Debuff Master

Chapter 112

[Alert: You have obtained a C-Grade Mana Stone!]

[Alert: You have obtained a C-Grade Mana Stone!]

[Alert: You have obtained a C-Grade Mana Stone!]

Thus, Siegfried was able to fill his Inventory with mana stones of a higher grade.

[Alert: You only have 30% Inventory Capacity left!]

A message popped up in front of his eyes.

‘I think my inventory will be full even before I reach the boss room… I guess I should invest in expanding my inventory capacity soon…’?he thought.

He was able to increase his inventory capacity during the World’s Greatest Survival Tournament thanks to Cheon Woo-Jin’s magic, which allowed him to loot more items than he initially could have, but he felt that he was going to run into the same problem this time and in the future as well.

‘I should be able to buy three apartment units with the money I saved up so far in addition to what I’m going to earn from these. I should start investing in my own items and my character. It’s time for me to start gearing up as well.’

He was now Level 141 after grinding at the Arachnid Temporary Outpost, which meant that it was now time for him to invest in his equipment and character rather than selling off his gold for cash. He had to upgrade his character and prepare to hunt at more advanced dungeons from now on.

‘How far is the boss room? It feels like I still have a long way to go…’?he thought while checking his mini-map. There still seemed to be quite a distance toward the center of the map where the boss room was located, and it was probably going to take him two days to be able to reach it and hunt the boss.

“Well… I think I’m the only one here, so I can probably take my sweet time…”

He did not sense anyone else’s presence, so he decided to leisurely make his way to the boss room.

However, he soon realized that things would not go the way he wanted them to all the time.

“Someone was here…?” he grimaced and grumbled in disbelief.

He said after seeing remains of mechanoid monsters littered on the ground leading to the boss room. There were piles after piles of mechanoid monster corpses, and it seemed that at least a hundred, no, a thousand of them had been hunted down.

‘The steels seem hot, and there is still smoke here and there… This can only mean that the battle took place recently. A battle broke out, and the mechanoid monsters were annihilated. Someone else is here. Either it’s someone really strong, if they’re alone, or it’s a huge raid party, but I don’t think it’s the latter. I mean, there are no footprints… Huh? I can’t see any human footprints. Did these mechanoid monsters?die?after fighting each other to death?’?Siegfried wondered as he investigated the area.

He could not find a single human footprint anywhere, no matter how closely he looked.

Finally, he found a set of footprints, but they were much bigger than the feet of a male adult.

‘What the hell? Is it someone with the Lycanthrope class?’?he investigated the footprints closely.

Players with the Lycanthrope class could transform into a werewolf, in simpler terms.

If an Adventurer with the Lycanthrope class had single-handedly taken care of this many mechanoid monsters, then…

‘They’re extremely strong. Someone of that caliber will definitely take the boss monster down in a split second,’?Siegfried thought as he hurried toward the center of the map.

***

The remains of the mechanoid monsters trailed all the way to the center of the map, where the boss room was supposedly located.

‘Don’t tell me they’re already done hunting it down?’?Siegfried nervously thought.

He had to get the mechanical heart to save Carell, so he became even more nervous at the thought that the boss was already dead.

“What the hell is that thing?” Siegfried muttered while looking at something white and furry on the ground in the distance.

“Isn’t that a hamster? Why the hell is it so big?”

The white ball of fur on the ground was a hamster that was the size of a small dog. It was covered in wounds and was profusely bleeding all over.

“Kyuu… K-Kyuu…”?the hamster moaned in pain.

“Huh…??Did this guy fight with the mechanoid monsters?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion and looked around before he scoffed and said, “No way. There’s no way this little guy did all of these. Yeah… A hamster is just a hamster. I’m sure it just got lost here.”

However, Siegfried heard someone cursing at him all of a sudden.

“Hey, you fucker…”

“What? Fucker?”

“Yeah, you little fucknut.”

“Heok!”?Siegfried gasped in surprise as his eyes opened wide, and then he exclaimed, “A hamster just cursed at me!”

“You think that’s all I can do? I can do this too, you fucknut!” the hamster retorted as it gave Siegfried the middle finger.

“Wow, this is awesome… A hamster can even give the middle finger…” Siegfried muttered in awe.

“Hey, I’m about to die here, so why don’t you keep going on your way?”

“What?”

“Or… you can throw me a potion or two if you want…”

“…”

“Kyuuu…”

‘What the fuck is this hamster?’?Siegfried thought while looking at the foul-mouthed hamster. He raised his hand and activated his Rune of Insight to find out more information about it.

[Prometheus Cactus Hydra Leviathan Bless Zachariah Anabolica Gallardo]

[A Great Spirit that has taken the form of a Sacred Creature.]

