A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 23

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

Chapter 23

I returned to the Camp.
As expected, chaos had erupted.
“Kill them! Kill them!”
Was this what the French Revolution looked like?
The Camp was consumed by madness.
The targets were the former ruling class.
“More stones! Even more stones!”
“Stop! Collect the stones you threw first and throw again!”
“Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!”
I watched the situation unfold in silence.
The targets of this frenzy were already dead.
They must have either gotten lucky and escaped from the Farming Operation in the forest, or foolishly wandered out from the village and shouted loudly, only to end up like this.
There was a reason this spark of rebellion hadn’t been extinguished.
Part of it was that news of the scattered ruling class members had gradually ceased, and the reality they witnessed after death had certainly played its role as well.
“Stop! Stop! The boss has arrived!”
“Stop!”
The situation finally halted at the shout of the Chinese User Leader who recognized me.
The situation had already unfolded, and I was the only hill they could lean on.
“….”
Without needing to say anything, the situation resolved itself.
It was thanks to my character concept as a ruthless powerhouse of the Black Dragon Faction.
They understood that no matter how freely they rampaged now, if they crossed my mood, everything would be distorted.
“You have some sense. You all deserve to live a little longer.”
“Ohhh…!”
I wouldn’t kill them anyway, but these were people who grew more enthusiastic the more I appealed to my cruelty.
I had no choice but to play along.
“We’ve gathered all the tribute here!”
On one side lay money, and on the other, weapons and armor were arranged by type.
It had more the atmosphere of a street vendor’s stall than a department store, and the peculiar thing was that everything was free for me.
“Money is sufficient. Divide it among yourselves.”
“We receive your command!”
There was no need to even check the options.
I had no equipment I needed.
Equipment from users who’d just shed their beginner status was ultimately nothing more than beginner-tier treasure items.
Though I was still a beginner myself, for now.
‘4 Gold 28 Silver. Nice.’
Money, on the other hand, never lies.
Just the four gold I’d secured immediately amounted to roughly six million won, and when combined with what I’d gathered from the Southern Forest, it approached five gold—nearly seven and a half million won.
It was an absolutely staggering haul.
“Those taking the vanguard claim weapons and armor first!”
“Then I’ll take this armor!”
“The sword is mine!”
“I… I’d prefer to stand in the rear.”
“Then grab a rock!”
They were finishing the equipment distribution among themselves without my intervention.
The atmosphere was solemn, as though they were about to wage war itself.
Given that I’d escalated matters considerably and they had no backing, this current was inevitable.
‘The situation seems to be organizing itself more smoothly than I anticipated.’
I’d predicted mutual destruction as the outcome of this upheaval.
After all, Chinese users were notorious for their sheer numbers.
No matter how many users gathered here, they would be outmatched against high-level players rushing to restore order.
‘Is something else unfolding within the village itself?’
At this point, I was half-certain that some event unknown to me was occurring within Boa Village’s interior.
The most likely variable would be the Training Instructor.
Even now, he was likely recovering his strength through the Golden Fox fur blindfold.
‘No, this could actually be dangerous. If the Instructor is involved, Boa Village might report this upward and assemble high-level users.’
The forest interior was ravaged by nightmare wolves, while the external camp saw users united in thoroughly crushing the ruling class’s heads.
The Southern Forest was effectively occupied at this point.
Though I hadn’t completely resolved the water issue, seizing one pillar of Boa Village was certainly encouraging.
“H-help!”
Then, beginning with someone’s cry, the surrounding users began to stir with unease.
“Commander! Nightmare wolves! A pack of nightmare wolves has appeared!”
“How can monsters that don’t leave the river be here?”
Looking toward where people were pointing, they were indeed the nightmare wolf pack from the Southern Forest.
The large nightmare wolf I’d seen before was there too, its maw dripping with blood.
“…How tiresome.”
I stepped forward regardless.
After all, I was likely the only one capable of dealing proper damage to spectral monsters.
If necessary, I could simply exterminate them all myself.
“Your bellies should be sufficiently full. What purpose brings you to seek this place?”
-Growl?
For some reason, the nightmare wolf’s head tilted at a forty-five-degree angle.
The sense that ‘this creature has eaten something wrong.’
They were certainly intelligent creatures.
Though it made me feel awkward, with so many eyes watching, I had to maintain an air of dignity.
“Have you come to cause harm? If so, our cooperative arrangement would be at an end.”
Thud.
The Nightmare Wolf’s answer came in the form of this.
More than ten pouches of coins overflowing with wealth.
And.

