The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 51

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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 51. The Predator’s Instinct (2)
◆Curse of Cold (Curse Of Cold)[P]
: Inflicts the cursed target with [supernatural thermal energy depletion] that progressively expands in intensity and scope from within. As time passes, the thermal energy depletion expands toward [infinity], and [curse effects] corresponding to the depleted energy activate.
This was information about the ‘authority’ that Seraphia possessed as the Frost Lord.
The measurement grade was [P], denoting Primal.
It was a grade that reigned several tiers above Dragon’s Wrath [E], which signified Epic—truly ‘another level’ in every sense of the word.
Yet the authority I knew Seraphia possessed, the Frost, differed somewhat from this.
The description according to the Predator’s Instinct [S] was not an authority but a ‘curse’.
In that sense, [thermal energy depletion] and such—the explanation differed somewhat from my understanding of the concept of cold.
‘Come to think of it, the Grand Mage said cold essentially doesn’t exist.’
Once, the Grand Mage of the Allied Forces had said:
From a magical perspective, the concept of ‘cold’ cannot exist.
We only perceive cold when heat moves from a higher to a lower region.
The Grand Mage added that ‘cold heat’ is paradoxical in meaning itself.
Thus, the Grand Mage defined Seraphia’s authority not as mere cold, but as ‘the power to annihilate a target’s heat and energy’.
Consequently, the elemental advantage against fire, which we commonly understand, became meaningless.
Mere fire held no elemental superiority against Seraphia’s authority.
Her power was the force to deplete and annihilate any and all thermal energy.
It was no accident that the Frost Lord was called the [Allied Forces’ Greatest Threat] in my past life.
It was no accident that Ian had to lose his left arm.
However, Seraphia now—unable to control such authority.
◆Seraphia is currently afflicted by [curse effects].
Seraphia, as perceived through the Predator’s Instinct [S], was currently suffering from [curse effects].
And those [curse effects] were enough to exhaust even me.
==【Curse of Cold [P]】==
◆[Physical Weakening] – The cursed target’s maximum health continuously decreases due to the Frost’s cold. The depleted health cannot recover naturally, and all stats decrease proportionally to the health loss.
◆[Freezing Induction] – The cursed target faces heightened risk of entering a frozen state. Parts of the body freeze at regular intervals, restricting or preventing movement of those areas.
◆[Mental Confusion] – The cursed target endures endless mental torment from extreme cold. Upon suffering such torment, the target falls into abnormal states including loss of direction, cognitive decline, loss of consciousness, and illusions or auditory hallucinations.
◆[Sensory Numbness] – The cursed target’s sensory nerves gradually freeze and become paralyzed from the cold. Touch vanishes first, followed by smell and taste. Soon hearing disappears, and finally vision is blocked, resulting in complete loss of all five senses.
…I found myself momentarily speechless.
I couldn’t believe that Seraphia was currently suffering from all of these [curse effects].
At this level, it was a miracle she was even alive.
More accurately, she was ‘dying’.
From the description, it seemed the [curse effects] intensified the more she used her authority.
And this time, using her power had pushed her past the threshold she could endure.
“Just… just hold on a little longer…!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Kai scooped Seraphia into his arms. Then, with explosive speed, he descended the Snowy Mountain.
He moved so fast he’d already become a mere speck.
It was unbelievable that he was in such a critical state with his flank torn open.
Then again, what wouldn’t a man do for one who meant life and death to him.
Well, in any case.
“It seems she hasn’t awakened as The Frost Lord.”
There was no immediate need to kill Seraphia right now.
And before I knew it, Kai had completely vanished from my sight.
Looking around, I had never seen such a spectacle.
The entire field of vision was filled with monster legions frozen like ice sculptures.
But upon closer inspection, they all bore the gruesome appearance of having been ground through a crusher.
“…What a waste.”
It was truly unfortunate.
If I sold all of those, how much money would that be?
Of course, since I hadn’t devoured [S+] the individual members of the legion, I couldn’t sell them as meat. However, I could sell byproducts like hides and bones.
Those possessed considerable value.
But now that they were completely pulverized like this, their commercial value was zero.
“The Lycanthrope’s corpse is unusable too.”
The same applied to the Lycanthrope.
The Lycanthrope that took a direct hit from Seraphia’s power.
The Lycanthrope was even more gruesome than the legion’s monsters.
Every muscle that had been like steel was ruptured.
All the blood vessels throughout its body were torn and severed.
The Lycanthrope was so mangled that I couldn’t salvage any byproducts from it.
“It would have been worth at least tens of millions of gold.”
That enormous fortune had been ground to dust.
