This wasn't Lefiya's first time entering the dungeon.
In the past, she had teamed up with her classmates from the School District for a "Dungeon Exploration Internship." At that time, they were the School District's most elite party, with several Lv2 members , and together they had accomplished numerous impressive adventures during their travels around the world.
When they first entered the dungeon, thanks to their exceptional abilities, especially Lefiya's extraordinary firepower, they handled the upper floors with relative ease.
However, their over confidence made them underestimate the dungeon, and in a rash decision, they violated the School District's rules and ventured into the deeper floors.
Then, the unforgiving dungeon made these young adventurers realize the difference between the dungeon and the outside world. And they paid the ultimate price for their arrogance.
A sudden abnormality occurred, the floored beneath their party collapsed, causing them to dropped to the 17th Floor, coming face to face with the Floor Boss, who with overwhelming power and brutality, kicked these young boys and girls into the depths of despair.
Seeing her companions easily die in a single blow, the once reliable frontline tank, being effortlessly crushed beneath the giant's feet. While all of this was happening, Lefiya, the only one capable of harming the Lv4 Floor Boss with her overwhelming firepower, the only person that had a small chance of saving the party.
She froze.
She could only watched in horror as all her companions die.
She was petrified with fear, helplessly trembling in the corner, unable to move or cast magic.
There's a saying that the mage is the role that requires the strongest will and the toughest resolve. Even a terrified warrior can still deal some damage by recklessly swinging their weapon, a well armored tank, even if they turn around and flee in fear, can still tank damage with their superior endurance.
However the mage role was different. If they ever fall into a state where they can't cast spells, their entire existence loses its purpose.
Worse yet, if they try to cast magic in a state of panic, it can lead to an "Ignis Fatuus",(mana explosion), harming not only themselves but also their allies.
In the end, she was saved by the Loki Familia who was returning from their dungeon expedition, this was the main reason why she joined the Loki Familia.
...…
Now, back to the present, when a monster approached her, the shadow of Lefiya's past trauma creeped up on her once more.
Even though it was just a weak dungeon lizard—small, stealthy creatures that were only skilled at ambushing—a monster a Lv2 like Lefiya could easily kill in a single punch, a monster that was killed by the ever reliable archer before it could even touch her, her body froze, her mind blanked, and she enter a terrified state where she couldn't cast any magic.
The image of her fallen comrades, their mangled bodies, and the horrifying looming shadow of the Floor Boss played over and over again in her mind.
"Lefiya." Raul extended his hand but then helplessly withdrawn.
Lefiya was the most precious discovery, besides Ais, of the Loki Familia in recent years. She possessed the potential to create miracles. Her ability to use all magic used by an elf with her rare magic [Elf Ring] seemed beyond broken, paired that with her rare skill [Fairy Canon] that increased the effect of her magic, doubling the increase if the magic used was an attack magic, her first development ability was [Mage], which further improved the power of her magic.
Furthermore, Loki Familia's Lv6 mage, Riveria, had a skill called [Alf Regina(Elf's Queen Seal)], which strengthens the effect of all magic used by Elves and increases their mana recovery.(TN: Just notice, mana in Danmachi is called mind, but I'm still going to use mana in most case since saying stuff like I'm running out of mind, low on mind, or no more mind just sounds weird. So keep in mind Mind=Mana)
To use gaming terminology, Lefiya was a completely busted character capable of performing attack, defense, heal, and support magic, even able to further boost all her magic effect with a ton of stackable buff.
So it was understandable of the high expectations of the Loki Familia.
But your talents and the power of your magic had nothing to do with your inner strength.
The elven girl had yet to overcome the trauma of her past. She appeared fine while casting magics from a distance, but the moment a monster got close, even a weak one like goblin, her mind will blank and she would fall into a state of panic. This had become a major headache among the leaders of the Loki Familia.
After all, it would be super heartbreaking if they lost such a valuable treasure due to psychological issues.
Raul felt helpless. As a Lv4 adventurer, he had the ability to single-handily wipe out all of the monsters on the upper floors, but when it came to understanding a girl's heart, he was at a complete loss.
If he understood what women thinks, he wouldn't have ended up in a mostly-female familia, and still needing to stroll around the Entertainment District as a high level adventurer.
"I'm sorry." Lefiya whispered, her hands slightly trembling. "I don't think I can continue this exploration. Can we stop here…"
"Lefiya, are you afraid of monsters?" Shirou Emiya suddenly ask.
"Umm, I'm so sorry, I—"
"In that case, let's switch role." Shirou said. "From now on, I won't be using my bow. I'll use a sword."
"Ahhh, what do you mean?"
