Debuff Master

Chapter 675

While Siegfried was busy running around the Arctic Pangea, Saintess Janette was in the Grand Cathedral of the Constantine Holy Empire, praying to the Nameless God.

Just like any other day, she was praying under the ray of light coming in through the mosaic glass of the grand cathedral.

Sseuuu!

Saintess Janette suddenly noticed that the ray of light felt holy, but that was not the only strange occurrence.

Wooong!

Her holy power suddenly filled the entire cathedral.

“This is...!”

Janette looked at the statue of the Nameless God.

— My beloved daughter.

She heard a voice calling out to her.

“Is that you, Lord?” Saintess Janette asked. She looked around the grand cathedral, but there was no one else present aside from her. Entry to the grand cathedral was restricted for ordinary people whenever the saintess was offering her prayers to the Nameless God, so it was impossible that there would be someone else here.

— A star will fall from the heavens soon.

“Ah! My Lord!” Saintess Janette exclaimed after realizing that she was hearing a divine revelation from the god she served. The Nameless God's words were engraved into her mind.

— A star will fall from the heavens soon.

— That star from the highest place in the heavens is pure and righteous.

— The star will warn you.

— Heaven’s wrath will fall upon this world.

— The immoral will be punished by divine justice, and Heaven’s will achieve vengeance.

— My beloved daughter.

– Listen to the star.

– That is the only way this world can be spared from Heaven’s wrath.

— And look for the star.

— You must find the star that will be the savior of this world.

“My Lord! Please grant thy foolish daughter wisdom!” Saintess Janette cried out after failing to understand the words of the Nameless God. However, the Nameless God only said other things that were just as cryptic as the first set of divine revelations.

— The savior that will descend upon the world possesses a dragon’s heart, and this creature is extremely despicable and greedy.

— This creature is very honest to their own worldly desires.

— The savior acts aloof but there lies seriousness within them.

— But my beloved daughter.

— You must find the savior at all costs.

– Remember my words.

— Only the individual from another world can save this world from Heaven's wrath.

That was the end of the divine revelation, and Saintess Janette no longer heard the Nameless God’s voice.

“My Lord! What is man that thy would grant me such divine revelation?!” Saintess Janette cried out and worshiped on her knees. Then, the saintess immediately convened a meeting with the highest-ranking officials, clergymen, and nobles of the empire.

“I have received a divine revelation from our Lord today,” Saintess Janette proceeded to explain what happened.

She made sure to tell them about everything she heard from the Nameless God, and she did not hide anything from them.

The assembly hall was turned upside down in an instant.

“How could this be?!”

“What does Heaven’s wrath pertain to? Does anyone know anything about it?”

“A star will fall...?”

“How can a mere mortal possess a dragon’s heart?”

“That part is baffling to me too.”

Nobody in the assembly hall could understand what the divine revelation meant.

This was only normal, as divine revelations were often cryptic in nature and difficult to understand. Unfortunately, this divine revelation seemed to be not only cryptic but strange, too.

Heaven’s wrath, immoral, vengeance, a savior from another world who had a dragon’s heart and is both despicable and greedy, and many other adjectives that didn't make sense to describe a savior.

Thus, the officials, clergymen, and nobles of the Constantine Holy Empire were locked in a fierce debate, exchanging ideas on what divine revelation could mean.

Meanwhile, Saintess Janette agonized over the divine revelation, and what troubled her the most was how the Nameless God described the supposed savior of the world.

The Nameless God described the savior as someone from another world, was despicable and greedy, and possessed a dragon’s heart.

‘How can a hero be despicable and greedy...?’ she wondered.

Her idea of a hero was someone strong, honest, altruistic, generous, and righteous. However, the divine revelation painted someone the complete opposite of that as the supposed savior of the world.

‘Just who could be—’

It was then.

‘Hmm? No way...?’

Saintess Janette flinched after thinking of one person that perfectly fit the savior described by the divine revelation. She knew of one and only one person in the entire continent who came from another world and was both despicable and greedy, just like the Nameless God had said.

***

The forest called Snowflake Forest was a forest filled with snowflakes, just as its name stated.

Snowflake Forest had many varieties of trees with their leaves made out of ice and shining in different colors. There were also blooming flowers made out of ice here and there.

These were most likely transparent in color originally, but the sunlight caused a prism effect that made them shine in a multicolored light.

“Who knew such a forest existed...?” Siegfried muttered, mesmerized by the forest’s beauty.

Then, he raised his hand and flashed his Rune of Insight at one of the flowers.

[Wild Snowflower]

[A wild flower that only blooms in the Snowflake Forest located in the Arctic Pangea.]

[It is a mysterious flower made out of snow and ice crystals.]

[This flower can be used as an ingredient for all sorts of potions of the highest quality, but simply consuming one can increase one’s Mana and water attribute energy.]

[Type: Plant]

[Rating: Unique]

[Effects: +7 Water Attribute, +15 Mana, +25% Mana Recovery]

Siegfried decided to flash his Rune of Insight at the trees while he was at it.

[Snowflake Tree]

[A tree that only grows in the Snowflake Forest located in the Arctic Pangea.]

[Its leaves are made out of snow and ice crystals.]

[This tree and its leaves are valuable materials.]

[A house made from this tree’s trunk will stay cool all year round and can never be set on fire.]

