Debuff Master

Chapter 143

The magic sword bared its fangs at Siegfried, infusing its dark mana into him and slowly taking control of his character.

Siegfried was shocked at the sudden change in the magic sword’s demeanor.

‘Hey! That’s not fair! You can’t do this without giving me a heads-up!’

He knew that the Magic Sword of Avengence: Avenger was a dangerous weapon, but he thought that sucking away at his HP and Stamina was the only thing that it could do.

However, the magic sword actually backstabbed him.

[Alert: Dark mana is being injected into your character! (Progress 19%)]

[Alert: Warning! The dark mana is starting to take over your character!]

[Alert: You will soon lose complete control over your character!]

A series of nerve-wracking messages appeared while he was desperately trying to let go of the magic sword. Unfortunately, the magic sword didn’t want to let go of him. The magic sword slowly started taking control over Siegfried’s right arm, and his arm’s color slowly turned dark blue.

Badump! Badump!

His blood vessels grew to the thickness of his index finger as the dark mana slowly crept toward Siegfried’s heart.

[Alert: Dark mana is being injected into your character! (Progress 33%)]

[Alert: Warning! The dark mana is starting to take over your character!]

[Alert: You will soon lose complete control over your character!]

The same warning messages popped up once again.

“Euuuk...!” Siegfried groaned in agony. He tried his best to get rid of the magic sword, but it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to let go of it no matter what.

The magic sword seemed like it had glued itself to his hand.

He tried using his own mana to push the magic sword away, but the dark mana that the magic sword was forcing into his palm was simply too strong. He also tried using his lightning attribute energy to no avail.

‘What should I do? Should I cut my hand off? What can I do to get rid of this damned sword?’

The situation had spiraled out of control. Siegfried started contemplating whether or not he should just cut his entire arm off. While he was struggling against the magic sword, he suddenly came up with an idea.

‘The only thing that I can do is...’

Woooong...!

Siegfried started emitting mana waves from his body and made them converge toward the magic sword. It was the debuff skill that specialized in interfering with the flow of mana, Wave of Oppression.

Siegfried could only place his bet on Wave of Oppression, and it was effective.

[Alert: Dark mana is being injected into your character! (Progress 45.1%)]

[Alert: Dark mana is being injected into your character! (Progress 45.2%)]

[Alert: Dark mana is being injected into your character! (Progress 45.3%)]

The progress rate that was skyrocketing slowed down until it was only increasing in small increments of 0.1%.

However, Siegfried’s mana was already running out.

Why?

Wave of Oppression wasn’t a skill that was meant to be cast consecutively. It was a skill that should only be cast once whenever one wanted to interrupt an enemy’s channeling or skill activation.

In short, Siegfried was basically pouring all of his mana into maintaining Wave of Oppression.

‘I’m about to run out of mana...! If I had known that this was going to happen, I would have at least brought Hamchi with me!’

Siegfried gritted his teeth.

Flash!

All of a sudden, a ray of light pierced through the darkness and illuminated Siegfried.

[Alert: The ‘Light of Salvation’ is pushing the dark mana out of your body!]

The light was called Light of Salvation, and it possessed powerful light attribute energy.

It enveloped Siegfried and pushed out the dark mana from his body. However, the light didn’t stop there as it disintegrated the dark mana and suppressed the magic sword at the same time.

Thud...!

A minute later, Siegfried was finally able to let go of the magic sword, thanks to the Light of Salvation.

“Haa... Haa...” he tried to compose his breathing.

“That was a close call,” a voice spoke from within the darkness.

Siegfried looked toward where the voice had come from and saw a woman walking out from the darkness. She had pointy ears, which was a unique characteristic of elves and a gorgeous figure. She had bright orange hair and sparkling green eyes.

[Brunhilde]

[A princess of Elven Kingdom Elondel. She is also the Captain of the Pegasus Flying Squadron and the owner of the divine mount, Hyperion.]

[She is also the owner of the divine artifact of the Archangel Uriel, Holy Sword Phoenix.]

