Debuff Master

Chapter 533

“This is a dye called Dark Imperial Ink,” Quandt said while sloshing the liquid in the flask.

Siegfried tilted his head in confusion and asked, “Ink? Dye? You mean the thing people use to color things?”

“That is what most people will think of first, but this Dark Imperial Ink is different.”

“How is it different?”

“Why don’t you take a look for yourself instead,” Quandt said, extending the flask over to Siegfried. Clearly, he wanted Siegfried to inspect the flask with his Rune of Insight.

Siegfried flashed his rune at the flask.

[Dark Imperial Ink]

[A dye passed down as the heirloom of the Black Crow Family, a renowned family of martial artists on the continent during the olden days.]

[They wore gears dyed with mysterious ink to the battlefield and racked up achievement after achievement.]

[Type: Dye]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Note: It is known to have gone missing after the Black Crow Family’s fall.]

“Hmm? It says there’s something mysterious about this, but I've never heard of the Black Crow Family before.”

“The Black Crow Family is a renowned family of martial artists that had produced numerous famous warriors for centuries.”

“But why did they fall?”

“The Black Crow Family were the guardian family of the Offenbach Kingdom, but that kingdom fell to the Ephedrine Kingdom three decades ago.”

“Huh? Ephedrine Kingdom? Isn’t Stallone the king of that kingdom?”

Siegfried was familiar with the Ephedrine Kingdom. He had spoken to its ruler, King Stallone, once when he plotted to teach George the Third a lesson. King Stallone was a friend of George the Third, but he did not hesitate to stab George the Third in the back the moment Siegfried had made a tempting offer.

“Yes, it is that Ephedrine Kingdom.”

“The Ephedrine Kingdom caused the Offenbach Kingdom’s fall?”

“The Ephedrine Kingdom and Offenbach Kingdom were founded by the same ruler, so they are practically blood relatives.”

“But?”

Quandt proceeded to tell a tale from thirty years ago. “King Stallone was the crown prince back then, and a royal marriage offer was sent to the Black Crow Family. The Black Crow Family accepted, and the marriage ceremony went ahead, but King Stallone tainted the wine with poison and killed everyone.”

“What?! S-Stallone did something like that?!”

“Yes. And the king, prince, other royals, nobles, and even the Black Crow Family were annihilated on that single day.”

“O-Oh my god...” Siegfried could not help but be shocked after learning that King Stallone was far more deplorable than he initially thought.

“Was that the reason behind the Ephedrine Kingdom's fall?”

“Yes, and we call his actions one of the most evil things a person could possibly do.”

“I had a feeling he wasn’t a good person, but I had no idea that he was that evil.”

“There’s a reason people call him 'the depraved king.' I’m sure what he did to George the Third has told you what kind of a person he is. The only reason the Ephedrine Kingdom still has relations with other kingdoms is solely due to their military and economic might. Otherwise, nobody would be willing to have any relations with them.”

“Wow...”

“Anyway, this dye was left behind by that Black Crow Family, and our workshop has chanced upon it.”

“Oh!”

“I was wondering where to use it when I suddenly thought of you. What if I used this to dye your gear? Something like that.”

“Quandt-nim... You’re the only one for me,” Siegfried said with eyes filled with inexplicable emotions.

Quandt gazed back at him and replied emotionally, “You are also the only one for me, King Siegfried...”

“...”

Hamchi felt like puking at the sight, but he did not say anything.

‘Owner punk... didn’t you just say that man cannot live on bread alone?’

The giant hamster could not help but shake his head in disbelief at how two-faced Siegfried could be.

***

“Take your gears off. I’ll dye them for you,” Quandt said.

Siegfried took off his gears and handed them over to Quandt. “Here you go.”

“Oh, by the way,” Siegfried said.

“Hmm?”

“I obtained these recently. Can you craft them into anything?”

