Debuff Master-Chapter 930

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammering echoed throughout the workshop, ceasing not even for a moment even in the dead of the night.

“Hello. Oh, wow, you're always working so hard.”

“Ah, welcome, Your Majesty.”

Quant, shirtless and drenched in sweat, was engrossed in his hammering, but he moment he saw Siegfried, he stopped and greeted Siegfried with a warm smile.

His upper body could only be described as unbelievably muscular. It was so massive and well-defined that it could easily rival the best professional bodybuilders. His torso was extremely wide, and his forearms were nearly as thick as a grown man’s thigh.

He was a dwarf, which meant that his muscle growth was naturally several times faster than that of a human. Of course, a lifetime of hammering had forged his body, sculpting it through sheer brute labor.

“What brings you here? Are you here because of the Omnistone? I’m sorry, but my research on it isn’t finished yet,” Quandt said, wiping away the sweat from his brow.

“No, that can wait,” Siegfried replied, shaking his head.

“Then?”

“Can you destroy this?” Siegfried asked, handing the Holy Sword: Phoenix over to Quandt.

“Isn’t this the Holy Sword: Phoenix? A relic from the beginning of time? Why in the world would you want to destroy such a sacred relic?”

Quandt had a point. The Holy Sword: Phoenix held immense archaeological and historical value. Not only that, even in terms of raw power, it was on par with the latest advanced weaponry crafted.

And yet, Siegfried was asking for it to be destroyed.

“Turns out it’s cursed,” Siegfried said.

“What?” Quandt muttered in disbelief.

“You see...” Siegfried proceeded to explain the situation.

“Ha! To think such a revered sword was capable of something so evil!” Quandt exclaimed and scoffed.

“Yes, I was just as surprised as you.”

“Indeed, it must be destroyed at once, but destroying this sword will not be easy.”

“Really?”

“It may not be completely indestructible, but it is nearly indestructible. Using ordinary methods will not work on it.”

“Then what do we do?”

“We melt it.”

“In a forge?”

“This sword will not melt in a mere forge, Your Majesty.”

Without further explanation, Quandt grabbed the Holy Sword: Phoenix and tossed it into the furnace.

“Huh? What...?” Siegfried muttered in astonishment when the sword remained completely unaffected by the molten furnace.

“This blade has a powerful, innate fire attribute energy. Ordinary flames cannot do anything to it.”

“What if we try Mount Kunlun?”

“Are you referring to the Ancient Crate?”

At the peak of Mount Kunlun was the Ancient Crater, a legendary volcano that was so hot that it was considered to be used to destroy the Ignite Soul.

If anything could burn something away, then it was that place.

“Hmm... The Ancient Crater might work, but in my honest opinion... I am not sure.”

“Is this thing that tough?”

“I would say most artifacts of the same rank will melt in the Ancient Crater. But since this is a divine relic with innate fire attribute energy, I doubt it would work.”

“Then how can we destroy it?”

“There is one volcano that boasts even more powerful heat than the Ancient Crater.”

“Where is that?”

“If it is Mount Amon's crater located in the southern region of the continent... That should be able to melt this sword.”

“Mount Amon?”

Siegfried pulled up his world map and located Mount Amon, and just as Quand said, it was located in the southern region of the continent.

It was roughly two thirds the size of Mount Kunlun, which meant Siegfried could climb it.

“I should go there at once and melt this thing.”

Destroying the Holy Sword: Phoenix took priority above all else. He couldn’t afford to delay it, not when the damned sword could possess Brunhilde at any moment.

“Yes, Your Majesty. That cursed thing should be destroyed as soon as possible.”

“I will.”

With that, Siegfried resolved to take the Holy Sword: Phoenix to Mount Amon and erase it from existence.

Ding!

Just then, a quest message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Melt the Cursed Sword!]

[Take the divine relic of Archangel Auriel, the Holy Sword: Phoenix, to the crater at the summit of Mount Amon and melt it.]

[Type: Duo Quest]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Reward: Unexpected Fortune]

[Note: The sword is bound to Brunhilde, so she must personally ascend the mountain.]

