The Only Enhancer - Chapter 109

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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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Chapter 109
109 – Homunculus Number One! (1)
0.
Homunculus.
A term commonly used to describe artificial humans created through transmutation by medieval alchemists.
Originally, it was considered impossible to realize.
But now, it had become possible.
Gwen’s trait—True Alchemist.
Among the skills of a True Alchemist, homunculus creation wasn’t something that required the horrific transmutation known from medieval times.
Well, it was horrific in its own way.
The method was closer to mixing multiple monsters together.
It would be more accurate to call it chimera transmutation rather than homunculus creation, but there was a crucial difference here.
Homunculus creation, after all, was the method of generating artificial humans, wasn’t it?
Gwen’s skill worked the same way.
A skill that generated artificial humans by blending together all the distinctive characteristics of various monsters.
That was homunculus creation.
Since their bodies were composed of mana, there was little hesitation about it, and besides, Ranit was a vile creature who killed people with sadistic cruelty.
So there was even less hesitation.
As Gwen gathered mana stones obtained from various monsters and activated her skill.
A brilliant flash erupted!
As the intense light burst forth, all the mana stones merged with Ranit’s body.
Simultaneously, the black sphere at the core of his heart.
The Sphere of Evolution responded.
At first, I thought the Sphere of Evolution was responding and infusing power, but something felt different.
Even Gwen, who could perceive mana, sensed it, and now Min-jun, who clearly grasped mana, felt it too.
“This… what is this?”
“…It’s being purified.”
Min-jun and Gwen watched in amazement as the Sphere of Evolution transformed.
The Sphere of Evolution, which had been darkened as if absorbing all the light in the world, was shedding its black taint and disappearing.
In its place, the color of the Sphere of Evolution that emerged was a piercing, crystalline blue.
Perhaps because it had come from the sea?
As the Sphere of Evolution turned that brilliant blue.
His form was transforming.
All the powerful mana stones containing tremendous energy melted away and vanished, and that mana reformed into shape, creating a nearly perfect human body.
Ranit, Jerot, Shana, and even Marcia, who was called Kraken.
All four had taken human form, but traces of monster characteristics remained in their skin and several other features.
But this time, it was nearly perfect in its humanity.
Except for the faintest of mysterious tattoo-like lines etched around the eyes and forehead.
Min-jun gazed at it with great astonishment.
Gwen suddenly cried out.
“P-please close your eyes, Guild Master!”
“…???”
I stared at Ranit—or rather, what used to be Ranit—with a bewildered expression.
Ranit had once possessed a man’s form, but now all trace of masculine dignity had vanished. In its place, a full bosom had blossomed, and the figure had transformed into that of a breathtakingly beautiful woman, adorned with nothing but her own skin.
Ma Hyun-seok also caught sight of this and cleared his throat awkwardly, turning his head away. Yet Jung Ji-hwan and I simply exchanged glances of confusion—as if asking, why?
Ma Hyun-seok, ignoring our bewilderment, swiftly removed his own coat and draped it over the homunculus.
Unable to comprehend even this gesture, Jung Ji-hwan and I tilted our heads in genuine perplexity, speaking as though the situation made no sense whatsoever.
“After all, despite possessing a woman’s body, it’s ultimately just a homunculus created from a monster, isn’t it?”
“Hmm, one could argue that concepts like human rights don’t really apply here, wouldn’t you say?”
The moment both of us uttered such callous remarks, Ma Hyun-seok and Gwen cast expressions of utter disdain upon us.
Then Ma Hyun-seok spoke in a measured tone.
“You’re both T-rank, aren’t you?”
“….”
“…You even know about that, Association Chairman?”
Jung Ji-hwan regarded Ma Hyun-seok with visible shock, while I simply shook my head.
In any case, I had witnessed the desired outcome.
“Gwen, does this creature retain any of Ranit’s memories?”
“Hmm.”
The skill description didn’t explicitly state such details, but I understood well enough.
With skills of this caliber, the caster’s intuition proves most accurate.
So I posed the question.
Gwen pondered for a moment before nodding.
“When the skill activates, the soul undergoes purification and merges with the soul of another monster contained within the magic stone, forming an entirely new soul. It’s not that memories are absent, but rather the personality itself has fundamentally changed.”
“I see. Then… listen here.”
-…Yes.
Even the voice had transformed.
If I had to draw a comparison, it resembled the voice of a sorceress.
Could it be the combined effect of the power within my enhancement-infused magic stone and Gwen’s alchemical prowess?
The mana felt far more potent than when Ranit had existed.
The mana itself seemed to possess intention and will.
Emerging from that mysterious sensation, I issued a concrete command.
“Do you know the location of the witch?”
I observed, wondering if there would be a moment of hesitation at my words.
Yet it answered immediately, without any such indication.
-There exists a path leading to the Atlantic Deep Sea. Should you desire it, I can guide you there at once.
Given how thoroughly the voice had changed, it seemed Ranit had truly become something entirely different.
I found this development quite fascinating.
And the same held true for Jung Ji-hwan and Ma Hyun-seok.
“My, I never imagined such a skill could exist in this world.”
“A homunculus, no less. There seem to be far too many possibilities to experiment with.”
I smiled slightly at the two of them, then fell into thought.
That creature was at least a Disaster Level 6 monster.
It could even be higher than that.
The thought sent a chill down my spine.
I wish I could mass-produce something like that.
But that’s probably impossible.
First, assuming the same conditions, I’d need to capture a Disaster Level 6 monster, and then consume a whopping ten enhanced Level 5 magic stones.
What if that’s not the case?
Then I’d have to consume a complete Sphere of Evolution.
‘It’s better to use that to elevate other Level 6s to Level 7.’
Besides, my guild members’ enhancements have been progressing steadily anyway.
With just a bit more time, they’ll soon reach Level 5.
Sure, my absence will cause some experience loss, but they’re still hunting Disaster Level 5 monsters on their own, so they’ll gain considerable experience.
At this rate, though, it seems like we’d still fall short even if we hunted every monster in Europe.
But honestly, I wasn’t worried about any of that.
After all, I’d just acquired an incredibly vast new hunting ground.
And a place without all the political and financial complications!
‘Once we finish cleaning up Europe, I’ll need to head to North Korea.’
In the past, this would have been news that would make my guild members wail and despair, but things are different now.
Feeling that they were becoming a hindrance to me, all my guild members voluntarily returned their vacation days and are hunting instead.
The number of Disaster Level 5 monsters identified in Europe wasn’t that many anyway.
Once I deal with all of them.
‘Then I’ll head straight to North Korea.’
I thought this and smiled quietly to myself.
And I should finally start forming the Second Party I’ve been putting off.
I recruited Ma Hyun-seok for that reason—it would be wasteful to just leave him idle.
As I grinned and looked at Ma Hyun-seok.
He felt an inexplicable chill but just shrugged his shoulders.
‘There must be so much work to do now.’
Even if there is, it shouldn’t be more than what the Hunter Association Chairman has.
That’s what Ma Hyun-seok firmly believed.
All while never imagining that North Korea would need to be conquered.
Of course, there were many things to do before that.
I needed to conduct interviews and also boost experience by watching over my existing guild members as they hunted.
Of course, I’d need to report that I’d handled the work first.
With these thoughts, I now set out for Germany again with my party, which had grown by one homunculus.
1.
It stood blankly, its distinctly blue long hair flowing carelessly.
It was a homunculus created by Gwen.
A beautiful appearance that didn’t seem quite human.
Though it wasn’t human, strictly speaking.
The homunculus blinked its eyes, gazing at its surroundings.
People hurried past, glancing at it.
Yet it observed them as though unable to comprehend the meaning or reason behind their attention.
It was like a child staring blankly out at the world.
I possessed Ranit’s memories and those of various monsters, but aside from Ranit’s, they were memories closer to those of beasts, and Ranit’s own weren’t particularly different.
Because of this, I couldn’t help but feel curiosity toward everything in this world.
-….
“What are you staring at so intently?”
-Ah, Master.
The homunculus spoke thus while bowing its head respectfully to Gwen.
Then it gazed blankly at the surrounding people once more and spoke.
-I was observing the humans.
“You were studying them, then?”
-…Yes, that is correct.
Gwen asked as though she had become a mother, and the homunculus responded.
But why had it been observing?
Gwen grew curious and asked.
“Hmm, why is that?”
-…I was wondering if by observing humans, I might understand why my previous self was so violent.
“Did you find your answer?”
-…I could not. I do not understand why they had to die.
It was an honest sentiment.
Hearing those words, Gwen nodded as well.
It seemed the newly reborn homunculus harbored greater affection for humans.
Well, since Gwen’s blood had gone into creating the homunculus, that made sense.
Then, suddenly, something occurred to Gwen.
Now that she thought about it.
Looking at the homunculus, she realized it resembled her quite closely.
The face didn’t seem particularly similar due to its distinctive hair and eyes.
But.
‘W-wait, the body looked so similar to mine?’
My physique and the homunculus’s figure were remarkably alike.
Especially the chest!
The moment Gwen recalled that scene, it became certain.
Had my blood transformed it into something like a second self?
Then, at that moment.
I recalled that instant when the homunculus was created, and how Min-jun and Jung Ji-hwan had stared intently.
Whoosh! My face flushed crimson.
‘Oh no, this won’t do!’
For a moment, I was overwhelmed with embarrassment, but it was fine.
As long as I didn’t say anything, no one would ever know.
Yet even thinking that way, the shame burned through me.
Of course, the homunculus had no reproductive organs, but it still had a chest, didn’t it?
Everything had been laid bare—what could I do about that?
Without thinking, I found myself staring at the homunculus.
The moment I realized that its height, body shape, and even physique were perfectly identical to mine, my face flushed so intensely it seemed ready to burst into flames.
Seeing my reaction, the homunculus tilted its head and asked.
-Master, your body temperature appears to be at least 10% higher than normal. Additionally, your heart rate is abnormally elevated.
“B-be quiet!”
-Huh?
The homunculus’s usually expressionless face showed a subtle widening of its pupils.
I couldn’t understand what phenomenon this was, but somehow I grasped that silence was necessary.
It swallowed hard and looked toward its master, Gwen.
Gwen spoke to the homunculus.
“Don’t you dare tell anyone about this! Not a word! Absolutely not!”
-I shall remember this.
The voice was mechanical and monotone.
Yet there was unmistakable resolve and determination in those words.
Seeing the homunculus’s response, I felt a small wave of relief wash over me.
The homunculus truly lived up to its skill description of absolute obedience to me.
In any case!
‘This absolutely cannot get out!’
Min-jun would be fine, but he wasn’t the only one present back then.
Wait?
‘Oh! No! Min-jun, the Guild Master, can’t find out either!’
What had I just been thinking?
Flustered, my face turned red as a beet once more.
In the distance, Min-jun called out.
“It looks like we’re almost done with cleanup, so let’s head over to where the guild members are. By the way, Gwen, are you alright? Your face is awfully red.”
At Min-jun’s words, the homunculus stepped forward first.
-Master is in perfectly normal and sound condition.
“…?”
“Y-yes, yes. That’s right.”
I nodded in agreement with the homunculus’s words, while Min-jun simply tilted his head in confusion.

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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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