Chapter 16. Hunting (1)
The northern part of the continent was broadly divided into three regions.
The Timberline Tundra Region.
The Snowfield Region, where bryophytes grew.
And the Snowy Mountain Region at the Limit of Survival.
White Wolf County was situated along the border between the snowfields and the snowy mountains.
Beyond the snowy mountains lay a brutal environment where neither humans nor any other form of life could survive.
It was all because of the extreme cold.
“Brrr...!”
I unconsciously curled my body up tightly.
The breath I exhaled scattered through the air and froze into a white mist.
Sensation in my hands had grown faint, as though they had become chunks of ice.
The cold penetrated my skin.
My body gradually froze and refused to move.
Whenever I inhaled, the painfully cold air seemed to freeze my lungs.
◆Toughened Skin [D] is resisting the freezing cold!
If I hadn’t obtained Thermoregulation from the Dermexus, I might have frozen to death.
“Ugh...!”
Of course, it was still freezing despite that.
“Th-This should be high enough...!”
Judging by the way my teeth were chattering uncontrollably, I seemed to have climbed to just the right altitude.
I retrieved a piece of Dermexus flesh I had cut beforehand from my Inventory and placed it somewhere clearly visible.
Then I concealed myself and waited for prey to take the bait.
How much longer did I wait?
The sun, which had been high overhead, was already sinking into the western horizon.
At least five or six hours must have passed when—
Grrk?
After that long wait, my prey finally appeared.
It was approximately one and a half times the size of an adult man.
It walked on four legs and possessed a long, curved body as flexible as a snake’s.
Sharp claws protruded from all four feet, while its body was covered in thick, white hide that served as camouflage.
Its head featured a sharp, protruding snout filled with rake-like fangs.
Its long tail helped it locate prey buried beneath the snow while also allowing it to cut through the snow and move quickly.
The creature cautiously surveyed its surroundings with gleaming yellow eyes.
Its name was—
Alakron.
It was a monster that inhabited only the snowy mountains.
I concealed myself even deeper beneath the snow.
Fortunately, there was no particular need to hide my scent. The monsters of the snowy mountains weren’t especially sensitive to smell.
The brutal cold of the mountains froze even scents.
I held my breath until the creature became completely absorbed in the bait.
Grrrk....
The Alakron carefully surveyed its surroundings. But perhaps it concluded that no one was nearby.
It turned its attention toward the Dermexus meat I had placed as bait. Then, just as it opened its enormous jaws—
I immediately kicked off the ground.
The snow beneath my feet caved in, and my body shot forward like an arrow.
The Alakron turned toward me. However, my hand had already swept across my waist and drawn my sword.
Shing—!
Only after hearing that sharp sound did the Alakron become aware of my presence.
By the time it saw me clearly, the sharp point of my sword had already pierced its hide.
Stab—!
The Alakron’s hide wasn’t as resilient as that of a Dermexus. Even a weapon that wasn’t coated in Aura could injure it.
The Alakron released a pained shriek.
I hurriedly stepped backward and readjusted my stance.
The Alakron didn’t recklessly charge toward me. Even mindless monsters could experience fear.
In fact, because monsters were so faithful to their instincts, they knew exactly when they could afford to stand their ground.
The Alakron’s gleaming yellow eyes swept over me.
I didn’t avoid its gaze.
Our eyes met. The Alakron was the first to look away.
It began backing away.
Predator and prey.
Our respective positions had become clear.
I tightened my grip on my sword.
At that exact moment—
Dash!
The Alakron turned and fled.
“Huh...?”
I was momentarily dumbfounded.
The Alakron was a relatively high-ranking monster. Even a cornered rat would bite its pursuer.
So what was wrong with this thing....?
It was so fast that it had already disappeared from sight.
This made things rather troublesome.
I had increased my strength and stamina through training.
However, my Agility Stat remained quite low.
My current Agility Stat was only 3.
That was the result of investing the two stat points I had gained after leveling up from hunting the Dermexus.
It gave me agility equivalent to that of three adult men, but that was nowhere near enough to match the Alakron’s speed.
“I should have killed it with the first strike.”
Unfortunately, the Alakron had reacted at the last possible moment, preventing me from killing it instantly.
I felt the same frustration as someone who had lost sight of a mosquito inside their room.
However, it wasn’t as though I had no way to catch it.
I had failed to kill the Alakron, but I had inflicted a serious wound.
Sure enough, bright-red blood stained the snow along the Alakron’s escape route.
If I followed the blood trail, I should be able to catch it.
“Hoo...!”
I released a long breath and secured my sword at my waist again.
“Looks like I’ll be running again.”
And that was after competing against Kai in a two-day race without any rest.
Still, during my days in the Special Task Force, I had once run at full speed for six days.
“Let’s see how far you can run.”
It was time to show exactly why humans surpassed every other species in terms of stamina.
The Alakron fled with desperate determination. It ran and ran like a mad beast, knowing it would die if it were caught.
It was incredibly fast and possessed excellent stamina. It showed no sign of becoming tired.
Nevertheless, it still couldn’t compete with human stamina.
I pursued the Alakron as though my life depended on it.
Eventually, the sun that had set in the west began rising again in the east.
Wheeze—! Wheeze—! Wheeze—!
The Alakron finally collapsed from exhaustion. It seemed to have given up on everything.
