The Buffs I Raised Are Too Strong - Chapter 28

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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 28.
“Cough, cough……!”
Blood dribbled down.
The man’s mouth filled with crimson.
His jaw hung loose as if it had been knocked clean, refusing to stay in place.
Pain. Confusion.
His mind reeled, unable to process what had happened.
Only one thing echoed in his consciousness.
The emblem on that blue spear — the image seared into his memory before impact sent him flying.
[Your registered Awakener has successfully cleared a floor.]
[Floor cleared ― Floor 2]
[Time ― 00:19]
[Would you like to check the Floor 2 Leaderboard?]
“Ghhh…… gaaahhh…….”
His tongue wouldn’t obey.
But he had to speak.
He had to verify.
“Sh…… show me…….”
[1. Mi-jeong: ―00:00:19―]
[2. Maverick (maverick): ―00:00:26―]
[3. Hanlin (瀚霖): ―00:01:35―]
[4. Babajide (babajide): ―00:01:40―]
[…]
[…]
“Hhhh…… hehehehh……!”
He laughed.
Jaw shattered, he laughed like a madman.
Hyun Chae-rin. The man’s allies. All of them.
They could only stand frozen, their minds blank as they watched.
Only one person’s gaze remained clear.
Not fixed on the fallen man — but on Hyun Chae-rin.
The architect of his ruin.
* * *
Moments earlier.
While Hyun Chae-rin was using Acceleration to threaten the man’s companion.
“…….”
Jung So-hyuk could only watch, helpless.
“There’s nothing I…… nothing I can……”
do.
Powerless as he was, he couldn’t help here.
Hyun Chae-rin had conquered the tower up to Floor 39 — a veteran.
The man opposing her was difficult to assess, but likely an Awakener of comparable strength to her.
And I’ve only just cleared Floor 1. A complete novice.
My abilities, however many, would only be effective against someone my own tier.
Against an opponent thirty or more floors ahead, I’d be useless — that much was obvious.
‘So I’m just supposed to do nothing?’
Stand by and watch?
Trust that Hyun Chae-rin will handle it somehow?
“……No. Not like this.”
I’d just finished lecturing everyone about standing firm.
How could I keep quiet now?
Tick-tick.
Time kept moving.
Every second wasted.
Some way to close the gap against an Awakener so many floors ahead.
Herbs. Potions. Equipment.
Was there anything I could find?
Then — a flash of clarity.
‘……Achievement rewards.’
When I’d cleared Floor 1.
I’d cleared the ‘Three at Once’ Achievement and collected the reward.
That reward—the plant I’d received—was the whole reason I’d come this far.
“What if I could do it again?”
My clear time on Floor 1 had been around thirty seconds.
Given all the fumbling from being out of practice, I could probably cut that down further.
If.
If I entered the tower now and cleared Floor 2.
If I achieved another Achievement.
If one of those first-tier rewards came through—something like a surge in power.
Then maybe I’d have a fighting chance.
‘There’s no time to deliberate.’
Every second that passes, time moves forward.
With every second that ticks by, Hyun Chae-rin’s life hangs in the balance.
Without another moment’s hesitation, I whispered quietly.
“……Tower entry.”
* * *
Unpleasant humidity crashed down in an instant, weighing my legs like lead.
But the moment I stepped into the hushed silence of the cave interior, my mind cleared.
“Exhale…….”
[You have entered Floor 2.]
[Name: Jung So-hyuk]
[Affiliation: South Korea]
[Level: 1 LV]
[Ability: World Tree’s Blessing]
[Exclusive Skills: World Tree’s Blessing, World Tree’s Servant]
[General Skills: None]
The Status Window appeared without fail.
―Kee-eek?
―Kee-ik!
And just as quickly, ants materialized before my eyes.
“One second.”
Wind Thunder Fist Technique.
I kicked off the ground and vaulted, driving my fist down onto one ant’s skull.
“One down.”
Splurch.
Green ichor erupted from the ant’s head, soaking my clothes.
