abcnovels
Chapter 436
Chapter 436
Chapter 436
The enhancement machine spat out a huge amount of steam to signal that the enhancement was done.
Badump! Badump! Badump!
Siegfried could feel his heart thump wildly against his chest as if it was trying to jump out of it.
‘Ah! I don’t care anymore! Just tell me the result!’ Siegfried cried out inwardly while keeping his eyes shut tight.
Exactly three seconds later...
Hahahaha! Hahahahaha!
The sound effect that played whenever the enhancement was a success played from the enhancement machine.
“...!” Siegfried's eyes shot wide open as if he were blind and had been granted sight for the first time in his entire life.
[Alert: Congratulations!]
[Alert: The enhancement requested by Siegfried van Proa-nim has succeeded!]
[Alert: Siegfried van Proa-nim has successfully enhanced the +11 Vanquisher’s Grasp to +12 Vanquisher’s Grasp!]
“WHOAAAAAAA!” Siegfried raised both arms and roared, “Jackpot! Fuck yeah! Let’s go baby!”
He continued roaring as if he were a lion in heat.
“Sigh... You seem happy, owner punk. Kyuuu!”
“Yeah! I’m happy! I’m fucking happy!”
“Kyuuu! Congratulations, owner punk!”
“Kekekekeke!”
Siegfried didn't shy away from expressing his joy, and it was to the point that any passerby would start wondering if there was something wrong with his head.
A minute later...
Badump! Badump! Badump!
Siegfried’s heart was still thumping wildly against his chest as he held the freshly enhanced +12 Horse Fly.
[Alert: You have obtained +12 Vanquisher’s Grasp!]
The first thing he did was check the bonus attack power it had obtained from the enhancement.
[Bonus Attack Power: 2,855]
Surprisingly, the Bonus Attack Power of the +12 Horse Fly was a whopping 2,855, which was nearly one thousand more than the +10 Horse Fly, which was at 1,900.
If this was compared to his previous weapon, the +15 Gaia’s Fist, then the +12 Horse Fly was far superior by a large margin, as the +15 Gaia’s Fist only had 2,432 Bonus Attack Power despite being a +15 weapon.
But what if he used his enhancement coupon and enhanced it further to +13?
Gulp!
Siegfried gulped nervously after imagining just how powerful his weapon was going to become once he had enhanced it.
“Let’s go, Hamchi.”
“Kyu? Where are we going, owner punk?”
“To exercise our rights as consumers.”
“Kyu? Aren’t you going to enhance it more? You still have the protection coupon!”
Siegfried shook his head and replied, “One needs to know when to stop. Anyway, I’m satisfied with this, so I’m not going to risk it any further.”
His greed had disappeared completely after he had successfully enhanced his weapon to +12.
However, the voices in his head didn't disappear along with his greed.
‘Hey, Siegfried! You’re on a roll right now, man! Imagine if you use the enhancement coupon after you hit +13! That’s a +14 in your hand! Imagine what you can achieve with that—‘
“Nope, fuck off,” Siegfried said, giving the middle finger to the Evil Siegfried in his head.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay! Kyuuu!”
Siegfried and Hamchi made their way to the main branch of the Bavarian Workshop.
***
Quandt was busy tinkering with a new artifact he came up with. He usually disliked being disturbed while he was at it, but he immediately dropped what he was doing after a report came in.
“What?! King Siegfried is coming?! Are you sure he didn’t sneak in? He walked through the front door?!” Quandt exclaimed out of surprise.
“Yes, Head Blacksmith-nim.”
“Ha!” Quandt exclaimed once again. Then, he smiled and bellowed a laugh, “Hohoho! It seems King Siegfried finally appreciates our workshop’s sincerity!”
“I believe so, Head Blacksmith-nim! He looked extremely pleased as he walked in!”
“Really?”
“Yes, Head Blacksmith-nim!”
“Keke! They say persistence can move the heavens! It seems we have finally moved his heart!”
“Please hurry and greet him, Head Blacksmith-nim!”
“Yes! I should do that!” Quandt replied and rushed to the VVIP room where Siegfried was waiting.
“Oh! King Siegfried! I came running after hearing you’ve come! Also, I am greatly pleased to hear you have finally enjoyed the little welcoming we have arranged for you! Has our workshop’s sincere efforts finally moved your heart? Kekeke!”
