The Only Enhancer - Chapter 28

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

Chapter 28
Chapter 28 – Territorial Dispute (2)
4.
A Disaster Zone Level 2 raid typically required around seven members.
Two tanks and five damage dealers.
If a healer was added, you could afford to drop one tank.
A healer’s buffs and healing allowed a single tank to perform the work of two.
Meanwhile, the Top 5 Guilds—or even just the larger guilds with any real standing—typically fielded Level 2 Disaster Zone parties with ten members.
Plus an additional healer, making eleven total.
The reason for structuring parties this way was simple.
‘It’s to promote members to higher teams whenever they level up.’
From Level 3 onward, talent became genuinely rare.
Since leveling averaged five years, the numbers simply didn’t compare to Levels 1 and 2.
So they maintained larger rosters to promote those who advanced.
Though five years was the average, some always progressed faster.
That’s why parties were structured with ten members—to fill vacancies as people rose.
The Changgong Guild operated the same way.
Team 5 was one of the older Level 2 Disaster Zone teams, and their healer had recently been promoted to a higher team, leaving an opening.
Squad 1 had ten members with the promoted healer gone, while Squad 2 had eleven including Jang Ji-won.
With Min-jun joining Squad 1, that made eleven, and adding Han Tae-jun brought the total to twenty-three.
Despite the numbers befitting a Top 5 Guild, not a single person showed any sign of tension.
Min-jun found himself genuinely astonished.
‘It’s definitely different.’
I’d fought alongside Choi Jung-min from the Han-byul Guild, as well as the Kang Na-gyeong sisters and Jung Da-un from the Mirinae Guild.
Neither guild was some nameless large organization.
They were legitimate large guilds with considerable reputations compared to mid-tier guilds.
I’d partied with members from those guilds before, but the atmosphere had never been like this.
Snap!
The tank leading Squad 1 raised his hand, and all the parties came to an immediate halt in unison.
The movement was so precise that even Min-jun, who timed things well, was slightly off.
Even Jang Ji-won was the same.
The tank surveyed the surroundings and determined there were no threats.
Then he called out.
“Resuming.”
At the apparent leader’s command, everyone moved in perfect synchronization.
Watching them resume their hunt for monsters, Min-jun couldn’t help but marvel.
It was no exaggeration to say they moved like clockwork.
Choi Jung-min and Kang Na-gyeong were skilled, certainly, but compared to the Changgong Guild—a Top 5 power—they looked utterly inadequate.
The difference was even more apparent from where I stood at the rear.
The elite guilds of Korea truly were on another level entirely.
While Choi Jung-min marveled at the sight, Han Tae-jun’s expression darkened considerably.
The culprit was none other than the communication device.
‘Dead signal.’
It happened occasionally, though rarely.
In the Disaster Zone, mana stones grew abundantly, creating mana concentrations far higher than elsewhere—a phenomenon that frequently rendered electronic devices inoperable.
Han Tae-jun had learned beforehand that Cheonjang Mountain was no exception.
The unease lingered, but there was nothing to be done.
One couldn’t simply withdraw based on a vague sense of discomfort.
They had already ventured deep into the Disaster Zone.
Cheonjang Mountain itself wasn’t particularly expansive terrain.
With at most ten monsters inhabiting this small Disaster Zone, they’d finish quickly and depart.
‘Three kills according to the contract should suffice.’
It would be enough to assess Choi Jung-min’s capabilities.
The tank soon raised a halt signal and called out.
“Due to equipment malfunction, surrounding mana detection is unavailable. We’ll wait momentarily.”
It seemed the device failure extended beyond communications alone.
Han Tae-jun’s brow furrowed slightly.
Choi Jung-min, standing beside him, asked.
“Is something wrong?”
“…It appears so, unfortunately.”
If only communications were down, it would be manageable—but with mana detection disabled, the situation became considerably troublesome.
A failed raid after all this preparation would result in substantial losses.
More than anything, it meant wasting one of Choi Jung-min’s contracted mercenary slots.
The money and contract terms weren’t the issue.
What troubled him was losing the opportunity to observe Choi Jung-min’s latent potential.
Given Choi Jung-min’s attitude, he’d likely accept another summons whenever needed—a small mercy.
“In cases like this, usually…”
Just as I was about to ask how to proceed.
A faint tremor interrupted my words, rippling through the ground.
The vibrations intensified gradually, signaling that something was approaching this location.
‘Fortune smiles upon us.’
The moment I felt the tremor, a faint smile played across my lips.
I observed the situation, feeling fortunate.
There was no need for me to intervene just yet.
“Team One, prepare for combat.”
Clang! Whoosh! Swish! Boom.
The tanks simultaneously drew their shields and one-handed swords, while the dealers each retrieved their weapons.
Similarly, Choi Jung-min, belonging to Team One, grasped his wand faster than anyone else.
The ground’s tremors grew increasingly violent, and soon what approached became visible not merely through vibration but to the naked eye.
Something drew near from a not-distant section, crashing through the trees in its path.
How much time had passed?
“SCREEEEEEEECH!!”
