The Earth-san Has Leveled Up! - Volume 2 Chapter 15
Hot Springs and Nighttime Monsters
“Neko-san, Neko-san, may we have a photo session inside your inn?”
Ruru asked the Cat Fairy on behalf of the others.
After getting a confirmation from the Cat Fairy, the three of us took pictures of the inn that we would be posting on Winsta at a later time.
Meiko and the others are the only guests at the inn, so all that can be heard is the lively voices of the three of them fading into the back of the corridor.
There are many rooms, but we were the only guests at the inn.
It sounds luxurious to say that we have the whole place to ourselves, but it gives me the impression of loneliness.
“Someday, when everyone becomes strong, I wonder if this inn will be crowded.”
Meiko gazed down the corridor, which was illuminated by a glimmer of light, and said with a sigh.
“Of course. I’m sure even the elementary school students will have cleared the Kazami Dungeon by the time they are as old as we are. And when they finally do, this is where they’ll be next.”
None of the three had learned any martial arts.
But the elementary school students who attend the Aozora Training Dojo learn the art of self-defense from an age more than four years younger than Meiko and the others. Surely, a future like the one Sasara described is possible.
By the way, Kazami Dungeon is the dungeon Meiko activated.
It is commonly called the Little Girl labyrinth.
“Training… If everyone could beat Spring Balloons and Demon Books and raise their level to 3, they would be much, much stronger.”
According to the professor, the maximum level that can be raised in the first floor of a G-Rank dungeon is 5.
She said that one could reach level 3 in half a day, but it would be much harder to reach level 4, and even harder to go from 4 to 5 because the level of the first floor of a G-Rank dungeon is only 5.
It may be possible to raise the level even higher, but since we are in a situation where we need to create strong human resources as soon as possible, that research has been put on hold.
In Meiko’s opinion, level 3 is sufficient.
Meiko was level 4 when she escaped from the dungeon, and her magic power rose to about 60 in about two weeks. Even her physical abilities rose at an astonishing speed.
It depends on the number of skills and magic power you have at the beginning, but even level 3 will be enough to achieve good results.
On the contrary, level 0 is no good.
Meiko had trained with Sasara at Aozora Training Dojo and had seen the gap between Meiko and Sasara, who was at level 0.
At that time, Meiko felt loneliness rather than a sense of superiority.
Meiko was not sure what to do with the time she had spent wandering around the first floor of the G level dungeon, even though her level would go up to level 3. Then Sasara and the conscious schoolgirls would all be stronger.
I wish they would release them to civilians.
Meiko thinks.
I am sure there will be deaths if it is just civilians, so they should be accompanied by instructors.
The SDF are strong, and Meiko think they can get back home with five or four amateurs on the first floor of Kazami Dungeon.
The magic of the magic book is a nuisance, but Meiko think that trained people can knock away a Water Bullet of that level. Even Meiko could do it.
I wonder what would happen if such a thing spread throughout Japan, or even the whole world.
I am certain, I am confident, I am convinced.
—I’m sure I’ll be able to enter a dungeon with a big swing of my bat.
This girl has no idea of human development.
Of course, I think it’s good that everyone is trying their best.
Regardless, I want to adventure in the dungeon!
I want to plunge into the second floor of the Kazami dungeon and beyond!
Meiko dreams of herself adventuring in a dungeon with her stronger acquaintances.
Going to school and going into the dungeon for a little while on the way home.
They would discuss how to spend the three-day weekend starting tomorrow in the dungeon.
Then, during the summer vacation, they would plan to clear the dungeon and challenge the dungeon.
Sounds like a lot of fun.
Even now, adventuring with my friends, opening treasure chests, meeting a Cat Fairy, opening treasure chests, equipping… I feel that my friends and I are getting stronger and stronger.
And then, you go deeper and deeper into the dungeon of the infinite torii.
This is irresistible.
I felt bad for Sasara, Ruru, and all the family members including myself, but I enjoyed this inescapable situation very much.
