The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 39

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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 39. The Way of Predator (1)
The pinnacle of all life, the Ultimate Lifeform.
Ian had imposed the following condition on me becoming an Ultimate Lifeform.
-You must not merely obtain a creature’s abilities, but transcend them.
However, the Predator [S+] ability only absorbed the genetic factors of the target organism; it did not trigger mutations that would surpass or transcend those abilities.
In other words, I could only approach the abilities the target possessed.
I could not exceed them.
Moreover, in my past life, I could not control the madness of Predator.
I could not fully absorb any single creature’s abilities, and therefore most of the abilities I gained during my time as Predator in my past life were degraded versions.
Yet even with those degraded abilities, I surpassed both the target creature’s power and its limits.
The reason this was possible.
It was thanks to this.
◆Combination Skill ‘Metabolic Overdrive [U]’ is activated!
Combination Skill.
This was literally a ‘combination’ of the skills and abilities I possessed.
Through this, the measurement rank was [U], which signified Unique.
It meant my own ‘unique ability’ that did not exist in this world.
It had to be this way because such an ability does not exist in this world.
More precisely, it cannot exist.
Metabolic Overdrive [U] was the result of combining three different abilities.
Lex’s Metabolic Acceleration [D].
Icetroll’s Regeneration [B-].
Alacron’s Nutrient Synthesis [B-].
Three independent creatures from different species, three abilities that could never harmonize—I had combined them into a single combination skill.
And the principle and mechanism behind it was this.
Metabolic Acceleration [D] stimulates the endocrine system, greatly increasing metabolic rate.
In exchange for reduced Strength, it greatly increases Agility and Stamina.
This was the ability possessed by the monster Lex.
The reason Strength decreased was to balance metabolic consumption.
It was a strategic evolution to survive in the harsh environment of Snowy Mountain, where food was scarce.
But what if nutrients could be supplied sufficiently?
There would be no need to reduce Strength.
Furthermore, there was a limit to how much Metabolic Acceleration [D] could stimulate the endocrine system.
Beyond nutrients themselves, excessive stimulation would cause endocrine damage.
The endocrine system is a collection of organs in the body that secrete hormones.
Once damaged, it possesses an ‘irreversible characteristic’ that cannot be recovered.
That is why Lex did not stimulate the endocrine system beyond a certain threshold. It evolved by setting a limit on metabolic capacity.
But I am different.
Because I possess Regeneration [B-].
Since I can regenerate even if damaged, there is no need to impose such limits on my threshold.
Therefore, I utilized Nutrient Synthesis [B-].
Releasing the metabolic limit of Metabolism Acceleration [D].
By sending it into overdrive and recovering the damaged endocrine system through Regeneration [B-]….
◆Metabolic Overdrive [U]
: Upon using this skill, the player’s endocrine system enters [overdrive]. At this time, the metabolic limit is released and biological endocrine restrictions disappear.
For [calorie consumption/100] seconds, all of the player’s stats increase by [+calorie consumption/1,000] (%).
【This skill is a combination skill merging Nutrient Synthesis [B-], Metabolism Acceleration [D], and Regeneration [B-].】
I could freely amplify my stats according to [calorie consumption].
And I had prepared a total of 1,350,000 Kcal worth of fat reserves.
◆Available Calories – 100,000 Kcal
Unfortunately, the maximum calories I could currently accumulate was 100,000 Kcal.
My storage system structure couldn’t accumulate calories beyond this limit.
So it was still an incomplete skill.
But if I achieved evolution of additional abilities or combined other powers, it was a combination skill with limitless potential for development.
I burned half of my accumulated 100,000 calories at once.
50,000 calories consumed in a single burst.
◆Activating combination skill ‘Metabolic Overdrive [U]’!
◆Calories Consumed – 50,000 Kcal
◆For [500 seconds], all of the player’s stats increase by [+50%]!
Thump!!
My endocrine hormones surge into overdrive.
My nerves become acutely hypersensitive.
Muscles receiving greater energy compress even more densely, and my five senses sharpen, missing not a single subtle movement.
Then, my endocrine organs, having exceeded their threshold, rupture violently.
Cells connecting nerve to nerve tear apart.
Yet in an instant, they regenerate, restoring the ruptured organs and reattaching the severed nerves. The resulting pain is suppressed by blocking sensory nerves.
==「Player Information」==
[Name] = Adrian Whitewolf
[Title] = Master of Snowy Mountain
[Level] = 28
[HP] = 3,100
[MP] = 0
[Stats] = Strength: 43.5 (+19.5) Agility: 42 (+19) Stamina: 31.5 (+15.5) Mana: 6 (+5)
[Experience] = 34.7%
Combined with the title effect, the amplified stats alone were producing an effect equivalent to leveling up +62 levels.
Truly explosively elevated stats.
“Let the hunt begin.”
My body shot forward like lightning.
* * *
To be honest.
Kai had thought Adrian was insane.
The way he threw himself at the monster legion without hesitation was proof enough.
“Hahahahahaha!!”
And now, laughing with unbridled madness before the monster legion—it all confirmed Adrian’s insanity.
Kai’s blue eyes fixed on a single point.
