Debuff Master

Chapter 17

‘I’m gonna split your head into two,’?he smugly thought.

Jung Chi-Ho aimed for Tae-Sung’s forehead.

“Hap!”?he let out a shout as he swung his sword down Tae-Sung’s head.

***

‘He’s coming…’?

He had been observing Jung Chi-Ho ever since the match started without missing a single movement.

‘He’s coming in fast, and it’s an overhead swing.’

Surprisingly, he was able to analyze Jung Chi-Ho’s attack without any difficulties calmly. But the even more surprising part was the fact that he did not intend to analyze it in the first place.

‘I can see it. It’s too obvious…’?

Jung Chi-Ho’s movements were so obvious Tae-Sung did not even have to put in any effort to read them.

The reason Tae-Sung could do this was simple.

‘This is just child’s play when compared to Master…’?

Tae-Sung’s master, the Level 999 Hidden NPC, was the strongest being in all of Brave New World. And Tae-Sung faced that monster for ninety-eight consecutive days—although he got one-sidedly beaten every time.

It was simply inevitable for Tae-Sung to see Jung Chi-Ho’s attack so clearly as if it were in slow motion.

‘And…’?His gaze was fixated on Jung Chi-Ho’s wide-open chest as the latter brought his katana over his head.

An opening!

The answer to what he was supposed to do became clear the moment an opening presented itself.

Grip!

Tae-Sung gripped his baton tightly.

“Hap!”?Jung Chi-Ho exclaimed as he swung his katana down.

When Jung Chi-Ho’s katana was about to come down, Tae-Sung slammed his baton into Jung Chi-Ho’s wide-open chest.

Pukeok!

“Kuheok!”?Jung Chi-Ho let out a groan with his tongue sticking out from the impact.

***

“What?!” Cha Hye-Mi could not believe her eyes.

The movement Tae-Sung had displayed just now was so unbelievable that she couldn’t help but doubt her eyes.

If it were in BNW where mana and stats existed to enhance one’s body, it would be easy to replicate Tae-Sung’s attack just now. However, it wasn’t something that could be easily done in Virtual Fight, as the game was designed to be as close to reality as possible.

“Haha…” Oh Jun-Hwan chuckled in disbelief before he exclaimed, “I knew it! I knew Han Tae-Sung-nim would succeed! Haha!”

“You knew it? What do you mean?” Cha Hye-Mi asked after turning toward Oh Jun-Hwan.

“Hmm… that is…” Oh Jun-Hwan hesitated and scratched the back of his head.

“What is it? Hurry up and tell me!” Cha Hye-Mi exclaimed.

“Han Tae-Sung-nim’s compatibility with the Ogre was an astonishing 96.5%,” Oh Jun-Hwan explained.

“W-What did you just say?! How much?!” Cha Hye-Mi shouted in surprise.

“96.5%. It was 96.5%...” Oh Jun-Hwan repeated.

“Impossible!” Cha Hye-Mi exclaimed. She could not believe Oh Jun-Hwan’s words.

It was just natural for her to find it difficult to believe since 96.5% was an astonishingly high number. In fact, the number of people whose compatibility was more or less Tae-Sung’s were less than five.

“That’s impossible! How is 96.5% even possible?! That’s comparable to a top ranker! It’s a god-given ability! If that’s true, Tae-Sung is definitely not an ordinary player, but I’m certain that it’s a mistake,” Cha Hye-Mi exclaimed.

The reason Cha Hye-Mi adamantly refused to believe it was that she had already read the data regarding Tae-Sung, and the Tae-Sung she knew from the data wasn’t someone capable of reaching 96.5% compatibility. In fact, she quickly dismissed him and thought if there was anyone more useless than him due to the fact that the results he had achieved were far less than the amount he had put in.

How did such a man suddenly reach a compatibility of 96.5%?

Even if it were justified by saying that Tae-Sung used the Hyper Capsule Ogre, Cha Hye-Mi still couldn’t understand it.

“I understand how you feel,” Oh Jun-Hwan said with a smile before adding, “However, it is a fact that he reached that figure. I initially suspected that it could be a bug or an error, but it was not. We tested it quite a few times, but Tae-Sung-nim’s compatibility came out 96.5% every single time.”

