The Earth-san Has Leveled Up!

2-18. Cave Stage

Even after entering the 4th floor, the basic tasks remain the same.

Each person takes on one of three roles: mainly vigilance, mapping, or photography, with the mapping and photography team members also maintaining some level of vigilance as they proceed.

When enemies appear, they immediately drop their backpacks and enter combat mode.

After finishing several battles, it appeared before Meiko and the others.

A cave.

It was a cave that seemed like a natural formation altered by human hands.

From the outside, it appeared to have stone pavement laid inside, and lanterns were also standing.

The width was about 3 meters, similar to the torii path they had been walking on.

The height was also about the same, so it didn’t seem too cramped for combat.

However, being a cave, the width wasn’t necessarily consistent.

“W-we’re going in here?”

Sasara said, slightly nervous.

Lulu and Meiko were also hesitant.

Unfortunately, the path up to this point, about 15 minutes from the bridge, had been a straight road.

If they could explore the forest area outside the torii, they could expand the exploration zone, but the moment they stepped outside the torii, they felt a chill, so they didn’t want to go against that intuition.

“W-well, I guess we have no choice but to go in. But hey, the lanterns are lit.”

The lanterns standing in the cave were already lit, providing some light.

“U-understood. In that case, everyone, please follow me!”

Sasara placed her hand on her chest and made the offer, but her legs were trembling.

Sasara was beginning to feel a sense of pride as a trainee knight, believing it was her duty to protect everyone.

Though she didn’t know the term “tank”, her mindset likely stemmed from her desire to be a proper lady.

This girl wasn’t just saying “desu wa” all the time.

That’s why she declared she would go in first, though she looked like she might cry.

Meiko and Lulu didn’t argue and followed behind Sasara.

“Maybe this place is an exception, and night enemies might appear here. If a strong enemy shows up, we’ll run away immediately.”

Since sunlight didn’t reach the cave, Meiko made that assumption.

After entering the cave and advancing about 10 meters, the path gradually curved, and the outside light disappeared.

The formation was a triangle with Sasara at the front and the other two behind her. Also known as “the one at the back is the scariest, so no thanks.”

Sasara was mainly on vigilance, Lulu handled the rear and photography, and Meiko was in charge of mapping.

After a while, they encountered an enemy.

It was a bat with the face of a one-eyed cat.

Fortunately, there was only one.

“Let’s try fighting it.”

Since it didn’t look too strong, Meiko suggested.

They immediately entered combat mode, and Meiko set up magic in her grimoire.

However, they were beaten to the punch.

“Bhyaaaa!”

The cat-bat, hanging upside down from the ceiling, let out an eerie cry.

The next moment, the three were blown backward.

Fortunately, there was no wall behind them, but they all fell.

Sasara and Lulu rolled to their feet, while Meiko, who had fallen, fired a fire bullet while holding her breath.

The fire bullet flew through the cave, illuminating it red, and hit the cat-bat.

“Gyaaaaaa!”

The cat-bat, now engulfed in flames, screamed as it fell, flailed a bit, and then disappeared into light.

“Are you two okay?”

“Nya!”

“I’m fine. Are you okay, Meiko-san?”

“I’m fine too. But seriously, what was that enemy?”

Its defense was paper-thin.

It was the first enemy in this dungeon that could be taken down with a single fire bullet.

However, its attack was troublesome.

Though its death scream didn’t carry any effect, its normal cry seemed to have an area-of-attack component.

Because of that, everyone was blown back about a meter and fell.

The blow Meiko took felt like failing a handstand and slamming her back onto a mat. It knocked the wind out of her for a moment, but it wasn’t enough to hinder her actions.

Sasara and Lulu managed to get up quickly, but it still hurt a bit.

Meiko speculated that if they hadn’t upgraded their equipment, the attack would have been much more painful.

“We’ll just have to take them out as soon as they appear.”

“But their attacks are really fast”

“Can’t Meeko’s book keep the magic set for a long time?”

“I can. But holding it back without firing is pretty tough.”

Meiko’s grimoire could keep the magic on standby, as she just mentioned.

However, it required control, like holding back a stretched slingshot, to keep it from firing.

That’s why she hadn’t done it during previous explorations, but it might be necessary in the cave.

After explaining, Meiko made a suggestion.

“I’ll take the lead in the cave. If I mess up and the magic misfires, it might hit the person in front.”

With that suggestion, their positions switched.

Meiko quickly set two magic spells in her grimoire and started walking.

There was an unexpected side effect.

Having the fire bullets set in the grimoire acted as a substitute for a torch.

Though the lanterns provided some light, shadows were inevitable, so this added a bit more reassurance for the three.

While they chatted during outdoor explorations, they were much quieter in the cave.

Unable to bear the silence filled only with footsteps and the rustling of clothes, Lulu spoke up.

“Once, I went to a limestone cave with my mom and dad.”

“Really? Was it fun?”

“I scared my mom halfway through. There was a butt right in front of me, so I hugged it.”

“Fufufu, was your mom surprised?”

“No, I was the one who got scared. I had somehow ended up behind a woman I didn’t know.”

“Wait, is this a horror story?”

“Can you not, in this situation?”

“Ah!”

Distracted, Meiko accidentally fired the magic.

The magic standby mode wasn’t too resistant at first, as if the magic itself knew it was about to be fired.

However, the longer it stayed on standby, the more concentration was required. The misfire was, of course, due to Lulu’s distraction.

“Sorry, misfire.”

Meiko apologized to the two, who had hastily entered combat mode.

