To Enhance Properly, You Must Understand!
The next day, Im Hyun-ji, Chae Jeong-ha, and I were sitting on the rooftop of a building.
"Whew, good thing there was an extermination slot open. Otherwise we'd have had to wait days."
Chae Jeong-ha grumbled beside me. And she was right — we'd simply gotten lucky, snagging an extermination request that another office had canceled.
It was then that Im Hyun-ji stared at me and asked, "So, what brought on this sudden change of heart, hmm?"
"Just felt like it."
Honestly speaking, though, it wasn't just because I felt like it.
Looking back, I had never tailored enhancements to match Ahn Seo-yoon's or Choi Soo-bin's abilities. They asked, I enhanced. That was it.
"I wanted to get better at enhancing."
But while enhancing Jiyoon, I'd realized that I needed to consider the person's ability and tendencies — watching the girl who had cried over her taxidermied Piyu break into a smile as she hugged the restored one made that clear.
Come to think of it, giving a tank an intelligence boost, or stacking physical attack on a mage — that's useless in most situations, right?
So I figured that to do a proper enhancement for Chae Jeong-ha, I needed to see her ability up close and understand it in detail.
And besides, knowing her combat style, her other strengths — or her weaknesses — would only help.
"Hmm... so this is the plan you came up with?"
A Scene Stealer Class extermination.
Observing her fight an apparition directly was the important part.
"Right. Extra Class ones are too weak. At this point I could send one flying in a single hit."
Meanwhile, Chae Jeong-ha kept grumbling off to the side.
"Come on, I'm satisfied with things as they are! Ah — well, except for the random enhancement results, maybe."
After scheduling all this yesterday, I'd spun the random enhancement a few times. It was leftover mana anyway.
Of course, that process earned me a truly monumental scolding from Yeonji.
That kind of thing.
No, that's not fair! Random enhancement is entirely outside my control!
Normally you have to spin these things a hundred-plus times before an option even sticks!
The final result, in the end, was Weight Reduction.
Which translated to the mace's weight being ever so slightly lightened.
"What is this? It just feels like swinging a stick now."
"Its actual weight has not decreased; the perceived weight has merely been reduced by roughly 23% via magic. Besides, 'stick' is rather generous — it weighs about 2.5 times more than an average stick."
Yeonji flitted this way and that through the air beside us, chiming in with her commentary.
Chae Jeong-ha pursed her lips and shot a glare at me instead.
"Hey, doesn't it tick you off when it says stuff like that with your face? It's kinda pissing me off."
...I mean, obviously it does.
But I can't exactly do anything about it, can I? Apparently touching her causes bugs.
"Anyway, you do know the one coming out today is a pretty tough customer, right?"
When Im Hyun-ji asked in her languid drawl, Chae Jeong-ha answered with a sigh.
"Yeah. The Menhera Turtle. Haah..."
"An apparition born from the depression and loneliness of security guards confined to their homes. Its defense is superb, but the despair-spreading psychic attacks are nothing to scoff at either."
Yeonji... did you really have to put it that way about a poor innocent turtle?
"I know already!"
Chae Jeong-ha snapped at Yeonji's analysis.
"I only mentioned it because I suspected Chae Jeong-ha's intelligence might be as low as Master's."
This little bastard is picking a fight with me AND Danmuji #2 at the same time?
"...Hey, doesn't she have a mute function? I'd like her to shut up for a bit."
"Sob, sob, sob. Chae Jeong-ha is committing violence against a mascot. Master, please restrain her."
Just as Chae Jeong-ha looked ready to explode at Yeonji's fake crying and teasing, Im Hyun-ji spoke up lazily.
"It's coooming. Get ready, Jeong-haa."
The mana twisted and warped, and the apparition began to take shape.
A turtle whose face was etched with endless sorrow — one look at it made you feel gloomy yourself.
What really stood out, though, were the thick layers of cotton bedding piled atop its shell.
...Is the outside of the blanket dangerous, or something?
The moment it appeared, the turtle began using its ability, tears streaming down its face.
Huh. Now that I'm a woman AND freshly unemployed, I'm suddenly feeling a little blue.
"Hah! Before the enhancement, it would've taken me ages just to tear through that bedding — but not anymore!"
Chae Jeong-ha rolled up her sleeves and swung her mace straight at the turtle's head.
