Chapter 40
10 min read ·
The Predator’s Way (2)
The keys to combat are offense and defense. As far as offense went, Dragon's Claw[A] had me completely covered.
My defense, however, was somewhat lacking. Toughened Skin[D] was nowhere near enough to rely on. Even now that it had evolved to [C] rank, it still fell short.
The enemies I would have to face were the Emperor and the imperial army. With a battle against the Sovereign of Beasts potentially imminent, Toughened Skin[C] did not provide enough defense.
Of course, having Regeneration[B-] meant defense was not quite so urgent a concern. But possessing Regeneration[B-] certainly did not mean I could afford to neglect it. Regeneration[B-] could not do everything.
If my head was cut off or my heart destroyed, I could not regenerate. Above all, it had the unavoidable limitation of requiring nutrients.
That was a limitation I could never overcome. No living creature in this world had learned how to survive without eating.
So even if I consumed the genetic material of every living creature on the continent with Predation[S+], even if I became the “Ultimate Lifeform” Ian had described, I could never escape the need for food.
Once my food supply ran out, I could no longer regenerate. That was why I could not rely solely on Regeneration[B-]. I had to avoid injury wherever possible, and steer the evolution of my abilities toward preventing it.
Being able to regenerate was a definite advantage, but I could not place blind faith in it. With that in mind, I had studied and pondered the Toughened Skin[C] I had acquired from a Dermexus. Ultimately, I had managed to create the combination skill Dragon’s Skin[U].
Its underlying principles and mechanism were as follows. Human skin consists of approximately [70% water], [25% protein], [2% fat], and [3% minerals]. And the “keratin” strengthened by Dragon's Claw[A] was a type of protein.
Of course, its composition differed fundamentally from the proteins that made up skin. But now that Toughened Skin had evolved to [C], I could replace the proteins in my skin with keratin. Nutrient Synthesis[B-] and Regeneration[B-] handled the replacement process. Through them, I could convert the proteins forming my skin cell membranes into “keratin.”
And Dragon's Claw[A] had already strengthened my keratin, increasing its hardness by [+1,601,200%] and its strength by [+1,992,500%].
◆Dragon’s Skin[U]
: When this skill is used, the proteins forming the player’s skin cell membranes are converted into [Keratin].
The player can consume [10,000 kcal] to make their skin’s strength and hardness comparable to Dragon's Claw[A].
During this time, [All Damage] inflicted on the player over [5 seconds] is reduced by [-90%].
<This is a combination skill combining Nutrient Synthesis[B-], Regeneration[B-], Dragon's Claw[A], and Toughened Skin[C].>
As the description made clear, it was not “Dragon’s Scales.” It was “Dragon’s Skin,” a diminished version adapted to a human like me. After all, proteins accounted for only 25% of human skin. In other words, I could replace only that 25%. That made it an incomplete skill.
Still, this combination skill also held boundless potential for growth if I could evolve its component abilities. More importantly, even its current power was nothing to scoff at. The creature it imitated, however imperfectly, was none other than a dragon—the continent’s strongest lifeform, reigning supreme over all things.
Even the Gelu Drake, a mere member of the dragon family, was called the master of the snowy mountains here. Diminished or not, this was not the sort of power these insignificant mountain monsters could do anything about.
Just then.
◆The duration of the combination skill Metabolic Overdrive[U] has expired!
A notification appeared, informing me that the 500 seconds were already up. My overdriven endocrine system returned to normal. The sudden loss hit me hard, and my movements slowed noticeably for an instant. The monsters pounced, as though they had been waiting for that momentary opening.
“No!!!”
Seraphia’s piercing scream reached me from the walls. It was certainly too late to dodge. In that case...
◆Activating combination skill Dragon’s Skin[U]!
◆Consuming 10,000 kcal to reduce [All Damage] inflicted over [5 seconds] by [-90%]!
The instant I activated the combination skill, the cells making up my skin rapidly changed. Nutrient Synthesis[B-] created keratin, which Regeneration[B-] instantly fashioned into skin cell membranes. Dragon's Claw[A] strengthened them, and Toughened Skin[C] withstood the ensuing impacts and recoil.
