Chapter 17

Hunting (2)

As always, Kai headed to the Frost Trial Grounds that day.

Ever since his race with Adrian, his entire body had felt like lead. A week had already passed, yet the aftereffects simply would not fade.

Rest was part of training, too. He needed to give his body a break, but he simply could not sit still.

Adrian's growth was alarming. It was no exaggeration to say he was growing stronger at an explosive rate.

And there were roughly two and a half months left until the royal decree arrived.

Once that time had passed, Kai would kill Adrian.

He had to.

But there was no telling what Adrian would be like by then. In little more than ten days, he had become an entirely different person. Kai could not even imagine how much he might change in seventy days.

Kai could not afford to remain idle, either. To make certain he could kill Adrian, he too would have to train relentlessly.

Dragging his leaden body along, he quickened his steps toward the Frost Trial Grounds.

When he finally arrived, however, the atmosphere at the trial grounds was decidedly strange.

He had expected the place to be burning with the fervor of training. Instead, it was cold. The soldiers and instructors were rigid with tension.

Kai scanned the grounds and soon realized why.

An unexpected visitor was there: a woman with ethereal silver hair that seemed steeped in moonlight.

"Oh, Sir Kai."

Spotting him, Seraphia hurried over with light steps. Kai's head tilted involuntarily.

"What brings you to the Frost Trial Grounds?"

"Oh, well..."

Seraphia gave an awkward smile before speaking again.

"I thought I'd try getting some exercise."

"... Pardon?"

Kai's face went foolishly blank.

And who could blame him? Seraphia, exercising?

In a way, that was far more shocking than Adrian exercising. With just a little exaggeration, it was as shocking as watching Adrian chew up the Dermexus's heart.

The fact that the curse of bitter cold had left her frail from birth was a secondary concern.

Seraphia was currently handling the county's overall administration. Though Bernard, the head steward, was officially the lord's representative, she was effectively carrying out all the duties of the lord.

In other words, she had no time.

One look at her hollow eyes made it clear that this was reality, not an excuse.

"But I don't know where to start..."

Seraphia lowered her head slightly. Rubbing her left shoulder with her right hand, she glanced around self-consciously.

Kai looked around as well.

The Frost Trial Grounds were full of soldiers who had been training, along with the instructors who drilled them every day. Yet all of them were frozen at attention. Not a single person approached Seraphia.

Understandably so. Seraphia was the lord of Whitewolf county. The royal decree had yet to arrive, so she had not been formally recognized, but it was only a matter of time.

To the soldiers, this was no different from an inspection by their "supreme commander." That was precisely why soldiers and instructors alike had frozen.

But Kai was the knight sworn to protect Seraphia. Even if everyone else in the world turned their backs on her, he had vowed that he alone would remain by her side.

Turning back to her, he said, "I will teach you."

"Oh! Really?"

Seraphia's eyes sparkled. Red as rubies, they shone like true gems above her radiant smile.

"Then may I ask you to help me?"

"You need not ask. You may simply command me."

Kai moved calmly forward. With anticipation written all over Seraphia's face, he could hardly turn her away.

He began sorting through the equipment scattered across the floor, one piece at a time. Since she was a beginner exercising for the first time, she would have to start light. Given her frail constitution, even that would require the utmost care.

"Um, Sir Kai."

He looked up at the sound of her voice. Seraphia was looking all around as though searching for someone. Sure enough, she asked him,

"Has Brother not arrived yet?"

She glanced around again, like a baby bird searching for its mother.

"I heard he exercises here every day..."

Disappointment had already spread across her face.

Kai's gaze suddenly fell on her pale neck. The finger-shaped bruises were still there.

They had faded considerably since the beginning.

Yet they remained distinct.

"He will return soon."

Kai let nothing show.

* * *

A week had already passed since I began hunting in the snowy mountains.

Only then did I finally encounter the prey I had been searching so hard for.

A body roughly two meters tall. Large, brutal eyes and bulging muscles.

An ice troll.

The ice troll did not roar threateningly when it spotted me. But the saliva dribbling from its mouth made it clear that it saw me as prey, as food.

Ice trolls were not gentle enough to let prey they encountered escape. Not that "gentleness" was a quality found in monsters to begin with.

A gleam lit the ice troll's eyes.

I read the emotion within them.

Hunger.

And that hunger became ferocity.

The ice troll lunged at me in an instant.

My hand darted to my waist. Just as I was about to draw my sword, I stopped short.

An ice troll's weakness was its heart. Aiming for it with my sword, as I had last time, was therefore the surest way to kill it.

Its hide was not as tough as a Dermexus's. Even without aura, I could pierce its hide and destroy its heart.

But...

'That would damage its heart.'

The ice troll's heart would be damaged, just like last time. A damaged heart yielded less genetic material. A completely destroyed heart yielded none at all.

Ice trolls were rare monsters, difficult to find. A mutant variety of troll found only in the northern snowy mountains, they were so scarce that I had spent a week roaming before finally finding a single one.

Who knew when I would find another?

I could not afford to damage its heart as I had last time.

It wasn't that I hadn't known this back then. I had simply had no choice. If I hadn't gone for its heart, I would have died.

But things were different now.

Ten days of training had made my body stronger.

Seven days of hunting had made it evolve.

I could see the ice troll's movements clearly. Its heavy fist hurtled toward me, filling my vision.

Trying to meet that head-on was foolish.

But I did not dodge the incoming fist.

I struck back.

BOOM!

