A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 67

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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 67

Everyone on my friend list showed as offline.
Of course, this information couldn’t possibly be true.
Though it was night here, in reality the sun hadn’t even set yet.
“Something’s wrong.”
This was almost certainly a hidden zone.
A space where only certain professions—adventurers like myself—could experience unique mechanics, meaning no data had accumulated here whatsoever.
Therefore, this phenomenon was presumed to be a game bug.
“…Sigh.”
But using the GM call function felt awkward too.
When submitting bug reports, the GM side could access my character information.
Besides, even if the core administrators of this game had granted me benefits, it was only natural that not everyone at Mason would know about me.
News of a privileged user would spread rapidly.
“Ah. Wait.”
Something suddenly came to mind.

-If your device coordinates exceed 100 meters, an alarm will sound, so you’ll need to contact customer service when moving, but if you reach out to me directly, I can help you immediately, so please be sure to contact me, okay?

It was something a Mason customer management team employee had said.
However, what she mentioned was only guidance regarding device relocation.
I felt strong resistance to contacting her immediately.
“No. Let me endure it for now.”
I determined this Barren Wasteland to be a buggy zone.
The way scorpions poured out like a flood whenever I tried to leave was particularly telling.
If I left, a bug would occur, and if I stayed, I’d continue being exposed to the bug.
“In that case, I should just graduate immediately.”
“What are you even talking about, Kael?”
“It’s a thing.”
Besides, I had Turan, my summon who was exposed to the bug alongside me.
This Ancient One was a being who would remain with me.
Moreover, since we shared the adventurer’s records, I couldn’t predict what disadvantages might befall us.
Therefore, I decided to escape this place.
“This won’t do. Let’s eat, Turan.”
I pulled a scorpion corpse from my subspace.
“You want to eat that? Kael. Have you lost your mind? Smash your head against that rock over there.”
Turan seemed to possess common sense too.
He’d apparently learned that scorpions carried venom.
But I had no intention of reconsidering my decision.
“I’m not insane. Besides, Turan, you can transform into a wolf and an eagle anyway. If you consume this, you’ll gain a hardened carapace and powerful venom to spray—how could you possibly refuse?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Turan seemed pleased with the wolf arms and still hadn’t released the partial transformation.
Adding scorpion attributes on top of this would only be beneficial, certainly not detrimental.
Crack!
I split the scorpion in half.
Naturally, I wouldn’t feed the tail section to Turan.
The venom was too potent and could prove dangerous.
Simply adding the scorpion’s carapace attribute alone would guarantee Turan exceptional defensive capabilities.
“Keep watch while I start the fire.”
“Understood.”
Since escaping this place was the priority, I quickly ignited the flames.
Then I skewered the broken scorpion on a suitable stick and began roasting it.
Of course, I intended to roast the tail section as well.
That alone would eliminate most of the venom.
Even if this special scorpion retained some toxicity, it didn’t matter.
I had countless recovery buffs active.
Sizzle! Crackle!
The scorpion began to roast.
Surprisingly, scorpions were actually consumed as ingredients in the real world too.
Though it was admittedly niche, I knew their meat was reasonably savory.
Having already eaten wolf, there was no reason to refuse scorpion.
“Here. Eat.”
“Mmm! Excellent pincers. I want claws like these!”
While Turan eagerly chewed on the scorpion’s pincers, I carefully rotated the tail over the flames.
I had no desire to taste charred flavor while consuming the venom sac.
“Phew! Phew!”
After cooling it sufficiently with breath, I cautiously bit into the tail.
The yield was naturally meager.
The bitter taste overwhelmed the savory notes.
My appreciation ended there.

* * *

The perspective shifted back to the Wilderness Adventurer.
Since I’d witnessed him consume the wolf and eagle, this was the middle sequence.
“Whistle! This one should taste delicious!”
The atmosphere differed from the previous record.
This time it was broad daylight, with the sun beating down mercilessly.
Since the Wilderness Adventurer would inevitably devour the scorpion, I decided to focus on the scattered scorpion corpses around us.
I was personally curious about what ability he’d used to dispatch the scorpion.
‘Hmm?’
I examined the scorpion corpse meticulously, but no conspicuous wounds were visible.
There were no traces of cutting, piercing, or crushing whatsoever.
If he’d transformed into an animal, I would have expected him to have torn it apart with his teeth, but that wasn’t the case.
‘Then how exactly did he catch it?’
I decided to compare the scorpion he’d caught with the one before my eyes.
The sizes were roughly similar, and so were the colors.
No matter how carefully I searched, no wounds appeared.
‘Was transformation not his only ability?’
If it wasn’t a physical attack, the next possibility would be magical assault.
But the Wilderness Adventurer surely wasn’t a mage.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have struggled so much to ignite that flame.
It was a perplexing problem.
“Ow, hot!”
The scorpion tasting had begun.
It seemed difficult to discern the truth from this scene alone.
Crunch. Crackle. Snap.
The sound of the scorpion breaking continued to repeat.
The Wilderness Adventurer was chewing through the scorpion from head to tail without leaving anything behind.
Moreover, unlike the previous record where he’d eaten only once and finished, this time the record wasn’t ending.
‘What is this? Is it really a bug? You’re not sending me back?’
Whether I should call this fortunate or not, in any case, I’d secured a bit more time to observe the Wilderness Adventurer.
“Good stuff.”
After consuming roughly five more scorpions, the Wilderness Adventurer finally began to murmur to himself.
This was the moment I’d been waiting for.
“It’s bitter and the taste is far too bland.”
If I only wanted to gain the ability, I should stop eating here.
Yet the Wilderness Adventurer continued to radiate reluctance.
“Hmm.”
The Wilderness Adventurer picked up a scorpion corpse and began to gaze intently at its tail.
The venom sac attached to the scorpion’s tail was swollen taut.
“Then.”
Pop.
I had anticipated this development.
Yet witnessing the scene unfold before my eyes was an entirely different matter.
The Wilderness Adventurer finally squeezed the venom from the scorpion and tossed it into his mouth.
“Ahhh. This is it.”
Crunch. Snap.
As the Wilderness Adventurer enthusiastically consumed the poison, the world began to flicker.

