Debuff Master

Siegfried stepped into the warp magic circle that Decimato had drawn on the ground, returning to the Proatine Kingdom. The first thing he did the moment he was back in his kingdom was to log out from the game and take a nap.

He wanted to bestow recognition and rewards upon the soldiers and knights who were courageous enough to rescue him. He also had to express his gratitude to the Adventurers who had come to his aid, but he was not in the condition to do that.

Why?

It was all because the group stages of the Super Rookie Tournament were going to start this evening. In other words, Siegfried only had four to five hours remaining until then.

“Ah, I’ll sleep first and think about it later,” Tae-Sung grumbled as soon as he logged out and went straight to sleep. It did not take that long for him to fall asleep, as he was too exhausted from escaping his pursuers and launching guerilla warfare against them all night long, which was followed immediately by a large-scale battle.

He fell asleep the moment he sprawled out on his bed and closed his eyes. He didn't bother setting an alarm, as his bodyguards would come in and wake him up when it was time for him to wake up.

Time passed…

Bam! Bam!

Clang!

Tae-Sung was woken up by a commotion.

‘W-What…? Who came to my house…?’ Tae-Sung thought, opening his eyes. Then, he was perplexed when he saw numerous people walking back and forth outside his bedroom door.

‘Huh? Who are they?’

The only people who could enter his house were his bodyguards, Seung-Gu, and Cheon Woo-Jin.

Tae-Sung got up to his feet and exclaimed, “W-Who are you?!”

Someone suddenly peeked into the bedroom.

“Hey, you're finally awake?”

It was Cheon Woo-Jin.

“W-What the hell are you doing in my house?!” Tae-Sung cried out in shock.

“What else would I be here for?” Cheon Woo-Jin replied with a shrug. Then, he grinned and added, “I’m here to escort you to the tournament venue.”

“E-Escort…?”

“Alright, Mr. Competitor is awake now,” Cheon Woo-Jin said, clapping twice.

Then, two women entered the bedroom and held Tae-Sung’s hands.

“Please go take a quick shower first.”

“You do not have to shave. We will take care of that at the salon later.”

The two young women dragged the clueless Tae-Sung to the bathroom. When he emerged from the bathroom, the two young women surrounded him again with clothes in their hands for Tae-Sung to try.

“Please try this on.”

“Hmm… This will look good on your top.”

The women suggested clothes for him to wear.

“W-Who are these people?” Tae-Sung asked, sounding flustered.

“What else? They’re stylists,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied nonchalantly.

“S-Stylists?”

“You’ll be on TV today, right? I hope you weren’t hoping to go there while looking like a bum, right? Your trainers are branded, but you still look like a bum in them.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right…”

“Then shut up and do as you’re told. They’ll make sure that you will look good, so just leave it to them.”

“Don’t you think this is overkill, though?”

“They’ll make you look as natural as possible, so don’t worry about that.”

“A-Alright, if you say so…”

In the end, Tae-Sung listened to Cheon Woo-Jin.

The stylists picked out clothes, wristwatches, shoes, and even accessories for him to wear. They made sure he looked really stylish while making it look like he didn't put much effort into trying to look stylish.

As expected of professionals, they easily styled Tae-Sung, who was a lover of branded trainers.

“Good,” Cheon Woo-Jin said, looking satisfied. Then, he clapped and said, “Let’s go.”

Tae-Sung tilted his head in confusion and asked, “Huh? We’re going already? There’s still a lot of time left.”

“Do you plan to go with that hair?”

“Eh?”

“We’re going to the salon first to cut your hair, shave, and do makeup as well.”

“Am I a celebrity…?”

“A gamer can be a celebrity, too, you know?”

“R-Really?”

“We’ll be stuck in traffic if we dilly-dally for too long. Let’s go.”

In the end, Tae-Sung was dragged out of the house by Cheon Woo-Jin and brought to a salon in Cheongdam-dong. He received various additional styling there, and they even put subtle makeup on him that made him look really good despite being subtle.

Finally, all preparations were complete.

“Whoa…” Tae-Sung muttered in amazement while looking at his reflection in the mirror. “I actually look good?”

