Level Eater
Chapter 135

Based on the previous dungeon trends, they had assumed that only one type of monster would appear on each floor.

So Tatsuro thought he would have the opportunity to try the sleeping scales after they left here, but it wasn't the case on the final floor of the third-level dungeon.

It was a few minutes after Tatsuro and his team had cleared out the mini-gob (an abbreviation for the mini-goblin from the previous episode, as Ai had named it).

It just appeared as they were walking along the viaduct, which was a jumbled mess of high altitude with no fences.

There are eight monsters in front of the team and four behind them, and they are giant starfish about 20 centimeters thick that crawl while clinging to the ground. The star-shaped starfish had sharply pointed tips, and fine spines sprouted from its visible back.

“A giant starfish. Those thorns and sharp tips look painful. Everyone should be careful not to get hurt." (Ai)

“If anything should happen, I want you to tell me right away." (Tatsuro)

“Yeah, thanks!" (Nana)

“Then, I'll ask Cardina and the others to take care of the front. We'll take out the four in the back, and if there are any left, we'll join you guys.” (Tatsuro)

“Neigh” (Jeanne)

“Yes sir” (Nana)

Perhaps because they did not feel much of a threat, all three headed toward the eight bodies in front of them in a moderately relaxed state, while Tatsuro and Ai both went to the four bodies behind them.

When the giant starfish noticed Tatsuro and the others approaching, they suddenly floated on their backs while supporting themselves on their front tips, and their large bodies became like sails, with their spined backs facing them as they were driven by a gust of wind.

“Ai, please block it with your shield." (Tatsuro)

“Okay" (Ai)

Without panicking in response, Tatsuro used the black energy from Ai's armor as a shield to effortlessly catch the four starfish that charged at him.

In the meantime, Ai manipulated the spear from the bow of the Celestial bow, skewered two of them, brought them in front of her, then cut them up and killed them instantly with the jeweled sword in her other hand, which was not holding the bow.

And Tatsuro takes on the other two.

Apparently, these monsters also use the strong winds that blow through this floor to attack, so Tatsuro used earth magic to create soil to cover the thorns on their backs and then added weight with dark magic, they crawled down and were unable to move.

After successfully stopping them, Tatsuro then effortlessly uses [Level Eater] to gain SP.

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Level: 13

Skills: [Wind Reading Lv.2], [Biting Lv.2], [Scratching Lv.4]

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(I didn't know there was such a skill as [wind reading]. The rest are just normal skills.)

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Level: 13

Skills: [Wind Reading Lv.0], [Biting Lv.0], [Scratching Lv.0]

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After gaining SP from the remaining one as well, he asked Ai to pierce his earth magic by stabbing them with the spear of the Celestial bow and killing them all with Tatsuro's earth magic and then hurried to Cardina and the others.

Cardina and her team are to deal with eight monsters, and Tatsuro and Ai will also come to join them later, so there is no need to rush to defeat them all.

However, Cardina, Jeanne, and Nana didn't have warm personalities to take advantage of this.

First, Cardina gives a single cry and gives the order, and then Nana quickly uses her Curse magic to apply the speed status to the three bodies here, including herself.

And just about the time that the effect appeared, the other side rushed toward them with the wind all at once.

Then, as it entered the range of Tatsuro's wind-protecting magic, it lost its tailwind, so it glided toward them, spinning like a shuriken, while successfully gaining air resistance with its large, flat body.

So Jeanne tried to stop it with wind magic, but it read where and what kind of wind was generated and conversely used Jeanne's magic to increase its momentum.

"Neigh!?" (Jeanne)

“Don't worry!" (Nana)

While Jeanne was in a state of shock, Nana quickly followed her up and flew through the air, transforming into her true form at the same time as Cardina, defeating the two starfish in the front row with their [Dragon Wing Blade] and [Bite] respectively, She then uses her large claws to reap the approaching giant starfish, knocking it to the ground.

The three barely survived Jeanne's attack, and when they were unable to move after being hit by the [Dragon Drain], they were able to separate each one of them and put a stop to it.

Tatsuro and Ai, who joined the group a dozen seconds later, were surprised to find that all three had transformed into their true forms.

“You didn't have to be so serious, you could have at least stopped it in its tracks." (Tatsuro)

"That's right. There were twice as many." (Ai)

“This time, we just misread the opponent's skill. Next time, we will show them that we can overwhelm them without relying on [True Form]” (Nana)

“Pewee” (Cardina)

“Neigh” (Jeanne)

Cardina and Jeanne squealed as if in praise of their sister for speaking up for them, saying that she was right.

