The Only Enhancer - Chapter 74

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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 74
Episode 74 – The Alchemist? (1)
At Min-jun’s words, the atmosphere froze over in an instant.
Gwen Cooper felt her courage drain away as she swallowed hard.
The man who had revealed himself as a Reinforcement Mage—Kim Min-jun.
Gwen Cooper’s expression stiffened with tension as she looked at Min-jun.
It was only natural.
‘H-how terrifying.’
Honestly, one of the main reasons she had come here was the belief that Min-jun, who seemed similar to herself as an Alchemist, would be a good match for her.
After all, a Reinforcement Mage and an Alchemist.
Just looking at the names, they seemed like they would complement each other well, didn’t they?
So she had come seeking to help one another and become each other’s strength.
Yet reality was far different from her expectations.
‘Would someone like him even need my help?’
Though Gwen had taken pride in being an Alchemist, before Min-jun she could only melt away like spring snow.
First of all, look at that boundless mana of his.
From an Alchemist’s perspective, the sheer quantity of his mana was enough to make her want to retch.
She was barely holding it together, but she simply couldn’t comprehend it.
‘How is it possible for someone to possess more mana than a Disaster Level 5 monster?’
Wasn’t this unreasonable?
She had thought herself to have considerable mana.
Min-jun transcended that entirely.
She swallowed once more and looked at Min-jun.
Min-jun tilted his head curiously.
“You’re Gwen Cooper, aren’t you?”
“Ah! Y-yes, that’s right. I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment….”
As she apologized with her head bowed, Min-jun also seemed a bit awkward and scratched his head.
He wondered why she would apologize over something like that.
In any case, that wasn’t what mattered right now.
‘She really is genuine.’
At first, I had wondered if this might be a scam, but it wasn’t.
I had already confirmed it with the Scout.
[Gwen Cooper]
-Lv.3(?)
-Ability Score: 13.
Absurd numbers.
First of all, the fact that the limit level had a question mark was strange.
I suspected the Scout would show the same thing if it examined me.
In fact, just seeing that gave credibility to the claim of being an Alchemist, but what was even more absurd was the ability score.
A full 13.
The highest number Min-jun had ever seen was from Ma Hyun-seok and Genie Miller, the CIA director.
That number had exceeded 10—it was 11.
I thought nothing higher would ever appear.
’13, though.’
My hands trembled.
I finally understood why Franklin was so desperate upon discovering talent.
And if this gem had come to me of her own accord?
It was beyond perfect.
But first, I should have a conversation.
I needed to understand what kind of person she was.
“Please, sit down. We should talk.”
“Yes, of course!”
Gwen Cooper rose with visible tension and sat down across from me, her posture demure.
Unlike Gwen’s nervousness, I felt no particular tension.
She was remarkably beautiful.
Among everyone I’d met, Isabella was the most beautiful I’d thought—but she paled to nothing compared to this woman’s extraordinary beauty.
Yet none of that mattered to me right now.
An alchemist!
My entire focus was fixed on that single fact.
Perhaps it was a profession similar to enhancement crafting.
Or rather, didn’t they share a similar essence from the start?
‘If she has a similar feeling to me, she must be extraordinary.’
The fact that she’d submitted an application to the guild meant she had been drawn by my enhancement crafting ability.
With that conviction, I observed Gwen Cooper.
Gwen lowered her gaze slightly as she felt me watching her.
She was accustomed to men staring at her, but coming from Min-jun, it carried considerable weight.
And that serious expression of his.
Despite his handsome features, that grave countenance and sharp gaze made her shiver involuntarily.
‘Wow, really….’
Her heart couldn’t help but skip.
Then I spoke first.
“You mentioned being an alchemist—how long have you been awakened?”
“Ah! Just over three months now, and I’m Level 3….”
She began speaking confidently, then recalled that Min-jun had reached Level 6 in just over three months, and her confidence visibly crumbled.
It was somewhat endearing, but I simply nodded impassively.
I’d already known, and it was exactly as I’d expected.
Someone awakened around the same time as me, possessing the same rare characteristic.
It was certainly intriguing.
There used to be talk of such things.
‘With great power comes great responsibility, they used to say?’
It was a famous movie quote, but it was also a truth as universal as the laws of the world itself.
Ma Hyun-seok, the Hunter Association chairman, had said something similar.
He’d warned that the appearance of such a tremendously powerful awakener could herald an enormous catastrophe arriving in the near future.
At the time, I’d honestly thought Ma Hyun-seok was just being an old man voicing his worries.
But seeing Gwen Cooper changed my perspective somewhat.
‘Maybe it could actually be true.’
If so, I needed to prepare.
With that thought, I regarded Gwen Cooper seriously and asked.
A flinch.
As I stared at her intently, she knew it was proper etiquette to meet my eyes, yet she blinked and darted her gaze this way and that.
