Tae-Sung was sitting in a pavilion somewhere in Mount Kunlun, and he was sitting with Deus in front of a drinking table.

“My disciple,” Deus called out.

“Yes, Master,” Tae-Sung responded.

“Come and pour me a drink,” Deus said.

“Yes, Master,” Tae-Sung replied as he poured a drink into Deus’ cup in a very respectful manner.

“Come, let me pour you a drink, too,” Deus said.

“Yes, Master,” Tae-Sung replied and extended his cup.

“Haha! I never imagined that there will be a day I get to drink with my disciple!” Deus exclaimed.

“Did you not have any disciples until now?” Tae-Sung asked.

“I had my eye on quite a lot,” Deus replied.

“Why did you choose me?” Tae-Sung asked.

“That’s because you are a pitiful useless piece of trash,” Deus replied.

“Huh…?” Tae-Sung muttered. He was taken aback by Deus’ frankness.

“Dreadful is the only word that can be used to describe your talent. Of course, you are slightly better when compared to an average person, but you are nothing but a piece of trash when compared to those they call geniuses,” Deus explained.

“I guess you are not wrong… but how did that become the reason for you to choose me, Master?” Tae-Sung asked. He was genuinely confused and curious at the same time.

“I wanted to see how a piece of trash like you will crush those geniuses,” Deus replied.

“…!” Tae-Sung flinched.

“I wanted to see how the weak retaliates,” Deus said with a mysterious smile before continuing, “Humans are placed on unequal starting lines the moment they are born. Some are born as geniuses while some are born as fools. This is the law of the world, don’t you agree?”

“You are indeed correct, Master,” Tae-Sung replied.

He agreed with Deus’ words, and he was certain that others would agree with him as well.

“But there are a lot of hopeless trashes out there, right?” Tae-Sung asked.

“That is correct,” Deus nonchalantly replied.

“Then, why did you choose me among the garbage out there?” Tae-Sung asked.

“It’s because I saw a resolute, tenacious spirit and a thirst for victory in you,” Deus replied.

“Eh…?” Tae-Sung muttered in confusion.

“You never gave up, even though you were being ruthlessly trampled on. In fact, anyone would have given up after being beaten so badly, but you continued to persevere despite that,” Deus explained.

“Hmm…” Tae-Sung muttered as he continued to listen silently.

“In the eyes of this great me, you seemed like a man who has no idea how to surrender and with this desire to defeat those you can never defeat even though you don’t have even a rat’s shit worth of talent,” Deus added.

“Haha…” Tae-Sung awkwardly laughed at Deus’ evaluation.

“That is why I decided to choose you as my disciple—so that I can turn you into a winner.”

“Huh?” Tae-Sung found something strange in Deus’ words.

Deus did not say that he would turn him into a powerful person. Rather, he said he would turn him into a winner.

“A winner…? Not a powerful person…?” Tae-Sung asked.

“That’s right,” Deus replied while nodding, and then he added, “I plan to turn you into a winner instead of a powerful person.”

“How can I win without becoming stronger than my enemies?” Tae-Sung continued asking, “I… I cannot become stronger. It is just as you said, Master. I do not have any talent, money, or even luck. How am I supposed to become stronger?”

Deus replied, “There’s no need for you to become stronger than your enemies to win.”

“Huh? What do you mean… by that…?”

“Tsk tsk! How stupid and foolish can you be? You can just make your enemies weaker than you! Weaker! It’s as simple as that! Just make them become weaker than you!” Deus replied with frustration in his voice.

Tae-Sung felt as if a hammer struck the back of his head the moment he heard Deus’ words.

‘I will make those weaken those stronger than me, and I will beat them to death… in one blow,’ he thought.

He had never even thought of doing that before.

“Take this,” Deus said before throwing an old worn-out book at Tae-Sung.

“What is this….?”

“It’s a secret book,” Deus replied.

“A secret book…?” Tae-Sung muttered in confusion.

“The beginning and the end of the Debuff Master lies in that book,” Deus explained.

Debuff Master.

Tae-Sung had never heard of such a class before.

***

Debuff.

This was the method which Deus had proposed to him to becoming invincible.

“Are you telling me to turn my enemies weaker than me…?” Tae-Sung asked upon receiving the secret book.

“That is correct.” Deus nodded and called out, “My disciple…”

“Yes, Master,” Tae-Sung responded.

“There are plenty of people bound to be stronger than you in this world. Ah, of course, there’s no one stronger than this great me,” Deus said.

“Huh…?” Tae-Sung muttered in confusion.

“No one can stand against me! Hahaha!” Deus boasted.

‘I can see that…’ Tae-Sung thought. He completely agreed with Deus’ words.

“My disciple,” Deus said.

“Yes, Master,” Tae-Sung replied.

“There is someone luckier, more talented, or richer than you in this world no matter how much you persevere and struggle. Effort? That’s nothing but a fallacy the strong made so that they can entertain themselves by watching those weaklings squirm and struggle,” Deus said.

Tae-Sung could not help but agree with Deus’ words about how effort was not that important at all. After all, he experienced firsthand that his efforts weren’t enough to beat those who were more talented, richer, luckier, and with better timing than him.

