Level Eater

The sun had set entirely, and a moonless night had descended. Usually, thanks to the illumination of a massive moon, one could see at least a little in the night, but tonight was different. In this place without streetlights, it was pitch dark.

Despite the late hour, Tatsuro and Ai had awakened some time ago. They had been conducting research and preparing for a potential confrontation outside. Hours passed quickly in this manner, and then it happened.

As they finished their preparations and stood ready, Cardina's detection magic picked up the same human presence as the previous night. Tatsuro, who was already awake, was informed of this, and Cardina received a reassuring pat on the head.

"Our preparations are complete. If they come, let them come." (Tatsuro)

"If they don't come, that's fine too." (Ai)

With a confident expression, they both put their strength into the equipment they held.

This time, it was not just a few people; about thirty individuals had formed a group, holding torches as they searched for the escaped prey.

"Given their movement speed, we should be able to find them soon. Hey, haven't you found them yet?"

"They're probably long dead, right? The trap was triggered, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but the message from the scouts our reinforcements sent said there was nothing at the trap location. There were no signs of an explosion, and all the traps we set were completely destroyed. They are definitely alive. Come on, if you understand, start searching already, you idiots."

"Alright, I get it. Wait…?"

"Things are getting noisy up ahead. What's going on?"

The most pompous of the group, a man wearing armour like a knight despite being a thief, with a thorny cudgel on his back, walked toward his agitated subordinates. As he approached, he noticed the figure writhing in their trap.

"What are you all doing? The trap location was clearly marked on the map, and you can't even read that? Are you all that stupid?"

"It's not true; the trap's location has been changed!"

"What? You should not be able to use it once it is activated… So, you're telling me they dug it out skillfully before activation and moved it. These kids they should not have skimped on trap quality. Hey, put someone who can use dispel magic up front and have them locate the traps."

"Yes, right away."

The surprisingly well-organized thieves quickly adjusted their approach and resumed the hunt for their prey. Frustration began to show in the man as they struggled to find the traps, making it difficult for him to focus on the detection magic for people.

(Damn it. This is getting troublesome. If I say, ‘I couldn't do anything,' when I report to the boss, my life will be in danger.)

"You still haven't found them?"

"It seems they've buried dummies that look just like the real traps, so it's quite a challenge."

"Dummies? Can't your detection magic tell them apart?"

"The problem is that they've made the dummies so closely resembling the real traps that no one with dispel magic skills can distinguish them in our group."

"Damn it, maybe these kids are even better at dispelling magic. We might need to catch them and make them our pets."

As he said that, the man in full armour suddenly felt something was amiss and turned around. To his surprise, the number of people who had been behind him had decreased.

"Hey, where did those guys behind us go?" he asked

"Huh? Where did they… Oh, it looks like quite a few have disappeared."

When the man's entourage asked where the others had gone, they said they had vanished without notice. The man in full armour relayed this information, and one of his entourage was punched.

"You idiot! That's no damn excuse! Are you kidding me?"

"Please don't hit me. Talk to them directly!"

"Oh? You moron! Listen up, you guys, ‘We didn't notice' won't cut it!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!"

As the underlings nervously and profusely apologized, the man in full armour continued to hit all of them and instructed the others to search for the missing members.

Then, when the man in full armour turned his attention to join his subordinates who were searching for traps at the front, he noticed that the numbers on that side had also decreased.

Finally, he realized that an abnormal situation was occurring.

"What's happening?"

"Huh? The people who were up front seem to have disappeared, too. They're pretty audacious to slack off like this."

"You morons! It is not a casual situation like that! We're under attack!"

"What?!"

Even if they had been focusing on the traps, the users of dispel magic among them should have noticed if someone got close. However, without anyone noticing, their numbers were being reduced, and the arrogant man's expression lost its composure.

It was a skill that could be called a product of coincidence, even if it was a technique.

Tatsuro's most significant concern had been the thieves' users of dispel magic. Cancelling out the information they were giving was possible, but that would reveal their location. However, if they did nothing, information would leak.

