The Only Enhancer - Chapter 178

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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 178
178 – New Recruit Intensive Training (3)
From Hong Myeong’s perspective, he would have preferred to grow closer to Yu Ji-min than to them, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud.
So when Yu Ji-min went to join the other guild members, Hong Myeong let out a small sigh, then decided it would be better to muster courage before the executive candidates rather than before Yu Ji-min, and moved toward their group.
After exchanging greetings, Mary clapped her hands knowingly and expressed her amazement.
It seemed Min-jun’s story had spread far more than expected.
Realizing that Mary also knew about Hong Myeong’s artificial awakening, she became quite curious.
“Did you hear what his ability stat was?”
“Oh, no, I didn’t hear the details, but I did hear it was above 10.”
“Oh! That makes sense why the guild master is taking such good care of him.”
“I heard about it too, but my brother mentioned recently that it seems Hong Myeong will also receive trait enhancement. Have you heard anything about that?”
“Ah, I haven’t heard that from the guild master either… it’s a bit awkward to comment on.”
“Ah, so you hadn’t awakened yet when we met?”
“Yes, I was still an ordinary person back then.”
Normally Hong Myeong would have struggled to maintain such smooth conversation, but now he was quite different.
Well, wasn’t this natural after training here?
Fighting monsters and having to save bleeding patients every minute—how could one not become confident? He conversed far more naturally than when he was an ordinary person, and the future executive candidates continued their lively discussion.
Everyone watching them nodded approvingly at the sight.
Still, Min-jun was too busy to pay attention, frantically conducting reinforcements for his new plan.
Some swallowed nervously watching him, sensing something ominous, but others simply laughed and enjoyed the present moment.
Their reasoning was that worrying wouldn’t change what was coming anyway—they could struggle with it when the time came, so there was no reason to fret now.
Those who chatted among themselves or felt restless even passed the time sparring with one another.
Before long, Gwen arrived as well.
At first, Min-jun exchanged greetings with Gwen and said he had preparations to make before heading inside; Gwen suppressed her desire to talk with Natalia and Evan, and went with him to assist with the reinforcement.
It happened to be a task that could be completed much faster with Gwen present, so Min-jun welcomed her enthusiastically.
When Natalia saw this, her expression became slightly dejected, and those with keen perception couldn’t help but notice.
Woo-jin even swallowed hard and asked the other guild members to come play with him to that extent.
“Ahem, does Natalia have some kind of goal?” Evan asked, trying to redirect the conversation.
Natalia answered immediately.
“I want to become someone who can protect the guild master. If that’s difficult, I want to become someone who can be his strength.”
“Ah….”
“Ahem.”
“Why would you ask something like that.”
“Hmm….”
Everyone became somewhat solemn at Natalia’s answer.
The executives and executive candidates all knew it. They knew that Min-jun had his heart set on Gwen.
Using Yu Ji-min’s expression, most of the executives were Team Gwen.
However, after hearing Natalia’s story this time, it seemed so cinematic that some had switched sides, though Team Gwen still remained the majority.
It was the same among the regular guild members.
Just as they were all feeling awkward, Min-jun finished all his preparations and gathered everyone together.
Everyone gathered and held their breath, wondering if Min-jun was about to give a briefing. Soon, Min-jun stepped forward before the assembled guild members and addressed them all.
“We will no longer hunt here. We’re moving to a different location.”
There were no murmurs, questions, or objections whatsoever.
When Min-jun said something would happen, it happened.
Everyone was nodding their heads and thinking they should prepare to move when Min-jun revealed where they were going.
“We’re heading to the Pacific Ocean.”
“””!!!!!!!!!”””
When monsters appeared, the sea routes naturally became impassable, but they’d managed to keep a few shipping lanes open by trying their hardest to maintain them—the Pacific Ocean, however, was simply impossible.
Because the Deep Sea existed there, the sheer number of monsters was staggering, and high-level creatures appeared frequently.
Yet Min-jun was saying they would go to the Pacific Ocean.
If anyone else had said it, they would’ve been dismissed as insane—but coming from Min-jun, it was entirely different.
After all, he was someone who could conquer the Pacific Ocean and still have strength to spare.
“There are two reasons for going to the Pacific Ocean. First, I need to efficiently draw monsters here, and while the distance is considerable and pulling aggro and herding them is labor-intensive, in the sea I can pull them from a distance.”
At those words, some guild members who didn’t grasp the deeper meaning began applauding, but others understood.
In other words, if Min-jun could pull monsters from a distance, wouldn’t that mean he could pull them infinitely without pause?
Those who realized this began to wear expressions of contemplation.
But who could voice a complaint? They could only applaud with sorrowful eyes.
Min-jun nodded at them and continued speaking.