It was the look of someone unsure what to do.
Regardless, I wasn’t the type to be considerate about such things, so I asked directly.
“What’s your reason for wanting to join our guild?”
“Huh? Well, that’s….”
She started to answer as if it were obvious, then caught herself.
Her reason for coming here.
She’d thought the compatibility would be good.
Or she’d believed she could be of help.
Either way, it was an embarrassing thing to admit.
Wasn’t it like acting recklessly without knowing her place?
A flush of heat.
As her face suddenly burned, Gwen averted her eyes and opened her mouth, pretending ignorance.
“Y-you’re the best guild, after all! They say you even defeated a Disaster Level 5 in Taiwan! I-if I’m going to join somewhere, it might as well be the best guild….”
She’d started speaking confidently but trailed off at the end, and I nodded.
It made sense that she’d want to join the best guild.
The next question was quite important.
“What exactly can you do?”
“Ah! I can create all sorts of things using my Alchemy skill!”
This time she answered with complete confidence.
I looked quite interested, and Gwen spoke again.
“For example….”
A tremendous surge of power.
Gwen, too, possessed mana on an entirely different scale from ordinary awakeners.
She used a skill while expending a considerable portion of it.
As vast amounts of mana drained away like a receding tide, the surrounding mana began gathering toward Gwen’s hands.
I tilted my head, watching.
Since the System, monsters, and awakeners had appeared, no one was unaware that mana drifted through the air.
It was the primary reason hunters recovered even after depleting their mana.
But I’d never seen surrounding mana resonate like this when using a skill.
Not long after that.
I could see a soft glow gathering delicately in Gwen’s hand.
It was a pale light that paled in comparison to the fierce radiance of enhancement, yet I found myself gaping in astonishment.
“Hehe, well, I can gather my mana and the surrounding mana like this to create a mana stone.”
“I see. What about its purity?”
“I’m level 3 right now, so it’s only about the level of a Disaster Level 1 Zone mana stone… that’s all I can manage.”
She spoke with some uncertainty again, but I simply nodded in understanding.
It was entirely reasonable.
After all, hadn’t I myself struggled considerably with mana deficiency when I first started?
But that’s fine.
Now I have an enhanced mana stone that recharges infinitely, don’t I?
When I charge it, it reaches full capacity in less than a second, and recovery works similarly.
If I supply that endlessly?
Perhaps it wouldn’t be impossible to even create a mana stone from a Disaster Level 4 Zone monster!
But this surely isn’t the extent of her abilities.
Even I, at level 3, could use enhancement in buff form, and I had acquired skills that increased enhancement success rates and even skills that strengthened magical power itself.
An alchemist of comparable tier to an enhancement specialist would certainly be similar.
“What else can you create?”
“I can also craft items using mana stones! It’s a bit complex to explain… let me just show you!”
“Very well.”
As I gazed at her with anticipation gleaming in my eyes, Gwen once more poured her mana toward the mana stone she had just created.
The mana stone began to resonate with Gwen’s mana, and soon it started emanating brilliant light.
Like the glow when a monster dies.
The mana stone melted away in a light reminiscent of a corpse vanishing, then began taking form.
Before long, the mana stone had transformed into an item.
A short sword that fit perfectly in one hand.
“Ooh.”
I nodded naturally and smiled at the sight.
Yes, this is what an alchemist should be.
Since she had used a mana stone equivalent to a Disaster Level 1 Zone monster, I thought a +1 item would emerge, but then my expression froze solid.
The item created in Gwen’s hand bore no enhancement glow.
Not even the faint white light characteristic of +1.
What was this?
Was it because her level was still too low?
No, that couldn’t be it.
‘I was making +5 items at level 3, wasn’t I?’
Yet Gwen, also level 3, creates just one unenhanced item?
Are alchemists truly on the same tier as enhancement specialists?
A sudden doubt crept into my mind.
No one had ever said that enhancement specialists and alchemists were of equal rank.
No one has ever said that enchanters and alchemists are in the same tier.
So Min-jun decided to be honest.
“If I use higher-grade magic stones through alchemy, can I create items with enhancement properties?”
“Huh? Oh, no, that doesn’t work…”
Gwen Cooper’s words grew evasive, as if Min-jun’s question had struck a nerve.
Min-jun pressed on without hesitation.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how many initial awakening skills did you have?”
The question itself was unusual.
Every trait awakened with only a single skill upon awakening.
But Gwen Cooper responded enthusiastically, as if delighted.
“Ah! I knew it! I had two as well! When my level increased, I gained one skill each with the other traits, but only my initial skill was different—I had two!”
“…”
Now it was certain.
‘She’s a tier below an Enhancement Artisan.’
It was unfortunate, but the fact that she could create magic stones—even if not items—was extraordinary.
It was indeed an incredible ability.
But there was still a hint of disappointment.
