Level Eater
Chapter 148

When Tatsuro woke up in the early afternoon, he found himself on Ai's lap. As he stroked the comfortable thighs beneath his head, Ai lightly slapped his head.

"Good morning, Ero-rō." (Ai)

"Oh, good morning. Ai, you're amazing as always." (Tatsuro)

"Thanks─"(Ai)

As she said that, Ai lightly kissed Tatsuro's cheek. As she tried to pull away, Tatsuro reached out to stop her and kissed her lips this time.

"Um, Nana? Are those two always like that?" (Leah)

"Yes. Ah, isn't harmony beautiful──"(Nana)

"Ha, I see." (Leah)

As they repeatedly kissed, Nana and Leah, who had somehow become friends while Tatsuro was asleep, watched the scene with contrasting expressions—one with a look of admiration and the other as if observing a new species. Eventually, the two satisfied themselves and stood up slowly. (T/N: GET A ROOM YOU TWO!!!)

"Phew. I'm rested from yesterday's fatigue, so let's break Leah's curse swiftly." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah. Do it quickly, please?" (Leah)

Tatsuro, just to be safe, used Life magic to ensure his health was perfect, and then called over Cardina, Nana, and Leah. With everyone necessary gathered, it was time for the curse-breaking ritual.

The curse on Leah combined curse and dark magic, a precise spell crafted by manipulating curse magic with dark magic.

According to Leah, this spell was completed in an instant, so the elf named Aarenfrit undoubtedly surpassed Tatsuro in curse magic.

Tatsuro countered this by using water and light magic to neutralize it. To make it easy to understand, it's like mirroring a complex pattern and overlapping it precisely.

Since the skill level of the opponent's curse magic was higher than Tatsuro's water magic, he compensated by using light magic, which was superior to the opponent's dark magic.

Based on the analysis results from yesterday, Tatsuro precisely crafted a reverse phase with magic power to match the opponent's precision.

Under the pressure that any deviation would require restarting from the beginning, Tatsuro and Cardina synchronized perfectly to construct the counter-magic.

Despite failing once, they succeeded on the second attempt in creating the anti-magic. As a result, the curse on Leah was eroded by Tatsuro's magic and eventually neutralized and disappeared.

"With this, Leah's curse is lifted." (Tatsuro)

"Thank you. Although, I don't feel any different yet." (Leah)

"Can't that skill of yours tell such things?" (Tatsuro)

"No. I can't discern anything about myself. If I could, I might have understood my frail body or extreme clumsiness..." (Leah)

"Like being unable to scratch where it itches the most? Hearing that, it doesn't sound like a skill I'd want." (Tatsuro)

"Indeed. I would have preferred a normal body without any skills." (Leah)

Leah's somewhat self-deprecating words dampened the mood. So Tatsuro clapped his hands and loudly began to talk about something they hadn't done yet.

"Alright, Leah won't die periodically anymore. So, let's achieve the purpose we came here for." (Tatsuro)

"The purpose you came here for... What exactly did you come here to do?" (Leah)

"We came to capture a Lycopin." (Ai)

"Lycopin? What's that? A rare animal or something?" (Leah)

"No, it's a deep-sea creature called Piporin." (Nana)

"Yeah, Piporin. By the way, Ai's referring to the thing with a lot of ketchup in it." (Tatsuro)

"Ketchup?" (Leah)

While there was a condiment similar to ketchup, the proper noun didn't quite translate well to Leah, but she understood they came to capture some creature, which was good enough for Tatsuro.

"So, now that we know it's here, how do we bring up a creature that's so deep?" (Ai)

"That was the biggest problem, but this time, Ai will play a blindfolded crane game." (Tatsuro)

"Me, blindfolded, crane game? What do you mean?" (Ai)

"First, I'll make a metal magic hand to capture the Piporin. Then, I'll extend the handle in the waterfall basin to bring the tip near Piporin. Ai, you'll use that magic hand to catch it when I give the signal." (Tatsuro)

"So, basically, we're catching it with an incredibly long magic hand?" (Ai)

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. With your stats, Ai, you should be able to handle the magic hand no matter how long it gets." (Tatsuro)

"Okay. Leave the tools to me!" (Ai)

Tatsuro, having roughly gauged the size from the sensation he felt during yesterday's analysis, made a square box from a Phoebus steel ingot, which is harder than iron to withstand water pressure. He then split it diagonally to make the tip of the magic hand.

He attached iron ingots to form a lattice-patterned handle and kept it at a manageable length for now.

Testing it, Ai held the grip part of the handle and spread it like scissors, confirming the tip closed into a box shape. The goal was to get Piporin inside this box.

