Debuff Master

Han Sang-Gi of Battle Homeground, Kim Han-Yong of Formula Rider, Park Gi-Don of Legend of League, and Kim Gi-Tae of Space Craft.

Every single one of them was a pro gamer who had left their mark on the gaming scene of South Korea, and they were famous as legends overseas as well.

They had already retired from the pro gaming scene unlike Yong Tae-Pung, but they were still quite popular with a massive fan base.

“S-Sunbae-nims! Hello! My name is Han Tae-Sung!” Tae-Sung greeted them in the most awkward manner possible.

The legends smiled and greeted him back.

“Nice to meet you, Tae-Sung.”

“Oh? This junior is quite well-mannered.”

“Haha! No need to call us sunbae. We’re just ahjusshis.”

“You said your name was Tae-Sung, right? You're a very handsome young man. Nice to meet you, too. My name is Kim Gi-Tae.”

Then, he signaled with his eyes to his bodyguards, ‘Please go buy some drinks to serve them! Please!’

‘Yes, Young Master.’

Fortunately, his bodyguard somehow managed to understand the SOS signal he was giving with his eyes and hurriedly went to buy drinks for the esteemed guests.

“Please, come sit here,” Tae-Sung guided the legends to the sofa. Then, he asked once they were seated, “But… What brings all of you here…?”

“Why else?” Yong Tae-Pung responded. Then, he smirked and said, “We came to see our beloved junior. What other choice do we have other than to personally come find you when you kept refusing to come see us?”

“T-That was…”

“I’m kidding. It’s just a joke, relax.”

“Haha…”

However, Tae-Sung did not take the joke lightly at all.

Why?

It was all because there was a saying about how even a thief would feel guilty when stealing. In this case, Yong Tae-Pung asked numerous times to meet Tae-Sung, but he refused all of his requests by coming up with a bunch of excuses.

It was only normal for him to feel guilty now that the living legend had paid him a visit.

“I had some other things nearby so I decided to drop by and say hello. I came with these guys here, and they wanted to come see you too.”

“I-I am not that important, but… thank you for coming all the way here to see me.”

“Haha! No need to thank us! We, old men, have to personally come to see a rising star, right? The famous one is the senior in this industry.”

“N-Not at all!”

“I’m just kidding. We just wanted to come and see what the junior that will lead the future looks like.”

“Eh?”

“We might be old men now, but we were quite famous back in the days, you know?”

“O-Of course, I know that!” Tae-Sung exclaimed in response, profusely nodding. Then, he added, “Anyone who loves games knows all of you!”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. We believe that you will become just like us, nephew,” Yong Tae-Pung said with a smirk.

“Huh?”

“What do you mean by ‘huh?’ when you already know what I mean? We know that you will reach the pinnacle of BNW and dominate the scene in the future.”

“That is…”

Tae-Sung could not easily agree with what Yong Tae-Pung was saying. He had resolved himself to reach the pinnacle of BNW, but that was not something he could easily show to his seniors. They looked like pot-bellied uncles right now, but they boasted careers that Tae-Sung could not hold a candle to.

In other words, he would be trying to teach fishes how to swim if he dared to talk about his dreams of climbing to the pinnacle of a game and becoming a legend.

However, a thought suddenly crossed Tae-Sung’s mind.

‘Wait a minute… What’s so bad about showing my resolve? Everyone has dreams, right?’ Tae-Sung thought. Then, he looked Yong Tae-Pung straight in the eyes and said, “If I will be honest… Yes, that is my goal.”

“Bwahahaha!”

“Oh!”

“Yes! That’s how it should be!”

“It’s good to be young! Haha!”

“So good!”

Yong Tae-Pung and the other legends burst into laughter, seemingly satisfied by Tae-Sung’s response. They looked so happy that it seemed like they couldn't fully express their joy with mere words.

‘W-What’s going on…?’ Tae-Sung thought, baffled by their sudden reactions.

