Lying on the lush green grass, feeling the gentle breeze.
If you hadn't experienced it firsthand, you wouldn't believe such a beautiful sight existed in the eerie, terrifying Dungeon.
Half an hour passed quickly. Shirou stood up from the grass, stretched his limbs in place, and assessed his condition.
"Looks like my condition has almost fully recovered! As expected, you can't explore the Dungeon without elixirs."
While Shirou's stamina and mental energy had been restored by the elixirs, his wounds, though no longer bleeding, couldn't possibly heal completely in just half an hour.
But Shirou didn't care about that. No matter how bad his condition was, could it be worse than when he fought Angelica?
Thinking of this, Shirou couldn't help but touch his hair. The single white strand at his forehead showed no sign of recovering.
Even though his body had recovered during his time in Orario, that particular strand remained unchanged.
"Forget it, now's not the time to think about other things!"
Slinging his backpack on and projecting twin swords, Shirou walked towards the passage leading to the Seventeenth Floor.
This was his adventure; he had to complete it perfectly. With that, he plunged forward.
The Dungeon, Thirteenth Floor.
With a single punch, Tiona turned the monster in front of her into dust. Without using weapons, she continuously cleared the monsters in her path.
Unlike Shirou, who was frantically running and racing against time, the main force of the Loki Familia advanced slowly through the middle floors, as if on a leisurely stroll.
This was partly because they weren't in a hurry, and partly because a few of the "problem children" in the group were spurred on by Shirou's valiant display and were now going all out.
The vanguard, acting as the spearhead, was engrossed in fighting monsters instead of pushing forward, which was why their progress was so slow.
"Can't these guys just give us a break?"
Riveria, the most worried of them all, massaged her forehead in exasperation, looking at the quartet of problem children — Ais, Bete, Tiona, and Tione — who were constantly charging into battle.
"Don't be angry, Riveria. This is quite normal. After seeing a battle like that, let alone those four, even I feel a bit itchy to get some exercise!"
Finn, as the Captain, wasn't upset. He consoled Riveria while chuckling at the four who were fighting.
"No, not you! If even you, the Captain, can't resist charging in, these guys will become even more arrogant!"
Riveria quickly urged Finn to drop the idea. As the Captain, he had to set an example.
"Hahaha! Don't worry, haven't I been standing here without moving?"
Finn, long past his impetuous youth, wouldn't be so easily provoked. As the Captain of the Loki Familia, he was very composed.
"But, what do you think of that adventurer from earlier?"
Finn's expression instantly turned serious. As the Familia's Captain, he couldn't help but ponder many things.
"Looking at his movements, he seems to have just entered LV.2, but to be able to kill his way to the Sixteenth Floor with those stats, beyond his skills and magic, it's mostly due to his techniques."
As adventurers who had lived through the Dark Ages, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth were all top-tier in combat techniques.
And yet, from Shirou, they could discern combat techniques not inferior to their own.
Moreover, these were anti-personnel combat techniques, different from the anti-monster techniques Ais and the others used. Although the other party concealed it well, Finn could still spot a hint of it.
Therefore, Finn couldn't help but become wary.
Could this sudden combat genius be secretly groomed by a Dark Faction?
Riveria understood Finn's concerns; after all, she had thought the same thing initially. However, she now had a new question.
"If he were a genius secretly trained by a Dark Faction, then his actions today would have been far too conspicuous!"
On their way back from the Sixteenth Floor, they had also encountered adventurers from other Familias.
From them, Riveria learned that this adventurer hadn't just occasionally appeared before them. From the Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Floor, many adventurers were discussing his actions.
Especially his ability to fire attacks comparable to magic swords, which left people secretly astonished.
There were simply too many witnesses, which made it seem less like a tactic of a Dark Faction.
Finn nodded slightly, no longer dwelling on the topic.
After all, no matter how much of a genius the other party was, he was still only LV.2. Their Loki Familia's future pillar, the Sword Princess Ais Wallenstein, was already LV.5!
It would be a long time before he could catch up to Ais's level!
"Though it might seem greedy to think so, how great would it be if that child were a member of our Familia!"
Hearing Finn's sigh, Riveria chuckled and said, "It certainly is a greedy thought!"
The two exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
"What are the Captain and Riveria laughing about?"
Tiona, having finished her fight, looked at Finn and Riveria, asking with confusion. Ais, standing beside her, also tilted her head, looking at the two with a puzzled expression.
"Cough, nothing!"
Looking at the returning problem children, Riveria quickly suppressed her smile and became serious again.
Finn, meanwhile, was earnestly changing the subject.
"Well, have you guys vented enough? If so, we should continue forward!"
"Alright, alright, we're officially heading back."
Knowing they had been in the wrong, the quartet didn't dare to ask anything further. Instead, they returned to the front to clear the path.
Soon, their group traversed the Thirteenth Floor and arrived at the passage leading to the Twelfth Floor.
Just as Finn and the others were about to enter the Twelfth Floor, a sudden explosion caught their attention.
Boom!
This familiar sound instantly brought back the image of that upright figure in everyone's minds.
Ais, who was originally at the very front, immediately changed direction and headed backward.
Seeing this, the rest of the group also turned around one after another.
Soon after, that red figure once again appeared in their sights.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Facing the surging monsters, Shirou, knowing he was about to reach the upper levels, no longer held back his magical energy. Three consecutive Broken Phantasms instantly cleared the surrounding monsters.
Then, using the explosions and the storm, he instantly arrived near the Loki Familia.
"Yo, kid!"
Unexpectedly, they had such a coincidence, meeting this young man again. Finn, extremely curious about his background, took the initiative to greet him.
Hearing Finn's greeting, Shirou finally looked over.
Previously, because there were still monsters behind him, Shirou had avoided going towards crowded areas.
After all, according to the unwritten rules of the Dungeon, during combat, you shouldn't approach others without their permission, as it can easily lead to misunderstandings.
After all, using others to draw aggro from monsters attracted to oneself, a tactic known as "monster gifting," is a time-honored tradition.
As the saying goes, "I don't need to outrun the monsters, just outrun you!"
Therefore, Shirou had been avoiding crowds before! It was only when Finn called out to him that he noticed them.
Looking at the flag planted in the center of the party, Shirou was dumbfounded.
This looks like my Familia's flag, right? Have our big shots returned?
So, Shirou quickly approached them, walking in front of Finn under the watchful eyes of the group.
"Are you Finn, the Captain of the Loki Familia?"
"That's right, I am. And you are?"
Finn was genuinely caught off guard, not expecting this suspected genius from a Dark Faction to actually approach him and strike up a conversation.
Seeing that it was indeed Finn, Shirou, smiling, said with some excitement, "Hello, Captain! I'm a new member who just joined the Familia. My name is Shirou Emiya!"
"What? You're a new member of our Loki Familia?"
Finn and Riveria exchanged glances, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.
Although they had considered this possibility before, it was just a thought. Who knew it would actually happen?
What was this? This was a miracle!
The members of the Loki Familia, stunned by this news, were speechless. Even the usually composed Riveria asked with some excitement, "Are you really a newcomer? But how did you get to the Sixteenth Floor?"
Hearing Riveria's question, Shirou rubbed the back of his head and replied somewhat sheepishly, "I officially became an adventurer in the Loki Familia while you all were on expedition. I went deep into the Sixteenth Floor for an adventure!"
"That was the great feat I needed to become LV.2: to delve into the Seventeenth Floor and then return. I call it a 'small expedition'."
"Eh???"
The Loki Familia members instantly cried out in shock.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter