Chapter 153

“What? A heart-to-heart conversation? Don’t make me laugh,” PyakPyak replied. He did not shrink back even though Siegfried had recovered a portion of his mana.

“

Pfft!

” PyakPyak couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you really think that you’re a hidden class or something?”

PyakPyak wasn’t sneering at Siegfried without any basis. The difference between their base stats was simply too huge for a non-hidden class player to overcome.

‘It was great how he managed to kill nineteen people in an instant with an AoE, but there’s no way he’s strong in a one-versus-one as well,’?

PyakPyak inwardly calculated.

It was a logical conclusion. After all, players with Mage classes could deal a ton of burst damage with their AoE skills, but their classes were inherently terrible at close-quarters combat. Of course, there were some exceptions, but Mage classes had always been famous for their weak Constitution.

The same was applicable vice versa. A player with a Mage class specializing in close-quarters combat would always have horrible burst damage. This equilibrium existed in every single game as if it were an unwritten rule, and it was also the main reason each class had its own unique charm.

In short, there was no way that Siegfried could deal enough damage in close-quarters combat unless he had a cheat-like class. After all, he had already revealed his tremendously high AoE burst damage.

“I’ll teach you a lesson,” PyakPyak said smugly as he aimed his crossbow at Siegfried.

‘

What the heck? What happened to my Attack Speed?’?

PyakPyak could feel that his Attack Speed had somehow gone down. He would have already sent an arrow flying toward Siegfried by now and had reloaded his crossbow as well, but he still hadn’t even shot an arrow.

Shwiik~

In addition, when his arrow finally flew, it lost the shrill sound it used to make as it flew through the air. It gave off a calming noise as it flew ever so slowly that one could already deduce where it would land.

‘

What’s going on? What happened to my Attack Speed and Movement Speed? Why am I so slow, all of a sudden?’?

PyakPyak could sense that something was wrong. He immediately checked his status window only to find that his Attack Speed, Movement Speed, and Casting Speed had been reduced significantly to the extent that they might as well be zero.

‘

Debuffs…?’?

he suddenly recalled that debuffs existed in this game.

Pukeok!

Siegfried smashed his hammer into PyakPyak’s chest while the latter was busy trying to make sense of what was going on.

“

Ah!”?

PyakPyak was forcefully shoved to the ground. Before he could recover, a shadow emerged from the ground and locked his arm in an armbar.

Crack…!

“

Aaaargh!”

PyakPyak screamed in agony. The horrible noises continued at length as Siegfried kept smashing his hammer into PyakPyak.

***

PyakPyak got into this situation because he had gotten too complacent and committed a fatal mistake by trying to get rid of Hamchi first before Siegfried.

The fatal mistake was none other than distance.

He had completely ignored the distance between him and his enemy when he saw Hamchi on top of Siegfried. Making sure that there was enough distance between a ranged DPS and an enemy was one of the cardinal rules of playing a ranged DPS.

He had thought that all he had to do was get rid of the giant hamster and take his sweet time killing Siegfried. After all, Adventurers were nothing but empty cans without their mana.

Therefore, PyakPyak felt safe despite being only five meters away from Siegfried and Hamchi. It was the fatal mistake he had committed.

Five meters… It was within the Cast Range of Siegfriend’s debuff fields, so he immediately cast Shadow Swamp the moment he recovered enough mana.

‘This dark ground must be the debuff field! I got too complacent and got too close to him! I have to get out of here!’?

PyakPyak realized the mistake he made even though he was locked in an armbar. He squirmed as hard as he could to escape.

“Just stay right there. I’m going to bash your head in soon,” Siegfried said.

PyakPyak’s head was going to get bashed in by a Level 180 Adventurer unless he escaped the clutches of the shadow behind him.

It was now or never.

“

Arrrgh!”?

PyakPyak screamed at the top of his lungs. He successfully freed himself from the shadow’s clutches and quickly got up.

“I have to get out of here…” he groaned.

“Do you really think that you can just leave just because you want to leave?” asked Siegfried.

“

Ah…!”

“Time to get a beating!” exclaimed Siegfried before closing the distance between him and PyakPyak. The latter was still trying to leave the confines of Shadow Swamp, but he had to release a barrage of attacks at Siegfried rushing toward him.