There was one thing that he was completely unaware of, and that was none other than his innate ability that existed in both the game and in reality. His innate ability to attract old men, the skill, Middle-Aged Pheromone, activated!

“Good! Good!” Yong Tae-Pung exclaimed with a huge grin. Then, he said, “See? I told you, right? I already said you will become a pro gamer.”

“Ah… I-It turned out this way somehow…”

“That’s how life works. Do you think everyone wanted to become a pro gamer from the start? They were led by fate to fulfill their destiny. It doesn’t matter whether they intended it or it was unintentional.”

“I understand,” Tae-Sung agreed. He did not particularly deny what Yong Tae-Pung said, as this was something he agreed with by now.

“Anyway, good luck with your match.”

“Thank you, sunbae-nim.”

“Ah, I came to scout the enemy camp but ended up cheering the enemy on.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that…?”

“Didn’t you know? Your opponent today is my daughter.”

The division of gender in tournaments had long disappeared in virtual reality games.

“Ehhhh?!” Tae-Sung exclaimed, his eyes wide open from shock.

Daughter? Did this mean that his opponent today, Yong Seol-Hwa, was Yong Tae-Pung’s daughter?

“What? You didn’t know?”

“Ah… That is…”

“Hoho… So you didn’t care who you were up against?” Yong Tae-Pung asked, laughing in disbelief.

“N-No! I just analyzed my opponent’s fighting style and did not look into their personal background!”

“Well, I guess that makes sense. Keep it up; that’s a good habit to have.”

“I-I apologize!”

“Oh? At least you’re sorry about it. You should know who your uncle’s daughter is at least, you know?”

“Yes…”

“Forget about it. I guess as long as you know now. Anyway, good luck with your match today.”

“Yes! Sunbae-nim!”

“Just call me uncle. You call me 'Uncle' in the game, too.”

“Yes! Uncle!”

“See you later. I’ll have to drop by my daughter before the match starts, or else she will get jealous. Ah, I think she’s probably upset that I came to visit you first before her.”

“Haha… Hahaha…”

Yong Tae-Pung and the other legends left Tae-Sung’s waiting room.

“Oh, right, nephew.”

“Yes, Uncle?”

“These guys have started playing BNW, too.”

“Eh?”

“You guys will meet in the game later.”

“I understand!” Tae-Sung said and bowed to greet them goodbye.

***

Yong Tae-Pung looked at his friends, the legends, and asked as soon as they left Tae-Sung’s waiting room.

“What do you think? Do you get what I was saying?” Yong Tae-Pung asked.

“That young man has quite the spirit.”

“I can smell it! I can smell it from him!”

“He’s going to be successful, that’s for sure.”

“I think he’s just like us. I’m already looking forward to what he can achieve.”

The legends seemed to have good opinions of Tae-Sung.

Others would question how they would know these kinds of things after meeting him once, but these men possessed a pair of unique eyes.

It was something like instinct, just like how animals would recognize their own kind. Every single one of them had reached the pinnacle in their respective games, so they could immediately tell that Tae-Sung had the potential to achieve the same feat as them.

Of course, they didn't draw this conclusion after meeting him once, as they had already watched his matches before coming here.

Their meeting just now had made them become even more certain that Tae-Sung had the potential to reach the pinnacle of BNW and become a legend just like them.

This evaluation was an honor for Tae-Sung.

“That’s why I introduced you guys to him. Where can you find someone better than him to look after you guys?” Yong Tae-Pung said with a grin.

“Yeah, I agree.”

“He’s quite well-mannered, and he seems to get along with old men like us.”

“They say you gotta stick your straw in something young and nutritious, right?”

“I think it will be smooth sailing from here on! Hahaha!”

The legends agreed with what Yong Tae-Pung said, and the old men laughed together.

Meanwhile, a chill traveled down Tae-Sung’s spine that made him tremble.

“W-What was that?! Is there a ghost in this room?!”