A colossal lizard draped in the bark of dead wood.
Disaster Zone Level 2, Old Tree Lizard.
In Korean, it was called the Ancient Wood Lizard.
Among Disaster Zone Level 2 creatures, it ranked among the more formidable.
Since everyone gathered here had hunted it before, their response was thorough and practiced.
Moving like clockwork gears as I’d observed, I formed a formation to counter its charging assault.
Yet something felt off.
Han Tae-jun noticed the irregularity first.
‘Did this creature normally initiate combat?’
I recalled it wasn’t the type to charge at humans upon first sight.
Moreover, judging by its bark-like exterior, I knew it typically remained within a certain range, so seeing it charge in such an agitated frenzy was decidedly strange.
But since I was merely an observer, I remained still.
For now, assessing Jung-min’s abilities took priority.
The tanks who saw the creature shrieking and charging forward grimaced and rushed to intercept it.
Given its size and strength, I expected them to be pushed back considerably rather than hold it completely.
Yet in that instant, a mysterious light descended upon the tanks’ heads.
Whoooosh.
As the light enveloped them, the two tanks’ bodies gleamed with a pale blue radiance like Tier 2 equipment, and vitality surged through their frames.
Simultaneously.
“What, what is this buff!?”
“F-focus.”
The tank leader pointed it out, though he was equally astounded.
With the creature charging, they had to hold it back somehow, so even the initially flustered tank regained composure.
Complete focus was necessary to minimize being pushed back.
But then.
CRASH!
“SCREEEEEEEECH!”
The Old Tree Lizard slammed its head against the two tanks’ shields, then cried out in pain and retreated backward.
Everyone’s jaws dropped at the sight.
Even if a tank possessed superhuman physiology, compared to a monster, it was laughably fragile.
Yet just two tanks stopped a creature’s charge that had built momentum from a distance?
It would be fortunate if they merely got knocked back.
That should have been what happened.
But they didn’t just hold firm—the creature yelped in pain, clutched its head, and bounced backward.
There was only one possible explanation.
All eyes turned toward Jung-min.
Just how powerful was the buff amplification that the tanks had become genuinely superhuman?
Han Tae-jun was equally astonished.
And in that instant, he made a comparison.
‘…Can I make a tank like that with my buffs?’
No, it was impossible.
Even though I was a Level 3 healer, the best I could do for Level 2 tanks was to help them endure better with buffs.
I could reduce the knockback by half at most.
Even that much could be considered remarkable.
But to actually repel a charging monster backward?
Did that even make sense?
Min-jun, who was barely Level 1?
Some might call it impossible, absurd even, but Han Tae-jun knew better.
‘There are always beings who defy convention in this world.’
Han Tae-jun himself belonged to the exceptional category.
But he was not a being who transcended convention.
And Han Tae-jun recalled the healers who transcended convention.
Only three in all of Korea.
They had all displayed a different caliber from Level 1, and now all three of them had reached Level 5 as healers.
From Level 5 onward, it was not a matter of experience points.
Without the talent, no amount of experience could elevate you further.
In other words.
‘It was not a matter of level.’
It was a matter of talent.
I grasped Min-jun’s worth from merely the first monster of the raid.
‘A future Level 5 healer.’
Could such value even be calculated?
While Han Tae-jun was running through various calculations.
The voice of Team 1’s tank sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
“T-Team Leader Tae-jun! The creature has wounds!”
As Han Tae-jun quickly turned his gaze at Team 1’s leader’s words, sure enough, three distinct claw marks were clearly visible on the creature’s back.
Everyone understood what that meant.
Everyone except one.
“…?”
Only Min-jun tilted his head in confusion, unable to grasp the situation.
But rather than explaining it to Min-jun, Han Tae-jun urgently shouted.
“Everyone, prepare for withdrawal!”
“Everyone, quickly eliminate the creature! Team 2, prepare for combat as well!”
At Han Tae-jun’s command and Team 1’s leader’s order, over twenty people moved in perfect unison.
Though more than twenty people rushed forward, none showed confusion—only urgency.
Being perceptive, Min-jun quickly cast buffs in response, though still bewildered by the situation.
Then Jang Ji-won, who was providing support nearby, explained.
“…Normally, monsters don’t hunt or attack each other.”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“But there is an exception. The only time monsters attack monsters.”
“…?”
“Territory disputes. In other words, the alpha of this area is changing hands.”
“That means….”
“Yes, there’s a Disaster Level 3 nearby.”
“Ah….”
Hearing Jang Ji-won’s words, I finally understood why everyone was so tense and wanted to retreat.
I swallowed hard, my eyes narrowing as I surveyed both Team 1 and Team 2.
Every single member wore equipment gleaming with a faint blue light.
In other words, everyone was equipped with only Tier 2 gear.
If we encountered a Disaster Level 3 in this state?
Whoosh.
Total annihilation.
What good were three healers, even if one was Level 3?
There was no means among the party members to withstand a Disaster Level 3.
With three healers, we might endure for a while, but how long would that actually last?
Ten minutes would be a miracle.
