The Only Enhancer - Chapter 125

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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 125
125 – Underground Researchers (3)
Baba Yagi found herself stripped of all will to fight. Not only had Min-jun blocked what could be called the ultimate attack—Ascension—with such effortless ease, but the casual manner in which he posed his question only deepened her despair.
How could one not lose the will to fight when faced with Min-jun’s light smile and nonchalant demeanor?
Baba Yagi trembled uncontrollably, unable even to formulate a response to his question.
Watching her in this state, Min-jun scratched his head with an awkward expression.
I had underestimated this far too much.
‘I thought she was stronger than the Lava Hunchback, but….’
I hadn’t expected her to unleash such devastating power.
To be honest, if I’d taken that attack head-on, it might have been somewhat dangerous.
Though even then, I had the sense I wouldn’t have died.
However.
‘If it had been aimed at my Guild members, that would have been dangerous.’
Fortunately, the trajectory was completely opposite; otherwise, we’d have found ourselves in a dire situation.
This is exactly why I can’t afford to be careless.
I got too absorbed in wanting to create that technique.
Well, there’s nothing to be done about it now.
Let me finish admiring and move on to killing her.
With that thought, I began to move.
Baba Yagi flinched and trembled.
She had grasped my intention.
-W-wait!?
“Hm?”
Seeing Baba Yagi suddenly attempt conversation, I halted the sword I’d been about to swing.
Baba Yagi felt a prickling sensation in her throat as she beheld the blade that had appeared before her.
When had he drawn the sword, and when had he begun to swing it?
At a speed that even Baba Yagi’s giant form couldn’t perceive.
In that moment, Baba Yagi genuinely felt grateful she had spoken up.
If she hadn’t called out, would she have died?
The thought sent chills down her spine.
I regarded Baba Yagi and asked.
“What is it?”
-…T-that is.
“So, will you tell me?”
-Ah, if I tell you, will you spare me?
“No.”
Baba Yagi closed her eyes at those words.
Faced with my unwavering, matter-of-fact response—as if the answer were obvious—Baba Yagi, who had been desperately scheming for any means of survival, could only sink into despair.
Then, suddenly!
-W-wait! Have you killed any of us before?
“Huh? Did any of you kill someone?”
-Ah, that Witch of the Deep Sea, for instance….
Min-jun shook his head at those words.
Well, in any case, once I’ve decided to kill someone, they can’t escape.
I could feel that much clearly.
If it were that witch Baba Yagi just mentioned, I wouldn’t know, but since Baba Yagi and Lava Hunchback held positions similar to researchers, their combat prowess seemed rather weak.
The giant itself was stronger than a Disaster Level 6, but honestly, it fell short of expectations.
It barely reached the level of the thrill I felt when I first saw the Witch of the Deep Sea.
That’s partly why I listened to what Baba Yagi had to say.
If I made up my mind, this creature would die soon enough.
Having done so before, I’d long since abandoned any carelessness.
At the slightest sign of suspicious behavior, I would sever its neck in an instant.
And perhaps Baba Yagi understood that well too.
Gulp.
As I swallowed hard, my throat constricted.
It knew. That if I merely decided, it would die right now.
Had I ever experienced something like this before?
During that great war called the age of chaos?
Back then, I wasn’t treated this way at all—rather, I was in the rear, merely sending strategic weapons.
This was the first time I’d ever felt the threat of death.
Especially such overwhelming force—I’d never felt anything like it.
The warriors of the Underground were all slaughtered during the great war, and now the only forces remaining in the Underground were researchers.
Was there anyone among the Underground’s personnel who could defeat this human?
‘Unless we deploy that weapon….’
Without that, it’s impossible.
Even the elders couldn’t withstand this human.
That’s why Baba Yagi prostrated herself so shamefully and cried out.
-P-please, I’ll tell you all the information and all the techniques, so j-just seal me instead of killing me, c-can’t you?
As I swallowed hard and awaited Min-jun’s reaction.
I could see Min-jun’s faintly smiling expression gradually turn cold and distant.
Ah, so this is how I die.
Sealing would at least benefit that human too.
I mentioned it with that in mind, but it seems I’ve displeased him.
So this is how it ends.
Baba Yagi resigned herself to this thought and closed her eyes.
An unexpected voice reached her ears.
“How do you seal something?”
-…Huh?
“…???”
They exchanged looks of confusion, and Baba Yagi swallowed hard before asking.
-Aren’t you one of their descendants?
“Well, now that you mention it, I suppose that’s true, but how am I supposed to know how to do it?”
-Huh?
How would I know that!
Baba Yagi bit back the words she desperately wanted to shout.
How could she, who had once been an enemy, possibly know?
Her sense of injustice was overwhelming.
But what was even more infuriating was this:
-I… I’ve h-heard it’s made from essence… and that it’s supposed to be some kind of seal…?
Knowing more only made it worse.
“Essence conversion?”
-Y-yes, that’s what I heard! Human!
Baba Yagi answered with a sharp bark, as if trying to emphasize the truth of her words.
But when she saw Min-jun’s expression, a terrible thought crossed her mind.
Despite being called a descendant, could it be that he never actually inherited the knowledge?
The moment that thought took hold, Baba Yagi began to panic.
Could this bastard actually not know?
Should I tell him?
But even Baba Yagi only knew about essence conversion and nothing more—how could she explain it!
Had her desperate struggle to survive the seal become utterly pointless!?
While Baba Yagi was consumed with worry,
Min-jun tilted his head slightly at her, looking uncertain.
‘Is it true?’
When I used the skill to discern truth from falsehood, it did seem to be genuine.
But did such a function even exist?
From what she called “essence conversion,” it seemed to refer to the Essence of Reinforcement…
Did the Essence of Reinforcement have such an effect?
[Essence of Reinforcement]
-Absorbs reinforcement values from reinforced items to generate the Essence of Reinforcement.
-When an item of the same reinforcement value is destroyed during reinforcement, the essence is destroyed instead.
*At this time, the item that had its reinforcement value absorbed returns to 0 reinforcement.
*Items with 0 reinforcement cannot be reinforced again.
I checked again just in case, but there was nothing like that.
However, there was a way to find out.
Though not displayed in the system, I had encountered many hidden effects before, hadn’t I?
The Essence of Reinforcement alone had been used as material for various things.
There could be other properties beyond what the system displayed.
Ignoring the surface-level information, I decided to try using the Essence of Reinforcement to see if it was true.
‘Hmm.’
Normally, without an item present, the Essence of Reinforcement shouldn’t show any sign of being usable at all.
But what was this?
There was something catching in my senses.
‘Is this real?’
Realizing that not just items but even Baba Yagi could be turned to stone, I smiled.
Wondering if this was the method to seal monsters, I examined it further.
My senses told me that ordinary monsters couldn’t be sealed this way.
It seemed that….
‘Only those who’ve experienced something like the Witch of the Deep Sea’s great war can be sealed.’
I wasn’t sure what to call it, but regardless.
So it appeared only Baba Yagi could be sealed.
Well then, there was still one question left to ask.
“Then let me ask you just one thing.”
-W-What is it?
“Do you know a lot of information, or does that Lava Hunchback know more?”
Upon hearing those words, Baba Yagi swallowed hard and looked at me.
I looked down at Baba Yagi.
Let’s see how she answers.
4.
Roooaarrr!
A massive wave of lava surged forward like a tsunami to sweep the surroundings, but as a beautiful woman wielded her staff toward the lava wave.
Whoooooosh!
An extreme wind swept through and froze the entire lava tsunami solid.
With a sharp cracking sound, the lava that had rapidly solidified shattered into pieces and scattered through the air.
Right after the woman—Gwen—swung her staff like that, the Lava Hunchback appeared and tried to spray lava at Gwen, but Ma Hyun-seok, a muscular giant, blocked his path.
Crash!
Ma Hyun-seok effortlessly blocked the charge like an enraged bull.
He deflected the precise strike with his shield, then wielded a massive maul in one hand—the Heart of Stars—and swung it.
If the Lava Hunchback’s lava was like a fierce wave, Ma Hyun-seok’s maul was like a tempest.
As the maul swung, turbulent currents whirled around it, and the maul, stained red from friction with the atmosphere, seemed ready to judge all things.
Boom!
Against the heavy blow, the Lava Hunchback tried to defend by hardening lava around his body, but such defense was utterly useless.
Crack!
It shattered as easily as a biscuit, and the Lava Hunchback was struck hard.
Boom!
A tremendous impact swept through his body, but being a monster, his head was half-caved in and the arm that had blocked the maul was crushed and dangling, yet it quickly regenerated and he retreated backward.
Jung Ji-hwan moved with a curse toward the retreating creature, sealing its movements.
Curses rained down from the sky, stripping away its stats, while from the ground, the hands of evil spirits rose up and grasped the Lava Hunchback’s legs.
Even in such a situation, it tried to struggle, but in that instant, lightning struck down at its chest.
Crack―――――!
The atmosphere split and air exploded outward, and in that moment, Mary, wielding a spear, pierced the Lava Hunchback’s chest.
However.
Thud.
It wasn’t that deep.
At most, the blade had penetrated only about five centimeters?
For a human, it would have been nearly fatal, but for the monster Lava Hunchback, such a wound was hardly a wound at all.
Just as he tried to move the lava to counterattack, the curse wouldn’t allow it.
And then a colossal shadow engulfed Lava Hunchback.
Straining to lift my head, I saw Ma Hyun-seok gripping an enormous iron mallet—the Heart of Stars—and crying out.
“Heart of Stars.”
The transcendent skill activated instantly as Ma Hyun-seok plummeted downward, and Lava Hunchback shrieked at the sight.
—Damn it!
CRAAAAAASH!
A horrific sound echoed across Baekdu Mountain.
A transcendent skill that destroyed only its target with devastating force.
Heart of Stars.
Thanks to it, the impact shattered the creature’s body far faster than its regeneration could mend.
—Kugh, hacking!
As blood sprayed from its mouth, five imperfect Evolution Orbs spilled out simultaneously.
They appeared to be the Evolution Orbs from when the initial monsters had been absorbed.
Seeing this, Ma Hyun-seok chuckled and spoke.
“Min-jun will be pleased.”
At those words, Gwen and Jung Ji-hwan also smiled and nodded in agreement.
Mary found the atmosphere somewhat awkward, but she harbored the same thought nonetheless.
The Guild Master would certainly be delighted.
As the battle with Lava Hunchback drew to a close.
In that moment, everyone present felt it.
Lava Hunchback’s aura was ominous.
—Krhehe! I won’t die so easily!
Jung Ji-hwan, who sealed movement and aura, stepped forward first.
He had never let his guard down to begin with, so he moved immediately.
But why?
Despite layering countless curses, the creature’s aura wouldn’t subside.
As if it couldn’t be stopped in the first place.
Everyone who sensed the ominous aura stared at Lava Hunchback with grave expressions.
This was a self-destruct.
Just as Ma Hyun-seok moved to stop it by any means necessary.
Roll…
—Huh, what?
Lava Hunchback’s vision spun wildly, and the creature let out a dazed sound as it belatedly comprehended.
Standing atop that head with a smile, Min-jun spoke.
“We’ve gotten everything we need, so shall we head home?”
A single crystalline orb hovering around Min-jun responded to those words.
-S-see! I t-told you, didn’t I? I’m v-very useful! Hehe.
Baba Yagi had become noticeably more respectful than before.

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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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