The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 182

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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 182. The Weak’s Justice (2)
Adrian’s provocation scraped at my nerves.
“I’ll kill you!!”
Blake’s fury soared to the heavens.
Frankly, even Walter wasn’t this extreme.
The Third Prince Walter—devoid of any particular talent or ability.
So incompetent that it was irritating to even call him the same blood.
Yet there was one thing.
Blake had to admit—Walter’s singular talent for getting under people’s skin was unmatched.
Whether he’d learned to provoke people instead of statecraft as a child, Walter’s vulgar vocabulary alone was infuriating.
How many impatient nobles had drawn their blades in exasperation, only to be beheaded for treason?
Among all those Blake had observed, Walter possessed the supreme talent of killing with words alone.
But then.
“Blake, did you know?”
“….”
“People don’t harbor hatred toward those weaker than themselves. They merely find them tedious.”
“….”
“Yet Blake, seeing your twisted face now….”
Adrian’s lips curled with a faint smirk.
“It seems you’re confessing your own weakness.”
Crunch!
My teeth ground involuntarily.
Adrian’s provocation lacked Walter’s vulgar vocabulary.
He hadn’t hurled crude insults.
And yet….
Crunch, crunch, crunch!!!
Blake’s teeth threatened to shatter.
Blake’s nerves were being clawed raw.
“I’ll shred that mouth to ribbons!!”
Blake violently drew upon the mist’s mana.
In that instant.
Adrian’s eyes transformed.
Those pupils, as if drenched in blood, fixed upon Blake with lethal intent—
Blake immediately understood.
‘He’s changed.’
Adrian was different from their last encounter.
…He hadn’t been idle all this time.
He hadn’t been laughing away in the Whitewolf Territory since then.
But Blake had been equally occupied.
Recovering from his severed left arm, he too had not been idle.
I had ground myself down relentlessly, seeking to repay this humiliation.
“Die!!”
Blake’s killing intent surged forth.
The moment he lunged forward, Adrian slipped through that fractional opening.
‘His movement…?’
I couldn’t see it. I nearly missed it.
But I didn’t miss it.
Blake wrapped the mana he’d drawn from the mist around himself as a barrier.
Clang—!
I’d definitely blocked it.
But then.
‘The damage…!!’
…it was operating on an entirely different scale than Blake had anticipated.
Boom!
Blake’s consciousness shattered for an instant.
The mist barrier he’d erected proved useless.
Blake flew through the air and crashed through the building’s rubble, embedding himself within it.
“Cough!”
Blood sprayed forth.
A ringing in my ears sent my vision reeling.
But there was no time to recover.
‘Danger!’
At the instinctive warning, I enveloped myself in mist mana.
Blake’s form vanished.
Crack!
The space where Blake had been moments before tore asunder.
Blake emerged at a distance away.
…I’d barely escaped.
Had I hesitated even slightly, my entire body would have been torn apart like those ruins.
Adrian walked out from within the torn debris.
Cold sweat trickled down Blake’s spine.
‘He’s grown this much stronger…?’
…It was unbelievable.
No matter how consistently I’d trained in the Whitewolf Territory without slacking, there were limits to growth.
Besides, not much time had passed since the Royal Social Society incident.
Merely a few months at most.
Yet in just those few months, Adrian had become several times stronger.
‘This is absurd….’
How could this possibly—
My thoughts cut off. Adrian had vanished.
I layered mist magic around myself in thick, overlapping sheets.
This was no time for panic.
Adrian wouldn’t permit such frivolous sentiments. Not against an opponent of his caliber.
As if he’d been waiting for this moment, Adrian’s claws descended upon me.
Crack—!
My barrier shattered without fail.
But at least I’d blocked it once.
Blake extended his hand forward.
Whoosh!
Mist magic surged up from the ground.
Adrian didn’t dodge.
Why would he? Adrian possessed the ability to regenerate his body.
Severed limbs meant nothing to him.
Mere wounds of this caliber couldn’t even scratch Adrian.
In other words, simple damage wouldn’t suffice.
‘Now!’
Boom!!
The mist magic erupted in a violent explosion.
Adrian?
…He was already gone.
