Level Eater

Ai faced a roaring beast right in front of her, Ennio, who had transformed into a crimson giant tiger known as Iarouris due to Gregory's inexplicable experiment. She fought him while gazing at him with a sense of loneliness.

Despite his frightening appearance, Ennio was not only capable of anger but also, when spoken to properly, could even laugh; he was a genuine human turned into a beast by Gregory's mysterious experiment. If it weren't for Gregory, Ennio would have been born normally, loved by his parents, and lived a happy life without experiencing this transformation.

In that case, Ai might never have met Ennio, a thought that made her feel lonely. However, if it meant avoiding this kind of transformation, perhaps a life where they never met would have been happier for both of them.

That's why Ai couldn't forgive a man who played with people's lives and destinies. She was determined to not let that man have his way.

With this resolve in her heart, Ai increased the amount of energy covering her entire body and further enhanced her physical abilities. She had become accustomed to controlling the high-level body strengthening used during the battle with the Azure and Gold Bear, called Defurstal.

With this adjustment, her already abnormal stats reached an even more extraordinary level.

|Acquired Skill: Body Strengthening Lv.10|

|Acquired Title: ‘The Strong One.'|

"Ennio, I'm sorry. This might hurt a bit." (Ai)

Ennio, unable to comprehend Ai's words, simply roared, focusing solely on advancing towards Dragon like Gregory's puppet.

Ai's fighting spirit quietly flared up at the sight, and she poured her energy into the gem sword in her left hand.

Due to the powerful combination of Ai and Dragon's mixed aura, the sword, originally made from the Green Holy Stone, had transformed into a material called Rainbow Holy Stone, effortlessly absorbing and manifesting the wielder's intentions.

A blade of vibrant, multicolored energy extended from the one-meter-long sword, turning it into a sword reminiscent of a giant's short sword, with a width of one meter and a height of two meters.

Ai swung the sword towards the misty form of Ennio.

Ordinarily, attacking with energy in this mist-like state would be somewhat unpleasant, but it would cause little damage. However, what pierced Ennio's body this time was a lump of abnormal energy. Instead of discomfort, intense pain surged through his misty form, as if he had been struck by a lightning bolt. His skill unraveled, and he returned to his physical form.

"W-What the hell!?" (Gregory)

"I've got him! Ai-chan!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Understood!" (Ai)

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Marikka and Yorn bound Ennio with plant magic, preventing him from moving even as he writhed in pain.

Meanwhile, Ai, while restraining him, infused an incredible amount of energy into her right-hand axe, extending a blade of energy from its edge.

"Ha!" (Ai)

"Gah!?" (Ennio)

|Acquired Skill: Axe Technique Lv.2.|

The axe's blade deftly sliced off two of the sword-like fangs extending from the upper jaw. With this, the threat of the Fang attacks was virtually nullified.

However, a cracking sound echoed as the large axe in her right hand literally shattered.

"Ah! I really liked this one, and now it's broken!" (Ai)

"What's with that absurd amount of energy!? If you put that much in, most weapons are bound to end up like that!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Oh no…" (Ai)

Due to using energy in the same manner as the gem sword, the axe taken from the monster couldn't withstand Ai's energy and shattered into pieces.

Amid her shock, Ennio considered transforming back into mist to escape. However, Ai, noticing this, threatened him with her gem sword, causing him to flinch and abandon the idea.

The previous attack with the gem sword seemed to have left a significant, shocking pain.

Nevertheless, Gregory disregarded this and issued a command.

"Why are you scared as a mere tool? Hurry up and get out of that plant!" (Gregory)

"Guaaa!" (Ennio)

In response to those words, the magical power of Gregory's contract, mixed with his blood, forced Ennio against his will to transform into mist and escape from the plant cage. Although Ai felt sorry for it, she changed her grip on the sword to her right hand and swung it.

But whether due to pain or prioritizing the command, Ennio somehow prevented materialization, escaped, and, gasping for breath, returned to his original giant tiger form, distancing himself from Ai.

"Guaa… Gaahh…" (Ennio)

"What are you doing! Hurry up and go, you useless furball!" (Gregory)

"It's because you forced him back that he's so exhausted!" (Ai)

"If you hadn't attacked, this wouldn't have happened. Now, release all your abilities. A monster capable of challenging a dragon must have more power than that!" (Gregory)

Taking advantage of Ennio's inability to counterattack, Gregory kicked him while talking as he pleased. Ai couldn't stand it and, unconsciously, swung the gem sword towards Gregory.

"Gaaah!? Guah!?" (Ennio)

"What…!?" (Gregory)

It was a perfect release of energy. Ai unleashed a tremendous amount of energy embedded in the sword, cutting through the ground and heading towards Gregory. In a split second, Gregory's highest-level command triggered, and Ennio tried to shield him. However, the attack was exceptionally fast, and the strike deeply cut Ennio's left shoulder, severing one of Gregory's protruding right legs, and continued slicing. It reached Bertram, the lord's son, crouched and crying, tearing off a thin layer of his scalp along with his hair. It didn't stop there; it continued to cut through part of the castle and left a large rift in the distant mountains before finally disappearing.

While destroying the castle was quite inconvenient, Ai was more concerned about the heavily injured Ennio. However, his wounds, although leaving deep marks from the substantial attack, didn't seem to bleed at all, indicating it wasn't a life-threatening injury.

On the other hand, Gregory, who lost one leg and was ignored by everyone, was bleeding profusely and seemed on the verge of death. The demonic creature called Sitomen brought along as a living magic practitioner, had been completely erased by Ai, so they couldn't benefit from its healing abilities.

