The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 209

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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 209. Journey into the Forest (1)
Sylvandir Forest—the land of the Elves.
Sylvandir Forest lay in the southern reaches of the Continent.
The complete opposite of the Northern Region where Whitewolf Territory stood.
The distance was considerable.
So I was quickening my pace when Broombar conveniently finished constructing a second-generation Ether Carriage.
-I designed it to run across various terrains, but I needed real-world testing.
So I brought it along to test it out.
The mobility and stability were acceptable.
There were no issues with long-distance operation.
Especially since it no longer needed to run only on predetermined rails—it was far superior to the previous generation.
Flat grasslands, rocky terrain, and more.
I could traverse freely anywhere.
Thanks to this, I was able to reach the southern Continent quickly.
I could reach near Sylvandir Forest just as swiftly.
‘Field deployment shouldn’t be far off now.’
But it still fell short.
Which is precisely why the Ether Carriage broke down here.
The Ether Carriage, buried in desert sand.
Iliana knelt down, examining the Ether Carriage.
She tapped the wheels rhythmically.
While brushing away the sand-covered body, she inspected it intently.
“The accumulator coupling isn’t severed….”
Whirrrr—!
“But the Ether circulation has stopped.”
Iliana calmly identified the problem.
From what I could tell, it didn’t seem fixable.
So from here on, we’d have the inconvenience of walking.
But Iliana—she was something else.
“Maybe I should redesign the particle separation system rather than improve the vibration absorption? I should consult with Clan Chief Broombar about this.”
Her face was bright with excitement at having found new research material.
‘Well, then.’
Iliana was Iliana, through and through.
And bringing her along had clearly been the right call.
With Iliana, I could identify the cause of whatever problem had arisen in Sylvandir Forest faster and more accurately than anyone else.
In any case.
While Iliana was briefly examining the Ether Carriage.
Allerion, who had come with us, was also taking a brief rest.
His expression was uneasy, his face full of hesitation.
He seemed to be questioning himself whether guiding me to Sylvandir Forest was truly the right thing to do.
* * *
Allerion, the master of the Greenleaf Trading Company.
Allerion possessed an exceptional ability to sense danger.
One might call it an instinct bordering on prescience.
Through a sensation difficult to articulate in words, I could swiftly perceive the harbingers of peril.
Thanks to this gift, I had managed to operate the Greenleaf Trading Company safely without becoming entangled with humans.
A sense that had rescued me from countless crises.
Yet the strange phenomena that had recently emerged in Sylvandir Forest.
The earth losing its vitality.
The spirits languishing and withering.
The ancient trees once called the forest’s lifeblood were withering away one by one.
My crisis-sensing ability was warning me with unprecedented intensity.
I desperately sought a solution.
Elixirs to restore the earth’s essence.
Blessings from priests, and so forth.
Whatever showed promise, I pursued it.
The problem was the cost.
The expenses were astronomical.
The alchemical consultation fees exceeded all expectations.
The priest employment costs were beyond imagination.
Running about desperately scrounging for funds—
“Then please rest for a moment.”
…matters had spiraled to this point.
Somehow, Adrian.
That is, I found myself about to guide a human into Sylvandir Forest.
I knew better.
That one should not become entangled with humans.
Humans treat promises lightly and abandon their convictions without hesitation before desire.
I was certainly not ignorant of this.
Yet to restore Sylvandir Forest, this was the only path.
Above all, the rumors now trembling across the entire Continent.
Adrian, who in the city of Caravana threw away his life to save countless others.
The name by which he is called.
The Saint of Caravana.
The fact that this title was not mere exaggeration or embellishment, but something I had genuinely heard from people’s lips, opened my heart somewhat.
But.
…Was this right?
Was guiding a human into Sylvandir Forest truly the right choice?
Was I not inviting a dragon while merely trying to drive away an ogre?
I lifted my head cautiously.
I glanced around, searching for Adrian.
But then—
Adrian was nowhere to be found.
All I could see was a human with pale blue hair.
A girl whose entire presence emanated a blue impression.
—The one most capable of analyzing the forest’s problems swiftly and accurately.
That was the human Adrian had brought along.
And her name was…
“Iliana!”
Iliana.
That was the name Adrian was calling out right now.
Allerion turned his head.
And there, in the distance—
Adrian was covered entirely in deep teal spines.
“What—what is this?!”
Allerion’s eyes widened in shock.
* * *
Adrian’s voice suddenly calling out to Iliana.
Iliana paused her inspection of the Ether Carriage and immediately turned her head toward the source of the sound.