Cheon Woo-Jin and Seung-Gu chimed in as well.

“You look really handsome, hyung-nim!”

“Wow~ I didn’t know you were this good-looking, Han Tae-Sung.”

The two were telling the truth. Tae-Sung no longer looked like the gaming addict he was after getting styled by professional stylists and hairdressers. He looked like those dandy boyfriend types often found on social media.

“Is he really the same person just a while ago…?”

“Wow…”

“He looks really handsome now.”

“Maybe I should’ve asked for his number earlier.”

The stylists and hairdressers at the salon were infatuated by the current Tae-Sung.

“That’s good enough,” Cheon Woo-Jin said with a smile while holding up an okay sign with his fingers.

“R-Really?”

“Let’s go. We can get there just in time.”

“Sure.”

Tae-Sung, armed from head to toe with a completely new style, headed for V-Sports Stadium with Cheon Woo-Jin and Seung-Gu.

***

“Kyaaaah!”

“Please look at me, oppa!”

“Good luck, unni!”

A ton of fans were waiting outside V-Sports Stadium to cheer for their favorite participants. The Super Rookie Tournament was a tournament for amateur gamers, but the atmosphere was as intense as a pro gaming tournament.

This was no surprise, as the world had changed quite significantly long ago.

The amateur gamers who had passed the preliminary rounds had their own fanbases. In fact, a significant number of the participants had their own G-Tube channels, and quite a few of these amateurs had already signed contracts with pro gaming teams.

In addition, some of them had been wanting to debut as a pro, so they had decided to participate in the Super Rookie Tournament to do so. Thus, it was not strange for a massive crowd to gather even though the tournament was just between amateur gamers.

The participants walked down the red carpet laid out for them and entered the V-Sports Stadium one by one.

Then, a Rolls Royce Phantom rolled in front of the red carpet. The chauffeur got out of the car and opened their famed coach doors for the passengers to alight from the luxury vehicle.

Seung-Gu got down first, followed by Cheon Woo-Jin and Han Tae-Sung.

“Who’s that?”

“Who are they?”

“Huh? Do you know them?”

“Are they some rich chaebol kids?”

The fans outside the venue were intrigued by Han Tae-Sung’s entourage that arrived in an ultra-luxury sedan.

An event staffer walked up to them and asked, “Welcome! May I please know the names of those participating in the tournament?”

“Ah, it’s Han Tae-Sung,” Tae-Sung replied hesitantly.

‘Argh! This is so embarrassing! I want to hide in a hole somewhere!’ he exclaimed inwardly, feeling extremely nervous and burdened by the crowd.

This was his first time being at the center of attention of such a massive crowd in real life, so it was normal for him to feel nervous.

“Han… Mr. Han Tae-Sung? Your ID is…?”

“It’s Siegfried van Proa.”

“Siegfried van Proa—eh?” The staffer tilted his head before his eyes shot wide open as he asked once again, “A-Are you really Siegfried-nim?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“And these people with you are…?”

“They’re my friends.”

“T-This way, please!” The staffer hurriedly escorted them to the red carpet.

The atmosphere instantly shifted the moment it was revealed that Tae-Sung was Siegfried van Proa.

“What? That guy is Siegfried?”

“Siegfried? You mean that Siegfried?”

“Whoa! Awesome!”

“He’s really Siegfried-nim?”

The fact that the amateur player shrouded in mystery, Siegfried van Proa, had finally made an appearance in real life was more than enough to make the fans grow wild.

However, there was another group that was even wilder and rowdier than the fans, and they were none other than the reporters.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

They snapped picture after picture of Tae-Sung the moment it was revealed that he was Siegfried van Proa.

“Ack! What’s wrong with them? Why are they taking so many pictures of me?!” Tae-Sung cried out.

“Are you really asking that? Those reporters have been waiting for you all this while, so do you really think that they're not going to take any pictures of you?” Cheon Woo-Jin replied, shaking his head.

“T-They've been waiting for me all this while?!”

“Who else are they going to wait for? Most of the famous amateurs have already made public appearances, so who do you think these reporters are the most curious about? Everyone was probably dying to know what you look like in real life.”

“R-Really?!”

“I'm sure they're already writing articles about you right now.”

“Ehhh?!”

Tae-Sung took out his smartphone and checked the headlines at Cheon Woo-Jin's remark, and…

[Breaking News] The mysterious amateur gamer has finally appeared! A handsome man who would surely be adored by female fans around the world!

[Breaking News] Siegfried van Proa has arrived at the tournament!

[Breaking News] The mysterious amateur gamer turns out to be extremely handsome?!

Cheon Woo-Jin was right.

The majority of the front-page news were articles written by the reporters who saw Tae-Sung walking down the red carpet.

“See? I’m right.”

“Y-Yeah, you are…”

“Why do you think I went through all that trouble to style you up? Everyone’s interested in you, so how can I let you come here with disheveled hair and your bum clothes?”

“Haha…”

“The fact that your bum clothes are branded makes it even more hideous…”

“Hey! You don’t have to go that far!”

“I do,” Cheon Woo-Jin said flatly. Then, he looked at Seung-Gu and asked, “What do you think?”

“They're really hideous, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu replied.

“You heard him, right?” Cheon Woo-Jin said with a smirk.

“Ugh!” Tae-Sung could no longer retort to the accusations.

***

Tae-Sung walked down the red carpet and posed at the photo zone before going to the waiting area for the participants.

‘It’s really amazing…’ Tae-Sung thought, in awe at how popular VR games had become. He did not really notice it when watching on the television or the internet, but he realized that things had truly become completely different upon seeing the atmosphere in person.

This would come as no surprise, as the most expensive broadcasting rights in South Korea these days were all related to VR Sports, and there was no need to mention that BNW was the most expensive one among them all.

The crowd gathered at today’s venue, the V-Sports Stadium, which was approximately two and a half times larger than Jamsil Baseball Stadium.[1]

In other words, an insane amount of cash was flowing into VR Sports these days.

“You may use this waiting room. Ah, I will escort your friends separately.”

Tae-Sung had to say goodbye to Cheon Woo-Jin and Seung-Gu in front of the waiting room.

“See you later, and make sure you win.”

“I will cheer for you with all of my strength, hyung-nim!”

Cheon Woo-Jin and Seung-Gu cheered him on before leaving for their seats.

Tae-Sung opened the door and went inside the waiting room assigned to him.

“Oh? It’s shared?”

He noticed the nameplate on the door.

[Han Tae-Sung]

[Kwon Oh-Shin]

Tae-Sung was sharing the waiting room with another participant named Kwon Oh-Shin.

“Ah, the other person is already here,” Tae-Sung noticed that the other participant was already in the waiting room. Then, he decided to greet him first, “Hello, it is nice to meet you.”

However, Kwon Oh-Shin didn't react, as he was seemingly on the variety program playing on the TV.

‘Huh? Maybe he didn’t hear me?’ Tae-Sung thought. Then, he decided to greet him once again, “Hello? Nice to meet—”

“Yeah, sure,” Kwon Oh-Shin replied with a nod, slightly grimacing in annoyance without looking away from the TV.

In other words, he was completely ignoring Tae-Sung.

‘What the hell is wrong with this mannerless bastard? Shouldn’t you at least acknowledge it when someone greets you? Did he learn proper etiquette from fantasy novels or something?’ Tae-Sung grumbled inwardly. He was furious at Kwon Oh-Shin’s lack of etiquette, but he decided to let it go.

He was probably only going to run into him once or twice, and he had never really felt like dealing with people like Kwon Oh-Shin.

“Bwahahaha!” Kwon Oh-Shin burst into laughter while watching the show on the TV.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Kwon Oh-Shin's phone suddenly vibrated.

“Hello? Ah, hi, Hyung-Seok hyung,” Kwon Oh-Shin answered.

Tae-Sung’s eyes darted toward Kwon Oh-Shin the moment he heard the familiar name coming out of the latter's mouth.

1. Jamsil Baseball Stadium seats 25,000 people, so V-Sports Stadium has around 62,500 seats. ☜

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