Adrian stood before the countless monster legion at the base of the Castle Wall, and Kai took in every detail.
Adrian did not tremble with fear or succumb to terror.
“No one interfere.”
Rather, he was savoring it.
As though the monster legion were his prey, he was issuing a warning—touch what is mine, and I will not forgive you.
No matter how he looked at it, Adrian was undoubtedly mad.
But then came Adrian’s next action.
Kai was forced to revise his judgment immediately.
In an instant, Adrian’s body swelled grotesquely. Capillaries burst across his skin, creating a nightmarish visage.
It was as though something ferocious, dormant within Adrian’s depths, had taken physical form.
What Kai saw in Adrian then was not fear or dread.
Adrian was not trembling with such emotions.
It was the predator’s hunting instinct.
And in that moment, it was laid bare.
Whoosh!
Adrian’s figure vanished in an instant.
When he reappeared, he stood in the very heart of the monster legion.
It was reckless.
But Kai’s first thought was not ‘reckless’—it was ‘how?’
‘When did he…?’
…I lost sight of his movement.
Kai had not taken his eyes off Adrian for a single moment.
And yet he had lost it.
He could only dimly perceive that Adrian had moved.
…It’s different.
A different dimension from when he faced Gelu Drake.
If Adrian had been a hunter then, now he was…
A predator.
Adrian stood in the heart of the monster legion.
Surrounded on all sides with no apparent escape.
…There are too many.
Adrian alone could not handle this.
This was not something that could be resolved single-handedly.
He needed help.
Just as Kai gripped his sword and prepared to charge in, that very moment arrived.
“Don’t interfere!!”
Adrian’s roar tore through the air.
Kai’s movements froze abruptly.
He didn’t understand why. It was just like before.
When they’d hunted Gelu Drake, his body had responded instinctively to Adrian’s command.
Now, bound by that absolute authority, Kai couldn’t move.
And there was Adrian, surrounded by a legion of monsters.
Hemmed in on all sides with no visible escape. Death was the only way out of this nightmare.
And yet.
Adrian’s eyes showed no trace of fear.
His crimson gaze darted across the horde, targeting each monster with predatory precision. His hunting instinct was drawn taut as a bowstring.
His breathing was cold and measured.
But beneath it lay exhilaration and ecstasy.
Fragments of that incomprehensible emotion roiled within him.
Roooaaarrr-!!!
Monsters surged toward Adrian from every direction like a tidal wave.
And just before Lex’s claws could reach him.
Adrian evaded with speed that far surpassed Lex’s own.
Kai’s eyes widened in shock.
The soldiers still couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
Adrian bent his knees and launched upward.
His counterattack was immediate and flawless. No wasted motion.
His razor-sharp claws tore through Lex’s chest in a single, brutal motion.
Splurch-!
Lex’s heart was now clenched in Adrian’s grip.
“What… what is this!!”
“Impossible!”
Only then did the soldiers’ horror erupt into the open.
Seraphia’s crimson eyes trembled violently as well.
But Adrian, unmoved, shoved the heart into his mouth.
Kieeeek-!!
The enraged monsters’ roars shattered the heavens.
Within that sound was the frenzy of creatures desperate to tear Adrian’s flesh and devour him.
That brilliant crimson madness caused several soldiers to collapse where they stood.
Even those still standing trembled, their hands shaking uncontrollably.
Yet in that very moment.
Adrian’s gaze remained ice-cold.
He charged forward, unleashing explosive fury.
With each sweep of his hand, monster flesh tore like paper. Skin split, bones shattered, and crimson blood drenched everything around him.
Every movement Adrian made was sharp and economical.
The power and speed woven into each attack achieved perfect harmony.
A black wolf prowling through a flock of sheep.
Adrian’s combat was like a single work of art—a fusion of ‘bestial ferocity’ and ‘human precision’.
Before long, the area surrounding Adrian was drenched crimson with monster blood.
It was filled with the remains and corpses of fallen monsters.
Yet the number of monsters remained vast.
Still, Adrian’s movements never wavered.
Ragged breathing.
But his eyes continued to hunt for prey.
A battlefield of madness and destruction.
Within it, I was hungrier than the monsters themselves.
* * *
◆You have defeated Alacron!
◆You have defeated Dermexus!
◆You have defeated Alacron!
◆You have defeated Alacron!
◆You have defeated Dermexus!
◆You have defeated Lex!
.
.
.
.
Semi-transparent messages filled my vision completely.
Accompanying them, notifications of increased combat experience streamed forth in succession.
◆Your level has increased!
Occasionally, level-up messages appeared interspersed among them.
While ordinary hunting had its limits in raising experience, the relentless tide of monsters pouring in was so overwhelming it transcended those boundaries.
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
◆You have consumed additional genetic material from Dermexus!
◆Skill ‘Toughened Skin [D+]’ has been enhanced to ‘Toughened Skin [C]’!
The more I fought, the more I evolved and grew stronger.
Thanks to my relentless Predation [S+], the Toughened Skin ability rose by a full two ranks in an instant.
With that, I gained access to another combination skill that I previously couldn’t form due to Toughened Skin’s lower rank.
◆You have acquired the combination skill ‘Dragon’s Skin [U]’!

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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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