With no other means available, Gregory quickly ordered a slime to wrap around his leg, successfully stopping the bleeding. Once this was done, he planned to ask Bertram to call for a skilled life mage and finally regained his composure. He scolded Ennio, who couldn't be protected, and other monsters that failed to defend.

However, he couldn't help but be concerned about another attack from Ai, so after a few grumbles, he instructed them to resume the attack.

"Don't let that girl shoot that again. And quickly, kill the one behind that giant creature!" (Gregory)

"Guaaa!" (Ennio)

Ennio roared and activated a new skill. Manipulating the blood from the wounds caused by Ai earlier, he enveloped his entire body, creating a blood armor.

"It seems you could do that too. The data alone didn't tell me that." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Now is not the time to calmly observe; he's coming." (Ai)

"I know. Yorn, let's go!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Shaah!"

As Ai and her companions readied themselves, Ennio headed towards the presence behind Jeanne.

However, four red light spheres flew in, shooting multiple lasers toward Gregory, making it challenging for Ennio to approach. During this time, Ai launched an attack.

Ennio, in response, didn't transform into mist like before but fought with newly created armor and fangs made of blood. Among them, what troubled Ai the most was the versatile transformations of the blood. It reached out like tentacles from the armor, trying to catch her, and transformed into sword-like shapes, adding to the complexity of Ennio's own attacks. The battle seemed more like a struggle against a single entity due to the multitude of attacks.

Yet, Ai, while closing in on Ennio, kept an eye on the overall situation and directed her attention as much as possible towards where it mattered.

(Stay focused. We're giving it our all here, so you do your best too.)

Without directly conveying the message to him to avoid interference, Ai whispered these words in her mind while continuing to engage Ennio.

Meanwhile, at that time, Tatsuro was currently diligently excavating an underground tunnel. After overcoming Ennio's barrier, he believed that the quickest way to apply the [Level Eater] on Gregory was to disrupt the surface while sneaking alone from below.

As for who was behind Jeanne on the surface, it was Tatsuro himself, hiding in a spot that became Jeanne's blind spot. He wore equipment and clothes he had on a puppet made of earth using magic, adorned it with a makeshift wig made from dark magic, and inserted an iron rod into the belly, moving it with Jeanne's tail. From a glance, it created the illusion that Tatsuro was present.

While concentrating on not drawing attention to himself, Ai created distractions, and using telepathy, Tatsuro remotely operated lasers. He carefully confirmed his position and Gregory's position, finally arriving at a spot he believed to be right behind him.

Now all that was left was to quietly ascend and appear behind Gregory to use the [Level Eater]. Tatsuro cautiously built a staircase to the surface, and when he reached the surface, a mere ten centimeters away, he opened a small hole to peek outside.

"What!?" (Tatsuro)

"Hmm?" (Gregory)

Tatsuro couldn't help bursting into laughter at the sudden and shocking sight, causing Gregory, who felt like he heard something, to turn around. However, Tatsuro quickly closed the peephole, narrowly avoiding being noticed.

(Why is the lord's son's head bald like a Kappa!? An almost handsome guy crying while squatting, what kind of situation is this!?)

While reflecting on almost getting caught, Tatsuro, who hadn't seen Ai's energy blade attack because he was underground, was surprised by the unexpected scene he suddenly witnessed.

Although he had occasionally observed the situation on the surface through telepathic messages from Ai, he couldn't see well as he was squatting, and since he was not concerned about it in terms of combat power, he hadn't paid much attention.

While questioning how such a bald jarhead situation had occurred, he opened a small hole again to send a glance toward Gregory.

From his side, he knew that Gregory had lost one leg, so he was aware of it. Riding on a slime, Gregory continued to maneuver himself as a shield, making himself a blind spot for Ai while simultaneously watching over Ennio.

Being moved like this was troublesome, but it was better than being moved by his own legs.

{Ai, I've reached behind Gregory. Can you lure him to stand in a specific place?} (Tatsuro)

{Yeah? Oh, got it. I'll give it a try.} (Ai)

Through telepathy, Tatsuro informed Ai where he wanted Gregory to stand, and Ai began manipulating Ennio while continuing the fight.

On the first attempt, Tatsuro's black sphere, released with precise timing, passed about thirty centimeters to the side of Gregory, missing the target.

The second attempt yielded similar results.

Hitting a constantly moving target was undoubtedly challenging. Nevertheless, Tatsuro wanted to continue hitting even if it meant doing it multiple times, as using magic to call Ennio would reset everything.

So, on the sixth attempt, he hit the target. However, it wasn't Gregory but rather one of the snake monsters accompanying him.

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Level: 21

Skills: [Bite Lv.5], [Fire Consumption Lv.5], [Flame Emission Lv.3]

[Molting Regeneration Lv.2]

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I'd like to say "Not you!" but being kept as a pet, it has decent skills. Might as well absorb them.)

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Level: 1

Skills: [Bite Lv.0], [Fire Consumption Lv.0], [Flame Emission Lv.0]

[Molting Regeneration Lv.0]

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(Alright, now for the real thing!)

Absorbing the skills of the snake and swallowing the black sphere in his mouth, Tatsuro once again aimed at Gregory, activating [Level Eater].

With this unexpected turn of events, on the sixth attempt, Tatsuro successfully hit Gregory with perfect timing as he approached the black sphere.

(Alright!)

In his mind, Tatsuro celebrated his success and began examining Gregory's acquired skills.

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