The Only Enhancer - Chapter 122

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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 122
122 – Reinforce Guild Welcome Ceremony (3)
2.
When Mary, whom no one had ever heard of or seen before, demonstrated her prowess, all the newcomers could only gape in astonishment.
It was obvious just by watching that her abilities surpassed even Jack McQuire.
You could tell from her movements alone.
Everyone swallowed hard and fell silent, matching the atmosphere.
Jack McQuire himself had risen to his feet at some point and now stood quietly.
Moreover, even Jack McQuire had to acknowledge that Mary’s movements were extraordinary, reminding him once again that this was truly a place crawling with monsters.
Among the newcomers, he had thought himself outstanding.
The realization that he wasn’t was certainly shocking, but he already knew well that there was always someone greater.
‘M-monsters, all of them.’
Faced with the appearance of such formidable practitioners who could reduce him to mere background scenery, Jack McQuire could only shrink back.
Feeling a small pang of regret for stepping forward, he stood quietly like the others, matching the mood.
As everyone remained tense and watchful, with no one else coming forward, Min-jun observed them with a slight tilt of his head.
Min-jun surveyed them and tilted his head slightly.
“Hmm, is there anyone else who wishes to spar?”
“”….””
The grassland fell silent.
Only the sound of wind whistling fiercely could be heard.
With nearly seventy people present, it was remarkable that so little sound emanated from them.
As everyone remained silent.
Min-jun observed this and asked as if puzzled.
“I prefer the hierarchy to be clear, so I thought we should settle it now, but if anyone has questions about the hierarchy later, please let me know.”
At those words, a chill ran down the spines of the newcomers.
Who could possibly dare to question the hierarchy now?
It almost seemed as though he had orchestrated the sparring matches for precisely this purpose.
Of course, that wasn’t the case.
Min-jun had simply planned the sparring as a way to organize the hierarchy and allow everyone to understand each other’s abilities.
Though it seemed unlikely that would be necessary now.
No one harbored any thought of defying Min-jun.
They could only pledge their loyalty to his words.
“Then let’s proceed with the registration process first.”
Thus, along with the Reinforce Guild welcome ceremony, the registration process began.
Of course, during that process, everyone signed both confidentiality agreements and lifetime contracts.
Well, it was an obvious outcome.
With the extraordinary condition of providing all equipment at level 6, who wouldn’t sign?
There was certainly no awakener on Earth who would refuse.
As everyone received their full equipment, the newcomers all beamed with delight, unable to contain their excitement.
And watching these newcomers, the existing guild members looked upon them with expressions of mild sympathy.
They recalled times when they too had been in similar situations.
Well, now that we’ve joined Reinforce Guild, there’s no helping it.
‘I need to grow stronger so I don’t become a burden to the Guild Master.’
‘The newcomers will understand later.’
‘Sigh, he’s taken all of that… how long will he be unable to enter this time?’
‘Did you tell your senior brother-in-law?’
‘Yeah, I told him it’d probably be about a month before he could come back.’
‘Sigh, he’s as good as dead.’
They all spoke in hushed tones while observing the newcomers.
The perceptive newcomers grew somewhat anxious, but Min-jun simply accepted it and made his announcement.
“Well then, let us begin part two of the welcome gathering. The important thing is that we’ve prepared everything, so all you need to do is follow along.”
Min-jun spoke with such enthusiasm, and beside him, Ma Hyun-seok shook his head and said.
“I never imagined he’d announce the North Korea subjugation campaign so casually and begin like this.”
The newcomers could only be taken aback by Ma Hyun-seok’s words.
What subjugation was he talking about?
They thought they must have misheard, but as they sensed the unusual atmosphere, the newcomers’ faces turned pale.
No way, surely not.
Such thoughts were rampant, and fortunately, those thoughts were shattered without taking long.
3.
Day 1.
At first, I thought it would be more manageable than expected.
Even Disaster Level 5 monsters couldn’t stand against our forces, all equipped with +6 gear.
It was only natural.
After all, Guild Master Kim Min-jun alone faces Disaster Level 5 monsters.
Moreover, our Team 2’s captain, the Iron Hero Ma Hyun-seok, handles Disaster Level 5 monsters like toys by himself.
Might there not come a day when I too could handle Disaster Level 5 monsters like they do?
I have no doubt that as a member of Reinforce Guild, it’s entirely possible.
That raid, filled with such hope and dreams, was only like that at the beginning.
Third wave, fourth wave—or rather, moving points so rapidly that classifying waves became meaningless—we hunted down every monster in our path.
A few of us newcomers could only voice our confusion.
Was this truly a raid? It was nothing but a one-sided hunt.
Still, with such substantial gains, though grueling, it was a rewarding day.
A welcome gathering like this certainly builds unity and I’m quite pleased with it.
The only regret is that there’s no rest time, perhaps because we’re still in the early stages.
I’m even writing this diary entry while running during our movements.
What was a bit odd was that the seniors seemed to meditate while moving, as if controlling their pace—something rather unusual.
If it were one or two people, I’d have let it pass, but the entire Team 1 was doing it.
Was there some reason behind it?
….
….
(omitted)
Day 3.
I feel like I’m dying.
One day? Two days?
I thought this Long-term Raid would only last that long.
But by the third day, we finally understood.