“Haha…” Cha Hye-Mi laughed in disbelief before saying, “I just thought that you went all the way to the Ogre because he wasn’t compatible with any capsule…”

“Then, I can understand why you are so surprised. Haha!

” Oh Jun-Hwan laughed heartily.

“Then… that means… this battle is…” Cha Hye-Mi muttered.

“Yes…” Oh Jun-Hwan nodded.

“Without a doubt, Tae-Sung will—” Cha Hye-Mi trailed off.

“Win.” Oh Jun-Hwan concluded for her.

“Tae-Sung will crush him,” Cha Hye-Mi added.

“I think so as well. Of course, we will have to wait and see the result,” Oh Jun-Hwan said while staring at the screen.

“Yes,” Cha Hye-Mi replied while staring at the screen as well.

“We have to wait and see what happens. Let’s see if Tae-Sung-nim will finally show us his true value,” Oh Jun-Hwan said.

***

However, the victor and loser were quickly decided, contrary to Cha Hye-Min and Oh Jun-Hwan’s expectations.

“Kuheok… heok…?heeeeok…”?Jung Chi-Ho gasped while trying to catch his breath.

An excruciating pain hindered his breathing after getting hit in the chest by Tae-Sung’s attack, and he felt as if his lungs and bowels were about to burst from the impact. He was not used to the pain since Virtual Fight was a game that emphasized realism, which meant the characters did not possess superhuman endurance like in BNW.

“You bastard! You dare do this to me!” Jung Chi-Ho growled like a wounded beast.

However, Tae-Sung remained silent as he leisurely walked toward Jung Chi-Ho, and he did not even bother retorting or saying anything at all.

Step… Step…

“You shouldn’t waste time exchanging words with those worse than animals.”

“Give them a good beating first before trying to talk to them.”

Tae-Sung was faithfully carrying out Deus’ teachings.

Seuk…

He raised his baton and aimed it at Jung Chi-Ho on the ground.

“Do you really think that… I will be hit by you again?!” Jung Chi-Ho shouted as he gripped his katana.

It was a surprise attack! Jung Chi-Ho suddenly swung his katana the moment Tae-Sung stepped into his attack range.

However, Tae-Sung was no longer someone who would get done in by a surprise attack of this level.

‘He’s too slow…’?

He saw Jung Chi-Ho’s incoming attack and turned to avoid it.

Whoosh!

The katana sliced through the air after failing to connect with anything.

‘He’s full of openings. I can hit him wherever I want,’?Tae-Sung thought as he identified more than a dozen gaps in Jung Chi-Ho’s defense.

It was inevitable for Jung Chi-Ho to have so many openings since the katana was a sword that had to be swung rather than a stabbing weapon. It possessed high Attack Power, but if the user were to miss, they would be exposed as the weapon required a wide motion to use properly.

As a result, Jung Chi-Ho would pay the price for choosing such a weapon, and it would be an expensive price to pay.

Puk! Puk! Pukeok!

Tae-Sung unleashed a barrage of strikes into Jung Chi-Ho with his baton.

“Ack! Euaak! Aaaack!”?Jung Chi-Ho screamed in agony. However, he did not show any signs of backing down as he growled once again. “Bastard…! I see you have some skills!”

“…”

Tae-Sung did not bother to reply. He maintained his silence as he continued to observe Jung Chi-Ho’s movements.

“Hey, aren’t you going to answer me? Ha? Are you ignoring me?!” Jung Chi-Ho screamed in fury. He immediately stood up and swung his katana at Tae-Sung once again.

Whoosh!

The katana struck nothing once again.

‘He avoided it again?’?Jung Chi-Ho was shocked.

Pak!

With the baton, Tae-Sung smacked Jung Chi-Ho in the face.

“Keuk!”?Jung Chi-Ho groaned as he fell to the ground.

“Th, T-This bastard dares to!” Jung Chi-Ho growled from the ground while gritting his teeth before shouting, “Hey! You are really making me mad now!”

He got up once again and swung his katana at Tae-Sung.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!?

However, the katana failed to land a single hit on Tae-Sung, and in return…

Pak! Pukeok! Pak! Pak!

Jung Chi-Ho’s face was mercilessly beaten by Tae-Sung’s baton.

“Kuheok!”?Jung Chi-Ho winced in pain as he fell to the ground once again.

“You bastard…! Hey, asshole! Do you know who I am? Ha?! Do you know who I am?!” Jung Chi-Ho screamed.

“…”

Tae-Sung kept his silence as he continued to stare at Jung Chi-Ho.

“Are you ignoring me? You dare ignore me?!” Jung Chi-Ho screamed in anger. He seemed to have lost his sanity as he got up once again and aggressively swung his katana at Tae-Sung.

However, the result didn’t change. He was beaten up once again.

Puk! Pukeok! Puk!

Tae-Sung smacked Jung Chi-Ho in the head multiple times with his baton.

“T-This bastard dares to…!” Jung Chi-Ho cried out.

‘I’m losing? I’m losing to this peasant? No, I refuse to accept this!’?Jung Chi-Ho thought as he immediately got up once again and charged at Tae-Sung like an enraged wild boar.

His pride could not take the fact that he was getting a one-sided beating from someone like Tae-Sung who looked nothing special, and that was why Jung Chi-Ho tried everything he could to land a single hit against Tae-Sung. He tried wildly swinging his katana and kicking Tae-Sung. He even threw away his sword and tried to subdue Tae-Sung with judo moves to bring Tae-Sung to the ground.

However, the result remained the same no matter what he tried.

“Ku...?Kuheok…!”?Jung Chi-Ho groaned while falling to the ground once again.

“…”

Tae-Sung didn’t even speak as he continued to avoid all of Jung Chi-Ho’s attacks. He didn’t take the initiative to attack and simply counter-attacked. It was as if he were saying, “this is the difference between you and me” to Jung Chi-Ho without saying a single word.

The one-sided beating continued for a while until Jung Chi-Ho eventually cried out like a pig being slaughtered and sprawled across the ground.

“Gwaah!”

[Game Over!]

A message popped up.

[The winner is Kale!]

[Player 1, Han Tae-Sung-nim has won!]

The match ended with Tae-Sung’s victory.

***

“Again! Fuck! I want a rematch!” Jung Chi-Ho screamed. He refused to accept the result of the match.

It seemed that he was the type of person who felt no shame in breaking a promise because he asked for a rematch even though they had agreed that the match would be in a single-round winner-takes-all format.

“Hmm?” Tae-Sung muttered before he smiled and said, “Sure, let’s go at it again.”

“Prepare yourself, you bastard! I just let my guard down a while ago,” Jung Chi-Ho said.

Tae-Sung did not bat an eyelid at Jung Chi-Ho’s threats.

Why was he so calm?

It was all because the thought of losing to someone like this scoundrel had never crossed his mind.

‘I’ll gladly fight you until you get sick and tired of losing,’?Tae-Sung thought with a smile.

***

The second match started, and they chose the same characters as before.

[Ready, Fight!]

The match started, but the victor was quickly decided.

[Game Over!]

[The winner is Kale!]

[Player 1, Han Tae-Sung-nim has won!]

The result was no different from the first match.

“Ah! Fuck!” Jung Chi-Ho was furious. He refused to acknowledge the result once again.

“Again! I want a rematch!” he screamed and demanded another rematch.

“Sure,” Tae-Sung coolly agreed, as he did not feel the need to refuse.

***

The rematch did not end there.

“I can’t… accept this… I lost to you…? I lost to a peasant like you?” Jung Chi-Ho started muttering to himself.

The third rematch ended with Jung Chi-Ho being one-sidedly beaten to a pulp once again, but he still couldn’t accept the result, so he asked for another rematch.

“Again! Again! Fuck! We have to do this until I win!” Jung Chi-Ho lashed out.

“Sure,” Tae-Sung replied.

The series of rematches continued for a while.

The fourth rematch, the fifth rematch, and the sixth rematch…

It seemed that Jung Chi-Ho was serious when he said that they would do it until he won because he continued to challenge Tae-Sung again and again, going through all of the characters. However, Tae-Sung always emerged victorious.

