Sudden First Meeting

The 18th floor of the Dungeon.

After some tidying up, the Loki Familia, who were stationed here to rest for the night, were gathering.

"Ah! We can finally go back. Haven't we been out for a month this time?"

Looking at the passage leading to the 17th floor, Tiona said with her hands on her hips, full of anticipation.

"Indeed, we've been out longer than usual this time, but the rewards have been quite good."

Looking at her sister Tiona, who was very homesick, Tione, her older sister, summarized after a moment's thought.

"What do you mean 'a bit longer'? It's been a lot longer!"

Unhappy with her sister's statement, Tiona ran behind Ais and whispered in her ear, "Ais? Do you miss life in Orario?"

"No, I still want to keep fighting!" Ais stated emotionlessly.

Damn, I asked the wrong person. Ais is a battle maniac!

Just as Tiona, feeling things were going south, was wondering how to continue, Riveria's stern voice suddenly came from behind her: "No, rest and work are both necessary."

"Even though you're already Level 5, excessive fatigue can still destroy your spirit, which is detrimental to your growth. Don't damage your future due to temporary greed, Ais!"

Walking briskly from behind, Riveria reached Ais's side and gently tapped her head as a reprimand.

"Riveria, you're so strict!"

Knowing she couldn't defy Riveria, Ais hugged her head and said with a hint of petulance.

"For you all, strictness is necessary."

She glared at Ais impatiently before shifting her gaze to Tiona and Tione beside her.

Seeing this, the two quickly looked away, as if they knew nothing, and whistled cheerfully.

"Don't be angry, Riveria. We're finally going home, so we should be happier."

Seeing everyone gathered, Finn, who had finished his tasks, also stepped forward to join the conversation.

"Captain!"

Upon seeing Finn, Tione quickly moved closer. Seeing that she had the Captain's support, Tiona happily brought up the topic again: "That's right, this is a happy time to go home, why so serious?"

"As expected of a weakling, if you think about going home all day, you shouldn't have come in the first place. It's better to stay home and guard the door!"

"Bete, you jerk!"

Seeing Bete mock her, Tiona immediately started arguing with him in dissatisfaction.

For a moment, the place became exceptionally lively.

"Honestly, can't you just be quiet for a moment? Always making noise."

Holding her forehead, Riveria felt helpless.

"You two, be quiet!"

She slammed her staff heavily onto the ground and shouted sternly.

Intimidated by her aura, Tiona and Bete, who were arguing, immediately shut their mouths and stood there nervously regretting their actions.

Angering Riveria would not end well.

Just as Riveria was about to lecture them, a roar suddenly came.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

"Is that a Goliath resurrected? What a coincidence!"

Seeing this, Tiona immediately shouted, "I'll go defeat the Goliath and clear the path for everyone!"

Seeing Tiona about to slip away, Bete quickly said, "Me too!"

And Ais, seeing an opportunity for a fight, also said, "Me too!"

Soon, the trio disappeared from Riveria's sight.

Watching this scene, Riveria said with a headache, "What a bunch of problem children!"

"Hahaha!"

Seeing this, Finn and Gareth, who were watching from the sidelines, burst into laughter.

Swing sword, swing sword, keep swinging sword!

Run, run, keep running!

Shirou Emiya, who had been fighting continuously since entering the middle floors, kept killing the monsters in front of him. He hadn't stopped and was already feeling tired.

But he couldn't stop. He was alone. If he stopped, he would be surrounded and fall into a difficult battle.

In that case, the battle would be dominated by the Dungeon, which would be extremely bad for him.

Therefore, he couldn't stop.

Fortunately, he had brought plenty of supplies beforehand.

He pulled out an Elixir from his backpack and drank it, feeling his body warm up and his fatigue vanish.

Of course, this was just an illusion; the elixirs couldn't possibly be this effective.

But it still provided Shirou Emiya with a good amount of stamina.

These were common elixirs used by adventurers: Stamina Elixirs to restore physical energy and Spirit Elixirs to restore mental energy.

And elixirs that healed injuries were High-Grade Elixirs, with the highest tier being called Panaceas.

A single Panacea was worth as much as 500,000 Valis, far beyond what ordinary adventurers could afford.

"Die!"

Several swords were projected, instantly piercing through the monster horde ahead.

Shirou Emiya was currently in the latter half of the 15th floor. Besides Unicorn Rabbits and Hellhounds, a new type of monster had appeared: the Minotaur.

This was an incredibly powerful monster, considered a psychological trauma for the protagonist Bell in the original story.

After overcoming this shadow, he would reach Level 2.

Within the Level 2 tier, the Minotaur was the strongest, a truly elite monster.

And it was a Minotaur that now stood before Shirou Emiya.

Staring at the massive, powerfully built monster opposite him, Shirou Emiya's mind raced: With my current Level 1 status, even using Gan Jiang Mo Ye, it will be difficult to cut it through. After all, Gan Jiang Mo Ye are just short swords.

Then! I'll use a stronger Gan Jiang Mo Ye to face this enemy!

"Crane wing not falling, heart and skill reach Mount Tai, heart and skill cross the Yellow River, only name separates heaven, two heroes perish together!"

As he silently recited the inscriptions etched onto Gan Jiang Mo Ye, the two short swords in his hands began to transform under his constant reinforcement.

The short swords visibly turned into greatswords, which Shirou Emiya swung with impressive might.

"Let me experience your strength!"

Stomping his foot, Shirou Emiya, who had suddenly accelerated, quickly appeared before the foremost Minotaur. Dodging its attack, Shirou Emiya cleaved it in half at the waist with a single sword strike.

"It seems you're not so amazing after all?"

Feeling the hot blood spraying from the Minotaur, Shirou Emiya's lips curled into a slight smile.

"I'm on a roll right now, don't disappoint me!"

With that, he charged forward amidst the Minotaur's roar.

"This feels great! After a morning workout, I feel so refreshed!"

Walking at the front of the group, Tiona spoke to Ais as she cut down the Minotaurs before her.

"Mhm!"

Ais nodded in agreement.

"Don't get careless. We're about to enter the passage to the 15th floor. The path is narrow, and there's a cliff below. Be careful!"

Riveria, watching Tiona's distracted fighting, issued a warning from behind them.

"Understood!"

Tiona immediately became serious.

"Speaking of which, are there too many monsters on that right-hand passage? It's abnormally crowded!"

Finn, who had been observing their surroundings, said seriously.

This was the connecting point before the passage leading to the 15th floor. Vertical shafts leading to lower levels were scattered around. The only passage resembled a stone bridge spanning between two cliffs.

There were about six or seven such stone bridges, all leading to the 15th floor.

Normally, there were monsters on them, but never this many.

Hearing Finn's confusion, the Loki Familia executives at the front, clearing the path, all looked towards that stone bridge. But before they could analyze or comment, an arrow shot out from that passage, landing on the stone bridge.

BOOM!

A violent explosion erupted instantly, and the intense gale was palpable even to Finn and the others.

The sudden explosion acted like a signal to start the battle. Monsters not affected by the blast charged towards the direction the arrow came from, one after another.

"Ughhhh!!!"

Accompanied by a roar, a young man's figure burst out from the passage, charging directly into the monster horde.

And at this critical, perilous moment, Shirou Emiya finally met the pillars of his Familia.

However, at this moment, he had no energy to focus on anything else.

All he saw was battle!