"Shirou, so you're planning on entering the dungeon, meow?" Anya asked as she nibbled on her grilled fish.
The catgirl, usually carefree and clumsy, became surprisingly elegant when eating fish—quick and precise, leaving only the fish bones behind, the corner of her mouth not stain with a drop of oil.
"Yea, since this is my first time entering, I'll only be familiarizing myself with how the dungeon works." Shirou replied while grilling more fish. "At the beginning, an experienced adventurer will guide me."
Mentioning the dungeon caused Ryuu's expression to darken slightly. After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke up, her tone filled with concern.
"Shirou, be careful."
Over the past two weeks, Ryuu's condition had noticeably improved. She wasn't as deeply stuck in the past, and her emotional scars seemed to be healing bit by bit.
What more, her relationship with Syr had also improved significantly, with Syr seemingly putting a lot of effort into helping the elf recover. Currently, Shirou and Syr were the only ones Ryuu could touch without triggering any reaction, much to Anya's frustration. Anya often felt left out and made multiple attempts to touch Ryuu, but Ryuu's reflexes always kicked in, sending Anya flying.
These attempts usually escalated into a sparring sessions between two Level 4 adventurers. While Anya had the upper hand when it came to unarmed fighting due to her race, Ryuu could easily turn the tide once she got her hands on a weapon, even if it was something as simple as a spoon.
Considering Ryuu was an elf, and most high level elf adventurer possess at least one magic, Shirou speculates that her overall strength likely exceeded Anya's. Of course this is all speculation based on his current knowledge, if Anya had some sort of hidden magic or skill, this could all easily change.
At least that's what Shirou thinks, in the past few weeks, he will regularly go help out at the Hephaestus' shop, during those time, he had met a few other Level 4 adventurers.
How should he put it, he couldn't help but feel that they wouldn't stand a chance against Anya's all out assault Neko punch.
"By the way, Ryuu, Anya, and Syr, I have something for you," Shirou said, taking out a small box. Inside there were three bracelets: one with a green cord and a leaf charm, another with an orange cord and a cat paw charm, and one more with a silver cord and a gardenia flower charm.
"These are my gifts for the help I received." Shirou explained.
"Huh? These aren't made of mithril, are they? They look very expensive, meow!" Anya exclaimed.
"I made them myself, using leftover scraps from Tsubaki's forge."
"Ah, I see… but Shirou, giving gifts to girls right before your first dungeon trip feels like raising a flag, meow—ah, ow!"
"Dumb cat, don't say such unlucky things!" Ryuu scolded, knocking Anya on the head.
"Ugh, useless elf! You don't know anything, it's because Anya said it out loud that the flag is destroy! And how dare you bonk Anya's head!"
"Don't worry. I'll come back safely," Shirou said with a smile.
"It's a promise Shirou."
(TN: I don't how to explain Flag, example at bottom.)
...
"Has the Loki Familia not arrived yet?"
Tsubaki said, standing beside her was Shirou who was waiting patiently at the dungeon entrance.
On the very first day Shirou received his divine blessing, a senior member of the Hephaestus Familia brought him to the guild to register as an adventurer, but this was the first time he had reached the dungeon's entrance.
Although he had seen the Tower of Babel from afar, but even in his past life he had never seen such a large structure up close, he couldn't help but be awestruck by the sheer size of the sky piercing tower.
And for some reason, he felt like someone high in the tower was watching him. Was it just his imagination?
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Captain Tsubaki. We're not late, are we?"
"No, not at all, you're right on time. We just arrived a bit early. My boy is excited for his very first dungeon exploration." Tsubaki replied with a grin.
The man who approached had a rather unremarkable appearance—wearing plain armor, sporting an ordinary hairstyle, and having average facial features. He was the type who would be hard to find in a crowd of adventurers.
"Oh, if it isn't the *High Novice*!" Tsubaki recognized him immediately.
"Damn, although I'm not too fond of that alias… but yes, it's me, High Novice, Raul Nord, at your service."
**Alias** are something every adventurer who reaches Lv2 or higher are given.
In the Labyrinth City, over 50% of adventurers remain at Lv1, and on a global scale, that percentage might reach as high as 70%. To level up, two conditions must be met:
1. At least one basic ability score reach rank D or 500 points.
2.Accomplish a great feat, something that would impress the Gods.
The first condition isn't too difficult, as even less skilled adventurers can slowly grind to it with persistence. For example, by enduring enough hits your endurance stat will eventually rise. The second condition, however, is much more challenging and abstract, which is why many adventurers get stuck at this part.
Therefore, anyone who reached Lv2 has at least accomplished something that would impressed the Gods, even in the center of the world, Orario , they are regarded as someone to note.
At this point, the next time the Gods held a *Denatus*—a meeting of the Gods, they'll bestow an alias upon the adventurer.
For example, Tsubaki's alias is *Cyclops*, while the man before his alias is *High Novice*
Level 4 adventurer High Novice Raul Nord, a senior member of the Loki Familia.
His alias High Novice doesn't mean super newbie but rather a super experienced newbie.(TN: English alias a lot of time stray from the Japanese kanji meaning. Raul alias in kanji is Super Ordinary Guy, it doesn't mean he's some sort of Superman among the mortals, it just means he a super/rather ordinary guy.)
