The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 51: Predator’s Instinct (2) (Part 1)

◆ Curse of Frost [P] (혹한의 저주)
: Inflicts a supernatural heat energy deficit that gradually expands in intensity and range within the cursed target. As time passes, the energy loss expands toward infinity, triggering corresponding curse effects.

This was information regarding one of Serapia’s Authorities as the Monarch of Frost.

Its classification level was [P], denoting Primal—a tier that vastly outclasses [E], which represents Epic, like Dragon Rage Explosion [E]. It was, quite literally, on another level.

However, what I understood of Serapia’s power—Frost—was a bit different. According to the description under Predator’s Instinct [S], this wasn’t labeled as an Authority, but a curse.

Terms like heat energy deficit were also distinct from how I understood the concept of frost.

‘Well, the Archmage did say that frost doesn’t actually exist.’

I remembered a time when the Archmage of the Allied Forces once said that, from a magical standpoint, frost cannot technically exist.

It’s merely that we feel cold when heat moves from a higher to a lower temperature. The idea of “cold heat” is a paradox in and of itself.

Therefore, the Archmage had defined Serapia’s power not as simple frost, but as “the force that erases a target’s heat and energy.”

That meant the usual elemental opposition to Fire was irrelevant. Even flame had no advantage against Serapia’s Authority.

Her Authority could erase all forms of thermal energy.

No wonder the Monarch of Frost had once been called the greatest threat to the Allied Forces in my previous life.
No wonder Ian had lost his left arm.

But right now, Serapia couldn’t even control such power.

◆ Serapia is currently affected by a [Curse Effect].

Through Predator’s Instinct [S], I confirmed that Serapia was suffering from a [Curse Effect].
And the nature of that effect… was terrifying even to me.

==<Curse of Frost [P]>==

◆ [Physical Weakening] – The cursed target’s maximum HP continuously decreases due to extreme cold. This HP cannot be naturally recovered, and all stats decrease proportionally with the lost health.

◆ [Freezing Induction] – The cursed target is highly prone to freezing status. Periodically, parts of the body will freeze, restricting or disabling movement in those areas.

◆ [Mental Confusion] – The cursed target undergoes relentless mental torment due to the intense cold. This includes conditions such as loss of direction, cognitive impairment, unconsciousness, hallucinations, and auditory delusions.

◆ [Sensory Paralysis] – As the cold penetrates deeper, sensory nerves begin to freeze. First, touch is lost, followed by smell and taste, then hearing, and ultimately even sight, resulting in complete loss of all five senses.

…For a moment, I was speechless.
It was hard to believe that all of this was what Serapia was currently enduring.

It was a miracle she was even still alive.
No—more accurately, she was in the process of dying.

From the explanation, it seemed the more she used her Authority, the more intense the curse became.
This time, she had likely exceeded her limit just by using it.

“Just a little longer… please hang on…!”

Unable to watch any longer, Kai scooped Serapia up and sprinted down the Snowy Mountains with explosive speed.

He moved so fast, he had already become just a speck in the distance.

It was hard to believe he’d taken a critical hit to his side.
But then again, for someone who lived and died for Serapia… I guess that was nothing.

Anyway—

“It seems she hasn’t fully awakened as the Monarch of Frost yet.”

At the moment, there didn’t seem to be a need to kill Serapia.
And before long, Kai disappeared completely from sight.

I looked around—what I saw was beyond absurd.

The Monster Legion had been turned into frozen statues, densely packed across the battlefield.
But upon closer inspection, every one of them looked like they had been run through a meat grinder—gruesome and horrifying.

“…What a waste.”

It really was a shame.
Had I been able to harvest them, they’d be worth a fortune.

Of course, I hadn’t used Predation [S+] on the legion monsters, so I couldn’t sell them as meat. But things like leather and bones could have been sold for quite a bit.

Those had serious value.
But now, reduced to shreds like that, their market value was effectively zero.

“Not even the Lycanthrope corpse is usable.”

The same applied to the Lycanthrope.
Struck directly by Serapia’s Authority, it fared even worse than the monsters.

Muscles once hard as steel had ruptured completely.
Every blood vessel across its body had been torn apart.

The Lycanthrope’s body was ruined beyond salvage—no usable materials remained.

“Could’ve easily gone for tens of millions of gold…”

It was like seeing mountains of gold crushed in a blender.

Still, I didn’t blame Serapia.
If she hadn’t unleashed her Authority, the Lycanthrope would’ve gotten away.

“At least I got the heart—thank the heavens.”

To me, using Predation [S+] on the heart was far more important than the corpse.

It held the genetic essence of the Authority granted by the Monarch of Beasts.
No amount of money—not even hundreds of billions in gold—could buy something like that.

It had astronomical value, completely beyond monetary comparison.

So really, it wasn’t thanks to Serapia.
It was because of Serapia.

“No helping it, then.”

Swallowing my regret, I made my way down the Snowy Mountains.

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