Seeing his goal achieved with such ease, Shirou let out a quiet sigh.
Magic really was something irresistible.
After leaving the reception room, Shirou followed behind Loki, whose steps were brisk and unhesitating. According to her, they were heading straight to the gods' chamber to perform the ritual that would grant him a Divine Blessing.
However, the moment they reached the main hall, Loki suddenly raised her voice.
"We've got a new member in our Familia! Tell the kitchen to get ready-we're having a feast tonight!"
The hall froze for a beat.
Then it erupted.
"A new member?!"
"So it's true?!"
"Hahaha! Looks like we're eating well tonight!"
Drawn by Loki's voice, several Familia members who had been lingering around the hall rushed over in a wave, surrounding Shirou in an instant.
Their gazes swept over him without restraint.
"What a handsome kid."
"Is he the one who can use magic?"
"Yeah, must be him. Cide was talking about him earlier."
While Shirou had been chatting with Loki in the reception room, news about him had already spread through the Familia. If the main expeditionary force hadn't been away, the crowd here would have been far larger.
Faced with that level of enthusiasm, Shirou-who was usually calm and composed-felt himself stiffen slightly.
They were far too energetic.
Seeing Shirou's subtle awkwardness, Loki burst into laughter.
"Alright, alright. Save whatever you want to say for the feast tonight."
She waved her hand lazily.
"Let's take this kid to the gods' chamber first. He still needs his Divine Blessing."
"Hahaha! Then tonight we drink until we drop!"
Amid the laughter and cheers, Loki swiftly pulled Shirou free from the clinging crowd and led him away, heading straight into the gods' chamber.
Once inside, Loki shut the door behind them.
"Alright," she said casually. "Take off your shirt. I'm starting."
Shirou didn't hesitate.
He removed his shirt cleanly and turned his back toward Loki, standing still.
Once the Divine Blessing was bestowed, there would be no turning back.
"Once this is done," Loki said, her tone a touch more serious, "you'll officially be part of our family. You understand that, right?"
With his back to her, Shirou answered without pause.
"Yes. I'm willing to become your family."
That wasn't a lie.
Shirou truly wanted more family.
Loki opened her eyes fully and looked at the young man standing before her. She reached out and gently pressed her right hand against his back, rubbing it slowly as if confirming something unseen.
Then she smiled.
"Good. Then the ritual begins."
She pricked her finger with a needle.
Divine blood welled up, glowing faintly.
With that blood, Loki began to inscribe the Loki Familia's Blessing onto Shirou's back.
As she wrote, she spoke, her voice calm and unhurried, explaining as if this were a lesson rather than a sacred rite.
"The Divine Blessing is, at its core, a catalyst," she said. "A catalyst that unlocks the potential of the children of the lower world."
"The values that appear after the Blessing is systemized are called ability values. These are divided into Basic Abilities, Development Abilities, and Magic. A person's level reflects their overall strength."
"The Blessing can guide out that potential, but even gods can't fully grasp how deep that potential goes."
"That uncertainty," Loki continued, "is what we gods seek."
"Because of that, children sometimes gain strange or rare magic and skills."
Shirou listened in silence.
He understood all of this already.
And this was exactly what he needed.
No one knew better than Shirou himself just how much potential the name "Shirou Emiya" carried.
There was Emiya-the future hero who had answered a summoning through the Holy Grail War.
There were lingering remnants of power, memories, and distortions that didn't fully belong to this world.
Shirou felt that the Divine Blessing might drag something else out from deep within him.
Something that had never truly disappeared.
The traces of a Heroic Spirit.
The ritual continued quietly.
Before Shirou realized it, the sensation of Loki's fingers moving across his back was gone.
The Blessing had been completed.
Yet Loki didn't speak right away.
"...Did I just pick up a golden egg?"
Her eyes were fixed on Shirou's back.
As she read the ability values carved there, her excitement grew sharper by the second.
This child definitely had the makings of a hero.
"I'll translate your ability values into the common tongue so you can read them," Loki said. "I've locked them as well. Still, there are unlocking potions out there, so don't let anyone see your back."
"Understood."
Shirou nodded immediately.
He knew better than anyone how important information like this was. He had no intention of casually exposing his own status.
Taking the paper Loki handed him, Shirou lowered his gaze and read carefully.
[Name]: Shirou Emiya Emiya
[Level]: LV.1
[Ability Values]:
• Strength: I0
• Endurance: I0
• Dexterity: I0
• Agility: I0
• Magic: I0
[Development Abilities]:
• Magic
[Magic]:
• Unlimited Blade Works
- Projection Magic
- Reality Marble
- Structural Analysis
- Chant:
I am the bone of my sword.
Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.
I have created over a thousand blades.
Unknown to Death, nor known to Life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons.
Yet, those hands will never hold anything.
So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works.
• " "
• " "
[Skills]:
• Hundredfold Forging
- Weapon properties improve when wielding self-forged weapons.
- Self-forging, accelerated growth.
- Greatly enhances the above effects due to forging characteristics.
This was his initial status.
One magic.
One skill.
Shirou had already expected Unlimited Blade Works to appear.
But Hundredfold Forging...
That was unexpected.
Was it because his life had always been about being tempered and reforged?
Or was it the lingering influence of a Heroic Spirit?
As was widely known, Emiya-the so-called great hero-was not a single, clean existence. The future version of himself was a composite.
There was Archer (EMIYA).
There was Angra Mainyu.
There was Senji Muramasa.
There was Nameless.
Could it be that Muramasa's traces had surfaced this time?
Regardless of the reason, this skill was extremely important.
Shirou looked again at its three explanations.
First.
Weapon properties improve when wielding self-forged weapons.
Every weapon within Shirou's Reality Marble was, by definition, something he had "forged." Even if they were magical constructs, that fact didn't change.
If this skill applied to them, then in the future, every blade within Unlimited Blade Works might surpass its original version.
Second.
Self-forging, accelerated growth.
This point mattered even more.
It meant his growth rate would be dramatically increased.
The original protagonist, Bell, had only truly begun to stand out after acquiring an accelerated growth skill like Liaris Freese.
For Shirou-who desperately wanted strength-this was the most critical part.
Third.
Greatly enhances the above effects due to forging characteristics.
This one was straightforward.
The stronger his forging traits became, the stronger the previous two effects would grow.
In other words, the path was clear.
It looked like he was destined to walk the same road as Senji Muramasa.
A blacksmith.
Gently setting the paper down, Shirou felt the corners of his mouth lift again and again.
This had gone even more smoothly than he'd imagined.
From the side, Loki watched him quietly.
Then she suddenly stepped forward, threw an arm around his neck, pulled him close, and grinned.
"Looks like you're in a great mood."
"If that's the case," she continued, her voice playful, "then as tonight's guest of honor, I'll make sure you drink until you drop."
"No, Loki-sama-"
"Don't struggle. You're not getting away."
With that, she dragged Shirou out of the gods' chamber, her mood visibly brighter than his.
With this kind of aptitude, Shirou would probably become famous throughout Orario before long.
A skill that directly boosted growth speed was something she had never seen before.
At this rate, he might surpass Finn, Riveria, and Gareth.
LV.7 might come sooner than anyone expected.
Even overtaking Ottar wouldn't be impossible.
And when that day came-
Loki's lips curled upward.
She would finally be able to put Freya in her place.
Thinking that far ahead, Loki let out a low, sinister chuckle.
The smile on her face was sharp, cunning, and unmistakably satisfied.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter