Debuff Master

Chapter 531

Cheon Woo-Jin replied coolly while Siegfried was all worked up.

– I\'m the Quest Maker, but I still can’t raise your level to Level 300. You should know that too, right?

“Yeah, I do.”

An Adventurer could not reach Level 300 no matter how many experience points they\'d obtain at Level 299. One would have to clear a special quest that would allow them to overcome the invisible wall preventing so many Adventurers from stepping into the realm of Masters, which was Level 300.

As a matter of fact, there were many Level 299 Rankers who had given up on leveling up and had focused on speccing instead. They could no longer obtain skill points or stat points, so they decided to focus more on improving their gear.

This was the biggest difference between Level 299 and Level 300.

A Level 299 Adventurer\'s growth would freeze, while a Level 300 Adventurer would experience tremendous growth just from leveling up once, and they\'d continue to become even stronger.

The gap between Level 299 and Level 300 was not something that could be overcome by improving one’s gears alone.

– But I can raise your level to Level 299.

“Hmm...”

– Hey, what’s your level now?

“Me? Level 281—no, it will be Level 282 soon.”

– Then you’ll be gaining almost twenty levels if you clear this, no?

“...!”

– You possess a Hidden Class, so you could fight toe-to-toe against most Master NPCs once you hit Level 299, but if you manage to hit Level 300...

“That\'s...” Siegfried muttered while imagining him reaching Level 300. He was currently only Level 281, so he was struggling against opponents Level 300 and above, but he could still defeat them.

The Debuff Master was a Hidden Class, which meant he gained extra skill points and stat points whenever he leveled up. In other words, he was stronger than most people at the same level as him.

However, what if he reached Level 299? It would exactly be like what Cheon Woo-Jin said; he would be able to fight toe-to-toe against most Master NPCs. Of course, it did not mean that Siegfried could easily defeat them, but that was a different story altogether.

– So, what do you think? Don’t you think this can be considered a "Big Deal?" One single quest and poof! you’re Level 299!

Cheon Woo-Jin could see that Siegfried was slowly being persuaded, so he decided to push a bit more.

– Do you want it or not?

“I want it. It’s not like reaching Level 299 is going to be easy,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

– All right! Then I’ll change the quest details.

“Go ahead.”

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes the moment he reached an agreement with Cheon Woo-Jin.

Ding!

[Alert: Your quest "Destroy the Ignite Soul" has changed into Kill Apocalius!]

[Alert: The reward has changed from +3 Levels to Instantly Reach Level 299!]

[Alert: Do you wish to accept changes?]

[Yes!]

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest - Kill Apocalius!]

Siegfried had received the new quest from Cheon Woo-Jin.

– Oh, right, we already acquired the Void Soul, so you only need to collect three more fragments.

“Void Soul?”

– Beowulf went to the Northern Great Forest and killed the fragment of Apocalius over there. Anyway, you only have to find three more now. I’m sure you heard that the Northern Great Forest had some bizarre things happening at the same time the Southern Great Jungle was undergoing its own share of bizarre things, right?

“Yeah, was that caused by Apocalius’ fragment too?”

– Yup.

“Then what about the remaining three?”

– We are still searching. We sort of have an idea where one is, but we’re still trying to locate the remaining two.

“Let me know as soon as you find out.”

– Okay.

“Then what should I do first? Should I craft the Fated Censer?”

– That sounds like a great idea. You go to the Porsche Workshop and craft the Fated Censer. Meanwhile, I’ll search for the Flame of Annihilation.

“Alright.”

– And send Iris-nim over to us. We have a few things regarding alchemy we would like her advice on, and she’ll be safe here since our location is hidden, unlike the Proatine Kingdom.

“Sure, let’s do that.”

– I’ll send someone to the Porsche Workshop.

“Make sure you do that. Anyway, I’m hanging up.”

– Good luck.

Beep!

The call ended, and Siegfried returned to the deck.

“You heard him, right?” Siegfried asked the captain.

“Yes, Your Majesty. We will change course to the Porsche Workshop at once,” the captain replied.

The Huracan changed directions and headed for the Porsche Workshop instead rather than for the Proatine Kingdom. The Porsche Workshop was located in the northern region of the continent and was inside the Leipzig Kingdom\'s territory.

***

The Huracan soon arrived at its destination.

“I will go place a commission for the Fated Censer first. Then, someone from the Guardians will come to escort you to their safehouse,” Siegfried said.

“Are you referring to those who fight against darkness and bring light to this world?” Iris asked in response.

“Oh? Do you know them?” Siegfried asked, slightly flustered by the fact that she knew about the Guardians.

“I have lived a long time, so I know a lot of things.”

“Eh? Is that how it works?”

“Someone once told me that there was a secret organization protecting the continent from the forces of darkness. Their sole purpose is to uphold the peace, so they have decided not to be affiliated with any nation. Well, it is a sensible choice, as those in power would try to use them for their own benefit.”

“You seem to know a lot about them.”

“That is all I know about them.”

“Haha... I think that can be considered a lot already.”

“I see.”

“More importantly, I feel bad that your peaceful days were disturbed by those fanatics.”

Iris smiled faintly and replied, “I am used to having people come after me hoping to find out my secret to immortality, so you do not have to concern yourself with what happened.”

“Oh?”

“I have always been on the run and have been hiding to survive. Well, if you think about it, this situation is no different, so I am used to it.”

“...”

“So there is really no need for you to worry about me.”

“All right,” Siegfried nodded. He was about to say, “That’s great.” but he decided against it. How could he say something like that to her? What was the use of immortality if she had to live in hiding eternally?

Siegfried finally understood the loneliness portrayed in the Seeing Off Temeraire that Iris had painted, and there was indeed a reason why real art experts had praised it for its emotions.

