The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 25

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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 25. Evolution
Given Gelu Drake’s massive size, its heart was proportionally enormous.
Even after eating continuously for nearly five minutes, I hadn’t consumed half of it.
Fullness wasn’t an issue since my Nutrient Synthesis [C+] ability burned through the calories, but….
‘Ugh, I can’t breathe.’
Trapped inside the corpse for so long, the oxygen had grown scarce.
And my Nutrient Synthesis [C+] ability still couldn’t synthesize oxygen.
Eventually, I emerged from Gelu Drake’s body, carrying the half-eaten heart.
The moment I stepped outside the creature’s corpse.
“Looks like he’s already gone.”
Kai had vanished without a trace.
Judging by the footprints pressed into the snow of Snowy Mountain, he’d descended the peak.
Sure enough, in the distance, I caught sight of Kai’s retreating figure, his back turned away.
The swirling snow of Snowy Mountain and his long golden hair billowing in the wind.
He resembled a noble wolf, yet somehow….
Today, he looked like a sulking person.
Seeing that his Favorability had shifted to [Disgust], it seemed certain.
I couldn’t pinpoint exactly which part had offended him, but well.
At least it was [Disgust] and not [Hatred], which was something to be grateful for….
Crunch.
What did it matter anyway?
He was someone I’d have to kill eventually.
“He doesn’t seem to tire either.”
In that sense, I could have killed him this time.
But if I had, I would’ve put myself in danger too.
Regrettable as it was, both Kai and I….
Without each other, we would have become prey to Gelu Drake.
“Still, I’m curious what Kai’s ability is.”
By consuming the heart of a living creature, I could absorb the abilities that creature possessed—Predation [S+].
This ability made no distinction in its targets: beasts, monsters, insects, vermin, and even humans.
In my previous life, I had predated on human hearts quite a few times.
As a Predator for the Allied Forces, I had predated on several ‘Legion Commanders’ of the Imperial Army. They possessed genuinely broken abilities.
But unfortunately, I hadn’t predated on many Legion Commanders’ hearts.
The side effect of Predation: madness.
In my previous life, every time I predated, I was invariably consumed by madness, and without Ian’s help, I couldn’t overcome it.
“Well, all he did was beat me senseless.”
Right up until the moment before death, that is.
Moreover, I couldn’t gain any ability unless I predated on the target’s heart immediately.
Ultimately, fearing I’d succumb to madness, I couldn’t predation most of the Imperial Army’s Legion Commanders I’d dealt with during missions.
I couldn’t bring along Ian, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, on every mission.
In any case, even Kai, who had once commanded the Frost Legion, could not devour it.
Yet I had no particular desire to devour it either.
Based on my memories from my past life, I sensed I would obtain some grotesque ability like “Lichification.”
Above all else.
“It’s difficult.”
Devouring Kai in my current state would be arduous.
I could tell just by watching him walk away unscathed even after battling Gelu Drake.
Of course, I had blocked his ice breath for him, but even so, a monster was unmistakably a monster.
A bitter thought.
“The legion commanders would have no chance either.”
Similarly, in my present condition, even the legion commanders would struggle.
It would only be possible after securing at least the combat strength I possessed during my time with the Allied Forces.
“I wish I could wield aura as well….”
Unfortunately, my body was incapable of handling aura.
To be precise, my talent for mana was zero.
I was born this way from the beginning.
I could neither sense nor perceive mana at all.
I had attempted every conceivable method to cure it.
Fortunately, being born as the firstborn son in the noble House Whitewolf, I had been able to attempt countless treatments.
But none of it had worked.
I still could neither sense nor perceive mana.
Thus.
I was abandoned by my family.
Even after becoming a Predator of the Allied Forces, the Saint’s miracle could not heal me.
Upon returning to the past and witnessing Ian’s ability—my Solo Leveling—I had harbored a faint hope.
If I raised my mana stat, perhaps I too could wield mana.
I had held onto that expectation.
Yet nothing changed.
“Even raising my mana stat made no difference.”
What changed was my mana capacity.
Simply put, my maximum mana reserves increased.
