The Buffs I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 18

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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 18.
People reveal their true nature when cornered.
This was Baek Yul-heon’s conviction, born of experience.
He wiped cold sweat from his brow, eyes fixed on the monitor screen.
―Damn it, you bastard! Baek Yul-heon!!!
“…….”
It was the first time Jung So-hyuk had heard such language.
But he had nothing to say in his defense.
‘I’m sorry…….’
Jung So-hyuk was hiding something.
Something very important.
Baekryeon was in an extraordinarily precarious position right now.
Had Jung So-hyuk not appeared when he did, the guild would have simply dissolved into thin air without question.
Each of Jung So-hyuk’s actions, each hidden ability, had the power to shake the guild to its foundation.
He owed it to him—more than an apology could express—and there was even the risk of turning his back on Baekryeon itself.
But in the end, Baek Yul-heon had made his choice.
“I’ll have to grovel and beg forgiveness when this is over…….”
“Guild Master, setup is complete.”
“Begin.”
The massive figure on the monitor screen began to move.
* * *
“Insane. Completely insane.”
The terrorist from the Mart.
The same one I’d knocked unconscious with my own hands and watched get hauled away by police.
That man was standing in front of me right now.
And seething with considerable resentment.
“You made things pretty tough for me, you know? Guess you deserve some payback, huh?”
“…….”
The terrorist clenched his fists, the joints cracking and popping ominously.
Small bursts of explosive force detonating alongside the movements looked deeply threatening.
Trauma.
Memories from the Mart were surging back to the surface.
‘How the hell is he here?’
But the real question was ‘why’.
According to Baek Yul-heon, this was unmistakably a Baekryeon building.
So why was a terrorist standing in it?
Unfortunately, he wasn’t about to grant me time to think.
“Blow to pieces!!”
Bang!!
A massive plume of smoke erupted upward as he launched toward me like a projectile.
‘Fight or die.’
No point in deliberating.
The fact that he was standing in front of me right now was undeniable.
The saving grace was that I’d already been through this before.
“Wind Thunder Fist Technique!”
I threw a counter, just like last time.
Ducking low, I barely managed to slip past his fist……
“Ugh……!”
But a small explosion detonating at the edge of his knuckles grazed my right eye.
Whoosh!
As a result, my fist didn’t even graze him.
I felt no contact at all.
‘Damn it.’
The counter hadn’t worked.
Which meant he’d approached while fully conscious and alert.
‘I’m dead.’
A small-scale self-detonation alone would shred my body to pieces.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Bracing for the pain to come.
“……?”
‘Pain?’
Wasn’t one of his eyes nearly destroyed in the explosion just moments ago?
“……What?”
He opened his eyes.
There was nothing there.
No smoke, no explosion, no pain.
Not even the terrorist.
Just the same pristine white space as before.
Bewilderment rooted him in place.
“……Huh?”
The click-click of heeled footsteps.
They came from the direction of the entrance he’d come through.
“……The guild master?”
“No.”
A woman stepped into view.
She wore a white coat and glasses.
“Who are you……?”
“I’m Lee Yu-ri, Head of the Awakener Management Team at Baekryeon.”
Lee Yu-ri adjusted her glasses and handed over a business card.
He took the small card absently, still catching up with himself.
The situation hadn’t settled in yet.
“Jung So-hyuk? Would you mind looking here for a moment?”
“……Yes?”
He tore his gaze from the card and looked at her.
Her fist was clenched.
“Here, take this.”
“……?”
While her fist remained closed, she offered him something.
Numbly, he held out his palm beneath it.
“Surprise.”
“……What?”
Plop.
Something fell into his palm.
Round, wet, soft.
‘……An eyeball?’
“AHHHHH!!”
He couldn’t forget it.
It was that terrorist’s eye.
He flung it off his palm immediately.
“Ha ha, your reaction is amusing.”
“Amusing?!”
The revolting sensation still clung to his right hand.
A human eyeball, for God’s sake.
