The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 148

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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 148. Distortion…? (1)
A plan to activate a new Obscura by utilizing the Ogre.
But forcibly awakening the dormant Ogre was never an easy task.
And the Ogre was an uncontrollable natural disaster.
Awakening the Ogre meant the Cult had to endure tremendous losses.
Yet because it was worth the cost, they proceeded with the plan.
…That plan had been completely distorted.
The moment the Ogre was subjugated.
Well, fine.
Let’s say it was possible.
It was hard to believe, but let’s say it was possible nonetheless.
But what was the reason?
And who had subjugated it?
Shouldn’t we carefully ascertain the situation and circumstances?
But what?
“We can only make a judgment?”
“What the hell is that supposed to—”
“Did a dragon awaken?”
“…No, sir.”
“Then who in blazes!”
“You bastard, is there anything you actually know properly!”
“We are currently investigating the situation, but…”
“You haven’t grasped the exact details yet?”
Aketa nodded carefully.
“Then go and find out!!”
The Worshipper’s furious voice reverberated through the assembly hall.
“If there’s nothing confirmed, then mobilize the entire intelligence network and figure it out!!”
“But then we’d need to reallocate the Cult’s personnel…”
“Then do it!”
“Above all, the budget…”
At Aketa’s final words, The Worshipper clamped his mouth shut.
The recent collapse of Violess.
With it, Obscura had collapsed.
Obscura.
A method and place to launder illegal funds.
Obscura was connected to black markets across the entire Continent.
And the Cult’s illegal funds were cleansed through Obscura and converted into usable capital.
But as Violess collapsed, Obscura became paralyzed as well.
In consequence, other black markets suffered catastrophic damage in a chain reaction.
Most critically, the astronomical funds that had been dormant within Obscura were lost.
“The Cult currently lacks viable methods to circulate funds….”
The financial pipeline had been completely severed.
That’s why we were desperately focused on pioneering a new Obscura.
…But that plan had failed.
Someone of unknown identity had subjugated the Ogre single-handedly.
So I needed to know who they were.
Only then could I mount a proper response.
Only then could I formulate the next plan without repeating the same mistakes.
Crunch—!!
The Worshipper ground his teeth together.
“…Sell off the customs control rights at the Western Trade Port.”
“Y-yes?! The funds we’ve poured into that location alone…!”
“Strip it bare and withdraw. And add portions of the Eastern Plains to the sales list as well.”
“B-but… that’s the designated ritual site. If we sell that land….”
Aketa continued cautiously, gauging my reaction.
“The traces of our experiments there could be exposed to the outside world.”
“It cannot be helped. Dispose of all experiments and hand the land over to the neighboring lords.”
….
At this point, we were essentially mortgaging our future.
“So you must find out. Do you understand? You must! You absolutely must!”
“Y-yes! I will find out for certain!”
Aketa bolted from the conference chamber without delay.
* * *
The Ogre subjugation incident was stirring the entire Continent.
An unprecedented event—an unidentified individual had single-handedly vanquished the Ogre, a calamity-class monster.
Thus, intelligence operatives and information agencies from numerous kingdoms were moving swiftly to uncover the truth behind the incident.
The Levent Kingdom was among them.
They deployed their Information Bureau agents faster than anyone else, allowing them to gather intelligence most quickly.
Krvil, the Chief Intelligence Officer, reviewed the report laid upon his desk.
It was none other than a report concerning the identity of the one who had subjugated the Ogre single-handedly….
==[Estimated Information on Ogre Subjugator]==
【Candidate 1】 – Thunder-wreathed Hamster Engulfed in Flame
: Estimated size approximately 30cm.
Reportedly rolled repeatedly and rammed the Ogre multiple times to subdue it.
Testimony secured that lightning struck when it squeaked.
(※ Some testimony claims it was a wolf, not a hamster)
【Candidate 2】 – The Strongest Cute Sorceress
: The most adorable and lovely person on the Continent.
When she smiled and giggled, the Ogre allegedly clutched its chest and collapsed.
Afterward, she told the fallen Ogre to “get up,” but it did not rise.
(※ Presumed cardiac arrest?)
【Candidate 3】 – The Naked Savage
: Allegedly defeated the Ogre with bare hands.
Just before the final blow, he reportedly said to the Ogre, “Farewell, apex predator of the Surface. You merely hunted in an ecosystem devoid of my presence, a mere beast.”
(※ The witness in question is currently undergoing psychiatric treatment)
====
“…???”
Krvil’s face was plastered with question marks.
“What is this…?”
…There had to be limits to this absurdity.
And that wasn’t even all of it.
Reports piled high upon the desk.
Not a single one was remotely credible.
Beyond that—.
The Subjugator was a time traveler from the future, they said.
The Subjugator was a subparticle oscillating between existence and non-existence every three seconds, they said.
The Ogre was actually a hallucination, and the entire Continent was dreaming, they said.
…Utterly deranged accounts were written down.
The three above were the only ones with any semblance of ‘credibility’.
Yet even so, this was the state of things.
Information that read like ancient folklore was being reported in steady streams….
“Someone is deliberately sowing confusion?”
Otherwise, such information would never be reported at all.
And certainly not in succession, let alone through official channels.
Information, by its very nature, becomes distorted even through the smallest gaps.
Moreover, the more information spreads, the more truth becomes buried.
Just as one hides a tree by hiding it in a forest, so too does information work the same way.
Therefore, I had to consider that someone was deliberately creating a forest of information to conceal the real truth….
“But it shouldn’t be to this extent…?”
