Level Eater

In a dim wine cellar, one man stood in front of a thick door, while another man, with Gillian Mac Dermott, the merchant whom Tatsuro and Ai were currently trying to rescue, glanced to the side. The former opened an expensive-looking bottle of wine and reclined on a chair.

"Hey, drinking like this is a bad idea, you know?"

"Hah, it doesn't matter. He won't be back for several days, and we still have five hours until the shift changes. Do you expect me to keep staring at this guy's face sober the whole time? Besides, a couple of magic users are constantly watching with surveillance magic, and that scary, scary Ennio is lurking in the backyard. How on earth will anyone manage to get this far?"

"…I guess you're right. Give me a drink too!"

"All right, with this, you're an accomplice too!"

And so, the two of them casually began their drinking session. Gillian, from his slightly skewed perspective, couldn't help but watch them secretly, thinking it was a waste of fine wine on these individuals who didn't appreciate its value.

(Drinking that exquisite wine like it's some cheap booze… Unbelievable! Oh, you should savor the aroma more… What am I even escaping from in reality? Well, I don't have anything else to do, but I feel bad for those two from that time. I broke the promise I made to them.) He thought.

The merchant unilaterally broke the promise he had initiated himself. Though there were reasons behind it, those two didn't know. Therefore, if they thought poorly of him, he couldn't blame them.

Gillian had tried to live his life as an honest merchant, much like his respected father. Being thought of as anything but that was scarier to him than death.

(What day is it today… Ah, what will become of me from now on?) He sighed, a mixture of resignation in his breath, as he faced an uncertain tomorrow.

While Gillian had these thoughts, Tatsuro and his companions were eavesdropping right below them, having used earth magic to avoid a portion of the stone foundation under the floor, leaving only the wooden floorboards above.

"No matter how you look at it, they're letting their guard down too much" (Tatsuro)

"Well, it's easier for us now, but…" (Ai)

"If we quietly take Gillian-san away like this, won't they notice right away?" (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro was tempted to say such things as the two guards continued to drink heavily.

"Hmm. At this point, it might be better to knock them out at the moment they both pass out. What do you think? I'll drop the floor, and could you knock them out?" (Tatsuro)

"Okay." (Ai)

Tatsuro proceeded to create a cushion-like mat using a mixture of water and darkness magic where the drunk men were sitting. He did this at the spot where the floor would drop, ensuring that it wouldn't produce any loud impact noise.

He then used darkness magic to darken the space below and controlled small red orbs to slowly burn the floorboards in a circular pattern with laser-like precision. He also employed wind magic to prevent the smell of burning from rising above.

As the groove deepened significantly, just one step away from breaking due to weight, Tatsuro summoned thirty small red orbs and set them in the gap. Sending a signal to Ai with telepathy, he directed the small orbs to fire extremely tiny lasers simultaneously, creating holes.

""——?!""

Suddenly, the intoxicated men couldn't react in time, and they fell in front of Ai without any resistance.

"Ouch!"

"Grrr!"

|You have acquired [Stick Art Lv. 3]|

At that moment, Ai struck them unconscious with a simple iron bar made by Tatsuro. To be sure they were indeed unconscious, Tatsuro cast a spell to confirm it. He then tore pieces of fabric from the thieves' clothing, stuffed one into each of their mouths, and tightly tied a twisted cloth behind their necks to secure it. He used wire to bind their limbs to the back, rendering them completely immobile. After that, he left them by the hole and stuck his head out.

"Why are you guys!?" (Gillian Mac Dermott)

""Shh…""

Suddenly, the guards disappeared below the floor and the two who he had been thinking about earlier appeared in front of Gillian. He gasped, his eyes darting around. However, he was quietly urged to be silent, and he covered his mouth with his hand and nodded, feeling embarrassed about his outburst.

Tatsuro then explained the situation in a hushed voice.

"In exchange for helping you, you will come with us to Lyadas." (Tatsuro)

"I couldn't wish for anything better." (Gillian Mac Dermott)

"In that case, let's get out of here quickly. There seems to be a dangerous person around here." (Tatsuro)

"Ah, you mean Ennio, right? I haven't seen him myself, but the guards who come to watch here often talk about him." (Gillian Mac Dermott)

"We don't think we can't handle him, but he seems like quite a troublemaker, so we'd better avoid him if we can." (Tatsuro)

With that, Ai escorted the two guards to a concealed spot in the wine cellar, where they rearranged the floorboards, reinforced them with stone foundations, and disguised them to make it look like nothing had happened. Then, the three of them walked back the way they came.

{By the way, the two of us flew here, so how is this person going to get back if he's with us?} (Ai)

{Oh…} (Tatsuro)

{Did you… not think about that?} (Ai)

{That's not true! Um, let me think… Well, um…} (Tatsuro)

{I really don't want to get too close to this guy.} (Ai)

{Do you think we can do it with a wire?} (Tatsuro)

{Hmm, it's a bit questionable considering the weight. We might have to hang him and carry him.} (Ai)

{Can we do that?} (Tatsuro)

While having a telepathic conversation, they looked at Gillian, who had a rather plump physique, with questioning expressions on their faces.