The turtle panicked and ducked inside its blanket-shell. Chae Jeong-ha instantly redirected her swing and brought the mace down on the quilts instead.
Two layers of cotton bedding tore apart at once, and a third was left hanging in tatters.
"Ka-ha! Now THIS is it! Tearing even one of these used to be a nightmare before!"
A cathartic cry of satisfaction burst out of Chae Jeong-ha.
And at the same moment, a shield-shaped crest branded itself onto the bedding. The turtle's pained cries rang out as a bonus.
So that's the Stigma of Protection.
The instant the turtle's wailing threatened to spread across the rooftop, the shield crest etched into the bedding grew noticeably darker.
"The mana wavelength emanating from the Menhera Turtle's mouth is being concentrated onto Chae Jeong-ha."
Just as Yeonji said, it seemed all the attacks were being funneled toward Chae Jeong-ha.
Then the glowing crest faded back to its original state.
Something had gathered into the stigma just now — and then simply vanished.
"See that? Every time that thing targets one of us, the stigma gets a shade deepeeer."
Im Hyun-ji explained, arms crossed, in her laid-back voice.
"Im Hyun-ji's observation is correct. Each time hostile intent formed toward a protected target, the mana density of the stigma rose, then dissipated once the attack was redirected onto Chae Jeong-ha."
Meanwhile, as Chae Jeong-ha kept swinging her mace, the quilts tore away with ease.
Sensing the danger, the turtle tried to check her advance — clamping its jaws onto her leg mid-swing, wailing more pitifully than ever.
"Attacks like YOURS don't work on me!"
But Chae Jeong-ha cloaked her body in mana to endure the bites, gritted her teeth against the waves of despair, and hammered away at the turtle with wild, unrelenting swings.
Watching her, Im Hyun-ji spoke in a tone that was lazy but laced with worry.
"That's just how Jeong-ha is. She charges in like it's 'you die, I die,' you knowww."
"It is certainly an exhausting fighting style when your attack power falls short."
It only looked fine because this particular apparition specialized in defense. If it had been an aggressive type, Chae Jeong-ha's body wouldn't have come out unscathed either.
After several more blows, the last of the bedding shredded away, and at long last the black shell was revealed.
"Finally!"
Chae Jeong-ha brought her mace crashing down on the shell in a surge of excitement.
The moment mace met shell, the weapon bounced back with a violent recoil.
She lost her balance for an instant, and the turtle — sensing its chance — thrust out its head and bit down on her leg.
"Eek! You little—!"
If she hadn't shielded her leg with mana, the wound would have been serious.
"Taking advantage of an opening to attack? Time for a spanking!"
Chae Jeong-ha hammered the same spot desperately, three, four times, until the shell cracked — and at last the mace slammed into the turtle's actual body.
THWACK!
With one last mournful wail, the turtle collapsed, vanishing and leaving nothing behind but the shredded quilts.
Chae Jeong-ha rested her mace casually across her shoulder with a confident grin and bragged.
"How's that? You saw it, right? Last time it took me thirty-some hits just to crack this thing? I'm telling you, I'm genuinely satisfied right now."
She wasn't wrong.
An opponent that had once taken thirty-plus strikes went down in fewer than ten. Judged purely on its goal of shoring up weak firepower, this enhancement was an unambiguous success.
"But Jeong-haa. The dangerous part hasn't changed one biiit."
Im Hyun-ji's point was exactly on the mark.
From the moment the stigma appeared, every one of the turtle's psychic attacks and bites had been aimed squarely at Chae Jeong-ha. And rather than dodging or deflecting, Chae Jeong-ha had simply tanked it all with her body while swinging her mace.
Her higher attack power had shortened the fight, but the dangerous fighting style itself hadn't changed at all.
If anything, the increased attack power had even created a dangerous moment.
"Your attack got deflected earlier, which allowed a counterattack."
She hadn't been able to control the recoil of her own overly powerful strike, and that had left an opening.
Granted, that was partly a matter of practice — but in the end, it was her excessive aggression, compounded by the weight reduction, that had opened her up like that.
"My body's built like a tank anyway, so it's fine! Honestly, fighting like this feels way more exhilarating!"
But Chae Jeong-ha pushed back, veins practically standing out on her neck.
"I LIKE fighting this way — what's the problem? Just use random enhancement to pump my firepower up even more!"
