Level Eater

Hello, Jonathan Titan here!

Please make sure you read this chapter carefully. There were a lot of confusing words, but I did my best to translate it without changing the tones.

I also had to modify a lot of sentences to make them have enough meaning. Though there were some sentences, which I could not change.

For the readers who are reading the advanced chapters. The update will be in four days.

Thanks for your cooperation!

As the thieves approached them, with just a little distance left until contact, Tatsuro held Ai's hand and, with Cardina's assistance, transformed their [Dispel Magic] with [Dark Magic]. Then he wrapped it around themselves, making the opponent's detection magic mistake it for empty air.

To avoid looking too suspicious if their presence suddenly vanished, He adjusted the dispelling magic's magical power to assume a humanoid shape in a place where there was nothing, and then, using earth magic, dug a tunnel underground to hide.

The thieves' dispelling magic users had been misled into believing that Tatsuro and the others were lurking in a place about ten meters away from where they really were, hidden in an area overgrown with tall plants.

Naturally, around that point, nearly fifty thieves formed a circle to prevent any escape and to be prepared to respond no matter when they were jumped. They approached cautiously while remaining on high alert.

Meanwhile, Tatsuro and Ai continued digging sideways with earth magic, and managed to escape to a position outside the enemy's circular formation.

"For now, we've managed to avoid being surrounded." (Tatsuro)

"We'll need to overpower them when they get closer." (Ai)

"Yeah, don't let your guard down." (Tatsuro)

"I understand." (Ai)

Unaware that Tatsuro and Ai had already moved to their rear and were no longer inside their encirclement, the man in his early thirties, wearing a crimson mantle and a thick red suit of armor from top to bottom, called out to the area overgrown with tall plants as if he were the only knight worth mentioning among the thieves.

"You have nowhere to run now! If you come out quietly, we won't kill you! But if you resist, everyone here will trample you!"

"Speaking so boldly to an empty place, it's starting to make me feel embarrassed." (Tatsuro)

"They probably think we're still here, so they're not embarrassed. But it would be interesting to see what kind of face they make if we just run away, leaving them saying, ‘Nobody's here!'" (Ai)

"I'd really like to see that. And why is he approaching us so unguarded like that when we already took down one of their guys? Doesn't he expect magic to come his way? Well, it looks like they're all within range now. Those who jump out, let's inform their positions via telepathy, so I'm counting on that." (Tatsuro)

"Alright, alright." (Ai)

"If there's no response, we will consider it as a sign of resistance!" the Thief declared.

Despite the words being spoken, Tatsuro and Ai were no longer paying much attention. Tatsuro had previously prepared an underground circular tunnel that enclosed the thieves in advance. They used fire magic to send flames through a connection, like the map symbol of an orchard.

Once the underground tunnel was filled with fire, Tatsuro increased his output and pushed the ground upward.

"What the…?"

"Fire's spouting out from the ground!"

"We're surrounded!"

While the thieves were expressing their surprise with various remarks, Tatsuro and Ai created a path extending upward and jumped out to the surface with Cardina.

The sight before them was a ring of flames erupting from underground, enclosing the area where the thieves were densely gathered, creating a fiery prison.

Tatsuro, holding Ai's hand, now took his turn to speak while maintaining the prison.

"You're surrounded. Don't resist in vain; drop your weapons into the flames and surrender!" (Tatsuro)

"It's like negotiating with a barricaded criminal for the police." (Ai)

""""""… ghjkkllfdddggg"""""

"What are they saying? I can't make any of it out." (Tatsuro)

Almost fifty people responded to Tatsuro's voice all at once, and the cacophony made it impossible to discern individual voices.

(However, it seemed like there was a lot of cursing) he thought.

On the thieves' side, the man clad in crimson armor, who oversaw all the thieves in the Lyadas territory, was the only one who remained calm and observed his surroundings. He approached his subordinate, the most skilled dispelling magic user among his men, and asked.

