A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 68

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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 68

A clear, cloudless sky.
The Five Moons that had floated overhead until now were nowhere to be seen.
The landscape remained desolate, yet it was a peaceful Barren Wasteland—no scorpions, no wolves in sight.
“Thank goodness. I’ve returned properly.”
I surveyed my surroundings, but as if to confirm that everything I’d experienced was indeed supernatural, neither the Portal nor even the Hill that had been rising before me was visible.
“…Sigh.”
Tuuram had crossed over safely as well.
Judging by the scorpion leg still clinging to his mouth, it seemed the items I’d brought from beyond the Portal could be carried back with me.

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

My friend list had returned to normal as well.
That much was fortunate.
But I couldn’t let my guard down just yet.

[Kael: Elder, are you busy?]
[Nyx: Phew. Thank goodness. You went offline so suddenly I thought you were dead.]

I understood Sung-chul’s concern perfectly.
We’d been exchanging whispers right before the Eternal Adventurer’s footsteps—there was no way I would have logged out without warning.

[Kael: That’s actually why I’m contacting you. I’ve been transported to a completely different region. Do you know anything about overcharged Portals?]
[Nyx: Huh? An overcharged Portal? Did you notice anything strange there?]

Sung-chul seemed to have caught onto something.
I’d already achieved a great Achievement just by entering the overcharged Portal, and as an expert, he wouldn’t have missed anything either.

[Kael: There were five moons in the sky.]
[Nyx: Insane. Really? Five moons were actually in the sky? You’re not joking, right? Congratulations anyway.]
[Kael: Pardon?]
[Nyx: An overcharged portal guarantees double rewards. No special conditions—it’s purely luck. And you made it back alive from the Five Moons? That’s jackpot. Five moons means the difficulty increases fivefold. The rewards are five times as well.]
[Kael: Really?]
[Nyx: Yeah. With five times the difficulty and overcharge, you’d get a tenfold multiplier on the base rewards.]
[Kael: I see.]

If Sung-chul Elder was saying this much, I couldn’t help but feel troubled.
The last message I’d seen didn’t explicitly show a tenfold multiplier.

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

[Nyx: Huh? What’s wrong. You didn’t clear it?]
[Kael: No, it’s just ambiguous. I did clear it normally and escaped the portal, but the message didn’t show a tenfold multiplier.]
[Nyx: Really? Did you get the rewards as a skill instead?]

Could beast transformation or insect transformation even count as skills?
Either way, it was definitely enhanced.

[Kael: Yes, that’s right.]
[Nyx: I’ll have to look into this separately. I’m thinking that because of the tenfold multiplier, instead of material rewards, the system gave you skill rewards instead.]
[Kael: Hold on. Let me test it.]

I concentrated on my left arm and drew up Scorpion Carapace.
Crack. Crunch.
My arm had transformed into sharp, sturdy pincers before I knew it.

[Kael: You’re right, Elder.]

I could immediately tell that my insect transformation ability had been enhanced.
Originally, the transformation ability hadn’t been implemented with this level of precision.

[Nyx: Kya. What an excellent skill you’ve obtained. Congratulations, in any case.]
[Kael: Thank you, Elder. Ah, and do you happen to know anything about scorpion venom?]
[Kael: Yes. The Ancient One I summoned to Sumoq ate a scorpion from the Portal and is now in a poisoned state.]
Kael: Yes. The Ancient One that was summoned to Sumoq ate the scorpion that was at the Portal and is now in a poisoned state.
[Nyx: Hmm. I’m not sure about antidotes, but typically most ailments are cured through unsummoning. I’ve never even tested killing the Ancient One myself.]
[Kael: Is that so?]

Was this self-recovery, or did external force intervene in the healing?
From what I could gather, Tuuram, who had lost our duel, seemed to have repeatedly healed his own wounds and trained.
He even brought his own prey.
Tuuram would know the certain answer.

[Kael: For now, I’ll have to observe how things progress. Thank you, Elder.]
[Nyx: Yeah. You worked hard on that five-times difficulty.]
[Kael: Yes.]

I decided to trust in Tuuram’s own healing ability.
The flower tea I’d fed him wasn’t a small amount, after all.
Moreover, judging by the Seo-gwang Guild’s test, there was a very high possibility that some healing method existed where Tuuram was.
Besides, with his appetite greatly increased, consuming ancient-grade ingredients would likely yield favorable results in various ways.
“Right. Let me go back and check again.”
I infused mana into Sumoq and opened a dimensional gate to send Tuuram back.
Careful not to get sucked in myself, I cautiously pushed the dimensional gate open using Tuuram’s feet.
The entire process was as delicate as surgery.
Whoooosh!
Tuuram was pulled through.
Now time would be the solution.
Having secured the traces of the Adventurer I’d sought, I now turned my attention to the newly added plan—tracking down the Eccentric Merchant.

