Debuff Master

“What?!”

Siegfried was shocked when the Barrier of Victory appeared in the detached palace where Vulcanus was located.

“Is it Master?!”

The owner of that Barrier of Victory could only be one person. After all, who was the one who created the skill, Grand Duel, that he had been using all this while?

There was no need to mention that Deus could use the skill if Siegfried could use it.

“So they met and are going to go at it…” Siegfried muttered out of despair.

The milk had already been spilled, so there was nothing he could do about it. The Barrier of Victory could not be destroyed. He had to wait for it to crumble on its own once the skill duration was over.

“But I’m really curious…”

Siegfried wanted to know what was happening inside the Barrier of Victory, but there was no way for him to peek into it.

Deus' Barrier of Victory made its surroundings so peaceful that nobody would believe a Level 999 Hidden NPC and a Level 998 Ancient Red Dragon were fighting inside of it.

“I guess all I can do is wait…”

In the end, Siegfried was forced to wait until the barrier was no more.

***

Inside the Barrier of Victory...

Smack!

Vulcanus received a punch on his chin and was blasted several meters away.

“Kuheok!”

“Oh? You’re quite sturdy for the progenitor of red dragons. Hohoho! I love the feedback that I get whenever I hit you! Kekeke!”

Deus was delighted upon seeing that Vulcanus was still alive even after receiving his punch.

“W-What in the world are you?!”

Vulcanus was more shocked by Deus himself rather than the fact that he got punched by a mere human.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the old man in front of him was a human, but he was extremely strong for some reason.

Another thing that surprised Vulcanus was that he could feel his body, scales, and hide getting weaker and weaker, as if he was under a curse.

Deus grinned and asked, “What am I? What do I look like to you?”

“That's… You’re just an old human—”

“Precisely. I’m just an old human.”

“I-Impossible! It’s impossible for a mere human to be this strong, no matter how many years you have lived! This goes against the laws of the universe!”

“The same should go for you, no?”

“...?”

“You’re just a lizard that was fortunate enough to be at the doorsteps of ascension, so why can’t I—a human—become a god?”

“Y-You mean–?”

“Hoho! I'm not an object of worship, but I have achieved invincibility through rigorous training,” Deus said with a sinister smile.

“Gasp!”

“Hohoho! Why don’t you experience getting beaten to a pulp by a mere human before you ascend? This will serve as an excellent experience for you in your future journey!”

“W-Wait! I was wrong!” Vulcanus cried out.

“Hmm?”

“I didn’t know you were such a being! I thought you were just a mere human!”

“So?”

“I’m sorry!”

Shockingly, Vulcanus was the first to apologize to Deus. However, it was actually a very wise decision.

Why?

It was all because Vulcanus knew the mere human before him could beat him to death, and it was highly likely that would happen before he could ascend as a god.

In fact, he could feel his overall strength declining after getting punched in the chin by Deus. He estimated that he was fifty percent weaker than usual, and his chances of winning were not even one percent if he were to fight Deus.

“I, the First Red Dragon, Vulcanus, apologize to you.”

“Hmm…”

“I had no idea who you were, so I acted that way. What do you say we let bygones be bygones and get along from now on? I mean, we’re on the same boat and neither of us knew about each other, so why shed unnecessary blood?”

“On the same boat?” Deus muttered. Then, he smirked and said, “You haven’t ascended because you couldn’t die a natural death, while I chose not to ascend. So, how are we on the same boat? You and I are cut from two completely different cloths.”

“Y-You chose not to ascend?”

“Precisely.”

“Gasp…”

Vulcanus could not help but be shocked at what he heard. The fact that his opponent did not ascend out of his own volition meant that he was on a level above him.

“T-That’s really amazing…”

“I already told you, didn’t I? You and I are cut from two completely different cloths.”

“I… admit it… You’re a greater being than I am,” Vulcanus replied with a nod.

“Hmm?”

“I, the First Red Dragon, Vulcanus, acknowledge that you have transcended the limits of normal human beings and are on par with the gods. Therefore, I deeply respect you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…” Deus pondered for a while. He was feeling bored and empty for quite a long time after attaining invincibility, as he no longer found anyone to be his worthy opponent.

Then, Vulcanus suddenly appeared, causing him to become overjoyed at the thought of finally having a good fight, but unfortunately, the dragon wanted to resolve things peacefully and even groveled.

“I believe that meeting like this is fate, so what do you say we have a drink?”

Vulcanus suddenly offered to drink with Deus.

“A drink?”

“How many of our kind do you think exists in this world? I mean, you are definitely a greater being than me, but we can say we are the same kind, right?”

“I agree.”

“So what do you say we talk about our stories over some drinks? I would love to listen to your stories, as I’ve seen countless humans but never have I met someone as great as you. I deeply respect you for that.”

“Ahem!”

Deus could not hide his joy after being called great by the First Red Dragon, Vulcanus. The dragon also told him that he deeply respected him, which added to Deus' joy.

The reason behind Deus' delight was that he was the first human being to receive the First Red Dragon's respect and acknowledgement. There was also a huge chance that he was going to be the last.

“A drink, you say…”

“What do you think? Actually, I came here at the invitation of an Adventurer called Siegfried van Proa, and he told me that he would prepare the world’s best delicacies and liquor for me. Would you care to join me?”