[Type: Plant]

[Rating: Unique]

“Who knew there was such a place here...?”

Siegfried was really surprised upon flashing his Rune of Insight at the wild flowers and trees. The Wild Snowflower and Snowflake Trees seemed to be extremely expensive materials.

“But I’m sure this isn’t everything.”

He decided to take a look around the Snowflake Forest.

The entire forest was filled with plants made out of snow and ice, and each and every one of them provided a different effect.

Of course, the fact that this was the Arctic Pangea meant that all of the plants in the Snowflake Forest possessed water attribute.

It was then.

“What’s that... tree...?” Siegfried muttered after getting mesmerized by a gigantic tree made out of ice.

Then, he decided to take out his whistle and call for Yong Seol-Hwa.

The reason he called her was simple. She possessed the Appraiser’s Eyes, which possessed the ability to appraise an item’s true value that would otherwise be invisible to his eyes.

“Hmm? Where is that place, oppa?”

“I have no idea. I stumbled upon this place called Snowflake Forest by pure coincidence.”

Yong Seol-Hwa stepped out of the portal and exclaimed while looking around, “This place is amazing!”

Then, she gazed at the same tree he was looking at and said, “But that gigantic tree is...?”

[Ten Thousand Year Snow Tree]

[A snowflake tree that is ten thousand years old.]

[This variety of Iron Birch tree grows in the Snowflake Forest only.]

[It is massive due to surviving for ten thousand years, and it is a spiritual being that possesses powerful water attribute energy.]

[Type: Plant]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Effect: N/A]

“Oppa,” Yong Seol-Hwa said while keeping her eyes fixated on the Ten Thousand Years Snow Tree.

“Yeah?”

“This tree... is amazing.”

“It looks like it.”

“This tree possesses enough energy to create a refrigerator from only its wood, and I can definitely craft a Legendary weapon if I use it to make a club.”

“Wow.”

“And those leaves...”

“Hmm? What about those leaves?”

“Those leaves can be crafted into projectile weapons.”

“Projectile weapons?”

“Yes, those leaves are not really leaves. They are crystals formed from the Ten Thousand Year Snow Tree’s water attribute energy.”

“Really?”

“If I craft a projectile weapon set from those leaves... Then they could stay in your mana hall until you take them out when needed.”

“R-Really?!”

“Yes,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied with a nod. Then, she said, “I got a quest just now. Do you want to take a look?”

“Yeah.”

“Here.”

She shared her quest details with him.

[Fluttering Ice Flowers of Death]

[Description: Craft the Ten Thousand Year Snow Tree’s leaves into Blood Frost Orb.]

[Type: Hidden Quest (Exclusive to the Dragon Blacksmith)]

[Required Materials: Quick Silver Pine Sap x 1 Liter, Ten Thousand Year Snow Tree Leaves x 10,000, etc.]

[Reward: Level +3]

“Oh? You really got a quest from this. But how strong will this projectile set be?” Siegfried asked.

“It will be far stronger than the one you’re currently using, oppa. You can tell from the number of projectiles only. You’re currently using one thousand projectiles, right? But this set will have ten thousand projectiles,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied.

“Whoa...”

“Its individual damage might be weaker, but DPS will definitely be stronger. And if you enhance it, then—”

“It will be extremely strong.”

“Exactly.”

“Will you make it for me?”

“Of course!”

“Then... I’ll leave it to you.”

Siegfried didn't feel comfortable asking so many things from Yong Seol-Hwa, but he decided to accept it anyway, as the Blood Frost Orb would definitely increase the power of his Torrential Flower Rain explosively.

***

Siegfried spent his time overseeing the dismembering process of Inkarthus’ remains while waiting for Yong Seol-Hwa to finish crafting the Blood Frost Orb from the Ten Thousand Year Snow Tree.

The process of dismembering Inkarthus’ two-kilometer-long body was very labor intensive due to its sheer size.

Two days later...

“Hmm... I think the radioactive energy has mostly dissipated already.”

Siegfried could feel that the amount of radioactive energy he was emitting had significantly reduced, so he started getting ready to return to the Proatine Kingdom.

“I guess I can go back this evening at the earliest–”

It was then.

“Excuse me... Your Majesty?”

A young man approached him and stood about seven meters away from him.

“Yes?”

The young man’s name was Mark, and he was Arnayan’s younger brother. He had grown up in a stable owned by the Ashenuna Dukedom, and he was badly abused there ever since he was a boy.

“Oh? What brings you here, Mark?” Siegfried asked in a gentle voice.

“I... I have a favor, Your Majesty...” Mark replied in a trembling voice. He seemed to have been so badly abused that he could not speak without stuttering, and he would squirm as if he was nervous about something.

‘Those bastards...’ Siegfried growled inwardly and gnashed his teeth at the viciousness of Duke Ashenuna. Mistreating a slave was one thing, but treating his own flesh and blood this harshly was something far more despicable.

“What is it? I’ll try to help if it’s something I can do.”

“R-Really?”

“Of course! The Blanc Clan and the Proatine Kingdom are blood allies now,” Siegfried replied with a smile. Then, he asked, “So, what is your request?”

“I...”

“Hmm?”

“N-Night...”

“What?”

“I want to...”

“You want to?”

“Knight...”

“Huh? Knight?”

Mark mustered every ounce of his courage and revealed his request.

“I want... to become a knight.”