The Earth-san Has Leveled Up!

1-4. An Abrupt Choice Between Two

Deep in the dead end, where she had just been moments ago, Meiko rounded a corner and glanced skyward with a sigh.

Instead of the sky, a ceiling greeted her gaze. Well, it was a dungeon, after all.

Dungeons were harsh worlds.

Not everything was a sparkling adventure like in light novels.

Meiko knew that dungeon exploration came with plenty of grounded, gritty moments hidden between the lines.

After all, it had been five hours since she entered this dungeon—plenty of time for “moments” to happen.

And so, after those five hours passed, Meiko decided to check her status.

At first, the status display was exciting. But now, with so little change, she only bothered to check it about once an hour.

And yet, there it was.

Her mana had increased by one.

…A change so small it was practically nonexistent.

Still, her ‘maximum magic capacity’ was gradually increasing.

It was probably because she kept using [Synthesis Enhancement]. She figured it was training her somehow.

Additionally, leveling up occasionally brought a slight bonus boost.

“Am I strong? Or just trying too hard?”

Meiko lightly patted her modest chest.

For some reason, she seemed to believe that her existence resided in her chest—or so one might think. Only Meiko herself knew the truth.

As these thoughts passed, Meiko finally achieved something.

By the time her map was about 70% complete, she guessed, it appeared.

Two vortices—one red, one blue—sat side by side about two meters apart.

Up until now, the only thing she’d discovered was a treasure chest. Compared to that, this was a massive find.

“Yesss! Could it be an escape route? Kana-kana-kanabun!”

Meiko’s excitement soared at her discovery.

And yet, she’d probably scream if an actual beetle came flying her way.

Now then, there were two vortices.

To Meiko, they looked like gates to escape.

There was always the chance they were traps or even some new type of enemy.

But if this were a game, they’d likely be gates.

Or maybe save points. Or healing springs.

After six hours of wandering, her satchel was jingling with mana stones, and her stomach was starting to growl.

If she could escape, she wanted to go home—for now, at least.

“Hmmm. Hmmmm… HMMMM!”

The problem was…

“I have no idea! Which one’s the escape gate!?”

She dramatically pointed her finger, but the two vortices just kept swirling silently, offering no answers.

There they were: one red and one blue vortex.

There hadn’t been any stairs to the next floor, so chances were one of them was the ticket to the next stage.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. After all this effort, it’s down to sheer luck!?”

And it might not even be a teleport gate.

“Ugh, so this is the struggle of a trailblazer…!”

No guidebooks exist for pioneers.

It’s their steps that lay the groundwork for strategies and tips—provided they share the info.

Meiko pondered.

“Red is a dangerous color. It feels like it leads to some hellish world. So, blue! But wait—shrine maidens and torii gates are often red, aren’t they? …Ugh, no idea. Absolutely no idea!”

If she couldn’t figure it out, she couldn’t figure it out.

Still, red was scary, so she decided to leap into the blue vortex.

Besides, maybe once inside, she’d get a message like, “Do you want to leave?” or “Proceed to the next floor?”

As soon as Meiko stepped into the blue vortex, columns of light rose around its edges.

No confirmation. No questions. It was an automatic teleport.

Wrapped in pale blue light, Meiko—

In the next instant, found herself standing in a green labyrinth.

“To be next stage…”

Meiko muttered in her distinctly Japanese accent.

The new stage was green.

The first floor had been stonework, but the second floor had grass about 20 centimeters tall covering the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Whether it was a maze like the first floor wasn’t clear yet, but it was incredibly overgrown.

For now, Meiko decided to suck on some candy.

Her only source of sustenance.

She pulled out a piece from her satchel and suddenly had an idea.

“Can I use [Synthesis Enhancement] on this…?”

[Synthesis Enhancement] worked on any non-living object she owned.

Indeed, when she appraised the candy for synthesis, it read 0/25.

She plucked a tuft of grass from the labyrinth floor and appraised it. It also read 0/25.

After reviewing the skill’s mechanics, Meiko nodded to herself.

[Synthesis Enhancement] didn’t change the essence of the item.

A steel sword would remain a steel sword, even if orichalcum were added. Its sharpness and durability might improve significantly, but it would still be a steel sword.

So, even if the grass was bitter or poisonous, using it as a synthesis material wouldn’t be an issue.

After verifying the system, Meiko synthesized the labyrinth grass with her fruit candy.

The result was a Fruit Candy 8/25.

The grass, despite being junk, had surprisingly high enhancement compatibility. The candy’s low rarity probably made it easier to upgrade.

