"Let's stop here."
Shirou Emiya swiftly dispatched a Needle Rabbit, and at that moment, Raul, the supporter, made the decision to end the adventure.
There were two reasons. The first reason was that they had already reached the ninth floor. If they were to descend further into the tenth floor, they would enter a new territory where more dangerous monsters would appear, including the possibility of encountering a Infant Dragon, classified as a Lv2 creature and was considered the Floor Boss of the Upper Floors.
Additionally, there were Orcs, which, although classified as Lv.1 monsters overall, had strength equivalent to Lv2 monsters. These monsters could incapacitate some weaker Lv2 adventurers with a direct hit.
While the party's team comp and capabilities made it possible to conquer the 10th to 12th floors, they had already gained plenty from this expedition, so there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
The second reason, however, was much simpler—Raul's backpack was full.
Shirou's efficiency in killing lower-level monsters was too high. War Shadows and Killer Ants weren't like worthless Goblins; their magic stones had value, and combined with drop items, Raul's bags were completely stuffed. If they continued adventuring, they'd have to discard some of their previous loot.
They had also been fortunate enough to encounter a Blue Papilio, a butterfly monster with four transparent blue wings. Though it had no combat abilities, the powder secreted from its wings had healing properties and could be used to make valuable potions.
Raul now regretted his decision. As the supporter for this expedition, he was technically hired by the mage Lefiya under a fixed wage contract rather than a profit-sharing one.
In other words, no matter how valuable the drop items were, it didn't affect his earnings. Of course, even if they returned with nothing or suffered losses, Raul would still get paid.
"I had no idea these newbies were this strong, especially that swordsman from the Hephaestus Familia—he's a complete monster!"
Of course, Raul wasn't shameless enough to ask the newcomers for a share of their profits, though he was short on money, he still had his pride.
"No problem, I think it's about time to call it a day." Everyone agreed, including Shirou, he felt that Lefiya's condition had improved significantly compared to earlier.
Lefiya started to get accustomed to monsters repeatedly charging at her, only to be intercepted and slain by Shirou every single time, they no longer seemed as frightening.
Besides, he was beginning to feel a little tired too.
"Wait, I see a group of monsters—three Orcs?"
Standing at three meters tall, the massive boar-headed monsters wore old animal hides like skirts around their waists and wielded large wooden clubs as weapons.
"Why are there Orcs on the ninth floor? Did they climb up from a lower level? Hmmm, sometimes things like this do happen." Raul said. "What ever, I'll take care of them, then we'll head back."
The dungeon wasn't always predictable, and monsters from deeper levels sometimes migrated to upper floors. These were dangerous "anomalies" that posed a serious threat to inexperienced adventurers.
Raul casually drew his sword. While Orcs were serious threat to Lv1 adventurers, in the eyes of a Lv4 adventurer, they were of no threat.
"Wait, Raul-senpai." It was then that Niran, the cowfolk warrior, who spoke up.
"I'd like to face them on my own."
"What?" Raul frowned. "Three Orcs aren't something a Lv1 adventurer like you can handle."
Though Orcs were classified as Lv1 monsters, their high endurance, defense, and overwhelming attack power often required a party of Lv1 adventurers to take them down without major risk. This led some to consider them as "Lv1.5" monsters.
"That's exactly why it would be considered a achievement." Niran said seriously.
"Before I graduated from the [School District], my basic abilities were more than sufficient enough to level up, however, I haven't been able to accomplish any notable achievement."
"Truthfully, I've always been a bit of a coward. Even though I'm big, I'm scared of dying, so I've always hide behind a shield and avoided taking any risk, letting my teammates take care of killing the monsters." Niran continued."But today, watching Emiya-sama fighting inspired me."
"You were so cool, seeing you stand in front of your companions, eliminating any dangers that tried to harm them, I thought…..wow, I want to be like you."
"So, I would like to challenge them."
"Even though my basic abilities will increase when I'm injured, my sense of reason will be reduced, Koni, I'd like you to keep an eye on the surrounding and stop any monsters. Emiya-sama, I would like you to support me with your bow, but please try to help as little as possible. Lefiya, I'm really sorry, but your magic is too powerful. This time, I want to try taking down the monsters by myself."
"Raul-senpai, if anything goes wrong, please bail me out, okay?"
"Ah, goodness gracious, you rookies." Raul sighed but then gave a serious nod. "Alright, go on. Achieving the impossible-that's what adventurers do!"
…..
Niran charged forward alone, challenging the three orcs.
Orcs, had enough strength to incapacitate some weaker Lv2 adventurers with a solid blow, however the cowfolk girl still stubbornly stood her ground with her shield.
Her endurance and strength were remarkably high, and in battle, basic abilities alone didn't mean everything. Even at the same level with the same basic abilities, the strength of a Pallum could never match that of the Cowfolk or the Boarfolk. With the same ability score, an Elf's magic power was always stronger.
This was the power of racial advantage.
Koni, the Pallum, couldn't help but watched with envy as Niran wrestled with the orcs.
Pallums had the weakest basic abilities among all the races. Strength, agility, endurance, magic—none of it stood out. Their only notable trait was dexterity, which was just on par with humans, but they lacked the Dwarves' crafting talent.
Humans didn't have any particular strengths either, but compared to the Pallum, they are stronger in every single way, and thanks to their sheer numbers, they had produced many heroes in the past.
Pallums, on the other hand, had to work several times harder just to achieve the same feats as humans.
"An achievement..." Shirou murmured to himself.
He drew his bowstring and shot an arrow, hitting the thick wooden club of one of the orcs. The sudden impact interrupted the orc's attack, however the swing of another orc quickly followed.
Though the shield Niran held was of high quality, it still couldn't completely negate the impact. The force of the orc's blow injured her, but instead of backing away, she let out an earth-shattering roar.
Another attack was once again interrupted by Shirou's arrow, and on the other side, Niran abandoned parrying with her great sword. Instead, she tanked the orc's blow with her shoulder guard, the orc stared in shock as Niran raised her sword.
Her skill, Wild Fury, activated. When injured, her attack power increased, and the more severe her injuries, the greater the boost, though her sense of reason deteriorated in the process.
Her greatsword suddenly sped up, smashing into the head of that orc along with an angry cry.
Blood splattered everywhere, the sight of the crimson blood seemed to fuel the cowfolk girl's fury even more. She hurled her shield like a projectile, breaking the nose of another orc, then leaped into the air and delivered a mighty slash, the blade hacked through the orc's upper body, cutting through bones.
"RAAAAH!!" The cowfolk girl let out a roar that was even more terrifying than that of the monsters.
The last orc, seemingly terrified, dropped its weapon and turned to flee.
Shirou raised his bow and shot an arrow through the orc's knee, sending it crashing to the ground. Niran caught up to the fallen orc but instead of using her sword, she tossed it aside, and wrapped her arms around the orc's neck from behind.
"AAAAAHHH!!"
And with one mighty yanked, she tore its head clean off.
Covered in blood, Niland turned around, smiling, and gave Lefiya and the others a thumbs-up.