Level Eater
Chapter 176

(T/N: Energy = Ki, Unarmed Combat = Martial Arts, I will be changing [Unarmed Combat] to [Martial Arts] when we get to the next chapter showing their status information so till then, please be patient with me!!!)

Ai stood in front of the stone tablet and touched it. Then, the mysterious voice spoke the now-familiar words.

[It's a solo challenge, isn't it? Now, what kind of monster will come next? Well then, challenger, please repeat after me in that state—I am the challenger]

"I am the challenger!" (Ai)

[Oh magical being who seeks battle, respond to my challenge]

"Oh magical being who seeks battle, respond to my challenge!" (Ai)

As Ai enthusiastically responded, the stone tablet sank downwards, and a black vortex appeared about five meters ahead.

During this time, Ai gathered energy in her right fist. But this time, instead of recklessly gathering it as before, she concentrated it to perfectly fit the shape of her fist without letting any leak out. Simpler, and more efficient.

Then she took a stance in front of the black vortex.

As the black vortex began to take shape, a form resembling a monster's face appeared about a meter above Ai's head.

So.

"Strike first for victory!" (Ai)

[Eh!? Wait, the monster hasn't———]

Before the mysterious voice could say "fully appeared yet!" Ai leaped towards the face-like form and swung her fist upwards.

"Tch——"

"Hm? Just now, something..." (Ai)

When there was a sound like a balloon popping and part of the monster's body disappeared, Ai felt a strange sensation course through her body.

However, there was no time to leisurely explore that feeling.

"GYOOOOOOOO!!"

"Huh? It's still alive—oh... I see, so that's how it is." (Ai)

From the bottom of a giant brown bulb about fifty centimeters in size, eight long, spider-like legs extended.

From the top of the bulb, five worm-like necks about two meters long grew, each ending in a humanoid face with a pitch-black mouth split to the ears and a different magic circle engraved on the forehead—that was the plan.

However, one of them had fallen victim to Ai's deadly flying punch and was blown away, spurting blue bodily fluids from the severed worm-like neck.

But Ai was more concerned about the bodily fluids potentially splashing on her than the monster's anger, so she quickly jumped back to create distance.

"Eww. How gross, geez." (Ai)

"OOOOOOOOO!!"

But that seemed to be advantageous for the monster, as the magic circles engraved on the foreheads of the four faces glowed brightly, and from left to right, flame breath, lightning discharge, water jet, and gust blast—four elemental magic attacks—were unleashed simultaneously at Ai.

However, by the time those attacks reached where Ai had been, she was already gone.

Even though it had lost one head, it still had eight eyes, yet the monster had completely lost sight of Ai's presence.

"—If it doesn't hit, it's meaningless! Kiiii!!" (Ai)

"—Gyo!?"

Hearing the sudden voice, the face that had been shooting lightning couldn't even turn around before the back of the head was roundhouse kicked in mid-air, vanishing from this world without leaving a trace of its existence.

"Hm. Again..." (Ai)

Ai kicked off the air before the bodily fluids could spray out, leaping to the monster's rear and again creating distance. At that moment, Ai was thinking not about the monster, but about the strange feeling she had experienced again.

It seemed that ever since her skill level reached 10, Ai felt something throbbing inside her every time she used an Unarmed Combat technique.

After that punch earlier and the kick just now, where she had manipulated her energy more precisely than ever before, not recklessly converging energy from her entire body, but maintaining energy throughout her body while cleanly shaping and releasing it only where she wanted to gather it, that throbbing had grown stronger.

(Could this be the precursor to that beast energy/Ki Arts that was unlocked when it reached 10?)

She felt as if a powerful force sleeping at the bottom of that throbbing was pleading with Ai to use it soon.

(I understand. I'll definitely use you in the near future, so please be patient for now.)

But it seemed it would take a little more time before she could use it.

So, putting that aside for now, Ai took out the dragon bone club that Ria had made for her.

Actually, there was one more thing she wanted to try.

Since obtaining the jeweled sword, she had been relying quite frequently on her sword skill. However, her martial arts skill, which she had used less frequently, had reached level 10 first.

This made her wonder if there might be some condition for reaching level 10. Following that train of thought, she arrived at the order in which skills were acquired.

She had first acquired [Unarmed Combat], then [Staff Arts], followed by [Throwing], [Spear Arts], and [Sword Arts], but none of them had reached level 10 no matter how much she used them, staying at level 9 or below.

So she hypothesized that [Unarmed Combat] had been the initial stopper, and now [Staff Arts] might be the next stopper.

Therefore, she decided to level up [Staff Arts] first, using this monster as practice.

Fortunately, this monster couldn't keep up with Ai's speed at all. In other words, it was just a good target for Ai.

"Oooo——"

The monster scattered flames, water jets, and gusts here and there, trying to hit Ai who was running around in circles to evade.

But while its attack range was long, the area of effect was only about a meter. To land a solid hit on the current Ai, it would need to unleash a wide-area magic attack that would blow away the surroundings as well.

"Where are you aiming? Attack!" (Ai)

"GYOOOOOO!?"

She sent one of the eight legs flying from its base upwards with her club. Then she created distance again.

This time, one leg on the opposite side. Deflecting flames with a black energy shield, she smashed the face responsible for gusts with her club, leaving three faces remaining.