Still, I didn’t blame Seraphia.
If Seraphia hadn’t unleashed her power, I would have let the Lycanthrope escape.
“At least I was fortunate enough to salvage the heart.”
To me, devouring [S+] the heart was more important than the corpse.
The genetic code of the power granted by the Beast Lord.
This was something I couldn’t obtain even if offered tens of billions of gold.
I could boldly say it possessed an astronomical value that couldn’t be converted into currency.
Therefore, it was correct to express this not as ‘because of’ Seraphia, but ‘thanks to’ Seraphia.
“There’s no helping it.”
I swallowed my regret and descended the Snowy Mountain.
* * *
Immediately after the Lycanthrope was subjugated.
The moment word reached them, the Whitewolf Territory was thrown into complete chaos.
The soldiers of Count’s Castle were the first to hear the news.
“So defeating Gelu Drake wasn’t just luck.”
“But honestly, I didn’t believe it?”
“Yeah, me neither. I thought Sir Kai was just taking all the credit for what he’d already caught.”
“Exactly. It wasn’t like this happened just once or twice before.”
Adrian, the reckless scion of Count Whitewolf’s House.
The tyranny he once wielded had been enough to make one’s teeth chatter.
“But did you see Adrian fighting the monster legion this time?”
“I saw it.”
“Is there anyone among the soldiers here who didn’t see it?”
Every soldier from Count’s Castle had marched out to fight.
And so we could understand.
The monster legion surging forward like an avalanche.
We experienced firsthand through our very skin the terror that their overwhelming numbers and momentum inspired.
And because of that, we could feel more acutely than anyone what Adrian must have felt, charging straight into the heart of that maelstrom without yielding an inch.
“Do you know what I was thinking at that moment?”
“What were you thinking?”
“Something like… if Adrian is that kind of person, I think I could follow him even at the cost of my life.”
“Did you suddenly develop some loyalty that wasn’t there before?”
“…Yeah, I know. I didn’t expect it either.”
“I get it. Honestly, I didn’t either.”
And it wasn’t just this one time.
Even against Gelu Drake, Adrian had held his soldiers back.
Against Gelu Drake, against the legion—both times.
Adrian never hesitated to sacrifice himself for his soldiers.
And it was certainly no reckless impulse.
“His movements were incredible.”
“…I wondered if he was even human.”
“Is he really human? Or is he a monster?”
Especially that final inferno that erupted.
The dragon’s wrath that incinerated the very landscape was truly—.
“…It was no joke, really.”
“I questioned whether my own eyes were deceiving me.”
“Is he really human? Or is he a dragon?”
And so now we could believe it.
The Lycanthrope, commander of the legion.
That Adrian had slain that monster—we could now believe it without a shred of doubt.
Moreover.
Even right after slaying the Lycanthrope, there he is now.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As always, Adrian training his body at the Frost Trial Grounds.
“How is that supposed to be reckless?”
“All reckless people these days must be like that—”
“—right?”
“That’s right.”
“Of course. If the minimum standard for a reckless fool is Adrian… wow. What kind of world is that?”
With that, the image of a reckless fool completely vanished from the soldiers’ minds.
“Instructor Leverton.”
“…Uh, yes?”
“How highly regarded is Adrian in the mercenary world?”
“Ah, that’s right. Instructor Leverton, you did work as a mercenary.”
“So, what rank would Adrian be?”
Mercenary ranks are divided into seven tiers in total.
Iron—those who have just received their mercenary license.
Bronze—those who can truly be called mercenaries.
Silver—those with over a year of active service.
Gold—those beginning to earn the title of veteran.
And this is where the general limit is said to end.
The ceiling that only effort alone can breach, without any special talent or skill.
In that sense, Leverton had been a Gold-rank mercenary.
He had hit the Platinum ceiling and, receiving an offer from the previous Count, became a training instructor here in Whitewolf Territory.
“Well… I’m not sure…?”
…He simply could not render a judgment.
Leverton’s experience only extended to Gold rank.
Platinum, Emerald, Diamond.
Those higher tiers—Leverton had never witnessed them, never experienced them.
To him, they were all merely ‘another level’ entirely.
“I… I really don’t know…?”
And so he did not know.
Yet if he had to answer nonetheless, well…
Though he had never seen nor experienced such a realm…
Call it intuition, perhaps.
Or perhaps the discernment he had cultivated while training soldiers all this time.
Adrian seemed capable of transcending Platinum, Emerald, and Diamond to become a ‘Master-rank mercenary.’
And perhaps…
He might even become a ‘Mercenary King’ who surpassed even Master rank.
