Lying on the Green Lawn, he felt the breeze brush against him.
If he had not experienced it personally, who could have imagined that such beautiful scenery existed in the gloomy, terrifying dungeon?
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Shirou Emiya rose from the lawn, stood in place, stretched his muscles, and checked his condition.
"Looks like I've mostly recovered! As expected, Elixirs really are indispensable when exploring the dungeon."
Shirou Emiya's physical strength and mental power had already recovered through the Elixir. The wounds on his body were the only exception. Although the bleeding had stopped, half an hour was nowhere near enough time for them to heal completely.
But Shirou Emiya did not care about that. No matter how poor his condition was, could it really be worse than when he had fought Angelica to the death?
Thinking of this, Shirou Emiya could not help touching his hair. The strand of white hair over his forehead showed no sign of recovering at all.
His body had clearly been restored through proper recuperation during his time in Orario, yet that strand still showed no intention of returning to normal.
"Forget it. Now isn't the time to think about anything else!"
After putting his backpack on his back and Projecting the Twin Swords, Shirou Emiya headed toward the passage leading to the 17th Floor.
This was his adventure, and he had to complete it perfectly.
With that, he charged inside.
The 13th Floor of the dungeon.
With one punch, Tiona turned the monster before her into flying ash. Without using any weapons, she continued clearing away the monsters in front of her.
Unlike Shirou Emiya, who had raced forward the entire way against the clock, the main force of the Loki Familia advanced slowly through the middle levels as if they were taking a leisurely stroll.
Aside from the fact that they were not in a hurry, another reason was that the four problem children in the group had been spurred on by Shirou Emiya's heroic figure and had begun slaughtering monsters in all directions.
The vanguard of the advance party was indulging in fighting monsters instead of hurrying onward. That was the true reason their progress was so slow.
"Can't those people make things a little easier for everyone else?"
Watching the four problem children—Ais, Bete, Tiona, and Tione—constantly charging into battle nearby, Riveria, who worried the most about them, sighed helplessly while pressing a hand to her forehead.
"Don't be angry, Riveria. This is perfectly normal. After seeing a battle like that, not to mention those four—even I feel a little restless and want to get some exercise!"
Finn, their captain, was not angry. While comforting Riveria, he watched the four fighting figures with a faint smile.
"No, not you. If even the captain can't resist charging in, those people will become even more unbearable!"
Riveria hurriedly tried to dissuade Finn from acting on his impulse. After all, as captain, he had to set an example.
"Hahaha! Don't worry. Can't you see that I'm standing here without moving?"
Finn had long since passed the age of youthful impetuousness. As the captain of the Loki Familia, he was far too steady to be provoked so easily.
"By the way, what do you think of that adventurer just now?"
Finn's expression immediately turned serious. As the captain of the Familia, he could not help thinking about many things.
"Judging from his movements, he should have only just reached Level 2. But with attributes like that, being able to fight his way to the 16th Floor depended on more than skills and magic. It was mostly technique."
As adventurers who had come from the Dark Age, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth were all top-class in terms of combat technique.
Yet in Shirou Emiya, they could see combat skills no weaker than their own.
Moreover, unlike Ais and the others' techniques for fighting monsters, his were techniques for fighting people. Although he had concealed it well, Finn could still detect a hint of something suspicious.
Because of that, Finn could not help growing wary.
Could this sudden combat genius have been secretly raised by the Dark Faction?
Riveria understood Finn's concerns. After all, she had thought the same thing at the time. However, she now had another doubt.
"If he really is a genius secretly raised by the Dark Faction, then his actions today were far too conspicuous."
On their way back after returning from the 16th Floor, they had also encountered adventurers from other Familias.
From them, Riveria learned that this adventurer had not merely appeared in front of them by chance. From the 13th Floor to the 15th Floor, many adventurers had been discussing his actions.
In particular, the method he used to unleash attacks comparable to those of a magic sword had left everyone secretly clicking their tongues in amazement.
There had simply been too many witnesses. That made it seem even less like the work of the Dark Faction.
