The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 310

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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 310. The Legendary Territory (2)
Northern Hill Region.
The construction of the new Feractrum was in full swing here.
The foundations were solidly laid, as if the Territory Yggdrasil mode was functioning properly.
The Dwarves moved ceaselessly.
“The fourth level construction is proceeding without issues!”
“Water channels, northeastern connection complete!”
“Now we’re reinforcing the central axis!!”
Truly, this was the site where the history of the new Feractrum was being rebuilt.
And what was assisting in this reconstruction of history…?
‘Huh?’
It wasn’t Yggdrasil.
‘…Arcanoheart?’
But it was different.
Its appearance was subtly different from the Arcanoheart I’d seen in Whitewolf Territory 2.
When I activated Predator’s Instinct [S], information materialized before my eyes.
◆Arcano Dragonhart
: An upgraded core that fuses a Dragon’s heart to elevate the functions of Arcanoheart.
This device can collect and refine not only natural mana but also unnatural energies (residual fluids, dimensional mana, death energy, etc.).
It seemed to have been upgraded with the heart of the Dragon Fafnir, just as the description indicated.
Dragons manipulate Mana itself.
Mana is the energy that flows through nature, the primordial force that constitutes the laws of the world.
In other words, it contains nearly infinite energy.
Dragons handle such overwhelming power of mana because they cannot endure it otherwise.
As a result.
A Dragon’s heart becomes a natural energy core capable of supplying power to the entire Continent.
Therefore, this thing called Arcano Dragonhart.
Just from hearing Broombar’s words could I comprehend how insane it truly was.
“We synchronized it with Yggdrasil using the Dragon’s heart as the power source.”
“…”
“Through that, we can supply the necessary energy to all regions—the Territory, Sylvandir Forest, and Feractrum here.”
Three territories could be operated simultaneously.
“And there’s still considerable surplus.”
…And there’s even more left over.
Before I knew it, I wore an expression of utter disbelief.
Seeing my reaction.
Broombar seemed to have misunderstood and spoke.
“Don’t worry. We’ve reserved more than enough Dragon hearts for the Starlight Sister’s staff.”
Well, I’m sure they handled it well enough.
That wasn’t something I was concerned about at all.
Therefore, my astonishment stemmed not from the fact that Broombar had utilized a Dragon’s heart.
“…How is such a device even possible?”
Arcanoheart existed in my previous life as well.
But this.
Arcano Dragonheart.
That did not exist.
You might ask—weren’t there no Dragons in my previous life?
Far from it.
Dragons existed in my previous life too.
There was Fafnir, the Dragon awakened in response to the Death Lord.
So the materials were identical, in theory.
Yet the results differed.
Vastly so.
Broombar chuckled and answered.
“I don’t believe it myself.”
“Pardon?”
What was he talking about?
“Didn’t you create it, Broombar?”
“I did.”
“Then what do you mean you don’t believe it?”
“I mean I don’t believe it even though I created it.”
Broombar gazed at the Arcano Dragonheart once more before continuing.
“Just like that device from back then.”
He seemed to be referring to the device that had supplied me with infinite thermal energy, allowing me to reach the Ruler’s Roar.
That was a device that should never have functioned.
More precisely, a device that should not exist.
Because it embodied illogical thought.
A direct violation of the world’s fundamental laws.
“A delusional mechanism, if you will.”
The power to manifest such delusions into reality.
Delusion Realization.
It seemed Broombar had crafted this Arcano Dragonheart based on that prior experience.
‘So that’s how he gained the ability to manipulate non-natural energies.’
Residual fluids, dimensional mana, death energy, and more.
This appeared to be the reason the Arcano Dragonheart could transcend the limitations of natural-order energy.
In other words, it was no mere Arcane Engineering.
It was something that surpassed Arcane Engineering itself—
‘Something that surpassed my previous life.’
Which also meant Broombar had transcended the Steelmaster.
“Now that I think about it, how exactly did you accomplish this?”
To be honest, I’m hearing about Delusion Manifestation for the first time myself.
If I had known about it, I would have told Broombar.
But I didn’t know.
In my previous life, only Image Manifestation existed.
A method that forced the caster’s imagination to twist the world’s laws—that was all.
“To explain it simply….”
Broombar began a lengthy explanation.
But simple? That was anything but.
What followed was a complex explanation rivaling Iliana’s teachings in intricacy.
Yet thanks to the experience I’d gained from studying under Iliana all this time.
I was able to extract the essential points.
Broombar’s Delusion Manifestation.
“I created it by adapting the Wolf’s Image Manifestation to my own method.”
In other words, the structure was identical.
