Level Eater

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Jonathan Titan here. This is the free chapter available for this week.

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At first, they felt downhearted due to the foolish guards, but thanks to that, they ended up leaving town earlier than planned. However, they had a change of heart, thinking that they should not stay in a place where such people were responsible for maintaining the town's security. Therefore, they switched my mindset and left through the town's gate.

Tatsuro hesitated to release Jeanne right at the gate, so they decided to walk until it was out of sight. As we walked side by side down the road extending to the front right, Tatsuro discreetly transformed Cardina into a tiny bird in the palm of his hand, entrusting her with monitoring the surroundings.

Soon after releasing her, Cardina poked his palm, urging him to be cautious. Surprised by the guard's speed, Tatsuro cast a detection spell to investigate, and he recognized three familiar responses.

"Ai, listen without reacting." (Jeanne)

"Understood." (Ai)

Sensing the seriousness in Tatsuro's voice, Ai also composed herself. Tatsuro proceeded to explain while breaking down the information he had gathered.

"They must have been waiting for us as soon as we left. Outside the town, perhaps?" (Ai)

"That's a possibility, but even though we didn't notice being followed afterward, how did they know we'd be here?" (Tatsuro)

"Maybe the town guards are involved." (Ai)

While Tatsuro wanted to deny it, considering they had not seen their face, it was clear that someone was purposefully tracking them. The guards' initial attitude and the brutality of the guard in the restaurant, coupled with these observations, made it difficult to rule out such a possibility.

The situation in the town of Tofas might be even worse than I had thought, and an uneasy feeling weighed on Tatsuro's chest.

"We can't afford to deal with them, but being followed is troublesome." (Ai)

"Even though they lost so one-sidedly, they are persistent" (Tatsuro)

Then, three human responses, which had not been there then, approached confidently.

In response, the two of them pretended not to notice and walked, ready to take any action that might occur. They were on high alert.

As the unfamiliar figure got close enough that they could easily see if they turned around, the person called out in a cheerful tone, seemingly devoid of malicious intent.

"Hey, you two over there!"

They were hailed with a voice that did not carry any ill intentions, and the two of them raised their eyebrows in suspicion.

Perhaps thinking they had not been heard, the stranger called out again.

"Hey!"

"What is it?" (Tatsuro)

Approaching within ten meters, the men, dressed in a way that suggested they were adventurers, trotted towards them with friendly smiles.

Internally, the two of them were on high alert, but they maintained neutral expressions and waited for them to catch up.

Among them, the second tallest and the skinniest of the group, still smiling, extended something toward them and spoke.

"Isn't this something you dropped?"

"I… don't recognize it" (Tatsuro)

"Me neither," (Ai)

The man showed them a pouch-like bag that neither remembered, and they shook their heads.

"Oh, I must have made a mistake. I saw someone who looked like you drop this in town, so I followed you."

"We already said it's not ours." (Tatsuro)

"That's right." (Ai)

"Well, sorry about that, guys."

It seemed they had misunderstood and thought they were adventurers who had come to return something they had dropped in town. However, based on Tatsuro and Cardina's detection magic, it was clear that they had approached from a location that was more likely to be hidden outside the town rather than coming from the town itself. In other words, what these men were saying was a lie.

Through mental communication, Tatsuro transmitted this information to Ai and persuaded her not to let her guard down. Then, they initiated the conversation.

"We appreciate your intention to deliver it to us. However, it does not belong to us, so please find the rightful owner. With that said, we have no further business here." (Tatsuro)

"Wait a minute," one of the men said.

"What is it?" (Tatsuro)

"Well, you see, there were 100,000 Shis coins inside this pouch. If it is not yours, we do not intend to search further. We thought that you people could take it. After all, talking to the wrong people might be fate."

While the other two men grumbled in dissatisfaction at this statement, they ultimately agreed to hand it over. However, Tatsuro and Ai did not intend to accept it, even if it was true.

"We appreciate the gesture, but since you found it, we can't accept it. Please divide it among yourselves." (Tatsuro)

"I see. In that case, we'll do just that."

The faces of the men twitched for a moment, and Tatsuro and Cardina did not miss this sign. They decided it was best to part ways.