“It’s tough.”

“Well, it’s also training. I think it’ll become a good weapon once I get used to it.”

After setting the magic again, she listened to Lulu’s story.

“It’s not a horror story. I just got lost somewhere. But the woman was so scared by me that she started crying. She was a lady on a tour with her friends, and I felt bad for scaring her.”

“Well, I’m sure it became a good memory for her, right?”

“That’s true. But please don’t do that to me, Lulu-san.”

Going on a limestone cave tour and getting scared by a random kid is quite a rare experience.

At the same time, her friends would probably tease her about it forever. “You got scared by a kid in a cave, huh?”

As they continued, Meiko had to fire another fire bullet.

This time, it wasn’t a misfire—there was a cat-bat on the ceiling.

The fire bullet hit the cat-bat without missing.

This time, they managed to strike first.

After advancing a bit further, they saw a side passage ahead.

“I’ll scout it out.”

Lulu quickly moved, pressed against the wall, and peeked into the side passage.

“Eek!”

Lulu hurriedly stepped back and returned to Meiko and Sasara.

“I-it’s dark, and there’s a doll in there. It’s really scary.”

Seeing Lulu trembling as she reported, Meiko and Sasara exchanged glances.

Preparing for immediate combat, the three approached the side passage.

Then, as they stepped forward to engage.

“Eek!”

The side passage was about 3 meters deep.

Inside stood a single checkered doll.

The lantern light cast a shadow on the entrance wall, eerily illuminating half of its face.

Overwhelmed by the terrifying sight, Meiko fired two magic spells at once.

The fire bullet missed, but the water bullet hit.

The doll, knocked back and slammed against the rear wall, began to move as it fell to the ground.

Perhaps due to the heavy damage from the impact, the doll’s torso was severely damaged, and its face was covered in cracks. Only its eyes glowed a bright red, making it even scarier.

Sasara quickly thrust her spear, turning it into light.

“S-so scary…”

Meiko let out her thoughts, as if venting her pounding heart.

It’s better to put these things into words.

“Tsuchinoko!”

At the same time as the warning, Lulu swung her ninja sword.

A tsuchinoko had emerged from the shadow of the lantern and was about to attack Meiko, who was distracted by the side passage.

The tsuchinoko, with its mouth open to bite the back of Meiko’s knee, had its neck sliced in two.

“T-thanks, you saved me!”

“Nya!”

“This cave is really nasty wa…”

Sasara’s words made the other two nod in agreement.

The doll in the side passage went full horror mode, and while they were busy with that, the tsuchinoko attacked from the shadows. It was truly malicious.

“Still, I didn’t know tsuchinoko could attack like this…”

“Such a dirty thief,” Meiko muttered in her mind, almost bursting into laughter.

The cave was a straight path, and after a while, they emerged outside.

The enemies they encountered in the cave were the cat-bat, the checkered doll, and the tsuchinoko. There were no groups of three, only up to two.

Meiko shot down the cat-bats as soon as she spotted them, Sasara handled the dolls, and Lulu often discovered the tsuchinoko.

The cat-bats dropped wing membranes and cat fangs.

The wing membranes were highly compatible with boots and fingerless gloves, so they synthesized them immediately.

The cat fangs, though small, were fairly compatible with metal weapons.

The tsuchinoko dropped a fine snake skin.

This was also highly compatible with boots and fingerless gloves.

Overall, the cave stage was scary because of the checkered doll. Its face, illuminated by the lantern light, was just terrifying.

The second mountain was designed to alternate between mountain paths and caves, starting with this cave.

Both areas occasionally had branching paths, and without mapping, they would have surely gotten lost.

While the cave was eerie, the mountain paths were still beautiful.

The spring sunlight made the natural scenery dazzling, and the occasional cherry blossoms scattered their petals.

When Meiko and the others emerged from the cave and saw the sunlit scenery, they felt a deep sense of relief.

In the beautiful location, they stopped and took some Instagram-worthy photos.

Meiko and the others weren’t soldiers but 15-year-old girls. During long dungeon explorations, they felt that without these little joys, they would break.

In fact, taking photos in such beautiful scenery helped the three maintain high motivation even on the third day of dungeon exploration.

The red torii continued, and beneath them, Meiko and the others engaged in deadly battles with monsters.

With enemies now appearing in groups of three, the intensity of combat increased, and along with it, the trio’s combat skills and coordination improved rapidly.

As Sasara and Lulu’s magic reserves grew, Sasara incorporated slash swords into her tactics, and Lulu added high-speed movement to hers.

During this time, the checkered doll finally dropped a rare item.

The rare drop from the doll was a dagger. Not the 30-centimeter miniature katana the doll carried, but a proper human-sized dagger.

Though the blade length was about the same at 30 centimeters, the thickness and craftsmanship were significantly different.

They gave it to Lulu.

As an Apprentice NINJA, it made sense for her to carry multiple weapons.

Lulu eagerly attached it to the back of her waist, crossing it with her ninja sword.

Meiko wondered if it would be hard to draw, but Lulu deftly twisted her waist and drew it in one or two breaths.

It looked incredibly cool. Meiko seriously wanted to become a full-fledged NINJA now.

They also found a treasure chest containing a poison antidote.

They had already bought some at the cat shop, but having more wasn’t a bad thing.

“Does the tsuchinoko have poison?”

Given that this item came from a treasure chest, Lulu’s guess might be correct.

Fortunately, they hadn’t been bitten by a tsuchinoko yet, but they all agreed it was best to keep that possibility in mind.