How much the candy’s effects had improved was unclear.

But it had to be better than the original.

Meiko popped it into her mouth.

As her second-floor adventure began, Meiko turned to a fresh page in her notebook and started mapping.

This was uncharted territory, so she was extra cautious as she sketched.

Before long, she spotted a flower among the grass—a large white blossom.

Normally, the sight would have made her feel warm and fuzzy.

But after clearing the first floor, this was “Meiko the Slayer” in action.

She slammed her grimoire onto the ground around the flower, testing for traps.

If it wasn’t an enemy, she’d harvest it. If it was, it might spring out.

As expected, a root-like creature leapt from the grass.

It had limbs and a face on its root body, with the white flower perched on its head.

“Piiiyaaaaa!”

Its face contorted in rage, baring jagged, saw-like teeth as it screamed.

“Shut up, I’ll crush you!”

Meiko the Slayer—small but fierce.

The earlier choice between red and blue had pushed her over the edge.

She was still mad about blue being “correct.”

Brandishing her grimoire, she pummeled the root monster.

But while first-floor enemies went down in three hits, this one endured five.

It even kept advancing despite the damage, lunging at Meiko.

Prepared for tougher enemies on the second floor, Meiko didn’t panic.

She gripped a hammering tool made from mini scissors and struck the root monster’s side—where its temple would be if it were human.

The scissor-blade pierced the root, making it writhe and scream, spewing vegetable juice.

Fearing it was summoning allies, Meiko stomped its face, drove the scissors deeper, and repeatedly hammered them in.

Experience from the first floor—especially against spring-loaded balloons and magic books—had honed her efficiency in combat, especially her ability to pin enemies down.

No one could mistake her for an ordinary little girl now.

Gone was the sweet, adorable Meiko who had charmed neighborhood kids and middle-aged men alike.

“Hah… Hah… Such high HP…!”

After a prolonged struggle, Meiko defeated the root monster.

It disappeared in a burst of light, leaving behind a root and a mana stone.

“That’s… literal.”

She tossed the root into her satchel. Whether it was edible or not, she wasn’t eager to test it.

At worst, she could synthesize it with her fruit candy.

“But if enemies like that keep showing up…”

Meiko trailed off mid-thought.

The silence of the labyrinth was unsettling.

Still, she didn’t want to voice every thought—it was tedious and might attract enemies.

So, she settled for muttering half-finished sentences instead.

This time, her thought was, “If enemies like those show up, maybe it’s better to walk while sweeping them away with the grimoire.”

This time, the enemies just happened to be conspicuous due to the flowers, but there might be enemies hiding with grass from around here perched on their heads.

With that thought in mind, Meiko promptly started walking, smacking the floor with her grimoire.

Before long, particles of light rose from the grass ahead.

Startled, she went to check and found the corpse of a snake just before it disappeared.

“Fwaaah, y-you’ve gotta be kidding me!”

It seemed she’d accidentally crushed it with her grimoire-smacking, but now she knew there were snakes on the second floor.

Meiko didn’t particularly dislike snakes.

As long as they didn’t bite, she could even pick one up if told to.

That said, dungeon snakes would almost certainly bite.

She was way too worried about whether they were venomous.

“Hmmm, if it went down in one hit…”

The snake just now had been taken out in one strike from her grimoire attack.

Even though it was on the second floor, its defense was flimsier than the enemies on the first.

In games, enemies like that often have troublesome abilities.

They might have high stealth, specialize in rear-line magic, or cause status effects.

Actually, it’s the same in the real world. Even small frogs that you can crush underfoot sometimes carry deadly poison.

Since it was a snake, Meiko decided to assume it was venomous.

“Ugh, is this going to be my grave…?”

A maze surrounded on all sides by tall grass is just unfair. There are way too many hiding places for snakes.

At this point, Meiko began to feel like death was near.

The snake she had just defeated dropped a snakeskin.

The strip of snakeskin was a meter long, matching the snake she’d just killed.

Meiko used it to reinforce her high socks.

Previously, she had been reinforcing her clothes with unrelated materials, so her clothing-based equipment had stayed at a low level. But the snakeskin provided significant reinforcement to clothing-based materials.

High Socks: 35/100

Meiko looked at the number and made a guess.

When she first synthesized a spring with her mini scissors, it became 25/100.

Her high socks started at 5/100, and synthesizing the snakeskin raised them to 35/100.

“Maybe items from second-floor enemies have higher reinforcement values?”

