The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 40: The Predator’s Method (2) (Part 1)

When it comes to combat, the core lies in offense and defense.

In terms of offense, I had everything handled thanks to Dragon’s Claw [A].

But defense—defense was still lacking.

Toughened Skin [C] alone was far from sufficient.

Even after evolving it to a [C]-rank, it wasn’t enough.

After all, the opponents I would soon face were the Emperor and the Imperial Army.
There was also the possibility of facing the Monarch of Beasts at any moment, and in such a scenario, Toughened Skin [C] simply wouldn’t offer adequate protection.

Of course, I had Regeneration [B-], so defense wasn’t my most urgent concern.
But just because I had Regeneration [B-], didn’t mean I could afford to be careless with defense.

Regeneration [B-] wasn’t omnipotent.

If my head were severed or my heart destroyed, I wouldn’t be able to regenerate.
More importantly, it had an unavoidable limitation—it required nutrients to function.

And that was a limitation that couldn’t be overcome.

No living being in this world has ever figured out how to survive without eating.

So even if I absorbed the genetic information of every lifeform on the continent with Predation [S+], even if I became the “ultimate lifeform” Ian spoke of…

I would never be free from the problem of food.
Once I ran out of nutrients, I would no longer be able to regenerate.

That’s why I couldn’t rely solely on Regeneration [B-].
If I could avoid getting injured, I should—and the evolution of my abilities needed to align with that principle.

Being able to regenerate was certainly an advantage, but blind faith in it would be foolish.

With that in mind, I began studying the Toughened Skin [C] I obtained from Demexus.

Eventually, I succeeded in creating a combination skill: Dragon’s Skin [U].

Its principle and mechanism are as follows.

The human skin is composed of approximately 70% water, 25% protein, 2% fat, and 3% minerals.

The keratin strengthened through Dragon’s Claw [A] is a type of protein.
Of course, it differs fundamentally from the proteins that normally make up human skin.

However, after evolving into Toughened Skin [C], I was now able to replace the proteins in my skin with keratin.
This substitution process involved the use of Nutrient Synthesis [B-] and Regeneration [B-].

As a result, I could convert the protein forming the cell membranes of my skin into keratin.

And that keratin—already reinforced by Dragon’s Claw [A]—had its hardness increased by +1,601,200% and strength by +1,992,500%.

◆ Dragon’s Skin [U]

When this skill is activated, the player’s skin cell membranes are converted into keratin.
By consuming 10,000 Kcal, the player’s skin’s hardness and strength are raised to match Dragon’s Claw [A].
For 5 seconds, all damage taken is reduced by 90%.

<This is a combination skill formed from Nutrient Synthesis [B-], Regeneration [B-], Dragon’s Claw [A], and Toughened Skin [C].>

As the description makes clear, this wasn’t “Dragon Scales.”
It was Dragon’s Skin, a degraded version adapted to suit a human like me.

That made sense, considering only 25% of human skin is made of protein.
In other words, only 25% could be replaced.

Which meant it was an incomplete skill.

But even so, as a combined evolution of several abilities, it had immense potential for growth.

And even in its current form, it wasn’t weak by any means.
After all, it was based on the physiology of a dragon.

The absolute apex of all life on the continent.

Even the Ice-Drake—which was merely a lesser dragon species—was revered as the ruler of the Snowy Mountains.

So even if my version was degraded, it wasn’t something the monsters of these mountains could hope to overcome.

At that moment—

◆ The effect of Combination Skill ‘Metabolic Overdrive [U]’ has ended!

A notification popped up, informing me that the 500-second duration had ended.

With that, my rampaging endocrine system returned to normal.
The backlash hit me all at once, and I could feel my movements slow significantly.

The monsters pounced in that exact instant, sensing the opening.

“No—!”

A scream—one that seemed ready to tear her throat—rang out from beyond the wall.

It was Serapia.

There was no time to dodge.

In that case—

◆ Using Combination Skill ‘Dragon’s Skin [U]’!

10,000 Kcal consumed. All damage taken reduced by 90% for 5 seconds!

The moment I activated the skill, my skin cells began to rapidly change.

Nutrient Synthesis [B-] created keratin.
That keratin was then swiftly transformed into skin cell membranes through Regeneration [B-].

Next, it was reinforced by Dragon’s Claw [A], and the shock and recoil were endured through Toughened Skin [C].

Clang! Clatter! Clang-clatter!

Every time the monsters’ claws and fangs struck me, a metallic sound echoed.
There wasn’t a single tear in my flesh or a broken bone.

On the contrary—it was their claws and fangs that shattered and cracked.

* * *

“No… no way…”

Serapia couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Just moments ago, when the monsters swarmed toward Adrian, her face had turned deathly pale.

Clang! Clatter! Clang-clatter!

Then came the heavy crashes.

Her crimson eyes flew wide open in disbelief.

Adrian was being overwhelmed by a horde of monsters.
Yet he remained unharmed.

These were monsters capable of shattering stone and scraping iron—
But they couldn’t leave a single scratch on his body.

Worse yet—their claws and teeth were breaking instead.

Even witnessing it with her own eyes, she still couldn’t believe it.

“Th-that… that can’t be…!”

“W-what the hell?!”

The soldiers were no different.
Everyone stared, slack-jawed and dumbfounded.

Even Kai was speechless, his blue eyes trembling in shock at the absurd sight.

And the monsters—

Kreuk?!
Kreeagh?!

Even they flinched and reeled back in panic.

They lacked reason, but that didn’t mean they were mindless.
They could sense that what was happening defied all logic.

It was that moment of confusion—

Fwoosh!

Adrian slipped through the gap.

And from there, he utterly ravaged them.

He alone overwhelmed the horde—monsters that even the entire military force of the County had failed to contain.

And the more he fought—

The more ground he covered—

The stronger Adrian became.

* * *

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