But my ability to actually absorb mana itself did not improve.
Even with increased maximum mana, I lacked the ability and talent to fill it.
It was not like pouring water into a leaking vessel.
The vessel’s size kept growing, yet I had no water to pour into it at all.
I still could not sense mana.
Unable to wield mana, I could use neither aura nor magical power.
Neither as a knight nor as a mage.
I could achieve no accomplishment whatsoever.
And so I had never learned magic, nor any systematic swordsmanship.
The swordplay I currently employ can scarcely be called swordplay at all—it was merely something I naturally acquired through the struggle to survive on the battlefield.
In a generous light, it was practical swordplay.
In a harsh light, it was crude swordplay.
So once, I sought out Ian and made a request.
I asked if he could teach me swordplay.
Even for a body incapable of wielding aura, the difference between learning systematic swordplay and not learning it was like heaven and earth.
Of course, the advanced swordplay of the Continent presupposes the use of aura.
But Ian could create a style of swordplay I could actually use.
It didn’t even have to be swordplay specifically.
Ian primarily used the blade, but he wasn’t limited to blades alone.
Spears, sabers, staffs, axes, bows—the list went on.
He could master every weapon that fell within the category of arms.
The same applied to hand-to-hand combat techniques.
Needless to say, his proficiency in those was far from lacking.
Ian possessed top-tier mastery across all weapons.
It was no accident that he was The Emperor’s sole rival.
Therefore, whether swordplay, spearplay, or anything else—
If I could only learn from Ian, it would become a hero’s swordplay, a hero’s spearplay.
I made my request.
—Teaching you wouldn’t be difficult.
That was Ian’s response.
—But Adrian, I don’t want to teach you.
He didn’t want to teach me.
I felt somewhat disappointed.
No—to be honest, I was deeply disappointed at that moment.
Not with Ian, but with myself.
Because those words meant I possessed such pitiful talent that even Ian couldn’t teach me.
Perhaps that disappointment showed on my face, for Ian smiled faintly.
—Adrian, why do you think you’re learning swordplay?
—To wield a blade more skillfully.
—Then why do you think you learn martial arts like swordplay?
—To become stronger.
—Exactly. To become stronger. Or more precisely, to overcome ‘weakness’.
—That’s the same thing.
—It’s slightly different.
Ian smiled lightly and continued.
—There are two ways to become stronger.
First, maximize your strengths.
Second, minimize your weaknesses.
—We humans aren’t as strong as ogres, don’t have claws as sharp as beasts, and lack the sturdy skeletal structure of—
From a purely biological standpoint, humanity was the weakest link in the ecosystem.
A species riddled with flaws.
-That’s why humans leveraged their greatest strength—intelligence—to overcome their shortcomings.
They forged weapons to replace their dull claws.
They refined mana and discovered a power called aura.
Thus they transcended their physical weakness.
They crafted armor to gain skin harder than any beast’s hide.
-Swordsmanship and martial arts were no different.
They were all born from humanity’s struggle against its own frailty.
We train in the blade precisely because we are weak.
But what if one were not weak at all?
-Have you ever seen a dragon study swordsmanship?
There would be no need for such things.
A dragon’s scales surpass any metal in hardness, its claws exceed any weapon in sharpness, and its strength towers above all living creatures.
To a dragon, martial arts like swordsmanship are utterly worthless.
And so the dragon came to be called the mightiest being on the Continent—yet.
It still fell to my hand.
The dragon, hailed as the Continent’s mightiest creature.
Even such a dragon possessed the element of weakness.
-So what if there existed a being utterly flawless, in which weakness did not exist at all?
-A flawless being?
-Exactly as the words suggest. A creature capable of surviving any environment, possessing all natural adaptations, born instantly, reproducing instantly, with eternal lifespan and no natural predators—a being entirely devoid of biological weakness.
-Could such a being even exist?
-No.
I shook my head with certainty.
How could such a thing even be defined as a living creature?
If such a being truly existed, it would not be called a creature—it would be called a God.
-But there is one who carries the potential for such a thing.
-You speak of The Emperor?
-No.
I answered.
