Chapter 19

Filester.

A new drug manufactured by Haind, a pharmaceutical company exclusively for hunters.

It was also the substance that had momentarily skyrocketed Kim Chulwon’s abilities.

“Check item.”

+

【 Filester 】

Rank: Rare

▶ Increases strength.

▶ Increases speed.

▶ Increases dynamic vision.

▶ Slightly increases physical durability.

+

Seeing Filester’s properties, Siyoon marveled.

“They really must have gritted their teeth to develop this. Impressive.”

Despite being Rare-Rank with zero Enhancement levels, it had a whopping four lines of properties.

Moreover, each one was a solid option that directly influenced combat.

Considering how much stronger Kim Chulwon had become, there was no doubting its effects.

“No need to hand this over.”

Siyoon quietly pocketed it.

With his ‘Enhancement’ skill, he could make it even more effective.

Besides, Siyoon needed at least one insurance policy.

Filester would serve that role perfectly.

He had searched all the corpses and completed the commission.

Since Min Seolah had agreed to handle the aftermath at the scene, his job was done.

* * *

After finishing the commission, Siyoon returned home.

Having already completed the commission, there was no need to linger at the scene.

Min Seolah was also supposed to handle the cleanup.

uuuung―

「Hunter Lee Siyoon, I have something to discuss with you in person regarding the commission. – Min Seolah」

Siyoon ignored the message from Min Seolah.

Instead, he left a single text.

「Please send over the commission fee and magic tools promptly.」

He had only taken the commission because it piqued his interest anyway.

He felt no need to keep in touch afterward.

Their first meeting had been unpleasant, to begin with.

Interacting with her would only increase the chances of him being exposed.

‘Min Seolah is a famous agent. That means other agencies are watching her just as closely. And that surveillance could naturally extend to me.’

Siyoon was not strong enough yet.

Leaving a long trail behind was dangerous.

And right now, there was something more important to attend to.

It was reviewing his last battle.

“Hmm…”

After getting some sleep and waking up.

With a clear mind, Siyoon recalled the battle.

“I was far too underprepared.”

Siyoon’s weapon boasted incredible power.

After all, it was a brand-new, unreleased sniper rifle.

But in retrospect, that was all it was.

If anything, he had been so fixated on the ‘gun’ as a weapon that his combat style had become limited.

‘Using lack of experience as an excuse, I ended up burying my own strengths.’

After he first enhanced the ‘BB Gun’.

He had continuously enhanced easy-to-use firearms, focusing entirely on the position of a marksman.

Simple operation and amplified power through Enhancement.

It was the perfect weapon for Siyoon, who was just starting out.

But this commission made him realize.

He was not a marksman.

He was an Enhancer.

For him, limiting his position was tantamount to capping his skill’s potential.

Particularly during this commission, there had been some quite perilous moments.

If he hadn’t employed his wits, it would have been Siyoon lying dead.

‘That must never happen again.’

Siyoon’s skill, ‘Enhancement’.

It was more tailored for an all-rounder playstyle than any other hunter’s ability.

That was what he had realized after experiencing physical enhancement firsthand.

To achieve that, he needed to delve deeper into his skill.

‘I need to prepare.’

Having achieved significant growth through this commission.

It was now time to move on to the next step.

* * *

To properly utilize Enhancement, Siyoon tried various things.

The first was to uncover the laws of Enhancement.

He ran a few experiments using items around his house.

ttiring!

[ Using ‘Skill: Enhancement’ to enhance ‘Kitchen Knife’. ]

[ Enhancement successful! ]

“As expected, normal items have a clear limit.”

Siyoon inspected the enhanced kitchen knife and set it down.

Behind him lay a large number of enhanced objects.

He had holed up in his house for days, enhancing items.

The items were pieces of equipment he could wear or wield.

Since even ordinary objects could be enhanced, he had experimented on them.

[ Enhancement of ‘Kitchen Knife +1’ is complete. ]

[ You can prep ingredients slightly faster. ]

“Hmm…”

No matter how much he enhanced ordinary items, combat-related properties rarely surfaced.

Around this point, Siyoon realized there was an underlying rule.

And after a few more attempts.

He discovered two facts first.

The ‘properties’ that appeared after enhancing.

These were somewhat influenced by the item’s ‘characteristics’ and its intended ‘purpose’.

For example, in the case of the Special Vitamin.

Its inherent ‘efficacy’ had evolved, placing it in the category of enhanced items.

In contrast, the kitchen knife was enhanced in accordance with its ‘purpose’ of prepping ingredients.

In other words, blindly enhancing something wouldn’t necessarily yield good properties.

‘I had suspected this before, but now I’m certain.’

Of course, there were likely other laws besides this one.

Otherwise, the sheer power of the ‘BB Gun’ would be inexplicable.

“I’ll need to look into this steadily over time.”

This alone was a huge gain.

There was no need to get anxious over nothing.

He could always research the unknown aspects further down the line.

* * *

Meanwhile, there was an unexpected gain during his enhancements.

