Level Eater
Chapter 163

When the two returned to their usual forms and reunited with Cardina, Leah, and the others, everyone seemed curious about the silver box Tatsuro was holding.

However, they felt uneasy in a place reeking of monster blood.

So, since the sea dogs in the area had disappeared, they decided to move to the island they were aiming for after disposing of the corpses and collecting the magic stones.

"Looks like there's no point to go to the next level here either" (Ai)

"Then, I guess we'll have to search from the sky in one go next..." (Tatsuro)

After landing on the small island and looking around, they couldn't find anything that looked promising.

So as Tatsuro was sighing that they'd have to go by air next, Ai, who was more interested in something else, changed the subject.

"Let's put that aside for now and open the box quickly!" (Ai)

"I'm also quite curious about that. Is it alright from Leah's perspective?" (Tatsuro)

"Yes. I can't see inside, so I don't know what's in it, but the box itself seems to be just a simple container. I think it's fine to open it." (Leah)

"Then, let's hurry up and open it." (Tatsuro)

Having received not only dispelling magic but also approval from the [All-Seeing Eye], Tatsuro placed the box on the beach facing the sea in case something jumped out, went behind the silver box, and gently opened the lid.

"Nothing jumped out, right?" (Tatsuro)

"Pewee~" (Ai)

He asked Cardina about any potential dangers just in case, but she nodded, saying that it was safe.

So everyone went around to the front of the box to look inside, when suddenly

...Rumble Rumble Rumble...

A low sound resonated from below.

The small island where Tatsuro and the others were, as well as the surrounding area, seemed to be shaking slightly, and everyone stopped and began to be on alert.

Then, Tatsuro and Cardina's underwater detection magic caught something.

"This is... an island rising?" (Tatsuro)

"What do you mean?" (Ai)

"An island-like thing is coming up right near the small island we're on, about in that direction. At this speed, it'll be here in about two or three minutes." (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro pointed straight ahead from where they were facing, a little way out to sea, as he explained.

"Does it seem dangerous?" (Ai)

"As far as I can detect, it doesn't seem dangerous." (Tatsuro)

"Then it should be fine to wait until we can see it, right?" (Ai)

"Yeah~. So, let's check what's inside the box before that." (Tatsuro)

"Ah, that's right. What's in the box?" (Ai)

Since there didn't seem to be any particular danger, Ai felt reassured and approached the front of the box while humming a strange improvised song.

Inside, there was a light blue feathered robe folded and stored. Ai grabbed it and took it out, then spread it open and placed it on both shoulders, letting it hang down in front.

"Ah, it feels smooth and cool, it might feel nice." (Ai)

"Don't put it on carelessly... But what is this? It doesn't seem like just a fashion item." (Tatsuro)

"That is... Ah, I see. Ai-san, please try infusing your spirit energy into that robe." (Leah)

"Into this? Okay." (Ai)

As Leah seemed to have figured out the identity of the feathered robe, Ai obediently tried infusing her spirit energy into it. Then, Ai's body surface began to change into a realistic water pattern, and finally, from any angle, it looked as if water in the shape of a person was standing there.

"Is this some kind of underwater camouflage?" (Ai)

"Yes, it seems so. By the way, it can also be activated with magical power, so it seems to be easy to use for both martial arts and magic users." (Leah)

"Heh, that sounds pretty convenient." (Ai)

"Wow. Amazing." (Tatsuro)

When Ai, wrapped in underwater camouflage, put her hand in seawater, it blended in with the surrounding water so well that it was impossible to tell where her hand began and ended by sight alone.

However, unlike the great sea dog that Tatsuro and Ai had fought, which had actually transformed into water, this was just making the appearance look like water. So, if a detection spell were cast, even a low-level opponent could find them.

"Mother. I want to try it too!" (Nana)

"Oh, you do? Well, here you go." (Ai)

Ai took the robe off her shoulders, instantly returning to her original form, and handed it to Nana.

"No fair. Nana-nee, can I borrow it next when you're done?" (Athena)

"Certainly. Now, let's see..." (Nana)

As Nana put the robe on her shoulders and infused it with magical power, her entire body was instantly covered in underwater camouflage.

Ai, who couldn't objectively view it earlier, was now amazed to see someone else's appearance change.

Then Athena wore it, followed by Cardina, Jeanne, Leah, and Tatsuro taking turns playing with it. By that time, the island they had mentioned earlier came into view.

So Tatsuro temporarily stored the underwater camouflage robe in his [Item Box], and as everyone carefully observed the island, they saw that there was a glowing pool in its center that led to the next level.

"So it was in a place like that." (Ai)

"We would never have found it if we had searched forever. I wonder why it suddenly appeared." (Tatsuro)

With a splash of waves, the island finished surfacing completely. It then fixed itself a few meters away from the small island where Tatsuro and the others were. Then, with a flapping sound, something like a ship's gangway slowly extended from that island toward their island.

When the gangway connected to the beach where Tatsuro and the others were standing, the island completely stopped showing any movement.

