The Only Enhancer - Chapter 186

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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 186
186 – Pacific Ocean Voyage (3)
3.
Mages are commonly given the epithet of “those who prepare.”
They must prepare for any situation and respond accordingly. Thus, mages move to survive by any means necessary, and harness magic to achieve victory.
Ursula, the current Archmage among the monsters, embodied this type of mage.
Pursuing perfection, she endlessly craved preparation. Yet she fell to Min-jun. It wasn’t merely that she crossed the threshold of death once.
Every preparation she had made shattered against Min-jun alone.
Now she understood well. No matter how extensively she prepared to face Min-jun, it would be futile. At least, that was true for now. But she would always find a way.
History had proven as much.
Min-jun was an Archmage who surpassed her? Then she need only prepare until reaching beyond his expectations—until circumstances arose that lay beyond his capabilities.
To accomplish this, she had even gathered her allies across dimensional boundaries.
The second great war. No, the final great war—preparations for it.
She had brought her comrades from the Fairy Dimension, now ruined and desolate.
Of course, this was not the end of her preparations.
To defeat him, she needed to obtain power rivaling his own.
Yet she could not be certain as of now.
-‘I cannot be certain he possesses the same power as before.’
Ursula was cunning enough for that. She would never recklessly charge into a battle she had lost once without any chance of victory. First, she needed to test Min-jun’s strength.
There was no law preventing that monster Min-jun from growing stronger.
And if he had grown, she needed to know those exact figures to prepare with clarity.
The problem was that few talents of that caliber remained.
A Level 8 Calamity-class monster? They existed, but aside from the Elder—ancient and on death’s door—there were none. Using that decrepit Elder as a scout, whom Ursula herself had refused to absorb and discarded, would be foolish. Yet sending an ambiguous Level 7 Calamity-class creature would mean it would die without even gathering intelligence, let alone understanding anything.
How troublesome. And Ursula herself could not go directly.
She had made extensive preparations, and she herself would be the most crucial key card.
Ursula continued preparing to absorb the Essence.
In the midst of this, she sensed Min-jun’s aura crossing over the sea. Of course, she could perceive nothing beyond that. Min-jun had woven detection-blocking magic around himself.
The range itself was so vast that she could not pinpoint Min-jun’s exact location.
It appeared he was using perception-inhibiting magic to conceal both his existence and the events surrounding him. It was remarkable that he could cover such a broad range, yet for some reason, Ursula sensed that Min-jun was hiding far more than that.
That was certainly not the limit of his power.
-‘Hmm, his arrival here must be to locate our stronghold.’
Min-jun’s intentions were transparent. He had come to find and assault her base.
Ursula had already assumed that Min-jun had captured either her younger sister or one of her companions and extracted information, which was why she had relocated her stronghold.
Thus, she grew somewhat anxious. No matter how thoroughly she and the warlocks and mages had concealed the stronghold with all their power, could it truly deceive Min-jun’s perception?
The Pacific Ocean was vast, yet with Min-jun on the move, time did not feel abundant.
Of course, there were always methods, so she did not become excessively anxious or worried.
At worst, she could take refuge in the ruined Fairy Dimension for a time.
Then, no matter how formidable Min-jun was, there would be limits to his pursuit.
Even if he did pursue, it would certainly take time, so this aspect brought her reassurance.
Yet even so, the immediate problem remained—she had no means to verify Min-jun’s current strength.
It was equally frustrating.
-‘There isn’t a single decent hand I can play.’
Even Min-jun, who had entered my domain, was stammering helplessly—what a pathetic sight.
It was utterly absurd, and my pride had been thoroughly crushed.
I, once hailed as the greatest mage, had fallen to such a state.
Honestly, it was infuriating and agonizing, but if I refused to acknowledge it?
I would be no different from those dead Elders. So I had to think—how could I draw out his true strength?
As I pondered this, immense mana erupted from the spatial transfer formation, and space itself began to ripple.
The overwhelming mana warped space itself, and the ground shook violently.
Fortunately, Ursula had already deployed a protective formation, so the tremors didn’t reach us; otherwise, Min-jun in the same Pacific Ocean would have been caught in it.
Despite the danger, why did a long smile spread across Ursula’s lips? She remembered that mana signature all too well.
-W-what is this mana?
-C-could it be!?
-A-are you still alive!?
-We heard you died in the final battle of the Great War! Yet you survived in the ruins of the Fairy Dimension!?
The Deep Sea sorcerers and mages rejoiced with excitement, and from within that rippling space, a creature burst forth—an underground monster with elongated limbs and a massive body, wreathed in scorching lava.
Its body glowed red as if molten lava flowed through every crevice, and its long limbs shimmered with a dark crimson hue as if the lava had hardened.
Sharp claws like talons, a sleek and agile form, legs that looked capable of running faster than anyone—every aspect of this underground creature emanated an oppressive presence.
