A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 66

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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 66

I carefully placed a moderately roasted wolf tenderloin into my mouth.
It simply tasted terrible.
The texture was as tough as chewing rubber, with a distinctly unpleasant wild flavor.
I could even faintly detect a metallic, bloody taste—hardly something I could praise.
Yet the buff still applied.
A meal was a meal, after all.

[Active Buffs]
[Barren Wasteland Wolf Roast (Common)]
[Bestial Form (Barren Wasteland Wolf) ability granted.]
[Bestial Form (Barren Wasteland Wolf): Stamina, bite force, and ferocity greatly enhanced. Strength and Agility increase by 10.]
[Record of the Wilderness Adventurer.]

“…!”
It was definitely a buff.
Yet this was a different type of buff from any I’d received before.
The most significant difference was the absence of a duration.
In place of duration, a separate notation appeared: “Record of the Wilderness Adventurer.”

[Name: Kael]
[Class: Eternal Adventurer (Hidden)]
[Level: 62]
[Unused Points: 0]
[Strength: 155 Agility: 165 Stamina: 165 Wisdom: 102 Luck: 100]
[Eternal: 37 Mana: 6]

My status reflected the changes properly.
This meant I’d truly found a genuine treasure trove.
Since the wolf meat bearing the Wilderness Adventurer’s mark demonstrated elixir-tier performance, I actively recommended it to Tuuram as well.
“Tuuram. You absolutely must eat this.”
“Ugh.”
Fortunately, Tuuram merely grimaced before putting the wolf meat in his mouth.
“It’s surprisingly palatable.”
I’d carefully selected the less offensive cuts, so his reaction wasn’t particularly negative.
And then, a transformation occurred in Tuuram as well.
“Hm?”
Crack-crack-crack.
The same beastification that had happened to the Wilderness Adventurer was now happening to Tuuram.
“Growl?”
“That’s right. You’ve grown stronger.”
I couldn’t see Tuuram’s status window, but beastification meant his Stamina and Agility had each increased by 10.
This was the moment I grasped my summoned creature’s growth method.
‘Beastification.’
I cast beastification on myself as well.
The method was to consume the wolf meat and naturally awaken to the skill.

-You know how to return, don’t you? Turan.
-Probably.

I could communicate with Tuuram to some degree.
Only growls and snarls emerged, yet somehow I understood them.

-Next is that eagle’s turn.

The sun was beginning to rise slowly.
The distinctive gamey stench of the wolf had grown so potent that more eagles were gathering.
So I decided the next target would be the eagles.

-Good. I’ll catch them.

Whoosh!
Turan leaped high and caught the eagle circling low in a single motion.
It was an extraordinary jump that far exceeded normal limits.
Crunch!
At the same time, Tuuram bit down on the eagle.
A faint spray of blood and eagle feathers scattered like light rain.

-Ooooooh!

Tuuram spread his arms wide, exhilarated.
Soon after, his arms transformed into massive wings.
Another beastification reaction had occurred.

-Insane. This actually works?

Naturally, the transformation’s final form was an eagle.

-Screeeech! Screech!

Tuuram flapped his wings frantically before crashing into the ground.
Flying apparently required separate proficiency.
Regardless, the status bonuses included in beastification were guaranteed.
So I too leaped with all my strength and bit down on the fleeing eagle.
Snap!
Then I landed safely on the ground and prepared for the transformation to come.

* * *

The scenery shifted as expected.
Once again, it was the Wilderness Adventurer—his face still unseen—roasting an eagle.
What clue was I supposed to find here?
“Wolf, scorpion, eagle. That’s the last one.”
The clue had emerged.
The scene of the Wilderness Adventurer roasting the wolf had appeared before, and the eagle I’d just caught matched his record as well.
The remaining creature was the scorpion.
Though the order had been shuffled, this too was fortunate in its own way.
I’d essentially seen the answer key first.
“Did you come from the forest? Or the plains? Surely not the sea.”

—Hm?

I thought he was speaking to me and tried to respond, but my mouth wouldn’t open.
The Eternal Adventurer was muttering to himself.
“Wherever you hail from, I am surely the adventurer who has accomplished the most precious of quests. Yet why do you not answer?”

—Me?

“…Ah. Another phantom. The toxin is formidable indeed.”
It seemed the Wilderness Adventurer had consumed a scorpion and fallen into a poisoned state.
Yet his adventure appeared to continue regardless.
“Such a trifle will not end my quest. Perhaps I shall venture to the Canyon next.”
Crack. Crackle-crack.
The man began to transform.
This time, not into an eagle, but into a honey badger.
Since honey badgers are renowned for eating whatever they find, I suspected this transformation was for detoxification.
“Krruk. Kyaruk.”

* * *

The scene shifted.
My scalp tingled sharply—it was Turan again, it seemed.
—Kael!

“Turan. Stop.”

—You’re awake! Why do you keep collapsing like that!