“Aren’t these the feathers and talons of a Blade Falcon? Oh! You brought its eyes and beak, too! Where did you find these? The Blade Falcons are extremely rare creatures!”

“Ah, I hunted them on Mount Kunlun.”

“Huh?”

“They came at me first... They’re not protected species or anything like that, right?”

“I-I have no idea what protected species are, but they are indeed rare creatures.”

“So, can you craft anything useful with those?”

“Of course! And I will make sure I’ll satisfy you—as always. Hohoho!” Quandt replied with absolute confidence.

Siegfried smirked and said, “I’m looking forward to your skills—as always. Hohoho!”

Meanwhile, Hamchi could not help but shake his head as he witnessed the budding romance between the two.

***

Siegfried logged out after hearing that the dyeing process and crafting of artifacts would take roughly three days. He had barely gotten any proper rest at Mount Kunlun, so he decided to take three days off from the game and just relax.

“I should go get some proper sleep...”

Tae-Sung climbed out of his VR capsule and staggered to the bedroom.

Fourteen hours later...

“What...?”

He woke up to a surprise after seeing how long he slept. It seemed that he had accumulated a ton of fatigue these past few days and had ended up sleeping like a log.

“I have to reduce my gaming hours and spend more time exercising...”

Tae-Sung realized that he had been spending too much time in the virtual world to the extent that he had been neglecting his real body. Thus, he resolved to start exercising and eating properly to take care of his health.

The issue of health was a problem gripping today’s society after the development of virtual reality, and this was one of the reasons minors faced a ton of restrictions when playing virtual reality games.

“Let’s go exercise.” Tae-Sung decided to go to the gym for once.

The gym at the luxury residence he stayed in had state-of-the-art equipment and in-house personal trainers. There was also a buffet prepared by nutritionists to provide the nutritional needs of the residents.

Tae-Sung exercised at the gym under the coaching of a personal trainer before heading to the buffet. It was still early in the morning, so the dining hall was full of people having breakfast.

‘That person is a celebrity, right? Oh, I think that guy’s a famous plastic surgeon. Ah, that guy’s is that famous baseball pitcher.’

The people residing in the same building were all celebrities, successful professionals, sports stars, or businessmen. Every single one of them was a high-net-worth individual.

‘Wow... I live in the same place as them?’ Tae-Sung couldn't believe that he was living in the same place as these kinds of people.

However, what was truly shocking wasn't his neighbors but the unit he was living in. He was staying alone in a two hundred sixty square meters unit, which was the largest unit in this building and was rumored to be the most expensive unit in all of South Korea.

The real estate bubble had burst long ago, driving housing prices down, but Tae-Sung's unit still cost a whopping eight billion won.

The fact that he could stay in such a place by himself meant that he had become successful. However, the realization only made Tae-Sung feel lonely rather than a sense of accomplishment.

His daily routine was rather mundane despite living in such an expensive house. He would wake up all alone, eat alone, and go for a drive alone on days he was not playing the game.

‘Should I go on a trip with Cheon Woo-Jin and Seung-Gu or something...?’ Siegfried wondered.

It was then.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

He received a call.

“Hello?”

— You’re already up? I called but was expecting you’re still sleeping.

“Great timing. I was starting to feel bored. Hey, let’s go do something fun.”

— What’s gotten into you? You’re the last person I expect to hear that from.

“It feels stuffy being cooped up in my house playing the game all day.”

— Are you finally saying goodbye to your hikikomori[1] lifestyle?

“Do you want to die? Who are you calling a hikikomori?”

— I am calling you that right now.

“You bastard...”

— I’ll send a car to your place in an hour. Get ready.

“Ready? Ready for what?”

— I thought you wanted to get some fresh air? I was planning to go, anyway, so I guess the timing really is great. Pack your bags and bring a few summer clothes.

“Summer clothes? It’s still spring, you know? Won’t it be cold?”

— I’m hanging up.

Cheon Woo-Jin hung up the call.