He’d sensed the flow an instant before the blast and slipped away.
For someone of such strength, one might expect a moment of carelessness.
…How unfortunate.
Had he been caught in it, he wouldn’t have escaped unscathed.
But it’s fine.
That wasn’t all I had.
Blake reached out and drew upon the power of his authority.
* * *
Mist magic surging up from the ground.
Honestly, it wasn’t particularly threatening.
It was something I could have ignored entirely.
But my predator’s instinct [S] was screaming a warning.
Getting caught in that explosion would be dangerous.
With Ogre Predation [S+], my body could withstand most impacts without flinching.
But I wasn’t invincible.
Hadn’t I nearly died to Marzen’s spacetime laceration?
That experience taught me.
I retrieved the monomolecular blade [S] I’d been wielding and quickly retreated backward.
Boom!
Mist magic detonated in the empty air.
And then another boom.
Boom… boom….
The impact gradually diminished as the chain explosions continued relentlessly.
…So there was something after all.
The moment I activated Predator’s Instinct [S], information about the explosion materialized before my eyes.
◆Limit Chain Detonation
: The initial explosion inflicts 50% damage, and each subsequent shockwave deals 25%, 12.5%, 6.25%… and so on, halving [infinitely].
The divided strikes generate [micro-impacts] that infinitely damage the target’s [senses] and [nervous system], thereby [nullifying] the target’s [recovery effects].
With each successive hit, the damage amount continues to decrease by ‘half’.
But what if the number of repetitions is ‘infinite’?
[50% + 25% + 12.5% + 6.25% + 3.125% +… = 99.9999…%]
The total damage ratio extends infinitely as 99.9999…%, and this series converges ultimately to 100%.
In other words, the total damage remains unchanged.
Only, the impact is received ‘infinitely’ divided. And the endless shocks destroy the human nervous system and sensory apparatus.
Thus Regeneration [B+] becomes impossible.
Because with continuous micro-damage, the wounds keep tearing open.
…If I hadn’t dodged, it would have been quite dangerous.
Sure enough, an expression of regret crossed Blake’s face.
The degree of regret was quite profound.
It seemed he couldn’t use it continuously after all.
Shhhhhhh—!
Blake drew up the mist’s mana.
A swirling ashen fog.
I couldn’t approach carelessly.
I deactivated the Single-Molecule Blade [S] and increased the distance between myself and Blake. Beyond the mist, Blake’s dark eyes gleamed.
“Aaaaaaaaaaa!!”
As Blake roared, the ashen fog gradually stained with darkness as if ink had been spilled into it.
Correspondingly, Blake’s dark eyes grew even deeper with shadow.
“Do you know what the difference is between the weak and the strong?!”
“….”
“They say it’s innate talent, but that’s nonsense!”
“….”
“Talent is a fantasy constructed from results. Everyone begins in misery!”
“….”
“The difference between the weak and the strong is ‘obsession’!”
Crawling forward, biting and tearing.
Rising again and again without end.
“Only those with such maniacal obsession reign as the strong.”
“….”
“My power and talent were obtained in exactly that way!”
“….”
“But the weak ones sure love to prattle on!”
That bastard is a genius, after all.
He was born with exceptional talent.
“Don’t make me laugh!!”
A creature who fumbles at everything and gives up so easily.
One who never saw things through to the end.
One too afraid to even attempt the challenge!
“You parasites who take sympathy and empathy for granted while shirking responsibility!!”
Roooaaaarrrr—!
Ash-grey mana exploded outward.
“Don’t you dare drag down those who strived, those strong ones who built their talents from the ground up!!”
Soon after, a sword-shaped tattoo carved itself across Blake’s forehead, piercing through his left eye and down to his chin. Pitch-black currents coiled around his entire body, rising into the air.
Blake’s dark eyes deepened into an even more profound darkness.
As if swallowing light itself, the whites of his eyes turned completely black, inverting into reverse pupils.
A darkness deeper than darkness itself wrapped around Blake’s grip, slowly taking form.
The Jet-Black Blade.
The same Jet-Black Blade I’d seen before now rested in Blake’s hand.
“Behold! The fruit of my obsession, earned through effort!”
