, but that was not the end of it...

The Elven Archers came out of their forests to shoot volleys of arrows at the enemy.

The valiant Nordic Warriors clashed against the evil creatures.

The otherworldly Adventurers joined the battle in the Quest to protect Proatine from evil.

The knights of the legendary elven kingdom rode on their Pegasus and bravely defended Proatine.

It is impossible to lose this battle!

Ah!

This miracle was made possible by the blessings of His Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa!

Let the people sing praises of His Majesty’s benevolence that is as vast as the oceans!

This part was great, but the problem started afterward.

The battle was about to reach its climax...

The Nordic Princess valiantly fought at the frontlines while letting out cries of how she missed His Majesty, and her cries touched the hearts of the soldiers on the battlefield.

She cried out that she could never forget the night she spent with His Majesty and how she longs to be in his arms every night.

Ah!

How beautiful is this burning love?

How fascinating is her blazing desire?

How sweet was His Majesty’s embrace?

How powerful was His Majesty’s love?

How thirsty had she been for His Majesty’s love that she—a princess—had put down her pride and declared her longing for him in front of the multitude?

This moment shall be engraved in history and stand as a testament to His Majesty’s charm, passion, and vigor!

Let all who see His Majesty’s face today stand in awe!

- Records of the Proatine Kingdom Book 1 Chapter 2

Siegfried van Proa the 1st – King’s Love

These words would be written down in the records of the Proatine Kingdom, so a few parts were purposely exaggerated, but it managed to preserve the overall idea of what had occurred.

“Don’t go writing shit on your own! Who gave you the right to write and cement this down?!” Siegfried screamed with obvious rage in his voice after reading what Gringore had written down.

The records written by a scribe were something that even a king could not touch, and the word cement used by Siegfried was pretty accurate.

“Erase it.”

“I cannot do that, Your Majesty!”

“This is a royal command. Erase it.”

“It is impossible, Your Majesty!”

“I said, erase it!”

“Please behead your humble servant instead!” Gringore vehemently refused.

Even a king couldn’t go against the principles of a scribe wielding their pen.

‘Who the hell is this guy, anyway?’ Siegfried grumbled in disbelief as he checked the details of the scribe who dared to write down the details of the shameful misunderstanding for the world to see.

[Gringore de Nobledrawer]

[The scribe of the Proatine Kingdom.]

[Graduated top of his batch at the Empire’s Academy of Arts.]

[He is highly skilled in singing, acting, dancing, and writing poems. He was born with beautiful features that would have launched him as one of the top celebrities in the empire, but he gave up his future to fulfill his childhood dreams of becoming a scribe.]

[Type: NPC]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 10]

[Position: Scribe]

[Rank: Viscount]

[Class: Great Artist]

[Titles: Masked King, Thousand Faces, Phantom Dance, Talented Actor, Salary Thief, Pro-Forex Earner, Typography Addict, Record Nerd.]

Gringore was only Level 10, but he didn’t seem to be a good-for-nothing extra NPC walking down the street.

‘Who cares?!’

Siegfried fumed. He didn’t care whether Gringore was a hidden talent or not.

“Hey, you should only record facts, right? Why the hell would you record something like that?” he asked.

“A scribe’s duty is to record every single thing his lord does. If Your Majesty would allow it, then I would love to record every single mole on your body as well.”

“Ugh...” Siegfried rubbed his nape in frustration at Gringore’s brazenness.

‘Ah, is this the end of my public image...?’

Siegfried lamented, worried about what people would think of him from now on.

Still, he couldn’t execute the scribe because the scribe was just doing his job. Siegfried was left with no choice but to accept the fact that the shameful misunderstanding was going to be made available for everyone to see.

Today’s record was going to be an excellent topic for discussion among historians hundreds of years later. A historian in the future was going to pen a biography of Siegfried titled ‘Siegfried van Proa,’ and the book would have these words at the start.

- That was the beginning of everything...

...or something like that.

‘Aigoo... What’s wrong with my fate...?’ Siegfried lamented once again when he thought about how the future generations might mistake him as a degenerate king.

“Your Majesty! Please gather the troops and go up the walls! It is time for us to wipe out the enemy!” Oscar shouted, unaware of Siegfried’s feelings right now.

