The Only Enhancer - Chapter 82
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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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Chapter 82
Chapter 82 – The Orb of Evolution (2)
2.
Liam Schmitt couldn’t help but feel somewhat bewildered by Min-jun’s question.
“So you’re asking if there are monsters in Germany with abnormally high mana levels like Entrebite?”
“Huh? There aren’t any?”
“….”
The question itself was absurd.
Being asked if there were more monsters like the one that had caused Germany so much trouble.
I’d already sent Min-jun a list of regions where Disaster Level 4 and Disaster Level 5 monsters were likely to appear.
But the response I received left me speechless.
What truly frustrated Liam Schmitt was that such monsters actually existed.
“…I’ve heard there are a few Disaster Level 5 monsters with abnormally high mana levels in the Alps Mountains region.”
I’d sent that look suggesting he surely wouldn’t attempt to hunt them.
But Min-jun simply smiled and nodded, saying:
“If you send me the coordinates, I’ll take care of them as a bonus service.”
“…G… Good heavens.”
I found myself thinking his service was far too generous, yet I could only keep silent.
This was Min-jun, arguably the world’s strongest individual.
There seemed little point in remarking that such a young man was somewhat eccentric.
After expressing my gratitude and watching Min-jun leave, I immediately began making inquiries in all directions to obtain the coordinates.
Of course, I simply assumed Min-jun had an interest in monsters like Entrebite, never imagining there was anything more to it.
During the raid and when the creature died, everything had been blocked by a black dome, so the Reinforce Guild’s gains remained unknown to me.
Above all, I hadn’t even considered what they might have obtained.
I merely thought it would be nothing more than a troublesome Disaster Level 5 monster with excessive mana to dispose of.
The comparison pool was simply too limited.
Disaster Level 5 monsters weren’t common wildlife, and the Reinforce Guild was the only organization capable of hunting them whenever they wished.
“…Sigh.”
Uncertain whether to be pleased or troubled, I could only shake my head.
How had a powerful nation like Germany come to be swayed by a single young man?
It was lamentable, yet inevitable.
‘If this is the tide of the times, one must follow it.’
That was all I could think.
Nothing more, nothing less.
3.
I’d received the coordinates, but I had no intention of going immediately.
Why?
‘I did make a promise, after all. I can’t break it.’
Hadn’t I promised the guild members?
That I’d give them a week of rest.
Of course, after that I’ll hunt like a madman.
The Alps Mountains had far more Disaster Level 5 monsters than I’d anticipated.
It was almost divine fortune that Korea’s Taebaek Mountain Range hadn’t spawned any Disaster Level 5 monsters.
Regardless, I’d need to raid all those creatures, and a week’s rest felt almost insufficient for the ordeal ahead.
For that level of hardship, resting beforehand wasn’t a bad idea.
I examined the documents with genuine conviction.
‘Hmm, there’s nothing stronger than Entrebite.’
Compared to Entrebite, which had mana 1.5 times higher, these creatures only had 1.3 and 1.25 times respectively.
Creatures that could be called somewhat ambiguous.
Of course, I suspected those creatures would also contain imperfect evolution orbs.
But they might not have them either.
If I went through all that trouble to hunt them and nothing dropped, I’d be irritated.
Was there a good way around this?
While I was pondering this, Jung Ji-hwan, who’d been assisting from the side, noticed my dilemma and quietly approached with a question.
“Is the reason you wish to hunt these monsters because of the evolution orbs?”
“Ah, yes. That does seem to be the case.”
“But since the numbers fall short compared to Entrebite, you’re troubled, aren’t you?”
How does he understand my thoughts so well?
I nodded.
Jung Ji-hwan opened his mouth quietly.
“Then wouldn’t it be possible to ensure the evolution orb is definitely created?”
“Pardon?”
“Isn’t the evolution orb ultimately created through cannibalism of the same species?”
“Yes, that does seem to be the case.”
“Then if we feed them enhanced mana stones, wouldn’t that also be a form of same-species cannibalism?”
“!?!?!”
Is he a genius?
I stared at Jung Ji-hwan with an astonished expression, and he looked at me as if asking what I thought.
Of course, what else would I ask?
“Are you a genius?”
“I’ve heard that quite often.”
….
Isabella shook her head slightly watching the two of us banter, but it was certainly a groundbreaking method.
The opinion that feeding another monster’s enhanced mana stone could be considered same-species cannibalism.