―Kee-eek!?
Perhaps startled by how instantly its companion had fallen.
I was almost surprised to see the ant actually flinch and stumble backward.
Almost.
“Three seconds.”
Bang!
I caved in its skull immediately after.
Even as rigor mortis seemed to set in, the thing still lunged at me, headless.
“Hup!”
Crack!
A clean roundhouse kick snapped its neck clean off.
“Tsk.”
Six seconds so far.
Finally, what should have appeared long ago made itself known.
[Floor 2 Objective: Defeat the Giant Ants.]
[Time Limit: 1 hour]
[Condition: Giant Ants 2/5]
[Failure: Death, objective abandoned]
‘Five.’
Two more than Floor 1.
It seemed true, then—without reaching a boss monster, each floor didn’t differ that much from the last.
‘I can do this.’
With no way of knowing the Achievement condition, speed was my only option.
The ants had hidden themselves, refusing to show their faces.
Then so be it.
“Sense Amplification.”
Eyes closed, focus narrowed to hearing alone.
Unlike before, when the blaring EDM and crowd noise had pressed down on him with crushing weight,
this cave was utterly silent.
‘One to the left, against the wall.’
‘Another lurking deep in a hollow above.’
“The third one is…!”
Crash!
He drove his fist hard into the cave wall.
From his experience on Floor 1, he already knew this stone crumbled easily.
A sickening screech—
The ant’s belly burst open, its body entombed in the shattered wall—head, chest, and all.
“Ten seconds.”
Two left.
He already knew where they were.
He kicked off the ground with enough force to crater the stone beneath his feet.
It always happened—after using Sense Amplification, a lingering fatigue crept through him.
A violent shriek from above—
An ant plummeted from the ceiling, fangs aimed for his skull.
He stopped mid-stride, legs planted firm against the floor.
His eyes tracked the falling creature.
“Wind Thunder Guardian.”
A low hum filled the air—
The grim winds dwelling in the cave converged, coalescing into his fists.
‘That sensation again.’
When he’d fought the terrorist at the supermarket.
Time had seemed to slow for just an instant.
That mass hurtling toward him like a bullet from an explosion,
had felt slow as a conveyor belt of sushi.
A thunderous crack—
Lightning’s roar enveloped the entire cave.
The ant before him was obliterated beyond recognition, its remains scattered across every surface.
Staring at that gruesome sight, he felt an odd, dark satisfaction bloom in his chest.
[Floor 2 Mission: Defeat the Giant Ant.]
[Time Limit: 1 hour]
[Progress: Giant Ant 4/5]
[Failure: Death, Mission Abandonment]
‘One left.’
Twelve seconds.
He’d already surpassed the three ants from his last quest.
At half the pace.
At this rate, he could finish before the clock hit twenty seconds.
‘I wonder what’s happening outside…’
As long as Hyun Chae-rin was holding Jung So-hyuk’s partner hostage, neither side could afford reckless moves.
But that stalemate wouldn’t last.
They were already outnumbered.
There was no guarantee they wouldn’t be overwhelmed.
‘…Stop thinking about it.’
The only thing to do was finish quickly.
That was all he could control.
The final ant waited for him at the cave’s end.
By sound alone, he’d sensed it holding its breath beneath the floor.
Had it dug a shallow burrow as cover?
A trap, perhaps?
‘Is its intelligence higher than I thought?’
He wasn’t sure, but no trap—no matter how cunning—could spring once he’d already triggered it.
He burst forward—
Running at full speed toward the cave’s terminus.
His breath came quicker now.
Is this the first time I’ve burned through my abilities this fast?
If my Mana Pool hadn’t expanded, I might’ve collapsed already.
‘Here. This is it.’
As I drew closer, the warning crystallized in my mind.
‘Don’t step there.’ Danger signals pricked my skin like needles.
‘Then.’
“Hah!”
I raised my fist and drove it straight down into the floor.
The entire Cave shuddered with a grinding crunch.
The false floor before my eyes—
―Shriek!
Crash.