…But could that be right?
Who could even imagine such a thing?
That the world’s greatest fool—one who couldn’t even manipulate a handful of mana—could become a Mercenary King.
If he went to the Mercenary Guild right now and spouted such nonsense, he’d get punched in the mouth.
Yet here was Adrian, who had slain Gelu Drake, held back a monster legion alone, and ultimately vanquished the legion commander.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Above all, witnessing that extraordinary physical training only deepened his conviction—
“Hah… You truly are remarkable.”
“The more I see, the more I can only marvel.”
The soldiers’ gazes upon Adrian had shifted noticeably.
* * *
As the soldiers’ eyes upon Adrian transformed entirely,
the handmaidens of the Lord’s Residence found their own regard for him completely altered as well.
A cluster of handmaidens gathered in one corner of the Frost Trial Grounds.
“Running while carrying that… wow…!”
“I don’t think I could even lift that iron equipment once.”
All the handmaidens could not contain their admiration for Adrian.
Especially the torrential cascade of sweat pouring from him.
Watching Adrian’s body drenched in perspiration, one of the handmaidens murmured softly.
“He’ll bathe after training, won’t he?”
“Of course—he’s sweating so profusely and covered head to toe in dust.”
“Well then, listen.”
The handmaiden leaned forward and spoke in a hushed whisper.
“Wouldn’t he need assistance with his bath?”
A moment of silence fell.
Suddenly, her fellow handmaidens’ faces flushed crimson.
“W-what are you saying!”
“You! You! Have you lost your mind!”
“No, I was just thinking aloud. Besides, Adrian has never accepted bathing assistance before.”
“T-that’s true…?”
“Even during his dissolute days, he absolutely refused such service.”
More precisely, he had meticulously avoided any situation that could lead to intimate contact.
Though much had changed now, merely a month ago Adrian had been called a wastrel.
Adrian, who had spent his days drowning in gambling and indulgence.
Yet he had never once shared a bed with a woman.
He would strike the handmaidens’ cheeks.
He would harass the women.
But he never actually laid hands on them.
For reasons unknown, he had never crossed that particular line, not even once.
…Of course, in every other regard, he had gleefully trampled all boundaries.
Well, in any case.
“But you see….”
A younger handmaiden added quietly.
“What if he actually asked for it?”
“What?”
“With such intense training, he must be utterly exhausted. And especially since he had us wait here today….”
…Now that she mentioned it, that was true.
Suddenly all their faces turned bright red—
“S-stop! You’re making us imagine inappropriate things!”
The maids hurried to bow their heads.
Yet their fingers kept twisting the hems of their skirts nervously.
“…Rather than this, should I just speak first?”
“Speak? About what?”
“That I’ll attend to his bathing.”
“What?!”
“You! You!”
“If something truly terrible happens because of that, what will you do?!”
“Oh, it won’t. Even during his reckless days, nothing like that happened.”
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
“Still, you never know what people might do.”
“Right! Who could have predicted Adrian would change like this?”
“So then… well, hmm, ahem.”
The maid cleared her throat, her face flushing slightly.
Then she glanced.
Stealing a look at Adrian—
“Maybe… even if something terrible happened, it might be okay?”
“Kyaaah! Look at her!!”
“Eek! She’s insane, absolutely insane!!”
“Look at her face turning red after saying that! You were totally imagining it, weren’t you? Weren’t you?”
“No, I wasn’t!!”
“You weren’t? You’re beet red!”
“Ugh, I don’t know! I’m just saying such thoughts can cross anyone’s mind!”
“Cross your mind? Your face says you’ve had that thought a hundred times!!”
“Kyaaaaaaah─!!”
The cheeks of all the shrieking maids had flushed crimson.
“But… Adrian wouldn’t be hearing us talk, right?”
“Oh my, oh my!”
“What if he really is listening!”
All the maids suddenly clamped their mouths shut.
And as if by agreement, they looked toward Adrian.
“…He’s so focused on training, he couldn’t possibly hear us.”
“R-right…?”
The maids exhaled in relief, yet kept their voices hushed as they resumed their cheerful chatter.
Thus.
To the soldiers and maids, Adrian was no longer a reckless fool.
A lord worthy of following with one’s life.
And a name that stirred their hearts without reason.
Their gazes toward Adrian now brimmed with ‘admiration and excitement’—
“By the way, about Seraphia…”
“Yes.”
“I heard you suffered grave injuries this time… Are you alright?”
“…No, she still hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“I’m beginning to fear something truly catastrophic might happen.”
Concern and dread for Seraphia weighed heavily upon me.

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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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