It was an obvious thought, but to actually state it directly and attempt to execute it—
Isabella also looked at Jung Ji-hwan with slight admiration, and he looked back at her as if asking why.
He shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing.
Regardless, I couldn’t help but marvel at that brilliant idea and spoke.
“Since the enhanced mana stone has more mana than a Disaster Level 4 monster, it’s definitely feasible! We can feed it to them and experiment. Ah! This could work on regular Disaster Level 5 monsters too, not just the enhanced ones!”
I was even taking it a step further.
Jung Ji-hwan nodded with satisfaction as he observed his disciple surpassing the master.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
“Still, just to be safe, I think it would be good to actually feed real monsters to it—not just stone—and work on herding them around the area.”
The scale of this seemed to be growing progressively larger.
Pitiably, there wasn’t a single mentally sound person present.
Isabella and Jung Ji-hwan were nodding in agreement that it was a very sound approach.
Had there been other guild members present, they surely would have objected, but since Min-jun wasn’t the type to listen to such objections anyway.
Wouldn’t it inevitably be put into action?
In any case, the Reinforce Guild’s next schedule was being filled accordingly.
The Sphere of Evolution experiment was unfolding just like that.
4.
While Min-jun was devising an extraordinary plan and the Reinforce Guild was resting peacefully, unaware of the fate about to befall them.
Korea could only grow increasingly anxious.
And for good reason—since Min-jun’s departure to Germany, he hadn’t shown any notable response.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
Right now, Min-jun’s focus was entirely on the Sphere of Evolution, so he’d completely forgotten about the government’s plans to abuse power through immigration issues and taxes.
Had it occurred to him later, he might have taken some action, but certainly not now.
For Min-jun, who was preoccupied with the idea of efficiently feeding monsters to monsters, immigration was merely a trivial incident.
But Korea was different.
[Reinforce Guild Master who departed to Germany—no contact for days.]
[Is this acceptable for Korea?]
[Was it truly justified to abuse power against the only guild in the world capable of hunting a Disaster Level 5 monster?]
[Threatening payment before the deadline has even arrived? What’s happened to the National Tax Service?]
Increasingly sensational articles were being produced by the day.
Naturally, public sentiment was plummeting rapidly.
-Is this right?
-Did he really emigrate?
-This is not it ㅜㅜㅜ
-If he really emigrates, I’m going with him….
-Please don’t go ㅠㅠㅠ
-But I don’t think I can stop him. Even if it were me, if I was mistreated, I would get so angry that I would want to immigrate.
Public opinion was naturally on Min-jun’s side.
Some people pointed fingers calling it treason, but they were an extreme minority.
Whenever such opinions appeared, posts asking “What if he really emigrates because of you people?” would cause those sentiments to vanish rapidly.
Ultimately, the anger of many people could only be directed at the National Assembly members.
After all, they were indeed at fault.
Then, as if Germany were adding insult to injury, it publicly revealed the price Min-jun had charged when he hunted the Disaster Level 5 monster this time.
The intention was simple.
It was essentially a warning that no one should offer less than this amount, regardless of who makes the request.
Naturally, it was no loss for Min-jun.
It was nothing short of excellent publicity that raised his market value.
-Wow, they spent that much?
-So if the Reinforce Guild Master emigrates, our country has to pay that much to bring him back too?
-Yeah, exactly. Work we’d normally do for free now requires payment.
-How much are we losing by being greedy with taxes?
-That’s why it’d be far more profitable to just grant complete tax exemptions.
As public opinion deteriorated so severely, the National Assembly had no choice but to make an announcement.
They declared they would enact legislation granting complete tax exemptions to outstanding Hunters.
The standards were exceptionally high, and the legislation applied only to Hunters of Level 6 and above at minimum.
It was predictable.
A special law had been proposed specifically for Min-jun.
The so-called Min-jun Act.
Though public opinion was in an uproar and the bill was rushed through as quickly as possible, Min-jun’s response was nonexistent.
Of course—he wasn’t paying attention to Korea, so how would he know?
But after a week had already passed, anxiety became unavoidable.
They hastily added various additional benefits to the legislation.
Yet there were far too many opinions that it was already too late to sway Min-jun’s heart with this.
Beyond tax exemptions, there were various other benefits, but in people’s eyes, even that seemed insufficient, and ultimately the National Assembly had no choice but to appeal to Ma Hyun-seok.
