The Return Of The Greatest Strengthener

Chapter 03

Wooooooong!

The center of the factory twisted and distorted as a dungeon gate opened.

Step, step…

Creeeak—

From the dungeon gate, goblins started to walk out, holding poorly-made stone weapons.

Unlike normal goblins, these ones had skin that wasn’t green, but a yellowish-brown color.

“H-Hobgoblins!!”

“We’re all dead!!”

People around them gasped in fear and despair.

Hobgoblins were evolved versions of goblins.

Even trained E-rank warriors had a hard time dealing with them.

You usually needed a team to fight one properly.

To people with no combat skills, they were basically death itself.

Thud.

But in that terrifying moment, Yujin calmly picked up a bat lying on the ground.

“Hmm. This should work.”

Creeeak.

The hobgoblins looked at Yujin, the only one who seemed ready to fight, and sneered.

He was holding a wooden bat.

It looked old and worn out.

Their looks clearly said: “You think you can beat us with that thing?”

Creeeakkkk!

A hobgoblin laughed at Yujin and his wooden bat.

“Hmm.”

Yes, normally that would be laughable.

But “enhancement” was a power that broke common sense.

Stone can’t beat steel—but enhanced stone can.

And it’s the same for wood.

“Enhance.”

[Using Skill: Soul Enhancement]

[+1 Wooden Bat]

Durability +30%

Sharpness +30%

“Too bad it’s not +99.”

Yujin rested the bat on his shoulder, then waved a finger at the hobgoblins.

“Come on, shorties. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Kirieeek!

The hobgoblin got angry after being called “shorty” and charged straight at Yujin.

It held up a stone axe, but its movements were clumsy—full of openings.

‘Probably about E-rank,’ Yujin thought.

He didn’t even need to strengthen his body to handle this.

Yujin swung the bat sideways.

He didn’t even put that much power into it.

The hobgoblin sneered and swung its axe at the bat—

Crack!

The wooden bat smashed the stone axe to pieces.

A shadow fell over the hobgoblin’s wide-open eyes.

And then—CRACK!

The bat crushed the hobgoblin’s head.

[You have defeated a Hobgoblin.]

Thud!

Smash!

Its head exploded in one hit.

Just one strike was enough.

Even though the hobgoblin had higher average stats than Yujin, it didn’t matter.

“…!”
“…!”

Everyone around them stared in shock.

K-Kirieek?!

Another hobgoblin, who had been calmly watching from behind, now looked terrified.

It even stepped back in fear.

Before it could run, Yujin raised a finger and motioned at it.

“Trying to run?”

Kirieek…

Yujin smirked. “Are monsters these weak nowadays? Tch. No wonder they send you out as a scout.”

KIRIEEEK!!

The hobgoblin didn’t understand human words, but it could tell Yujin was mocking it.

It screamed and charged, using its small size to move like lightning.

Smack! Thud!

But it didn’t matter.

Just like before, one hit was enough.

It tried to block with its stone axe, but—

Crack! The bat shattered the axe again.

With no weapon in its way, Yujin gripped the bat with both hands and smashed the hobgoblin’s head.

Thud!

Its body collapsed without a head.

Yujin took down two hobgoblins in just three minutes.

“N-No way!”

“He’s just a low-rank enhancement user like us—how did he kill hobgoblins in one hit?!”

The factory workers were in total shock.

Especially Seungmin, who had tried to help Yujin earlier. His eyes were wide open.

“H-Hyung (big bro)… Were you always this good at fighting?”

“I just became good now.”

“Huh?”

Seungmin looked confused, but Yujin ignored him.

He walked over to the hobgoblin’s body.

‘There it is.’

A magic stone. These always dropped from monsters. They were valuable—either for money or for enhancing gear.

Yujin casually picked up the magic stone and looked at the message that appeared in front of him:

[Skill Acquired: Horizontal Slash (C)]

‘Nice. It works.’

There are many ways to get a skill.

The most common way is by using a Skill Book.

The second way is—

Like just now, when you understand a skill like a slash very well and then copy it with your body.

In simple terms, if you understand “thrusting” well and act it out with your body, you can gain that skill.

In that way, Eugene had a good chance of getting skills.

“Even though I’m an Enhancement Sorcerer, I know how to fight with my body too.”

An Enhancement Sorcerer of Souls was a class that used souls to enhance skills, equipment, and more.

