The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring – Chapter 8

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Horned Rabbits moved in groups, just like the iron-armored armadillos.

Furthermore, perhaps because there was more to eat here than in the barren wasteland, their numbers were also greater.

Thanks to that, it didn’t take me a very long time to 100% the Horned Rabbit’s essence.

An essence that momentarily increased leap length and speed.

Because of my size, I couldn’t imitate the bullet-like speed of the Horned Rabbit, but it was useful for closing the distance with an enemy.

Though it wasn’t a proper charge skill.

The [Skills] given to players were generally more powerful.

There were skills that could forcibly push back an enemy or break their posture with just a charge.

There were also skills that could let you manipulate elements freely.

[Carapace], for example, had excellent defensive power, but its mana consumption was high, so it wasn’t a cost-effective skill.

Nevertheless, there was a reason why my [Predation] was superior.

‘It weaves skills together.’

For example, if you wove the Horned Rabbit’s [Agile Hind Legs] and the skill of the goblins that inhabited the 1st floor of the Tower called [Swift Escape], you could obtain a skill called [Full Sprint].

It was a type of synergy.

Just because you combined two skills together didn’t mean that one of them disappeared.

It was possible to deploy [Agile Hind Legs] and [Swift Escape] separately, and it was also possible to deploy [Full Sprint], which combined the two.

The point was that depending on how each skill was combined, various other skills could be crafted.

That was why it was important to obtain as many essences as possible.

Shall I organize what I’ve achieved so far after entering the tutorial stage?

Stamina, Toughness, and Mana had risen dramatically.

The Dragon Tooth Warrior, the iron-armored armadillo, and the slime.

All three were monsters that specialized in either durability or endurance.

As for Mana, thanks to [Dragon’s Heart], my additional stats for it were accumulating smoothly.

I laughed subconsciously.

“This is insane.”

To think a day 1 player’s stats could get this high?

The average graduation level for the tutorial was the mid-30s.

Even if you stayed here for 2 weeks, it was impossible to achieve such specs.

Knowing future knowledge was really…

“Amazing.”

I grinned and clenched my hand into a tight fist.

There were still many things I had to obtain in the tutorial.

I was already looking forward to how much stronger I would be in a month.

At this rate, I should move my plan up a bit.

I’ve decided on my next target.

The essence of the rulers of the plains, the Silver Fangs.

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I moved to the southern part of the plains.

The number of Horned Rabbits had drastically decreased.

It made sense.

If you went further down the plains, it would be the territory of the Silver Fangs, the predators of the plains and forest regions.

-You can only challenge the Silver Fangs by forming a team of at least 7 people.

-Tanker-type players must learn the [Taunting Shout] skill at the lakeside.

-Magic-type players must have learned at least a 2-star grade skill.

…….

Besides these, there were one or two other things to be mindful of.

Because the Silver Fangs were that powerful of an enemy.

“There they are.”

I hid my body in a nearby tree.

“Krrrng. Keong!”

“Keong keong?”

Three wolves covered in white fur were wandering around.

The predators of the plains, the Silver Fangs.

A suitable number for my first opponents here.

Rustle- rustle-

I moved forward while stepping on the long grass.

“Keong!”

“Krrrng!”

As soon as the group of Silver Fangs saw me, they revealed their hostility and charged at me.

[Fierce Charge]

A straight course that was clearly visible.

They were truly honest fellows.

Just before colliding with the group of Silver Fangs…

I jumped in place.

“Krrrng?”

A Silver Fang brushed past me by a hair’s breadth.

In the same posture as I had jumped, I trampled on the Silver Fang that was below my feet.

Kwadeudeuk!

Its wide-open snout was forcibly slammed shut.

The Silver Fang, pressed down by my foot, struggled to escape while flailing its four legs.

“Coming at me was your decision.”

Ppagak!

When I kicked its nape, it only twitched its body intermittently before entering a groggy state.

“Krrrng!”

Instead of the one that had already passed me by, the Silver Fang that was running a step behind swung its front paw at me.

“Slow.”

As I bent my waist, its claws brushed past my collar.

It was an attack that could tear apart even compressed carbon steel.

But what good was that?

“It’s fine if it doesn’t hit.”

With the same momentum as when I had bent my back, I did a swallow-style turn.

Paaaak!

I caught the Silver Fang’s jaw with my rotating leg and shattered it.

Seeing its tongue hanging out, its condition didn’t seem to be good.

“This makes it 1 on 1. Isn’t that right?”

I grinned while looking at the remaining Silver Fang.

Although the Silver Fang was on the fairly strong side among the monsters of the tutorial field…

Compared to its excellent attack power, its body was weak, and its patterns were monotonous, so it was manageable to fight.

However, there was a separate reason why this fellow was called a dangerous target by players.

“Keong! Keong!”

The remaining Silver Fang tucked its tail and ran away.

This was precisely the reason why the Silver Fangs were dangerous.

‘It runs away if it thinks it can’t win.’

The ones that wandered the vicinity of the plains were merely the scouts.

When they were at a disadvantage, they would quickly retreat and bring back reinforcements.

A minimum of 30.

Although my stats were high, it was overwhelming to face 30 Silver Fangs at once, even for me.

So…

“I’ll kill it before it runs away.”

