Chapter 17. Hunting (2)
As usual, Kai headed toward the Frost Trial Grounds that day.
His entire body had felt as heavy as lead ever since his running competition with Adrian.
An entire week had already passed, yet its aftereffects showed little sign of subsiding.
Rest was also a form of training.
Kai needed to let his body recover, but he simply couldn’t remain idle.
Adrian’s growth was alarming.
Saying that he was growing explosively was no exaggeration.
Approximately two and a half months remained before the Royal Decree arrived.
Once that time passed, Kai would kill Adrian.
He had to kill him.
But Kai had no idea how much Adrian might change by then. Adrian himself had completely changed in little more than ten days.
Kai couldn’t even imagine what he might become after another seventy days.
That meant Kai couldn’t afford to remain idle either. To ensure that he could kill Adrian, Kai also needed to train without pause.
Dragging his unbearably heavy body along, Kai quickened his steps toward the Frost Trial Grounds.
Eventually, he arrived.
However, the atmosphere inside the trial grounds felt distinctly strange.
Contrary to his expectation that it would be blazing with the heat of training, the interior was cold and still.
The soldiers and instructors were standing rigidly, their bodies tense.
Kai surveyed the trial grounds and quickly realized why. An unexpected person had come to visit.
It was a woman with dreamlike silver hair that seemed saturated with moonlight.
“Ah, Sir Kai.”
Upon spotting him, Seraphia hurried over with quick little steps.
Kai instinctively tilted his head.
“What brings you to the Frost Trial Grounds?”
“Ah, well....”
Seraphia gave an awkward smile before speaking again.
“I wanted to try exercising.”
“....Pardon?”
Kai’s face went completely blank.
Seraphia wanted to exercise?
In a sense, that was even more shocking than Adrian beginning to exercise.
With only slight exaggeration, it was as shocking as watching Adrian chew on the Dermexus’ heart.
The fact that Seraphia had been born physically frail because of the Frost Curse was only a secondary issue.
Seraphia was currently responsible for nearly all of the County’s administrative affairs.
Bernard, the Head Butler, was officially serving as the Acting Lord.
In practice, however, Seraphia handled every duty expected of the lord.
In other words, she had no time.
One glance at the dark circles beneath Seraphia’s eyes made it clear that this wasn’t an excuse, but reality.
“But….I don’t know what I’m supposed to do....”
Seraphia lowered her head slightly.
She rubbed her left shoulder with her right hand and nervously glanced around.
Kai turned his gaze and surveyed the area.
Many soldiers had been training in the Frost Trial Grounds.
There were also instructors who trained those soldiers every day. However, all of them were now frozen at attention.
Not one of them dared approach Seraphia.
That was understandable. Seraphia was the lord of White Wolf County.
She hadn’t yet been formally recognized as the lord because the Royal Decree hadn’t arrived, but it was only a matter of time.
To the soldiers, this was no different from the “Supreme Commander” personally arriving for an inspection.
There was no other reason why all the soldiers and instructors had frozen in place.
But Kai was the knight who protected Seraphia.
Even if everyone else in the world turned away from Seraphia, Kai had sworn that he alone would always remain by her side.
Kai turned back toward Seraphia and spoke.
“I will teach you.”
“Ah! Really?”
Seraphia’s eyes sparkled.
Her eyes were as red as perfectly carved rubies.
Combined with her innocent smile, they truly shone like gemstones.
“Then would it be all right if I asked you to help me?”
“You need not ask. You may simply order me.”
Kai calmly stepped forward.
Seraphia’s face was overflowing with anticipation. He couldn’t bring himself to ignore that expression.
Kai began organizing the equipment scattered across the trial grounds.
Since Seraphia was a complete beginner, she needed to start with something light.
Because she was particularly frail, even that required the utmost caution.
“Sir Kai.”
Kai raised his head when Seraphia called him.
Seraphia was looking around. She appeared to be searching for someone.
Sure enough, she asked Kai—
“Has Brother not arrived yet?”
Seraphia once again glanced around the trial grounds. She resembled a baby bird searching for its mother.
“I heard that he exercises here every day....”
Disappointment had already spread across Seraphia’s face.
