The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 333

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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 333. Animals Do Not Betray (2)
The approval documents held in Seraphia’s hands.
The short and concise title written upon them.
【Werebeast Higher Education Project】
…What on earth was this?
Seraphia examined the documents once more.
The meaning of each individual word was not difficult to grasp.
Werebeast.
Ferocious and savage beasts.
Bioengineered weapons created for destruction and slaughter.
Higher education.
Education dealing with the highest echelons of learning.
A curriculum encompassing logic, ethics, philosophy, social structures, and even ontology.
Project.
A plan to realize something.
Not merely a concept, but a roadmap premised on actual execution.
Therefore, the 【Werebeast Higher Education Project】 would be—
“…????”
What was this, truly?
When I combined those words together, they made absolutely no sense.
Surely this couldn’t be a project to teach thought to monsters, instill philosophy in them, and make them understand society.
Seraphia stood motionless, still holding the documents.
Just then.
Boom! Boom!
A tremendous vibration echoed through the air.
Seraphia lifted her head.
And beyond the window.
Dwarves had gathered across the vast expanse of the Snowy Plain and were establishing an encampment.
They stacked materials upon the snow.
And welded glowing red steel frames together.
—Dig from the foundation properly! We need to drive it down to the bedrock!
—Don’t think of this as an ordinary structure!
The Dwarves drove enormous stakes into the ground.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
With each impact, tremendous vibrations shook the floor beneath.
The desk trembled, and documents scattered.
And Seraphia’s silver hair was tousled in all directions.
“…???”
What was that supposed to mean?
* * *
The vast expanse of the Snowy Plain stretched before her.
Seraphia couldn’t contain her curiosity and rushed toward the scene of the incident(?)
The location was near the Count’s Territory Barracks.
The Dwarves she’d seen earlier were still encamped there.
“Raise the ether crane higher! We can’t support the double-ceiling structure like this!”
“The roof should be nice and high, right?”
“Make it at least 20 meters. And triple-layer soundproofing!”
Clang, clang, clang—thunderous sounds accompanied the work.
The structural framework rose layer by layer, and a colossal building climbed skyward in real time.
Truly astonishing speed.
In the blink of an eye, the foundation work on the Snowy Plain was already halfway complete.
Seraphia grabbed one of the passing Dwarves.
“Excuse me.”
“…Hm? Ah, Frostborn.”
The Dwarf set down the welding torch he’d been holding.
He removed his welding mask.
A familiar face emerged from beneath the tangled beard.
Steelmaster Srandel.
Seraphia felt no particular joy at the sight.
“What, what is all this…?”
“We’re constructing the Educational Complex.”
Srandel rubbed the bridge of his nose and continued.
“That structure there is the central auditorium. Behind it is the advanced learning hall.”
“…??”
“And in the western sector, we’ll have the training grounds and counseling offices.”
“…???”
Seraphia was utterly dumbfounded.
Seeing her expression, Srandel nodded as if he understood.
“Honestly, I’m not sure about this myself. We’re building it at Gwesuau’s request, but…”
“…Pardon? My brother requested this?”
“Yes. He said he needed space to teach those beasts.”
Srandel pointed in one direction with his finger.
In that direction, thousands of Werebeast Forces moved in orderly procession.
Moreover, their varieties were diverse.
Beasts of every conceivable kind, each with different habits and ecosystems.
Yet all of them maintained perfect order.
They didn’t jostle one another or rampage.
This perfectly controlled procession filed into the spacious auditorium one after another.
“Eh…???”
“Huh…???”
Seraphia followed him as if entranced.
As they passed through the massive entrance doors.
The interior was far more organized than she had imagined.
At the center stood a towering platform.
On either side hung the banners and crests of House Whitewolf.
Behind it were installed a large blackboard and an ether transmitter.
And standing upon that elevated platform was a single man.
“Brother…?”
It was Adrian.
Adrian, standing atop the towering platform.
Soon Adrian swept his gaze across the assembled crowd and spoke.
“Now, everyone be seated.”
At his command, countless Werebeast Forces immediately sat down on the ground.
Beasts that crawled on four legs.
Beasts that walked on two legs.
Winged beasts and more besides.
Though each possessed a different bodily structure, all assumed postures suited to their own forms.
“Wh-what…?!”
Seraphia’s jaw dropped in astonishment.
Yet no one paid her any mind.
The Werebeast Forces were utterly focused on Adrian.
Adrian surveyed the entire hall once more before speaking.
“Today’s lesson has but one subject.”
And then, words appeared upon the blackboard.
[Autonomy]
“…??????”
Seraphia could not comprehend what was happening.
* * *
A hive mind.
A command structure formed by a single collective intelligence.
Individuals subjugated to a hive mind possess no autonomous judgment or independent thought.
