"Haah!"
On the 15th Floor of the Dungeon, an excited shout echoed eerily through the space.
Wielding a sharp sword, Lefia shouted excitedly as she charged back and forth through the monster horde.
For Lefia, who had always aspired to become a Great Mage, transforming into a warrior and fighting was an entirely new experience.
A week had passed since Lefia had transformed into a warrior and begun fighting.
Over the past week, the inexperienced Lefia had gone from passively receiving enemy attacks to actively charging at her enemies.
She had gone from wildly hacking at foes with a sharp sword to moving with considerable discipline.
In just one week, she had gone from a beginner in close-quarters combat to a skilled fighter.
All of this had been honed through actual combat.
"Lefia, keep an eye on your surroundings at all times. Don't overlook a single blind spot."
"Yes!"
Hearing the girl's clear voice, her teacher, Shirou Emiya, felt deeply satisfied.
As expected, teaching a talented student was much more comfortable.
As the magical energy in his hands circulated, the short swords Gan Jiang Mo Ye transformed under his reinforcement into two greatswords, one gripped in each of Shirou Emiya's hands.
Looking at the three Minotaurs closing in around him, Shirou Emiya advanced instead of retreating. With a light step, he instantly arrived in front of one of them.
"Cow-heads or whatever, go die!"
As a great warrior of pure love, Shirou Emiya struck hard against the filthy Minotaurs, swinging his two greatswords to their utmost limits.
With a violent whistling sound, the greatsword, carrying tremendous force, directly sliced the Minotaur before him in half at the waist.
Watching the Minotaur's blood spray through the air, Shirou Emiya easily avoided the splatter and charged into the pincer attack of the other two Minotaurs.
"GRAAAAH!"
Letting out a powerful roar, the Minotaur lowered its upper body and charged straight at Shirou Emiya, its horns thrust forward as it sought to crush him.
But Shirou Emiya was no longer the man he had once been.
Having reached Level 2 and developed in every area, Shirou Emiya still could not match a Minotaur in strength, but the Minotaur could no longer overwhelm him.
Facing the Minotaur that had charged right up to him, the pure-love warrior Shirou Emiya drove his greatsword into the ground, blocking its path.
Then, just as the Minotaur crashed into the greatsword, Shirou Emiya slid beneath it, cutting open the Minotaur's body with freshly Projected Gan Jiang Mo Ye and gutting it.
But it was not over yet. Another filthy Minotaur was waiting for its judgment.
Using the momentum from his slide, Shirou Emiya emerged from beneath the Minotaur, and the short sword in his hand transformed once again.
This time, it was no greatsword, but a black longbow.
In Shirou Emiya's hands, an arrow was already nocked, and the bowstring had been drawn into a full moon.
With a sharp whistling sound, the pitch-black arrow transformed into a ferocious cannon blast, directly blowing apart the Minotaur's upper body and leaving behind an arcing wound.
From identifying the enemies to wiping them all out, Shirou Emiya's movements were effortless and graceful.
The entire sequence was so smooth that it was a pleasure to watch.
This was Shirou Emiya after reaching Level 2—the Shirou Emiya of an entirely new version.
Although he had yet to reach his peak during the Holy Grail War, his future was destined to be even more powerful than that version of himself.
Because he was now a well-rounded hexagonal warrior.
Sooner or later, he would compare strength with Saber, endurance with Berserker, speed with Rider, and magical power with Caster.
Combined with Unlimited Blade Works, which was constantly being strengthened by his Divine Blessings in the magic slot, surpassing Giant Hero Emiya and becoming a Grand Emiya was only a matter of time.
"Mr. Shirou is amazing! He took down those three Minotaurs so easily. That's something other Level 2 adventurers wouldn't even dare dream of doing."
Having also dealt with her own enemies, Lefia wiped the sweat from her forehead as she gazed at Shirou Emiya with sparkling eyes full of admiration.