Therefore, they both sat in the carriage while reading a book on dispelling magic, trying to find ways to prevent information collection. They found several methods to avoid information gathering, but acquiring special items appeared necessary to completely deceive one's location.

However, obtaining such items was extremely difficult, and it seemed like only one would be needed for an entire nation. Naturally, they could not obtain such an item. Therefore, Tatsuro was troubled about what to do.

At that moment, he sensed that Catherine's detection magic had been activated through his own detection magic. He had not asked for it, but she seemed to periodically scan for any approaching enemies on her own.

Of course, they should have also noticed Tatsuro's detection magic on their side. Even with low-level dispel magic, it should be apparent, as that is what it is designed to do.

However, Tatsuro had a sudden thought. What if he could deceive their dispel magic? Could that be a solution?

With that idea in mind, he meticulously analyzed the dispel magic used by others for the first time. Then, Catherine quietly descended from the carriage and approached the two of them.

"It seemed like you were tampering with my dispel magic using dispel magic. Was there a problem?" (Catherine)

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was thinking about how to deceive the thieves dispel magic. I wanted to experiment with that, so I started examining other people's detection magic. I should have informed you beforehand." (Tatsuro)

"No need to apologize. If my dispel magic can be of use, please go ahead and examine it thoroughly. However, deceiving detection magic… I can't even imagine it." (Catherine)

"Is it that difficult?" (Ai)

"Yes, it is. It's like having a specialized magic for analysis and trying to make it incapable of that, which is like saying, ‘You can't burn anything even though you're using fire magic.'" (Catherine)

"That does sound challenging." (Ai)

As Tatsuro overheard the conversation between Ai and Catherine, he had successfully analyzed the dispel magic used by others. Now he could counter it.

However, he still had not found the answer he was looking for.

(Making fire but not being able to burn… It might work if I change the nature of fire magic using dark magic and imagine fire without heat. Hmm… A change in nature?) he thought

Tatsuro improvised by altering the nature of his own dispel magic using dark magic and visualized it to perfectly mimic Catherine's detection magic. Then, he mixed it into Catherine's detection magic, which had already been analyzed.

Normally, at this point, one would expect someone to notice that something had been added to their dispel magic. However, Catherine displayed no reaction.

(Is this working?) (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro cancelled the magic, still somewhat sceptical, and this time, he imagined it to resemble a bear-shaped magical creature, creating dispel magic with that appearance.

"――Huh?" (Catherine)

The place where Tatsuro had created the bear-like magical creature was right beside Catherine. Startled by the sudden reaction, Catherine turned to look, but naturally, there was nothing there.

"Catherine, did you have any reaction, like a magical creature appearing right next to you?" (Tatsuro)

"Y-Yes, Tatsuro-san, did you experience the same? Where did it…?" (Catherine)

"Yeah, sorry, it's not like that." (Tatsuro)

While scratching his head, Tatsuro explained what he had done, and Catherine's eyes widened in astonishment. She had never heard of this technique—using one's dispel magic to create a magical presence that could trick someone else's detection magic.

"Is that really possible?" (Catherine)

"To prove it, could you help me a little?" (Tatsuro)

"Y-Yes! I'd be happy to!" (Catherine)

At that moment, Catherine was on the verge of delving into a new magical technique. She put aside any concerns and decided to cooperate with Tatsuro.

Tatsuro had acquired a new technique by altering his dispel magic with dark magic, causing the magical presence it emitted to be mistaken for something entirely different by the opponent's detection magic. Through experimentation with Catherine, they found that by dispersing the magical presence of dispel magic disguised as the air around him, it could create the illusion of nothing being present.

One drawback was the narrowing of the detection range. The dispel magic altered with dark magic used for detection was so advanced that Tatsuro, working alone, could only manage a radius of about ten meters. However, he could handle a slightly reduced detection range by entrusting all the dispel magic to Cardina and focusing solely on the dark magic alteration.