[It looks cute on the outside, but one will regret looking down on it due to its adorable appearance.]

[Level: 200]

[Race: Sacred Creature]

[Class: Trickster]

[Titles: Tyrant of the Forest, Guardian of the Forest, Demon of the Forest, Foul Mouth of the Forest, Playboy of the Forest.]

[Skills: Ang!?I’m Cute, Right?!, Give it your best! Go, Go, Go!, Hamster is Sad T_T, Go Fetch!, Meerkat~!, Time to be Bossy, and other skills currently locked (13).]

It seemed that this foul-mouthed hamster with an incredibly long name, starting with ‘Prometheus’ and ending with ‘Gallardo,’ was not an ordinary hamster but a Great Spirit of the Forest that had taken the form of a Sacred Creature.

“Kyuuuuu!”?

The foul-mouthed hamster screamed at Siegfried, “Hey! I told you I’m about to die! You little fucker!”

“So… what do you want me to do…?” Siegfried replied with narrowed eyes.

“Do you even have to ask?! Hey, you stupid fucknut! Are you dumb or stupid? Ha?!”

“Why should I help you?”

“…!”

“Why would it matter to me if a foul-mouthed rat like you dies?” Siegfried said while coldly staring down at the hamster.

“…”

“I thought so. Anyway, I’m going now. Take care~” Siegfried said.

He turned around and started walking away while thinking, ‘Phew… that was a close call. The boss should still be alive if that hamster were the culprit behind hunting those mechanoids down.’.

“Hey!”

However, the foul-mouthed hamster called Siegfried out.

“Hey! Stop! Halt! Attention! Hey! You dare ignore me?! I said stooooop!”

“Is there a dog barking somewhere…?” Siegfried muttered while picking his ear.

“Who are you calling a dog?! Hey! Are you that confident? Do you want to have a go at it? Ha?!”

“Fine, you are a rat then.”

“What did you say?!”

“Hey, you should be begging instead of doing all that, you know?”

“S-Save me…!” The foul-mouthed hamster’s attention suddenly took a drastic turn. “I will never forget this favor if you help me out!”

“Weren’t you cursing me just a while ago? Why not keep going? You were pretty good at cursing.”

“I… I must have eaten something bad… Kyuu…?I think it was because I chewed too many metals just a while ago, so… Kyuu… Kyuu…”?

the foul-mouthed hamster said pitifully.

‘Pfft…! Its mouth needs a thorough washing with soap, but it looks ridiculously cute.’?

Siegfried found the foul-mouthed hamster to be pretty cute.

In fact, the hamster was so cute that Siegfried was thinking of taking it in as a pet and annoying it from time to time whenever he was bored.

“Just help me out… I beg you, human…” the hamster pleaded, and then it said in a sincere manner, “We have to stop that evil Mecha Lord from resurrecting. The forest where I live will be the first target if that bastard resurrects.”

“Why?”

“There is a cave abundant with ‘Stone of Transcendence’ in the forest I live in…”

The Stone of Transcendence was necessary to enhance equipment, and it was pretty expensive. It was similar to mana stones in price.

“The Mecha Lord will get stronger the more Stone of Transcendence it consumes, and it will definitely come for the forest I live in once it resurrects. I fought against the Mecha Lord one thousand years ago, and my friends died at that time… I was the only one who survived… Kyuu…”?the hamster said as its tears started welling up in its cute eyes, and then it added, “I want to protect my friends in the forest. I don’t want to lose my friends ever again…”

“Hmm…”

“And the world will be in danger if the Mecha Lord resurrects. A great war could break out if that bastard comes back! We have to stop it at all costs. Help me… Kyuu…”

It seemed that the foul-mouthed rat was kind-hearted despite being so vulgar.

“I… I hate humans, but if it means stopping the Mecha Lord, then… I will…”

All of a sudden…

Thud…!

The hamster lowered its head.

“Huh? Hey! Hey, foul-mouth? Foul-mouth?” Siegfried jumped in surprise as he immediately ran over and slapped the hamster, but there was no reaction from it.

“Hey, foul-mouth! Are you playing dead? Hey! Answer me, will you? Hey!”

Siegfried tried his best to wake the hamster up, but the hamster remained still without moving. However, he could tell that the hamster was still breathing, albeit faintly.

“Geez… You should have told me earlier if you had such a story…” Siegfried grumbled and clicked his tongue.

‘Should I save this guy or not?’?he pondered.

He was going to feel like shit if he saved this foul-mouthed hamster that had been cursing at him earlier just for it to stab him in the back.

However, his dilemma lasted only for a few seconds, and he soon made up his mind.

