A Veteran of Infinite Buffs - Chapter 87

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 87

“Feel the power of the sun!”
BOOM!
I could easily gauge Tuuram’s mood without a status window.
The sight of everything shattering before him, driven by nothing but the resolve to kill, would grant anyone an intoxicating sense of omnipotence.
“I’ve never seen hunting speed like this before.”
“Speed?”
“Yes. The hunting pace. Since we’re getting instant kills without any real combat, there’s no downtime needed, and the monsters aren’t even weak.”
“You’re right about that. I’ll handle the collection this time.”
“Got it!”
Though it might be unfamiliar to Bella, this development was nothing new to me.
From my previous playthrough, I’d consistently pursued a hunting style that began with ambushes leading to instant kills.
In that sense, Tuuram was executing my ideal hunting method perfectly.
“Hahahaha! I am the Sun King! The sun god blesses me!”
The problem, if there was one, lay in how Tuuram’s shoulders had puffed up with pride.
And given that he was now invoking royalty, it seemed increasingly likely that the village NPCs would turn hostile toward him.
Strictly speaking, this was a medieval setting.
Moreover, his lower half had already transformed into a scorpion form.
“If we let that Ancient One named Tuuram loose in the village, it’ll cause chaos.”
“You see it that way too, don’t you?”
If even Bella shared that assessment, it was definitely something I needed to address.
“Yes. He looks like some kind of boss monster. And he has transformation abilities too.”
“Ahem. Actually, I can transform as well.”
“R-really? Kael’s hidden power!”
Though the secret of my transformation had somehow been revealed, the solution for bringing down Tuuram’s ego was simple enough.
“Hmm. I’ll need to separate the goat horns again once we finish clearing the dungeon.”
If Tuuram mistook himself for the Sun King, I just had to reclaim the sun’s power from him.
Besides, I hadn’t bonded the goat horns carefully in the first place.
“There’s also a possibility the options might change.”
That advice likely came from experience.
Still, I decided to push forward, reasoning that the risk was less than becoming a target of the Royal Court and drawing all that unwanted attention.
“We’ll have to manage that. Besides, if Chae-rim takes a look at it, things will only improve—they won’t get worse.”
“Is Chae-rim really that skilled?”
“Yes. After arriving at Liam, she quickly crafted a simple wooden sword sheath for me, and it turned out to be Legendary grade.”
“…Wow. Even our Guild Craftsman is quite skilled, but if he saw that firsthand, he’d be shocked.”
“Ah, is that the person who made my equipment?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to express my gratitude to them as well, but I haven’t had the opportunity to meet them. They seem like they’d be helpful to Chae-rim too.”
“Oh, really? Then I’ll go back and try to arrange a schedule.”
“Thank you.”
I had every reason to repay the craftsman who’d prepared my equipment—the master artisan of the Lumiere Guild.
With just a legendary-tier upper garment alone, the value was astronomical, and the equipment’s unique skill, Shadow Fairy Tale, had elevated my ceiling when combined with dark affinity. The Ashen Step, which silenced my footfalls, and the Gale Rush combo that created sudden variables—all of these were crafted by the Lumiere Guild’s equipment master.
“I will surely repay them greatly.”
Without the equipment they’d created, my journey would very likely have been broken during the Chinese Beginner Villages expedition.
I wouldn’t have been able to impersonate the Black Dragon Faction, and I would have lost the direct confrontation with Eden, completely surrendering the initiative.
It was all hypothetical, but the sequence from impersonating the Black Dragon Faction through Eden, Sumoq, the Eccentric Merchant, and Heaven Beyond Heaven would have been impossible under normal circumstances.
“Hahahaha! Die!”
Boom, boom, crash!
And the result of this sequence was Tuuram as he stood now.
This too was a progression only visible after obtaining Sumoq.
“Oh, fangs this time! Fangs are decent material for accessories!”
In the meantime, the canine-type monsters we’d encountered were completely annihilated.
“Oh, really? Let me check the options.”

[Carnifex Hound Fang (Superior)]
[A rare fang found only in the Twisted Timeline. The souls of the executed are trapped within. Used as material for accessory crafting.]

“I see. The description feels like an accessory for physical dealers.”
“Exactly. If it’s the soul of the executed, there’s a high chance hidden mechanics related to execution are embedded. Wouldn’t it be bleeding or critical hit related?”
“Sounds good. I’ll collect them in subspace for now.”
“Yep!”
The hunting was so effortless that Bella’s tension had eased considerably.
We continued forward with Tuuram leading the way, collecting spoils as we went.
Personally, I’d hoped something useful for Bella would appear, but there’d been no sign of it yet.
“Have you found materials that might help with the next quest?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure yet. The Rootbloom flower is catching my attention, but I think I need to reach the very end to know for sure.”
“Most of the monsters we’ve been encountering feel like we’re near the end of the dungeon, so I thought I’d ask.”
At some point, most of the monsters we faced had become truly trivial.
Even accounting for physical damage reflection, my instincts told me they were at a level we could dispatch in a single strike.
“Oh, really? It’s fine even if there’s nothing special! Thanks to you, I’ve been leveling up comfortably!”
“Oh, you leveled up?”
“Yes! Fortunately, I gained one level.”
“Congratulations.”
“Hehe. Thanks.”
A dungeon where even Bella, a ranker-class buffer, could level up.
It was certainly a stroke of fortune for me.
Without Tuuram, solo clearing would have been impossible due to the unique mechanic of physical damage reflection.
“From here on, I think I’ll be hunting directly. Would it be alright to ask for a buff? Personally, I think I’d prefer a buff that explosively raises my stats. Something like Surging Strength.”
Surging Strength.
A buff I still remembered vividly.
It was also the name of the first buff I’d ever received from Bella.