-It is you, Adrian. Only you possess the possibility of becoming such an existence.
-The swordsmanship, spearmanship, bladework, and hand-to-hand combat I know—all were conceived by human standards. Created to overcome human weakness.
-….
-In other words, they are ‘the way humans fight.’ And Adrian, that path does not suit you.
-….
-You cannot fight like a human. Fighting as a human would be poison to you. But I do not mean you should abandon your humanity. I mean precisely what I say—do not fight like a human.
-….
-Adrian, you must discover your own method of combat. No one else can teach you. No one should.
-….
Even if I were a hero myself.
With Ian’s final words, we fell into a brief silence.
-Ian, does that mean I could become like you someday?
-No.
Ian shook his head as if to say what nonsense that was.
In truth, it was only natural.
Ian’s strength was beyond reason, even by my measure.
The notion that I could ever match him was nothing more than my own greed.
-Then I could become like a dragon, at least?
-No, that’s not it either.
Ian firmly shook his head at that question as well.
To be honest, I felt somewhat disappointed, but I did not lose heart.
After all, no matter what was said, I remained human.
But then came Ian’s next words.
They were entirely contrary to my expectations.
-It’s the opposite, Adrian.
And also the complete inverse of what I had been thinking.
-I cannot become like you.
Rather, Ian said that he could never become like me.
Moreover, he said that a dragon could never become like me.
-Adrian, you are ‘the apex of all living beings’.
There may be many geniuses, but there is only one apex.
Ian belonged to the ranks of the genius.
The dragon too belonged to the ranks of the genius.
Yet both, for all their genius, could not stand at the apex.
Both possessed ‘limitations’.
The limitation of being human.
The limitation of being a dragon.
The threshold of those limitations was simply vastly distant.
Yet both possessed clear boundaries they could not transcend.
Thus the dragon could not surpass Ian.
Ian could not surpass The Emperor.
And of course, I myself could not surpass The Emperor, let alone Ian and the dragon.
-But you are different, Adrian.
You possessed the ‘potential’ to transcend them all.
-Only your predatory ability can touch that apex.
My ability to obtain the genetic factors of all existing life through predation—Predation [S+].
When I consume the heart of my prey, I undergo dramatic evolution through the abilities that prey possessed.
Thus I could evolve endlessly, continually transcending the limitations of all living creatures….
-How could mere humans and dragons ever compare to the ‘ultimate lifeform’?
The Ultimate Lifeform.
That was what Ian called me.
Only Ian never called me a “dullard.”
Yet contrary to Ian’s expectations, I could never reach that pinnacle.
I met my end as merely an “exceptional lifeform,” not the Ultimate Lifeform.
The fatal side effect: the madness of predation.
Because of it, I could never transcend the limitation of being merely a “hunter.”
But.
Not anymore.
Ian’s ability—the Player’s Will [EX].
So long as I possess it, I need no longer fear the madness of predation.
Through it, I might surpass what once bound me.
And perhaps I might finally reach it.
The apex of all living things.
The Ultimate Predator—Predator.
The true instinct of the Predator, suppressed and dormant beneath the madness all this time.
◆You have consumed the genetic factors of the individual ‘Gelu Drake’!
◆You have acquired the skill ‘Dragon’s Claw [A]’!
That lethal instinct began, ever so slowly, to open its eyes.
* * *
Kai’s descent from Snowy Mountain was unobstructed.
Each step carried a hint of displeasure and a faint sense of dissatisfaction.
I could not pinpoint the exact reason, yet Kai unmistakably felt such emotions.
Kai descended the mountain without once looking back.
After some time of descent.
A man’s figure came into view at the edge of my vision.
A face I did not recognize.
Which meant he was not from Whitewolf Territory.
The man, upon spotting Kai, broke into a bright expression.
Then he rushed forward in great strides toward Kai.
“Good heavens, I thought I might freeze to death out here…!”
The man breathed heavily with relief.
Snow clung thickly to his hair.
It appeared he had wandered the mountain for quite some time.
Soon the man offered an awkward smile and asked Kai.
“Forgive me, but could you tell me which way leads to House Whitewolf?”

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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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