The Only Enhancer - Chapter 162

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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 162
162 – Human Relations (4)
4.
After signing the confidentiality agreement, Hong Myeong could immediately hear Min-jun’s explanation.
The explanation was remarkably similar to what he’d anticipated, and Hong Myeong swallowed hard, his chest swelling with anticipation.
To forcibly awaken someone without relying on luck alone—wasn’t it like a dream come true?
This was his golden opportunity to become a member of the Reinforce Guild!
And Min-jun, the guild master of the Reinforce Guild himself, would do it for him.
If he turned this down, he’d be nothing but a fool and an idiot!
Hong Myeong had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away. Hadn’t he already sworn to himself that he would work hard the moment he got his chance? Wanting to prove that vow wasn’t empty, he eagerly asked Min-jun a question.
Naturally, Hong Myeong asked about the skill—how the awakening process would actually work.
But the answer that came back was somehow vague, or rather, it felt strange.
“Well, I originally planned to try it with a skill, but before that, there’s something I want to experiment with first. After running some experiments, if it doesn’t work, I’ll try combining it with a skill.”
“…???? So, so you mean… experimentation…?”
“Yes, let’s head to my research laboratory first.”
When he first heard the word “experiment,” he’d thought it meant testing a skill in a casual way, but the nuance in Min-jun’s tone made it sound like he was about to conduct human experimentation.
His expression grew serious, and then he tried to laugh awkwardly, wondering if Min-jun was just joking.
But Min-jun’s expression was utterly grave.
As mentioned before, Min-jun had initially planned to strengthen Hong Myeong’s trait first.
He’d tried to accumulate various magical knowledge for that purpose, but after meeting Hong Myeong, he could definitely sense it—whether strengthening was possible to some degree without using a skill or not.
Since he got the sense that it would definitely be possible if he used the trait, he’d planned to handle it with just mana, creating it through magic or sorcery.
Impossible, you say? That’s something we don’t know yet.
Ursula too was attempting to achieve artificial awakening by injecting factors. Wasn’t that the very purpose of the Deep Sea’s sorcerers and mages?
Min-jun didn’t know that, but it certainly meant that magic or sorcery for artificial awakening definitely existed. If that were the case, then he—who had created new magic—couldn’t possibly fail at this.
‘Now that I think about it, I should reconsider the difference between item enhancement and trait enhancement.’
Item enhancement was simply a skill Min-jun had obtained upon awakening, so he could feel its structure just by recalling it. What kind of magical framework composed it.
It was extraordinarily complex, and even if he showed it directly to Ursula, who could be called the greatest mage of the Deep Sea, she wouldn’t even be able to comprehend it—it was that intricate and abstruse.
But Min-jun had already used that skill countless times.
And thanks to his innate talent, he could quickly “understand” it.
How enhancement was possible in the first place.
And then Min-jun could realize something.
There were commonalities running through potential enhancement that strengthened limits, item enhancement, and even mana enhancement that boosted skill power.
Having traced the circuits down to their very depths, Min-jun could understand it with certainty.
‘This magic… not just anyone can use it.’
He could now understand why Ursula had gone through such hardship extracting factors.
Enhancement—this skill, or rather this power that could be called an authority—was magic that only the bloodline of the Fairy King could use. It had been set up that way from the beginning.
Without the factor of the Monster King, or rather the Fairy Prince, monsters couldn’t develop in the first place.
Just before arriving at the research laboratory, when Min-jun realized that the monsters were gradually dying out, he couldn’t help but smirk. Now that he understood the enemy’s objective, stopping them would be far easier.
He couldn’t exterminate all the monsters themselves.
The system had been created with that very scenario in mind.
But speaking of ancient monsters, I could annihilate every creature from the Underground to the Heavens and the Deep Sea.
And soon, the final battle will unfold.
While Min-jun was lost in thought, Hong Myeong called out to him with a bewildered expression.
“Um… Guild Master?”
“Ah. Yes, my apologies. This is my Research Laboratory. I stopped for a moment to think about something.”
“Oh, I see. No, it’s fine.”
“Well then, shall we go inside?”
The Research Laboratory that Hong Myeong entered alongside Min-jun bore absolutely no resemblance to what one might expect of a scientific facility—if anything, it resembled a hotel suite.
Of course, Hong Myeong had never actually seen a suite room in person, but from what he’d glimpsed in movies, dramas, and online, the atmosphere felt remarkably similar.
In a space like this, one naturally felt inspired to conduct worthwhile experiments.
Wasn’t it true that atmosphere could influence one’s mindset depending on the environment?
If this place had been cluttered with various experimental instruments and emanated a sinister aura, it would have been terrifying, but it wasn’t.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
‘No, focus yourself.’
An opportunity of a lifetime. There’s a saying that seizing an opportunity when it comes is itself a skill.
As Hong Myeong swallowed hard while stepping into the space called a Research Laboratory, Min-jun paid him no mind and instead contemplated various incantations—how to awaken his potential.
After considering multiple approaches, I was able to arrive at some answers.
The various enhancement methods shared a common element: they approached the realm of authority that elevated one’s rank.
Consequently, the type of rank being elevated determined the mana consumption.
And what mattered most here was the bloodline of the Fairy King—or more precisely, the characteristic mana of an Enhancement Sorcerer.
