Debuff Master

The trio was not holding a simple press conference—no, this was practically a declaration of war.

“What led you to form the Pandemonium Guild? You mentioned something about revenge at the airport,” a reporter asked.

Diesel smirked and replied, “We’re like the Avengers but brought together for revenge.”

“And who exactly is the target of your revenge? Could it be Han T—”

“Han Tae-Sung, who else? He’s the reason the three of us are here and united for this cause.”

“Ah…!”

“Most of you might be aware that the three of us have a pretty bad history with him,” Diesel said, glancing at his new allies, Chae Hyung-Seok and Palchuck, seated beside him. Then, he smiled and added, “That naturally brought us together, and we thought it was about time we joined forces against him.”

“So is it safe to assume that the primary goal of your new guild is to take down Han Tae-Sung?”

“Haha! That’s just the first step,” Diesel replied with a chuckle. Then, he continued, “We will crush him, then take over the pro scene in BNW. The three of us are aiming for the top.”

A reporter jumped in, sounding skeptical, “But Han Tae-Sung is the first gamer to be crowned King. Can the three of you really take him down even if you join forces?”

“This is a war between gamers. I’m confident that Han Tae-Sung will not drag his puny little kingdom into this. It will be a fair fight,” Diesel replied.

“But don’t you think you’re still outmatched?” the reporter stubbornly asked.

“Do you really think so?” Diesel asked in response, narrowing his eyes.

“Han Tae-Sung’s skills and reputation are on a whole different level these days. He stands out even among the professional gamers.”

“I admit he's strong, but he doesn’t have any real backing. Well, he has his pathetic excuse for a guild, but they’re hardly a threat.”

“Are you planning to exploit the unspoken rules of the game?” another reporter asked.

The unspoken rules referred to the agreement that Adventurers generally did not meddle with in-game nations. The agreement heavily enforced that conflicts between gamers had to stay between gamers.

“Exploit? We’re just playing by the rules. We’re gamers and we’ve created our own guild. Han Tae-Sung has his guild too, so this is a battle between guilds, nothing more, nothing less,” Diesel replied with a shrug.

Then, he turned and glared straight at the camera, “Consider this our formal declaration of war. The Pandemonium Guild officially challenges Han Tae-Sung. We will not touch his kingdom, but he has to settle this on the battlefield like a true gamer. From now on, the Pandemonium Guild will treat Han Tae-Sung and his allies as our enemies.”

This was a direct challenge issued against Tae-Sung in public.

However, Diesel was far from done.

“Also, he better register as a pro gamer if he wants to face us properly. We will settle this in an official match, guild versus guild.”

The interview ended with a bang. All heads in the cafe instantly turned toward Han Tae-Sung and Cheon Woo-Jin, and all eyes were locked on them.

Han Tae-Sung’s face turned beet red. The sudden attention made him feel flustered.

“Haha… hahaha…”

“Well, I guess you’ve really come a long way, Han Tae-Sung. Who knew you’d get such a public proposal?” Cheon Woo-Jin teased with a grin.

“What? Proposal?” Han Tae-Sung glared.

“Haha! Hey, it’s all part of being a celebrity, right? Being in demand and everything,” Cheon Woo-Jin said with a cackle.

“Are you sure you wanna continue messing around?” Han Tae-Sung growled, lifting his fist threateningly. His knuckles were covered in thick calluses that were proof of him growing stronger even in real life.

“W-Wait!” Cheon Woo-Jin exclaimed, raising both hands in mock surrender. Then, he thought, ‘H-He’s turning into a monster even over here…!’

He recalled a video Tae-Sung had recently uploaded a video of him casually bench pressing one hundred forty kilograms, which was far beyond what his lean frame could handle.

If Tae-Sung’s fists were to connect with his face…

‘O-Oh no! My teeth!’ Cheon Woo-Jin instinctively shielded his jaw. Then, he stammered, “C-Calm down, man…!”

“You better watch yourself and your mouth.”

“Y-Yeah, I will.”

The tension between them soon eased.

“Sigh… This is going to be a pain in my butt.”

“How are you going to handle them? They’ve straight-up challenged you, so they’re definitely not going to leave you alone.”

“What do you think?” Han Tae-Sung asked in response. Then, he smirked, his eyes glinting with resolve, “I’ll just smash them to pieces and send them back where they came from.”

Han Tae-Sung was not going to run from a fight. Not from these guys he had already utterly crushed before.

***

The next morning, Han Tae-Sung wasted no time and headed straight for the V-Sports Association’s main office.

“W-What?!” an employee jumped at the sight of him entering the building. Then, he immediately rushed and called, “M-Manager!”

Han Tae-Sung.

The champion of the Super Rookie Tournament and the most promising gamer of this era had arrived at the association, and his arrival could only mean one thing.

“Uh… I’m here to register as a pro gamer,” Tae-Sung said casually. His words were said nonchalantly, but the impact of his words was enormous.

“I will assist you right away!” the employee exclaimed in response before scrambling to pull out the registration forms, handing them to him in a hurry.

There are two requirements one has to satisfy to become a professional BNW gamer.

The first was to earn points by participating in official matches hosted or recognized by Hive Games Entertainment, the developer and distributor of the game, and the second was to complete the basic professional training from the V-Sports Association in the gamer’s country of residence.

Since Tae-Sung had won the Super Rookie Tournament, he met the point requirement necessary to become a professional gamer, and all that remained now was submitting the forms and completing the training.