“Yes! It indeed did! Hohoho!” Siegfried replied with a laugh. Then, he grinned and added, “But there was nothing little about it! It was so grand that everyone was looking with envy!”
“Keke! That’s how it should be! Why else would we host something like that if it’s not grand?!”
“Exactly! I agree! Hahaha!”
“Kekeke!”
“Hahaha!”
“KEKEKE!”
“HAHAHA!”
“Kekeke...?”
It was then...
“Mehehehe...!”
A chill traveled down Quandt’s spine upon realizing that there was something off here.
“K-King Siegfried...? P-Please don’t tell me it is what I think it is...” Quandt said in a trembling voice.
“Mehehe... What are you thinking of?”
“Is it really what I think it is?”
“Who knows?”
“...”
“I have no idea what you’re thinking of. I can’t read minds, you know?”
“Ugh...!” Quandt groaned. He could feel his insides burning into ashes.
Silence descended upon the two, and neither side refused to say a word for quite a while, but Quandt was the first to give in as he broke the silence.
“You... came for that, didn’t you?”
“Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!”
“Ha...” Quandt let out a sigh and said, “I guess you’ve finally managed to enhance it to +11... You’re quite something, aren’t you? Most people wouldn’t dare to risk it like—“
“No?”
“It’s not?”
“Yes, it’s not.”
“Then, by any chance, is it more than—“
“It’s +12 now.”
“H-Hiiik!” Quandt shrieked in horror. He doubted his ears and asked, just to make sure, “Did you just say +12? Is it really +12?”
“Yes.”
“T-That means... You’re here to enhance it to +13...?”
“Bingo! You’re on a roll today!”
“Argh!” Quandt groaned and grabbed his chest.
***
“T-Thirteen... Ugh... Thirteen...” Quandt sounded like he was in pain as he muttered repeatedly.
Guaranteeing the success of an enhancement was a stressful and complex process that placed a great mental burden on the blacksmith. Not only that, but the physical toll it took on their body was almost as burdensome as well.
The physical and mental toll it took was not an issue for a seasoned blacksmith, as they were used to working day and night to see the fruit of their labor. Unfortunately, there was an even bigger problem than that—the financial burden of guaranteeing an enhancement.
The cost to guarantee the success rate of enhancing an Epic artifact from +12 to +13 was incomparably more expensive than enhancing a Legendary or Mythic artifact. The materials required alone would cost thirty to forty percent of the workshop’s annual revenue, which was a huge blow to the workshop’s finances.
“I-I see... You were successful in that... and you came to enhance it to +13...”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Ugh... Ugh...” Quandt groaned as he fell backward, and he had to be caught by the blacksmiths behind him. Then, he said, “Tell Kreuger to... Start a mass promotional offer on all of our artifacts...”
“A-Are you talking about a sale, sir?!”
“Yes, and I think we have to go all out this time...”
“A-All-out?!”
The Bavarian Workshop had three levels of sale. The first one was a general sale they hosted every quarter and offered a five percent discount on some artifacts. The second one was a stock clearance, where they provided a ten to fifteen percent discount on artifacts they wanted to get rid of. Then, there was the third one, which was an all-out sale.
The Bavarian Workshop held less than ten all-out sales in its entire history. All-out sales were their last resort to gather as much gold as possible whenever the workshop was going through a financial crisis, and the only times they had used this last resort were during natural disasters or prolonged periods of war.
“An all-out sale, sir...? Are you sure we have to go that far?”
“Yes, I am!” Quandt screamed out of frustration. Then, he grumbled after remembering another instance that forced them to hold an all-out sale in the past, “I thought that bastard was the last time we would be doing this...”
“That incident almost made us close shop...” Quandt muttered under his breath.
“That incident? Did something happen?” Siegfried asked after hearing what the blacksmith said.
“It’s a shameful history of our workshop.”
“Hmm?”
“Things happen from time to time. It’s something from a long time ago, so you don’t have to concern yourself with it.”
“Okay, if you say so,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. Then, he asked, “So, how long is it going to take?”
“I can’t say for sure right now. It’s a very complex process made even more difficult as this artifact isn’t a common one. Hmm... I think it will take a week or two at the earliest...”
“Can’t you do it faster?”
“I’ll try my best.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have plans to try and enhance it to +13 first? This could become a +14 arti—“
“Nope, not falling for it.”
“...”
