Debuff Master

Chapter 702

“Ah... they’re all so annoying. Should I just kill them all?” Siegfried grumbled.

He seriously contemplated wiping out every single one of the beggars charging toward him, as he knew they would drop like flies the moment he reactivated Eraser Swarm.

“No, no... I’m not just any Adventurer. I’m a Legendary Hero now, not a senseless murderer.”

However, he held himself back. He had his honor and reputation to consider, but above everything else, he had to keep himself in check so that he would not be a father Verdandi would be ashamed of. He vowed not to commit any evil deeds or get caught up in a controversy like before.

Thus, Siegfried decided to be benevolent and merciless in the true spirit of the hero who saved the world from a demonic invasion.

Well, how long this new resolution of his would last was anyone’s guess...

“I guess I’ll just beat them up a bit,” Siegfried muttered with a shrug after making up his mind.

It was then.

“Stop! Back off if you don’t want to die a pointless death!” Beggarius exclaimed, raising his hand to stop his subordinates before struggling to his feet.

He turned to Siegfried and grimaced in pain. “Ugh... Don’t you know how to respect your elders? Has no one taught you manners?”

“Do you want me to show you how I really respect the elderly?” Siegfried asked with a grin, resting his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp on his shoulder.

“N-No, there’s no need for that...”

“But you sure are strong for an old man. Most people wouldn’t even be able to stand after that.”

“You damn brat... My whole body feels like it’s falling apart. And on top of that, your radioactive energy almost killed me!”

The Beggar King could only because he was a Master.

What if a normal person were to be exposed to the cranked-up Eraser Swarm while trapped within the Barrier of Victory? Their body would start disintegrating from the inside due to radiation poisoning, which made cellular reproduction impossible.

In other words, their skin would peel away, and their organs would melt away as well.

However, a Master like the Beggar King could resist such effects, and all it would take was a week’s worth of rest for him to recover from it.

“Ughh... I must apologize,” Beggarius said hesitantly.

“Apologize for what?” Siegfried snarked in response.

“For trying to steal that weapon of yours.”

“Oh...” Siegfried muttered, looking at his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp. Then, he asked, “But why were you trying to steal this?”

“I got an offer to steal that weapon.”

“From who?”

“I can’t tell you that. I still have my honor as—”

Siegfried cut him off immediately and said, “It’s Avant, right?”

“Ahem...” Beggarius coughed awkwardly in response. He did not deny what Siegfried said, which basically meant that he was confirming it.

“But what was that thing you did to me earlier?” Siegfried asked.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Beggarius raised a brow and asked in response.

“The begging. I couldn’t resist it at all.”

“Ah, that’s called the Divine Art of Begging.”

“Divine Art of... Begging...?”

“I’ve spent countless years living disguised as a beggar,” Beggarius said, smiling bitterly. Then, he explained, “To be honest, it wasn’t really a disguise at first. I was really just a beggar before I founded the guild.”

“So what happened?”

“I mean, what else can a beggar do to survive?”

“Beg, I guess?”

“Exactly, beg. But begging isn’t as easy as people think it is. Do you know how hard it is to ask for something without offering anything in return and still manage to pull something out of someone else’s pocket?”

It seemed that the Beggar King, true to his name, had mastered the art of begging.

“Eventually, I started to study the art of manipulating people’s minds using mana.”

“Oh, I see...”

“I can pretty much beg for and take almost anything—provided certain conditions are met.”

“And what if the person who fell for your begging realizes what happened and demands their stuff back?”

“I run away. Simple as that. I mean, I’m really fast, as you've seen.”

“...”

“My begging, my fluid movements, my speed. All of these are skills I refined through years of living as a beggar.”

“Are you some kind of master artisan or something...?”

“Anyway, now that we’re here. Shall we talk business?”

“Hmm? Business?”

“Yeah, let’s call it that. Business.”

“Sure.”

Siegfried did not reject the business proposal the Beggar King was about to make.

***

Siegfried found himself seated at an open-air cafe near the Adventurer’s Guild of the Puruna Kingdom, having a conversation with the Beggar King.

“First, I must apologize for attempting to take your weapon,” Beggarius said sincerely. Then, he added, “But don’t misunderstand me. I never actually intended to steal it from you.”

“What do you mean by that?” Siegfried asked, raising a brow.

“Actually, we’ve been watching you and the Proatine Kingdom closely for the past year,” Beggarius said seriously.

Siegfried tilted his head in confusion and asked, “Why? What’s so interesting about the Proatine Kingdom that you would do that?”

The Beggar King paused for a second before answering, “I thought... that the Proatine Kingdom could become the new home for my men.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The Beggar King pointed at his subordinates seated at the nearby tables. They were huddled together and busy stuffing their faces with the brunch sets that Siegfried had kindly ordered for them.

“Chomp! Chomp!”

“Nom! Nom! Nom!”

“Buuuurp!”

“Munch! Munch!”

The members of the Beggar’s Guild seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their meals.

“Do we look like real beggars or homeless people to you?” Beggarius asked.

“Yes,” Siegfried replied without an ounce of hesitation.

Beggarius’ face crumpled as he retorted, “We are highly skilled at disguising ourselves! That’s why!”

“Disguises...?” Siegfried muttered, narrowing his eyes. Then, he asked with his voice full of skepticism, “Are you sure you guys aren’t just real beggars?”

“Of course not!”

“Hmm... It seems too real to me, though...”

“I said we’re not!” Beggarius retorted, sounding very offended.

‘Yeah, they’re definitely beggars. That’s not a disguise,’ Siegfried thought, certain that the Beggar’s Guild was made up of destitute people.

