A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 45

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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 45

[Your level increases!]
[Your level increases!]
[Your level increases!]
[Your level increases!]
[Your level increases!]
…

My level climbed endlessly, without pause.
Each time a message concluded, I repeated the process of consuming the next magic stone.
Crunch.
The taste was hardly pleasant.
Without bitterness, it was at least superior to herbal medicine.

[Your level increases!]
[Your level increases!]

After a considerable time, the level-up messages ceased.
I had finally consumed all the medium-grade magic stones.
“Phew.”
With trembling anticipation, I carefully opened my status window.

[Level: 59]
[Unallocated Points: 36]
[Strength: 41 Agility: 59 Vitality: 42 Wisdom: 44 Luck: 41]
[Eternity: 5 Mana: 2]

My final level had reached 59.
Along with it, I had secured 36 unallocated points.
“…This should be possible.”
“Yes.”
Confidence surged before the boss battle.
Thanks to my Darkness Affinity, my stats could yield double the effect.
Even now, with agility in the eighties, I could match Eden’s movements.
Therefore, my choice was agility.

[Unused Points: 15]
[Agility: 80]

I’d invested a full 21 points into agility to reach 80.
My reasoning was simple: even if my damage output fell short, I wouldn’t die as long as I could evade attacks.
Through Affinity with Darkness, I could push this agility all the way to 160.
“At least I won’t die immediately.”
Next came vitality.
Even if I allowed the boss to land a hit, having enough health to endure it would dramatically increase my survival rate.

[Unused Points: 7]
[Vitality: 50]

I’d invested 8 points into vitality.
In a dark Dungeon, that was practically equivalent to 100.
This was enough to serve as a main tank.
And I had 7 points remaining.
I decided to hold onto them.
If the battle went smoothly, I’d invest in strength to boost combat efficiency; if things turned dire, I’d pour them into vitality or agility instead.
“Eden. Debuffs can’t be cured immediately, right?”
“That’s correct. They require a separate recovery process. There’s no way to cure them inside this Dungeon right now.”
“…I see.”
“You’re welcome to follow, but you’ll only be a burden. Boss fights can fall apart from a single mistake. That’s why I recommend you enter alone, Kael.”
I couldn’t fault Eden’s reasoning.
I’d only leveled up; within this game, I was still a novice.
“Understood. I’ll give it a try.”
“Yes. Since you’ve consumed all the mid-grade Magic Stones, you should be fine. Still, this is a newly discovered Dungeon, so be careful.”
“Of course.”
The entrance to the Boss Room had been sealed by Hobgoblins until now.
Now I could simply walk in.
“Goblins these days have quite the aesthetic sense.”
I pushed open the elaborately crafted gate.
It was surprisingly heavy, as if there were some kind of force restriction on entry.
Creak, creak, creak!
As I stepped into the Boss Room, the air grew noticeably heavier.
Likely due to the increased concentration of mana.
“Oh.”
I’d imagined a throne-like Boss Room, but this was entirely different.
Vast spectator seating.
Separate from that, an optimal space free from combat interference.
This was the Colosseum.
Boom. Boom.
Massive footsteps echoed from the opposite side of the Colosseum.
It had to be the Boss of this Dungeon.
Was this a boss battle without any special mechanics—purely a clash of raw power against power?
Kuguguguguguuu!
The air grew heavy once more.
It seemed additional mana was surging forth.
This was the mechanic.
All the surrounding mana cheered for the opposing side.
Clearly, the odds were stacked against me.
If my mana resistance hadn’t been advanced, I might have had to fight while corrupted by mana itself.
This was the handicap the challenger had to bear.
“Welcome.”
The boss revealed itself.
It bore a resemblance to the Hobgoblin I’d encountered earlier, but had undergone further evolution—a massive, towering form.
It didn’t look like the kind of body that ordinary swordplay could wound.
For now, I decided to call it the Hobgoblin Lord.
“This won’t be easy.”
I could sense it instinctively.
With my current strength, I couldn’t even scratch the Hobgoblin Lord.

[Level: 59]
[Unused Points: 0]
[Strength: 48 Agility: 80 Vitality: 50 Wisdom: 44 Luck: 41]
[Eternity: 5 Mana: 2]

I poured all my remaining points into Strength.
Then I quickly surrendered myself to the pitch-black mana.
“Shadow Assimilation. Advanced Darkness Affinity.”

[Strength: 96 Agility: 160 Vitality: 100 Wisdom: 88 Luck: 82]

