The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 152

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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 152. Encounter (1)
Hollow, lifeless eyes.
Dark circles hanging heavily down to the corners of his mouth.
“Oh, you’ve… you’ve arrived, Adrian.”
Adlern greeted me weakly.
His face looked like death itself.
“…Is something wrong?”
“Huh? Ah, I’ve been researching all night and haven’t gotten much sleep.”
Even as he said this, Adlern tried to muster some energy, as if to reassure me.
…I felt an unexpected pang of guilt.
After all, Adlern’s ale hadn’t been necessary in the end.
But who could have predicted this?
“How much progress have you made on the research?”
“About 60 percent, sir.”
Still only that?
“Since this fermentation process differs from the existing methods, we’re having difficulty securing the proper research equipment…”
Adlern lowered his head deeply and sighed.
I’d invested so much money, yet there were no results. He seemed frustrated and apologetic with himself.
“Is it really that difficult to acquire the necessary equipment?”
“…Well, you see, night beer requires maintaining a fermentation temperature of at least 55 degrees or higher.”
“And?”
“But the existing fermentation equipment deforms or breaks once the temperature exceeds a certain threshold. So we need to use heat-resistant alloys, but there are virtually no craftsmen capable of producing them…”
He continued with a complex explanation.
…I didn’t fully understand what he was saying.
But the core issue seemed to be that there was a ‘technical problem.’
“Adlern, have you ever been to Whitewolf Territory?”
“Uh… No, I’ve never been there directly.”
“Then come with me this time.”
“…Yes?”
“There are Dwarves currently in Whitewolf Territory.”
“D-Dwarves?!”
Adlern’s eyes widened like a ferret startled by thunder.
And his body trembled like a ferret struck by lightning.
His expression showed confusion—he couldn’t understand why Dwarves would suddenly appear, or why they would be in Whitewolf Territory.
Dwarf craftsmanship occasionally appeared on the market.
But Dwarves themselves directly entering the human world was extremely rare.
Perhaps because of this, he seemed to be hoping for an explanation, but the story was too long to tell.
“Come with me to Whitewolf Territory and explain the problems you’re currently facing to the Dwarves. They’ll solve it for you.”
“That is… well…”
Adlern opened and closed his mouth several times before swallowing his question.
“B-but commissioning the Dwarves will cost an astronomical sum! Even at the bare minimum, tens of millions of gold—”
“Don’t worry about the cost. I’ll handle it.”
“W-what?!?!”
Adlern yelped in shock, jumping to his feet.
As he’d said, commissioning the Dwarves typically ran into the tens of millions of gold at minimum.
Actually, tens of millions was selling it short.
Even hundreds of millions of gold would be a struggle.
The Dwarves fundamentally had no greed for money.
They only concerned themselves with the costs necessary to obtain ore or create their masterworks—nothing beyond that.
But that wasn’t a problem.
In fact, it meant the opposite: the Dwarves valued something other than money.
‘If they taste Night Ale, their eyes will light up and they’ll demand more without hesitation.’
The Dwarves were a race obsessed with alcohol.
Forget money—they’d gladly construct the equipment themselves.
“Is that… truly the case, sir?!”
“Yes. Then the problem is solved, isn’t it?”
Adlern was at a loss for words.
His face crumpled like a sad ferret’s.
“To go this far…”
Adlern’s voice trembled.
“For someone as lowly as me… like Schönne… why would you do this much…”
“Adlern, you’re the director of the Predator Merchant Company.”
“Please don’t—”
“If you’re a lowly wretch, then I’m the merchant company owner of a lowly wretch.”
Adlern’s eyes widened.
Then he began frantically rubbing his face with his forearms.
“…You, Schönne! I swear, I’ll do this perfectly!!”
“Just keep doing what you’re doing. You’re already doing well—”
“No, I’m not!!”
Adlern suddenly clenched his fists.
“Schönne! I’ll reduce my sleep, cut back on meals, and even fast if necessary to accomplish this flawlessly!!”
“There’s no need to go that far—”
“There is! Your dream! The honor of the Predator Merchant Company! I’ll take responsibility and seize it!!”
Eyes that had been glistening with tears just moments before.
Now burned with passionate fervor.
“Even if it kills me! I won’t fail you!!”
I tried to say something but stopped myself.
Adding another word might be more than I could handle.
“…In any case, if we commission the Dwarves, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?”
“We could begin production as early as tomorrow!!”
It probably wouldn’t go that far.
But the problem had been cleanly resolved.
“Then may I state my business?”
“Ah, yes! I shall listen with my ears pulled off!”
Adlern yanked at his ears as if he might actually tear them off.
Fearing they might actually rip, I spoke quickly.
“The Ghost Merchant Guild.”
“The Ghost Merchant Guild, you say…?”
The Ghost Merchant Guild that had brought down Craven, the Stone Seat Mage who had overseen Iliana.
The Ghost Merchant Guild that currently bribed the elder mages of Langrit Tower, intending to reform it by detonating them later.
“I thought I might use them.”
