The Only Enhancer - Chapter 143

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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 143
143 – Within My Grasp (1)
0.
One might argue that Andrew couldn’t learn anything when Baya and Min-jun were together, but that wasn’t quite the case.
Gwen had taken the liquid metal creation, and since Andrew was handling the assembly and magitech engineering aspects, there was no need for additional skill transfer.
Baya had already completed teaching everything immediately necessary.
So what was Andrew creating?
Click, clang!
“Hmm…”
I was modifying the mana gun that Min-jun had mentioned.
The one I’d used against the Bloody Golem before was a hand cannon type—more akin to a cannon than the hand-mounted guns typically seen in games.
But I knew well enough.
While the destructive power was satisfactory, the rate of fire and other aspects left much to be desired.
And the biggest problem was that I couldn’t use it independently.
I scratched my head and gritted my teeth, but if a solution existed, wouldn’t it have appeared already?
‘I need to think differently than with ordinary guns.’
Since it was a gun that loaded and fired mana, it differed vastly from conventional firearms.
The structure was far more complex than basic gun mechanics, making development far from simple.
The hand cannon was easy enough—just embed a skill into the cannon and fire it—but this was different.
‘I need a function that loads and fires mana itself, which means I have to modify the circuits…’
I’d mastered all the gun-making circuits Baya had taught me.
The challenge was fitting them into the gun.
Circuits were essentially skills, and embedding them meant inscribing skills onto non-reinforced items—no different from that.
Gwen, being an alchemist, might not empathize.
She could conjure and synthesize with mana to create equipment with skills attached.
But a blacksmith’s magitech engineering didn’t work that way.
You craft items directly and itemize them.
If that’s the extent of a blacksmith’s power, then engraving circuits onto the itemized product is magitech engineering.
Well, I’d need to learn multiple circuits and understand what happens when mixing them.
It sounded difficult, but I wasn’t particularly bad at it.
In fact, I was quite good.
Even Baya acknowledged that much.
The problem was that an alchemist’s synthesis, combination, fusion, and form transformation were simply broken.
Enough to make me jealous.
Anyway, that aside—I needed to create a new mana gun.
‘What a headache.’
I had a rough grasp of things and was making progress, but there was one sticking point.
I’d already installed a mana concentration circuit on the magazine for easy mana gathering, and even a conversion circuit to transform it into bullets.
The bullets themselves formed quite well.
The problem was whether I could embed skills into these bullets—and the answer was no.
One might think it was because I didn’t view mana and skills as equivalent, but that wasn’t quite it either.
Condensing mana itself is a skill, while techniques achieved through various refinements are also called skills—these become abilities obtained through items or systems.
Because of this, it was difficult to turn a skill into a bullet through mana condensation alone.
That’s why I created the Hand Cannon in the first place.
‘Just load it and fire.’
In other words, it worked much like firing a skill through a staff.
It was far faster and more powerful than a staff, but it was more accurate to call it a stronger staff than an actual gun.
If I were to give an example of what Andrew and Min-jun wanted, they desired a gun that compressed skills into bullets, so that when the bullet embedded itself, the attack would trigger.
Like R.I.P. rounds that expand upon impact rather than penetrating, they wanted a mana gun where the skill would detonate from the bullet the moment the mana round embedded itself in a monster’s body.
If that were possible, even with very basic enhancement values, one could bypass shields to some degree and land solid hits.
But making it possible to ignore shields essentially overturned the current enhancement values, so it was extraordinarily difficult.
That’s why Andrew was stuck.
‘I can still make it with a sniper rifle now.’
Firing skills simply and quickly like bullets, and firing condensed mana like bullets—that’s still possible now.
But creating skill rounds like R.I.P. bullets was a distant dream.
Andrew was tearing at his hair.
His hair, once so thick he had no worries about baldness, seemed to be falling out bit by bit—the stress was that severe.
I had reached the conclusion that the circuits Baya taught me made it difficult to complete this.
In other words.
‘I need to create the circuit myself.’
Since Min-jun hadn’t given me the trait enhancement yet, I hadn’t switched to the Magitech Engineer class, but I had some sense of it by now.
How many hundreds of circuits had I seen so far?
Because Baya had relentlessly drilled me, I had learned them to some degree.
Beyond condensation and conversion circuits, something new was needed.
And in that moment, a single thought flashed through Andrew’s mind.
‘What if I inscribed a circuit onto the converted bullet?’
If I sealed the skill inside and inscribed a trigger to release the seal at the same time?
Sealing was already an existing circuit, but I had never learned the trigger circuit that set conditions to release that seal.
Actually, I had never even heard that such a thing existed.
In other words, a situation where Andrew had to create it himself.
At that moment, Andrew glanced at Gwen, who was transmuting liquid metal nearby, and thought.
‘I can’t lose!’
With that thought, Andrew desperately began learning circuits.
