The Only Enhancer - Chapter 2

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

Episode 2
Episode 2 – Trait Awakening (2)
I had heard rumors about it before.
That there were those who awakened without any trait at all.
They were commonly called the Traitless.
I’d heard they weren’t as rare as one might think—roughly half of all who awakened fell into this category.
All those called Hunters possessed a trait without exception.
One of the three classifications known as Healer, Tank, and Dealer.
But those without any trait whatsoever were the Traitless.
They could awaken and use the system, but without a trait, they naturally had no skills either.
In other words, they couldn’t hunt monsters.
Moreover, their bodies were no different from ordinary people’s, so much so that some said awakening made no difference at all.
Was I one of those Traitless right now?
‘Me, am I really Traitless?’
I’d been so damn excited about awakening, but if I was Traitless, what was the point?
In that instant, I recalled cursing out the Convenience Store manager, and my face went pale.
I could find another job.
But I’d thought things could finally change, and now I was plummeting into the abyss like this?
As anxiety gripped me, my expression hardened further.
Then the staff member exclaimed and spoke to me.
“Wait, just a moment?”
I couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope as they searched for something urgently.
The hope that perhaps something had been mistaken.
And then the staff member found something and opened their mouth.
“If you’ve only recently awakened, you may need to wait a bit longer, it seems.”
“Wait a bit longer?”
“Yes, you’ve heard of the Traitless, haven’t you?”
I nodded stiffly at the staff member’s words.
Was this confirmation that I was Traitless?
No, they wouldn’t have explained it like this if that were the case.
I waited for the staff member with a glimmer of hope.
The staff member explained slowly.
“According to what’s known, traits are supposed to appear immediately after awakening, but there’s variation from person to person.”
“So, then…?”
“Yes, mainly there’s a delay in the process of gaining great power. In other words, it takes longer to obtain a Healer trait than a Dealer trait, for example. The cause or reason is still unknown, they say.”
“Ah!”
My expression brightened, and the staff member also said it was fortunate.
“Typically, Dealers get their trait within 30 minutes of awakening, Tanks can take up to an hour, and Healers can take up to 4 hours.”
“So, if nothing appears even after that…?”
“Then you’re truly Traitless.”
The employee spoke with a tone of regret, and I couldn’t help but tense up.
The employee then said to me.
“Since you came early, if you wait a bit longer, you should be able to confirm the results. Would you like to wait, register, and then leave?”
“Ah, no. I’ll head home and come back tomorrow instead.”
“The longer the trait awakening takes, the more powerful the skills you gain from it are said to be, so I sincerely hope for a good result.”
“…Thank you.”
“Yes, I understand. We look forward to your return.”
After bowing politely to the employee who had been so helpful and informative throughout, I left the counter.
Standing in front of the Hunter Association’s main entrance, I gazed blankly up at the sky.
Whether the clear sky understood my feelings or not, it seemed only to mock me with its brightness.
Honestly, I had been hopeful.
It had only been less than an hour since my awakening, after all.
Could I possibly be a Healer?
Such a thought might have crossed my mind, but in my already cold and rational mind, such hopeful thinking did not take root.
From the results I’d seen on my phone on the way out, the proportion of those without traits was 50%, and the next most common was Dealers at 40%.
After that, Tanks dropped sharply to 7.5%, and Healers had only a 2.5% probability.
‘So that’s why Healers are treated like royalty?’
It was indeed famous among Hunters.
The arrogance of Healers was truly extraordinary.
Moreover, since Healers didn’t attack directly, they didn’t need to insist on high-grade equipment like Dealers or Tanks did.
They wielded more power than anyone else, it was said.
That’s why they were royalty.
‘Even becoming a Tank would have been nobility.’
While more common than Healers, Tanks were undoubtedly a rare and important position.
Though not quite at the level of Healers, they still received noble treatment, or so I’d heard.
But an hour had now passed.
I knew it well.
‘That person said Tanks emerge within an hour at most, right?’
