Earth-san Level Up Vol 2 Chapter 8 (Patreon)

Japanese Doll

Focusing her mind, Meiko goes for Pestle Rabbit's hand with a Water Bullet.

[TL: Pestle Rabbit is like this after much research (I already know because I know a bit of Japanese folklore)]

The Water Bullet hits Pestle Rabbit's hand, forcing it to let go of the pestle.

At the same time, Meiko jumped out and hit it in the head with a Grimoire attack, followed immediately by Sasara and Ruru hitting it with Pestle Handle Sword and wooden sticks.

This was a scene that had already been played out many times since the maidens entered Shura.

Sasara and Ruru's fighting aptitude was unexpectedly high.

At the very least, they were much stronger than the initial performance of the shitty Little Girl.

From the strength of their arms to swing their swords down to the speed of their steps, they were entirely different from the Meiko of those days.

Though she is not as good as Meiko now that she has leveled up and continued her training.

The absolute prerequisite for the two of them to join the battle was to get Pestle Rabbit to let go of the pestle.

No matter how many times they have tried since then, Pestle Rabbit has made it his top priority to retrieve the pestle that she dropped.

There was no way not to take advantage of this great weakness.

Only currently, she asked Sasara and Ruru to go to work, as we would have little to worry about eating the painful damage.

Now that Sasara and Ruru are joining the battle in this way, Meiko's magical power consumption is greatly reduced.

For this reason, Meiko had to concentrate on releasing her magic to make Pestle Rabbit let go of his pestle, but since she was making them do the dirty work of direct attack, which leaves the feeling in their hands, there was no reason to concentrate so much.

The key to this battle was the accuracy of Meiko's magic.

Hitting the Pestle Rabbit itself is no problem, but hitting the hands and pestles is quite difficult.

Therefore, the success rate was about 70%.

When I couldn't get the Pestle Rabbit to let go after two shots, I had no choice but to fire a third shot to kill it.

Unlike the G-level dungeon Meiko entered, this dungeon required solid magic management because the enemies were moving quite actively.

Meiko and her team thus put their backpacks back on after the battle.

This was also necessary.

Since they did not have infinite storage or other such items at hand currently, Meiko and the others carried their backpacks.

To fight properly, the backpacks got in the way no matter what.

Now they had to put the strap through only one shoulder so that they could take it down quickly.

Such a fight was repeated for about an hour.

Sasara and Ruru's levels had risen to 1 when they both first joined the fight, and now they were up to 3.

The level increase is not immediate, so not much change can be seen so far. The maximum amount of magic is just a bit higher.

I have also instructed Ruru to use [Apprentice Ninja Technique] when she recovers. Apprentice Ninja Technique] also consumes magic power, so it should help increase the amount of magic power.

Meiko and her team proceeded to fight in such a way, gaining small changes and learning, as in the case of the backpack.

The mountain dungeon was a beautiful place.

The vermilion Torii Gates were fantastic, but the mountain itself was also scenic.

The leaves of unnamed trees glistened in the sunlight, and the sunlight falling through the trees onto the cobblestones created shades of yin and yang.

Sometimes we passed by a stream, which created a dazzling spectacle of light.

While beautiful like that, there was also an inexpressible sense of dread.

As I walked along the path lined with Torii Gates, listening to the sound of trees swaying in the wind, I couldn't help but be aware of this sunlight anyway.

Like the horizontal stripes on a pedestrian crossing, the more I walked, the more the sun and shade switched at a dizzying pace. If a branch extending to the top of the Torii Gate casts a shadow, I naturally become aware of it.

"If I had come here alone, I would have cried."

"I'm the same way. It's a beautiful place, but it's scary."

Ruru, who had been moved as soon as she entered the mountain, changed her opinion and said something like that.

The continuous light and shadows made Meiko also feel as if something in her mind was being forcefully opened.

Or perhaps there is a trance or some such phenomenon far beyond this sensation.

"Enemy desuwa"

"Nya!"

