The Only Enhancer - Chapter 60

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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 60
Episode 60 – Level Bus (1)
0.
Guilds focused on camaraderie were far more numerous than I’d initially thought.
Among hunters where coordination was essential to stability, the ability to trust one another was a rather critical matter.
Most guilds even had cultures of mutual exchange built into their operations.
Of course, some guilds preferred otherwise.
The concern was that growing too comfortable with each other could dull one’s edge and invite careless mistakes.
It wasn’t an entirely unfounded argument.
Since there was legitimate merit to it, many guilds followed this philosophy.
Guilds that treated their members as interchangeable parts and ran raids under strict control.
The former Changgong Guild was the prime example.
Since Cha Hae-yeon had grown up in such an environment, she was accustomed to it.
Yet here, watching those around her engage in conversation—
“Haaa, are we really going to catch five or more again this time?”
“Don’t say such ominous things, senior.”
“What can I say? You’re replenishing our mana anyway. Besides, where’s this seniority business? We’re not even affiliated with the Hunter Association—we’re just older and younger siblings here.”
“Huh? R-really? It wasn’t like that at Changgong…”
“…It wasn’t like that at Changgong?”
“Well, our guild master doesn’t seem to operate that way either, so let’s just be comfortable with each other. Comfortable.”
Some of the guild members were already building rapport among themselves.
While many were former Changgong Guild members, there were plenty who weren’t.
The atmosphere was bound to blend.
Besides, on the day they’d coordinated to synchronize their movements, hadn’t they defeated no fewer than five Disaster Level 4 creatures?
They were already more than comrades in arms.
As the atmosphere softened with their relaxed conversation, Cha Hae-yeon’s stern expression eased slightly.
‘…Should I join in?’
Honestly, I wanted to.
At Changgong Guild, I’d commanded others with overwhelming charisma, but that wasn’t the case here.
I was practically at the bottom tier.
After all, I was essentially serving community service through the Hunter Association.
Still, couldn’t I participate in this kind of conversation?
With a glimmer of hope, I turned to look their way.
“Oh! I’m so sorry, Hae-yeon! We didn’t realize you were there. Was it too loud? We’ll keep it down.”
“Ah! Hae-yeon, my apologies.”
“…”
I wanted to say it was fine, but they’d already hurried away long ago.
Whether they were former Changgong members or not, they couldn’t help but be intimidated by the presence Cha Hae-yeon carried.
Slightly dejected, I quietly took a seat.
I considered moving to where the others were, but feared that if something similar happened again, the hurt would only deepen, so I simply remained still and composed.
I tried my best to pretend I didn’t know and thought of something else.
‘Sigh. But why did he call us anyway?’
At Min-jun’s summons, the guild members began gathering one by one.
Normally, if it were for a raid, he would have notified us in advance.
Moreover, given Min-jun’s personality, he would have summoned us to the raid location itself rather than the Reinforce Guild building for a quick start.
If that wasn’t the case, it meant there was another purpose.
Cha Hae-yeon pondered but couldn’t think of anything.
After all, she didn’t know Min-jun that well.
Since there was nothing to do but wait, her thoughts stopped there.
“Oh? It’s Isabella.”
“Wow, having a big shot like Isabella in our guild.”
“But looking at the guild leader’s items, it kind of makes sense.”
“Could the Saint Guild have provided support?”
“Oh, maybe?”
As Cha Hae-yeon turned her head at the guild members’ words, Isabella, a Level 5 tank like her, arrived at that spot.
Seeing that, Cha Hae-yeon inadvertently let out an exclamation of admiration.
‘Wow.’
I had never thought I was outmatched anywhere.
But Isabella was truly on a different level.
Whether it was looks or physique, and on top of that, skill too.
I honestly felt no jealousy at all.
‘That time was incredible too.’
Five consecutive raids.
My mana was abundant, but my mental fortitude had to be at rock bottom.
Excluding Jung Ji-hwan and Min-jun, she was the only one who maintained her composure with such grace throughout.
And she was a tank fighting on the front lines at that.
Since I was also a tank, I understood well.
Just how remarkable that was.
I was genuinely curious how she was recruited.
I came because it was too good an offer since I had plenty to gain, but Isabella had nothing to gain, did she?
‘I’m curious.’
But I didn’t have the courage to approach her and strike up a conversation.
Within the Changgong Guild, I played the role of a charismatic leader, but my true nature was somewhat different from that.
I had forced it out through the pressure of responsibility and the need to repay favors.
So now that both of those were released, there was a reason I didn’t step forward.
But then.
“!!!”
I was startled and looked ahead of me.
I looked again, wondering if I had seen it wrong, but I hadn’t.
Isabella sat down at the same table as me.
