The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 50: The Predator’s Instinct (1) (Part 2)

My stats had skyrocketed compared to before.
Especially the 65 Agility—it was practically ESP-level sensory perception.

Another change was the removal of the [+5 to all stats] effect from the title.
Instead, I now had the [+15% to all stats] effect from .

‘Strength dropped a bit.’

Since the increase was a percentage, the absolute gain wasn’t as high.
But the drop was negligible.
The boosts in Agility and Endurance were substantial, and overall my stats had clearly increased.

‘If I enhance my body further, especially Strength and Endurance, the percentage boosts will grow too.’

On top of that, there’s the ability to reduce all enemy stats by -20%.
It might be limited to the North, but within that region, there was no better title than <Ruler of the North>.

With this—

‘Good.’

I had once again surpassed the me of my previous life.

As I looked around, the frost that had blanketed the world was beginning to recede.
And I tensed up once more, drawing the bowstring of focus taut again.

The Lycanthrope was unquestionably dead.
But there was still one more existence that had to be killed.

Serapia… no, the Monarch of Frost had to be eliminated.

Until now, Serapia hadn’t shown any qualities befitting the Monarch of Frost. But today changed everything.
Serapia had finally awakened—as the Monarch of Frost.

There was no longer any reason to wait for Ian.
Serapia had to be killed right now.

…But could I do it?

That question didn’t matter.
What mattered was that I had to.

I pulled out some oil from my inventory and replenished my calories. Sharpening my claws, I fully prepared for battle.

And then—

“Huh…?”

Even more dumbfounded than when the Lycanthrope had run away, I froze in place.

The icy air that had blanketed the world disappeared.

As the frozen time-space returned to normal, Kai was once again able to move.
But Kai couldn’t move easily.

In front of Adrian, a primal fear surged from deep within Kai’s instincts.
A fear greater even than what he had felt facing Dragon Fear—as if he were before a natural enemy.
Kai’s whole body was paralyzed; he couldn’t move at all.

Even summoning his Aura was useless.
No—he couldn’t even summon it to begin with.

Kai’s mind was completely consumed by Adrian’s hatred and his maddened laughter.

And then—
A small voice brought Kai back to himself.

“…I’m sorry… Sir Kai…”

A powerless voice came from behind him.
Serapia, who had been secured to his back, collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

“…Because I couldn’t keep our promise…”

Thud.

Serapia fell like a petal scattered by the wind.
The cords that had bound her tightly had frozen and shattered like glass.

“Huh…?”

The tense anticipation I’d been holding snapped.
Without even realizing it, my face went blank with shock.

“Lady Serapia!!!”

Kai hurriedly checked on her condition, and I followed suit.

Serapia’s face wasn’t just pale—it had gone ghostly white.
Her entire face was radiating a chilling cold.
Cold sweat had frozen into tiny ice crystals on her forehead.

Her silvery hair, bathed in moonlight, scattered like snow on the ground.

Her half-lidded eyes had lost their light, the crimson hue in them dimming.
Her trembling lips were tinged blue. The only indication that she was still alive was the soft sigh escaping her mouth.

…She wasn’t the Monarch of Frost.

Just moments ago, Serapia had wielded powers befitting a Monarch.
With the Lycanthrope, she had wiped out an entire monster legion—on a whole other level.

I had been convinced she had awakened as the Monarch of Frost.
But now, looking at her—she was anything but.

Like a doll sealed in clear ice, Serapia was cold and powerless.
Still small, still weak, still fragile beyond reason.

“Lady Serapia!! Please wake up!!”

Kai called out desperately.
But Serapia didn’t stir.
Kai, nearly begging, continued to cry out for her.

“Please…! Please…!!”

But Serapia still showed no sign of waking.

This was just like—

‘She can’t control the authority.’

Rather than controlling it, she was being devoured by it.
Just like I had once been consumed by the madness of Predation [S+].

‘But she wasn’t like this in my past life…?’

That’s what puzzled me. In my past life, Serapia had fully mastered her power.
She was a Monarch of another level, the greatest contributor to the Allied Forces.

‘So why now…?’

Just as I was lost in that thought—

◆ You have absorbed the genetic material of the entity ‘Lycanthrope’!
◆ You have acquired the skill [Predatory Instincts (포식자의 본능)][S]!

A system message appeared—Predation [S+] had completed absorbing the Lycanthropes heart.
Then came the description of the newly acquired skill.

◆ Predatory Instincts [S]
: When this skill is used, it awakens the Predator instincts imprinted onto the player.
Without needing study or conditioning, the player can perceive the target’s information a priori.

A skill that allowed the user to know their target’s information a priori—[Predatory Instincts [S]].

A priori.
It was the opposite of empirical or learned knowledge.

In other words, it referred to knowledge gained through innate intuition, not through experience or teaching.

Without consciously thinking about it, I naturally gathered all available information—Serapia’s appearance, build, scent—using my five senses.

Even without training, even without a teacher, knowledge I had no business knowing unfolded and fused in my mind.

And that knowledge told me exactly what state Serapia was in.
That knowledge settled naturally into my instincts.

Then finally, Serapia’s full profile floated before my eyes.

====
Name: Serapia Whitewolf
Classification: Mammalia Homo Sapiens (Human)
Gender: Female
Age: 15
Trait: Curse of Frost [P]

Serapia’s information was presented clearly and concisely.

“……”

I was momentarily speechless.

An absurd skill that allowed perfect understanding of a target.
And not just people.

It allowed knowledge of every living creature and even the environment in this world.

The skill truly was fit for the Commander of the Beast Legion—no, the Monarch of Beasts.
There was a reason why [S] was just one rank below Predation [S+].

And among Serapia’s data, one thing in particular stood out.

‘Curse of Frost…?’

As soon as the thought arose, [Predatory Instincts [S]] activated again, and a new message appeared—explaining the Curse of Frost [P].

Translatin_Otaku

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