“Please, couldn’t Representative Ma go and at least persuade him, or… bring back some kind of response?”
“…Hmm.”
While it was irritating to see them clinging to him like this now, Ma Hyun-seok also found this complete lack of response somewhat troubling.
He knew with high probability that Min-jun had no interest in this matter, but the problem was that the citizens were growing anxious as well.
‘I suppose I should go.’
It wasn’t entirely unfavorable for Ma Hyun-seok either.
A business trip to Germany, no less.
How long had it been since he’d gone to Europe?
Honestly, it would be nice to go, do some sightseeing, and enjoy some relaxation.
If he claimed to have had deep conversations with Min-jun, he could extend the duration as much as he wanted.
‘Heh, I should see that fellow’s face and tell him something.’
To not be swayed and to decide as he wished.
Thus Ma Hyun-seok boarded the airplane.
Though he was supposedly going for rest, for some reason he felt a chill, but the more he felt it, the more he smiled contentedly, telling himself he’d enjoy a vacation and looking forward to arriving in Germany.
‘I hope we meet soon.’
He didn’t know whether Min-jun shared the same thought.
Unaware that this flight would determine his lifetime of labor, Ma Hyun-seok was enjoying the journey in good spirits.
5.
“Wow.”
“Incredible.”
The members of the Reinforce Guild were each marveling in wonder.
Were they enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Alps Mountains?
That wasn’t the reason at all.
Rather, I was watching that beautiful scenery being destroyed.
It was none other than a colossal battle between ultra-massive monsters inside a gigantic black dome.
One resembled a creature similar to Godzilla—a lizard with the appearance of a Komodo dragon, complete with a tortoise’s shell and the sharp, powerful legs of a leopard.
A size that rivaled a small hill.
And its opponent was a horse-like creature that towered even higher than that beast.
But the horse’s appearance was equally unnatural—its entire body wasn’t covered in fur but in reptilian scales, and instead of a mane, amethyst-like purple crystals jutted out in abundance.
When these two collided simultaneously.
Even the beautiful landscape of the Alps Mountains couldn’t withstand it and began to fracture.
In several areas where the ground was weak, the terrain itself was visibly transforming.
It felt like watching a movie featuring giant monsters.
“…This would be a huge hit if we filmed it, wouldn’t it?”
“We’re already filming it.”
“Should we upload one of our movies?”
“…Since we have to catch those things, wouldn’t everyone just shut up?”
“…”
“…Damn it, I was trying to ignore this.”
When someone spoke irritably, several guild members could only hang their heads in dejection.
After all, they were the ones who’d started this fight between the monsters in the first place.
And they were also the ones who had to catch them.
The atmosphere grew gloomy.
Then someone spoke optimistically.
“Still, at least we only have to catch the one that wins.”
“…Do you think we’ll actually get to rest after catching that thing?”
“…”
Even that optimistic member fell silent at the follow-up question.
Though they didn’t have the leisure to simply enjoy the monster battle, well, what could they do?
The very fact that the monsters were fighting each other so viciously was because they’d driven them here and started this fight, and the finale was Min-jun casting a debuff to make them aggro each other, causing them to fight as if for their lives.
Had it been otherwise, the two monsters would have stopped fighting at some point.
That was the nature of monsters.
Still, since just watching seemed a bit boring, several guild members began betting money and chatting with each other.
“I’m betting on the horse.”
“I’m betting on the lizard.”
“Hmm, what are the odds?”
It was madness, but without doing this, they would have suffered.
It was an unavoidable form of entertainment.
Then, at that moment.
Screeeeeeeeeech!
A triumphant roar echoed out, and several guild members cried out in despair.
“Huh, what!?”
“No! I trusted you, Lizard!”
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“Yeah! Jung Ji-hwan!”
As several of them writhed in agony.
The creature shaped like a horse began tearing flesh from the lizard monster before it vanished, consuming it.
The movement was almost instinctive, and in that instant, the lizard monster—which should have dropped items and mana stones—transformed into light and began being absorbed into the horse creature.
Crunch! Crunch crunch crunch!
Crack crack crack crack!
The sound of flesh pulverizing echoed as the horse creature’s size gradually diminished, and scales that had clung to the lizard monster moments before began sprouting across its body.
Witnessing this grotesque and repulsive spectacle, Min-jun smiled and spoke.
“Oh, let’s start preparing for the raid.”
It was a remarkably cold remark for someone witnessing the secret of monsters for the first time.
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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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