After a week of working together, not only had Shirou Emiya become very familiar with Lefia, but Lefia had also come to understand even more clearly just how monstrous the man before her was.
He possessed superb Martial Arts and was proficient with all kinds of weapons.
His growth rate was terrifying, and his basic stats rose at an astonishing speed.
His mind was mature, and he never panicked regardless of the situation.
He was even skilled at strategy—and he was also an excellent cook.
It had to be known that when Tiona and Tione searched Ais's room and found all those dried foods and snacks, they had nearly drooled themselves to tears.
Later, in the Loki Familia dining hall, Shirou Emiya had truly shown everyone what real cuisine was.
If Shirou Emiya had not firmly refused, the position of head chef in the Loki Familia would probably have fallen to him.
In private, many of Lefia's close girlfriends called Shirou Emiya the perfect man. Every one of them had secretly fallen for him, but not a single one dared to say anything.
Now that she thought about it, she was incredibly lucky to have formed a party with Mr. Shirou.
"There's nothing to be proud of. These are just basic operations."
The terrifying aspect of the Dungeon lay in its endless monster attacks and sudden accidents.
A lone monster was absolutely no match for an adventurer of the same level. Floor Masters were the exception.
Of course, if one person was at the peak of their level while the other had only just entered it, then forget I said that.
After all, the suppression caused by stats in this world was still quite powerful.
But that only applied to lower levels. At Level 5 and above, even an adventurer who had just entered that level could defeat a monster at the peak of the same level.
After all, anyone who could reach Level 5 could be said to possess the bearing of a hero.
But the Dungeon was destined not to be a place for fighting alone. It was a slaughterhouse where monsters emerged without end.
Hearing Shirou Emiya's words, the corner of Lefia's mouth twitched, and her expression instantly froze.
There it was—Mr. Shirou taking everything for granted.
During this period, the members of the Loki Familia had grown familiar with Shirou Emiya. They had discovered that whenever they praised him, he would occasionally say things capable of making people furious.
Things like, "That's it?"
Or, "This is just basic operation!"
Or, "I'm simply too weak. My progress is too slow."
Those kinds of matter-of-fact remarks.
As a result, the members of the Loki Familia, who had been infuriated to no end, no longer dared to praise him casually.
"Mr. Shirou, you're really too modest."
"Thud!"
Before Lefia could finish speaking, a dense series of impacts reached their ears.
Then, in this arc-shaped cavern, dozens of Minotaurs suddenly spawned, continuously surging out from the surrounding walls.
"This is an Abnormal Situation—a Monster Feast!"
Acting on instinct, Shirou Emiya pulled Lefia into his arms and stared at the densely packed Minotaurs around them, his vigilance instantly rising to its maximum.
They had been surrounded by Minotaurs.
With this many monsters, even he would be in danger if he made the slightest mistake.
And this was the Dungeon's killing move prepared for the two of them: a Monster Feast after they had been worn down.
"What should we do, Mr. Shirou? It's a Monster Feast!"
Looking at the densely packed Minotaurs around her, Lefia felt a chill run through her entire body.
Only Shirou Emiya's embrace could bring her a trace of warmth.
"Calm down, Lefia. The only way to break through this situation is to rely on your magic chant. Although you haven't chanted even once this past week, I believe that the you of today is absolutely incomparable to the you of the past."
"Mm!"
Glancing at Lefia as she gradually calmed down, Shirou Emiya patted her head before pulling her staff from the pack on his back and handing it to her.
"I'll draw the monsters' attention in a moment. Take the opportunity to chant."
"Use this Monster Feast as the test of your training during this period. I don't think there could be a better trial than this."
"So trust me. I'll definitely protect you."
Hearing Shirou Emiya's words, Lefia swung her staff and drove it firmly into the ground.
Her eyes were filled with determination. She seemed to have become an entirely different person from the timid, panicked girl she once was.
The only thing that remained the same was what she had to do next.
"I've always believed in you, Mr. Shirou."
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