The Buffs I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 13

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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 13.
The sound of wind.
A flash.
A projectile hurtling toward me.
There was no time even for the bead of sweat at my chin to fall.
The Large Man flew straight at my abdomen with perfect accuracy.
‘Ah, I’m dead.’
His head smashed into my midsection.
First explosion.
My body ruptures from within.
The Large Man pierces straight through me and flies to the other side.
Second explosion.
One consolation, perhaps:
I could die without even feeling pain.
“…….”
I closed my eyes quietly.
Even before the terror of death, my mind remained strangely serene.
My body had gone limp.
And so.
He drew close enough to touch.
[Wind Thunder Fist Technique (Baek Yul-heon — Borrowed)]
[Exclusive skill activates.]
“Hngh―!!”
Crack!!
Thump.
‘……Crack?’
One second, two seconds…….
Time passed with my eyes still closed.
Am I dead?
Is this death?
I feel no pain at all.
Only the heat from the fires around me occupied my body.
I opened my eyes carefully.
“……?”
Whooosh.
The first thing that came into view was my fist, extended forward.
And the smoke rising from that fist.
And then.
The ground.
“Ughhhh…….”
“Uh, u-ahhhhh!?”
Thump!
I’d fallen in shock.
Even landing hard on my backside, I could barely feel the pain.
“What, what is this!?”
The Large Man lay sprawled flat, arms spread wide.
His jaw, flushed crimson, was twisted at an unnatural angle.
“Did I……did I do that……?”
I hadn’t thrown a punch.
I’d gone completely limp, waiting for death.
And yet.
‘……Status window.’
Just before he collided with me.
It seemed as though I saw something.
‘The exclusive skill of the Wind Thunder Fist Technique…….’
“Status window!”
I urgently pulled up Baek Yul-heon’s ability—the Wind Thunder Fist Technique.
[Subject — Baek Yul-heon (Wind Thunder Fist Technique)]
[Synchronization Rate with Contractor: 30%]
―Grade: A ―> C
—Exclusive Skill: Wind Thunder Guardian
—Exclusive Skill: Wind Thunder Strike Locked
“Wind Thunder Guardian…?”
[Exclusive Skill: Wind Thunder Guardian]
—Rejects all incoming contact in a radius around the body.
—A perfect counter.
“Hah……”
I understood the situation well enough.
The stance I’d stumbled into without thinking had triggered the exclusive skill of the Wind Thunder Fist Technique—the Wind Thunder Guardian.
And when the Large Man rushed at me at high speed, the condition was met.
‘So that’s what happened. The Large Man took a perfect counter to the jaw and went down…… is that it?’
Whether to call it good luck or not.
The situation was so bewildering.
My sense of reality hadn’t fully returned yet.
‘At least I’m alive……’
“Haaah……”
A breath of relief.
Tears threatened to spill.
“That was terrifying……”
Then my legs began to give out.
Suddenly, something I’d forgotten came to mind.
‘……The children.’
This wasn’t the time to celebrate surviving.
Why had I risked my life in the first place?
‘The crying stopped a while ago.’
Time was slipping away.
I scrambled to my feet.
“Ungh……! My legs……?”
Thud!
In my rush to stand, I collapsed face-first instead.
My legs wouldn’t respond.
From the tension. From the fear.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
‘Backlash……?’
The recoil from pushing my body too hard.
Even though the ability’s rank had been downgraded to match my body, its essence was still A-Rank.
When I’d used Enhanced Senses, downgraded from B-Rank to D-Rank, the side effects had been severe.
So what of A-Rank dropped to C-Rank?
“C-cancel. Cancel the rental……!”
[The rental of Wind Thunder Fist Technique is canceled.]
“Whew……”
Once I canceled the rental, it got better.
A muscle-soreness-like sensation still lingered.
But I could walk.
“Kids…… kids! Where are you……!”
Supporting my right leg with my left, which could move somewhat.
I scanned the Gardening Section.
Crackling!
The fire had spread far more than before.
No answer came from the children.
‘Surely…… they haven’t already burned……’
Dark thoughts began to creep in.
“Damn it…… kids!!”
“Ugh……”
“……!”
Then, very faintly.
A thin breath caught at my ankle.
“Where are you! Kids!!”
……
No more sound came after that.
The soft breathing of the children was drowned out by the roar of flames and the collapse of debris.
‘If I leave them like this, they’ll suffocate on smoke or burn to death. There has to be something, anything…!’
“Wait.”
In that moment, a single method flashed through his mind.
‘Enhanced Senses.’
With this ability, he wouldn’t miss even the smallest sound.
But.
‘I can barely walk as it is…….’
That wasn’t all.
Enhanced Senses amplified all five senses simultaneously.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste.
And.
‘Touch.’
Which meant.
The heat of the fire permeating this place.
That pain would be amplified too.
