The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 1

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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 1. The Hero Has Fallen
The Emperor has lost his mind!
By the time whispers of his madness drifted beyond the Imperial Palace walls, the situation had already spiraled beyond redemption.
The Emperor had transcended tyranny itself, becoming something far more sinister—a despot consumed by delusion—while the Empire’s people had transformed into a fanatical cult devoted to his worship.
A tempest of blood and slaughter swept across the Continent.
Countless kingdoms burned to ash. Surrender was not an option offered to them.
One year.
That was all the time it took for every kingdom and city on the Continent to vanish from the maps.
Yet they say that in times of chaos, heroes are born, and the brightest hope shines most brilliantly in the deepest darkness.
One man drew his blade against the Emperor.
People ridiculed him.
But as the Empire’s fortresses crumbled one by one and the Empire’s legions fell, no one dared laugh anymore.
They called him the Hero and sang his praises.
With each successive victory, the champions who had hidden from the Emperor’s gaze emerged from the shadows, one by one.
The Saint stood beside the Hero.
Beneath the Saint’s miracles, the wind of slaughter the Emperor had unleashed came to a halt.
The Grand Mage joined the Hero’s cause.
Through the Grand Mage’s sorcery, the advancing Imperial forces were forced to retreat.
The Blacksmith forged weapons for the Hero and his companions.
The arms crafted by the Blacksmith shattered the Empire’s armor and shields without mercy.
The Spirit Summoner sought out the Hero.
The spirits commanded by the Spirit Summoner embraced all things—yet they would not embrace the Emperor or the Empire.
Beneath the light of the rising sun, blades gleamed brilliantly, and the cry of counterattack rang out.
Centered around the Hero and his champions, the Allied Forces were formed.
The Allied Forces, gathering all the strength of the Continent, declared war upon the Emperor and the Empire.
And then.
…they all died.
The Saint’s miracles proved to be nothing but parlor tricks before the Emperor’s transcendent power.
The Grand Mage’s sorcery crumbled to ash and vanished before the Emperor’s mana.
The Blacksmith’s weapons became mere toys before the Emperor’s sacred relics.
The Spirit Summoner’s spirits submitted before the Emperor’s might.
The Allied Forces were trampled and desecrated by the Imperial army.
The Emperor emerged victorious.
We were defeated.
Yet there was one.
The Hero did not fall.
A man leaning heavily upon my shoulder, his legs unsteady.
The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces—the Hero, Ian.
Ian still lived.
The Allied Forces had retreated and the champions had perished, but Ian survived.
No, I saved him.
The Allied Forces and all the heroes sacrificed their lives—all so that Ian alone would survive.
And now, it falls to me to keep Ian alive.
“Stop it, Adrian. It’s pointless.”
I heard Ian’s voice calling out to me.
But I ignored it.
Even now, the Empire’s forces close in on us.
We cannot afford to stop moving.
“You know as well as I do. There’s no hope left.”
Ian’s voice reached me again.
Not a shred of vitality remained in his tone.
There were precious few words I could offer him.
“Don’t speak such weakness.”
Ian is the hope of our Allied Forces.
By any means necessary, I must keep Ian alive.
With Ian, the Allied Forces can rise again, whenever the moment comes.
“Please, Adrian.”
Ian’s lifeless eyes turn toward me once more.
That gaze from the edge of oblivion—the light in Ian’s eyes as death approaches.
How could I turn away from it?
Perhaps because Ian is both the hero of the Continent and the hope of the Allied Forces, and also my dearest friend.
“I don’t want to see anyone sacrifice themselves for me anymore.”
A final request from my closest friend—perhaps his very last.
….
My heart yearned to grant my friend’s wish.
Yet I bear the duty to save Ian.
If necessary, I would cast away my own life to keep him alive.
That is the final mission entrusted to me.
For now, Ian is merely… exhausted.
“Let’s rest for a moment.”
After much deliberation, I finally came to a halt.
As I lowered Ian against a tree in the forest, deep regret filled his eyes.