And on the opposite side at that.
“…?”
When I looked up in surprise, Isabella was simply staring back at me as if asking why I was being so strange.
For a moment, I could only think: what am I supposed to say?
Regardless of my confusion, the guild members who saw the two of us sitting together couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
“Wow! Having both of them here together is absolutely incredible.”
“This is our guild? Wow!”
“We’re truly blessed.”
“Two Level 5 tanks! And one of them is Isabella herself.”
“This is the best.”
The sight of the two of them, who appeared so dignified to others, sitting across from each other was undeniably striking.
It was like looking at a masterpiece painting.
Or perhaps the seats of the absolute elite.
Emanating such an impression, the guild members instinctively distanced themselves from that area.
For some reason, it felt like they should give them space.
“…Is there something you wished to discuss?”
“Y-yes? Oh, no. No, it’s nothing.”
Flustered and stammering without even knowing what I’d said, my face flushed a delicate shade of red.
It was barely noticeable to the other guild members standing at a distance, but I could feel the heat burning across my own face.
Seeing this, Isabella tilted her head curiously.
She didn’t quite understand, but it didn’t seem like I’d misspoken.
Isabella simply attributed it to my personality and moved on.
More importantly—
“Miss Hae-yeon?”
“Y-yes?”
“I learned that in Korea, if people are born in the same year, they become friends. I discovered that you and I share the same birth year—does that make us friends?”
“Eh? Well, yes, I suppose so?”
“Oh, then I look forward to our friendship.”
Though her tone was somewhat stiff, Isabella smiled softly and extended her hand.
A gesture of goodwill and future companionship.
I looked at it, bewildered, and took her hand.
And I trembled.
‘F-friends?’
I’d never heard such words before.
During my school years, my unfortunate circumstances meant no one approached me first, and after my awakening, my Level 5 potential meant I was raised harshly within the Changgong Guild.
This was truly the first time someone had approached me wanting to be friends.
And I never imagined it would be a foreigner who spoke Korean so remarkably well, but what did it matter?
As I smiled, my mood lifted.
Isabella sensed something odd.
‘What is it? Was my suggestion of friendship uncomfortable?’
If I didn’t like them, I wouldn’t have recruited them in the first place.
I thought to myself.
‘Fortunately, we were born in the same year. I’ll have to ask them about things often while living in Korea from now on.’
Isabella was far too calculating to ever understand Cha Hae-yeon’s true feelings.
1.
Since it wasn’t time yet, the conference room filled only with guild members naturally buzzed with energy and noise.
The shared hardship they’d endured was more than enough to forge deep bonds between them.
Five consecutive Disaster Level 4 raids were certainly sufficient for that.
“Phew, that was really exhausting.”
“If we keep raiding like this, won’t the Level 3 hunters get promoted before the year’s end?”
“Haha! Exactly!”
“D-don’t tell me we’re doing this again?”
“J-Jimin, please stop saying such ominous things!”
Some of them trembled with fear, imagining the possibility.
As they shuddered at the thought of enduring the same ordeal again.
Only one man furrowed his brow and spoke to them.
“To be so weak… You lack resolve.”
Lee Sung-geun, a Level 4 close-range dealer.
Though he was quite famous for his skill, everyone couldn’t help but frown at his words.
Lacking resolve in such an intense raid?
That’s harsh!
“Lee Sung-geun, that’s not resolve! That’s slave mentality!”
“Hey, I heard his family line descended from servants. No impact.”
“Oh, r-really?”
“But that’s not really relevant, is it?”
Someone pointed out the conversation had gone off track, but no one listened.
Especially Lee Sung-geun, who looked at them with disdain and spoke.
“If you borrowed 5-star equipment, show resolve befitting that!”
“Ugh!”
“He’s being ruthlessly factual.”
Everyone was stung by Lee Sung-geun’s words.
After all, thanks to him, they’d earned an enormous amount that day.
Everyone had suffered, but they were satisfied with the rewards.
“Well, he does have a point…”
“But still, we should be allowed to complain a little, right?”
“…B-but he said he’d sell us items at a 10% guild member discount once we save up money.”
“W-well, that’s true.”
“Where else can you buy 4-star equipment at a 10% discount?”
“That’s a fact.”
At Lee Sung-geun’s words, everyone renewed their gratitude toward Min-jun.
There truly was no guild quite like this one.
We ran more raids than anywhere else, and if people brought money, we didn’t just sell them the items we currently wore—we even gave them the chance to purchase whatever equipment they desired.
And we did it with a 10% discount, no less.
It wasn’t for nothing that these people had decided to spend their careers here.
The treatment was excellent, and the future was bright.
Lee Sung-geun nodded with satisfaction at this sight.