…No matter what, it shouldn’t be this extreme.
Just as absurdity has its limits, so too does information distortion have standards.
“For this to be possible….”
At minimum, resources on a kingdom-wide scale would need to be deployed.
Simple information disruption?
Or mere mischief?
That wouldn’t cut it.
The Information Bureau was no fool.
They wouldn’t fall for such petty rumors.
Yet as far as Krvil knew, no kingdom’s Information Bureau had any reason to conduct an information warfare campaign of this magnitude.
Therefore, the entity concealed behind this false information was—.
“…What a terrifying creature.”
It’s not merely the raw power to subjugate an Ogre.
He’s a strategist of such horrifying caliber that he can dominate information entirely on his own.
A schemer of impossible magnitude—capable of weaving deception across the entire Continent itself.
Such a monster is the true identity of whoever subjugated the Ogre.
With Krvil’s capabilities… contact is impossible. And if the Levent Kingdom cannot make contact, then no kingdom should dare attempt it.
So, given that circumstances have spiraled into this mess.
“Damn it, we spread false information too!”
Thus, information manipulation for the sake of containment ran rampant, and spies from each kingdom scoured the entire Continent—.
“I heard the one who subjugated this Ogre was actually a child born from a dragon’s amusement!”
“What?! Then a dragon-kin?!”
“Huh? From what I heard, it was a legendary hero from ancient times?”
“What now?!”
“They say he was resurrected by transcending time itself!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“I’m telling you it’s true! There’s even a rumor that the Holy Kingdom has been hiding a saint!”
“Isn’t he the successor of a sea god who rose from the ocean?”
“What is this now?”
“A sea god?! Raised by whales in the depths of the sea?”
“…????”
“Wait? Wasn’t he the child of the World Tree?”
“What kind of mess is this!!”
The Continent descended into absolute chaos.
* * *
A clandestine gathering place suffused with heavy tension.
The expressions of the Fallen Soul Worshippers, their black hoods pulled low, twisted grotesquely.
It made sense—they had mobilized every intelligence network at their disposal.
They had even mortgaged futures to secure funds, and issued strict orders to identify whoever subjugated the Ogre—.
“So… who exactly subjugated the Ogre?”
What kind of nonsense are they spouting now?
“A child born from a dragon’s amusement….”
“Do you think that makes sense?”
“There’s also a rumor about a legendary hero….”
“What…?”
“And talk of a saint hidden away by the Holy Kingdom….”
“Are you joking?”
It truly seemed like a jest.
But then?
What came after was even more absurd.
“The successor of a sea god who rose from the ocean….”
“That’s right now—.”
“So the child raised by whales in the depths of the sea….”
“…What did you just say?”
“A branch that fell from the World Tree….”
“….”
“There’s even a rumor that someone who witnessed the world’s destruction returned with those memories….”
“Now this is just too much—!”
“There’s also talk that he’s a composite creature formed when Orcs, Goblins, and Trolls united, unable to endure the Ogre’s tyranny….”
“Does that even make sense—!”
“Before the beginning of time, in the crevice where darkness and light first collided, some force leaked from a rift that was born, and the world couldn’t accept it, so ultimately it took human form—.”
A complete and utter circus of chaos.
The Continent had never seen such pandemonium.
“You little bastard!!!”
Crunch—! Crack—!!
Teeth shattered everywhere, the sound erupting from all directions in a cacophony.
* * *
My mind was filled with nothing but hazy fog.
As I slowly opened my eyes, a familiar ceiling came into view.
The familiar wooden ceiling and the faint sunlight seeping through the window.
‘The Whitewolf Territory, then.’
My room in the Whitewolf Territory.
It seemed I had returned safely.
‘How many days have passed.’
As I tried to lift my body—.
“Ugh—!”
…My entire body felt as though it would tear apart.
Somehow, it was worse than when I had used Predator.
I gasped for breath and steadied myself.
Then, suddenly.
A faint afterimage entered my vision.
None other than the “Player Information” window.
My memories returned in an instant, and I realized I had lost consciousness while controlling the runaway energy of the Arcanoheart.
The runaway energy of the Arcanoheart.
Even my body, evolved through the Ogre’s Predation, couldn’t handle it.
That’s why I had summoned the “Player Information” window to raise my stats further.
It was only a +2 level increase at best, but even that had been desperately necessary in that dire situation.
But in the end, I hadn’t been able to raise my stats.
Since I lost consciousness right after, the window remained as it was.
And so the “Player Information” window was still floating at the edge of my vision….
==「Player Information」==
[Name] = Adrian Whitewolf
[Title] = Master of the Frozen Peak
[Level] = 111
[HP] = 985
[MP] = -1,320
[Sanity] = 576/ℵ0
[Stats] = Strength: 449(+5) Agility: 250(+38) Endurance: 380(+54) Mana: -13.2(x-1.2)
[Experience] = 64.1%
【Additional Stats +2】
“…Did I misread that?”
My stats had evolved in such a grotesque manner that I almost doubted my own eyes.
The numbers had skyrocketed explosively, as if warped by some incomprehensible force.
Yet no matter how many times I looked, I saw no Error message.
I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I’d made a mistake, but the display remained identical.
I summoned the 「Player Information」 window again, but… it was the same.
The grotesque numbers hadn’t changed.
My mind wasn’t broken either.
If it were, only my Sanity stat would accumulate through the Successor’s Will [EX].
In other words, this was real.
“….”
Even as I stared at it with my own eyes, I found it difficult to truly believe.

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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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