Specifically, as bait to lure in The Empire.
The lure was Rune Steel.
In other words, I planned to use them as a merchant company that could move freely within The Empire.
Initially, I had considered using the Predator Merchant Company—
‘The risk is too great.’
I would be directly exposed immediately.
And Whitewolf Territory would also be directly exposed.
Given its connection to The Empire, I needed to exercise greater caution in my actions.
The Predator Merchant Company needed to be developed as a merchant company for securing funds for the Allied Forces.
Above all, the Ghost Merchant Guild was destined to self-destruct anyway.
If matters with The Empire went awry, I could simply detonate them—this arrangement was perfect…
“Do you mean the Raven Dung Merchant Company?”
“Raven Dung?”
…What kind of name was this?
“It literally means a dung vessel, sir.”
“…?”
“A vessel that collects the dung of elder mages as black-hearted as ravens, meant to explode all at once with a bang! That’s what the merchant company is for, hehe.”
Adlern chuckled as if proud of the naming.
Well, the meaning certainly fit—
“I debated between Raven Dung Bucket and Raven Dung Vessel, but Dung Vessel had more weight to it, so I went with that!”
…I had no idea what The Empire’s people would think of it.
* * *
At this point, creating another Ghost Merchant Guild would be impractical.
So I decided to use the Raven Dung Merchant Company.
And since various administrative procedures were necessary for distribution rights—
“Leave it to Schönne!”
I left it with Adlern and returned to the streets of Frecce.
And my destination was none other than the Mage Guild.
I needed to purchase recovery potions.
Of course, recovery potions couldn’t improve Seraphia’s condition. But I could at least prevent it from worsening.
And I could definitely improve Broombar’s state.
The Mage Guild was quite empty.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, a listless voice came from the reception desk.
“What brings you here?”
But the moment they recognized me—
“Adrian! Welcome!!”
They shot up from their seat, bowing at a ninety-degree angle.
Ever since I swept through Frecce’s market last time, there was hardly anyone in Frecce who didn’t know my face… or rather, there wasn’t.
At that same moment, the curtain behind the reception desk was yanked open.
A high-ranking mage emerged from behind the curtain, rushing toward me in a flustered panic.
“I-is there something you’re looking for?!”
The way they treated me was almost as if I were the Master of Langrit Tower.
“I’ve come to acquire recovery potions.”
“Ah, yes! Please wait just a moment!”
They went directly to the storage room and carefully retrieved a beautifully sealed potion.
I didn’t even need to use Predation’s instinct [S] to identify what kind of potion it was.
“Is this a potion made from Icetroll blood?”
“Yes, it is! A rare potion with only a few remaining. Hehe.”
Indeed, it was a potion made from Icetroll blood.
And for good reason—potions made from Icetroll blood had—
[Apply to skin, do not ingest]
—a large warning label attached to it.
Icetrols are monsters.
Therefore, potions manufactured from extracted Icetroll blood contained the factor of madness.
Drinking Icetroll potion would drive one insane.
It was the same principle as consuming monster meat—it would drive one mad.
That’s why Icetroll potions are only used by pouring them on wounds or applying them as salves to the skin.
Could one remove the monster’s madness inscribed at the genetic level?
This was one of Arcanis’s twenty-three great unsolved problems, and it had ultimately been resolved as ‘impossible’.
But then—
‘Could I not make a potion from my own blood?’
…The thought suddenly occurred to me.
Just as I didn’t go mad from eating monster meat I’d devoured with Predation [S+], perhaps a potion made from my blood wouldn’t drive one mad either.
‘Hmm.’
In my past life, The Emperor had made potions from Icetroll blood.
But even The Emperor hadn’t solved the madness problem.
He simply didn’t care.
A madman of slaughter, The Emperor.
The Imperial Army was merely an army bred for The Emperor’s needs.
A regeneration potion consumed by a maddened army became nothing more than a strategic weapon to be wielded.
But what if it were my blood—blood of an Icetroll I had devoured through Predation [S+]?
It could become a regeneration [B+] potion that didn’t induce madness.
And taking it further still.
‘Could I extract the ultra-regeneration blood factor itself?’
In other words, an ultra-regeneration [A] potion.
A potion that might even enable regeneration of heterogeneous body parts.
‘If that were possible….’
I would no longer need to accumulate 3,200 Sanity points every time I wanted to activate Rampage [A].
I could simply retrieve a pre-made ultra-regeneration potion from my inventory and consume it.
Then I could generate Bone Blade whenever I needed it.
Thus combining the Monomolecular Blade [S] with Bone Blade.
The ultimate and supreme weapon—capable of cleaving even an Ogre in a single stroke—would be at my disposal whenever I desired.
Of course, I couldn’t be certain it would work.
Even if possible, it wouldn’t be easy.
But there had to be a way.
Surely a Mage of Truth versed in all arcane arts could find a method somehow.
‘I should reach out and make contact.’
* * *
Langrit Tower.
The cradle of every mage across The Continent.
