A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 22

A spectral-type monster.
Since such creatures existed in the previous game, I wasn’t entirely caught off guard.
With proper preparation, it was the sort of monster that could be conquered through adequate strategy.
But I never imagined such a creature would appear in Beginner Village.
It was a blatant breach of game balance.
Against spectral-type monsters, most physical-based classes could do nothing but twiddle their thumbs.
“…Why is a spectral already here?”
-Craaack!
The saving grace was that the original monster was a wolf from the Southern Forest.
Thanks to that, I could see the attacks coming and dodge them.

[Name: Kael]
[Level: 14]
[Unused Points: 3]
[Strength: 22 Agility: 45 Vitality: 24 Wisdom: 18 Luck: 19]
[Eternity: 2]

Agility of 45 would correspond to superhuman territory if measured against a real body.
But I couldn’t dodge attacks forever.
Spectral-type monsters ignored certain laws of physics.
For instance, they could charge violently without experiencing any recoil.
-Kyaaaack!
Whoosh!
The wolf’s cunning attack patterns targeting vital points, combined with the spectral form’s recoilless movement, created blind spots in my defense.
Moreover, the damage exchange was entirely one-sided.
The damage coming at me remained constant, but when I struck back with an ordinary weapon against a spectral monster, I was merely cutting through empty air.
“What am I supposed to do against this?”
Clang!
For some reason, the spectral wolf’s fangs caught against my wooden sword.
“Huh? What’s this?”
For this to happen, the weapon would need to be imbued with either an Enchanter’s attribute or a Priest’s blessing.

[Wooden Sword of Resentment – Mauro (Unique)]
[Attack Power: 24~44]
[Durability: 310 (Irreparable)]
[Resentment-Laden: Triggers ‘Severing’ at certain probability]
[Severing: Inflicts wounds on the target that cannot be healed for a set duration.]
[A wooden sword crafted from Mauro wood. Carefully maintained and nourished with fine oil for decades. It surpasses most genuine blades and boasts unparalleled performance among wooden swords.]

Suddenly, the words spoken by the Training Instructor of Boa Village came to mind.

-The nature of mana embedded in this wooden sword carries profound resentment. If such resentment is woven into a weapon, and especially if it originates from a Royal Court knight, then this wooden sword is an exceptionally superior weapon.

The Mauro wooden sword was no mere quality, attribute-less wooden sword.
It genuinely contained resentment—an attribute weapon that could be converted into mana.
Screeeech!
Whoosh!
The wooden sword, aimed precisely at the crown of its head, obliterated the spectral wolf.
“This works.”
The mana embedded in the wooden sword was profound resentment.
Directed specifically at the Golden Fox, a beast-type monster.
In a way, it resonated with the spectral wolf as well.
-Growl?
The wolf’s intelligence was not low.
Moreover, an individual that had undergone spectral transformation was nearly an evolved species.
A monster capable of assessing the altered situation through its companion’s death and establishing new strategies.
-Grrrr….
They retreated simultaneously.
With the situation turning favorable, my thoughts multiplied.
‘Can spectral-form monster hides truly not be harvested?’
It was a thought I’d entertained in my previous life, and I had genuinely expended considerable effort attempting to strip their hides.
Ultimately, I had failed.
I lacked the proper abilities to exert adequate physical force against spectral-form monsters.
‘It seems possible here.’
This time is different.
The very garment I wore now was proof of it.

[Master’s Revenant Turtleneck (Legendary)]
[Defense: 44]
[Strength +4 Agility +4 Stamina +4]
[Advanced Darkness Affinity]
[Advanced Darkness Affinity: Basic stats double within darkness, increased resistance to light-attribute magic]
[A legendary masterpiece crafted from the souls of specters refined through a special purification process. It possesses the nature to transform itself to match the wearer’s physique and repair damage on its own.]

The Master’s Revenant Turtleneck was indeed a masterpiece woven from specter souls.
Moreover, it bore a Legendary grade.
-Crunch.
The phantom wolves began to disperse.
It appeared to be a tactic to avoid counterattacks as much as possible and aim for my throat from blind spots.
“This is entertaining.”
Even as a spectral entity, they were still wolves in terms of base stats.
Once I could counterattack even against multiple attackers, combat ceased to be a real threat.
Even if I were to take a one-sided beating, the defense power of my equipped armor was absurdly high.
As long as the armor remained undamaged, there was no way I could die.
Of course, since I couldn’t repair the armor in this situation, I had no intention of letting it take hits anyway.
“Dealing with blind spots is tedious, so I’ll thin out their numbers a bit.”
Even encirclement tactics had to be adapted based on the opponent.
Simply charging forward from my side opened an escape route in an instant.
Meanwhile, the attack options of beast-type monsters were limited to fangs and front claws.
They had no adequate means to counter my attacks.
Crack! Crack!
The phantom wolves’ numbers dwindled rapidly.
Thanks to this, the battle became manageable, but the fundamental problem remained unsolved.
As time passed, the phantom wolves continued to respawn.
Crack!

[Your level increases!]

