The Earth-san Has Leveled Up!

2-17. Entering the 4th Floor

As they were testing their defenses, the mist cleared, and Meiko and the others finally headed toward the bridge.

Meiko had warned the other two about the possibility of a mid-boss appearing on the bridge.

The bridge was 100 meters long, situated between two mountains—a perfect mid-boss location in a game.

They passed under a large torii gate and began crossing the bridge.

The boots Sasara wore made a satisfying sound on the wooden bridge.

However, to the three of them, it sounded like a melody luring enemies, which was terrifying.

Meiko shook her head, imagining a giant fish leaping out from the sea of clouds beneath the bridge.

However, they managed to cross the bridge without any incident.

There was a safe zone nearby, so it was unlikely the bridge itself was the safe zone.

Even the cherry blossom square at the top of the first mountain was one of the many strange places in this dungeon.

It was the kind of place you’d circle around in a game, expecting something to happen.

Meiko thought the title they had acquired last night might be a clue.

In this dungeon, which had revealed its true form, something was bound to happen in such places.

Or perhaps something would happen if they came at night.

The three looked back at the bridge once before starting to climb the second mountain.

As they cautiously entered the 4th floor, enemies appeared almost immediately.

To their surprise, there were three of them.

The group consisted of a Pestle Rabbit, an Checkered Doll, and a Tanuki.

“Th-they’re so cuuute!”

“I-I get it, but they’re enemies!”

The Tanuki walked on two legs, about 70 centimeters tall. Its chubby, stylized body was adorable except for its sharp eyes. In fact, the sharpness made it slightly scary-cute. It was in the same category as the Pestle Rabbit. But Checkered Doll, you’re just no good.

By the way, it didn’t carry a precious bag like a sake-holding Tanuki.

The Tanuki immediately took action.

It started patting its belly.

Then, the Checkered Doll and the Pestle Rabbit began to glow.

“P-probably a buff! The enemies might have been strengthened!”

No sooner had Meiko warned them than the two glowing enemies moved slightly faster.

Before, they had been moving at a brisk walking pace, but now they were almost jogging.

The increased speed of death-defying monsters closing in was a threat.

Meiko began to deal with the approaching Checkered Doll.

Despite its increased speed, Lulu managed to hit it with a water technique.

As the Checkered Doll froze, Meiko quickly fired a fire bullet.

This should have started their usual combo, but the Checkered Doll barely dodged the fire bullet.

At that moment, Sasara leaped out from beside Meiko and slashed at it.

Unable to react to Sasara’s follow-up, the Checkered Doll was knocked back by the slash.

Leaving that to Sasara, Meiko turned her attention to the Pestle Rabbit.

The Pestle Rabbit was about to enter the attack range of its mallet in just two seconds.

Meiko immediately fired a water bullet, knocking the mallet out of the Pestle Rabbit’s hand.

Lulu quickly closed in and delivered a double strike with her ninja sword and small sickle.

Leaving that to Lulu, Meiko faced the Tanuki.

Annoyed by the Tanuki’s cheerful belly-patting, Meiko fired a water bullet at it.

The Tanuki made a surprised face as the water bullet hit its belly.

Sent flying, the Tanuki rolled on the stone pavement and immediately started patting its belly again.

But this time, it was wagging its tail behind its back.

Three ping-pong ball-sized light bullets appeared at the tip of its tail.

They shot toward Meiko.

Meiko could track their speed with her eyes, so she dodged with a large leap to the side.

To be precise, they were moving at about 150 km/h. Though slightly faster than the water bullets she had first fired from her magic book, Meiko could still track them clearly.

However, dodging all three bullets was difficult, and one hit her side.

The pain was similar to being hit by a fastball from a softball player during her last middle school sports festival. It was a serious deadball from the softball team’s ace, who had gotten a bit carried away during the festival.

After that hit, Meiko was out at third base. Bummer.

In any case, the hit wasn’t enough to hinder her in battle.

This was likely thanks to her cherry blossom hunting attire.

Still, being hit in the side while in mid-air caused Meiko to lose her balance and take an awkward fall.

