The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring - M.L.U.B.D Chapter 7 (Part 2):

“Grk…!”

The last Ironclad Armadillo’s neck snapped.

I immediately used [Devour] to siphon the essence from its corpse.

[Essence Devoured: 100%]
[A species’ essence has been fully absorbed.]
[Skill – Armor acquired.]

[Armor]
– Rank: ★
– Type: Active
Effect: Creates armor over the skin.
Once created, the affected area can be regenerated after 1 minute.
Consumes a small amount of Mana.

As a test, I channeled Mana into my forearm.

*Drrrrt!*

A gray Armor spread over my arm—identical to the armadillos’ armor.

“The effect’s solid.”

A satisfied grin spread across my face.

The skill provided defense comparable to Magic-grade equipment.

And with [Dragon’s Heart], mana wasn’t an issue.

No need for bulky armor anymore.

The second reason I needed Armor.

‘To acquire [Dragon’s Scales], I need an armor-type ability.’

The Dragon race possesses supreme defense and magic resistance.

To anchor their scales—the root of that defense—to my body, I had to steadily build up related essences.

The armadillos’ armor was the first step.

Heh heh heh.

Every essence had its use.

[Dragon’s Heart]
[Dissolution]
[Acidic Blood]
[Armor]

I’d acquired everything I needed from the wasteland.

Antlions were near-invincible in the Tutorial Stage, so I’d leave them for later.

I looked up, gauging the sun’s position, then headed southwest.

〈Flame Zone〉
↖
〈Lake〉 ← 〈Wasteland〉
↙
〈Plains〉

The lake and Flame Zone were still out of reach.

Especially the Flame Zone—its blistering heat would burn me to a crisp without proper prep.

I didn’t have any fire-resistance gear either.

I’d need to devour more essences before entering.

‘There are essences to grab in the plains too.’

As I walked, the cracked earth gave way to lush grass.

[Your current location is the Plains.]

The only penalty-free zone.

There’s a reason the Tower’s vanguard recommended the plains as a starting point.

Even the air felt different.

Breathing in the wasteland had been stifling.

“Hey! The aggro’s bouncing over there!”
“Hold the line!”
“Wind Cutter!”

Players’ voices echoed from all around.

Nothing had changed here from my pre-regression memories.

Back then, I’d been stuck among those newbies, fumbling my way through monster hunts.

“Damn Horned Rabbits! Why are they so fast?”
“I told you, if you react after it moves, you’re too late.”
“You have to prepare for its charge in advance to hunt it efficiently.”

A player holding a shield approached a Horned Rabbit.

Its ears twitched—

“Kyupiiit!”

—and it kicked off the ground, charging.

Twice as fast as an Ironclad Armadillo!

The solid-steel shield dented under the impact.

“Ugh—!”

The player groaned in pain.

“Now!”

His teammates struck the dazed rabbit.

‘Easy once you know the trick.’

The horned rabbit’s weakness was its explosive thrust.

Get within a certain range, and it’d charge without fail. Block that attack, and it’d be left wide open.

That’s why the Plains were newbie-friendly.

With just a steel shield, EXP farming was trivial.

I stepped into the rabbit-infested field.

“Hey! Mister!”

Someone shouted.

Horned rabbits didn’t react to sound, but that was reckless.

This is why newbies are— I shrugged my shoulders.

“You, the mister who just moved his shoulders! Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me—look over here!”

…What?

The voice belonged to a woman in her early 20s.

“Going barehanded against Horned Rabbits is suicide! So—!”

How kind.

I waved my right hand dismissively.

“Kyupit!”

A rabbit charged, horns aimed at me.

With 40 Agility, I tracked its movement with precision.

[Armor activated.]

The gray armor met its horns head-on.

* * *

Jang Su-Jin was often called nosy.

This time was no different.

When she saw a shorthaired man approaching the Horned Rabbits unarmed, she yelled before thinking.

“Hey! Mister!”

Her shout drew her party’s attention.

“No shield…”
“Taking a Horned Rabbit’s charge barehanded is insane.”
“Did he even read the guide?”

“Walking bullets”—that’s what the vanguard called them.

Easy with a shield, but bare skin?

Their sharp horns could pierce flesh in an instant.

“—So!!”

As if triggered by her voice, the rabbit lunged.

But—

*Ting!*

Instead of blood, sparks flew.

“As expected, it’s useful.”

The short-haired man—Yu Jin-Ho—murmured calmly.

The charge that could dent steel…

…had failed to pierce his gray-armored arm.

The rabbit collapsed, stunned by the charge’s recoil.

Jin-Ho finished it off with a single blow.

“H-How?!”

Su-Jin’s gaze darted between her teammate’s bent shield and Jin-Ho’s unscathed arm.

“Is his arm… harder than steel?”

But the shock wasn’t over yet.

Jin-Ho deactivated [Armor] and strolled deeper into the rabbit horde.

“Kyupiiit!”
“Kyupit!”

Multiple horned rabbits kicked off the ground at once.

Jin-Ho selectively activated his armor, deflecting their charges.

Almost simultaneously, blood sprayed in all directions.

It gushed from the bodies of the horned rabbits that had rushed him.

“That’s… insane.”

A nearby player sounded hollow.

“Su-Jin.”
“Yeah?”
“You could do that too, right?”

She was the strongest in their group.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Maybe if I wanted to die.”

She glared.

Reacting instantly to multiple Horned Rabbits?

Impossible.

The entire pack—over 20 rabbits—was wiped out in under a minute.

“Tch, still not enough.”

Jin-Ho clicked his tongue and walked off.

The players stared, dumbfounded.

“He just left the corpses there?”
“Let’s harvest the horns.”
“Yeah, those horns are valuable weapon crafting materials.”

A few rushed to loot the bodies—

—only to freeze.

“The horns… They’re dust?”
“Only the skins are left.”
“What the hell?!”

All that remained were desiccated husks—the aftermath of [Devour].

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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