PyakPyak was not going to go down without a fight. He somehow evaded Siegfried’s attacks despite being debuffed, and he even counterattacked with kicks and jabs with his left hand rather than his bow whenever there was an opening.

In fact, he even went after a few openings by using his kicks to create a small distance between him and Siegfried before firing an arrow.

It was an excellent display of control and reflexes, but PyakPyak wasn’t that good of a gamer in Siegfried’s eyes.

‘

He has some tricks under his sleeve, but I can’t say he’s good. This is all because of the difference between our stats. He looks like he’s a good player because of his better stats.’

PyakPyak’s combat sense and control were above average for sure, but they weren’t enough to threaten Siegfried. The only thing that was threatening about PyakPyak was his stats and his stats alone.

In addition, PyakPyak’s gears were considerably better than the garbage that Siegfried was wearing, but it wasn’t really strange because PyakPyak was a veteran high-level player.

In short, the twenty-five-level difference between the two was so significant in many ways that the bonus stats of Siegfried’s hidden class was made obsolete.

Siegfried didn’t find it too difficult to deal with enemies thirty levels higher than him because, despite the huge gap in levels, his opponents were still below Level 200.

It was unfortunate, but it seemed that overcoming the gap between levels would become more difficult the higher Siegfried’s level.

‘It’s impossible to beat him without my debuffs, and I also can’t say for sure if I can really beat him with my debuffs. In that case, there is only one answer: I have to brute force it!’

‘I have to continuously debuff him and take full advantage of my class! I’m the Debuff Master, and I shouldn’t forget that!’?

‘It’s about time I finish this…’?

Siegfried mustered his mana.

Woooong!

A reddish field superimposed on the black field.

Fwaa!?Fwaaaa!

All of a sudden, flames engulfed PyakPyak, shredding his Defense and Magic Resistance. This meant that Siegfried’s attack would be significantly more effective from now on.

‘It’s my Defense and Magic Resistance this time?! What’s up with this shred?! He shreds double than most Debuffers! What’s going on?! Is he cheating?!’?

PyakPyak screamed inwardly,

He even accused Siegfried of cheating, but he couldn’t dwell on the thought for too long.

Siegfried cast three buff skills.

The skill that allowed him to deal more damage to enemies if they were of a higher level than him—Contempt for the Strong.

The next skill he cast was Proof of Existence. It was a skill that allowed Siegfried to deal increased damage against enemies debuffed by the Debuff Master.

Lastly, he cast Adamant Body, just in case PyakPyak managed to take advantage of brief openings to counterattack.

These three buff skills turned him into a ferocious beast as he unleashed a flurry of attacks at PyakPyak.

Pak!?Pukeok!

Siegfried smashed his hammer twice into PyakPyak before activating Machine Gun Smash. He attacked with such gusto and speed that it looked like he wanted to turn PyakPyak into minced meat.

Puk! Puk! Puk!

‘Fuck! I’m losing to a Level 180?! What bullshit is this?!’?

PyakPyak cursed inwardly.

He gritted his teeth and screamed, “Dieeeeeee!”

PyakPyak screamed as loud as he could, and his scream carried his frustration and all sorts of emotions as the crossbow in his hand shone red. The crossbow got so hot that it released steam. It was the Ultimate Skill of the Arrow Buster—Relentless Quick Fire.

Wooong!

Siegfried casually interrupted PyakPyak’s Ultimate Skill using Wave of Oppression. Of course, the Ultimate Skill was cast before Siegfried could react. Fortunately, Wave of Oppression still managed to interrupt PyakPyak’s Relentless Quick Fire.

Piu~ Piu~ Piu~

The ultimate skill should have fired a torrent of power arrows under normal circumstances, but after getting hit by Siegfried’s Wave of Oppression, the arrows helplessly fell down.

They only managed to fly less than a meter before plopping to the ground.

“W-What happened?!” PyakPyak started panicking at his Ultimate Skill’s weird behavior.

Siegfried replied by smashing his hammer into PyakPyak’s face.

Pukeok!

The hit was so clean and powerful that PyakPyak’s head was bent backward as two streams of blood shot out from his nostrils, along with a few of his teeth flying into the air.

‘Ah, I’m craving popcorn—I’m suddenly craving popcorn

,

’?

