The Only Enhancer - Chapter 15

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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 15
Episode 15 – Hunter Market (2)
128 million won?
That’s nearly 130 million.
When had I ever handled such an enormous sum before?
A curse slipped out of my mouth unbidden.
Jung Seung-pil nodded as if he understood completely.
As if to say it was only natural.
“You seem quite surprised.”
“Ah, yes. I apologize.”
“Not at all. In fact, most healers aren’t accustomed to transactions of this scale, so I would expect nothing less when you verify it directly like this.”
Jung Seung-pil said this with a benevolent smile.
This man was genuinely kind.
Was this what advanced social finesse looked like?
I wanted to learn from him.
It was clear that not just anyone became a branch manager.
By the way, no one had visited the healer-exclusive counter in years?
It was essentially my personal counter.
I’d be coming here frequently from now on.
“Should I deposit the full amount into your hunter account?”
“Ah, yes. Please do that.”
“Very well. If you’ll just provide your hunter license for a moment, I’ll process it right away.”
I handed over my hunter license, and he bowed before tapping away at his computer.
It was processed quickly, and he returned my license immediately.
Ding!
“The deposit should have gone through. Please verify it.”
He spoke just as the notification chimed, and sure enough, the money had arrived.
Combined with what I already had, my hunter account now showed 160 million won.
Nine digits displayed in my account book.
Just last week I’d been worried about which cheap ramen to eat to make it through the month, and now I felt utterly dazed.
But I quickly regained my composure.
‘I need to get used to this going forward.’
This was just the profit from selling eight Tier 1 enhancement items.
I’d be selling Tier 2 and Tier 3 items and beyond in the future—I couldn’t react like this every time.
I stood up after making this small resolution.
Jung Seung-pil also rose with a warm smile.
“Thank you for today.”
“Not at all. If anything, we should be thanking you. I hope you have a wonderful day ahead.”
“You as well, Manager.”
I smiled and left, while Jung Seung-pil, now alone, sat back down and chuckled softly to himself.
His expression suggested it wasn’t an unpleasant laugh at all.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
He looked genuinely delighted.
“Hehehehe, looking at your hunter license, you’ve been awakened for less than a week and you’re already a healer.”
People truly are fascinating.
The majority of those who occupy the position of healer are said to feign humility as a matter of course.
But they merely pretend at modesty while wielding more power than anyone else.
There are certainly healers who don’t behave this way, but their numbers are remarkably few.
Jung Seung-pil knew of such healers, and they didn’t even fill one hand.
Actually, it seemed he’d need to add one more to that count now.
There’s even a joke that if a healer has good character, even the Five Great Guilds will come courting.
Just from this alone, one could see how severe the abuse of power by healers truly was.
Yet to possess such character in the midst of all that.
‘This one will go far.’
Jung Seung-pil, the branch manager, swiftly elevated his assessment of Min-jun and smiled.
For some reason, he had a feeling he’d be seeing this person frequently.
His instincts had rarely been wrong thus far, so it would surely come to pass.
2.
The price at which hunters sold items and the price at which they bought them naturally differed.
After all, taxes and profit margins had to be accounted for.
But what if a healer was involved in the transaction?
One could purchase items with the tax deducted from the price.
Of course, not all items received such benefits.
Tax exemptions only applied to hunter-related goods.
If a healer had other sources of income besides raids, those would be taxed.
Regardless of anything else, when buying or selling raid items, taxes were waived.
It was a privilege that could be seen as discriminatory, yet no one complained.
This was how they encouraged healers to participate in raids.
The raids that stemmed from healers simply going on raids, and the profits derived from those raids, were beyond imagination.
‘So I’m basically a walking discount coupon.’
I smiled wryly as I wandered through the second floor of the Hunter Market.
Display cases lined with unenhanced items.
There were far more ordinary people here than hunters.
Well, that made sense.
To go on a raid, you needed to wear at least a +1 enhanced item—why would anyone care about unenhanced gear?
Occasionally there were unenhanced items with options attached, but those were better found at the auction house than here.
There was absolutely no reason for hunters to come to this place.
Min-jun was different, though.
‘What a goldmine. An absolute goldmine.’
Everything here looked like jewels to me.
That low-rank item over there?
I wonder what it would look like if I enhanced it.
I’m curious. I want to know.
But let me restrain myself.
I’m only buying what’s on my list here.
‘I almost overspent for no reason.’
Low-rank items accumulate naturally whenever I go on raids anyway.
There’s no need to buy things I don’t actually need.
Having already prepared a shopping list, I headed straight toward the section with leather armor.
I could wear steel armor if I used a physical enhancement buff on myself, but wouldn’t that be irritating and cumbersome?
That’s why I chose leather armor instead.
It’s perfectly suitable for healers to wear as well.