Delusion Manifestation’s roots lay in Image Manifestation.
So both wrote new laws over reality in the same way.
However, Image Manifestation imagines ‘what can exist’ and manifests it.
Therefore, something that could plausibly exist in this world.
Or.
Something that wouldn’t be strange even if it existed in the world.
That’s what it forces into being.
For instance, Kai’s Immortality.
That wasn’t pure fiction.
Crayfish don’t die from aging.
Jellyfish repeat biological resets under specific conditions.
T-Rex, the first Dragon, has lived for over 67 million years.
In other words, life that has theoretically achieved immortality already exists.
Immortality merely extends that deathlessness.
In other words, Image Manifestation manifests the miracle of ‘expanding possibility’.
But Delusion Manifestation was different.
Delusion.
The literal impossibility forced into reality.
Thus, the delusion Broombar manifested at that time was a device that produced infinite energy.
A Perpetual Motion Machine.
This was impossibility in its truest sense.
A possibility like crayfish?
Evidence like jellyfish?
Nothing of the sort exists or has been proven.
It was a delusion that completely ignored natural law, directly violated physical law, and collapsed the very structure of the world itself.
“Therefore, the activation conditions for Delusion Manifestation are as follows.”
1. The world would not yet perceive that delusion.
2. The caster would absolutely believe in their own delusion.
3. That delusion would be systematic and precise enough not to collide with reality.
In simple terms.
“You seize the fleeting moment before the world detects the error and accomplish the impossible.”
Therefore.
“That delusion cannot be too flawed.”
It had to be systematic and precise enough that the world would think, even for a brief instant, “Wait? Could this actually exist?”
Thus, only one versed in Arcane Engineering.
Currently, only Broombar could accomplish such a feat.
And in any case, since only logical delusions could be implemented—
“Strictly speaking, it is not a perpetual machine.”
“…?”
“In that infinite energy is produced, it is a perpetual machine in that sense. Looking purely at power efficiency, it operates like a perpetual machine.”
However.
“Delusion implementation requires vast amounts of ether and continuously consumes it.”
“That means….”
“It cannot be maintained perpetually.”
This could not be called a true perpetual machine.
That is, a completely self-sustaining power device.
Power efficiency diverges to infinity.
Yet sustainability converges to the finite.
“It would be more accurate to call it a sort of ‘semi-perpetual machine.'”
In the end, there were limitations.
Yet it was undeniable that it was remarkable.
After all, it produced infinite energy.
Thanks to it, I could touch the realm of the moment.
Moreover.
I could touch the realm of the instant.
Broombar’s delusion implementation made possible what I could never have accomplished alone.
And.
“I could not have created it alone.”
Broombar had not created it through his own power alone either.
First was Rielin.
It was possible because she kindled the spark in Broombar’s delusion.
And second.
“It was possible because of this.”
There was something that nurtured that spark and made it blaze into a raging inferno.
A rectangular head.
An extremely short handle.
‘A hammer?’
The moment I activated Predator’s Instinct [S], information about the hammer materialized before my eyes.
◆Balmung
: A masterwork created by Sigurd, the first Dwarf. Forged by infusing the essence of Yggdrasil, it was designed to reconstruct the natural laws of the world itself.
●[Form Transmutation] : Balmung responds to the wielder’s will, shifting its shape and structure at command.
●[Law Strike] : Balmung inflicts no physical damage. Instead, it operates through ether shockwaves, damaging the natural laws applied to the targeted region.
●[Phase Sealing] : Through spacetime phase interference, Balmung can fix concepts in a locked state.
What kind of insane hammer is this—.
“It is our ancestor’s legacy, the very tool that sealed away the Dragon Fafnir.”
“I see.”
…That explained it.
I couldn’t fathom how such a ridiculous weapon could even exist.
‘But the first Dwarf?’
The Dwarves were a race named by humans.
Originally, they were Dark Elves.
Going further back, they were simply Elves.
So technically, there was no “first Dwarf”—.
‘It seems T-Rex marked the emergence of Arcane Engineering as the origin point of the Dwarves.’
Predator’s Instinct [S] was T-Rex’s authority.
In other words, T-Rex appeared to have recognized the moment Arcane Engineering emerged as the very point when the Dwarf race differentiated.
‘…Or perhaps not?’
Either way, it didn’t matter.
It was possible that Mungu simply perceived it that way.
Regardless.
Now the full picture made sense.
“So all the soldiers’ equipment was processed using this as well?”
“To be precise, we only refined the raw materials with it. The Steelmasters handled the actual crafting.”
…That’s why they possessed such absurdly—.
No, such insane performance.
