The Buffs I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 11

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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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Episode 11.
Right now.
I’m standing before a momentous decision that will shape my entire future.
“Ugh…!”
Thirty minutes. Still in the same spot.
No matter how hard I think, I can’t find an answer.
“The first one? No, wait. The second one either….”
My fingers trembled.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘Just pick one…!’
“Which one should I choose—”
“Excuse me, could you show a little consideration for the people behind you?”
“…Huh?”
A jab from an unexpected direction.
I scratched my head and turned around.
“Oh….”
One older woman.
Two small children.
One college student.
“Do you see how many are lined up behind you?”
“…I’m sorry.”
I bowed deeply, then
simply grabbed whatever my hand landed on first and left.
‘Man, that was embarrassing.’
This is the Mart.
I came here at my sister’s request to buy seeds for a new plant she wanted to grow.
‘Why did I come in person, you ask?’
I wanted to test whether my observation ability would work.
If I could figure out what kind of Buff would grow beforehand, I could save both Mana and time.
Well, that plan fell through.
‘Packaging is so good these days anyway. What was I thinking?’
The walk here felt like a waste now.
Five kilometers, no less.
The thought of walking back made me feel hollow.
“…So, what did I pick up?”
I trudged out of the Mart and checked the bag.
Since I’d just grabbed whatever I could reach, I hadn’t even looked at the names.
There were three different seed packets inside.
The first one was
“…Basil?”
A packet with a picture of bright green leaves.
It didn’t look like a vegetable or fruit.
‘Somehow this feels familiar….’
I’d never heard of this plant before.
But the name rang a bell.
After thinking for a moment, I pulled out my phone.
I searched right away.
“Ah, basil pesto.”
That pasta dish from a restaurant I’d gone to with my sister once.
It was definitely called basil pesto pasta.
“Hmm… a seasoning….”
I’m curious what kind of Buff this will produce.
First one’s a hit.
‘The second one….’
“Ugh….”
I unconsciously frowned at the seed packet’s design.
It looked similar to basil.
But far more unsettling to look at.
“Perilla leaves….”
I hated the wrinkled, crumpled appearance of those leaves.
I hate that distinctive peppery aroma and grassy smell.
I just don’t want to eat it.
‘I’d rather eat lettuce instead…….’
The second one’s a bust.
No matter how much I can make it taste better with my ability, perilla leaf is still perilla leaf, isn’t it?
I won’t even want to put it in my mouth.
“Let’s move on to the next one…… Oh.”
The third seed packet.
The moment I pulled it from the envelope, my disappointment was plain to see.
“A duplicate…….”
Bright green leaves on the packet.
A name printed in large letters.
Basil Seed.
“Well…… two will do.”
With three, I might run out of Mana.
My MP is only 300.
Except for the Cherry Tomato, which produces fruit automatically without needing Blessing.
If I cast Blessing on each plant once a day.
Azure Breeze, Basil, Perilla.
That’s three plants max.
‘Wait, Azure Breeze?’
“Oh right. My Mana pool went up…… didn’t it?”
I’d forgotten.
Now that I think about it, I hadn’t even checked.
“Status Window.”
A blue screen unfurled before my eyes, and I checked my body’s stats.
HP, MP, Stamina, and so on.
My physical condition, rendered like a game system.
“Oh……!”
I checked the most important stat: MP.
What had originally been only 300 points.
600 points.
It had doubled.
‘Sister went from 3000 to 4500…… a 50% increase.’
I went from 300 to 600.
Double.
‘In absolute terms, she gained five times more than I did…… but.’
The Azure Breeze’s effect was probably a Buff that increased MP by 50%.
Mine must have applied at 2× for some reason.
“Anyway, with this much, I could probably test a few more plants, right?”
Since I’d come all the way to the Mart.
Might as well squeeze everything out of the trip.
I turned around and headed back into the Mart, abandoning my earlier plan to go home.
“I want to buy something that bears fruit, not just leafy greens like basil and perilla…… huh?”
The moment I stepped through the entrance.
Something caught my eye.
‘…… What’s with that guy?’
190…… no, 2 meters?
A man of enormous build.
As if he’d injected himself with drugs.
Thick, corded muscles and bulging veins that drew the eye.