Unsurprisingly, news had already spread like wildfire by afternoon.

[Breaking News: Han Tae-Sung applies for a professional gamer license!]

[Breaking News: Super Rookie Champion, Han Tae-Sung files for professional gaming license!]

[V-Sports: Han Tae-Sung’s pro gamer application… is a showdown with the Pandemonium Guild incoming?!]

The gaming community buzzed with excitement at the thought of a massive war incoming, and all eyes were now locked on Han Tae-Sung and the three founding members of the Pandemonium Guild.

Why?

It was all because his decision to apply for a professional gaming license meant one thing and only one thing—he was ready to officially face the Pandemonium Guild.

As expected, the fans were spot-on with their assumptions.

— Hey, you’re really gonna do this?”

Cheon Woo-Ji was shocked and immediately called after hearing the news. He knew Tae-Sung well enough by now, so he thought that someone had pushed him into becoming a pro gamer.

“Why are you so surprised? You’re the one who told me to debut as a pro gamer and become a legend, right?”

— Yeah, but this is too sudden! What’s gotten into you?”

“It’s for money.”

— Money? Hey, aren't you rich already?!

“It’s not enough.”

— What in the world are you thinking of doing…?

“I have my plans,” Tae-Sung replied with a cryptic answer before hanging up, leaving Cheon Woo-Jin bewildered. Then, he tapped away on his phone to buy more stocks of Hive Games Entertainment.

“Ah… making money sure is tough,” Siegfried muttered while buying up the stocks.

***

Meanwhile, other events were unfolding in BNW while Tae-Sung was starting his journey of becoming a pro gamer in the real world.

Avant was sitting across from the three founding members of the Pandemonium Guild—Diesel, Chae Hyung-Seok, and Palchuck.

“So, you’re the ones set to be the new business partners of our proud workshop?” Avant asked with a sly grin. Then, he scanned them one by one before saying, “I’ll be counting on you lot from now on.”

The Bavarian Workshop, under Avant’s new leadership, had chosen the trio as their allies from now on. This was definitely a brilliant decision, as each and every one of them had been utterly destroyed by Siegfried in the past. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Siegfried had destroyed their lives.

Thus, the amount of revenge burning within them was beyond measure.

On top of that, they were all formidable players recognized as powerhouses in the game, and they dominated their respective fields.

What if these guys were equipped with the devilish weapons crafted by the new Bavarian Workshop?

Game Over.

A fearsome group of Adventurers, driven by revenge and anger would be unleashed, and every single one of them was going to be equipped with weapons crafted solely for carnage.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what you can accomplish with our weapons,” Avant said.

"Sure. " The trio nodded and simultaneously replied. “I’m sure we’ll show you satisfactory results with this kind of support.”

“We’ll make sure the Bavarian Workshop becomes the top workshop on the continent.”

Thus, it was not an exaggeration to say that the Pandemonium Guild now had the full backing of the Bavarian Workshop.

Avant had cleared out old stock in a massive sale to earn a considerable fortune, and he planned to use this money, which was no different from a war chest, to craft devilish weapons and supply them to the Pandemonium Guild.

“Good. I’ll get you the artifacts soon. In the meantime, how about you start planning how to obliterate Siegfried van Proa?” Avant said with a grin before leaving the meeting room.

Avant walked down the corridor when his right-hand man—no, dwarf, Kink, approached him and whispered, “The old man accepted the job, Head Blacksmith.”

“That old man did?” Avant raised a brow, looking surprised.

He did ask Kink to try to hire that old man, but he did not expect his request to be accepted.

“But he is asking five times the usual fee…”

“F-Five time?!”

“He said it is because he does not usually take these kinds of jobs so…”

“Hmm…”

Kink leaned in and said, “But I believe it is worth the risk. We have plenty of funds, and if paying five times the usual fee will allow us to get our hands on the Staff of God then…”

Avant rubbed his chin while making calculations in his head.

“And with his begging skills… He just might pull it off,” Kink added.

“Hmm… Yes, there’s a chance he could wrest the Staff of God from that brat, judging by his reputation,” Avant replied with a nod. Then, he paused for a moment before saying, “Alright, proceed with the plan.”

***

Siegfried logged into BNW and returned to his guild headquarters for the first time in a long while.

The Head Crusher Guild’s base was located on the outskirts of the Proatine Kingdom, and it was eerily quiet.

Well, this was no surprise, as the Head Crusher Guild was formed for one reason and one reason only, and that was to take down Chae Hyung-Seok and the Genesis Guild.

But now, the Genesis Guild was destroyed and Chae Hyung-Seok had fallen from grace, meaning the Head Crusher Guild no longer had any purpose.

Of course, Siegfried was not interested in managing the guild after the downfall of the Genesis Guild, so he did not do much and simply watched most of the guild members leave.

“Hmm… Should I revive the guild…?” Siegfried muttered, staring at the empty base. He needed a guild now. The Pandemonium Guild was growing stronger day by day, so he needed to have his own team of seasoned gamers to face them in the upcoming official matches.

‘The license should come through soon, and after that… It'll take about two months to set up contracts, sponsors, and match schedules. Hmm… I should probably start recruiting now if I want to make it in time.’

Siegfried headed to the nearest Adventurer’s Guild to begin gathering new members for the revival of the Head Crusher Guild. His next goal was as clear as day—revive his guild and have a showdown with the Pandemonium Guild.

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