What she saw was something entirely covered in deep teal spines.
At its center, a thick, fleshy stem rose like a pillar.
Upon it was something bulging outward like a tumor—
“A Cactus Cactus?”
A cactus monster—Cactus Cactus.
Adrian was calling out to Iliana from right in front of this Cactus Cactus.
No—Adrian was actually standing there, being bombarded by the creature’s spines?
Pap-pap-pap-pap-pap!
The high-speed spine projectiles were like arrows.
The concentrated barrage possessed enough destructive force to pierce steel.
Especially since the Cactus Cactus’s spines carried venom.
A neurotoxin so potent that even a single puncture would mean death.
Failure to evade would result in instant death—
Tink-tink-tink-tink-tink!
Yet the spines were bouncing off Adrian’s skin and falling to the ground without penetrating!
“Eh…?”
Iliana’s eyes widened in confusion.
Allerion, witnessing the same scene, felt the same way.
“What—what is this?!”
His eyes looked as though they might split open at any moment.
Even as he watched, the Cactus Cactus continued firing its spines relentlessly.
Adrian remained unfazed even amid the chaos.
Instead, he called out to Iliana with a perfectly composed expression.
“Iliana!”
“…Yes? What is it?!”
“Do plants perhaps possess an organ that could be called a heart?”
“Oh, no…? Not really.”
Plants merely substitute their circulatory systems through the principle of osmotic pressure.
There was no separate organ serving the function of a heart—
“Then I suppose I’ll have to consume it whole, like Avarus.”
“Yes…?”
What did he just say?
Consume? Consume what?
Surely not that cactus?
“Chewing through the spines would be rather difficult, though.”
That much was obvious.
No, the very notion of chewing through that was absurd.
What kind of madness was this—casting aside all reason and plunging into pure cerebral derangement?
“Ah, but with Camirus’s ability, it should be manageable.”
Adrian sharpened his fingernails into razor-like points.
Cactus Thorn thrashed about desperately, firing spines in every direction.
But Adrian paid no heed, tearing away at the creature’s stem.
Crack!
The stem tore away like tofu.
Cactus Thorn’s outer shell was hard as stone.
Yet it yielded helplessly to Adrian’s nails.
The fleshy interior of Cactus Thorn, bristling with spines.
Adrian brought it directly to his lips—
Crunch.
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
Iliana instinctively shrieked and stumbled backward.
Look at that!
He wasn’t a camel!
What kind of sanity was it to chew through a cactus, spines and all?!
“It’s quite delicious, actually.”
And he claimed it tasted good!
Of course, cactus flesh was said to be palatable.
She had read in books that it possessed a crisp texture with a tart, refreshing flavor.
But this was no ordinary cactus.
Cactus Thorn.
A monster twisted by madness itself!!
“Wh-wh-wh-WHAT?!?!”
Iliana clamped both hands over her mouth.
Her legs gave out beneath her, and she collapsed.
Her eyes went wide as saucers.
Her face drained of all color.
She simply couldn’t believe it.
Yet what lay before her eyes was an undeniable phenomenon.
One of Iliana’s cardinal rules was that ‘there is no law without a phenomenon.’
If a phenomenon contradicted an established law, it didn’t mean the phenomenon was wrong—it meant the existing law was flawed, period!
“W-w-what…? Wh-wh-what?!?”
Iliana’s mind had short-circuited.
Allerion, who had been watching the same spectacle…
“Ugh, ugh-ugh-AAHHH!!!”
…was fainting in real time.
Regardless of their reactions.
Adrian took another bite of the Calcatus flesh, spines and all, with a satisfying crunch.
* * *
==【Individual Information】==
Individual: Calcatus
Classification: Monster-type Caryophyllales Cactaceae
Gender: Hermaphroditic
Age: 14 years
Distinctive Feature: Metabloid Vesicle [C-]
Calcatus.
As the classification suggested, it was a ‘monster’—a mutated cactus.
‘I couldn’t find one last time.’
It was an exceptionally rare monster, after all.
‘And its habitat is completely different.’
While Camirus and Bacterion were distributed throughout the Central Desert Region,
Calcatus inhabited the Southern Desert Region instead.
In any case,
true to its nature as a creature that thrived defiantly in the barren desert, its vitality was remarkably tenacious.
And the harsher the environment, the more concentrated and specialized the evolutionary abilities became.
This was precisely why Icetroll’s regeneration [B+] was five times superior to that of ordinary trolls.
Thus, in the scorching desert—
in Mungu’s parlance, an environment where ultraviolet radiation hammered down relentlessly—
Calcatus had evolved in an extreme direction to suppress water evaporation.
