Chapter 673

Chapter 673

[Alert: Your skill has been enhanced!]

[Alert: Attribute Absorption has been enhanced to Gluttony!]

A message informing him that his skill had been enhanced popped up in front of his eyes.

[Gluttony]

[Type: Support Skill]

[Effect: Allows the Debuff Master to absorb a huge variety of energies and empower himself using it. An energy that cannot be absorbed will be stored or released.]

[Cooldown: N/A]

Using the Attribute Absorption skill to the maximum caused it to get enhanced, but that was not the only skill that was enhanced.

[Alert: Your skill has been enhanced!]

[Alert: Irradiate has been enhanced to Eraser Swarm!]

Surprisingly, Irradiate ended up getting enhanced, too.

[Eraser Swarm]

[Type: Active Skill]

[Effect: Unleash a green cloud of gas to poison enemies. The green gas of radioactive energy contains poisonous organisms. The poisonous organisms will poison the Debuff Master’s enemies and gnaw away at their bodies. The Debuff Master may choose not to harm his allies.]

[Cooldown: N/A]

[Mana Consumption: 1% of Maximum Mana per Second (Mana cost may increase if the skill’s output is increased)]

The Eraser Swarm was an even more powerful version of Irradiate, and its cloud of gas contained poisonous organisms. On top of that, his allies would no longer fall victim to this skill, which was a massive buff. After all, the fact that Irradiate couldn't differentiate between enemies and allies was its biggest weakness.

“Whoa... Two skills got enhanced...?” Siegfried muttered out of sheer surprise.

[Alert: You have obtained a new skill!]

Then, another message popped up informing him that he gained a new skill.

[Great Explosion]

[The Debuff Master’s last stand.]

[Type: Conditional Active Skill]

[Description: The Debuff Master gathers all of his remaining mana and accumulated attribute energy to trigger a great explosion. This skill may only be used when the Debuff Master’s HP is below five percent.]

[Cooldown: 49 hours]

[Warning: The resulting explosion is extremely powerful, so it is advised to check if there are any allies nearby before using this skill.]

Siegfried grimaced after reading the description of his new skill.

“What’s up with this cowardly skill...?”

Self-destruction skills were mostly used by villains or monsters, and it was frowned upon by people.

“Oh, well...” Siegfried shrugged it off after just a few seconds. He roughly understood the reason such a skill was created. Deus was similar to Siegfried in the sense that he wanted to win against those more powerful than him no matter the cost, so it sort of made sense that Deus would create such a skill.

Was Deus someone that would concern himself whether the skill he created was cowardly or not? No, nothing mattered to him but victory.

Great Explosion was a skill that would detonate all of the mana and energy the Debuff Master possessed as a last stand, and this was a skill that proved just how much winning meant to its creator.

To begin with, the Debuff Master’s skills were already despicable and cowardly in a sense, so what was the big deal with having another one "despicable" skill?

“I just have to focus on the good part,” Siegfried said with a shrug. Then, he looked around and muttered, “But what the hell happened...?”

Whoosh...!

There wasn't anything around Siegfried aside from the snowy white ground and the gusts of wind. Siegfried turned toward where Inkarthus’ dragon heart was located and saw that the heart had turned gray, looking like a block of cement.

Inkarthus had died with his long tongue sticking out.

“So he really died in the end,” Siegfried muttered out of surprise. The First Black Dragon that even the ancient people couldn't kill and was forced to seal was finally dead.

Well, just because he was the First Black Dragon did not mean he was immortal. Vulcanus had mentioned that Inkarthus—another dragon that had existed since the beginning of time—couldn't die a natural death, but he could definitely die at the hands of another.

In fact, that was the reason he was trying his best to get on Deus’ good side.

‘I was really lucky.’

Regardless of the outcome, Siegfried knew that he only managed to kill Inkarthus thanks to pure luck, and it was true that he got lucky.

Inkarthus had just woken up from his long slumber, so he couldn't use even one percent of his true powers. Then, Scourge of God luckily went off cooldown and the blue whistle allowed him to bring his armada over.

If the seal had worn off naturally, and Inkarthus didn't awaken prematurely from his slumber, then Inkarthus could have used one hundred percent of his power.

‘Hold on... It makes sense that Inkarthus is dead, but his dragon heart did not explode, right?’

If it had exploded, there would have been a massive explosion that would surely transform everything around Siegfried into a radioactive wasteland. However, there were no traces of an explosion at all.

‘Inkarthus is dead but I’m not dead. And my skills got enhanced? The dragon heart didn’t explode... Does that mean I...?’

