The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 17: Hunt (2) (Part 2)

I heard the sound of the Ice Troll’s knuckles cracking. Its footsteps were forced back, skidding across the ground.
Maybe it hadn’t expected such recoil.
Its face twisted in pain.

KUWOOOH!!

The Ice Troll roared.
In that brief instant where it stepped back—
its crushed fist had already regenerated.

Its regeneration was absurd.
As expected of an Ice Troll.

But that was—

—true for me as well.

◆ Skill ‘Regeneration [C+]’ is being used.
◆ A large amount of calcium is consumed to regenerate the shattered bones.

A translucent system message appeared in front of me.
My shattered fist regenerated in an instant.

Krugh?!

The Ice Troll’s face showed clear signs of confusion.
It seemed stunned that a human could demonstrate regeneration on par with its own.

KUWOAAAAHHH—!!

Enraged, the Ice Troll charged again.
And again, I didn’t retreat.
I met its incoming fist with one of my own.

BANG—!

Fist collided with fist once more. Flesh and bone shattered on both sides.
But my injuries were worse.
The calcium stored in my body was rapidly being depleted.

I pulled out some monster meat from my inventory and started chewing it down.

Monster meat was rich in protein and fat.
But not so much in calcium, the main component of bone.
Still, that was no issue for me now.

◆ You may synthesize [Calcium] by consuming calories.
◆ Excess Calories: 3,880 Kcal
◆ Use Skill ‘Nutrient Synthesis [C]’?

Over the past week, I’d managed to hunt more Alacrons.
As a result, the skill [Nutrient Synthesis], which had been [C-] grade, was now upgraded to [C].

Now I could synthesize not only [Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat, and Water]—
but also [Vitamins and Calcium] freely.
And the conversion rate had improved significantly.

A burst of flame surged inside me as calories combusted.

The burnt calories converted into calcium,
which in turn fueled my Regeneration [C+] skill and instantly repaired the shattered bones.

Krgh, KRWOHH?!

The Ice Troll flinched back.
Its shock had turned into panic.

I kept exchanging blows with it.

BAM! BAM! BANG!

As time went on, the Ice Troll’s regeneration noticeably slowed.
Naturally—regeneration also required nutrients.

But its nutrient supply was limited.
Whereas I could keep replenishing mine endlessly.

I had so much monster meat in my inventory that it was practically overflowing.
On top of that, I could selectively synthesize the nutrients I needed with Nutrient Synthesis [C].

“Let’s see who lasts longer.”

This was a battle of regeneration.
The one who hit their limit first would lose.

◆ You have defeated the Ice Troll!
◆ You gained 120 Combat EXP!
◆ You have leveled up!

Another translucent message popped up in front of me.
The massive Ice Troll finally tilted.
Its body slumped into the snow without the slightest twitch.

“…Persistent bastard.”

The words slipped out of my mouth.

No wonder—I had run out of all the meat in my inventory.
This one was nothing like the weakened variant I fought last time.

Still, I managed to win—barely.

I walked over to inspect the Ice Troll’s corpse.
It didn’t move, but didn’t look dead either.

But the message confirmed it—no need for a killing blow.

I carefully unsheathed my sword and split open the Ice Troll’s chest.
Its heart was intact, without a scratch.

That meant the genetic material I could extract would be in perfect condition.

“This might even boost my regeneration to the next tier.”

With that hopeful thought, I brought the Ice Troll’s heart to my mouth.

CRUNCH.

A tough texture and a bitter, metallic tang filled my mouth.

And just like that, the madness came.

A crimson haze bled into my mind.
My vision flooded red as blood vessels burst in my eyes.

Just as I was about to lose control—

◆ Player’s Will [EX] resists the encroaching madness!

A translucent message flashed. My mind snapped back.
The red haze cleared, and my vision returned to normal.

“So it’s not perfect immunity, huh.”

Ian’s ability, Player’s Will [EX], didn’t grant total immunity to madness.

The correct description was:

[Grants immunity to all effects (curses, illusions, brainwashing, hypnosis, suggestion, etc.) that exceed the player’s mental threshold.]

In other words, it only activated when the effect surpassed what I could mentally endure.

And my mental limit…

“I’m not really sure where that is.”

But I doubt it’s very high.
In my past life, every time I used Predation, I’d lose my mind and rampage without fail.

Eventually, Ian helped me get it under control.
Though his method was… let’s just say, pretty basic.

“I don’t even remember how many times he beat the crap out of me.”

Yeah, that was it.
Whenever I went berserk, Ian would beat me senseless until I snapped out of it.

Looking back, I got beaten up a lot.
And back then, I didn’t even have Regeneration, so it was a real struggle.

Anyway, now that I had Player’s Will [EX], I didn’t need to fear the madness anymore.

Crunch.

I shoved the last piece of the Ice Troll’s heart into my mouth.
It would take a moment for Predation [S+] to analyze and assimilate the genes.

“Hmmm…”

I paused, deep in thought.

“It’s already been 17 days.”

Seventeen days since I returned to the past.
Ian hadn’t shown up yet.

Sure, 17 days wasn’t that long.
But it wasn’t short, either.

If it were Ian, he would’ve revealed himself long ago.

And yet, no sign of him at all.

“…Don’t tell me—I’m the only one who came back.”

Translatin_Otaku

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