Tatsuro also feels that they are reliable, and of course, he is happy and grateful that they are working hard.

However, Tatsuro was concerned that if that spirit turned into recklessness, so he nailed them with a few words of caution.

“I'm glad you're working so hard for us, but just don't overdo it." (Tatsuro)

“That right. I don't want to see you guys get hurt." (Ai)

“Yes, you should take good care of yourselves.” (Tatsuro)

It seems that Tatsuro and Ai got their feelings across, so they decided to move on, but then they noticed the reaction of a large number of mini-goblins coming toward them again.

“There's another mini-goblin wave, but those things are small, numerous, and troublesome, so I'll take care of them again with my magic.” (Tatsuro)

“Are you coming back again? There are so many of them, it's weird." (Ai)

So Tatsuro again numbed them with lightning magic before putting an end to them, and even then they had to proceed against a total of three different types of monsters: a starfish, a mini goblin, and a monster that can only be described as a large frog.

Therefore, Tatsuro tried experimenting with sleep scales on a frog monster, which was the smallest of small creatures, however, due to the low level of the scale powder collected from the source, it was found to be meaningless unless a large amount was inhaled, so it was not used in the actual battle.

As they continued walking along the bleak viaduct, while doing so they finally found the door to the boss's room, which was the goal.

"Ah, we found the door! Now we can finally get out of here." (Ai)

"Ah. There were a lot of monsters, but there were no traps at all." (Tatsuro)

"We're still at a level 3 dungeon, and if the monsters and traps come, it's not good for us, is it?" (Ai)

"It's like the difficulty setting is completely the same as a game's difficulty setting." (Tatsuro)

While talking about this with Ai, who was holding hands with him, Tatsuro arrived in front of the door with Cardina and the others.

And Jeanne, the vanguard who was already in position, pushed the door open with her familiar nose, and everyone followed suit.

When they passed through the gate, the raging wind turned to a gentle breeze, and the scenery changed completely.

First of all, the place where Tatsuro and his team were standing was a flying circular scaffold made of something with a marble-like texture, and it was just large enough for everyone on their side.

When they looked around, they saw similar scaffolding floating here and there in various orientations, some diagonal, some vertical, and when they looked down, they saw a gray cloud spreading out.

“Tatsuro, look down! There's a shark!” (Ai)

"A shark? Even though it looks like it's in the sky?" (Tatsuro)

When Tatsuro looked in the direction where Ai was peering down and pointing, he saw several things shaped like shark fins glimmering from the gray clouds spreading below.

A closer inspection by Cardina and his Dispel magic revealed that the cloud layer below was about a kilometer below, and within it were countless numbers of shark-shaped monsters swimming in the sky.

“If you fall down, it looks like you'll be in a shark hell, And there seems to be a buildup of what looks like lightning magic in the clouds, so be careful not to fall down just because you can fly." (Tatsuro)

He reported the results of his research into the characteristics of this place to everyone and urged them to be careful, and they all nodded their heads with serious faces.

As Tatsuro did so, he heard the wild voice of the newly generated master of this place echoing from above.

Gwahhhh"

“Didn't we hear something similar to this squeal before we got here?” (Tatsuro)

“You know, it makes me doubt if it's a monster… Oh, it's just a big frog, that's all!" (Ai)

“I'm sure they were bigger in volume than that one, but those guys were small fry in terms of ability. How could you be the boss?" (Tatsuro)

The big frogs that Tatsuro and his team were talking about were definitely one of the three types that appeared in the previous layer, but they were just small fry monsters of no real value, with only one level, no skills, and a good number of them.

When they came to the level 3 dungeon and looked at the scaffold facing diagonally upward to see if it was weaker than the level 1 dungeon boss, I saw a super-giant frog peering at me with giddy eyes attached to a huge body that looked to be three meters high.

"Ah, our eyes met. It's even more disgusting than the big one..." (Tatsuro)

“I just got a shiver down my spine.” (Ai)

“Girls really don't like frogs ...and it looks like they're coming from the other side." (Tatsuro)

While it was doing so, it kicked with its long hind legs and jumped, dexterously kicking the pedestals in all directions, taking a three-dimensional trajectory as it slowly approached the scaffold where Tatsuro and the team were. (T/N: Imagine a giant frog jumping towards you. This is enough to give me PTSD. For those who watch Kono Subarashii. You will know better, thanks to Aqua…)

At that moment, a black ball the size of a volleyball was covered with a translucent membrane and stretched out from the giant frog's butt, looking like a tail.

