Level Eater

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Separated from the merchant, a night had passed. After finishing breakfast, the two of them sat in the coachman's seat, holding hands, and used ‘Help function' to investigate the dragon power they had forgotten until now.

They discovered that by obtaining dragon power, they could use skills that dragons could use.

"The explanation about skills dragons can use is still quite vague." (Tatsuro)

"So, does that mean I can use that ice breath skill too?" (Ai)

"Hmm. It seems that for humans, it's impossible unless they have magic-related stats above a certain threshold and the skill for ice magic in the first place." (Tatsuro)

"In other words, without the right conditions, you can't acquire that skill…" (Ai)

"Well, it seems that way." (Ai)

For Ai, who could not use any magic at all, it was a dream to be able to breathe ice, but she knew it was something she could not achieve, and her shoulders slumped.

As for Tatsuro, he had his own expectations, even if it was just for a moment, that he might be able to use a physical attack like [Dragon Tail Flash], so he was somewhat disappointed.

After feeling down for a while like that, the two of them started to change their mindset.

"But on the other hand, if we can clear those conditions, it might be possible to obtain skills exclusive to dragons, which could be interesting." (Tatsuro)

"That's true. When you think about it that way, I might want to give it a try." (Ai)

"Yeah, but for now, our dragon power is only at a hundred, and it doesn't seem to apply to the status boost from ‘Perfect Harmony,' so it doesn't seem like we can do much with it yet." (Tatsuro)

As they said this and looked at how to increase their dragon power, it was displayed that they needed to eat dragons of a higher level than the dragon meat they had previously consumed. However, this condition was advantageous for Tatsuro compared to other people. With [Level Eater], he could easily adjust and improve it. The only problem was how many opportunities there would be to fight dragons from now on.

After that, they continued discussing dragon power while the carriage continued to move forward. However, Cardina suddenly raised her voice in a panicked manner. Tatsuro immediately tried to intervene with Cardina's magic, but before he could, something like a thirty-centimeter ball emerged from the ground to collide with Jeanne on the left side.

With her robust physique, Jeanne did not sustain much damage, but then several mysterious objects began attacking from all directions.

"Jeanne! Halt!" (Tatsuro)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

"Ai!" (Tatsuro)

"Got it!" (Ai)

Without any doubt, in response to Tatsuro's command, Jeanne obediently began to slow down. While this made them an easy target, Tatsuro realized that it would be unwise to continue at this speed so close to the right turn. He quickly drew his staff and activated a mixed magic of water, earth, and darkness when the speed had decreased slightly.

It created a water wall with a one-meter thickness, inside of which were numerous sharp earth fragments reinforced with dark magic. The mysterious objects seemed undeterred and continued their special attacks. However, as the water slowed them down, they were impaled by the earth fragments, resulting in instant death or swimming towards them with blood while showing determination.

Even if they managed to reach their position, their injured bodies prevented them from moving swiftly. They were struck forcefully by Ai's whip, and in the end, they met the same fate as those who had died inside the water wall.

After defeating nearly fifteen of them using this method, they finally realized that suicide attacks would not work. They dug holes in the ground and burrowed away.

Remaining vigilant about what would come next, they were approached from inside the water wall.

"Well, it had to come to this." (Tatsuro)

"Given their appearance, it's not surprising." (Ai)

The two of them calmly dealt with the creatures, which had a mole-like appearance. First, Tatsuro reinforced the ground inside the wall with a combination of earth and darkness magic, increasing its hardness to the limit to prevent them from coming inside any further.

Then, the magically reinforced ground proved too hard to dig through, and the creatures stopped coming from the ground. During this time, Ai swung her whip energetically, taking them down one after another. Additionally, Jeanne, with the assistance of Cardina, supported Tatsuro's group.

"They can't come from the ground anymore! Let's finish this in one go!" (Tatsuro)

"I'm already on it!" (Ai)

"Seems like it…" (Tatsuro)

While the rest of the team was already engaged in combat, Tatsuro smiled wryly and thought about how to attack without involving his comrades in the chaotic battle.

He could not stand idly by despite thinking that he did not need to do anything since their numbers were dwindling rapidly. First, he used a dispelling magic to accurately locate the creatures inside the water wall.

Once that was done, he immediately sent in a sticky water net made with a combination of water and darkness magic. The moles caught in the net stuck to the ground, and the more they struggled, the more entangled they became, rendering them immobile. Tatsuro then sent red orbs to them and used lasers to eliminate them.

Helpless against the relentless attacks of Tatsuro and his companions, the moles inside were reduced in number, leaving only those he had caught and left untouched.

"There are still two or three outside, but we can leave them be." (Tatsuro)

"The number was the scary part." (Ai)

Even for ordinary adventurers, dealing with them one-on-one would be manageable. For Tatsuro and his group, as long as they did not get complacent, these creatures were easily defeated by able opponents.

