The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 263

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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 263. Transcendence (2)
Kai’s gaze grew heavy and distant.
I tilted my head curiously and asked.
“When you were young?”
Kai paused for a moment before responding.
“When I first came to Whitewolf Territory with my younger brother, sir.”
…What?
Kai had a younger brother?
‘Did he?’
I couldn’t recall it.
My father had brought Kai to us.
A gaunt boy at the time.
My father had named him Kai—meaning “a dog resembling a tiger.”
And in my memories from that time, Kai was—
‘Alone?’
Of course, my memory could have been wrong.
So many memories from my family had been corrupted and lost beneath the weight of my years with the Allied Forces.
“My younger brother was sickly. He was vulnerable to the cold and ran fevers frequently. That day, the snow had piled up to my head height.”
“….”
“My brother was delirious from fever, barely conscious.”
“….”
“You came through the snow with your bare hands to deliver medicine to my brother, sir.”
“….”
“Do you remember?”
Had I done that?
I had no memory of it whatsoever.
It must have been over ten years ago.
Such ancient history.
And my memories from that period had been tainted by the wars of the Allied Forces.
Family matters?
I could barely recall any of it.
In that sense, I had no memory of Kai even having a younger brother.
“You don’t remember, do you.”
Kai’s question hung in the air.
I didn’t answer.
Because I truly remembered nothing.
As if confirming this,
Kai opened his mouth quietly.
“Please don’t concern yourself with it.”
Kai’s voice was calm and measured.
Yet there was something unmistakably caught at the end of his words.
Was it lingering attachment, or resignation?
Or perhaps something else entirely.
Some indefinable weight pressed upon Kai’s heart.
I wanted to ask.
But Kai turned away, evading my gaze.
Silence descended between us.
I hesitated for a moment, then swallowed my question unspoken.
“…Then rest for now.”
Leaving only that uneasy feeling behind, I turned to leave.
* * *
In the place Adrian had vacated.
Kai remained with his head turned, still in that same posture.
Long after Adrian had gone.
He stayed like that for quite some time.
“….”
A bitter taste lingered at the tip of his tongue.
He forced himself to swallow, but that bitterness clung to his throat like a thorn.
Kai quietly closed his eyes.
Darkness consumed his vision.
Memories of that day surged through his mind like waves.
A freezing, ramshackle dwelling.
His younger brother trembling with fever.
Kai holding him close, desperately.
His brother’s ragged, labored breathing.
Scorching heat radiating from his brother’s burning forehead.
All he could do was whisper, “It’s alright, it will be alright soon,” and hold his brother even tighter.
-Kai, open the door!!
Adrian, who had braved the blizzard to bring medicine.
And on that day.
Kai had sworn an oath.
That no matter what, he would never break his loyalty to Adrian.
Even if his strength failed, even if his life ended.
He would follow Adrian’s back until the very end.
In the biting, frozen blizzard.
That oath, carved so deeply, seemed eternal.
But.
As time passed, that vow from that day crumbled entirely.
Kai clenched his fists.
He squeezed so hard his palms ached.
No matter how tightly I clenched my fists, the past slipped through my grasp.
Perhaps even the memories themselves had leaked away between my fingers.
Adrian couldn’t even remember.
Only Kai remembered.
Only Kai carried the warmth of that day within him.
And only Kai had not forgotten the horrors of that time.
Kai tried to accept this fact with composure.
So there was nothing contained in these words.
-Don’t concern yourself with it.
Truly, nothing at all.
But thinking about it now….
Perhaps it was merely an excuse Kai had made to console himself.
That he wanted to forgive Adrian at last.
That he no longer wished to resent Adrian.
So I spoke with composure.
So I let it pass as though it were nothing.
But in truth, it was only bitter resignation.
Kai slowly rose to his feet.
Lingering attachment still remained in my clenched fists.
Kai exhaled a long breath.