But if that had been all, I wouldn’t have paid him much attention.
‘Why does his condition look like that?’
The weather was quite cool.
Yet he was sweating like a waterfall despite the chill.
Lips trembling visibly.
Eyes devoid of focus.
“Is he sick…… somewhere?”
I was wondering whether I should help when.
“Huh.”
The man’s face contorted in pain.
He dropped to his knees right there.
“Haa… haa…!”
His hand fumbled in his pocket.
A Red Pill emerged, trembling between his fingers.
“Damn it……”
I felt my legs go weak, caught between staying and leaving.
Should I say something? Just walk past?
In that brief hesitation, the answer crystallized.
‘Sigh… why would I get involved?’
I’d been intoxicated by recent good fortune, losing sight of my true position.
I was still a couch-dwelling nobody, a nobody with no prospects.
Just an Awakened who’d gotten lucky, discovering abilities only this late in life.
‘Let’s just go……’
I turned away and headed toward the Gardening Section of the Mart.
It was probably nothing.
That’s what I was telling myself.
―……I’ll kill them.
“Huh?”
A voice whispered against my ear as if someone had spoken directly into it.
I spun around, but there was still only the Large Man.
And he was quite far away.
“What the……”
I was about to dismiss it and move on.
―Mart… terror… revenge…….
“……Shit.”
It wasn’t a mistake.
This time, I heard it clearly.
And in the next instant.
I noticed the man’s lips moving, muttering something.
‘……Something’s wrong.’
The distance was too great.
There’s no way sound should carry that far.
From where I stood, all I could see was him leaning against the wall, a hoodie pulled low over his head.
There was no way I should be able to see his lips moving.
‘Has my senses grown sharper?’
Was this an aftereffect of borrowing that ability back then?
But until now, there’d been no symptoms at all.
I was confused.
That was when my feet stopped moving.
“I’ll kill them… every last one of these bastards here… I’ll kill you all…!”
“…!”
Gulp.
The Large Man swallowed something.
‘……That was……’
My nose twitched involuntarily.
A faint mintiness mixed with something sweet.
I’d smelled this before.
‘Similar to Azure Breeze……’
Not the aroma of the fruit itself.
I couldn’t quite put it into words.
If I had to describe it.
“……Mana scent.”
The moment I realized it.
It began.
“Grrrraaaaaahhhhh!!!”
Crzzzzzt―!
The sound of muscle twisting and tearing assaulted my ears.
Something writhed beneath his skin.
Blue veins.
The same symptoms I’d seen in my sister.
“Whoosh—!”
Boom!!
The man rocketed forward in an instant, brushing past my shoulder.
Even though it was just a jump, an explosion sound echoed out.
“Wait, it actually exploded!?”
Crack!
The spot where he’d been standing was scorched black, flames already licking upward.
Beyond anything a human should be capable of.
‘He’s an Awakened.’
In that brief moment when he’d passed by my side,
my heightened senses had let me catch a glimpse of his face.
Eyes devoid of focus.
Still muttering something under his breath.
‘Terrorism.’
He meant to harm the civilians in the Mart.
That’s why he’d ignored me standing right in front of him.
“…This is bad.”
I fumbled for my phone and scrolled through my contacts.
If I didn’t warn people fast, there’d definitely be casualties—people who couldn’t escape in time from such a massive Mart.
‘In a situation like this…!’
Beep—
Ring, ring, ring…
Click.
“Guild Master!!”
―…You startled me. What’s wrong, what is it?
Baek Yul-heon.
Guild Master of Baek Ryeon.
To stop incidents caused by Awakened, you need an Awakened to do it.
‘Technically I should call the Awakened incident hotline, but…!’
What good is a network if you don’t use it?
Besides, that hotline operates nationwide, so their response time is slow.
‘My sister ran eighty kilometers in about thirty minutes last time.’
No one could reach here faster than Baek Ryeon.
“Guild Master! Listen carefully!”
―Yes, yes?
I told him everything that had happened, holding nothing back.
Location, the man’s description, distinguishing features—all of it.
―What, what did you say!?
His reaction was explosive.
―So, are you okay? Where are you right now!
“…I’m hiding somewhere safe. I don’t think I’ll be discovered right away.”