"Hey, why are they behind us? Weren't they supposed to be in that thick underbrush?" he asked

"Yes, that was the plan… but when I recast the detection magic, the response behind us had changed." The man replied

"Changed? We can't simply leave it at that! Executioner, let's cut this one's head off immediately!" The leader declared

"Well, hold on. It doesn't necessarily mean this guy is incompetent. The results so far prove that. So, there was certainly a response over there, right?" one of the thieves defended.

"Without a doubt!" The dispel magic user affirmed.

In a situation where every word could be a matter of life or death, the dispelling magic user pleaded desperately while sweating profusely.

The man in full-body armor, who was supposed to have been captured by Tatsuro and his group, saw them as making excuses and was about to lunge forward.

However, the Leader changed his mind, though he didn't forgive the dispel magic user and, after giving him a stern look, took out a massive crimson axe from his [Item Box]. He swung the axe horizontally, releasing a powerful energy slash towards the area where Tatsuro and the others were supposed to be, leaving the entire area exposed.

"Hmm. There's no one there. They must have slipped through the dispelling magic using an unknown method. Interesting."

"Leader, this is no time to be saying that!"

"Hahaha, don't say that. I can't believe it, but they seem to have an excess of magical power even after they went through all the trouble to eliminate all those Depris nests. How much magical power do they have? Impressive, even as enemies."

"Leader! The wall of fire is closing in!"

"Time's up, I'll create a path. Those who can come out, follow me." The thief leader declared

"They're ridiculously strong. It's too dangerous to approach them head-on…"

"Haha, it's okay. They have a weakness."

"Weakness? What is it?"

As if implying that there was no time to talk, the man in full-body armor ignored the voices and with the massive axe in hand, calmly walked toward the narrowing wall of fire.

Even when they called out from this side, the people on the other side showed no intention of surrendering or discarding their weapons; they were just making a commotion inside. So, Tatsuro slowly reduced the size of the wall created by the flames to make them more anxious.

"Are they going to behave?" (Ai)

"No, far from it. One of them is coming towards us, armed and not showing any signs of panic. What's their intention?" (Tatsuro)

Far from being in a hurry, it was clear from Cardina's detection magic that the man confidently wielded his weapon and approached the wall.

"Haahhhhh!"

With a shout of determination, the man swung the massive axe towards the flames. It sliced through the fire, blowing it away, along with everything in its vicinity. Slowly, the man emerged from the fiery prison. (TL.Note: This is the leader)

Furthermore, his armor, unlike the previous one, was reddish-brown in color, but there was no mistaking it; the man in full-body armor they had fought before, and then the thieves crawled out eagerly from behind him. (TL.Note: You all know this man)

"Close it—"

Screaaaam!!!

Since additional orders were not accepted, they quickly added magical power to seal the hole.

As a result, the first three, plus eight thieves, had emerged. Those who were in the process of passing through were caught in the flames, screaming and rolling around as they desperately tried to extinguish the flames clinging to their skin.

However, the two men paid no attention to these underlings. They sent fiery gazes towards Tatsuro and Ai, and the tall, gaunt man with big, bulging eyes who stood behind them, wearing a red robe that covered everything but his face, looked around busily as if searching for traps with his dispelling magic. (TL.Note: This is the third man)

{There's a creepy guy with bulging eyes.} (Ai)

{At least say he's looking around. He seems to be using dispelling magic to check for any traps.} (Tatsuro)

{That person is a mage, isn't he?} (Ai)

{Yeah, and the guy in full-body armor is probably the escaped prisoner. The one beside him, wearing that glamorous red armor, seems like the leader of the thieves.} (Tatsuro)

{Got it. The leader is quite strong. Next time, we should take on the guy with the axe.} (Ai)

As they conversed through telepathy, Ai gazed at the crater where the axe had struck.

In her mind, Ai began to simulate how to develop an area of effect technique that she seemed to be missing. Meanwhile, the leader of the group leaned his large axe handle-first into the ground and spoke up.

"That was quite an interesting attraction. But next time, make it sturdier. It was too much fun and we ended up breaking it." The leader taunted.

