Level Eater

Chapter 6: The Way Back Home

"Yeah With the system and those HUGE caterpillars, I'd be surprised if someone said we're still on Earth." (Ai)

"So, you're still the same as ever, huh. We don't know if we can ever go back home, you know?" (Tatsuro)

"I do. But still, we're already here so there's nothing much we can do about it. It's still sad that I can't see Mom and Dad anymore but I'm not alone, right?!" (Ai)

Saying that, Ai hugged Tatsuro's arm. Tatsuro smiled softly at her and replied, "You got that right."

If one of them was thrown into this world alone, he or she might not be able to even make it this far.

"Still, that doesn't mean that we should lose all hope! Remember, we have magic here. We could still get home with a simple Abra Kadabra for all we know." (Tatsuro)

"That's the spirit! But even if we're stuck here forever, I think I can live on if it's with you. (Ai)

"That's why you can't leave me, okay? N-E-V-E-R." (Tatsuro)

"I'm the one who should be saying that." (Ai)

Whispering sweet words to each other, the two stared at each other while closing the distance between their lips until they finally touched. Though it only lasted for a moment, that was all it needed for them to convey each other's feelings.

"By the way, won't Help know if there is magic that can bring us back home?" (Ai)

"I don't expect it to. Help-san doesn't know Earth, let alone Japan. If, against all odds, it did know how to get us home, I'll start calling it Help-sama!" (Tatsuro)

"Hmm, if you say that, then what are we waiting for? Let's go ask it!" (Ai)

"Ah, I'll do it!" (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro opened the system that he was now familiar with and quickly navigated to the Help section.

"Now, tell us. How do we get back to Earth? It doesn't know what "Earth" is. Told ya!" (Tatsuro)

"No, no You just asked it too roughly! In the first place, would the natives here even call our world "Earth?" Try asking it more gently." (Ai)

"Gently? How about this Does magic that can teleport people to other worlds exist? Seems so." (Tatsuro)

"See!" (Ai)

"Wait." (Tatsuro)

Saying that to the delightedly clapping Ai, Tatsuro fired off his next question.

"Where do we find that? If we get the space-time attribute magic, then, theoretically, we can travel to a different world using the transfer magic in it." (Tatsuro)

"Space-time Doesn't that cost 1000-point?" (Ai)

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"What do you mean by theoretically? A few conditions must be met to activate it. First, we must be able to have a clear thought about the place we want to go to. Next, we must have visited there once. So if one isn't limited by the second condition, then theoretically, one can go to other worlds too." (Tatsuro)

Also, because of the extremely high cost of the space-time attribute, no human has ever learned it. Even Help hasn't seen anyone do it."

"Huh? Doesn't that mean we can go home as soon as we get the skill?" (Ai)

"Yep!" (Tatsuro)

With a "Yay!" and a high five, the two hugged each other and had a small celebration.

With Tatsuro's skill, even if he doesn't level up, as long as there is sufficient "food," the only limit to him earning skill points is time alone.

"Even so, 1000 points sounds a bit too high Aren't there some kind of tips and tricks to speed it up?" (Tatsuro)

"Shouldn't you ask Help-sama for that?" (Ai)

"It really turned out to be Help-sama, huh?" (Tatsuro)

"Of course. Help-sama is benevolent. I'm sure Help-sama can bestow knowledge upon us." (Ai)

"Really?" (Tatsuro)

While being looked at by Ai with a face that basically says this idiot', Tatsuro fired up Help from the system again.

"Please teach us! The most efficient way to learn space-time attribute magic is N?" (Tatsuro)

"What happened? What did Help-sama say?" (Ai)

"Eh? That's HAAAA?!" (Tatsuro)

"Wait a minute, what did it say!?" (Ai)

"Red alert!!! There's another condition we need to achieve apart from the skill points needed to learn space-time!" (Tatsuro)

"Ha? What condition?" (Ai)

"Apart from maxing out all other attributes to Lv 10, the user also needs to learn gravity magic. Looks like we can only learn space-time after doing all that." (Tatsuro)

"What shortcut? Isn't this the long way around?" (Ai)

"Yeah. But at least we confirmed something that might trouble us in the future." (Tatsuro)

"And that is?" (Ai)

"Ah, the thing is" (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro asked Help for an explanation regarding skills and skill points.

First, the skill points needed to learn a skill are evaluated by how hard it would be for the user to learn it on their own.

For example;

If a skill costs 1 to 3 points, anyone with a healthy body can learn the skill if they put in sufficient effort in training.

If a skill costs 4 points, then a person who undergoes strenuous training can learn that skill.

If a skill costs 5 points, only talented people who undergo a strict training regimen can learn that skill.

If a skill costs 6 points, a talented person must have the blessing of their race in addition to the strict training.

At 7 skill points, the requirements are the same as that of 6 skill points. However, the person must undergo specialized training to even have a chance to learn that skill.

Costing 8 points and above, skills in that category are impossible to learn with effort and training alone.

Regarding that, Tatsuro would not have been able to learn [Map] without the help of the system.

