A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 28

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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 28

Without delay, I headed to the Archery Guild, where the biometric scarecrows were gathered.
With my current buffs making me far more powerful, I could now harvest experience points through far more efficient and devastating strikes than before.
There was no reason to participate in the rigged game anyway, and I hadn’t received any orders to assemble at the Fountain, so I had ample justification.
“Hmm…”
With the Spiced Venison Stir-fry stacked twice—boosting my leg strength and running speed—the journey was over in an instant.
Yet as I reached the building’s entrance, no one came to greet me.
I couldn’t even sense a trace of human presence.
Had the peddler given me false information?
Creeeeak.
As I pushed open the weathered wooden door—barely holding together—and stepped inside, an absurd sight unfolded before me.
“What is this?”
The entire space was filled with the corpses of dead players.
Every piece of furniture lay in ruins.
And the remnants of a fierce battle were scattered everywhere.
Even the bloodstains looked disturbingly familiar.
“…Wait. Could this be Eden’s handiwork?”
I was troubled.
He was certainly someone whose interests aligned with mine.
Even if he harbored grievances, fundamentally he was an overwhelmingly superior force.
By the logic of survival of the fittest, I was clearly the weaker party.

-Just you wait! Calamity of the Black Dragon Faction!

That final exchange held no substance.
Perhaps it simply meant we’d meet again later.
The real meaning likely lay elsewhere.

-I can’t reveal everything, but my goal is chaos too. If the Six Heavens intervene directly in this situation, my position becomes precarious.

Eden was a scammer just like me.
The only difference was our objectives.
As a member of Seoguang, one of the Four Major Guilds, he wouldn’t feel the same sense of mission to save the newbies of Boa Village like I did.
Rather, it was likely that the interests of the major guilds were entangled.
While Six Heavens avoided direct intervention, I could sense their intention to firmly crush the influence Six Heavens exerted on Boa Village.
“I suppose it’s unfortunate to waste the experience points. From the traces, it looks like a match I’d struggle to compete in.”
These minute details weren’t something we negotiated anyway.
Whoever killed whom, we all moved with the same purpose—scamming.
Perhaps it worked out for the best.
The fact that all the core powerhouses of Boa Village were dead meant I could swallow Boa Village that much more easily.
“…I need to head to the Kwon Gak-sul Guild.”
Since the system wouldn’t let me strip equipment from high-level users, I simply grabbed the coin purses from the corpses and headed outside.
“It was quite a high point for once. What a shame.”
The braised venison with seasoning buff had worn off at some point.
Now only my pure stats remained, so I opened my status window.

[Name: Kael]
[Level: 16]
[Unallocated Points: 1]
[Strength: 33 Agility: 55 Vitality: 34 Wisdom: 37 Luck: 30]
[Eternity: 3]

My all-stats, which had been balanced in the twenties until this morning, had now broken into the thirties.
Yet still, level 16—a beginner’s rank.
Moreover, as additional effects, I was covered in resistances to all manner of attacks, and from my recovery speed to the first seven attacks, all sorts of bonuses were applied.
Just looking at the status window filled me with elation.
“Mm.”
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the Kwon Gak-sul Guild.
This time, I sensed numerous presences.
In particular, agonized groans flowed from beyond the locked door, hinting that the situation was far from ordinary.
“…No guards?”
As I moved to the door and examined the lock, Item Information appeared.

[Lock (Perfect) (Enchanted)]
[A lock crafted from mana alloy with excellent mana conductivity. It has been imbued with destruction-resistant magic that reinforces the hinges and door as a whole, providing robust security.]

