"Cheers!"
Around the blazing campfire, the adventurers of the Loki Familia laughed and raised their cups.
They had reached the passage connecting the Twenty-Fourth Floor to the Twenty-Fifth Floor. After a full day of steady advancement, the Familia finally stopped here to rest.
"How is it?" Shirou asked with a smile, glancing around at everyone drinking soup. "Does it suit your taste?"
As a rear guard, Shirou had little to do during the day. Constant movement aside, he hadn't been under much pressure. So when it came time to cook, he went all out for the first time in a while.
"Delicious!"
"It's amazing!"
"Shirou's cooking really is the best!"
Praise came from all directions.
Shirou's lips curved slightly.
So this was what satisfaction felt like.
For a brief moment, a stray thought crossed his mind. If not for everything he still had to accomplish, he might have liked to experience a long Time Warp-travel to some distant gourmet world and indulge freely.
...Maybe after everything was over.
"Here, Raul!"
Shirou tossed a fruit he had picked up along the way to Raul, who was standing watch nearby. Walking over, he asked quietly, "How is it? Still peaceful?"
"Don't worry," Raul replied with a confident grin. "I've done this more times than I can count."
He patted his chest and gave a thumbs-up.
Looking at the damaged walls around them, Shirou's thoughts drifted to what he had learned before.
The Dungeon was alive.
After centuries of exploration, adventurers had gradually grasped some of its rules.
One of them was this-when walls were damaged, the Dungeon prioritized repairing them over spawning monsters.
Because of that, when resting on non-safe floors, adventurers would deliberately destroy the surrounding walls and monitor the repair process.
Once the walls were nearly restored, they would destroy them again.
This interrupted monster generation.
That was the role of the night watch.
As one of the second-tier members most trusted by Finn and the others, Raul often joined expeditions. Eight years of experience made him intimately familiar with every detail.
"Starting tomorrow," Raul said, "that's when the real expedition begins. You should rest well tonight."
"The real expedition..."
Shirou nodded slightly.
For the Loki Familia, the first twenty-four floors were little more than a warm-up.
Beyond that was where things truly changed.
According to Dungeon classification, every twelve floors formed a tier.
Floors 1-12 were the Upper Floors.
Floors 13-24 were the Middle Floors.
Floors 25-36 were the Lower Floors.
Floors 37-48 were the Deep Floors.
Floors 49-60 were the Super Deep Floors.
Anything below the sixtieth floor was classified as Unknown Territory.
With each tier, monster strength jumped dramatically.
Upper Floor monsters were Level 1.
Middle Floors housed Level 2 monsters.
Lower Floors were Level 3.
Deep Floors were Level 4.
Super Deep Floors were Level 5.
And beyond the sixtieth floor-Level 6 and higher.
Monsters regenerated endlessly.
In a nest like this, even the Loki Familia could suffer catastrophic losses if they slipped up.
According to their deployment plan, once the main force reached the safe Fiftieth Floor after breaking through the Forty-Ninth, exploration would continue in small teams.
The core combatants of those teams would be executives of Level 5 and above.
Everyone else would remain stationed on the Fiftieth Floor, waiting for their return.
After all, Super Deep Floor monsters were all Level 5.
That alone spoke to the Dungeon's terror.
In all of Orario, only a handful of Familias could reach the Thirty-Seventh Floor.
Six, to be precise.
The Loki Familia.
The Freya Familia.
The Hephaestus Familia.
The Ganesha Familia.
The Ishtar Familia.
And the Astrea Familia-now completely destroyed, leaving only Ryuu behind.
If one went further back in history, there were also the Zeus and Hera Familias.
But that was another era.
In the age dominated by Loki and Freya, only these six stood at the top.
"From tomorrow on," Raul continued, "we'll be facing Level 3 monsters. The pressure will spike. You should head back and rest early-you'll get your chance to shine."
"I understand," Shirou replied. "You take care too, Raul."
After saying goodbye, Shirou returned to his tent.
Raul was right.
As monster strength increased, the importance of rear guards would rise sharply.
As a magic sword archer, he needed proper rest.
In the days that followed, under Finn's command, the Loki Familia advanced rapidly.
As the monsters around them grew stronger, Shirou finally had room to fully unleash his power.
Broken Phantasm after Broken Phantasm tore through monster groups, erasing everything in their path.
The display left everyone stunned.
Especially his stamina.
It was absurd.
Unlike ordinary mages, Shirou could project weapons in advance and store them within Unlimited Blade Works.
When he detonated them, the magic cost was negligible.
That was the secret behind his endurance.
With overwhelming force, the Familia pushed through the Twenty-Seventh Floor's Water Labyrinth.
The floor boss there-the Two-Headed Dragon-stood in their way.
This battle marked the first time Shirou used a new weapon.
A magic sword he had projected himself.
"Super Broken Phantasm!"
That was the name he gave it, to distinguish it from ordinary Broken Phantasms.
As for its power-
Watching the mushroom cloud rise, Shirou couldn't help muttering,
"So this is a real nuclear blast..."
In pure destructive output, it was probably no weaker than Black Saber's Excalibur Morgan.
An A-rank Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm.
The Level 5 Floor Boss, the Two-Headed Dragon, was completely evaporated by a single strike.
All that remained was a massive magic stone.
That was magic.
Unfortunately, Shirou's pride didn't last long.
When the expedition reached the Thirty-Seventh Floor, he was taught a harsh lesson.
According to the rule of Floor Bosses appearing every ten floors, the first floor of the Deep Zone-the Thirty-Seventh-was the White Palace of Evil.
Udaeus awaited them.
But before that-
An endless army of monsters blocked their path.
A Monster Feast.
This was the Dungeon's cruelty.
You never knew when it would bare its fangs.
A Monster Feast on the Thirty-Seventh Floor.
Countless Level 4 monsters surged forward.
And at that moment, one of the Loki Familia's true trump cards was revealed.
The Elf Force.
A unit led by one of the three executives-
Riveria, Level 6.
Under the amplification of the Elf King's Crest, ten elves linked their magic together.
Terrifying magical power gathered overhead as their chants synchronized.
"All units, retreat!"
Finn's roar echoed through the battlefield.
The front line pulled back instantly, leaving the stage to the elves.
The baptism of magic began.
"High-Level Victory Sword!"
"Volleyed Fire Javelins!"
"Ice Cone Greatblade!"
"Lightning Arrow!"
"..."
Magic flooded the battlefield.
Everything was annihilated.
Watching the elves' overwhelming spells, Shirou's fleeting pride vanished completely.
...This.
This was magic.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter