Debuff Master-Chapter 1034

Chapter 1034
“
Huh?
”
Siegfried blinked in surprise at the sudden notification.
However, it did not take long for him to realize why the notification had popped up, and soon enough, a grin slowly formed across his face.
[Black Abyss: Necklace of Greed and Betrayal]
[A sacred relic belonging to Siegfried van Proa, the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal, Ruler of the Fifth Domain and Sixth Domain of the Demon Realm.]
[Type: Accessory]
[Rating: Mythic]
[Restriction: Exclusive to the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal]
[Effects]
- Absorbs the souls of defeated enemies.
- Once enough souls are absorbed, the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal’s true body can be summoned into the Middle Realm for a limited time.
- Can create a gate to the Demon Realm.
- +20% Magic Power
- Has a low chance to steal an enemy’s item when bumping against them.
- All items looted will become automatically bound to the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal at 100% probability.
- +550% damage when landing a sneak attack on an enemy.
- +222% to successfully lie to an NPC.
- +666% Attack Power against enemies betrayed by the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal.
- (omitted...)
- (omitted...)
- (omitted...)
Siegfried’s relic, the Black Abyss: Necklace of Greed and Betrayal, had an effect that allowed him to steal from those he came into contact with.
When he brushed past that random Adventurer just now, the passive effect to steal an item was triggered.
‘
Wait, this thing even lets me peek into their inventory?’
Siegfried thought, baffled.
Normally, peeking into another person’s Inventory was impossible. Even players with Legendary Thief Classes couldn’t do that. They could try to steal blindly, but they could never see inside their target’s inventory.
However, this relic allowed Siegfried to see the target’s Inventory, which could be considered an ability beyond even the top-ranking thief could do. As expected, the relic lived up to its name as the sacred relic of the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal.
‘
Okay, let’s see what you’ve got here...’
Siegfried thought, tapping the YES button.
And with that, the Adventurer’s inventory was laid bare before his eyes.
[Inventory of BBakTeacher]
- Top-Grade Mana Potion x 431
- Dried Meat x 14
- Noble Lady’s Garter Belt x 1
- Bruning Branch x 2,211
(omitted...)
(omitted...)
‘
What the hell is wrong with this guy?! Why would he carry around this thing?! Is he a pervert?!’
Siegfried grimaced at the sight of an item called Noble Lady’s Garter Belt in the inventory of the Adventurer, BBakTeacher.
It was a totally useless item with no real purpose other than fulfilling some sort of kink, as it was primarily worn by female NPCs.
‘
Unbelievable... What’s wrong with the world these days? There are too many degenerate weirdos running around,'
Siegfried grumbled inwardly. Shaking his head, he continued browsing BBakTeacher’s Inventory.
Despite his strange taste, the guy was still a Level 299 Adventurer, and his inventory had some genuinely expensive items.
Just then, one item in particular caught Siegfried’s eye.
[Midas’ Ecstasy]
[A pendant once owned by Midas, the legendary merchant and one of the greatest tycoons who lived.]
[It is said to naturally attract great wealth to its holder.]
[Type: Medal]
[Rating: Mythic]
[Durability: 99/100]
[Effect: +2.5% Gold Earned]
‘Whoa?!’
Siegfried exclaimed inwardly, and his eyes widened at the sight of it.
Sure, two and a half percent seemed small at first glance, but it was still extra gold given for free. Moreover, there was a massive difference between the two and a half percent of a mid-tier Level 299 Adventurer like BBakTeacher and someone of Siegfried’s caliber.
After all, Siegfried was not just a wealthy Adventurer. He was obscenely rich, and he would soon become even richer after turning his kingdom into an empire.
This meant that his income from taxes, commerce, trade, loot, and everything else was on a completely different scale compared to BBakTeacher.
In other words, this pendant did not belong in the hands of some degenerate pervert like BBakTeacher—no, it belonged to someone like Siegfried.