It occurred while Siyoon was enhancing an ordinary book.

[ ‘Close Combat Technique +1’ ]

[ If you read this book thoroughly, you can learn the recorded combat techniques. ]

It was a martial arts book Siyoon owned.

He had bought it on a sudden whim but never read it, leaving it to gather dust in a corner.

He had enhanced countless books, but this was the first time such a property had surfaced.

ttiring!

[ You have finished reading the book. ]

[ Your understanding of ‘Close Combat Technique’ increases dramatically! ]

[ You have acquired ‘Skill: Close Combat Technique’! ]

+

「Close Combat Technique」

Rank: Rare

Level: 1

Category: Combat

▶ Allows the use of close combat techniques.

+

Reading it through actually granted him the skill.

Moreover, just like a skill book in a game, it had vanished after he read it.

Siyoon checked multiple times, wondering if the skill might be temporary.

But it didn’t disappear, just like a formally learned skill.

“Could other books work too?”

Siyoon enhanced other books for experimentation.

But only ‘Close Combat Technique’ turned into a ‘Skill Book’.

It was a bizarre phenomenon.

‘There seems to be a hidden condition for this… but I have no idea what it is.’

Even when he enhanced similar martial arts or swordsmanship books, only strange properties surfaced.

None of them converted into skill books.

He lacked both the information and the sample size to figure it out right now.

‘I’ll have to look into it in detail later when I have time.’

He had too much to do to obsess over skill books right now.

Siyoon reached out to enhance other items once more.

* * *

About a week had passed since he finished the commission.

In the meantime, Siyoon had enhanced, failed, and blown up countless items.

There were beds for quick recovery and refrigerators, among other things.

But he had invested the most time into his equipment and his own body.

[ ‘RTB-201 +5’ ]

[ ‘Black Matte Jacket +5’ ]

[ ‘Black Matte Pants +5’ ]

[ ‘Black Matte Coat +5’ ]

First, he enhanced all his previously used equipment to +5.

The success rate for +4 was originally 80%.

But as his Enhancement level rose, the success rate for +5 also reached 80%.

If Enhancement failed, the equipment would be destroyed.

For Siyoon, who fought using equipment, this was a fatal risk.

Fortunately, perhaps the Goddess of Luck was watching over him, no such thing happened.

After enhancing his equipment, he moved on to enhancing his body again.

[ Enhancing ‘Eyes’. ]

[ Dynamic vision increases. ]

[ Enhancing ‘Arm’. ]

[ Grip strength and muscle power increase. ]

Siyoon didn’t experiment as frantically as he had during battle.

He slowly enhanced each body part, one step at a time.

“As expected, as long as I don’t enhance multiple times, it doesn’t put too much strain on me.”

Back when he engaged in close combat with Kim Chulwon.

Siyoon had enhanced each body part and then enhanced his ‘entire body’ once more.

It was essentially raising the level, much like taking his equipment to +5.

In contrast, Siyoon had only enhanced his body once this time.

That alone made a wellspring of vitality and energy surge through him, distinct from his usual state.

Furthermore, there was no overload.

This confirmed one fact.

“Physical Enhancement is powerful, but the more it stacks, the faster the strain sets in.”

Physical Enhancement amplified his overall durability and abilities.

The level of Enhancement Siyoon could maintain without strain was +1.

There was no need to be disappointed.

Simply maintaining +1 made him incredibly powerful.

“…Mm.”

The heightened senses brought on by Enhancement felt quite unfamiliar.

The various sounds coming from outside.

The footsteps of pedestrians walking down the street.

He could feel all of them vividly.

‘What a strange feeling.’

It was a sensation he had never heard or felt before.

That was how dramatic the effects of Physical Enhancement were.

Well, that explained why it overloaded so easily.

As he marveled at this and concentrated, his senses picked up on something.

‘…What is this?’

It was a faint presence, like a buzzing fly.

At first, he thought it was just his imagination.

He figured his senses were just overly enhanced.

But it felt too oddly unsettling to simply ignore.

Similar presences kept being felt from multiple directions.

Saaaah…

Siyoon heightened his concentration.

The faint presences became vividly clear.

They were people.

They were slowly approaching Siyoon, hiding their presence.

It was far too suspicious to dismiss as a mere illusion.

‘Could they be intruders? Here for me?’

An ordinary person’s presence wouldn’t be this faint.

To confirm, Siyoon sharpened his senses even further.

There were five people in total.

And they were positioned outside his door and near his windows.

As if ready to pounce the moment he let his guard down.

‘They’re targeting me.’

Siyoon was certain of it.

They were uninvited guests who had come targeting him.

He didn’t know the reason. But if they were enemies, there was no need to hold back.

Seoul was unsafe, save for a few districts.

Though it was once the capital, half of it was now practically a lawless zone.

He had been paying exorbitant rent that took up most of his income to live in this relatively safe area.

But that didn’t guarantee perfect safety.

Especially in a situation like this.

seuk.

Siyoon silently picked up his sniper rifle.