CH 164

[How Much Do You Need?]

[The Bavarian Workshop will provide you with the following equipment that you need—trousers, boots, and headgear.]

[Type: Affinity Quest]

[Progress: 0% (0/3)]

[Rewards: Bavarian Workshop Crafting Coupon: Three Free Advanced Artifacts.]

It was an unexpected opportunity.

‘Oh! Jackpot! I’m Level 190 right now, so I should take advantage of this opportunity when I hit Level 200!’ Siegfried rejoiced inwardly. He still had to upgrade parts of his equipment, so the quest came at the perfect timing.

“What do you think? I can’t possibly tell you not to wear an artifact set that you’re already wearing, but you should wear ours, too! Haha!” Quandt boisterously laughed.

“S-Should I…?”

“All right, I’ll throw in a cape as well! That’s four parts! We have a deeper relationship, so you should wear one more part from us compared to those Autonika bastards!”

The quest reward changed to Bavarian Workshop Crafting Coupon: Four Free Advanced Artifacts.

“So, what do you think? Will you accept our workshop’s offer?”

“I have no reason to refuse it,” Siegfried immediately accepted the offer. He then added nonchalantly, “You know I like the Bavarian Workshop better.”

“R-Really?”

“I was getting along with the Autonika Workshop because I needed this artifact set, but that’s not the case with the Bavarian Workshop. After all, we’re really close with each other, right?”

“Exactly! We have a relationship forged by fate!”

“Shall we go?” Siegfried said. He held Quandt’s hand before saying, “Let’s go and take a look at your artifacts.”

“Hoho! You really are… you are really good at playing with my heart! Hoho! I can’t get a hold of myself!” Quandt blushed when Siegfried squeezed his hand to show that they were really close.

“Owner punk, you really are evil…” Hamchi muttered to himself while looking at his owner. The Siegfried he was seeing right now was a cunning Siegfried. It seemed that making people jealous was basic for the cunning Siegfried.

In addition, he was even pretending that he wasn’t happy, even though he was inwardly jumping and shouting in joy. Moreover, Siegfried could also pretend that he was happy, even though he wasn’t really happy.

He was also pretty good at playing hard to get. He also knew how to reel in people that saw him favorably and extract the most profit he could extract out of them.

“Hey, owner punk… Why don’t you try becoming a swindler if you’re free?” asked Hamchi while shaking his head.

***

‘Ugh… What is this? This is so embarrassing…’ Siegfried shut his eyes tightly as he stood in front of the Bavarian Workshop’s main office building.

“The Bavarian Workshop welcomes His Majesty, Siegfried van Proa!”

“WELCOME, Your Majesty!”

It was all because the workshop’s staffers had run out and formed two lines that stretched over thirty meters. In addition, they even bowed at a ninety-degree angle and shouted at the top of their lungs.

However, that wasn’t the end of it…

“His Majesty, Siegfried van Proa, is entering!” someone announced

Bam! Bam bam bam bam! Bam bam bam bam! 

A marching band appeared out of nowhere and started playing a familiar tune.

And that wasn’t the end of it…

The doors swung wide open, and a huge roll of red carpet appeared.

Two people laid the carpet down all the way toward Siegfried.

It was an even grander welcome compared to the one he had received a few days ago.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

(Grand) His Majesty, Siegfried van Proa! (Welcome)

The icing on the cake was the huge dazzling banner one would probably only see in rural provinces.

“What?”

“That’s quite grand…”

“Is he someone famous?”

“Siegfried van Proa? I think I heard that name before…”

The Adventurers and NPCs in the area stared at Siegfried, and the crowd was much larger than the crowd a few days ago.

‘Ack! I don’t like this. It’s too cringey!’ Siegfried exclaimed inwardly and cringed. He quickly made his way into the building.

“Hey! Wait for me, owner punk!” shouted Hamchi before chasing after him.

Tak! Tak! Tak!

Siegfried and Hamchi rushed all the way to the Hometown of Death, which was located deep within the Bavarian Workshop’s building. Siegfried turned a corner, and he came face-to-face with someone.

‘Huh?’ 

The individual was giving off a weird vibe. The man was more than a hundred and ninety centimeters tall with flowing black hair, and he had an indifferent look that seemed devoid of any emotions.

Shiver…

Siegfried felt a chill travel down his spine. His instincts were screaming at him that the man was dangerous.

He couldn’t really pinpoint the reason behind the weird feeling that he could feel from the man, but Siegfried was sure that he was standing in front of a powerful individual.

‘Who is he? Is he an Adventurer or an NPC? Let’s take a look…’ 

Siegfried tried to discreetly turn his hand and activate his Rune of Insight.

However, he couldn’t activate it.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Where did you learn that bad habit of scanning other people without their permission? Are you an Adventurer?” asked the man, interrupting Siegfried.

“Ah, excuse me. I apologize if I offended you,” Siegfried apologized. Then, he explained, “I felt something powerful from you, so my curiosity got the better of me.”

“If we were outside…” the man said in a cold voice, “You would have been dead by now.”

“Hey, don’t you think you’re being too harsh…?” Siegfried grumbled with furrowed brows. He could not help but feel offended. After all, he had already apologized.

“Do you really think that I’ll just give you my head? Why don’t you give it a try—” Siegfried retorted.

However, the man interrupted him. “Consider yourself lucky, Adventurer.”

“…!”

“I will rip your throat out the next time I see you,” the man threatened before walking away.

“Hey, we’re not done talking—” Siegfried called out.

However, a voice interrupted him. “Hey! What’s the rush? We prepared quite a lot of things to welcome you, you know?!”