The bad taste was beyond…….
“……Huh?”
The eyeball he’d thrown into empty space had vanished.
“Look at your palm again.”
“……My palm?”
Carefully, he turned his gaze to his right hand.
[Congratulations!]
“Huh?”
Strange characters floated above his palm.
Crackling in midair.
“A… holo… gram?”
“Wow, you got it right away. So it wasn’t just flattery when they said you were quick on your feet?”
“What is this……?”
“It’s my ability.”
Lee Yu-ri held out her palm.
A flickering blue aura emanated from it.
It coalesced into a circle above her hand, then scattered away.
“…An Awakener?”
“Yes, not a combatant, but I do have abilities that come in handy, wouldn’t you say?”
She opened her palm toward the empty air.
A blue aura poured from her hand, taking on a massive shape.
After a moment passed,
“…Ah.”
Kim Wi-gang.
The towering figure materialized in the empty space.
“Ahahaha, I am Kim Wi-gang.”
“Ahahaha, I am Kim Wi-gang.”
As Lee Yu-ri spoke, the holographic Kim Wi-gang moved his mouth in perfect synchronization.
Now it made sense.
‘It was a hologram all along.’
The right eye that should have been destroyed in the explosion was perfectly intact.
The fist that should have at least grazed me had never made contact.
Because that terrorist had been nothing but a hologram.
“Haha…”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
At the same moment, a figure appeared behind Lee Yu-ri.
“…Guild Master.”
“Ah, haha… So-hyuk, are you alright?”
Baek Yul-heon scratched his head, his gaze shifting away.
I laughed quietly and answered him back.
“Wait… your expression looks so much like So-hyun’s…?”
“Is that so?”
“Ahaha… being siblings, you really do look alike.”
“Then you must know how my sister handles this sort of thing?”
“Uh…?”
Time for retribution.
* * *
“…Guild Master.”
“Yes?”
Watching the monitor screen running in real time,
Baek Yul-heon could not hide his admiration.
“For the hologram to shatter in a single blow…”
It was a hologram that Yu-ri had painstakingly crafted.
It shouldn’t have dissolved from any ordinary impact.
‘The winds swirling around his body, the sound of thunder as the blow lands…’
Every movement flowed like water—evasion, counter, everything seamless.
It was a sight far too familiar.
Baek Yul-heon unconsciously projected his own form onto Jung So-hyuk.
“Confirmed. I’ll worry about the ‘how’ later—So-hyuk, you can use my ability.”
“…But that shouldn’t be possible.”
“You saw it with your own eyes, didn’t you? Denying it won’t change anything.”
“…I’ll verify it one more time.”
Watching Lee Yu-ri check the monitor again and again, cold sweat beading on her brow,
Baek Yul-heon let out a long sigh.
‘Well, I suppose there’s nothing that should surprise me anymore.’
From the moment he awakened an EX Rank ability—something unprecedented and unheard of—
nothing seemed strange anymore.
Even if that ability turned out to be copying and using someone else’s power.
“Yu-ri, stop checking and come downstairs, will you? So-hyuk must be furious.”
“Just angry? Dragged here without any explanation and forced to fight a terrorist? I’d have kicked him in the face.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Watching Lee Yu-ri head down first,
Baek Yul-heon placed a hand to his forehead.
* * *
“So, can you explain, So-hyuk?”
“…”
Baek Yul-heon asked in a serious tone.
Everything that could be photographed had already been captured.
There was nothing left to hide.
“After using my ability on plants for the first time, I awakened a second ability.”
World Tree’s Subordinate.
An ability that copies the power of anyone who consumes the plants I’ve cultivated.
The moment he heard my explanation,
Baek Yul-heon spoke with conviction.
“You were the one who took down Kim Wi-gang at the Mart, weren’t you?”
“……Kim Wi-gang?”
“Oh, that’s the terrorist’s name.”
“Ah…… Yes, that’s right.”
