TLWD 50

Chapter : 50. Predator’s Instinct (1)

◆ You have cleared the sudden quest [We Are the Legion!]!
◆ You have gained 959,600 quest experience points!

It wasn’t the phrase I was expecting.

After all, it took a considerable amount of time for the dragon genetic code imprinted on Gelu Drake to activate.

How much more time would it take for the genetic code imprinted on the Lord of the Beast Legion?

It would only take time. It wasn’t going anywhere, so I waited calmly.

Above all, the phrase that just appeared had already made me quite excited.

“Almost nine times.”

Close to 960,000 experience points.

“Definitely, the experience gained from clearing quests far surpasses that from hunting.”

Thanks to this, I could level up by a staggering +16 levels.

My level, which was initially 30, suddenly jumped all the way to 50.

Just that alone was an incredible reward.

But the real reward was just beginning.

◆ Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

A semi-transparent phrase appeared again right before my eyes, almost fainting from the excitement.

◆ You didn’t simply drive away the monster legion—you accomplished the astounding and unbelievable feat of subjugating the Legion Commander, Lycanthrope!!

◆ Who wouldn’t be shocked by your astonishing achievement!
◆ If anyone doubts it, let them come out! Pow! Boom! I will utterly destroy them!
◆ Beyond imagination! Irrefutable! Real fact! Absolutely undeniable!

◆ And that’s not all!
◆ Your fearless courage! Your sacrifice of life itself! The subjects watching you are deeply moved! Deeply moved again!
◆ As a reward, your subjects’ affection for you greatly increases!

◆ But wait, there’s more! This doesn’t happen every day!
◆ As an additional reward, you receive [All stats +5]!

◆ Are we really allowed to be so generous?!
◆ I don’t know! This quest is insane!!

◆ Now, who dares stand in my way? Step aside! The <Ruler of the North> is taking the stage!
◆ As a final bonus, you also receive the title – <Ruler of the North>!

…Seriously, this was the biggest fuss I’d ever seen.

It painted everything black before my eyes, acting like it had its own mind, and I was about to lose my senses.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems to have a personality of its own.”

Sometimes phrases appeared as if piercing through my thoughts, and I was certain that was the case.

Anyway, setting aside the fuss, the rewards were truly insane.

After all, I had defeated none other than the ‘Beast Legion Commander.’ How could the reward not be massive?

High risk, high return.

The greater the risk, the more certain the return.

“Let me check the subjects’ affection and the additional stats later…”

First, I checked the newly obtained title <Ruler of the North>.

== <Ruler of the North> ==

[Acquisition Condition] – Subjugate the previous <Ruler of the North>.

[Effect 1] – Enemies who challenge the player in the northern region suffer immense mental pressure, reducing [all stats by 20%].

[Effect 2] – The ruler’s dignity and presence greatly boost allied morale, increasing [all stats by 15%] for the player and allies during battles in the north.

One unfortunate limitation was that it only applied in the northern region.

Unlike the <Master of the Snowy Mountain> title that granted [All stats +5] regardless of location, this effect was restricted to the north.

“But still, it’s good.”

It was better than <Master of the Snowy Mountain> despite the limitation.

Even limited to the northern region, the simple effects created a total gap of +35%, and the effect grew exponentially as I grew stronger.

“And the stat reduction doesn’t only apply to monsters.”

The previous <Master of the Snowy Mountain> title’s [Effect 1] scared all monsters in the snowy mountain region, reducing their stats by 15%.

It did not apply to non-monster enemies, and the stats decreased only if the monsters were terrified.

That was why the effect didn’t work on Lycanthrope — it wasn’t scared.

But the same applied to me.

Judging from the <Ruler of the North> title’s acquisition condition, it seemed Lycanthrope was the previous <Ruler of the North>.

In other words, Lycanthrope’s title effects were being applied to me.

“No wonder the monsters in the legion felt especially strong.”

Now I understood it was because Lycanthrope boosted all stats by 15%.

Therefore, my stats should have been reduced by 20%, according to <Ruler of the North>’s effect.

Yet, I hadn’t suffered any stat decrease at all.

“Is this thanks to Ian’s ability?”

Ian’s ability, Player’s Will [EX], was the reason.

The stat reduction of 20% caused by ‘mental pressure’ from the title’s effect did not affect me.

In other words:

“Kai must have been at -20% stats.”

Even in that state, he had pushed Lycanthrope back, even driving him into a berserk state.

“Crazy guy.”

That thought naturally came to mind.

But thinking carefully, Kai was a legion commander too.

The Commander of the Harsh Cold.

From my experience, Kai, the Harsh Cold Legion Commander, was stronger than Lycanthrope, the Beast Legion Commander — significantly stronger.

“Crazy guy.”

Indeed, crazy guys are crazy.

Anyway, I invested all the additional stats gained from leveling into agility.

“The additional reward of all stats +5 has been automatically applied.”

Finally, I removed the title <Master of the Snowy Mountain> and replaced it with the new title <Ruler of the North> to activate the new effects.

== [Player Info] ==

[Name] = Adrian Whitewolf
[Title] = Ruler of the North
[Level] = 50
[HP] = 611
[MP] = 0
[Stats] = Strength: 37.95 (+4.95), Agility: 65 (+15), Stamina: 27.3 (+6.3), Mana: 6.9 (+0.9)
[Experience] = 31.7%

My stats had increased dramatically compared to before.

Especially the agility reaching 65 gave me almost ESP-like senses.

Another change was that the effect of [All stats +5] from the title <Master of the Snowy Mountain> disappeared.

