The Only Enhancer - Chapter 182

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 182
182 – The First Level 8 (1)
2.
There were two conditions for Min-jun to ascend to Level 8—or rather, two specific requirements tied to his advancement.
One was to hunt a single Disaster Level 7 monster from each of the three realms: Underground, Deep Sea, and Heavens. The other was to consume ten Orbs of Evolution to strengthen himself.
In truth, once he fulfilled the first condition, he could simply expend ten Orbs of Evolution to enhance himself and achieve the level increase.
However, after hunting monsters from all three realms—Underground, Deep Sea, and Heavens—he genuinely felt no pressing need to level up.
Until now, his level had never been the bottleneck holding him back.
But now, if he were to hunt those creatures from the Deep Sea, perhaps things would be different.
With that in mind, Min-jun had brought ten Orbs of Evolution and made various other preparations.
Worried about mana depletion, he had also gathered multiple mana stones.
The process of ascending to Level 8 differed from other levels—it felt more like self-enhancement—so he had prepared thoroughly.
Since other executives were aboard the ship, he had informed Ma Hyun-seok beforehand and asked him to assist guild members if they needed help, so there was nothing to worry about.
With a deep breath, Min-jun gathered the Orbs of Evolution and began his enhancement attempt.
The method came to him naturally without explanation.
‘I’ll use Level Enhancement as the base and apply Trait Enhancement simultaneously.’
He had already known this instinctively when he first became capable of leveling up, and the moment he attempted to strengthen himself—
A familiar sensation washed over him.
Just as when he first achieved 8-star enhancement, pure white light erupted from Min-jun. As the radiance gradually faded and darkness enveloped everything, a beautiful garden filled with emerald light unfurled before him. At a small table in its center, he could see a figure elegantly sipping tea.
“It has been a long time.”
-Ah, so it is you, child. You always arrive when least expected. I thought you would come sooner than this.
“In truth, I felt no real need to level up until now.”
The Fairy King could only smile at Min-jun’s words.
Min-jun, feeling somewhat guilty, averted his gaze from the Fairy King and took a seat.
-It seems you still don’t feel the necessity even now.
“Well, there’s simply so much I can already accomplish.”
-Ha, true enough. You already possess items of Authority-grade—or as you would say, 9-star items—so I suppose the need to level up never presented itself.
“It seems there are no 10-star items, then.”
-As for your realm—that is, should you reach Level 9—I cannot say with certainty, for even I have not attained that height, and it would be presumptuous of me to speak of it.
“What?”
The revelation that even the Fairy King had not reached Level 9 struck him harder than expected.
More shocking still was the fact that the Fairy King was only Level 8.
Which meant—
-Yes, child. Your intuition is correct. You have now reached the same realm as I. And seeing that you can wield magic, you may well surpass me.
Min-jun could not bring himself to speak, but he began to understand why the fairies had perished.
He had achieved this realm in mere years—a span so brief.
Yet the Fairy King, who had strived his entire immortal life, had only reached a similar height. It was difficult for Min-jun to comprehend.
The Fairy King seemed to perceive this inner conflict, for he smiled bitterly and spoke.
-Long life is not an unmixed blessing. We fairies grew intoxicated by our lifespan and comfort, never living with true desperation. When the monsters invaded, our hesitation stemmed from this very complacency—having lived at ease, we never learned how to fight.
“I see. Then—”
-As expected, there’s practically nothing I can advise you on.
“Still, I’m grateful we can have this conversation.”
-I appreciate you saying that. Though there is one more thing I should tell you.
At the Fairy King’s final words, Min-jun tilted his head in confusion.
The Fairy King smiled warmly at his reaction and spoke.
-The system no longer has any realm beyond yours, so you’ll be able to do everything possible as an Enhancement Master without skill restrictions.
“Ah!”
Even now, I relied on skills to some degree. The revelation that I would no longer be constrained by them made me smile with genuine delight.
I realized I could now truly handle everything an Enhancement Master could do on my own. The Fairy King continued.
-You’ll be far greater than you imagine. Enhancement mastery is ultimately the power to strengthen all things. Every limitation the system imposed because it feared you couldn’t control it will now be released.
“The power to strengthen all things…?”
-Yes. Whether you make that enhancement permanent or temporary depends entirely on your will, but you’ll be able to strengthen anything. That is the power of an Enhancement Master.
In other words, the transcendence gained at Level 8 was a power worthy of that name.
I thought it was practically no different from Level 9, but the Fairy King simply smiled.
At that enigmatic smile, I nodded and bowed in gratitude.
“Thank you for telling me.”
-It’s nothing. You would have discovered it naturally once you left here anyway.
“Still, if I’m able to visit again, I will.”
-Ha, I would appreciate that.
As the Fairy King expressed his thanks, my body began to fade away gradually.
It was time to leave.
As I disappeared, I smiled and spoke to the Fairy King.
“I’ll handle the task you asked of me well. I’ll recover the Monster King’s—no, the Fairy Prince’s essence properly.”
-…Thank you.