All actions are entirely bound by absolute obedience to the commanding entity.
Thus, one could either eliminate the commanding entity.
Or.
Seize control of the hive mind itself.
Either way, I could claim all the Werebeast Forces in a single stroke.
In my case, it was the former.
I had eliminated the commanding entity.
The Beast Lord, T-Rex.
By absorbing the genetic factors she possessed, I obtained supreme command authority over the hive mind.
In other words, I became the commanding entity.
Therefore, as long as I don’t collapse.
Control over the Werebeast Forces doesn’t transfer.
But the second method.
If I directly seized the hive mind, things would be different.
Whether I lived or died.
If a stronger dominion was forcibly imposed, the entire structure of obedience would be inverted.
‘If I could make the hive mind complete, it would work.’
The problem was, I didn’t know how.
I wasn’t skilled in bioengineering and molecular biology like T-Rex was.
After all, it was knowledge T-Rex had accumulated over 67 million years.
How could I possibly understand and apply that?
Relying on the Perfect Organism didn’t reveal any particularly outstanding intellectual capabilities.
Therefore, if someone smarter than me reverse-engineered the hive mind, there would be no answer.
So what I chose was.
Self-destruction.
If I couldn’t complete it, I would destroy it.
And the method to eliminate the hive mind was simple yet difficult.
Elevating each individual’s cognitive abilities to a higher level so they possessed a strong sense of self.
Thereby making them independent beings who answered to no one’s dominion.
Simply put.
Making all the Werebeast Forces human.
That is, transforming them into ‘mammalian humanoids and beast-kin’—independent thinking beings.
“From now on, you will all learn to act independently.”
I first divided the Werebeast Forces by their characteristics.
Werebeast are hybrids of human and animal.
They share the common factor of humanity.
But different animal traits were layered upon them.
So they possessed different characteristics and distinctions.
The most prominent among them was.
“Werebeast that consume meat, gather over here.”
Dietary habits.
Carnivorous types that eat flesh.
Herbivorous types that eat plants and fruits.
Omnivorous types that eat both.
The hive mind ignored all these characteristics.
It suppressed individual differences.
It enforced only a single instinct.
So I needed to make them aware of those differences.
To shatter the hive mind, I first had to establish the boundary of ‘self’.
That first step was an instinct unique to each individual.
Among them all.
The most primal instinct of all—hunger.
It began with making them aware of that very thing.
* * *
“Those who like meat go left, those who eat grass go right, and those who eat anything go to the center.”
Adrian’s words followed.
But blankly.
None of them moved.
Seraphia was no exception.
“…???”
Her eyes remained vacant and unfocused.
She couldn’t comprehend the situation at all.
As Seraphia and the Werebeast Forces stood there in bewilderment, Adrian exhaled a sigh.
“…They’re still bound to the hive mind and don’t know their own preferences yet.”
Adrian fell silent in thought for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“Then let’s try a more primal approach.”
Adrian reached out his hand into empty air.
Then, with a whoosh!
A chunk of meat materialized in Adrian’s hand.
“Who wants to eat this?”
Only then did the eyes of several Werebeast Forces glimmer.
Tigers, lions, electric eels, and so on.
Werebeast Forces that primarily fed on meat…?
‘…Electric eels were carnivorous?’
It wasn’t just the electric eels.
The majority of aquatic-type beasts were gravitating toward the carnivorous side.
‘Fish were carnivorous…?’
I was learning this for the first time.
I had always thought all fish were herbivorous, pecking at aquatic plants.
But in reality?
They were quite ferociously carnivorous.
“You all gather to the left.”
Adrian reached out his hand into empty air again.
Then, with a whoosh!
A fresh apple materialized in Adrian’s hand.
“Who wants to eat this?”
This time, the eyes of different Werebeast Forces glimmered.
Deer, rabbits, gorillas, pandas, and so on.
Herbivorous Werebeast Forces that subsisted on grass and fruit…?
‘Gorillas were herbivores?’
Seraphia’s eyes widened considerably.
She genuinely hadn’t known.
I mean, look at those rippling, muscular physiques.
They looked like they could tear through meat ravenously.
‘That massive frame was built on salad!!’
It was an absolutely shocking revelation.
Which made the animal kingdom all the more mysterious.
“Alright, you lot—to the right.”
Seraphia’s eyes sparkled as she observed Adrian’s training session unfold.
* * *
I spent considerable time educating the Werebeast Forces.
Through this, I could restore their most primal instinct—dietary habits.
Only then did preferences begin to emerge.
But it wasn’t finished.
I had merely taken the first step.
The real work of dismantling their hive consciousness was only beginning.
“Now you must compete over what you prefer.”
I placed several chunks of meat.
A few apples.
And several fish.
“But as you can see, there isn’t much left.”
