The Only Enhancer - Chapter 169

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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 169
169 – Upward Leveling (1)
Though I’d had no intention of torturing Hong Myeong, his healing sense training had become torture in practice. I thought it would end once Won Eun-seong arrived, but it only escalated into something far more violent.
“You worthless bastards! How dare you! Do you have any idea who you just touched?!!!!!!!”
“Grrrraaaaaahhhhh!”
“Krrrraaaaaahhhhh!”
“Krrrrraaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”
Ma Jung-hwan and the other two were thoroughly beaten with Won Eun-seong’s spear while screaming in agony, and Hong Myeong continuously squeezed out his mana to heal them as best he could.
After swinging his spear wildly and thoroughly thrashing those bastards, Won Eun-seong handed them over to the Hunter Association agents who arrived late, then bowed apologetically to Min-jun.
“I sincerely apologize! I’ll be more careful going forward.”
“No, it’s not as if such people won’t appear just because the Association President is careful. Even when Ma Hyun-seok was the previous president, there were still people like that.”
“Ah… Thank you for saying so.”
Min-jun, who used to be treated as a mere novice back then, now occupied a position so lofty that Won Eun-seong didn’t even dare look up to it. So his deferential attitude wasn’t strange at all.
Min-jun smiled at Won Eun-seong and reassured him that it was fine, soothing his concerns.
It was time for Min-jun to grow accustomed to such reactions now.
Once the matter was settled, Yu Ji-min, Hong Myeong, and Gwen all hung their heads regretfully. Because of those bastards, we’d ended up missing the parade after all.
It was truly frustrating. I’d been looking forward to it so much.
Yu Ji-min had enjoyed her long-awaited vacation to the fullest, but the ending left her disappointed. Gwen regretted that her rare date with Min-jun was ending like this, and Hong Myeong seemed deeply disappointed that his once-in-a-lifetime blind date was concluding this way.
Watching them all, Min-jun smiled and nodded.
Why were they so disappointed? Finding it both amusing and entertaining, I spoke to them.
“Let’s come back again like this next time.”
At that, they all laughed at each other excitedly, and Min-jun laughed along with them.
In that warm atmosphere, Won Eun-seong tried to excuse himself and leave.
His work was done, and he’d made a good impression on Min-jun, so he was ready to go.
But just as he was about to say goodbye, Min-jun stopped him.
“Oh, President, wait a moment.”
“Yes? Yes? Me, me?”
There’s only one Association President here—what’s he going on about? It’s not even funny. Anyway, when Min-jun called him back, Won Eun-seong stopped and turned around with a start, and Min-jun spoke to him.
“Your inauguration hasn’t happened yet, right?”
“Ah, yes. I judged it wasn’t the right time yet, so I was planning to organize internal matters first before proceeding.”
“Hmm, how much longer do you think it will take?”
“Ah, well… There isn’t much time left. Of course, I’ll invite the Guild Master as well.”
As we exchanged these formal pleasantries, Won Eun-seong’s instincts began to tingle.
It was that kind of premonition that something good might happen.
Won Eun-seong’s ears perked up, and he grinned creepily at Min-jun. Min-jun found it a bit odd, but it wasn’t strange enough to be concerning, so he simply continued.
“As a celebration of your inauguration, I was thinking of raising your level. If you’re willing, I’d like to give you a level enhancement.”
“What? L-l-level enhancement? You mean the one that Jung Ji-hwan received?!”
“Not just Jung Ji-hwan—the previous Association President received it too, and Yu Ji-min here also received it, but… yes, it’s that one.”
“I-I really want to receive it!”
“Well then, contact me tomorrow or the morning after tomorrow….”
“Tomorrow! I’ll be there!”
At those words, Min-jun chuckled at Won Eun-seong’s enthusiasm.
Well, if it was about leveling up, that kind of eagerness was only natural.
Since Min-jun now had more than enough essence to spare, I nodded in agreement and gave my consent.
Won Eun-seong beamed with joy, expressed his gratitude repeatedly, and then departed.
Yu Ji-min and Gwen watched him go with genuinely worried expressions, exchanging glances. It seemed obvious that he’d show up tomorrow and end up joining us for training, but would he really be okay?
“He’ll be fine, right?”
“W-well, at least if he levels up and goes through training, that’s… something.”
“True, but it’s still training, you know…”
“Right. Besides, Ji-min, you’re going too.”
“Ugh, what am I worrying about? I’m just getting dragged along myself.”
Yu Ji-min’s words prompted Gwen to pat her shoulder reassuringly, while Hong Myeong found himself engulfed in an inexplicable sense of dread. Well, was it really inexplicable?
Recalling how Min-jun had continuously inflicted wounds on him earlier, telling him to practice healing whenever thugs started trouble—as if he’d found a convenient training dummy—I could vaguely imagine what the actual training would entail.
But the two women observing Hong Myeong’s expression clicked their tongues slightly and spoke.
“Today was just a taste. If you imagined training based on this, you’d need to square that intensity.”
“…What????? Squared??????”
“Hmm, actually I think we’d need to add a bit more on top of the square. But even so, it should be manageable.”