“Then why did Chae Rin say it was her? That’s your achievement, isn’t it?”
“That’s something you’d know better than anyone, Guild Master.”
Concealing my identity.
Raising Baekryeon’s standing.
The one who profited most from the terrorist attack was none other than Baekryeon.
“……True, it’s awkward to say this much when I’m in a position that benefited from your help.”
Baek Yul-heon fell silent for a moment.
He seemed to be gauging my reaction.
“So-hyuk.”
Then he spoke slowly.
“You were the captain of the baseball team back then, weren’t you?”
“……Pardon?”
An abrupt question about the past.
Baek Yul-heon stared into empty space.
“Standing above others isn’t a pleasant thing. It’s ungrateful and grueling. There’s much to be responsible for.”
“Why are you suddenly——”
“But if you ask whether it’s only painful, the answer is no. You’ve experienced it yourself, I imagine.”
Baek Yul-heon clenched his fist tightly.
“Simply being in a higher place than others feels good.”
“…….”
What was he trying to say?
Before I could ponder it, his meaning became clear.
The simple rush of victory over others.
The satisfaction of surpassing someone who once stood above you.
Memories surfaced.
As my lips curved upward slightly, Baek Yul-heon spoke with certainty.
“Have you never thought about climbing the Tower yourself? So-hyuk.”
“……The Tower?”
“This isn’t a request from me as Guild Master, but advice from Baek Yul-heon as a person. I’m not trying to force you to join Baekryeon, and you don’t need to strain yourself.”
The Tower.
A word that had always lingered in a corner of my heart, yet I couldn’t bring myself to speak it aloud.
A realm I’d dismissed as merely a dream.
“I simply want to see it. A man who once fell to the depths standing at the peak.”
“…….”
“How long will you keep hiding who you are? Don’t you want to reveal yourself openly at least once?”
“…….”
“Those who climb the Tower can do that. Everything falls into your hands simply by reaching such heights.”
My mouth suddenly went numb.
I wanted to say something, but the words caught in my throat.
Heat flooded my head.
Without realizing it, I began bouncing my leg.
I met Baek Yul-heon’s gaze directly.
Eyes unmarred by greed, purely human.
They were brimming with curiosity.
Along with faith in me.
This man genuinely believed I could climb the Tower.
“……Do you think I could do it?”
“I don’t know. Climbing the Tower is a matter of willpower, after all. No matter how strong your ability is, weakness of spirit leads to elimination.”
“Ha ha, I’m just a guy who wasted several years on the fact that I quit baseball, aren’t I?”
“I don’t know who you were before we met. I don’t like defining people by their past. What matters is now.”
“……Is who I am now somehow different?”
“At the very least, from where I’m sitting, the person in front of me doesn’t strike me as someone who’d squander their ability and drift through life. It’d be a waste, wouldn’t it? Honestly.”
A waste.
Such a simple emotion.
And yet it burned with intensity.
“I never imagined I’d hear something like that here.”
“Ha ha! I didn’t expect to say it either. The truth is, I was just curious what your secret was, so I called you in.”
“……Would it be alright if I left now?”
“Oh, I’ll drive you! Just wait a moment!”
Two hours later, I arrived safely at the Rooftop Room.
Dusk was settling in.
Normally I would have been tired enough to collapse into sleep at once, but for some reason, sleep wouldn’t come.
Baek Yul-heon’s words circled endlessly in my mind.
The Tower.
The peak.
Ability.
“…….”
A memory from years ago surfaced.
Floor one of the Tower.
When I’d challenged that unknown with such confidence.
Even now, remembering it made my legs tremble.
The terror of possibly dying.
A revulsion toward creatures I’d never seen before in my life.
Would things be different now?
Had something changed?
“……Tower entry.”
I Raised The Buff So Strong
Author |
Naengmyeon Hwachae
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Corporation
Editor in Chief |
Editorial Department
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Samyang C&C Corporation – Dream Books
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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 transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Corporation – 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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