A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 39

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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 39

“Huh?”
“Porter. I’ll do it. I’ve got 20 Strength.”
The man recruiting porters looked me over with a suspicious expression.
He seemed to find something odd about my appearance—carrying only a wooden sword without a backpack.
“I lost my backpack and need quick cash. How would the payment work?”
“Hmm. Do you happen to have a class? Any useful skills for carrying loads?”
“I’m unemployed and have no relevant skills.”
The man might possess a skill like lie detection.
Naturally, I told him only the truth.
Then his expression softened.
“I see. Alright then. Would 3 Silver per day be acceptable?”
It seemed like a small amount to me, but by local standards, it was reasonable.
For just carrying cargo, it was actually quite decent compensation.
“Yes. That’s sufficient. I just need to earn enough for a new backpack.”
No matter how presentable my appearance was, it would be difficult for them to assume I possessed a subspace.
After all, this was the Beginner Village.
“Excellent. I’ll give you 1 Silver and 50 Copper as an advance. Come this way.”
“Thank you.”
A surprisingly considerate gesture.
I followed the man to where the party members had gathered.
The composition was as follows.
“Two Rogues handling close-range damage and trap disarming, one Shield Warrior. And I’m the Greatsword Warrior handling area damage.”
The main issue was the absence of a healer or a mage for ranged damage and utility, though Rogues were quite skilled in utility as well, so it wasn’t a bad composition.
It was a reasonably well-suited combination for cave exploration.
“Pleased to work with you. I’m Elka.”
“Ah! A new porter, I see. Looking forward to working with you.”
I rearranged my name slightly and completed the introductions, then accepted the party members’ cargo.
The weight of the backpack pressed down on my shoulders as if they’d stuffed rocks inside.
If my Strength hadn’t exceeded 30, it would have been grueling.
For now, I decided to just look appropriately strained.
“Elka. Is this your first time in the Goblin Cave?”
“Yes. I usually hunt in the Northern Forest, and the Western Area is new to me.”
“Ah. So you must have run into Devil Monkeys in the Northern Forest too. They’re not common, but they’re masters at plundering supplies.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The party members’ equipment was reasonably decent.
Aside from their armor, they all carried weapons that looked far from ordinary.
“Come now. Let’s push forward just a bit more. We’re almost there.”
“Yes.”
I had been walking for hours without pause, yet there had been no rest.
Not even a simple meal break.
Was the purpose to drain my stamina?
We passed several Goblin Caves along the way, but judging by how we continued past them, they weren’t our destination.
“Ah. The place we’re heading to isn’t an ordinary Goblin Cave. It’s a peculiar one we recently discovered.”
“Oh? A peculiar cave?”
“Yes. We found a cave with traces of goblins having carefully hidden something. We thought there might be a hidden reward, so we decided to prepare thoroughly and attempt to conquer it this time.”
“I see. Well then.”
This time, it seemed to be the truth.
Rather than targeting me when I was exhausted, they had a clear destination in mind.
“Five Wasteland goblins ahead.”
Now that we had moved away from the village, our encounters with monsters had increased in frequency.
Of course, as a porter, I merely watched.
“Everyone behind me!”
The Shield Warrior took the lead, while the others positioned themselves diagonally behind.
Since the party lacked ranged support, their formation pursued immediate counterattacks.
“Kieek!”
Ting!
Rather, the ranged attacks came from the goblins’ side.
They wielded crude bows with surprising skill, targeting only the tank with precision.
Ting! Ting!
Meanwhile, the Shield Warrior pressed forward unimpeded.
Utilizing his long reach, he kicked an approaching goblin, sending it tumbling.
‘More professional than I expected.’
Thud! Thud thud!
“Gieeeek!”
After the goblin fell, both Rogues swiftly drove their daggers into its neck and heart.
The movements were remarkably fluid.
They had clearly practiced their timing together many times.
“Hiyah!”
The finishing blow belonged to the Greatsword Warrior.
A single swing of his greatsword was enough to tear the goblins’ limbs apart.
‘They’re not at the appropriate level. They’re far higher. High enough that goblins are beneath them.’
Unexpectedly, the recruiter himself was high-leveled.
Moreover, both the Shield Warrior and the Rogues appeared to exceed level 30.
Now it was certain.
These people had long since outgrown the Beginner Village.
‘This is quite convenient.’
Just imagining what lay ahead sent a thrill coursing through me.
Even a developed village like this needed its dark corners—otherwise, people like me wouldn’t have a way to survive.
Snick.
They weren’t bothering to collect the byproducts.
Only the ears were being severed.
There had to be a reason for this approach.
The Rogue, noticing my expression as he cut the goblin ear, offered an explanation instead.
“When you submit goblin ears to City Hall, you receive a modest bounty. It’s only in Copper, but it adds up nicely. Plus, they don’t take up much space.”
“I see.”
So that was what the pouch attached to the backpack was for—a specialized container for goblin ears.
He naturally approached and placed the goblin ear into the pouch.
“Well then, shall we move on? We just need to cross that hill over there.”
The destination was clearly no ordinary cave.
Even crossing that small hill, we were attacked by a considerable number of goblins.
“This way!”
Before long, the battle formation had shifted to one where they were protecting me.
I offered no resistance whether the goblins attacked or not.
“Kiii!”
“Careful!”
The moment I caught the scent of money, I resolved to hide my true strength until the very end.
I even made a show of overreacting whenever a goblin’s blunt dagger so much as grazed my clothes, as if I’d been grievously wounded.
“Ugh! My stamina’s running out!”
“Tch! I’ll handle it!”
As I became sufficiently troublesome, I could see hostility beginning to glint in my party members’ eyes.
A normal party would have at least voiced their concerns, but this one didn’t.
“Phew. That was dangerous. Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
With that, it became clear this party was far from normal.
And at that same moment, we arrived at our destination—the Goblin Cave.
“Whew. Here we are. Fortunately, there are no signs of anyone else having passed through.”
The cave entrance was surrounded by camouflage netting, marked only by the distinctive blunt gouges left by goblin daggers.
‘A cave they don’t want others to see.’
It definitely had that hidden dungeon smell to it.
Even if this party venture turned out to be a bust, I could gather valuable information.
“We’re going in. Would you mind taking out the four torches from that backpack?”
“Of course. Here you go.”
We entered the cave.
The Shield Warrior took the lead, with the Rogue and Greatsword Warrior following behind in formation.
“Kael, if you could just keep your distance and follow along, that would be best. No need to carry a torch—it might draw aggro.”
“Understood.”
How far had I walked?
A subtle sense of wrongness began to creep in.
The closer I drew, the more insistent their signals became—telling me to fall back.
The distance they wanted was considerable.
I had to watch my footing so carefully that if I couldn’t see what was directly ahead, I naturally fell behind—the structure of the path itself ensured it.
Eventually, even the path immediately before me vanished from sight, and I lost sight of the group entirely.
“I see.”
I understood the game now.
I waited until the path ahead was sufficiently obscured, then lowered my backpack and checked its contents.
Thud.