[Kim Min-jun]
[Lv.1]
[Trait – X]
[Skills]
– X
Yet the system window still displayed only X.
In other words, I was neither a Dealer nor a Tank.
That left only the question: was I someone without traits or a Healer?
The probability of me being a Healer given such low odds?
It was essentially non-existent.
50% versus 2.5%.
It was not a probability worth hoping for.
‘A dealer is a commoner, and someone without a trait is….’
An untouchable.
Essentially a slave class.
Of course, as long as I don’t work in the Hunter industry, it won’t be a problem.
If I live as an ordinary person, I won’t be subject to abuse from Hunters.
In truth, I had already given up.
The probability of becoming a Healer was far too slim.
“Sigh….”
I had harbored pointless hope.
Awakening alone wasn’t enough.
I had gotten so excited seeing the system that I got carried away.
Arrogant and presumptuous.
How could someone like me ever succeed?
‘An orphan brat—of course this is how it’d turn out.’
Vicious self-loathing intertwined with a creeping sense of victimhood.
I let out a self-deprecating laugh and shook my head.
I needed to find new work.
The Convenience Store probably won’t work anymore, right?
Word might have spread through the community.
Maybe it’s for the best.
It’d be better to switch to a higher-paying job.
‘Yeah, it worked out! Hunters? They just get injured! It’s dangerous anyway! Fine, whatever.’
Like a fox dismissing grapes as sour, I did the same.
A sense of inferiority welled up unbidden, making my nose sting, but I forced myself to ignore it.
Looking around, I noticed quite a few people who appeared to be Hunters, probably because of the Hunter Association nearby.
Whether that was actually true or just my own victimhood and inferiority talking, I couldn’t say, but the Hunters I saw walked with confident expressions, entering the Association as if no one else mattered.
Their arrogant bearing—as though they looked down on everyone but themselves—made me feel myself shrink.
‘How pathetic.’
Just moments ago, I had admired them and believed I could become one too, yet now that I couldn’t, I was already trying to diminish them.
Disgusted by my own contemptible nature, I lowered my head.
We were simply different, that was all.
Everyone’s life was different, wasn’t it?
Just as the lives of ordinary people and Hunters were different.
I should accept that difference and move on.
So why?
A hollow ache.
I couldn’t let go.
I had finally dared to hope that I too could succeed.
Why was I like this?
Tears threatened to spill from the injustice and anguish welling up inside me.
But then, from a distance, I heard someone calling my name.
“Huh? Kim Min-jun?”
I flinched.
A voice I’d heard countless times before—the one I despised most.
Without thinking, I trembled and lifted my head.
A man wearing a sneering smile approached, flanked by several others.
Unlike me, he possessed a tall, handsome appearance.
The kind of man anyone would call attractive—he drew near with what appeared to be his friends trailing behind him.
Sung-jun.
My cousin, the same age as me, who had tormented me throughout our school years at the same institutions.
The architect of my inferiority complex and resentment.
True to form, seeing him now made my body tremble uncontrollably.
“Hey, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? A few months? Since we turned twenty and you left home.”
“Oh, Sung-jun. Y-yes, it’s been a while.”
I answered with a trembling voice.
Sung-jun found my reaction amusing and chuckled.
‘Why did I have to run into him here! Wait—’
As I cursed my misfortune,
I suddenly realized where I was.
The Hunter Association entrance.
And if Sung-jun was here, that meant…
I swallowed hard.
Without thinking, I looked directly at Sung-jun—something I’d been avoiding.
And then I saw it.
He wore proper tank equipment, though still beginner-grade.
That was it.
He was among the elite—the mere 7.5% of hunters treated as nobility, wielding genuine power as a tank.
How had he…?
As that thought struck me, I began to notice the people gathered around him.
Those surrounding Sung-jun.
By their equipment, most were dealers.
They were clearly assembled to cater to Sung-jun’s whims.
‘Ah…’
Why did he keep rising higher while I remained so pathetic?
As my mind grew distant and dizziness overtook me, a woman clinging to Sung-jun’s side asked,
“Sung-jun, who is this person?”
