The Return Of The Greatest Strengthener

Chapter 2

Bang, bang, bang!

“Hey, you bastard! Can’t you do the enhancement right?!”

“Who the hell did the enhancement on A-59?! Damn it, it’s broken again!!”

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!!”

Inside the loud and chaotic enhancement factory,

Machines were making so much noise that the managers had to scream just to be heard.

And whenever a worker moved too slowly, the managers hit them with whips.

Not as a metaphor—they actually used real whips.

Smack!

A worker who had just failed an enhancement was shaking after being whipped.

The manager kicked him and shouted angrily,

“You useless trash! We’re the only ones who’d hire failures like you!! What do you think you can do out there?! You can’t even kill one monster or make a potion!”

It was a rare scene to see in the 21st century when even criminals had human rights.

Even though the world had changed after the Cataclysm—when dungeons, monsters, and awakened people appeared—this kind of abuse was still very uncommon.

But the manager acted this way for a reason.

Because the workers here were all low-rank enhancers.

They were the kind of people who took at least a week just to make a low-grade potion or weapon.

Even though low-grade items weren’t exactly cheap,

They couldn’t make enough to earn a decent living from it.

Only mid-rank enhancers ranked C or above, could really live off this work.

So why not just get a normal job?

They couldn’t.

There were laws protecting jobs for regular people, and awakened ones weren’t allowed to take them.

The only real option was to work for a guild, but guilds had no reason to hire expensive, low-level, awakened people.

If they weren’t extra smart or skilled, no one wanted them.

What about hard labour? Not a chance—most low-rank alchemists were physically weak.

So this factory was one of the few ways they could survive.

No matter how unfair it was, they had no way out.

‘Even if they reported this, nothing would change anyway.’

The manager smirked.

This factory was secretly backed by the Mir Guild.

Mir Guild was one of the top 5 guilds in South Korea—a massive guild on the same level as major corporations.

Even if the workers tried to run away and report the abuse, nothing would change.

Whirrr, clank, clank!

“What now?!”

The manager turned his head at the sound of machines pushing into each other.

He saw a young man, around 20 years old, just staring blankly at the machine.

It was like his soul had left his body.

Furious, the manager shouted,

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”

“….”

“Are you out of your mind? Just because you’ve been doing well lately, you think you can slack off now?!”

His name was Han Yujin.

Compared to the other enhancers, he had better results.

It’s not amazing or anything—more like the tallest, shortest person—but still better than the rest.

Because of that, the managers had been treating him a bit better.

But now…

“That’s it. Someone’s dying today.”

The manager rolled up his fat arms and walked toward him.

Seungmin, a young man also around 20, sitting right next to Yujin, quickly stood up to stop the manager.

“W-Wait, please!”

“You’re not moving? Hah, kids, these days have no discipline.”

Smack!

The manager swung the whip hard.

Seungmin flinched in pain.

“You wanna take his punishment too?”

“I-I just…”

“So noisy.”

Just then, Yujin finally spoke.

The one who had been sitting like a broken puppet slowly raised his head.

His cheeks were thin, and his body looked weak, like someone seriously ill.

But his eyes—his eyes didn’t look sick at all.

“Move.”

“H-Hyung…?”

Seungmin blinked, confused by Yujin’s unfamiliar tone and sharp gaze.

Just a moment ago, Yujin had said he had a headache—so why did he seem completely fine now?

“What’s this pig trying to do now?”

“P-Pig? Are you talking to me?”

Yujin stared at the manager without flinching.

The manager, now furious, marched right up to him.

“This little brat’s gone crazy…!”

Grab!

The manager grabbed Yujin by the shoulder, and their eyes met.

“Why do you look so familiar?”

At that moment, a cold shiver ran down the manager’s spine.

He felt a terrifying pressure from Yujin’s eyes.

It was like facing a soldier who had spent years hunting enemies on a battlefield.

