The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 43

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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 43. Traces (2)
Six Lords serving The Emperor, the Beast Lord.
The Allied Forces referred to the Beast Lord as [Irreducible Complexity].
Irreducible Complexity.
In simple terms, it meant ‘a lifeform that cannot be explained by biological evolution’.
More simply put, it was not a creature born from nature, but the creation of an intelligent being with clear intent and purpose.
In other words, it meant ‘a lifeform created through intelligent design’.
There is a common misconception about evolution.
The notion that evolution possesses the ‘purpose of becoming better’.
But that is not the case.
Not at all.
Evolution is merely the phenomenon where diverse individuals appear randomly, and only those adapted to their environment survive and pass on their genes.
In other words, evolution possesses no ‘purpose’ or ‘will’.
It does not mean that a specific individual judges a situation favorable for survival and ‘chooses’ to evolve.
Rather, by chance, the genes better adapted to the environment happened to survive.
In other words, evolution is the result of ‘natural selection’—nature’s choice through environmental pressure.
Then.
What if that were possible?
If purpose and will could be instilled into evolution?
If one could judge situations favorable for survival?
If there existed an ‘intelligent being’ capable of selecting genetic abilities by considering all these factors?
A lifeform created through intelligent design—the Beast Lord.
The Beast Lord was an existence created not by nature, but through intelligent design.
A lifeform that possessed unwavering purpose in evolution, infused with clear will, and designed to selectively concentrate on the elements most favorable for survival.
Thus, it was no exaggeration to say the Beast Lord possessed the genetic factors of nearly every lifeform inhabiting this Continent.
In that sense, the Beast Lord could be considered equivalent to what I called the Ultimate Lifeform.
However, there was a decisive difference from the Ultimate Lifeform.
The Ultimate Lifeform I envisioned acquired all natural fitness of this world—born instantly, reproduced instantly, possessed eternal lifespan, had no natural predators, and was a lifeform with no biological weaknesses whatsoever.
For that, it did not require all genetic factors of this world.
Unnecessary, useless, redundant genetic factors would only serve as hindrances.
But the Beast Lord was not so.
It possessed genetic factors of nearly every lifeform inhabiting this Continent.
Above all, the Beast Lord was not merely possessing these genetic factors.
It was simply a ‘mixture’ of such genetic factors.
A grotesqueness as if hundreds of monsters were blended together.
A chaos as if thousands of animals and insects were fused into one.
A creature created by hybridizing tens of thousands of lifeforms.
A Chimaera.
The Beast Lord was a Chimaera that grafted together every lifeform in this world.
And because of that.
The Beast Lord was also the lord I most desired to devour through Predation[S+].
It possessed genetic factors from nearly every living creature that inhabited The Continent.
In other words, the genetic factors I could obtain by devouring the Beast Lord through Predation[S+] were infinite.
If I could acquire those, I could create combination skills without limit.
Just as I had extracted dragon genetic factors from Dragon’s Claw[A] to create Dragon’s Wrath[E].
But in my previous life, I could not devour the Beast Lord through Predation[S+].
It was impossible.
Not only the Beast Lord.
Other lords, especially—
◆The Player’s Will[EX] resists against Devouring Darkness!
I could not devour them through Predation[S+].
But now it was different.
With Ian’s abilities and the Player’s Will[EX], I could now devour the Beast Lord through Predation[S+].
So I had to search.
If the Beast Lord was in the Northern Region, it would surely have left traces.
◆Combination Skill, ‘Metabolic Overdrive[U]’ is activated!
I climbed the Snowy Mountain rapidly.
* * *
Finding traces was not an easy task.
The Northern Region of The Continent was vast.
No matter what, I could not search every area of the north.
Because of this, finding traces seemed quite difficult, but there was one suspicious location.
The habitat of Gelu Drake.
The peak of the Snowy Mountain.
Gelu Drake, called the master of the Snowy Mountain.
Gelu Drake rarely descended from the peak of the Snowy Mountain.
With sturdy claws, it dug through the snow and fed primarily on moss and grass that grew beneath.
Because of this, I had avoided the peak entirely while hunting monsters on the Snowy Mountain.
Gelu Drake was a monster that posed no real threat as long as one did not invade its territory.
It was the master of the Snowy Mountain that I had planned to hunt once I met Ian.
But I ultimately encountered Gelu Drake.
Because Gelu Drake had descended from the peak.
At first, I thought it had come down due to lack of prey.
I only thought that much.
But what if that was not the case?
What if Gelu Drake had not descended of its own will?
