Level Eater

Chapter 89: Additional Mission

After finishing his late-night meal and finally settling down, Tatsuro summoned Cardina and Jeanne in their child forms to the corner of the spacious room, asking them to wait there. With Ai's assistance, he began the process of creating new bodies for the two magical beings.

First, he mixed his own dragon power with Mana to create a fusion of dragon energy and Mana. Besides the increased strain compared to his previous efforts, it was the usual process of using magic to cast a mixed light and dark spell.

"Tatsuro, do your best," (Ai)

"Yeah, I'll give it a try" (Tatsuro)

Just hearing those words of encouragement from his beloved already lifted his spirits. Tatsuro proceeded with determination to the next step.

After an hour's work, he finally completed Cardina's new form.

"Wow, seriously? It took so much time just to create one body" (Tatsuro)

"But you did complete it, right?" (Ai)

"That should be the case. Well then, Cardina, do you feel anything strange about this new body?" (Tatsuro)

"Pewee pewee!" (Cardina)

Cardina responded by vigorously shaking her head, indicating that she not only felt nothing strange but was eager for the transformation to be completed.

"She seems fine, then Cardina" (Tatsuro)

"Pewee!" (Cardina)

Cardina eagerly jumped into the cluster of magic power. The subsequent steps required even more focus than before, and it took longer than usual, but eventually, they succeeded.

So, right away, when he tried to unveil the new Cardina, she returned to Tatsuro's body before fully taking on her new form.

"Cardina?" (Tatsuro)

"What's wrong?" (Ai)

Tatsuro was anxious, thinking something had gone wrong due to her unusual behavior, and he called out to Cardina, who he could sense within his own magical energy. This time, he could sense her curiosity about her new body, as if she wanted to get to know it better. When he asked if there were any problems, she conveyed a reassuring feeling that everything was fine.

"She just wants to take her time to check out her new body" (Tatsuro)

"So, everything's okay?" (Ai)

"Yeah, no need to worry," (Tatsuro)

With Jeanne watching the whole process, appearing restless and eager for her turn, Tatsuro knew he could not show favoritism. Despite feeling burdened by the thought of doing Jeanne's transformation as well, he could not let one of them be left out. Therefore, Tatsuro reinvigorated himself and took his time to create Jeanne's new form.

After completing Jeanne's transformation successfully, she, like Cardina, wanted to explore her new body before taking on her new form. While Tatsuro was eager to see the growth of both beings, he decided to embrace the anticipation as part of the enjoyment of the process. That evening, he rested his tired mind and received comfort from Ai as they waited for the two beings to fully develop.

When the sun had fully risen, and it was around 9 o'clock, Tatsuro woke up. As usual, he admired Ai's peaceful sleeping face next to him and gently woke her up. He then ordered breakfast, including lunch portions, before changing. While waiting for the food to arrive, he finished getting ready. Due to the #generous portion, there was still no sign of the food's arrival even after he finished getting ready. It was only when Tatsuro was combing Ai's hair that the door was finally knocked on.

Taking the food, Tatsuro and Ai discussed their plans for the day while having breakfast.

"Are Cardina and Jeanne ready to come out now?" (Ai)

"Yeah, when I checked earlier, they seemed good to go" (Tatsuro)

"I see, that's reassuring then," (Ai)

"Indeed. So, today, I'll have Jeanne take us to the marshland, and afterward, with Cardina using reconnaissance magic, we'll be cautious and find the nest to burn it down" (Tatsuro)

He opened the monster encyclopedia to look up information on Depris. According to the entry, it mentioned the need to be careful of their poisonous stingers, but individually, they weren't considered significant threats. Inside their nests, there was a monster known as Bipris, similar to a queen bee, which was recommended to be destroyed along with the nest before it emerged.

"This seems manageable even if their numbers are high. They don't seem to have any special attacks or magic-based abilities" (Tatsuro)

"In that case, I feel at ease too" (Ai)

After their final check, they left the inn and headed towards the gate. When they reached the gate, they saw the white-haired guard they had talked to before, exchanged greetings with him, and then stepped outside.

As they walked in the direction of the Bupron Wetlands, they continued until they reached an area with no one around, and it was time to summon the two beings.

"Cardina, Jeanne, come on out" (Tatsuro)

"Pewee!" (Cardina)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

With Tatsuro's call, the two beings appeared. Cardina's clawed feet, which were sharp to begin with, had become even sharper, and she had developed small, carnivorous dinosaur-like hands with sharp claws near her chest. Her open beak revealed rows of jagged, fine teeth.

As for Jeanne, her appearance resembled a rhinoceros, but her limbs were slightly longer and slimmer, and her body had become more streamlined. Her thick, armored skin had transformed into dragon-like scales. The horn on her nose had become sharper, resembling a formidable weapon.

"Something about their appearance makes them look stronger! They look like they can fight head-on without using magic now" (Tatsuro)

"Kind of like their presence has grown? They give off a strong we're here' vibe" (Ai)

TLN: What Ai is talking about here is the strong aura monsters that are strong automatically give out just by existing.

