The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 155
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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 155. Heroes of the Allied Forces (2)
The Radiant Dragon’s Wrath [L] had evolved beyond mere explosive magnitude—its very scale had transcended to “another level” entirely.
Where the previous iteration could inflict “effective damage” upon a lord, this evolved form could now deliver “mortal wounds.”
The enhancement granted by the Ogre’s Predation [S+] had clearly fortified my body to accommodate such power.
The Radiant Dragon’s Wrath [L] was not merely a skill I had acquired.
It was a technique born from perfectly comprehending the individual mechanisms inherent to biological evolution abilities, then synthesizing and evolving them through combination.
Acquiring a skill once was not the end.
It possessed the capacity to continually advance and evolve.
That was the true essence of Predation [S+].
In that sense, the Radiant Dragon’s Wrath [L]’s fundamental nature lay in “energy compression.” Combined with my dramatically enhanced physical capabilities from the Ogre’s Predation [S+].
Ultra-Dense Muscle Fibers [A+] amplified energy output.
Ultra-Reinforced Skeletal Structure [A] increased compression density.
Ultra-Sensory Movement Control [A-] enabled precise energy compression.
As a result, base damage escalated from [5x] to [8x].
Core explosion damage increased from [8x] to [12x].
And the explosion’s effective radius expanded by [+80%].
The Radiant Dragon’s Wrath [L]—its explosive magnitude and scale alike had evolved to another level entirely.
Consequently, my right arm was severed clean from my body.
My evolved physique could not withstand the amplified force.
At least my left arm remained intact, so while Broombar and the Dwarves cleared the battlefield, I replenished my calories.
And it was precisely then.
“Adrian.”
Isolde’s voice reached me.
Her serene tone betrayed no shock or alarm upon witnessing the Radiant Dragon’s Wrath [L].
After all, she had witnessed it before in Violess.
“If you employ such methods, would it be acceptable for me to assist?”
…Such methods?
As my confusion crystallized, something began to roil within Isolde’s arm.
Golden sacred energy condensed and gradually took tangible form.
It was then that Broombar, occupied with clearing the field, turned his head toward us.
And once more.
Broombar sensed that something had gone terribly wrong.
“Wait—!”
But before Broombar’s cry could fully escape—
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH—!!
A sacred dragon materialized with a deafening roar, erupting with catastrophic force.
The explosive sacred energy tore the earth asunder in an instant, while the pillar of light surging from its epicenter pierced the heavens themselves.
“What in the blazes is that—!!!”
“UUUUUAAAAAAAGH!!!”
The people’s screams were shredded and scattered by the shockwave.
Broombar manipulated the Arcanoheart with an expression of utmost urgency.
“Synchronize the ether with the barrier field!! Prevent the ground collapse!!”
And Iliana was on the verge of losing consciousness.
“Uuuuuuuuugh?!?!?”
Her blue eyes were wide with shock.
Her body swayed, and eventually her legs gave out beneath her as she collapsed to the ground.
Everyone gasped in succession.
“As expected, compared to Adrian, I still fall quite short.”
Only Isolde maintained her composure.
Her right arm approaching me was completely torn open.
In other words, Isolde looked hardly different from myself.
“…What is this?”
No, what was she saying?
The holy dragon that Isolde had just unleashed resembled the Dragon’s Wrath[L].
But it was not the Dragon’s Wrath[L].
The energy being used was fundamentally different from the start.
Calories and holy power.
Yet the mechanism appeared remarkably similar…
“I’ve practiced a lot since then.”
“Are you referring to my Dragon’s Wrath?”
“Was that the name? Dragon’s Wrath?”
Isolde nodded as if understanding now.
So she had indeed imitated the Dragon’s Wrath[L].
But I had never taught her the Dragon’s Wrath[L] separately, had I?
“Could it be that you replicated it based on memories from Violess?”
“Yes.”
Isolde answered calmly.
…And I found myself at a loss for words.
There was naturally no anger at having my technique stolen.
By that logic, I had imitated and replicated Ian’s techniques more than once or twice.
Even if my technique had been taken, it wouldn’t have mattered if it was Isolde.
In my past life, she had taught me dozens of things.
