The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 37: Love and Hate (2) (Part 2)

After groaning and struggling, she had no choice but to give up.
In the end, she compromised by using a 1kg dumbbell as if it were a barbell.

“Hyah—!”

And yet, this was the result.

‘How does Oppa even…?!’

Could he really do this every single day?
He was lifting steel bars that weighed several thousand times more than this.

“Yop—!”

Serapia found herself once again awed by Adrian.

Her arms trembled and refused to rise any further.
As she finally set the bar down with great effort, her entire body was soaked in sweat.

Her long silver hair, tangled and damp with sweat, kept sticking to her neck and cheeks.

Serapia gathered the wet strands behind her with both hands.
She tied the collected hair once with a band and let the rest fall naturally.

Letting some hair fall to the side made her hairstyle look just like a ponytail.
The silvery ponytail resembled a unicorn’s tail.

It was certainly comfortable, but the nape of her neck was completely exposed—
a style she had avoided until now.

Because there was still a bruise Adrian had left.

‘It’s fine now.’

But at this point, the bruises had completely healed.
Serapia could now fully enjoy the cool breeze brushing against her neck.

And it lifted her spirits for no reason at all.

With a smile on her face, she glanced around the Trial Grounds of Frost.

The reason Serapia had suddenly started working out?

Simply put, it was to quietly watch Adrian training.
That way, she could get just a little closer to him.

Adrian was lifting a heavy steel bar with steady breathing.

She had overheard the soldiers say that bar alone weighed 1,500kg.
She couldn’t even lift a single kilo without shaking—so how was he lifting that?

‘He’s really amazing…’

Thud—!

When Adrian dropped the steel bar, the entire Trial Grounds of Frost rumbled.

Adrian, shirtless now, had a muscular frame.
Steam was rising from his body like heat off pavement.

She turned her eyes away, suddenly feeling embarrassed—
And then she paused.

‘Oil…?’

Adrian was pouring it into his mouth in large gulps.

She froze, eyes locked on the sight.
The oil was dark and cloudy.

It looked like used cooking oil—or worse.
In short, it didn’t look remotely edible.

‘Why would he…?’

What reason could he possibly have to drink something like that?

It wasn’t for nutritional value—Adrian had brought back plenty of delicious food.

And not just any food—Adrian had brought it.

He could just eat that instead. So why the oil?

‘Don’t tell me—it’s for the people…?’

That might be it. The food Adrian had brought wasn’t enough to go around.

To survive the coming season of frost, they’d have to ration it carefully.

So Adrian had chosen to give up food for himself—for the sake of the territory’s people.

And instead—

“When do you plan on stopping the staring?”

His voice suddenly pierced her ear.

Serapia flinched hard without meaning to.

As she quickly focused, she saw Adrian glaring at her like he could kill her.

“Y-Yes?! W-What did you say…?”

“I said: when are you going to stop staring at me?”

“A-Ah, I…”

“Stop. You’re distracting me.”

“…Okay.”

Serapia replied with a dejected face and a sullen voice.

Why did he say something to her and not to the soldiers who were also watching?

Even so—

‘He talked to me first…!’

Coming to train had been worth it.

And maybe—just maybe—
She’d be able to grow a little closer to Adrian, step by step.

Of course…

“Hyah—!”

She felt like her arms might break at any moment.

That gaze of Serapia’s had been bothering me for a while.

After finally speaking up, she at last stopped staring.

“Hup—!”

With a shout, Serapia lifted her dumbbell.

I wondered if her arms would snap at this rate—but I didn’t really care.
I returned to chugging oil again.

It was used oil I had bought in Frecce—and it was literally waste oil.
It was dirt cheap, so I could buy tons of it.

‘Oil really is dense in calories.’

Monster meat gave about 250Kcal per 100g.

But oil? A staggering 900Kcal per 100ml.

That was nearly four times the calorie content.

However, oil contained only fat—no protein or other nutrients.

Naturally, that meant…

◆ You can synthesize [Protein] by consuming calories.
◆ Surplus Calories: 93,200Kcal
◆ Would you like to use the skill Nutrient Synthesis [B-]?

With the [Nutrient Synthesis][B-] skill, this wasn’t an issue.

Since I had upgraded it to B- rank, its efficiency and the range of compounds I could synthesize had drastically increased.

And because oil was a liquid, it was quickly digested and absorbed.

In other words, oil was the most efficient food I could consume.

There was only one downside—

‘Urgh—’

That sickening greasy feeling rising from deep inside.

As long as I could overcome the lack of joy in eating, it was nothing but advantages.

I poured the oil into my mouth without leaving a single drop.

The oil container I had just emptied held 10 liters.

And I had fifteen of those in my inventory.

That meant I had 1,350,000Kcal ready.

‘Today, I’ll burn it all.’

That was my goal—to burn through all 1.35 million calories today.

And I wasn’t planning to stop until I did.

‘Let’s get back to it.’

I gripped the steel bar again.

Kai continued swinging his sword while watching Adrian hoist absurdly heavy steel bars.

There was no way any human could do that.

Anyone bound by the limits of humanity would never be able to.

But Kai no longer doubted Adrian.

The power to make the impossible possible—

He now believed that Adrian possessed such power.

That’s why Kai devoted himself even more to training.

He would have to work twice as hard if he didn’t want to fall behind Adrian.

More than anything, he had come to a realization:

That he couldn’t protect Serapia with half-baked strength.

Kai didn’t have Adrian’s monstrous talents.

But he did have a natural gift for Aura and swordsmanship.

So—

He had to surpass the limits of those gifts.

Just like Adrian had done, Kai would also break through his limits.

He would become so strong that even this harsh season of frost could be sliced away.

Swish—! Swish—!

His sword swings grew faster and faster.

He became immersed in his training, falling into a trance—until—

Ding—! Ding—! Ding—!

Urgent bells rang throughout the Trial Grounds of Frost.

◆ A Sudden Quest has arrived!

Suddenly, a translucent message appeared before my eyes.

Ding—! Ding—! Ding—!

At the same time, the frantic bell echoed throughout the entire training ground.

It was the bell atop the fortress watchtower, used only in emergencies.

And the only time it rang was when there was an attack—

“The monsters of the Snowy Mountains have formed a legion and are attacking the County!!!”

One of the soldiers rushed to Kai mid-training and shouted the report.

Kai’s eyes widened.

So did mine.

I widened my eyes no less than Kai did.

Now it made sense why there had been no monster sightings in the snowy mountains.

No matter how I thought about it, it had felt off.

And now it was clear.

The monsters of the snowy mountains had all gathered in one place…

That’s why—

My eyes widened beyond shock—filled with horror.

“A monster legion…?”

It was similar—but not identical—to what Kai muttered next.

And for good reason.

The term “monster legion”…

‘The Monarch of Beasts!’

…was a term that signaled the arrival of the Monarch of Beasts himself.

Translatin_Otaku

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