Chapter 16

Hunting (1)

The northern part of the continent was broadly divided into three regions: the frozen lands at the tree line, the snowfields where mosses grew, and the snowy mountains at the very limits of survival.

Whitewolf county lay on the boundary between the snowfields and the snowy mountains. Beyond the mountains stretched an environment too harsh to sustain not only humans, but any life at all. All because of the tremendous cold.

"Brr...!"

I instinctively huddled in on myself. The breath I exhaled as I hunched over dispersed into the air, freezing white.

I could barely feel my hands, as though they had become chunks of ice. Cold burrowed into my skin. My body was steadily freezing, refusing to move. Every breath drew in air so bitterly cold that it froze my lungs.

◆Toughened Skin[D] resists the freezing cold!

Thank goodness I'd gained the ability to regulate my body temperature from the Dermexus. Otherwise, I could have frozen to death.

"Ugh...!"

Of course, that didn't change the fact that I was cold.

"W-will this be far enough...?!"

Judging by the way my teeth were chattering on their own, I seemed to have climbed just high enough.

I took a piece of Dermexus meat I'd cut off out of my Inventory and placed it somewhere conspicuous. Then I hid and waited for prey to take the bait.

How much longer had I waited? The sun that had stood high overhead was already sinking into the sunset. Just as I was thinking at least five or six hours must have passed, it happened.

GRR?

After the long wait, my prey finally appeared. It was roughly one and a half times the size of an adult man. It walked on all fours, its long, curved body as supple as a snake's. Sharp claws tipped all four feet, and its thick hide gleamed a camouflaging white.

Rakelike fangs and a pointed snout jutted from its head. Its long tail helped it locate prey buried in the snow, as well as slice through the snow to move swiftly.

The creature surveying its surroundings with flashing yellow eyes was called an Alacron—a monster found only in the snowy mountains.

I burrowed farther into the snow. Fortunately, I didn't need to bother masking my scent. The monsters of the snowy mountains weren't particularly sensitive to smell. The mountains' brutal cold froze even scents.

I held my breath, waiting until the creature was completely absorbed in the bait.

GRRR...

The Alacron kept watch in every direction. Had it decided no one was there? It turned its attention to the Dermexus meat I'd left as bait. Then, just as it opened its enormous maw wide—

I kicked off the ground. The snowy ground caved in beneath me as my body shot forward like an arrow. The Alacron turned toward me, but my hand had already swept to my waist and drawn my sword.

SHING!

Only then did the Alacron register my presence. By the time it fully took me in, the sharp tip of my sword was already piercing its hide.

SHUNK!

The Alacron's hide wasn't as tough as a Dermexus's. Even a weapon without aura could wound it easily enough. It let out a monstrous shriek of pain. I hastily stepped back and reset my stance.

The Alacron didn't rush at me recklessly. Irrational as monsters were, they still felt fear. In fact, precisely because they followed their instincts, they knew when to pick a fight.

Its glowing yellow eyes swept over me. I didn't avert my gaze. Our eyes met, and the Alacron was the first to look away.

It began to back away. Predator and prey. Our roles had become clear.

I tightened my grip on my sword. At that very moment, the Alacron scrambled away, fleeing?

"Huh...?"

For a moment, I was dumbstruck.

The Alacron was a fairly high-ranking monster. Even a cornered rat would bite. What was its problem...? It was so fast that it had already vanished from sight.

"..."

This put me in quite a bind.

My training had raised my Strength and Stamina, but my Agility stat was still quite low. It currently stood at a mere 3, even after I'd invested the +2 points I'd earned from leveling up by hunting the Dermexus. That gave me agility equivalent to three adult men, but it was far too little to keep up with an Alacron.

"I should have killed it in one blow."

Unfortunately, it had reacted at the last moment, preventing me from doing just that. Frustration washed over me, like I'd let a mosquito in my room escape.

Still, I wasn't entirely without a way to catch it. I hadn't managed to kill the Alacron, but I had definitely wounded it. Sure enough, bright red blood stained the mountain snow along its escape route. Following that blood should lead me to it.

"Whew...!"

With a long exhale, I secured the sword I'd been gripping back at my waist.

"Looks like I'll be running again."

Even though I'd just spent two days racing Kai without rest. Still, back in the special task force, I'd once run at full speed for six days.

"Let's see how far you can run."

The time had come to show it exactly why humans surpassed every other species in endurance.

* * *

The Alacron fled with truly desperate determination. As though convinced it would die if caught, it ran and ran like mad. It was astonishingly fast, with incredible endurance to match. It showed no sign of tiring.

But even so, it couldn't match human endurance. I chased the Alacron for all I was worth. By the time the sun that had set in the west rose again in the east—

HUFF! HUFF! HUFF!

