The Only Enhancer - Chapter 170

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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 170
170 – Leveling the Playing Field (2)
The Stone-Shell Dwarf—a Disaster-tier Level 3 monster that lived up to its name with a rocky carapace serving as hardened exoskeletal armor. It resembled an ant-like creature, yet it walked on two legs and carried weapons, which was apparently why it earned the name “dwarf.”
Just as Lee Ji-eun was about to point out the creature she’d spotted, Natalia had already detected it. She immediately assumed a sniper’s stance and shot Lee Ji-eun a sharp glance, signaling her to hide quickly.
Natalia’s sole focus was ensuring nothing disrupted her shot, and despite Lee Ji-eun being her senior by far, she didn’t even question the command—she simply concealed herself swiftly.
Natalia’s sheer charisma had left Lee Ji-eun feeling instinctively diminished.
Lee Ji-eun swallowed hard and watched what Natalia would do next.
The members of the Reinforce Guild held absolute faith in Min-jun.
It bordered on religious devotion, perhaps even excessively so, yet they never crossed certain lines. Fear of abandonment played a role, but more importantly, they refused to displease him.
This was why they never complained, even as their workload increased and their training grew grueling.
Min-jun was their benefactor, after all.
But what of the officers?
To be honest, the officers were simply higher-ranking members who had joined the same guild.
When Min-jun declared someone an officer, that was simply what they were.
Yet some harbored subtle resentment.
Naturally, Henry, Mary, and Andrew—those with unusual traits who became officers outright—were the source of it.
Jung Ji-hwan and Isabella, while lacking such unique traits, had earned their positions through undeniable contributions that everyone acknowledged.
But Henry, Mary, and Andrew? Honestly, they could be viewed with disdain.
They’d simply arrived and rolled in like tumbleweeds.
Lee Ji-eun had thought the same way once.
She understood they were powerful and shouldered more responsibility than ordinary members.
Yet she’d felt jealous, sensing Min-jun favored them.
‘So I figured they were just like us, except with even more unusual traits, and I didn’t think much of them becoming officers.’
But watching Natalia, Lee Ji-eun was forced to reconsider entirely.
Natalia’s personality aside, with such ability, Min-jun had no choice but to treat her specially. In fact, that’s why he’d brought her in, Lee Ji-eun realized.
Look at her now—Natalia had stopped breathing entirely, holding her breath as she pushed her concealment technique to its absolute limit. Her mana manipulation was so meticulous it bordered on mechanical, and Lee Ji-eun found herself speechless.
Witnessing such unwavering determination, Lee Ji-eun held her own breath and watched as Natalia channeled even more mana than usual into her concealment, crafting a bullet from pure mana.
She loaded the sniper rifle, brought her eye to the scope, held her breath, and aimed the barrel at her target.
With her breath held, the barrel remained perfectly steady. The creature was still moving, so the barrel naturally tracked its trajectory.
After accounting for the creature’s speed, wind patterns, and terrain, Natalia infused the rifle with mana once more.
Every step of the process was clean and covert.
Even with Lee Ji-eun watching from beside her, it was nearly impossible to detect. It was discreet, swift, and seamless—as if Natalia had been training for decades rather than merely two days. She moved like a seasoned veteran.
As Lee Ji-eun gazed at her, mesmerized, the trigger was pulled.
The bullet pierced silently through the undergrowth, traveling in a laser-straight line that penetrated the creature’s head in a single, clean shot.
Crack!
The stone shell shattered like tofu, and the Stone-Shell Dwarf collapsed without even realizing it had died. Lee Ji-eun’s jaw dropped at the impossible display of skill, and just then, another Stone-Shell Dwarf spotted its fallen companion. Its expression shifted to panic as it frantically scanned its surroundings.
As the creature opened its mouth to cry out, Natalia crafted another bullet, loaded it, and pulled the trigger once more.
Crack!
A hole appeared in the creature’s head at the exact moment it tried to scream, and like the first, it vanished, leaving behind items and magic stones.
Natalia didn’t stop. She loaded another bullet and chambered it, while Lee Ji-eun looked around expectantly for more creatures. After waiting some time with none appearing, she glanced at Natalia with a puzzled expression.
Natalia finally rose and checked her gun while releasing the safety.
She then quietly approached where the items and mana stones were located and gathered them.
Lee Ji-eun looked at Natalia with genuine curiosity and asked.
“Why did you wait longer? There were no signs of movement, and no more enemies appeared either.”
It was natural to be curious. In a situation that seemed already concluded, there seemed no need for such caution. Yet an unexpected answer came.
“Carelessness is forbidden. With one ally already present, there’s no guarantee that two or three more won’t appear. Moreover, our position was exposed by the two sniper shots, so there’s a possibility of a surprise attack from behind our location. That’s why I pretended to be careless while remaining ready to shoot immediately if I sensed anyone approaching from behind.”
“…Wow.”
Lee Ji-eun shook her head in admiration at Natalia’s thorough and precise skills, as if she possessed some military manual. The difference was so stark that jealousy didn’t even arise—Lee Ji-eun simply raised her thumb in approval. She couldn’t say anything else and just gave her a thumbs up.
