A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 47
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 47
Was this also part of the class advancement sequence?
The surrounding landscape began to shift.
But that wasn’t all.
Everything moved in reverse.
As if time itself were rewinding.
This appeared to be a cinematic showing events from the past.
How many years had I been taken back?
Eventually, the flow of time returned to normal.
Yet it felt as though I had been transported far further into the past than I initially realized.
-At last, I’ve found it. This is the record left behind by the ancient adventurer.
An unfamiliar man’s voice.
The surroundings were too dark to see clearly.
My perspective had shifted.
This time, it didn’t feel strange.
The flora around me was unmistakably from the Primal Dimension, that savage age of the previous game.
‘Boatophu trees. Larcan flowers. Goodness, to witness them here of all places.’
Games from the same company shared the same world.
Most players had theorized this connection due to systemic similarities, but actually observing the flora from the previous game was a remarkable discovery.
-Mmm!
A man began plucking and eating fruit from a Boatophu tree.
Judging by his skeletal structure, this must be the Eternal Adventurer, the protagonist of this era.
-Just as the records described. A powerful tartness, followed by an emerging sweetness. Mmm!
Did I receive a buff as well?
The Eternal Adventurer began to glow.
The Boa fruit’s effects were limited to enhanced threat detection and stamina recovery.
There was no effect that caused the body to emit light.
The perspective shifted once more.
The Eternal Adventurer started examining his own body from every angle.
The place that had been shrouded in darkness, where nothing was visible before, was now illuminated by the light he emitted.
This was somewhere presumed to be an ancient ruin.
—How strange. Is there only one? But it was real after all. The legendary Adventurer truly existed! Through records, he could traverse past and present!
Along with the shocking revelation, my vision flickered.
The sudden deluge of information left me speechless.
“Kael?”
Only then did I realize that Eden was gazing at me with a worried expression.
“You disappeared just moments ago, Kael. I was concerned you might have fallen into a hidden trap, but you seem unharmed.”
“…Is that so? Phew.”
I ran my hands over my entire body, but found nothing amiss.
The situation was actually the opposite.
My status was rising instead.
Everything hinged on my decision.
[You have glimpsed a fragment of the ‘Eternal Adventurer’.]
[This occupation allows for staged ability unlocks.]
[Will you change your class?]
“Eden, I have found the occupation I was seeking.”
“Pardon?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The moment I accepted the class change, a status window displaying the change cascaded across my vision.
[You have acquired a class.]
[You are changing your class to ‘Eternal Adventurer’.]
[You can now convert general stats into special stats.]
[Special stat redistribution is now available.]
[General stat redistribution is now available.]
[The ‘Eternity’ stat has been confirmed.]
[Converting general stats to ‘Eternity’ requires consuming 5 points from all general stats.]
[Name: Kael]
[Class: Eternal Adventurer (Hidden)]
[Level: 59]
[Unallocated Points: 0]
[Strength: 53 Agility: 80 Vitality: 50 Wisdom: 47 Luck: 54]
[Eternity: 5 Mana: 2]
The stat redistribution feature I’d been hoping for had finally unlocked.
This meant I could convert Mana into Eternity.
In other words, acquiring Mana was equivalent to acquiring Eternity.
But that wasn’t the only encouraging development.
I could now consume 5 All-Stats to gain Eternity.
For example, consuming just 20 All-Stats would net me 4 Eternity.
Moreover, any buff granting 5 or more All-Stats would always be beneficial.
A paradigm shift in my growth path had arrived.
“K-Kael?”
“Just a moment.”
I decided to test it first.
‘Convert normal stats to Eternity.’
[Consuming 5 of all normal stats to secure Eternity stat.]
[Strength: 48 Agility: 75 Vitality: 45 Wisdom: 42 Luck: 49]
[Eternity: 6 Mana: 2]
Eternity had increased.
And there was one buff I needed to convert into a permanent enhancement.
[Active Buffs]
[Mana Resistance (Advanced): You cannot be eroded by Mana.]
[Duration: ∞]
From this moment forward, I will never be eroded by demonic energy.
Forever.
This buff alone was worth sacrificing 5 all-stats to maintain permanently.
Since I belonged to no faction, demonic resistance was a precious buff to utilize in solo play.
“Hmm?”
Did he sense the change?
Eden’s gaze grew even more intense.
“…Your demonic resistance isn’t dispersing?”
“Ahem. It appears to be a class trait. Would you keep it secret?”
“That’s not difficult at all. You’ve acquired quite the remarkable ability. Should I call it a class?”
“Yes. It was a hidden class I’ve been pursuing all this time.”
“I see. I couldn’t sense any interaction with it myself. My congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
The class advancement was a reward more precious than any other compensation.
The Eternal Adventurer was a class so elusive that finding even a trace of it was difficult.
And this class didn’t end here.
It was a class where one wrote its own unique narrative.
[This class allows for stage-by-stage ability unlocking.]
Stage-by-stage ability unlocking.
I had a suspicion about this.
It was because I had glimpsed the past of someone who had been trapped in this Prison—someone presumably the Eternal Adventurer.