Defeat in the final battle against the Emperor.
A complete and utter defeat.
It would be strange indeed if he harbored no regret.
“Adrian. Do you know when I regret most in this moment?”
“When you confessed to the Saint and she rejected you.”
“No.”
“There’s a moment you regret even more than that?”
“Yes.”
“When was that?”
“When I had to kill your sister.”
My sister?
Ah, right—this bastard had killed my sister.
“There was no other choice.”
My sister was a fallen witch.
Commonly known as the Frost Lord.
An entity recognized by the Emperor as a “Lord” and the Empire’s core military asset—the very architect of countless massacres against the Allied Forces.
Killing such a sister was something that simply had to be done.
There was no room for resentment toward Ian.
Besides, she was my sister in name only.
She was an adopted daughter brought into the family to replace me, the house’s black sheep.
Not a drop of blood connected us.
There was no real bond between us.
And killing my sister was originally an order handed down to me by the Allied Forces.
A kind of ideological verification.
Since my sister was the Frost Lord, the Empire’s core military asset, it was only natural from the Allied Forces’ perspective.
I accepted the order without any particular resistance.
But Ian—this bastard—talked me out of it.
Saying she was still family, Ian stepped forward in my place.
Family.
Such a difficult word for me.
“So what was she like? Your sister?”
“Your sister… she was incredible.”
“You crazy bastard. No wonder the Saint rejected you—now I get it.”
“What can I do? She really was that incredible.”
Ian chuckled, his laughter tinged with something deeper.
It seemed like a crude joke, but I knew that wasn’t what he meant.
Ian’s left arm, now conspicuously absent.
It was my sister who took that arm from him.
Because of that, the Allied Forces’ combat strength was severely diminished.
Perhaps the reason we lost the final battle stemmed from this very moment.
The only being capable of standing against the Emperor was in this state.
“Back then, was there really no other way besides killing your sister? Did she absolutely have to die? That’s what I regret most.”
“Spare the Frost Lord? Don’t tell me you actually had feelings for my sister?”
“Your sister was the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. More beautiful than the Saint, I’m telling you.”
“A hero saying such things about a witch? You deserved to be rejected by the Saint.”
At my words, Ian chuckled again.
Yet his eyes remained filled with regret.
Ian was regretting the death of my sister.
That is precisely why I, too, harbored regret over what transpired back then.
It should have been me, not Ian.
I should have been the one to kill my sister.
Whether I could have actually done it—I honestly have no idea.
I probably would have died instead.
But at least I could have preserved Ian’s left arm.
As for how the final battle might have unfolded after that, no one could say.
At the very least, we would not have suffered such a complete and utter defeat.
“Adrian, it’s not your fault.”
“I know. You lost to my sister because you’re weak.”
“Lost? I may have lost an arm, but I won.”
Ian and I faced each other and let out a soft laugh.
“Adrian.”
“What.”
“There’s one last thing I need to ask of you. Will you hear me out?”
“Drop the ‘last’ part.”
….
Ian did not answer that he would.
“What’s with you?”
“Promise you’ll listen, and I’ll tell you.”
“Then don’t tell me.”
….
“…Fine. Just promise already. What is it?”
“Eat me.”
…What?
The shocking words from Ian left my mind reeling for a moment.
“Absorb me with your predatory ability.”
Predation.
By consuming the heart of a living creature, I could absorb the abilities that creature possessed. That was my power.
Beasts, monsters, insects, worms—even humans.
Any creature with a heart was fair game.
The ability grew infinitely stronger with time, making it nothing short of broken.
And yet I had never surpassed Ian.
Despite possessing Predation, I could not even keep pace with Ian’s footsteps.
This was precisely why I had to keep Ian alive at all costs.
Even if it meant sacrificing my own life.
“Adrian, The Emperor has been desperately trying to kill me all this time. He’s lost most of The Empire’s forces just trying to eliminate me by any means necessary. Do you know why?”
“Because you’re the only hero capable of standing against The Emperor.”
