The 18th Floor of the Dungeon.
After making some arrangements, the Loki Familia, which had stationed itself here to rest for the night, began assembling.
"Ah! We can finally go back! We've been out here for a month this time, right?"
Looking toward the passage leading to the 17th Floor, Tiona crossed her arms and spoke with eager anticipation.
"That's true. We've been out longer than usual this time, but we've still made quite a good haul."
Looking at her homesick younger sister, Tione, the elder sister, thought for a moment before summing it up.
"What do you mean, a little longer? It's been a lot longer!"
Dissatisfied with her sister's wording, Tiona ran behind Ais, leaned close to her ear, and asked softly, "What about you, Ais? Have you missed life in Orario?"
"No. I want to keep fighting!" Ais stated emotionlessly.
That was a terrible person to ask. Ais was a battle maniac!
Tiona was feeling that something was terribly wrong and wondering how to continue when Riveria's stern voice suddenly came from behind. "No. You must balance work and rest."
"Although you're already Level 5, excessive fatigue can still destroy your spirit. That would be detrimental to your growth. Don't damage your future for the sake of temporary greed, Ais!"
Riveria walked over lightly from behind, came to Ais's side, and gently tapped her on the head as a reprimand.
"Riveria, harsh!"
Knowing she couldn't resist Riveria, Ais held her head and spoke with a hint of resentment.
"Harshness is necessary for all of you."
Riveria looked at Ais with exasperation before shifting her gaze to Tiona and Tione beside her.
Seeing this, the two hurriedly looked in other directions and whistled lightly, pretending they knew nothing.
"Don't be angry, Riveria. We're finally about to go home, so shouldn't we be a little happier?"
Finn, having finished giving his instructions, joined the conversation as he looked at the group gathered together.
"Captain!"
When she saw Finn's figure, Tione quickly moved over to him. With the captain supporting her, Tiona happily brought up the same point again. "Exactly! This is a joyful time because we're going home. How can we be so serious?"
"You really are a bunch of weaklings. If you spend all day thinking about going back, you shouldn't have come in the first place. Wouldn't it have been better to stay home and guard the door?"
"Bete, you jerk!"
Seeing Bete mock her, Tiona immediately began arguing with him in displeasure.
For a while, the place became exceptionally lively.
"Honestly, can't you settle down for once? You're making noise and bickering all day."
Riveria held her forehead, feeling utterly helpless.
"You two, be quiet!"
Riveria slammed her staff hard against the ground and shouted sternly.
Under the pressure of her presence, Tiona and Bete immediately shut their mouths. They stood where they were, anxiously regretting what they had done.
There was no good outcome from angering Riveria.
Just as Riveria was about to lecture them, a roar suddenly rang out.
"Roar, roar, roar!"
"Did Goliath revive? What are the odds?"
At this, Tiona immediately shouted, "I'll go subjugate Goliath and clear the way for everyone!"
Seeing Tiona preparing to slip away, Bete hurriedly said, "Me too!"
Ais, who had noticed the battle, also said, "I'll go too!"
The trio soon disappeared from before Riveria.
Looking at this scene, Riveria said with a headache, "What a bunch of problem children!"
"Hahaha!"
Seeing this, Finn and Gareth, who had been watching from the side, burst out laughing.
Swinging his sword, swinging his sword, swinging his sword without pause!
Running, running, running without pause!
Shirou Emiya had been constantly fighting and killing the monsters before him ever since entering the Middle Floors. He had never stopped, and he was already feeling fatigued.
But he couldn't stop. He was alone, and the moment he stopped, he would be surrounded and dragged into a bitter struggle.
If that happened, the battle would be controlled by the Dungeon, which would be disastrous for him.
Therefore, he couldn't stop.
Fortunately, he had brought plenty of supplies in advance.
Shirou Emiya pulled an Elixir from the pack on his back and gulped it down. He clearly felt warmth spread through his body, and his fatigue was swept away.