‘Geez. That’s quite sad...’ Siegfried thought that eternal life might be a curse rather than a blessing.

***

Siegfried arrived at the Porsche Workshop and talked to the manager. Then, he was able to easily meet their head blacksmith thanks to the manager\'s help.

“Hello, Your Majesty. My name is Cayenne, and I am the Head Blacksmith of the Porsche Workshop.”

The first impression Siegfried got after seeing Cayenne for the first time was that he looked engineered. His face being perfectly symmetrical was just the start. His collars were ironed so sharply that they could cut anything that touched them, his shoes were neatly polished that a fly would slip if it tried landing on it, and his hair was slicked back without a single strand sticking out.

The Head Blacksmith of the Porsche Workshop, Cayenne, looked so perfect that he looked more like a robot than a human, and he probably would not bleed even if he got stabbed.

“H-Hello, Siegfried van Proa is the name,” Siegfried replied awkwardly. He was quite nervous after getting overwhelmed by the robotic presence of the head blacksmith.

“Welcome, Your Majesty. It is an honor to meet you.”

“Gee~ I am not sure if I am that great... Hahaha...”

“But who might the lady with you be?”

“Ah, please allow me to introduce her. This is Ms. Iris.”

“Oh? The head of the Aphrodite Merchant Company?”

“She is also the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron.”

“What?!”

Crash!

Cayenne’s robotic vibe came crashing down the moment he heard Siegfried\'s words.

“A-Are you certain?! Is Iris of the Aphrodite Merchant Company truly the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron?!” Cayenne was so shocked that he could not believe what he heard just now.

The blacksmiths who crafted artifacts were different from ordinary blacksmiths crafting everyday tools or normal weapons. The art of crafting normal tools and weapons required knowledge in metallurgy and blacksmithing only, but the art of crafting an artifact was vastly more complicated than that.

A blacksmith required adept knowledge of magic, metallurgy, blacksmithing, alchemy, and a plethora of other things to craft an artifact. Among these specialties, the most important one was definitely alchemy, and it had always been a source of headache for most workshops due to the small population of talented alchemists.

An alchemist was so important that there were rumors that a workshop’s ability to craft more powerful artifacts was limited by the skills of their alchemists, as this was often the limiting factor all workshops faced.

However, Immortal Alchemist Acheron was rumored to have reached the pinnacle of this extremely difficult discipline, but there were only a few people who had met this elusive individual.

Thus, it wasn\'t strange that Cayenne broke his character out of shock, as he was currently standing face to face with the greatest alchemist on the continent.

“Yes, I am the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron—well, I used to be,” Iris replied with a nod.

“I... I can’t believe this. Who would have imagined you are the Immortal Alchemist...!” Cayenne muttered while still reeling in from the shock—no, he was not reeling in from anything right now. ‘This is impossible... Who would have imagined the Immortal Alchemist was right under my nose this entire time...?’

Cayenne found it hard to believe that Iris was the Immortal Alchemist, so he started suspecting Siegfried. ‘I did not expect a VVIP of the top three workshops to tell such absurd lies just to con people...’

After seeing Cayenne’s eyes that were filled with doubts and skepticism, Iris smiled and said, “I see that you are having a hard time believing it."

“Yes, it is hard to believe that the legendary figure, Immortal Alchemist Acheron, is standing in front of me,” Cayenne replied honestly, as he did not feel the need to hide his thoughts.

Iris replied by touching the teacup laid before her. The teacup made out of ceramic turned into gold at her touch.

“...!” Cayenne was shocked. The ability to turn any object into real gold was the pinnacle of alchemy that every alchemist could ever dream of reaching, and it had just happened right in front of his eyes.

“Wow?” Siegfried was astonished as well but for a whole different reason.

‘S-She turned a teacup into gold?! This is Creative Economy[1]!

Siegfried\'s eyes turned into dollar signs as he stared at Iris.

“Is there something on my face?” Iris asked, feeling burdened by his gaze.

“Oh yes, there is something alright,” Siegfried replied sheepishly.

Iris touched her face and asked, “What is on my–”

“Money.”

“M-Money...?”

“Your ability is truly... Hehe... Mehehehe...!”

Iris narrowed her eyes after witnessing Siegfried\'s materialistic tendency.

Iris closed her eyes and said, “Unfortunately, it is impossible to make money with this.”

“R-Really? Why?”

“It is extremely difficult even for me to turn an object into gold, and it is not something that can be done in large quantities. Therefore, it is better for Your Majesty to stop dreaming about—"

“Tsk...” Siegfried clicked his tongue and pouted like a child.

Meanwhile, Cayenne’s reaction after seeing the teacup turn into gold was completely different from Siegfried’s materialistic reaction.

“Oh! Ooooh!” Cayenne sincerely marveled at the teacup after touching it, inspecting it, and even going as far as biting it. Then, he looked at Iris and said, “I now believe that you are indeed the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron.”

“Hmm... Do you?”

“It is an honor to meet the immortal one who stands at the pinnacle of alchemy,” Cayenne said with utmost respect. Then, he looked at Siegfried and said, “Your Majesty.”

“Yes?”

“I sincerely apologize for thinking that Your Majesty was a swindler, even though it was only for a short while.”

“S-Swindler...?! Argh...!”

“As a token of my apology... Your Majesty, Siegfried van Proa, will now be a VVIP customer of our Porsche Workshop,” Cayenne said with a bow.

“Huh?”

“We hope to serve you continuously, King Siegfried van Proa.”

And that was how Siegfried became a VVIP customer of the workshop which specialized in creating bespoke artifacts, the Porsche Workshop. He became a VVIP customer by doing absolutely nothing.

1. An economic model popularized in Korea recently. It’s not a new thing, the government just picked it up and turned it into a thing. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_economy_(economic_system) ☜