There is the anguish of not being able to bring them back at the return gate, but there is also this great feeling that is at odds with that.
I can’t wait for adventurers to become more common in the world.
Meiko thought of the quiet corridor of the inn, and the lively adventurers.
Satisfied with the photo shoot, the three took a dip in the hot spring.
Meiko felt a twinge of shame in the changing room, which was to be expected since she could see them even through their clothes.
Compared to Sasara and Ruru, it was too much…
But Sasara and Ruru were also inwardly embarrassed.
Sasara, innately, was shy.
In Ruru’s case, the Location of Kismia, where she has been living all her life, was a country where it was not common to be completely naked in public baths. School pools had private rooms from elementary school, and there were no public bathhouses.
Since she came to Japan at least once a year, she knew that there were hot springs in Japan, and she had been in one, but only with her parents or grandmother.
Taking off her clothes in front of her friends was more embarrassing than she had ever imagined.
The three of us covered ourselves with towels and quickly made our way to the bathhouse.
The first thing we did was to wash our bodies, as was the custom, and at this point Ruru cut in.
“Shara. Oh, you know, do you want me to wash your back?”
Ruru says to Sasara, who sits next to her, fidgeting.
Ruru always thought that Japanese girls were supposed to wash each other’s back when they took a bath with their close friends. This was due to the influence of the moe moe anime, in which the hot water fumes often worked as cover.
“Eh, ah, washing each other?”
Sasara, on the other hand, only experienced going to a hot spring with her classmates on a school trip, so she didn’t know the etiquette of visiting a hot spring on a trip with friends.
However, she heard that there was such a thing as “washing each other”, so she imagined that it might be a good idea and decided to give it a try.
And so it began.
Sasara got up and took Ruru’s back.
Sasara took the lead.
Sasara puts soap on a towel and gently scrubs Ruru’s back.
Ruru shrinks back in embarrassment and closes her eyes. She would have thought that she should not have provided this suggestion, but Ruru, who had no friends in Japan before, wanted to have various kinds of bonds. That was why she had the courage to say what she did.
When Ruru opened her eyes, she saw Sasara’s reflection in the mirror.
Sasara smiled kindly, and Ruru smiled with her usual innocent smile.
Ruru’s hair was washed, and it was Sasara’s turn to be washed.
Meiko quickly finished washing her hair with Sasara by her side.
Then she got into the bathtub and stared at her two close friends.
In a real washing session, would they wash each other’s fronts, as well, Meiko thought?
Meiko was tempted to give them false advice, but she knew that if she made a mistake, and they started kissing, it would be the end of it.
Meiko swallowed down the teasing words that were coming out of her throat, and looked out the window at the moon.
“Hey, when you wash each other, do you wash each other’s fronts too?”
Meiko couldn’t resist it.
“Oh, really?”
“Ha, come to think of it, there was a scene like that in an anime.”
After that, the two of them turned red and started washing each other’s fronts too.
Meiko reports to the moon that they really did it.
Meiko hears a happy giggle coming from them.
She turns around and sees the two of them wriggling around while washing each other.
“Wow, that’s wonderful” Meiko thought as she looked at the result of her actions.
What if one day she opened the door at school and found the two of them kissing?
Meiko was a little worried.
“No, that’s also… love, huh? You never know what life has in store for you.”
Meiko nodded cheekily and played it cool.
The background music was chuckling.
After the two finished washing, Meiko followed behind and got into the bathtub.
Meiko felt like she was going to overheat, so she adjusted the heat by sitting on the edge of the tub.
“It feels so good!”
“Nya… it feels good, desu.”
Meiko soaked in the bathtub and looked out the window at the view.
From this hot spring, Meiko could see the sea of clouds and the Sakura tree under the full moon in the background.
“It’s so elegant, isn’t it?”
“Is this what you call ‘elegant’?”
“Yes, it is. It means calm and graceful. It’s a sensual thing, so it depends on the person. If seeing something beautiful makes you want to write a phrase or a poem or drink a cup of tea, that’s elegance.”