A water jet came at her, but she kicked off a platform created by her shield, ran through the air to get behind, and swung her club like a golf club to send the flame-shooting face flying.

"Only one left, huh. Well then, let's go for the legs."

"Oooo——!!" (Ai)

"Haaaaa!!"

She deflected the water jet with her energy-infused club, instantly vanishing from the monster's sight again, and circled around to the opposite side of where the face was facing. Then she continued to blow away the third and fourth legs with her club, leveling up her staff skill.

After striking off the last leg as well, only the bulb with its attached worm-like neck and one black head remained rolling on the floor.

Half disgusted and half impressed by the monster that was still alive after all this, Ai approached in one leap to deliver the final blow, crushing the last remaining face with her club.

"Is it over now———hm?" (Ai)

"Oooon——"

"Wowowow——what, what!?" (Ai)

Just as she thought it was over and was about to return to Tatsuro, the remaining brown bulb started shaking, so she jumped back to create distance just in case.

Then, root hairs extended from the bottom of the bulb, attaching to the floor and raising itself up. Cracks appeared in the bulb, and from there, a thick green stem grew upwards about two meters like a large tree, blooming a large flower at the tip shaped like an orange gerbera.

And in the round part at the center of the large flower, the tubular flower part, a black face identical to the ones Ai had been crushing earlier was attached.

As Ai readjusted her grip on the club, wondering if it still wanted to fight, thin root hairs broke through the floor she was standing on and came at her in bundles, trying to wrap around her.

"Something's coming out! Ha—" (Ai)

"GYOOOOOO"

She took out the jeweled sword from her [Item Box], sliced through all of them while spinning once, and moved away, but root hairs sprouted from various parts of the floor, undulating like tentacles trying to capture Ai.

As Ai was slashing at them with her jeweled sword and trying to beat the flower part that seemed to be the main body with her club, the petal parts around it started rotating.

"What?" (Ai)

"OOOOOOOO———"

"They're flying!?" (Ai)

The petals detached one by one from the tubular flower part and flew accurately towards Ai.

Surprised but reacting, Ai manifested an energy shield to receive them, and they bounced off with a metallic sound as if hit by iron blades.

Recognizing that these were not to be hit by, she looked at the flower causing this and saw that, like shark teeth, the back row had risen up and was rotating again to shoot more petals.

In the meantime, the roots were also approaching, so she slashed at them while guarding with her shield and advancing.

However, getting annoyed by the roots swarming from all directions, Ai held her jeweled sword sideways.

"Ugh~ enough! This is annoying!" (Ai)

"GYOOOO!?"

She released an energy slash, severing the monster's roots and stem. As soon as the petal attacks stopped, she closed the distance in an instant, switched to the club from her [Item Box], and brought it down on the central part of the flower, the face area.

Thinking it was over, a magic circle appeared on the forehead, trying to obstruct her with a lightning discharge.

It took less than a second from the magic circle appearing to the lightning being released. However, that was enough time for Ai.

She took out a spear from the celestial bow attached to her waist and stabbed it into the floor, using it to swerve her body sideways and then pulling it out. Then she flew through the air, passing by the side to the diagonal rear, landed, and countered.

By that time, the lightning was finally released into an empty space where no one was.

"Too slow——yo!" (Ai)

"O—"

Almost simultaneously with the lightning flash, Ai's club protruded from where the face had been attached.

|You have reached "Level: 41".|

|Skill Staff Arts Lv.9 has been acquired.|

{Oh, Staff Arts also reached 9, one step away from getting a title. And my level went up too, so it's really over now.} (Ai)

{Ai, are you done?} (Tatsuro)

{Yeah, this time for real!} (Ai)

{Good job.} (Tatsuro)

{Thanks! It was a persistent opponent. Well then, you're next, Tatsuro, so good luck!} (Ai)

{Yeah. But before that, there's the lottery time.} (Tatsuro)

{Oops, I forgot.} (Ai)

{Come on, don't forget that. That's what we've been fighting for.} (Tatsuro)

{Hehe—} (Ai)

Remembering through her telepathic conversation with Tatsuro that there was a lottery, Ai decided to call out to the mysterious voice herself.

"Hey, give me my prize!" (Ai)

[Yes, yes. Well then, here we go! Lottery time. Rattle rattle rattle rattle————ta-da. It's out! Oh, it's the special prize!!]

"Yay! I got the special prize!" (Ai)

"Ai, you've always had good luck with lotteries, haven't you?" (Tatsuro)

"Yep!" (Ai)

While the mysterious voice was rattling away, Tatsuro and the others had joined up, and they were all happy that Ai had drawn the special prize.

Then, instead of gold, a luxurious treasure chest made of platinum and studded with jewels sprouted from the floor.

"Wow, that's quite a gorgeous treasure chest." (Tatsuro)

"There must be something really amazing inside!" (Ai)

"Even mine had quite valuable items, so with the special prize, I wonder what could be..." (Athena)

"Everyone seems curious, so why don't you open it, Ai?" (Tatsuro)

"Mm, okay. Though I'm curious too. What could it be~ What could it be~" (Ai)

And so, Ai placed her hand on the platinum box while humming a mysterious little song.