By now, Turan had already transformed into his eagle-man form.
This time, the beastification succeeded properly.
Meanwhile, seeing that I’d returned to human hands, my own beastification appeared to have been undone.
It seems beastification is released when consciousness is lost.
Thanks to that, I’ve even confirmed the method to deactivate beastification.
“The record seems to be finishing faster than expected.”
The Eternal Adventurer had mentioned that the eagle was the last creature.
Therefore, the creatures indicated by the Eternal Adventurer’s record are indeed the wolf, scorpion, and eagle.
It’s estimated that consuming all three types of creatures will return us to the original Barren Wasteland.
Therefore, I devised a strategy to buy time by not consuming the scorpion.
‘Beastification.’
Crack. Crack.
I transformed back into wolf form.
Crunch.
I bit into the eagle raw.
Eating raw meat in beastified form was certainly better than I’d expected.
Actually superior to when I’d eaten the roasted wolf.

[Active Buffs]
[Barren Wasteland Eagle (Common)]
[Beastification (Barren Wasteland Eagle) ability is granted.]
[Beastification (Barren Wasteland Eagle): Eyesight and foot strength are enhanced. Agility increases by 5.]
[This is the Wilderness Adventurer’s record.]

Once again, the Wilderness Adventurer’s record buff was applied.

[Strength: 155 Agility: 170 Stamina: 165 Wisdom: 102 Luck: 100]
[Eternity: 37 Mana: 6]

My status had risen once more.
Even the brief experiences here show efficiency comparable to leveling up, making it difficult to contain my excitement.

-Turan. We’re leaving this place. Transform into a wolf.
-Huh? The wings look cool!
-Then figure it out and follow me.

Splash!
Fortunately, the beastification didn’t complete perfectly.
It might have been because I’d consumed some of the meat, but I was actually satisfied with this half-baked transformation—my clothes remained intact instead of tearing to shreds.
Besides, I’d stashed the remaining meat in my subspace, so I could conduct further experiments whenever I wanted.
I was already thinking about testing it on someone else and selling it if the beastification effect proved viable.
It wouldn’t fetch as much as a Dungeon monopoly, but it should still command a hefty price.

-But where are we heading?
-Out of the Barren Wasteland.

This place had proven to be a goldmine.
And reviewing the Eternal Adventurer’s complete records, I suspected a similar graduation-like mechanic might emerge from this region.

-It feels wasteful to just leave without exploring further.

Leaving the Barren Wasteland to procure materials other than scorpions seemed more profitable.
Besides, while I understood that the Eternal Adventurer’s records provided temporary buffs, I possessed buffs that lasted eternally, so graduating now would be a loss anyway.
And this place appeared to be a separate dimension.

-Kael! The Barren Wasteland has no end!
-Tsk.

Thanks to the beastification, I didn’t tire even after running for ages.
But the Barren Wasteland was impossibly vast.
Moreover, the only creatures I encountered were scorpions.
And their frequency was increasing dramatically.
Skitter. Skitter-skitter-skitter.
That wasn’t the only problem.
The scorpions that initially seemed indifferent now showed blatant hostility toward me.
They attacked relentlessly as if warning me not to leave this place, and some even began launching ranged attacks with their venomous stingers.

-Is this some kind of Dungeon concept? It’s getting ridiculous.

But it wasn’t just the scorpion that was changing.
I too was growing increasingly accustomed to my beastification.
The encouraging part was that I’d learned to beastify only specific body parts.
Crash!
I could release the beastification of my right arm and wield Sumoq.
Crack!
I could transform only my right leg into an eagle’s claw and pulverize the scorpion’s exoskeleton.
And before long, Turan began learning this pattern and mimicking it skillfully.
The attack power was far from ordinary.
It would surely qualify as at least a unique-grade weapon.
Moreover, since I’d obtained this weapon for free and my body parts could transform freely, my opponent faced far more complex attack patterns.
“Yes! It works!”
Crunch!
Turan succeeded in maintaining a human head.
I wasn’t sure if it was a face worth having confidence about, but since he looked reasonably masculine, I let it slide.
Rather, Turan’s increased combat power was encouraging.
Crack!
We finally endured the scorpion wave.
The subspace was filled with scorpion corpses, which I suspected could be sold at a premium to poison extraction specialists or merchants.
The venom was potent enough to poison even the Wilderness Adventurer, who looked formidable at first glance.
“Should I even call this a dungeon?”
I decided to reconsider from the beginning.
First, sticking to the facts.
One of them was an Achievement.

[You have accessed the Wilderness Adventurer’s records!]
[You have accidentally entered the Overcharged Dimensional Portal!]
[You have witnessed the Five Moons!]

The Five Moons. And the Overcharged Dimensional Portal.
These were the essence of this dimension.
“Let’s rest here for a moment.”
“Huff. Huff. Understood. These things are disgusting.”
As long as I remained still, the scorpions wouldn’t swarm.
So, while recovering my depleted stamina, I decided to request help through a whisper.
Of course, the recipient of my whisper was Sung-chul (Elder).
‘Besides, I haven’t heard from the Unnamed Guest either.’

[Kael: Elder, are you busy?]
[This is a region where whispers cannot be sent.]

I had worried about it, but it seemed this place was not a region where whispers could reach.

[Friend List]
[Offline: Eun-nyang E]
[Offline: Bella]
[Offline: Nyx]
[Offline: Eden]
[Offline: Unnamed Guest]
[Offline: Chung-geom]

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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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