Level Eater
Chapter 171

The moment Tatsuro lit up the light, all the monsters suddenly turned towards the new light source.

There were over thirty of them in total, of five different types:

Black octopus about one meter in size.

Worms about thirty centimeters long, like elongated sea cucumbers.

Jellyfish-like creatures with a single leg, about fifty centimeters tall, and looking like mushrooms.

Mice about the size of squirrels, with webbed front and back feet and two needle-sharp front teeth.

CD-shaped creatures are about twenty centimeters in size and bright red in color. Around them, smaller red CD-like objects about five centimeters in size were attached in a chain, forming two rings that rotated like hula hoops around their bodies. There were also blue versions of these.

These monsters began swarming towards Jeanne's massive body, seemingly eager to feed.

However, having already detected them with Cardina's and his own underwater detection magic, Tatsuro calmly assessed the distance without panicking.

When the monsters came within attack range, Tatsuro, cooperating with Athena, unleashed a powerful electric shock outside the layer of fresh water surrounding them.

Aided by the electrically conductive seawater, the deep-sea monsters were electrocuted one after another. Those a bit further away were stunned by the shock or fled.

The nearby dead monsters, which would interfere with Jeanne's swimming, were instantly stored in the [Infinite Item Field] to remove obstacles.

However, the CD-like monsters with resistance to electricity approached Tatsuro and the others almost unharmed.

But Ai dealt with these, piercing them with two spears from her celestial bow and slicing them in half with her jeweled sword.

Even if they managed to slip through this attack net, they were bashed by Nana's magically enlarged frog staff or smashed to pieces by Leah's giant hammer.

"Looks like we're handling the monsters fine." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah. But do you think we can reach the surface in about 400 seconds?" (Ai)

"...No, even with Jeanne giving it her all, I can't sense the surface at all. It's probably impossible. Even using magic wouldn't change that." (Tatsuro)

"So, does that mean we have to keep moving while consuming SP? I don't like that..." (Ai)

No one would like that. But simultaneously, Tatsuro wondered if they really had to do that.

Looking at the trends of previous dungeons, there was always a way to clear them.

But here, if they had almost no SP, they would have no choice but to die.

From what they had explored, it didn't seem like the consumption of just 1 or 2 SP would be enough.

If that was the case, it wouldn't be strange for some kind of relief measure to be prepared.

While maintaining other magic spells, Tatsuro began to extend his detection magic in various directions, searching for something.

Glancing at the continuously decreasing remaining seconds, he tried to calmly analyze the incoming information with Cardina.

When the remaining time showed [238 seconds], he caught one piece of intriguing information.

It was about two meters in size, shaped like a bird cage, neither sinking nor floating, but fixed in one spot in the sea.

Feeling that there might be something to this out-of-place, jarring existence, Tatsuro asked Jeanne to adjust their course diagonally to the left instead of upwards.

"Did you find something?" (Ai)

"Yeah, though I don't know if it's good or bad. Let's go check it out." (Tatsuro)

"Understood." (Ai)

They would defeat a group of monsters, move forward a bit, then encounter another group. They would defeat these and store them in the [Infinite Item Field]. Repeating this process, they eventually reached the birdcage.

As detected by the Dispel magic, it was shaped like a cage used for keeping birds, but inside was a rectangular platform about fifty centimeters high, and on top of that were placed red and blue buttons.

They tried using Dispel magic to figure out what the buttons were for, but couldn't understand at all.

It probably meant they should press one of them, but in their current situation, it would be difficult to deal with any negative consequences.

As Tatsuro was pondering what to do, Leah tapped him on the shoulder.

"What is it, Leah?" (Tatsuro)

Speaking with water magic to make it easier to hear, Tatsuro saw Leah pointing at the red button.

"Is it safe to press this button?" (Tatsuro)

Leah nodded vigorously to Tatsuro's question.

Noticing her eyes had turned blue, Tatsuro guessed she had probably used her [All-Seeing Eye] to get the answer. Prepared for anything that might happen, he pressed the red button.

Then—

|||||||[Deep Sea Mode] extended by 600 seconds|||||||

Such an announcement reached everyone's ears, and when they all checked the remaining time, it showed [732 seconds].

Tatsuro confirmed that everyone was in the same situation and began to understand what this button was about.

To explain it to everyone, he used water magic to amplify Leah's voice so it would reach everyone's ears.

"The red button increased our time, but what would have happened if we'd pressed the blue one?" (Tatsuro)

"If we had pressed the blue button, it seems our time would have decreased instead." (Leah)

"Is this a choice we can only make by guessing?" (Tatsuro)

"I couldn't see that far, but it seems it's not always the red button. So there must be some kind of rule, but that part seems to be constructed close to the system, and even my eyes couldn't search it out." (Leah)

"But if we encounter something like this again, you can tell which one is correct, right?" (Tatsuro)

"Yes. If it's the same as this, I should be able to tell which is the correct answer." (Leah)

"I see. Well, if we find another one, we'll ask for your help again, so keep those eyes in reserve until then." (Tatsuro)

As Tatsuro said this, Leah nodded and returned her eyes to their normal red color.

"Alright then, Cardina. If you find anything like this again, let me know immediately as a top priority." (Tatsuro)

As it's difficult to transmit sound underwater without using magic, Cardina nodded greatly to show her understanding.

Now that they had figured out the strategy for this dungeon, Tatsuro, and the others aimed upwards again, being pulled by Jeanne in a hurry.