Rolling on the ground, she momentarily lost track of the enemy’s position but quickly got up and ran toward the sound of belly-patting.

The Tanuki was a buffer and long-range magic type.

Meiko decided it was better to fight it up close.

As Meiko closed in, the Tanuki began to prepare another light bullet.

Not letting it, Meiko fired another water bullet, hitting the Tanuki.

Like before, the Tanuki was sent flying but quickly got up, though the light bullet was canceled.

As Meiko finally closed the distance, the Tanuki stopped buffing.

It seemed it couldn’t buff and fight up close at the same time.

The Tanuki let out a fierce cry and took on the pose of an enraged bear.

Meiko, somewhat intimidated by animal threats, let out a loud yell and activated her terrifying glare. A glare so fearsome that if directed at a boy, it would either make him shrink or shiver.

Meiko fought skillfully using two magic books and a saber.

Unlike Sasara and Lulu, who had ‘magic-based’ skills, Meiko relied solely on her honed swordsmanship.

She fought mainly at mid-range, attacking with her fire magic book.

If the enemy got too close, she would immediately switch to slashing, not letting them get too near.

But if the Tanuki tried to distance itself, she would fire a pre-loaded water bullet.

The new martial art she had conceptualized during her training was now blossoming.

Of course, if the enemy was too strong, they could just charge at her and end the fight, so this technique only worked on enemies around her level.

But it was effective enough against the Tanuki.

Part of the reason was that the Tanuki wasn’t particularly strong in close combat.

Suddenly, a clicking sound came from behind Meiko.

At that moment, flames erupted on the Tanuki’s back.

Now, the Tanuki, which hadn’t been particularly strong in close combat, began to exude a pressure even Meiko could feel.

Thinking this was bad, Meiko immediately fired a water bullet.

Hit by the water bullet from an angle, the Tanuki bounced heavily on the stone pavement.

The water extinguished the flames, and the pressure from the burning back subsided.

As the Tanuki rolled on the pavement, it was slashed from the right.

Blood sprayed from the Tanuki’s face as a merciless thrust came from the left.

Startled, Meiko looked to see Sasara and Lulu staring at the fading Tanuki with icy, emotionless eyes.

The moment they turned to Meiko, their gazes softened into looks of concern.

“Meeko meko, are you okay!?”

“Does your stomach hurt!?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for helping me, Lulu, Sasara.”

“Nya… Sorry for being late.”

“No need to apologize. We’re in this together. If anything, I’m the one who’s not good at close combat, so I’m sorry for always burdening you two.”

“Not at all! If you hadn’t drawn their attention, we would’ve lost for sure!”

“Th-that’s right! Without Meeko, we’d be done for!”

“I see. Hehe, guess we’re even then. Hehehe.”

Meiko, who had rarely been relied on in sports, was happy to be relied on in battle.

“By the way, what was that at the end?”

“At the end?”

“Yeah, suddenly flames appeared on the Tanuki’s back, and it seemed to power up.”

“I did see that for a moment before I rushed in. It was extinguished by the time I slashed it.”

“Yeah, it seemed like the water bullet put it out.”

“I also saw the Pestle Rabbit doing something weird before it disappeared.”

“Wait, the Pestle Rabbit started doing something new just now?”

“Nya. It took out a stone and started clicking it.”

“Whaat!?”

At Lulu’s words, Meiko and Sasara exchanged glances.

The rabbit clicked, and the Tanuki’s back burst into flames.

“It’s Kachi-kachi Mountain!”

“Kachi… that’s it!”

Meiko, slower to react than Sasara, pointed at her with a finger, transferring the momentum from her outburst. She failed to harmonize.

“Kachi-kachi Mountain?”

Sasara briefly explained the story to Lulu, who wasn’t familiar with Japanese folktales.

It was a story about a rabbit avenging an old man by violently killing a Tanuki.

“Fire, poison, and drowning in a mud boat?”

“The rabbit is already dead, and it’s not just fire, right? It feels like the rabbit powered up the Tanuki as it was dying.”

“That makes sense. Anyway, it seems like water bullets can extinguish it, so let’s keep that in mind.”