“Oh, so now is precisely the time to be “Elegant”! Here’s a phrase. I’m having fun in the dungeon with Shara and the hot springs!”
“Fufufu, that’s a lovely phrase. Thank you, Ruru-san.”
“Nfufufu!”
Meiko nodded as she listened to them.
They are very close. Their distance is also very close.
I wonder if it is possible to increase the degree of friendliness so much by doing the Cleaning Each Other thing.
Meiko’s feeling of exclusion is increasing.
In the dungeon, at the hot springs with Sharla, fun desu!
Ah, I forgot to include myself!
“Let’s go exploring!”
Meiko appealed to them.
“Eh, why, of course, shall we?”
“Nya, I’m going to defeat more and more enemies with my new equipment!”
Phew, dangerous.
Meiko was accepted into the group.
A few quiet moments passed, and Ruru began to feel groggy.
“Nyu…”
“Ruru-san, don’t fall asleep, okay?”
“No, I’m not falling asleep.”
Ruru’s eyes were squinting, and Meiko, thinking this was a bad idea, decided to get out of the bath.
“Ruru, if you fall asleep in the bath or hot spring, you will die, you know?”
“Nyah, Kismia used to have baths, so I know that.”
“Oh, I see. Sorry, sorry.”
“Nya~ Thank you for your concern.”
Having experienced frontal washing, the two walked out fully exposed without covering their fronts when they left.
Meiko, who didn’t participate because she was embarrassed, she walked away with her towel and her mouth tied tightly shut.
But it was still wonderful.
Meiko gulped at the sight of the two girls’ high-spec backs, who were barely the same age as her.
Eventually, I would join as well.
Meiko secretly felt uneasy.
***
After that, we use our meal ticket for a meal.
The dishes available with the meal ticket are all the food sold at the inn. Ingredients and preserved foods can also be purchased, but they are not very useful.
Meiko had the small hot pot set meal. The main dish is a small pot with mystery meat.
Sasara has the fried rabbit set meal.
Ruru had the tempura set meal.
All of these come with rice, miso soup, one side dish, and one dessert.
Meiko and the others shared the main dish.
The three of us were able to nourish our spirits by eating something unexpectedly good in the dungeon.
Returning to their rooms, they spread out the futon and each set to work.
First, Meiko asked the two for permission to use the appraisal ball to check the initial defense of the equipment she had just bought.
She wanted to know the exact values of the equipment’s attack and defense capabilities. Appraisal balls are precious, but they are used for peace of mind.
Meiko applied [Synthetic Enhancement] to the appraisal ball before appraising it.
Thus, he made the appraisal ball [50/50] [25/50].
Meiko thought that this might extend the time limit, although the appraisal ball can only be appraised for 30 seconds.
Meiko used the appraisal ball [50/50].
First of all, she appraised the [25/50] appraisal ball.
Meiko’s eyes dart around frantically, and she discovers that Synthetic Enhancement of the appraisal ball increases the usage time from [30 seconds] to [45 seconds]. 25 up, 15 seconds extra. 5 up, 3 seconds more… Meiko is pleased with the result, and immediately starts to appraise the equipment.
Meiko reads out the numbers, and Sasara fills in the numbers in her notebook, which has the name of each piece of equipment written in advance.
Using two appraisal balls [50/50], we know the initial value of all the equipment Meiko and her team bought. Some of the weapons have already been made a little stronger than others, but we’ll leave that aside.
As a result, all the equipment initially had a higher defense than the maximally strengthened terrestrial garments.
The jersey has a defense of 12, while Meiko’s hunting robe has a defense of 15.
The difference between the two is small at the moment, but with further Synthetic Enhancement, the difference will be much larger.
We also found out the effects of Bunny Band and Bunny Tail, Pestle Rabbit’s Rare Drops.
Bunny Band is [Agility Up Minimal].
Bunny Tail was [Rear Protection].
It seems that Ruru wearing Bunny Tail protected her rear.
I wonder if it is to keep the buttocks clean or something like that.