From then on, without taking any breaks, they repeatedly engaged with monsters while searching for bird cages.

The second button was also red, the third was blue, and they kept choosing the one Leah pointed to without fully understanding the pattern.

It was when they discovered the fourth birdcage that something happened.

As Tatsuro was about to press the red button Leah was pointing to, another group of monsters attacked, so he decided to deal with them first before pressing the button.

They defeated the monsters without issue, and finally, Ai sliced through the CD-shaped monster with her jeweled sword, bringing silence back to the area.

So Tatsuro quickly reached for the red button. However, Leah suddenly grabbed his hand to stop him.

Wondering what was going on, Tatsuro used water magic to make their voices audible before asking:

"What's wrong all of a sudden?" (Tatsuro)

"The moment Ai-san dealt the final blow to the last monster, the correct answer switched to the blue button!" (Leah)

"When we defeated the monster... Hey, Ai, that CD-like monster you just defeated, what color was it?" (Tatsuro)

"It was blue!" (Ai)

"I see, so that's how it works." (Tatsuro)

Come to think of it, only the CD-shaped monsters came in two colors, red and blue.

Tatsuro reflected that they should have been suspicious of this from the beginning.

Probably, the correct button changes based on the color of the last CD-type monster defeated. This way, even without Leah's cheat-like eyes, they could adjust to some extent.

However, it's not something an ordinary person could figure out at first glance, so until they discovered this pattern, they would have had to keep consuming SP.

After sharing this information with everyone, they hurried upwards again.

The current remaining time was [1123 seconds]. In other words, 18 minutes and 43 seconds, which was more than 8 minutes extra compared to the beginning. They had gained quite a bit of leeway.

Thanks to this, everyone's mental state calmed down, allowing them to deal with monsters more efficiently and with more composure, further increasing their pace.

It was then that Tatsuro found another bird cage and was instructing Jeanne to approach it when Cardina discovered something else.

Tatsuro immediately confirmed it. Apparently, further to the side and beyond the location of the bird cage, there was land rising from the deep sea floor, and there was a large crack in it.

And a little way into that crack, the entrance to a large cave with a big hole seemed to spread out.

"Looks like we found a cave." (Tatsuro)

"A deep-sea cave! It feels like a real adventure!" (Ai)

"No matter how much we go up, we can't see an exit. Maybe heading into this cave is the correct route." (Tatsuro)

"So, what should we do?" (Ai)

"Why don't we take a look for now?" (Tatsuro)

"Good idea. We still have plenty of time left, so we can take a peek and if it doesn't look promising, we can aim upwards again." (Ai)

Tatsuro nodded at Ai's opinion and used water magic to relay the content of their conversation to everyone.

As the others didn't seem to have any objections, they first pressed the button in the bird cage to extend their time, then headed towards the crack.

The crack was at least thirty meters wide, allowing even Jeanne to enter comfortably.

Following the wall of the fissure downwards a bit, they reached the place where the hole should be.

However, seaweed hanging down like long hair covered the hole, hiding it so cleverly that no one would notice there was a cave entrance just by looking.

Convinced that there must be something here, Tatsuro and the others exchanged glances and nodded. They created a powerful vortex with water and wind magic, tearing away the seaweed blocking the entrance and storing it in the [Infinite Item Field].

Then, a hole about five meters in diameter appeared before their eyes.

Tatsuro carefully examines with Cardina using underwater detection to see how far the cave extends, and whether there are any dangerous traps or monsters.

What they discovered was that there were unnaturally no traps or monsters, and the cave extended about 300 meters before there was a path that bent upwards at a right angle for about 10 meters. Beyond that, a large space opened up where air existed.

"I found an open space with air. This might indeed be the correct route." (Tatsuro)

"Oh, we can finally get out of this sea. Let's go quickly!" (Ai)

"Yeah. But we need to explain this to everyone first." (Tatsuro)

"Okay!" (Ai)

After explaining about the cave to every one, since Jeanne couldn't pass through the hole in either her [True Form] or [Adult Form], she transformed into her [Child Form].

Then, creating a gentle water current with water magic, they let themselves be carried into the cave.

After advancing about 300 meters with the water current, there was a path extending straight up, so they created an upward water current to ascend.

And then...

Puha!

"Oh, we can breathe normally!" (Ai)

A wide space spread out before them, and as they emerged from the sea onto the land, they saw a path and stairs prepared to proceed further.

|||||||[Deep Sea Mode] temporarily deactivated. Remaining time has been paused.|||||||

"It not only deactivates temporarily but also considerately stops the remaining time." (Tatsuro)

"Well, if there was nothing here, we'd be at a dead end." (Ai)

"But it feels like there's definitely something here!" (Nana)

"Yeah, that's right. So, we're going to proceed from here, right?" (Athena)

"Yeah, there's no other notable place at the moment. Leah, are you okay with this too?" (Tatsuro)

"Yes. I prefer being able to walk firmly on my own feet rather than being rushed through the sea." (Leah)

"That's right!" (Ai)

Cardina and Jeanne were already eager to proceed, waiting ahead of the others.

"Well then, shall we go?" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah!" (Ai)

"Pewee!" (Cardina)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

"Oh yes!" (Nana)

"Yes." (Leah)

"Got it~" (Athena)

And so, Tatsuro and the others set foot into the depths of the cave existing within the deep sea.