A woman beautiful enough to rival celebrities.
Though her expression was arrogant beyond mere aloofness, Sung-jun seemed unbothered as he pulled her close and chuckled before speaking.
“Oh, just a freeloader who used to live at my place. He’s moved out now, though.”
He didn’t even introduce me as his cousin anymore—the humiliation cut deep as I hurried to escape.
“I, I have something urgent to take care of, so I’ll be going.”
All I could think about was escaping this situation as quickly as possible.
Sung-jun spoke as he watched me hurry away.
“Looks like you awakened something, but your reaction makes it seem pretty pathetic.”
“….”
“Well, that’s just like you. A dealer? No, wait. You’re better suited to being a Traitless. Why do they call you powerless anyway? It’s perfect for you.”
I quickened my pace through his cackling laughter.
Fortunately, Sung-jun only hurled insults and didn’t try to stop me, so I managed to escape that place safely.
A reunion with my cousin—the same age who had bullied me throughout school.
I couldn’t turn this into one of those satisfying revenge stories people shared online.
Because everything I had was inferior to his.
For a moment, I wished I had become a higher-tier Healer than Sung-jun, but during the entire walk home, my trait never manifested.
Even after four hours had passed.
3.
I had harbored a faint hope, but as expected, no trait appeared.
Just as I’d anticipated, I was Traitless.
A sigh escaped my lips at that realization.
“Haaaaah.”
It felt like tears might spill at any moment.
Why was my life nothing but a series of misfortunes?
It felt less like bad luck and more like I was cursed.
No, wait.
I should think about this more positively.
‘There are actually quite a few things I can do even as a Traitless person.’
I smiled bitterly and looked at the monitor.
There was a long list of jobs that Traitless individuals could do.
From what I’d researched so far, there were actually more options than I’d expected.
Since I had awakened and could use the system, the possibilities were better than anticipated.
Jobs that ordinary people couldn’t do, yet were too wasteful for Hunters to bother with.
For instance, harvesting mana stones or sorting items—there were quite a few of those.
The hourly wages were high, far better than regular part-time work.
Not that part-time work mattered anymore.
‘Without any special skills, it seems I won’t be able to earn much better than this.’
After searching for jobs that only Traitless individuals could do—managing various items and the like—even the cheapest positions offered over 300 per month.
The difficult mining jobs even started at 500.
Compared to my peers, or even to ordinary working adults, this was actually quite good income.
The only problem was.
‘I’d have to endure being mistreated by Hunters….’
Well, what of it?
I’d been mistreated my entire life anyway.
Now I’m earning a high income, yet I’m being treated poorly?
Actually, it’s fine.
Just think about Uncle and his family—Sung-jun’s household.
They didn’t even thank me for raising me; instead, they swallowed every last bit of the inheritance my parents left behind.
And now I’m earning over 300 thousand a month while being mistreated?
I can definitely endure that.
‘Let me sleep on it and contact them tomorrow.’
Rubbing my tired eyes, I rose from my seat.
I was exhausted enough that I’d fall asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
It felt like more than 20 hours had passed since I’d last slept and woken up.
I’d quit my part-time job, couldn’t sleep, so I spent time browsing the internet looking for work—it apparently took longer than expected.
Now it’s time to sleep.
As I lay down on the bed.
Within seconds, the sound of snoring filled the room.
Exactly 24 hours after I’d awakened, I drifted into sleep.
Normally, I would have been confirmed as traitless, but something unbelievable happened.
The stronger the trait, the longer the synchronization takes.
Because of this, even the most famous healer among them all, known as the Holy Maiden, reportedly took 4 hours to complete synchronization.
Yet here I was, taking more than six times that duration to awaken a trait.
A miracle had occurred.
[Synchronization complete.]
[Total synchronization duration: 24 hours.]
[Trait awakening in progress.]
[Trait – ‘Reinforcement Mage’ acquired.]
But I was too deep in sleep to see any of it.

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