The question “What are you talking about?” never left my lips. Just moments ago, mana had been drained frantically, and it felt like my very soul was being extracted. And now they wanted me to square that?
Did that even make sense? More fundamentally, could training really be that grueling?
Seeing the perfect image of a newcomer in distress, Yu Ji-min’s expression turned slightly amused, and she grinned wickedly.
As she looked at Hong Myeong, she pondered what to tell him, and soon it came to her.
“At first, you’ll wonder why it’s called squared, but you’ll understand soon enough.”
“But hasn’t it gotten easier lately??? I’ve heard people say it’s manageable these days.”
“Oh, that’s true. Back in our time, it was no joke. The Guild Master didn’t have as diverse abilities back then either.”
“Right. That was the case. But Hong Myeong, you’ve got it easier now, so don’t worry too much.”
“Yes. Sorry for scaring you like that.”
Watching the two women laugh with “ohoho,” the beauty I’d perceived moments before vanished, replaced only by the image of formidable monsters. Old-fashioned monsters at that. It was ridiculous how they bragged about how much harder their time had been while simultaneously insisting things had gotten easier.
My vague anxiety grew steadily, but what could I do? I was in no position to refuse. Hong Myeong quietly closed his eyes and smiled.
It was the smile of one who had surrendered everything.
0.
A quiet Deep Forest.
So densely overgrown that it seemed difficult to believe it was Korean territory—should I call it a forest or a mountain? The trees blocked out the sun so completely that the time of day was utterly indiscernible. At that moment, a monster raised its head and surveyed its surroundings.
It was a Crimson-Horned Flame Deer, a Disaster Level 2 creature.
Despite their docile nature, these creatures possessed exceptionally keen senses, making them notoriously difficult for ordinary hunters to capture.
Since they didn’t drop particularly valuable items, few hunters bothered to hunt them actively.
With their sensitivity and incredible speed, there was no merit in expending manpower to catch them, so no one sought them out deliberately. Consequently, their population remained quite abundant.
The Crimson-Horned Flame Deer surveyed its surroundings, and as if it had fully settled in and intended to make this area its nest, it began gathering leaves.
But by the time it sensed something quietly flying toward it from somewhere, it was already far too late.
Thwip!
A sharp object pierced through with a sound, leaving a hole in the creature’s head. The Crimson-Horned Flame Deer expired instantly, transformed into energy, and dropped an item and mana stone.
A nest that he had been trying to build now contained scattered leaves, items, and mana stones. A woman with flowing black hair slowly approached the location, observing the scene.
Though she moved between the bushes, anyone who witnessed her would have been astounded—she made no sound whatsoever, as if reality itself had fractured.
But as she collected the items and mana stones from the Red Horned Deer’s nest, her black hair dancing in the breeze, her companions couldn’t help but gasp and nod in amazement when she began searching for a new location.
‘Insane.’
Lee Ji-eun of Team 1 at Reinforce Guild could only marvel at what she was witnessing.
While unique traits were said to possess absurdly broken characteristics, watching her with black hair flowing and a sniper rifle in hand made everyone else seem utterly mundane by comparison.
Natalia, who conducted her sniping in absolute silence without tolerating even the slightest sound, was truly a possessor of extraordinary abilities.
Beyond her sniping prowess, every aspect of her situational awareness and movement was remarkable.
Now that her level had risen to Level 2, she didn’t fall short even when compared to Level 4 hunters. In fact, she surpassed them in skill, leaving Lee Ji-eun in awe.
Lee Ji-eun couldn’t help but praise Natalia as she watched her.
“You’re truly amazing.”
“…That’s not true.”
“It is. You started today and your growth is already this fast, and that sniper shot just now was perfect, wasn’t it?”
“It wasn’t perfect.”
When Lee Ji-eun tilted her head, wondering if Natalia was being modest, the latter began speaking with sincerity.
“Though the shot went outside the intended range, the concealment I placed on the bullet wore off too quickly. In the end, the creature noticed the bullet and turned its head. If a variable had occurred there, I might have missed the head entirely. If my position had been exposed and it had fled, it would have been a complete failure. I’m not saying I succeeded by luck in a formal sense—I genuinely was lucky.”
“…Ah. …Yes, I see.”
“Yes. Next time, I’ll do it more perfectly.”
“Um…”
Lee Ji-eun paused, wondering what she could possibly say, and shook her head.
She was already reviewing everything herself—what could I possibly add?
Lee Ji-eun simply spoke.
“Then since Disaster Level 2 creatures are now too simple to hunt and don’t provide practice anymore, wouldn’t it be better to move up a tier?”
“Yes. I think that’s better too. There’s a risk of becoming too complacent, so I need more tension. With this firepower, Disaster Level 3 shouldn’t be impossible.”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
The weapon Natalia was currently holding was a +5 enhanced item, so naturally that was the case.
The raw firepower was tremendous.
Natalia was now recognizing the importance of skills over pure firepower and was actively increasing her proficiency.
Though she had acquired new attack skills, she was hunting using only her gun-handling and concealment skills—a truly monstrous talent.
Lee Ji-eun nodded without jealousy and set out to search for Disaster Level 3 creatures, when she discovered it then.
A sniper target with sturdy defense.

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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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