The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 52: Change (Part 2)

Adrian walked off, leaving the maids behind.
Once he was completely out of sight—

“…Did you hear that?”

One maid whispered.

“I did! Totally heard it!”
“He actually said, ‘Thanks for your help’…!!”
“I nearly lost it when he said, ‘Don’t worry about it’!”
“He’s become so sweet!!”

The other maids bounced in place with excitement.

“Hey hey, I even talked to Lord Adrian first earlier!”
“What?! For real?!”
“Yup.”
“No way! That’s amazing!”
“What did you say to him?”

“I just asked… ‘Isn’t training hard for you?’ That’s it.”
“Oh my, oh my.”
“And then?”
“Did you get slapped?”
“No, not at all! He even answered me!”
“For real? Lord Adrian actually replied to you?”
“Yeah! In a totally kind voice—”

—Training is supposed to be hard.

“That’s what he said?!”
“Wow!!!”
“Super wow!!!”
“Ah! Then maybe I should try talking to him first later…?”
“Huh? Rena, aren’t you assigned to Lord Adrian today?”

Not long ago, being assigned to Adrian was a job everyone avoided.

But now, it was the opposite.

“So, here’s the thing. I’m on library duty this afternoon, right?”
“Library duty’s so chill.”
“Exactly, so could you trade shifts with me?”
“What? No way.”
“Aww, why noooot…!”
“You little—quit whining.”
“Just this once, please? I want to talk to Lord Adrian toooo…!”

And so—

“Nope. Absolutely not.”
“You’re so mean!”
“Mean or not, still no.”
“Then switch with me! Today, I—”
“Not happening!”

Among the maids, being assigned to Adrian had become the most coveted role.

The room of Serapia blazed like a giant furnace.

In the center, a massive brazier spewed relentless flames, heating the entire chamber like an oven.

To maintain this level of heat, they were practically dumping firewood in nonstop.
Thirty percent of the firewood I’d purchased from Frecce was being used just for this room.

Using [Predatory Instincts][S], I checked the room’s temperature.

◆ Current Room Temperature: [253°C]

…At this point, it was a miracle the room hadn’t caught fire.
And yet, the body of Serapia lying on the bed remained cold to the touch.

‘Hmm…’

I quietly observed Serapia’s still, lifeless breathing.

‘It’s already been five days.’

Five days since Serapia collapsed.
She still hadn’t regained consciousness. Still teetering between life and death.

To be precise, she was slowly dying.
That’s why I had to take extreme measures, resulting in the current 253°C room temperature.

Which led to me personally caring for Serapia.
Not exactly by choice. But there was no alternative.

The maids couldn’t last even ten seconds in this room before collapsing.
Only Kai and I could endure this furnace-like heat.

I could survive thanks to [Toughened Skin][B], which let me regulate my body temperature.
Kai, on the other hand, could endure through his Aura-based resilience.

But Kai had suffered a severe injury from a werebeast.
Though he didn’t die, he needed time to recover his Aura.

Which left me as the only one who could care for Serapia.

‘Hmm……’

Over the past five days, I’d been debating what to do with her.

There was no need to kill Serapia immediately.
But that didn’t mean I needed to save her either.

Just because she hadn’t awakened as the [Monarch of Frost] yet didn’t mean she wouldn’t someday.
I didn’t know when, where, how, or why Serapia might fall into corruption.

If she were to awaken and fall at the same time… there’d be no stopping her.

I’d seen it with my own eyes—this new, “Another Level” Authority.
It was obvious. It would mean certain defeat.

‘If I just devour Serapia right now…’

I’d be able to use her Frost Authority.
No more fear of falling into the madness of [Predation][S+], like in my previous life.

I could surpass even the Monarchs in one leap.

Right now, Serapia was unconscious.
Kai couldn’t move.

This was the perfect chance to devour the [Monarch of Frost].

◆ Serapia is currently under a [Cursed Effect].

[Curse of Frost][P].
As the name implied—it was a curse.

[Predatory Instincts][S] identified it clearly: [Physical Weakness], [Induced Freezing], [Mental Confusion], [Nerve Paralysis]—
A curse so deadly, it wouldn’t be strange if she died any moment.

