In the narrow, labyrinthine passages of the Dungeon.
Shirou Emiya, having cleaved the last monster in two with a single sword stroke, sat down exhaustedly, leaning against the wall as he panted heavily.
A long time had passed since he entered the Dungeon. Since it was difficult to tell the exact time underground, he decided to return to the surface.
He had gained a great deal from that day's battles. In terms of supplies alone, the backpack behind him was already half full.
As for combat experience, he had also grown increasingly composed.
The experience he had previously learned from Archer Emiya had all been experience in fighting humans. The battles in the Dungeon, however, were almost entirely against monsters in beast form.
A day's worth of fighting had made his experience even more sufficient.
"Time to head back!"
Feeling that only twenty percent of his mana remained, Shirou Emiya had no intention of continuing to fight.
When it came to mana, he both relied on it and did not rely on it very much.
He relied on it because all his weapons were created through Projection at the cost of mana. Without mana, he had no weapons.
He did not rely on it as much because simply projecting weapons did not consume much mana at all. Moreover, once projected, they could be used continuously.
However, that was not beneficial for training his mana.
If he used only one weapon all day, his mana would grow very slowly, making it difficult to keep up with the improvement of his other attributes.
That would drag down his leveling speed in the future.
That was something he would not allow.
After briefly cleaning up the battlefield and gathering the Magic Stones and dropped materials, Shirou Emiya began walking back.
Nothing unexpected happened on the way back, and Shirou Emiya returned to the surface without incident.
"It's already evening? Looks like I really got engrossed in fighting in the Dungeon."
Walking out of the cave, Shirou Emiya gazed at the evening glow and chuckled softly.
He unexpectedly liked this rhythm of life, which was completely different from the life he had once lived.
"I'll go to the Guild and exchange the Magic Stones for Valis first!"
After sighing over his feelings for a while, Shirou Emiya headed to the Guild. At the Guild's exchange office, he exchanged all the Magic Stones for Valis and gained twenty thousand Valis.
Looking at the Valis, which nearly amounted to one-fifth of his starting funds, Shirou Emiya exclaimed emotionally, "As expected, being an adventurer is a profession that can make you rich overnight!"
"But it's also a profession where money disappears incredibly quickly."
Remembering the scene he had witnessed at the Hephaestus Familia's weapon shop, where any random weapon cost tens of millions of Valis, Shirou Emiya sincerely felt grateful for his magic.
It was wonderful not having to buy such expensive weapons.
"But it seems I should learn blacksmithing too!"
As he walked back to the Familia, Shirou Emiya could not help thinking about his future.
According to the effects of Hundred Refinements, the stronger his Blacksmithing Trait, the faster he would grow and the stronger his weapons would become.
This skill could be called his core skill. It would be the foundation upon which he became a top-tier powerhouse.
However, obtaining the Blacksmithing Trait required him to be a blacksmith, so he still needed to learn blacksmithing.
Since it affected his growth speed, he had to learn blacksmithing as soon as possible and obtain the Blacksmithing Trait when he reached LV.2.
"Then where should I go to learn blacksmithing?"
Carefully recalling the information about the world of DanMachi in his mind, Shirou Emiya ultimately decided to rely on the Familia's introduction and go to the Hephaestus Familia to learn blacksmithing.
The Loki Familia and the Hephaestus Familia had an excellent relationship.
It was not only because the two chief gods got along well; the two Familias themselves also maintained an extremely close partnership.
In the future, to deal with the monsters that appeared during the Dungeon expedition and could corrode weapons, the Hephaestus Familia's captain, Tsubaki, would even lead the Familia's high-level smiths there as well.
This alone showed how close the relationship between the two Familias was.
"Looks like I'll have to properly ask Loki for help when I get back tonight!"
At that thought, Shirou Emiya could not help smiling wryly. He felt as though Loki had taken exceptionally good care of him.
That evening.
After dinner, before Shirou Emiya could go looking for Loki, she had already summoned him to the Gods' Chamber.
The moment he entered the Gods' Chamber, she urged him forward and pushed him onto the chair used to update Divine Blessings.
