The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 106: Journey to the Capital (2) (Part 1)

Like a grave steeped in silent dread, the natural world held its breath.

Massive, moss-covered trees jutted upward with their roots fully exposed—gnarled and jagged.

Droplets clung to every branch, and twisted vines like snakes cast eerie shadows even in broad daylight.

At the edge of my vision, I spotted a pond that spread out in a soft circle.
A thin mist hung over its surface.

In the distance, I could hear droplets splashing and the faint fluttering of tiny insects’ wings.
A creeping unease emerged—just then—

‘…There it is.’

With senses nearly rivaling ESP, I picked up on something.
But visually, there was nothing—no sign of a creature.

Still, among the tree branches, a faint disturbance—
A slight mismatch in color tone, an imperceptible shift in contrast—caught my eye.

As I focused harder—

I sensed something faintly out of place.
The moment I activated Predatory Instincts [S], confirmation floated into view.

====
Name: Shameleon
Classification: Monsteria – Reptilia – Mimicry – Chameleon Family
Sex: Female
Age: 4 years
Trait: Assimilation [B]

Shameleon.
A rare mutated chameleon-type monster.

The Shameleon had taken the chameleon’s camouflage ability to an extreme.

Unlike regular chameleons, which only adjusted the angle of reflected light,
Shameleons could change their body color using chromatophores,
even altering their texture and body temperature to blend with their surroundings.

◆ Assimilation [B]

: When activated, the player expends [50 Kcal/sec] to generate chromatophores, transforming their body to match the surrounding color, texture, and temperature perfectly.
While the skill is active, the player cannot be detected via visible or infrared light.

This skill can be toggled [On/Off].

Perfect Assimilation [B] with the environment—
a camouflage skill that could completely erase one’s presence.

That’s how it earned its name: Shameleon, as if it lived hidden in the shadows.

Even now, I could barely see an outline—
And even that was fading away, completely imperceptible.
The Shameleon had fully merged with its surroundings.

Which meant… it was ready to hunt.

I walked forward as if I didn’t notice anything, closing the distance.
Even up close, I still couldn’t see a thing.

Truly impressive stealth.

I was already wondering how it might synergize with the Blessing of Darkness, which reduces all noise by [-99%].

Without hesitation, I slashed with Dragon’s Claw [A]—

K-KRRREEEEE—!

The silence shattered with a shriek as the scenery tore apart.
The Shameleon’s body, which had been hidden by environmental camouflage, rapidly darkened.

That color change—triggered by fear—caused its natural body to appear.

Its eyes rotated independently in full 360 degrees.
Tiny teeth lined its mouth in rows,
and a long tongue flicked wildly inside its open jaw, twisted in pain.

Its skin, stained red with blood, stretched over a long, flexible tail—
a tail that looked strong enough to grasp prey or hang from trees like a third arm.

It had four sturdy legs, each tipped with sharp claws—but…

Kee… Kiiek…

Its two independently moving pupils darted around wildly, confused.
Clearly, it had never imagined being discovered first.

Kii, kiiiek…!

The Shameleon quickly turned to flee.

It made sense.
Creatures that evolved stealth abilities usually lacked direct combat power.

If you’re strong enough to win fights head-on, there’s no need to evolve stealth to survive.

Ogres don’t hide.
They just tear everything apart.

But the Shameleon wasn’t like that.
Its stealth had evolved precisely because it lacked combat strength.

Its hunting style was entirely focused on ambush.
But if that ambush failed?

Then the fight was already over.

Sure, creatures with low combat power tended to be fast when escaping—
But not fast enough to overcome my now-superior Agility.

I moved in swiftly and swung Dragon’s Claw [A],
and in no time, I had pierced the Shameleon’s heart as it tried to flee.

◆ You have defeated Shameleon!
◆ Gained 250 Combat EXP!

A translucent message popped up in front of me.
That was a decent chunk of EXP.

Not nearly enough to push me to the next level, but still.

I dismissed the message and brought the Shameleon’s heart to my lips.

Chomp.

A chewy texture spread across my mouth, along with a strange, unfamiliar taste.
How would I even describe this flavor?

Crunch, chew…

Maybe like “the sludge of a swamp soaked in mold, trying to smother your tongue.”
Still, it wasn’t as bad as Avarus’s flesh or the Source of Wrath from Craulgarr…

“Blergh—!”

…Nope. Absolutely zero market value.
Once again, I was reminded that monsters from the Snowy Mountains were by far the best.

Still, I forced myself to chew every last bit of the heart and used Predation [S+]—

◆ Gained 5 Sanity.

Sanity was the key stat that determined the power of Berserk [?].
Depending on the creature, each use of Predation [S+] gave 3–5 Sanity on average.

◆ You have used Predation on the creature: Shameleon!
◆ Gained Skill: Assimilation [C-]

Another translucent window appeared, confirming the Predation [S+] was complete.

Though degraded due to the skill’s incomplete nature,
if I secured more genetic material, I could raise the rank later.

“Let’s see now…”

I began scanning the area carefully.

The sticky, swampy landscape.
Scattered around were small animal bones, insect shells, chunks of monster meat—
and, occasionally, what looked like human bones.

“So this was its hunting ground.”

It must’ve been preying on travelers or adventurers passing through.

“…Hm?”

But something felt off.

There were multiple footprints and claw marks.
More importantly, the sticky residues of tongue mucus found between the bones—

“This wasn’t just one.”

The traces weren’t from a single individual.
Shameleons were typically solitary.

However, during breeding season, it wasn’t uncommon for two to live together until the young were raised.

And the one I just hunted was female.

“Is there a male around?”

Highly likely.

The moment I reached that conclusion,
I instantly raised my guard.

It was possible that a male Shameleon, having completed Assimilation [B],
was lurking nearby, watching for an opportunity to strike.

Just as I sharpened my senses again—

A sudden commotion.
Yelling, metal clashing—it sounded like a fight.

“…The camp?”

It was coming from the direction of the campsite.

I arrived at the campsite in a hurry.

The first thing I saw were the soldiers—utterly confused and disoriented.

“Th-th-th-that… thing…!”

“Dear gods…”

Even the maids were all covering their mouths with both hands, eyes wide in shock.
And not even the horses pulling the carriages were an exception.

Snort! Snort!

They were clearly startled—flaring their nostrils wildly.
Soldiers, maids, even the horses—
all were frozen in place, staring in disbelief at the same spot.

I turned my head to follow their gaze—

And saw it.