It was simply absurd.
“That shouldn’t have been a technique you could simply replicate, should it?”
Dragon’s Wrath[L] was not merely a skill that compressed and detonated energy.
An evolved form of Dragon’s Fury[E].
And Dragon’s Fury[E] was a combination skill merging Dragon’s Claws[A], Nutrient Synthesis[B+], Regeneration[B+], Reinforced Skin[B+], Dragon’s Scales[U], and Metabolic Overdrive[U].
All of these abilities were interconnected, operating as a single unified skill.
The fact that she had simply observed and replicated that…
“It wasn’t easy.”
Isolde spoke matter-of-factly.
Once again, I found myself at a loss for words.
Turning my gaze forward, the Holy Dragon thrashed about, tearing and rending the earth beneath it.
ROOOOOAAAAAAHHHHH—!!
Looking at it this way, I could roughly understand what was happening.
It was similar yet different from the Radiant Dragon’s Wrath[L].
Isolde’s perfect muscle control[A].
Her ability to manipulate her muscles with extraordinary precision at the fiber level.
It seemed she was compressing holy power based on this foundation, then detonating it in an instant through transcendence of holy force—a mechanism of explosive release.
The mechanics of the additional skills appeared to be forcibly patched together with holy power.
Since it was an ultimate aura capable of achieving anything one could imagine, she could replicate or substitute my skills.
But as the saying goes, it was merely a ‘forced’ imitation.
It was a forced attempt without properly understanding the interconnection of combination skills.
“This is the first time I’ve succeeded properly.”
It seemed she had finally succeeded after countless trial and error.
Apparently, witnessing my Radiant Dragon’s Wrath[L] once more just now had granted her some revelation.
Truly, Isolde was remarkable.
She was no mere hero of the Allied Forces for nothing.
“Because of that, I’ve barely completed my assignments. So I wanted to ask—.”
Isolde continued speaking as she regenerated her shattered right arm.
“Would it be alright if I finished my assignments in the Whitewolf Territory?”
“You mean you’ll be staying longer in the Whitewolf Territory?”
“Yes.”
“As for the time—.”
“It’s fine.”
Isolde’s answer was sharp and decisive.
“I have no objections, but the permission isn’t mine to give—.”
“I’ve already received permission from Countess Seraphia.”
When had she obtained that permission?
“Well then, do as you please.”
“Thank you.”
Isolde bowed her head.
And somehow, before I knew it—.
“May I continue?”
Isolde’s assignment inspection had ended.
* * *
With Isolde’s assistance, the tunnel work progressed rapidly.
While I replenished my calories, Isolde would work.
While Isolde recovered her holy power, I would work.
Alternating between unleashing the Radiant Dragon and the Holy Dragon, we quickly bored an enormous cavity with a diameter of 1 kilometer and a depth of 11 kilometers.
And so, with all the preparations complete.
“There! The ground’s about to lose its balance!”
“Stabilize it, now!”
“Watch out!! Rocks are falling!!”
“Aaaahhhhh!”
The Dwarves scrambled frantically in all directions, desperately working to prevent the collapsing ground from giving way entirely.
Though an emergency had been declared, Broombar maintained his composure and controlled the situation with precision.
“Left sector! Increase gravitational field intensity by 15%!”
Rummmmmble!
The crumbling ground held firm, supported by the gravitational field.
The falling rocks lifted upward and froze suspended in the air.
“Maintain output at current levels!”
Under Broombar’s command, the situation was brought completely under control.
Broombar truly was exceptional.
He hadn’t earned his reputation as a hero of the Allied Forces for nothing.
I approached Iliana, who sat huddled in the back.
She was rigid as a statue.
Apparently overwhelmed by the shock, she hadn’t even noticed my arrival—only her eyes and lips trembled slightly.
“As you’ve witnessed, I have quite an unusual constitution.”
At that, Iliana’s large eyes looked up at me.
“The tongue and blood for the regeneration potion… they were Adrian’s blood…?!”
“Would that be possible?”
Iliana trembled, clearly flustered.
But soon she settled into deep thought.
“I’d need to analyze it first to be sure. Hmm….”
