Chapter 39. The Predator’s Way (1)
The pinnacle of all living creatures—the Ultimate Lifeform.
Ian had presented the following condition for me to become the Ultimate Lifeform.
—You must do more than merely obtain the abilities of other creatures. You must surpass those abilities.
However, Predation [S+] merely absorbed the target’s Genetic Factors.
It did not cause mutations that surpassed those abilities.
In other words, it only allowed me to approach the original creature’s capabilities.
It did not allow me to surpass them.
Furthermore, in my previous life, I had been unable to control the madness caused by Predation.
I had been unable to absorb any creature’s abilities in their entirety.
Consequently, most of the abilities I obtained as Predator in my previous life had been degraded versions.
Even so, I had used those degraded abilities to surpass both the original creatures and their limits.
The reason that had been possible—
Was this.
◆Activating the Combination Skill Metabolic Overdrive [U]!
A Combination Skill.
As its name suggested, it was created by “combining” the skills and abilities I possessed.
Its measured rank was [U], signifying Unique.
It meant this was my own “Unique Ability”, something that existed nowhere else in the world.
That was only natural.
Such an ability did not exist in this world.
More precisely, it could not exist.
Metabolic Overdrive [U] was the product of combining three different abilities.
The Rex’s Promote Metabolism [D].
The Ice Troll’s Regeneration [B-].
The Alakron’s Nutrient Synthesis [B-].
They came from three distinct and independent creatures.
They were three abilities that could never naturally coexist, yet I had combined them into a single Combination Skill.
Its principles and mechanisms worked as follows.
Promote Metabolism [D] stimulated my Endocrine System, greatly increasing my metabolic rate.
In exchange for reducing my Strength stat, it significantly increased my Agility and Stamina.
It was an ability possessed by the monster known as the Rex.
The reason it reduced muscular strength was to maintain balance within its metabolic rate.
It was a strategic evolution that allowed the Rex to survive in the Northern Snowy Mountains, where food was scarce.
But what if sufficient nutrients could be supplied?
Then there would be no reason to reduce muscular strength.
Furthermore, there was a limit to how much Promote Metabolism [D] could stimulate the Endocrine System.
Nutrients were one concern, but excessive stimulation would also damage the Endocrine System.
The Endocrine System was a collection of organs that secreted hormones throughout the body.
Once damaged, it possessed an “irreversible characteristic” that prevented recovery.
That was why the Rex did not stimulate its Endocrine System beyond a certain level.
It had evolved with a fixed limit on its metabolic rate.
However, I was different.
I possessed Regeneration [B-].
Since I could regenerate any damage, there was no reason to impose such a limit.
Therefore, by using Nutrient Synthesis [B-]—
I could remove the metabolic limit of Promote Metabolism [D]—
Drive it into overdrive—
And restore the resulting damage to my Endocrine System using Regeneration [B-].
: When this skill is activated, the Player’s Endocrine System enters [Overdrive]. The metabolic limit is removed, eliminating the biological restrictions of the Endocrine System.
For a duration of [Calories Consumed/100] seconds, all of the Player’s stats increase by [+Calories Consumed/1,000]%.
<This is a Combination Skill formed by combining Nutrient Synthesis [B-], Promote Metabolism [D], and Regeneration [B-].>
I could freely amplify my stats according to the number of [Calories Consumed].
Furthermore, I had prepared oil containing a total of 1,350,000 kilocalories.
◆Available Calories—100,000 kilocalories.
◆Metabolic Overdrive [U]
Unfortunately, the maximum number of calories I could currently accumulate was 100,000.
My current Storage System could not accumulate more calories than that.
That was why this skill was still incomplete.
However, if I evolved additional abilities or combined it with other abilities, this Combination Skill possessed limitless potential for development.
I burned half of the 100,000 calories I had accumulated—
Fifty thousand kilocalories, all at once.
The organs of my Endocrine System exceeded their Critical Threshold and ruptured simultaneously.
The cells connecting my nerves were torn to pieces.
However, they regenerated in an instant, restoring my ruptured organs and reconnecting my severed nerves.
I suppressed the resulting pain by shutting off my Sensory Nerves.
◆Activating the Combination Skill Metabolic Overdrive [U]!
◆Calories Consumed—50,000 kilocalories.
◆All the Player’s stats will increase by [+50%] for [500 seconds]!
Thump!!
The hormones within my Endocrine System surged out of control.
My nerves became extraordinarily sensitive.
My muscles received an even greater supply of energy and contracted into denser bundles.
The nerves governing my five senses became clearer, ensuring that I did not miss even the slightest movement.
== 「Player Information」 ==
[Name] = Adrian White Wolf
[Title] = Master of the Snowy Mountains
[Level] = Level 28
[HP] = 3,100
[MP] = 0
[Stats] = Strength: 43.5 (+19.5), Agility: 42 (+19), Stamina: 31.5 (+15.5), Mana: 6 (+5)
[Experience] = 34.7%
Together with the effect of my title, the amplified stats produced an effect equivalent to gaining an astonishing sixty-two levels.
My stats had risen explosively.
“The hunt begins.”
My body shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
* * *
To be honest—
Kai had thought Adrian was insane.
Adrian had charged fearlessly toward the Monster Legion.
Furthermore—
“Hahahahahaha!!”
His mad laughter before the Monster Legion was further proof that he had lost his mind.
Kai’s blue eyes focused on one place.