‘
Thank you for your contribution, good sir. We need more people like you in this world,’
Siegfried thought with a grin.
Then, he selected the Midas’ Ecstasy from BBakTeacher’s inventory.
Ding!
[Alert: You have successfully stolen Midas’ Ecstasy!]
Ding!
Right afterward, another notification popped up.
[Alert: You have acquired a new title!]
His newly acquired title was...
[Needle Thief]
[A title granted to criminals who succeeded in their very first act of thievery.]
[This title will evolve into Cow Thief as the user accumulates more successful thefts.]
[Type: Title]
[Rating: Uncommon]
[Effect: None]
[Warning: This is not an honorable title!]
Ironically, the system felt like commemorating Siegfried’s very first act of thievery and decided to bestow him a fitting title.
“What the hell...? Needle Thief...? Seriously?” Siegfried murmured in sheer disbelief.
Still, he safely managed to steal Midas’ Ecstasy and store it in his inventory.
“
Lalala~”
Meanwhile, BBakTeacher strolled along the street whistling, completely unaware that one of his prized items had just been stolen.
***
After that, Siegfried continued stealing items from other Adventurers, but of course, it wasn't because he wanted to steal from them.
The capital of the Hadashite Kingdom was crammed with over ten million people gathered for the coronation, and festivals were being held all over the streets.
It was so crowded that there was no room to even plant one’s foot.
Thanks to that, Siegfried was brushing against so many people that he kept peeking into their Inventory even though he was not trying to go out of his way to steal anything.
Kleptomania had a very low activation rate, but there were so many people brushing up against him that the effect was bound to trigger once in a while.
‘
Hehehe!’
Of course, Siegfried did not hesitate to steal the items of those who brushed past him—no, he was actually delighted to help himself to their items.
After all, the overwhelming majority of these people were not his allies. In fact, most of them were his enemies.
An overwhelming majority of the Adventurers present at the coronation were mercenaries under contract with the Holy Alliance.
What about the NPCs? There was no need to mention which side they were on.
Thus, Siegfried could steal without a hint of guilt.
[Alert: You have stolen +11 Light of the Sea!]
[Alert: You have stolen +11 Frozen Soul!]
(omitted...)
[Alert: You have stolen Miraculous Pea!]
It was then.
‘
Hm? Can I steal something that someone is wearing?’
While he was happily robbing people in broad daylight, a sudden idea crossed his mind. He wanted to test if he could steal equipped items that were already bound to their owners.
Thud! Thud!
To test things out, he started intentionally brushing his body against the high-level Adventurers passing by.
After about a dozen attempts...
[Alert: Kleptomania has activated!]
[Alert: You may inspect the target’s Inventory and steal any item of your choice!]
[Alert: Would you like to browse the target’s inventory?]
Instead of peeking inside the inventory of the Adventurer named AoriGrape, Siegfried focused on what AoriGrape was wearing instead.
‘
Hmm... Let’s see if it works,’
he thought as he went straight for AoriGrape’s main weapon, an item called +12 Magic Eye Wand.
And then—
[Alert: You have stolen +12 Magic Eye Wand!]
“W-What the hell?!” AoriGrape jumped in shock when his main weapon suddenly vanished without a trace.
A main weapon was no different from an Adventurer’s life, so it was natural for him to be shocked after it suddenly disappeared without a trace, even though it was bound to him.
“M-My item! Where the hell did my item go?!”
AoriGrape ran around like a lunatic—or more accurately, like someone who was on the verge of going insane, as he frantically searched for his missing +12 Magic Eye Wand.
“
Hehehe!”
On the other hand, Siegfried did not even spare AoriGrape a glance as he casually walked away from the scene. However, what thrilled him was not the fact that he managed to steal the +12 Magic Eye Wand.
‘
If this worked... I might actually be able to steal the Rabbit Foot of Regression,’
he thought with a grin.
