Level Eater

|Your level has increased to 50|

|Your class changed from Light Magician to Composite Magician.|

|You have acquired the skill [Composite Magic Skill Transformation]|

(To reach level 50, I think I had to overcome some kind of barrier… I'm pretty sure it was a barrier, but I wish it were a different kind.) Tatsuro thought

Despite having mixed feelings about unexpectedly leveling up, Tatsuro confirmed that the bandit leader had breathed his last. He used earth magic to create a container and placed the corpse inside, storing it in his [Item Box].

After that, while holding Ai's hand, Tatsuro recovered his magical energy, reorganized the area with earth magic, and made the scene as presentable as possible… to a level where it might be bearable.

Shortly thereafter, the following group of bandits arrived, so Tatsuro hurriedly created an underground passage with earth magic to escape. During this escape, he discreetly retrieved the key figure he had dragged into the underground, the man referred to as Salman by the bandit leader, who was a dispelling magic user.

Seeming timid and lacking direct means of attack, as a dispelling magic user, this man should not possess offensive capabilities. Tatsuro planned to capture this man, extract information about the whereabouts of the merchant Gillian Mac Dermott, rescue him, and arrange a meeting with the lord.

With the unconscious man securely tied to an improvised cart created using magic and pulled along with wires, Tatsuro used earth magic to dig a hole, evading the encirclement of the bandits. From there, they continued their mole-like activities for a while.

After distancing themselves considerably from the location where they had fought the bandits, they emerged above ground. By that time, night had fallen, and the moonlight shone brightly.

In a normal situation, they would have been resting comfortably at an inn by now, but the circumstances were the exact opposite, making Tatsuro and Ai frustrated.

As Tatsuro and Ai asked Cardina to scout the current location of the thieves' reinforcements, it seemed they were still searching for Tatsuro and his group in a distant area.

"For now, it's a relief, but we should hurry to rescue Mr. Gillian" (Tatsuro)

"Agreed. We need to save him as soon as possible; we don't know what might happen next" (Ai)

They decided on their next course of action without dwelling on their current situation.

"In that case… Hey, you're already awake, aren't you? Tell us the whereabouts of the merchant Gillian Mac Dermott!" (Tatsuro)

Silence followed.

"Is he just pretending to be asleep?" (Ai)

"Oh. He's been awake for at least the past half an hour, eavesdropping on our conversation and probably realizing he's useless now," Tatsuro explained. "Right, Salman?"

More silence.

Tatsuro had been using dispelling magic to monitor when Salman would wake up, so he knew for certain that Salman was awake. Despite this, he sighed at the sight of the man with closed eyes, sweating profusely.

"Hey, why did you get involved with bandits? It's tough with that kind of temperament, not to mention you're a capable dispelling magic user if they kept you around. There must have been other options" (Tatsuro)

Salman stammered nervously, seemingly unable to find his words. "I-I didn't have a choice. I had to join them; there was no other… o-option. I-I'm not as strong as you guys."

Tatsuro's tone didn't convey hostility or aggression, which appeared to ease Salman's tension. He hesitated and began to explain why he ended up as a bandit.

According to Salman, he had been a guard in Tofas. At that time, he was known as an exceptionally skilled dispelling magic user for his age, and he had even been praised as a promising rookie in the analysis division.

However, after the mayor of Tofas was killed, normal guards were either killed or forced into submission. Not wanting to die, Salman joined the bandits. It was during that time that the man in the crimson armor, known as Iyaruki, took an interest in him. He was compelled to level up forcibly and endured terrible experiences but persevered out of a strong desire to survive.

…He had become the right-hand man of the man he least wanted to be close to.

"If that's true, you've had quite a tough life" (Tatsuro)

"Hahaha, it's true! I've always wanted to quit being a thief. If I tell you the location of that merchant and everything goes well, will you let me go? I'll gladly help you " Salman said.

"I won't fully trust you, but for now, I'll believe that story, so calm down. We can't have you all worked up; it's making us nervous" (Tatsuro)

"Ah, I'm sorry…" Salman, still bound by wires like a coil, began to take deep breaths skillfully to calm himself. The two watched patiently, knowing that rushing him wouldn't help the conversation progress.

Once Salman had regained his composure and could speak normally, he began to share information about the bandit's hideout.

The location was in a corner of the area where the wealthy residents of Tofas lived, using the mansion of the former mayor as their base. Despite their audacious actions within his territory, it seemed the current lord was unaware of their presence. With a sense of amazement and irritation, Tatsuro continued to extract more detailed information.

"About the hideout, this is all I know. Oh, and there are guards, of course, but I'm sure you can handle them, right?" Salman inquired.

"One last thing I'd like to ask. Is there anyone stronger than that Iyaruki guy?" (Tatsuro)

"I can't say they're stronger than Iyaruki, but there should be someone there with more physical power alone" Salman responded.

"What can you tell us about this person?" (Tatsuro)

"His name is Ennio. He's a beast man with orange fur that has a strong red tint, and he has extreme atavism going on. His intelligence is low, but in terms of pure physical strength, it's said he surpasses Iyaruki when he goes into his berserk state" Salman explained.

Tatsuro and Ai, recalling their experiences with the bandit leader's [Human-Demon transformation], made a rough estimation of Ennio's strength. Additionally, there was another question that intrigued them in the current conversation, prompting Tatsuro to ask Salman.