However, when Tatsuro used detection magic to examine the number of corpses scattered around, it was fifty-six in total. Without his magic, they would have needed to prepare for battle, with many attackers simultaneously coming at them.

Thinking along these lines, Tatsuro activated [Level Eater] to absorb levels from the three remaining creatures.

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Level: 17

Skills: [Excavation Lv.3], [Charge Lv.3], [Scratch Lv.1]

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Level: 1

Skills: [Excavation Lv.0], [Charge Lv.0], [Scratch Lv.0]

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(Excavation, huh… I did not have the detection range extended underground, so Cardina must have noticed it late. I should think of something in case it happens again.) he thought.

Reflecting on the fact that they hadn't anticipated creatures coming from the ground like mole-like monsters and that their vigilance was still lacking, Tatsuro continued to absorb levels and skills from the other two creatures with similar status and skill compositions, gaining a total of 36 SP.

"How was the SP?" (Ai)

"Well… I took it from three creatures, but it only added up to 36." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, it seems like the monsters around here are weak." (Ai)

"Yeah. If that's the case, I should have left more of them alive." (Tatsuro)

They focused on a similar creature outside the water wall as they spoke, still observing them.

""Oh…""

"Buzz!"

Feeling the danger in Tatsuro and Ai's gazes, the creature swiftly burrowed into the ground and fled like a hare.

"Oh… The SP is getting away…" (Tatsuro)

"Lately, monsters have started looking like nothing but sources of SP, haven't they?" (Ai)

"Well, they are a valuable source of nutrition." (Tatsuro)

"Nutrition, huh…?" (Ai)

While the skill names were not technically wrong, Ai could not help but smile wryly at the somewhat unpleasant connotations. With that said, they decided to deal with the carcasses. When they approached the mole-like creatures, they noticed that these creatures had rather impressive claw-like appendages that resembled shovels.

Driven by curiosity, Tatsuro placed the mole's corpse into his [Item Box] and separated the claws to discard them outside. Upon closer inspection, the claws had a sturdy, sharp, shovel-like structure.

Thinking they might have some utility, Tatsuro, fueled by a sense of not wanting to waste, collected the claws from all the carcasses.

"If it's digging holes, magic would be faster, right? Do we even need these?" (Ai)

"Well, they might come in handy for something, just in case." (Tatsuro)

As they discussed this, they gathered everything in one place using Jeanne's wind magic and Tatsuro's earth magic. Then, they proceeded to burn all the unnecessary parts.

Amidst a faint scent of burning, when Tatsuro looked at the carriage, what was once a pristine vehicle was now covered in scratches and dirt and had several five-centimeter-wide dents all over.

"Really…?" (Tatsuro)

"It collided with various things along the way. It's no surprise it ended up like this. But, it's just minor dents, and there are no holes. So, we've proven its durability, right?" (Ai)

"That's true, but… it was a brand new carriage. Well, there's no helping it. Let's clean it up." (Tatsuro)

"With magic?" (Ai)

Tatsuro nodded, and Ai looked relieved. Cleaning a vehicle of this size manually would be quite taxing.

Understanding Ai's feelings from her expression, Tatsuro placed his hand on her head and gently stroked it. As he used a mixture of earth and darkness magic to repair the dents and scratches on the carriage, he also enhanced its durability and made it lighter.

"Wow, magic is really fast!" (Ai)

"Well, yeah." (Tatsuro)

After two minutes of work, Tatsuro repaired the vehicle's dents and scratches. Then, he used water and wind magic to blow water vigorously from the tip of his staff.

As Tatsuro continued to circulate around and clean the carriage, it returned to its original pristine iron color, gleaming dully. However, when she looked at it objectively once more, Ai wore a slightly dissatisfied expression.

"Hmm… It is nice that it's clean now, but an all-iron look doesn't quite suit me as a girl. Let's give it a cuter color" (Ai)

"Color, huh? If we had colored minerals, we could mix them with iron to add some color. What color would you like, Ai?" (Tatsuro)

"Well, it's got to be all gold for that nouveau riche style!" (Ai)

"That's not cute, though, is it!?" (Tatsuro)

Ai, who Tatsuro teased, burst into laughter and revealed that she was joking. She clarified that she did not want that nouveau riche style.

Tatsuro was surprised by Ai's response because he had thought she might say something like that. However, Ai needed to be made aware of the expectations placed on her response.

"But color, huh? I don't really have any preferences, so it's fine as it is. But now that you've mentioned it, it does feel a bit lonely." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, personally, I think it would be cool if it had a dynamic, racing car-style look with a lot of movement." (Ai)

"That could be cool. But I have some unfortunate news." (Tatsuro)

"What is it, Tatsuro-kun?" (Ai)

For some reason, Ai asked like a particular company president, and Tatsuro was about to deliver a dose of reality.

"────We don't have that kind of design sense." (Tatsuro)

"Oof." (Ai)

With a voice like a boxer taking a punch to the body, Ai knelt on the ground and pondered the harsh reality.

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