“The second reason is that we still don’t know how Ursula will emerge, and it doesn’t sit right with me to simply wait idly. They may be preparing their defenses, after all.”
That was certainly true. Not knowing when or where Ursula would appear was something that caused stress for the Reinforce Guild members.
Everyone could only nod in agreement with the purpose of searching for Ursula.
Though some thought it might not be ideal for Hong Myeong, whom Ursula was targeting, to go along, no one was concerned about it since Min-jun would be there.
Then, as the scale suddenly seemed to be growing too large, the Team 1 members tilted their heads in confusion.
The personnel were too few relative to the scale. What was he planning to do about this? The thought crossed their minds.
Min-jun kindly explained for their benefit.
“Excluding the executives who can be urgently summoned via immediate transfer, I will assemble both Team 1 and Team 2 and head to the Pacific Ocean. All the reinforced equipment I’ve recently strengthened comes equipped with skills that enable underwater breathing, so you won’t need to worry about underwater combat.”
At Min-jun’s words, everyone fell into contemplation.
Especially Sergei, who had sacrificed himself to keep others from coming here.
Realizing that everyone would now gather for intensive training, his eyes grew sorrowful, while some of Team 1 who had lost at rock-paper-scissors to come here instead wore smiles of relief.
They say happiness doubles when shared, and sorrow halves when shared.
They simply recalled that and wore broad smiles.
Once Min-jun’s announcement ended, everyone began preparing busily.
They thought they needed to prepare as if for a real war, so the preparations became quite lengthy.
Min-jun spoke to them as they worked.
“It looks like it will take several days—or at least a month or two—so please prepare well.”
At those words, some wanted to cry but held it in somehow.
Thus, the deep-sea fishing expedition was decided.
2.
In the Deep Ocean, the lair of the Deep-Sea Monsters was also bustling with activity.
They were divided into two groups: those moving busily for spatial transfer and teleportation, and those assisting in the creation of Ursula’s magic circle—and the busiest of all was Ursula herself.
Even while commanding them, she was searching for methods to absorb the essence as stably as possible.
After all, even if Hong Myeong came near the seaside, it would be pointless if he arrived with Min-jun.
So Ursula decided to absorb the essence herself, but she encountered far too many obstacles.
If the system had been designed so that humans who resembled fairies perfectly bore no burden or strain, then the monsters couldn’t utilize it.
The system had been created by the fairies in the first place to minimize monster-related damage to others—so how could Ursula, a monster, possibly use it?
While everyone else moved about so busily, Ursula tore at her hair and gnashed her teeth.
-‘They’re all utterly useless.’
Though she had evolved by accepting the power of enhancement, the essence of a fairy was fundamentally on a different level than such reinforcement.
To absorb without any common ground was logically absurd from the start.
She explored other methods, but the only way was to further strengthen her body to receive the essence.
Yet even this wasn’t enough. She would merely become a chimera stripped of reason.
This wasn’t her first or second attempt at such things.
She had to find a way. Now, if this didn’t work, she couldn’t fathom any method to surpass Min-jun.
She recalled the days when the Monster King still lived, searching for any possible approach.
Now there was no way to find answers in the remaining texts.
She had to rely on memory alone. Of course, she wasn’t simply reminiscing or lost in thought.
Ursula was using a crystal-ball incantation that allowed her to extract and directly view her own memories, tracing backward through them like a witch.
She particularly focused on the moments when the Monster King enhanced or created other monsters.
She held onto the hope that some secret might reveal itself.
As she observed, she discovered something strange.
Monsters were originally beings without reason.
They were born when genetic material carried in meteorites fell and consumed living creatures.
By absorbing life forms infused with mana and forming shapes, they became monsters.
Only the Monster King’s enhancement could grant them reason.
In her youth, she had passed through such moments thoughtlessly and felt nothing then.
But now, as the transformed Ursula directly witnessed the Monster King’s enhancement, she could only swallow hard.
-‘How could I not know such a simple fact.’
This was entirely possible.
Now she could somewhat understand why those researchers underground had clung so desperately to humans.
To strengthen a monster’s essence, the Monster King didn’t simply enhance monsters.
He enhanced them by gradually mixing in his own essence.
For mere enhancement alone would still result in the loss of reason.
But if enhancement were performed by gradually mixing in one’s own essence?
The power of fairies would be infused while they remained monsters.
That was precisely what the remaining monsters were now.
Ursula was the same.
Which meant that Ursula’s body already contained an infinitesimal trace of the Fairy King’s essence.
Then the answer was clear—she needed to gradually inject the essence bit by bit, adapting until she could bear no more.
-‘It will take a long time.’
And the pain would be as if her very soul were being torn away.
But for the glory of the Deep-Sea Monsters, there was no choice.
Ursula closed her eyes with that resolve.
Now, once the preparations were complete, she would absorb the Benevolence.
The war was beginning.

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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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