‘Can I even endure it……?’
With vertigo already threatening to topple him, legs trembling beneath him.
To search for the children while feeling pain close to severe burns?
Awakener or not.
Could an E-rank Awakener like me really withstand that kind of strain?

‘I could run.’
For a moment, the easier path flickered through his mind.
Even if I can’t save the children.
I could escape unscathed if it was just me.
I’d already dredged up every last shred of courage I had to face that terrorist.
And now they wanted more?
“Pathetic bastard…….”
Crack!
He slapped both cheeks with his palms.
Hard enough to leave them swelling.
The loser’s mentality rooted so deep it ran through his very bones.
‘If I’m going to play the hero, I might as well see it through.’
“Borrow.”
[Target — Jung So-hyeon (Sky-Rending Great Sword)]
[Target — Baek Yul-heon (Wind Thunder Fist Technique)]
[Target — Jung Cheong-un (Enhanced Senses)]
“Jung Cheong-un, activate Enhanced Senses.”
* * *
Wheeee— wheeee—.
A sharp siren wailed through the entrance of the Mart.
An ambulance, a fire truck, police cars.
Even personnel from the Awakener Management Bureau and broadcast stations.
Given how massive the incident was.
This scale of response didn’t seem out of place.
“Mom! It’s Mom!”
“Moooom!!”
“Yu-seong!! Hye-seong!!”
The children he’d been keeping at the entrance of the Mart.
Had safely reunited with their parents and returned to their embrace.
They were covered in a damp blanket, so their clothes were soaked.
But fortunately, not a single wound.
“Sob…… Yu-seong, Hye-seong…… I’m sorry…… I’m so sorry…….”
“We’re okay! This brother and sister protected us!”
“The brother was so cool — he even defeated that big scary guy!”
“Hey, that wasn’t me, I’m telling you…….”
The mother kept bowing repeatedly in gratitude.
He had never felt more awkward.
“Oh my…… how could I ever repay such kindness…….”
“Ha ha, it’s nothing. It’s just what we’re supposed to do! If you’re truly grateful, remember this above all else—the Baekryeon Guild. Just keep that name in mind.”
“Yes, Baekryeon! I understand. I’ll never forget it as long as I live……!”
While I stood there speechless, gaping like a fish,
Hyeon Chae-rin of the Baekryeon demonstrated remarkable composure, handling both the situation and the advertising pitch simultaneously.
“……You seem quite used to this.”
“Well, it’s not unusual for guilds to handle accidents happening in the area. It’s excellent marketing, after all.”
“Ha ha…….”
‘That’s strange…….’
The smile she’d shown my mother was apparently pure artifice.
In an instant, her face turned stiff and expressionless.
Hyeon Chae-rin wouldn’t say another word unless I spoke to her first.
She simply stood beside me, motionless as stone.
“Um…… would it be all right if I headed home now……?”
“No. Wait a moment.”
“……All right.”
There wasn’t any particular reason she was keeping me here.
She wasn’t even answering my questions.
But she wouldn’t let me go home.
‘I just want to go home…….’
My body felt weighed down by exhaustion.
My legs were heavy, as if boulders had been placed on my shoulders.
‘I just want to lie down on my bed and take a nap…….’
When would she let me leave?
Then Hyeon Chae-rin’s tightly sealed lips parted.
“……May I ask you something?”
“Yes……? Oh, a question…… go ahead.”
Hyeon Chae-rin seemed to consider her words for a moment.
“That man with the large build—it was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, what……?”
She fixed me with a direct, piercing gaze.
“No…… ha ha, I told you already. He was already collapsed when I arrived.”
“The children said you did it.”
“Kids mix up faces all the time, you know. Ha ha…….”
“Children don’t lie, though.”
“……Ugh.”
‘This is awkward…….’
Hyeon Chae-rin leveled her accusation at me with near certainty.
Lying had never been my strong suit to begin with.
I couldn’t even meet her eyes properly.
“No matter how I think about it, there’s no one but you. So what? Why don’t you just tell me the truth?”
“…….”
Ignoring Hyeon Chae-rin’s continued barrage beside me,
I recalled the moment when I was still trapped in the Mart.
‘How did things come to this…….’
* * *
About an hour earlier.
While I was still trapped in the Mart.
After I’d covered the children with the wet blanket,
I went to look for an emergency exit or something like that.
When I returned, Hyeon Chae-rin had suddenly appeared, holding a short sword and pointing it at me.
“……Jung So-hyeon?”
“W-who……?”
Black clothes and a short sword.
She looked just like a ninja from various media.
‘Is she another terrorist……?’
I slowly raised my fists defensively.
“I’m from the Baekryeon. My name is Hyeon Chae-rin.”
“……Ah. The Baekryeon.”
The situation had been so chaotic
that I’d even forgotten I’d called for reinforcements.
