Level Eater
Chapter 169

After gaining a new title and getting enough sleep, they forcibly woke up the giant moray eels and obtained SP and ingredients from the four of them.

Then, using decomposition, they cleanly extracted only the meat parts and magic stones from the giant moray eel corpses, which were called ingredients. Then stored them in Tatsuro's upgraded system skill, [Infinite Item Field], with time progression stopped.

This way, the moray eel meat could be taken out anytime, fresh and without spoiling.

After taking a meal break, they waited for a thundercloud to pass by once, and then it was time to search for the final theme.

However, they had no idea where to look, considering that the fish was a plant-type monster and the snake was an ocean creature-type monster like the moray eel.

From this, they all agreed that the mysterious fruit illustration might actually have nothing to do with plants at all.

"But in the end, we don't understand anything, so we have no choice but to search diligently." (Ai)

"That's right. So today, I'm thinking we'll take a look from the sky to see if we can find any clues. Jeanne, can I count on you?" (Tatsuro)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

As if to say "Leave it to me!", Jeanne jumped out onto the lake surface from her small state, pulled up alongside the small island in the middle of the lake where Tatsuro and the others were, and let everyone climb on her back.

Then Jeanne leaped up, gazing down at the lake surface below.

"Ai. Use [Far-Sightedness] to look down and tell me anything that catches your attention, no matter what it is." (Tatsuro)

"Roger that!" (Ai)

"Cardina, keep watch over the whole area. Jeanne, please fly slowly in a circle around the entire area. Athena, watch out for lightning. Everyone else, observe various places, not just below." (Tatsuro)

"Pewee!" (Cardina)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

"Yes, indeed." (Nana)

"Understood." (Leah)

"Got it" (Athena)

Jeanne flapped her wings once, circled the lake surface once, and then flew over it, tracing the doughnut-shaped reddish-brown ground that surrounded the lake.

Ai also closely observed the reddish-brown ground while looking down, but this place was barren with at most some scattered weeds and stones, and nothing particularly unusual could be seen.

Then, they entered the airspace above the forest.

They continued like this for a while and were about to pass over the empty reddish-brown area to return to the small island in the lake for a lunch break when it happened.

"Huh?" (Ai)

"What is it, Ai?" (Tatsuro)

"Hmm~ There's something that feels off... Sorry, I can't figure it out." (Ai)

"Did anyone else notice anything?" (Tatsuro)

In place of Ai, who had an unsatisfied expression, Tatsuro turned to ask if anyone else felt the same sense of incongruity, but everyone shook their heads.

As it seemed unlikely that they would find an answer by just thinking about it, they passed over the reddish-brown ground and returned to the lake as originally planned to have a meal.

After eating and preparing to fly over the areas they hadn't yet explored, they were about to pass through the reddish-brown area again when Ai tilted her head once more.

"You still feel like something's off?" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah... It's like, hmm. Something, hmm. Something, hmm???" (Ai)

"...Tatsuro-san. May I sketch the view from above once?" (Leah)

"That's right! Perhaps we might understand something from that!" (Ai)

"That's a possibility. Leah, can I ask you to do it?" (Tatsuro)

"Yes!" (Leah)

Jeanne was asked to hover at a height and position suitable for sketching, and Leah took out the paper and pen she had received from Tatsuro yesterday for letter writing from her [Item Box] and began to sketch.

Each time she finished drawing, they asked Jeanne to change position, and Leah moved her hand as accurately and quickly as possible. Given the simplicity of the terrain, she was able to create a highly accurate reproduction.

"You're really good at this, aren't you" (Ai)

"Indeed. I tried drawing too, but I couldn't do it like this..." (Nana)

Saying this, she took Leah's reproduction from behind and handed it to Tatsuro along with her own drawing.

Looking at them side by side with Ai, while Nana's drawing couldn't exactly be called skillful, it had a subtle touch that might be considered good for a child of Nana's apparent age.

On the other hand, Leah's drawing was a perfect, photorealistic sketch.

Thinking that most people would probably seem unskilled compared to this, Tatsuro made sure to give Nana positive feedback before thanking Leah and storing the drawings in his [Item Box] for now.

Then, partly to kill time, they flew to the forest area they hadn't properly explored yet.

After about three hours of aerial exploration, including breaks, they returned to the reddish-brown donut-shaped area.

They asked Jeanne to hover in a place overlooking the area, and Ai began comparing Leah's sketch with the landscape below using [Far-Sightedness]

As Tatsuro compared Nana's sketch with the scenery below, Nana was smiling happily without saying anything.

Feeling soothed by this, he concentrated as if playing a spot-the-difference game.

A few minutes later, Ai quickly discovered a difference from the sketch.

"Hey, Tatsuro. I think this part and that part are different." (Ai)

"Let me see. From here, I can't make out the details with my eyesight. Jeanne, please move in that direction." (Tatsuro)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

"...Stop here!" (Tatsuro)

They stopped right above the spot Ai said was different, and Tatsuro checked with Nana's drawing while the others passed around Leah's sketch to confirm.

As Ai had said, there should have been a patch of weeds about fifty centimeters high growing in a one-meter square area, but there was nothing there.

And a few meters away from that spot, there was now a brownstone about thirty centimeters in size where there had been nothing before.