A lock imbued with no ordinary magic.
The lock at Nok-hyang-gwan had a similar appearance.
Though their purposes were entirely different.
At this point, destroying the door itself was the right call to abandon.
I couldn’t repair the wooden sword with magic damage.
“Let me see.”
Fundamentally, locks of this kind only work when management personnel are nearby.
They’re ineffective against someone who breaks in openly.
For instance, against someone like me who breaks in brazenly and demolishes walls.
“This spot will do nicely.”
I spoke from the darkest position around the building, where shadows pooled deepest.
“I’m going to destroy the wall itself, so everyone fall back.”
“…!”
There was a response.
With this, I could ease my worry about the users inside the building getting caught in the attack.
“Haaah.”
Thanks to my sparring with Eden, I’d acquired a definitive offensive skill.
If I had to classify it, it was an item-skill combination.
‘Shadow Assimilation, Darkness Affinity, Gale Rush.’
Tssssst.
Seeping into the darkness, momentarily elevating my status.
Whoosh!
Surrendering my body to the explosive gust and concentrating as I swung my blade, it transformed into a skill that couldn’t be defended against.
CRAAAAAASH!
If left unblocked, it would shatter like the stone wall before me.
Rumble rumble rumble!
“Kyaaaah!”
They couldn’t have been trapped for more than two hours at most.
But they were all users in visibly poor condition.
After all, they hadn’t even been able to drink water properly.
“Please save us! We’ve done nothing wrong!”
Whether NPC or user, they all reacted the same way, suffering from such desperation.
Things would be different now.
“Come out. Staying still won’t change anything.”
There was no need to say more.
They needed time to think as well.
“….”
A moment’s thought would suffice.
If they’d come here with malicious intent, it would be natural to disable the lock on the door.
I was the one who had boldly destroyed the wall.
“…Thank you, sir.”
These weren’t experience points to me.
They were merely novices being exploited.
What I could offer them was freedom.
As a bonus, a small gesture of providing drinking water.
“Starting today, for one month, free drinking water will be provided in front of the Fountain. The same applies to Training Ground usage. That’s all I have to say.”
“…!”
Since I didn’t know what circumstances they might face, I left the choice to their own free will.
Ordinary players would now be able to grow freely, and those exploited by criminal organizations in reality could seek ways to live freely.
“I ask that you help one another and live well. I’m rooting for you.”
Though I left only words of encouragement before quickly departing, naturally the novice care service didn’t end here.
I would prepare for any potential disturbances at the Fountain and planned to expand the fountain’s size further.
‘What Eden didn’t want was direct intervention from the Six Heavens. This much should count as repayment.’
Setting aside reality, within the game there existed a certain way to overcome the current situation.
That was the intervention of powerful NPCs.
And I was currently executing a Quest befitting this method.

[Hidden Quest ‘Freedom for Boa Village’]
[The Training Instructor of Boa Village was deceived by outsiders and consumed an incurable poison. Having barely clung to life’s thread for so long, a benefactor named Kael from Liam has now arrived at the Training Instructor’s side. Now is the time to reverse the situation. Help the Training Instructor restore freedom to Boa Village.]
[Time Limit: 1 month]
[Objective: Normalization of Boa Village]
[Reward: Teachings of the Training Instructor of Boa Village, Teachings of the Sword Guild Master of Boa Village]

Boa Village already possessed powerful NPCs—the Training Instructor and the Sword Guild Master.

-In this game,
NPCs
aren’t mere pushovers. Village-critical NPCs
are on par with raid bosses. Even if the rankers coordinated and attacked together, they’d barely manage to win.
It’s on par with a decent raid boss. Even if the top rankers team up and focus their efforts, they’d barely manage to win, if at all.

Moreover, there was another crucial point.
No matter how remote Boa Village was, it unmistakably belonged to the NPC Kingdom’s territory.
In other words, it wasn’t China’s territory.
In other words, it means it’s not Chinese territory.

-Moreover, there’s the troublesome system called royal law, and any act of hostility toward NPCs belonging to the NPC Kingdom itself constitutes a violation. Recently, some Mexican streamer tested it by poisoning an NPC Kingdom NPC, and their entire guild was placed on the permanent banishment list.
NPC
The very act of antagonizing is a violation of kingdom law. Recently, some Mexican streamer tested it and said it was the Kingdom—
NPC One
That’s because they were permanently blacklisted by the Guild for poisoning someone.

Another Dimension users are strictly classified as outsiders.
And at this point, no matter how powerful a group of rankers is, they still cannot stand against the Kingdom.
Boa Village was swallowed whole through information control and various schemes, but if word of this place reaches the outside, the situation will flip completely.
“Things have worked out well. The village’s restoration is visible.”
All the core ruling-class users of Boa Village were dead.
Even if they were hiding somewhere in the village, there was a high probability they’d be subdued by Eden, dispatched deliberately from Seoguang.
At least, judging by the level of combat that occurred at the Archery Guild, it was nearly certain.
“Instructor. I’m back.”
I had returned to the Beginner Training Grounds.
Without even needing to ask the soldiers, the Training Instructor had quickly pulled himself together and was already putting the newbies I’d introduced to work.
“Hmm? You’re back quickly. Thanks to you, the message was delivered well. Did you finish your business?”
“More or less. Time will handle the rest from here.”
“Then that’s fortunate. There’s no disruption to the recovery schedule. Ten days should be enough.”
“Ah, that’s why I’m saying this. Now we should be able to send word of this place to the Kingdom.”
The Training Instructor, who had been massaging his shoulders to awaken his muscles, suddenly looked at me with a dazed expression.
His face shifted to one of bewilderment—as if he’d already forgotten the situation I’d explained—and then to one of sympathy, as if he pitied me.
The fact that his expressions had become so varied was evidence that his health was actually improving in a positive direction.
“The outsiders ruling the village are mostly dead. I killed some, and I received help with others.”
The Training Instructor’s expression became five times more varied.
After explaining the situation up to that point, it became ten times more expressive, and when I cautiously predicted that we might be able to send word from outside the village, tears began to stream down his face.
“…Finally, will I be able to hear news of my daughter?”
“Yes. How should I send word of this place?”

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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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