Hero's Trial

Following Tsubaki's figure, Shirou Emiya soon arrived at her personal blacksmithing room.

Changing into her forging attire, Tsubaki fiddled with the furnace while asking Shirou Emiya, "How much do you know about forging?"

"Not much, just some basic knowledge."

Even those basics came from the books he'd read in the Loki Familia's Underground Library over the past ten days.

"So you're a complete novice! But that's fine—forging isn't as hard as you'd imagine, especially for adventurers."

After heating the furnace and preparing the tools for weapon crafting, Tsubaki turned back and explained seriously, "The most important thing in forging is your strength. If you can't hammer the metal, you can't do anything. But for adventurers blessed with a Falna, that's a piece of cake."

"Other techniques are simple. You just need to memorize the specific process. For forging, becoming an apprentice is easy enough."

"But going deeper depends on your own insight. In the end, forging is a skill easy to learn but hard to master. The start is simple, but how far you go is up to you."

Taking out some pre-prepared materials, Tsubaki continued, "The forging process can be summed up in five steps: Mold Making, Material Adjustment, Smelting, Casting, and Post-casting Processing."

"Master these five steps, and you'll qualify as a forging apprentice! Now I'll demonstrate for you—watch carefully."

Shirou Emiya quickly focused all his attention on observing the weapon's creation.

Though he'd read about basic forging techniques in books, no amount of reading could compare to watching it done in practice.

Watching Tsubaki's Hundred Refinements-honed skill, Shirou Emiya gradually became absorbed, as if he was destined to be a blacksmith.

Once a person immerses themselves in something, time flies.

Soon, Tsubaki's forged weapon was finished. Gazing at the dagger gleaming coldly in her hand, Shirou Emiya's excitement grew.

"May I take a look at this blade?"

"Of course."

Taking the dagger from Tsubaki, Shirou Emiya appeared calm on the surface, but inside his excitement surged.

After deftly spinning the dagger in his hand a few times, he activated his magic.

"Structural Analysis, begin."

As his Magic Circuits connected, Shirou Emiya gained complete understanding of the weapon's structure.

"Projection, begin!"

With the flow of mana, a dagger identical to the one Tsubaki had forged appeared in Shirou Emiya's hand.

As the projection formed, he read all the forging experience embedded in the weapon.

When Shirou Emiya copied a weapon, he could also read the wielder's experience.

If not for the fact that what he projected were Noble Phantasms, lacking the forging experience attached to actual Holy Relics, he wouldn't have needed to learn forging from Tsubaki at all.

The experience gleaned from the dagger deepened his understanding of forging and resolved many of his questions.

But at the same time, even more doubts arose.

"Got something to ask?" Tsubaki asked curiously, arms crossed.

She didn't inquire about his magic activation. Tsubaki understood that it was Shirou Emiya's personal secret—something he'd only share with his own Familia members, if anyone.

"Of course!"

Shirou Emiya replied with a look of eagerness.

Over the following days, Shirou Emiya studied forging under Tsubaki.

Thanks to his affinity for the craft and his cheat-like Synchronization, his progress was astonishing. Within days, he had graduated from apprenticeship and could forge independently.

Such talent left Tsubaki in awe. If Shirou Emiya weren't a member of the Loki Familia, she'd have tried to steal him away by any means.

"Finally finished—my own equipment."

Gazing at the gear he had crafted with his own hands, Shirou Emiya's eyes brimmed with satisfaction.

It was a finely made set of Light Armor, similar in style to the set Bell had first obtained.

But the difference was that this armor was entirely red.

Whether influenced by Archer Emiya or not, Shirou Emiya had grown fond of this color.

He chose Light Armor based on his considerations of the Dungeon's environment. The deeper one went, the more monsters appeared, and the faster they respawned.

Especially after the Twelfth Floor, monsters began appearing in groups.

In such situations, without overwhelming physical stats, relying solely on technique made it hard to avoid being hit.

And he wasn't yet a high-level veteran who could tank monster attacks with his bare body.

Once hit, he would be injured. So, wearing armor became part of his plan.

In fact, after graduating from apprenticeship, he had resumed exploring the Dungeon. He had already ventured into the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Floors with ease.

But starting from the Thirteenth Floor, the sudden surge in monster numbers caught him off guard. It wasn't a lack of strength—there were simply too many.

Though he eventually dealt with them, he sustained considerable injuries.

That was why he was changing his armor—and preparing for future battles.

His basic abilities had now reached their limit. Surprisingly, his cap wasn't S-Class 999, but SSS-Class 1199.

He could no longer improve his basic abilities now—he needed to level up.

In other words, he had to begin his own adventure.

In the morning, after donning his equipment and making all preparations, Shirou Emiya stepped out of Twilight Manor.

He was fully ready.

Behind him, on the balcony of Twilight Manor, Loki was leaning against the railing, admiring his figure.

"So our future hero is finally setting out on an adventure?"

In Orario, "adventure" was what people called crossing a Great Deed. To raise one's level, one had to take risks—that is, to defeat dangerous enemies.

These dangerous enemies weren't necessarily those with overwhelming power, but those that posed a genuine threat to the adventurer.

A LV.2 monster was naturally stronger than an ordinary LV.1 adventurer. If a normal adventurer defeated a LV.2 monster, they could earn a Great Deed and become LV.2 themselves.

But what about those heroic figures? At LV.1, they could already slay LV.2 monsters. So could a LV.2 monster still bring them danger—still grant them a Great Deed?

No.

Simply put, an adventure meant defeating an opponent stronger than yourself. This was why over half of Orario's adventurers remained at LV.1.

Because they had never truly adventured.

So for Shirou Emiya, what counted as danger? What would be his Great Deed?

Loki didn't know.

Thus, all she could offer for the battles ahead was her most sincere blessing.

"May your martial fortunes flourish."

Walking briskly down the street, Shirou Emiya felt the wind was especially pleasant today!

He felt not a trace of tension about the coming adventure—on the contrary, his mood was light.

An adventure, for others, was extremely dangerous and demanded great caution.

But for Shirou Emiya, there seemed nothing to worry about.

An adventure? What adventure could compare to the one where he fought through the Holy Grail War in a single night?

A Great Deed? What Great Deed could rival his record of defeating seven opponents in one go?

He was a replica of a Heroic Spirit.

A magus who surpassed heroes.

Heroes themselves were symbols of Great Deeds.

If even he, who had overcome so many heroes, could not cross a Great Deed, then who was worthy of achieving one?

As a replica of a Heroic Spirit, a counterfeit hero, Shirou Emiya resolved to become a true hero.