The Only Enhancer - Chapter 175
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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 175
175 – Upward Leveling (7)
Though Mary had said as much, the truth was she’d never actually seen the new executives herself. She hadn’t laid eyes on Evan, the mage scholar, nor on Natalia, the gunslinger. There was also the thought that they might be in the middle of leveling if she went to find them.
Well, if it were just her, there’d be nothing strange about going to observe, but Mary was currently serving as Woo-jin’s caretaker, wasn’t she? So it was a bit ambiguous.
She was worried that the aggressive Woo-jin might charge at Natalia the gunslinger or Evan the mage scholar the moment he saw them. Even if they were weak, he might fight out of curiosity about their abilities.
But for them, still at low levels and not yet fully grown, that could be hell itself.
She’d considered suggesting they go later, but it was difficult to tell Woo-jin—who’d already declared he’d spar—not to go at all. His stubbornness was something else.
When Isabella was managing him, he’d at least listened, but he didn’t listen well to her, which gave Mary plenty to worry about. Yet it was too intense to scold him.
If she fought seriously and subdued him with genuine intent, she could manage it, but otherwise, it became impossible to discipline Woo-jin moderately.
He grew like a sponge, which was admirable, but had become difficult to handle.
‘At least he seems to listen when I say it’s just observation, not sparring.’
That’s why she’d adjusted the situation by bending it slightly.
If she said it was completely forbidden, he’d be stubborn, but if she half-permitted it by saying sparring wasn’t allowed but going was, he’d listen well enough.
However, there was plenty of room for him to forget the “no sparring” rule once they arrived, so Mary’s role was to discourage him as much as possible.
Alternatively, it wouldn’t be bad to contact them in advance.
As Mary thought for a moment, she recalled who was currently looking after Natalia and Evan. Evan had temporarily returned to Russia due to some business.
“The mage scholar isn’t in Korea, I hear. Should we just go see the gunslinger?”
“Oh! Great! Mary! The gunslinger! The gunslinger! Even if I can’t spar, getting shot is okay, right?”
Normally she should have said no, but Woo-jin was fine with getting shot. When Mary readily nodded in permission, the delighted Woo-jin began bouncing excitedly.
While Woo-jin bounced around, Mary recalled Lee Ji-eun, who was currently looking after Natalia, and called her.
The dial tone sounded for a moment before the call was answered quickly.
-Yes, this is Lee Ji-eun from Team 1. Is this Mary?
“Yes, this is Mary. I was wondering if we could visit you now? Woo-jin is curious about how much the gunslinger has grown.”
-Huh! Gasp! W-Woo-jin? J-just a moment? Oh! The Guild Master is nearby too, so if we gather around that area, it should be fine!
“Oh? Then that works. Understood. I’ll get the coordinates from you and head over.”
-Yes! Then I’ll see you later.
With the call ended, she’d gotten permission. They could leave immediately.
Mary spoke as she watched Woo-jin bouncing around excitedly.
“Let’s go. They said we can come.”
“Oh! Thank goodness! This is so great! Getting shot! Guns!”
“However, since the Guild Master is nearby too, let’s go quietly.”
“Huh? M-Min-jun hyung?! Oh, okay…”
It was interesting how even that aggressive Woo-jin became like this just hearing Min-jun’s name, and Mary thought Min-jun was truly remarkable. But she understood it too.
She’d probably be the same way.
In fact, Mary was just as much a battle enthusiast as Woo-jin, but look at her now. She’d spar with Woo-jin or others, but she’d never ask Min-jun for a match.
Well, the reason was simple. She wanted to fight, not die.
Think about it—even simple leveling involved endless grinding. What would sparring be like?
It wasn’t for nothing that the Reinforce Guild members somehow took on Min-jun’s work to increase their tasks.
Working was actually preferable.
Mary shuddered for a moment at the thought, swallowed hard, and spoke to Woo-jin.
“You really need to stay quiet. The Guild Master might say something about it.”
“…!”
Woo-jin mimicked zipping his lips shut, and Mary found it so adorable that she copied him. With their lips sealed and smiles on their faces, they both headed toward where Natalia and Min-jun were waiting.
6.
The world fell silent as if all sound had been erased. Yet no one noticed anything amiss. As hearing vanished and vision grew increasingly restricted, they couldn’t perceive what surrounded them.
Like sinking slowly into a marsh, they were gradually consumed—but the monsters remained oblivious. Then Natalia quietly gripped her gun and pulled the trigger.
Without a single sound, the bullet streaked toward the monster’s head.
Even as it pierced through, no sound escaped, no reaction occurred. The monster itself didn’t even realize it had been struck.
The remaining monsters had no idea their companion had fallen. Natalia reloaded and fired again. Another hole blossomed in a creature’s skull. But no one noticed.
And then the final shot.
As that last bullet left the chamber and a hole appeared in the final monster’s head.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sound erupted belatedly, and the moment the creatures turned their heads in unison, they collapsed simultaneously, their bodies dissolving into energy as items and mana stones scattered across the ground.
It was nothing short of miraculous marksmanship. Or could it even be called marksmanship?
She’d cloaked an entire radius in concealment, preventing each creature from perceiving the others, and had silenced all sound itself. Then, from within that veil of silence, she’d fired her lethal rounds.
Could there be anything more beautiful, more perfect than this? Lee Ji-eun thought so.
Even though she’d just been on a call, her voice had never reached them.
The bullets approached undetected, and they’d met their end without ever knowing death was coming.
‘That’s truly awe-inspiring.’
Lee Ji-eun meant it sincerely. She’d never witnessed anything so miraculous.
If she could just refine her technique, wouldn’t she rank among the top executives?
Of course, she wouldn’t surpass Min-jun, but still—she could certainly claim a position at the very pinnacle of the executive hierarchy.
She’d heard that Evan, the mage scholar, was formidable as well, but Lee Ji-eun wanted to declare unequivocally that Natalia was the greatest. This was truly gunmanship bordering on the miraculous.
At first, Natalia had been endlessly talkative about reviewing her own performance, but this time she wasn’t saying much. It seemed she wasn’t particularly verbose by nature.
This time was no different. There wasn’t much of a review at all.
“I wanted to silence even the sound of the gunshots at the end, but it seems that’s still impossible for now.”
The fact that she could distinguish between what was currently possible and what wasn’t—could there be anyone more perfect than that?
As such thoughts arose naturally, Lee Ji-eun suddenly clapped her hands as if she’d remembered something and spoke.
“Oh, that’s right! Natalia, shall we move to a different location? The Guild Master is supposedly in this area, so perhaps we should head over there and hunt together. It would be great for leveling.”
“….”
Seeing Natalia’s expression darken slightly with displeasure, Lee Ji-eun wondered if she’d said something wrong, but finding nothing amiss, she looked at Natalia questioningly.
Then Natalia looked at Lee Ji-eun, her gaze trembling slightly.
In that moment, Lee Ji-eun—being a woman herself—felt her heart skip a beat at the overwhelming beauty Natalia possessed. Wondering why she was being stared at like that, Lee Ji-eun tilted her head in confusion, and Natalia carefully opened her mouth.
“…With my current skill level, I’m worried the Guild Master might view me unfavorably.”
“Eh? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?????????”
What had she just heard? It sounded strange—very strange indeed.
As Lee Ji-eun stared at Natalia with that bewildered expression, Natalia responded with a look of resignation, lowering her head deeply and exhaling a somewhat melancholic sigh.
“Sigh. I’m still so lacking that I worry I’m only burdening the Guild Master further.”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!!! That can’t be true!!!!! The Guild Master will surely praise you!”
“…? How could that be? How incredible is the Guild Master compared to someone like me….”
“No, that’s not… well, it’s true, but that’s because you’re the Guild Master!!!! I mean, you need to compare things that are actually comparable.”
Natalia was remarkable, and Lee Ji-eun admired her abilities, but comparing things that should be compared—what was the point of comparing the human realm to the divine realm?
As Lee Ji-eun spoke with exasperation, Natalia expressed her firm resolve.
“My goal is to show the Guild Master that I can fully contribute my part.”
“…?!!! No, I think you’re already doing more than enough right now?”
“Hmm, I still feel like it’s insufficient… but I understand.”
Was she saying she was afraid to go right now because she was inadequate? Seriously? Then should I just die?
Such a thought crossed Lee Ji-eun’s mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.
Lee Ji-eun had also heard how Natalia came to be here, so she could understand it to some extent, but wasn’t this taking it too far?
For a moment, Lee Ji-eun had a fleeting suspicion, but she simply shook her head.
While she thought it was reasonable enough, it could also be something else entirely.
Just as Lee Ji-eun and Natalia were about to leave, Lee Ji-eun suddenly remembered something and spoke to Natalia.
“Oh! And I heard two other executives are coming as well.”
“Other executives?”
“Yes. Well, you’ve probably seen Jung Ji-hwan and Isabella, but they come and go like secretaries so I don’t worry about them much. But Mary and Woo-jin are supposed to be coming.”
“I see.”
Natalia had never met them either, but she had already heard plenty about them and knew what precautions to take.
Mary didn’t have any particular warnings attached to her, but Woo-jin was certainly someone worth being cautious about.
Woo-jin had a strongly aggressive personality, so she’d been warned not to provoke him.
Moreover, it was clear that even with her current abilities, she wouldn’t stand a chance against him, so she kept that in mind as well.
But now both of them were coming.
Would she be receiving special attention? With her current level of power, that seemed unlikely, which struck her as odd. She nodded in acknowledgment.
Whether they came or not didn’t really matter much to Natalia anyway.
Natalia simply glanced at her reflection in a nearby glass surface, adjusted her appearance to look neat, and then asked Lee Ji-eun.
“…Do I look shabby?”
“…What did you say?”
This time, Lee Ji-eun couldn’t hold back and burst out.
If that was shabby, then what was she—someone begging for alms?
Such a thought flashed through her mind before she let out a sigh and spoke.
“You look more than beautiful enough, so don’t worry too much.”
“Ah, ah. Th-thank you.”
“If you want to look even better, just smile a little.”
“Ah, n-no, that’s not it.”
Watching the embarrassed Natalia, Lee Ji-eun gazed at her with something like affection.
So she had this side to her too.
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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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