A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 8

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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 8

News about the Golden Fox spread easily among the players I encountered while passing through.

-Are you seriously looking for a hidden boss? I wouldn’t recommend it. Last year, everyone came to a final consensus—it’s been confirmed as a boss designed to be left alone.
-The Golden Fox? It’s a hidden boss that spawns with low probability when a newbie wanders alone in this forest. I’m asking just in case, but you’re not a newbie, right? Is there anything I can help with?
-Don’t do it. At least the hidden elements in the Liam Eastern Forest have been thoroughly verified and conquered by top-ranked players with journalists present. The Golden Fox has been concluded to be a mechanic that teaches the importance of party hunting. The death penalty in this game is severe, so please don’t actually do it.

According to the players’ accounts, the hidden quest’s target—the Golden Fox—was a boss designed to be left alone.
In the previous game, I’d heard similar things about quite a few bosses.

-Does this game company actually want to make money? Does it make sense to have final-boss-tier monsters patrolling from the starting point? It’s like they’re performing a ritual to drive players away?

At least in the previous game, I’d defeated every boss people said couldn’t be beaten.
With my own hands.
“…Is that all there is to it?”
A boss that’s supposedly impossible to defeat would create an environment where villages couldn’t even form, yet there was an active Beginner Village in this area.
Besides, the Golden Fox was a beast-type boss.
It hadn’t transcended its animal race, and its entire gimmick amounted to nothing more than being an encounter only possible for beginners without high-level companions.
Squeak!
Therefore, I decided to hunt a rabbit, presumed to be the Golden Fox’s main diet, and deliberately drain its blood to lure the creature out.
Its sense of smell would definitely be well-developed in terms of detecting opponent levels.
Crunch.
The additional effort I would make was to move deeper into areas untouched by other players.
Only through pioneering.
Crackle. Crunch.
Moving deeper into the forest, I could indeed see plumper rabbits.
At this point, I felt certain.
Thud.
I dropped the drained rabbit in a spot where the wind blew gently.
Then I pulled out bread from my waist pack and kept watch over the surroundings.
Patter.
Light footsteps.
The sensation felt fundamentally different from anything human.
“…!”
Golden fur was spotted between the bushes.
I shoved the bread I’d prepared straight into my mouth.

[Hearty, Deliciously Baked Bread (Masterpiece)]
[Strength +5 Stamina +5]
[Wound Recovery Speed Slightly Increased]
[Duration: 30 minutes]

The buff activated, and strength began surging through me.

[Unused Points: 2]
[Strength: 17 Agility: 14 Stamina: 19 Wisdom: 13 Luck: 18]
[Eternity: 2]

I held off on allocating the unused points for now.
I wasn’t certain what I lacked most.
I simply extended my wooden sword and focused on the Golden Fox’s movements.
“Krrk?”
For some reason, I could almost sense what emotion the Golden Fox was feeling.
That bewildered gaze—as if asking, “Is this guy insane?”
Soon, that expression shifted to curiosity.
As if saying, “This is fun.”
“Yeah. Good to meet you. So you’re the hidden boss?”
“Krrr….”
I attempted conversation, assuming it was at least a spiritual creature, but it didn’t understand my words.
That eliminated any possibility of hidden content.
‘But it’s definitely a mob I can kill.’
It didn’t seem about to charge at me immediately.
I assessed what cards I could play against the strongest mob I could currently face.

[Active Buffs]

[Seven Impact]
[Strength +7 Agility +7 Stamina +7 Wisdom +7 Luck +7]
[The first 7 attacks against the target deal double damage.]
[Duration: ∞]

[Life Whisper]
[Agility +2 Stamina +2 Luck +5]
[Evade critical wounds with high probability.]
[Natural wound recovery speed dramatically accelerates.]
[Duration: ∞]

[Hearty, Deliciously Baked Bread (Masterpiece)]
[Strength +5 Stamina +5]
[Wound Recovery Speed Slightly Increased]
[Duration: 30 minutes]

The stat boost was equivalent to condensing three beginners’ worth of power into a single item.
It even came with a powerful auxiliary effect normally reserved for raids.
An overwhelming buff that belonged in short, decisive battles.
Whoooosh!
Crack!
“Hm?”
I’d swung with full force at the Golden Fox’s tail bone.
I’d believed the blow wouldn’t be instantly fatal at this level.
Yet the Golden Fox twisted her body, minimizing the damage.
“…That’s a bit faster than expected.”
What I needed now became crystal clear.

[Unallocated Points: 2]

Agility. That was it.

[Strength: 17 Agility: 16 Stamina: 19 Wisdom: 13 Luck: 18]
[Eternity: 2]

I invested all 2 unallocated points into Agility, raising it to 18.
Whoooosh!
Boom!
“Yelp!”
This time, the strike connected cleanly.
Seven Impact even triggered, doubling the damage I dealt.
Yet something felt off about the hit.
A subtle sensation of recoil rippled back through my arms.
As though I’d struck something and been bounced away by an invisible force.

