The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 26: A Guest Visits the County (1) (Part 2)

All his stats had received a +5 boost, and he could now distribute 13 more stat points from level-ups.

“I’ll put all the level-up points into Agility.”

Adrian had managed to raise his Agility all the way to 26.

As a result, not only had his nervous system’s response speed increased, but his ability to process stimuli had also seen a massive boost.

His vision had become sharp enough to spot even ice crystals.
His sense of smell had become so keen, he could even catch the scent of frost.
His hearing could pick up the faintest whisper of wind.
And his sense of touch had grown so sensitive, he could detect the slightest movement in the air.

“This is basically an ESP ability at this point.”

It wasn’t a joke. If he kept raising his Agility, it might truly become indistinguishable from ESP.
No—he might even surpass it.

Of course, to do that, he’d have to dump every single level-up stat point into Agility.
That meant giving up on Strength and Vitality… but that was fine.

“I’ll just have to train my body harder.”

Strength and Vitality could still be increased through other means.

With that resolved, it was finally time to head back to the County.

“I wonder if Ian’s returned…”

With that hope in mind, he began descending the Snowy Mountains.

Then, he stopped in his tracks.

“I can’t just leave the Ice Drake’s corpse behind.”

The Ice Drake wasn’t just valuable for its heart—its entire body was a treasure trove of materials.
Its hide alone, which could withstand steel blades, made for top-tier armor.

Carefully, Adrian stored the Ice Drake’s corpse in his inventory.

Thanks to the title effect, his Strength had increased by +5, which also raised his inventory weight limit to 1,080 kg.

◆ Inventory weight limit exceeded.

“Guess it’s not all going in.”

Even then, it wasn’t enough to contain the Ice Drake.
Well, it was no surprise—just the thing’s body alone stretched ten meters in length.
By rough estimate, it weighed around 1,500 kg.

In other words, even if he crammed it into his inventory, about 500 kg would need to be left behind.

“No way I’m doing that.”

Obviously, he had no intention of leaving anything.

He dumped out all the other monster corpses from his inventory.
Most of them had already been eaten during the fight with the Ice Drake anyway.

With sharpened claws, he began butchering the corpse.

Even though the hide had shrugged off steel swords—

CRACK!

—it tore like paper beneath Dragon’s Claw [A].

He fully severed the half-sliced neck and chopped off the tail.
Butchering it wasn’t all that difficult.

In fact, it was harder to find something he hadn’t done back during his Special Forces days.

“…This should do.”

After separating the usable parts and keeping just the torso, the weight looked to be just around 1,080 kg.

Once he stored it, the Ice Drake’s body vanished from view in an instant.
Of course, it hadn’t really vanished—just safely stowed in his inventory.

What remained was the head and tail.

Those, he’d have to carry by hand.

As soon as he hoisted them onto his shoulders, his body sank deep into the snow.
Well, they weighed about 500 kg combined—of course that would happen.

But then, a good idea struck him.

“This could be great weight training.”

Changing his mind, he took the Ice Drake’s torso back out from his inventory.

Then he stored the head and tail instead.

Using the 1,080 kg torso as a makeshift barbell, he descended the snowy slope in a lunge stance.

◆ Muscle fibers are tearing again!!
◆ New muscle fibers are forming!
◆ Strength stat has increased by +3!!

…The results were incredible.

RUMBLEEEEE—!

The thick wooden gates of Whitewolf Castle swung open with a thunderous roar.

Even though the sound of the gates opening was enough to rupture eardrums, the shouts that followed were even louder.

“Th-That’s…!!”
“The Ice Drake…!!”

The soldiers guarding the castle gate leapt up in shock.
Without exception, everyone stared at Adrian, faces twisted in identical expressions.

“Lord Adrian…”
“Defeated the Ice Drake…?”
“Sir Kai wasn’t lying?!”
“T-That’s impossible…!!”

Shock.

It was directed both at the corpse of the Ice Drake on his shoulder, and at Adrian himself.

‘This… wasn’t my intention.’

He hadn’t carried it back for attention.

He’d just wanted to use it for strength and vitality training.

Thanks to that, his Strength had gone up by +6, and his Vitality by +3.

Still, he wasn’t fond of standing in the spotlight.

What good would it do if a Special Forces operative like him drew attention?

He lowered the Ice Drake’s body to the ground.

THUD!

The 1,080 kg hulk hit the earth, sending out a small tremor.

“G-Good heavens…!!”
“He carried that all the way here…?”
“Wh-What the hell…!”

…He ended up drawing attention again, unintentionally.

While the soldiers were fainting from shock, the castle gates finished opening completely.
And there, he spotted one soldier who seemed to be the commanding officer—a centurion.

“You there.”
“M-Me, sir…?”
“Is there another officer here besides you?”

The centurion looked around nervously.
Of course, there were plenty of soldiers around.

But none held the position of commanding officer—just him. Realizing this, he sprinted over immediately.

“You called for me, sir!”

He’d been caught off guard for a moment, but his discipline was solid.
Just from that, Adrian could tell Kai had done a good job training the troops.

Pointing to the Ice Drake’s corpse on the ground, he spoke.

“This. Make sure it’s properly preserved.”

Of course, storing it in his inventory would’ve been more convenient.
But he needed the space in his inventory for nutrient synthesis and regeneration.

“…S-Sir? Y-You mean the Ice Drake…?”
“Yes. Is that a difficult order?”
“N-Not at all!!”

The centurion snapped to attention as if the question had been outrageous.

Adrian brushed the snow off his hair and continued.

“Also. Did anything unusual happen in the County while I was gone?”
“By unusual, do you mean…?”
“Like someone visiting the County. Anything like that…?”

“Well, just earlier, Sir Kai did bring a man back to the County…”

At that response, Adrian’s eyes lit up.

A man the centurion didn’t recognize meant he wasn’t a local.
In other words, it was highly likely to be Ian.

“Who was it?”
“I’m not really sure myself…”
“You don’t even know his name?”

The centurion gave a small nod.

He glanced around at the other soldiers, but they all looked equally clueless.

Adrian asked again.

“Where is he now?”
“At the Lord’s Castle. He’s currently meeting with Lady Serapia.”
“Serapia?”
“Yes, sir.”

Adrian knew he needed to head over immediately.

“Make sure the Ice Drake’s body is well-preserved.”
“Understood!! I’ll protect it with my life!!”

The centurion stood ramrod straight in salute.

As Adrian turned to walk away—

“Company! Form up!!”

—he heard the centurion’s shout echo behind him.
The soldiers instantly snapped into formation on either side of Adrian.

Their posture, their discipline—everything was in perfect order.

“To Lord Adrian, who risked his life in defense of the County—salute!!”

The way the soldiers looked at him was completely different from just two weeks ago.

“““HUT!!”””

Without slowing his pace, Adrian walked between their salutes, heading straight for the Lord’s Castle.

Translatin_Otaku

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