Now he truly marveled at Min-jun’s benevolence.
At that moment, the conference room door opened and Jung Ji-hwan and Min-jun arrived.
Simultaneously.
Whoosh! Snap!
Everyone sat down quickly with restrained movements, and they all settled into their seats with impeccable discipline, offering their greetings.
“Welcome, Guild Master!”
As they shouted in unison, the conference room nearly shook with the volume, but Min-jun simply looked around, taking it in stride.
Though it was the scheduled time, not a single person was late.
“It looks like everyone’s gathered. Shall we get started right away?”
Min-jun said this with a gentle smile.
Having just forgotten their conversation with Lee Sung-geun, the guild members felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
It was that subtle, eerie smile they’d seen before the five raids.
Gulp.
Everyone nodded as if nothing was wrong.
Min-jun climbed onto the podium.
Last time, Jung Ji-hwan had taken the stage to lead the briefing, but this time Min-jun stepped forward himself.
The guild members grew somewhat tense at this, though Min-jun was oblivious to it.
“First, I’ve gathered you here because there are several things I need to inform our guild members about.”
Everyone listened intently to Min-jun’s words.
As the guild members focused, Min-jun opened his mouth.
“As I mentioned at our founding ceremony, our guild aims to become the greatest in the world.”
Everyone nodded, having heard this before.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
“However, I’ve never actually explained how we’ll become the world’s greatest guild. That’s what I’m here to tell you today.”
Min-jun said this while surveying the room.
The conference room was silent as a tomb.
Every single guild member had their ears perked, hanging on Min-jun’s every word.
It might have been somewhat embarrassing to say such things in front of everyone.
But Min-jun spoke without any hesitation.
“We will become the world’s first guild to safely raid Disaster Level 5.”
“?!?!?!?!”
“D-Disaster Level 5!?”
“Is… is that even possible!?”
Everyone was so shocked they forgot to maintain their composure and couldn’t help but speak up.
None of those present were ignorant of the terror that came with a Disaster Level 5 monster.
In fact, no one in the entire world would be unfamiliar with it.
A Disaster Level 5—something bordering on catastrophe itself.
Yet a guild was attempting to raid it.
The fundamental question was whether such a raid could even be mounted.
It was the reaction I’d anticipated.
That’s why Min-jun glanced at Jung Ji-hwan, and Jung Ji-hwan, as if he’d already known, pulled a cart he’d prepared in advance from outside into the conference room.
Simultaneously, every guild member’s gaze was drawn inevitably toward it.
“????”
“??????”
“???????”
Items radiating a brilliant, luminous violet light.
Nearly thirty items, each glowing with that violet radiance, made their presence unmistakably known.
Isn’t it said that when one is too shocked, words fail to come?
This was precisely that moment.
Even Isabella rose to her feet, her eyes reflecting not mere astonishment but something approaching dread as she gazed upon those items.
Items of which only ten existed worldwide, with Korea known to possess just one.
Thirty +6 Enhanced Items were gathered in a single place.
And to those reeling in shock, Min-jun spoke softly.
“I am capable of enhancing items.”
2.
Taiwan, an island nation not far removed from Korea.
Monsters had emerged, and countless islands suffered devastating losses as a result.
Initially manageable, but as time passed, the sea routes were severed by the monsters spawning in the waters.
The aerial routes fared somewhat better—even if flying monsters existed, they weren’t constantly airborne, and most importantly, they rarely bothered with aircraft larger than their own bodies.
Consequently, the island nations found themselves isolated for an extended period following the Great Upheaval.
The volume of supplies that could be transported by air had its limits.
Taiwan’s situation was relatively fortunate.
Being positioned quite close to China, maritime routes could operate as long as one avoided the Disaster zones.
Additionally, the scarcity of Disaster Level 5 monsters appearing in Taiwan over the past twenty years contributed significantly.
While Korea had experienced four Disaster Level 5 occurrences, Taiwan had endured only one.
Surrounded entirely by sea and being relatively small, Taiwan had been spared the frequent devastation of Disaster Level 5 monsters.
Yet Yushan, the highest peak of Taiwan.
A tremendous tremor emanated from that place.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
A tremor as though the entire mountain were shaking.
The people of Taiwan believed it to be merely an earthquake, but it was not.
As Yushan trembled and its peak fractured, something burst forth.
A massive, elongated leg covered entirely in black fur with a hard carapace visible.
An insectoid leg—one resembling that of a spider—erupted outward, then trembled as it wrapped around the mountain’s peak.
And as if the time hadn’t come yet, it merely enveloped the mountain without bursting forth.
But once more, Yushan trembled with a violent shudder.
As if hinting that the moment was drawing near.

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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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