Tae-Sung had no idea that a bunch of old men were clinging to him rather than ghosts.

***

“Mr. Han Tae-Sung? Your match will begin soon.”

“Okay.”

Tae-Sung left his waiting room and headed to the arena.

Fifteen minutes later, He descended onto the continent as the Adventurer, Siegfried van Proa, and headed to the Hall of Martial God together with Hamchi.

‘Whoa… There’s so many of them…’ he muttered in awe after seeing the scores of reporters from various media outlets.

The winner of this match would advance to the finals and face Kaosin, who had already won his match and advanced. They'd duke it out to become the Champion of the Super Rookie Tournament.

Thus, it wasn't strange that there were many reporters for this semi-final match.

Also, the other reason so many reporters gathered today was that they knew this would be the perfect opportunity for them to see a fierce match.

Siegfried had won all of his matches in the tournament in under a minute and a half, while his opponent had lost only a single match in the entire tournament.

The previous matches of both participants could only be described as lackluster. In fact, people started calling the Super Rookie Tournament the "Super Boring Tournament" due to how short the matches were.

However, no one would make such jokes today, as both participants boasted tremendous skill, and everyone agreed that this was a match worth watching.

“Contestants! Greet one another!”

The referee gave the signal, and both contestants entered the arena.

“I will be in your care today.”

“I heard a lot about you from my father.”

Siegfried’s opponent today was Yong Tae-Pung’s daughter. Her ID was Yong Seol-Hwa.

She was a tall beautiful woman that would make anyone who saw her mistake her for an elegant noble daughter from the Joseon Dynasty. It was clear that even though she had inherited Yong Tae-Pung’s height, she didn't inherit his looks.

“He told me that he has high expectations from you,” Yong Seol-Hwa said.

“Ah, that is… Haha… He’s just being nice, I guess?” Siegfried replied, awkwardly laughing.

“No way,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied, shaking her head. Then, she said, “My father isn’t one to give empty compliments.”

“R-Really?”

“If my father says he has high expectations, then that person is definitely skilled.”

“Haha… Hahaha…”

“I hope to learn from you today.”

“Me too…”

“Shall we begin?”

Both of them tapped the Ready button.

[Alert: 3… 2… 1…!]

[Alert: Fight!]

The semi-final match between Siegfried and Yong Seol-Hwa finally began.

“Defend me!” Yong Seol-Hwa exclaimed as soon as the duel started.

She summoned three golems to stand between her and Siegfried.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Her Crystal Golem, Ice Golem, and Fire Golem formed a barricade in front of her. Then, she took out a crossbow and fired bolts at Siegfried from a distance.

Pshwoong! Pshwoong! Pshwoong!

The steel bolts flew ferociously toward Siegfried.

‘She really planned things out,’ Siegfried thought, impressed by Yong Seol-Hwa’s strategy. He placed down Blaze Field and Shadow Hell. Then, he slammed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp into the arena floor.

Krwaaaaang!

Splitting Heaven and Earth shot forward in a fan-shape toward Yong Seol-Hwa and her golems.

‘First strike wins the match! I’m not going to go easy on you!’ Siegfried thought. He did not care whether she was Yong Tae-Pung’s daughter or not, as the only thing he cared about was winning this match as quickly as possible and facing Kaosin in the finals.

‘Over there!’ Siegfried noticed the golems jumping to dodge Splitting Heaven and Earth and jumped together with them. He had already calculated where Yong Seol-Hwa was going to jump and land, so he only had to move according to his calculations.

Shwiiik!

He threw his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp at her and charged forward with his fists clenched to end the duel right there and then, but—

Whoosh!

—Siegfried was shocked when Yong Seol-Hwa disappeared right in front of his eyes.

‘No way?! Teleport?!’

The moment that thought crossed his mind, his ears picked up a sound that made the alarm bells in his head go off.

Swoosh!

Baaaaam!

Yong Seol-Hwa’s mace smashed the floor where Siegfried was standing.

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