“King Siegfried! Please have a cup of tea first!”

“We will prepare our catalog for you! Please give us a second!”

Quandt and the rest swarmed Siegfried.

“Wait a minute! Hey! You! Over there!” Siegfried shouted. Quandt and the rest carried him away, making him look like a celebrity being pushed by his fans.

He ended up losing the tall, black-haired man. In the end, Siegfried was dragged by Quandt and the Bavarian Workshop staffers into the VVIP room, where only a very select few were allowed to enter.

The Bavarian Workshop’s obsession over the incomplete masterpiece that Legendary Blacksmith Herbert had left behind was so immense that they treated the weak king of a weak kingdom as if he were the emperor himself in their workshop.

Indeed, Siegfried was still a weak king if only his level was taken into account.

‘Ah… that guy bothers me. I have a feeling that I’ll run into him outside, and we will have a go at each other,’ Siegfried thought. He could feel a certain vibe from the tall, black-haired man earlier.

***

Thirty minutes later, Siegfried finally pointed at three artifacts in the catalog.

“Hmm… this one, this one, and this one,” said Siegfried.

[Monster Strength Greaves]

[Bloody Iron Boots]

[Head Breaker Helmet]

The three artifacts he chose wouldn’t amplify the Debuff Master’s abilities like the Quad-Turbo Set, but their individual option was excellent.

They provided a huge boost to HP, Mana, and Stamina of the user, but they also provided high Defense, Magic Resistance, and Attack Power. In fact, they also increased the Strength of the user by quite a bit.

In short, the stats of these artifacts were pretty high.

‘The Quad-Turbo has great options but mediocre stats, so these three will compensate for that,’ Siegfried thought while choosing the artifacts.

Of course, their stats weren’t the only thing that was excellent.

The artifacts that Siegfried chose were crafted by the Hometown of Death, which boasted that their artifacts would have immense killing abilities, so all three artifacts had their own unique option.

The Monster Strength Greaves would give the wearer 150% increased damage dealt whenever the wearer attacked their enemies using their knees—more specifically, using knee strikes.

The Bloody Iron Boots allowed the wearer to deal 150% increased damage dealt using kicks, while the wearer of the Head Breaker Helmet would deal 150% increased damage dealt when headbutting an enemy, and the wearer would also take 50% less recoil damage from the headbutt.

In short, the three artifacts that Siegfried had chosen from the Bavarian Workshop not only possessed immense stats, but their options also increased his damage dealt.

Siegfried felt like he was turning his entire body into a weapon. It made even more sense when one considered that those three artifacts were mostly worn by melee combat-type classes.

Of course, Siegfried didn’t really care about that.

‘I have no other choice. I would have to give up on the Quad-Turbo Set if I were to choose anything other than these…’ Siegfried inwardly mulled. ’This is the best gear combination at my current level, so I need to pick artifacts that will boost my stats. Besides, these combat-centric leg and shin armor seem quite useful…’

A gamer would eventually have to look for the best gear combination based on their available items, the set options of those items, their level, et cetera.

There was no such thing as a perfect gear combination, and there would be times when one would be forced to use items that didn’t match their class for the sake of maintaining the balance of their stats.

So what if these artifacts didn’t suit the Debuff Masters when the stats he was gaining from them was more than enough to compensate for the shortcoming of the Quad-Turbo Set?

“Hmm… Excellent choices, I must say. Then I will recommend you a cape,” Quandt said while scanning the catalog. Then, he retrieved a cape and showed it to Siegfried.

[Blood Butterfly’s Wings]

[A cape that brings forth bloodshed. Its tips are sharper than any blade, and it can cut through steel with just a graze.]

[Type: Armor (Cape)]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Options: Defense +17%, Magic Resistance +17%]

[Special Abilities: Larvae, Blood Butterfly’s Dance]

[Larvae: Activate to cover the entire body with the cape. Explosively increases Defense and Magic Resistance.]

[Blood Butterfly’s Dance: Upon activation, the wearer can flutter the cape, cutting down enemies. The user may combine this ability with a similar ability. (Combinable Skill: Quick Draw)]

The cape that seemed to be from the same product lineup as the Blood Butterfly’s Dance Throwable Set possessed immense Defense and Attack Power.

‘Huh? I won’t have to use a sword with this. It will be much more efficient for me to use this and increase my Defense rather than to carry around a sword just to use Quick Draw…’ Siegfried thought.

The item came at the perfect timing because he had been carrying a sword around for the sole purpose of using Quick Draw.

“Wow, your suggestion is great, I like it…” Siegfried muttered.

“Hoho! I knew it! Our workshop knows you best, no matter what anyone else says! Those Autonika bastards can’t possibly hold a candle to us! Hahaha!” Quandt exclaimed while letting out a burst of boisterous laughter.

“Well said,” Siegfried added.

Of course, he would say the exact opposite while he was in the Autonika Workshop…

Ding!

A message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: You have completed the Quest – ‘How Much Do You Need?’!]

Upon seeing the message, Siegfried knew what was coming based on his experience.

‘He is probably going to tell me what materials he needs and give me another quest…’

He decided to make the first move and ask Quandt to trigger the next quest.

“What materials will you need to craft these?”

“As you can see… I need a lot of materials to craft these artifacts, but we are willing to shoulder most of the common materials, so you just have to bring…” Quandt spelled out the materials he would need to craft the four artifacts.

[Alert: The Quest – ‘This Is All You Need!’ has appeared!]

As expected, another quest appeared in front of Siegfried.