As my fist met the ice troll's, mine shattered first.

CRUNCH!

My muscles were far stronger than before, but I was still no match for an ice troll.

Even so, I was strong enough to hurt it.

CRACK!

The sound of bones crushing came from the end of the ice troll's fist. It stumbled back several steps.

Had the force of the impact been greater than it expected?

Its face twisted in pain.

GRAAARGH!!

The ice troll let out a monstrous roar.

In the brief time it took to retreat those few steps, its crushed fist had already returned to normal.

Its recovery was truly absurd. An ice troll certainly lived up to its name.

But that—

Went for me, too.

◆Using skill 'Regeneration[C+]'.

◆Consuming a large amount of calcium to regenerate shattered bones.

Translucent messages appeared before my eyes.

My shattered fist regenerated in an instant.

GRUARGH?!

Visible bewilderment spread across the ice troll's face. Apparently, seeing a human display regenerative powers comparable to its own had come as quite a shock.

GRAAAARGH!!

Enraged, the ice troll charged again.

Once again, I did not retreat. I drove my fist toward its incoming punch.

BOOM!

Our fists collided again, crushing bone and flesh on both sides. My injuries were far worse, and the calcium stored in my body was rapidly depleted as a result.

I took monster meat from my Inventory, chewed it up, and swallowed.

Monster meat was rich in protein and fat. In other words, it was a poor source of calcium, the building material of bone.

But that posed no problem for me now.

◆You can consume calories to synthesize [Calcium].

◆Surplus Calories - 3,880 kcal

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

Over the past week, I had managed to hunt more Alacrons. That had allowed me to raise Nutrient Synthesis from [C-] to [C], one grade higher.

Now, in addition to [Carbohydrates, Proteins, Fats, Water], I could freely synthesize [Vitamins, Calcium]. The conversion efficiency had also improved considerably.

Fire flared inside my body as calories burned. Those calories were converted into calcium, which in turn fueled Regeneration[C+], restoring my shattered bones in an instant.

G-GRUARGH?!

The ice troll jumped in alarm. It was beyond bewildered now; it was aghast.

I kept meeting its fists with my own.

BANG! BANG! BA-BANG!

As time passed, the ice troll's regeneration visibly slowed.

Naturally, its regeneration needed nutrients as well. And its reserves were limited.

I, however, could keep replenishing mine. My Inventory held more than enough meat from the monsters I had hunted; it was overflowing with it.

On top of that, Nutrient Synthesis[C] let me obtain whichever nutrients I needed.

"Let's see this through to the end."

Whoever reached the limits of their regeneration first would lose.

* * *

◆You have defeated an ice troll!

◆You have gained 120 combat experience!

◆You have leveled up!

Translucent messages appeared before my eyes.

At last, the ice troll's massive body toppled over. It lay buried in the snow, utterly motionless.

"... Persistent bastard."

The words escaped me unbidden. After all, I had run out of every scrap of meat in my Inventory.

It was on an entirely different level from the weakened specimen I had fought last time. Still, I was fortunate to have scraped out a victory.

I walked over to examine the ice troll's corpse. Aside from its lack of movement, it hardly seemed dead.

But the translucent messages had confirmed its death. There was no need for a finishing blow.

Drawing my sword, I carefully cut open its chest, revealing a heart in perfect condition.

Not a single part of it was damaged.

That meant the genetic material I could obtain was undamaged as well.

"With any luck, this might boost my regeneration by another grade."

Holding on to that hope, I brought the ice troll's heart to my mouth without hesitation.

CRUNCH.

A tough texture and the sharp tang of blood filled my mouth.

As always, Madness surged in. My mind turned red, as though a crimson fog were consuming it. My eyes grew bloodshot, and everything before me was stained scarlet.

Just as the last thread of my reason was about to snap—

◆Player's Will[EX] resists the encroaching Madness!

A translucent message suddenly appeared, and my mind snapped clear. The red fog consuming my thoughts vanished, and my scarlet vision returned to normal.

"So it isn't complete immunity."

As this showed, Ian's ability, Player's Will[EX], did not grant perfect immunity to Madness.

Its exact description was [Grants immunity to all effects (curses, illusions, brainwashing, hypnosis, suggestion, etc.) that 'exceed the player's mental fortitude'].

In other words, Player's Will[EX] activated only once an effect exceeded the maximum strain my mind could withstand.

As for what that limit was...

"I don't really know."

But it probably wasn't very high. In my previous life, a single use of Predation had invariably sent me on a mindless rampage.

Later, with Ian's help, I had learned to control it to some extent. Though, really, there hadn't been much to his "help."

"I can't even remember how many times Ian beat me up."

All he did was beat me like a dog. Whenever Madness took hold of me, Ian would beat the living shit out of me until I came to my senses.

... Come to think of it, he really had beaten me up a lot. I hadn't had regeneration back then, either, so it had been rough.

Well, either way, as long as I had Player's Will[EX], I no longer needed to fear Madness.

CRUNCH.

I stuffed the last piece of the ice troll's heart into my mouth.

Predation[S+] needed a little time to analyze and apply the genetic material.

"Hmm..."

I paused to think.

"Seventeen days, huh."

It had already been seventeen days since I returned to the past.

Ian still hadn't shown himself.

Of course, seventeen days wasn't all that long. But it wasn't a short time, either.

If it were Ian, he should have shown up long ago.

And yet there hadn't been so much as a glimpse of him. Did that mean...?

"Surely I wasn't the only one who returned to the past."