He watched Adrian confronting the countless monsters beneath the castle walls.
Adrian did not tremble in fear. Nor had terror taken hold of him.
“None of you interfere.”
Instead, he was enjoying it.
It was as though the Monster Legion was his prey and his words were a warning that he would not tolerate anyone touching what belonged to him.
No matter how Kai considered it, Adrian was undoubtedly insane.
However, Adrian’s next action immediately forced Kai to reconsider.
Adrian’s body suddenly swelled.
Every capillary bulged against the surface of his skin, giving him a grotesque appearance.
It looked as though the savage entity Kai had glimpsed lying dormant inside Adrian had finally assumed a physical form.
Yet Kai saw neither terror nor fear in Adrian.
Adrian was not trembling beneath such emotions.
A predator’s hunting instinct—
It emerged at that moment.
Crack!
Adrian disappeared in an instant.
When he reappeared, he was standing in the middle of the Monster Legion.
It was reckless.
However, rather than thinking about how reckless it was, the first thought that entered Kai’s mind was, “How?”
‘When did he….?’
....He had missed Adrian’s movement.
Kai had not taken his eyes off Adrian for even a moment. Yet he had still missed it.
He had only vaguely perceived that Adrian had moved.
....He was different.
This was on an entirely different level from when he had fought the Gelu-Drake.
If Adrian had been a hunter back then, the Adrian standing before him now was—
A Predator.
Adrian stood at the heart of the Monster Legion. He was completely surrounded, with no visible means of escape.
There were too many of them. Adrian could not handle them alone. This was not something anyone could resolve single-handedly.
Kai had to help him.
Just as Kai gripped his sword and prepared to charge forward—
“Don’t interfere!!”
Adrian roared.
Kai’s body abruptly froze.
He did not understand why.
It was just like before—
When his body had instinctively obeyed Adrian’s command during the Gelu-Drake subjugation.
As though submitting to an absolute command, Kai could not move.
Adrian remained surrounded by the Monster Legion.
Every direction was blocked, leaving no visible path by which he could escape alive.
Death seemed to be the only means by which Adrian could ever leave that place.
Yet Adrian himself—
Displayed no fear in his eyes. Adrian’s red eyes moved rapidly.
His hunting instincts were drawn taut as he targeted the monsters filling his vision one by one.
His breathing was cold and tranquil. Yet within it, fragments of inexplicable emotion—
Joy and exhilaration—
Boiled violently.
Rooooooar—!!!
The monsters surged toward Adrian from every direction like a tidal wave.
Just before the Rex’s claws struck him—
Adrian evaded with a speed surpassing the Rex’s.
Kai’s eyes widened.
The soldiers had not yet understood what had happened.
Adrian bent his knees and shot upward. He immediately counterattacked.
There was no wasted movement.
Before anyone realized it, Adrian’s sharp nails had torn open the Rex’s chest.
Splurt—!
The Rex’s heart was suddenly clenched in Adrian’s hand.
“W-What was that?!”
“Impossible!”
Only then did the soldiers understand what had happened, and cries of astonishment erupted from them.
Seraphia’s red eyes also trembled violently.
However, Adrian indifferently shoved the heart into his mouth.
Kieeeeeek—!!
The enraged monsters’ roars shook heaven and earth.
Their cries erupted with the madness of creatures determined to tear Adrian’s flesh apart and consume him.
Several soldiers collapsed to the ground beneath the pressure of that crimson madness.
Even those who remained standing had hands that trembled violently.
Yet even at that moment—
Adrian’s eyes remained cold.
The monsters charged from the front, unleashing explosive madness.
Every time Adrian swung his hand, their hides tore apart like sheets of paper.
Flesh split open. Bones shattered. Crimson blood drenched the surroundings.
Every one of Adrian’s movements was sharp and concise. The strength and speed contained within his attacks existed in perfect harmony.
A black wolf roaming through a flock of sheep.
The sight of Adrian fighting resembled a work of art combining the “ferocity of a beast” with the “precision of a human”.
Before long, the area surrounding Adrian had been dyed crimson with monster blood.
It was filled with the corpses and remains of fallen monsters.
Even so, countless monsters remained. Even so, Adrian’s movements did not falter.
His breathing grew rough. Yet his eyes continued searching for prey.
On a battlefield of madness and destruction—Adrian was hungrier than the monsters themselves.
* * *
Translucent messages filled my vision until it turned almost completely black.
Messages announcing the Combat Experience I had gained appeared one after another.
◆Your level has increased!
◆You have defeated an Alakron!
◆You have defeated a Dermexus!
◆You have defeated an Alakron!
◆You have defeated an Alakron!
◆You have defeated a Dermexus!
◆You have defeated a Rex!
Messages announcing that my level had increased occasionally appeared among them.
There was a limit to how much experience I could obtain through ordinary hunting.
However, the advancing Monster Legion was enormous enough to overwhelm that limitation.
And that was not all.
◆You have consumed additional Genetic Factors from a Dermexus with Predation!
◆The skill Hardened Skin [D+] has been strengthened to Hardened Skin [C]!
The more I fought, the more I evolved and grew stronger.
Thanks to my unceasing use of Predation [S+], Hardened Skin had risen by an astonishing two ranks in an instant.
As a result, I could finally obtain another Combination Skill that I had previously been unable to create because Hardened Skin’s rank was too low.
◆You have acquired the Combination Skill Dragon’s Skin [U]!
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