Debuff Master

“Does that even make sense? Why would a shooting star fall here?” Siegfried asked, shooting a skeptical glare at Cheon Woo-Jin, seemingly dismissing his words outright.

“Should I go buy lottery tickets after this? That’d be like getting struck by lightning twice, you know?” Siegfried asked with a sneer.

“But it looks like it’s heading this way to me,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied with a shrug.

“It’ll probably burn up in the atmosphere,” Siegfried said dismissively. Then, he turned to Hamchi and said, “And why are you, a Great Spirit, making childish wishes on a shooting star?”

“Kyuuu?! Isn’t it true that shooting stars grant wishes?!” Hamchi cried out, looking up at Siegfried with wide innocent eyes that looked genuinely confused.

“Wishes? Yeah, right. If wishes came true that easily, who in the world wouldn’t have their dreams fulfilled? It’s all superstition.”

“Kyaaa! No! Shooting stars do grant wishes!” Hamchi protested fiercely.

“Nope, they don’t.”

“Kyaaah! What do you know, owner punk?!”

And just like that, Siegfried and Hamchi started a pointless squabble. The two snapped at each other as if their lives depended on it.

“Seriously, these punks… are they kids or something?” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered, shaking his head as he watched the two argue over nothing. Then, he turned his gaze back to the night sky and watched the falling star streaking closer and closer.

‘Hmm… Should I try making a wish too?’ Cheon Woo-Jin chuckled to himself.

This was just a game, and the shooting star wouldn't actually do anything. Perhaps out of boredom or childhood nostalgia, however, Cheon Woo-Jin decided to indulge himself.

‘I hope this year—’

Just as he was about to finish his wish, he noticed something amiss.

Swoosh!

The shooting star—no, the meteor, seemed to be getting closer. It was getting too close for comfort.

“Hey, Tae-Sung,” Cheon Woo-Jin called, his voice sounding serious.

“You stupid little rat!”

“Kyaaaa! Do you think you’re so smart?! Bastard!”

Unfortunately, Siegfried was too busy bickering with Hamchi.

“Hey, Tae-Sung! Quit bickering for a second and look at that! Han Tae-Sung! Doesn’t that look like it’s coming right at us?!” Cheon Woo-Jin shouted, pointing urgently at the sky.

“C’mon, that’s ridiculous. What, you think a meteor’s just going to—” Siegfried grumbled, but he froze mid-sentence the moment he looked up.

It was then.

“Huh?” Siegfried blinked, realizing that the distant shooting star was barreling straight toward them.

And then—

“T-That… it’s… oh no… oh no!”

“Hey! Isn’t that thing heading right for—”

“OH NOOO!”

Cheon Woo-Jin shouted, “RUUUN!”

“Kyuuu!”

Siegfried lunged, grabbing Hamchi by the scruff and jumping as far away as possible.

“Move!” Cheon Woo-Jin followed suit, leaping after Siegfried.

And then—

Swoosh!

The meteor plummeted from the heavens, crashing directly onto the altar where the True Fated Censer was located.

Kaboom!

The impact was similar to an artillery shell striking the ground.

***

The meteor erupted into a massive explosion, creating a mushroom cloud up into the sky. In addition to obliterating the altar and the True Fated Censer, it also gouged out a massive crater in the ground.

“That’s crazy!” Siegfried staggered to his feet, trying to swipe away at the thick cloud of dust that enveloped him.

“Kyaaah! This is all because you lied about shooting stars not granting wishes! You got divine punishment! Serves you right!”

“W-What? Is that true…?” Siegfried muttered in disbelief.

The near-death experience of narrowly escaping the meteor made Siegfried rethink what Hamchi had told him earlier. Perhaps the giant hamster's words were not so absurd at all.

‘Then again… this isn’t reality so…’ Siegfried realized belatedly that this wasn't the real world. They were in a game, and in this world, it was not so far-fetched that a wish upon a shooting star could come true.

“Kyaaah! Never doubt shooting stars again! Or else, you’ll face divine punishment, owner punk!”

“...”

“Why won’t you ever believe me?!”

Meanwhile, Cheon Woo-Jin finally got up and dusted off his clothes.

“Damn… that was a close call,” Cheon Woo-Jin muttered, clicking his tongue as he stared at the massive crater. The crater was huge, the size of half a baseball field, and they would have died if they hadn't jumped out of the way in time.

“What the hell was that?”

Cheon Woo-Jin approached the still-smoldering crater and carefully peered inside.

‘Maybe I can get a piece of it,’ Cheon Woo-Jin mused.

Meteorite fragments were highly valuable, and it was even more valuable in this world. Meteors in BNW were often made of mysterious materials, and they were prized as components for crafting highly valuable artifacts.

‘It could be something expensive.’

With that thought in mind, he stepped into the crater to investigate.

And then—

“W-What the hell is that…?”

His eyes shot wide open in shock, as right in the center of the crater was something–or rather, someone.

“Hey! Han Tae-Sung! Get over here!” Cheon Woo-Jin called out urgently.

“What’s up?”

“There’s something down here!”

“What? Is it valuable? Hold on! I’m coming!”

Thinking Cheon Woo-Jin had found something precious, Siegfried dashed over as quickly as he could.

“What is it?! Show me!”

“Look,” Cheon Woo-Jin said, pointing at the middle of the crater.

“Huh?”