The Alacron finally collapsed from exhaustion. Utterly spent, it seemed to have given up on everything. The look in its eyes as it panted at me seemed to say, "Kill me! Just fucking kill me, you bastard!"

Of course, there was no way a monster possessed that sort of reason.

◆You have defeated an Alacron!

◆You have gained 100 combat experience!

As I put the Alacron down painlessly, translucent messages appeared before my eyes. My level didn't go up. Not only had it awarded less experience than the Dermexus, but the higher my level rose, the more experience I needed.

Considering I'd spent roughly half a day putting myself through hell, it was quite disappointing, but...

"Oh well."

Disappointment was all it was. Above all, raising my level wasn't the only reason I hunted monsters.

I looked down to find the Alacron's life force rapidly fading. That seemed to be because it was so thoroughly exhausted. I couldn't gain an ability from a heart whose life force had completely vanished, so I quickly cut its heart out with my sword.

"It isn't Heightened Keratin, but..."

That didn't mean the Alacron's ability was bad. It more than qualified as a "rare ability."

The monsters of the snowy mountains had each evolved special abilities to adapt to their harsh environment. Naturally, the Alacron I'd hunted had its own special ability too.

The brutal cold made food extremely scarce in the snowy mountains. To survive in such an environment, the Alacron had dramatically evolved the structure of its nutrient storage system—

◆You have devoured the entity named Alacron!

◆You have acquired the skill Nutrient Synthesis[C-]!

◆Nutrient Synthesis[C-]

: When using this skill, the player can expend calories (kcal) to synthesize desired nutrients. Depending on the amount of calories expended, compound mixtures [carbohydrates, proteins, fats, water] can be synthesized freely.

<Absorbing additional genetic material strengthens this ability.>

As I swallowed the last pieces of the Alacron's heart, information about the new skill scrolled into view. Then all the strength left my body, and I slumped to the ground.

"Whew...!!"

After running around all day, I felt like death. Humans might far surpass every other species in endurance, but that certainly didn't mean we never got tired. Coming on the heels of two straight days of running with Kai, this had been brutally draining. As a result, I was desperately thirsty.

"I feel like I could easily drink ten liters of water right now."

But water was an extremely precious resource in the north. More precisely, drinkable water was extremely scarce. It froze solid within seconds, so I couldn't even carry any in a canteen. It would have been fine in my Inventory, but I hadn't thought of that.

"Should I just eat some snow?"

Just as that thought crossed my mind...

◆You can expend calories to synthesize [water].

◆Surplus Calories - 3,200 kcal

◆Would you like to use the skill 'Nutrient Synthesis[C-]'?

Messages suddenly appeared before my eyes. The moment I willed my acceptance, a blaze flared inside my body, and my thirst vanished in an instant.

Had burning calories made me lose weight? My body felt lighter than it had a moment ago. Apparently, it had burned calories to synthesize water, just as the description said.

"That's fascinating."

I'd only known about it in theory, never having acquired it in my previous life, so it was truly fascinating.

In fact, ice trolls weren't the only things I'd failed to devour in my previous life. It was fair to say I hadn't devoured most of the monsters that lived in the snowy mountains.

That wasn't because of the Emperor. He had certainly played a major part, but he wasn't the ultimate reason. After all, until he began acting in earnest, he hadn't exerted much influence over the continent.

The biggest reason, therefore, had been Seraphia. In other words, the Sovereign of Bitter Cold.

This northern region of the continent had been the Sovereign of Bitter Cold's domain. Entering the north had been no easy task, which had kept me from devouring most of the monsters that inhabited its snowy mountains.

This was my first time devouring an Alacron, too. And my first time possessing the ability Nutrient Synthesis[C-].

"With this..."

I no longer had to worry about specific nutrients. I still needed food, but sufficient calories would be enough. As long as I ate high-calorie food, I could freely synthesize whatever nutrients I needed. From now on, I could use Regeneration[C+] to keep regenerating whichever part of my body I wanted, as much as I liked.

For now, I could only synthesize [carbohydrates, proteins, fats, water]. But as it continued to evolve, I should be able to synthesize every organic compound the human body needed, including [vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, chlorine, potassium, etc.].

"I think it might even be able to synthesize organic matter from inorganic matter."

That would mean I could get whatever nutrients I wanted even by chewing up rocks. It could create incredible synergy with Regeneration[C+], which absolutely required nutrients.

And this was just the Alacron's ability. There were still an enormous number of monsters in the snowy mountains that I hadn't devoured. Countless abilities that went beyond useful to downright overpowered. Countless abilities to evolve.

And now that I'd returned to the past, to a time before the Emperor began acting in earnest—and, more importantly, before Seraphia awakened as the Sovereign of Bitter Cold—

"Shall we get going again?"

The snowy mountains of the north were as good as my domain alone.