‘W-What kind of kid has eyes like that…?!’

Was he always like this?

The manager used to be a D-rank Hunter himself. He’d fought monsters before—but he had never felt fear like this.

“Have we… met before?”

“….”

“Hm. You look familiar, but I can’t remember your name. Is this… when I first possessed this body?”

“What nonsense are you—”

“A dream, maybe.”

Yujin mumbled something strange.

He was confused.

Just a little while ago, he was facing the Demon King.

And as a result of that encounter—he’d clearly died.

‘So this is like… a life flashing before my eyes?’

Except it felt way too real for that.

‘Ah, I remember now. I know who this guy is.’

Right after Yujin first possessed this body, when his mind was a mess—

This guy had beaten him like crazy for just standing still.

Before he could get revenge, a dungeon appeared inside the factory… and he died.

“I regretted not getting you back then. But now, perfect timing.”

“…W-What?”

“What’s your name?”

The sudden question made the manager nervous.

He gripped his whip tightly.

Yeah! So what if the guy’s eyes looked weird?

If anything seemed off—just beat him up before it got worse!

“Your name’s your mom, you little bastard!”

Whip!

The manager shouted and swung the whip.

“Hm.”

Yujin casually turned his body—like he’d already seen the whip coming.

The whip hit a machine nearby instead.

Yujin grabbed the whip mid-air.

“Come on. What year is it? You’re still using this?”

“W-What the—?!”

Whip!

Yujin pulled the whip hard.

The manager lost his balance and stumbled forward.

Wham!

“Aaaagh!!”

“Knees hurt more, don’t they?”

Yujin smashed the manager’s nose.

The man rolled around on the ground, holding his face.

“Ahhh! My nose!!”

“All that screaming over just a nose?”

Yujin paused, thinking.

What happened to me back then?
Right—he had been beaten almost to death.

His muscles and skin were torn, and it took a long time to recover.

“I remember… I spent a fortune just on healing.”

If it weren’t for that, he could have gotten stronger much faster.

Thinking about it made him annoyed.

“It’s a waste to use my soul on a guy like you… but it’s just a dream anyway.”

Yujin muttered, then picked up a thin iron rod lying on the ground.

It used to be a dagger, but after a failed upgrade, it was just a lump of metal now.

Flash!

“Enhance.”

The crushed dagger glowed.

[Skill: Soul Enhancement activated]

[Broken Dagger (after failed +1 upgrade)]
[Sharpness +30%]

The durability was low, but that didn’t matter—it was strong enough to deal with this guy.

“…?”

But something felt off to Yujin.

The boost itself? That wasn’t the problem.

Getting +30% sharpness from a +1 enhancement was actually normal for him.

Even the best enchanters couldn’t get more than +10% from a +1 enhancement.

But Yujin could—because of his special job: Soul Enchanter.

He literally used his soul to power up gear, so high boosts were expected.

But now?

“…Why isn’t my soul being used?”

Usually, using his skill would make him feel weak like part of his soul was leaving his body.

But now—he felt nothing.

It was just like using regular mana.

“Wait… no way.”

“Status window.”

Yujin opened his status screen.

[Status Window]
Name: Han Yujin
Job: Soul Enchanter (Enhancement)
Trait: None
Unique Skill: Soul Enhancement

Stats:
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Endurance: 5
Mana: 10

Uses mana to enhance skills, gear, etc.

The soul is complete and strong.

Soul Enchanter abilities are boosted.

Everything had been reset—like a brand new character.

The only thing that remained the same… was his job.

And that was the important part.

…Hah.

So the job stayed upgraded?

“Right. Just before I died—there was that message…”

[You have entered your 2nd life.]

That’s it.

That means…

“This isn’t a dream. This is real.”

Yujin finally realized:

He had returned to the past—

But kept his upgraded job.

“So I’ve returned to the moment I was possessed.”

Yujin calmly analyzed the situation.