I had thought an alchemist would work well in tandem with an Enhancement Artisan.
But then, while I was lost in thought, I noticed Gwen Cooper examining the item’s options and frowning.
“Ah, this one’s a dud.”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, I didn’t mention this. The items I create have an unusual property—they gain skills even without enhancement. The probability varies, but…”
“…!!!”
At those words, countless possibilities flooded through my mind.
Skills attached to non-enhanced items?
I didn’t know their power.
But seeing that probability was involved, if I created items with higher-grade magic stones, surely stronger skills would be attached with certainty.
Or at least the probability of skills being attached would be higher.
Then what if I enhanced those?
‘Could a +3 enhancement have two skills attached?’
A chill ran down my spine.
And in that moment, curiosity ignited.
‘What would happen if I used a magic stone with a skill attached?’
As various thoughts cascaded through my mind, I fixed Gwen Cooper with an intense gaze and spoke with utmost seriousness.
“We welcome you, Gwen Cooper.”
I extended my hand as I spoke, and Gwen Cooper’s face flushed slightly as she grasped it, her voice becoming hesitant.
“Y-yes, I look forward to working with you.”
Watching her shake hands with evident embarrassment.
I smiled faintly and asked.
“And I’m asking just in case—would you be interested in partnering with us in business?”
“Y-yes!?”
And though that smile was somehow eerie, Gwen Cooper had yet to learn how guild members truly operated within the Reinforce Guild.
So she had no choice but to respond reflexively.
“Y-yes, business sounds good.”
“Likewise, I look forward to working with you.”
Thus the two of them concluded their mutual contract.
0.
Meanwhile, after Min-jun’s existence was revealed to the world, it was only natural that various people began swarming around him.
Even distant relatives one couldn’t remember would call, as the saying goes.
Min-jun’s situation was far worse than that.
Naturally, the sudden emergence of the Reinforcement Mage profession and Min-jun’s abilities were nothing short of extraordinary.
Where there is sweet fragrance, insects inevitably gather.
Had villains appeared?
There were certainly assassins and guilds targeting him, but no villain was foolish or ignorant enough to provoke a Level 6 Hunter who equipped every item with +6 reinforcement.
Especially not when Jung Ji-hwan stood at his side.
But other insects could not help but swarm.
For instance.
‘Fufufu, so he’s an orphan? How much must he long for a family’s embrace?’
A middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a bloated belly, laughing viciously while reading the newspaper article, his laughter tinged with a hoarse rasp.
Even trying to be charitable, his appearance was utterly repugnant.
This man had seen the newspaper article about Min-jun.
He had checked the article multiple times.
The article specifically stated that Min-jun had no family.
‘Fufufu, if I became his father, wouldn’t he be delighted?’
In truth, he wasn’t a complete orphan—his parents had passed away, and he had lived in his Uncle’s home during childhood—but such details were conspicuously absent from the article.
Naturally.
The Hunter Association considered Min-jun’s information a matter of considerable importance.
Therefore, anything that could be classified as personal information was thoroughly concealed.
While the fact of his orphan status was difficult to hide, few knew of his Uncle’s existence or where he had lived as a child.
Since he hadn’t been close with his school friends, he was simply known as an orphan.
So the reporters, believing this, had uniformly written him off as a complete orphan.
Thus such senseless individuals began to appear.
Koo Man-seok was still somewhat anxious, so he had contacted the Reinforce Guild beforehand.
He had a son he lost long ago, and it seemed that son was Min-jun.
He earnestly pleaded for them to let him meet.
And so he beseeched them.
The cold-seeming man’s voice told him to come to the Reinforce Guild Building today.
‘Is this the place?’
It was certainly the Reinforce Guild Building.
A structure so massive his jaw dropped.
If only that could become his own?
With greedy eyes, he cast a glance at the building, letting out a laugh tinged with a metallic chuckle as he entered the Reinforce Guild Building.
Now then, where should I find an emotional thread to perform?
As Koo Man-seok thought this, he composed himself and prepared to enter with his act.
A man who appeared to be an employee stopped him.
A man wearing glasses with a sharp expression.
At first glance, he appeared to be someone of considerable rank.
“Are you Koo Man-seok, the one who made an appointment for today?”
Ah, so they treat me with such courtesy when they hear I’m a father!
Koo Man-seok inwardly exclaimed that he was right.
“Ah! Yes, that’s right! I’m Koo Man-seok.”
“Then I’ll show you the way. Please come in.”
So I followed the sharp-featured man with glasses to where he guided me.
Koo Man-seok’s expression suddenly stiffened.
And from inside, a dark-haired Caucasian man looked at Koo Man-seok and asked.
“Are you Father Number 237?”
“What, what?”
“Ah, are you Koo Man-seok?”
“….”
Only then did Koo Man-seok realize that something was going terribly wrong.

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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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