After the appraisals were over, each of us got to work.
Sasara and Ruru take care of their weapons using the [simple care paper for weapons] that they bought with their equipment earlier. The blades seemed to shine more brightly.
By the way, [Weapon Care Paper] comes in a pack of 10 sheets.
Meiko is [Synthetic Enhancement].
After doing that, I went to sleep to prepare for tomorrow.
Sasara and Ruru are sleeping soundly.
Meiko, however, wakes up after a short sleep, does Synthetic Enhancement, empties her magic power, goes back to sleep, wakes up again, does Synthetic Enhancement, goes back to sleep… and repeats the process.
Meiko’s current magic power is 89.
If she sleeps for an hour and a half, her magic power will be fully recovered.
Not wanting to waste it, I whipped my tired body into shape and woke up with all my might.
Tomorrow, I will probably enter the 4th Floor.
If I am not careful, I may fight the boss at the bridge.
So, I wanted to strengthen my strength as much as possible.
*Chirin, *Chirin’.
*Ponponponpon
*Clang *clang
While working for the third time, Meiko suddenly noticed the sound of musical instruments in the distance.
“What is it?”
Could it be that the SDF had come looking for us?
Maybe they are playing instruments like that to make their presence known.
I glanced that way.
I sat on the edge of the window and looked out.
With the window open, I could hear the instruments more closely.
The wind was somewhat lukewarm, and I felt a creepy, hair-raising sensation.
Something is happening.
Meiko was convinced of this and rushed to wake them up.
They woke up rubbing their eyes, but were awakened when they came near the window.
“What!!!?”
Meiko gasped as she held up her phone.
There was a long line of visitors on a bridge about 300 meters away.
But it was not people forming it.
Demons, a Tengu, a giant spider with the face of a bull, an old man with a wheel of fire, animals in clothes, objects transformed into Tsukogami…
“Hya, it’s a night of a hundred demons…”
As Sasara said, it was an army of specters.
“Oh, that’s not possible to challenge…”
Ruru grabbed Sasara’s clothes.
Is that a dungeon-generated monster?
Or was it a dark one materialized from the shadows by Earth-san’s awakening, nobody knows.
But Cat Fairy’s advice that we would die if we went out into the night was spot on.
There was no way we could win against such a multitude, and even if it were just one, there would be more enemies we could not win against.
“”””What?””””
Meiko and the others froze, forgetting to breathe.
One of them, a Tengu, stopped and stared at Meiko and the others.
Then the Tengu quickly pointed a tin cane in its hand at Meiko.
[Child of man, were you the one who wished to defeat us one day? I see, I look forward to it.]
The words reached the ears of Meiko and the others almost instantly, even though they were spoken not with a shout.
The cause was in Meiko’s hands.
The voice was coming from the speaker of the phone she was holding in her hand.
The three did not notice, but at that moment, the screen of the phone zoomed in by itself, showing a large image of the Tengu.
The Tengu’s head was smacked by a demon.
It looked as if it were trying not to make fun of them, but Meiko and the others were having none of it.
“Oh, no, he’s not taking me seriously…”
Meiko’s mind replayed the line she had declared to the darkness beyond the endless Torii Gate at the end of the hunt just a few hours earlier.
It was just a playful game that had produced the famous scene of the sheep valley Meiko biography – Introduction, Tears of Regret.
To be frank, from Meiko’s point of view, that was what she wanted.
She simply needed to get stronger and beat them up.
But this might have involved the other two as well.
Meiko was afraid of that.
It would be good for both of them to get stronger in the dungeon, but not to be stalked by someone.
However, regardless of Meiko’s concern, the two said in a nonchalant manner.
“Hmmm…this means we have to be stronger”
“Nya! I don’t think we can do it now, but I’m going to beat you up eventually!”
Meiko looked up at them and said.
“I’m sorry, I did something stupid, and I might have gotten you two into trouble.”
“There’s no way we can foresee something like this. We need to be strong for it, that’s what we need to do in the world ahead of us. That’s what Meiko-san said, right?”