Finn nodded slightly and said nothing more on the subject.
After all, no matter how talented the other party was, he was still only Level 2. Ais Wallenstein, the future pillar of their Loki Familia and the Sword Princess, was already Level 5!
If he wanted to catch up to Ais, he still had a long way to go!
"Although it's a little greedy to think this way, wouldn't it be wonderful if that child were a member of our Familia?"
Hearing Finn's sigh, Riveria smiled and said, "That really is a greedy thought."
The two exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter.
"What are the captain and Riveria laughing about?"
Tiona, who had finished fighting, looked at Finn and Riveria in confusion. Ais, standing beside her, also tilted her head and stared at the two of them with a puzzled expression.
"Ahem, it's nothing!"
Seeing the returning problem children, Riveria quickly stopped smiling and became serious again.
Finn, meanwhile, shifted the subject with a solemn expression.
"So, have you vented enough? If you have, we're going to continue forward!"
"We're done, we're done. We'll properly head back now."
Knowing that the four of them had been in the wrong, the group did not dare ask anything else. Instead, they returned to the front to clear a path.
Soon, they passed through the 13th Floor and reached the passage leading to the 12th Floor.
Just as Finn and the others were about to enter the 12th Floor, a sudden explosion caught their attention.
Boom!
That familiar sound instantly brought the image of that tall figure to everyone's minds.
Ais, who had originally been walking at the very front, immediately changed direction and turned back.
Seeing this, the others also turned around one after another.
Not long afterward, that red figure once again appeared in everyone's sight.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Facing the monsters surging toward him, Shirou Emiya was about to reach the upper levels. No longer sparing his mana, he fired three consecutive Illusionary Collapses, instantly clearing away the surrounding monsters.
Then, riding the explosions and the gale, he arrived near the Loki Familia in an instant.
"Hey there, kid!"
Finn had not expected their paths to cross with this young man again so soon. Extremely curious about his origins, he took the initiative to greet him.
Only after hearing Finn's greeting did Shirou Emiya look over.
Because there were still monsters behind him, Shirou Emiya had not gone toward the area with the greatest number of people earlier.
After all, according to the dungeon's unspoken rules, one should not casually approach others during a battle without their permission. Otherwise, it was easy to cause a misunderstanding.
After all, using other people to draw the hatred of monsters attracted by oneself—a tactic known as Monster Baiting—was an old favorite.
As the saying went, I don't have to outrun the monsters. I only have to outrun you!
That was why Shirou Emiya had avoided the crowds before. Only after Finn called out to him did he notice them.
Looking at the flag planted in the center of the group, Shirou Emiya was stunned.
This seems to be our flag. Could the big shots from our Familia have returned?
Shirou Emiya quickly approached them and, under everyone's wary gazes, walked up in front of Finn.
"May I ask if you're Finn, the captain of the Loki Familia?"
"That's right, I am. And you are?"
Finn had not expected this suspected Dark Faction genius to take the initiative to speak to him. He was caught completely off guard.
After confirming that he really was Finn, Shirou Emiya said excitedly with a smile, "Hello, Captain. I'm a new member of the Familia. My name is Shirou Emiya!"
"What? You're a newcomer to our Loki Familia?"
Finn and Riveria exchanged a glance, both seeing astonishment in the other's eyes.
Although the two of them had entertained such a thought before, it had only been a thought. Who could have expected it to actually happen?
What is this? This is a miracle!
The members of the Loki Familia were all dumbfounded by the news. Even Riveria, who was always so composed, asked excitedly, "Are you really a newcomer? Then how did you end up on the 16th Floor?"
Hearing Riveria's question, Shirou Emiya scratched the back of his head and replied somewhat sheepishly, "I did officially become an adventurer of the Loki Familia while all of you seniors were on your expedition. As for why I went as deep as the 16th Floor... I was adventuring!"
"That was the Great Deed I needed to become Level 2. I went as deep as the 17th Floor and came back. I call it A Small Expedition."
"Huh???"
The members of the Loki Familia were instantly shaken to the point of shouting in shock.
Before you continue