Chapter 4: The Way of the Level Eater[1]
With Ai fighting right behind him, Tatsurou could still hear the deafening sounds of stones exploding.
Considering his next move, the caterpillar in front of him had already shortened the gap to 2 meters. Realising that he’s in a bad situation, Tatsurou wanted to increase the distance between him and his enemy when all of a sudden, the caterpillar came to a complete halt.
“… What now?”
Puzzled by the sudden change in behavior, Tatsurou was left dumbfounded. The caterpillar, however, did not wait for him. Facing Tatsurou, it raised its head, tilting it slightly backwards while opening its mouth.
“This is bad…”
Feeling the chills on his spine, Tatsurou quickly jumped aside to avoid the attack’s trajectory.
“So that’s [Thread Weaving]!”
It was fortunate that he could learn his enemy’s methods of attacks from [Level Eater]. If he didn’t, he wasn’t sure whether he could have dodged that attack or not.
“GIGIGIGIIII”
Angry about its thread being evaded, the caterpillar started scattering more around the area.
“There, there, a–nd there! Your skill activation sequence is too big and predictable.”
Tatsurou evaded the threads by a wide margin.
In contrast to Ai, he had good reflexes and motor skills. Having seen it once already, Tatsurou was confident that he can dodge its thread without the stats correction once he sees the wind-up action for [Thread Weaving].
“GIII”
Realizing that its thread attacks were ineffective, the caterpillar stopped using it and went back to closing the distance between them.
(This time, it’ll use either [Body Slam] or [Bite])
From the names alone, predicting the skills’ effect is as easy as reading a nursery rhyme. As such, Tatsurou focused and scrutinised every single move that the caterpillar made. Drawing an imaginary circle with the caterpillar in the centre, Tatsurou tried to discern the attack range of the insect.
However, the caterpillar halted its movement once again.
“Another thread?” thought Tatsurou as he focused on its movements.
Though the caterpillar tilted its head backwards again, it also curled its body to a shape resembling a shrimp. Quickly accelerating forward with its curled body, it violently shot towards Tatsurou like a spring.
“Haa… That was fast.”
This attack, too, was easily dodged by Tatsurou. Seeing the preceding sequence of moves, he was able to accurately predict that it will use [Body Slam].
Suddenly, he stumbled upon an idea.
While making sure not to take his eyes off of the caterpillar for too long, Tatsurou started looking for something in the area which fit his plan.
Upon locating it, he carefully proceeded towards it and picked up a twig that was about as thick as a human’s wrist. Using his knee, he snapped the twig to fit his desired length and threw the leftovers at the caterpillar, provoking it.
“GIGIII GIGIII.”
Angered, the ‘shrimp’ started curling its body again.
Calculating the direction of the caterpillar’s attack, Tatsurou moved forward and stabbed the twig into the ground, sharp end facing up.
The caterpillar, realising what Tatsurou was planning, tried cancelling its attack but to no avail as it launched itself towards the direction of the twig. Even though it tried to forcefully swing its own body down, he was still stabbed by the sharp end of the twig.
Tatsurou’s game plan worked.
The twig was further snapped by the impact of the caterpillar’s crash. Releasing a few more shrieks as it writhed in the ground, the caterpillar soon turned motionless.
Thinking that it’s over, Tatsurou started walking back to where Ai was. However, a sense of dread soon hit him. His expectation of the caterpillar dying instantly was betrayed.
“Giii…ii…”
Hearing that, Tatsurou’s body twitched. The caterpillar, still impaled by the twig, rose up and faced him once again. This time, it gave off a different feeling.
With the madness of a dying person, it was beckoning Tatsurou to come closer, making him feel intimidated.
“Shit… It’s still too dangerous to get close to that thing. If only I could weaken its skills with [Level Ea… Wait?”
As he trailed through that line of thought, he recalled the skill’s description.
“If I’m not wrong, it said something like “Devour another’s level.” And then when I first used it, the enemy’s skills level appeared too. That means…!”
“Haaaa”
Tatsurou opened his mouth and activated [Level Eater]. A black dot once again appeared in his mouth and quickly grew in size. Immediately after, the sphere was launched towards the caterpillar. Unable to see the ball yet again, the sphere easily entered the caterpillar’s body.
ーーーーー
Level: 1
Skill(s): [Body Slam Lv 2], [Thread Weaving Lv 3], [Bite Lv 3]
ーーーーー
It was the same as before. He was able to see a part of the enemy’s status screen.
(It’s there! Alright, let’s try the threads…)
Concentrating on that particular skill, black smoke rose from the caterpillar’s body and gathered inside Tatsurou’s mouth once more.
ーーーーー
Level: 1
Skill(s): [Body Slam Lv 2], [Thread Weaving Lv 0], [Bite Lv 3]
ーーーーー
(Alright, [Thread Weaving] is now Lv 0. Now, mom has always told me to never leave leftovers!”
Once the black fumes stopped gathering, there should be nothing more left to devour. Even so, Tatsurou wanted to be sure as he checked the enemy’s status again.
ーーーーー
Level: 1
Skill(s): [Body Slam Lv 0], [Thread Weaving Lv 0], [Bite Lv 0]
ーーーーー
(Nice!)
After confirming that the enemy’s skills had disappeared, Tatsurou cut off their connection and devoured the black sphere in his mouth.
(Next is… If I attacked this guy with another stick… Huh?)
After finishing his preparation, Tatsurou was deciding his next move when the caterpillar suddenly wobbled and fell down on the ground. There, it twitched once and never moved again.
[You have levelled up to Lv 3.]
“Level up… Well, I did defeat that thing so… Fuuu”
It was a tricky situation. As soon as Tatsurou let go of the tension from the fight, he found himself sitting on the ground. Soon after, Ai’s voice sounded out.
“Is it over?”
“Yeaaaa, somehow. What about you?”
“I got [Throwing] up to Lv 6!”
As Ai threw a peace sign out with her hand, Tatsurou loosened his mouth and let out a sigh of relief. Standing up, he patted his pants to remove the dirt and headed towards Ai.
==============================================================================================
[1] More correct translations would be Using Level Eater or How to use Level Eater but both sound… not too good as a title. I’m personally debating whether to use Way or Path for the title. If you have any suggestions, let me know on discord or in the comments section below!
Chapter 4: The Way of the Level Eater[1]
With Ai fighting right behind him, Tatsurou could still hear the deafening sounds of stones exploding.
Considering his next move, the caterpillar in front of him had already shortened the gap to 2 meters. Realising that he’s in a bad situation, Tatsurou wanted to increase the distance between him and his enemy when all of a sudden, the caterpillar came to a complete halt.
“… What now?”
Puzzled by the sudden change in behavior, Tatsurou was left dumbfounded. The caterpillar, however, did not wait for him. Facing Tatsurou, it raised its head, tilting it slightly backwards while opening its mouth.
“This is bad…”
Feeling the chills on his spine, Tatsurou quickly jumped aside to avoid the attack’s trajectory.
“So that’s [Thread Weaving]!”
It was fortunate that he could learn his enemy’s methods of attacks from [Level Eater]. If he didn’t, he wasn’t sure whether he could have dodged that attack or not.
“GIGIGIGIIII”
Angry about its thread being evaded, the caterpillar started scattering more around the area.
“There, there, a–nd there! Your skill activation sequence is too big and predictable.”
Tatsurou evaded the threads by a wide margin.
In contrast to Ai, he had good reflexes and motor skills. Having seen it once already, Tatsurou was confident that he can dodge its thread without the stats correction once he sees the wind-up action for [Thread Weaving].
“GIII”
Realizing that its thread attacks were ineffective, the caterpillar stopped using it and went back to closing the distance between them.
(This time, it’ll use either [Body Slam] or [Bite])
From the names alone, predicting the skills’ effect is as easy as reading a nursery rhyme. As such, Tatsurou focused and scrutinised every single move that the caterpillar made. Drawing an imaginary circle with the caterpillar in the centre, Tatsurou tried to discern the attack range of the insect.
However, the caterpillar halted its movement once again.
“Another thread?” thought Tatsurou as he focused on its movements.
Though the caterpillar tilted its head backwards again, it also curled its body to a shape resembling a shrimp. Quickly accelerating forward with its curled body, it violently shot towards Tatsurou like a spring.
“Haa… That was fast.”
