Chapter 53
10 min read ·
A Triangle of Weaknesses
A derived skill.
“Derived” meant something that branched off from an original. In that sense, a derived skill was a modified, expanded version of the skill it originated from.
◆Find Weakness[U]
: Using this skill awakens Predatory Instincts[S], allowing the player to detect even the slightest changes in their surroundings and enemies. The player can perceive everything from an enemy’s body temperature and heart rate to their attack patterns and psychological state.
This allows the player to [Find] a target’s [Weaknesses], gaining [a priori] knowledge of unguarded areas, vulnerable points in armor, and openings caused by variables such as exhaustion and fatigue.
<This is a derived skill originating from Predatory Instincts[S].>
‘So that’s what a derived skill is.’
True to the meaning of “derived,” it was a skill that had branched off from Predatory Instincts[S]. Apparently, I had awakened it naturally after using Predatory Instincts[S] so extensively to examine Seraphia’s condition.
Its assessed rank was [U], for Unique. In other words, it was an ability exclusive to me.
‘Did my memories and experience from the allied army contribute to it too?’
That seemed to be the case. Apparently, that was why an ability I had obtained from the lycanthrope had developed into something unique to me.
In any case, it was an extremely useful skill. Being able to identify an enemy’s weaknesses at a glance was downright broken.
When I tried it on Seraphia, her vulnerable areas lit up red, immediately catching my eye.
The pit of her chest, where her heart lay. Her head, which housed her brain. All the blood vessels throughout her body, including her carotid arteries.
These were weaknesses any human would have. In other words, they offered further evidence that Seraphia was currently human, not the Sovereign of Bitter Cold.
But there was just one thing.
‘Why am I...?’
For some reason, my body was glowing red too. My entire body shone crimson, as though I were a leaf turning in autumn.
Just then—
KNOCK, KNOCK.
A knock sounded from outside the door.
“I’m coming in.”
With that light knock, a man entered the room.
* * *
The man had barged in without waiting for my permission. There was only one person in the county with the nerve to pull that sort of stunt.
I turned, intending to give him a piece of my mind.
“What the...?”
Then my expression froze.
“What do you mean?”
Kai stood there asking that question. Perfectly fine, without a single wound.
‘Why is he in such good shape?’
The wound the lycanthrope had inflicted on Kai had been fatal. True, five days had passed, but even so.
Even with Immortality, he needed time to replenish his aura. I had expected it to take at least two weeks.
But if he was perfectly fine after only five days...
“Don’t tell me you’ve advanced to a higher level?”
“How could you tell just by looking at me?”
Kai’s eyes widened in surprise as he asked, even though I was the one who ought to be surprised.
Apparently, he had gained some kind of insight during his fight with the lycanthrope. The fact that he had perfected Wolf’s Swordsmanship back then was evidence enough, but...
‘Was it really that easy?’
Even taking that into account, his progress was absurd. Utterly incredulous, I studied him closely.
◆Activating derived skill, ‘Find Weakness[U]’!
As the message appeared before my eyes, Kai’s weaknesses—
‘... There aren’t any?’
He had no weaknesses. No matter how carefully I looked, I couldn’t see a single one.
‘How is that possible?’
This... made no sense. It was impossible for anything alive to have no weaknesses.
No living thing in this world was without them. Dragons had them. So did Ian.
Even I would die if my head or heart burst. I couldn’t heal a fatal injury beyond the limits of Regeneration[B+].
I would also die if I ran out of nutrients.
The Ultimate Lifeform.
Only the sort of being Ian had described would have no weaknesses. And at that point, it deserved to be called a god rather than a living creature.
Even if Kai had advanced to a higher level—
‘Wait, could it be?’
Hardly daring to believe it, I activated Predatory Instincts[S]. Just as with Seraphia, information about Kai appeared in a neatly organized display.
==<Character Information>==
Name: Kai
Classification: Kingdom Animalia, Class Mammalia, Family Hominidae, Human
Sex: Male
Age: 20
Traits: Adoptive Muscle Memory[A-], Immortal Link[E],
Sure enough, there was information about his traits. First up was Adoptive Muscle Memory[A-].
◆Adoptive Muscle Memory[A-]
: Acquiring this skill grants muscle cells [Learning and Memory Capability]. This allows intuitive recall of previously experienced physical activities and training, increasing the efficiency of relearning by [+1,205%].
Brain-nerve connections and interactions between muscles are amplified by [+2,290%], allowing more efficient use of the body with less energy.
The ability to learn physical movements can be raised to its biological limit, but the accumulation of muscle fatigue increases by [+6,550%], and the risk of joint and ligament injuries increases by [+1,430%].
<This is a passive skill and is permanently applied upon acquisition.>
... That was a broken ability.
Considering it was only one rank below Dragon’s Claw[A], a dragon’s genetic ability, it was a power—and a talent—only slightly inferior to a dragon’s.
Apparently, this was the foundation of Kai’s genius for swordsmanship.
But it wasn’t entirely overpowered. It came with penalties: muscle fatigue accumulated [+6,550%] faster, and the risk of joint and ligament injuries increased by [+1,430%].
Simply put, he tired easily and got injured easily.
But then there was Kai’s other ability.
‘Immortal Link?’
In response to my question, Predatory Instincts[S] activated again, and information about Immortal Link[E] appeared before my eyes.
◆Immortal Link[E]
: The user gains immortality by anchoring their life to a [Specific Target]. As long as that target remains alive, the user will not suffer physical death under any circumstances.
However, mental death remains possible, and the body may fail to regenerate if it sustains extreme damage.
