Debuff Master

“Han Tae-Sung! Please look this way!”

“Hyung-nim!”

“Oppa!”

“I love you, bro!”

“A word before the match, please!”

Reporters swarmed the area and fans erupted in cheers the moment Tae-Sung’s car pulled up to the red carpet in front of the stadium.

However, Tae-Sung did not respond to the questions. He didn't even wave, smile, or interact with his fans.

This was strange, as Tae-Sung normally would go out of his way to interact with fans even at the cost of his privacy, but he was acting in an unusual way today.

He walked straight past the red carpet and photo line without stopping for a photo.

He stomped toward the player waiting room with his fists clenched tightly as if he was ready to punch through anything.

Tae-Sung was about to reach the player waiting room when he ran into his former rival in the corridor.

Chae Hyung-Seok smirked and tried to provoke him, “Today will be the day—”

Bam!

Tae-Sung grabbed Chae Hyung-Seok by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

“Guh! Gruuh! Y-You crazy bastard, Han Tae-Sung…!” Chae Hyung-Seok gagged and struggled against the overwhelming force.

“Yeah, I’m crazy right now,” Tae-Sung growled. Then, he flashed a smile that would send chills down anyone’s back as he added, “To be honest, I’m this close to losing it.”

“What the hell are you—”

“Are you really gonna play dumb?”

“...?”

“Tsk… Pathetic. So pathetic. Was winning that important to you?” Tae-Sung asked, his eyes filled with disgust and ridicule.

“What the fuck are you—?”

“I didn’t think you could sink any lower, but here we are.”

“What did you just say?”

“Go on. Get lost,” Tae-Sung said, shoving Chae Hyung-Seok aside. Then, he threatened, “If you thought this was gonna make me quit or back down, then you’ve got the wrong guy.”

“What the hell…?”

“You’re a disgusting scumbag.”

Tae-Sung stormed off, leaving Chae Hyung-Seok stunned and speechless.

“W-What’s his problem…?”

Chae Hyung-Seok could not understand the sudden aggression he got from Tae-Sung, but he did not even have the energy to be angry about it after being choked.

“What the hell just happened? Did that guy eat something bad?”

***

The waiting room door swung open.

“Oppa…”

“Tae-Sung Oppa…”

“Hyung-nim!”

“Mr. Tae-Sung…”

Yong Seol-Hwa, Seul-Gi, Seung-Gu, and Daytona were already in the waiting room, and they were looking at Tae-Sung with nervous expressions.

“What? Why the long faces? You’re making it feel like I walked into a funeral home,” Tae-Sung said, plopping down on the waiting room couch.

“Hyung-nim… Maybe we should request for the match to be postponed,” Seung-Gu said, cautiously approaching him. Seung-Gu's suggestion was made due to what had happened just thirty minutes earlier.

While Tae-Sung was driving toward the stadium…

“Hey, Han Tae-Sung. Something happened to your guild’s waiting room.”

“Waiting room? Which one?”

“The one in the Infinite Battleground.”

“What about it?”

“Some NPC walked in there and set off a bomb.”

“What?!”

“Everyone’s dead. Only twenty or thirty of your guild members survived.”

And that was when Tae-Sung dropped his phone.

It was a terrorist attack…

Most of his guild members had been wiped out by a bomb before the match could even start, and this was the reason why he stormed straight to the waiting room, ignoring everyone and everything along the way.

This was also the reason he almost beat Chae Hyung-Seok to a pulp, as he believed that the Three Losers were behind the cowardly attack.

“Hyung-nim…” Seung-Gu muttered.

“What? What’s with the long face?” Tae-Sung asked with a smile.

“You’ve worked so hard for this…”

“And so what?”

“Those bastards…” Seung-Gu growled, his face twisting in anger. Then, he clenched his fists and said, “Just give me the word. I’ll go and tear those filthy bastards apart—”

“Hey, calm down, calm down,” Daytona quickly intervened, pulling Seung-Gu back. He was the only foreigner in the group, but his Korean was pretty good.

“Yeah, calm down. There's water under the bridge now, and we don’t have any proof that they were behind it,” Tae-Sung said, also trying to calm him down.

“But hyung-nim, even if—”

“We’re still going to do this,” Tae-Sung cut him off. Then, he said firmly, “We fight. Even if we might lose, we fight.”

“But…”

“You know very well we can’t postpone the match.”

Just like Tae-Sung said, the match could not be postponed, especially not because a few players had died in the game. Dying was a part of the game, and BNW was an MMORPG. Players used their regular accounts even for these kinds of matches, so protecting your character was a fundamental responsibility of the player.

There was even a saying, “take care of your character before the match," as everyone knew that their rivals could kill them right before the match, just like what happened with Siegfried and the Church of Osric.

“It’s an automatic loss if we forfeit now. And the penalty fees? Don’t even get me started. It can be three to ten times the figure that we can imagine.”

“So then…?”

“We fight. I mean, what else can we do?” Tae-Sung said. Then, he bit his lower lip and added, “We might win if we get lucky with the map…”

There were thirteen different maps in the Infinite Battleground. A few of them actually gave smaller forces a tactical advantage by employing guerrilla warfare.