"Maybe too strong. If we were to release them in the city, it might cause panic. Is it possible for them to revert to a state without using dragon power?" (Tatsuro)

He wasn't expecting it to be possible, but he wanted to check just in case. Surprisingly, they could switch to a pure growth form, and their bodies transformed remarkably. In this form, there wasn't a significant difference from their previous appearance, but they seemed more toned and physically larger.

Tatsuro asked about the differences between the two forms, and he learned that the dragon-powered form had slightly lower magic consumption and higher physical capabilities, making it the preferred choice for combat. However, in the dragon-powered form, they had to be cautious about their appearance around others.

Therefore, they decided to reserve the dragon-powered form for combat situations and maintain their growth form the rest of the time.

Tatsuro then summoned the carriage and attached the newly formed equipment to Jeanne, who had grown larger. With everything in place, they headed in the direction they intended to go.

"Alright, head that way," (Tatsuro)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

Feeling a sense of pride and seeing how much their children had grown, Tatsuro looked at them with a beaming expression.

Following the path they had heard, they encountered no one along the way and reached their destination without any issues. They were currently on a stone-paved path, but beyond this point was the marshland, where the terrain would become challenging. They planned to rest briefly here before proceeding to complete their task swiftly.

However, an unexpected revelation awaited them.

"There are more nests than I had imagined. Cardina's investigation showed there are a total of sixteen nests" (Tatsuro)

"How big are they?" (Ai)

"About six meters in size. The Depris themselves are around thirty centimeters each" (Tatsuro)

"A thirty-centimeter bee that would make people faint if they encountered one in Japan" (Ai)

"Well, they may not be bees, but we've fought much larger creatures multiple times, so we're not easily surprised anymore" (Tatsuro)

As he contemplated the most efficient route to take on the map screen, Ai suddenly became agitated.

"I remembered something! Depris are I remember now!" (Ai)

"What's the matter all of a sudden?" (Tatsuro)

It seemed that she didn't hear Tatsuro's voice, as Ai was intensely focused on retrieving what appeared to be some sort of encyclopedia and finding the relevant entry.

"Tatsuro, this, this! It's from the Edible Monsters Encyclopedia' on this page!" (Ai)

"Edible Monsters Encyclopedia? Wait, are you thinking about making pickled bee larvae or something? I'm not really into that kind of," Tatsuro began, but Ai interrupted.

"I'm not into it either! That is not what I meant. Look here," (Ai)

"Uh, okay Let me see," (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro said, reading the entry as Ai guided him. It described Depris' honey, stating that there were honey-filled rooms within Depris' nests, which had a unique and deep flavor. There were even bee farms specifically raising them for this honey.

"You want to try this?" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah!" (Ai)

"Well, you can try, but if it turns out to be too much trouble, don't push yourself" (Tatsuro)

"That's fine!" (Ai)

Tatsuro was interested in trying it as well, but for safety and efficiency, incinerating the honey along with the Depris would be quicker. If Ai hadn't expressed such a strong desire, that would have been their course of action, even though he was curious. Now, he was thinking about defeating the Depris while preserving the honey.

First, he used reconnaissance magic to identify the locations of the honey within the nests. It appeared that there was no uniformity, as the positions varied from nest to nest. However, it was clear that these locations could be identified.

"Alright, shall we get started?" (Tatsuro)

"Okay!" (Ai)

Therefore, a new mission to collect honey was added to their tasks. First, they used water and earth magic to firm up the ground, and they aimed for the nest that was farthest from the others while being closest to their current location. Given Jeanne's large size, she remained within Tatsuro's body.

With Cardina in charge of monitoring their surroundings, they moved cautiously and got within a few meters of the target nest. The nest was built on the ground, a brown, irregular, circular structure with holes in it. As they observed it carefully, one of the Depris noticed them and brought several others with it.

However, this was all anticipated. Without panic, they efficiently used Tatsuro [Fire Magic] and Ai's whip to take out the approaching Depris.

As they continued their march forward, the Depris realized they couldn't compete and sent dozens more to attack. Half of them engaged Tatsuro and Ai, while the other half gathered beneath the nest's lower section, presumably to lift it off the ground.

"They'll take it away!" (Ai)

"It's okay! Jeanne!" (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro called for Jeanne and immediately gave her instructions.

Jeanne used wind magic to disrupt the flight of the approaching Depris, making them unable to fly properly. In the confusion, Ai took the opportunity to eliminate them. Meanwhile, Tatsuro continuously fired lasers from his staff, targeting the Depris. He tried to lift the nest from the ground and the nests away from the honey section, causing destruction and annihilation.

At this point, it turned into an all-out battle. Tatsuro used a gust of wind he created to sweep up and gather the Depris that were approaching him, then ignited them all at once, reducing them to ashes.

"That should be the end of these ones" (Tatsuro)

"I've finished over here too," (Ai)

With everything taken care of, Tatsuro carefully dismantled the nests, being cautious not to damage the honey-filled rooms. They eliminated any remaining Depris inside.

"First one's done" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah! I'm looking forward to this," (Ai)

With joyful expressions, Tatsuro and Ai moved on to collect the honey from the Depris' nests.