"Hurry up, take off your clothes and sit down. I want to take a good look at exactly how fast you're growing."
Loki had never seen a skill that accelerated growth before, so she was extremely impatient. As she eagerly pressed Shirou Emiya down onto the chair, she did not forget to complain.
"Let me tell you, we're a major Familia. Lots of people need their Divine Blessings updated every day, so once a week is already pretty good on average."
"If everyone weren't away on the expedition, how could you possibly get a chance to update your Blessing after only three days? With such a good opportunity, you still need someone to urge you?"
While scolding Shirou Emiya, Loki updated his ability values.
Soon, Shirou Emiya's ability values had been updated.
"How is this possible? What kind of growth speed is this?!"
Staring fixedly at Shirou Emiya's back, Loki cried out in astonishment, "At this rate, you'll probably meet the prerequisites for becoming LV.2 in less than a month!"
Although Loki had been thrown into a panic by Shirou Emiya's growth speed, she still remembered to translate it into the common language, print it on paper, and hand it to Shirou Emiya.
[Name]: Shirou Emiya [Level]: LV.1 [Ability Values]: Strength: I67|Endurance: I51|Dexterity: I58|Agility: I63|Magic: I86 [Development Ability]: [Magic]: "Unlimited Blade Works" Magic Marble Analysis : [The body is made of swords] [Blood of iron, heart of glass] [Having traversed countless battlefields without defeat] [Though I have never been defeated] [Nor have I ever won] [Alone, forging onward] [Shattering ice upon the Hill of Swords] [Yet this life has not ended] [Even if this body is false] [It is still made of swords] [Skills]: "Hundred Refinements" weapon attributes while wielding a weapon forged by oneself -forging accelerates growth above effects are greatly enhanced by the Blacksmithing Trait
"Isn't this basically unchanged?"
Shirou Emiya naturally knew how terrifying his rate of progress was, but looking at Loki's shocked expression, he could not help teasing her.
As expected, upon hearing Shirou Emiya's boastful words, Loki screamed, "You call this basically unchanged? Do you have any idea what this kind of progress means?!"
"An adventurer's basic abilities, from 0 to 999, are divided into ten ranks: I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A, and S. As long as a basic ability reaches C or higher, you qualify to level up."
"Don't be fooled by the fact that the upper limit of any single basic ability is only 999. You should know that the fastest person in all of Orario to reach LV.2 is our Ais-chan, and even she took a whole year to succeed."
"But look at you. After only one trip to the Dungeon, your overall values have risen by more than 300 points, while your Magic alone has increased by more than 80 points. At this rate, you'll probably become LV.2 in just one month!"
"When that happens, all the gods in Orario will be shocked by you. Who knows? Countless conspiracies might even arise around you."
"And you're still complaining that it hasn't changed much!"
Looking at Loki's agitated expression, Shirou Emiya said with a smile, "What, are you afraid?"
He knew very well that Loki would never care about schemes and intrigues. Since she was saying this, she must have some other idea in mind.
As expected, when she heard Shirou Emiya's question, Loki's originally shocked expression suddenly turned into an extremely sinister smile. "Afraid? I'm Loki! When it comes to schemes and intrigues, I've never yielded to anyone!"
With that, she patted Shirou Emiya on the shoulder and said with a laugh, "Shirou, you did very well! I'm extremely satisfied with this growth rate. If I remember correctly, your skill requires the Blacksmithing Trait, right? I've already spoken with Hephaestus. You can go to her place and learn blacksmithing whenever you like."
Seeing that Loki had arranged everything for him without even needing him to ask, Shirou Emiya felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
"Thank you, Lady Loki!"
Hearing Shirou Emiya's thanks, Loki hooked an arm around his neck and said with a laugh, "Why are you being so polite? Don't forget, we're family!"
"All you need to do is grow properly and shock those gods as much as possible. I'm already dying to see the looks of jealousy on their faces."
Looking at Loki's exaggerated expression, Shirou Emiya said seriously, "Yes, I understand! I'll definitely work even harder."
Before you continue