Even with Han Tae-jun, a single healer couldn’t do anything alone.
If the tanks had at least Tier 3 gear, we could hold out longer, but they didn’t.
Finishing quickly and retreating was the only option.
I could escape alone, but the fact that a Disaster Level 3 was in this vicinity weighed far more heavily on my mind than any escape plan.
I was covered head to toe in Tier 3 gear and even wore Tier 4 equipment, but there was no reason to deliberately confront it.
Safety was paramount.
Besides, no matter how much mana I had, it was uncertain whether I could escape sufficiently from it.
Even covered in Tier 3 gear, taking a hit meant mana consumption all the same.
Above all, I had no idea how much mana a Disaster Level 3’s attack would drain.
Everyone needed to approach this raid with unified purpose and resolve.
No matter how formidable the Disaster Level 2 monster—the Ancient Wood Lizard—was, it couldn’t withstand over twenty people.
“Skreeeeeeeee!”
As the creature fell with a mournful shriek, transforming into light as energy coalesced, a faintly blue item dropped.
A Tier 2 item, no less.
The probability of a Tier 2 item dropping from a Disaster Level 2 was merely 30%.
Yet before anyone could celebrate, as we hurriedly gathered the item and prepared to move—
A roar engulfed us.
Kyaoooooo!
At the savage, metallic screech, everyone froze, unable to move.
It wasn’t a distant sound.
It was close range.
We had to escape immediately.
“I-I can’t move!”
“D-damn it!”
“I-it’s an ability!”
The ability granted only to Disaster Level 3 monsters and above had them in its grip.
This was why they were called true monsters.
From Disaster Level 3 onward, they wielded abilities—skills just like hunters did.
What had paralyzed everyone now was no mere charisma or momentum, but a genuine ability.
As we stood frozen, a black shadow plummeted from above.
A Disaster Level 3 Cry Cat.
The creature, massive as a shipping container, crashed down with a sickening sound.
Crack! Splat, splat.
The tank from Team 2, who had received my buffs, felt his chest crushed.
His heart and lungs were pierced by his own ribs, caving in his chest as blood sprayed in all directions.
Hot blood rained down, rapidly cooling and losing its warmth.
In that instant.
“Heal!”
I stepped forward.
Whoooosh!
Holy light poured down upon the tank, and his body trembled violently.
He lived.
Or rather, I cast the heal at the last possible moment before death claimed him.
It was an incomprehensible sight—how such a heal could save a tank from what was nearly instant death.
More than that, no one could fathom how I’d even broken free from that ability to cast the heal in the first place.
But that hardly mattered now.
“R-run away—!”
Han Tae-jun screamed desperately.
But it was already too late.
The moment the tank he’d pinned down came back to life, the creature’s gaze had already locked onto me.
“Kyaaaah—!”
Whoosh!
Despite its container-sized bulk, it lunged forward like a bolt of lightning.
A speed impossible to see and evade.
As if I’d sensed it beforehand, I cried out.
“Blink.”
My body dissolved into light and vanished instantly.
The creature only clawed at the empty ground.
Crash! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Though it was merely a cat swiping its front paw, the earth split open and the ground flipped and scattered in the direction of the strike.
Could anyone truly survive such destructive force?
Everyone swallowed hard.
“M-movement! We can move!”
Someone shouted as the restraint lifted, and everyone quickly attempted to maintain combat formation once they realized they could move again.
Whether it would make any difference was unclear, but survival was the only option.
Choi Jung-min reappeared with a flash of Blink.
Han Tae-jun didn’t express surprise at Choi Jung-min’s Blink ability—instead, he shouted urgently.
“We’ll protect Choi Jung-min at all costs!”
In this moment, he had assessed that Choi Jung-min’s value surpassed everyone else’s.
Han Tae-jun then cast his third skill on all the tanks.
A translucent barrier materialized around the tanks.
It would buy them some time, but there was no guarantee they wouldn’t die.
Still.
“Tanks, secure aggro quickly and Choi Jung-min focus entirely on healing! Jang Ji-won, you focus on healing too.”
As long as it wasn’t instant death, they could be saved.
As he shouted this, the monster regarded them as if to say: go ahead, try everything you’ve got.
Being treated like prey—no, like a toy—by a monster.
It was humiliating.
But they had to survive.
Everyone was thinking the same thing with unwavering resolve.
“Ah, there you are.”
Though spoken softly, the voice rang out clearly.
Reinforcements?
If this was a territorial dispute, the guild headquarters would have detected it early and sent support quickly.
At that thought, Han Tae-jun’s expression brightened.
A wave of relief that they might survive washed over him.
But it was a voice he’d never heard before.
‘Who is it?’
The voice was gentle, unconcerned even with a Level 3 Disaster Zone monster present.
There was an ease to it, as if taking a leisurely stroll.
And the owner of that voice created a translucent barrier enveloping the entire party, smiling softly as they spoke.
“Neighbor, fancy meeting you here?”
At those words spoken without a hint of tension, Choi Jung-min found himself responding.
“…Myung Ha-jin?”
As if asking: what are you doing here?

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