The Only Enhancer - Chapter 141

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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 141
141 – One Underground, One in the Heavens (2)
1.
Ivan Romanov could only swallow hard as he witnessed the battle unfolding before him.
A level of combat he had never witnessed anywhere else.
No—it was a transcendent battle that defied even evaluation by conventional standards.
Even his own brothers would not dare to intervene in such a clash.
Kim Min-jun?
He had heard many stories from those around him, and as someone who understood the value of enhancement-type abilities, he already knew Min-jun was formidable.
But he could never have imagined combat prowess of this magnitude.
He now understood what it truly meant to wield the power of a Level 7 master—a strength that existed in only two individuals across the entire world.
And.
‘That… that monster doesn’t seem to be Disaster Level 6…’
A vague premonition washed over him.
How could he describe it?
It was more like an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
It was distinctly different from the Disaster Level 6 monsters he had seen in recordings.
Especially that final, devastating strike.
That blow was in a different league entirely.
*Gulp.*
As Ivan pondered this overwhelming presence, he recalled where he had sensed something similar before.
The Blood Golem—a creature that had caused considerable tension even in Russia recently.
Remembering that beast, he gazed upon this monster.
Was this creature, now staring at Min-jun with a tense expression after its strike was blocked, truly of the same caliber as the formidable Blood Golem?
If that were true…
‘I… I was nearly abducted by such a monster?’
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
He had been willing to follow along to survive, but what would have happened if Min-jun hadn’t arrived?
Honestly, he had never even imagined anyone would come to save him.
Yet Min-jun had appeared precisely to rescue him.
Had he been nearby by chance?
But the monster hadn’t released any aura—how could Min-jun have known to come?
Had he simply been passing through?
While that was technically possible, Ivan didn’t believe it for a moment.
‘Was there some other matter at hand?’
After all, the Blood Golem incident had also occurred in Russia, hadn’t it?
Perhaps he had come here in connection with that and ended up arriving at this moment.
Or perhaps…
‘Did he… come looking for me specifically?’
Had he come knowing about his unique ability?
My first thought was a dismissive “no way,” but then again, that monster had sought me out knowing I possessed a unique trait.
Could Min-jun not have done the same?
Well, perhaps.
‘At least, I don’t think he’d be incapable of it….’
Could humanity’s strongest hunter, the man of greatest value, truly fail to recognize a unique trait?
Besides, he’d mentioned that quite a few of his team members already possessed unique traits.
At this point, I could be certain that Min-jun had recognized me and come to find me.
With that thought, I could only feel grateful for my awakening.
‘Thank goodness.’
Of course, if that hadn’t happened, the monster wouldn’t have come, but because it did, Min-jun came to save me.
Perhaps I too would join Min-jun’s ranks?
I harbored such hopes.
Under Min-jun, I could actually try my hand at being a hunter.
With such thoughts, Evan quietly cheered for Min-jun as he watched the two of them.
As the steel that had devoured the azure sun soon vanished.
The two began moving again.
As the battle commenced, Evan couldn’t see everything clearly, but he tried his best to commit each moment to memory.
All while harboring the desire to grow stronger himself.
2.
The despair of having one’s decisive strike blocked was beyond words.
Baya had felt it before, and now Uldin felt the same.
The azure sun that had vanished so futilely was nowhere to be found, and all that remained here was a massive iron wall created from Min-jun’s unique trait mana.
Min-jun’s level was currently only level 7.
Too low a level to overwhelm Uldin, a Calamity-class level 8 monster.
Even at the same level, overwhelming a monster made no sense.
One had to be higher to overwhelm.
Yet Min-jun, despite being one tier below, was overwhelming the monster.
However, considering only the quantity and quality of mana he possessed, it wasn’t impossible.
Beyond that.
‘Multiple items are proving quite helpful.’
Considering the value of the items Min-jun wore, it made sense.
There were plenty of enhancement mage-exclusive items that amplified the power of various mana.
Of course, even accounting for item advantage, Min-jun’s prowess remained remarkable.
Without the enhancement mage’s unique trait mana, not only would overwhelming be impossible—he might have needed to mobilize all Reinforce Guild members.
An opponent not to be careless against.
But that didn’t mean he was overwhelmingly strong either.
He was perfect for accumulating practical combat experience.
Min-jun smiled wryly, just as he’d thought initially.
‘Perfect for practical training.’
Only Min-jun would look at a Calamity-class level 8 monster and think it suitable for practical training.
Learning to master my characteristic mana from the start seemed like the right call.
Of course, if things got too dangerous, I could always rely on the seven stars hanging at my waist.
With that thought, I gathered my energy once more.
To handle my characteristic mana with greater refinement.
Meanwhile, Uldin watched me with cold sweat dripping down his face.
He never expected my second transcendence—his most powerful attack—to be blocked so effortlessly.
-….
Without a word, he quickly shook off his bewilderment.
When Min-jun came charging, survival meant focusing entirely on combat.
The weapon in his hand now was a sword.
A rank-7 weapon: Fortress.
Gripping that iron bastion of a blade, he unleashed a surge of steel-infused energy.
Though even Ma Hyun-seok hadn’t yet mastered this characteristic mana properly, Min-jun had already grasped its essence from just one use.
Recalling the nature of steel, he channeled his mana.
The Fortress in my hand now gleamed with sharper energy.
Steel isn’t merely hard—it’s versatile.
Aren’t sharp swords, spears, and countless other weapons all forged from steel?
Honing the Fortress with those properties in mind, I swung it with renewed purpose.