“Welcome to Adio, your specialist in leather armor.”
Adio—the hottest leather armor shop among low-level hunters lately.
I’d researched it beforehand and came straight here.
There’s supposedly no other shop that can compare for items below +2 enhancement.
What I liked most was that they even stock low-rank items while being so trendy.
Looking around, the second floor exclusively carried low-rank items, which explained it.
There were only low-rank items, but many of them appeared to have better quality than those at other shops.
They really did take excellent care of their leather goods.
‘How can low-rank items have such a lustrous shine?’
At first glance, I almost mistook them for +1 enhanced items.
This polish is exactly why they’re so popular with low-level hunters.
Up close, you can tell the difference, but from a distance, you might mistake them for +1 items.
It’s all about looking the part.
While ranged dealers must equip their weapons at +1 enhancement, they can get away with low-rank items for other armor pieces.
That’s why this shop was so popular.
Between the maintenance and the individual quality of the items, there were many pieces that looked genuinely well-made.
As I was browsing like this,
a staff member approached and asked kindly.
“Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?”
Most twenty-something men, especially someone like me who’d just become an adult, would probably say they were fine and prefer to browse alone, but I wasn’t like that.
Choosing alone, I might actually miss out on something good.
It was better to get recommendations from a knowledgeable staff member at this shop.
“Yes, I’m looking at leather armor, shoes, and gloves, but I’m not sure what would be best.”
“Ah, I see. Are you looking to purchase items as a set?”
“Hmm, I hadn’t thought about it, but a set does sound like it would be nice.”
A set refers to items that dropped from the same monster.
Unlike in games, there were no set effects or bonuses, but since they looked similar, they looked stylish.
That was about the only benefit.
Since it’s better to look neat and clean, these items are quite popular.
Min-jun found it amusing when he first learned about it too.
Who knew hunters would care so much about their appearance?
Anyone seeing them might think they were celebrities rather than hunters.
‘Though I understand the sentiment.’
Looking polished and neat makes you stand out more.
And standing out increases the chances of making a better impression on the party’s tank.
Besides, isn’t it only natural to want to wear something cooler and prettier if given the choice?
All these psychological factors are reflected in the choices.
Even if Min-jun doesn’t look particularly impressive, people recognize him as a healer and treat him well anyway, but I couldn’t deny that wearing something stylish felt better.
I hadn’t given it much thought initially, but now that a set was being recommended, browsing seemed like a good idea.
“This is the Black Scale Serpent armor set. As you can see, it consists of a breastplate, arm guards, gloves, and shoes—four pieces in total.”
“Interesting.”
The Black Scale Serpent has no poison, but it’s massive in size and its physical defense is sturdy, making it known as one of the Disaster Level 1 Zone monsters that’s difficult to damage.
Because of that, the armor crafted from it is said to be of excellent quality.
I thought the arm guards might be overkill, but you never know what might happen.
It seemed decent enough.
The deliberation didn’t take long.
The purchase decision came quickly after that.
“I’ll take that one.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare it for you now. I’ll help you with payment while we get it ready.”
The price hadn’t been mentioned, but Min-jun pulled out his hunter license.
“Ah! You’re a healer. With the blanket tax exemption benefit applied, the Black Scale Serpent set comes to 2.5 million won.”
It was expensive for mid-tier equipment, but all Black Scale Serpent-related items were like that.
With the tax deducted, it felt considerably cheaper.
The original price was over 3 million won anyway.
Min-jun received the item and left the store with a satisfied expression.
This might last quite a while.
I was curious what would happen if I enhanced it.
‘The Black Claw Saber’s wand completely changed its appearance after enhancement.’
Still, the base itself was similar.
Would this one be the same?
Curiosity stirred, and I wanted to enhance it right away.
But accessories take priority first.
After purchasing the leather armor set, I browsed other shops on the second floor.
The accessory shop with the largest concentration of stores on the second floor.
Since many ordinary people gathered here, there were the most accessory shops.
‘Hmm, I hadn’t really looked into accessories specifically.’
Unlike leather armor, quality didn’t really matter much for them.
It basically came down to whether they looked pretty or not.
At the very least, I wanted to buy something understated.
Just imagine wearing multiple pieces of jewelry dripping with gems.
It’s an eyesore.
I’m not some nouveau riche—there’s no reason to dress like that.
So I kept the quantity to a minimum.
‘I already have a ring and a necklace, so maybe one more ring, a bracelet, and a brooch?’
As long as the accessories don’t have the same type of option, I can wear as many as I want.
Since I don’t know what options will appear.
I plan to buy as many as possible and enhance them.
Since I chose the most understated designs, the store didn’t have that many items in stock.
“Ah, this product is quite popular with male customers because of its understated style.”
“Hmm, I’ll take this.”
“Oh! Thank you so much—wait, you’re a healer?”
