Debuff Master-Chapter 815

“Whoa... There’s even a statue here...?”

Siegfried was more astonished by the existence of his statue within the Green Isles than by the enormous sea crocodile rampaging nearby.

The Green Isle was a restricted region accessible only to major pirate crews or the original inhabitants of the isles, so never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would find a statue of himself here.

The unique cultural traits of this place were the reason there was a statue of Siegfried in the Green Isles. The Green Isles was a melting pot of countless ethnic groups, races, and sentient beings, so the polytheistic culture of the continent naturally flourished here, and people were free to believe in whatever deity or figure they liked.

The Hero’s Statue of Siegfried van Proa was no exception.

But how did a statue of him end up here?

One of the major pirate crews had raided a small city shortly after Emperor Stuttgart had decreed for statues of Siegfried to be erected across the continent. During the raid, the pirate came across one of Siegfried’s statues, and for some unknown reason, he uprooted it and brought it back to the Green Isles.

Upon hearing the rumors about Siegfried’s heroic feats, the inhabitants of the Green Isles began offering prayers to the statue.

Of course, only a small number of people did so.

“Wait... Are you really Siegfried van Proa... His Majesty?” A voice trembling with disbelief interrupted Siegfried’s thoughts.

A young woman from the northern village, Natasha, was at his feet, and she was the one who had called out to him for help.

“Yes, I’m here to help,” Siegfried replied.

“Y-You are really him...? His Majesty, Siegfried van Proa?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Oh, my goodness!”

Siegfried gestured at the rampaging colossal crocodile tearing through the village and said, “I can see why you called for me so urgently.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! Please! You must help us! The Green Isles is—!”

Siegfried cut her off and said, “I already know. Without the Pirate Lords, the area’s security is in total disarray, right?”

“H-How did you...?” Natasha muttered in shock.

Siegfried’s guess had been spot on. The Green Isles were in utter chaos after the disappearance of the Pirate Lords.

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They were outlaws, but they had at least maintained a semblance of order within their territories. For example, they dealt with monstrous sea creatures like the one causing havoc right now.

“Evacuate right now. Don’t worry about your village; I will answer your prayers.”

Leaving behind those words, Siegfried took off and flew swiftly toward the massive sea crocodile wreaking havoc in the village.

***

While Siegfried was busy running around the Green Isles, clearing his Epic Quest, Shakiro was spending his days back in the Proatine Kingdom by keeping himself occupied.

Shakiro, alongside his disciples, the Weapon Maestros, assisted in training the Proatine Kingdom’s soldiers and their academy’s trainees at the Weapon Academy.

Having trained countless disciples in the past, Shakiro, even after his resurrection, continued to generously impart his knowledge to the next generation.

“That concludes today’s training. Well done, everyone. Go take some well-earned rest, as resting is also a vital part of training,” Shakiro addressed his students.

“Yes, Master!”

After finishing the class, Shakiro left the Weapon Academy and made his way to a secluded forest behind the royal palace. Lately, he had been spending quiet moments like this in this nameless tranquil forest.

‘Who am I? Am I truly Shakiro? Am I still the Weapon Master? Have I really risen from the dead? Even if I have, should my existence even be allowed in this world?’

Shakiro leaned against a towering tree and contemplated his identity. Resurrection was something that defied the natural order of the world, and this weighed heavily on him.

‘Am I truly alive? Or... am I still a mere creation of that wicked alchemist...?’

He contemplated for a while when a chuckle interrupted his thoughts. “Hoho...”

From behind the trees, Deus appeared out of nowhere.

“What’s with all the heavy sighing?” Deus asked.

“I greet the elder of the kingdom,” Shakiro swiftly replied and bowed, showing respect to him.

“At ease.”

“Thank you. But what brings you here, if I may ask?”

“I couldn’t focus on my fishing with you sighing so heavily every day! You were scaring all the fishes away!”

“E-Elder...!”

Shakiro was truly taken aback. He did not sigh loudly—no, he did not even let out a sigh at all. He merely brooded silently in solitude, yet Deus had seen straight through his inner turmoil even from kilometers away.

“Why are you so troubled?”

“Well...”

“Let me help you. You are not the Shakiro you think you are.”

“P-Pardon, sir...?” Siegfried stammered. Then, he asked cautiously, “T-Then... who—no, what am I?”

“You are merely a being with an artificially created body that was implanted with Shakiro’s memories. Your soul, however, is not that of the Weapon Master, Shakiro.”

Deus revealed the truth about his identity, and it was indeed the truth.

Immortal Alchemist Acheron had cultivated an artificial body that was exactly identical to Shakiro’s. Then, using dark magic that could summon the memories of the dead, he implanted those memories into this artificial vessel he had created.

In other words, this Shakiro possessed the same body and memories as the original Shakiro, but he was an entirely different being from him.

“Does that mean... I have no soul...?”

“Who said you have no soul?”

“Pardon...?”

“All sentient beings have a soul, so why wouldn’t you? You merely have an artificial body and carry someone else’s memories, but your soul is intact and whole.”

“Oh...”

“So, there’s no need to worry about it. What matters is the life you will live going forward,” Deus said, cutting off Shakiro’s doubts.

“Please, guide me, wise one,” Shakiro said, bowing deeply and seeking Deus’ wisdom.

“There’s no need for guidance nor do you need to search for your identity either. The relationships that Shakiro had built in life surround you, and they recognize you as Shakiro, do they not?”