That was how they went on and on with the rematches, and they were now at the 19th rematch. Jung Chi-Ho had challenged Tae-Sung 19 times in a row, but he still couldn’t win even a single match against the latter.

The 20th rematch started…

“Why! Why can’t I win?! Why! Why do I keep losing to this peasant?! Again! I said let’s go again!” Jung Chi-Ho started screaming like a madman.

He chose Kale this time, which was the character Tae-Sung had been using this whole time, but he could not win against Tae-Sung even after choosing the same character.

Pak! Pak! Pak!?

Tae-Sung mercilessly beat Jung Chi-Ho with his baton.

His movements were so mechanical and systematic that the viewers found it scary.

What did Tae-Sung do whenever Jung Chi-Ho showed an opening?

He would beat the latter with his baton.

What if Jung Chi-Ho blocked his attack?

He would still beat him.

What if Jung Chi-Ho attacked?

He would block or dodge the attack before once again beating Jung Chi-Ho up.

The only thing Tae-Sung had to do over the 20 rematches was to continuously beat Jung Chi-Ho until the latter’s HP was depleted. He did this without saying a word in the game.

‘Come at me a hundred, no, a thousand times. There’s no way I’m going to lose to the likes of you. I will show you what an insurmountable wall looks like so that you’ll know what it feels like, too,’?Tae-Sung thought.

He wanted to teach Jung Chi-Ho what an opponent one couldn’t beat looked like, and he wanted to make Jung Chi-Ho feel what he felt when he was mercilessly crushed by those people in the past.

It seemed that things were going according to Tae-Sung’s wishes.

‘Why do I have to lose? Why am I losing?! Why am I getting beaten up by this bastard?! Why?! Why! Why can’t I land a single hit on him?!’?Jung Chi-Ho thought as he started to fall into despair after losing so many times.

Why did he have to lose?

This was the question that filled his mind as he slowly descended into the pits of despair. Then, another thought came to his mind the deeper he fell into it.

‘I can’t beat him…’?he thought.

People were bound to meet an insurmountable wall at least once in their life.

“E-Enough!” Jung Chi-Ho screamed.

In the end, Tae-Sung clearly had shown him what an insurmountable wall looked like, and Jung Chi-Ho ended up abandoning all greed he had toward the Ogre.

“Enough! Don’t hit me anymore! Ack!?Euaaak!?Why are you hitting me at the same spot?! Euk!?Enough! W-When will this end?! Aaaaack!”?Jung Chi-Ho screamed, begging for it to end.

He desperately wanted to get out of the game, but there was still some time left before the game ended. The only way he could get out of this game was to get beaten up to a pulp until his HP reached zero or to mutually agree with Tae-Sung to end the match.

Virtual Fight was not a game that would end after getting hit a few times.

After a few minutes…

“Keuk… Eugh…”?Jung Chi-Ho groaned.

Then…

Pukeok!

Tae-Sung slammed his baton into Jung Chi-Ho’s head and cracked the latter’s skull open.

[Game Over!]

[Winner is Kale!]

[Player 1, Han Tae-Sung-nim has won!]

As expected, the winner was none other than Tae-Sung.

“Rematch?” Tae-Sung asked after returning to reality.

“…”

Jung Chi-Ho did not respond. He realized that he could not beat Tae-Sung, but his pride did not allow him to concede defeat.

“Rematch or not?” Tae-Sung asked once again.

“…”

Jung Chi-Ho still didn’t respond.

Heh!

Tae-Sung let out a smirk and laughed after figuring out Jung Chi-Ho’s mental status.

“I will count to three. If you don’t respond before the countdown ends, I will take it as you admitting defeat,” Tae-Sung said.

“…”

“One, two…”

“…”

“Three.”

Jung Chi-Ho still didn’t say anything even after Tae-Sung was done counting down. He didn’t speak, but he seemed to have already given up on the Ogre.

[The match has ended after both sides have agreed!]

[The winner is Han Tae-Sung-nim!]

[20 Matches, 20 Wins, 0 Loses.]

The message declaring Tae-Sung’s victory popped up in front of them.

“I’ll get going now,” Tae-Sung said before shutting down the Virtual Fight client.

The Hyper Capsule Ogre was finally his.