It was no exaggeration to say that all magical research and magical knowledge of The Continent resided here, in Langrit Tower.
Thus the systems and disciplines were equally stringent, and those capable of systematically managing knowledge accumulated over thousands of years were indispensable.
The Archivist.
A position of great responsibility—managing the archives of Langrit Tower, overseeing all conducted research, rituals, organization and preservation, and meticulously recording and storing all new magical knowledge and research findings.
And the Deputy Archivist, Gwendolyn.
She assisted the Chief Archivist and bore responsibility for overseeing the practical operations of the magical archives—
“Iliana, shouldn’t we start organizing the magical archives soon?”
—Just this one more thing!
Another day beginning the same way, Gwendolyn released a deep sigh.
Just this one thing, my foot.
An Ogre overlooking a Hatchling would be more realistic than that.
“Iliana, at this rate you’ll be up all night again. It’s already been several days—.”
—Just this one!
Indeed.
An Ogre overlooking a Hatchling would be more realistic.
“Then wouldn’t you at least take the letter that arrived for you earlier?”
—One moment!
…And then came nothing but silence.
“That moment seems to have lasted quite a while now, hasn’t it?”
Iliana didn’t answer.
She was completely absorbed in her reading.
“Should I just read it aloud?”
Not even a sound came from her now.
“It came from Adr—”
That’s when it happened, mid-sentence.
Crash! Bang bang! Boom!
Clatter clatter clatter! Everything tumbling down!
The entire bookshelf came crashing down with a deafening roar.
And there, emerging from the dust, was Iliana.
Her blue hair was disheveled, and her clothes were completely torn and askew.
“G-Give that to me!”
Iliana frantically snatched the letter from Gwendolyn’s hands.
With lightning-fast movements, she tore open the seal and scanned the contents inside.
Who on earth was this “Adr—” person that she was acting like this?
Surely it couldn’t be adrenaline.
Iliana’s blue eyes darted rapidly up and down, left and right.
…It was an absolutely superhuman reading speed.
Speed that transcended human capability.
As if she’d injected pure adrenaline—
“I-I’m going out right now!”
“…Going out?”
So suddenly?”
“Where are you going?”
“To Whitewolf Territory! I-It’s a secret!”
Iliana tried to brush it off as a secret, but it was already too late.
‘Whitewolf Territory, you say…’
Wasn’t that the territory located at the far north of the Continent?
I knew of it because Langrit Tower had been buzzing about monster meat from there.
One of Arcanis’s twenty-three grand problems: Could one remove the monster madness inscribed at the genetic level?
When that supposedly impossible problem was overturned, Langrit Tower became quite chaotic.
…Chaotic doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Just thinking back on it now.
My head throbbed at the mere memory.
And from what Gwendolyn knew.
‘There were an enormous number of mages who wanted to visit the Predator Merchant Company directly, I believe?’
All of them seeking to discover how the madness had been removed.
So armed with all manner of underhanded schemes, countless mages headed toward Frecce, but…
‘The pressure from the Merchant Guild was apparently immense.’
And it wasn’t just the Merchant Guild.
Even the Adventurers Guild—seemingly unrelated, alongside the Herbalists Guild and miners—had risen up in protest.
Even the Mage Guild had stepped forward to support the Predator Merchant Company….
Essentially, the entire Free City had risen as one.
At this level, even the Langrit Tower couldn’t afford to make a careless move.
Like an Ogre chasing a wyvern, staring only at the sky.
They had no choice but to leave the Predator Merchant Company completely untouched.
…In any case.
I didn’t know the exact location of the Whitewolf Territory.
But it was a considerable distance from the Langrit Tower here.
Above all, it was pitch-black night right now.
“Can you go there and come back within a day?”
“…Oh!”
Iliana’s eyes widened in surprise.
It was clear she hadn’t thought of that.
Seeing things like this, the saying “clever fool” wasn’t without reason.
“Then I’ll stay out overnight!”
“Stay out? For how many days?”
“One day… or maybe two? I’ll just go for a couple of months!”
It was more of an announcement than a request for permission.
But there was no problem with it.
Iliana, who had recently become a formal mage.
According to regulations, formal mages were permitted independent activities.
“Then the reason for your business trip is—”
Whoosh.
In an instant, space distorted, and Iliana’s figure vanished.
Teleportation in that brief moment.
In other words, Iliana disappeared via teleport magic.
“Was teleportation such an easy spell…?”
It wasn’t.
Setting spatial coordinates for teleportation was never an easy task.
Every entity with mass warps spacetime around it.
Therefore, when marking spatial coordinates, one must calculate every variable of spacetime existing on this Continent.
Moreover, even though everything appears to stand still, all things in the world are in constant motion.
Molecular movement. Air currents.
The rotation and revolution of stars.
And even further, the vibrations of spacetime itself.
Teleportation must account for all of those variables.
That’s why meticulous calculation and precise computation were essential—
“She accomplished that through intuition alone…?”
…And so my understanding of the magical theory I’d learned so far shattered completely.

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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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