“Yes, sir...”

“Then that’s all there is to it. You may not be the original Shakiro, but you are already Shakiro in all but name. The Shakiro who lived before accumulated much goodwill and virtue from people, and you’ve inherited those things. Use it to bring benefit to this world, and that will serve as your purpose for your existence.”

“Yes, sir,” Shakiro said, lowering his head. Then, he said as his heart was finally at ease, “I will no longer be troubled thanks to you, sir.”

After hearing Deus’ wise words and the truth about his origin, Shakiro felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his heart and shoulders.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Deus added.

“Yes, sir?”

“Take that fool from the palace and leave for a while.”

“Pardon? Who do you mean by that fool, sir?”

“You know who I mean. The golden-haired fool who fell from the sky.”

“Ah!”

Shakiro immediately recognized that Deus was referring to the golden-haired young man. He recently appeared in the Proatine Kingdom and was receiving education. He had no memories and knew nothing about the world, so he was treated like a child in need of constant care.

Fortunately, his ability to learn at a remarkable pace had been his saving grace, as most of the teachers in the palace loved to teach him things.

“Don’t ask why, but I sense things will get noisy soon because of that fool. So take him away for now, and consider it an opportunity to see the world while you’re at it, too.”

“Yes, sir. I will make preparations to depart at once.”

“Good.”

“Then, I will be on my way once I have finished all preparations.”

“I bid you safe travels.”

Deus saw Shakiro off with a faint smile.

As soon as Shakiro left...

Sseuuu...!

A golden hue radiated from Deus.

“Damn it...” he grumbled and frowned as the golden glow intensified.

This was the sign of a human being ascending to godhood.

“I told you I’m not ready yet.”

Concentrating his will, he suppressed his soul from leaving his body.

“Ughh... all this for a few words of advice?” he grumbled, sounding frustrated.

He narrowly avoided ascending to godhood just now, as the guidance he gave Shakiro had violated the laws of causality, triggering the universe’s attempts to elevate him to godhood.

***

‘Hey, what the hell? That thing is massive...’ Siegfried clicked his tongue as he stared at the colossal crocodile rampaging through the village and tearing it down as if it owned the place.

He had no idea at the time, but this massive beast was a mutated saltwater crocodile known as Brutus. It was a notorious creature that occasionally surfaced in the northern regions of the Green Isles, striking terror wherever it went.

Among the various sea monsters in the area, Brutus was infamous for its uncanny intelligence. It had been a thorn in the side of the Green Isles for decades, as it cunningly caused all sorts of chaos, even when the Pirate Lords ruled the isles.

And today, it had returned once again to terrorize the inhabitants.

For some reason, Brutus realized that the Pirate Lords that once kept it in check were gone. Seizing the opportunity, it returned to rampage, confident that there were no humans left capable of challenging its might.

Its fury had been brewing for years, and it was finally ready to unleash its wrath upon the humans.

Brutus was particularly destructive today, as it trampled everything in its path with reckless abandon. Anything that moved or even those that didn’t was fair game to it.

Humans who failed to evacuate in time were swallowed whole, but this only served to fuel the colossal crocodile’s insatiable hunger even more.

Sure, it could feed on marine life to survive, but no amount of fish or sea creatures could satisfy its palate that got used to such delicacy that is not available beneath the waters—human meat.

As a bonus, the livestock raised by the humans were not as scrumptious but were quite tasty as well.

Brutus had developed a taste for mammals that it became a craving so deep that ordinary sea creatures no longer satiate it. As the rampage continued, Brutus spotted a human woman trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed building.

Licking its snout, it snarled with delight before charging full speed toward its meal.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground shook with each thunderous step as it closed the distance.

“Kyaaaah!”

The woman screamed in terror and shut her eyes tight as the enormous beast came charging toward her with its maw opened wide.

Thwack!

Just then, something heavy slammed into the back of Brutus’ head.

“Kieeek!”

Brutus screeched in agony and instinctively snapped its head toward the sea.

Why?

It was all because years of experience taught it that only a human cannon fire from ships could deliver such a blow, so it automatically assumed that a ship had fired on it.

However, the waters off the coast were empty, and there was not a single ship in sight.

“Grrr...”

Puzzled and enraged, Brutus swiveled its head back and forth, scanning the area for the attacker.

Then, its gaze landed on a human standing casually nearby.

“Oh wow, this thing is really huge. Think of all the bags we could make with that hide!”

“Kyuuu! At least a thousand bags!”

Siegfried, unfazed by the colossal crocodile’s menacing glare, stood there chatting with Hamchi about their plans to profit off the crocodile’s leather.

It turned out that he was not frustrated about the monster’s size but was instead delighted by its size...

“Grrr...!”

Brutus couldn't understand human language, but it could sense the complete lack of fear in the human and the livestock beside him.

For a creature as prideful as Brutus, this was nothing short of an insult. These fragile humans and his livestock were not just not scared of him—no, they were openly mocking it and treating it like a mere inconvenience.

Meanwhile, Siegfried continued to chat with Hamchi.

“Hmm... But crocodile leather isn’t worth that much, right? Nowadays, dragon hide is where all the money’s at,” Siegfried, scratching his chin while brainstorming ways to turn the crocodile into a better payday.

Just then...

Ding!

A quest window popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: You have received a new Quest – Tame the Sea Beast!]