The hairline fracture spreading from my fist’s impact gave way instantly, and the whole thing caved in.
From the ant’s perspective, a cascade of rubble tumbled down across its straining jaws.
It plunged straight into the pit.
“The final blow!”
Boom!!
[Floor 2 Mission: Eliminate the Giant Ant (5/5).]
[Time Limit: 1 hour]
[Condition: Giant Ant 5/5]
[Failure: Death, Abandon Mission]
[Congratulations! Floor 2 cleared.]
“Done!”
The ant’s shattered corpse dissolved into smoke.
A Status Window materialized before my eyes, displaying the completion message.
“Achievement! Where’s the achievement!?”
But that’s not what matters most.
There’s only one reason I entered the Tower in this situation.
Achievement rewards.
The key to breaking through this impossible deadlock.
And as if my hopes weren’t in vain—
[Historic Record! You have obtained the Achievement {20 Seconds Is Enough}.]
[Your name is recorded on the Floor 2 Leaderboard.]
“Yes!!”
The achievement notification appeared immediately.
“20 seconds is… enough?”
I clicked on the Achievement.
[Obtained by clearing in under 20 seconds]
[Mi-jeong’s Clear Time ― 00:19]
’19 seconds!’
I broke into a cold sweat reading the Achievement description.
If I’d been even one second slower, the Achievement wouldn’t have triggered.
“Moving as fast as possible was the right call.”
Regardless, what matters is that the Achievement was earned.
And with it, a reward.
[You may now claim the reward for the Achievement {20 Seconds Is Enough}.]
This is the critical moment.
If a useless reward appears now, everything I came to the Tower for disappears.
My life hangs in the balance.
‘Please…’
“Claim!”
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the notification to sound.
Probably another choice of one from three, like before.
Ding!
A bright chime rang out.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
[Reward List]
[1. Giant Ant’s Head]
[2. Floor Skip Ticket (Boss Room Excluded)]
[3. One Punch Gauntlet]
“……Damn.”
The moment I saw the reward list appear, a sigh slipped out.
What I wanted most was a leap in power.
The effects would show immediately, and from what I’d heard, it was the fastest way to grow strong in a short span of time.
‘The ant head…… I don’t need it.’
It’s not like I’d wield it as a weapon.
It won’t help in the current situation at all.
I’d heard the preserved head would fetch a decent price.
‘But money isn’t the issue.’
Even if I took the ant head and presented it, I couldn’t escape this place safely.
Option one: pass.
‘As for option two…….’
Truth be told, it caught my eye first.
The Floor Skip Ticket.
An item I’d never even heard of before.
The effect is probably exactly what the name suggests.
‘It’s pretty incredible, though…….’
If I sold it to an Awakener whose progress was blocked right now, it’d be practically a blank check.
But like option one, it doesn’t help my current situation.
Even if I used it immediately, I’d clear Floor 3.
That’s it—just reaching Level 3.
“Ugh…….”
Holding back tears, I passed on it.
Now only one option remained.
If this one was a dead end too, I’d have to either pick option one and use it as a weapon, or aim for a deal with option two.
“……Gulp.”
Option three: the One Punch Gauntlet.
The name alone gave me no clue, so I checked the description.
[It is an Artifact. It can be used only once, and shatters the moment it is used. ‘One-Hit Kill’]
“…….”
* * *
Click.
It fit my fist perfectly, as if it had always been mine.
I lifted my head and took in the situation.
“……!”
The hostage—freed.
A man’s hand resting on Hyun Chae-rin’s shoulder.
Small tears glistened in Hyun Chae-rin’s eyes.
That was all the thought I needed.
Whoosh—!
“You bastard, take your hands off her!!”
Crash—!
Shatter.
The gauntlet exploded into fragments, scattering in all directions.
The Buff I Raised Is Way Too Strong
Author |
Naengmyeon Hwachae
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editorial Director |
Editorial Department
Published By |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
Address |
7F, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260731072
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submission |
[email protected]
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. — The contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of 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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