“If we get something like a night siege and we’re on offense… we might have a shot.”

Tae-Sung knew the odds were slim, but he forced himself to stay positive until the map was revealed.

Why?

It was all because he did not want his team’s spirits to get dragged down.

Silence fell over the room as Yong Seol-Hwa, Seung-Gu, Seul-Gi, and Daytona reflected on Tae-Sung’s determination.

However, the silence did not last long.

“I’ll fight by your side until the end, hyung-nim!”

“Let’s do our best, oppa.”

“If we’re going, then we’re going all out.”

“I have your back, Mr. Tae-Sung.”

Despite the challenge in front of them, none of them backed down. They all showed their resolve to stand by Tae-Sung and fight with everything they had.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Tae-Sung said, clenching his fist as his determination burned fiercely.

There were only three minutes left before the match started.

‘Yeah, when have I ever had it easy?’ Tae-Sung thought.

A wicked smile formed as he remembered the days when he was being hunted down by the Genesis Guild. Those were the days when he had nothing else to rely on other than his undying fighting spirit and indomitable will to win.

***

The Temple of Colossus was thrown into absolute chaos by the unexpected bombing. However, there were no talks of halting the match, as the V-Sports Association insisted on pushing forward with the match, citing the real-world tournament rules.

As a result of the bombing, the Church of War God dispatched one thousand holy knights to prevent any further attacks, and they evacuated the main audience to avoid additional casualties should another bombing occur.

The Adventurers dying because of the match was one thing, but the deaths of innocent NPCs were simply unacceptable. Thus, the battle between the Head Crusher Guild and the Pandemonium Guild began under heavy security and a grim atmosphere.

“Hohoho…” Avant smiled while looking down at the arena below.

The seats around him were nearly empty, and there were only a handful of spectators around him.

“H-Head Blacksmith? Are you sure we do not have to evacuate, sir? Your safety is much more important than anything else,” asked Kink, who was seated next to him. He sounded anxious and was even fidgeting.

“It’s fine, Kink. There won’t be any more attacks,” Avant reassured him.

“Huh? How can you be so sure, sir?” Kink asked, stunned by Avant’s certainty.

“Silence. Be careful what you say,” Avant growled sternly.

“S-Sir?” Kink stammered, confused by the sudden warning.

“We’re just here to watch Siegfried van Proa and his allies get slaughtered. That’s all,” Avant said with a smirk.

“S-Sir…? D-Did you by any chance…?” Kink stammered once again after finally realizing the implications.

“No, my hands are clean,” Avant said nonchalantly.

“Then who would do—?”

“It’s someone that wishes me well. They did all the dirty work,” Avant said with a sinister grin. Then, he smiled warmly and said, “Now, just sit back and enjoy watching that wretched brat, Siegfried van Proa, get crushed by the might of our artifacts.”

Avant took a sip of wine while watching the arena. He was not interested in anything else aside from reclaiming the Rod of God from Siegfried.

“You picked a fight with the wrong person, boy,” Avant muttered under his breath while smiling wickedly.

***

The match began.

Tae-Sung and his team entered the arena. Each of them entered their capsules and logged into the game. As soon as Tae-Sung logged into the game, Hamchi ran up to him and anxiously asked, “Are you really okay with this, owner punk? Kyuuu!”

“What are you worried about?” Siegfried asked in response with a laugh. Then, he patted Hamchi’s head and said, “What about you? Are you okay? You can just sit back and watch if you’re not alright with it.”

“No! Hamchi wants to fight with owner punk! Kyuuu!”

“I don’t want you getting hurt, Hamchi.”

“Kyuuu! Hamchi won’t really die! Hamchi will just return to the spirit world, and we’ll meet again eventually!”

“Even so—”

“No! Hamchi will fight! Take Hamch with you! Kyaaaaah!”

“Haha, alright, you little punk. Just make sure you take it easy, okay?” Siegfried said with a chuckle.

“Alright! Kyuuu!”

Siegfried brought Hamchi to the Head Crusher Guild’s waiting room. The room was in shambles, and there were still clear marks of the explosion that had taken place earlier.

The remains and body parts of his fallen clan members were still scattered on the floor.

“G-Guild Master…!”

“Siegfried…!”

The twenty-seven remaining guild members who had survived the attack looked at Siegfried and the other leaders with tearful faces.

“We can’t give up now,” Siegfried said firmly. Then, he tried to lift their spirits by saying, “Come on, stop moping! We’re not done yet. Let’s go.”

He appeared calm on the outside, but he was in despair as well.

On top of that, he could feel the immense weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

‘If I lose… I’m going bald,’ Siegfried thought. The mere thought of having his head shaved by Chae Hyung-Seok made him shudder with horror. ‘I have to win. I’ll do whatever it takes to win, no matter what. I’ll fight and win even if I have to sell my soul.’

This match was not just about victory or defeat.

It was a desperate battle for honor—no, his hair.

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