Kai’s gaze suddenly fell upon her pale neck. Finger-shaped bruises still remained there.
They had faded considerably since he first saw them. Nevertheless, they were still clearly visible.
“He will return soon.”
Kai showed no outward reaction.
* * *
It had already been a week since I began hunting throughout the snowy mountains.
Only after all that time did I finally encounter the prey I had been searching for so desperately.
It stood approximately two meters tall.
It had large, brutish eyes and bulging muscles.
It was an Ice Troll.
The Ice Troll didn’t release a threatening roar when it discovered me. However, saliva was dripping heavily from its mouth.
It clearly regarded me as prey and its next meal.
An Ice Troll wasn’t gentle enough to release prey once it encountered it.
To begin with, monsters possessed no such quality as “gentleness”.
The Ice Troll’s eyes gleamed.
I read the emotion contained within its gaze.
Hunger.
That hunger transformed into ferocity. The Ice Troll charged toward me in an instant.
I swiftly reached toward my waist. But just as I was about to draw my sword—
I stopped.
An Ice Troll’s weakness was its heart.
Therefore, aiming my sword at its heart, as I had done before, would be the most reliable way to kill it.
An Ice Troll’s hide wasn’t as resilient as a Dermexus’.
Even though I couldn’t wield Aura, I could pierce its hide and destroy its heart.
However....
‘The Ice Troll’s heart would be damaged.’
Just like last time, its heart would sustain damage.
If the heart was damaged, the number of Genetic Factors I could acquire would decrease.
I couldn’t obtain any Genetic Factors from a completely destroyed heart.
Ice Trolls were difficult-to-find Rare Monsters.
They were Troll Variants that inhabited only the Northern Snowy Mountains.
They were so rare that I had needed to wander around for an entire week just to find one.
There was no telling when I might encounter another. Therefore, I couldn’t damage its heart as I had done last time.
It wasn’t as though I had been unaware of this before. I simply hadn’t possessed another option.
If I hadn’t aimed for its heart, I would have died.
But things were different now. My body had grown through ten days of training.
My body had evolved through seven days of hunting.
I could clearly see the Ice Troll’s movements. Its heavy fist surged forward, filling my entire field of vision.
Trying to confront that fist head-on would be foolish.
However—
I didn’t avoid it. I met it head-on.
Booom—!
The instant my fist collided with the Ice Troll’s—
Crunch!
My fist was the first to shatter.
My physical strength was far greater than before. However, it still couldn’t compare to an Ice Troll’s.
Even so, I had become strong enough to inflict damage upon it.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking came from the Ice Troll’s fist.
Its feet were repeatedly forced backward.
Perhaps it had encountered more resistance than expected.
The Ice Troll’s face twisted in pain.
Graaaah!!
The Ice Troll released a monstrous roar.
During the brief moment it spent taking several steps backward—
Its crushed fist had already returned to normal. It possessed truly absurd regenerative power.
An Ice Troll certainly lived up to its name.
But that—
Applied to me as well.
◆Activating the skill “Regeneration [C+].”
◆Consuming a large quantity of calcium to regenerate the shattered skeletal structure.
Translucent messages appeared before my eyes. My shattered fist regenerated in an instant.
Gruk?!
Visible bewilderment spread across the Ice Troll’s face.
It seemed considerably shocked that a human like me had displayed regenerative abilities comparable to its own.
Graaaaar—!!
Consumed by anger, the Ice Troll charged again.
I refused to retreat this time as well. I threw another punch toward the Ice Troll’s incoming fist.
Booom—!
Our fists collided again, crushing each other’s bones and flesh.
My injuries were considerably more severe.
As a result, the calcium stored within my body was rapidly depleted.
I retrieved some monster meat from my inventory and chewed it down.
Monster meat was rich in protein and fat.
In other words, obtaining calcium—the primary component needed for bones—would normally be difficult.
However, that was no longer a problem for me.
◆You can consume calories to synthesize [Calcium].
◆Excess Calories—3,880 kcal.
◆Would you like to use the skill “Nutrient Synthesis [C]”?
Over the past week, I had managed to hunt additional Alakrons.
As a result, I had raised Nutrient Synthesis from [C-] to [C].
