A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 44

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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 44

“Do you have any decent skills?”
I still didn’t know Eden’s full capabilities.
What I was certain of was that I could entrust the main offense to Eden.
“I’ll sweep away the palisade first. It’s a skill that leaves me neutralized for 3 seconds after use.”
“I’ll endure those 3 seconds however I can.”
“Very well.”
Eden took the lead.
His blade began to ripple with an inky darkness.
“Blood Sword. Release.”
The scars etched across Eden’s body tore open, and blood began to seep forth.
The rippling blade drank in the blood without hesitation.
Gugugugugu!
The rippling darkness transformed into a roaring black flame.
The dungeon’s interior grew dimly illuminated.
It was a bizarre sight.
“Eight-Form Strike.”
“Kieeeek! Gyaaah!”
Confronted with the otherworldly spectacle unfolding before them, the hobgoblins shrieked in terror.
It was an instinctive response—something ominous was clearly bearing down upon them.
“Shatter Burst.”
Kwakwakwakwakwakwak!
The black flame erupted forward in a torrent.
The palisade and goblins blocking the way were torn asunder.
Gugugugugu!
In the wake of the inferno, only traces of what had once been palisade and goblin remained.
Kwaaaang!
Yet it didn’t end there.
A secondary explosion detonated.
Now nothing remained.
Only the massive gouges torn into the earth bore witness to the Shatter Burst’s devastation.
A perfect, absolute annihilation.
“Kyaaaah!”
It was bombardment incarnate.
The hobgoblins, sensing the threat, began charging toward Eden with newfound urgency.
Their movements were rational and calculated—utterly unlike the goblins I’d encountered before.
“Hup.”
And area denial was my specialty.
Since Explosive Shatter had carved a path through the space, all I needed to do was seal off this single corridor.
Thud.
Eden was neutralized.
I had three seconds of responsibility.
He’d need another two seconds or so to get to his feet and compose himself.
But the mana-corrupted Hobgoblin had already reached me.
“Shadow Fairy Tale.”

[Shadow Fairy Tale: Concealment rate increases in darkness.]

“Advanced Dark Affinity.”

[Advanced Dark Affinity: Basic stats doubled in darkness, increased resistance to light-attribute magic]

And I doubled my stats.

[Level: 25]
[Unused Points: 2]
[Strength: 82(+41) Agility: 118(+59) Stamina: 84(+42) Wisdom: 88(+44) Luck: 82(+41)]
[Eternity: 5 Mana: 2]

“Kyaaah!”
Clang!
The sound of the weapon collision was different.
I’d merely deflected the weapon of the Hobgoblin charging at me, yet I could feel an immense force behind it.
Even with Strength exceeding 80, this was all it could manage.
This meant the mana-corrupted Hobgoblin was not a monster meant to be conquered solo.
And there were still plenty of Hobgoblins charging forward.
Clang! Clang! Crack!
Superior-tier monsters strengthened by mana were truly different.
Even with three-digit Agility, I couldn’t parry every attack.
I could only deflect the most dangerous-looking strikes.
Thud! Thud!
For follow-up attacks that didn’t look threatening, I took them with my body.
Pure tanking.
This alone was enough to complete my mission.

[Stamina: 21 (-63)]

It mattered not if my health drained away in an instant.
Recovery required only the briefest span of time.

[Life Whisper]
[Agility +2 Vitality +2 Luck +5]
[Evade fatal wounds with high probability.]
[Natural wound healing speed increases dramatically.]
[Duration: ∞]

Life Whisper’s natural healing power.

[Green Fragrance Soup (Masterwork)]
[Strength +10 Agility +10 Vitality +10 Wisdom +10 Luck +10]
[Health recovery speed increases dramatically]
[Physical attack resistance (Moderate)]
[Mental attack and magic resistance (Moderate)]
[Duration: ∞]

Green Fragrance Soup’s physical resistance and dramatically accelerated health recovery effects.

[Eucalyptus Hot Spring (Superior)]
[Strength +2, Vitality +7, Luck +2]
[Fatigue recovers rapidly.]
[Muscle soreness does not occur.]
[Duration: ∞]
With the Eucalyptus Hot Spring’s fatigue recovery and muscle soreness immunity layered atop everything else, superhuman regeneration became possible.
[Vitality: 28 (-56)]
“Kyaaah!”
Clang!
[Vitality: 34 (-50)]
So long as I permitted no attacks to land uncontested, my health surged upward at a steep gradient.
Clang! Ting! Clang! Crack!
Even when struck suddenly and my vitality wavered, it meant nothing to me.
I trusted in Life Whisper’s fatal wound evasion.
“Kyaaaah!”
Crack! Crunch crunch!
Literally, flesh for bone.
I surrendered flesh to claim bone.
In turn, I succeeded in severing the Hobgoblin’s arm.
“Phew. My thanks.”
Eden, recovered from his incapacitated state, rejoined the fray.
“First Form. Blood Blade Chain.”
Crash!
Blood Blade Chain was a charge skill similar to Gale Rush.
Eden rapidly carved through the hobgoblins, deepening the chaos of battle.
“Third Form. Blood Evil Slash.”
And the Third Form that followed.
Unlike Shatter Wave which tore through the front, Blood Evil Slash was a technique that carved through everything around him.
An area-of-effect skill, in other words.
Crash!
This was high-level combat.
Each skill certainly displayed formidable firepower.
Hobgoblin body parts began flying freely under the indiscriminate barrage of blade strikes.
“Blood Evil Slash. Chain.”
Crash!
An additional area-of-effect skill swept through the surroundings—apparently a chained ability.
“Wow.”
[Health: 61 (-23)]
My health had already recovered to normal levels.
I couldn’t remain idle either, so I joined the battle.
Without interfering with Eden, I cut down the hobgoblins that had drawn aggro to him from outside his range.
“Mana Instant Slash.”
Slice.
With a clean cutting sound, the hobgoblin’s neck fell away.
Yet the aggro remained fixed on Eden.
Having delegated the tank role to Eden, it was time I took on the role of assassin.
Slice. Slice.
[Magnolia Tea (Superior)]
[Agility +1 Wisdom +4 Mana +1]
[Mana Efficiency Greatly Enhanced]
[Mana Recovery Slightly Increased]
[Duration: ∞]

