The Unique Grade

Unique grade. It had existed in the previous game as well, but it was a rarity that was hard to come by. There were far more legendary items above it in rank, and even mythical-grade items—the highest tier—outnumbered uniques.

"Unique grade? That's pure gamble. A lot of them are worse than ordinary items. But the ceiling is insanely high, enough to rival legendaries. Still, uniques are rarer than legendaries, so collectors go crazy for them. There's only one of each in the entire game."

Kim Sung-chul's assessment was the same as in the last game. Unfortunately, back then I had never managed to hit that high ceiling.

"Kael, look at this. Unique-grade leather panties. Tempting, right? Especially the delicately frayed edges—that's the real highlight."

"How about this seashell necklace? Pretty, isn't it? And it's unique grade, too."

Unique items were something even the Japanese and Monacan veterans from the neighboring servers had possessed more of than I ever did.

"No, Kael! Forget performance—look at the appearance! Come on, come on!"

"Check this out too. Unique-grade teacup. Lovely, right?"

These were not high-ceiling uniques. The leather panties were inferior to ordinary ones, the seashell necklace offered only a marginal boost, and the teacup was worthless aside from its tiny purification effect.

This run was different. The very first weapon I obtained after starting the game was a high-ceiling unique-grade item. Its performance was in another league compared to the training ground's wooden sword.

"Whoa…"

I carefully ran my hand along the blade. The texture was smooth, the hardness comparable to steel.

'Never thought luck like this would come my way.'

The urge to swing it right then and there bubbled up, but I forced myself to hold back. Having secured a high-end weapon, I needed to match it with equally high-end buffs.

Before hunting the golden fox for the quest, it would be wise to swap out the bread buff. The water buff could be refreshed anytime.

'At the very least, I need to find ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠buffs better than the bread to fill both slots.'

The temple was out of the question from the start—priest buffs cost money. The area near the city gate had plenty of foot traffic, so there were bound to be skilled players among them.

"Looking for a guide to the eastern forest!"

A level-20 player. The bow on his back suggested he wasn't a buffer class.

"Long expedition! Recruiting for orc hunting! Sub-DPS and porter spots open!"

The first candidate group appeared. Recruiting sub-DPS and porters meant there was a buffer in the party. But no buffer was visible—probably waiting elsewhere or recruiting at another gate.

"Performance at the Fang Tavern tonight. Come join us!"

The second candidate. Her voice carried clearly without shouting. Likely a bard class.

"Hmm."

She would have song-related buffs, but the performance time didn't match my schedule. Asking for a buff right before her show would probably get me turned down.

"…This is harder than I thought."

I decided to keep observing the crowd. Begging random passersby for buffs might actually work better.

'Buffers wouldn't bother wearing high-defense armor.'

Simply filtering out metal armor narrowed the targets dramatically.

"Excuse me, are you a buffer?"

"I'm a mage."

"Sorry."

"…What?"

I was a newbie anyway. Asking odd questions wouldn't be seen as rude.

"Are you a buffer by chance?"

"Leather merchant."

"Sorry."

"?"

With little success, I moved faster, asking more people.

"Buffer?"

"No."

"Sorry."

Thirty people already. Buffers were still hard to find.

"This is getting troublesome."

There was a quick way: lie down and shout for attention. But that would destroy any sense of dignity. Having entered this civilized new game with high hopes, I saved that method for the absolute last resort.

"…One hundred. If I don't find a buffer by the hundredth person, I'll really do it."

I steeled myself and resumed the search. A woman wearing revealing clothes—not a mage or production class—caught my eye.

"Excuse me—"

"I have a boyfriend."

"Are you a buffer?"

"I told you I do. Huh?"

"Are you a buffer?"

"…I am. Why?"

Jackpot. I launched the plan I had prepared.

"Could you cast a buff on me? I'm an aspiring buffer."

She ignored me at first, then checked my gear, and now clearly saw me as a newbie.

"Are you hitting on me right now?"