At Sasara's words, Meiko and Ruru immediately put down their backpacks and get ready for battle.

Grimoire has Water Bullet ready, and Meiko sharpens her aim and fires.

The Water Bullet hits solidly and, as usual, forces Pestle Rabbit to let go of the pestle, which Pestle Rabbit rushes to retrieve, only to have water spray in his face.

"Nin~nin!"

By this time, Ruru had learned to use the [Apprentice Ninja Technique] well and made Pestle Rabbit stiffen for a moment.

This momentary gap was huge, and Meiko was able to reliably hit the Grimoire Attack and put it into a combo.

After finishing the Grimoire Attack, Meiko went on perimeter alert.

After an hour of searching, they were getting better at coordination.

"Whoa, a rare drop!"

Pestle Rabbit, who disappeared into the light, dropped something they had never seen before.

"Oh, this thing is nice!"

Meiko said as she picked up the drop.

"Nya?"

Ruru, whose "na" sometimes becomes "nya," joined in and looked at what she was holding.

"My, it's Rabbit's ears!"

Yes, Meiko and her friends had gotten their hands on a Bunny Band.

And they were not party goods. I was an actual Bunny Band.

"This will be for Ruru or Sasara'"

"It would better on Meeko!"

"That's right, desuwa!"

"No, I think it would be better on Sasara or Ruru! Come on, let's play rock-paper-scissors on who should wear it."

"I don't like it desuwa, it's best for Meiko-san to wear it."

"That's right, that's right! No need to play rock-paper-scissors!"

No way... a rebellion!

Because of that, Meiko jumped to attach the Bunny Ears on Ruru's head, no questions asked.

The Bunny Ears matched Ruru's overalls, too fitting to even call it a joke.

"This guy is wonderful! It looks like something out of a fairy tale!"

"Muu!Pyon!"

Puffing her cheeks, Ruru, however, saw no point in getting angry and jumped up and down while making Pyon pyon noises.

"Whew, that's soooo cute!"

"Tha, you sure are cute, desuwa!"

Sasara couldn't complain, as Meiko was so excited, and Ruru with Bunny Ears on was super cute too.

Then Ruru tilted her head.

She jumped once more and moved to the side as soon as she landed.

Meiko tilted her head as Ruru began to move in mysterious ways, but soon it hit her.

"Are  you feeling like you could move faster?"

"Nya! My body feels light."

"Hmmm, maybe there is a special effect like that. Then it's perfect for Ruru and Sasara, who attack at close range. Oh, what about the maximum magic power?"

"Huh? Funny...it's down by 1."

Meiko already knew that the maximum amount of magic is reduced when you gain a passive skill.

Apparently, this also applies to [Agility Up] and other skills added to equipment.

Meiko thought again that magic power was foremost important for dungeon exploration.

"Merci si, Meiko."

"Nah, we're friends. Of course."

"A friend...nfufu!"

Ruru laughed happily at being called a friend.

His eyes, which change expression, widen when she smiles happily and narrow when she smiles shyly.

Ruru's head was now equipped with Bunny Ears, a decisive weapon.

Meiko and Sasara were moved by the overwhelming power of Ruru's moe.

The mountain dungeon, like any labyrinth, had branches.

Although not as similar as the Little Girl labyrinth, each path was long and drawn out.

At the end of a long stretch of road, sometimes it leads to a path they have already taken, and other times dead-ends. The actual real paths were found by following the twisting and turning paths characteristic of the mountains, making them quite tricky to navigate.

About two hours after they started the search, they found a treasure chest.

Meiko dashed up to the treasure chest.

What she was doing, should be a very dangerous thing to do.

"It's a treasure chest!"

But as far as Meiko was concerned, Meiko only focused on introducing the Treasure Chest to the two of them as if she were introducing a proud friend. Even her hand extended to the treasure chest in the form of an introduction.

"Oh! It's like a game!"

Ruru swinging her hand up and down.

Sasara, on the other hand, tilted her head slightly, looking at the treasure chest.