"I understand that he's stronger than that, so we'll be cautious. Now, you mentioned his low intelligence, but how low are we talking? To the extent that the system isn't installed?" (Tatsuro)

"Well, the system is certainly installed. Otherwise, I wouldn't be treated as a human, right? But, well, if we're talking in terms of racial age, I'd say about five or six years old or slightly younger. The caveat is that he's a severe tantrum thrower" Salman explained.

"That's troublesome" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, it is. I've almost been killed a few times. The only ones who could calm him down were Iyaruki, the leader of the Bandits, and a man named Gregory, who is considered his right hand. By the way, Gregory used to be the secretary of the lord's son and should still be attached to that side. He belongs to the human race, and his class is Tamer." Salman said

A Tamer, Tatsuro thought. He recalled that Tamers were skilled in training and controlling animals and, at higher levels, could even control monsters. With this information in mind, Tatsuro took a mental note of the individuals to watch out for.

"Alright, I understand. I'll thank you for sharing this information. Thank you" (Tatsuro)

"So, can you please untie these metal wires now? I promise I'll go far away and never show up in front of you again, and I won't bother you anymore!" Salman requested.

"I'd love to, but right now, you're our only source of information, and we have no way to verify if what you've said is true. So, while we're in Tofas, we'll have to keep you detained" (Tatsuro)

"I-I mean, even with your strange creature being fast, it's still a distance that would take four or five days one way, isn't it?" Salman protested.

"Yeah, if you go by that method, it would take about that long no matter how fast you are. But this time, we'll be using a different method, so I don't think it'll take more than two days for a round trip" (Tatsuro)

In terms of straight-line distance, a journey with the tireless Jeanne wasn't bad. However, the road they planned to take had many twists and turns and inclines, which would naturally increase the overall distance and slow down their speed.

But with the other method – traveling by air – they could take a direct route without any delays. Apart from Tatsuro getting tired, it was the best way to reduce travel time. However, Salman was unaware of this, and when he was told of the significantly shorter timeframe, he widened his eyes but couldn't quite believe it.

Tatsuro knew this but had no intention of revealing their secret to him. So, even if it had to be forced, they had no choice but to make him follow their instructions.

"As I mentioned earlier, we still don't fully trust you. So, until we have confirmation, you'll have to follow our instructions. However, if you cooperate and obey quietly, we'll try to treat you humanely (Tatsuro)

"Uh… Yeah, I understand. I was a bandit, after all, even if it was to survive. I get it; I'll do as you say," Salman replied, sounding quite disheartened.

With Salman's reluctant consent, they decided to create a comfortable underground chamber in this secluded location, far from the main road. They didn't want to reveal the construction site, so they used dark magic to conceal it from Salman's sight. With Cardina's assistance using earth magic, they built the underground chamber.

The room included chairs, a table, a space to lie down, a bed with a covered, pull-out toilet, and a storage pantry for three days' worth of food. To avoid complete sealing, they provided several air holes leading to inconspicuous places on the surface.

What they put the most effort into was the floor, ceiling, and walls. Even if that mole-like magical creature came, it wouldn't be able to dig through, as they had added iron and used dark magic to make it the hardest possible material. It was a remarkable masterpiece of craftsmanship.

With this arrangement, it would be nearly impossible for Salman to break out from the inside, and the defense against intrusion by creatures was also quite robust. To open this space smoothly, it would require a combination of earth and dark magic equal to or exceeding Tatsuro's level, so there shouldn't be any issues.

"Alright, I've stored three days' worth of food in there. It's dragon meat, so it won't spoil, and you can even eat it raw" (Tatsuro)

"Dragon meat!?" Salman exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's surprising, huh?" (Tatsuro)

"Y-y-yes, it is. I mean, try selling dragon meat in the market. No matter how high the price, there'll be buyers. To think you'd give such a precious thing to me!" Salman said while stammering

Tatsuro and Ai had a considerable amount of dragon meat in their possession, likely more than they could consume until they found a way back to their original world. In their minds, it was of lower value than beef, more like a delicious preserved food.

However, Salman was deeply moved by the fact that they were giving him something so valuable. He hadn't experienced kindness from anyone for several years as a bandit, living in constant fear of being killed. Even if it was inexpensive meat from a local store, he would have been overjoyed.

While Salman was overwhelmed with emotion, he didn't realize that Tatsuro and Ai were rather disgusted with the situation.

"Well, if you like it, that's great," (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, right. Well, we're going now. We'll do our best to return as soon as possible" (Ai)

"Uh, yeah. If you can't come back, then I'll be with you in spirit! Do your best!" Salman said.

""Okay."" Tatsuro and Ai said in response.

Once outside, Tatsuro sealed the entrance completely, making it impossible to open. Then, as they took out a flying board from the [Item Box], Tatsuro suddenly paused.

"What's wrong?" (Ai)

"Oh, I just remembered… I leveled up" (Tatsuro)

"Really? Is it because of what happened back then?" (Ai)

"Yeah, it was from that." (Tatsuro)

They had tried to avoid thinking about it as much as possible on their journey, but Tatsuro realized that his stats had changed significantly, so he couldn't avoid sharing this information. As they revisited the memory, the sensations from that time returned vividly, and a formless sense of anxiety and fear pressed upon his heart, dark and heavy.

Both of them knew each other's thoughts all too well, and they held hands, looking into each other's eyes to confirm that they shared this feeling.

Tatsuro couldn't help but wonder if he would have eventually broken if he had carried this burden alone. Tears welled up as he thought about it.

Ai, realizing that she hadn't burdened Tatsuro with such feelings, shed tears of gratitude.

They held each other, kissed, and held each other again.

The tears stopped flowing at that moment.

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