This characteristic wasn’t determined by genetics but by the constitution of one’s soul, yet an Enhancement Sorcerer’s characteristic could be inherited through the soul.
The greatest reason I could become an Enhancement Sorcerer was because my soul’s wavelength aligned with the Fairy King’s.
So if I awakened as an Enhancement Sorcerer because my soul’s wavelength matched the Fairy King’s, then Hong Myeong, who could receive a transplant because his wavelength aligned well with the Monster King who was once the Fairy Prince, should also be capable of awakening—or so I thought, but that wasn’t the case.
The Fairy Prince who inherited the Fairy King’s blood was certainly an Enhancement Sorcerer capable of wielding enhancement authority, but he was not a true Enhancement Sorcerer.
In other words, only the Enhancement Sorcerer I possessed could be called a true Enhancement Sorcerer, while the Fairy Prince’s Enhancement Sorcerer was merely a provisional one, not the real thing.
So when I tried to enhance the Enhancement Sorcerer characteristic, it was already perfect.
Then what kind of Enhancement Sorcerer did the Monster King possess?
‘Only one Enhancement Sorcerer can exist, right?’
The fundamental problem that led the Fairy Prince—or rather, the Monster King—to side with the monsters was precisely that.
Only one who inherited the Enhancement Sorcerer could become the king of the fairies.
But the Fairy King was still vigorous, and the impatient Fairy Prince began strengthening monsters to kill the Fairy King and seize his throne.
To become a true Enhancement Sorcerer as I had.
In other words, if one enhanced the Monster King’s characteristic—what the fairies called a Baptism—the Monster King’s characteristic would be enhanced and become an Enhancement Sorcerer.
Traditionally, when a king passes succession to his prince, it begins with a Baptism of that Fairy Prince.
The Monster King attempted to use the monsters that had invaded at that moment to stage a rebellion.
Anyway, what mattered was that if Hong Myeong, whose soul’s wavelength aligned reasonably well with the Monster King, awakened his characteristic, there was a probability it would become a stage before Enhancement Sorcerer.
Or perhaps even a stage before that, since he didn’t receive the Monster King’s factor?
In any case, I suspect it would be a unique characteristic.
“Um, um… Kim Min-jun, Guild Master?”
“Then shall we begin?”
For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, Hong Myeong felt a sudden unease and instinctively stepped backward. Min-jun caught him and unfurled his magic—and in an instant, countless magical circles materialized behind Min-jun’s back.
They were magical circles imbued with the power of enhancement.
From within them, he extracted only the portion that elevated one’s rank.
Multiple magical circles moved and intertwined with one another, becoming intricate gears like those of a clock, meshing together in perfect synchronization.
Yet they weren’t flat—they interlocked three-dimensionally in a cubic formation, emanating an ethereal radiance.
As the magical circles moved with a rhythmic clicking sound, they pulsed with an enchanting luminescence that captivated all who beheld them. Hong Myeong could do nothing but stare in a daze.
He knew this was no mere skill, but witnessing it firsthand, the overwhelming pressure it exuded was beyond anything he’d imagined.
“Wh-what… what is this?”
Min-jun paid Hong Myeong no mind and instead examined his own magical circles.
Theoretically, it was flawless.
From the trait enhancement he’d already deconstructed, he’d learned the method of elevating the soul’s rank and bestowing “baptism.” Through that, he’d learned to perceive the soul itself.
‘So traits are something crucial that reveal the soul’s rank, and when the soul’s rank naturally rises, one obtains traits—awakens, in other words.’
Everything related to traits was connected to the soul.
That’s why he’d extracted the Monster King’s factor using its quantity.
As I confirmed this, I kneaded Hong Myeong’s soul intricately with my magic.
Though I touched it with utmost care to avoid causing harm, from Hong Myeong’s perspective, there was no gentleness whatsoever.
“Gaaaaaahhhhh!”
Indescribable agony pierced through his entire being.
Or rather, it felt as though every nerve in his body was being stimulated at once.
Seeing Hong Myeong’s state, I resolved to work as quickly as possible. As I continued kneading his soul, I perceived something peculiar.
Something dark clinging tightly to Hong Myeong’s soul.
At first, I thought it might be one of the curses Ursula had placed, but upon inspection, it was Hong Myeong’s own soul itself.
‘Hmm, should I call this the negative aspect of the soul?’
By nature, a soul should always appear clear and transparent to any observer.
My own soul appeared that way, and so did Hong Myeong’s.
Yet there were portions—small though they were—that had taken on a murky hue.
I could have left it alone, but for some reason, I felt I couldn’t. As I touched that darkness, my magic for elevating the soul’s rank became slightly complicated, but I deployed Purification, a holy-attribute skill, and instantly cleansed that dark portion.
“Ahhhhh――!”
Hearing Hong Myeong’s exclamation of relief, it seemed I’d done it perfectly.
I seized the momentum and consumed nearly all of my considerable mana to elevate Hong Myeong’s soul’s rank.
A torrent of mana began to settle into Hong Myeong’s soul, and his rank began to rise.
“Aaaah!”
Enveloped in light, Hong Myeong’s soul gained rank and gradually began to expand, starting to contain mana like an awakened one.
And then a system window flickered into view, and a notification appeared for Hong Myeong.
[You have awakened.]
[From now on, you may use the system.]
It was an awakening.
It was an awakening.

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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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