"Should we report this to the police or something?"

To her surprise, here was where Meiko's commonsense differed from the two.

The treasure chest found through a game display was a little different from the one found in real life, Ruru thought.

"Sasara-san! The treasure chest we found in the dungeon is ours!"

Meiko made the big announcement, but Sasara seemed unconvinced.

Meiko was a little disappointed, thinking, "Oh, you don't seem that excited." But as soon as she looked at the treasure chest, she smiled.

Meiko was 15 years old.

Before she knew it, she had grown to love treasure chests.

So, Meiko opened the treasure chest.

As a senior in the dungeon, she should have to explain the danger of possible traps, but this Loli was a bad senior.

There was no trap, and the lid opened with a creaking sound.

Inside was a small cloth pouch.

"A magic pouch?" Meiko thought as she picked it up, but she was wrong.

Inside the bag were 15 coins she had never seen before.

"Is it money?"

It was a good number of coins, so the three of them split them up by five and put them in their respective backpacks.

They didn't know the value of the coins, but this way, in case one of us of them had to leave, they won't lose all of it.

Meiko thought so, and Sasara and Ruru thought to themselves, Meiko was very meticulous.

With that in mind, the search continued.

By this time, they were getting used to Pestle Rabbit's attack patterns.

In particular, Meiko's Water Bullet became more accurate.

In addition, the Pestle Handle Swords dropped by Pestle Rabbit were distributed to everyone, and their overall attack power increased.

Meiko started to strengthen everyone's equipment little by little as she now had some spare magic power to resume [Synthetic Enhancement] if only a little. Priority was given to raising the defensive strength of Sasara and Ruru. Pestle Handle Sword was the next priority.

They also took pictures of the beautiful scenery with their phone.

They didn't neglect searching for enemies, but even if they had to do it, that was also part of the fun in in dungeon exploration, balancing the tension between fun and danger. That was according to Meiko-san, a dungeon pro.

Four hours after they started exploring the dungeon, they came across a monster they had never encountered before.

This time, the enemy was a Japanese Doll about 50 centimeters tall.

It was already quite frightening just to see such a thing standing in the open, but the weapon in its hand made it even more frightening.

It was holding a katana with a blade of about 30 cm in length. The katana was thin, probably because it was made for dolls.

""""Hiiii!"""

The three of them let out a frightened cry together, as if dolls and deadly weapons were something frightening.

The three of them felt the urge to hug each other, but what was in front of them was a monster.

They had to fight.

"Preparing Water Bullet!

"Nya, Nya!"

"De, desuwa!"

Ruru and Sasara were readying their Pestle Handle Swords and dropping their posture, ready to attack.

Since the bonus benefit of [1st Floor Breakthrough - Solo] was still active, Meiko was the vanguard, as it was the first time they had encountered that monster.

Sasara and Ruru were reluctant, but this was the most reasonable way.

The Japanese Doll floated in the air.

Meiko wondered if it was how it moved.

Like Pestle Rabbit, the Japanese Doll flew at the speed of an adult walking fast.

It could not fly very high, and was only floating at around Meiko's eye level.

[Regardless, I had to launch the Water Bullet.]

Meiko thought to herself, and shot a Water Bullet from the Grimoire.

However, the Japanese Doll evaded it.

Meiko's Water Bullet was avoided with a barrel roll-like movement as it approached her.

"What? Eh...ah...?"

Meiko had considered the possibility that the Water Bullet could be avoided, but when the most powerful means of attack was evaded, she panicked.

She readied her Pestle Handle Sword in a panic and prepared for a close encounter.

As soon as she was in range of the Grimoire, she immediately attacked with a Grimoire Attack at high speed.

The Grimoire Attack was much slower than the Water Bullet.

However, the Japanese Doll could not react to the attack from right above its head, and the attack succeeded.

Meiko immediately hit the Japanese Doll with the Pestle Handle Sword as she lowered the altitude of the floating enemy below Meiko's eye level.