―Get out of that Mart right now. You said he uses Explosion, right? The whole building will be in danger once a fire spreads.
“The blast from his explosion blocked the exit. He headed deeper inside, so I’m trying to circle around to the outside…”
Bang! Crash!
More explosions in rapid succession.
I nearly dropped the phone.
―Explosion sounds…! Are you alright!?
“…I’m fine. I’m sorry to ask, but could you send any available guild member?”
―I’ll dispatch them immediately. Your sister’s tied up somewhere else on assignment right now, but I’ll send someone with real skill, so don’t worry.
“Thank you so much.
―No time! Get going. Just keep your distance from that bastard and stay hidden. I’d say…fifteen minutes, tops.”
“F, fifteen minutes?”
―Might be a bit slow? I’m sending my fastest person, so be careful out there!”
Click.
The call ended.
My head felt clearer all of a sudden.
‘Calling Baek Ryeon was the right call.’
Fifteen minutes.
That should be enough time to minimize casualties.
At that moment, an announcement blared from the speakers overhead.
—This is an emergency! An Awakened is currently rampaging inside the Mart!
“They certainly broadcast fast.”
The employee making the announcement sounded badly shaken; their voice trembled.
—The Awakened is currently moving from the entrance toward the Gardening Section! Those in the Gardening Section are urged to evacuate immediately!
“The Gardening Section……?”
Where I’d just been.
Where they sold seeds.
Suddenly, I remembered the people who had been there.
‘I’d only left the Mart five minutes ago, and there were plenty of children in the Gardening Section…….’
Something felt wrong about this.
I should have been leaving the Mart now or hiding somewhere like a bathroom.
But if I simply hid like this, I had the feeling I’d regret it.
‘Could there be another Awakened in this Mart besides that man and me……?’
It was possible.
By chance, they might be an Awakened capable of combat.
With luck, I might arrive before that man killed anyone and manage to stop him.
“…….”
Snap!
When I came to my senses, I was already running.
‘Insane, insane, insane.’
The man possessed a dangerous ability called Explosion.
And his mind wasn’t even stable.
One wrong move and I could die.
“Huff, huff…….”
Bang! Crack!
As I reached the Gardening Section.
The sound of explosions began to ring out.
“Kyaaaaaah!!”
Screams from people mixed with it.
I ran blindly toward the direction of the explosions.
A man standing two meters tall.
He was damn hard to miss.
‘There.’
“Gwuaaaaa!!!”
Bang!! Boom!!
The man swung his fists at everything around him.
Each time he landed a blow, explosions erupted at the impact site.
“Ow, hot……!”
Whoosh!
The Gardening Section was packed with living plants.
Fire was spreading into a major blaze.
My desire to escape grew stronger by the second.
“Gwuaaaang……!”
“!”
‘……A child?’
“Who goes there!!”
Crack!
I wasn’t the only one who heard that cry.
The Large Man and I both turned our gazes toward the source of the sound at once.
‘……Pinned down.’
I could see a child trapped beneath collapsed debris.
And another child holding the hand of the one who was pinned.
There they were.
“Those kids……!”
The two children who had been in the line to buy seeds because of me.
‘Why did it have to be a familiar face…….’
Not that we’d exchanged a single word, but still.
There was a difference between a complete stranger and someone you’d met once before.
“A couple of brats…… Krkh.”
The Large Man burst into laughter.
Then he began walking slowly toward the children.
‘That bastard……!’
As if toying with them.
Even though he could kill them in a single strike, he approached at a leisurely pace.
The children saw this and stopped crying altogether.
That moment.
Something snapped inside my head.
“Hey! You there, big guy……!”
“……Huh?”
Had I lost my mind?
Did I want to play hero?
A faint memory seemed to resurface.
Of my brilliant self back in high school.
The Large Man stared blankly at me for a moment.
“Ha!”
Boom!
Unlike before, he used an Explosion to close the distance rapidly.
‘I don’t intend to die.’
“Take this.”
The man’s fist came flying.
The world felt sluggish and slow.
A lantern of life before death?
It didn’t seem to be that sort of thing.
“Wind Thunder Fist Art.”
The Buff I cultivated was too powerful
Author |
Naengmyeon Hwachae
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
Address |
7th Floor, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260731072
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without written permission from Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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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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