Every response from here on mattered. She looked like someone who had received plenty of confessions. Denial would only make things worse. I kept my eyes locked on hers.

"I'm an aspiring buffer. Could you please cast a buff on me?"

No small talk. Answer questions with questions to shut down suspicion. State the purpose clearly.

"……"

Her gaze moved to my wooden sword. It was enough to raise combat-class suspicions, but not proof. I was a newbie—most newbies carried wooden swords regardless of their desired class.

"That sword looks pretty good even at a glance. You're not really an aspiring buffer, are you?"

Another counter. But this was the first buffer I'd found after so long—I couldn't back down.

"I'm a newbie, though?"

I raised the newbie shield.

"Please. I just want to see what a real buff looks like."

I appealed by showing off my shabby gear. The more of a veteran she was, the better. Most veterans couldn't ignore newbies.

"…What buff do you want?"

"All of them."

"That's a bit much. I don't have that much mana. Recovery potions are expensive too."

Regrettable, but I had to yield here. A short breather was needed to adjust the pace.

"My apologies. I wanted to experience raid-level buffs."

"Raid buffs have short durations. They'll wear off by the time you reach the rabbit area. Still okay?"

Her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guard had dropped. I answered politely, appealing with pure enthusiasm rather than greed.

"It's fine. Whether it's five seconds or ten, I'll focus and savor every moment."

"…Let's go over there. Too many eyes here."

"Yes."

We moved to the empty lot behind the smithy near the gate. No one would notice us here.

"Focus from now on. Raid buffs don't last long, so you have to pay constant attention."

"Yes. I'm ready."

"I'm only doing this because you're a real newbie, so don't get any weird ideas."

"Yes. I'm ready."

"Geez. Seriously."

I had already turned my back to her and opened the buff window. Now I had to quickly judge and select which buffs to keep permanently.

"First, Surging Power. Five-second duration. Usually used on physical main DPS during burst phases. Five-minute cooldown—timing is everything for a buffer."

A buff that literally made strength surge. The guaranteed critical on the first hit made it extremely valuable. The five-second limit didn't matter to me.

No hesitation—I replaced the buff immediately.

"Confirmed."

"Next is Surging Wisdom. Same as the last one except it boosts wisdom instead of strength. Obviously used on magic main DPS."

"Yes."

Useless to me, so I kept a straight face and skipped it.

"Next…"

* * *

The buff lecture finally ended after thirty minutes. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been as mentally draining as a 64-person ideal-type tournament.

"…Thank you. Truly, thank you so much."

"Are you sure you're okay? You don't look well."

"I'm just overwhelmed. So this is what a real buff feels like."

Honestly, my emotions were a chaotic mix of joy and sorrow. I could only keep two buffs permanently.

"Haa… Incredible. No, it's a shame…"

"A-are you really okay? Want to go rest somewhere?"

The joy of permanently keeping such overwhelmingly powerful burst buffs was immense, yet the pain of having to abandon so many other excellent ones was heartbreaking.

"…I'm fine. Actually, I'm not, but… No, I'm fine. I'll never forget today."

Even the pressure of deciding before the buffs expired left me unsure if my choices were optimal. Still, I had to move forward.

"I'll be going now. Thank you again."

"Hey? That's the eastern forest direction!"

"Yes, I know. The eastern forest was my destination from the start. If we meet again, I'll definitely repay you for today."

I meant every word. If I obtained the golden fox pelt, I planned to share some with the buffer.

"Really? You're not going to die, right?"

"No."

"…Then come find me at the Lumière guild hideout later. You said you'd repay me."

Her wariness had completely vanished. Today's events must have left quite an impression.

"What's your nickname?"

"Kael."

"I'm Bella. I can help you change to buffer class, so make sure you visit."

"Bella of the Lumière guild. I'll remember. I'll come find you."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

After five more promises, I finally escaped Bella. Now it was time to head to the eastern forest. I opened the buff window and steadied my resolve.

Looking at my updated status window brought a sense of calm.