"Alright, here's an addition." (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro immediately channeled a fiery breath attack, transformed into a thick, lava-like substance through dark magic, from the tip of his staff towards the three of them. The intention was for the flames to cling to their armor and use heat conduction to inflict damage. However, the flames adhered to their armor, but they seemed completely unaffected by the heat, and not a single scorch mark appeared on the crimson armor or the mantles.

"You fool. Did you really think we could just stand here without taking any precautions, knowing there's a high-level fire magic user on your side?" the man in armor boasted.

{They explained it pretty casually} (Ai)

{Well, I had a rough idea of what to expect from that, but it's still appreciated} (Tatsuro)

Sending a condescending look towards the man in full-body armor who had kindly explained their situation, Tatsuro and Ai conversed telepathically.

"Orville, you shouldn't speak anymore." The leader said

"Uh… Ugh…"

Under the frigid gaze that seemed to freeze their very hearts, the man in full-body armor remained frozen in place, and the dispelling magic user behind him was also visibly shaken.

Once he had confirmed his subordinates' silence, the man in the crimson armor turned back to Tatsuro and Ai.

"As Orville mentioned earlier, we came here with the intent to kill you." He said

"…"

"However, you proved to be even more exceptional than I expected. I didn't anticipate that you would so easily turn the tide of the battle despite coming fully prepared. That's why I'm thinking, rather than killing you here, I want to recruit you."

"…" (Tatsuro)

"…" (Ai)

"Hehe, that's fine. I'll keep that guy as a slave, and I'll take the woman as my own. I couldn't see her properly in the darkness before, but she's quite a fine woman." The man in armor said (TL.Note: this was the man they had beaten before)

"Huh? What did you just say, you guy in the armor?" (Tatsuro)

"Creepy." (Ai)

Tatsuro felt anger like he had never felt before, to the extent that he wished he could obliterate this swamp along with everything in it, wondering if he had ever looked at Ai with such eyes.

Ai, on the other hand, felt a chill of disgust, but she couldn't help but be pleased, even if it was inappropriate, by Tatsuro's unprecedented display of anger.

However, the two's emotions were quickly dampened.

"Hey, Orville. I told you to be quiet, didn't I? You've given them a bad impression of us. Just to make it clear, I intend to accept those two as high-ranking members, more so than you." The leader cautioned

"Higher than me? What kind of joke is this?"

"Joke? Well, have I ever told you a joke?"

"Don't mess with me. How dare you…"

"Shut up. You're becoming annoying."

At that moment, the man in crimson armor swung his axe at a speed beyond Tatsuro's motion perception, and Orville's head soared through the air before falling a little in front of the two.

"…"

"Now, there's nothing to offend you anymore. As I said before, if you join us, I pledge to treat you better than this man." The leader invited

"…Wasn't he your ally?" (Tatsuro)

"He was, but what of it? In front of us, there are two individuals more valuable than him by tenfold. There's no room for doubt."

The man in the crimson armor showed no change in expression as he sliced one person's head as if cutting through butter with a knife. This display of his sent shivers down the spines of the two for the first time, as they felt true fear for this man.

"Now, come with me. If you do, I'll even let you have control over a town."

"A town? You, a mere thief, have no such authority." (Tatsuro)

"For now, yes. But eventually, the Lyadas Territory will belong to us." He claimed

"Your dreams are quite grand. I bet you used to say you wanted to be a bullet train when you were a kid." (Tatsuro)

"A bullet train? I don't know what that is, but this is by no means a fairy tale. The reason is that the son of the Lyadas Lord and the mayor of Lyadas Town are also involved in this story. Even though we replaced the mayor of Tofas with one of our comrades, the Lord of the territory still hasn't noticed." The thief boasted.

As the man casually began discussing significant matters, Tatsuro and Ai widened their eyes. However, they understood that now that they had heard this story, they had no intention of letting them go, no matter what form it took. So they started thinking about how to overcome this situation.

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