[Hidden Achievement Unlocked!]
[You have formed a friendly relationship with a specific monster!]
[Wisdom increases by 1.]
[You will frequently receive assistance from monsters with whom you have friendly relations.]
[You have obtained a clue to the hidden class ‘Spirit Tamer’!]
[First-time clue acquisition bonus!]
[Wisdom increases by 8.]
[Rumors about you spread throughout the Raheem Continent!]

An extraordinary cascade of rewards poured forth.
Particularly, the reward level for the hidden class was no joke.
An increase of 8 in a single stat, and rumors spreading with such spectacular fanfare—this was my first time experiencing either.
“…Yes. You have visited me as my friends.”
-Krrr.
Thanks to this unexpected windfall, a brilliant scheme had crystallized in my mind.
“From this moment forward, the Nightmare Wolf has become my friend. Therefore, you too shall become friends of the Nightmare Wolf.”
“We accept your will!”
The scheme was elegantly simple.
Convert all the Camp’s forces into the ‘Spirit Tamer’ class.
If fortune favors us, I could systematically cultivate a pack of Nightmare Wolves and double my forces.
Moreover, this hidden class advancement appeared achievable through certain… creative methods.
Ordinarily, one would need to demonstrate overwhelming combat prowess against the Nightmare Wolf and establish a cooperative bond, but I had already cultivated a friendly relationship with it.
“By any means necessary, earn the Nightmare Wolf’s recognition. This is the advancement clue for the hidden class, ‘Spirit Tamer’.”
Any user in Another Dimension naturally understood the value of a hidden class.
And they all knew that being granted a free clue to unlock one represented an extraordinary stroke of fortune.
“A hidden class!”
Yearning blazed in the users’ eyes.
The temperature of the surrounding air seemed to rise several degrees.
At those words, one user cautiously stepped forward.
“W-w-w….”
Then carefully extended a hand.
The result was.
Crunch!
“Gaaahhhhh!”
The brave user’s hand was bitten by the Spirit Wolf.
“P-please, spare me!”
“Your effort falls short. Your hand hasn’t been severed, has it?”
It was exactly as I’d anticipated.
Perhaps due to the friendly relationship’s influence, the Nightmare Wolf had exercised enough restraint to avoid actually severing the hand.
A promising development.
“Ugh! Yes, that’s right! You’re good, aren’t you? Let’s be friends!”
Crunch! Crunch!
“Ahhhhh! Ow! You’re good!”
-Grrrrr….
Once they confirmed that no one was dying, the other users steeled themselves and began competitively extending their hands.
“Uhhh….”
Snap!
“Ahhh! That feels great!”
Crunch!
The number of Nightmare Wolves had been fixed from the start.
The number of users was double that.
It was inevitable that the situation would unfold this way.
Class advancement is also a competition.
By repeating this trial and error, someone would eventually succeed in advancing to Spirit Tamer.
Once this chaos succeeds, the distinction between the weak and strong in Boa Village would be drastically overturned.
“I won’t set a specific deadline. However, when I return, I hope you’ve all completed your advancement to Spirit Tamer. Of course, you mustn’t die meaninglessly either.”
“…!”
I thoroughly prevented any monopolization of the clues.
What I wanted was for all the users here to become massive troublemakers.
“We accept your command, Great Benefactor!”
Somewhere along the way, the title had been elevated from Commander to Great Benefactor.
I let their cries pass through one ear as I continued with my next order.
“If the thirsty come seeking this place, do not turn them away—share your water with them. Once you complete your advancement to a Hidden Class, you’ll be able to drink from the stream yourselves.”
“We accept your command!”
“However, if the satiated come seeking this place, sever their necks without hesitation. They are not ones who would show you mercy.”
“We accept your command!”
With this, I had successfully ignited the flames of conflict between the ruling and ruled classes of Boa Village in the Southern Forest.
The rest would be resolved by time.
I approached the largest Nightmare Wolf and gently patted its head.
Naturally, since it was me, its fangs remained hidden.
“These poor souls—treat them kindly.”
-Grrrrr….
This should be sufficient.
I gathered all the coin pouches the Nightmare Wolf had offered and slipped out of the camp.
Now it was time to protect the Training Instructor, search for variables within the village, and stir up chaos.