This attack, too, was easily dodged by Tatsurou. Seeing the preceding sequence of moves, he was able to accurately predict that it will use [Body Slam].
Suddenly, he stumbled upon an idea.
While making sure not to take his eyes off of the caterpillar for too long, Tatsurou started looking for something in the area which fit his plan.
Upon locating it, he carefully proceeded towards it and picked up a twig that was about as thick as a human’s wrist. Using his knee, he snapped the twig to fit his desired length and threw the leftovers at the caterpillar, provoking it.
“GIGIII GIGIII.”
Angered, the ‘shrimp’ started curling its body again.
Calculating the direction of the caterpillar’s attack, Tatsurou moved forward and stabbed the twig into the ground, sharp end facing up.
The caterpillar, realising what Tatsurou was planning, tried cancelling its attack but to no avail as it launched itself towards the direction of the twig. Even though it tried to forcefully swing its own body down, he was still stabbed by the sharp end of the twig.
Tatsurou’s game plan worked.
The twig was further snapped by the impact of the caterpillar’s crash. Releasing a few more shrieks as it writhed in the ground, the caterpillar soon turned motionless.
Thinking that it’s over, Tatsurou started walking back to where Ai was. However, a sense of dread soon hit him. His expectation of the caterpillar dying instantly was betrayed.
“Giii…ii…”
Hearing that, Tatsurou’s body twitched. The caterpillar, still impaled by the twig, rose up and faced him once again. This time, it gave off a different feeling.
With the madness of a dying person, it was beckoning Tatsurou to come closer, making him feel intimidated.
“Shit… It’s still too dangerous to get close to that thing. If only I could weaken its skills with [Level Ea… Wait?”
As he trailed through that line of thought, he recalled the skill’s description.
“If I’m not wrong, it said something like “Devour another’s level.” And then when I first used it, the enemy’s skills level appeared too. That means…!”
“Haaaa”
Tatsurou opened his mouth and activated [Level Eater]. A black dot once again appeared in his mouth and quickly grew in size. Immediately after, the sphere was launched towards the caterpillar. Unable to see the ball yet again, the sphere easily entered the caterpillar’s body.
ーーーーー
Level: 1
Skill(s): [Body Slam Lv 2], [Thread Weaving Lv 3], [Bite Lv 3]
ーーーーー
It was the same as before. He was able to see a part of the enemy’s status screen.
(It’s there! Alright, let’s try the threads…)
Concentrating on that particular skill, black smoke rose from the caterpillar’s body and gathered inside Tatsurou’s mouth once more.
ーーーーー
Level: 1
Skill(s): [Body Slam Lv 2], [Thread Weaving Lv 0], [Bite Lv 3]
ーーーーー
(Alright, [Thread Weaving] is now Lv 0. Now, mom has always told me to never leave leftovers!”
Once the black fumes stopped gathering, there should be nothing more left to devour. Even so, Tatsurou wanted to be sure as he checked the enemy’s status again.
ーーーーー
Level: 1
Skill(s): [Body Slam Lv 0], [Thread Weaving Lv 0], [Bite Lv 0]
ーーーーー
(Nice!)
After confirming that the enemy’s skills had disappeared, Tatsurou cut off their connection and devoured the black sphere in his mouth.
(Next is… If I attacked this guy with another stick… Huh?)
After finishing his preparation, Tatsurou was deciding his next move when the caterpillar suddenly wobbled and fell down on the ground. There, it twitched once and never moved again.
[You have levelled up to Lv 3.]
“Level up… Well, I did defeat that thing so… Fuuu”
It was a tricky situation. As soon as Tatsurou let go of the tension from the fight, he found himself sitting on the ground. Soon after, Ai’s voice sounded out.
“Is it over?”
“Yeaaaa, somehow. What about you?”
“I got [Throwing] up to Lv 6!”
As Ai threw a peace sign out with her hand, Tatsurou loosened his mouth and let out a sigh of relief. Standing up, he patted his pants to remove the dirt and headed towards Ai.
==============================================================================================
[1] More correct translations would be Using Level Eater or How to use Level Eater but both sound… not too good as a title. I’m personally debating whether to use Way or Path for the title. If you have any suggestions, let me know on discord or in the comments section below!