The look in the senior members’ eyes from the beginning wasn’t wariness, envy, or jealousy—it was pure pity and sympathy.
I realized the seniors had their eyes closed while running on the first day because they were half-asleep.
What kind of hell must one survive to master the technique of sleeping while running?
We were definitely getting stronger.
Those who were Level 3 had all risen to Level 4, and all those at Level 4 had reached Level 5 through the Guild Master’s grace.
It’s astounding that only three days have passed to reach this point.
If we endure just a bit longer, it’s not impossible for everyone to reach Level 5.
Since levels are rising quickly and we’re acquiring plenty of knowledge, let’s push through a little more despite the hardship.
There’s certainly much to learn from the seniors.
For instance, in hunting techniques and handling 6-star items, they were professionals and more.
….
….
(omitted)
Day 7.
This is not something humans should do.
I genuinely want to kill the version of myself from day 3 who said I felt like dying.
I should have committed suicide back then.
Now I don’t even have the energy for that.
Just kill the monsters, move, kill, move, kill, move, kill.
I’ve lost count of how many monsters I’ve slain.
It feels like a slaughterhouse.
I wish it were a slaughterhouse.
Then I could just pretend to slip and stick my neck in the butchering machine.
But even that’s impossible here.
The Team 1 seniors kill monsters like machines, but they’re not machines.
How can anyone endure such extreme conditions?
Admiration for them blooms within me.
I don’t even have the energy to write this diary.
When can we finally return?
Wasn’t this supposed to be a welcome event?
Is this really a welcome?
Day 18.
Ten more days have passed since then.
Or is it eleven?
Running while sleeping has left my memories fragmented and unreliable.
At least now I understand how the senior members manage to sleep while running.
Exhaustion makes anything possible.
Fortunately, the urge to die has vanished.
Why, you ask?
I genuinely threw myself at a Calamity Level 5 monster’s ability like a madman.
I thought a dealer like me would die instantly, but I didn’t.
My Tier 6 equipment didn’t even get scratched by the Calamity Level 5 monster’s attack.
Even if I’d discarded all my gear and charged in, it wouldn’t have made a difference.
That new recruit named Henry seems like he’ll save me.
When will we be able to leave?
Repeating this mantra, I run and seek sleep once more.
Day 23.
We’re finally going home!
@!!#@$$#@%@!#$&^%*!!!(severely corrupted, illegible)
Day 24.
We said we were going home, and just as everyone was preparing to leave, lava erupted.
From it emerged a monster type we’d never seen before.
And the guild master smiled, saying he’d finally found something.
The senior members wore bitter smiles in response and told us the truth.
Forget about going home.
Now that we’ve found a clue, we can’t return until we’ve destroyed the creature’s lair.
I swear this.
I will kill them.
I’ll incinerate every last one of these monsters.
Then we can finally rest, right?
Die, you monsters.
Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!
Day 26.
Calamity Level 6 monsters appeared, and after a fierce battle, we defeated them.
We didn’t cheer even after taking down Calamity Level 6 creatures.
Because we still haven’t killed that Lava Hunchback bastard who’s keeping us from going home.
I will definitely kill that thing.
Day 30.
The guild master finally seems to have discovered their lair.
We might be able to go home.
Our wish is simple.
We want to lie on a bed and sleep.
We will achieve this no matter what.
-Excerpt from the Northern Expedition Diary of a Reinforce Guild Team 2 Member-
4.
I glanced back briefly.
Everyone’s eyes blazed with fervent light, fixed upon the location I’d indicated.
Sinister gazes brimming with lethal intent.
Seeing this, I smiled with satisfaction.
After nearly a month of hunts, the newcomers’ eyes had taken on a proper edge.
This is what it means to be the Reinforce Guild.
Team 1 had also lost some of their composure, though they still seemed capable of enduring.
At this point, their resolve should be well-established.
Of course, with the Vitality Buff applied, no one suffered physical exhaustion, but mental fatigue was another matter entirely.
That’s why I’d intended to return earlier, but the Lava Hunchback’s attack interrupted us.
‘I should have dealt with it then.’
It was the second assault.
Though I’d made preparations, I couldn’t prevent the creature’s escape.
It seemed the beast had also prepared extensively—the Level 6 disaster it created was stronger than before.
It matched the combat level of those creatures that came from the Deep Sea.
Yet even so, it couldn’t withstand me and Reinforce.
And now, we even had Ma Hyun-seok.
With the three of us—myself, Homunculus Bella, and Ma Hyun-seok—united, nothing could stand against us.
The Lava Hunchback initially attacked directly, then fled with its tail between its legs.
Its lava mobility was extraordinarily troublesome.
Even I found it difficult to capture, which is why I let it escape.
And unfortunately, in the second attack, the Lava Hunchback only sent monsters without revealing itself, making pursuit difficult.
But then.
Through the combined efforts of Gwen and the blacksmith Andrew—a ray of hope itself—we created something extraordinary.
A monster detector, no less.
And because they possessed one of the Lava Hunchback’s arms, we could pursue it, and as a result, we discovered its lair’s exact location.
Here, at the midpoint of Baekdu Mountain.
The creature is here.
I spoke, having approached without the slightest detection.
“Then let’s attack.”
“Kill it!”
“Let’s kill it!”
“Tear it to shreds!”
“The end approaches!”
So I said to the Reinforce Guild members, whose morale pierced the heavens.

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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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