I could now freely synthesize [Vitamins and Calcium] in addition to [Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat, and Water].
Its conversion efficiency had also increased considerably.
Flames surged within my body as calories were burned. The burned calories were converted into calcium.
That calcium then became fuel for Regeneration [C+], instantly restoring my shattered skeletal structure.
G-Gruk?!
The Ice Troll jumped in surprise. Its bewilderment had now transformed into outright shock.
I continued meeting the Ice Troll’s fists with my own.
Boom! Boom! Kaboom!
As time passed, the Ice Troll’s Regeneration visibly slowed.
That was understandable.
The Ice Troll’s Regeneration also required nutrients. However, the Ice Troll possessed only a limited supply.
I, on the other hand, could continuously replenish my nutrients.
My inventory was overflowing with meat from the monsters I had hunted.
Furthermore, Nutrient Synthesis [C] allowed me to selectively create whatever nutrients I required.
“Let’s see which of us can last until the end.”
The first one whose Regeneration reached its limit would lose.
* * *
◆You have defeated an Ice Troll!
◆You have acquired 120 Combat EXP!
◆Your level has increased!
Translucent messages appeared before my eyes.
Then the Ice Troll’s massive body tilted sideways. It collapsed into the snow and showed no further movement.
“....What a stubborn bastard.”
The words escaped my mouth without conscious thought. After all, I had completely exhausted the meat stored in my inventory.
Unlike the weakened specimen I had encountered before, this Ice Troll was on an entirely different level.
Still, I was fortunate to have barely emerged victorious.
I approached the Ice Troll’s corpse and examined it. Although it wasn’t moving, it hardly looked dead.
However, the translucent message had definitively confirmed its death, so there was no need to finish it off.
I drew my sword and carefully cut open the Ice Troll’s chest.
An Ice Troll heart in perfect condition was revealed. Not a single part of it had been damaged.
That also meant the Genetic Factors I could acquire were completely intact.
“If I’m lucky, my Regeneration might advance by another rank.”
Filled with anticipation, I brought the Ice Troll’s heart toward my mouth without hesitation.
Crunch.
Its tough texture and the stinging scent of blood filled my mouth.
As expected, Madness immediately surged into me. Like an encroaching crimson fog, it began dyeing my mind red.
My eyes became bloodshot, and my entire field of vision turned crimson. Just as the final thread of my reason was about to snap—
◆Player’s Will [EX] is resisting the encroaching Madness!
The translucent message suddenly appeared, jolting my mind awake.
The crimson fog consuming my mind disappeared, and my blood-red vision returned to normal.
“So it doesn’t grant complete immunity.”
Ian’s ability, Player’s Will [EX], didn’t provide absolute immunity to Madness.
Its precise description stated, [The player acquires immunity to all effects that “exceed the player’s Mental Fortitude”, including Curses, Illusions, Brainwashing, Hypnosis, Suggestions, and more.]
In other words, Player’s Will [EX] activated only when an effect surpassed the maximum limit of what my Mental Fortitude could withstand.
As for the limit of my Mental Fortitude—
“I don’t know exactly.”
But it probably wasn’t very high.
In my previous life, I had invariably lost my reason and gone berserk whenever I used Predation.
Later, I managed to control it to some extent with Ian’s help. But in truth, Ian’s “help” hadn’t been anything complicated.
“I can’t even remember how many times Ian beat me.”
All he did was beat me like a dog.
Whenever Madness consumed me, Ian beat the living hell out of me until I regained my senses.
....Thinking back, Ian really did beat me an awful lot.
It had been particularly difficult because I hadn’t possessed Regeneration back then.
Regardless, as long as I had Player’s Will [EX], I no longer needed to fear Madness.
Crunch.
I stuffed the final piece of the Ice Troll’s heart into my mouth.
Predation [S+] required a little time to analyze and apply the Genetic Factors.
* * *
“Hmm.... It’s already been seventeen days.”
Seventeen days had passed since I returned to the past.
Ian still hadn’t appeared.
Of course, seventeen days wasn’t an especially long time. But it wasn’t a short amount of time either.
If it were Ian, he should have appeared long ago. Yet he still hadn’t shown even the slightest sign of himself.
“Surely I’m not the only one who returned to the past.”
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