If I devoured Serapia now?
I’d absorb the curse along with her powers through [Predation][S+].

That would be a terrible decision.

Most importantly—

‘Who knows what kind of tantrum Ian would throw.’

I didn’t have the guts to face whatever storm Ian would bring.

And knowing his personality, it wouldn’t just be a normal tantrum.

‘He’d lose his damn mind.’

I still hadn’t heard Ian’s explanation.
Why he regretted killing Serapia.

There had to be a rational reason. Until I heard it—

‘I guess… I have to keep her alive.’

In the end, I couldn’t just let Serapia die.

If she had awakened right now as the [Monarch of Frost], I would’ve killed her immediately.

‘Doesn’t seem like she’s awakened just yet.’

For many reasons, I couldn’t let her die.
For now, it was better to keep her alive.

If I still wanted to kill her later, I could do it after hearing Ian’s reasons.

‘The real problem is… how to keep her alive.’

First idea: heat her body from the inside.
Naturally, my gaze shifted to the flaming brazier in the middle of the room.

◆ Brazier Temperature: [1,012°C]

‘Should I just toss her in?’

A brilliant idea.

Toss her icy body into that blazing inferno and let the heat warm her up fast.

I gently lifted Serapia into my arms.

She was so light—like a dried leaf.

I was just about to toss her in… then hesitated.

“…Probably not a good idea, huh?”

Yeah, definitely not.

I placed Serapia back onto the bed.

According to [Predatory Instincts][S], the issue wasn’t a lack of external heat.
It was an internal energy deficit.

So, into the brazier? Rejected.

“Hmm…”

I sank into thought, searching for a way to save her.

Only now did I realize—Serapia had been afflicted by the [Curse of Frost].

I’d known her body was frail.
But I hadn’t known it was due to this specific curse.

I also knew she used the Frost Authority.
But I hadn’t realized that power was tied to a curse.

In short, I had zero understanding of her condition.

How to heal Serapia.
How to save her.
Neither existed in my memory.

But I had [Predatory Instincts][S].

A power granted by the [Monarch of Beasts] that allowed me to grasp even unlearned information through pre-conscious instinct.

Human language is learned.
You have to hear and be taught by others.

But breathing isn’t.
A newborn baby breathes without instruction.

Likewise, babies eventually crawl and walk without being taught—because that knowledge is embedded in their biology.

It’s instinct. Knowledge prior to experience.

During ten months in the womb, the baby inherits the wisdom of millions of years of evolution.

This is what makes humans human—instinctual and a priori knowledge.

[Predatory Instincts][S], a power granted by the [Monarch of Beasts], goes beyond human instinct.
It encompasses the instincts of all living things in this world.

Herbivores like deer, goats, and sheep can instinctively tell which plants are poisonous.
Mice fear snakes even if they’ve never seen one before.
Some animals can detect the smell of wet soil and find a nearby stream.

The [Monarch of Beasts] is a chimera made from all living things.

Thus, [Predatory Instincts][S] is the culmination of every living being’s instincts and a priori knowledge.

When I activated it—

Genetic memory built from countless organisms analyzed Serapia’s condition.

On top of that, I added my memories from my previous life.
My knowledge and experience as a commander of special forces.

All of it came together, forming a complete picture of Serapia’s state.
An endless stream of information surfaced, combined, and reassembled.

After a while—

‘I think… I’ve got it.’

Several medicinal herbs that could alleviate Serapia’s condition came to mind.

Rare ingredients, often called “elixirs.”
I could clearly identify which ones might work, just like a herbivore sensing poison.

But they weren’t easy to acquire.

‘I’ll need to go to Frecce, the commercial city.’

I was planning a second trading expedition anyway.

I’d already devoured the entire monster legion that attacked the County.
Even if the werebeast-led army escaped, the rest had been consumed.

Meaning I had mountains of monster meat.
All of it—profit.

‘I’ll just pick them up while I’m there.’

Just as I was preparing to head for Frecce—

◆ You have acquired the derived skill [Find Weakness][U]! ◆

A sudden message appeared before my eyes.

Translatin_Otaku

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