Despite reaching Lv4, his magic count zero, his skill count zero, and none of his basic abilities stand out. He's so ordinary that he became extraordinary.
"Ahem, this is the new member of the Loki Familia, an elven mage, Lefiya, she's Lv2." Raul coughed as he introduced the girl who had been hiding behind him.
"I'm Lefiya Viridis. Pleased to meet you!" The elven girl hurriedly bowed, exuding a feeling of clumsiness.
She had long golden yellow hair tied into a ponytail, its bright hue reminiscent of a beautiful sunflower, with round dark blue eyes.
Her beauty live up to the reputation of the elves, her features were delicate and beautiful, and her long ears peeked out from her hair. Unlike Ryuu, Lefiya didn't seem distant or cold but felt rather approachable.
"And these two are newcomers from the Ganesha Familia, on the way, we happened to crossed path, so we came together." Raul continued.
"I'm Niran Murs, a Lv1, warrior, pleased to meet you."
"I'm Koni Saltarin, a Lv1, spearman, pleased to meet you."
Niran was a female cow folk with an imposing height and an exaggeratedly voluptuous figure, so much so that even Lefiya and Tsubaki couldn't help but glance and compare themselves with hers. Her "racial advantage" was undeniable, Raul's gaze seemed to be stuck on a certain part of her body as well.
It was as if she had her own gravitational pull.
Besides her astounding "chest muscles," Niran also had well-defined abs and a broad shoulder width and height that surpassed most men. She carried around a massive shield and a heavy sword on her back, making her seem like a very reliable front-line warrior.
On the other hand, Koni was a stark contrast—a small Pallum with blonde hair, wielding a spear taller than himself.
"I'm Shirou Emiya, Lv1, my preferred weapons are swords but I can also use bows. Pleased to meet you." Shirou introduced himself.
At Tsubaki's and Hephaestus' suggestion, Shirou had picked up archery again.
His highest basic ability was dexterity, which unlike strength, endurance, or agility, didn't noticeably enhance his combat power.
But rather affects things like weapon mastery, accuracy, and the ability to spot enemies weakness.
Dexterity is also crucial for crafting-based adventurers, such as smiths who required equal amount of strength, endurance, and dexterity, or alchemists, who primarily need dexterity.
For adventurers with high dexterity, the weapon that benefits the most is the bow, as dexterity greatly improves accuracy.
Additionally, Shirou's **Unlimited Blade Works** perfectly synergized with archery—as long as he has enough mana, he has an endless supply of arrows.
Coincidentally, in his past life, Shirou had practiced kyudo (Japanese archery), so it didn't take long for him to get the hang of it.
"Now that I look at it, we have a very well-balanced party." Koni remarked. "Niran, as the warrior, will be the vanguard. I'm the spearman will be the mid guard. Emiya will cover the rear with his bow, supporting us with long ranged attacks while protecting Lefiya, the mage. What do you all think about this?"
Everyone agreed—it was the most logical formation.
Tsubaki patted Raul on the shoulder. "Well then, I'm leaving Shirou in your hands. Make sure you guide them properly, okay?"
"Leave it to me!" Raul replied, forcing himself to look enthusiastic as he gave a thumbs-up.
"In any case, this guy is just going to waste his time and money in the Entertainment District, it's better to have him lead the newcomers." One companion suggested to Finn, though Raul felt a bit reluctant about being assigned this task, but any mission entrusted by the captain was something he had to give it his all.
- Frontline: Niran, Lv.1 (Top)
- Midguard: Koni, Lv.1 (Jungle)
- Mage: Lefiya, Lv.2 (Mid)
- Backline: Emiya Shirou(Bot ADC)
- Supporter: Raul, Lv.4 (Roam Support)
Thus, an adventure party, made up of new members from several top-tier familia was formed, or more accurately a "newbie training squad"was officially formed and set off to the dungeon.
—————-
TN:Niran and Koni were the Og authors origin characters so they won't show up much latter in the story.
Anya eating fish
https://danmemo.boom-app.wiki/entry/chara-496
Lefiya
https://danmachi.fandom.com/wiki/Lefiya_Viridis/Image_Gallery?file=Lefiya_Viridis_Character_Art.png
https://danmachi.fandom.com/wiki/Lefiya_Viridis/Image_Gallery?file=Lefiya_Viridis_Artwork.png#SO_Light_Novel
Raul
https://danmemo.boom-app.wiki/entry/chara-123
Niran looks probably something like this
https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/114465894#big_0
—————-
Flag example no spoiler
Example one before an important battle, a character that talk about their future plans, like how they're getting married, then they will almost always die, this is especially true if they owned a pendent with a picture of their loved one or a gift of their loved one.
Example two, a character saying everything is going according to plan, then immediately something goes wrong.
Example three, is it my imagination, probably just my imagination, anything like that, like no it's never just your imagination.
Spoiler territory.
Saying Nah I'd Win, gets destroyed.
Anything invincible or ultimate in jojo is a flag, like when Dio said The World is the ultimate Stand than it's reveal that Jotaro Stand has the same ability while having higher precision and development potential.
Kars became the ultimate being but eventually, he stopped thinking and many other similar cases.
Even Jotaro suffered, getting nerfed so hard in the next two season.