Chapter 8: The Hour of the Dog and the Wolf (1)
By completely rupturing my muscles and restoring them with [Regeneration (C+)], my Strength stat had increased by four.
‘I receive +1 stat point for every level….’
In other words, I had obtained the equivalent of gaining four levels all at once.
It might seem like a mere increase of +4, but that was far from the truth.
The stats used an adult man as their standard.
In other words, 1 Strength was equivalent to the strength possessed by one adult man.
Therefore, gaining +4 Strength was the same as gaining the combined strength of four adult men.
Furthermore, [Solo Level Up (EX)] granted me +1 additional stat point every time I leveled up.
That meant I could continuously acquire the Physical Ability of another adult man with every level.
It was exactly as I had expected.
The secret behind Ian’s absurd strength lay within [Solo Level Up (EX)].
== 「Player Information」 ==
[Name] = Adrian White Wolf
[Level] = Level 6
[HP] = 12
[MP] = 0
[Stats] = Strength: 7, Agility: 1, Stamina: 1, Mana: 1
[Experience] = 12.7%
I gained three levels by defeating the Ice Troll. I gained another two levels by clearing the Tutorial Quest.
That brought me to Level 6 and granted me five stat points.
I also received another stat point as the Tutorial Quest’s additional reward.
Altogether, I had received six stat points.
I distributed one point each to Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Mana.
I had done so to determine how effective a single stat point was.
Through that experiment, I discovered that a stat value of 1 used an adult man as its standard.
Therefore, the reason all my stats had initially been stuck at zero—
Was because my abilities had been far below those of an average adult man.
My past self truly had been a delinquent.
In any case—
‘There’s no question that gaining experience is the most efficient way to grow.’
Not only could I obtain additional “stats”, but I could also acquire new “abilities” through my own ability, [Predation (S+)].
Ian’s ability, [Solo Level Up (EX)].
My ability, [Predation (S+)].
“Monster Hunting”, which allowed me to capitalize on the synergy between those two abilities, was an explosive method of growth.
‘Hunting in my current condition would be too difficult.’
My current body was not that of the Predator from the coalition army. It was the body of the count’s delinquent son.
‘I nearly died when I went hunting.’
Before returning to the house, I had wandered through the snowy mountains in search of monsters to hunt.
And I had nearly died.
The only weapon I possessed was a rapier with virtually no practical combat value.
Even then, swinging it only a few times left me gasping for breath.
I could not even dream of displaying the combat power I had possessed as the Predator.
With my current body and stamina, my combat power was inferior to that of an ordinary soldier.
‘It was fortunate that the blizzard suddenly swept in.’
Otherwise, I might have died before I could even meet Ian.
‘Encountering a weakened Ice Troll first was an incredible stroke of luck.’
In any case, I needed to condition my body first.
I could not hunt monsters with the body of a delinquent who had spent his life immersed in gambling and pleasure.
Even if I could not immediately restore my body to the condition it had possessed during my time as the Predator, I at least needed enough physical strength and stamina to sustain myself throughout a battle.
I gave up hunting and returned directly to the house. I invested my remaining two stat points into Strength.
Using that strength as a foundation, I reconstructed my muscles and obtained another +4 Strength.
As a result, my strength, which had initially been stuck at zero, had now reached an astonishing value of 7.
I possessed the combined strength of seven adult men.
‘There’s no question about it….’
I could feel explosive power within my reconstructed muscles.
Ordinarily, it would have been impossible to grow this much within such a short time.
It had only been possible because of the Ice Troll’s [Regeneration (C+)].
‘Even a troll’s Recovery ability wasn’t this powerful.’
During my time as the Predator of the coalition army, the ability I acquired by consuming a troll’s heart was [Recovery].
That troll’s Recovery ability had also been extremely useful.
Stab wounds, lacerations, bruises, and similar injuries healed within minutes.
Even if an arm or leg was severed, I could restore it as long as I recovered the severed limb.
Ice Trolls were a variant of those trolls.
Since their Recovery ability was five times more powerful than that of ordinary trolls, I had expected it to be exceptional.
But….
I had never expected it to be this powerful.
‘It’s nearly comparable to the Saintess.’
That was no exaggeration.
Its power was comparable to that of the Saintess, one of the coalition army’s champions.
And this was despite [Regeneration (C+)] still lacking its complete Genetic Factors.
I could not imagine what kind of power it would display if I hunted more Ice Trolls and acquired additional Genetic Factors.
‘No wonder the emperor captured and bred every last one of them.’
Furthermore, Ice Trolls were not the only monsters with such capabilities.
Countless monsters across the continent possessed abilities comparable to those of an Ice Troll.
In my previous life, the emperor had captured all of them.
But now that I had returned to the past, that had not happened yet.
Rare Monsters possessing abilities even more powerful than an Ice Troll’s were still scattered throughout the wilderness.
‘If I can acquire all of those abilities….’
Surpassing the Predator from my previous life would be easy.
Growllll….!!
A thunderous noise suddenly erupted from my stomach. The terrible hunger made me dizzy, and my mind reeled.
An Ice Troll’s Regeneration did not provide unlimited recovery.
It required a price.
The Saintess’ miracles required Divine Power.
The Ice Troll’s Regeneration ability required—
◆You feel extreme hunger due to the enormous amount of Protein consumed!
Nutrients.
In other words, I needed food.
I had not merely repaired my ruptured muscles but completely reconstructed them.
Consequently, all the protein within my body had been depleted.
‘My meal should be arriving soon.’