Experience points were still accumulating and I was leveling up, but the lack of any byproducts dropping was a frustrating situation.
The leveling itself wasn’t the problem—it was Boa Village’s circumstances that prevented me from remaining trapped here indefinitely.
If the Chinese User Leader who had dominated the Southern Forest Campsite began to increase in numbers, the situation would become unmanageable.
Moreover, I lacked the proper tools to extract byproducts from Phantom Wolves.
I couldn’t skin a Phantom Wolf with a wooden practice sword.
“I should leave the river area for now.”
The appearance conditions for Phantom Wolves seemed to be lingering near the river for a certain duration.
Boa Village’s water shortage was an extension of this phenomenon.
And the problems with this village’s ruling class were complexly intertwined as well.
“Besides, I haven’t even obtained butchering techniques.”
-Growwwl!
I drove the wolf pack deeper into the Southern Forest.
Not much time had passed, so the Farming Operation should still be in full swing here.
There was no need to run excessively.
I was already drawing close to what appeared to be the Farming Operation group.
Thwack! Thwack!
This was a place where no one outside the Farming Operation ventured.
Just like the old military, all manner of abuses flourished here.
“Useless bastards! Can’t even catch a single deer properly?”
“Gasp! At this rate I’m really going to die!”
Crack!
“Tsk. A level 10 weakling can’t even withstand a single kick? Then you should have hunted properly!”
Maintaining a safe distance, I positioned myself against a tree where the Farming Operation workers couldn’t see me, pointing my wooden sword at the Phantom Wolf.
I was offering a choice.
Fight a difficult prey in a life-or-death struggle, or freely hunt easy prey.
-Grrrrr….
“Hm? What’s that sound?”
The Phantom Wolf’s decision was swift.
With a low growl from the alpha leading the pack, the entire wolf pack surged toward the Farming Operation simultaneously.
“Ah, Nightmare Wolves! Stop them! I said stop them!”
“Kyaaaah! I don’t want to die!”
Nightmare Wolves.
I had learned their name.
It was useful information for future disruptions.
“How dare these things! Stand your ground!”
The name “Nightmare” was quite common.
In games, it’s typically given to entities that are desperately difficult to face.
“Ugh! Damn it!”
-Kraaaaaagh!
The Chinese User Leader, now alone, twisted his body desperately to evade the attacks, but that was all he could manage.
I allowed the Nightmare Wolf to bite my shoulder instead of my neck.
Crunch!
“Aaaahhh!”
Spirit-type monsters don’t follow normal attack patterns.
Air resistance meant nothing to them, and their unique rhythm of accelerating through empty space wasn’t something I could adapt to easily.
“Die already! Please!”
Whoosh.
Even my counterattack toward the crown of its head merely cut through empty air.
In this situation, it was the wolf pack that felt bewildered instead.
It was only natural—every time I swung my blade, they’d been beaten to death.
-Growl?
The Nightmare Wolf Pack’s gaze fixed on me for a moment, then alternated between watching the Chinese User Leader still frantically swinging his sword and choosing to flee.
Perhaps they were thinking: ‘Aside from that strange human, we’re actually pretty strong, aren’t we?’
Crunch.
“Ughhhh.”
Once the Farming Operation user died and logged out, the enlightened Nightmare Wolf Pack began rampaging even more ferociously.
Now they merely remained vigilant even when nearby, no longer attacking first.
“Easy. So easy.”
Meanwhile, I collected the spoils from the dead users.
There was no need to gather heavy items—water and money were sufficient.
A single silver coin was enough to buy plenty of wolf or deer byproducts with change to spare.
“Nice, one silver. Might as well grab all the copper too.”
-Growl.
As my purse grew heavier, an entire Farming Operation had been reduced to rubble.
The wolf pack growled, demanding their next prey.
“Wait. There should be more if we head over there.”
-Growl!
The other Farming Operations were spaced 100 to 200 meters apart from the first one.
Since the Camp Leader was the one who acquired all the spoils, money only came from the leader’s purse.
Thanks to this, there was less to worry about.
“At this rate, the Southern Forest will be completely cleared.”
I pointed toward a Farming Operation, and the wolf pack charged.
From some point onward, even a mere gesture was enough to clear a Farming Operation, and occasionally a wolf would even bring me the Camp Leader’s money pouch.
“…This is automatic hunting. New games really are different.”
It was convenient and excellent.
At this pace, I could accumulate 1 gold or more quite rapidly.
And this was income generated in the Beginner Village, no less.
“Still, I should stop here.”
-Growl?
After all, this was only possible because I was stealing others’ income.
What I need to resolve is the fundamental problem.
Now that I’ve identified the water supply issue, I need to return to the Southern Forest Campsite to properly organize it.
“Our escort ends here. You all keep going straight.”
-Grrr?
“I need to head back soon.”
Hunting Nightmare Wolves had become impractical at this point.
I had no way to harvest spectral hides, and I could obtain sufficient experience through player elimination anyway.
Besides, the income from this was far superior.
“Let’s meet again next time.”
And so, I deferred our reunion to another day.
-Grruk.
The Nightmare Wolf pack held my gaze for a moment, then turned and departed toward the Farming Operation.
“They’re definitely not hostile anymore. I’ll need to investigate this further later.”
The fact that I could interact with Nightmare Wolves suggested vast possibilities.
This was my first time maintaining any form of cooperative relationship with a monster.
There must be a related Hidden Class or Hidden Quest tied to this.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for spectral-type monsters to be stationed in the Beginner Village.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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