Level Eater - Chapter 62

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After the battle, Tatsurou confirmed with Cardina ‘The Early Warning System’, whether there were any other enemies nearby.

A short screech came in reply, indicating that there were no other creatures in the perimeter (with a 100% Guarantee seal!).

The three then had to decide on how to deal with the gorillas’ corpses. After all, if they were left here unsupervised, they would inevitably attract other monsters.

“These are asmolgas [アスモルガ – Asumoruga]. Normally, you would only see them in the depths of the forest, not out here…” muttered Rella.

“So, you’re saying it’s because of the earthquake?”

“No. More likely, they came out after the earthquake, I think.”

“Why do you think so?”

Rella pointed towards the abdomen of one of the corpses.

“These ones still look healthy.”

““Healthy?””

“Yes. Had they been wandering in this area for thirteen days, they would have lost more of their muscle mass than this. This area isn’t the same as Amunelli. There aren’t that many food sources here to sustain such large monsters for an extended period of time.”

Now that she had pointed it out, the gorillas they had just fought looked like they were well-fed instead of thin and skinny.

Seeing the two nod in understanding, Rella once again muttered to herself, “That means something really is…”

“Rella-san, what do we do with these ones?” Not noticing her monologue, Ai fired a question at her.

“What?” Stunned at the sudden question, Rella took a moment to snap out of her daze. “Oh, even though they’re cheap, you can sell an asmolga’s hide and meat in the market so if you have extra space in your item box, you can try taking them with you.”

Hearing that, Tatsurou, who still had a lot of unused space in his item box, immediately went to work and collected the asmolgas.

Rella turned her gaze back to the forest.

 “Then, shall we continue?”

The rest of the party agreed with the decision and resumed their investigation.

They patrolled once around the area before heading deeper in.

Having Cardina as their eyes, the party did not fall into any ambush and took care of the monsters with relative ease.

However, their encounters increased in frequency as they went deeper into the forest, making Rella crease her eyebrows. 

Once they were a considerable distance in, Rella stated in all seriousness, “It’s strange.”

“Strange?”

“If it’s only because of the earthquake, then things would have settled down by now. However, as it stands, things are only getting worse.”

“Then does that mean that something else is happening in the forest?”

“It seems so.”

As they had no clue on what it was, they shifted their focus back to thinning the monsters that were close to town. 

Then, Cardina suddenly stopped advancing and turned her eyes to Tatsurou, relaying that there was coming from the depths of the forest. 

“Is that… a rat?” said Tatsurou.

“Rat?”

“A rat? It can’t be…” hearing Tatsurou’s frank description, Rella had a ominous feeling and focused her attention in the same direction.

And there, she saw it. Brown-furred rodents about thirty centimeters tall flocking on what seemed to be a den still under construction.

“Palumines [パルミネ – Parumine]… and that many of them…”

Seeing a hint of terror in Rella’s eyes, Ai decided to take a look as well. 

“Hmm… There’s a lot of them, but don’t they look weak?” asked Ai.

“Yeah. Is it really that bad?” Tatsurou followed up.

“Yes, it is, but Ai-san is correct. If it’s just that, then they would be easy to take care of,” said Rella.

Hearing her, the two were even more doubtful. ’They’re weak, but they’re dangerous.’ Why?

Rella instantly answered those doubts.

“Aside from the fact that they can reproduce quickly, most known monsters find their meat highly appetising.”

“So you’re saying, them being here means that monsters are bound to gather here as well?”

“Yes. That, and their meat isn’t as appealing to humans…”

The true danger lies in them bringing in more monsters, leaving the pair with a terrible aftertaste.

While they were still processing the previous information, Rella added on to her explanation.

“Because of that, they give other monsters a chance to thrive in the area. If that happens, then this area would turn into the newest addition to the territory of the Amunelli forest.”

“That would mean that this area would no longer be a viable place for humans to live in, right?” asked Tatsurou.

“Yes.”

“What are we waiting for, then?!” exclaimed Ai.

Monsters which prey on the palumines will be eaten by other monsters and so on. The bigger the food chain, the more diverse the number of monsters will be. 

As such, it was dangerous to allow the palumines to finish building their nest and start multiplying. 

Following down that train of thought, Ai did not hesitate to take action. However, she was stopped by the other two instead. 

“Ai, wait.” “Please wait.”

“Why? Don’t we have to take them out now?”

“That’s exactly why. Dealing with them one by one will take time, time which some of them can use to escape,” said Tatsurou.

“Yes. And so, I shall take them all out at once using magic,” said Rella.

“Oh… I see. I guess it’s true that I can’t kill them all in one strike.”

It was reassuring that Ai had thought of the future and wanted to charge in. This, however, was a magician’s job instead.

“I can do it alone but I need to save some mana for the way home. Tatsurou-san, can you help me with this?”

“Of course. What do I do?”

“I’ll cool the air around me down. I need you to use wind magic and direct that air all the way into their den,” Rella said, pointing to the mass of palumines.