Yet even as time stretched on, Iliana’s lips remained sealed.
“Is there a problem?”
Iliana gave a small nod.
“The thing is, the factors in Adrian’s blood aren’t just responding to mana—they’re reacting autonomously, like a living organism.”
Not the recovery of aura or divine power, but the Icetroll’s Regeneration [B+].
In other words, Iliana’s Insight [L] had immediately grasped that the power at work wasn’t mana-based.
“So I’ll need to revise the fundamental approach of alchemy itself.”
“Please, continue.”
“I’ll have to rewrite the blood reaction formula, redesign the binding structure and flow patterns—”
And so came a cascade of complex explanations.
To be honest?
I didn’t understand a word from “mana reaction” onward.
“Is it difficult?”
“…Huh? Oh, no. The formulas and theories—I can recreate those anytime.”
Iliana truly was remarkable.
It was no coincidence that she was a hero of the Allied Forces.
“The issue is our research facilities. To establish formulas and theories—”
“You’re saying we need equipment capable of verifying results.”
“Exactly. We need a device with precisely calibrated mana crystals inserted to adjust blood reactions in real time, but…”
Iliana lowered her gaze slightly as she continued.
“Such a device… doesn’t currently exist.”
“Not even in Langrit Tower?”
“…No.”
Regeneration [B+] was ultimately an ability unique to Icetroll.
Since humanity’s inception, it had never manifested in any human.
And abilities that didn’t exist were not subjects of arcane study.
More importantly, research and theories on monster madness had already been deemed “impossible”—one of Arcanis’s twenty-three grand problems.
Naturally, there was no device whatsoever for studying Regeneration [B+] blood.
But there was no need to worry.
Insight and implementation.
Once Iliana established the theory—
“What kind of device do you need?”
Broombar would make it reality.
* * *
Iliana and Broombar.
The two heroes conversed for some time.
“We also need to observe changes in neural pathways from the extracted blood factors’ composition. To do that—”
“Then we should synchronize the frequency to detect potential differences—”
…Extraordinarily complex terminology was pouring forth.
A conversation that made my head ache just listening to it.
Since it was a world belonging only to those two that I couldn’t enter, I stepped back.
And then I approached Isolde, who was resting.
Her hair matted with blood and sweat.
Because she had detonated the power of divinity, Isolde’s body was battered and broken.
Since she still felt the pain, she had likely sustained damage severe enough that collapse would have been unremarkable.
Yet seeing her endure so steadfastly—
‘Nothing has changed about her.’
Isolde was Isolde.
I steadied my breathing and opened my mouth.
“My apologies for the late greeting—”
At that, Isolde’s eyes slowly turned toward me.
Those serene eyes were, as always, difficult to read emotion from.
“Thank you for healing Seraphia.”
“It’s nothing.”
Isolde shook her head gently.
“Adrian’s sister, after all.”
Short and measured words.
Then Isolde turned her gaze away.
Following the direction of Isolde’s eyes, I naturally turned my head as well.
Iliana and Broombar, engaged in an animated conversation.
Isolde’s gaze remained fixed upon them both.
“Those two seem to complement each other well.”
“They likely perceive the world in similar ways.”
Arcane theory and arcane engineering.
When Iliana interprets the laws, Broombar designs the structure.
Two heroes who thereby compensate for each other’s shortcomings while amplifying their respective strengths.
Isolde’s holy power—which twisted the laws so arbitrarily—was entirely incompatible with them.
In that sense, Isolde aligned perfectly with The Spirit Summoner.
Divinity and shamanism.
Both were transformative energies of the same aura, and their natures were remarkably similar.
If divinity believed in the “supernatural divine” called holy spirits.
Then shamanism merely believed in the “natural divine” called spirits.
And if two such divines were woven together by a single will, the synergy between Isolde and The Spirit Summoner would be far more destructive than that of Iliana and Broombar.
Where Iliana and Broombar could answer every question of “what is possible?”
Isolde and The Spirit Summoner could realize anything born from “what could be imagined?”
At the highest level, there was simply no comparison.
“Could we achieve that as well?”
…We could?
Isolde’s topaz-like eyes had already turned toward me.
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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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