‘It’s cute, so…’?He decided to save the foul-mouthed hamster just because it was cute.

“Hey! Breathe! Try to breathe!” he exclaimed. He retrieved his potions and proceeded to do first aid on the hamster.

***

The foul-mouthed hamster did not show any signs of waking up, no matter how many health potions and stamina potions Siegfried used.

‘How much HP does this thing even have…?’?He looked down at the hamster in disbelief as he threw another empty potion bottle onto the pile of bottles.

“Kyuu…”?

The foul-mouthed hamster finally woke up and looked around.

“Have you come to your senses now?”

“M-Mana stones… Kyuu…”

“What…?”

“Mana stones…”

“Did you just say mana stones…?”

“Kyuu…?I’m a Great Spirit… I need to eat mana stones…”

“…”

“Kyuu… Kyuu…”

‘Ugh… Look at this thing’s mileage… Does it think it’s a supercar or something?’?Siegfried inwardly grumbled.

His blood pressure shot up when he heard the foul-mouthed hamster ask for mana stones.

Did this thing have any how expensive a single mana stone was?

A D-Grade mana stone was 1.5 times more expensive than gold, and mana stones of a higher grade fetched a much heftier price than that.

‘Should I save this or not…?’?Siegfried was in a dilemma once again.

In the end, he decided to be empathetic and close one eye as he took out a D-Grade mana stone from his Inventory and then hurled it into the hamster’s mouth.

‘It’s cute, so I can spare one,’?he thought.

As expected, the hamster’s cuteness turned out to be its most lethal weapon.

[Alert: You have started taming the Great Spirit of the Forest (Prometheus Cactus Hydra Leviathan Bless Zachariah Anabolica Gallardo)]

However, a message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes the moment he fed the D-Grade mana stone to the foul-mouthed hamster.

[Alert: A spirit will serve its life’s savior as its master!]

[Alert: You will have to feed it more D-Grade mana stones to successfully tame the Great Spirit of the Forest! (Mana Stones Fed: 1/100)]

The message notified him that he would be able to tame the Great Spirit of the Forest if he fed it more mana stones. Of course, he had to invest a whopping one hundred mana stones to be able to tame it successfully.

‘This thing is willing to become my pet? The Great Spirit of the Forest is willing to do that? Wait a minute… What was this thing called again?’?Siegfried thought.

He recalled the details of the hamster he had seen a while ago.

‘A Great Spirit is going to be on par with the King of the Spirits, right? I mean… It is still a Great Spirit despite being an overgrown hamster. In that case, I’m not getting the short end of the stick, am I right? This guy has a lot of skills, too. Alright, let’s try investing. It has a vulgar mouth, but I think it’s pretty kind-hearted. Its story is quite sad, too…’?

Siegfried decided to invest a hundred D-Grade mana stones.

***

An hour later, the foul-mouthed hamster greedily munched through the D-Grade mana stones Siegfried had painstakingly gathered. It ate the expensive mana stones like they were candies.

Munch…! Munch…!?

‘Sigh… Look at its cheeks about to explode. Ah… I should probably feed it to its heart’s content, since I’ve already decided to save it…’?Siegfried grumbled inwardly.

The cheeks of the foul-mouthed hamster blew up like a balloon as it chewed the mana stones.

[Alert: You have fed enough mana stones! (Mana Stones Fed: 0/100)]

[Alert: You have successfully tamed the Great Spirit of the Forest! (Prometheus Cactus Hydra Leviathan Bless Zachariah Anabolica Gallardo)]

[Alert: You may complete the contract with the Great Spirit of the Forest (Prometheus Cactus Hydra Leviathan Bless Zachariah Anabolica Gallardo) by giving it a new name!]

Ten minutes later, the foul-mouthed hamster instantly got up and smacked its belly to show that it was satisfied.

“Burp!?I’m done! Kyuuuuu!”

“Do you feel better now?”

“Yeah! I’m alive now! Thanks a fucking lot for the meal! Kyu!”

Then, the foul-mouthed hamster bowed toward Siegfried before saying, “Alright, let’s get into a contract now. I despise humans more than anything else, but…”

“You want me to give you a new name?”

“Kyu??How did you know?”

“I have my ways, punk.”

“You are smarter than you look! Kyu!?Alright, I will serve you as my owner from now on if you give me a new name, you punk!”

Siegfried had no idea why the hamster called him ‘punk’ after calling him its owner, but he decided to let it slide this time.

“Alright! Time for you to give me a name! Make sure it’s a fucking cool one while you’re at it, punk!”

The foul-mouthed hamster was expecting a grand name.

However, Siegfried muttered, “Uhm… How does Hamchi sound?”

Siegfried simply blurted out the first word that came to his mind.