“Please stop trying to swindle your customers and try making an honest living, will you?”
“A-Alright...”
“I’ll be going now,” Siegfried said as he passed the +12 Horse Fly and Enhancement Coupon to Quandt and left the Bavarian Workshop.
“Keuk...! This is going to cost our workshop an arm and a leg!” Quandt cried out in agony.
***
A board meeting was convened at the Bavarian Workshop to discuss the details regarding their all-out sale. The cost of enhancing from +12 to +13 at a guaranteed one hundred percent chance was so expensive that they had no choice but to hold this sale.
In the end, the board agreed the terms of the all-out sale would be a whopping fifteen to thirty percent on most of their artifacts, and this was a sale the Adventurers had never seen before in their entire time on the continent.
“Fuck off! I got here first!”
“Hey, asshole! Don’t you see there’s a line over here?!”
“Oh yeah! I hit the jackpot!”
“What the hell? This is on sale too? Awesome!”
Both Adventurers and NPCs alike lined up outside the Bavarian Workshops to purchase as many artifacts as their pockets allowed. In fact, there were even a few rich people who purchased an entire shelf of items in a single transaction, while there were some who gathered investors to scalp the artifacts.
Siegfried had no intentions of seeing this sight at all, but his actions ended up bestowing upon the people a massive discount on artifacts.
“Argh...! All of our artifacts are on discount... This is going to be detrimental to our brand value!” Kreuger despaired while seeing the ongoing all-out sale.
Discount?
There was no shame in giving discounts! After all, this was the best marketing tactic a company could use to drive up revenue. Unfortunately, this would come at the expense of their brand value plummeting afterward.
Meanwhile, Siegfried leisurely walked to the Warp Gate with light steps. He was completely unaware of the butterfly effect that his actions had caused. Well, it wasn't like he would have cared even if he had known, as he would simply brush it off as his right to use the coupon.
“Salute to His Majesty!”
“Loyalty to the king!”
The guards lined up and greeted him with a salute as soon as he arrived at the Proatine Kingdom Warp Gate.
“Loyalty~ Thank you for your hard work, everyone,” Siegfried replied with a salute and headed for the castle to complete the next part of his quest.
“Keke! Look at you! You little cutie!”
Deus was residing in the Proatine Kingdom, as he did not want to be away from Verdandi.
“Papa! Papa! Kyaah!” Verdandi smiled brightly and exclaimed after spotting Siegfried.
“Hello~ Hello~ Daddy is here, my lovely daughter!”
“Kyaaah! Papa!”
Siegfried greeted Verdandi first before bowing to greet Deus.
“I have returned, Master.”
“Tsk... I’m not blind.”
“...”
“For what reason have you come to see me?”
Siegfried felt sad when Deus treated him so coldly as if he was a nuisance, while showering Verdandi with love, but he didn't let it get to him.
‘I’m sure he doesn’t want to be disturbed when he’s having fun being a grandpa.’ Siegfried knew that Deus was currently living one of his biggest regrets, which was not having a family of his own.
“Master.”
“Speak. I’m neither blind nor deaf.”
“I need your teachings.”
“My teachings?”
“I have met and fought the Descendant of Thunder God Vajra.”
“And you made it back in one piece?”
“Pardon...?”
“Vajra’s powers can turn the most useless piece of trash into an extremely powerful person. You have no chance of winning if you fought against the Descendant of Vajra in your current state.”
“I knew it...”
“But you seem to have managed to survive despite being so weak. Hmm... I don’t think you lost one-sidedly... You probably put up quite the fight and almost killed him, too.”
“Heok!” Siegfried gasped and got goosebumps in awe of Deus’ insight.
“But he probably fought back at the last moment with something you never expected, and you ran away from battle after deciding that you had no chance against him.”
“H-How did you know that, Master? Were you perhaps watching...?” Siegfried asked as he could not believe how Deus seemed to know every single detail regarding his battle with Duke Taranis.
“Do I have to watch to know? It’s obvious!”
“Haha...”
“Anyway, alright,” Deus said as he passed Verdandi to the maid. Then, he turned to Siegfried for the first time today and said, “The time has come for me to teach you what a true debuff is.”
“A-A true debuff?!” Siegfried exclaimed. He looked as if he had been smacked on the head by a hammer. What did he mean by a true debuff? What were the skills he had been using this whole time? Was Deus saying that those weren't "real" debuffs?