My lips trembled briefly.
But soon they pressed firmly shut.
It was all in the past now.
A past that could not be undone.
Now Kai was nothing but a blade for Seraphia alone.
Kai left those stale memories behind and moved forward.
* * *
At the heart of Yggdrasil.
Not far from where Kai had been, Iliana was recovering.
True to the word that she had awakened, Iliana was conscious. And with Yggdrasil….
‘Is she playing?’
Iliana walked upon Yggdrasil’s trunk, touched it, and lay upon it, while
Sniff sniff!
she was also smelling it like a puppy.
Though it appeared she was merely playing..
‘She’s observing it, isn’t she.’
In any case, I had to acknowledge that curiosity.
I shook my head once and made my presence known.
At that, a startled sound!
Iliana’s shoulders flinched as she turned her head.
And then she discovered me.
“Adrian!”
She bounded lightly across the trunk toward me.
Her movements were so buoyant and carefree.
Like a puppy when you’ve just suggested going for a walk.
‘She seems to be in good condition.’
There was no need to even ask.
Soon, Iliana came rushing up to me in a single breath.
“Where were you?!”
She seemed to be asking about my disappearance.
And Iliana was the only one who knew about Valley of Kardun.
So it seemed fine to explain it to her.
Or rather, it seemed fine even if she asked.
‘But Iliana has lost her memories.’
Unfortunately, that was a causality that had been erased.
Currently, only two people knew about Valley of Kardun.
Ian and myself.
“To put it simply, I was trapped somewhere, but the explanation would be complicated.”
I brushed it off vaguely.
Fortunately, Iliana didn’t press further.
Like Kai, she seemed to believe there was a good reason for it.
More precisely, she didn’t seem worried at all.
There was a trust that I wasn’t the type to die somewhere unexpectedly.
So Iliana’s concern was already directed elsewhere, not at me.
“What about Seraphia?”
Iliana asked me carefully.
“Is Seraphia… alright?”
Kai had been the same way earlier.
And now Iliana was too.
‘The display Seraphia showed against The Immortal Lord must have been overwhelmingly impressive.’
It was understandable.
Of course, I hadn’t directly witnessed their battle.
But I remembered the time with The Frost Lord, who had been several times stronger than she was now.
When Seraphia was called the [greatest achievement of the Allied Forces].
‘…It was horrifying.’
The mere thought of it made my body tremble.
In any case.
“Seraphia is fine.”
“Really?! Truly?!”
“Yes.”
“Sigh…”
Iliana exhaled a breath of relief.
“It’s… because of me…”
Her voice trembled with emotion.
Tears glistened faintly in her blue eyes.
“I was so afraid something would happen to Seraphia because of me…”
Her gaze fell to the floor.
A palpable sense of guilt seemed to weigh upon her.
‘Well, Langritd Magic Tower did get involved.’
Iliana and Binu.
Using these two as pretexts.
In other words, Iliana was blaming herself for Langritd Magic Tower’s involvement.
‘If I brought Iliana to Whitewolf Territory now…’
That seemed rather difficult.
There was still much she hadn’t learned.
And bringing her to Whitewolf Territory in the current situation could make her a target.
‘Still, I should lay the groundwork.’
Groundwork to eventually bring Iliana to Whitewolf Territory.
In any case.
The topic of the Magic Tower had come up conveniently.
“If I may be so bold, might I ask you something?”
“…Ah, yes. Please do.”
“Is there an organization above the Council of Elders within Langritd Magic Tower?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure?”
Iliana tilted her head before continuing.
“As far as I know, there isn’t one.”
Her response was without hesitation.
That narrowed it down to two possibilities.
The first possibility was.
‘Was it just a convenient excuse?’
But then again.
That didn’t quite fit either.
The one who investigated the Council of Elders—
No, it wasn’t me who investigated them.
Kim Fujiwara Bloodhound.
He had no connection to Whitewolf Territory.