This was not a normal quest. It was a quest Siegfried had to do together with Brunhilde.

***

As soon as Siegfried checked the quest details—

“What?! Because it’s bound to her?!”

He was baffled as to why he couldn’t proceed with the quest alone, but it did not take long for him to figure out the reason.

Seuruk...!

The Holy Sword: Phoenix, which lay in the furnace, suddenly vanished like a mirage.

“What?! Where’d it go?! It didn’t just vanish into thin air, did it?!” Siegfried exclaimed, shocked to see the sword disappear right in front of his eyes.

“It has most likely returned to Her Majesty the Queen, so you do not have to worry,” Quandt said, reassuring him.

“Ah, so it went back to her because it’s bound to her?”

“That is highly probable.”

“So that’s why...”

He now understood why the "Melt the Cursed Sword!" quest was a duo quest rather than a solo quest.

Even if he took the Holy Sword: Phoenix to Mount Amon, it would just return to Brunhilde’s side the moment he strayed too far from her.

In other words, he had to complete this quest together with her unless he wanted to run back and forth chasing after the sword.

Another option was for Brunhilde to undertake the quest alone.

However, they had to complete the quest together in order to receive the Unexpected Fortune promised as a reward.

‘Well, I guess this is a good excuse to go on a trip together,’ Siegfried thought.

He decided to use this opportunity to go on a trip with her while undertaking the quest.

“Got it. Thanks for your advice.”

“Think nothing of it. You are out there fighting to keep the world safe, so helping you is the least I can do! Hahaha!”

“Quandt...”

“As for that other thing you requested, it is nearly finished. But I will need a bit more time, so please be patient.”

“Okay.”

“Now then, I will get back to work.”

“Thank you for everything.”

With those parting words, Siegfried left the workshop.

“Make sure to serve Lord Quandt snacks and refreshments while he’s working.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Even while leaving, he did not forget to ask a servant to look after Quandt.

***

After logging out from the game, Tae-Sung went straight to sleep.

The next morning, he woke up early, worked out at the gym, had breakfast, and then left the house.

His reason for heading out today was simple—real estate shopping.

He wanted to secure land in advance for the hospital that his younger sister, Tae-Hee, would eventually run in the future.

Why?

It was all because real estate prices would only go up over time. By the time she was ready to open her own hospital, the land’s value would have risen even more. Thus, it made sense to buy it now while he had the money and prices had yet to increase.

He planned to build a building on the land, lease it out for profit, and then renovate or expand it when his sister was ready to open her hospital.

“Which car should I take today...?”

Once at his garage, Tae-Sung scanned his collection before settling on the ultimate luxury sedan, his Rolls-Royce Phantom.

He was only going to visit a real estate agency to buy land. He would head straight back home afterward, so he didn't feel like driving at all.

“We will depart now, Young Master.”

“All right, chief.”

With that, his chief bodyguard drove the Rolls-Royce Phantom toward the real estate agency’s office.

“Welcome, sir! The contract is all prepared!”

“Thanks as always.”

“Not at all! You are one of our VIP clients, so we have to provide top-tier service! Hahaha!”

Tae-Sung was, without a doubt, a VIP client in the agency's eyes. Every time he made a deal, the agency would earn anywhere from tens of millions to hundreds of millions in commission fees.

Clients like him were incredibly rare, so the agency was prepared to do whatever it took to keep him as their client.

“By the way, who’s selling this land?” Tae-Sung asked.

He was genuinely curious about the identity of the owner, as the land was roughly five hundred pyeong.[1] of vacant lot in Gangnam. No, it was not just anywhere in Gangnam, but in the heart of Cheongdam-dong.[2]

The fact that such prime land even existed was a surprise, but what Tae-Sung wanted to know was the identity of the owner wealthy enough to leave such a valuable property sitting idle.

“Ah, the owner of the land is—”

It was then.

“Huh? Why are you here?” Cheon Woo-Jin asked Tae-Sung upon entering the office.

“Welcome, sir,” the agency director greeted him with a smile before turning back to Tae-Sung. Then, he said, “The owner of that land is Young Master Woo-Jin.”

