A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 38

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

Chapter 38

[Friend List]
[Online: Eun-nyang E]
[Online: Bella]
[Online: Nyx]

My friend list had been updated.
Looking at it this way, the lineup was uniformly impressive.
The senior I’d grown close to was a member of a well-known guild domestically, and VIP was genuinely a child of a wealthy family.
And then there was Bella, the buffer I’d met for the first time.
I could easily sense that she was no ordinary player either.
The Lumiere Guild had the potential to rank among the Four Major Guilds, yet they were concealing their true strength for the sake of a hidden quest.
“Then I’ll head out first. Let’s continue the rest of our conversation through whispers.”
“Understood. Be careful going in, Elder.”
Sung-chul had departed.
I too needed to move quickly.
I postponed the flower tea world cup for later and hurried back to my room to refresh my hot spring buff.

[Active Buffs]
[Eucalyptus Hot Spring (Advanced)]
[Strength +2, Stamina +7, Luck +2]
[Fatigue recovers rapidly.]
[Muscle soreness does not occur.]
[Duration: 2 hours]

It fell short of the magnolia tea buff that boosted mana, but the hot spring buff was still an excellent one.
This one was particularly useful for training, giving it the advantage of limitless future applications.
‘If I maintain this, it’ll help with Achievements.’
Magnificent Achievements.
Some Achievements could be solved with money, but there were also Achievements earned through pushing the body to its limits.
Among the most Achievements I’d obtained in my previous playthrough, the majority came from training.
‘My business in Liam is finished, so moving immediately is the right call.’
One difference from my previous playthrough was that this game had a Beginner Village.
And simultaneously, there was a Beginner Training Grounds.
Among the Achievements known in the community were things like hitting a scarecrow ten thousand times, push-ups, and squats ten thousand times.
Digging deeper still, there were even hundred-thousand-count Achievements achieved by overseas fitness streamers.

[Nyx: I’ve arrived at the guild headquarters. I’ll just submit the job placement report and then head to City Hall.]
[Kael: Understood. I think I’ll head over first. Feel free to depart at your leisure.]
[Nyx: Got it. That’s all the clues about the Hidden Class, right?]
[Kael: Yes.]

Therefore, my objective was to quickly move to the next village, Dran, and drink from the Fountain.
The additional condition was to do so before the hot spring buff’s two-hour duration expired.
After that, to conserve teleportation costs, I’d solve the village’s problems as a bonus—that would be perfect.
It was a plan to secure both status and wealth simultaneously.
“I’d like to use the teleportation service.”
“Where will you be traveling to?”
“Dran Village.”
“Dran in the Belhard Kingdom, correct?”
I had packed sufficiently.
All the flower tea was sealed in containers, organized by type, and I’d additionally ordered and packed three days’ worth of meals.
Even so, my subspace inventory retained over 90% capacity.
It was the moment I realized just how exceptional the quality of the subspace Cha Eun-kyung had given me truly was.
Thanks to that, I could move directly to the next village.
“That will be 10 gold.”
This Dran Village was relatively close to the heart of the Belhard Kingdom, making it the most developed Beginner Village.
It boasted city-level development, much like Liam.
In other words, NPC influence was significantly stronger here.
Crude schemes would likely fail with high probability.
If necessary, I’d quickly grab the Fountain water and search for profitable opportunities elsewhere.
“Preparations are complete. Please proceed to the teleportation gate.”
“Thank you for your service.”
After using it several times, teleportation had become routine.
What hadn’t become routine was watching my gold disappear.
“This way, please.”
The mage I’d seen before wasn’t here.
I’d secretly harbored a desire to show off my accomplishments, so a slight disappointment lingered.
“Understood.”
I decided to move forward regardless.
Zzzzzzzing—
Enveloped in light, I opened my eyes to find myself at my destination.
Facilities comparable to Liam caught my attention.
A mage stationed at the gate greeted me first.
“Welcome, Kael.”
“Hm?”
For some reason, they knew who I was.
It seems my identity was transferred during the teleportation process.
I could easily guess why they had approached me.
“You should receive good news soon.”
“I see. That’s reassuring.”
“Thank you for your time.”
The facilities themselves resembled Liam, but the differences were distinctly palpable.
The NPCs here seemed closely connected to the upper echelon—the Royal Palace.
Perhaps I was under special surveillance.
After completing the entry procedures as I had done in Lis, I stepped out of City Hall.
Though the details differed, this place too boasted a beautiful Fountain adorning the bright afternoon.
“Hmm.”
I could see a fair number of beginners, and the faces of passersby brimmed with vitality.
But there was one decisive difference from Liam.
People were silent.
More precisely, no experienced players were looking after the beginners.
The beginners themselves moved toward the Beginner Training Grounds without relying on anyone.
There was no warmth to it.
“Tsk.”
There was even a beginner who seemed dissatisfied with being born in Dran Village itself.
This should be quite favorable conditions, yet they complained.
“Excuse me, do you know anything about Dran Village?”
“Who’s asking?”
“Just a passing player.”
“I can explain what I know about Dran Village, but it won’t be free.”
“Fine.”
I immediately transferred 1 Silver through the subspace.
“Gasp. Ah, subspace?”
Still just a beginner, after all.
For a beginner to earn 1 Silver normally required days of grinding hunts.
Moreover, since they recognized the subspace, they were an opponent I could easily dominate.
“Now, explain.”
“Understood, sir! Dran Village is the largest commercial city among the Beginner Villages, a place where production classes thrive better than combat classes.”
“I see. You looked disappointed about Dran Village—is there a reason?”
“Because I aspire to be a combat class. Hunting is certainly possible here too, but I’ve heard that with so many competitors, byproducts don’t sell for much.”
“Ah. Then which village would be better?”
“Originally, Lis or Kela Village were said to be the best, but recently it was revealed that Lis’s vision was an illusion. These days, Boa Village is the most popular.”
“Boa?”
It seemed the trends had shifted.
Lis was a village built on deception with Aurora, so that made sense, but Boa was unexpected.
“Yes. I was thinking of joining the Spirit Tamer Legion, which has recently become famous. Who among beginners would refuse a free hidden class?”
“Ah. So it was because of the Hidden Class.”
“Yes. Hidden Classes aren’t something anyone can obtain, after all. They’re expensive too. I even made a big decision to buy the access device, so it feels like such a waste.”
I could certainly feel that the Spirit Tamer Legion had grown in scale.
If I continued to expand like this, wouldn’t I eventually be able to stand against the Six Heavens?
For now, I hoped they would grow steadily under the protection of the Kingdom NPCs.
“What were you planning to do here?”
“I was going to receive the Hidden Wooden Sword from the Training Ground and then head to the hunting grounds. If I’m going to recover the device cost, I need to get to work right away, don’t I?”
“I see.”
This was enough to pass as a newbie.
Though it was touch and go, I could see they had the right mindset as a gamer.
“That was a good conversation.”
“Hm? Was that enough? It was information anyone would know.”
“Yes. It was sufficient.”
“Thank you. I’ll put the 1 Silver to good use.”
I realized this was a village where survival seemed difficult.
This was the kind of place where I should just get a taste and move on.
“Go on in.”
After sending the newbie off, I moved toward the Fountain, my original destination, and quenched my thirst.