Siegfried thought while staring at the teeth in mid-air.

‘Should I ask Cheon Woo-Jin to go out and watch a movie with me next week…?’?

he wondered as he dealt the final blow to the dizzy PyakPyak.

Pukeok!

Thud…!

PyakPyak died and fell to the ground.

Naturally, he dropped one of his items as well.

And that was how the Level 205 Adventurer, PyakPyak, ended up dying at the hands of Siegfried, who was only Level 180.

***

“I got lucky…” Siegfried muttered. He wasn’t happy about his victory at all because it was true that he only won because he got lucky.

He would have definitely lost if he fought PyakPyak and the nineteen other Adventurers at once. In addition, he would have turned into a pincushion if Hamchi hadn’t grown in size and landed on top of him.

Siegfried was confident in a one-versus-one fight against PyakPyak. In fact, he believed that he would have won even though it would have been a bit difficult of a battle.

The victory that Siegfried had achieved over PyakPyak wasn’t the victory he wanted.

‘I have to hurry up and raise my level. I can’t let a Level 205 player stump me. I have to reflect on this fight and work on becoming better the next time…’?

Siegfried once again made the decision to raise his level a bit faster. It was a bit ironic since he had been leveling up faster than anyone else ever since he had reset his character.

Siegfried went over to Hamchi and asked, “Are you all right?”

He went over to the hamster that decided to put his life on the life to protect him. He didn’t even glance at the items on the ground.

“

Kyu…?

It fucking hurts…

Kyu!”?

Hamchi cried in agony.

“Stay still. I’ll pull them out for you.” Siegfried reached out toward the arrows sticking out of Hamchi’s back.

“

Kyu?! Kyyyuuuuuu!?

Owner punk! Be gentle! Hamchi is dying!

”?

Hamchi screamed.

“I haven’t even touched them yet…” Siegfried muttered.

“

Kyu… Kyuu…?”

“Stop overreacting, will you?!”

“R-Really…? S-Sorry… Hamchi is just in so much pain right now…”

“I’ll pull one out on three, okay?”

“All right…”

“One…”

Puuuk!

Siegfried’s hand moved like lightning and pulled out an arrow from the giant hamster’s back.

“

KYUUUUUUUUU!”?

Hamchi let out a horrible scream.

“Gotcha~” Siegfried snickered.

***

Once Siegfried was done taking out all of the arrows sticking out of Hamchi’s back, he collected the items that the Adventurers had dropped upon death.

[Alert: You have obtained ‘Blue Blood Brooch’!]

[Alert: You have obtained ‘Earrings of Silence’!]

[Alert: You have obtained ‘Rooted Boots’!]

The Adventurers he had killed this time were of high levels, so the items he had obtained were pretty useful. He could also sell the items for a hefty profit. However, the best item among them was the item that dropped from PyakPyak.

[Alert: You have obtained ‘Compact Blaster Ballista’!]

It was the unique item PyakPyak was using on his right hand. It wasn’t an artifact crafted by the Hometown of Death, but it was still an artifact crafted by the Bavarian Workshop, so it would definitely fetch a handsome price.

“

Tsk, tsk…”?

Siegfried clicked his tongue.

The game company hadn’t released any official numbers so far, but the players reckoned that the chance of dropping a weapon as the consequence of dying was less than five percent.

Even worse, PyakPyak had actually dropped his main weapon.

“I feel bad for that guy. I guess he’s someone who will break his nose even if he falls backward,” said Siegfried, pitying PyakPyak’s rotten luck.

Once Siegfried was done collecting all the items on the ground, he looked at Hamchi.

“

Kyu…”?

Hamch had reverted back to his original size, and his back was covered in so much blood from the many wounds that he had sustained. It also looked like Hamchi couldn’t even move right now.

‘

Going any further when he’s is in that state will be a bit too much,’?

thought Siegfried.

It was clear that asking Hamchi to drive the Aqua Runner in his current state would be asking for the impossible, so Siegfried decided to retreat for now.

‘

I retreat and nurse him for a bit.’?

Having made up his mind, he walked toward the hamster. Then, he crouched down with his back toward the hamster and said, “Hey, get on.”

1. They call teeth corn kernels in Korea.