My stats had doubled.
My health had reached three digits, and my agility had climbed to 160.
Simultaneously, a new sensation I’d never experienced before began to settle into my body.
With each step the boss monster took, I could feel through my skin exactly which points would be most effective to strike.
Boom! Thud!
I unleashed Gale Rush through the gaps between the Hobgoblin Lord’s strides.
In the same instant, I instinctively swung my wooden sword.
Crash!
“Screech!”
The result was a resounding success.
The Hobgoblin Lord’s leg bent in an unnatural direction.
With my doubled stats and Seven Impact applied on top, it was an inevitable outcome.
“Roar!”
A tingling sensation shot across my left face.
A similar feeling to before.
Just as instinctively, I lowered my head quickly and surrendered my body to instinct.
Whoosh!
Something the creature had swung cleaved through the empty air.
Crash!
Small stone fragments scattered across my entire body.
The Hobgoblin Lord’s weapon was a brutally designed iron mace.
Because it had scraped the ground so sharply, even the shockwave from the attack was enough to chip away at my health.
The boss monster’s momentum was formidable.
But that was all it was.
Momentum alone cannot kill an opponent.
For my part, I continued unleashing rapid strikes against the boss whose posture had crumbled, steadily accumulating real damage.
‘Now.’
Crack!
As I drove my thrust into the vulnerable points I sensed intermittently, the Hobgoblin Lord’s joints bent in the wrong direction.
“Roaaarrr!”
Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Our opening exchange ended there.
I had no choice but to quickly withdraw as its counterattack grew fiercer.
“Normally, the advantage should be shifting to my side from this point on.”
Yet the battle continued to unfold in a deadlocked stalemate.
The magical energy saturating the Colosseum was rapidly mending the boss monster’s wounds.
“Growl….”
The Hobgoblin Lord glared at me as though it would kill me at any moment.
It simply couldn’t move because the injuries to its legs weren’t being healed.
In the meantime, the cooldown for Gale Rush had expired.
Thud!
I planted my feet firmly and charged straight at the Hobgoblin Lord.
But since I’d already attempted this ambush once, it raised its arm into a defensive stance.
So this time, I targeted the wrist.
Crack!
The wrist shattered far more easily than the leg.
After all, this was a full-power swing delivered with maximum acceleration.
With my stats exploding to transcendent levels, withstanding this attack barehanded was nearly impossible—even for a boss monster.
Ugh!
An immediate counterattack came flying at me once more.
Normally, a mace swing of this caliber would be an attack I’d have to overcome by any means necessary.
Whoosh!
But I dodged it.
An agility stat of 160 represented a transcendent threshold that allowed me to evade danger with perfect rationality.
Now it was my turn again.
Boom!
I delivered an equally powerful strike to the Hobgoblin Lord’s opposite wrist—the one that hadn’t wielded the weapon.
Screech!
This time it didn’t break, likely because it had channeled so much demonic energy while swinging the weapon.
The Hobgoblin Lord’s eyes began burning even redder with rage.
So what? What exactly do you think you can do?
Bang! Crack! Crash!
I narrowly dodged the incoming mace strikes, weaving counterattacks between each gap, striking and swinging in rhythm.
I wanted nothing more than to destroy its brain and end it instantly, but its defense was ironclad, so I adopted a strategy of chipping away gradually.
Raaaaagh!
With its health already being whittled down by the relentless assault, I had no intention of allowing it any additional openings.
All it could do was unleash those characteristic goblin shrieks.
This was precisely why I’d invested so heavily in agility.
Hyah!
For some reason, an ominous premonition made me create distance again.
At that very moment, the area around the Hobgoblin Lord began to shatter.
Crash crash crash crash crash!
I should have seen this coming.
As expected of a boss monster—it had hidden a trump card up its sleeve.
This Colosseum truly wasn’t a place where pure strength alone determined victory.
Just as I could manipulate mana, the Hobgoblin Lord could wield demonic energy.
So this is phase two, then?
I’d heard plenty about boss monster strategies from Sung-chul.
Moreover, I’d gained raid knowledge through experiencing buffs from Bella.
Boss raids never unfolded as simply as ordinary hunts.
Each phase existed just as it did now, and I had to perform the corresponding mechanics for each one.
“Kraaaaaaaa!”
The magical energy from the spectator stands began pouring toward the Hobgoblin Lord.
Phase 2 apparently concealed a mechanic similar to berserk, one that made the boss even more formidable.
“Good thing I conserved my mana.”
My most powerful attack was Mana Annihilation.
Yet my mana stat was only 2, so I had to save it for the decisive moment.
At least there hadn’t been such an opportunity during Phase 1.
“Kruck! Kruck!”
With the Hobgoblin Lord now emboldened by absorbing even more magical energy, an opportune moment might finally arrive.
“Alright. Let’s see what you’ve got now.”
“Kraha!”
The Hobgoblin Lord extended a finger with a contemptuous expression.
Though his wrist was twisted at a grotesque angle, his finger pointed with precision directly at my leg.
Boom!
“…!”
The Colosseum floor beneath my right foot exploded.
Sensing something amiss, I jumped as high as I could—it was a close call.
“Insane. He’s mirroring my attacks back at me?”
The Hobgoblin Lord had already closed the distance.
As if he were recreating my previous attack patterns exactly.
“Kyaraha!”
Whoosh!
Worse still, this creature wielded not a wooden sword but a terrifying iron mace.
Even a glancing blow would tear flesh from bone.
Crash crash crash crash!
When I evaded the attack again, he deliberately scraped the ground, sending debris flying.
A single fragment lodging in my eye would spell disaster.
I hastily unfurled my cloak to shield my face.
Crack! Crack crack!
Fortunately, the cloak did its job.
I quickly pulled the cloak away from my vision, and the Hobgoblin Lord charging toward me came into focus.
For some reason, his forehead began to stand out to me.
Without hesitation, I activated Gale Rush.

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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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