I crouched on the ground as if curling my entire body into a ball.

My thighs had expanded to about twice their size.

It was the Horned Rabbit’s leaping ability.

The muscles that had expanded beyond their limits generated power several times that of their usual.

Teoooong-!

I injected that power into my feet and kicked off the ground.

The Silver Fang’s pupils followed my movement a step too late.

“Krrrng?!”

“Why do you look surprised?”

Of course, if I killed them all before they could call for reinforcements, there would be no need for me to face such a large number of them.

“Anyway, if there are no witnesses, then it’s an assassination, right?”

“Krng! Keong!”

The Silver Fang immediately bared its teeth at me.

But I was one step faster.

My fist crushed the bridge of its nose.

Keeeng!

The Silver Fang tumbled to the floor.

Perhaps because the shock was great, it couldn’t move and it only trembled.

In times like these, ending its life quickly would be a mercy, right?

After finishing off the three that were trembling on the ground, I predated their essences.

Good.

It was worth absorbing the Horned Rabbit’s essence.

The standard strategy was to draw aggro with [Taunting Shout] when the Silver Fangs try to run away.

But I could just run faster than the Silver Fang and suppress it.

“This should be manageable.”

I smacked my lips while glancing at the crumbled corpses of the Silver Fangs.

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The Silver Fangs moved in groups.

The size of their scouting units ranged from a minimum of 3 to as many as 7.

“Krng!”

The size of the group I encountered this time was 7.

This was the maximum number among those who wandered around the plains.

They were monsters accustomed to group hunting.

One of them didn’t miss my opening and dug into my side.

A gray carapace covered my waist.

The Silver Fang’s bite attack was a step too late.

Kwajik!

A heavy impact shook my body.

“Krrrng?!”

“I don’t taste very good, do I?”

The Carapace couldn’t mitigate all of the shock, so my balance was slightly shaken.

But if I had been bitten by those teeth with my bare skin exposed, it wouldn’t have ended with just pain.

Wow, look at the cracks that formed all over the Carapace just from being bitten once.

Carapace wasn’t an omnipotent skill, after all.

Since an area where a carapace was once created could only regenerate after 1 minute, I would have to be careful not to get my side bitten again.

I struck the head of the Silver Fang that was stuck to my side.

Along with a heavy impact sound, the wolf’s head was shattered into pieces.

Blood and flesh flew in all directions.

“Ugh.”

I shook my hand from side to side.

“Krrrr!”

The Silver Fangs made a delayed charge at me.

You think I’ll get hit again?

I kicked off the ground and took a step back.

Claws swept past the empty space where my body once was.

I thrust my fist at the fellow’s wide-open abdomen.

Since their numbers were large, when I landed a blow on the second one, the other Silver Fangs had circled to my back.

Claws scratched my back straight down.

Since there was no time or gap to evade, I protected my back with [Carapace].

In the close-quarters combat with this group of Silver Fangs, I utilized [Carapace] appropriately and entered into a brawl with them.

I could block the Silver Fang’s attacks about 3 or 4 times.

If I defended while changing the area where the attack would land, I could last for quite a long time.

I broke out of their encirclement.

I kicked the Silver Fang in the rear with all my might.

The Horned Rabbit’s ability, [Agile Hind Legs], was originally for offense.

Although continuous use of it like how I used Monstrous Strength was impossible…

Depending on how you utilized it, it could be used with sufficient power.

“Kkaegaeng!”

“Kehek!”

The Silver Fangs fell one by one.

2 minutes after the fight started, there wasn’t a single monster left standing.

“Hoo, that was tough.”

I let out a short sigh.

My clothes were already torn to shreds to the point where their shape was no longer recognizable.

The time I spent fighting this group wasn’t long, but it was that intense.

The carapaces I created on various parts of my body…

Most of them were cracked, to the point that they would crumble if I touched them just once.

As I shook my body by jumping lightly in place, the carapaces attached to my skin fell off.

“At my current level, is the maximum 15?”

I stroked my chin.

That was the maximum number I could handle assuming I calculated the regeneration time of [Carapace] and utilized its durability to the extreme.

If I just had a proper attack skill, it would be enough even if more of them swarmed me.

In that sense…

“The Silver Fang’s essence would be a big help to me.”

I predated all of the corpses of Silver Fangs scattered on the floor.

I activated the skill right away.

Deudeudeu!

My fingernails grew by about 20 centimeters.

A sharp edge lingered over the grown-out claws.

Later, when I earned more money and collected 100% of the [Primeval Species]’s essence, I could fuse [Sharp Claws] into [Predator’s Claws].

When I imbued additional mana to it, a white energy faintly enveloped the claws.

As a test, I tried scratching a nearby rock.

Kagagak!

The claw left a clear mark on the rock’s surface.

“At this rate, I’d be able to easily take on about 30 of them.”

The Silver Fang’s sharp claws, turned against them…

Truly ironic.

Although I had predated all of their essences, there was still something I had to obtain here.

The essence of the pack leader.

From now on, I was going to take what could only be obtained in the tutorial stage.

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T/N – Ah yes, heavy stealth, my favorite kind of stealth. It’s a successful infiltration if there are no living witnesses to tattle on you. Be careful of the necromancer types though, they’re heavy stealth’s weakness. 😂

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