CLANG! CLANG-CLANG! CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
Every time the monsters’ claws and teeth struck my body, the sound of clashing metal rang out. Neither my flesh nor my bones suffered so much as a split or a fracture. Instead, it was the monsters’ claws and teeth that cracked and broke.
* * *
“I-impossible...”
Seraphia could not believe what she was seeing. Just moments ago, when the monsters had pounced on Adrian, her face had gone deathly pale.
CLANG! CLANG-CLANG! CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
But then came those thunderous, dull clangs. Her red eyes opened so wide they looked ready to tear.
Countless monsters were raining claws and teeth down on Adrian, yet he was unharmed. Those teeth and claws could shatter rock and gouge steel, but they could not leave a single scratch on his body. Instead, the monsters’ claws and teeth were breaking.
Even seeing it with her own eyes, she could not believe it.
“Th-that, th-that...!”
“Wh-what the hell!!!”
The soldiers were no different. Every one of them gaped in astonishment at the impossible sight. Kai was just as shocked; he simply said nothing. His wavering blue eyes betrayed his bewilderment at the bizarre phenomenon.
Even the monsters reacted the same way.
GRROHK?!
KREEEK?!
The monsters shuddered violently in confusion. A lack of reason did not mean a lack of intelligence. Even they understood that what Adrian was doing defied common sense.
Their confusion created an opening.
THUD-THUD-THUD!
Adrian slipped through that opening in an instant and broke free. He was utterly ravaging them—that legion of countless monsters. A monster legion the county’s entire fighting force could not withstand was being completely overrun by one man: Adrian.
And the more he fought, the more he ranged across the battlefield, the stronger he somehow seemed to become.
* * *
I tore through the monsters like a madman, ripping out their hearts and endlessly consuming them with Predation[S+]. How much time had passed?
◆Regeneration[B+]
◆Toughened Skin[B]
◆Nutrient Synthesis[B]
◆Promote Metabolism[C+]
The descriptions no longer said I could evolve these abilities by consuming additional genetic material. That told me I had attained their complete forms.
When I looked up again, the monsters had begun to flee.
‘Did it order a retreat?’
That seemed to be the case. Whatever was commanding the monster legion had apparently decided this could not continue.
‘My calories were starting to run out, too...’
I had replenished them here and there, but never fully. In the heat of battle, finding the opportunity to replenish calories was no easy task.
This, too, was a limitation of Regeneration[B+]. Even I could not keep fighting any longer.
Had he been keeping an eye on my condition? Kai suddenly leaped from the wall. He had faithfully obeyed my warning not to interfere, but now he moved without hesitation, perhaps realizing I no longer had the stamina to continue fighting.
Like a golden wolf, he fiercely pursued the fleeing monster legion. If we let those monsters go, they would pose a threat to the county in the future. We had to thin their numbers decisively while we could.
“Lord Adrian!”
“Are you all right?”
Following Kai’s lead, the soldiers began pouring out from the walls.
“Brother!!!”
Seraphia in particular was rushing down the steps of the wall, her face filled with worry.
RRRUMBLE...!
A great rumbling sounded as the tightly shut gates opened. I turned back to watch Kai pursuing the monsters.
‘He fights well.’
A golden wolf cutting through a flock of sheep. Wherever Kai’s sword passed, monsters fell without fail. He ranged freely among them, thrusting and slashing at their vital points with precision.
Somehow, he had become far stronger than before. His prodigious talent was driving his growth day after day. He had not been called the Legion Commander of Bitter Cold for nothing.
As I quietly watched him...
‘Should I give it a try?’
My abilities had finished evolving, after all. And meat I had processed with Predation[S+] was piled up in mountains. I brought up the 「Information」 tab to check my remaining calorie reserves. At the same time, I checked Nutrient Synthesis[B+], now in its complete form. It was just as I had expected.
◆Nutrient Synthesis[B]
: When this skill is used, calories (Cal) can be consumed to synthesize desired nutrients. Depending on the amount of calories consumed, [All Organic Compound Mixtures] can be freely synthesized.
+Compounds can be broken down into individual elements.