And seeing it, Ursula cried out.
-The Hero of Monsters! The Assassin of the Earth!
-…Hmm, the Witch of the Deep Sea?
He said this while frowning slightly. Since this was the sea, it seemed somewhat uncomfortable for him, yet his power manifested ominously even in these waters.
Seeing that familiar strength—no, power that seemed even more sharply honed than before—Ursula’s eyes gleamed.
With such power, he was certainly no mere Level 8 Calamity.
Of course, he couldn’t quite be called Level 9, but he was stronger than an ordinary Level 8.
Perhaps one standing at the threshold?
And so Ursula couldn’t help but welcome him.
A legendary monster worthy of being called the Hero of Monsters—one who cherished his comrades despite his power, and possessed strength unmatched by any.
To this true hero who was neither arrogant nor wavering in his duty, Ursula spoke.
-Decan! Are you curious about the current situation?
-…Of course. I wish to know why the hateful power of the Fairies still exists, and where exactly this land is… Witch of the Deep Sea.
-I shall tell you.
And so a long tale began.
How they had come to this state, and how it had escalated to this point.
And they also spoke of Min-jun, their primary adversary.
As Decan listened slowly, his eyes began to glow with fierce brilliance.
4.
After nearly two weeks at sea, everyone had adapted somewhat to this place, which initially seemed like the very edge of hell.
In fact, they were doing far better than expected, beyond mere adaptation.
Rest periods had shortened slightly, but it was manageable. The passenger facilities installed on the large cargo ship were excellent.
Everyone was delighted by the existence of showers and the ability to lie down on a bed, even if only for a moment.
It was natural, of course, and they shouldn’t have been so pleased about it, but the grueling training on land had made it impossible not to rejoice.
At least they could maintain the bare minimum of human dignity.
Of course, what had been rest more than once a day had become rest roughly once every two days, but since the quality of rest was inevitably different, everyone was delighted.
The good mood wasn’t limited to just the guild members.
Min-jun and the other executives felt it too.
“Set sail!”
Min-jun, feeling like the captain he’d once dreamed of becoming while watching comics, was laughing and showing his spirits on the deck. It wasn’t just a feeling of becoming a captain—he was a proper captain now—but the point was that he was in a good mood regardless.
As he explored his surroundings this way, Min-jun was surveying the Pacific Ocean.
While doing so, he gazed with a satisfied smile at Ian, Natalia, and Hong Myeong, who had already reached Level 5.
By tomorrow, they would all clear their Quests and reach Level 6.
Since I had already given Hong Myeong a level enhancement, he would be able to reach Level 6.
Then I could finally provide the trait enhancement I had originally planned to give at Level 5.
‘And they’ve grown quite a bit too, haven’t they?’
Min-jun nodded with satisfaction at the thought.
Evan, in particular, had grown beyond expectations.
At first, Natalia’s talent was so exceptional that I thought she would achieve tremendous growth, but Evan grew beyond my expectations.
Well, now that I had become a master of magic, that contributed to it as well.
Natalia’s slightly slower growth compared to Evan was an unavoidable reason.
‘To grow, she needs a greater variety of firearms.’
Moreover, since the sniper rifle had been pushed to its limits, it hadn’t broken, but its limitations were clear.
Even when I provided enhancements, it didn’t change much.
Only power and speed increased; for technical growth, other firearms were necessary.
Of course, if there were a sniper rifle with even better performance capable of various techniques, it would be ideal, but since Natalia said she would do her best here, I had no choice but to acknowledge it.
Seeing her grow bit by bit despite such clear limitations, if she had simply changed weapons, she would have achieved tremendous growth.
So Min-jun thought for a moment.
I had heard a few days ago that Andrew had completed all the guns, but since training was the priority, I left them behind; now seemed like the right time to bring them.
Natalia was growing somewhat frustrated as she felt herself being caught up by Evan.
Min-jun deliberated whether to return to land briefly or summon them instead.
Now that I could strengthen magic circles, I smiled and created a spatial teleportation magic circle.
It was easier than the spatial magic circle that the Deep-Sea Monsters were barely mastering through arduous study, but spatial magic itself was extremely difficult. However, I used spatial magic far too easily.
So that we could travel between the Reinforce Guild Building and here at any time.
If I told Jung Ji-hwan, he would bring it well.
I sent a rough message and briefly explained how to operate the magic circle.
Along with instructions to bring all of Natalia’s guns.
Then I sensed something strange. Detecting suspicious mana approaching the ship, I stopped texting Jung Ji-hwan and called him instead.
“Gather the executives immediately and come to my room. I’ll open a portal. And bring all of Natalia’s guns.”
-Yes, understood.
“It looks like war is about to break out.”
With those words, I sensed three auras approaching from afar and furrowed my brow.
They all bore witness to three auras, each possessing the formidable power of Level 8 calamities that were unparalleled in their strength.

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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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