* * *

What manner of eccentricity was this?
Fundamental questions began to surface.
What did the Wilderness Adventurer truly seek to pursue?
Was this also part of adventure?
If so, where did the Wilderness Adventurer’s strength originate?
I could only feel bewildered.
“Smack smack.”
My scalp did not ache.
Nor did my cheeks hurt.
I simply heard the sound of someone eating something.
“….”
Turning my gaze, I witnessed Tuuram frantically devouring the scorpion.
The situation was unfolding in a peculiar manner.
For now, I decided to check the buffs or debuffs applied to me.

[Active Buffs]
[Barren Wasteland Scorpion Roast (Unique)]
[You gain the ability Insectification (Barren Wasteland Scorpion).]
[Insectification (Barren Wasteland Scorpion): Replaces your skin with hardened exoskeleton. Generates scorpion stingers. Stingers can be generated at desired locations.]
[Record of the Wilderness Adventurer.]

These were the buffs currently applied to me.
Moreover, unlike the previous buffs, this one was of Unique grade.
But that was not the only problem.
The Wilderness Adventurer’s Record had not applied in the Mental World, yet my appetite continued to surge upward.
I desperately mustered my patience to examine the debuff window.
The debuff window contained several threatening entries.

[Active Debuffs]
[Barren Wasteland Scorpion Venom (Unique)]
[Health –10]
[Health continuously decreases.]
[Appetite sharply increases.]
[This debuff strengthens every 10 minutes.]
[Duration: 8 minutes (Detoxifying)]

“Damn.”
A poison that kept evolving.
No matter how rare its Unique grade, this debuff was far more serious than I’d anticipated.
I’d be fine since I was detoxifying, but the real problem was Turan.
With his appetite surging, he’d consumed far more poison than I had.
I decided to calm Turan down first.
“Turan. How about you stop eating?”
“No. Scorpion. Keep going in. I think I could eat ten more.”
“I see.”
Negotiation through dialogue had ended.
Then, plan B.
‘Instant strike.’
Thud!
“Gack!”
With a swift and decisive ambush, I knocked Turan unconscious.
Now for damage control.
The first thing that came to mind was the flower tea I’d left over from the Light and Salt Inn.
I’d already obtained the flower tea buff, and since I was pressed for space, I’d only stored it in my subspace.
Among them were quite a few with detoxifying effects, so they should prove useful.
I wasn’t sure if Turan had an Eternity status, but I hoped the detoxifying effect would last permanently.
“Gulp.”
I succeeded in getting him to drink the flower tea.
Now I could only monitor his condition.
And the anomalies didn’t end there.
The distant Barren Wasteland, where the sun had begun to rise, was being consumed by darkness once more.
I had a suspicion about what was happening.
“Of all times, a graduation ceremony.”
The Wilderness Adventurer’s records consisted only of wolves, scorpions, and eagles.
Since I’d collected everything there was to gather, it seemed I was being sent back to the original world.
“This isn’t easy.”
It was difficult to unsummon Turan in this situation.
This Barren Wasteland was apparently a buggy zone that treated my entire friends list as offline.
It meant there was a probability that if I carelessly summoned Turan back prematurely, I might never be able to resummon him again.
“He needs to return first. Once his status in the friend list is restored to normal, then we’ll unsummon him.”
For now, I hoisted Turan onto my shoulders and waited calmly for the Barren Wasteland to be completely swallowed by darkness.
Of course, I collected every scattered scorpion corpse.
Since the scorpions we consumed had been confirmed as Unique-grade, their utility was boundless.
“Phew.”
The Barren Wasteland was engulfed entirely by darkness.
Five Moons remained vividly suspended in the sky until the very end.

[The Wilderness Adventurer’s record has ended.]
[The Eternal Adventurer’s ability is unlocked at the first stage.]

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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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