With this new technique in mind, Tatsuro continued to plan his strategy. He had already pre-buried fake traps using earth magic, mixing a small number of real ones. While everyone's attention was on the ground, he enveloped himself and Ai with the magical presence disguised as air, creating a black mist to blend in with the darkness in their surroundings.

The thieves, utterly unaware of the technique that mimicked dispel magic, continued to advance, coming within ten meters of Tatsuro and Ai. During this time, they singled out individuals whose gaze hadn't noticed, captured them with Ai's whip, causing them to lose consciousness, and then dropped them into pre-prepared holes.

However, when their numbers had been reduced by almost half, it seemed the thieves had finally caught on. They began shouting and gave instructions to gather closely together.

"It seems we've been found out. I wanted to reduce their numbers a bit more." (Tatsuro)

"Well, they're not complete fools." (Ai)

"But even so, it looks like only one of them noticed." (Tatsuro)

"Well… he must have become a thief because he's an idiot." (Ai)

While Tatsuro and Ai continued their concentration and exchanged banter, they attempted to hinder the commanding man from giving orders. However, things took an unexpected turn.

"Forget the traps; find the enemies with detection magic quickly!"

"Yes… I see a response over there!"

"Illuminate with fire magic!"

"Yes! … Huh?"

"There's no one here!"

"Wha…?"

The place they had illuminated had nothing in it, and the man using detection magic had been hit.

However, there had indeed been a response, but it was merely a mass of mixed magic composed of dispel and dark magic, recognized as a person when detection magic was applied.

"It seems they rely too much on detection magic and easily fall for this. I should inform Catherine not to spread this around too much." (Tatsuro)

"What will we do now?" (Ai)

"Since they know something's there, and their numbers are low, let's switch to a different approach." (Tatsuro)

While the thieves were in disarray, trying to figure out the false information, Tatsuro, with a staff in his right hand and holding Ai's hand with his left, cast a spell before the thieves could locate them with fire magic.

"What the…!?"

The thieves, who had attempted to illuminate the area with fire magic, found themselves in even darker surroundings. The light from the torches they held had disappeared, and they began to panic.

Tatsuro had only used dark magic to conceal the thieves who had gathered in one place, but they were engulfed in true darkness magic, which was now at level 7, effectively concealing their surroundings. The thieves needed light magic to regain visibility, but none of them was skilled in it, and leaving the area was not an option as Tatsuro controlled the boundaries.

While the thieves were in disarray, Tatsuro used telepathy to send detailed information about the enemies to Ai and have her incapacitate them with her whip. Despite the decreasing number of thieves, they managed to cut the group to less than one-third.

In this case, it did not matter if the voices of the incapacitated thieves were heard, so they were targeted with more force, resulting in a chorus of pain as one by one they fell. Panic continued to engulf the darkness.

"Get a hold of yourselves!"

The leader in full-body armour shouted in an attempt to restore order, but his voice went unheard, and he, too, was struck down. Only the leader remained, dodging attacks with skill in the darkness.

"It's just this guy who's skillfully avoiding fatal injuries in the darkness. It would be nice if he'd just pass out." (Ai)

"Whether he's sharp or it's a skill… All right, let's investigate." (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro became interested in the man who continued to evade fatal injuries despite not striking with full force, so he decided to use dispel magic to sneak a peek at his status.

——————————–

Name: ???

Class: Baton User

Level: 32

Ki: 382

Mana: ???

Strength: ????

Durability: 287

Agility: 257

Magic: ????

Magic resistance: ????

Magic Control: 47

|Acquired Skills|

[Baton Mastery Lv. 6], [Unarmed Combat Lv.2], [Body Strengthening Lv.3]

[???? Lv. 3], [Crisis Detection Lv. 2]

|System skills|

Remaining Skill Points:????

|Titles|

[????]

——————————–

(His Level is surprisingly strong for a thief. Moreover, with [Crisis Detection], it can respond to threats even when invisible. I'll use an attack that can't be dodged.)

Tatsuro rallied himself for one final move.

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