[Eternity increased by 1.]
[Dran’s Eternally Unceasing Waters]
[Health Recovery Speed Slightly Increased]
[Duration: ∞]

Eternity rose once more.
The Beginner Village and I were truly inseparable by fate.
I quickly converted the hot spring buff to permanent duration as well.

[Name: Kael]
[Level: 20]
[Unused Points: 5]
[Strength: 34 Agility: 59 Stamina: 41 Wisdom: 44 Luck: 37]
[Eternity: 5 Mana: 2]

At last, the status I had maintained temporarily became wholly mine.
“Just to be safe, should I scout the nearby hunting grounds?”
I planned to spend today in Dran.
If there was anything worth money, I intended to seize it immediately.
“Could I get one map, please?”
“Sure. That’ll be 3 Copper.”
I purchased a map of Dran from a nearby merchant.
The serious hunting grounds here were to the north and west.
Since I was eager to face monsters beyond mere beasts, I headed west where tunnels and goblins were illustrated on the map.
“Recruiting dealers for Goblin Cave, first level!”
“Seeking experienced lock-pickers!”
“Same-day expedition! Recruiting porters! Strength 20 or higher!”
I met all the conditions.
I wasn’t sure about the lock-picking, but I could handle both solo hunting and party hunting.
‘What would be best?’
For a simple dealer position, I was capable of both damage and tanking.
Whichever I chose, there was a high likelihood I’d hunt normally and complete the settlement without issue.
A solid life, far removed from chaos.
For some reason, my heart leaned toward the porter recruitment.
The incident in Lis came to mind, and thanks to the hot spring buff, I had no concerns about muscle soreness—making it worthwhile as training.

[Eucalyptus Hot Spring (Superior)]
[Strength +2, Stamina +7, Luck +2]
[Fatigue recovers rapidly.]
[Muscle soreness does not occur.]
[Duration: ∞]

“Same-day expedition! Recruiting porters!”
The recruiter was a man with a menacing appearance that commanded intimidation.
Though I held no prejudice about appearance, something about him suggested ties to a crime organization.
If I was right, it would be a jackpot.
The kind of job worth saving teleportation costs.
Just to be certain, I decided to have Sung-chul verify it first.

[Kael: Elder, that’s west of Dran Village. What about a porter job?]
[Nyx: Huh? A porter? Do they really need porters in the Beginner Village?]
[Kael: Apparently so. The requirement is Strength 20 or higher, and it feels like an expedition to the Goblin Cave. It’s a same-day expedition.]
[Nyx: A same-day expedition with porters too? That’s pretty unusual.]
[Kael: Really? Well, I understand.]
[Nyx: Yeah.]

The fact that Sung-chul was this suspicious meant it was a verified red flag.
I approached the recruiter with anticipation.
“Me! I’ll be a porter!”

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