-Level difference is something you can never ignore. There are cases where you land a solid hit but the damage just doesn’t stick—and that’s all because of the level gap. The bigger the difference, the worse it gets.

This must be the level penalty that Sung-chul mentioned.
“Actually, this is better.”
If so, I could freely target vital points without hesitation.
“Screech!”
Now I was faster.
Just a hair’s breadth, but enough to see the Golden Fox’s counterattack and evade it.
Whoosh!
Crash!
The second Seven Impact detonated.

[Mauro Wooden Sword of Resentment (Unique)]
[Attack Power: 24~44]
[Durability: 320 (Unrepairable)]
[Imbued with Resentment: Triggers ‘Laceration’ at a certain probability]
[Laceration: Inflicts wounds on the target that cannot be healed for a certain duration.]
[A wooden sword crafted from Mauro wood. Carefully maintained and nourished with fine oil for decades. Superior to most steel blades and boasts unparalleled performance among wooden swords.]

The attack power of 24~44 received a double damage modifier—it had landed cleanly. These numbers were absolutely not something an ordinary novice could pull off.
“Shriek!”
The Mauro Wooden Sword already possessed several times the attack power of a standard wooden sword, so the synergy was almost too much to describe.
“Screech! Screech!”
And the area I’d struck was its right hind leg.
A tactical choice to widen the speed gap further.
The fact that it had never been hunted before meant there might be a mechanic related to escape.
“Now who’s the toy?”
“Screech!”
Boom! Bang!
Attacks bounced off repeatedly.
I welcomed it.
Counterattacks came in relentless succession.
This was a different caliber from a training dummy.
The Golden Fox had become the perfect training partner.
“Third one. Here I go.”
Boom!

* * *

“…Cough. Cough.”
The secondary effect of Seven Impact had worn off long ago.
Yet the Golden Fox still refused to die.
Crack!
“Hack!”
By a slim chance, the level penalty didn’t trigger, inflicting a critical wound instead.
Even the Golden Fox’s exceptional natural regeneration couldn’t keep pace with the cascade of critical injuries tearing through its body.
“Well, that landed.”

[Eight hours have elapsed since you began playing.]
[Excessive gaming may interfere with your daily life.]

“Eight hours already?”
From character creation to the scarecrow Training Ground, rabbit hunting, and now the Golden Fox.
I’d been moving relentlessly since the very first day.
Now I had to start considering reality.
My reality was still that of a salaryman, after all.
“Let’s wrap this up.”
“Cough. Cough.”
The Golden Fox’s health had long since plummeted.
When it fled, I pursued; when it blocked, I struck until it broke.
I surpassed it in every stat—strength, agility, endurance.
The only thing I lacked was level.
“Infinite Buff is genuinely broken.”
Screeeech!
For the first time, I swung my blade toward its head.
Crack!
The level penalty didn’t trigger.
“Huh?”
The result was the Golden Fox’s unconsciousness.
Even though I’d swung with the intent to shatter its skull.
Its durability was remarkable.
“At least the fur’s worth something.”
I snapped the neck of the fallen Golden Fox, ending its prolonged existence.
Messages began flooding in.

[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]

And that was just the beginning—the messages were absolutely flooded with level-up notifications.
“Insane. Five levels in one go.”
The messages continued relentlessly.

[Hidden Achievement Unlocked!]
[You have defeated the hidden boss of the Eastern Forest: Golden Fox!]
[Strength increased by 1.]
[Agility increased by 1.]
[Vitality increased by 1.]
[Wisdom increased by 1.]
[Luck increased by 1.]

Every stat except Eternity had risen by 1.

[Hidden Quest “Golden Fox’s Nightmare” has been completed.]
[Time Limit: None]
[Objective: Defeat the hidden boss Golden Fox in the Liam Eastern Forest]
[Reward: ???]
[Report your achievement to the Training Instructor.]

A message announcing the completion of a Hidden Quest crowned the moment.
“…Are there no additional spoils?”
I surveyed the area around the corpse, but no other items were visible.
It was understandable—the boss had been a beast-type monster.
Considering the durability this creature had maintained throughout our battle, its fur alone would possess immense value.
“I should hurry and get to work.”
I shoved the Golden Fox’s corpse directly into my backpack.
My pack space was running short, forcing me to discard existing items, but nothing could be more valuable than the Golden Fox.
“I never expected the head to remain intact in perfect condition.”
Fox fur possessed excellent practical utility in its own right, but it was undeniably classified as a luxury item.
And luxury items converted to currency.
Especially luminous golden luxury items.
“A Hidden Job clue and boss fur. How much will it all be worth?”
Anticipation began to swell within me.
After surveying my surroundings and making a final check to ensure no golden fur was protruding from my pack, I shouldered my backpack.
“Let’s go. To the merchant guild.”
Today’s final settlement drew one step closer.

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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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