At first, Tatsurou was confused as he had never used wind magic in their journey here. However, he recalled that he had used it without reserve in front of some people and it wouldn’t be strange if that information somehow found its way to her.

 “Understood. Ai…”

“Coming!”

“Uh… What are you two doing?”

Seeing the two hold hands when it was time for them to start, Rella shot them a suspicious look.

In response, Tatsurou told her ‘I can concentrate better this way,’ but as it sounded fishy, it only made Rella’s suspicions grow.

However, Rella decided to quell her curiosity and instead focus on the enemy in front of her.

“Alright. Let’s make it gradual so that the enemy won’t notice.”

“Got it.”

Rella began to create a mass of cold air in front of her. 

Tatsurou, seeing the mana move with [Magic Perception], then used wind magic to slowly transfer the cold air to the place where the palumines were.

One degree at a time, the temperature within the palumines’ base dropped, causing their movements to slow down.

“I’ll put more mana into it now.”

“Okay.”

With the effect of [Perfect Harmony] increasing his mana control, Tatsurou was able to create winds with absolute precision,  offering significant help in the process.

When the spell ended, the entire area of palumines was covered in ice. The only thing left for them to do was to dispose of the frozen corpses.

Dividing the workload between the three of them, they moved the corpses one at a time to a designated area before they were reduced to nothing by Tatsurou’s magic. 

And, just in case, they also confirmed with Cardina that there was nothing else moving within the den before taking their break.

“It’s done…” “Finally…” “It’s over…”

Apart from Cardina who relied solely on mana, the disposal work took a toll on both the mind and body of everyone else.

With that said, the party decided to have their lunch break while also resting their exhausted souls.

After they finished their respective meals, they carried on with the investigation.

“Don’t you feel like there are fewer monsters coming out of the forest now?” said Ai.

“Yeah. Wouldn’t that mean that they were coming here because of the palumines?” said Tatsurou.

“That is the most likely possibility. It may also have been because of them that the situation took a turn for the worse in the first place,” said Rella.

Hearing her speak in a more relaxed tone, the two also dropped some of the tension they had as they proceeded with the investigation.

After meeting a few insignificant monsters along the way, they thought that they were about finished with the job when it appeared. 

“A togul…”

““Togul?!””

It was the name of the monster they saw in that letter – Elren’s final words – and the one that sent him to the afterlife.

Togul – a weasel-like monster about forty centimeters long. The most noticeable difference, however, was the needle attached to the tip of its tail.

Not sensing the presence of the group yet, it laid in the hole it dug under a tree, as if it was waiting for something. 

“Doesn’t look like it knows we’re here. Let’s take care of this quickly,” said Tatsurou.

“We should.” “Agreed.”

With no objections, Tatsurou asked Cardina to look over the perimeter while he took Ai’s hand in his.

Rella looked at them in suspicion once again but Tatsurou feigned ignorance and pointed his wand at the togul.

Weaving his mana into his signature laser, he shot it at the clueless togul.

“—kki?!”

“I missed?!”

Noticing a flash of light right before the laser was fired, the togul managed to agilely dodge the laser.

Seeing Tatsurou miss, Ai immediately followed up with an attack, swinging her whip at the togul. The monster, however, fluidly dodged it and started to run towards them instead.

Using her ice magic, Rella rained icicles down upon the togul to stop it from advancing but the togul, utilising its superior speed, slipped through every single icicle without a single scratch.

A few moments later, Tatsurou saw the togul lean forward, preparing to use its tail attack which was directed at his head.

“Like I’d let you!”

“Kkkiiiii!”

As the only one who can match the speed of the togul, Ai poured her Ki into the gemstone sword and wedged it in the needle’s path.

Once Tatsurou regained the awareness of his surroundings, he fired his laser again but to no avail. Ai’s second slash, however, managed to cut off the monster’s tail.

“kKkKkiiIIII!”

“Isn’t this guy too fast?!” exclaimed Tatsurou.

“That’s why they’re dangerous!” replied Rella.

As they conversed, the togul kicked hard on a tree in order to create some distance between them while blood started to gush out from its missing tail. 

Ai, who would not lose in terms of speed, had no intention of letting it escape though.

“HAA!”

“Kkii!”

The togul’s movement extended their battleground into the third dimension which Ai happily obliged.

Utilising her [Air Walk], she continued to press the attack.

When it was finally weakened due to the sheer amount of blood it lost, Tatsurou shouted to Ai.

“Ai, jump!”

Not even doubting him for a second, Ai separated herself from the ground with a light hop.

At the same time, the togul’s feet sunk deep into the ground.

 “KkKiii?”

Turning the soil beneath them into mud, the togul temporarily sank into the ground. Seeing its movement halted, Ai did not let the golden opportunity go. 

Using [Air Walk] mid-air, Ai changed her trajectory to pass above the togul. Once she was right above it, she swung her sword, bisecting the togul with a clean cut.

The sword gleamed in the air, signifying the end of the monster’s life.

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