The Buffs I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 20

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

Episode 20.
“Haaa…….”
I’d cleared it.
The tower.
Only the first floor, but
my heart still wouldn’t stop pounding.
“It doesn’t feel real…….”
Just moments ago I’d been trapped in that suffocating cave.
Now, stepping back into my cozy, welcoming Rooftop Room,
it felt impossible that I’d actually been inside the tower.
“The clothes are…… still the same.”
White sleepwear I usually wore to bed.
Now dyed a sickly green.
And reeking besides.
“……this won’t come out, will it.
Should’ve changed before going in.
Regret washed over me.
Then.
[Congratulations! You have cleared the first floor.]
[Historic record! You have obtained the Achievement {Strike Three Simultaneously}.]
[Your name will be registered on the first floor exclusive Leaderboard.]
[Please set your desired name.]
My vision filled with text in an instant.
“Huh, Achievement? A name?”
Below the clear message there was a lot more.
My head was starting to spin.
“Leaderboard means…….”
It had to be something like a rankings board.
I’d heard about it from my sister.
‘The first floor leaderboard changes constantly, she’d said.’
If I was getting on it, apparently it shifted dozens of times a day.
“A name, a name…….”
My real name was out of the question.
I didn’t have any suitable nicknames lying around…….
[Your name can be reset later.]
“Oh, I’ll set it later then.”
[Your name has been automatically recorded as Undefined.]
Whew, thank goodness.
I’m the type who agonizes over game nicknames for over an hour.
I might never have decided on this one even thinking all day.
“Name’s settled, what’s next.”
Achievement.
“……Achievement?”
I’d never even heard my sister mention anything like that.
“Strike three simultaneously…… so,”
killing all the ants at once?
They reward Achievements for that?
Cautiously, I clicked on the Achievement section.
Then.
[You can obtain a reward for the Achievement {Strike Three Simultaneously}.]
‘A reward!’
My trembling hands steadied in an instant.
“W-wait, a reward! I’m taking it now!”
I’d actually wondered if Achievements were even worth anything.
But if there’s a reward involved, that changes everything.
I started mashing the section marked “reward” like a madman.
The text crackled and shifted.
[Reward List]
[1. Potion of Strength]
[2. Giant Ant Exoskeleton]
[3. Tower Herb]
Three rewards to choose from.
“Wait, I have to pick one?”
There was no “Take All” option.
As a test, I clicked on option one.
[Do you wish to select the Potion of Strength?]
“No! Cancel, cancel!”
Just as I thought.
One choice out of three.
“Ugh… I really hate this kind of thing.”
I’d had decision paralysis since childhood.
That fear of choosing one and watching the others vanish forever.
My stomach twisted.
‘All right, let me read this carefully.’
The rewards were each:
Potion of Strength.
Giant Ant Exoskeleton.
Tower Herb.
If I ranked them purely by cash value, option two was worth the most.
My sister had told me that potions received as rewards could only be used by the person who received them, so I’d rule that out.
The herb was just listed as “herb” — I had no idea what kind it was, so its value was a mystery.
But monster materials always sold for a good price.
Even if it came from the Tower’s weakest creature.
A full exoskeleton ought to fetch at least ten million won.
‘So it really comes down to money?’
Second consideration: what would actually help me.
If I took the Potion of Strength, it would definitely help me climb the Tower.
Take the boss on floor ten, for instance.
I’d heard that once you get past floor thirty or higher, the potion’s help dwindles.
But floor thirty still felt like a dream at this point.
If I stocked up now, it would certainly come in handy.
And then there was the herb…
‘That’s the gamble, really.’
A seed would be one thing, but an herb?
Who knew what plant would emerge, or what properties it would have.
If it boosted mana or enhanced the body, that’d be amazing.
But I’d heard cases where people got itchy all day long.
Or felt depressed for a week. So there were duds too.
‘Compared to what I can get for certain, gambling feels a bit risky.’
Our family had a house rule: never gamble.
We had dozens of such sayings,
but they all offered small bits of wisdom for life.
“Okay, I’ve decided.”
The money my sister gave me last time was still mostly untouched.
For the foreseeable future, climbing the Tower would be my main goal.
“I’m going with option one…”
Crackle, crackle-crackle.
“Huh?”
Just as my finger was about to press option one.
The text began to shift again.
[Reward List]
[1. Potion of Strength]
[2. Giant Ant Exoskeleton]
[3. Tower Herb — Your ability allows you to extract a seed from the effect of the Blessing of the World Tree.]
“?”
Extract a seed?
…
…
…A long moment stretched out.
[You have obtained the reward: Tower Herb (Seed).]
There was no time to think.
His finger was already pressing 3.
* * *
The Community.
A place where all information related to the Tower was shared.
Ordinarily it overflowed with all manner of trivia and questions.
But in this moment, millions of people were fighting over a single subject.
[So who is Undefined?]
How on earth did a Korean beat Maverick?
Isn’t this a bug?
ㄴ What do you mean beat Maverick—they nabbed the Tower’s first floor record
ㄴ Isn’t that the same thing? Every Awakener in the world declared nobody could touch Maverick’s first floor record
ㄴ If it’s not a bug, then they’re definitely a Secondary Awakener
ㄴ Secondary Awakening isn’t something just anyone does—and it happens to show up in Korea of all places?