[Kael: Unnamed Guest, are you there?]
[Unnamed Guest: You’ve arrived! I was in quite a bind after suddenly going offline!]
[Kael: How are things progressing?]
[Unnamed Guest: Ah. I’m currently being chased desperately!]
[Kael: What?]
[Unnamed Guest: The Eccentric Merchant’s subordinates are formidable. They came rushing in an instant and swung their blades down, but not a single Rogue could block them!]

The situation didn’t look good.
Moreover, despite telling them to flee desperately, the Thief Gang seemed to have suffered considerable casualties.
Had the opponent’s capabilities exceeded my expectations?

[Kael: What’s your current location?]
[Unnamed Guest: We’re fleeing toward the Thief Gang’s headquarters while descending the Mountain Slope.]
[Kael: Understood. I’m heading in that direction. Keep running fast.]
[Unnamed Guest: Yes!]

The original plan was to whittle down the Eccentric Merchant’s health through a war of attrition.
Yet in just a single day, the Thief Gang, led by the Unnamed Guest, found themselves fleeing instead.
Still, we had achieved the core objective of depleting the Eccentric Merchant’s stamina to some degree, so a swift regrouping should allow us to salvage the situation.
After all, I had a Plan B in reserve.
“Yes, this is it.”
If Sung-chul Elder’s words held true, and judging by the scorpion pincers that had just manifested, the enhancement of transformation abilities was a verified aspect.
“Beastform. Eagle.”
So I attempted to transform into an eagle.
If this succeeded, even Plan C wouldn’t be entirely impossible.
Crack-crack-crack.
This time, the transformation imposed no restrictions on specific body parts.
A perilous sensation began coursing through my entire frame.
The feeling of ceasing to be human was utterly peculiar.
Crack. Crack-crack-crack.
I had become an eagle.
Was this truly acceptable?
Among the encouraging phenomena, the most notable was that my equipped gear remained intact, overlaying seamlessly as my physical form transformed.
I decided to open my status window to verify what had changed.

[Name: Kael]
[Class: Eternal Adventurer (Hidden) (1st Tier Unlocked)]
[Level: 62]
[Unallocated Points: 0]
[Strength: 55 (155) Agility: 70 (170) Vitality: 65 (165) Wisdom: 102 Luck: 100]
[Eternal: 37 Mana: 6]

‘Ah.’
My core combat stats—Strength, Agility, and Vitality—had each dropped by 100 points.
Yet the original values displayed in parentheses indicated this wasn’t a permanent loss.
‘Thank goodness. So this is how stats are temporarily reduced?’
To be safe, I reallocated one point of Strength to Luck.

[Strength: 54 (154) Agility: 70 (170) Vitality: 65 (165) Wisdom: 102 Luck: 101]

The stat reduction from transformation was absolute.
There was no way around it.
I reverted my status to normal and carefully unfurled my wings.
Then I kicked off the ground with all my might.
Boom!
I succeeded in launching myself into the sky.
Even with my strength diminished, a Strength of 55 was a figure no ordinary human could ever reach.
‘So far so good.’
I flapped my wings frantically.
Each flap applied the same Strength of 55.
With every beat of my wings, I felt the air currents shift, and soon I realized this was an updraft.
‘It works.’
I surrendered myself to the flow of the wind.
A few more wingbeats would change my direction.
‘Is this the view an eagle sees?’
The world began to shrink endlessly below me.
That distant mountain—that’s where the Thief Gang’s Mountain Stronghold lies.
I adjusted my course and flapped my wings onward.

* * *

It was mere moments before I arrived at the mountain slope where the stronghold stood.
Now came the question of which plan to execute.
The first plan was to defeat the Eccentric Merchant and exhaust his stamina endlessly to discover his base.
But according to what the Unnamed Guest said, that plan had collapsed.
The second plan was the opposite—to feign defeating the Thief Gang with my own hands and extract information.
This approach aimed to gain the Eccentric Merchant’s favor and learn his base location.
If I was suspected, everything would fall apart, and there was the risk of my identity being exposed.
And now, from this transformation, a third plan had emerged.
To track the Eccentric Merchant from a distance in eagle form.
I judged it the most stable way to defy common sense.
‘I should blend the plans appropriately here.’
Since the opponent’s strength exceeded expectations, I decided to mix the second and third plans strategically.
I didn’t want to lose the Thief Gang, my newly acquired force, without cause.
‘I’ll need to maintain distance and release the transformation at the right moment.’
Another characteristic of eagle form was the ability to dive.
With just enough nerve, I could achieve absurdly high speed.
Whoooosh!
Landing was never part of the plan from the start.
Just like in the Barren Wasteland, I could dump all my stats into Stamina.
Now I could raise the scorpion carapace here and secure a groundbreaking level of defense.
Whoooosh!
The plan was a resounding success.

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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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