The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring – Chapter 12

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

I had gotten everything I needed from the company.

I immediately turned my body and headed for the lake.

“Hey, are you leaving after buying just those Moonstones?”

The dwarf merchant blocked my path.

“Yes. That was my purpose for coming here.”

“Don’t do just that, take a look at some weapons before you go. The swords crafted by dwarves boast the best performance!”

“You’ll get hurt in the tutorial. Buy a potion before you go.”

The dwarf and elf merchants held onto me.

Well, a pushover had walked in here on his own two feet, so they wouldn’t want to let me go.

Originally, the [Midron Company] was ignored by players climbing the lower floors of the Tower.

Because to buy items from the company, you had to pay with the points you had earned on that floor.

Naturally, if you used the company frequently, the quality of your rewards would also drop.

Look.

When I used my points to purchase the Moonstones, I was kicked out of the rankings.

To players, the company was like a double-edged sword.

‘Honestly, there’s no need to use the company in the early stages.’

It had been 10 years since the Tower of Babel had appeared all over the Earth.

Things like low-grade potions had long since been developed by pharmaceutical companies.

The technology for crafting equipment with things like monster carapaces or ores that only came from the Tower had also developed quite a bit.

Though it wasn’t enough to compete in the mid-to-late stages of the Tower…

It was still much better to buy equipment or consumables from the outside rather than using the company in the tutorial.

“I’m a beggar, so don’t try to solicit me.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s right.”

“No, why would he spend points on a trash item like that Moonstone…….”

The two merchants grumbled with mournful faces.

You guys probably wouldn’t know…

Where the true value of this item lay.

“See you next time. Though I don’t know if we’ll have a reason to meet again.”

I waved my hand dismissively and submerged my body into the lake.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Right after coming out of Lake Sunein.

I set my direction to the southwest and walked aimlessly.

How long had I walked?

I had entered the entrance of Mount Emirate.

The proper mountain climb hadn’t even started yet, but the penalty was already applied.

‘The penalty here isn’t the tricky part.’

Players who had just entered the Tower of Babel, on average, possessed one or two skills.

An increase of 10% in mana consumption wasn’t something that was greatly felt by them.

The real problem was the terrain of the mountains itself.

A mountain made of rock.

Unlike a well-maintained hiking trail, Mount Emirate was an ordeal starting from just finding a place to set your foot to climb up.

There was also one more thing that tormented players here…

“There it is.”

I looked at a silhouette that was faintly visible, illuminated by the moonlight.

A monster the size of a boulder.

It was a Thorn Boar.

“Kwung!”

The snorting Thorn Boar.

As its name suggested, it was a monster with thorns embedded in its skin.

Its only attack pattern was a charge.

It had a similar feel to the Horned Rabbit I had encountered in the plains, but it was much trickier to deal with.

The reason for that was due to the thorns jutting out all over its body.

Even if you narrowly evaded its charge, you would often get scratched by its thorns and get injured.

Even if its charge speed was slower than the Horned Rabbit’s, you had to move much more to avoid it.

‘The terrain is also a problem.’

The Thorn Boar’s habitat was the mountains.

And a rugged place made of rock at that.

It moved freely here as if it were its own home, but the player’s range of movement was restricted due to the uneven footing.

A tricky monster to deal with in a different sense from the Silver Fang.

“Kweeeeung!”

The Thorn Boar kicked its hind legs and shot forward.

A head-on confrontation was impossible.

If so…

‘Of course, I have to aim for the side.’

I jumped to the left just before colliding with the Thorn Boar.

At the same time, a gray carapace enveloped my side.

Kagagagak!

The sharp thorns on the boar’s skin scratched my side.

Large and small sparks lit up the point of impact.

It was a sight created by the frictional heat generated as the carapace and thorns met.

The durability of the carapace decreased by 7%.

For something that had just grazed past me, quite a lot was shaved off.

Well, this much was manageable.

‘It’s fast, but it takes time to change its attack direction.’

[Carapace.]

This time, I clad my entire body in carapaces.

To attack the Thorn Boar, I had to jump into the middle of those thorns.

I didn’t have a spear or a bow and arrows set, nor did I have a ranged attack skill.

If a melee fighter wanted to take down a Thorn Boar, they had to accept the damage.

[Sharp Claws.]

My claws protruded by about 20 centimeters.

With my claws sharpened, I got on the back of the Thorn Boar, which was slowly turning its body.

The thorns embedded on its back pierced the carapace.

No, in this case, it was me who had run into the thorns.

The carapaces created on various parts of my body were simultaneously shaved off.

Hehehe.

If I didn’t have the iron-armored armadillo’s essence, I wouldn’t have even been able to attempt to hunt this Thorn Boar.

I swung my raised claws with all my might.

[Monstrous Strength.]

Pu-aak!

The red blood that soared into the air met the moonlight and shone faintly.

“Kwiik.”

The Thorn Boar lowered its head to the ground.

Blood continuously gushed out from its tattered nape.

I attacked its weak point, the nape, and settled the match in a single blow.

It was thanks to the Silver Fang’s essence skill, [Sharp Claws].

