The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 303

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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 303. Word of Mouth (2)
Merchants from across The Continent converged upon Caravana.
More merchants than ever before flooded into Caravana, bringing with them all manner of information from across The Continent.
Among these, rumors spread faster than fact.
And sweeter truths traveled quicker than reality itself.
“A rumor? What rumor?”
“Well, you see—”
“Don’t tell me it’s that rumor about Langritd Tower sealing itself off?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Sealing off.
Cutting oneself off from external activities and withdrawing into isolation.
Yet any organization required external exchange to survive and flourish.
For that reason, voluntarily closing one’s doors carried multiple implications.
Perhaps it was an act of self-reflection.
Or rarely, an entire Magic Tower would enter a state of seclusion—much like closed-door cultivation—pouring everything into magic alone.
“Langritd Tower is sealing itself off?”
Langritd Tower stood apart from even such “rare” occurrences.
The cradle of all mages across The Continent.
Langritd Tower, entangled in complex interests with multiple kingdoms.
Should it seal itself, the ripples would spread immediately.
“What about the magical technologies and alchemical contracts they’ve already signed with various nations?”
“All of them have been converted to a suspended state, or so I’ve heard.”
“Even the contracts already in progress?”
“Yes, all of them paused. New requests have been entirely rejected.”
“Tch…!”
“Well, the other Magic Towers are the only ones who benefit.”
The Continent was not home to Langritd Tower alone.
The Aizen Magic Tower, which prioritized practical magic.
The Karaha Magic Tower, centered on destructive magic and pursuing war mages.
The Asterium Magic Tower, researching magic based on stars and astronomy.
And countless private magical societies established by nobles of various nations.
Numerous Magic Towers and magical societies existed.
Among all of these, Langritd Tower was the supreme authority in the magical world and the cradle of all mages.
“Who would have thought Langritd Tower would suddenly seal itself off… Do you happen to know the reason?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Truth be told, I only heard it as gossip, so I can’t say for certain.”
“Hmm… but there are signs, wouldn’t you say?”
“Indeed.”
“Which means magical items could stop being supplied for a while.”
“There’s a strong possibility of that. Prices doubling is a foregone conclusion.”
“One Magic Tower seals itself, and the entire Continental economy trembles.”
“That must be Langritd Magic Tower.”
The merchants faced each other and raised their glasses.
“Ahh—! This night ale is absolutely exquisite no matter when I drink it.”
“Indeed, especially that peanut wine. The rumors say it’s so smooth it must have stardust mixed in.”
“The one that costs 100,000 gold per bottle?”
“That’s the one. With 100,000 gold, you could establish a decent merchant house and still have coin left over.”
“Yet the nobles can’t even buy it for lack of stock?”
“We simply live in different worlds, different worlds entirely.”
The merchants chuckled heartily and raised their glasses once more.
“Speaking of which—.”
One merchant set down his glass with a sharp clink and spoke.
“What was that rumor you were about to mention?”
“Ah, the Berka Mountain Range in the Eastern Region.”
“The Berka Mountain Range? The one called the spine of The Continent?”
The Berka Mountain Range.
A colossal canyon carved deep from the Eastern Region of The Continent into the threshold of the Central Region.
Its total length spans approximately 570 kilometers.
Over tens of millions of years, erosion had carved the rock in successive layers, forming this grand canyon and mountain range.
Thus, it served the Eastern Kingdoms not merely as a natural boundary, but as an immense source of commercial value.
First and foremost, it was a major mining region for rare metals.
Diverse minerals were deposited there, and beyond that lay highland herbs and medicinal materials.
It was itself a colossal warehouse of resources.
Moreover, the terraced trade routes formed along the canyon served as vital commercial arteries for the Eastern Kingdoms.
Given its geological significance in revealing The Continent’s history, scholars from across the land had established themselves in this region.
“Why suddenly that place?”
“It collapsed, they say.”
“…??”
The merchant’s head tilted to the side.
I’ve heard the saying about unexpected calamities striking without warning.
But the Berka Mountain Range collapsing in broad daylight? What kingdom or merchant guild’s proverb is that?
“What nonsense is this? Collapsed? Where? The Berka Mountain Range?”
“So they say.”
“…????”
The merchant’s eyes blinked rapidly.
His mouth hung open for a long moment before—.
“Speak sense, damn it!!”
Those nearby startled and stared at him.
Regardless of their reaction.
The merchant shot to his feet, his voice rising as though he might grab the other by the collar.