“I don't know how to look at that, ehew. Gross, gross!" (Ai)

"It's gross!” (Nana)

“I understand that it's gross, but what's the point of having something like that on you?" (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro's question was answered a few seconds later.

The giant toad used its front paws to rip a few eggs from the tip of its buttocks and flung them toward them.

In response, Cardina made a loud cry to warn him, and Tatsuro instantly created a tornado that blew several eggs coming toward them all over the place.

Then, just as that egg hit another scaffold, an explosion rang out, destroying part of the scaffold where it landed.

“Egg bombs, huh?" (Tatsuro)

“I'll be back!" (Ai)

“I understand. Ai, ignore the eggs that are thrown at you and use long-range attacks to hit the eggs that are attached to it tails one by one. If all of them explode at once, it will be troublesome. And Cardina, you're going to have to guard Ai's body first. Jeanne, with me, will be in charge of holding them back and protecting the footholds from the flying eggs. Nana, you'll raise the status of each of you and go where you need support.” (Tatsuro)

“Yes! “ (Nana)

“Pewee” (Cardina)

“Neigh” (Jeanne)

While Ai fired her energy arrows with her celestial bow, trying to knock out the eggs attached to the hopping frog, Jeanne first created wind and guarded all but Ai's shooting points to prevent the egg bombs from coming their way.

Then, to make it easier for Ai to do her job, Tatsuro uses a mixture of light and fire magic to create several high-heat spheres, which he places around the giant toad to reduce its range of action.

Nana raises the status of everyone who seems to need it now with Curse magic, and just to be safe, she transformed to her [True Form] so that she will be ready to fly at any time.

Cardina is close to Ai, searching for any other unusual attacks that might be coming, or any new traps that have emerged.

Despite his thorough preparations, the hot ball attack that Tatsuro launched did not do much damage, because as soon as it touched the frog's body, mucus began to overflow from its surface before it was burned, pushing it away.

And Ai's celestial bow and arrow didn't do a good job of handling the hazardous material, either, as it slipped over the mucus protecting the eggs.

Furthermore, the eggs seemed to be reproducing as many as they were thrown, and the number of eggs was not decreasing.

But it wasn't going on the other side either, as all the eggs they were throwing were being blocked by Jeanne's wind, putting it in a bad mood.

However, it is not the purpose of Tatsuro and his team to put it in a bad mood, and as they were thinking about whether they could somehow capture it alive to secure SP, the giant frog's egg bomb attack stopped for a moment.

Then, when it landed on the scaffold diagonally to the right in front of them, it suddenly opened its large mouth and sucked in a full mouthful of air, which it blew out, and a bullet of air was imminent.

“Tasteless! Ai, deploy the shield in full!" (Tatsuro)

“Okay!" (Ai)

The air bullet was so powerful that the next bullet did not seem to launch immediately, but it was so powerful that it punched a hole in Jeanne's wind wall, just as Tatsuro had predicted, and even though the air bullet disappeared there, it had an egg bomb inside it.

Noticing this, Tatsuro immediately had Ai deploy his shield on all sides to avoid the direct hit.

...... However, unlike the previous ones, the egg bombs were much weaker in explosive power, but the sound of the explosion was considerably amplified, causing Tatsuro and Ai to lose parallel sensation and fall to their knees with a keening in their ears, even though they had been covering their ears.

Nana is the first to notice this and immediately heals them both using Life magic.

They tried to thank Nana, but the second shot landed, and they could not say it as the sound of the explosion echoed in their eardrums again.

Cardina was upset that they were damaged, but immediately tried to analyze and generate anti-magic with Dispel magic, but again, a miscalculation occurred.

“Pewee” (Cardina)

“What wrong, Sister Cardina?” (Nana)

Nana, who had been caring for the two with life magic, checked the situation with Cardina, who was surprised to find that the air bullets seemed to be a skill that used energy, not magic, and was not an attack that could be canceled with Dispel magic.

Jeanne is also doing her best to use her wind magic as much as she can, but she can't even prevent it completely because, perhaps due to the characteristics of air bullets, they can break inside, almost ignoring the effects of wind.

“Sister Jeanne, we are abandoning this scaffold! Please transform into your true form and carry the two of them! In the meantime, Sister Cardina and I will buy time!” (Nana)

“Neigh” (Jeanne)

Jeanne immediately obeyed Nana's instructions, transformed into her [True Form], and flew toward another parallel scaffold in the distance, holding Tatsuro and Ai in her large hands so as not to hurt them.

Meanwhile, Cardina transforms into her true form and rushes toward the giant frog along with Nana