Though one might expect embarrassment or joy, Natalia shook her head, denying it.
“Rather than maintaining a sniper position, standing up immediately would have been another option, but I didn’t think of that at the time, so I remained somewhat sluggishly in place. Next time, I should try adjusting the method a bit….”
As Natalia spoke and reviewed her actions again, Lee Ji-eun shook her head, thinking she was truly relentless, and let out a small laugh.
Indeed, perhaps that’s why she possessed such remarkable abilities.
Accepting this, Lee Ji-eun continued following Natalia.
She harbored the hope that Natalia might reach Level 3 before the day ended.
1.
Being confined to the Workshop for research was the fate of any researcher.
Occasionally getting fresh air would be good for one’s health, but Andrew was far more focused on his research than that.
Later, there were things he needed to investigate collaboratively with Gwen, and his research pile was mountainous.
But what Andrew was researching now was none other than the mana gun.
It was the weapon Min-jun had requested from the start, and since the mana gun was now Andrew’s greatest strength, he didn’t want to overlook it.
Of course, there was another reason as well.
[Puhahahaha! You’re only doing this because you’ve taken a liking to that girl, aren’t you!]
“Ah! Master, please be quiet. I can’t concentrate!”
[Hmm? You mean that woman? She’s certainly well-behaved. You two make a fitting pair. I’ll support you.]
As Baya and then Uldin spoke thus, Andrew grumbled but seemed pleased by Uldin’s final words, breaking into a slightly bashful smile before quickly inspecting the mana gun.
The girl Baya mentioned and that woman—there was nothing to hide. Of course, she was referring to Natalia.
Initially, Andrew had some feelings for Gwen as well, but unless he were a fool, he couldn’t fail to notice that Gwen was interested in Min-jun, and that Min-jun harbored feelings for Gwen.
Naturally, he cleanly erased those feelings immediately.
It had been only a slight attraction, so it was easy to let go. Besides, Andrew couldn’t help but shudder at the eccentric tendencies Gwen displayed.
Why? That she was an extraordinary researcher and genius was something both Andrew and Baya acknowledged more than anyone.
But her eccentric nature was equally strong.
It was natural that she concentrated intensely when crafting, but the way she poured emotion into her creations resembled that of a mad scientist.
There were moments when he became frightened and gave up.
But what about Natalia?
A pure and innocent appearance with lonely, sorrowful eyes that spoke of untold stories. Combined with her cold and meticulous personality.
Each aspect was perfectly aligned with Andrew’s preferences.
Setting aside that she was an extraordinarily beautiful woman.
‘W-well, her appearance is certainly good, but anyway, her personality is truly my ideal type.’
Andrew thought this and returned to his foolish expression, focusing on the mana gun.
Though she currently specialized in sniper fire utilizing concealment-type skills, she couldn’t rely solely on sniping forever, so he was also crafting other firearms.
I was crafting assault rifles, convenient handguns, and even Gatling guns just in case.
Since I hadn’t asked about preferences, I planned to make them all and let her choose.
Though I was creating mana guns in various forms, I wasn’t scattered or losing focus. Rather, because I was thinking of Natalia while crafting, the quality was far superior to before.
My skills had improved by leaps and bounds, granting me tremendous craftsmanship.
Baya couldn’t decide whether to be pleased watching me or to scold me for not making these sooner.
Well, good is good, isn’t it?
Once I enhanced all the guns Natalia would use, I could move on to the next project.
I could finally create the silver golem legion.
[‘How long the master has been anticipating this.’]
It was somewhat embarrassing that it was only being completed now, but completing it at all was something to be grateful for.
The prototypes naturally couldn’t each be made with overwhelming power, but they were more than sufficient to produce the finest products as workers.
Moreover, because they were made of liquid metal, their utility transcended imagination.
Andrew’s careless approach to crafting mana guns was irritating, but since Min-jun also valued making Natalia’s guns, I left him be.
Andrew, unaware of Baya’s thoughts, was crafting multiple guns, focusing most intently on a sniper rifle.
Natalia’s current gun was already enhanced to +5, but I intended to make something even stronger and more durable for further enhancement.
‘It would be nice if bullets could be generated internally and loaded directly.’
Currently, the gun created bullets externally through the mana gun’s properties before loading, which was naturally inconvenient. But if bullets were generated internally, I could essentially create a sniper rifle capable of rapid fire like an assault rifle.
Of course, that would be difficult given the need for silence, but a sniper rifle capable of rapid fire with tremendous power? That’s pure romance.
With such thoughts, Andrew decided to add even more power, and thus completed it.
A sniper rifle that fired bullets capable of holding skills, made capable of rapid fire—an extraordinary sniper rifle was born.
“Done!”
[You rotten fool! Then you should move on to the next task—why are you celebrating?!]
“Hahaha! I’ll give it to you right away, Natalia!”
[Madman.]
[Heh, but it does look good, doesn’t it?]
Baya shook her head at Uldin’s words.
The only sane one here was herself.

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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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