“Hmm...” Siegfried paused for a second. Then, he replied, “I absorbed Inkarthus’ dragon heart.”

“W-What?!” Cheon Woo-Jin shrieked out of horror. Then, he asked, “What did you just say? Did you just say you absorbed the dragon heart of a Level 998 dragon?”

“Yeah.”

“Whoa! That is so amazing!” Cheon Woo-Jin exclaimed. Then, he narrowed his eyes and added, “Nice try, buddy. Did you really think I’d fall for that? You should lie about something more believable next time—”

“What if I showed you this?” Siegfried asked in response. Then, he showed his status window and said, “Tell me I’m lying. I dare you.”

“Inkarthus... dragon... heart...? You really have Inkarthus’ dragon heart?!” Cheon Woo-Jin shrieked out in horror once again. Then, his eyes shot wide open before he screamed, “Ack! Y-You...?!”

“Hohoho!”

“Impossible... This is absolutely impossible... How can you absorb a Level 998 dragon’s dragon heart...?”

“This is how capable I am, punk. You better call me 'Elder Brother' from now on,” Siegfried said arrogantly.

“Impossible... This doesn’t make sense at all...”

Cheon Woo-Jin mumbled in denial.

On the other hand, Yong Seol-Hwa looked at Siegfried with sparkling eyes full of awe and reverence. “Oppa! You’re really amazing!”

“Huh?”

“That is an amazing accomplishment!”

“R-Really?”

“Absorbing the dragon heart is one thing, but you saved millions of lives! This is no different from saving the whole world!”

“I... I guess you can put it that way? Hahaha...”

“You’re really amazing, oppa!”

“T-This is not that big of a deal. Hahaha...”

Siegfried grinned stupidly from ear to ear and scratched the back of his head awkwardly while blushing after receiving heaps of compliments and praises from Yong Seol-Hwa.

“His Majesty... has saved the world... I must write all of these down!”

Meanwhile, Gringore got busy writing down every detail of what had happened. This was the first time in a very long time that he was writing about a truly remarkable and honorable achievement of Siegfried rather than something shameful and embarrassing.

“Owner punk.”

“Yeah?”

“Hamchi is really proud of you. Kyuu.”

“R-Really?!”

Siegfried was shocked and doubted his ears after hearing Hamchi praise him rather than insult him.

“Are you really proud of me?”

“Yes, I am. Hamchi is really proud of you, owner punk. You saved the world, so owner punk is a hero—a hero who saved the world.”

“You little punk,” Siegfried said with a smirk.

The fact that someone looked up to them or was proud of them was a feeling that would make anyone happy, and being praised by those close to him was definitely a feeling that made Siegfried feel really good about himself.

***

Siegfried decided not to leave the Arctic Pangea immediately. Instead, he stayed in the glacial ruins where the First Black Dragon was once sealed. The reason behind his decision was that he wanted to wait until the traces of radioactive energy around him had disappeared before returning to the Proatine Kingdom. Thus, he decided to install a Warp Gate leading to the central region of the Arctic Pangea.

Installing a Warp Gate in the Arctic Pangea was no easy task, as the magnetic waves coming from the ocean floor were so strong that they would interrupt the Warp Gate’s flow of mana.

However, this was made possible through the blue whistle that he had obtained from Yong Seol-Hwa. The portal created by the whistle served as the foundation for the Warp Gate, and they managed to create a working Warp Gate blueprint after much difficulty.

The reason they installed a warpgate in this desolate icy wasteland was simple—Inkarthus’ remains. They had to transport the gigantic remains of the First Black Dragon that could not be calculated in terms of gold.

Siegfried was watching the workers and magicians installing the Warp Gate when a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

‘Hmm... Something’s really strange... That cult leader bastard. He seemed quite similar to Count Arial... I don’t think that was his real body and he was just an illusion. Is it something like a mirage?

'No, I don’t think so. It felt too real for a mirage... Ah, maybe I should have used Wave of Truth on him?’ Siegfried couldn't help but remember the bizarre ominous sensation he got from the Savior. ‘Does that mean the Church of Osric’s leader is a mirage?’

Shwaaaaaa!

The sound of the Blanc Clan’s sleds zipping through the snow echoed in the distance.

“Oh? That’s the Blanc Clan. I guess they’ve returned to their senses now that Inkarthus is dead,” Siegfried muttered.

It was then.

Ding!

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: You have received a new Quest – Liberated People!]

Then, the quest details appeared as soon as the quest received message prompt disappeared.