Instead, it was replaced by the effect [All stats +15%] from <Ruler of the North>.

“Strength dropped a bit.”

Because the increase was percentage-based, not an absolute value, the boost effect seemed smaller.

But the decrease was minimal.

The increases in agility and stamina stood out, so overall my stats had clearly risen.

“If I raise strength and stamina through physical training, the amplification effect will increase even more.”

Plus, the ability to reduce stats of monsters and all other targets by 20%.

Though limited to the northern region, no other title was better than <Ruler of the North> there.

Thus,

“Good.”

Once again, I surpassed my previous self.

Looking around, the chilling cold that had engulfed the world was gradually disappearing.

I tightened my tension once more, which I had briefly loosened.

Lycanthrope was definitely dead.

But there was one more who I absolutely had to kill.

Seraphia… no, the Lord of the Harsh Cold had to be killed.

Until now, Seraphia hadn’t shown any signs of being the Lord of the Harsh Cold.

But now, that had completely changed.

Seraphia had finally awakened as the Lord of the Harsh Cold.

There was no point in waiting for Ian anymore.

I had to kill Seraphia right now.

…But could I really do it?

That question didn’t matter.

I had to do it no matter what.

I took oil from my inventory to replenish calories.

Sharpened my nails.

Prepared myself fully for battle.

And then…

“Eh…?”

I was more dumbfounded than when Lycanthrope fled.

The cold that covered the world vanished.

The frozen time and space restored itself, and Kai was permitted to move again.

But Kai couldn’t move easily.

Facing Adrian, fear welled up deep within Kai’s instincts.

Like facing a natural predator, it was a stronger fear than when facing Dragon Fear.

Kai’s whole body was crushed by the fear, unable to move.

Raising his aura was useless.

More precisely, he couldn’t even raise his aura.

Kai’s mind was filled with Adrian’s hatred and mad laughter.

What woke Kai’s spirit was a small voice.

“Sorry… Sir Kai…”

Seraphia’s weak voice came from behind.

“I couldn’t keep… my promise…”

Seraphia, who was pinned to Kai’s back, collapsed to the ground as if falling apart.

Thud.

Seraphia fell like flower petals blown by the wind.

The cords that tightly bound her froze and shattered like shards of glass.

“Eh…?”

The tension I’d been holding tightened naturally loosened.

My face involuntarily froze in astonishment.

“Lady Seraphia!!!”

Kai hurried to check on Seraphia’s condition.

I followed suit.

Seraphia’s face was pale to the point of being completely white.

A cold chill emanated from her entire face.

The cold sweat beads on her forehead had frozen, forming ice crystals.

Her silver hair, reflecting moonlight, was scattered on the ground like snow.

Her faintly open eyes lost strength, with a dim red glow.

Her slightly trembling lips were bluish, and the only sign she was alive was a sigh-like breath.

…She was not the Lord of the Harsh Cold.

Until a moment ago, Seraphia had shown powers akin to the Lord of the Harsh Cold.

She was another-level lord who wiped out monster legions alongside Lycanthrope.

I had thought Seraphia had awakened as the Lord of the Harsh Cold, but upon checking, she was not.

Seraphia was cold and powerless, like a doll trapped in transparent ice.

Still small, weak, and fragile.

“Lady Seraphia!! Please come to your senses!!”

Kai called her desperately.

Still, Seraphia did not move.

Kai pleaded with her anxiously.

“Please… Please…!!”

But Seraphia still could not fully regain consciousness.

It was as if…

“She can’t control her powers.”

Far from controlling, she was being swallowed by the powers.

Just like how I was devoured by the madness of Predation [S+].

“She wasn’t like this in the previous life.”

But in my previous life, Seraphia controlled her powers freely.

She was the highest contributor to the Allied Forces as an another-level lord.

“Why now…?”

Just as I was wondering this,

◆ You have devoured the genetic code of the entity ‘Lycanthrope’!
◆ You have acquired the skill ‘Predatory Instincts [S]’!

The message that the process of Predation [S+] had ended appeared before my eyes.

Then, the explanation of the skill ‘Predatory Instincts [S]’ immediately followed.

◆ Predatory Instincts [S]

: When activated, this skill awakens the player’s imprinted predatory instincts. The player can know information about any target a priori without needing to learn or condition it.

A skill that lets you know information about a target a priori, Predatory Instincts [S].

A priori.

This word means knowledge or information gained innately, rather than through experience or learning.

Without conscious effort, information such as Seraphia’s appearance, body shape, smell, and other sensory data were naturally gathered.

Even without learning or being taught, this a priori knowledge unfolded and merged in my mind.

It grasped Seraphia’s current condition.

And naturally, this new knowledge was inscribed into my instincts.

Finally, I could check the information about Seraphia appearing before my eyes.

== <Character Info> ==

Name: Seraphia Whitewolf
Classification: Mammalian – Human and Person
Gender: Female
Age: 15
Feature: Harsh Cold Curse [P]

The information about Seraphia emerged clearly.

“……”

I was momentarily lost for words.

A brokenly powerful ability that lets you perfectly grasp information about a target.

It wasn’t just information about people.

It meant I could know a priori about all creatures and environments in this world.

Truly the power granted to a Beast Legion Commander and Beast Lord.

No wonder the Predation skill is ranked S, just one grade below S+.

Among Seraphia’s information, one thing stood out prominently.

“Harsh Cold Curse?”

At the same time as my question, the Predatory Instincts [S] skill triggered again, and information about the Harsh Cold Curse [P] popped up before my eyes.