"Wait, you said you came here to adventure. Don't tell me you still haven't reached LV.2?"
Having spotted the blind spot, Riveria felt dizzy. He had ventured alone to the 17th Floor and returned with only LV.1 stats—what kind of ridiculous operation was that?
How could anyone possibly accomplish something like this?
"Yeah. After all, I've only been an adventurer for about a month."
Facing Riveria's doubts, Shirou Emiya replied without concern. After all, this was indeed something others couldn't accomplish.
And he had managed it for all sorts of reasons.
For example, his Magic Circuits. Because he possessed an extra set of magical organs compared with the adventurers of this world, his rate of magical recovery was vastly superior to theirs.
Not to mention that his Magic Circuits had also received a tremendous boost under the enhancement of Divine Blessings.
Then there were his basic abilities, which far surpassed those of adventurers of the same level.
Unlike other adventurers, whose basic ability limit was 999, his basic ability limit was 1199. Not to mention that the other adventurers couldn't even reach their limits.
Most important of all were his combat experience and his steady state of mind.
These were traits usually possessed only by the strong, but even the strongest began as novices.
Their path of growth started when they entered the Dungeon, while Shirou Emiya had already grown during that mythological war.
That was why he had been able to accomplish this impossible feat.
"To go from a novice to a prospective upper-class adventurer on the verge of reaching LV.2 in just one month—how is that possible? Do you have some rare skill?"
Tiona, who had recovered from her successive shocks, grabbed Shirou Emiya by the shoulders and shook him.
Tione came over as well when she saw this.
Faced with the two Amazon warriors pressed against him, Shirou Emiya, who had never experienced anything like this before, quickly blushed.
Seeing this, even Ais was about to move closer, but Finn stopped them in time.
"All right, that's enough for now. I know everyone has a lot of questions, but this isn't the place to talk!"
After looking around, they saw the other adventurers nearby staring suspiciously at Shirou Emiya, who was standing among Loki Familia.
They were also discussing him noisily.
"How did that guy end up with Loki Familia?"
"Is he a member of Loki Familia? But I've never heard of anyone like him before!"
"Could he be a newcomer? Hiss! No, that's impossible!"
They had all witnessed Shirou Emiya's earlier battle. He was unquestionably an adventurer with top-tier combat ability.
They had assumed that some lucky Familia would soon gain tremendous growth because of him, but they had never expected such a genius to be a member of Loki Familia.
Shirou Emiya also noticed the pointing and whispering around him, so he hurriedly broke free of Tiona and Tione's entanglement.
He took several steps back and said somewhat bashfully, "Then let's talk after we return, Captain. I have to finish my expedition first."
With that, Shirou Emiya started walking ahead.
"Wait, I'll go with you!"
Ais, who hadn't had a chance to say anything earlier, hurried after him. Seeing this, Tiona, Tione, and Bete quickly followed as well.
"Hey, where do you four think you're going?"
Watching the five figures vanish from sight in an instant, Riveria rubbed her forehead helplessly. These problem children were truly a constant source of worry.
"All right, Riveria. Let's hurry back too! I have a lot of questions I want to ask Loki right now!"
The information Shirou Emiya had revealed was truly astonishing.
Judging by their past experience, Shirou Emiya's rate of progress was practically impossible.
But he had no reason to deceive them. After all, such a lie would be exposed far too easily.
That left them in a difficult position.
And now, the only person who could resolve their doubts was their goddess, Loki!
"Pick up the pace. Let's get back to the Familia as soon as possible!"
"Yes!"
With Finn's order, the members of Loki Familia began marching swiftly. To them, the environment of the upper floors was no different from the surface.
Gazing at the surface rapidly drawing closer, Finn couldn't help thinking, I hope Loki can give me a satisfactory answer!
"That's how things happened. I just never expected his way of adventuring to be venturing alone into the 17th Floor. If I'd known, I definitely would have waited for you to return and found someone to accompany him!"
At Twilight Manor, the headquarters of Loki Familia.
After speaking with Finn, Loki stared solemnly at Shirou Emiya.
"Adventuring is necessary to level up, but you're taking things a little too far! You're still only LV.1, you know!"
The other executives of Loki Familia were seated in the hall around Shirou Emiya, all staring at him.
This was especially true of the other team responsible for transporting supplies, the one led by Gareth.
After hearing about Shirou Emiya's Great Deed, every one of them was so shocked that they couldn't stop talking.
Being stared at by so many people made Shirou Emiya extremely uncomfortable. Neither in his previous life nor in this one had he ever experienced anything like it.
Looking at Shirou Emiya's awkward expression, Loki's solemn face suddenly broke into loud laughter.
"It was dangerous, but I'm very satisfied! Now that's a true hero!"
Delighted, Loki put an arm around Shirou Emiya's shoulders and repeatedly patted him on the back.
Hearing Loki's smug laughter, the other members of Loki Familia also cheered and laughed.
"Excellent! Knowing something can't be done and doing it anyway—that's a true hero!"
"He may not be very cautious, but no one can match that fighting spirit!"
"He's a born hero!"
Amid the crowd's cheers, the Familia's Three Greats—Gareth, Riveria, and Finn—praised him in succession.
"I'm not that amazing!"
Hearing everyone's praise, warmth rose in Shirou Emiya's heart.
"You're always so humble and never arrogant. This is your comrades' acknowledgment, so accept it honestly!"
Loki patted Shirou Emiya on the shoulder, then turned around and shouted toward the other members in the hall, "Isn't that right, everyone?"
"That's right! Little Emiya is the best!"
"Keep it up, Emiya! We believe you'll definitely become a hero!"
"You broke our Princess's record, so believe in yourself!"
Hearing the calls of the other Familia members, Shirou Emiya shouted excitedly, "Yes!"
It feels so good to be cared about by others!
Shirou Emiya could feel that his comrades held the most sincere blessings for him.
They had not treated him with wariness or suspicion merely because he was different from ordinary people.
This solid sense of trust was deeply comforting to Shirou Emiya.
Bang!
Seized by the moment, Loki slammed her hand onto the table and shouted, "Today is a double celebration!"
"Everyone from the expedition returned safely, and the newcomer of our Familia accomplished a Great Deed and became an upper-class adventurer. How could we not celebrate such wonderful news?"
"Everyone, let's have a proper celebration tonight!"
Before you continue