[Surging Strength]
[Strength +15]
[Critical hit on first strike against target]
[Duration: 5 seconds]

Surging Strength was also a buff I’d reluctantly abandoned back in my newbie days due to Eternal limitations.
As a single buff, it guaranteed tremendous strength and critical hits, but Seven Impact—which evenly raised all stats and guaranteed seven double-damage strikes as pseudo-criticals—delivered truly tremendous impact.

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

Seven Impact remained firmly established as a foundational buff for me even now.
If I had to choose between the two, it would still be Seven Impact.
But now I had secured a reasonable amount of Eternal capacity.
It meant I could adopt Surging Strength.
“Surging Strength? But there’s no monster here yet?”
I decided it was better to dispel her doubts than to explain.
“When we encounter a monster. I’m planning to take it down in one hit. I’ll need Surging Strength with Vitality too. And Agility would be nice as well.”
“Ah, I see what you mean. Sounds good! Then I’ll get everything ready so I can cast them all at once!”
Since accepting all buffs would leave no room in my Eternal slots, I prioritized Surging Strength with Vitality and Agility as the most critical combat stats.
“Thank you.”
This settled three Eternal slots.
The rest depended on Bella’s choices, and rather than scrutinizing each buff, I planned to let her actively cast good ones and I’d adapt accordingly.
“I can see the next monster over there. Tuuram, rest this time.”
“Huh? Yeah, got it.”
This was actually more nerve-wracking than combat.
Surging Strength with Vitality and Agility was only a five-second buff.
It meant I had to swap all buffs to permanent duration within five seconds and simultaneously land a solid strike against the monster.
For everything to avoid suspicion, every movement had to appear natural.
“Phew. I’m ready. How about you, Bella?”
“Yes! I just finished preparing too! Here comes the buff!”
Buffs began pouring down.
First, I converted Surging Strength with Vitality and Agility to permanent duration, verified the elemental buff was properly applied to my weapon, and launched forward.
“Kieee!”
This monster was a deer wreathed in murky, dark energy.
It was clearly small fry, so I swung Sumoq with measured force.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
The strike connected perfectly.
The deer died instantly, but the tremendous impact reverberated back and exploded across my torso.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on pain.
What mattered now was my dwindling buffs.
Since these buffs were meant for a short, decisive battle, I rapidly replaced the shortest-duration ones with permanent effects.
‘Replace at ten seconds. Replace at ten seconds. Replace at fifteen seconds.’
I could feel I still had more than half my health remaining.
Besides, the deer was still alive.
The surging buff set should have had about three seconds left originally.
So I pressed forward without hesitation, launching a flurry of attacks.
Mixing in precise strikes aimed at its ribs.
“Kieek!”
Crash! Crash! Crash!
“Cough!”
The suppression was complete.
Every nerve in my body screamed how close it had been, but ultimately, I survived.
I could still think and judge clearly.
So I continued replacing buffs.
‘Replace at thirty seconds. Replace at thirty seconds.’
Fortunately, Bella had cast a total of eight buffs on me.
It meant I hadn’t exhausted all of her eternities.
“Kael! Are you alright? Here, drink this potion first!”
Bella urgently pressed a potion to my lips.
Even without the potion, my health would have recovered, but vitality surged back far more rapidly now.
Tuuram’s rebuke followed immediately after.
“Tsk. Kael. This is the king’s hunting grounds. You didn’t need to push yourself so hard.”
“…Phew. You want me to stop using the power of the sun, Tuuram?”
“No! I’m sorry! That was my fault!”
For Tuuram, losing this newly acquired power of the sun would be a genuine loss.
Especially with the inferiority complex he harbored about strength.
So I decided to resolve this matter smoothly.
“Right. Let’s do well. More importantly, thank you for saving me, Bella.”
“No, that’s not it. Kael, look over there.”
“Hmm?”
In the direction Bella pointed, there was a small cave.
“It’s probably the Reward Room. That means we’ve cleared the dungeon.”
Bella broke into a radiant smile and extended her hand toward me.
I met her palm with mine to complete the high-five, eager to match her enthusiasm.
Crack!
“You’ve worked hard.”
Then I quietly checked my status.

[Name: Kael]
[Class: Eternal Adventurer (Hidden) (1st Awakening)]
[Level: 73]
[Unused Points: 9]
[Strength: 229 Agility: 250 Vitality: 270 Wisdom: 132 Luck: 157]
[Eternity: 38 Mana: 6]

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————