[Type: NPC]

[Level: 299]

[Race: Elf (369 years old)]

[Class: Angel Knight (Ultimate Sword Expert)]

[Position: Flying Squadron Captain]

[Rank: Brigadier General]

[Titles: Kind Knight, Sad Spinster, Considered Ugly among Elves, One Who Has Struck a Wall.]

Her name was Brunhilde, and she had sensed the evil mana coming from the magic sword earlier.

***

“Thank you very much. It’s all thanks to you that I survived. If it weren’t for you, then I would have...” Siegfried expressed his gratitude with a bow.

“You would have been devoured by the magic sword,” Brunhilde completed his words.

“Yes...”

“Things would have been really bad if I were a bit late. That magic sword is the divine artifact of a demon lord—no, it is a monster that devours the mind and body of any human that dares to touch it...”

”You would have turned into a djinn if you had failed to suppress the dark mana and was completely overwhelmed by it, and a djinn like you would definitely be able to devastate the entire continent.”

She was completely right.

The status ailment that Siegfried was suffering from a while ago could have made him lose full control of his character, and he would have ended up in a state similar to a permanent ban. He wouldn’t have been able to continue playing the game if the magic sword managed to take over his body.

“But why does a hero like you possess a dangerous weapon like that?”

“Ah, that is...” Siegfried explained the story behind how he had obtained the magic sword.

“I see. I guess the Immortal King was able to use that magic sword because he was no longer a living being but an undead monster.”

“I think so, too.”

“Please be careful, and do not try to use that magic sword ever again. You will have to reach the level of a Master if you wish to use that sword.”

“I will remember your advice.”

“Hmm... If you give it to me instead, then...” Brunhilde said as she was about to say ‘I will bring it back to our kingdom and seal it’.

However, Siegfried immediately shook his head and replied, “No, I will keep it.”

“Why?”

“I can’t use it right now, but I am certain that I will need it in the future.”

“But it is a dangerous artifact that could turn you into a djinn.”

“I have enemies that I have to destroy even if it means turning into a djinn.”

“Revenge...”

“Yes, revenge.”

“Still, that is far too dangerous. If you do end up becoming a djinn for the sake of your own vengeance and put the continent in danger, then...”

“You may cut me down by then.”

“...!”

“You do not have to worry about me. I will take care of myself.”

“I hope you will,” Brunhilde replied. She then used her psychokinesis to lift the magic sword and put it in its sheath.

“I hope that you will always be careful,” Brunhilde said once again.

“I will,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

“Then, shall we head back?”

“Sure.”

Siegfried ended up walking back to Turtle Fort together with Brunhilde in the middle of the night.

***

On the way back to the fort...

“Uhmm... Can I ask you something?” Brunhilde asked while seemingly hesitant.

“Hmm? Ah, sure, go ahead.”

“What... do you think of me?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Am I ugly?”

“Ha?”

‘Is this woman fishing for compliments? I’m grateful she saved me, but what’s this all of a sudden...?’

Siegfried couldn’t understand what Brunhilde was trying to do here. Siegfried didn’t really have the best of personalities, so he wasn’t a fan of answering rhetorical questions.

However, he did manage to overcome one of the biggest crises in his gaming career, so he decided to give her the answer she probably wanted to hear.

‘Well, it’s true that she is beautiful anyway,’ he thought as he replied, “No? You are quite beautiful.”

“R-Really?!” Brunhilde exclaimed as her eyes shot wide open. Then, she asked once more, just to make sure. “Am I beautiful? Really?!”

“Well... Yes?” Siegfried was a bit confused at her reaction over something that was obvious, but he decided to continue telling her what she wanted to hear. “I think Brunhilde-nim can pass as a gorgeous woman.”

“L-Liar...!”

“But it’s true...”

“I think you are lying just because I saved you...”

“Have you ever looked in a mirror? Or do elves not have mirrors in their houses? We humans usually have at least one mirror in our houses. Most women have handheld mirrors with them at all times, too...”