The real reason he tested if he could steal equipped items was to confirm if he could swipe Beowulf’s accessory. Siegfried suspected that the accessory that Beowulf was wearing was none other than the Rabbit Foot of Regression.
Thus, knowing whether he could steal an equipped item with Kleptomania was crucial.
‘
I’ll use Kleptomania on him and steal that rabbit foot the next time I see that bastard,’
Siegfried growled inwardly.
Satisfied with the result of his experiment, Siegfried made up his mind to go after that suspicious accessory the next time they crossed paths.
Then, he began heading toward the royal palace.
‘
Let’s wrap this up and go back home.’
He had his own coronation to attend, so he couldn’t afford to waste any more time being a Needle Thief.
***
Siegfried headed toward a secluded back alley about ten kilometers from the royal palace. He glanced around cautiously before opening a manhole cover and slipping into the sewers.
As always, he was planning to infiltrate the palace through his favorite and most used route.
“
Kyuuu!
You stinky owner punk! The sewers again?! Don’t you ever get tired of this filthy place?!” Hamchi cried out.
“Hey, come on. Let’s be honest for a second. What other infiltration route compares to this? It’s actually perfect, you know?” Siegfried replied with a shrug.
“You must’ve been a sewer rat in your past life!
Kyuuu!”
“What was that, you little shit?!”
Just as they were bickering...
“Huh?”
“
Kyu?”
Siegfried and Hamchi paused mid-argument as a sound echoed faintly in the distance.
Their ears were sharp enough to catch even the faintest of noises from far away, and their hearing was even more effective in these kinds of places where sound echoed.
“What the hell was that?” Siegfried murmured. Then, he crouched down and activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance, scanning the sewer tunnels.
It was then.
“...Why are there so many of them?”
Roughly three kilometers away, he detected a massive group of nearly several thousand people gathered in one place.
‘
Huh? Are they guards?’
That was Siegfried’s first thought as he zoomed in on the minimap.
However, they did not seem to be enemies.
Why?
It was all because the markers weren't red but blue, which meant they were neutral.
“Let’s go check it out.”
“
Kyu!
Got it!”
Siegfried and Hamchi swiftly made their way toward the location to figure out what was going on.
About fifteen minutes later...
“Today, we shall gladly embrace martyrdom in the name of the gods we serve!”
“That’s right!”
“I am not scared of dying!”
“Death has no power over me!”
Thousands had gathered in a vast underground chamber, which was one of the enormous septic tanks in the sewers.
‘
Ah,’
Siegfried instantly recognized who these individuals gathered secretly were.
They were priests, paladins, and devout followers of various religions.
‘
But why are they gathered here?’
he wondered, deciding to observe a bit longer.
“We cannot stand idly by and let that wicked pope be crowned! Brothers and sisters gathered here today, our deaths will not be in vain! The gods we serve shall surely bear witness to our noble sacrifice and...!”
The more Siegfried listened, the clearer the picture became.
This clandestine gathering was a planned terror attack that would target the soon-to-be-crowned Pope Bismarck II. They, like Siegfried, also intended to present him with a
gift
to commemorate his coronation as pope.
Of course, the difference was that Siegfried planned to cause chaos and then slip away while these people were ready to embrace death.
‘
Tsk... what a waste,’
Siegfried clicked his tongue, knowing they would fail.
Even if they somehow managed to succeed, not a single one of them would survive the aftermath.
This was the heart of the Holy Alliance. Charging in without backup would mean complete annihilation.
If they were not killed outright, then they would suffer torture even worse than death that they would start begging for the mercy of death.
‘
Yeah, this isn’t looking good–’
Just as he was about to withdraw—
‘
Huh?’
He spotted red dots starting to appear on his mini-map.
They were still far off, roughly seven kilometers away, but it was clear what was happening.
The royal palace had deployed guards into the sewers as part of their efforts to ramp up security. It was clear that they were not willing to take any chances with the coronation being such a monumental event, even if it meant patrolling the stinky sewers.