The Earth-san Has Leveled Up!

2-0. The World Begins to Move

The information brought by Meiko was, naturally, the kind of intelligence every nation in the world desperately wanted.

However, since the mysteries that prevented others from returning had not been solved by Meiko’s data alone, the Japanese government requested a period for further verification.

There was even consideration of directly engaging with Meiko, with measures such as sending personnel to monitor and subtly support her.

Without delay, the Japanese government sprang into action.

First, the investigation began with the cream-colored vortex Meiko had entered.

Fearing the karma system, as a desperate measure, they recruited volunteers from the Self-Defense Forces and organized a unit.

The first team to enter the vortex, from which no one besides Meiko had returned, was truly putting their lives on the line.

Although Meiko had returned safely, it was uncertain if the vortex truly led to a dungeon of the same difficulty as hers.

For this reason, they made the operation voluntary, but contrary to their worries, the exploration was a resounding success.

The unit was able to enter the same dungeon as Meiko.

Furthermore, all the information she provided was accurate, and the unit cleared the first floor unscathed and returned.

However, there was one unexpected discovery.

The dungeon’s entry point was randomized, dropping entrants at varying distances from the goal—blue and red vortices—each time.

Subsequent analysis revealed a rule: if someone did not enter the vortex within 10 seconds of a preceding entrant, they would be dropped in a separate location. This rule applied up to six people, with the seventh and beyond forming a new group.

Although Meiko could not have known this, the map she had carefully marked with “Start” at her drop point suffered a temporary blow to its credibility. However, this misunderstanding was soon cleared up.

Regardless of variations in weapons, age, gender, or karma value, the first floor of the dungeon Meiko entered consistently featured springy balloons and magic books as enemies, with an identical map layout. Only the treasure chest locations shifted randomly after a set period.

Gradually, the mechanics of the status system also became clearer.

First, as Meiko predicted, leveling up had a small but immediate effect, improving the limits of human growth and boosting training efficiency.

Many SDF personnel exhibited rapid strength gains after leveling up, akin to middle and high school students starting weight training. Even the burliest soldiers, who had previously plateaued, rejoiced at the benefits of leveling up.

Interestingly, this enhancement didn’t seem to stem from muscle growth but from some other factor that made the body stronger and more flexible. This area remained under study.

Additionally, the conditions for acquiring jobs were identified.

To obtain a job, one had to meet three criteria:

1. Positive karma value.

2. At least four hours of dungeon residence.

3. Entry into either of the gates on the first floor.

The third condition was particularly fortunate, as simply returning from the dungeon was enough to secure a job.

Jobs appeared based on the individual’s contributions in the dungeon.

Those who did nothing gained no dungeon-related jobs but instead acquired general, non-specialized ones suitable for everyday life.

All who acquired jobs experienced the same maximum mana reduction Meiko had faced.

Though mana remained an unknown quantity, it was theorized that while surplus mana could be used for magic, using it for passive skills or physical enhancements resulted in permanent depletion.

Then came the discovery that was pivotal to the karma-based status system:

“Leveling speed depends on karma value”.

Among those with positive karma, the difference was negligible, but the moment karma turned negative, the disparity became stark.

The gods, apparently harboring a grudge against humanity’s misdeeds, severely disadvantaged those with negative karma.

While this reduced the likelihood of evildoers amassing power, it also hinted at potential societal issues requiring swift resolution.

With these discoveries in Meiko’s dungeon, the government moved to the next phase:

Exploration of a new dungeon.

It was already observed that dungeons no one had entered had rainbow-colored entry vortices.

To test this, a rabbit was released into one such vortex.

The vortex turned cream-colored, and the dungeon it led to was as easy as Meiko’s.

However, the enemies and floor layouts differed significantly, suggesting varied suitability depending on the individual.

The rabbit was safely retrieved by staff.

After repeating this experiment several times, the Japanese government reached a conclusion:

The dungeon’s difficulty adapts to the combat power of its first entrant’s equipment and overall strength.