I suppressed my hunger and stood up.
The soldiers immediately released startled screams.
“Good heavens!!”
“H-He stood up as though nothing happened!!!”
“W-What the hell….?!”
Every one of them stared at me with their eyes wide open. Their mouths hung open without showing any intention of closing.
They looked as though they had gone beyond observing a fascinating animal and were now staring at some bizarre, grotesque creature.
Why were they making such a tremendous fuss merely because I had exercised?
‘Have they never seen someone exercise before?’
But when I thought about it, I was currently the count’s delinquent son.
During my time with the coalition army, I had trained every day.
But when I was the count’s delinquent son, I had never trained and had spent my life pursuing pleasure.
‘This must be their first time seeing it.’
From the soldiers’ perspective, it was bound to be astonishing.
I stood up with ease and brushed the dirt and dust from my body.
“U-Uwaagh!!”
“A monster….! He’s a monster….!”
No matter how astonished they were, treating me like a monster crossed the line.
Just as I was about to reprimand the soldiers—
I want to wet my throat with their spurting blood and quench this thirst.
Thump!
◆Driven mad by hunger, you perceive everything within sight as “food”!
My mind reeled for an instant.
I hurriedly regained my senses and corrected my vision. However, the scenery before me had already become distorted.
The wooden swords provided for training resembled long loaves of bread. The training dummies looked like enormous blocks of cheese. And the soldiers….
They looked like fresh meat.
I wanted to sink my sharp teeth into their throats immediately. I wanted to chew their flesh and satisfy this hunger.
My heart pounded violently.
The blood vessels in my eyes bulged as madness stained my reason crimson.
The instincts of a predator standing before its prey—
Those instincts moved my body. When I closed and opened my eyes once—
I was already charging toward the soldiers.
My muscles had been ruptured and reconstructed. My strength and speed were now vastly superior to before.
When I kicked off the ground—
Boom!
The floor of the Training Ground shattered with a tremendous noise.
The resulting force propelled my body forward.
The soldiers could not respond. They were already horrified by my behavior.
That shock prevented them from reacting to my speed, much less defending themselves against it.
Even without that, they probably would not have been capable of perceiving my current movements.
The distance between the soldiers and me rapidly narrowed.
Unmistakable killing intent filled my eyes.
I reached out, intending to seize the foremost soldier by the throat and take his flesh and blood—
That was when it happened.
◆Player’s Will [EX] resists the gnawing hunger!
A translucent message suddenly appeared. At the same moment, my mind snapped awake.
I hurriedly pulled back the hand I had extended toward the soldier.
However, before I could do so, another hand blocked me.
Clap!
A large, powerful hand seized my wrist.
I instinctively attempted to shake it off.
But it did not budge.
This was the strength of my reconstructed body. Despite that, I could not easily break free from the hand restraining me.
Crash!
A dull noise rang out.
When I lowered my gaze, I saw a covered plate lying on the ground.
The turkey dish that had been resting upon it was now scattered messily across the floor.
It appeared to be the meal I had requested from Bernard.
However, the person gripping my hand was not Bernard. I slowly raised my head to identify the owner of that hand.
There, I saw a man whose face was twisted like that of a malicious demon.
“What do you think you’re doing….?!”
I remembered that face. I also remembered his name clearly.
Although the horrors of the battlefield had stained and corrupted my memories, I remembered this man without question.
How could I possibly forget him?
“Sir Kai!”
How could I forget this damned bastard who had mercilessly slaughtered my comrades in the coalition army?
I first met Kai when I was approximately five years old. My father once traveled to the Royal Capital.
When he returned to the house, he brought a filthy young boy with him.
The boy was small, frail, and painfully thin.
My father named the child “Kai”, meaning a “dog resembling a tiger”.
Whenever my father spoke about Kai to me, he called him a “reasonably useful stray dog”.
My father also said—
—He is intelligent but not particularly clever, so he should be easy to train. Once he acknowledges someone as his master, he will never betray them. Raise him well and make him your loyal servant.
That was how my father assigned Kai to me.
My father had not been wrong. As a loyal knight, Kai had been willing to sacrifice even his life for me.
Thinking back….
When we were children, my relationship with Kai seemed to have been rather good.
I had cared for Kai, and Kai had cared for me.
There had been a time when we regarded each other as brothers rather than merely sharing a Liege-Vassal Relationship.
But at some point—
Our relationship deteriorated.
Kai and I could no longer live as brothers as we once had.
With Seraphia’s corruption, our relationship eventually deteriorated beyond repair.
And now that I had returned to the past—
The Kai standing before me resembled a noble wolf.
The sight of him standing tall while gripping my wrist was proud and dignified like a wolf of the snowy plains.
He appeared more suited than I was to the name of our house, “White Wolf”.
However, the meaning behind Kai’s name was “a dog resembling a tiger”.
There was no genetic difference between dogs and wolves.
Long ago, one or two members of a wolf pack began fearlessly relying upon humans.
That was how the species known as “dogs” came into existence.
Therefore, there was no fundamental difference in appearance between a dog and a wolf.
What distinguished a dog from a wolf lay within.
Loyalty.
A dog wagged its tail when it saw a human.
A wolf became wary and attacked when it saw one.
However, the gathering twilight at dusk made it impossible to distinguish a dog from a wolf.
“Leave White Wolf County immediately.”
Was the Kai approaching me now a dog or a wolf? If he was a dog, he would wag his tail in delight.
“What if I refuse?”
If he was a wolf, he would attempt to harm me.
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