Debuff Master

“W-What the hell are you talking about?!”

“Oppa!”

Tae-Sung and Seul-Gi yelled at Cheon Woo-Jin at the same time.

“I told you not to say that!” Seul-Gi added.

“Haha! Hahaha!”

“Oh my god! I don’t know what’s with you,” Seul-Gi growled. Then, she looked at Tae-Sung and said, “I’m going to the bathroom…!”

“...?”

Tae-Sung stood in a daze, dumbfounded.

“Hahaha!”

“Hey, what the hell is going on?” Tae-Sung asked.

“Hahaha!”

“Hey.”

“Bwahaha!”

“Hey, stop laughing.”

“Haha… Hahahaha!”

“This bastard…” Tae-Sung growled and grabbed Cheon Woo-Jin’s shoulder. He was starting to get annoyed that he was ignoring him and just kept laughing.

“Haha—ouch!” Cheon Woo-Jin screamed in pain as Tae-Sung tightly gripped his shoulder.

“I told you to stop laughing.”

“Argh!”

“I said it a few times already, didn’t I?”

“Argh! A-Alright! I got it!”

“Why do you always make me use force?” Tae-Sung grumbled as he sat down at the table and took a sip of green tea.

“Ughh… Is this why you're working out?”

“Shut up,” Tae-Sung growled. Then, he asked, “Why were you laughing so much?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I laughed because you said she looked familiar, which meant you didn’t forget her completely.”

“Forget? Forget what?”

“You seriously don’t remember? You slept with her, right?”

“Me? With Gosran?” Tae-Sung asked, pointing at himself.

Slept together? Tae-Sung had never been in a relationship in his entire life, so how could he even sleep with a woman? And they weren't talking about some random woman here but someone as beautiful as Gosran… 𝘙𝔞ꞐỘ฿ÈṦ

This was something he found not just hard to believe but completely absurd.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“I’m telling you, it’s true.”

“Say something that makes sense—”

“Did you forget? We went to the club a little over a year ago and you got completely wasted?”

“Wasted?”

“Yeah, you were so drunk you blacked out.”

“Hold on…”

Something clicked in Tae-Sung’s mind after hearing what Cheon Woo-Jin said, and he frowned as he forced himself to recall.

About a year ago, Tae-Sung went to the club with Cheon Woo-Jin and Seung-Gu to relax and have a good time.[1] They had no intentions of meeting anyone, nor were they looking for girls, as they were simply celebrating Tae-Sung’s new lease on life.

Perhaps that was the reason, but Tae-Sung ended up drinking far more than his limit that day, and he was completely hammered before the night even ended.

A mysterious woman approached the drunk Tae-Sung.

“Are you alright?”

“How much did you drink? Come here and hold on to me. Heave-ho! How much did you drink? Sigh… What am I going to do with you? Where do you live? I’ll bring you home.”

This mysterious woman was kind enough to take him home while he was wasted.

Of course, that was not the only thing that happened.

The next day, while lying in bed, Tae-Sung even had a conversation with her as she prepared to leave.

“I’ll get going now.”

“W-Who are you?!”

“Who else? It’s your partner from last night.”

“Huh?! W-What do you mean?!”

“You don’t have to worry since nothing happened. I got tired as well after bringing you home, so I took a nap. I hope you won’t misunderstand what happened. You’re still wearing your clothes, right?”

“EH?!”

“I had fun. Then, I’ll be off now.”

“E-Excuse me!”

Just like that, the mysterious woman who had taken care of him while he was drunk at the club disappeared, and he never saw her again.

“No way… The woman who took me home from the club that night was…”

“Do you remember now? The woman that helped you when you were stumbling around the club, brought you home, and slept in the same bed with you—that was her.”

“Oh my god…”

“I think that was the day before she left to study abroad.”

“What the hell…” Tae-Sung started pulling his hair in frustration. He could not believe the reality he was facing, as he had no idea that the woman from that night was none other than Gosran.

“Argh…!”

Just as he was groaning over this unbelievable situation, Cheon Woo-Jin’s phone suddenly rang.

“What? Really? Hmm… That’s serious. Okay, I’ll be there right away,” Cheon Woo-Jin answered the call, his expression turning grave. Then, he turned to Tae-Sung and said, “Hey, I’m really sorry, but there’s a serious family emergency. I have to go now.”

“What?”

“I’m really sorry, but it’s urgent. I have to go; it’s a family matter.”

“Wait, no matter how urgent it is—”

“I’m truly sorry. I’ll talk to you later. Just explain things to Seul-Gi for me when she comes back, okay?”

“H-Hey!”

“I’m really sorry!”

“Hey!”

“I’ll call you later!”

With that, Cheon Woo-Jin rushed out of the restaurant, leaving Tae-Sung behind.

“...”

Tae-Sung was left standing there alone for a whole ten minutes until Gosran finally returned from the bathroom.

“Huh? Where’s Woo-Jin Oppa?”

“He said he had a family emergency, so he had to go.”

“Really? He did?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

“...”

“...”

And with that, Tae-Sung and Gosran went on with a very awkward meal together…

***

“...”

“...”

Tae-Sung and Seul-Gi ate their steak in silence for a while.

“H-How is your meal, sir, madame?” the chef asked, sweating nervously, as there had been almost no conversation between the two. Yes, the atmosphere between them was so awkward that even the chef was feeling awkward.

‘Argh…!’

‘W-What do I do…?’

Both of them were so embarrassed, thanks to Cheon Woo-Jin revealing what had happened between them, that neither of them knew what to do or to say.

Of course, nothing really happened with them; they hadn't played Mommy and Daddy, but the fact that they had spent a few hours in the same bed was enough to make things awkward.