The Council of Elders had no reason to make excuses.
Or rather.
They had no reason to shift blame.
Therefore, the second possibility.
‘At least, officially, it doesn’t exist as an institution.’
Iliana was a certified mage, but her position within the tower wasn’t particularly high.
Therefore, access to high-level council meetings within the tower.
Classified information and such.
She occupied a position where she couldn’t easily access the Magic Tower’s sensitive information.
In other words, there was a possibility that something officially non-existent but operating like an underground organization actually existed within Langritd Tower.
‘I need to shake them down properly.’
Once more, I’d interrogate the Council of Elders—
No, it seemed I’d need to extract information from them.
Of course, if they operated like an underground organization, the elders wouldn’t easily divulge that information.
But there’s an old saying.
If something can’t be solved with money, perhaps you simply don’t have enough of it.
With an astronomical sum dangled before them, I could silence a few of those elders and still have plenty left over.
The problem was that ‘astronomical sum’.
At minimum, hundreds of millions.
Though the Predator Merchant Company was earning well these days.
‘Hundreds of millions is a bit much.’
Even minimizing expenses, it would take several months to accumulate.
But that was fine.
‘I’ll just squeeze some out of The Empire.’
Through the rune steel payments, naturally.
According to the envoys who visited Whitewolf Territory, Caravana’s reconstruction was complete.
Especially now, the entire Continent’s attention was focused on Whitewolf Territory.
This was truly the optimal timing for rune steel negotiations.
‘Marzen will contact me soon enough.’
I had no concerns whatsoever.
No, I simply needed to finish my tasks quickly before then.
“…The probability?”
I asked Iliana about the probability.
* * *
Kai gazed down at the peacefully sleeping Seraphia.
Her heart beating steadily and strong.
Her warm body. Her serene face.
Just as Adrian had said, Seraphia was recovering.
Kai exhaled quietly.
Then, with a soft rustle—
A massive tree branch drew near.
‘Yggdrasil…was that what they called it?’
Kai gently caressed the wooden branch.
Then, as if embarrassed—
Yggdrasil twisted its trunk in spiraling coils.
What a peculiar plant it was.
Kai watched Yggdrasil’s writhing form with quiet fascination.
Then, in that instant.
KUUUUUUUUUUNG…!!!
The entire Whitewolf Territory trembled violently, as if struck by a massive earthquake.
Even Yggdrasil was startled.
Its trunk quivered in panic.
It seemed utterly bewildered.
In other words, this was not Yggdrasil’s doing.
KUUUUUUUUUUNG…!!
The vibrations intensified.
Now it felt as though space itself was trembling.
And Kai could sense it.
A terrifying force I had never encountered before, never even glimpsed.
A power that transcended imagination itself.
This was a force of an entirely different dimension.
One that could crush even my immortality, that even the Immortal Queen dared not approach—
A transcendent power.
Kai expanded my senses.
I quickly located the source of this force.
But then.
‘Adrian…?’
It was Adrian’s power, unmistakably.
There was no doubt.
This force that stimulated my senses.
It was clearly emanating from Adrian.
‘How is this possible?’
Confusion surged through me first.
Kai had transcended death itself.
Therefore, ‘fear’ could no longer touch me.
And yet I felt it.
The emotion of fear itself.
That could only mean one thing: Adrian’s power now surpassed my immortality.
But just moments ago, this was not the case.
Though Adrian had overwhelmed me for an instant.
The gap between us was not one of hierarchy.
There was no chasm so vast that we could not be considered the same form of life.
Because I had reached that same level of transcendence.
But one hour.
In barely an hour since parting with Adrian, it had undergone extraordinary transformation.
…Growth?
No, it wasn’t growth.
A shift in the very layer of existence itself.
Transcendence—a fundamental metamorphosis of being.
“What on earth could have…?”
Kai’s bewilderment crystallized into pure horror.

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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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