Of course, that was merely an illusion. The Elixir's effects couldn't possibly be that good.
Even so, it still restored a considerable amount of Shirou Emiya's stamina.
These were Elixirs commonly used by adventurers: Stamina Elixirs for restoring physical strength and Spirit Elixirs for restoring mental power.
Medicine for recovering from injuries was called a High Elixir, while the highest-grade High Elixirs were also known as Panaceas.
A single Panacea was worth as much as 500,000 Valis. That wasn't something an ordinary adventurer could afford to drink.
"Die!"
Several swords were projected and instantly pierced through the monster horde ahead.
Shirou Emiya was currently in the latter half of the 15th Floor. Besides Unicorn Rabbits and Hellhounds, a new monster had appeared here: the Minotaur.
This was a monster with extremely formidable combat ability. In the original story, it could be called Bell's psychological shadow in the early stages.
After overcoming that shadow, he reached Level 2.
Among all Level 2 monsters, Minotaurs were at the very peak. They could be called elite monsters.
And the monster currently standing before Shirou Emiya was precisely a Minotaur.
Staring at the enormous, powerfully built monster opposite him, Shirou Emiya kept thinking, With my current Level 1 stats, even if I use Gan Jiang Mo Ye, it'll probably be difficult to hack all the way through him. After all, Gan Jiang Mo Ye are only short swords.
Then I'll use a stronger Gan Jiang Mo Ye to face it!
"Crane Wing Falls Not, Mind and Skill Reach Mount Tai, Mind and Skill Cross the Yellow River, Only the Name Separates Heaven, Two Heroes Both Perish!"
As he silently recited the inscriptions engraved on Gan Jiang Mo Ye, the two short swords in his hands began to undergo a tremendous transformation under his constant reinforcement.
The original short swords visibly changed into two greatswords, which Shirou Emiya swung with impressive force.
"Let me test your strength!"
Shirou Emiya stomped hard and suddenly accelerated. He swiftly appeared before the foremost Minotaur. As his body slipped past the monster's attack, he directly cut it in half at the waist with a single sword stroke.
"So you're not all that impressive after all?"
Feeling the hot blood splashing from the Minotaur, the corners of Shirou Emiya's mouth lifted slightly.
"I'm really getting into this now. Don't disappoint me!"
With that, he charged forward amid the Minotaur's furious roar.
"This feels great! Working out after getting up in the morning really does leave you feeling refreshed!"
At the very front of the formation, Tiona slaughtered the Minotaurs before her while chatting with Ais beside her.
"Mm!"
Ais nodded in agreement.
"Don't let your guard down. The passage into the 15th Floor is ahead. The path is narrow, and there's a cliff below. Be careful!"
Seeing Tiona distracted during the battle, Riveria immediately warned her from behind.
"Yes!"
Tiona instantly became serious.
"Come to think of it, aren't there too many monsters in the passage on the right? An abnormal number, even!"
Finn, who had been observing their surroundings the whole time, spoke seriously.
This was the junction before the passage leading to the 15th Floor. Vertical shafts leading to the lower levels were scattered throughout the surroundings, while the only passages resembled stone bridges suspended between two cliffs.
There were six or seven such stone bridges, all of them routes to the 15th Floor.
There were monsters on them normally, but never this many.
Hearing Finn's confusion, the Loki Familia executives leading the way all turned to look at that stone bridge. Before they could analyze the situation or say anything, however, an arrow shot out from the passage and flew onto the bridge.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted in an instant. Even Finn and the others could feel the powerful blast of wind.
The sudden explosion was like a signal to begin the battle. The monsters that hadn't been caught in the blast charged one after another toward the direction from which the arrow had come.
"Gaaahhh!!!"
Accompanied by a furious roar, a young boy's figure burst out of the passage and charged straight into the monster horde opposite him.
And at this perilous moment, Shirou Emiya finally met the pillars of his own Familia.
But at that moment, he no longer had the energy to pay attention to anything else.
At present, his eyes held only battle!
Before you continue