Creating his own circuits this way, he was birthing new circuits.
1.
After finishing various experiments with Evan, Min-jun handed over contact information and, with words about contacting him later, safely sent Evan on his way.
And then?
Well, what else would it be?
Having created a new trophy and a friend for Baya.
It was time to see how that friend performed.
I greet you, Master.
Kekeke, I know that feeling well.
Uldin had become respectful, while Baya mocked him for it.
I couldn’t understand what Baya was laughing about when she was in the same predicament.
After all, Baya and Uldin were in identical circumstances.
Was she just asserting seniority because she’d arrived first?
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all.
Well, that aside—time to extract some information.
Interrogating by holding their souls hostage was certainly the most reliable method.
So I fixed Uldin with a look that said speak.
Information flowed from Uldin’s lips with remarkable ease.
Our Sky Realm’s purpose is to abduct humans.
Humans?
Hmm.
Both I and Baya echoed the question with evident confusion.
Uldin nodded at that and continued quickly.
I already knew about the abductions from what Evan had told me—that Uldin had asked whether humans possessed unique characteristics—but I didn’t know the reason why.
Yes, we sought to abduct humans who inherited the power of noble-tier Fairies—those with unique characteristics—and extract noble Fairy energy from them by any means necessary.
What!?????
I didn’t immediately grasp what that meant, so I listened in silence, but I couldn’t help my expression darkening with displeasure.
Hearing Uldin’s explanation left me utterly speechless.
The Underground was formidable enough, but the Sky Realm was no less so.
Abducting people to extract their energy?
I could roughly understand what they meant.
In other words, they were trying to obtain the source of characteristic mana.
I had information from the Fairy Elder, so I could understand to some degree.
But I needed to hear it more clearly.
I gestured for Uldin to continue, and he nodded toward the sealed essence of reinforcement.
Uldin spoke again.
By obtaining Fairy energy—Fairy factors, that is—we sought to have our Sky Warriors absorb them and achieve evolution through that means. However, our technological capabilities for extracting the factors have been insufficient thus far.
So that’s why you attacked the Underground?
Precisely. We have researchers and sorcerers of our own, but our materials and knowledge were far too limited, so we attacked the Underground.
Hmm.
When I heard Baya mention that some materials were missing, I’d assumed it was just a loss, but they’d stolen them. At least there hadn’t been significant progress yet, or so they claimed.
So how many did you capture?
We haven’t discovered many yet, so we’ve only captured three. Two are dead, and only one remains in the Sky Realm Sanctuary. They couldn’t endure the various experiments and died.
Hmm.
I was displeased hearing that, but there was nothing I could do about those already dead.
It was unfortunate, but I had no choice but to rescue those who remained.
Just as I was considering whether to attack immediately, Uldin raised an objection.
-These warriors have such pride ingrained in them that it’s penetrated their very minds. If you were to attack directly, they would kill the hostages immediately. To save them, you’ll need to devise another approach.
“How troublesome.”
-Hmph, that’s how these warrior bastards are.
-Baba Yagi is right. They’re too brutish to reason with.
I couldn’t tell if Uldin was speaking with such relief because he’d truly escaped, or if his soul was still being held hostage, but I thought it was possible either way.
Still.
“What about this?”
I said so while suppressing my presence to an almost imperceptible level.
Moreover, I used Concealment to render my body nearly transparent.
Once my form was hidden so thoroughly that it was barely noticeable, both Baya and Uldin spoke in astonishment.
-Is… is this even possible?
-Th-that’s incredible!
My Concealment was so exceptional that both of them were genuinely startled.
I hadn’t created the Concealment using characteristic mana, but it was similar.
Through experimenting with Evan and directly wielding skills with mana, I’d learned the techniques, and by mimicking Concealment that way, I’d achieved this result.
A concealment technique remarkably difficult to detect, even without relying on characteristic mana.
With this, success was certainly within reach.
When Baya and Uldin affirmed it, I grinned widely.
“Well then, let’s recover the abducted person.”
I said so and looked toward Uldin as if to ask him to guide me.
Uldin, seeing me like that, spoke quickly.
-With concealment of this caliber, obtaining their data should be entirely feasible.
-Ooh! Absolutely! If we can get materials to extract fairy essence, it would be helpful for Miss Gwen and you as well!
After hearing Baya’s explanation, how could I resist?
I nodded.
Still, since Uldin had been an executive, it was useful that he possessed considerable information.
Baya didn’t have nearly as much.
As I showed slight satisfaction, Baya’s essence trembled slightly.
Even so, Baya was consoling herself that she was making great contributions to the research, when—
Uldin spoke to me.
-Ah, Master, are you perhaps not curious about the human with the unusual characteristic?
“Hm? Do you know what characteristic they possess?”
-Yes, I already know.
I looked at Uldin with curious eyes.
Uldin spoke.
-I’ve heard they’re called a Mana Gunner.

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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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