Meiko's hand felt as if she was hitting a stone, and several cracks appeared on the Japanese Doll's face. The fear doubled, but she couldn't let that stop her.

Meiko slashes at the Japanese Doll with her Pestle Handle Sword, but the Japanese Doll evaded the attack.

At that moment, Meiko smashed it with her Grimoire attack once more, knocking the Japanese Doll to the ground.

Meiko had practiced this pattern of attack at home.

It was a fusion of Grimoire and swordsmanship.

Usually, anyone could come up with this, but only those who have a Grimoire could actually do it.

So, she was ahead of the rest of the world in her training. Meiko worked very hard for this new martial art full of romance.

Even after being smashed on the cobblestones, the Japanese Doll did not let go of its small katana.

Even the blade, which looked like a toy, was a tremendous pressure for the 15-year-old girls.

Too scared to get close, Meiko hit it with a series of Grimoire attacks.

After two or three hits, to her surprise, on the fourth hit, Japanese Doll turned it's body around to avoid the Grimoire Attack.

It then flew low, aiming at Meiko's feet.

The range of the Grimoire Attack was only 2 meters. Meiko, who had been caught off guard, thinking she could take it down with the Grimoire Attack, was unable to react quickly enough.

It had already lost half of its face, one leg, and one hand, and its body was in shambles.

But it was determined to take a swing at her, as Meiko tried to get it to let go of the katana that it was holding horizontally with one hand.

Meiko's eyes saw the Japanese Doll's face as it looked at her, that seemed to be showing a grin.

At that moment, water spurted out from under the Japanese Doll's body.

The Japanese Doll, suddenly drenched with water, stiffened slightly.

Meiko, however, was unable to respond to that opening.

Instead, it was Sasara who responded.

Sasara intervened between Meiko and Japanese Doll, pushing Meiko backward, and slammed the Pestle Handle Sword into Japanese Doll's body.

At the same time, the katana wielded by the Japanese Doll struck Sasara in the ankle.

"Sasara!"

"Sasara!"

"Ugh! This thing desuwaaaaaaaa!"

Sasara selflessly slammed the Pestle Handle Sword all over the Japanese Doll, even though her leg was slightly pushed back by the slash.

Soon the Japanese Doll disappeared, turning into particles of light, and Sasara turned back to Meiko, letting go of her weapon.

"Me-me, Meiko-san!"

"I'm alright! Sasara is, ugh, is Sasara alright!?"

Tearful, Meiko crouched down and checked Sasara's leg.

When she was pushed away, Meiko could see that the Japanese Doll attacked Sasara with its sword.

Sasara's feet, however, were firmly attached.

Instead of her ankle, the white jersey and the sock hidden beneath it were torn to shreds, as if it had been forcibly ripped open with a saw, and the ankle itself had a bleeding scratch on it.

Tears streamed from Meiko's eyes, thinking about a citation where Sasara's leg could have been cut off.

"Thank God, Sasara, Sasara!"

"Please, please don't cry. I am fine, desuwa!"

Sasara fumed as Meiko cried herself hoarse with worry.

Sasara looked at Ruru for help, but Ruru was also fidgeting, holding her hand halfway forward.

"Idiot! I told you I would be okay because I can at least take damage from one attack, any attack, aaah!"

Sasara made a shocked face as if she just realized.

"I apologize. I'm sorry. I forgot."

"Ugh...but Sasara, thank you for covering for me."

"Nah, of course desuwa!"

Sasara, who had been looking at her and fawning over her, narrowed her eyes gently.

"Ruru, I'm sorry too, you gave me a chance and I couldn't react in time."

"Nyao, that's not always the case!"

At that moment, Meiko was too confused to do anything.

She was thinking unnecessary things like, "I'm going to use [1st Floor Breakthrough - Solo]!"

Meiko was so confused that the situation almost resulted with Sasara losing a leg. Meiko reflected on the situation.

Even if she had the power, if she did not compensate with  quickness and judgment, she would end up in a situation like this.

Meiko now had one more problem to solve.