As it panted and stared at me, its eyes seemed to say, ‘Kill me! Just fucking kill me already!’
Of course—
There was no possibility that a monster possessed enough reason to think that.
◆You have defeated an Alakron!
◆You have acquired 100 Combat EXP!
“Still, I suppose....”
It was only slightly disappointing.
More importantly, I wasn’t hunting monsters merely to increase my level.
When I lowered my gaze, I saw that the Alakron’s life force was rapidly fading. It seemed to be because the Alakron had been completely exhausted.
I couldn’t acquire an ability from a heart once its life force had completely disappeared.
I quickly cut the Alakron’s heart out with my sword.
After killing the Alakron without making it suffer, translucent messages appeared before my eyes.
However, my level didn’t increase.
The Alakron had granted less experience than the Dermexus, and the amount of experience required increased along with my level.
Considering that I had struggled for nearly half a day, it was quite disappointing....
“It isn’t Heightened Keratin, but....”
That didn’t mean the Alakron’s ability was bad.
The Alakron’s ability was rare enough to be called a “Rare Ability”.
The monsters inhabiting the snowy mountains had evolved unique abilities to adapt to their brutal environment.
Naturally, the Alakron I had hunted also possessed an ability unique to its species.
Food was extremely scarce in the snowy mountains because of the brutal cold.
To survive in such an environment, the Alakron had dramatically evolved its “Nutrient Storage System”—.
◆You have consumed the individual known as “Alakron” through Predation!
◆You have acquired the skill “Nutrient Synthesis [C-]”!
◆Nutrient Synthesis [C-] : When using this skill, the player may consume Calories to synthesize desired nutrients. Depending on the number of Calories consumed, the player may freely synthesize compounds consisting of [Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat, and Water].
<Absorbing additional Genetic Factors will strengthen this ability.>
After I swallowed every piece of the Alakron’s heart, information about the new skill appeared before my eyes.
Then all the strength drained from my body, and I collapsed onto the ground.
“Huaaah...!!”
Running around all day had nearly killed me.
Humans overwhelmingly surpassed every other species in terms of stamina, but that certainly didn’t mean they never became tired.
My stamina had been severely depleted because I had already spent two consecutive days racing against Kai.
Consequently, I was currently suffering from extreme thirst.
“I feel like I could easily drink ten liters of water right now.”
However, water was an extremely precious resource in the north. More precisely, drinkable “Drinking Water” was extremely scarce.
It froze solid within seconds, so it couldn’t be carried around in a canteen.
It would have been fine if I had stored it in my Inventory, but that hadn’t occurred to me.
“Should I just eat some snow?”
....Just as I considered doing so—
◆You can consume Calories to synthesize [Water].
◆Excess Calories—3,200 kcal.
◆Would you like to use the skill “Nutrient Synthesis [C-]”?
Messages suddenly appeared before my eyes.
The moment I expressed my intent to accept, a burst of flame seemed to flare inside my body.
My thirst disappeared in an instant.
Perhaps burning calories had caused me to lose weight. My body felt lighter than it had moments earlier.
Just as the description stated, I had apparently burned calories to synthesize water.
“This is fascinating.”
I had only possessed theoretical knowledge of the ability.
I had never acquired it during my previous life, so experiencing it firsthand was incredibly fascinating.
In truth, Ice Trolls weren’t the only monsters I had failed to consume through Predation in my previous life.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I had failed to consume most of the monsters inhabiting the snowy mountains.
That wasn’t because of the Emperor.
The Emperor had certainly exerted a tremendous influence, but he hadn’t been the ultimate reason.
Before beginning his activities in earnest, the Emperor had exercised very little influence over the continent.
Therefore, the greatest reason had been Seraphia.
In other words, the “Monarch of Frost”.
The northern part of the continent had been the Monarch of Frost’s territory.
The north had been nearly impossible to approach.
As a result, I had been unable to consume most of the monsters inhabiting the snowy mountains.
The Alakron was also a monster I had consumed for the first time.
This was likewise my first time obtaining Nutrient Synthesis [C-].
“With this....”
I was no longer restricted by the need for specific nutrients. I still needed food, but all I required was sufficient “caloric energy”.
As long as I ate food containing plenty of calories, I could freely synthesize the nutrients I needed.
From now on, I could continuously use Regeneration [C+] to regenerate any desired part of my body.
For now, I could only synthesize [Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat, and Water].
But as the ability continued evolving, I would eventually be able to synthesize every Organic Compound required by the human body, including [Vitamins, Calcium, Phosphorus, Chlorine, Potassium, and more].
“I might eventually be able to synthesize organic matter from inorganic matter.”
That would allow me to obtain the nutrients I wanted even by chewing on rocks.
This ability could produce tremendous synergy with Regeneration [C+], which required nutrients to function.
The Alakron’s ability alone was already this useful.
Yet countless monsters I had never consumed through Predation still inhabited the snowy mountains.
There were endless useful—no, outright overpowered—abilities waiting to be acquired.
There were also countless abilities I needed to evolve.
And now that I had returned to the past—before the Emperor had begun his activities in earnest—
Most importantly, at this point in time, before Seraphia awakened as the Monarch of Frost—
“Should I keep going?”
The Northern Snowy Mountains were practically my exclusive territory.
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