Its assessed rank was [E], for Epic—the same rank as Dragon Rage Explosion[E].
And it was an ability that could completely overcome the penalties of Adoptive Muscle Memory[A-].
Unfortunately, I couldn’t acquire that ability. It was something Kai had manifested through aura, after all.
Since I couldn’t wield aura, I would never obtain it even if I used Predation[S+] on him.
No, anyway.
‘He anchors his life force to a specific target?’
That “specific target.” I didn’t need to ask who Kai had anchored his life force to.
My gaze naturally shifted to one side. And sure enough, Seraphia’s entire body had turned red.
Like a leaf taking on its autumn colors, every inch of her was stained crimson.
So, in other words...
‘Seraphia is Kai’s Life Force Vessel?’
A Life Force Vessel.
An object containing a lich’s sealed soul, and the key to its immortality. As long as its Life Force Vessel remained intact, a lich could revive indefinitely.
In other words...
... This bastard was in the middle of a Lich Transformation.
Then again, it wasn’t a true Lich Transformation. Mental death was still possible, and his body might not regenerate if it sustained extreme damage.
Those facts alone confirmed that Kai was human. Unlike in my previous life, he was now acquiring only a lich’s abilities while remaining human.
All by exploiting aura’s absurd power.
Still, since it merely kept him alive even when his body was ruined, “zombie” was the more appropriate term for now.
In a sense, he had surpassed his days as the Legion Commander of Bitter Cold. Just as I was surpassing my former self as Predator, Kai was surpassing his former self as the Legion Commander of Bitter Cold.
... For a moment, I was speechless.
‘Is he sane?’
There was no way he was. He had reached the point where even “crazy bastard” no longer did him justice.
‘Is he seriously sane?’
... No matter how I looked at it, he wasn’t. There had to be a limit to how insane his loyalty to Seraphia could get. What the hell was this...?
‘With this...’
Killing Kai had become nearly impossible. As long as Seraphia lived, he could remain immortal.
Of course, the reverse was also true: killing Seraphia would render his immortality useless.
In that sense, killing her would finish him too. The problem was that I couldn’t kill Seraphia under the current circumstances.
‘Ian, you bastard...’
What the hell had he expected me to do, leaving me with those words?
In the end, I couldn’t decide what to do with Seraphia and Kai until I found Ian.
‘I should just stay away from him.’
Until then, I ruled out even the thought of having anything to do with Kai. I was genuinely afraid I might go mad myself if I stayed too close, so avoiding him entirely was the best option.
“How is Lady Seraphia doing?”
Not wanting to talk to him, I stepped slightly aside, gesturing for him to see for himself.
Kai strode over and examined her. Even in heat approaching 253 degrees Celsius, he wasn’t sweating a drop.
His large hand covered Seraphia’s forehead. At her ice-cold chill, his expression hardened completely.
“I will look after Lady Seraphia from now on.”
“Go ahead.”
I had been planning a trading trip to Frecce anyway.
To treat Seraphia. To find Ian. And to raise the territory residents’ affinity that final step, I needed to prepare to leave for Frecce.
“I’m off, then.”
I walked straight out of the room.
* * *
The main commodity for this trading expedition was, without question, monster meat.
I couldn’t sell the monsters Seraphia and Kai had killed. Their Madness could only be removed if I personally used Predation[S+] on them.
That meant I couldn’t sell the legion the lycanthrope had brought along, but—
‘I still devoured the entire monster legion that attacked the county, so there’s plenty of stock.’
“Plenty” didn’t begin to cover it. We were overflowing.
Whitewolf Castle’s storehouses couldn’t possibly hold it all, so several temporary storage facilities were being built.
How much was all this worth...? Even I couldn’t begin to guess. Selling a modest portion would probably bring in far more than several years’ worth of the county’s operating expenses.
With the bitterly cold season approaching, long-term storage wouldn’t be a problem either. There was nothing to worry about.
On top of that, I had fully completed my ability’s evolution. Taking on that legion alone had certainly been worthwhile.
‘Let’s see...’
I sorted out my priorities for the trip.
First and foremost was the investigation into Ian’s whereabouts that I had requested from the merchants’ guild last time.
With its enormous financial resources, Frecce’s merchants’ guild wielded considerable influence in the free cities.
If Ian had visited any free city on the continent, he was bound to have turned up in their intelligence network. Knowing his personality, he would almost certainly have raised all kinds of hell... No, caused some sort of incident.
So the first thing I needed to do in Frecce was hear their findings.
‘And then...’
Next came buying medicinal ingredients to improve Seraphia’s condition. Securing funds to establish the allied army. Purchasing daily necessities to raise the territory residents’ affinity. Expanding the Predator Merchant Company’s influence, and so on and so forth.
I had a goblin horde’s worth of things to do.
And so, Predator’s staff members and the soldiers assigned to the expedition were busily transporting and loading supplies.
“Rex meat over here! Alacron goes over there! Please load it onto the wagons at the back!”
“Where do we load the Dermexus?”
“Oh! The Dermexus goes here, on this wagon!”
Now that a system was in place, the staff and soldiers worked briskly.
It was while I was preparing for the trip that it happened.
“Lord Adrian.”
Someone called to me. I turned to see a man approaching in a neat suit, his hair slicked back.
Bernard, House Whitewolf’s head steward.
Up close, he looked rather haggard. With my father dead and even Seraphia bedridden, he was handling all the county’s administrative affairs. That must have been why.
“What is it?”
At my question, Bernard immediately spoke.
“A guest has just arrived in the county, my lord.”
My eyes flew wide open.