At Meiko’s words, the two nodded solemnly.

For now, Meiko asked the two to collect the drops while she checked her status.

Earlier, one of the light bullets had hit her.

Was that thanks to her cherry blossom hunting attire?

She opened the title section and checked the effect of [1st Floor Conqueror – Solo].

It still hadn’t turned gray.

Perhaps the Tanuki was more of a buffer.

Or maybe the cherry blossom hunting attire was just that strong.

By the way, she knew that when a title’s effect was used, the display would turn gray.

According to the professor, everyone who entered the D-rank dungeon had the same solo conqueror title as Meiko. They had formed a team with that in mind.

They had returned battered and bruised, with all their title effects grayed out.

So, Meiko’s title effect was still active.

She was relieved she hadn’t wasted it on a trivial mistake.

Next, Meiko wondered why a monster resembling the Kachi-kachi Mountain tale had appeared.

Could it be that the dungeon creates monsters based on human creations?

Meiko didn’t know much about monsters in other dungeons.

Though it was already common knowledge above ground…

Meiko jotted down this new hypothesis in her notebook. She imagined the professor praising her, saying, “Meiko, this might be a huge discovery!”

“Nya! N-nusunchu desu!”

Suddenly, Lulu shouted.

Wondering if it was a new Kisumian word, Meiko looked toward Lulu.

Following Lulu’s pointing finger, she saw a fat snake trying to swallow the magic stone from the Pestle Rabbit Lulu had just defeated.

“Meeko, Shara! King cobra’s nusunchu desu!”

“N-no, Lulu, that’s a Tsuchinoko!”

“Tsuchinoko. So Tsuchinoko’s nusunchu desu!”

A snake with an unusually stout body—yes, it was indeed a Tsuchinoko.

While puzzled by Lulu’s repeated “nusunchu”, Meiko prepared for battle.

As she was about to cast a spell.

“Pfft!”

The snake’s thieving act of stealing the magic stone and Lulu’s words overlapped.

Nusunchu…

This isn’t Kisumian!

And a king cobra?

But Meiko was a dungeon pro.

She steeled herself and fired a water bullet at the… nusunchu—Tsuchinoko.

Miss!

Meiko, who was usually confident in her magic accuracy, had been debuffed by her teammate’s mental attack.

Startled by the shot, the Tsuchinoko bounced away and fled.

At least the crisis was over.

“Nusunchu, you!”

Meiko patted the angry Lulu on the shoulder.

“Lulu. A thief isn’t called ‘nusunchu’.”

“Huh? But people from the sea are called ‘uminchu’, right…?”

Ugh, I don’t know!

Meiko was confused. Maybe Okinawan people called thieves ‘nusunchu’.

By the way, in Okinawan dialect, a thief is called ‘nusura.’

“Uminchu… nusunchu… people are ‘hanchu’… desu?”

“Pfft!”

“Bwahaha!”

Lulu’s confusion made not only Meiko but also Sasara burst out laughing.

Meiko decided this conversation was going nowhere.

This was too funny. No, it was already hilarious.

After we get back from the dungeon, I’ll teach her some kanji too.

Lulu seemed to know a lot, but she had some weird ways of remembering things.

Meiko made this vow as she felt relieved that the battle was finally over.

The Tanuki dropped a Tanuki pelt. It was slightly larger than the Pestle Rabbit’s pelt.

The fur was beautiful, and it might be a rare drop, so she stored it in her backpack for now.

The Checkered Doll dropped a katana fragment, and the Pestle Rabbit dropped a pelt. Only the Pestle Rabbit’s magic stone had been stolen by the nusunchu.

She stored the magic stones in the magic stone case she had bought yesterday.

She had already used it during the latter half of yesterday’s hunt, and it was incredibly convenient.

Opening the cap and bringing the magic stone close to the case, it slid in smoothly. The side gauge showed how much was stored.

While putting them in was easy, taking them out required 5 MP. With that, you could take out as many stones as you wanted.

It didn’t rattle, and the weight felt no different from the case itself. Truly a magical item.

And so, Meiko and the others began exploring the 4th floor.