“Ahem! We’re not truly beggars. Look at us! Do you really think people who can wield mana like us would become beggars?”

“Hmm... You do have a point there.”

“We are... those who have been shunned by society, people who have fallen through the cracks and have been left behind.”

“And what exactly does that mean?”

Beggarius’ face turned serious as he pointed at one of the beggars and said, “Do you see that man over there? He was a distant relative of someone who once rebelled against the royal family but unfortunately failed. Now he’s on the run because of that.”

“Oh?”

“The cost of failing a rebellion is steep. The entire families of those who committed treason will be executed or, if they’re lucky, sold into slavery.”

“Yeah, collective punishment is really no joke.”

“Some people are simply blacklisted and ostracized by society.”

“Ah, I get it now,” Siegfried said with a nod. Then, he continued, “So you’re saying that some of them did not become beggars or homeless by choice, but rather, they were forced into it due to some unfortunate circumstance?”

“Exactly. Our guild is made up of people with no other options but to live in hiding.”

“And?”

“What if the Proatine Kingdom became a great power and welcomed us?”

“Well...” Siegfried muttered, thinking about it for a moment. Then, he replied, “I guess it’d be a fresh start for them. They wouldn’t have to live as beggars or homeless, and they’d finally have some sort of protection.”

“Exactly! I was deeply moved when I saw how you pardoned those criminals. They were no different from us, after all. Then, we received a request to take your weapon, which gave me a reason to meet you face-to-face.”

Siegfried scratched his head, looking baffled, and said, “But I can’t do that anymore. The prisoners were only pardoned as a reward for stopping the demonic invasion. I can’t push any further and try including you guys in it.”

“I’m very well aware of that. It’s unfortunate, but I know that granting us a full pardon is impossible at this point in time.”

“So what do you want from me?”

“I’ll offer you information.”

“Eh? Information?”

“In return, grant us a new place to call home once the Proatine Kingdom becomes a mighty great power.”

Ding!

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes as soon as the Beggar King said those words.

[Alert: You have received a new Quest – Information is Power!]

[Information is Power!]

[Description: Make a deal with the Beggar King and guarantee a future for the members of the Beggar’s Guild.]

[Reward: +250% National Power of the Proatine Kingdom]

[Note: This is a highly beneficial deal for you!]

“Sounds good. I’ll take you up on your offer,” Siegfried accepted the quest and shook hands with the Beggar King without any hesitation.

“Really? Are you saying that the Proatine Kingdom will give us a new future?” Beggarius asked, his face lighting up with hope.

“Of course, you can just settle down there right now if you want to,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

“No, that won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Some of us were once branded as traitors by the Marchioni Empire. They won’t be pardoned so easily.”

“Ah...”

“But it’s not an impossible issue to solve. We’d likely receive a pardon if you marry Emperor Stuttgart’s half-sister.”

“Argh!” Siegfried groaned loudly, clearly uncomfortable with the idea.

“Do you plan to reject the proposal? But that’s the only way we can get a pardon from the emperor.”

“I was hoping to avoid that by performing another major achievement or something...”

“Hmm... That might actually be for the best,” Beggarius said after pondering for a second.

“And what do you mean by that?”

“Well, the emperor’s half-sister is a real menace. I heard she once slapped a seventy-year-old duke and plucked out all of his facial hair just because she was in a bad mood!”

“Eeeh?!”

“Marrying that maniac might be worse than going against the emperor... Yes, I think so...”

“Sigh...” Siegfried let out a sigh after realizing that Emperor Stuttgart was more interested in passing off his troublesome half-sister than giving him a real reward.

‘Hey! That’s not a reward! That’s a curse!’

“Anyway, I suppose we’re business partners now?” Siegfried asked.

“Indeed, we are,” Beggarius replied.

“Great. I look forward to working with you.”

“Likewise.”

“Oh, by the way,” Siegfried said after suddenly remembering something. Then, he asked, “Could I ask for a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Could you track down Avant later and... mess with him a little?”

Siegfried leaned in and whispered his plans to the Beggar King on how he wanted to get back at Avant. It went without saying that Siegfried van Proa wanted to use his new ally for a bit of payback.

***

A few hours later, Siegfried parted ways with the Beggar King and registered the recruitment notice for new guild members at the Adventurer’s Guild. Then, he made his journey back to the Proatine Kingdom.

“Kyuuu! Why didn’t you take advantage of that opportunity, owner punk?!” Hamchi asked.

“I know I could,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“You could have captured Avant easily if you had used the Beggar King! You would have reclaimed the Bavarian Workshop without lifting a finger!”

“I said I know.”

“Kyuuu! Then why did you hold back?! That’s not like you!”

Hamchi was right. Siegfried was not the type of person to give his enemies a chance.

“It’s because of money.”

“Kyuuu?”

“There are a lot of people in the other world who want to watch this upcoming battle.”

Siegfried explained briefly about V-Sports and how people in the real world were willing to pay money to watch the fights happening on the continent.

“Kyuuu? So, owner punk can make money from that?”

“Yup.”

“And a lot of it?”

“Loads.”

“But you already have a lot of money! Kyuuu! Why are you so obsessed with earning more?”

Siegfried smiled sadly and said, “So I can spend more time with you.”

“Kyuuu?” Hamchi tilted his head in confusion. Then, he asked, “So, I can spend more time with owner punk if you earn more money?”

“Yeah.”

“Kyuuu? That’s weird! How does money buy time? Does your world sell some kind of immortality elixir?”

Hamchi was completely confused by what he heard.

“Well, you see...” Siegfried tried his best to explain to the giant hamster.