Everywhere I go, I’m treated as a healer.
A walking discount coupon.
That’s valuable.
The tax exemption benefit is certainly nice.
So I bought one ring, two bracelets, and finally one brooch.
Since every brooch had gems embedded in it, I chose the most understated badge instead.
These four items cost me nearly 50 million won.
Even so, I had over 100 million won in my account, but something felt hollow.
‘Ah, I haven’t eaten.’
That explained the emptiness.
After a moment’s thought, I decided to eat before heading back since I was already here.
Besides, the Hunter Market Restaurant is supposed to be that good, right?
More importantly, since only hunters can enter, the food quality is supposedly exceptional.
I’m actually looking forward to this.
With that thought, Min-jun headed to the very top floor.
A restaurant where only hunters can enter.
Would it be less crowded than expected?
Even if it’s lunchtime, would there be many hunters?
If the first floor and other areas are packed with ordinary people, this place should be different.
A chandelier, various lighting fixtures, and artwork arranged tastefully created an unmistakably upscale atmosphere.
More than anything, despite being only on the 12th floor, perhaps because of the high ceiling?
The view was spectacular, as if I’d stepped into a high-rise building.
Everything was perfect.
Too perfect.
‘Why are there so many people?’
My expectations were wrong.
There were far too many people.
Only Hunters can come here, right?
Even if it’s crowded during lunch hour, this is excessive.
This is way too much.
It’s not like every Korean Hunter is gathered here.
The murmur of voices echoed through the hall, loud and chaotic.
So many people filled the space that even the fairly large hall seemed cramped.
Moreover, everyone wore enhancement gear, and the lights reflecting off them made my already scattered thoughts even more scattered.
“Did you hear? They say a healer was kicked out of the Taebaek Guild?”
“There have been a lot of incidents like that recently.”
“I heard some tank assaulted a healer and got caught red-handed. The guy was insane.”
“What’s that rookie from the Han-byul Guild, Choi Jung-min, been up to lately? Haven’t heard anything about him.”
“Probably in the middle of the Han-byul Guild’s traditional scouter game.”
“Ah, is it that time already?”
With several people gathered and chatting while waiting, all sorts of noise filled the space.
Some of the conversation sounded vaguely familiar, but I deliberately ignored it.
How was I supposed to wait here?
What if I couldn’t use the Hunter Market Restaurant I’d been looking forward to?
I worried about that, but there was no need.
Who was Min-jun, after all?
“Healers don’t need to wait. Please come this way.”
A welcome voice rang out.
A magic pass? Or rather, a healer pass?
Min-jun heard that and pushed past the others to move forward.
Some of them watched Min-jun with curious eyes.
Since healers were rare and few in number, curiosity about a healer they’d never seen before naturally arose.
“A new healer?”
“Doesn’t look like they’ve joined a guild yet?”
“Interesting?”
“I should hand over a business card if we meet later.”
They whispered among themselves, but I heard it all.
No one was cursing or anything like that.
The atmosphere was that it was natural for healers to go in first.
As Min-jun stepped forward.
“Ah! Are you a healer?”
Min-jun showed his Hunter License instead of answering, and the staff member’s expression changed after a brief search.
Was something wrong?
Just as I began to feel uneasy, the staff member apologized.
“I’m truly sorry. All the healer-exclusive seating is currently full, so I’m afraid you’ll need to wait.”
Hearing the staff member speak with genuine regret, I felt disappointed.
How long would I have to wait?
If I had to wait quite long, I’d just eat somewhere else.
Since I was so hungry right now, I wanted to leave immediately.
“Ah! If you don’t mind sharing a table, we do have a seat available.”
“Sharing a table?”
I’d never tried it before, but it seemed like it could be more interesting than I expected.
Weren’t there restaurants built around the concept of shared seating?
Or maybe not—my memory was a bit fuzzy.
Anyway, I wasn’t particularly picky, so I nodded.
“That works for me.”
“Since we ask about table-sharing preferences in advance, we have exactly one seat available, so if you head over there, it should work out.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Just follow the staff member, then.”
The staff member spoke into the earpiece lodged in his ear, and moments later, another staff member appeared at the entrance.
“Please follow me.”
Following the staff member’s lead, I was guided into quite an upscale private room.
The atmosphere was luxurious—the kind of space that seemed like only VVIP guests could access at any high-end restaurant.
The staff member knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Someone has come to share your table.”
A voice immediately came from inside.
“That’s fine, please come in.”
It was a distinctly deep, mature male voice.
With permission granted, the staff member handed me a call button and said,
“If you need anything, just press this button and we’ll come right away. Please have a wonderful time.”
I nodded in acknowledgment, opened the door, and stepped inside.
There, sitting in that room, was a celebrity I knew quite well.
‘Damn! What is this person doing here!?’

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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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