"Alright, bring it with you." (Tatsuro)

"Okay!" (Ai)

Ai easily lifted the heavy metal magic hand, which prioritized strength over lightness and followed Tatsuro. Using the information from yesterday, Tatsuro determined the optimal position and had Ai stand there.

It was a meter back from the riverbank, to the right of the waterfall's path. Ai held the magic hand horizontally towards the river, and Tatsuro extended the handle using iron ingots, inserting the tip into the waterfall basin.

"It's stretching more and more." (Ai)

"Yeah, if we take our time, it'll get dark, so let's do it all at once. It'll get much heavier, so be careful." (Tatsuro)

"Bring it on!" (Ai)

As Tatsuro declared, he rapidly used ingots to extend the handle, adding weight and measuring the length with Cardina's help.

"Pewee─" (Cardina)

"Slow down, slowly." (Nana)

"Got it." (Tatsuro)

As Piporin got closer, he slowed the extension, cautiously approaching the spot from yesterday.

"Pewee── Pewee─" (Cardina)

"Even slower, please." (Nana)

"Understood." (Tatsuro)

Following Nana's instructions, he carefully neared the point.

"Pewee!" (Cardina)

"Stop." (Nana)

"Now, guide the position." (Tatsuro)

Adjusting vertically, they fine-tuned the horizontal direction, aiming to capture it in the same place as yesterday.

"Pewee─ Pewee─ Pewee" (Cardina)

"Mother, slowly to the right, please." (Nana)

"Like this?" (Ai)

"Pewee" (Cardina)

"Okay." (Nana)

"Alright, Ai, close the handle slowly." (Tatsuro)

"Okay." (Ai)

Ai calmly closed the handle, like using large scissors, slowly and steadily. As the handles aligned, praying it didn't move, she carefully raised it.

Meanwhile, Tatsuro reversed the handle's length back to the ingots.

When Ai lifted the tip into their detection range, Tatsuro asked her to pause.

"Ai, stop. I'll check if there's a creature inside." (Tatsuro)

"Got it. I hope there is." (Ai)

Using a mixed spell of Dispel, water, and earth boosted by light, Tatsuro and Cardina confirmed if the creature was inside the magic hand.

"Looks like it hasn't moved since yesterday. It's not dead either, perfect!" (Tatsuro)

"So, can I lift it all the way up?" (Ai)

"No, sudden pressure changes could kill it. Raise it a bit more, and then we'll use water magic." (Tatsuro)

"Understood."

Ai continued pulling the handle, while Tatsuro reverted the unneeded handle length to ingots, bringing it entirely within his magic range.

With water magic boosted by light, he controlled the surrounding water, moving Piporin without harming it. Eventually, it emerged from the waterfall basin.

Synchronizing with Cardina to gather information, he took control of all the water around the tip of the magic hand.

"Now we just need to bring it here. Ai, open the tip. We're ready." (Tatsuro)

"Alright, I'm counting on you!" (Ai)

Ai pulled the crossed handles apart.

As the tip opened, the monster inside tried to escape, but the water currents flowing everywhere hindered its swimming.

Despite its attempts to go down, the water around it acted like an elevator, pushing it upwards.

Finally, it surfaced from the waterfall basin.

"Is that Piporin?" (Leah)

"Kinda cute!" (Nana)

"Indeed─" (Ai)

It was about forty centimeters long, with a body covered in tough ganoine scales, round and puffy, with a donut-shaped mouth and large, endearing eyes. It resembled a pufferfish but had four crab-like legs on its abdomen.

Under Tatsuro's control, the Piporin, unharmed by pressure changes, floated to the riverbank and into a double-layered iron and Phoebus steel box filled with water.

Ai quickly closed the box with a vented lid, and Tatsuro sealed it with magic, ensuring it couldn't escape no matter how it struggled. Ai lifted the box from the river and set it down gently.

Finally, Tatsuro used mixed magic of water and curse analysis, adding a lasting water pressure adjustment effect to the water inside.

"That's it! Now, let's prepare to leave." (Tatsuro)

"Keeping it in a small box won't be good for it." (Ai)

Ai lightly tapped the box, which was still making noise.

"But it won't fit in the Item Box. Do we carry it by hand?" (Ai)

"Ah, well. Since it'll be dark soon, we'll fly over the forest." (Tatsuro)

"Flying back? With Leah, we should avoid attracting attention." (Ai)

"Sorry for causing trouble." (Tatsuro)

Leah, sensing she was the problem, bowed apologetically.

"Leah doesn't need to apologize. The decision was ours." (Ai)

"Exactly, and at night, we can counter detection magic and cover with dark magic, replicating moonlight with light magic to deceive visually─── I think." (Tatsuro)

"You're not even sure!" (Ai)

Ai's retort made Tatsuro say, "Well, well," and decide to at least give it a try.