“Umm… Why did you suddenly ask to see me?”

Seul-Gi was the first to break the silence.

“Oh, about that,” Tae-Sung replied. He quickly jumped on the opportunity to respond, as he found it less awkward to talk about the game rather than engage in casual conversation.

“I have a favor to ask,” Tae-Sung said.

“A favor?” she asked in response.

“I just made a guild recently… Well, technically, I revived an old one.”

“You need someone to join you for the match, right?”

“Ah! Yes! I couldn’t think of anyone so…”

“What if you had someone in mind?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m not your second option or anything like that, right?”

“N-No!” Tae-Sung exclaimed, frantically waving his hands. Then, he said, “You’re really good at the game, so I thought you’d be reliable far more than anyone else!”

“Really?”

“Yes. So, I was wondering, could you help me? If you’re uncomfortable appearing in person, then—”

“It’s fine,” Seul-Gi interrupted with a smile. Then, she added, “I might feel a little shy about it, but I’ll help since you’re asking.”

“Really?!”

“Yes, I’ll help you.”

“Thank you so much!”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Oh, by the way… are you done with your studies abroad?”

Tae-Sung felt comfortable enough to start talking about other things, thanks to Gosran’s willingness to join his guild.

“I studied hard for about a year, but I played the game whenever I could.”

Gosran also relaxed, and they continued chatting about the game.

Thirty minutes later…

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Tae-Sung’s phone vibrated. It was a call from Yong Seol-Hwa.

“Hello?”

— Oppa.

“Oh, hi, Seol-Hwa.”

— Where are you right now? What are you doing?

“Right now?”

— You’re not at some fancy restaurant eating steak with a woman, are you?

“W-What?!” Tae-Sung exclaimed and instinctively looked around the restaurant.

However, there was no sign of anyone who looked remotely close to Yong Seol-Hwa.

“How did you know?”

— I saw an article.

“A-An article?!”

— I’ll send you the link.

“Huh?”

Tae-Sung opened the link Yong Seol-Hwa sent.

[Entertainment] Pro Gamer Han Tae-Sung Spotted on a Date with a Beautiful Woman.

At approximately 8:45 P.M., a reporter visited a high-end Hanwoo Omakase restaurant in Cheongdam and witnessed Pro Gamer Han Tae-Sung enjoying a private date with a beautiful woman.

(omitted…)

The two appeared very affectionate and serious; their gazes toward each other were particularly sweet.

(omitted…)

‘T-This jerk!’ Tae-Sung snapped his head toward the angle the photo was taken from, but nobody was there.

It seemed that a paparazzi or a reporter was in the restaurant earlier.

However, his problems did not end there, as this was not the only article.

[Entertainment] Young Gamer’s Wild Ways… What Happened to Loyalty?

[Breaking News] What About Yong Seol-Hwa? Pro Gamer Han Tae-Sung Caught on a Date with Another Beauty!

[Entertainment] Is Pro Gamer Han Tae-Sung Becoming a Womanizer?

After the first article was published, many different speculative news stories appeared like a deluge. Some of them were writing out whole narratives, such as painting Tae-Sung as a player.

— Oppa.

“Y-Yeah?”

— I just wanted to ask you something…

“Go ahead.”

— What’s your relationship with her? She’s really pretty.

“She’s just a friend!”

— Oh? I see, just a friend.

“Really!”

— I’m just teasing you.

“Huh?”

— There’s no way you’re a player. The reporters are just making things up again.

“Yes, that’s it!”

— Got it. Enjoy your meal~

“Um… Okay?”

With that, Yong Seol-Hwa hung up the call.

Gosran looked at him closely and asked, “Was that your girlfriend, oppa?”

“W-What?!”

“I saw the article from before. She’s Yong Tae-Pung’s daughter, right? She’s really pretty.”

“It’s not like that…”

“I’ll keep your secret.”

“What secret?”

“That we slept together…”

“...!”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t like it if she found out—”

“NO! We’re just friends!” Tae-Sung shouted.

“Really?”

“We just had a meal that time, but the reporters started making things up. Honestly, I feel bad for Seol-Hwa.”

“Well, who knows?” Gosran said with a playful smile. Then, she asked, “Is it really something to feel guilty about?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing,” Gosran replied with a shrug. Then, she took a sip of her wine before asking, “Since things are like this, how about we go grab some coffee?”

“Um… Sure?”

Tae-Sung did not refuse her suggestion. After all, it was already a hot mess, so why would he give up on life just because of a few reporters?

‘Hmm… Maybe I should buy a news outlet?’ Tae-Sung thought while sipping on his wine.

***

While Tae-Sung was busy struggling with another wave of dating rumors in the real world, the Hometown of Death deep within the Bavarian Workshop was in full swing crafting items.

Under Avant’s new leadership, the Bavarian Workshop was busy producing terrifying weapons at the hands of the Death Crafters. These weapons were set to be used in the upcoming battle between the Pandemonium Guild and the Head Crusher Guild.

“Good,” Avant said with a pleased smile.

He was happy to see that the workshop was running just as he envisioned it.

Creak…

He headed back to his office and opened the door.

“Who are you?” Avant asked with a front after seeing a shadow lingering in his office.

The shadow replied, “I am… an existence that is everywhere.”

“Hmm?”

“I will help you, Head Blacksmith of the Bavarian Workshop, Avant.”

“Help me? What are you going to help me with?”

“I will help you destroy Siegfried van Proa.”

“Hmm… that’s an intriguing offer, but who are you?”

“I am the Savior.

“...?”

“I am the one who will save this world.”

1. Chapter 78 ☜

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