“What?” Tae-Sung muttered, completely flabbergasted by what he heard.

‘Just how rich is this guy...?’

The piece of land Tae-Sung was about to purchase was valued at one hundred billion won. It was obvious that this piece of land was worth a negligible portion of Cheon Woo-Jin’s assets, and the full extent of his wealth was certainly beyond imagination.

“Oh? So it was you? I wondered who the sucker that was willing to buy this overpriced piece of land the moment I put it out on the market,” Cheon Woo-Jin said with a smirk.

“The hell did you say, punk?” Tae-Sung growled in response.

“Oh well, I guess only you would buy a useless plot of land for this amount these days. I mean, cash is tight these days, so not much would do this. Anyway, should I just stamp my seal here?”

Cheon Woo-Jin pulled out his seal and was about to stamp it to finalize the contract.

“Wait a second,” Tae-Sung said, grabbing Cheon Woo-Jin’s wrist.

“Huh? What now?”

“Ninety billion.”

“What?”

“Sell it to me for ninety billion won.”

“...What?!”

Cheon Woo-Jin’s eyes nearly popped out after hearing that Tae-Sung was asking for a whopping ten billion won discount.

Sure, negotiations were always a part of a deal, but asking for a ten billion won discount?

This was just a highway robbery.

“Hey, are you out of your damn mind? You want a ten billion won discount on a property that costs one hundred billion won?”

“Why not? I thought you’re rich?”

“You crazy bastard! There’s a limit to haggling! Who the hell asks for a ten billion won discount?!”

“Why not? I thought we were friends? Also, you called me a sucker just now, right? Since one hundred billion will make me, your friend, look like a sucker, so why not just give it to me for ninety billion?”

“S-Screw you!”

“Come on, ninety billion won, buddy!”

“I said no!”

“Pweashhh?”

“Ughhh!”

After that, Cheon Woo-Jin had to endure Tae-Sung’s relentless pestering.

Haggling this much would not make sense under normal circumstances. Even among friends, arguing over this much money would usually lead to bad blood and possibly the end of the said friendship.

However, Tae-Sung and Cheon Woo-Jin were different.

Both were the Young and Super Rich of South Korea known to have a ton of cash on hand. Their sense of money was on an entirely different level compared to ordinary people.

Perhaps that was the reason, but—

“Ah, damn it! Fine! Take it! Just take it and fuck off!”

In the end, Cheon Woo-Jin ended up caving in and agreeing to Tae-Sung’s ridiculous request. He knew that Tae-Sung would keep harassing him forever about it if he did not give in now.

He concluded that losing ten billion won was better than having his peace disturbed.

“Hey, director.”

“Yes, Young Master?”

After stamping his seal on the new contract, Cheon Woo-Jin turned to the agency director.

“From now on, never show this guy any of my properties, got it? What kind of negotiation is this? How can you bring someone who asks for a ten billion won discount to me?”

“U-Understood, Young Master. Haha... Hahaha...”

The agency director broke into a cold sweat, as this was the first time Cheon Woo-Jin had grumbled at length to him.

“Hehehe~”

Meanwhile, Tae-Sung was beaming. He managed to buy the land he wanted for ten billion won cheaper than the original price. The money he saved could go toward constructing the building to sit on it, after all.

“Hey~ Woo-Jin~ Let me buy you lunch! It’s on me—”

It was then.

Bam!

A loud crash echoed from outside.

“Huh? What was that?”

Tae-Sung looked out the window to check.

And what he saw was—

“The hell?”

A tiny compact car had crashed into his Rolls-Royce Phantom, and the loud noise just now had come from that collision.

“Kekeke! Karma’s a bitch! Someone get me a drink, quick! This is hilarious!” Cheon Woo-Jin cackled, thrilled to see karma bite Tae-Sung so quickly.

“Damn it!” Tae-Sung angrily rushed outside. Even someone as wealthy as him couldn't turn a blind eye to one of his prized cars getting wrecked.

1. Roughly 1,652sqm. ☜

2. Cheongdam-dong is one of the most expensive places in South Korea. Probably Top 3? ☜