“Yes, yes. If we don’t get stronger, we will be killed by ordinary demons before them! That’s why I’m going to get stronger and stronger!”
Meiko held back her tears at their words.
“Yes. I’ll get stronger and beat them to death!”
They vowed to each other, and after watching the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons disappear into the mountains, the three of them went back to their futon.
In the distance, the sound of lively musical instruments can still be heard, but the three of them fall into a deep slumber.
However, only Meiko woke up an hour later to do Synthetic Enhancement.
It was to perform Synthetic Enhancement.
Meiko enhanced everyone’s equipment and until her magic power was reduced to zero.
Meiko noticed something at that time.
A title had been added to her name.
????
[Shura Rank – the right to challenge the dungeon of the True Infinity Torii].
This is acquired by those who witness the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons and are challenged by the Four Heavenly Kings.
Effect: The dungeon of the Infinite Torii – Defeating the boss at night will lead to entering the dungeon of the True Infinite Torii.
—-
“So, that’s the effect…”
Meiko was a little relieved.
At least, it seems that there is no such thing as being stalked by youkai outside the dungeon.
Another thing worth noting is the sentence, “The dungeon of Infinite Torii – the boss at night”.
The cat fairy’s words, “If you make the right choice, you will be able to return home”, must mean that we should act strictly during the daytime. And the boss should be challenged in daytime.
Just by being informed of this answer, that stupid action was not in vain.
In the middle of the next synthesis, Meiko ran out of synthesis materials and slept until dawn.
?????
? *The value on the left is the initial value of the power of offense and defense. ?
? The value on the right is the value after synthesis that will be checked the next day. ?
? The initial values of the items whose initial values are unknown are not indicated before or after the synthesis. ?
[Meiko’s equipment]
-Water Grimoire [98/125] Physical Attack 29, Magic Attack 69
-Fire Grimoire [10/125] Physical Attack 12, Magic Attack 25
-Saber [30/125] Attack 20?38
-Mini Scissors [100/100] Offense 6
-Sakura Robe [63/125] Defense 15?46
-Sakura Hakama [43/125] Defense 15?36
-Sakura Long Socks [43/125] Defense 5?13
Sakura High Sandals [43/125] Defense 6?14
-Thimble Gloves [125/125] 30
-Sakura Choker [43/125] Defense 5?13
—–
[Sasara’s equipment]
-Saber [87/125] Attack 77
-Sword [100/100] Attack 14
-Sakura Kimono [63/125] Defense 15?46
-Sakura Hakama [43/125] Defense 15?36
-Sakura Long Socks [43/125] Defense 5?13
-Lace-up Boots [43/125] Defense 10?22
-Bunny Band [125/125] Defense 12
[Agility Up Minimal] Magic Power -1
-Plated Headband [15/125] 10 ? 16
-Hand Guard [15/125] 12 ? 21
-Thimble Gloves [43/125] Defense 5?12
-Sakura Choker [43/125] 5?12
—–
[Ruru’s equipment]
-Ninja sword [30/125] Attack 18?33
-Small sickle [44/125] Attack 14?31
-Sakura Kunoichi Kimono [63/125] Defense 15?46
-Sakura Kunoichi Spats [43/125] Defense 15?36
-Sakura Long Socks [43/125] Defense 5?13
-Sakura Sandals [43/125] Defense 6?14
-Bunny Band [125/125] Defense 12
[Agility Up Minimal] Magic Power -1
-Bunny Tail [25/125] Defense 4
[Rear Protection] Magic Power -1
-Hand Armor [15/125] Defense 12 ? 21
-Leg Armor [15/125] Defense 12 ? 21
-Thimble Gloves [43/125] Defense 5?12
-Sakura Choker [43/125] Defense 5?12
-Ornamental Hairpin [15/125] Defense 2?3
?????
*For clothing, Japanese Doll kimonos and obis are highly effective when enhancing, and rabbit fur is also good.
For metal equipment, pieces of Japanese Doll Katana are highly effective.