What if it had been driven out by someone?
Harboring such suspicions, I searched the peak of the Snowy Mountain thoroughly.
As the saying goes, mountain after mountain.
The search took an extraordinarily long time.
It felt like it took a full day of subjective time.
Fortunately, the effort was not in vain.
I discovered a “trace” at one of the peaks of the summit.
An overwhelming sight, as if a massive scar had been carved into the very landscape.
“This is….”
Within that scene, I found the brutally torn corpse of Gelu Drake.
The savagely ripped body of Gelu Drake lay frozen solid.
It was an ancient specimen, long dead.
Even its heart had hardened like ice, devoid of vitality for ages.
Unfortunately, it seemed impossible to devour its genetic code through Predation[S+].
I examined the corpse of Gelu Drake more carefully.
The massive body once called the master of the Snowy Mountain lay cold and sprawled across the frozen ground.
Frozen blood covered its entire form, turning it a pristine white.
The hardened hide that once easily deflected even steel blades was torn in multiple places.
If this were human work, it would be the deed of at least a knight wielding aura.
But the tears in Gelu Drake’s hide were not made by blades like swords.
Deep gashes from sharp claws and teeth.
This was not human work.
Nor was it the work of monsters native to the Snowy Mountain.
There was no monster in the Snowy Mountain capable of reducing Gelu Drake to this state.
Not just the Snowy Mountain alone.
Even searching the entire Continent, there were few monsters capable of slaughtering Gelu Drake so mercilessly.
I examined the corpse of Gelu Drake even more closely.
The claws that symbolized the master of the Snowy Mountain had been completely torn out, rendered utterly useless.
If this were merely a hunt for prey, there would be no need to go this far.
“This was not a hunt driven by hunger.”
In other words, it was punishment for an individual that refused to submit to the legion.
In my previous life, dragons never submitted to any legion.
And Gelu Drake, bearing the genetic imprint of a dragon.
A Gelu Drake imbued with draconic arrogance would never bow to another being.
So they abandoned the attempt to subjugate Gelu Drake.
And slew it with such brutality.
“Was the Gelu Drake I encountered the one that escaped and survived from here?”
Looking at this corpse, which measured roughly twenty meters, the Gelu Drake I faced seemed to be nothing more than a “juvenile.”
I continued examining the corpse.
The head region was also severely damaged.
Most of its teeth were broken, and its snout was torn wide open from top to bottom.
The yellow eyes I had failed to notice earlier stared vacantly, devoid of any light.
The pride of one who was once the master of the Snowy Mountain, trampled mercilessly.
Only then did I finally.
I could determine whose doing this was.
It was the Beast Lord and yet not the Beast Lord.
“The Beast Legion Commander….”
A legion commander who served the Beast Lord.
I had worked as the commander of the Special Operations Unit under the Special Task Force, collecting information on all the lords and their legion commanders.
My mind contained all the information about the lords and their legion commanders.
Even tracing through those memories from my past life, I could say with certainty.
“It’s definitely the Beast Legion Commander.”
This was the Beast Legion Commander.
“Was the Beast Legion Commander active in the Northern Region?”
Since I hadn’t been in the Northern Region at this time, I didn’t know the details.
And since Seraphia hadn’t yet awakened as the Frost Lord, it seemed plausible.
In any case.
“The Beast Legion Commander, huh….”
The Emperor had bestowed the title of “Lord” upon six beings he acknowledged.
Similarly, the lords themselves granted the position of “Legion Commander” to the strongest among those who served them.
A prime example being Kai, the Frost Legion Commander.
Kai was a knight who had received the title of Legion Commander from Seraphia, the Frost Lord.
And the legion commanders served the lords, not the Emperor.
However, since the lords served the Emperor, it amounted to serving the Emperor in the end.
In that sense, there were legion commanders who directly served the Emperor.
They were called by a separate designation: “Imperial Army Legion Commanders.”
Whether they were Imperial Army Legion Commanders or a lord’s legion commanders, they all stood at the vanguard of war, ruthlessly trampling the Allied Forces.
The strength of a legion commander was like a nightmare to the Allied Forces.
Legion commanders were selected directly by their lords.
To those selected in such a manner, the lords shared a portion of their authority and power.
That was why in my past life, I couldn’t Devour[S+] the Beast Legion Commander. He too possessed the authority and power of the Beast Lord.
In other words.
“I could obtain the genetic traits of the Beast Lord.”
I could Devour[S+] the genetic traits of the Beast Lord even from the Beast Legion Commander.
