The continent's northern region was broadly divided into three areas.
The frozen-earth region at the tree line.
The snowfield region where mosses grow.
And the Snowy Mountain region at the limit of survival.
The White Wolf county was situated on the boundary between the snowfield and the Snowy Mountain.
Cross beyond the Snowy Mountain and a brutal environment unfolds where not only people but life itself cannot survive.
Because of the tremendous cold, and nothing else.
"Hrrgh...!"
I hunched myself up tightly without meaning to.
The breath I let out as I hunched scattered in the air and froze white.
The feeling in my hands was faint, as though they had become chips of ice.
The chill drove into my skin.
My body froze by degrees and showed no intention of moving.
Every time I drew breath the achingly cold air froze my lungs.
◆Hardened Skin [D] resists the freezing cold!
It was only because I had gained the body-temperature regulation ability from the Dermexus; otherwise I would have frozen to death.
"Ugh...!"
Of course, being cold was the same regardless.
"Th-this should be about far enough...!"
Seeing my teeth chattering on their own, it seemed I had come up just about the right distance.
I took a piece of Dermexus flesh I had cut and stored in the Inventory and set it somewhere easily seen.
Then I hid myself and waited for prey to take the bait.
How long did I wait like that?
The sun, which had been at its height, was sinking at some point into evening.
Just as I was thinking six hours at the very least must have passed, it happened.
Krrk?
After a long wait, the prey finally showed itself.
A size roughly one and a half times an adult man's.
It walked on four legs and had a long, curved body as supple as a snake's.
Sharp claws were set on all four feet, and its body, covered in thick hide, took on protective colouring and shone white.
Rake-like fangs and a snout jutted sharply from its head.
Its long tail helped it locate prey buried in the snow and also let it cut through the snow and move quickly.
The name of that thing, flashing its two yellow eyes and watching all around it, was—
Alakron.
A monster that inhabits only the Snowy Mountain.
I hid myself deeper in the snow.
Fortunately there was no particular need to mask my scent.
The monsters of the Snowy Mountain are not especially sensitive to smell. Because the Snowy Mountain's brutal cold freezes even scent.
I held my breath until the thing's attention was completely taken by the bait.
Krrk...
The Alakron kept watch all around.
But perhaps it decided no one was there.
It turned its gaze toward the Dermexus meat left as bait. And just as it opened its great maw wide.
I kicked off the ground that instant.
The snow of the Snowy Mountain caved in, and my body shot out like an arrow.
The Alakron turned to look at me.
But my hand had already swept my waist and drawn the sword.
A sharp SHING—!
Only then did the Alakron register my existence.
And by the time it had fully made out my form, the sharp point of the sword was already driving through the Alakron's hide.
SHUNK—!
The Alakron's hide was not as tough as a Dermexus's.
Even without a weapon wrapped in Aura I could wound it well enough.
The Alakron let out a shriek laced with agony. I hurriedly stepped back and readjusted my stance.
The Alakron did not rush at me carelessly.
However much a monster lacks reason, it still feels the emotion called fear.
If anything, because it is faithful to instinct, it knows where to push and where to lie down.
The Alakron's yellow eyes, taking on a glow, swept over me.
I did not look away from those eyes.
Our gazes met.
The one who looked away first was the Alakron.
The Alakron began to back away.
Predator and prey.
That relationship had become clear.
I gripped the sword firmly.
And in that very moment.
Scrabble!
The Alakron began to run away?
"Huh...?"
For a moment I was left blank.
The Alakron was, in its way, a higher-order monster.
Even a rat bites when cornered.
What is that thing...?
It was so fast that the Alakron was already out of sight.
"......"
This was considerably awkward.
Through all the conditioning I had been able to raise my strength and stamina.
But my Agility stat was considerably low.
My current Agility stat is a mere 3.
The result of investing the +2 points I gained levelling from the Dermexus hunt.
Agility to match three adult men, but far too low a figure to keep up with an Alakron's speed.
"I should have cut its breath off in one stroke."
Unfortunately, because the Alakron reacted at the last moment, I could not cut its breath off in one stroke.
Regret came rushing in, like missing a mosquito in a room.
But it was not as though there was no way at all to catch it.
I had not been able to end the Alakron's life, but I had been able to wound it unmistakably.
Sure enough, crimson blood was smeared over the snow of the Snowy Mountain along the route the Alakron had fled.
Follow this blood and I would be able to catch the Alakron.
"Hoo...!"
Letting out a long breath, I fixed the sword I had gripped back at my waist.
"Looks like I'm running again."
And this after two days of running against Kai without rest.
Still, in my task force days I had the experience of running at full speed for six days.
"Let's see how far you can run."
The time had come to show properly why humans surpass every species in stamina.
***
The Alakron ran for its life, truly desperately.
With the thought that being caught meant death, it ran and ran like mad.
How fast it was, and what stamina it had.
It showed no intention whatsoever of tiring.
But even so it cannot match a human's stamina.
I pursued the Alakron for all I was worth as well.
And so, around the time the sun that had set in the west was rising again in the east.