“Huh? You know my disciple?”

“Hmm? Ah! I knew he was too polite and respectful for a mere human! So he was your disciple?”

“Keke! If there’s one thing I taught him well, then it was manners!”

“As expected of someone as great as you!”

Ironically, Vulcanus ended up doing his utmost to curry favors with Deus for his own survival, just like how Siegfried had curried favors with him for his own survival.

***

“The barrier should have crumbled by now… Is the duration of Master’s barrier different from mine?” Siegfried wondered, tilting his head in confusion. It had been more than five minutes since the Barrier of Victory appeared, but it was still standing strong.

In comparison, the duration of his Barrier of Victory was just a meager one minute.

“Ah, I guess Master can maintain it for the whole day if he wanted to.”

It was then.

Rumble!

The Barrier of Victory finally crumbled, revealing Deus and Vulcanus but—

“Kekeke! Let’s go, little brother!”

“Kekekeke! You must be starving, elder brother!"

Shockingly, Deus and Vulcanus seemed to get along so well that they were calling each other brothers.

“Eh?” Siegfried muttered in sheer disbelief, completely bewildered by the scene before him.

Deus raised a brow and said, “Oh, you’re here?”

“Hello, Master. I have returned.”

“Welcome back. Ah, I’ve heard that you were preparing a grand feast for elder brother?”

“Yes, but…? What is going on…?” Siegfried asked while looking back and forth between Deus and Vulcanus.

“We decided to be brothers.”

“Eh?”

“I should be the elder brother based on strength alone, but our age gap is about one hundred ten thousand years, so I decided to be the younger brother.”

“Haha… Hahaha…” Siegfried could only laugh in disbelief at Deus' absurd words.

“As expected! My little brother is not only strong but an upright person, too! Bwahaha!” Vulcanus exclaimed, bursting into laughter and complimenting Deus.

‘Ah, he’s doing it to survive…’ Siegfried immediately realized that the ancient red dragon was in survival mode.

How did he know?

It was all because Vulcanus’ face was swollen all over, and he was sweating profusely.

“My disciple.”

“Yes, Master?”

“Is the grand feast still not ready?”

“Pardon me…?”

“I heard you were preparing a grand feast for my elder brother?”

“Yes, I am.”

“How long do we have to wait?”

“I am not sure, but I will prepare it as quickly as possible!” Siegfried replied before running with all of his might to check on the preparation progress.

‘Damn it! One was already a handful but two is just absurd!’ Siegfried cried inwardly. The stress he was under had doubled now that he had to serve not only Vulcanus but Deus as well.

***

While Siegfried was busy running around to please Deus and Vulcanus, MeanwhileDuke Decimato was cooped up in his laboratory.

“It’s finally finished… Finally…” Decimato muttered while happily looking at a flask with pink fluid in it.

This pink fluid was created from the Hennessy’s Nutrient Medium, which Siegfried had obtained after killing one of the Soul Fragments of Apocalius, Hennessy Venom.

This nutrient medium was packed with all sorts of nutrients, but it was too toxic to be used anywhere. However, Duke Decimato managed to detoxify it using the magic knowledge he had extracted from Count Arial.

“His Majesty will surely be delighted by this! Kekeke!”

He was already excited at the thought of offering this fluid that he had made with Hennessy’s Nutrient Medium to Siegfried.

The old magician was the happiest whenever he could show his loyalty to his liege.

“This Transcended Growth Elixir can regrow limbs with ease, so I’m certain His Majesty will put it to good use.”

It was then.

“Sir! Duke Decimato! One of the warp gates in the Espadrille Province has broken down!” a servant reported.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, sir!”

“I will go at once so tell them not to touch anything and just wait.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Hmm… I should probably hurry over and fix the warp gate. Yes, that should be my priority right now.”

An unstable or broken warp gate was highly dangerous, as anyone using such a wrap gate could get stuck between time and dimension or have only a part of their body be transported to the destination.

Thus, Duke Decimato placed the Transcended Growth Elixir on the table and left his laboratory.

Two hours later…

Creak…

The laboratory door was pushed open.

“Kyak!”

“Kwing! Kwing!”

Verdandi and the Fairy Dragon entered the laboratory.

“Kyu! Where are you, kiddo?”

Hamchi’s voice could be heard in the distance, looking for them.

“Hide! Hide! Kyaaak! Kyaak!”

“Kwing! Kwing!”

Verdandi and the Fairy Dragon—Kwing Kwing—closed the door and hid in the laboratory. This was nothing out of the ordinary, as Hamchi often played hide and seek with them.

The Proatine Kingdom’s castle was so small that there was nowhere to hide, and they could not escape from Hamchi’s sense of smell too.

In other words, Hamchi already knew where they were but he was just pretending to find them.

“Ooooh?” Verdandi looked around the laboratory with curious eyes. Then, she tilted her head after seeing the Transcended Growth Elixir that Duke Decimato had just made and had left behind.

The flask containing the pink Transcended Growth Elixir was sparkling, mesmerizing both Verdandi and Kwing Kwing.

“Oooooh?”

Verdandi extended her tiny hands toward the Transcended Growth Elixir, which seemed to be sparkling seductively at her.

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