Even I was startled seeing the Fortress cut through the air far faster than before.
But Uldin was even more shocked.
How could he sharpen it to such a degree and attack like that?
I can’t block this.
I have to evade.
Whoosh!
The sound of air splitting filled the space as Uldin dodged backward, but he was grazed—his chest split open with a sharp sound.
Yet so razor-sharp was the blade that no blood flowed; only a thin line of skin was cut.
An edge so keen it defied belief.
-Krraaaagh!
With a roar, Uldin gathered his feathers together.
Realizing one wouldn’t suffice, he plucked the longest feathers from each of his wings and infused them with his power.
They merged into a single massive greatsword.
Uldin poured his energy into the greatsword, grasping a blade that shone with brilliant blue light.
Seeing this, I grinned wickedly and rushed toward Uldin, cutting through the air with speed.
My Fortress, imbued with steel mana, and Uldin’s blue-feathered greatsword, saturated with all his power, collided head-on.
Claaaaaang!
A fierce metallic shriek erupted, tearing through the surrounding air.
The metallic resonance spreading in all directions left long, deep gashes across nearby buildings.
The acrid smell of superheated metal filled the air.
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
Uldin glared at me as our blades remained locked.
I wanted nothing more than to shove him aside and cut down Min-jun right then and there.
But were our strengths perhaps comparable?
No matter how much force I exerted to push him back, he merely trembled—yet refused to yield an inch.
How could a human possibly match a monster’s strength?
The situation made no sense whatsoever.
Yet Min-jun found himself in no better position.
‘This is getting intense.’
Certainly, a contest of strength against a monster was no trivial matter.
I was barely holding my ground as it stood.
Of course, I had two body enhancement buffs active, and even that proved insufficient—I was forced to channel my near-infinite mana to artificially reinforce my body, yet I still couldn’t gain the advantage.
Recognizing that their strength was evenly matched, both combatants pushed off the ground simultaneously and retreated.
But in that same instant.
Uldin beat his wings rapidly and launched himself skyward once more.
The fluttering wings powerfully displaced the air, propelling Uldin forward with tremendous speed.
Much like how Min-jun had once charged forward at lightning-fast velocity infused with the essence of thunder.
His body blazed with intense heat, feathers igniting as they burned.
Watching Uldin charge forward wreathed in flames born from air friction, I furrowed my brow and wrapped my blade in the essence of steel.
While the steel essence excelled at maximizing sharpness and defensive capability, it lacked the speed of thunder.
Consequently, I couldn’t follow Uldin’s blazing assault.
Instead.
Boom—————!
A tremendous sound erupted as a colossal wall of steel materialized in the void.
A barrier of steel condensed from mana itself.
The moment Uldin saw it, he immediately brought his blade down.
Crash—crash—crash—crash!
Only massive sparks erupted; the steel wall remained uncut.
The iron barrier bore only shallow scratches, hovering serenely while Uldin gnashed his teeth.
Grrr!
But I couldn’t retreat here!
With that resolve, he unfurled talons like a bird’s claws instead of his blade and kicked the steel wall.
Boom!
The unyielding steel crumpled slightly and was driven backward.
Min-jun’s expression darkened as he witnessed this.
‘So it will give way eventually.’
Still, I had learned something valuable, and I dissolved the steel wall.
Steel essence.
A remarkably potent attribute, yet not easy to utilize effectively.
Whoosh!
While I was lost in thought, Uldin’s blade came slashing down; I retreated to evade and countered with my own strike.
We maintained considerable distance between us.
But something pristine white bloomed from the sword’s tip and shot toward where Uldin stood.
Zzzzzzzzzt!
A blizzard of pure frost swept through, and Uldin couldn’t evade it—the attack struck him directly.
He managed to raise both hands quickly to block, but he couldn’t escape the freezing sensation entirely.
-Whoooosh.
The biting cold penetrated and froze everything on the surface. Uldin furrowed his brow and straightened his body, which had been tensed.
As he did, the ice that had encased him shattered with a crash, and chunks of his skin peeled away with it.
His entire body became a mass of wounds, yet he charged forward again without hesitation.
The frost-binding mana was more useful than I’d anticipated.
I smiled and raised my sword to block against the charging Uldin.
Then I drew upon the spatial energy I’d absorbed from the fortress.
Spatial energy.
If it had been mana that could manipulate space itself, it would have been broken—but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
The fortress’s ability was something that automatically intercepted anything that invaded the surrounding area—truly an ability befitting its name.
In other words.
I could create a domain around myself, perceive everything within it, and even counterattack.
Slice.
-Cough.
Uldin, moving swiftly to penetrate my blind spot and attack, had his leg severed instead.
A clean cut through the leg.
The fortress’s ability was certainly broken.
Whoosh!
I clicked my tongue briefly as I watched Uldin retreat.
“Tsk.”
Unfortunately, I couldn’t move while the fortress was active, so I had no choice but to repeatedly activate and deactivate it in short bursts.
Still, while maintaining the energy, even if I couldn’t counterattack, I could perceive everything within the domain—so it was reasonably useful.
Indeed, there’s no energy without its drawbacks.
If only I could combine only the advantages of each.
‘Hmm, I wonder if I can actually merge these together?’
And in that moment, the Alchemist’s trait—Mana Synthesis—came to mind.
I’d used it once before, but I’d forgotten about it while teaching Mary.
I used synthesis to combine three abilities: lightning, steel, and frost.
Crackling!
Zzzzzzzzzt!
Rumbling!
Watching me manifest three energies simultaneously, Uldin’s pupils trembled violently.

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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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