The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring - M.L.U.B.D Chapter 17 (Part 2):

A dense forest.

Towering coniferous trees greeted me.

[Your current location is the Forest.]

[Forest – Vision reduced by 10%]

The moment I stepped into the forest, a dark border encroached on my peripheral vision.

This level of penalty was manageable.

Hands clasped behind my back, I strolled through the forest at a leisurely pace.

The shadows of coniferous trees stretched across the ground.

Even with the sun high in the sky, the thick canopy of leaves blocked the sunlight, casting a dim gloom.

‘It’s fine. Nothing dangerous lurks here.’

How long had I been walking?

A rustling sound pricked my ears.

A faint noise.

If I hadn’t acquired [Ultrasound] from the Big Bat, I wouldn’t have caught it.

I turned toward the source of the sound and quickened my pace.

After about a minute of walking, a long horn came into view at the edge of my sight.

A Mana Deer. A monster that roamed the forest.

It seemed to have noticed me too, staring with bright, gleaming eyes.

In that instant, the Mana Deer lowered its head at a 90-degree angle.

A bluish aura gathered between the forked prongs of its horns.

[Energy Bolt]

*Shwaaa!* A blue orb hurtled straight at me.

“Quite the warm greeting.”

I charged forward, my forearms clad in [Spiked Armor].

A straight path.

Running like this would mean taking the *Energy Bolt* head-on.

The distance between us was great enough that I could easily dodge if I wanted to.

But I chose to face it directly.

‘Mana Deer always flee after attacking.’

Their nature was to avoid combat.

Their pattern was to fire an Energy Bolt from a distance and then flee at full speed.

Their speed made catching a fleeing Mana Deer quite tricky.

[Spiked Armor’s durability has decreased by 4%.]

The impact on my arm wasn’t significant.

[Energy Bolt] was a 1-star skill commonly learned by magic-type players.

In other words, it wasn’t very strong.

“Byororong?”

The Mana Deer, seeing its first attack fail, didn’t hesitate to turn and run.

Just as I expected.

[Agile Hind Legs activated.]

I used Agile Hind Legs in rapid succession.

In an instant, I closed a 100-meter gap.

The Mana Deer’s eyes widened in shock.

It kicked the ground belatedly, trying to gain distance, but—

“Game’s already over.”

I swung my claws, enhanced by [Sharp Claws].

*Slash!* A blue arc sliced through the air, followed by crimson blood splattering in all directions.

The Mana Deer collapsed to the ground.

Its stats were heavily skewed toward speed, making its defenses weak.

Once you closed the gap, taking it down wasn’t hard.

‘The challenge is getting close in the first place.’

Mana Deer were shunned by players as prey.

Their hunting difficulty was absurdly high.

They dodged magic attacks from afar with ease and fled at full speed when approached, maintaining distance from players.

Without Agile Hind Legs, I’d have broken a sweat trying to catch one.

[Devour activated.]

[Mana Deer’s essence has been devoured.]

No damage taken, so I moved on to find the next target.

“Byororong.”

“Byorong.”

The moment Mana Deer sensed my presence, they invariably fired Energy Bolts.

If they fled instead of taking the time to cast Energy Bolt, they might have a slightly better chance of survival.

Not that they’d know that.

Ignoring the Energy Bolts flying straight at me, I hunted the Mana Deer one by one.

[Mana Deer’s essence is being devoured.]

[Essence Devoured: 100%]

[Essence Grade: Common]

[You have completely absorbed one species’ essence.]

[Skill – Energy Bolt has been added.]

[Energy Bolt]

– Rank: ★

– Type: Active

*Condenses mana into an arrow-shaped projectile.*

*Consumes a small amount of mana upon use.*

*Can be charged with mana.*

As expected, a 1-star skill.

I hadn’t held high hopes to begin with.

‘Still, having a ranged option isn’t bad, right?’

My first magic skill since regressing.

Upon absorbing the essence, the method for rearranging mana imprinted itself in my mind.

I tested Energy Bolt out.

The mana in my body underwent a simple rearrangement process, condensing.

It took about one second for [Energy Bolt] to form.

With a flick of my hand, the blue orb shot toward a coniferous tree.

*Boom—* A small explosion sounded as the impact site caved in.

Stronger than the Mana Deer’s version.

Thanks to my high mana stat, the Energy Bolt’s damage was boosted.

“Not quite strong enough to be a main skill.”

My Strength stat, including items, was over 80.

With [Spiked Armor] protecting my hands, I could snap a tree in half with a single strike.

I’d have to settle for this as a ranged option.

‘Wait, didn’t it have a charge function too?’

I used Energy Bolt again.

As the completed orb hovered around my palm, instead of releasing it, I poured more mana into it.

The Energy Bolt grew slightly larger.

After about 4.2 seconds, the orb’s size was roughly three times its original.

[Energy Bolt is in an overcharged state.]

[No more mana can be infused into this skill.]

I released the Energy Bolt toward the coniferous tree, just like before.

*BOOM!*

This time, the explosion itself was on another level.

The impact site shattered into pieces.

The coniferous tree creaked with an *Ujikk* sound, tilting to the right.

“Not bad at all, huh?”

I muttered, staring at the broken tree.

This level of power could make a distant enemy’s blood run cold.

It’d be harder to hit at longer ranges, but the mere existence of [Energy Bolt] gave me a psychological edge.

The Mana Deer’s essence, which I hadn’t obtained in my previous life.

It was more useful than I’d thought.

‘Then the Furious Ape… oh, right, it’s already been hunted.’

That guy, Park Jong-won, beat me to it.

Taking down a boss monster on the tutorial’s first day, no less.

His skills weren’t half bad.

Hmm, coming back in a week wouldn’t be an issue, but leaving the forest like this felt unsatisfying.

Wait, now that I think about it, there was ‘that guy’ deeper in the forest.

One of the toughest boss monsters on Rainbow Island, the Blood Mountain Lord.

‘Hunting it would grant me a martial arts manual.’

I clenched and unclenched my right hand.

I’d originally planned to challenge it in the second week.

But my current stats already far surpassed what I’d anticipated at the start.

In that case, taking it on now to learn martial arts sooner wouldn’t be a bad idea, would it?

‘Let’s test my limits.’

*Clench.*

I tightly gripped my right hand and turned my gaze deeper into the forest.

Dangun

I'm currently Translating the following novels: "Labyrinth Exploration 101" & "The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring " If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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