At that, Brunhilde gasped “Ah...!”

“Yes, that was it...” she muttered to herself.

“What is it...?”

“You are a human. I apologize for asking a stupid question. I forgot that the beauty standards of humans and elves vary greatly from each other...”

“I have no idea what you are talking about...”

When Brunhilde saw Siegfried’s confused look, she revealed a solemn look as she started explaining, “Actually... Elves with ginger hair like me are considered ugly in our society...”

“What?! What kind of bull—I mean, what kind of nonsense is that? Does that even make sense in the first place? How can someone’s hair color determine whether or not someone is ugly?”

“Most of the elves possess outstanding beauty.”

“So...?”

“Our facial features do not really matter when considering beauty since all of us are naturally born with beautiful facial features, so the elves place great importance on the color of their hair.”

“I see...?” It made sense and didn’t make sense at the same time.

However, the elves were intelligent beings, so they definitely had their own beauty standards, just like humans, and it made perfect sense that they would look for another measurement of beauty since they were all born beautiful.

“Is that why... gingers are called ugly in your society?”

“Yes, for the longest long time... they have been calling me ugly for the past 369 years. I haven’t been able to go on a date even once thanks to my hair color, and I wasn’t able to get married at my prime, so I decided to dedicate myself to the sword my entire life.”

“Geez~ The elves are a bad bunch,” Siegfried said with a smirk.

“Huh...?”

“Does it make sense to treat someone like that just because of their hair color? I think that you’re really beautiful, Brunhilde-nim.”

“R-Really?! Do you really think so?!”

“Yes, really.”

“Ah...!”

“Why? Do you really think that I would lie about something like that?”

“This is the first time someone has ever told me I’m beautiful...”

“I’m just stating fa—” Siegfried didn’t manage to continue his words.

It was all because Brunhilde suddenly jumped and hugged him.

“...!” Siegfried didn’t see the ambush coming and was caught in her embrace.

‘Is this the agility of a Level 299...?!’ he marveled.

He felt it once last time when he was forced by Betelgeuse, but he was once again reminded about the massive chasm between him and those who were truly powerful.

Brunhilde was Level 299, while Siegfried was Level 180.

There was no way he could have avoided Brunhilde’s attack, who was on the brink of becoming a Master.

‘I have to become stronger. I’m too weak right now...!’

Siegfried realized that his stats were the problem. His skills’ effects were considered strong, but the main problem was his low stats due to his low level.

Strength...

Endurance...

Mana...

Reflex...

Items...

Et cetera...

He was once again reminded of a gulf that could not be overcome by mere control or his powerful skills.

‘I have to level up. I guess I got too complacent. I still have a long way to go...’ Siegfried reflected on how shortsighted he had been all this while.

“Sniff... Sniff... Thank you...!” Brunhilde said while crying.

“Huh? Thank you for what...?”

“That was my first time hearing that... everyone had always been calling me ugly behind my back, but... you told me that I’m beautiful...”

“Oh...”

It seemed that the color of her hair had scarred her quite a bit while growing up, and Siegfried couldn’t help but feel empathetic to her.

Pat... Pat...

He patted her on the back and stood still for as long as she needed to compose herself.

Why?

Brunhilde was his benefactor. Siegfried could afford to do this much for her.

“It must have been very difficult...”

“Heuk... Heuk...!”

“It’s fine. You did nothing wrong, and the elves who said those horrible things about you are the ones who are at fault. Just ignore those elves. I think you are really beautiful and strong. You are truly a respectable being, Brunhilde-nim.”

“Siegfried-nim...”

“Looks do not really matter. Besides, what should matter the most is what is inside if we are truly intelligent beings, right?”

“Heup!”

Brunhilde suddenly pulled Siegfried toward her and smashed her lips with his.

Heok!

Those who had been peeking at Siegfried and Brunhilde under the cover of the darkness stared at the sight in disbelief, and their eyes almost popped out of their sockets.