“No.”
Ian shook his head firmly and continued.
“It’s the only way I can stop The Emperor.”
“That’s the same thing you always say.”
“It’s different.”
Ian’s gaze fixed upon me.
“There’s always been a question I carried in my heart. And ever since I met you, Adrian, that question became a certainty. Today, at last, I know the answer.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking you, Adrian. Consume my heart.”
Ian’s eyes—the ones boring into me—had lost all reason.
Even Ian seemed worn down by the war, drenched in slaughter and bloodshed.
A hero was still human, after all, and no one could remain strong forever.
“I can’t grant that.”
This was a request I simply could not fulfill.
It was an absurd request from the start.
The Allied Forces need Ian.
The only reason I’m alive now is to throw away my life if necessary.
Ian and me.
If one of us must survive, it has to be Ian—not me.
At that, Ian nodded as if he’d expected this very response.
“You promised just now. You said you’d grant my final request.”
Ian raised his remaining right arm and pressed it against his own chest.
I had no time to do anything.
Squelch!
Crimson blood sprayed upward, dyeing my vision a brilliant red.
“!!!”
My eyes snapped wide open.
Vision expanding in shock.
Ian was tearing through his own chest, forcing his hand inside.
“You—what are you doing right now—!”
The sudden horror left me stammering.
Crack! Crunch!
The sound of bone grinding and muscle tearing filled the air.
When Ian’s hand finally emerged, it was drenched in blood.
And in that blood-soaked palm… Ian’s heart. It pulsed. Thump-thump. Still beating.
“…Please… Adrian…”
Ian extended the heart cradled in his hand toward me.
Ian’s life force drained away rapidly now that his heart was gone.
“The Emperor… The Continent… and the people…”
Ian’s body, robbed of strength, collapsed forward.
I caught his falling form desperately. His face pressed limply against my chest.
“If I’m ever reborn…”
A faint whisper emanates from Ian, buried deep within my chest.
“Sister… please… don’t… hate me….”
With those words, Ian’s voice falls silent forever.
“I… Ian?”
My call receives no answer from Ian.
Only the cold, lifeless body of Ian remains in my arms.
My mind goes blank—utterly empty of thought.
The situation is so surreal, so divorced from reality, that my consciousness simply numbs.
I cannot fathom how long I remain frozen in that spot.
-Over here!
-We’ve found traces of them!
The distant cries of Imperial soldiers snap me back to awareness.
I’ve lingered too long. The Empire’s forces have discovered our trail.
I must flee immediately.
Yet I cannot bring myself to move.
My gaze drifts downward slowly.
Ian, cradled in my arms, shows no sign of movement whatsoever.
No warmth radiates from Ian anymore.
Ian… is dead.
“Found them! The Hero is here!!”
“Don’t rush in recklessly! The Predator is with them!!”
The Imperial soldiers finally locate us and swarm from all directions.
I am unaware of what I am doing.
Somewhere along the way, in my hand…
Ian’s heart rests.
Ian’s heart, following its master, rapidly loses its vitality.
“The Predator is attempting to devour the Hero’s heart!”
“Stop it! By any means necessary, stop it!!”
The desperate cries of Imperial soldiers pierce the air.
Blades rain down from every direction.
Crunch.
The tough muscle of the heart is crushed between my teeth.
The sharp, metallic taste of blood floods my mouth, and suddenly something flashes across my vision.
◆New Player detected.
◆Error: Unique Privilege exists in duplicate.
◆Unique Privilege transfers to the new Player.
◆Privilege transfer in progress….
Incomprehensible messages materialize before my eyes.
In that same instant, the blades of Imperial soldiers pouring down from all sides pierce through my heart.
Crack!
* * *
I was dead.
Why was I certain of my death?
It was obvious.
A blade from the torrential onslaught of Imperial soldiers had pierced straight through my heart.
No being could survive the loss of a heart.
Even Ian, the hero himself, had perished the moment his heart was taken.
So I was dead.
“Ugh—!”
Then what was this?

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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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