“What the...? Does he want to go to the beach?” Tae-Sung muttered in confusion. Still, he did as he was told and went home to pack his underwear along with a few pairs of summer clothes.

He headed down to the lobby and found a Rolls Royce Phantom parked outside, even though there were still five minutes remaining before the agreed time. A well-dressed chauffeur opened the door for him while a group of bodyguards lined up on both sides, creating a path to the vehicle.

“Chairman Cheon has sent me to escort you, sir.”

“He did?”

“Yes, sir.”

Tae-Sung got into the Phantom, and the chauffeur closed the door.

Click...!

The door closed so softly that only a faint clicking sound was heard.

“We will now depart,” the chauffeur said.

“Sure,” Tae-Sung replied nonchalantly.

The group of bodyguards got in the black Cadillac Escalades parked behind and in front of the Phantom, and the convoy of luxury vehicles departed.

They were around forty minutes into the journey when Tae-Sung looked outside the window and noticed something.

“Huh? Isn’t this Gimpo Airport?”

He could tell from the planes landing that he was staring at Gimpo International Airport.[2]

“This is Gimpo Airport, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why are we here?”

“I am afraid I do not know, but Chairman Cheon has instructed me to drop you off at the Gimpo Business Aviation Center, sir.”

“Huh? Business aviation center? So we’re not going to the airport?”

“No, sir. We are heading to the airport.”

“Oh, was that the name of this airport? Wait, no, I don’t think so...”

“I believe the Gimpo Business Aviation Center is the private jet terminal of Gimpo International Airport, sir.”

“What?!”

“We have arrived, sir.”

Tae-Sung reached his destination without receiving any satisfying answers from the chauffeur.

“Hey! You’re here!”

“Hyung-nim!”

Cheon Woo-Jin and Seung-Gu welcomed Tae-Sung as soon as he got off the Phantom.

“What the? Why did you bring me here?” Tae-Sung asked, slightly flustered. Then, he looked around and added, “Are we going to Jeju Island? But why are we here at the private jet terminal?”

“Why else?” Cheon Woo-Jin asked in response. Then, he smirked and said, “We’re going overseas.”

“O-Overseas?!” Tae-Sung screamed and jumped at those words.

***

One hour later...

“...”

Tae-Sung had been forcibly dragged into the plane by Cheon Woo-Jin and Seung-Gu. The airplane was not an ordinary airplane; it was a Gulfstream G650 owned by Cheon Woo-Jin, and this private jet was currently en route to somewhere.

‘I knew this guy was rich, but...’ Tae-Sung thought. He knew Cheon Woo-Jin was rich, but he did not expect him to be this rich. Just then, a thought popped up in Tae-Sung's head. ‘I’m going to suck this guy dry from now on!’

Ironically, the first thing that came to his mind was turning into a leech and leeching off of his unsuspecting rich friend.

“Hey, why are you so quiet?” Cheon Woo-Jin asked.

“What?” Tae-Sung grumbled in response.

“You haven’t said a single word for an hour now.”

“I’m just tired.”

“Tired from what?”

“I’ve been playing the game a lot these days.”

“Come on~”

“What do you mean, 'come on?'”

Cheon Woo-Jin smirked and whispered, “You can be honest with me. You’re intimidated, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“You’re intimidated right now.”

“Intimidated by what? Stop making shit up.”

“I’m not. You’re intimidated by those beautiful women, aren’t you?” Cheon Woo-Jin sneered while pointing with his chin across the aisle.

“Wow! Your arms are so big, Seung-Gu!”

“Can I touch them?”

“I don’t like it when it’s too big...”

Across the aisle was a group of beautiful women chatting with Seung-Gu, who was sipping on an expensive glass of champagne.

1. The Japanese word for recluse. It is widely used in Korea so I kept it as it is. More info here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori ☜

2. Gimpo International Airport is the only airport within Seoul City. ☜

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