Quandt returned to the room, dragging a clothes rack laden with cloaks. “There are exactly twenty of them. Unfortunately, I was unable to make more,” he said. “Oh!” Siegfried exclaimed. Siegfried flashed his Rune of Insight to examine the cloaks hanging on the rack. [A cloak crafted from the Three-Legged Crow’s feathers.] [It allows its user to escape death.] [Effect: Allows its user to escape from non-physical deaths, such as from curses or aura.] ”With this cloak, you can avoid dying from curses or similar things,” Quandt said proudly. ”Oh? Is that true?” Siegfried asked, sounding elated. ”Yes, Your Majesty. Aside from physical damage... like getting stabbed by a sword, for example, you will be a hundred percent safe from death.” ”As expected of you!” Siegfried was once again in awe of Quandt’s skills. The Blue Knight of Death was an impossible enemy to face due to its ability to kill any living creature around it instantly. With this cloak that allowed its user to escape from death, Siegfried and the others now had a fighting chance against it. ”I knew I could count on you!” ”I’m simply living up to Your Majesty’s expectations! Keke!” “Thank you so much for your hard work.” ”Not at all, Your Majesty. This old dwarf is simply doing whatever he can to support Your Majesty. You are running around trying to protect the world, so how can I simply sit back and relax? "Besides, it is a great honor for me to be of help to Your Majesty. Ah, in fact, I should be the one grateful, as the Bavarian Workshop’s artifacts are being promoted for free! Hahaha!” ”Sir Quandt...” Siegfried was moved by the old dwarf’s words. He was truly a master of his trade. He was capable of living up to whatever requirements Siegfried requested and had always been a great support to him. The only reason Siegfried accomplished the things he managed to accomplish was all thanks to the items crafted by Quandt. ”I will make sure that your name will be recorded in history as a Legendary Blacksmith,” Siegfried said. ”There would be no greater honor for me, sire.” Siegfried once again vowed to complete the final form of his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, as crafting Herbert’s final masterpiece would elevate Quandt into a Legendary Blacksmith. ’Hold on, what else do I have left...?’ Siegfried wondered and brought up the quest details. [Herbert’s Blueprint] [A blueprint of the most powerful weapon of mass destruction. A Grandmaster blacksmith will easily understand it, and they will be able to complete Herbert’s final masterpiece as long as they have the following ingredients.] [Type: Recipe (Universal Weapon)] [Omnipotent Mechanical Gear × 1 ✓] [Horn of Chromatic Dragon × 1 ✓] [Soul of the Vampire Lord × 1 ✓] [Eye of the Storm × 1] [Universal Grade Mana Stone × 3 ✓] [Heart of a Demon Lord[1]× 1] There were only two ingredients left, and these were the Eye of the Storm and the Demon Lord’s Heart. Siegfried had no idea where he could obtain the Eye of the Storm, while obtaining a Demon Lord’s Heart seemed nearly impossible. Now that he thought about it, obtaining a Demon Lord’s Heart wasn't exactly impossible. ’I can simply ask Metatron for his father, Vernas’ heart once he passes, right?’ Vernas was on his deathbed, clinging to life, so he could ask for the ailing demon lord’s heart as a form of organ donation, but... ‘Nah, that’s no good. That punk is a very filial son. And he’s gotten smarter these days. How can I ask him for his father’s organ right after his father passes?’ Siegfried decided not to cross the line and find another way. ’Hmm... I wonder if I can hunt a demon lord...’ he wondered. He wanted to complete Herbert’s final masterpiece and upgrade the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a Universal-rated weapon. Of course, it wouldn't just be for his sake but for the sake of Quandt and the Bavarian Workshop as well. ’Huh? Now that I think about it...’ He started wondering what kind of weapon a Universal-rated weapon would be like and if such a weapon even existed in the first place. ”Can I ask you something...?” ”Sure, please ask whatever you want.” ”Does a Universal weapon even exist?” ”Hmm...” Quandt pondered for a moment. Then, he answered, “There are legends passed down since the olden times.” ”For example... a sword that can split apart oceans.” ”Huh? A sword that can split oceans?” ”H-How is that even possible?” Siegfried stammered. He recalled how he used Neptune’s power to cause a tsunami and was shocked after hearing that a mere sword could split apart an entire ocean. ”That is one weapon recorded in legends. And also...” Quandt said before handing a parchment to Siegfried. The parchment contained the translation of an ancient text describing the Universal weapons. ”It says that there are a few other weapons aside from that, but it is impossible to locate them.” Siegfried unrolled the parchment and read through the list. Then, one specific item caught his eye. [Rabbit Foot of Regression] [A Universal artifact capable of turning back time to the point desired by the user.] The artifact called Rabbit Foot of Regression[2] was indeed worthy of being a Universal-rated artifact, and Siegfried couldn’t take his eyes off of it. “Rabbit Foot of Regression...” Siegfried mulled over it for a moment before deciding to ask Quandt about it. “Doesn’t this mean it can turn back time? Is such a thing even possible?” “I knew Your Majesty would be interested in the Rabbit Foot of Regression. Hahaha!” ”What kind of artifact is this?” ”Based on the records of ancient texts, it was used just once in the past. Somebody used the Rabbit Foot of Regression to turn back the world to three years in the past.” “Is it something like time traveling?” ”Well, it is sort of different from that.” ”The Rabbit Foot of Regression will simply put everything back to how it was to the selected time, but it does not actually turn back time. And judging by how there are records of it... the artifact most likely just tampered with this world rather than actually turning back time.” “Ah! Is that why someone noticed that things rolled back? And that’s probably why there are records of it, right?” ”As expected, Your Majesty is truly wise,” Quandt said with a smile. ’Even if it can’t turn back time, the fact that it can put things back to how it was is certainly an item worthy of being called a Universal-rated item... Hold on a second, isn’t this a server rollback?’ Siegfried thought. A server rollback was usually carried out whenever a game-breaking bug was found, or sometimes, even the bug itself would cause the server to rollback. Therefore, it was possible to deduce that the Rabbit Foot of Regression was an item that artificially caused a server rollback. ’Damn... Being able to roll back time for just one hour was already broken, but this...?’ Siegfried already had experience rolling back the server. [Hourglass of Miracle] [An hourglass infused with ancient magic to turn back time.] [It will allow the user to wind back time by one hour when used.] [Warning: This item will be destroyed upon use.] During the battle against the Church of Osric, he used the Hourglass of Miracle to rollback the server for an hour. That one hour had the dramatic effect of saving the world as well as saving everyone—including Siegfried. However, there was actually an item that could cause a server rollback to the user’s chosen time? A chill shot down Siegfried’s spine. He couldn’t help but be scared after realizing just how scary the Rabbit Foot of Regression was. ’If someone got their hands on it and started plotting something sinister... then that could be disastrous...’ He was thinking about the different ways that the item could be misused by someone when a thought suddenly struck him. He started trembling as if struck by lightning. ”What is the matter, Your Majesty?” Quandt asked after noticing that Siegfried was acting strange. However, he received no response in return. “Anyway, I’ll give you one last chance. Give up and join us. No matter how much you struggle, you cannot escape our grasp.” “Accept our offer if you don’t want to lose everything. Unless, of course... you want to go back to the way things were like that time.” “Back to being just a mage. Not Siegfried van Proa, but to being Tae-Sung.” “We have the power to do that. The power to erase everything you have accomplished.” After thinking about the function of the Rabbit Foot of Regression, Siegfried suddenly recalled the words of the supposed leader of the Illuminati, the Master. ‘No way... Was that his way of warning that... he has the Rabbit Foot of Regression...?’ This was the only conclusion he could reach. If the Master was indeed in possession of the Rabbit Foot of Regression, then the absurd threat he made no longer sounded absurd. ’If that bastard is in possession of the Rabbit Foot of Regression, then... If he lets me win on purpose just to see my hand, and then uses that information to cover his bases...?’ Siegfried’s brain ran wild, coming up with various theories. Finally, an even stronger chill shot down his spine, and he trembled uncontrollably. 'T-that would be... the worst-case scenario....’ “Your Majesty? Your Majesty?” Siegfried was brought back to his senses by Quandt’s voice. ”What were you thinking of, sire?” “A messenger is here.” "Huh? O-Oh, okay,” Siegfried replied, still sounding confused. Then, he looked to his side and saw someone kneeling on one knee and waiting for his response. ”Ah, hello. What brings you here?” ”Chamberlain Chaos has sent a message for Your Majesty.” ”Chaos did? What did he say?” ”That is...” the messenger proceeded to report how Chaos and the others were on their way to save Metatron. “Something like that happened?” ”Damn it...” Siegfried cursed and bit his lower lip in frustration. He wanted to help after hearing that Metatron was in danger, but the Northern Great Rift had decided to rampage now of all times. Stopping the Blue Knight of Death was of even greater importance, so his hands were tied. ”I... got the message,” Siegfried said.” “Do you have any commands, sire?” ”Make sure to report the moment you receive any additional reports.” ”As you command, sire!” Siegfried had no choice but to give up on going to Metatron’s aid right now. Instead, he had to focus on getting rid of the Blue Knight of Death. As much as he liked Metatron, he wasn't what was important right now. ‘Just stay alive. Don’t die, and I will rescue you from them, Metatron...’ Siegfried thought. Then, he rushed away while keeping in mind that Metatron was most likely suffering in the Demon Realm right now. Siegfried headed for the Northern Great Rift with Brunhilde. The reason he was bringing her along was simple. She changed class into the Order of the Phoenix and was the only one capable of summoning the mythical bird, the Phoenix. Siegfried needed the Phoenix to summon the incarnation of life, Terra, and he needed Brunhilde to be with him at the Northern Great Rift. They arrived at the entrance of the great rift, which had already turned into a field of death. There were corpses, corpses, and corpses everywhere. Standing in the midst of the corpses was the rampaging entrance to the great rift, shining in a bright crimson light. A thick black fog, symbolizing death, had engulfed the surroundings as well. ”Hey, you’re finally here.” Cheon Woo-Jin, who was already at the Northern Great Rift, was the first to greet him. Aside from him, Seung-Gu, Gosran, Yong Seol-Hwa, Daytona, Yong Tae-Ping, Park Gi-Don, Han Sang-Gi, Kim Gi-Tae, Beowulf, and various other high-level Adventurers were gathered and waiting for Siegfried. “What’s that thing?” Siegfried asked, pointing at the thick black fog. ”What else? Isn’t it obvious? You’ll die if you get anywhere near it,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied. ”Yeah, you will just drop dead immediately. We don’t have much time left to clear the dungeon... I think we have around six hours left? We have to enter the dungeon and clear it within that time. Or else, the Blue Knight of Death will emerge and—huh?” Cheon Woo-Jin stopped mid-sentence and tilted his head in confusion. “I’ll be dealing the cards now! Get ready! Oh, by the way, I’m sure you all know that cheating will result in you losing your hand, right?” Forget about responding; Siegfried took out a table and some chairs from his Inventory before proceeding to start a game of Hardstone with the Adventurers rather than listen to what Cheon Woo-Jin was saying. 1. The author wrote Demon King but narration suggests demon lord. Will be using demon lord from now on ☜ 2. Tokki means Rabbit in Korean. Anyone want my feet? :kek: ☜