Haah. If this goes on, this conversation is going to take all day.
"Rather than argue here, let's head back to the office and discuss the direction of your enhancement."
First things first — change locations and talk her around.
The moment I stepped into the office meeting room and sat down, I spoke.
"Credit where credit's due — your firepower is clearly stronger now. You took down an opponent that used to need thirty-plus hits in fewer than ten. It was a good enhancement, no question."
Chae Jeong-ha blinked at me.
"Wow, actual acknowledgment. I half expected you to just cancel the enhancement."
"Because admitting the good is what makes the better shine. And what I have in mind has a good chance of being better than that."
"...It's already good, though?"
"The current enhancement only shortens your fights. Meet a stronger apparition and the battle drags on — and the problem remains exactly as it was."
"Fights against Main Villain Class or Arch-Enemy Class threats are usually long, drawn-out raids that take a whole team to clear. So even if your attack power goes up, it won't shave much time off the extermination. And besides, your ability was never an offensive one to begin wiiith."
Im Hyun-ji supplemented the explanation from beside me.
"Like I said earlierrr, you don't have a raw-power ability like Seo-yoon, or a precision ability like Soo-binnn."
"That's...!"
Chae Jeong-ha half-rose to object, but I raised a hand to stop her and kept going.
"Instead, I'd like to try enhancing through your stigma."
"...How, exactly?"
Only then did Chae Jeong-ha sit back down obediently and ask.
"I've thought of a few approaches. First, the stigma could act as a debuff — weakening any enemy it's branded onto."
"A weakening approach, huh..."
Rather than answering, Chae Jeong-ha ran her fingers along the handle of the mace standing upright against the table.
"Given how your stigma operates, it's entirely feasible. If we apply the way the mana activates the instant hostile intent turns toward someone else, the rest will take care of itself — assuming Master doesn't botch it."
At Yeonji's words, Chae Jeong-ha stayed silent.
"There's another approach too. You grow stronger depending on the number of stigmas branded onto your enemies."
"That's actually possible?"
"It all comes down to reinforcing the stigma's function, after all."
"But what about when it's just one opponent...?"
"Then you stack multiple stigmas on it. It'll cost a bit more mana, but in the end you buff yourself AND draw its attention even more reliably."
"Aha!"
Only then did Chae Jeong-ha let out a grunt of understanding.
"That way, you'll see plenty of improvement against Main Villain Class threats — and against weaker apparitions like today's, too. However..."
"Now what?"
"I need to know what you, Chae Jeong-ha, truly want."
"Where'd THAT come from? Out of nowhere much?"
"Mmm, I think she means the soju glass enhanceeement."
At Chae Jeong-ha's bewildered reaction, Im Hyun-ji cut in.
"The glass I'd used for years had my mana soaked deep into it. When I enhanced it to match that character of mine, the results were way better than enhancing a brand-new glass would've beeeen. The same goes for you, Jeong-ha."
"...How would you even know that? I don't even know what's in my own heart."
Chae Jeong-ha shot back, lips twisted into a pout.
"We could try both approaches once each, that much is possible. But only by understanding your heart can I make the enhancement truly efficient."
Meeting Chae Jeong-ha's violet eyes, I said it carefully.
"Because I'll be enhancing with your wish woven into it."
Ugh, yeah, okay, that was kind of an embarrassing thing to say.
But it's the truth, so.
"...A wish. Yeah. A wish."
The lips that had been pouting just moments ago slowly pressed shut, and Chae Jeong-ha's fingers stilled on the mace's handle.
As if she'd sunk deep into thought.
"Jeong-haaa."
It was then that Im Hyun-ji asked in her languid voice,
"Do you remember what you wished for when your Stigma of Protection first awoke?"
"...Why do you ask, unni? I'd rather not talk about that."
"A magical girl's unique ability is usually tied to the wish she carriiies. The wish she held in that moment of awakening, I meaaan."
...Embarrassing as it is to admit, I fell asleep holding the wish that my enhancement wouldn't fail — and woke up with my enhancement ability awakened. It happens.
At that, Chae Jeong-ha let out a long sigh and closed her eyes for a while.
How many minutes passed? After a long stretch of silence, she opened her eyes and spoke.
"Haah... fine. But if you laugh when you hear it, I'm seriously punching you."