I carefully pulled out my phone to check.
Fifteen minutes had indeed passed.
“That was really fast.”
“No, I was a bit slow.”
Hyeon Chae-rin stepped out briefly and looked back and forth between the children covered in the blanket.
“Did you bring this blanket?”
“Yes… I was worried they’d suffocate on the smoke otherwise. I once saw how to handle a phone fire back home, so I remembered.”
“That was good thinking. A wet blanket prevents even minor burns.”
Hyeon Chae-rin reached toward the blanket.
“Children, can you crouch down a bit for me?”
“Yes…!”
With that, she began rolling.
The blanket wrapped around them like a kimbap roll.
“Um… what are you doing…?”
“I’m carrying them out like this. Children’s airways are vulnerable—even a little smoke inhalation could be fatal.”
“Ah….”
“And you…”
“I can get out on my own!”
“Good to hear.”
With a light kiai.
“Hup!”
Hyeon Chae-rin lifted the blanket containing two children with ease.
How could such a slender frame possess such strength?
I understood then, in a visceral way, what it meant to be an Awakener.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Whoosh—!
Hyeon Chae-rin swept her leg toward the flames.
With a powerful gust of wind, a narrow passage opened before us.
“Wow….”
“I’m going ahead.”
Hyeon Chae-rin took her stance, ready to bolt.
I was about to follow her lead when I froze.
‘Oh.’
“Wait a moment…!”
“…What is it?”
Something I’d overlooked came back to me.
“That person…”
“…Ah.”
The terrorist.
If I left him here, he’d probably burn to death.
‘He’d deserve it.’
But even so, I thought he should face justice properly.
“Hmm…”
Hyeon Chae-rin looked at me with clear disapproval.
“You were almost killed by this man. Why would you want to save him?”
“No, that’s not really it… I just thought handing him to the police would be better than letting him burn to death. And I’m curious about some things.”
“Curious?”
“Ha…”
As if losing interest.
Hyeon Chae-rin clicked her tongue and spoke.
“Since he created the explosion that caused this fire, he’ll be safe from it. He won’t wake up anytime soon anyway, so we’ll just leave him.”
“Ah, I see…”
I felt embarrassed—like I’d asked a foolish question.
“I-I’m sorry! Let’s go! Before the fire spreads!”
“Yes… well.”
Hyeon Chae-rin looked between the narrowing passage and me.
She seemed to be mulling something over.
With a small sigh, she opened her mouth carefully.
“I didn’t ask because the situation was urgent, but… did you create this?”
“……Yes?”
The sudden question caught me off guard.
My legs went rigid without thinking.
‘……Why would she ask that?’
“Ha! That can’t be it. He was already knocked out when I arrived, after all.”
“But you don’t usually approach a downed terrorist that closely. Not even with children present.”
“Well…… um…….”
“This guy—lying there like a pathetic wreck now—he’s climbed the Tower twenty floors deep. The kind who could’ve made it into any mid-tier guild without breaking a sweat.”
‘……Twenty floors?’
No wonder he’d looked so damnably strong.
His abilities.
His build.
‘And I’m supposed to have beaten someone like that senseless……’
No matter how I turned it over in my mind, it made no sense.
“No…… that’s not it…….”
And she felt it too.
The contradiction in what she’d just said.
“The Guild Master called me a buff, but he said I couldn’t even get past the first floor of the Tower…….”
‘……Even I don’t buy it, so what good is you thinking about it?’
At minimum, there was no way I’d be fingered as the one who’d caught the terrorist.
And I didn’t see how it’d be good for me if I were.
‘My identity would be exposed for nothing.’
Baek Yul-heon and my sister.
I wanted no one else to know my secret.
Guild members of Baekryeon or not.
“Listen…… the exit’s closing soon. We should get out of here fast…….”
“……Oh.”
Hyeon Chae-rin, who’d been muttering something about me this whole time,
seemed to snap back to herself at my words, clicking her tongue.
“……I’ll go on ahead.”
“What?”
Whoosh—!
She burst through the nearly closed wall of flame.
A powerful gust of wind!
In its wake, the passage widened considerably more than before.
“W-wait for me……!”
* * *
And so we reach the present moment.
“So what is it? You’re hiding some kind of secret, aren’t you? Or did you get an artifact of some kind?”
“……I’m really not.”
“It’s fine if you don’t answer now. I’m pretty curious by nature, you see. The Guild Master should be here soon, and I’ll keep asking questions until then.”
“…….”
‘……So we’re waiting for the Guild Master.’
Chatter, chatter.
Prattle, prattle.
For the first time that day, I wanted to see Baek Yul-heon.
The Buff I Raised Has Become Too Strong
Author |
Naengmyeon Hwachae
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(주) Samyang C&C
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(주) Samyang C&C – The contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means without written permission from Dreambooks.

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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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