"From now on, Lefiya and I will be the frontline, and you guys will cover the rear." Shirou said, glancing at the warriors and spearmen in the group.
"Wait a minute, this is ridiculous…"
An archer and a mage in the front while warriors and spearmen guard the back? That formation was pure nonsense!
"Lefiya, you're not a coward, you're just not accustomed to 'fighting,'" Shirou calmly explained. "And I'm going to prove something to you—monsters aren't that scary. When I'm by your side, no monster will be able to harm you. At least in the upper floors, I'm confident of that. "
"So as long as you can trust me and your future teammate, you will no longer feel afraid.
"But… I…," Lefiya hesitated.
"I've mentioned before that I'm more skilled with a sword." Shirou looked over at the silent supporter, Raul. "Besides, isn't Raul-senpai still here if anything goes wrong?"
Raul: What should I do? I feel like I shouldn't agree, but this cool and strong rookie just called me 'senpai'…
"Shirou Emiya, I'm more skilled with a sword, but I also know a tiny bit about archery."
That was how he had first introduced himself. But after witnessing his extraordinary archery skills, everyone had subconsciously forgotten that small detail.
Shirou Emiya, he's a genius in archery, but it was just that—"a genius." His archery skills were the result of his talent, years of practice, and inheriting the skill of the Heroic Spirit [Archer]. However, sword was his "origin" and "essence."
(TN: For those who don't know "origin" is a Fate term, your origin is something that defines your existence and direct's your action throughout life.)
Shirou Emiya, in the domain of sword, was a transcendent figure, you can even say-he was born from the very concept of sword.
Starting from the sixth and seventh floors, highly dangerous dungeon monsters began to spawn.
There were the War Shadows, long armed dark humanoid monsters with claws that are as sharp as blades and fast speed, notorious for being a[newbie killers].
There were also the Killer Ants, creatures with four legs and two arms, known for their hard exoskeletons and strong attacks. In a pinch, these ants could release pheromones to attract more of their companions, sharing the title of being a [newbie killers].
Next came the Purple Moths, whose poisonous powder brought great trouble to adventurers.
And finally, the Needle Rabbits, whose attack power was only slightly weaker than the Killer Ants but possess much faster speed and agility.
The sixth to tenth floors, was a place that stopped and killed off countless newbie adventurers, Shirou stepped in wielding a pair of sword, for the first time, showed his brilliance to this world.
War Shadows were slashed apart in an instant, Killer Ants had their heads crushed with a heavy blow, Purple Moths were pinned to the walls with a swift throwing dagger, and Needle Rabbits were shot dead before they could even react.
Standing at the forefront, Shirou swung his twin swords in arcs that formed an impenetrable barrier that no monster could breach.
To Shirou Emiya, this wasn't too challenging, when all's said and done, the monsters on these floors were too weak, incomparable to the top-tier Lv4 adventurers he sparred with regularly. And compared to the Heroic Spirits he faced in his past life, these creatures were worlds apart.
Of course, he wouldn't underestimate the dungeon's monsters because of this. Just as there were varying levels among Heroic Spirits—from the Assassin, Hassan of the Cursed Arm to the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh—monsters, too, had vast differences.
"What's the deal with this rookie from the Hephaestus Familia?" Raul thought to himself, the image of Shirou slashing through hordes of monsters etched into his mind. This scene reminded him of another individual—Loki Familia's Lv5 First-Class adventurer, [Sword Princess].
The Sword Princess regularly did similar things, cleaving through entire horde of monsters.
But, something was different. The Sword Princess relied not only on her swordsmanship but most importantly her formidable base stats and powerful anti-monster skill. What this boy was demonstrating was pure sword technique.
"How is it? Not so scary now, is it?" Shirou slightly turned his head and asked the elf girl behind him.
Lefiya was momentarily stunned. She watched as those terrifying monsters charged toward them one after another, only to be cut down by Shirou before they could even reach her.
Just as he said, as long as he was by her side, no monster could harm her.
She felt…not so scared anymore…
Shirou was also a little surprised. He felt an unusual surge of strength. He was protecting Lefiya just like before, but for some reason, he felt like he had grown stronger.
Unbeknownst to him—
The skill [Oath Under the Snow] had activated.
- When acting to protect others: increased strength, durability, and enhanced magic and skill effects.
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Lefiya PTSD
https://danmachi.fandom.com/wiki/Lefiya_Viridis/Image_Gallery?file=Sword_Oratoria_Volume_11_301.jpg#SO_Light_Novel
Goliath
https://danmachi.fandom.com/wiki/DanMachi_Manga_Chapter_82?file=DanMachi_Chapter_82.jpg
Fate Origin
https://tmfatefanon.fandom.com/wiki/Origin