“Let’s say that you did manage to become stronger. Then, do you really think you will be able to emerge victorious against those more talented, richer, and luckier than you? What about those who are stronger than you then?” Deus asked.

“I think it will be difficult,” Tae-Sung replied.

“Then, are you just going to lose then? Will you just let them crush and trample you?”

“I do not want that to happen ever again,” Tae-Sung replied.

“Then, all you have to do is to turn that bastard weaker than you and beat him to death. So what if you are weak? You just have to win, right? By then, people will look at you and call you strong,” Deus reasoned.

“The winner is the stronger one… is that what you are trying to tell me, Master?” Tae-Sung asked.

“Exactly. The world will forget someone strong, but they will remember the winner. In the end, they will label the winner as strong,” Deus replied.

Tae-Sung could not find any holes in Deus’ logic, and he had no plans of finding one.

There had been rare cases where a weakling won against someone stronger than them, but the chance of that happening was a one-in-a-million chance.

Those who could win continuously, or those who would lose from time to time but would win frequently—those people were what the world called ‘strong.’

The strong would not necessarily become the winners; however, the winners would be strong.

Tae-Sung agreed with Deus’ logic.

***

“A long time ago…” Deus said as he gazed into the distance before he continued, “There was a time when I was just like you.”

“You were like me, Master?” Tae-Sung asked in disbelief.

“Well, I was not a piece of trash like you,” Deus clarified.

“Ah… I see…” Tae-Sung muttered with a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I was a genius when I was younger, and I was one of the eight strongest people on the continent. However, I was the weakest among them,” Deus added.

“Master was the weakest among them…?” Tae-Sung muttered in disbelief. He was astounded to know that this supreme being in front of him was the weakest among those people.

“That’s because those bastards were better geniuses than I was,” Deus explained.

“Ah…”

“I really wanted to defeat them,” Deus said.

“Then? Have you won against them?” Tae-Sung asked.

“I couldn’t win…” Deus replied.

“…” Tae-Sung was speechless.

“It was impossible to defeat them no matter how much I squirmed and struggled, and I remained the weakest among us no matter what I did,” Deus said.

“Is that still the case even now?” Tae-Sung asked.

“Ha! Does it look like this great me will lose to anyone?” Deus scoffed with a hint of arrogance in his voice.

“No, Master,” Tae-Sung replied.

“I trained as hard as I could; no, I trained like a madman. I trapped myself in Mount Kunlun and did nothing else but train,” Deus said.

“Ah…” Tae-Sung muttered in amazement.

“Then, I managed to obtain the power that will make me the strongest. I was able to turn my dreams of weakening my enemies into reality,” Deus added.

“Then, did you win?” Tae-Sung asked with eyes filled with curiosity.

“No, I couldn’t do it,” Deus replied with a hint of bitterness on his face.

“Huh?” Tae-Sung was now genuinely confused.

“I only realized it after descending from this mountain that five hundred years had already passed,” Deus explained.

“Oh my god…” Tae-Sung muttered in amazement.

“I searched for those bastards as soon as I could, but they all grew old and had kicked the bucket. It seemed that this great me had lost track of time because of how immersed I had been in my training,” Deus said.

“Master…” Tae-Sung muttered as he looked at Deus with eyes filled with pity.

What was the use of attaining the power to become invincible if he could not achieve the victory he had always been longing for?

‘Master…!’ 

Tae-Sung could not fathom the emptiness Deus felt at that time.

“The realization and enlightenment I had achieved, which I had recorded in that book, became useless even though I had poured my heart and soul into creating it for the sole purpose of defeating those bastards I could never beat,” Deus said with a hint of bitterness in his voice as he explained how he created the class, Debuff Master.

Debuff Master.

This was the solution Deus came up with during his younger days so that he could defeat those who were stronger than him.

From Tae-Sung’s point of view, this was also the solution to beating those who depended on their luck, level, item, skill, and talent. After all, he could never beat them through effort alone.

They were on an entirely different level, and Tae-Sung could not inflict even a single scratch on them no matter how hard he tried.

‘With this, I can win,’ Tae-Sung thought.

He firmly believed that he could defeat them all if he managed to unleash even a tenth of this class’ abilities.

He had finally found a way to defeat those he desperately wanted to beat.

“My disciple,” Deus called out.

“Yes, Master,” Tae-Sung responded.

“You can do whatever you want,” Deus said.

“What do you mean, Master?” Tae-Sung asked.

“You can go after glory or riches. There’s nothing wrong with fulfilling your heart’s desire since that is a right that belongs to someone invincible. Live your life to the fullest and do whatever you want,” Deus elaborated.

“Yes! Master!” Tae-Sung enthusiastically replied.

That was exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to claw himself out from the poverty, he wanted to eat good food, he wanted to wear nice clothes, and he wanted to ride nice cars. Unfortunately, he was talentless and was born dirt poor. And he hated the fact that he was born this way.

The sorrow of growing up poor was something one could not understand unless one experienced it themselves.