◆Metabloid Vesicle [C-]
: Upon acquiring this skill, the player forms [Metabloid Vesicles], high-function cellular storage organs that allow the condensation and preservation of moisture and electrolytes.
Thereby, the player’s water storage capacity increases by [+1,850%], perspiration output decreases by [-99%], and during combat, the player gains [immunity status] against physiological penalties such as [dehydration, fatigue, etc.] caused by moisture and electrolyte loss.
【The skill is a passive skill that applies permanently upon acquisition.】
It was a decent ability.
No, it was actually quite an excellent ability.
It didn’t merely store moisture—it could maintain electrolyte balance as well.
Through this, I could acquire an ‘immunity state’ against physiological penalties like dehydration and fatigue that occurred during combat.
In other words, I no longer needed to synthesize moisture and electrolytes through Nutrient Synthesis [B].
‘I can definitely reduce the consumption outlets for calories.’
And it was a passive skill at that.
There was nothing bad about Devouring [S+].
‘There are side effects, though….’
The greatest side effect was the loss of thermoregulation.
During combat, the body heat that wasn’t expelled through sweat could trigger a fatal overheating state, potentially leading to protein deformation.
Evolution was imperfect in this way.
Gain one thing, lose another—but.
‘I have Hardened Form.’
This drawback didn’t apply to me.
I could eliminate the disadvantages and amplify only the benefits.
Crunch, crunch.
The Cactus had a crisp texture with a tart, refreshing flavor.
‘This is genuinely delicious.’
It would taste even better made into a salad.
Or perhaps ground into juice—it would be wildly popular.
What they call Monster Salad and Monster Juice.
It could become a massive hit product following Monster Meat.
In that sense.
‘The Elves would go absolutely mad for it.’
Just as the night ale strategy won over the Dwarves’ hearts, this could be a brilliant tactic to win the Elves’ favor.
Elves, who abstained from meat.
Of course, they didn’t abstain entirely.
They consumed what had died naturally or what was permitted within nature’s cycle.
So it wasn’t just animals.
They didn’t indiscriminately harvest even plants.
Only fruits and leaves that had grown sufficiently and naturally withered and fallen—things permitted within nature’s cycle.
Especially fruits and grains.
Since plants offered these willingly to spread their seeds, they had become the staple of Elven diet…but.
‘They weren’t quite as rigid as one might think.’
Elves merely avoided wantonly taking life.
They didn’t deny the act of life consuming life itself.
They didn’t deny the act of life consuming life itself.
He wasn’t denying the act of life consuming life itself.
Therefore, even during my time with the Allied Forces, no one particularly objected to us consuming meat.
It was the same logic as not condemning a wolf for devouring a deer.
In that sense, this Calkatus fruit flesh—
‘Would they enjoy it?’
…I wasn’t entirely certain.
I would need to have fed monster salad to someone in my past life to know for sure.
Crunch, munch munch.
‘As long as I get it in my mouth first, I’m halfway to success.’
This tangy, refreshing texture was absolutely guaranteed to strike the Elves’ fancy.
Especially that subtle, pungent flavor that bloomed throughout.
This was truly a delicacy.
A numbing spiciness intertwined with a strangely sweet taste that lingered on the palate.
My tongue tingled, yet I found myself compelled to keep chewing—there was an oddly addictive quality to it—
It was at that very moment.
“The spines are poisoned…!!”
Iliana’s cry suddenly pierced the air.
I paused, staring at the Calkatus fruit flesh in my hand.
The spines were completely broken off.
…In other words, it was already too late.
Of course, the Calkatus spines could not penetrate my skin’s defense, hardened by Rigid Body Transformation [U] and Ultra-Dense Muscle Fibers [A+].
My palate was also protected by Camirus’s genetic traits.
Whether the spines shattered or the poison sprayed inside my mouth made no difference.
However, there was one problem.
The spine that had slipped down my throat.
It mercilessly pierced my esophagus and stomach, injecting its toxin.
And then there was the Ogre’s Enhanced Immune System [B-].
An ability that granted powerful resistance to all forms of viruses, bacteria, and toxins.
My body, evolved through the Ogre’s ability, should have been completely unaffected by Calkatus’s neurotoxin—
◆Warning! Calsin-T toxin has been injected!
◆Warning! Voluntary muscles, diaphragm, and intercostal muscles are becoming paralyzed!
◆Respiration will cease!!
…I had not acquired the Ogre’s Enhanced Immune System [B-].

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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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