Hoik—! Hoik—! Hoik—!
The Alakron finally collapsed from exhaustion.
The exhausted Alakron had the look of something that had given up on everything.
The look in its eyes as it gasped and stared at me seemed to say, 'Kill me! Just kill me already, you bastard!'
Of course.
There was no chance a monster possessed reason like that.
◆You have slain an Alakron!
◆You have gained 100 combat experience!
When I put the Alakron down without pain, translucent messages surfaced before my eyes.
And my level did not rise.
The experience gained was lower than the Dermexus's, and besides, the higher the level, the more experience is required.
Considering I had put myself through hell for the better part of a day, it was considerably disappointing, but...
"Still, well."
It amounted to no more than disappointing.
Above all, monster hunting was not simply about raising levels.
When I lowered my gaze, the Alakron's life force was fading fast.
It seemed to be because the Alakron was completely exhausted.
From a heart whose life force has vanished completely, no ability can be gained. I quickly carved out the Alakron's heart with my sword.
"It isn't the heightened keratin ability, but..."
That does not mean the Alakron's ability is a poor one.
The Alakron's ability could well be called a 'rare ability.'
Monsters that inhabit the Snowy Mountain have each evolved special abilities in order to adapt to its brutal environment.
Naturally the Alakron I had hunted had a special ability all its own too.
The Snowy Mountain, where food is extremely scarce because of the brutal cold.
To survive in such an environment the Alakron had dramatically evolved its 'nutrient storage system,' and so—
◆You have devoured the specimen, Alakron!
◆You have acquired the skill, Nutrient Synthesis [C-]!
◆Nutrient Synthesis [C-]
: On using this skill, the Player can consume Kcal to synthesise a desired nutrient. According to the quantity of Kcal consumed, the Player can freely synthesise the chemical compounds [carbohydrates, protein, fats, water].
<Absorbing additional genetic factors will strengthen this ability.>
When I swallowed the whole of the Alakron's heart, the information on the new skill poured down.
And the strength drained out of my whole body, and I dropped where I stood.
"Hoo-ah...!!"
Having run all day long, it felt like dying.
Humans overwhelmingly surpass every species in stamina, but that by no means means they do not tire.
Coming after two straight days of running with Kai, the drain on my stamina was severe.
And in that sense my thirst right now was very severe.
"Right now I feel like I could easily drink 10L of water."
But in the north, water was an extremely precious resource.
More precisely, drinkable 'water' was extremely precious.
It froze solid in a matter of seconds, so it could not even be carried separately in a canteen.
Putting it in the Inventory would have been fine, but I hadn't thought of it.
"Should I just eat snow, then."
...Just as I was thinking it, it happened.
◆You may consume Kcal to synthesise [water].
◆Surplus Kcal - 3,200Kcal
◆Use the skill 'Nutrient Synthesis [C-]'?
Messages surfaced before my eyes out of nowhere.
When I manifested the will to accept, a flame surged up once inside my body, and the thirst vanished in an instant.
Had the calorie burn taken weight off me?
My body was lighter than it had been a moment before.
It seemed it had burned calories to synthesise water, exactly as described.
"Fascinating."
I had known of it only as knowledge; since it was an ability I never obtained in my previous life, it was thoroughly fascinating.
In fact the Ice Troll was not the only thing I failed to devour in my previous life.
You could fairly say I failed to devour most of the monsters that inhabit the Snowy Mountain.
It was not because of the Emperor.
The Emperor had an enormous influence too, but he was not the ultimate reason.
Because until he began moving in earnest, the Emperor did not exert much influence over the continent.
Therefore the greatest reason was Seraphia.
That is, it was because of the 'Monarch of Frost.'
This northern part of the continent was the Monarch of Frost's domain.
The north could not be approached easily, and because of it most of the monsters inhabiting the Snowy Mountain could not be devoured.
The Alakron too was a monster I was devouring for the first time.
The ability called Nutrient Synthesis [C-] was likewise a first.
"Which means..."
I no longer had to be bound by nutrients.
The need for food was unchanged, but 'calories' alone would be enough.
Eat food high in calories alone and I could freely synthesise the nutrients I needed.
From now on I could use the Regeneration [C+] ability to keep regenerating whatever part I wanted, as much as I liked.
For now I could only synthesise [carbohydrates, protein, fats, water].
But with repeated evolution I would be able to synthesise every organic compound the body needs, such as [vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, chlorine, potassium, and so on].
"Synthesis from inorganic matter into organic looks possible too."
Meaning I could chew rock and still obtain the nutrients I wanted.
It could produce tremendous synergy with the Regeneration [C+] ability, which absolutely requires nutrients.
And this is only what a single Alakron possessed.
Yet there were still an enormous number of monsters on the Snowy Mountain I had not devoured.
Abilities that went past useful into broken were inexhaustible.
Abilities to be evolved were inexhaustible as well.
And now, having gone back to the past.
At a point in time before the Emperor moves in earnest.
Above all, at this present moment before Seraphia has awakened as the Monarch of Frost—
"Shall I go again."
The northern Snowy Mountain was no different from wholly my own domain.