* * *

Eden was faithfully executing the mission entrusted to me.
Though my affiliation with Seoguang had been exposed by the now-dead Chinese User Leader, such a matter could be sufficiently smoothed over at the young lady’s discretion, so it posed no serious problem.
“Fortune favored me. The circumstances aligned perfectly.”
Recognizing that the VIP was deliberately posing as an executive of the Black Dragon Faction—that had been a stroke of divine providence.
Such assignments were precisely my specialty.
‘Asura’ was simply specialized in cutting down the opponent directly before me.
“Grrrgh!”
That said, covert combat was hardly a weakness.
It merely meant I was even stronger in chaotic melees.
I had already disposed of the spies attempting to approach the VIP.
“I hear a high-ranking official from the Black Dragon Faction has arrived. Please allow them entry.”
“Denied.”
*Scrape.*
They had claimed to be from the Black Dragon Faction, hadn’t they?
I had cut down every subordinate guild member under the Black Dragon Faction attempting to approach the Beginner Training Grounds.
While they posed no threat to me, they could have been dangerous to the VIP.
Delaying any chance of the VIP being exposed served a dual purpose.
“Damn it! What in the world is happening!”
*Clang!*
And now, with the VIP departed toward the Southern Forest.
I was hidden in an appropriate building, ambushing high-level users passing through the South Gate and fulfilling my role.
“Who are you!”
Naturally, these opponents could not be cut down in a single stroke.
*Boom!*
“So it was you? A rat from Seoguang.”
“Don’t speak. You reek.”
But that was all.
The successive strikes unleashed by ‘Asura’ were few within Seoguang who could defend against them intact.
*Crash! Boom! Scrape!*
In other words, three consecutive strikes were sufficient to sever the opponent’s shoulder blade.
“Ugh!”
The name Seoguang, the position of bodyguard to Cha Eun-kyung—these were honors not anyone could claim.
*Clang! Crash!*
“Gasp!”
Having successfully assassinated another high-level user, I confirmed that the VIP was approaching from afar.
Our eyes even met.
“Ah, I yield!”
“I surrender as well!”
“Hmm. At this rate, I’ve weeded out most of the high-level users.”
Eden adjusted his mask, checking that his face remained concealed.
“…This should be fine, right?”
Currently, Eden had only revealed his affiliation with Seoguang to the leadership of Boa Village, while his face remained thoroughly hidden.
And it appeared that the VIP was proceeding through some Quest without knowing anything.
“It’s too late to back out now. If things continue like this, dangerous people will come looking for me before long.”
Having turned the entire village upside down all day, there was a real possibility that the Black Dragon Faction itself would come searching for Eden soon.
If that happened, naturally the VIP, who was masquerading as the Black Dragon Faction, would also find it difficult to survive.
“This is troublesome.”
The VIP, unaware of this situation, moved toward Eden without hesitation.
For some reason, his leisurely gait carried the bearing of a strong warrior, but what mattered now was how Eden would respond.
“In a situation like this, the lady would agree as well.”
Eden steeled himself and decided to confront the VIP.
Of course, after eliminating all witnesses in the vicinity.
“Improvisation is what matters now.”

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