“All right...” Siegfried muttered in response. He solemnly bit his lower lip and turned toward the Proatine Forces before saying, “I hereby command you as your king.”

His voice became filled with authority and was heard loud and clear after he infused mana into his voice.

“All forces. Attack!”

The Proatine Forces ran out of the fort and charged toward the enemy at Siegfried’s command.

“For Proatine!”

“For His Majesty, Siegfried van Proa!”

“CHAAARGEEE!”

The Proatine Forces screamed at the top of their lungs and let out a warcry as they started wiping out the Mirmic Warriors.

***

The battle of the coalition forces against the one-hundred-thousand-strong Mirmic army lasted for two hours.

‘I will kill them all!’ Siegfried thought. He was furious at what the scribe had done, so he decided to vent his anger on the Mirmics.

[Alert: You have reached Level 176!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 177!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 178!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 179!]

His anger served as excellent fodder for his growth, and he hit Level 179 in no time.

[Alert: You have reached Level 180!]

And he reached Level 180 after killing the last remaining Mirmic Warrior...

“Haa... Haa...”

Vroooooo!

The horn signaling their victory sounded.

“WAAAAH!”

The cries of the coalition forces reverberated loudly through the air.

They had emerged victorious.

***

After the battle ended, Siegfried triumphantly returned to Turtle Fort.

“Hurrah for the Proatine Kingdom!”

“Hurrah!”

“Hurrah for His Majesty!”

“Hurrah!”

“Great work, everyone. Today’s victory is all thanks to you. I am extremely proud of each and every single one of you. Your bonuses and the compensation for those who have fallen in battle will be discussed after everything has concluded.”

”I hope that all of you will work hard to clean up the battlefield.”

Siegfried gave a short speech to the soldiers before he went over to the command center in Turtle Fort to greet and thank the leaders of the reinforcement armies.

Then, a grand victory banquet was held to celebrate their victory.

While the clamor in the banquet was at its peak...

“Please excuse me,” Siegfried said as he went to the bathroom.

‘Now’s my chance!’

Ingrid secretly followed Siegfried.

However, Siegfried disappeared the moment he turned into a corner.

Ingrid could not help but gnash her teeth after losing Siegfried once again.

“Argh! Siegfried! I will eat you one day!”

She steeled her resolve to have Siegfried one day by saying out loud an old one-liner from a snack commercial.

***

“I’m not a cheetos...” Siegfried grumbled.

After shaking off Ingrid, he went out of the fort to the plains where the battle had taken place.

He came here for the mountains of Mirmic Warrior corpses.

Fwaa! Fwaa!

There were one hundred thousand souls hovering above the Mirmic Warriors’ remains.

‘The elves might find it detestable so...’

He came here in secret because of the elves. He didn’t feel so comfortable using a magic sword gifted by a demon lord in front of the elves, who were known to be forest dwellers and nature lovers.

“I feel something evil and sinister in this place... Hmm... Am I being too sensitive...?”

In fact, the captain of the elven squadron from the elven kingdom said that to Siegfried during the banquet, which made him feel like he had to be even more cautious about this.

‘Will it be able to absorb all these souls?’ he wondered if the magic sword was capable of absorbing all these souls as he pointed it to the sky.

[Alert: You have absorbed the soul of a ‘Lesser Mirmic Warrior’!]

[Alert: You have absorbed the soul of an ‘Intermediate Mirmic Warrior’!]

[Alert: You have absorbed the soul of a ‘Greater Mirmic Warrior’!]

Messages appeared like a deluge in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

‘Huh? It’s still absorbing? It’s not going to stop?’ Siegfried was shocked by the magic sword’s insatiable hunger, and it wasn’t showing any signs that it would stop anytime soon.

The magic sword seemed like it was showing off its near-limitless storage capacity and was telling Siegfried to feed it more souls. Soon, the magic sword finally consumed all of the souls.

‘I wonder how powerful it is now...’

Siegfried used his Rune of Insight to check the magic sword’s stats.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: Your character has been exposed to powerful dark mana!]

[Alert: Your control over your character is being encroached on! Your control over your character has weakened!]

A series of sinister messages popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes, and his entire body slowly turned dark blue.

1. A salary thief is someone that is employed by a company but doesn’t have any tasks or work.

2. The snack commercial here is Ch**tos in Korea.