Naturally, it could also enhance skills, so it was very valuable.

The problem was that every time he did it, it cost him a soul.

So, to still be useful even without enhancements, he learned to fight physically, and already had a few body-based skills.

“I should get a new one while I have the chance.”

He had a lot to do.

First, Eugene had to improve his own combat power.

“It’d be great if I could get the Level Up trait too.”

Level Up.

A special trait owned by Seungcheol Park, a Korean-American.

It was a trait Eugene should’ve originally had.

Unlike other jobs that required certain conditions, this one just allowed constant growth.

It was truly a power meant only for the main character.

That’s why Eugene thought Seungcheol was the real “playable character” and supported him fully—

“But he was useless.”

So now, Eugene would take it for himself.

With that thought, Eugene stared at the dungeon gate.

“Hm.”

“A-Anyway, it’s good that it’s over!” Seungmin said with a nervous smile.

He waved his phone.

“I just called the Hunter Association, they’ll be here soon!”

As Seungmin spoke, he tried to pull Eugene away.

But Eugene didn’t move.

“Seungmin.”

“Yeah?”

“Go grab all the potions here.”

“Huh??”

“There’s no manager here, so it’s fine, right?”

And this factory would shut down soon anyway.

Now that a dungeon appeared, the Hunter Association would step in.

Even if the Mir Guild was behind this place, they would find out what happened.

“B-but still…”

“Now.”

Something about Eugene’s voice made Seungmin nod, unwillingly.

He hurried around, collecting potions and bringing them to Eugene.

“Hm. Mana potions, healing potions. Is this all?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Okay. When the Association comes, just tell them I took it.”

Not like they’d care about a few missing potions in a situation like this.

“Too bad there’s nothing expensive.”

Still, this wasn’t bad.

Just in case, Eugene grabbed a few more metal pipes and wooden bats and strapped them on his back.

He turned to head into the dungeon—but Seungmin quickly stepped in front of him.

“Wait! Are you really going in there?!”

“Yeah.”

“You’ll die! You don’t even have a party!”

“Me?”

Die?

In a place like this?

“Hahaha!”

Eugene suddenly burst out laughing.

Seungmin looked horrified, as if Eugene had gone crazy.

But Eugene couldn’t help it.

He had survived until the very end.

If it hadn’t been for betrayal, he was confident he could’ve defeated the Demon King.

And now he was supposed to die?

In a dungeon like this, with just some Hobgoblins?

“No way.”

Eugene smiled softly.

It was the first time he showed a bright expression, and Seungmin stepped aside, startled.

“So move.”

There was a strong presence in Eugene’s voice.

“Hey, do you have a bag?”

“Huh? Uh… yeah.”

“I’ll borrow it for a bit.”

Shake shake!

Eugene grabbed the bag from Seungmin and stood in front of the dungeon gate.

[Loading dungeon info…]

[Hobgoblin Tribe]
Rank: E+
Entry Limit: D-rank or below

‘Perfect. Just right for me.’

Before anyone could stop him, Eugene disappeared into the dungeon.

“He… went in?”

“By himself?”

“H-he’s going to die…”

The factory workers mumbled.

Typical of people who had no confidence, just like low-level enhancement users.

But only Seungmin—

“…”

He didn’t say it was impossible.

He just stared at the dungeon entrance with a complicated look in his eyes.

[You have entered the dungeon.]

As Eugene stepped into the dungeon, he was greeted by the earthy smell of the forest.

Tap!

He landed on the ground and scanned the area.

Eugene had a lot of experience clearing dungeons.

Yes, his class was Enhancement Sorcerer—a support class that wasn’t meant to fight directly.

But Eugene always chose to step forward and fight anyway.

He believed that staying in the back meant you’d never achieve anything.

Thanks to that, Eugene could sense the monsters just by looking around.

‘These guys are smart. There are a lot of traps nearby. I even see alert systems set up just in case something happens.’

In simple terms, this place was a hunting ground.

The Hobgoblins could jump out the moment prey appeared.

‘For Hobgoblins to act this cleverly—’

That’s strange.

It’s true that Hobgoblins are smarter than normal Goblins.

But this smart?

‘Of course not.’

Now Eugene understood why this dungeon was treated like a Red-Rank dungeon.

He also remembered how hard it had been to clear this dungeon in his past life.