However, that was the end of that sorrow. He had finally found a way to turn his life around after meeting his master, and the rope that would save him from the bottomless pit of despair had finally arrived.

“But I have a condition you must fulfill to become my successor,” Deus said.

“What is it, Master?” Tae-Sung asked.

“Go and crush the successors of those bastards who died before I got the chance to avenge myself. I’m certain that they established their successors before they went six feet under. You must crush them with the skills I have created. Do you understand?”

When the old man finished his words, a message popped up in front of Tae-Sung.

Ding!

[Alert: Quest – ‘Master’s Regret’ has appeared!]

[Alert: Do you wish to accept this quest?]

There was no reason for Tae-Sung to hesitate or refuse the quest.

[YES.]

Tae-Sung accepted the quest Deus gave without an ounce of hesitation as he said, “Yes, Master. I—your disciple—will definitely find their successors and crush them to prove your greatness!”

Of course, he did not forget to respond to his master in a grand manner.

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest – ‘Master’s Regret’!]

Then, the quest details appeared in front of him.

[Master’s Regret]

[Type: Quest]

[Details: Find and crush the seven successors of the people known as the strongest eight on the continent five hundred years ago.

[Progress: 0%]

[Descendant of Thunder God Vajra 0/1]

[Descendant of Sword Saint Murcièlago 0/1]

[Descendant of Great Sage Sieghart 0/1]

[Descendant of Blood Master Berserk 0/1]

[Descendant of Enlightened King Maugris 0/1]

[Descendant of God Arrow Windforce 0/1]

[Descendant of Supreme King Braum 0/1]

The quest was simple and straightforward. He just had to look and defeat the descendants of those whom Deus did not get the chance to beat.

“But… how will I recognize their descendants…?” Tae-Sung asked.

“You will know by instinct,” Deus replied before adding, “Your instinct as my one and only disciple will make you recognize them.”

“Yes, Master,” Tae-Sung said.

“And you have to change your name from now on,” Deus said.

“Huh? Change my name?” Tae-Sung responded in surprise.

“You are my one and only disciple and successor so don’t you think that you should have a name befitting of that? Use the name Siegfried from now on,” Deus said.

“Siegfried?” Tae-Sung muttered.

“Why? Don’t you like it?” Deus asked.

“No, that’s not why…”

“What is the problem, then?” Deus asked.

“That is…” Tae-Sung hesitated for a moment. He had no idea how to explain to Deus, who was an NPC, that it was impossible to change your name in Brave New World.

“A name is not something I can change just because I want to, so—” Tae-Sung carefully said, but before he could finish his words, a message suddenly popped up in front of him.

[Alert: The name of the player’s avatar has been changed from ‘Tae-Sung’ to ‘Siegfried’!]

Tae-Sung could not believe his eyes as he thought, ‘Is this really happening…?’

Deus had just ignored an ironclad rule that prevented players from changing their character’s name. It seemed as if his master had just openly proclaimed, ‘I am the Almighty!’ However, Tae-Sung would actually believe him without a doubt if he did so.

“Shut up! You are Siegfried from now on, got that?” Deus asked.

“Yes, Master!” Tae-Sung; no, Siegfried replied.

“I will cherish the name that you have given me, master,” Siegfried said.

“Of course, you have to cherish it. You have to obtain the title of the ‘Strongest’ with the name I have bestowed upon you, you got that?” Deus added.

“Yes! Master!” Siegfried enthusiastically replied.

“Good. I like your spirit. Now go out into the world!”

“Do I have to leave so soon?” Siegfried asked.

“Haven’t I told you that I have already taught you everything there is for you to know? It is now your turn to train using the secret book as your guidance. Everything you will need is in that book,” Deus replied.

“But, I am still lacking, Master. And what if I hit a plateau while training on my own?” Siegfried asked.

“You can just come and find me then,” Deus replied.

“Huh?” Siegfried muttered and tilted his head in confusion before asking, “Are you not leaving for the afterlife?”

“Huh?” Deus muttered in surprise before asking with a grimace, “What nonsense are you spouting?”

“I mean… the mission you gave me just now sounded like you were leaving me your will… so…” Siegfried said.

It seemed that Siegfried was thinking of Deus as one of those ‘masters’ in novels where they would ascend after leaving their will to their disciples.

However, it seemed that his master was unlike those masters.

“But I’m still alive and well…” Deus muttered.

It seemed that even clichés did not stand a chance against his master.

“Really?!” Siegfried exclaimed in delight.

“This great me can live up to more than a thousand years if I wanted to. I will live longer than you so don’t worry and descend the mountain!” Deus declared.

“Yes, Master!” Siegfried enthusiastically replied with a big smile. He seemed to be delighted by the fact that Deus wouldn’t die anytime soon.

“Stop the nonsense and go do whatever you want in this vast continent! But don’t forget about the mission this great me had given you!” Deus added.

“Yes, Master!” Siegfried replied.

“Now, go!” Deus exclaimed before summoning a magic circle beneath Siegfried’s feet.

Flash!

A flash of light enveloped Siegfried before he disappeared.

Siegfried had finally departed the mountain.