‘He obtained a special buff. Through the ability to adventure through the past.’
He traveled to specific locations through records.
Moreover, the place he reached was where the ecosystem of the previous Primal Dimension was maintained.
That place was somewhere I could utilize better than anyone else.
‘I still remember most of the buffs from the Primal Dimension. With just the fruits I can combine right now, there are countless ways to draw out all-stats in the short term.’
Most short-term buffs from the Primal Dimension come with side effects.
Because it is wild, even the wild fruits possess ways to protect themselves.
And most of those side effects apply when the buff ends.
In other words, a permanently sustained buff has no side effects.
“Let’s explore the surroundings a bit more. There might be something else we can find.”
“Yes.”
* * *
I spent about an hour searching for further traces of the Dark Mage Group.
Unfortunately, nothing additional was discovered.
Still, it was enough.
The value this Dungeon held remained worthwhile.
Moreover, having advanced to the Eternal Adventurer—the core reward itself—made this exploration nothing short of satisfying.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Your efforts were considerable, Kael. Thanks to you, I gained invaluable experience.”
“By the way, what are the Dungeons that high-level players frequent these days?”
“In terms of difficulty, they’re incomparably harder than this place. You could say you’d be facing countless unreasonable obstacles.”
“I suppose so.”
With so much room for growth, the path ahead still loomed steep and treacherous.
I resolved to fortify my foundation more thoroughly rather than rush into high-level Dungeons.
“What of the situation outside?”
“I cannot say with certainty, but for now, it appears manageable. At minimum, anyone capable of decisively defeating you would need to be discussed among the Major Guilds.”
It was an objective assessment.
Any individual Eden spoke of in such terms would be an overwhelmingly formidable opponent—one I’d have no means to counter.
Before they arrive, escaping this Village becomes the priority.
“Very well. Let us return to Liam swiftly.”
“Yes.”
* * *
It was exactly as Eden had predicted.
About thirty minutes had passed since we left the Goblin Cave.
There were people blocking our path.
“Stop right there!”
The ones blocking us were six Chinese Users.
Based on their equipment level, they didn’t seem much different from the previous party members.
“There are no NPCs. They appear to be users around level 40.”
The fact that they were all composed of users meant that resolving the matter through PvP was permissible.
“Yes.”
Darkness didn’t shroud the outside, so Superior Darkness Affinity wouldn’t activate, but the situation had changed considerably from before.
I had leveled up by consuming mana stones.
“What if we can’t stop?”
“Then we’ll have no choice but to use force. Your condition doesn’t look good either, but would you really drink poison willingly?”
“How absurd. Calling this poison too.”
In disputes between users, justification was paramount.
In particular, self-defense was one of the most effective conflict resolution methods in the medieval era.
“Attack!”
“Yes, boss!”
Thud! Clang! Clang!
I allowed them the first strike.
Yet not a single attack landed on me.
[Contempt for the Weak]
[Immunity to physical attacks from those with Strength stat below 10]
[Immunity to magical attacks from those with Wisdom stat below 10]
[Increased level penalty when level difference exceeds 10]
[Immunity to physical and magical attacks from targets with stat difference of 50 or more]
The level penalty and contempt for the weak applied in tandem.
If Eden was in the 40s level range, then he was in the 40s level range.
His eye for detail was quite sharp, after all.
“O-our attacks aren’t working!”
“Right?”
Now that I had obtained the justification of self-defense, there was no longer any means to obstruct me.
Only unrestricted farming remained.
Crash!
“This is how you swing a sword, gentlemen.”
Boom! Bang!
The sounds weren’t what you’d expect from a real blade, but I was swinging the wooden sword nonetheless, so it counted as a sword strike.
These opponents didn’t even require me to use Instant Slash.
“Damn! Damn! Please just die!”
“You should have assessed your opponent’s full capabilities before rushing in. You weren’t beginners, after all.”
“Ugh!”
Crash!
Crack!
The sound of ribs breaking entirely.
In player-versus-player combat, such variables had a massive impact on the battle’s trajectory.
Especially when the apparent leader was being overwhelmed so thoroughly.
“Haa, haaaaah!”
“Damn it! Stab his eyes or heart!”
Thunk! Thunk!
Enjoying both the contempt for the weak and the level penalty simultaneously felt far better than I’d anticipated.
“You know what? I’ve been going easy on you until now.”
“…What?”
My actions were already being recorded for them.
Therefore, I needed to leave a significant impact.
‘General Status Redistribution.’
[Strength: 48 Agility: 75 Vitality: 45 Wisdom: 42 Luck: 49]
If I redistributed my existing stats to match real combat conditions, what kind of impact could I create?
[Strength: 111 Agility: 135 Vitality: 5 Wisdom: 1 Luck: 7]
I poured all my stats into Strength and Agility.
Since I still had uses of Seven Impact remaining, I left only Luck at 7.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
With three-digit Strength, the very ground trembled beneath my feet with each step.
“A true full-power strike. One shot.”
Boom—a deafening explosion tore through the air!
Everything around me was swept away.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————