ㄴ It could happen in Korea thoughㅋㅋ feels good to have some national pride for once
Undefined.
In just one hour, the person setting the entire global Community ablaze.
For two reasons.
‘They beat Maverick’s record.’
‘They’re Korean.’
The reactions were extreme.
One side insisted there had to be some deception—they refused to believe it.
The other side rejoiced that Korea finally had a world-class ranker.
[I’ll just believe it]
Trick or bug, I don’t care.
My patriotic spirit, which had completely evaporated, is coming back a little.
I’m just going to believe that good things are good and move on.
ㄴ People like you are living like suckers
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Here comes the traitor
ㄴ What traitor—it’s you idiots who fall for this garbage
ㄴ What method could a person possibly use to fake the Leaderboard?
ㄴ There must be methods you commoners don’t know about
“Methods commoners don’t know about? Ha…….”
Scanning through the posts on the Community,
Baek Yul-heon sighed.
Methods to fake the Leaderboard?
There couldn’t be any.
If humans had the power to manipulate the system, the Tower would have been conquered long ago and that would’ve been the end of it.
“Anyway, there’s nothing useful here.”
He’d searched in hopes of finding even a scrap of information about Undefined.
Instead of information, he found a full-blown argument in full swing.
Ever since last night, he hadn’t left his monitor once, searching.
Watching nothing but these pointless verbal squabbles continued to wear his sanity thin.
“Once the Management Bureau starts moving, the truth will come out in no time.”
When that happened, there would be nothing Baekryeon could do.
Right now, Korea alone had guilds with higher standing than Baekryeon, crowded and packed tight.
And with a record like Undefined’s, guilds from around the world would be searching with their eyes wide open.
“……Twenty-three seconds.”
Baek Yul-heon stared at the Leaderboard, still unable to believe it, and muttered hollowly.
“They have to be a Secondary Awakener.”
The situation must be like Maverick’s.
There was no other explanation.
An irregular—someone at Level 1 who could use combat skills.
“……But even with combat skills, can you wipe out three Giant Ants in twenty-three seconds on a Level 1 spec?”
A distant memory surfaced.
From back when he’d been Level 1 himself.
When he’d first seen those ants, his heart had pounded.
He’d carefully crushed them one by one with his fists and feet.
“I think it took me about five minutes, heh.”
He decided to stop with these pointless reminiscences.
For now, I need to focus on finding the Undefined before the Management Bureau begins its full-scale operation.
“There’ve been so many strange incidents happening nearby lately.”
A Guild I thought was finished for good came back to life.
Tower plants are being cultivated.
A Level 1 buffer took down an Awakener terrorist.
“…… Wait. It’s all about Jeong So-hyeok.”
Jeong So-hyeok.
The mastermind behind every incident occurring nearby,
and my greatest ally.
“How many seconds would it take if So-hyeok climbed the Tower?”
A Secondary Awakener.
Level 1, yet capable of using the Wind Thunder Fist Method—utterly off the charts.
“…… Hold on.”
‘A Secondary Awakener? Level 1 with a skill?’
The world suddenly felt dizzy.
Someone with motivation to challenge the Tower.
A Secondary Awakener, Level 1, capable of using a skill.
“…… Surely not.”
Baek Yul-heon picked up his phone with trembling hands.
He tapped on the contact labeled “Jeong So-hyeok.”
“Gulp…….”
Ring, ring.
Cold sweat seeped from the hand holding the phone.
With each passing second of the call, suspicion was hardening into certainty.
Of all the people he knew,
there was no one else crazy enough to pull something like this but Jeong So-hyeok.
And then.
Click.
―Hello?
“Ah…… So-hyeok?”
―Yes, Guild Master? What’s the matter at this hour?
“Did anything happen last night?”
―Last night?
“Yeah. Around 11 o’clock, to be specific.”
A brief silence followed.
His throat felt parched.
Laughter filtered through the phone.
―No? Nothing happened at all.
“Ah…… Really?”
―Yes. I had dinner, took a shower, did some cleaning for the first time in a while.
“Phew…… What was I thinking. Sorry, So-hyeok, calling you so early like this…….”
―Oh, actually, I did go into the Tower once, like you mentioned, Guild Master.
“…… What?”
Thud.
The phone slipped through his fingers.
―Honestly, I wasn’t confident about it, but for some reason I just went in impulsively. Your words must have made quite an impression on me.
The speaker wasn’t on, so only the muffled sound of Jeong So-hyeok’s voice emanated from the phone lying on the desk.
But an Awakener’s ears missed nothing.
“…… So, what was the result?”
―Haha, well…… I cleared it. I only went in as a test, so I guess I was lucky.
“…… Do you remember roughly how many seconds it took?”
―Uh, um…….
Another long silence stretched out.
It sounded as though there was faint murmuring, as if counting numbers very quietly.
―About thirty seconds? No, maybe twenty?
He spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Completely unaware of what that record meant.
Baek Yul-heon’s brow furrowed as if his head were spinning,
yet the corners of his mouth curved upward in satisfaction.
The buffer I raised is too strong.
Author |
Naengmyeon Hwachae
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Corp.
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Corp. – Dream Books
Address |
7F 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]
Without the written permission of Samyang C&C Corp. – Dream Books, the contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means.

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