Dungeon, Ninth Floor.
Inside a maze of intertwined passages, a lone figure moved through a monster-infested chamber.
Twin swords flashed.
With each swing, a monster fell.
Despite the heavy backpack strapped to his back, his movements were unaffected, as though the weight didn't exist at all. His footwork was light and precise, shifting left and right through the swarm of enemies like a willow bending with the wind-never rigid, never caught.
Every sound.
Every movement.
His eyes and ears tracked everything around him.
Even with strength that already far exceeded what was required, he never showed the slightest hint of carelessness. There were no blind spots in his vision, no hesitation in his reactions.
Attacks were either blocked.
Or avoided.
Ten days ago, this would have been impossible.
Now, he was someone else entirely.
This young man was Shirou, the Loki Familia's newest recruit.
A traveler from another world.
After cutting down the final monster, Shirou turned around and looked at the magic stones scattered across the floor. His lips curved upward.
"Another day of rich harvest."
As time passed, Shirou's basic attributes had all surpassed 600.
His Magic stat had even exceeded 800.
Compared to his former opponents, monsters on these floors no longer posed much of a challenge.
For the past ten days, he had remained on the Eighth and Ninth Floors. He had deliberately avoided the Tenth.
From the Tenth Floor onward, the Dungeon became shrouded in mist.
The terrain widened, but visibility dropped sharply, introducing a different kind of danger.
Shirou understood his own limits very clearly.
No matter how impressive his past achievements were, they belonged to another time.
Back then, he had cleared the Holy Grail War in a single night.
But that was then.
Now, he was just an ordinary magus who had learned his Reality Marble ahead of schedule.
In a strange way, his current situation closely mirrored that of the original story's protagonist, Bell.
Setting aside differences in growth rate, both of them could be described as "pay-to-win" players wielding weapons far beyond their level.
Bell had the Hestia Knife.
Shirou had projected Kanshou and Bakuya.
Both were divine-tier weapons that adventurers at their stage should never have access to.
As for magic, without relying on something extreme like a Reality Marble, his Broken Phantasm should still outperform Bell's Firebolt in terms of raw destructive power.
Add in his experience from an actual Holy Grail War, and the conclusion was simple.
I'm basically the enhanced version of the protagonist.
Of course, that was just a joke.
Previously, Shirou had been cautious about his combat strength, which was why he hadn't stepped onto the Tenth Floor.
But now?
The timing felt right.
Still, before pushing deeper, there was something else he needed to do.
He needed to go to the Hephaestus Familia.
He needed to learn forging techniques.
Loki had already arranged this matter for him, but Shirou hadn't rushed over immediately. At the time, his "hardware" simply wasn't up to the task.
Before all this, he had been nothing more than a regular high school student.
Heavy labor like forging wasn't something his body could handle back then.
Without sufficient stamina and strength, trying to learn forging would have been inefficient at best.
Now, with all his attributes at or above Rank C, that problem no longer existed.
"That's enough for today."
Shirou wiped his blades clean and sheathed them.
"Tomorrow, I'll head to the Hephaestus Familia."
"Once forging is settled, I'll go all out. Push deeper, nonstop, until I level up."
His future path was already clear.
All that remained was to follow it.
After navigating through several twists and turns, Shirou returned to the surface.
Although many aspects of this world resembled a game, one flaw stood out clearly-there were no teleportation devices.
Everything relied on walking.
On top of that, he was still carrying a load.
Shirou had taken on the role of a supporter purely for training purposes. Given his combat experience, monsters rarely managed to land hits on him, which meant his Endurance stat increased at the slowest rate.
Carrying a load helped.
Even if the improvement was small, it was still better than nothing.
Every little bit counted.
As for danger?
Once his Reality Marble was deployed, danger stopped being dangerous.
If it weren't for the fact that simple slaughter did very little to raise his abilities, he would have already charged straight into the middle floors.
After exchanging his magic stones for Valis, Shirou tucked away the heavy money bag and stepped out of the Guild.
He took a deep breath.
Cool air filled his lungs.
"The surface really is better."
Looking out at the open world above ground, Shirou muttered to himself, "The Dungeon is too oppressive. It's not as dark as I expected, but everything is so cramped."
"People who live in caves long-term can't have good mental health."
"I should move into the Tenth Floor soon. The terrain past that point is much wider."
With the bulging money bag in hand, Shirou didn't return to the Familia immediately.
Instead, he headed for the shopping district.
Ten days of steady work had earned him a decent amount of Valis. He was no longer the penniless newcomer he once was.
With extra money to spare, he finally started furnishing his room.
"Perfect."
After finishing the arrangements, the atmosphere of the room changed completely.
It felt warm.
Comfortable.
Shirou looked around with satisfaction.
After all, he possessed Housekeeping Skills at EX rank.
Lying down on his soft bed, his body relaxed almost instantly.
His thoughts drifted.
Miyu.
"I really wish I could bring Miyu here too."
Memories of the past surfaced one by one.
Before long, drowsiness overtook him.
That night, he slept deeply.
-
"Is this the Hephaestus Familia's headquarters?"
Standing before the building, Shirou couldn't help but pause.
"It really does live up to Orario's most famous blacksmith Familia."
The structure before him was no less imposing than the Loki Familia's Twilight Manor.
With a hint of caution, Shirou stepped inside.
"Is anyone here?" he called out. "I'm Shirou from the Loki Familia. I believe there was a prior arrangement."
"Oh?"
A woman emerged in response.
Black hair.
Red eyes.
An eyepatch covering her left eye.
"So you're the Loki Familia member who wants to learn forging techniques?"
She looked him over once, then nodded.
"I'm Tsubaki from the Hephaestus Familia. Lady Hephaestus has entrusted me with teaching you."
Shirou straightened immediately.
"I didn't expect Miss Tsubaki herself to teach me. I'm truly grateful."
He knew exactly who she was.
One of the core members of the Hephaestus Familia.
Orario's greatest blacksmith.
The captain of the Hephaestus Familia.
Tsubaki.
Seeing his respectful attitude, Tsubaki stepped forward and casually patted his shoulder.
"Relax," she said with a smile. "Our Familias are on good terms."
"By the way, it's been a while since I've seen Finn and the others. How are they doing?"
Shirou scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I'm still a newcomer. I haven't even met the captain or the others yet."
That was the truth.
He had joined the Loki Familia only half a month ago, and its main force was still out on expedition.
They hadn't returned yet.
Tsubaki slapped her forehead.
"Ah, right. That's on me."
"Staying in the forge too long makes me forget things."
"Finn and the others were actually here before they left. They were procuring supplies."
Then she laughed.
"Well, enough talking."
"Come on, kid."
"I'll personally teach you forging techniques."
"This is the real deal-Orario's number one blacksmith."
"So you'd better learn properly."
"Yes, Lady Tsubaki."
Shirou answered without hesitation.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter