"Alright, please wait a moment."
Because Loki had taken the lead, Eina was somewhat curious about Ritsuka. She secretly sized her up.
She was a pretty girl. At first glance, she seemed rather ordinary, but her temperament was quite distinctive.
Eina took out a registration form and a pen, then handed them to Ritsuka. "Please fill this out."
Taking the form, Ritsuka gave it a brief glance before quickly filling it in. After all, her identity was merely that of an outsider who had come to Orario.
As for where exactly she was from?
How was she supposed to know?
After taking back the form, Eina checked it over. Finding no issues, she led Ritsuka and Loki into a private room.
After Ritsuka undid her clothes and confirmed the Familia emblem on her back—the flames and jester belonging to Loki—the registration was smoothly completed.
Eina might not have been able to read Divine Script, and Loki had already put a lock on it beforehand. The fact that Ritsuka had gained three skills the moment she became an adventurer was something unheard of even in Orario.
An ordinary genius should have counted herself lucky just to start with one skill.
This was enough to shake all of Orario!
Aside from especially powerful mages, everyone was limited to three spells. Riveria's title of "Nine Demonesses" came from her mastery of nine spells.
Unlike magic, skills did not have so many restrictions. However, among the countless adventurers, most skills shared quite a few common traits and similarities. Unique skills like Ritsuka's were generally called "rare skills."
From another angle, this had already determined that Ritsuka could not possibly remain ordinary.
With the registration process complete, Ritsuka officially became an adventurer. Next, without question, she would head into the Dungeon to train herself.
She needed to complete the task that would allow her to leave this world as soon as possible.
Quest Name①: Item of Destiny Quest Type: Permanent Quest requirement: Search for powerful treasures across different worlds and obtain the power to Resurrect the Deceased Quest difficulty: Unknown Quest reward: When obtaining power vastly different from one's own nature, it will be repaired according to the circumstances and personal will, then fully integrated
Quest Name②: Adventurer and Title Quest Type: Optional Quest requirement: Become an adventurer and work hard to raise your level in order to obtain an exclusive title Quest difficulty: Medium~High Quest reward: Transmigration Opportunity +1 (random transmigration)
Exclusive titles were names bestowed by the gods upon those who had broken through the major threshold of Lv. 1.
For example, Riveria's "Nine Demonesses," Ais's Sword Princess, and Finn's "Brave," among others.
Other than that tiny group of top-tier adventurers, whose titles sounded fairly normal, most titles were rather bizarre—or downright embarrassing.
After all, the gods were a bunch of creatures with far too much time on their hands.
To a certain extent, the gods' meeting that decided adventurers' titles was also a place for them to have fun.
It was not some particularly solemn or important gathering. The gods merely bragged about the children of their Familias or about whatever promising newcomers they had found. Overall, it was basically a place to gather and chat, usually held once every three months.
Everyone got together to have some fun and enjoy teasing the gods of weaker Familias.
Gods of high status and power naturally controlled the naming of titles during the meeting. Thus, all kinds of strange and embarrassing titles would sometimes descend beneath the despairing gaze of a certain Familia's god.
It was pretty damn twisted.
What if they came up with something like Evil Eye of the True King or Sacred Dragon princess of the Dawn...
Ugh!
I just hope the gods go easy on me when the time comes. As long as it isn't too embarrassing, I'll be fine.
"Loki, I'm heading to the Dungeon to train now. Bye-bye."
"Bye-bye. Do your best."
Waving goodbye to Loki, Ritsuka headed straight for the Dungeon.
Ignoring a certain startled and heated gaze, the maiden looked at the atmosphere that seemed to have changed, then stepped into the cavern.
Light-blue walls and ceilings filled her entire field of vision. The natural labyrinth, with no sky in sight, stretched endlessly in every direction.
Forks in the road, intersections, gently sloping paths.
Within this relatively enclosed space lay underground caverns that formed neat passageways.
"Ki... guruga!"
The wall shattered, and a goblin—one of the monsters—burst out from within it. Waving its claws and fangs, it lunged at Ritsuka, who stood nearby.
Breathing softly, azure patterns danced across Ritsuka's cheeks as she opened her eyes.
Her dim golden eyes suddenly brightened.
Projection—
With a light wave of both hands, her clothes shifted into an outfit similar to Emiya the Heroic Spirit's. Then Ritsuka gripped two short blades.
Gan Jiang Mo Ye!
Feathered wings spread across the blades, extending them into two savage swords. Ritsuka immediately stepped forward and swept her right hand sideways.
Bang.
The goblin's abdomen was sliced open without resistance. The monster, which had slightly leaped into the air to pounce on Ritsuka, turned into a tiny Magic Stone as it hit the ground. She paid it no attention.
A Magic Stone of that level was worth too little.
Her gaze shifted slightly. Several seasoned Lv. 1 adventurers who had originally planned to take advantage of the situation immediately became turtles hiding in their shells after seeing Ritsuka's valiant performance.
What boring people. Having made her judgment, Ritsuka decisively headed for the lower floors.
Goblins, giants, fire-breathing ants...
Floor by floor, Ritsuka easily cut down numerous monsters. Due to the vast difference in strength, the mana she had spent on Projection had already mostly recovered.
The seventeenth floor.
"Roar, roar, roar...!!"
A powerfully built Minotaur was nailed to the ground. Broken Phantasm detonated the short blade embedded in its chest, and it instantly turned to ash and vanished.
Slashing, dodging, accelerating, deflecting force with technique, Reinforcement Magic, Projection plus Broken Phantasm.
Strength, endurance, dexterity, agility, mana.
Ritsuka tried every possible method to train her Ability Value, and the Minotaur's screams rang out without end.
The mottled stone walls echoed with furious roars as a thick spiked club smashed down from the front.
Reinforcement Magic strengthened her arm. Ritsuka casually slapped aside the Minotaur's attack, using the force to slide backward. Her slender body moved through the monster horde as easily as a fish through water.
Swinging the Sword Axe, the plain-looking weapon proved incredibly sharp. The instant it touched the crudely made spiked club, it carved a smooth cross-section through the club in the Minotaur's hand.
Dozens of Minotaurs crowded within the narrow passage, trying to attack their sole opponent. Yet they could never touch even the corner of her clothes. Instead, they were toyed with by her astonishing sensitivity, becoming training dummies selected to improve her Ability Value.
Leaping slightly, Ritsuka twisted her body in midair and kicked the head of a Minotaur into pieces. Its ferocious elongated face turned to ash and scattered away.
Seizing the moment when she could not move in midair, the monsters swarmed forward.
Projection.
Muttering inwardly, Ritsuka flipped over and lightly stepped off the rock wall. At the same time, several long swords and curved blades appeared around her, shooting out with fierce speed.
Ash and monster limbs rained down onto the ground, and the offensive was instantly driven back.
Broken Phantasm!
Boom, boom, boom—!!
The consecutive explosions shook the passage. The monsters were annihilated in the flames, while Ritsuka crouched in a corner, using a projected fragment of Mountain Breaker to shield herself.
Mountain Breaker was somewhat shattered. Ritsuka emerged from behind it and began gathering the dropped resources.
The stone walls, nearly melted by the high temperature, had changed from dull black-blue to crimson. The Dungeon diligently repaired the area. Even the top of the wall had been blasted open, and through the hole, Ritsuka could see the upper part of the fifteenth floor.
"Whew, I'm a little tired... I'll clear one more wave."
Taking a waterskin from the Crystal Dice, Ritsuka passed through the hole and jumped onto the fifteenth floor. She sat in a corner and began a brief rest.
The large bag in the Crystal Dice used for Magic Stones was already nearly full. The one for materials still had some space left. She had probably killed one or two hundred Minotaurs.
This time, she was sure to make quite a haul.
Flipping the Crystal Dice, Ritsuka looked strangely at the side marked "Sword Princess."
Ais Wallenstein (Sword Princess) Synchronization Value (16%)
That was right. In less than a single day, she had raised this "Ais" template to 16%, far faster than she had once raised "Emiya Shirou."
In truth, she had done nothing. She had not even tried to raise Ais's favorability. She had simply kept her head down and farmed monsters in the Dungeon.
Could it be that Ais herself also liked silently grinding monsters?
Ritsuka could not understand what was going on, and she had no way to ask Ais herself. She simply stopped overthinking it. Raising the template's Synchronization Value was a good thing, at least—it increased her strength.
The waterskin was nearly empty. Ritsuka lifted it and used the remaining water to wash her face.
"I'm so hungry."
Her mana consumption had not been low, and she had spent the entire time running around, gathering monsters, and clearing them fiercely. Ritsuka felt as if she had been drained dry.
Actually, the stage where she truly fought the monsters had not been all that tiring. She only needed to lure the monsters that had targeted her to designated locations. The narrow passages could easily restrict those monsters.
It could also reduce the chances of her messing up...
Taking out a bag of fried potato balls from the Crystal Dice, Ritsuka began eating the rations she had prepared in advance. Inside the Crystal Dice, they still retained the deliciousness of being freshly cooked.
"Mmm, delicious."
The Crystal Dice glowed faintly.
Ais Wallenstein (Sword Princess) Synchronization Value (17%)
Emiya Ritsuka: "..."
Completely baffled, she—who prided herself on being clever and quick-witted—fell silent.
Uh...
Eating fried potato balls could even raise the Synchronization Value a little. What kind of gameplay was this—raising a beautiful girl through feeding?
Unable to understand the details or reason behind it, Ritsuka could only make wild guesses. Perhaps doing things that the corresponding character liked could raise the Synchronization Value.
For example, in Ais's case, perhaps it was farming monsters and eating snacks—fried potato balls.
Then what about "Emiya Shirou" and "Alcides"?
Back then, Ritsuka had stubbornly chosen to burn herself out and forcibly raise the Synchronization Value by replacing her inner self and squeezing out power. She had never properly explored how else to raise that value. Thinking about it now, she felt it was rather regrettable.
Before you continue