He had gone back in time—to the moment he first entered this body.

“Too bad I didn’t return to before I entered the game.”

…But maybe that was for the best.

If he had been the original Soul Enchanter, returning now might have been a disadvantage.

But now, he no longer suffered from using his soul for power.

Instead, he only used mana, just like a normal enchanter.

“In that case, this is even better.”

The game Yujin was in was a virtual reality game.

It was super popular—based on the trendy mix of “Hunters” and modern fantasy.

Yujin had been a veteran in that game’s community.

He knew exactly what to do next.

“Now that I’m back… I’ll change everything.”

In his first life, he failed.

He made the mistake of helping some idiot named Park Seungcheol, thinking he was the protagonist.

Even if he had succeeded, his soul was already breaking down.

Even if he returned to the real world, he probably wouldn’t have lived long.

“But now, I don’t need to make that mistake again.”

This time, I’ll get stronger.

“Not using my soul anymore… That alone is a huge advantage.”

Yujin was confident he wouldn’t fail like Seungcheol.

“I need to build my strength.”

To create potions and weapons as powerful as the ones he made in his past life, he had to grow stronger from now on.

Those items needed rare materials only found in top-level dungeons.

“You bastard!”

Suddenly, the manager, angry at being ignored, ran toward Yujin.

He was holding a mass-produced enchanted dagger—one that had slightly low durability but gained +10% sharpness.

It was way better than the broken dagger Yujin was holding…

At least, that’s what anyone would think.

“You think one trashy weapon enhancement will change anything?”

“Oh, it changes everything.”

Yujin threw the broken dagger.

It flew with a sharp whistling sound—sharper than even the enchanted dagger.

The manager quickly raised his dagger to block it—

Crack!

The broken dagger shattered the enhanced one.

“Wh-what?! That was an enchanted dagger!!”

Thud!

Suddenly, a sharp metal spike flew in and stabbed into the manager’s shoulder.

“Aaaaargh!!”

He dropped the whip and collapsed to the ground.

Trembling, he tried to pull the spike out of his shoulder.

He didn’t know how that thing had pierced him so deeply—but that didn’t matter.

“I-I have to pull it out…”

But before he could, Yujin’s shadow loomed over him.

Smack!

“Ugh!”

The manager coughed blood as he collapsed again.

Yujin grabbed his hair and lifted his head.

His eyes cold and emotionless, Yujin asked,

“What’s your blood type?”

“A-AB…”

“Oh yeah?”

Yujin turned to look at the other factory workers—who were all staring at him in shock.

“Anyone with blood type AB, raise your hand.”

“Uh, me…”

“Take this guy away. He’s bleeding a lot.”

Thud.

Yujin shoved the injured manager toward them, telling them to take him away.

But no one caught him, so he just collapsed onto the cold floor.

Yujin shrugged.

“Haven’t you guys seen Oldboy? Seriously, you all need some culture.”

“Hyung! How did you do that just now?!”

The young man who had been watching from the side jumped up in surprise.

“H-Hyung! That was amazing!”

“Yeah, I did pretty well.”

Yujin stared at the excited guy in silence.

“What was your name again?”

“Me? I’m Choi Seungmin! You didn’t forget my name, did you?!”

“Nope. Now move your face. You’re too close—it’s creepy.”

Right. His name was Choi Seungmin.

In Yujin’s first life, he barely remembered this guy.

He probably died soon after, caught up in the disaster that was about to happen.

“What time is it now?”

“Huh? It’s 4:36—”

“Then it’s almost time.”

“Time for what?”

And then—

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Loud alarm sounds suddenly rang throughout the factory.

“A dungeon has appeared!”

“Hyung! We need to run! Now!”

Seungmin grabbed Yujin’s arm, panicking.

He was close enough to see Yujin’s expression clearly.

“It’s been a while.”

“…!!!”

Yujin was smiling more brightly than ever.

Like he had been waiting for this dungeon to open.