Otherwise, the Thorn Boar’s hide would have been too thick for me to pierce easily.

Regardless of whether I had used [Monstrous Strength] or not, I would have struggled more with the Thorn Boar in a state where my claws weren’t strengthened.

It was worth absorbing various essences in advance.

Of course…

The reason I could use the abilities of several predated essences so freely was thanks to [Dragon’s Heart], which increased my mana recovery ability.

“I’ll eat well.”

I predated the Thorn Boar’s essence.

The feeling of my stomach filling up.

But this wasn’t enough.

At the taste of an essence I was tasting for the first time, my stomach churned with a gurgle-.

‘The night is long anyway.’

I began the mountain climb with much lighter steps.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

As I moved forward while stepping on large and small rocks, I often encountered Thorn Boars.

Was it because it was night?

The Thorn Boar’s sphere of activity was wider than I remembered.

‘This is actually better.’

Seeing the Thorn Boars charging at me while getting angry, a smile formed on my lips.

It felt good to have the essences I needed to predate welcome me.

How long had it been since I had climbed Mount Emirate, yet the essence was more than 50% full already.

If I had to pick one minor downside, it was that the clothes I was wearing had become rags.

“I didn’t think of this.”

I let out a bitter smile.

[Carapace] could only protect my skin.

My clothes had already been torn up when I was hunting the group of Silver Fangs.

Now, the thorns densely embedded in the Thorn Boar’s body directly turned them to shreds.

It would be troublesome if I met another player.

At that time, I would have to cover my whole body with a carapace.

I didn’t think about it much.

It was something that had already happened. It was useless to worry about something that I had no solution to.

“Where was that red rock?”

I scaled the ridge while muttering to myself.

There was no need to go to the summit before the full moon rose.

So I was going to take everything I could get before then.

-If you climb Mount Emirate, there’s a red rock in the middle area, and if you go around behind it, there’s a cave. In the cave, you’ll find some Mighty Moss, an ingredient for making high-grade potions.

Mighty Moss was a high-class ingredient that cost about 10 million won per root.

This was a hidden space that had been discovered in the 3rd year of the Tower of Babel.

All the players of this round would have familiarized themselves with it after seeing the guide.

It would be better to dig some up for myself before my competitors get here, right?

‘And get some essence on the side.’

I continued my search for the red rock while smacking my lips.

As I climbed the mountain slope while using the moonlight as a lamp, Thorn Boars charged at me in succession.

In the process of searching for the red rock, I had filled up 100% of the Thorn Boar’s essence.

This was actually good news.

Since it was nighttime, the tutorial points I earned also doubled, so it was killing three birds with one stone.

Talking about killing multiple birds with one stone…

The change didn’t end there.

Skill fusion.

It was the synergy effect of essences with similar properties being maximized.

Something I had already expected.

I opened my mouth without being flustered.

“Fuse.”

As a test, I deployed [Thorn Carapace] on my forearm.

Deudeudeudeu!

A gray carapace covered my right arm.

If there was a difference from before, it was that sharp thorns densely covered the top of the carapace.

“Nice.”

I muttered while looking at my thorn-covered forearm.

The length of the thorns had decreased compared to the original skill, but their penetration power and durability had increased.

Tung.

I lightly hit the carapace with my left hand.

‘The shock absorption rate has gone up.’

A further increase in durability.

Thorns that inflicted wounds on a nearby enemy were also added to it.

Before my regression, I hadn’t been able to get these kinds of abilities in the tutorial because I was being careful.

Knowing the future was really…

‘The best.’

I smiled.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

It was around dawn when I found the red rock.

I recalled the guide and went around behind the large rock.

I found a gap the size that one person could barely fit through.

I didn’t know how on earth people discovered things like this.

“Excuse me.”

I pushed my body into the crack in the rock while muttering to myself.

Inside the rock, not a single speck of light shined through.

-The red rock cave is a straight course.

-Big Bats stay in the cave. If you shine a light or make a loud noise, they will attack the player, so it’s recommended to pass through without provoking them.

-Mighty Moss is easy to find because it has a luminous body.

An acquisition method that had been revealed around the 3rd year since the Tower had opened.

Naturally, it was knowledge that most players at this point in time were familiar with.

The standard method was to advance slowly with light steps and collect the Mighty Moss, but…….

My purpose here wasn’t just the Mighty Moss.

Jeobeok- jeobeok-

The sound of clear footsteps echoed loudly in the red cave.

When I had taken the tenth step…

The sound of flapping filled the cave.

“Kiiiiii!!”

A monstrous scream rang in my eardrums.

It was a cry of the masters of the red cave, the Big Bats.

“What a warm welcome.”

With a thorn carapace clad over my entire body, I charged in the direction of the monstrous scream.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

T/N – Do take note that I won’t be putting skill usage in system message screens from now on. I realized how stupid it would be to have a system screen pop up every time you use a skill. And also, less work for me. 😅

Also, damn. I’m imagining the MC covered in spiky carapace from head to toe. It’s quite metal. I approve of this skill, especially since it’s making unarmed combat actually viable for the MC, which I love.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.