+No energy is lost when synthesizing or breaking down nutrients.
‘I can synthesize every compound.’
Having evolved to rank [B], Nutrient Synthesis[B] could synthesize any organic compound in existence, provided I had the calories. It could also break them down into individual elements such as oxygen and hydrogen, all without any loss of caloric energy.
“Hoo...!”
I drew a deep breath. Even I found what I was about to attempt intensely nerve-racking. I took several more deep breaths to shake off the tension. As I did, Ian’s words flashed through my mind.
[“Adrian, you mustn’t fight like a human.”]
I mustn’t fight like a human.
[“Fighting like a human will only hurt you. That doesn’t mean you should abandon your humanity. I mean it literally: don’t fight the way humans do.”]
I couldn’t fight the way humans did.
[“Adrian, you have to develop your own way of fighting, on your own. No one can teach you. Nor should anyone try.”]
Not even Ian, the Hero. So in my previous life, I had agonized over that way of fighting. And at last, I had found the answer.
◆Using the skill Nutrient Synthesis[B] to synthesize [Hydrogen], [Oxygen], [Acetylene], [Vinylacetylene], [Ethylene Oxide], [Hydrazine], [Nitrous Oxide]...
These were elements and compounds that produced heat-releasing and explosive reactions. I poured all the oil I had stored in my Inventory into my mouth. Burning through every calorie that rapidly accumulated, I synthesized them again.
Then I activated Metabolic Overdrive[U] again—the combination skill joining Promote Metabolism[C+] and Regeneration[B+]—to send reactions within a particular system into overdrive. Calories burned rapidly, and the explosive substances synthesized within my body multiplied and propagated uncontrollably. They spread through my entire body, accompanied by intense heat and energy.
Normally, my whole body should have burned away to nothing. Instead, I used Dragon’s Skin[U], combining Toughened Skin[B] and Dragon's Claw[A], to suppress and contain it inside me, pushing the limits of those limits.
CRRRACK!!
My body began to seethe as though it were about to explode. This was happening even with a 90% reduction in damage. Agonizing pain surged through me, but I suppressed it by blocking my sensory nerves.
My ability, Predation[S+], did not simply absorb a living creature’s abilities. It absorbed the source of those abilities: mutated genetic material.
And biological evolution never happened in an instant. It took tens of thousands of years at minimum. Every living creature on the continent today had undergone evolution over such spans of time.
We humans were no different. We had survived to this day by evolving again and again over tens of thousands, even millions of years.
Then, in a mere ten months inside our mothers’ wombs, we went through those millions of years of biological evolution before entering the world. It was possible because the genetic material our ancestors had accumulated over countless years was imprinted within us. All living creatures were the same.
My ability, Predation[S+], absorbed the process of biological evolution that each creature had accumulated over not merely millions, but tens of millions of years.
Thus, the Dragon's Claw[A] I had gained by consuming the Gelu Drake with Predation[S+] was the result of absorbing a dragon’s genetic information. In other words, my body contained a dragon’s genetic information. By harnessing it, I could use a dragon’s genetic abilities.
And so, what I was trying to reproduce now... was a dragon’s power: Breath.
KEEEEEEN!!
Every cell in my body ignited at once. An enormous blaze erupted across my entire body.
FWHOOOOOSH!!!
Using my very existence as kindling, an inferno of countless eons rose. An overwhelming power, too great to bear. It compressed within my arms, compressed, compressed, and compressed again.
This skill transformed the dragon genetic material extracted from Dragon's Claw[A], combining it with Promote Metabolism[C+], Regeneration[B+], Toughened Skin[B], and Nutrient Synthesis[B], as well as Metabolic Overdrive[U] and Dragon’s Skin[U].
An ability unique to the Predator, born from bringing together powers that could never coexist in nature. This was the ultimate expression of biological evolution, with no need for the Hero’s swordsmanship, spearmanship, or unarmed combat. This was the Predator’s way.
Its measured rank was...
◆Activating combination skill Dragon Rage Explosion[E]!
[E], signifying Epic.
That ferocious power... I could no longer keep it under control.
‘Now!’
I thrust both hands forward toward the fleeing monster legion.