The issue is, if one were to devote themselves to a certain style or attribute, it'll become their way of life, like a swordsman or fire mage for example, making it harder for them to learn other skills.

Essentially, any basic skill can be learned by anyone for only 1 point, like [Swords Arts Lv 1] and [Spear Arts Lv 1].

However, once that person learns [Swordsmanship Lv 1], other skills, [Unarmed Combat Lv 1] for example, will then cost 2 skill points.

If they learned both [Swordsmanship Lv 1] and [Unarmed Combat Lv 1], another skill such as [Staff Arts Lv 1] would then take 3 skill points to learn. As the number of skills you learn increases, so does the number of skill points required to learn a new one.

By the way, if one were to learn a skill from the Martial Arts skill tree, the required skill points to learn a skill in the Magic skill tree would increase by 2 and vice versa. Hence, it was quite difficult for the average human to master both Martial Arts and Magic.

Back to the matter at hand, for Tatsuro to learn Space-time magic, he would first need to master the other 12 attributes and learn gravity magic.

If Tatsuro were to learn any attribute besides light, darkness, and gravity, then he would need:

[n] Skill points to get the first attribute to [Lv n]. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

That's easy enough, but the second one will take:

[2n] skill points to level up to [Lv n] (2, 4, 6, 8, 10)

Then the third will take: [3n] to get to [Lv n] (3, 6, 9, 12, 15)

The pattern continues, where the last attribute will take [12n] points to reach [Lv n]. (12, 24, 36, 48)

As such, it will take a huge number of points for Tatsuro to master all 12 attributes.

Not forgetting the Light and Darkness attributes;

To raise their level to [Lv n], it would take a total of [n+10] skill points.

However, if he were to max them out last, then they would take [12(n+10)] points to get to [Lv n].

"Is how it is?" (Tatsuro)

"Hmm, whenever you learn a new attribute, the SP cost gets multiplied, so it's harder for you to master a new one." (Ai)

"SP? Ah, skill points That's true, though?" (Tatsuro)

"Then, how much would it take to learn space-time magic?" (Ai)

"Eh Help, will you please!" (Tatsuro)

"You already dropped the sama" (Ai)

Ai couldn't help but sigh at how quickly Tatsuro changed his way of addressing Help. After acquiring the information he needed from Help, Tatsuro faced Ai once again.

"Well, if I take Light and Darkness first, then I'll need 8,490 points]." (Tatsuro)

"It's expensive" (Ai)

"By the way, if we relied only on the skill points we get from Lv up, then we'll need to reach Lv 2,830 to master all the attributes." (Tatsuro)

"Then that means nobody can do it, huh?" (Ai)

"Really, if someone didn't have a skill similar to mine, then it's impossible, isn't it? Hmm If I can gather 100 SP in a day, then it's gonna take 85 days. If it's 50 SP/day, then it'll take 170 days" (Tatsuro)

"We already know how to get home so don't worry about how fast you can gather them. There's no need to push yourself, just go for the slow and steady route. It's not like I don't want to go home sooner, but it's not something worth sacrificing your health for, okay?" (Ai)

And just when the conversation looked like it was getting stale, Ai suddenly had a flash of inspiration as she clasped her hands and started talking.

"Ah That's it! I can raise my skill levels as easily as raising my hands so, can't you just take my skill levels using [Level Eater], let me raise them again, and then rinse and repeat? If we can do that, then we can go home soon, right?" (Ai)

If that's possible, then they can skip all the troublesome processes and get straight into the rewards section. However, in contrast to the high-spirited Ai and her sparkling eyes, Tatsuro just turned his head to the side.

"Actually, it's not like I didn't think about that. It's just I won't do it." (Tatsuro)

"Eh? Why? But it's the simplest method we have" (Ai)

"It's just Think about it for a bit. This system or the skills or whatever. What are they, even?" (Tatsuro)

"Even if you ask me that, I don't have anything to say" (Ai)

"That's exactly it. We don't have a complete grasp of how everything works. [Level Eater] might not have any noticeable effect on monsters, but it might be lethal to people for all we know. And even if it's non-lethal to normal people, what about us? We're not exactly what you'd call normal people' here as we came from Earth. We have no idea if it'll hurt otherworlders when used on one, and even more than that, what if there's a limitation when using this skill on people dear to the user? What we know is limited to what we can learn from Help. With only information from a thing from this world, how could I use [Level Eater] on the most important person in my life?" (Tatsuro)

" T-that's fair. Now that you mention it, I think I'd do the same if I were in your position. B-because To me too, Uhh You're the most important person in my life." (Ai)

Being told those words while she was face-to-face with Tatsuro, Ai's face turned beet red as she replied to him.

Once the embarrassment became too much for her to handle, she quickly turned her bright red face away from him. Tatsuro, too, realized the meaning of the words he just said and cast his eyes down as his cheeks started to turn red as well.

"W-well That's how it is so Ah, let's just get going!" (Tatsuro)

"Mhmm!" (Ai)

To distract themselves from the embarrassment, the two shouted out loud.

For the time being, they found a goal that they could strive for.