Following Tsubaki, Shirou quickly arrived at her exclusive forging room.
After changing into her forging attire, Tsubaki immediately got busy at the forge. At the same time, she asked without looking back, "How much do you know about forging?"
"Not much," Shirou replied. "Just some basic knowledge."
Even that had only been accumulated over the past ten days, from reading books in the Loki Familia's underground library.
Tsubaki snorted lightly.
"Then you're basically a complete novice. But that's fine. Forging isn't as hard as people think-especially for adventurers."
She finished heating the forge and preparing the materials, then turned around, her expression becoming serious.
"The most important thing in forging is strength. If you can't hammer the iron, you can't do anything. But for adventurers with a Blessing, that part is easy."
"Other techniques aren't complicated either. You just need to remember the procedures. Becoming a forging apprentice isn't difficult."
She paused briefly, then continued.
"But how far you can go after that depends on aptitude. Forging is easy to learn, but hard to master. The beginning is simple. The end depends entirely on you."
Taking out the pre-prepared materials, Tsubaki laid them out methodically.
"Forging can be summarized into five steps," she said. "Pattern making, material adjustment, smelting, casting, and post-casting processing."
"Once you understand these five steps, you can be considered a qualified forging apprentice."
She looked at Shirou.
"I'll demonstrate it once. Watch carefully."
Shirou immediately focused.
He put all of his attention on Tsubaki's movements.
Although he already had some theoretical knowledge from books, reading could never compare to watching the process firsthand.
Tsubaki's technique was refined, smooth, and almost flawless.
Without realizing it, Shirou became completely absorbed.
It felt natural.
As if he really had been destined to become a blacksmith.
When someone is truly immersed in something, time passes without notice.
Before Shirou realized it, the weapon was finished.
Tsubaki held up the completed dagger. Its surface gleamed under the forge light.
Shirou felt his heart stir.
"May I take a look at it?"
"Of course."
Taking the dagger from Tsubaki, Shirou appeared calm on the surface.
Internally, his excitement continued to rise.
He casually twirled the dagger a few times in his hand.
Then, he activated his magic.
"Structural Analysis. Begin."
As his magic circuits connected, the dagger's structure unfolded clearly in his mind.
"Projection. Start."
Magical energy flowed.
A dagger identical to the one in his hand appeared.
At the instant the projection formed, a large amount of experience related to the dagger surged into Shirou's consciousness.
When Shirou copied weapons, he could read the experiences of their creation.
Sometimes, he could even read the experiences of their original owners.
If he weren't mostly projecting Noble Phantasms-items that lacked the complete forging records of true holy relics-he wouldn't even need to come here to learn forging techniques.
The experience contained within this dagger rapidly deepened his understanding.
Many of his previous doubts were resolved.
At the same time, even more questions surfaced.
"Do you have questions?" Tsubaki asked, arms crossed, watching him with interest.
She didn't ask about his magic.
Tsubaki knew very well that this was Shirou's personal secret. Outside the Familia, no one would casually pry into such things.
"Of course," Shirou replied immediately.
His answer carried clear eagerness.
Over the next few days, Shirou continued learning forging techniques from Tsubaki.
Thanks to his strong affinity and his almost cheating-like ability to trace and replicate, his progress was terrifyingly fast.
In just a few days, he had fully "graduated."
He was already capable of forging independently.
Even Tsubaki was left astonished.
If Shirou weren't already a member of the Loki Familia, she would have tried to poach him without hesitation.
...
"Finally... it's done."
"My own equipment."
Shirou looked at the light armor in front of him.
His eyes were filled with satisfaction.
It was a well-crafted set of light armor, similar in style to the armor Bell had once used.
The difference was its color.
The entire set was red.
Perhaps influenced by Archer (EMIYA), Shirou found himself particularly fond of this color.
He had chosen light armor after careful consideration of the Dungeon.
The deeper one went, the more monsters appeared.
And the faster they respawned.
After the twelfth floor, monsters often appeared in groups.
In those situations, without overwhelming physical attributes, relying solely on technique made it difficult to avoid being hit.
And Shirou wasn't yet one of those high-level adventurers who could ignore attacks with their bodies alone.
Once hit, injuries were inevitable.
Armor became a necessity.
In fact, after graduating from Tsubaki's lessons, Shirou had already resumed his Dungeon exploration.
He had easily cleared the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Floors.
But starting from the Thirteenth Floor, the sudden increase in monster numbers began to overwhelm him.
It wasn't a lack of strength.
There were simply too many enemies.
Although he ultimately dealt with them, he had also suffered considerable injuries.
That was why he decided to change his equipment.
It was also preparation for what came next.
His basic abilities had already reached their limit.
Unexpectedly, that limit wasn't the S-rank cap of 999.
It was the SSS-rank cap.
1199.
1200.
He could no longer raise his basic abilities.
If he wanted to grow stronger, he needed to level up.
Which meant-
His real adventure was about to begin.
...
Early in the morning, fully equipped and with all preparations complete, Shirou stepped out of Twilight Manor.
Everything was ready.
Behind him, on the balcony, Loki leaned against the railing, watching his departing figure.
Her lips curved upward.
"Is our future hero finally setting out?"
In Orario, "adventure" referred to overcoming great feats.
To raise one's level, an adventurer had to adventure.
Which meant defeating dangerous enemies.
Dangerous didn't necessarily mean powerful.
It meant enemies that posed real danger to the adventurer.
LV.2 monsters were stronger than ordinary LV.1 adventurers.
Defeating them was enough for most people to achieve a great feat and advance.
But what about heroes?
When they were still LV.1, they could already defeat LV.2 monsters.
So could LV.2 monsters still be considered dangerous to them?
No.
In simple terms, adventuring meant defeating opponents stronger than oneself.
That was why nearly half of Orario's adventurers were still LV.1.
They hadn't truly adventured.
So for Shirou-
What would count as danger?
What would qualify as a great feat?
Loki didn't know.
And because she didn't know, the only thing she could offer him was her blessing.
Her most sincere one.
"May your martial fortune be prosperous."
...
Walking down the street, Shirou felt the wind brushing past him.
Today, it felt unusually comfortable.
He felt no tension about embarking on an adventure.
On the contrary, his mood was light.
Adventure, for most people, was something dangerous that required extreme caution.
For Shirou, it felt different.
What kind of adventure could compare to clearing the Holy Grail War overnight?
What kind of great feat could compare to defeating seven opponents in succession?
He was a copy of a Heroic Spirit.
A magus who surpassed heroes.
A hero itself was a symbol of great feats.
If even someone like him couldn't achieve one-
Then who could?
As a copy of a Heroic Spirit.
As a hypothetical hero.
Shirou made his decision.
He would become a true hero.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter