The Only Enhancer - Chapter 139

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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 139
139 – Did It Soar to the Heavens? (3)
4.
After the Cataclysm, society began to reorganize itself around Awakened individuals.
There had been a time when monsters were so abundant that society’s basic functions were impossible without Hunters.
Even now, despite things having grown considerably more stable, the situation hadn’t changed dramatically.
When a Disaster Level 5 monster appeared even once, the destruction of several cities was hardly surprising.
Because of this, most people viewed becoming an Awakened individual as a blessing even greater than winning the lottery.
A chance to reverse your entire life!
Yet despite such opportunities, a considerable number of people were reluctant to awaken.
Well, that was understandable.
Either way, it meant having to fight monsters.
How many truly combative individuals remained in this modern age?
Regardless, once you awakened and became a Hunter, you had to fight monsters.
There were those without attributes who could awaken without fighting, but if you awakened an attribute, fighting monsters was absolutely mandatory.
It was even specified in law.
In a world where national strength grew with the number of Hunters.
It was only natural.
Because of this, some people naturally hid their awakening.
‘Why should I fight monsters when I can live comfortably and earn money?’
Ivan Romanov.
He was no exception.
Born into a sufficiently wealthy family and walking a smooth path by assisting his father’s work, he was one of those with much to lose.
However, unlike his father, who was filled with patriotism for his country and pride in his family, Ivan desired nothing more than to live comfortably.
In fact, his father had made all his awakened sons into first-rate Hunters.
His eldest brother Viktor, who possessed the talent to awaken at Level 5 and had become Russia’s representative Hunter, and his second brother Sergei, who despite awakening at Level 4, had his abilities recognized and was selected for the Reinforce Guild’s second team.
But Ivan’s thoughts differed from his brothers—drastically so.
‘What’s the point if you just die fighting monsters anyway?’
Rather than thinking he needed to become stronger, he fundamentally didn’t want to face dangerous situations.
An extremely safety-conscious disposition!
But such a disposition was partly due to the attribute he had awakened.
It simply wasn’t related to combat.
Some thought that if he were a healer instead, Ivan might have become a Hunter, but this was decidedly not the case.
[Ivan Romanov]
[Lv1]
[Attribute – Mage Scholar]
Not a mage, not a sorcerer, but a Mage Scholar.
In other words, a scholar who researched matters related to magic and sorcery.
His skills were peculiar as well.
Upon awakening, true to his unique attribute, two skills had manifested, but neither was an offensive skill.
One was a skill that allowed understanding through comprehensive knowledge of Sorcery itself, and the other was a skill that enabled using knowledge learned through Sorcery as actual magic.
It looked quite promising, but Ivan’s assessment was: ‘Questionable.’
What kind of knowledge could even be learned through Sorcery in the first place?
Throughout my entire life, I had never once gained any knowledge from activating that Sorcery skill.
In other words.
‘Sorcery doesn’t exist in this world.’
It was a completely useless skill.
Since there was no Sorcery knowledge to understand through Sorcery, I couldn’t use magic either.
Utterly pointless.
It was unusual, but that was the end of it.
Why awaken such a useless trait? Why not just let me live an ordinary life?
Why did they have to awaken me at all?
I was living in constant anxiety.
‘Sigh.’
The day Father found out, he’d undoubtedly announce a double blessing for the family and send me to the Reinforce Guild.
I desperately wanted to avoid that at all costs.
‘The world’s number one guild? The world’s strongest?’
I knew it well enough.
My second brother had entered that place.
But people only know one side and miss the other.
I had already heard the stories from my second brother.
About what that place was really like.
From his descriptions alone, it sounded like hell, yet Sergei always spoke of it with manic happiness.
Was this the famous Stockholm syndrome?
‘Anyway, I’m absolutely not becoming a Hunter.’
With that resolve, I was enjoying my ordinary days.
I did tremble when I heard the news about the Blood Golem appearing in Siberia, but aside from that, I had been living without any significant incidents.
Until today, that is.
‘What is this?’
I felt an unease I had never experienced before—something entirely unfamiliar.
It was merely intuition, but this ominous and anxious feeling was something I had never felt in my life.
It wasn’t something I could rationalize.
Wondering if this was something an Awakened like myself would naturally feel, I swallowed hard and looked behind me, but of course there was nothing.
An empty street.
That bothered me considerably.
It was a natural scene, wasn’t it?
Yet I couldn’t understand why something felt so wrong.
Had I developed a panic disorder or something?
‘Right, yes—with the Blood Golem and everything happening recently.’
I told myself the anxiety I’d been suppressing had simply erupted.
It made sense that I harbored secrets I’d carefully concealed since my awakening.
Should I seek counseling tomorrow?
Father wouldn’t be much help anyway.
If I told him, he’d surely spout nonsense about how tough Russians don’t need such things.
Not everyone is born as resilient as Father or my brothers.
In any case, the more I dwelled on these thoughts, the more my anxiety amplified rather than dissipated.
‘Why, why is it so quiet?’
Even if there were no people on the street, buildings should still exist.
Yet it was eerily silent.
Was this where the sense of wrongness originated?
The moment Ivan sensed something amiss and instinctively bolted to escape the street—
I spotted a man in an ash-gray suit at a considerable distance.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, that ash-gray suit itself felt profoundly out of place.
It wasn’t merely a matter of poor coordination; something felt fundamentally wrong.
A gulp.
My instincts screamed at me without warning.
To distance myself from that man.
Yet my feet wouldn’t move.
As if frozen solid.
My entire focus narrowed to his every movement.
Then.
Thud, thud, thud.
The man approached slowly.
With sharp eyes fixed upon me like a predator’s gaze, I tried to retreat instinctively, but something held me immobilized—unable to budge an inch.
What on earth was this?
As I pondered this, I encountered a message I’d never seen since my awakening.
[You have glimpsed knowledge of Arcane Studies.]
[You have acquired knowledge of Mana-based Intimidation.]
[You may now use Arcane Intimidation.]
Knowledge flowed into my mind alongside the message.
I naturally grasped how to exert pressure on an opponent using mana.
As the knowledge streamed in, I understood it as if I’d always known it.
It was truly astounding.
Yet Ivan was left only with shock.
I had lived peacefully since my awakening.
So why would such a message suddenly appear?
It was far too obvious.
‘That… that’s not human.’
The realization that the man wasn’t human surfaced with unnatural clarity.
It wasn’t that Ivan had neglected his efforts until now.
I’d looked into the skills of magic-type dealers when I heard about arcane studies and arcane arts.
But the fact that a message appeared then that hadn’t shown before was significant.
From the beginning, I wondered if knowledge of arcane studies could be obtained from hunters or monsters—and if not from hunters, there was only one other option.
That man was a monster.
I’d already erased the fact that he had a human form from my mind.
Ivan was already thinking of him as a monster.
There were precedents for this.
Hadn’t I heard that Disaster Level 6 monsters that had already appeared in Europe looked remarkably similar to humans?
I’d even seen the actual footage long ago.
This man was one of those monsters.
In other words.
‘At minimum, Disaster Level 6.’
For Ivan, who already knew that an entire city had been annihilated in an instant, this creature was more terrifying than a plague, yet paradoxically, that very fact sparked an inescapable glimmer of hope.
A being that could obliterate a city with a single attack wasn’t doing so?
Then naturally, it must have some purpose.
If that purpose was me, it still wasn’t the worst scenario.
‘If it wanted to find me and kill me, wouldn’t it have destroyed this city from the start?’
Such thoughts offered a glimmer of hope, yet I couldn’t bring myself to feel relieved.
After all, it meant this monster’s purpose was me.
Could I escape?
I entertained the thought, but quickly abandoned it.
From hiding my awakening, my level was merely 1, and I didn’t even have a single piece of equipment.
In this situation, all I could do was call my eldest brother Viktor faster than anyone else.
But what if I was captured before I could?
At that thought, I clenched my eyes shut.
Could I only hope that I wouldn’t die?
As Ivan’s face turned ashen and he bit his lip.
The man spoke first.
-Your mana is so faint, I can’t quite tell what you are.
For some reason, the moment I heard those words, I could understand them.
Even though it clearly wasn’t a language I knew.
I swallowed hard at those words.
I couldn’t fully understand what he was saying, yet somehow I could sense his meaning.
‘Because of my trait?’
In this situation, there was no other explanation, and it seemed he’d come knowing that.
I didn’t entertain the foolish thought of how he could know a secret I’d never told anyone.
He was a monster—he could have smelled it out, or perhaps sensed my mana as he said.
But.
“I-I’m not sure what you mean.”
-Hmm, so you know I’m a monster.
“….”
Gulp.
I swallowed hard, watching the man openly declare himself a monster.
Seeing this, I didn’t panic excessively and waited for him to continue.
-You possess something special, don’t you?
“…If you’re referring to my trait, then yes, that’s correct.”
It was foolish to hide something when the opponent already knew about it.
It was something I’d consistently felt throughout my business dealings.
That’s why I spoke openly.
As expected, the man simply nodded as if he already knew.
I was glad I hadn’t hidden it.
If I’d offended him, I couldn’t even imagine what might have happened.
Ivan nodded and opened his mouth again.
-Now then, come with me.
At those words, Ivan’s body trembled violently.
His expression was filled with terror and dread.
Yet despite this, I couldn’t help but ask.
“…C-can I survive?”
-If you come quietly, I won’t kill you.
‘That sounds more like “I will kill you, just not right now”….’
Tears like chicken droppings rolled down my cheeks, but what choice did I have?
I should have revealed my awakening and grown stronger to protect myself.
Or perhaps I should have devoted myself to the Reinforce Guild like other awakened individuals with unique traits.
Just as I was about to nod with eyes full of regret and lingering attachment.
Something flashed brilliantly above the man’s head.
Kwaaaaaaang!
A deafening explosion erupted like an artillery strike, and what appeared was none other than a young man wielding a sword.
Ivan could only gape at the young man who appeared even younger than himself, an East Asian.
The face was far too familiar.
In fact, was there anyone left in the world who didn’t know that face?
“Are you alright?”
“Y-yes? Ah! Yes!”
“That bastard isn’t dead yet, so please wait a moment.”
The most reliable reinforcement in the world had arrived.

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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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