“Even just processing the raw materials with Balmung pushed the hardness and conductivity far beyond standard benchmarks,” Broombar said matter-of-factly.
Broombar spoke without inflection.
“And we’ve just finished processing all the materials. The remaining byproducts are all stacked over there, as you mentioned.”
Broombar pointed with his stubby fingers toward one side.
There lay a haphazard pile of organic matter.
“Is that the leftover dragon waste?”
“Yes. All material with depleted function.”
Rotted flesh. Putrefied organs.
Severed nerves. Coagulated glands and such.
“It won’t decompose, and it’s too unstable to use as fuel. Literally—.”
“Garbage, then.”
Broombar nodded heavily.
“Then I’ll take all of this.”
I stored all the scraps in my inventory.
Of course, I hadn’t hunted Fafnir myself.
But since I had butchered it, the remains were recognized as my property.
◆Fafnir’s rotted stomach lining has been stored.
◆Fafnir’s liquefied cartilage has been stored.
◆Fafnir’s foul-smelling lymphatic vessel has been stored.
.
.
.
All the scraps stored in an instant.
Even a Dragon, no matter how magnificent, had parts that were utterly useless—
“…You’re not actually planning to eat that, are you?”
To me, a Dragon was so valuable that even its yawns couldn’t be wasted.
* * *
After inspecting the construction site of the new Feractrum,
I returned to my room in Whitewolf Territory.
And I consumed the Dragon scraps I had stored in my inventory.
◆The Successor’s Will [EX] resists the turbid flow of stagnant pericardium!
◆The Successor’s Will [EX] resists the air current of necrotic secretory glands!
◆The Successor’s Will [EX] resists the infiltration of degenerated tissue fluid!
.
.
◆5,175 Sanity points have accumulated.
Sanity steadily climbing.
“This should be more than enough.”
Even over 400,000 points posed no problem.
In other words, there was no issue whatsoever with the Sanity required to transcend Predation [S+].
Just one thing.
“Blegh!”
The eating part was quite problematic.
The Dragon flesh I’d consumed before hadn’t tasted particularly good either.
Tough, hard, and somehow—
It simply tasted awful.
But this was worse.
Being literal “scraps,” the taste was nonexistent.
“Gag!”
…It tasted like licking a sewer.
Truly.
‘I wonder if T-Rex tasted like this too.’
Since it had been obliterated by the Ruler’s Roar, there was no way to verify its flavor.
“Besides, even if I had eaten T-Rex, my Sanity stat wouldn’t have increased anyway.”
The Beast Lord, T-Rex.
The first Dragon, T-Rex.
T-Rex was a Dragon.
But in reality.
T-Rex’s biological classification was not of the Monster category.
Ancient creature, Saurian order, Tyrannosaurus family Dragon.
In other words, T-Rex was not a Monster mutated by the madness factor.
A Dragon like Fafnir, but possessing a different biological classification.
And considering that T-Rex was the first Dragon.
Crunch, crunch.
“T-Rex was the one who created the madness factor.”
In other words, it was T-Rex who had created Monsters on this Continent.
To obtain genes that would transcend its own limitations.
T-Rex’s selection pressure.
It could not create new genes.
Evolution through natural selection alone had its limits.
So T-Rex had thought.
I will create genes directly.
Skilled in bioengineering and molecular biology, T-Rex designed the madness factor and dispersed it throughout the natural world.
Thus, tens of millions of years passed.
Flora and fauna underwent random mutations—
‘And that’s how Monsters were born.’
T-Rex had been selectively extracting the essence of Monsters and evolving itself all this time.
‘…Or maybe not?’
Well, either way.
In any case, after countless ages, T-Rex finally obtained the genetic information of mutation—the ability to evolve on its own.
So then.
“Ugh!”
Now Fafnir had become absolutely revolting to taste.
…It truly had no flavor whatsoever.
But what could I do?
To transcend Predation, I had to consume it.
The only saving grace was that, sealed for thousands of years, its intestines contained no waste.
I forced the Dragon’s remains into my mouth, bit by bit.
Just then.
Knock, knock.
—Adrian. It’s Sarpedon.
Sarpedon’s voice came from outside the door.
I wiped my mouth with one hand.
With the other, I closed my inventory and spoke.
“Come in.”
The door opened carefully.
Sarpedon’s face was as grim as ever.
“What is it?”
“Well….”
“Did someone else cause trouble at the Checkpoint?”
“No, no! That’s not it.”
Sarpedon shook his head, looking flustered.
“Then what?”
“It’s just that….”
Sarpedon broached the subject with considerable hesitation.
“I came to ask what we should do with the Werebeasts.”

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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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