‘So there’s a Hobgoblin boss here.’

Not just any boss—but one smart enough to lead other Hobgoblins.

It was either a Hobgoblin Shaman or a Hobgoblin King.

‘Well, I’ll find out soon enough.’

Kiiiiii!

Just then, as if on cue, Hobgoblins appeared.

Since this was inside a dungeon, their names floated above their heads.

[Warrior Hobgoblin]
[Warrior Hobgoblin]

“So those earlier were scouts, and these guys are warriors?”

Actually, you could tell just by looking at their weapons.

The scout Hobgoblins used stone axes, while these warriors held stone spears.

Kiiiii!

The Hobgoblins raised their spears and took a fighting stance.

It was clumsy, but their movements were strangely organized—like they had some kind of training.

Eugene nodded.

“A shaman, then.”

A Hobgoblin Shaman, more precisely a Shaman, had the power to control and command nearby Hobgoblins.

They were often the ones who pushed Hobgoblins into rage mode, making them more powerful and harder to deal with.

They were basically the real boss.

Kieeeee!

“For the king! …Is that what you’re yelling again?”

They always shouted something like that.

As Eugene mumbled, the Hobgoblins lunged at him with their spears.

He watched them carefully.

They were fast, for sure.

But—

‘Even if my body has returned to the past, I still have all my experience.’

He could see all their movements.

It almost looked like they were swinging in slow motion.

‘This is good.’

Whoosh! Crack!

The moment the spear met his bat, the spear shattered completely.

The Hobgoblin’s eyes went wide in shock.

It was definitely stronger than the scout from before—it even stepped back a little.

But that was all.

Crunch!

Eugene’s bat smashed straight into its face.

Green blood splattered as the Hobgoblin’s skull caved in.

Thud!

The body fell to the ground.

The other Hobgoblin, angry at its fallen comrade, screamed and attacked with its spear.

It was better than the nervous scout from earlier, at least.

“But if you’ve got a spear and still lose to a bat… that’s just sad.”

Still, that didn’t mean Eugene had any trouble dealing with it.

As the spear came at him, he blocked it with another metal pipe and swung his bat.

The bat hit the spear again—

CRACK!

“…Oops.”

The wooden bat snapped in two.

[Durability fully used up.]

Even though the bat was enhanced, its durability still had a limit.

And since it was made of wood, it was only natural it would break after smashing into stone several times.

‘This is why I shouldn’t make a habit of that.’

Actually, Eugene had a habit of clashing weapons directly with the enemy’s.

Since he used his own soul to enhance his gear, he always wanted to see with his own eyes how strong the result was.

Kekeke!

The Hobgoblin laughed at Eugene and thrust its spear forward.

Using just a metal pipe wouldn’t be enough to block that spear.

So Eugene made a quick decision.

Grab!

He dodged the incoming spear just slightly—and grabbed the Hobgoblin’s body with his hand.

This was one of his best fighting techniques:

Using the enemy’s strength against them.

Whoosh!

He pulled the Hobgoblin forward using its own momentum, causing it to stumble and fall.

If the Hobgoblin had been a bit taller or heavier, this wouldn’t have worked.

But so what? He was fighting a Hobgoblin—not a giant.

“Enhance.”

[Enhancing knees.]

Enhancing a body part used more magic than enhancing a weapon.

But it wasn’t too much for him to handle.

His knee glowed with power.

And then—

Smash!

He slammed his knee into the Hobgoblin’s nose.

Kehek!

“You sure know how to use a spear.”

The Hobgoblin’s nose was crushed, and its eyes went wide in shock.

Its weapon was gone in an instant.

But before it could react—

Stab!

Eugene drove the spear right through its neck.

The Hobgoblin’s body shook for a moment, then went limp.

[You have defeated a Hobgoblin.]

“Whew… Not bad. I got a decent weapon.”

Eugene spun the spear in his hand, pleased.

It was just an ordinary stone spear—but he could make it not so ordinary.

“Enhance.”

[Using skill: Soul Enhancement]

At that moment, the stone spear started to tremble.

[This is a weapon used by a monster.] [You have enhanced a weapon stolen from a monster.]
[A slight change has occurred in the enhancement.]

“Hm?”

A change?

Eugene opened the spear’s info—and his eyes widened in surprise.

‘What is this?’