“How could the Berka Mountain Range collapse?! It’s a mountain, solid rock! That range has stood intact for tens of millions of years—what—!”
The mountain range that had remained intact even when the Ogre appeared.
So what’s all this fuss about?
“Now, calm yourself.”
“Do I look calm to you?! You’re standing there spouting nonsense about Orcs hoarding the alchemy monopoly rights?!”
“This man must be drunk. That’s quite an outrageous claim.”
“Outrageous?! Next you’ll tell me Goblins secured the contract to supply shields for the Holy Knights!”
Veins bulged across the merchant’s forehead.
“The Berka Mountain Range collapsed entirely?! That’s as good as saying the mountain spirit abandoned the peak because of unpaid property taxes!”
“Mountain spirit…? No, wait—when did I ever say the entire Berka Mountain Range collapsed?”
“Then?!”
“A section of the mountain range collapsed.”
“…A section?”
The veins that had bulged across the merchant’s forehead subsided momentarily.
“A section, you say? Well… ahem. How much of a section?”
“About 120 kilometers?”
“That’s a section?!”
The merchant’s veins bulged again.
“It is a section, isn’t it?”
“A section?! Like if we removed your ribs, heart, organs, and kidneys from your body, that would still be just a section removed, wouldn’t it?!”
“That’s… well….”
“Right, let’s hear the reason! You’re not going to tell me the Berka Mountain Range collapsed from stress accumulated over tens of millions of years, are you?!”
At that, the merchant across from him spoke up immediately.
“The thing is—”
* * *
“…A Dragon?”
Marzen’s reddish-brown eyes wavered.
This was the Empire’s 4th District, the Commercial District.
At its heart stood the Distribution Ministry Headquarters.
The Administrative Office of the Minister, whose front wall was dominated by an enormous map inscribed with trade routes, supply chains, and logistics lines spanning the entire Continent.
I never imagined I would hear the word ‘Dragon’ in such a magnificent place.
“Yes, sir.”
The Attendant Secretary nodded briefly.
But I could not easily accept it.
A Dragon had destroyed the Berka Mountain Range?
My gaze slowly shifted toward the map.
The Berka Mountain Range, called the spine of the Continent.
I could not fathom how that colossal mountain range, which had sustained the Continent for ages, could have collapsed in an instant.
…Or rather, I could not accept the existence of a ‘Dragon’ itself.
“A massive earthquake originating from the Berka Mountain Range caused approximately 120 kilometers of the Berka Mountain Range to collapse simultaneously.”
“If it’s only that much….”
“It’s a magnitude 11.0 earthquake.”
A magnitude 11.0 earthquake.
Such a thing could not be generated by The Continent’s tectonic energy alone.
In other words, it was an earthquake that could not occur naturally.
It could only happen if extreme energy were applied from outside.
Therefore, an earthquake of that magnitude had occurred only once in The Continent’s history.
In the distant past, when the dinosaurs went extinct.
The magnitude of the earthquake that occurred then was 12.0.
Of course, it wasn’t just the earthquake that killed the dinosaurs, but a chain of secondary disasters from other aftereffects.
Regardless.
A magnitude 11.0 earthquake was not something that could occur naturally.
“Currently, only the Dragon is a viable possibility.”
Marzen could finally accept the existence of the Dragon.
More precisely, only the Dragon on this continent could generate a magnitude 11.0 earthquake.
It was no coincidence that the Dragon was called the strongest.
It was a being capable of destroying an entire ecosystem single-handedly, and it was called the strongest because its very existence was a calamity that would collapse the surrounding order.
A sovereign that reigns above all things.
That was what the Dragon was.
“As a result, the impact has spread to the eastern water systems and the southern and central supply networks, and most trade routes have been paralyzed.”
The Attendant Secretary’s report continued.
Marzen fell into thought.
As the Minister of the Distribution Bureau, I had to devise countermeasures.
But.
‘…This is troublesome.’
I had no idea what measures to take or how to take them.
The Dragon is a calamity.
And calamities are calamities precisely because they cannot be helped.
There is no way to respond.
One should not respond.
The only countermeasure was to minimize damage until the calamity itself subsided.
“…Suspend all logistics operations throughout the Eastern Region for the time being.”
Marzen spoke.
The Attendant Secretary nodded.
“I’ll dispatch a recovery team immediately.”
Marzen furrowed his brow.
“Recovery? To that place right now?”
To the very site where the Dragon is still rampaging?