While stones were scattered here and there in other places as well, so it wasn't particularly concerning, it seemed unnatural for a stone to suddenly appear in a place where there had been nothing.

Moreover, there shouldn't be any humans in this layer other than Tatsuro and his group.

"Suspicious. But let's search for any other differences just to be sure. Jeanne, please rise up again." (Tatsuro)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

They found a total of 16 differences between Ai's current view and Leah's sketch.

There were subtle changes that would be hard to notice without careful observation - grass appearing or disappearing, stones appearing or disappearing, depressions that were no longer there, or vice versa.

As these changes were clearly not natural, Tatsuro and the others landed at the location of the first stone they found that had appeared where there was nothing before.

"Cardina, my Dispel magic shows it's just a stone, but what about you?" (Tatsuro)

Cardina nodded emphatically, indicating the same result.

Next, they tried full-power double Dispel magic with both Tatsuro and Cardina, but the result still showed it was just a stone.

Finding this strange, they tried burning it, pouring water on it, and touching it, but nothing special happened.

However, the moment Leah looked at it with her [All-Seeing Eye] activated, she exclaimed in surprise.

"This stone is not just a stone! It's a monster!" (Leah)

"Huh? But the analysis results show it's completely a stone..." (Tatsuro)

"Yes, right now it has completely transformed into a dungeon object, so it's just a stone. But -- Ai-san, please destroy that stone." (Leah)

"Eh? Okay, understood." (Ai)

After glancing at Tatsuro and seeing him nod, Ai took out a dragon bone club from her [Item Box] and casually swung it down at the stone.

The stone shattered easily into pieces.

But at that moment, the space around the shattered stone began to blur, and eventually, a monster appeared that looked like an unripe blue coconut with reversed cotyledon-like legs attached.

While momentarily surprised by this sight, Tatsuro and the others immediately entered a battle stance -- but the monster fled towards the forest with unimaginable speed from those cotyledon legs.

Ai was the only one who reacted quickly enough to chase after it, swinging down the club she was holding onto the monster from above.

The body split open with a squelch, and a citrus-like juice spilled out, staining the ground.

"Ah, it broke!? And it seemed like it might have been the last theme..." (Ai)

"Well, it was sudden, so it couldn't be helped. So, Leah, what exactly was this thing?" (Tatsuro)

"Yes. It had a skill called [Dungeon Assimilation]. When this skill is activated, it completely transforms into a dungeon object, gaining such a high level of stealth that it can even deceive Dispel magic." (Leah)

"If that's the case, they could ambush us at will, right? That's dangerous..." (Tatsuro)

If even magic couldn't detect them, they could potentially attack from behind without warning. This realization made everyone except Leah catch their breath.

"No, please don't worry about that. While under [Dungeon Assimilation], they lose even their own will and can't move until a set time passes. And since they can be detected when they start to revert, it's possible to discover them before they fully reveal themselves. If you're always mindful of your surroundings, it's a skill that can be adequately dealt with." (Leah)

"By the way, am I correct in understanding that this skill can be forcibly canceled by destroying the object the monster has transformed into, even before the set time is up?" (Tatsuro)

"Yes, that's correct." (Leah)

"Then, can we assume that all the differences we found in our spot-the-difference game were these creatures?" (Tatsuro)

"I can't say for sure without confirming with my own eyes, but I'd say there's a 90% chance that's the case." (Leah)

"Which means there are likely seven more. Let's head to the other points right away." (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro and the others quickly mounted Jeanne's back and landed at the nearest location where the flat ground had become raised.

This time, to prevent escape, they surrounded the area with [Sticky Water], except for where Ai was standing.

Once preparations were complete, Ai swung down her dragon bone club, creating a hole in the raised ground.

Just like before, the space blurred, and a monster with a coconut-like body and cotyledon feet appeared.

It tried to escape like the previous individual, but noticing that suspicious water infused with magical power had been spread in all directions except where Ai was standing, the monster decided to charge straight at Ai as a last resort.

However, Ai used the skill [Deflection], which is normally used by shield skill holders with a shield, with the club she was holding now. She lowered the monster onto the sticky water without giving it almost any impact.

Immediately, it was entangled by the sticky water and became completely immobilized.

Then Tatsuro approached after removing all the water except for the sticky water holding the monster and activated [Level Eater].

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Level: 30

Skills: [Dungeon Assimilation], [Speed Super Increase Lv.8]

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(It has hardly any skills, but in exchange, [Speed Super Increase Lv.8] is quite high. No wonder it's so quick.)

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Level: 30

Skills: [Dungeon Assimilation], [Speed Super Increase Lv.0]

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He left the individual's level to be used elsewhere and took away the skill level.

Now all that was left was to deliver the final blow, but apparently, when this monster's body is damaged, cracks spread rapidly from that point, causing it to lose its original form. That probably wouldn't count as completing the challenge.

So this time, they decided to ask Nana, who could defeat it without causing any damage.

"Alright, I've got the SP. Nana, finish it off without damaging it using [Dragon Drain]." (Tatsuro)

"Understood!" (Nana)

And so, they had Nana defeat it, and Tatsuro stored it in his [Infinite Item Field] almost in its original form.