"If we consider what's possible, was opening this box the condition?" (Ai)

"It seems so. To be more precise, the condition to summon that island was to open the box of the drop item that always comes out when defeating a specific monster." (Tatsuro)

"If it's always, does that mean everyone who defeated that great water dog has this?" (Ai)

"I don't think so. According to the dungeon book I read before when you defeat a monster, the drop item is randomly selected from several candidates." (Tatsuro)

"Is that so? In that case, there might be more shabby items or better ones?" (Ai)

"Maybe. But a 100% drop rate is nice. If we have a chance to meet it again, let's defeat it." (Tatsuro)

"So, are we going to the next level now?" (Ai)

The door to the next level was already open, so it was possible to do so. However, since they had just had a large-scale battle, Tatsuro suggested that they take a break here, fully recover, and then move on.

Everyone agreed with this, so they walked across the gangway to the island with the point of crossing to the next level and then took a break while having a meal in the surrounding area.

They spent time making armor for Leah from dragon bones and taking short naps. When they had sufficiently recovered their strength, it was finally time to head to the second level.

Since they were ambushed the moment they entered the first level, this time they put up shields boosted with light magic for lightning, wind, fire, and water attributes, and then all jumped into the glowing pool at once.

"...It seems there's nothing special this time." (Tatsuro)

"Pewee~" (Cardina)

As Cardina also judged that there were no enemy reactions, they released their magic and looked around.

Where Tatsuro and the others were standing now was a large donut-shaped reddish-brown land, with a lake about 100 meters in diameter spreading in the inner hole part, and green land with lush vegetation spreading on the outer side.

What was even more intriguing was that there was a small island about ten meters in diameter floating in the center of the lake, and on it stood a stone structure with a triangular roof supported by thick stone pillars at its four corners.

"I'm curious about that structure in the middle of the lake." (Tatsuro)

"It really feels like it's saying 'something's here', doesn't it? What should we do, go there first?" (Ai)

"Yeah. There's not much else that catches the eye-- Huh?" (Tatsuro)

"It's getting cloudy." (Ai)

Until now, the sun had been overhead illuminating the land, but suddenly black clouds started to appear and shadows became visible. These clouds gradually increased, completely hiding the sun.

As it became dim, Tatsuro thought about illuminating it with light magic. Just then...

"Watch out!" (Ai)

"Whoa--" (Tatsuro)

Suddenly grabbed by the nape of the neck by Ai and thrown backward, lightning struck the spot where Tatsuro had been.

And this was not the end.

This time it fell near where Nana and Leah were, and Athena used lightning magic to deflect it into the lake.

As the lightning attacks continued, Tatsuro and Athena together created a dome-shaped lightning shield, where the lightning would hit the shield and flow to the ground as it merged with it.

The sudden onslaught of lightning continued to fall around where Tatsuro and the others were for about ten minutes, until finally, when the cloudy sky cleared and the sun showed its face again, it stopped.

"It's finally stopped, but I guess this probably isn't the end of it, right?" (Tatsuro)

"Probably not. But a regular delivery of lightning is no joke." (Ai)

"Still, it's considerate that there's a warning sign." (Tatsuro)

It seemed almost certain that the gloomy cloudy sky was the sign of incoming lightning, and Tatsuro was nodding to this when Leah alone seemed to have a different opinion.

"However, this is a dungeon. We can't rule out the possibility of suddenly being struck by lightning when we let our guard down thinking like that." (Ai)

"That's true. The places we've been through so far have been crazy places that ignore common sense. So, it's Athena's turn!" (Tatsuro)

"Ah, well, yeah. That's the least burdensome, after all~" (Athena)

"??" (Ai)

Although it was probably because she could use lightning magic, Tatsuro thought it would be more energy-efficient if he did it too, except when sleeping. The two were thinking like this and tilted their heads.

Then, Athena said it would be quicker to see and showed everyone her [True Form].

"It's my first time seeing Athena's [True Form], but unlike Cardina and the others, it's almost unchanged." (Leah)

"But there are tattoo-like patterns on your hands and feet, and orange-ish smoke is coming out from there. Is that okay?" (Tatsuro)

"It's fine. In your sense, Dad and others, it's close to hair. I can let it grow out or cut it." (Athena)

"But it's not just growing out like hair, right?" (Tatsuro)

"That's right. If I pass my attribute magic's magical power through this-- Oh, everyone please step back a bit." (Athena)

"""Okay~"""

As per Athena's request, everyone took a certain distance, and she changed the amber-colored smoke coming from her hands and feet into lightning magic power.

Then, purple lightning constantly crackled and clung to Athena's hands and feet.

"That doesn't damage Athena herself, right?" (Tatsuro)

"That's right. After all, it's part of my body. And because it's part of my body, I can do things like this." (Athena)

As Athena said this, the purple lightning from her hands and feet rose up, forming a large umbrella-like shape above her head.

"Huh, that's interesting. But can't you do that with normal magic too? Is there a need to transform that smoke?" (Ai)

"There is. If you tried to maintain this state with magic--" (Athena)

"You'd constantly consume magical power." (Tatsuro)

"That's right. But this is just transforming a part of my body, so as long as it's not erased, there's zero magical power consumption." (Athena)

"That's eco-friendly!" (Tatsuro)

"It is. Athena-chan is friendly to the world." (Ai)

"So if we have you constantly taking measures against lightning like this, there's no cost for countermeasures." (Tatsuro)

"That's right. That's why Athena is the most suitable!" (Nana)

Nana said this with a big smile on her face as if boasting about her sister. Tatsuro patted her head, and while he was at it, he also patted Athena, Cardina, and the others.

Then, they decided to head towards the center of the lake while having Athena take measures against lightning.