After hearing the Fairy King’s gratitude, I vanished, and he chuckled softly while sipping his tea and murmuring.
-He’s grown so much I can hardly call him a child anymore.
Saying so, he gazed upward with a lonely expression.
Waiting for the day his own child would come to this place.
3.
After leveling up, I checked the magic stones around me, but none had been consumed.
However, when I examined my internal state, the amount of mana and other aspects made me chuckle involuntarily. Feeling an omnipotence from having gained nearly infinite power, I rose to my feet.
With this much strength, I thought there was truly nothing to worry about.
Yet harboring some doubt, I pulled a single hard candy from my pocket.
Naturally, it was the kind sold at convenience stores or regular supermarkets.
Though it was certainly not an item, seeing it made me attempt enhancement with a small amount of mana.
Then a sphere of light emerged, bowed respectfully to me, and settled into the candy.
And.
[Green Grape Flavored Hard Candy]+1
-The original green grape flavor has transformed into something more natural, refreshingly tart, and delicious.
-Eating it brings joy and a slight increase in mana.
-When attacking with Candy Stones, they ignore the defensive barriers of Disaster Level 1 monsters.
I’d obtained an effect that was absolutely absurd.
Ignoring the defensive barriers of Disaster Level 1 monsters with mere Candy Stones—it was ridiculous.
I could have used Consecutive Reinforcement as well, but I deliberately refrained. Then, as Min-jun smiled and unwrapped the Candy Stone’s wrapper to pop it into his mouth, I couldn’t help but be startled.
‘Is this insane?’
The flavor was extraordinarily exceptional.
It was almost unbelievable how good it tasted.
It wasn’t merely enhanced—it was completely transformed from what it had been before.
Moreover, with such vast and nearly infinite mana, the increase wasn’t even noticeable, but my mana had genuinely increased.
Far more than I’d anticipated, at that.
If I’d consumed these Candy Stones back when I was Level 2, or even Level 3, I would have gained mana with effects nearly equivalent to an elixir.
Realizing this, I couldn’t help but laugh helplessly at the sheer absurdity of it all.
Now I could even become an elixir merchant—purchasing green grape candies in bulk, placing them in elegant containers, reinforcing them, and selling them.
Though I laughed in bewilderment at this insane situation, the effect was genuinely remarkable.
With this, I could reinforce other things as well.
‘I could even reinforce the entire Cargo Ship.’
However, doing so might prevent monsters from approaching at all, so instead I combined it with a concealment skill and reinforced only the magical formations attached to the Cargo Ship.
Up to about +6, roughly speaking.
The moment the magical formations were reinforced to +6 in an instant, while others might not have sensed it, I certainly could.
This vessel would not be destroyed even if a Disaster Level 8 monster unleashed a transcendent technique at full power.
This way, things could become far more interesting.
As I stepped outside, I could see the Reinforce Guild members conducting their raid while chatting cheerfully amongst themselves.
Though adaptation training hadn’t been completed, since I wasn’t present to draw the monsters’ aggression, they could raid at their leisure without pressure.
Watching them, I smiled faintly, then manipulated mana to sense if there were other monsters in the vicinity.
There were countless monsters ranging from Disaster Level 1 to Disaster Level 5.
I selected some Disaster Level 3 monsters first, stimulating them with mana to draw them toward us.
Initially, there were ten of them.
Whoooosh!
“What? They’re suddenly pouring in?”
“Huh? What’s this? Pfahahaha! Hey, these are Disaster Level 3? Let’s just wipe them out.”
“Ah, these weaklings—Disaster Level 3 isn’t even worth the exercise anymore. This is it!”
The Reinforce Guild members slaughtered the Disaster Level 3 monsters with fervent intensity, yet they couldn’t help but sense something was amiss.
While only ten Disaster Level 3 monsters had arrived initially, more than twenty surged in the second wave, and after clearing those, over thirty came flooding in.
“What… what is this?”
“W-waves? Is this even right?”
“I-I mean, even for the sea, is this normal?”
“C-crazy, they’re coming again!”
“How many this time!?”
“Fifty!”
Everyone began moving frantically, and regardless of their weakness, these were still Disaster Level 3 monsters.
Even if I could take them down in one strike, their sheer numbers made them tedious to deal with.
Fifty of those creatures wasn’t just annoying—it bordered on genuinely threatening.
Min-jun didn’t stop there. He deliberately provoked even more Disaster Level 3 monsters in the surrounding area.
When the Reinforce Guild members saw the count reach nearly a hundred, they went pale with shock.
They knew the monsters could be handled and there was no real danger, but fighting underwater meant their movements wouldn’t be smooth or fluid.
To overcome this, they had no choice but to adapt to underwater combat.
Watching this unfold, Ma Hyun-seok wondered if he should step in to help, but then he felt a gaze from behind. He turned and spotted Min-jun, then nodded in understanding.
He decided this level of training was rare enough to find anywhere else, so he’d let it continue—just as the Reinforce Guild members cried out desperately.
“P-please help us! Team Leader Ma!”
“Aaahhh! They’re coming again!”
“No time to talk—catch more of them!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————