Moreover, the entry vortex’s color indicates this difficulty.

A rainbow vortex signified unentered dungeons.

Once entered, the color would change.

This phenomenon had been observed worldwide.

However, these colors ranged only from deep pink to dark purple.

No one returned from such dungeons, not even elite foreign military units sent by other nations.

By contrast, the cream-colored dungeon connected to Meiko’s maze was an anomaly.

Additionally, all other rainbow vortices turned cream-colored after a rabbit entered them.

Based on this, the Japanese government escalated their efforts.

What were the other difficulty levels like beyond cream-colored?

In Japan, an influencer had entered a pink vortex by accident.

Although this individual’s physical capabilities were weak, their thorough preparation suggested the dungeon might be of significant danger.

As a precaution, a rabbit was sent in for preliminary testing.

This dungeon, later classified as E-rank, proved challenging.

The enemies on the first floor were evidently stronger.

Without prior training in Meiko’s dungeon and job acquisition, total annihilation would have been likely.

The investigation team was forced to retreat after the first floor.

The rabbit experiment proved ineffective, but the animal was safely retrieved.

Further study of foreign vortex colors deepened the Japanese government’s understanding:

Unentered vortices are rainbow-colored.

Once entered, their color reflects the difficulty: cream being the lowest, pink intermediate, and darker purples signifying extreme danger.

It was only a matter of time before other research institutions reached similar conclusions.

Testing every rainbow vortex with humans or animals would eventually reveal that cream-colored dungeons were the easiest.

However, achieving this without prior knowledge required significant time and sacrifice.

Humanity’s misfortune was that those with the curiosity to enter rainbow vortices often possessed considerable power or were trained for dangerous missions.

Thus, the dungeons became death traps.

Yet humanity’s fortune lay in the presence of a girl with rabbit-like combat abilities and unyielding spirit.

Her actions swiftly unveiled the mechanism governing dungeon difficulty.

The Japanese government promptly reported this theory to other nations:

“Dungeon difficulty adapts to the first entrant’s total combat power, including their equipment.”

While the limited number of tests made the conclusion provisional, they warned that sending heavily armed soldiers could create extremely dangerous dungeons.

Leaving such dungeons unchecked could lead to catastrophic disasters.

For now, the advice was simple:

When in doubt, toss a rabbit into a rainbow vortex.

The global response to Japan’s report sent shivers through rabbit populations worldwide.

Critics argued mice could suffice.

However, humans dismissed the idea, fearing disease-bearing rodents might trigger a plague-like dungeon scenario.

Thus, rabbits became the test subjects for unentered dungeons.

Humanity discovered this didn’t lower karma, reasoning that eating rabbits made it acceptable.

As a result, dungeons without prior entrants became the lowest difficulty.

However, unentered dungeons were scarce.

Ultimately, the global dungeon difficulty distribution was as follows:

• G-rank (Cream): 25%

• F-rank (Light Pink): 20%

• E-rank (Pink): 25%

• D-rank and above (Dark Pink to Purple): 30%

Most D-rank and higher dungeons were found to have been entered by armed individuals or local animals.

Notably, a Japanese influencer’s strength was considered inferior to a dog’s, a sentiment met with regret.

It was determined that dungeons ranked E and above were beyond humanity’s current capabilities without prior training.

To manage dungeon threats, nations rushed to secure and train suitable personnel.

Japan publicly shared the near-confirmed rules of dungeon difficulty determination.

Of the 24 dungeons identified in Japan, 10 were intentionally turned into G-rank dungeons.

The rest, already entered by humans or animals, included 2 F-rank, 4 E-rank, and 8 D-rank and above.

This announcement thrilled Japan’s niche fandom, who learned Meiko’s initial combat strength was rabbit-tier.

On the day of this announcement.

The girl once as weak as a rabbit had become a high school student, embarking on her next adventure.