The Werebeast Forces’ eyes gleamed.
Tension rippled through the air in an instant.
“Who’s going to take it first?”
No one stepped forward hastily.
They didn’t know how to act.
That made sense—a hive always cooperates.
It never competes.
Just as ant and bee colonies cooperate solely under their queen’s command.
So they merely observed one another.
That’s when I spoke.
“If you stay still, no one eats.”
The Werebeast Forces stirred at my words.
Some began subtly shoving their neighbors.
And first among them.
A Werehyena darted forward with surprising speed.
True to its keen instincts, it seized the opportunity well.
Meat clenched between its jaws.
But it was short-lived.
A Wearegle diving from the sky snatched it right up.
Kwaek—!!
The Wearhyena cried out as if wronged.
The Wearegle soared high into the sky without a care.
The other Wearbeasts moved at the sight.
On the ground were the Wearewolf and Wearetiger.
On the pillars were the Wearemonkeys.
And at the very back of them all, the Wearecheetah was laughing.
The Wearecheetah surged ahead in an instant.
Thus they each took different actions to win the competition.
Krawk! Krueeeeer!
Kwaaaaaack!!
The hive mind began to crack, little by little.
* * *
After that, I spent my days in a frenzy teaching the Wearbeasts.
And while doing so, my own growth.
That is, in the Incubator—.
◆It’s NOT an Incubator, I’m telling you!!!
…I did not neglect my training.
And so my current stats were as follows.
==「Player Information」==
[Name] = Adrian Whitewolf
[Title] = Dragon Slayer
[Level] = 1,021
[HP] = 2,945,800
[MP] = -403,680
[Sanity] = 0/ℵ0
[Stats] = Strength: 24,512 Agility: 22,425 Endurance: 29,458 Mana: -4036.8(x-1.2)
[Experience] = 1.2%
Strength, Agility, and Endurance had all broken through the twenty-thousand mark.
Among them, Endurance was already approaching thirty thousand.
In terms of pure stats alone, I could bulldoze an entire small kingdom.
And it wasn’t even the end.
The limits of the Perfect Organism [UL] had yet to be detected.
I could easily push past thirty thousand in pure stats to forty, fifty, and even a hundred thousand—.
‘But training is difficult for now.’
The reason was simple.
The Incubator—.
◆I said it’s NOT an Incubator!!!
…Sylvandir Forest had been damaged.
More precisely, Rielin and Yggdrasil.
The two of them couldn’t hold on and collapsed.
◆It’s because you’ve been sucking up the forest’s energy like crazy!!
As a result, Sylvandir Forest entered a dormant state for the time being.
Which meant my incubation-.
No, my training had to be suspended entirely as well.
‘I wonder if Broombar’s infinite engine could restore it.’
Unfortunately, delusion manifestation and fantasy manifestation couldn’t be deployed simultaneously.
‘Well, I can just focus on educating the Werebeast Forces in the meantime.’
It was merely unfortunate.
I observed the Werebeast Forces gathered for class.
A large-scale project to erase their hive consciousness.
Officially known as the 【Werebeast Advanced Education Project】.
It was progressing better than expected.
But it was only progressing smoothly.
‘I don’t know when The Emperor will redesign the structure of the hive consciousness.’
He would have learned of it long ago.
That the Werebeast Forces were obeying me, along with T-Rex’s death.
Even if Ian was drawing aggro, they wouldn’t have completely turned their eyes away from me.
If it’s The Emperor, then certainly.
He would be preparing for multiple possibilities.
In other words, from now on it was a race against time.
Would The Emperor redesign the hive consciousness first?
Or would I collapse it first?
‘Ultimately, I need to accelerate the pace of education.’
The problem was that I had only one body.
Meanwhile, the number I needed to teach was legion-scale.
‘Can’t I create clones or something with [UL]?’
Cell division, replication, multinucleation.
There were many possibilities.
But the side effects were severe.
Insufficient intelligence.
There were constraints based on my cognitive capacity.
Simply put, while the perfect organism’s hypersensitivity extends infinitely, my cognitive capacity to process that information has limits.
Ultimately, I had no choice but to find another method.
One that could make independent judgments.
One that could lead other entities in my stead.
One that possessed selfhood while maintaining the chain of command-.
‘So that’s why I needed legion commander-class entities.’
It wasn’t for nothing that T-Rex had selected Legion Commander-class individuals in my previous life.
That was precisely when it happened.
A soldier from Count’s Territory Barracks pushed through the Werebeast Forces and approached me.
“What is it?”
The soldier hesitated briefly before answering my question.
“Well, sir, some strange fellow has arrived. He says he absolutely must meet Adrian….”
I tilted my head in confusion.
At this point in time, who would come seeking me….
‘Could it be Ian?’

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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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