"What? Is there something about me?" (Gillian Mac Dermott)

"Oh, no, it's nothing." (Tatsuro)

"Really…" (Gillian Mac Dermott)

Despite the obviously suggestive glances, Gillian was brushed off. He felt anxious but followed the two of them.

As they neared the surface, Tatsuro and Cardina, who led the way, detected something approaching their intended exit at an incredible speed using their detection magic.

"Someone's coming. I thought we had fooled the detection magic, so why did they discover us?" (Tatsuro)

"Let's save that for later; we need to focus on the situation in front of us now." (Ai)

"Right. I'll block this path and create another. Ai, lend a hand!" (Tatsuro)

"Sure thing." (Ai)

"Huh? Why are you suddenly holding hands?" (Gillian Mac Dermott)

"There's something dangerous heading for the exit we're going to, so we'll block it off and take another route." (Tatsuro)

"Oh, I see. All right." (Gillian Mac Dermott)

Though the reason for holding hands wasn't explained, the urgency of the situation was conveyed, so Gillian quietly followed behind them. Meanwhile, Tatsuro used earth magic to seal the exit and rapidly created a new path.

This new exit was on the other side of a building, so Tatsuro's group, who could travel underground in a straight line, had an advantage in reaching it. However, Gillian, just an ordinary merchant who wasn't particularly skilled at running due to his physique, couldn't keep up.

"Huff… huff… huff… I… I can't… keep up… anymore. Maybe… I should've… gone on a diet… huff… huff…" (Gillian Mac Dermott)

"Ah, well, it's a bit late to say that now." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, that's true." (Ai)

Seeing Gillian come to a halt, Tatsuro slowed his pace, recognizing that there was no other choice.

At that moment, the person who had detected them earlier had climbed up a building and reached the exit side where Tatsuro and the others were located.

"Hey, that's not fair." (Tatsuro)

"What's wrong?" (Ai)

"They're already on the exit side. We blocked it off quickly, but it doesn't look like they'll let us go." (Tatsuro)

"Huff… huff… I can't… keep going." (Gillian Mac Dermott)

"No, not just Gillian-san, even if I were to run as fast as I could, I wouldn't make it in time." (Tatsuro)

"Ah, if you say that, I'm relieved… huff…" (Gillian Mac Dermott)

In reality, the other person's abnormal speed meant that even if Tatsuro ran at his full speed, they would be caught before reaching the exit. In this situation, there was no other option.

As Tatsuro considered their next move, he suddenly realized something odd about the current situation. Despite the presence of many people in the mansion, only one person was actively searching for them. The others weren't helping, and there was no one else drawing attention to themselves.

(If they're acting alone, it doesn't make sense… Everyone could easily find us if they searched together. Well, never mind. If it's just one person, there are plenty of ways to deal with it.) (Tatsuro)

With that in mind, Tatsuro once again held hands with Ai and created a passage to allow the person on the other side to enter if they wished. He further compacted the earth in the area, creating a spacious underground room.

"Are they coming here?" (Ai)

"Yeah, it seems like they're acting alone without seeking assistance. They can rest here for now." (Tatsuro)

Upon opening the exit, it seemed likely that the opponent would quickly cross the passage Tatsuro had created, without suspecting it might be a trap.

"Ai, prepare for combat. Gillian, I've created a small room over there, so hide there." (Tatsuro)

"Got it!" (Ai)

"Understood!" (Gillian Mac Dermott)

Ai drew her gemstone sword, while Gillian, struggling to identify the room's entrance, which was not very noticeable, opted to simply remove the cover and slip inside. He closed it again and remained silent.

In less than a minute, their opponent's figure came into view. It was a beast man, standing nearly two meters tall, covered in bright orange fur with black tiger-like stripes all over his body. His face resembled a tiger more than a human. Based on these features, they concluded that it was indeed Ennio.

Ennio, with his sharp claws, made a slashing motion toward them.

"Haah!"

Seeing it was clearly a physical attack, Ai shattered it with her gemstone sword. Meanwhile, he entered the underground chamber at a speed too fast to follow and roared with a volume that reverberated through the room like a fierce tiger.

"Guraaaaaaawwwwwww!" (Ennio)

"…." (Tatsuro)

"…." (Ai)

If they were newcomers to this world, the forceful roar alone might have been enough to send shivers down their spine, but after facing the roars of a Gold Bear and a Magic Dragon, it seemed less intimidating.

They casually covered their ears and raised their eyebrows in mild annoyance.

Ennio appeared surprised by their lack of fear, and his imposing presence waned as he tilted his head.

"Why you no scared of Ennio? Ennio, scary!" (Ennio)

"Is that so? It's not scary; you're just big and cool." (Ai)

"Cool? Ennio, cool?" (Ennio)

"Yeah, you're cool, not scary." (Tatsuro)

"Cool? First time hearing that." (Ennio)

"First time hearing? It must be a new word." (Ai)

"Salman said Ennio has the brain of a five or six-year-old, but he looks even younger." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, it's like talking to a kindergarten kid." (Ai)

Despite being a hulking tiger man clad in his own fur, he insisted on his error and acted just like a mischievous toddler.

Tatsuro wondered if there was a way to resolve the situation peacefully and without harming him.

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