“Isn’t the Dragon still in that area?”
“No, sir. It’s already dead.”
“…What did you just say?”
Marzen’s ears betrayed him for a moment.
How could it be—dead?
Who?
“The Dragon?”
“Yes, sir.”
What in the world was this fool saying?
The Dragon was dead?
He might as well claim that Icetroll was getting a tan in the Desert.
Marzen’s face twisted into a scowl.
“How can you be so certain of that?”
“The Dragon’s corpse has been observed.”
…What? What did you just say?
“A corpse…?”
Marzen rose from his seat.
So what he was saying was—
“It appears the Dragon was hunted.”
Marzen’s words caught in his throat.
Simultaneously, irritation surged within him.
If only he’d delivered a plausible report, I might have believed him.
But spouting such nonsense about a Dragon being hunted?
I would have been more convinced if he’d claimed the sea boiled over and turned into soup.
“According to eyewitness accounts from the surrounding areas—”
“From the surrounding areas?!”
Marzen shot to his feet.
“You’re spouting such drivel based on the testimony of a handful of witnesses?”
“Not just a handful. Reports of Dragon corpse sightings are coming in from across the entire Eastern Region.”
“…What?”
They say three people with the same story can conjure a Dragon from thin air, but surely the entire Eastern Region couldn’t all be lying… could they? Probably not.
“…You’re telling me this is real?”
“The probability appears extremely high.”
“Who on earth…?”
Who in the world could have hunted a Dragon?
“It hasn’t been confirmed with certainty, but—”
* * *
“…Adrian Whitewolf?”
Elowin’s gray eyes filled with bewilderment.
The Imperial Central Intelligence Agency.
Beneath the magical lamps casting their glow from the ceiling, Deputy Director Elowin repeated the Aide’s report that had just reached her.
“The one who hunted the Dragon is Adrian Whitewolf?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The Aide nodded briefly.
Yet Elowin found herself unable to believe it so easily.
Adrian had hunted a Dragon??
Something flickered through Elowin’s mind.
Dragon Slayer.
This was originally a title bestowed upon those who had killed a Dragon.
But there had been no one.
Since Dragons came to rule The Continent, not a single person had ever slain one.
A being that even nature itself could not subdue.
What could mere humans, mere creations of nature, possibly accomplish against such a thing?
As time passed, the meaning of Dragon Slayer gradually began to distort.
A being strong enough to stand against a Dragon.
Or.
The title began to attach itself to bloodlines, weapons, and magic that might possibly kill a Dragon.
In simpler terms, it came to mean “the possibility that one might be able to kill a Dragon.”
So historically, there were quite a few cases of those receiving the title of Dragon Slayer.
But none of them.
Not a single one.
Had ever proven themselves a true Dragon Slayer.
But what?
“Adrian Whitewolf hunted a Dragon…?”
This was the first such incident in the history of The Continent.
By itself alone, it was an event worthy of being assigned Danger Rank 11.
The reason being that Exceed-class ratings, Danger Rank 11 and above, numbered only 7 cases to date.
And one of those 7 cases was the Dragon itself.
If he had hunted a Dragon?
He would naturally have to be assigned Rank 11.
“To be precise, it has not been confirmed whether Adrian Whitewolf actually conducted the hunt.”
“In other words, the information is uncertain?”
“That is correct. There are no witnesses, and it is not a directly confirmed fact.”
Elowin felt irritation rising within her.
“You reported unconfirmed information?”
“…My apologies. However, based on the circumstances, I judged it to be nearly certain and felt compelled to report it.”
“Circumstances?”
“The path and direction in which the Dragon’s corpse was moved cannot be explained by anyone other than Adrian Whitewolf.”
“What exactly were this path and direction?”
Where on earth could it be that made them judge Adrian as a Dragon Slayer?
“That would be─.”
* * *
“…Whitewolf Territory?”
Leon’s golden eyes were engulfed in shock.
The conference room of the Battenberg Royal Palace.
Though the space was adorned with white marble and luxurious decorations, the expressions of the nobles and ministers were uniformly frozen.
The only thing moving was Leon’s mouth.
“So you’re telling me….”
A Dragon collapsed roughly 120 kilometers of the Berka Mountain Range all at once.
And as if that weren’t enough, Adrian hunted that very Dragon.
“He took the Dragon’s corpse to Whitewolf Territory?”
Is this even real?
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Truly…?”
“Truly, Your Majesty.”
Good heavens, what is this world coming to.

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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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