[Small Wasteland Rock]
[Attack Power: 12~30]
[Durability: 18]

As expected.
My backpack contained a rectangular stone of modest size.
From the start, they had been waiting for my stamina to be depleted.
They wanted me dead.
The items that would drop from my corpse were their true objective.
Moreover, they had deliberately separated me from the group to prevent any reports after my revival.
They were orchestrating my death at the hands of monsters.
That way, even if I filed a report, they would have plenty of excuses.
“How entertaining.”
The cave itself appeared genuine.
And given that it was a rare cave located at such a considerable distance, there was genuine reason to expect something valuable within.
Even if I couldn’t extract anything from them directly, I could reasonably aim for a worthwhile reward.
“Kee-kee-kee.”
I couldn’t see them, but I could feel the goblins drawing closer.
That was all they amounted to.
Ting!

[Contempt for the Weak]
[Immunity to physical attacks from targets with Strength stat below 10]
[Immunity to magical attacks from targets with Wisdom stat below 10]
[Level penalty increased when level difference exceeds 10]
[Immunity to physical and magical attacks from targets with stat difference of 50 or more]

Goblins were never a real threat to begin with.
No matter what attack I unleashed, Contempt for the Weak blocked everything—the exchange itself never materialized.
Since I was invincible anyway, I decided to use this opportunity for some sensory training.
It was practice in using Instant Pierce toward the direction where I sensed movement.
Whoosh!
This was my first encounter with a bipedal monster.
Even when I lowered my stance as much as possible, my blade cut through empty air.
Given Instant Pierce’s nature of targeting the neck from the start, the goblin’s short, low neck was difficult to aim at.
“Oh. This is fun. Instant Pierce.”
I swung the wooden sword once more.
This time, instead of the neck, I aimed for the crown of its head.
Whoooosh!
Crack!
This time, I connected.
I heard the goblin collapse to the ground.
Once I got the feel for it, everything became much easier.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Crack crack crack!

[Your level has increased!]
[Name: Kael]
[Level: 21]
[Unused Points: 6]
[Strength: 34 Agility: 59 Vitality: 41 Wisdom: 44 Luck: 37]
[Eternity: 5 Mana: 2]

I’d leveled up by defeating a considerable number of goblins.
Yet they continued to pour forth endlessly from unknown depths.
A normal porter could never withstand such conditions.
Moreover, with my vision obscured, I would have allowed far more attacks to land if not for Contempt for the Weak.
“Hmm. This certainly appears to be a hidden dungeon.”
I decided it was time to advance.
Where were my party members by now?
I resolved to drag along every goblin that attacked me.
It was a strategy to turn their own tactics against them.
“Kieek! Kieek!”
“Ookieek!”
Once I’d shed all the rocks from my pack, my steps became light.
All I needed to do was endure the noise.
Ting! Ting!
I discovered something new.
A minor advantage of Contempt for the Weak had revealed itself.
When the effect of Contempt for the Weak activated, my equipment’s durability did not decrease.
“Kieeek!”
Ting!
How far had I walked?
Before a spacious cavern, I spotted a camouflage cloth jutting out subtly.
It trembled faintly as if breathing.
I swung my blade directly at the camouflage cloth.
“Oops. My hand slipped.”
Craaaaaaash!

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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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