"With that said, we'll be on our way." (Tatsuro)

"Oh, sorry for trying to stop you," one of the men said.

{Ai, stay alert} (Tatsuro)

{Tatsuro, too} (Ai)

They kept their guard up as they distanced themselves from the men. During this time, they could sense every movement of the men to the extent of their fingertips thanks to their detection magic.

Just as Tatsuro and Cardina turned away, the corners of the men's mouths, which had been smiling at them, dropped, and the three of them exchanged glances and nodded at each other.

"They're coming" (Tatsuro)

"Got it," (Ai)

The men readied their weapons while Tatsuro and Ai began to stealthily move away from them, with one of the men raising a dagger and the other preparing to use a staff for magic.

Magic could be troublesome if cast, so they moved to block their opponents first. Tatsuro completed his fire magic before the others and unleashed a flamethrower across their rear.

The magic-user managed to avoid the flames due to his distance, but the two who had closed in from behind were directly hit by the fire, turning them into human torches.

However, the flames were controlled by magic and maintained a perfect temperature, causing intense pain but not lethal burns. The two men rolled on the ground in agony, trying to extinguish the flames.

Meanwhile, the magic user ignored the burning duo, attempting to launch another attack.

However, before he could complete his spell, Ai, who had somehow maneuvered behind him, struck him hard in the back of the head with her whip, causing him to collapse unconscious on the ground.

Then, they retrieved the wire they had used during the dragon incident from their [Item Box], tightly bound the three men, and rolled them onto the ground.

After extinguishing the flames that still burned on the two men, they asked why these men had persistently targeted them.

"Why did you come after us?" (Tatsuro)

The men remained silent.

"If you don't talk, we'll just hit you with flames again. Is that okay with you?" (Tatsuro)

"────Fine."

While Tatsuro was prepared to follow through with his threat if necessary, he did not want to do it and was relieved to see the fear on their faces.

"If you're okay with it…" (Tatsuro)

"Okay! We'll talk; get rid of that!"

"Yeah, me too!"

As the heat from the flames got closer, one of them broke and began speaking, and the other followed suit.

"You guys, you're our comrades attacked that night, right? We have our roots in this area, so we can't afford to be exposed."

"If Lord of Lyadas hears about this, there might be a large-scale purge."

"…So, how did you know we were here? Our faces weren't visible." (Tatsuro)

"Well…"

"Well?" (Tatsuro)

They hesitated, and Tatsuro threatened them again with the flames, making them start talking with bitter expressions.

"We have connections with the guards of Tofas. We heard about the thieves and took turns watching for you."

"I see." (Tatsuro)

{Ai was right.} (Tatsuro)

{I was saying it in a random way (Ai)

"Fine, we're leaving now, but if you chase us again, we won't show any mercy. From now on, think carefully before you act." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah."

"…Got it. We won't chase after you anymore."

They had no real certainty and no intention of trusting them. However, since Lyadas seemed to be in a normal state, they decided to flee before their comrades arrived rather than deal with these individuals any further.

Deciding it was the best course of action, the two bound the three men with wire, ripped their clothing, and gagged them with inconspicuous gags. Except for the one still unconscious, the men seemed to understand that if they behaved, nothing more would happen.

Having conveyed their message, Tatsuro and Ai left the men behind and ran until they were out of sight. Using detection magic to confirm that no one was in the visible area, they summoned Jeanne and returned Cardina to her original form.

"They've both grown bigger again." (Ai)

"Yeah. I wonder how big they'll eventually get." (Tatsuro)

Jeanne now stood at two and a half meters in size, with muscles that had grown even more, making her look powerful enough to carry a carriage without magical assistance. On the other hand, Cardina had a stature resembling a super-sized eagle, with any excess muscle trimmed away, radiating an artistic elegance.

Of course, both of them had increased their mana capacity and magic levels, so their growth on the inside matched their external appearances, making them even more reliable.

Smiling contentedly at their forms, the two quickly attached Jeanne to the carriage and provided Cardina with her custom-made seat on top of the carriage.

"All right, preparations are complete." (Tatsuro)

"Great, shall we get going?" (Ai)

"It's a race to escape." (Tatsuro)

With that, the two of them boarded the cart pulled by Jeanne and sped off at full throttle, heading towards Lyadas.

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