In that sense, I could say it was fortunate.
“Facing the Beast Lord directly was quite daunting.”
I spoke as if it were manageable, but honestly, I was terrified.
My win rate wasn’t that high, and objectively speaking, I would likely be the one hunted.
Even with Dragon’s Wrath[E].
But if it’s the Beast Legion Commander….
“This is genuinely worth attempting.”
This was truly worth attempting.
Though not to the point of letting my guard down.
While not comparable to the lord, the strength of legion commanders also fell into the category of otherworldly.
That was a fact evident even just by looking at Kai, who had been the Beast Legion Commander.
“Let me see….”
I immediately checked the “Player Information” window.
==「Player Information」==
[Name] = Adrian Whitewolf
[Title] = Master of the Snowy Mountain
[Level] = 29
[HP] = 2,515
[MP] = 0
[Stats] = Strength: 33(+5) Agility: 32.2(+9.2) Stamina: 24.15(+8.15) Mana: 6(+5)
[Experience] = 77.2%
【Additional Stat Point +1】
One level gained from experience earned while hunting monster legions.
I had reached level 29 through this, but something felt off.
“My agility and stamina stats increased more than expected?”
They had risen by such awkward numbers as 9.2 and 8.15.
Excluding the effect of the title 【Master of the Snowy Mountain】, it was as if 4.2 and 3.15 had been added separately.
Before the battle with the legion, I had gained +4 to my Strength stat through training.
But I had no memory of gaining anything for Stamina or Agility.
“Why is this…? Ah, it must be because of this.”
I quickly found the reason.
◆Promote Metabolism[C+]
: Upon skill acquisition, the player’s endocrine system is stimulated and metabolic rate increases significantly. In exchange for the player’s Strength decreasing by [-0%], the player’s Agility and Stamina increase by [+15%].
+Strength stat no longer decreases.
+Converts from [On/Off] skill to [Passive] skill.
【This skill is permanently applied upon acquisition as a passive skill.】
The Promote Metabolism ability that had evolved to [B] grade this time.
It reached its complete form and converted from an [On/Off] skill to a [Passive] skill.
In other words, I could now continuously benefit from the Promote Metabolism[C+] effect even during normal circumstances.
“In exchange, the effect of instantly amplifying my abilities disappeared.”
But I had Metabolic Runaway[U], so it didn’t matter.
The increase in Agility and Stamina was lower, but being passive gave it a far greater advantage.
“So now my Agility increases by 1.15 each time?”
On a whim, I invested the additional stat point into Agility.
Then I watched as my Agility stat changed from 32.2 to 33.35.
And this same principle applied to ‘Stamina’ as well.
It meant that the efficiency of Stamina training had also increased by +15%.
“This is good.”
Good didn’t even begin to describe it—it was absolutely broken.
The higher my stats became, the more exponentially their efficiency increased.
But even now, its efficiency remained limited.
“Hmm….”
I assessed and weighed my combat strength as objectively as possible.
The Beast Legion Commander.
If the individual I was thinking of was indeed the right one….
“It seems I cannot do this alone.”
It appeared I would need to unleash the hunting dogs.
* * *
Creak, creak, creak!
The castle gate of Count’s Castle, constructed from thick timber, groaned open with a thunderous sound.
The Count’s Castle, which had been filled with ice and snow.
But the snow and ice that had accumulated from Dragon’s Wrath[E] had nearly melted away.
Yet during my search of the Snowy Mountain, had it snowed once more?
Snow covered various spots on the castle walls and gate.
As the gate opened completely, the first to greet me was Kai.
Long golden hair that seemed to hold the radiance of sunlight.
Silver armor indifferent to the cold.
Eyes like blue opals set into place.
A jawline that fell sharp and defined.
Kai, who evoked the image of a noble wolf of the Snowy Mountain.
‘Why does he look so unscathed?’
…He looked far too unscathed.
Of course, it was I who had told him to recover.
And roughly a day had passed since I searched the Snowy Mountain.
I had thought he would have recovered somewhat by then, but this exceeded my expectations by far.
The sight of him on the verge of collapse, battered and broken, had vanished without a trace.
It was not an injury that could be recovered from in merely a single day.
Yet as Kai approached me, I could see no wounds upon him whatsoever.
‘How…?’
I observed Kai as he drew near, studying him intently.
And soon I could sense a certain ‘power’ emanating from him.
It was a power akin to the miracles of The Saint….
‘Regeneration…?’
It was also a power nearly equivalent to my own Regeneration[B+].

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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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