Other factors could also be in play.

It’s possible the mini scissors and spring were “Good,” while the high socks and snakeskin were “Excellent.”

Meiko shook her head.

This wasn’t the right time to be testing theories in such a dangerous situation.

She decided to pull up the hood of her hoodie.

She’d heard stories about snakes falling from trees.

The ceiling on the second floor was overgrown with grass, just like the floor. There was no guarantee snakes weren’t up there thanks to some dungeon power.

With her hood up, there was less chance of a snake slipping into her clothes.

Meiko’s hoodie featured the face of a sleepy sheep.

As an animal that shared part of her name, she was quite fond of it. However, she’d never actually seen a real sheep.

Before long, a snake really did fall.

“Hyahhhhhh!”

Fortunately, this particular snake was clumsy and failed to sink its fangs into her.

Its tail smacked her shoulder, and the snake fell to the ground.

With a scream, Meiko jumped back and unleashed a flurry of grimoire attacks.

When she spotted the snake climbing up the wall, she quickly adjusted her aim.

Once she confirmed the snake had turned into light particles and vanished, Meiko collapsed into a seated position.

“Huuuuh, they really do come from the ceiling!”

It was supposed to be a precaution, but the flag got triggered way too fast.

Meiko wiped away the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes and picked up the snake’s drop.

Another snakeskin.

This time, she synthesized it with her hoodie.

White Hoodie: 37/100

She wondered how effective this reinforcement value of 37 really was.

If it were strong enough to prevent snake fangs from penetrating, she’d feel safe, but testing that would be too risky.

Still, Meiko rubbed her shoulder thoughtfully.

That last hit had actually hurt quite a bit. The tail attack had only grazed her, but it felt like bumping her shoulder into a half-open door.

If it had hit her head or jaw, it might have left her reeling.

If even these paper-thin defense snakes could pack such a punch, just how strong were the rootman’s attacks?

She had gotten a little careless. It was time to focus.

With a determined huff, Meiko steeled herself.

After defeating two rootmen and one more snake, Meiko encountered a new enemy.

It looked like a giant ball of moss, quietly sitting there as if to say, “I’m just a plant.”

If she’d been walking through a forest filled with a variety of plants, she might not have noticed it.

But on the second floor, where only low grass grew in abundance, a round object stood out. It was about the size of a basketball.

Meiko crept closer and launched a grimoire attack.

Her preemptive strike was as if to declare, “Kill anything suspicious.”

The creature revealed its true form under her attack: a basketball-sized ball covered in green fur.

As it dropped its disguise, it bounced, stretching and contracting its body.

At first glance, it seemed weak, but even the jittery punches of spring balloons and snake tail attacks had hurt Meiko.

Dungeon monster attacks shouldn’t be underestimated, regardless of appearance.

So Meiko unleashed a relentless series of grimoire attacks.

However, her grimoire attacks didn’t work on it.

Due to its bouncing nature, it seemed to have a strong resistance to physical blows.

That said, hitting it mid-air sent it flying, so Meiko decided to use that chance to escape.

It was her first time retreating during this dungeon run.

“Curse you, Fluffy Bounce! Next time we meet will be your last!”

Frustrated, Meiko spat out a parting remark.

For the record, “Fluffy Bounce” was a name she made up.

With the path blocked by Fluffy Bounce, Meiko had no choice but to explore another route.

Fortunately, she soon found a treasure chest.

“Yay!” Meiko exclaimed as she opened the chest.

This girl, who had reflected on the possibility of traps during the first-floor exploration, had already forgotten.

Meiko had no resistance to the chest’s charm effect.

After all, she was still 15 years old—a season of burgeoning desires.

Luckily, it wasn’t a trap.

“Whoa! A—a sword! C-cool!”

Inside the chest was a sword.

“Hehehe, it looks like my luck is finally turning!”

After indulging in a bit of over-the-top acting, Meiko drew the sword from its sheath.

“W-whoaaa!”

The gleaming blade, held upright in front of her face, sent her 15-year-old heart soaring.

It was closer to a saber in classification.

The blade extended in a gentle curve from the knuckle guard, glittering brilliantly.

In any case, it was a significant upgrade.

Frankly, she thought fighting with a pair of mini scissors had been sheer madness.

Meiko decided to commemorate the occasion with a photo.

She placed her smartphone on the chest.

“Meiko, wake up!”

She struck a heroic pose, holding the sword aloft with both hands.

Satisfied.

Or rather, she quickly reminded herself to stay focused.

After all, this was still a dungeon.