Siegfried followed Cheon Woo-Jin's finger and froze.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he muttered, “Is that… a person?”

Indeed, it was—it wasn't a valuable meteorite but a person. A golden-haired young man without any clothes was curled up in the center of the crater. His well-built frame lay still, and the lingering heat from the impact was still visible on him in the form of steam.

“Why is there a person here?” Siegfried asked, bewildered.

“How the hell should I know?” Cheon Woo-Jin shot back.

“Maybe he fell from an airship?”

“Have you ever seen a person falling from an airship crash like a meteorite and leave a crater?”

“Good point."

“But what the hell is going on? Let’s go check it out.”

“Yeah.”

They cautiously approached the golden-haired young man.

Despite the crash, the young man was sleeping peacefully as if nothing had happened.

“What’s with this guy?” Siegfried grumbled, taking out a Tattered Wool Cloak from his Inventory and draping it over the young man.

Even if the mysterious man was attractive, seeing a naked male was not exactly something Siegfried enjoyed. Then, he flashed his Rune of Insight to inspect the young man.

[Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky]

[A mysterious young man who plummeted to the ground like a meteor.]

[Type: NPC]

[Affiliation: Unknown]

[Rank: Unknown]

[Race: Unknown]

[Level: Unknown]

[Class: Unknown]

“Hmm… There’s nothing. No information at all,” Siegfried muttered, frustrated.

The Rune of Insight was not omnipotent, but it rarely failed to provide details.

“It upgrades at Level 300,” Cheon Woo-Jin said.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“The Rune of Insight. It upgrades at Level 300.”

“Oh, really?”

“And again at Level 450.”

“Makes sense. But who is this guy?”

“No idea.”

“Huh? Even you don’t know?”

“Everything is locked.”

“Oh? Same here.”

“I can’t check anything.”

“So what’s different? I thought your rune was upgraded?”

“Yeah… normally it’s not this vague, but…”

It was then.

Ding!

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: New Scenario Unlocked!]

[Alert: The Main Scenario – Holy War has begun!]

Siegfried’s eyes shot wide open.

“Whoa? A new main scenario?”

Main scenarios were questlines akin to the long saga against the Church of Osric.

“Wait, I just got a main scenario quest, too,” Cheon Woo-Jin said. Then, he asked, “What’s yours called?”

“It’s called Holy War.”

“Same here!”

Both Siegfried and Cheon Woo-Jin had just become key players in BNW’s new main scenario, Holy War. However, everything was still shrouded in mystery, starting from the golden-haired young man who fell from the sky.

“Must be an important NPC,” Siegfried mused.

“Probably? There’s no way a main scenario will trigger otherwise,” Cheon Woo-Jin agreed.

“Let’s take him with us.”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan.”

The two hoisted the sleeping golden-haired man and began the trek down the mountain.

***

Siegfried brought the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky to the royal infirmary within the Proatine Palace. it was technically considered a hospital admission, but the young man showed no visible injuries.

Thus, Siegfried visited the other patients in the hospital.

“Ah, welcome back.”

“Welcome, Young Master.”

Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse were once again admitted to the hospital despite having only recently been discharged. They were yet to fully recover from their battle against Apocalius before they had to face a Red Dragon, which left them needing extended rest once more.

“I will personally make sure that both of you are well taken care of,” Siegfried said, bowing deeply to show his respect to the Grandmasters who had selflessly defended the world. Then, he moved to another ward, where the Weapon Maestros were gathered.

Weapon Master Shakiro was also hospitalized here, so they rushed here as fast as possible.

“Elder Brother!”

“Welcome back!”

The Weapon Maestros greeted Siegfried with enthusiasm.

“How is Master Shakiro?” Siegfried asked Hakken, the eldest among them.

“He has awakened,” Hakken replied.

“Really? How is he?”

“He’s in excellent condition. Nothing to worry about.”

“Where is he?”

“This way.”

Hakken stepped aside, revealing the hospital bed where Shakiro lay.

Shakiro looked up at him, and Siegfried’s heart stirred as their eyes met.

‘He probably still doesn’t remember anything…’ Siegfried thought.

Just as he was about to say something, Shakiro beat him to it and broke the silence first. “Siegfried van Proa.”

Siegfried's eyes shot wide open. “You’ve grown into a fine warrior.”

“...!”

“My last disciple, Siegfried van Proa.”

Siegfried realized just then that Shakiro had regained his memory.

***

Meanwhile, Metatron, the newly appointed Chief Steward after the former had retired, was tending to his duties in the royal infirmary. Alongside him was Chaos, who had also been promoted to Deputy Steward.

Metatron and Chaos brought tea and snacks to the royal infirmary, as Siegfried was busy spending time with the newly admitted patients and the Weapon Maestros.

Pushing a luxurious cart filled with refreshments and snacks, they headed toward the ward where Siegfried was located.

“Hm?” Metatron suddenly halted mid-step, sensing something out of place.

“Is something wrong, my lord?” Chaos asked, noticing his abrupt pause.

“Chaos.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Do you feel that?”

“What might you mean, my lord?”

“This… strange sensation.”

Metatron slowly opened the door to the room where the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky was resting. He approached the young man, who lay peacefully asleep on the hospital bed and inspected him in silence.

“My lord? Is something troubling you?” Chaos asked, sounding concerned.

“Chaos…”

“Yes, my lord?”

Metatron paused for a moment before asking in a trembling voice, “Am I… shaking right now?”