…But something was different.
It had changed from the Jet-Black Blade I’d seen back then.
Yet that was all.
The Monomolecular Blade [S] severs molecular-level bonding structures, completely negating durability and defense by 100% regardless of material.
Of course, this was the Monomolecular Blade [S] without the original blade.
There was a possibility that severed sections would reattach due to mutual attraction.
But that was only because of Ogre’s overwhelming physical superiority.
Blake, on the other hand, was human like me.
Even with Dragon’s Claw [A], I could sufficiently utilize the Monomolecular Blade [S].
◆Fusion Skill, Monomolecular Blade [S] activated!
The Monomolecular Blade [S] and the Jet-Black Blade collided.
A violent clash.
In that brief moment, I felt an enormous repulsive force.
‘Repulsive force?’
…That shouldn’t be possible.
The Monomolecular Blade [S] severs molecular-level bonding structures, so I shouldn’t have felt any repulsion.
I opened my eyes wide and stared at the contact point.
‘They’re not touching.’
It appeared to be touching, but it wasn’t.
With a minuscule gap between them, the Monomolecular Blade [S] and the Jet-Black Blade hovered microscopically apart.
Because of this, the Monomolecular Blade [S]’s effect wasn’t being applied.
What in the world is this?
The moment I activated Predator’s Instinct [S], information about the jet-black blade materialized before my eyes.
◆Ahimsayudha
: A weapon forged from a substance that makes contact with nothing. All moving objects that approach [Ahimsayudha] undergo the following transformation.
-Approach by 100, and [Ahimsayudha] recedes by 10.
-Approach by 10, and [Ahimsayudha] recedes by 1.
-Approach by 1, and [Ahimsayudha] continues to recede by 0.1.
No matter how close one draws, distance only approaches [0] but never becomes [0], and as long as this effect persists, [Ahimsayudha] maintains an eternal state of [invincibility] that cannot be touched.
A vision I witnessed while devouring Memoria [S+].
The infinitely continuing 0.9999… ultimately converges perfectly to 1.
But the infinitely diminishing 0.0000… never converges perfectly to 0.
It was an effect similar to what I’d seen in that vision.
In other words, it was the ability of Limit [M].
Limit [M] is an ability I obtained by devouring Memoria [S+], and it is a divine authority that The Darkness Lord granted to Memoria.
To wield such authority to that extent meant—
The possibility that Blake was The Darkness Lord himself was extremely high.
At the very least, Blake was a legion commander of The Darkness Lord who had been granted divine authority.
‘If that’s the case…’
I couldn’t expect the effect of Single-Molecule Blade [S] to work.
Single-Molecule Blade [S] can sever molecular bonds by converging contact surface area to 0. But if it doesn’t make contact, there’s no way to sever those bonds.
However, that effect is limited to the weapon Ahimsayudha itself.
Cutting down Blake posed no problem.
Above all, my body, which had evolved through devouring Ogre [S+].
My stats, amplified by Metabolic Runaway [U].
In every aspect, I overwhelmed Blake.
Right then.
“Ahahahaha!!”
Blake burst into laughter.
Gazing at the jet-black blade that refused to be cut, a tremor bordering on madness crossed Blake’s face.
“Do you see it?! The condition of strength is neither innate talent nor victory!”
Blake’s dark eyes blazed with radiance.
“Only those who grip obsession that clings like madness to the very end can stand above! And my obsession! Has ultimately surpassed you!!”
The jet-black blade, Ahimsayudha, was not cut.
By maintaining a distance untouched by Single-Molecule Blade [S], it was pressuring me.
And through that—
“You are weaker than me, Adrian.”
Blake spoke as though pronouncing judgment.
Etching conviction into himself.
And that was—
◆Scorn for the Weak [L]
: The user’s all stats increase by [+300%] against entities they perceive as weaker. Additionally, targets perceived as weaker by the user suffer [-75%] reduction to all stats and have abilities/skills of lower rank than the user sealed.
However, the user requires [grounds] to consider their opponent weak.
I had planted the ‘grounds for weakness’ in Blake.
By neutralizing my Monomolecular Blade [S], I had drawn the conclusion that Blake held superiority over me.
◆By Contempt of the Weak [L], the player’s all stats decrease by [-75%].
Strength, agility, stamina, mana.
All my stats from Solo Leveling [EX] were drastically reduced—.
Shing!
A long gash tore across my chest.
Under normal circumstances, I would have evaded it….
No, I wouldn’t have been pushed back in the first place.
Yet… I was pushed back.
I couldn’t evade.
The Successor’s Will [EX] was… useless.
Unlike Oblivion’s Authority, Contempt of the Weak [L] wasn’t ‘mental suppression’ directed at me.
It was an authority manifested against entities Blake ‘perceived’ as weak.
The moment he defined me as weak based on such ‘subjective’ judgment, my abilities were forcibly nullified by design.
But that wasn’t the end.
◆By Contempt of the Weak [L], Metabolic Overdrive [U] is sealed.
◆By Contempt of the Weak [L], Regeneration [B+] is sealed.
◆By Contempt of the Weak [L], Hardened Transformation [U] is sealed.
◆By Contempt of the Weak [L], Mucous Fluid [U] is sealed.
◆By Contempt of the Weak [L], Ultra-Dense Adipose Tissue [U] is sealed.
.
.
.
All skills ranked lower than Contempt of the Weak [L] were sealed.
With Metabolic Overdrive [U] sealed, the amplification effect vanished.
With Hardened Transformation [U] sealed, my defense disappeared.
The long gash across my chest would not regenerate.
The saving grace was that I could still use abilities ranked [A-] and above.
Thus I could deploy Dragon’s Claw [A] and Monomolecular Blade [S].
Similarly, I could still access Ogre’s abilities.
But.
Ultra-Dense Adipose Tissue [U] was sealed.
My caloric threshold plummeted drastically. The calories needed to maintain Monomolecular Blade [S] and utilize Ogre’s abilities were… catastrophically insufficient.
‘What is this….’
…I couldn’t believe it.
And for good reason—my abilities don’t operate on mana.
They are purely biological evolutionary powers.
Yet it was sealed anyway.
The genetic factors within my body were not manifesting at all.
The activation condition for this seal was based entirely on Blake’s ‘subjective perception’.
Blocking abilities with nothing but subjective recognition?
That transcended what could even be called an ability.
It was practically reality manipulation—a divine authority.
No matter how I looked at it, Blake truly seemed to be The Darkness Lord.
Because of that, neither my abilities nor Ian’s held any meaning.
The Darkness Lord was an Another of Another that even Ian could not fully resist.
The supreme Lord, surpassing even The Frost Lord.
“I will kill you.”
…This is dangerous.
But.
On the other hand.
“Kekeke…!”
Laughter escaped me unbidden.
Fear, tension, and a trembling sensation about to burst forth intertwined and leaked out in the form of laughter.
The situation is dire.
Every variable was working against me.
If I made even a single mistake… no, with high probability, I would lose my life here.
Blake had sealed even my pure biological evolution ability, which was not based on mana.
It was a divine authority that could be called an Another of Another.
But this meant something different.
It also meant that the power of Blake’s divine authority was not based on mana.
If the power of the divine authority were rooted in mana?
It should have no effect on me whatsoever.
Because of my Anti-Mana specialization, I no longer interacted with mana under any circumstances.
Therefore.
The fact that Blake’s divine authority affects me means, conversely, that I can devour [S+] and use Blake’s divine authority.
Because it was not based on mana.
So.
If I could devour [S+] Blake here?
The origin of Limit [M] that created Limit Chain Explosion and Ahimsa Yuida.
Moreover, a transcendent divine authority that surpasses The Frost Lord, which even Ian could not resist.
If I obtained all of that, I could reach the Another level called Lord in a single bound.
“Hahahahahaha!!!”
I burst into laughter at the bizarre sensation of fear and pleasure intertwined.
* * *
The urban landscape of Caravana, shrouded in ashen mist.
The mist seemed to be clearing just moments ago, but now it had consumed the entire city.
Thus, the scenery beyond the window remained completely obscured—
“Hmm.”
Marzen leaned against the wall, lost in profound contemplation.

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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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