Thanks to my enhanced mana efficiency, Mana Slash severed the Hobgoblin in a single strike.
Moreover, unleashing a skill with 82 Strength was essentially equivalent to deploying a tactical weapon.
“Mana Slash.”
Screech.
After expending all my mana, I drove the wooden sword forcefully into the Hobgoblin’s heart.
“Kiek?”
Thud!
Whenever aggro threatened to shift toward me, I’d disengage rapidly using Gale Rush, striking and withdrawing in succession.
As I prepared to charge back in, Eden raised his opposite hand.
“Kael. That’s far enough.”
“Huh?”
“The incantation is complete. If you’re too close, you’ll be caught in the skill.”
I silently retreated and followed Eden’s instructions.
“Blood Demon Technique. Activate.”
The moment Eden raised his sword, every Hobgoblin in the vicinity froze.
Gugugugugu…!
“Kik?”
“Kirik?”
The Hobgoblins were granted only consciousness.
Their movements were forcibly halted.
And Eden’s skill was far from over.
“Blood Demon Sword—Ultimate Technique.”
Crack! Crackle!
Every Hobgoblin in the vicinity began vomiting blood simultaneously.
“Kuhek! Kurluk!”
As if expelling every drop of blood flowing through their bodies, endlessly.
“Blood Demon Explosion.”
Kwaaaaaaaaaaa!
A deafening roar assaulted us with such force I had to cover my ears.
“Kuk!”
Kurrrrr…!
A colossal explosion massive enough to collapse part of the Monster Chamber.
The result was the annihilation of every Hobgoblin.
“…”
Firepower of this magnitude rivaled the techniques I’d wielded in my previous life.
I’d defeated Eden only by sheer fortune—thanks entirely to matchup advantage.
Unlike Eden, who required considerable preparation time, my strength lay in extreme burst damage.
“Cough!”
“Eden!”
Yet for all his power, Eden was visibly suffering from numerous side effects.
The final technique I’d just unleashed, Crimson Blood Explosion, came with not only a lengthy incantation but a host of risks as well.
Thanks to it, the Hobgoblin Chamber was subdued relatively easily.
“For now, let’s collect the mana stones first. *cough* I’ll handle my own recovery.”
Eden withdrew various potions from his subspace and drank them down before collapsing onto the floor.
I relit the extinguished torch and surveyed my surroundings.
“Ah.”
Glossy black objects lay scattered in every direction.
All of them were mana stones.

[Medium Mana Stone]
[Experience Gained (Medium)]
[Experience Gained (Medium): You gain experience.]

They weren’t even small mana stones.
The mana-infused hobgoblins carried medium mana stones.
“Eden, these are all medium mana stones?”
“…Ha ha.”
A dungeon capable of yielding medium mana stones.
That meant it was a genuine goldmine.
The kind that even Seo-gwang would reach out to interfere with.
Yet Eden’s gaze remained subtly guarded.
“How many do you need? I could transfer all of them to you.”
Now Seo-gwang had become a negotiation target as well.
And transferring medium mana stones was a decent bargaining chip.
Even if I only claimed the dungeon boss reward, I’d come out ahead.
“Well then, one for recovery, and two including the submission requirement should suffice.”
Just counting the mana stones scattered around Eden, there were dozens.
No matter how many I handed over, I’d still profit.
Especially when the other party was a powerful ally to me.
“Then I’ll give you twenty—add a zero to that number.”
“Thank you.”
Eden swallowed a mana stone whole.
His expression visibly eased—the effect was immediate.
This man definitely possessed a hidden class related to mana.
“Really, you should take the rest, Kael.”
“Understood then.”
With Eden’s blessing, I collected the remaining medium mana stones.
The remaining stones totaled thirty-six.
“How much is a medium mana stone worth?”
“Sales are limited to small stones. Medium and above don’t have an established market price. They’re typically used in negotiations between major guilds.”
“Hmm.”
“That said, if we’re being precise, each one is worth roughly 80 silver to 1 gold. Besides, most people use them directly rather than trade them. Typically, they’re all funneled to the Guild’s representative.”
The utility of mid-tier mana stones had become murky.
At this point, I wondered if it wouldn’t be better to simply consume them myself.
“Kael, you appear to specialize in one-on-one combat, but would you be willing to handle the boss?”
“Pardon?”
“My body is in no condition to fight. I’ll need considerable rest before I can face the boss.”
Eden’s display of power had its own reasoning behind it.
From the start, it had been a setup designed to create a one-on-one scenario between me and the dungeon boss.
“Will you be able to do it?”
Instead of answering, I swallowed the mid-tier mana stone.

[Your level rises!]
[Your level rises!]
[Your level rises!]
[Your level rises!]
[Your level rises!]

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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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