"Your shoulder's bone definitely fractured. I'm surprised you could still lift your sword and swing it at that moment."
"I couldn't feel the pain at all back then... Ah! Ouch, ouch, be gentler, Lefiya-chan."
"Do you need an Elixir?"
"An Elixir?! That's 500,000 valis per bottle! I felt I'm better off enduring the pain instead..."
"Just wait a bit, I'll cast a healing magic."
"Lefiya can use healing magic too? That's amazing!"
Niran's challenge had been a success, the next time they met, she would have probably leveled up and become a Lv2 adventurer.
Lefiya, the only girl in the party, was helping her walk, though the height difference made it somewhat difficult.
"Thank you, Niran," Lefiya said.
"Huh? For what, Lefiya?"
"Just like how you said Emiya's fighting inspired you, watching you fight also motivated me."
"No, I think it's more the other way around—I've been more influenced by you, Lefiya."
"Huh?"
"I entered the School District a year earlier than you, but you leveled up before me. It's hard not to feel some pressure because of that."
.....
What had begun as an ordinary adventure ended up with a somewhat unusual outcome. Raul could only sigh at how impressive these newbie adventurers were now days.
And also, how exhausting it was to guide them, the mental strain was immense, there were several moments when he almost rushed in to intervene. But luckily, everything turned out fine in the end.
They didn't venture deeper into the dungeon and made their way back to the surface without any further incidents. The monsters they encountered on their way back were all easily dispatched by Shirou.
Once on the surface, their first order of business was to exchange their loot for valis. The guild directly bought the magic stones and common drops item, but rare materials like the Blue Papilio Wing powder fetched a much higher price when sold to healer Familia like the Dian Cecht's Familia.
After some discussion, the group decided to sell the powder to Raul at 90% of the market price, allowing him to resell it to the Dian Cecht Familia for a profit. In exchange, the 10% difference would serve as payment for his efforts. As for whether Raul could make a much higher profit by selling the powder above market price, it was all up to his negotiation ability.
"I can't believe we made so much valis."
"This is not typical—it's because Emiya was so efficient at killing monsters, and most importantly, we were lucky enough to encounter a Blue Papilio."
When it came time to divide the earnings, Emiya wanted to split it evenly, but everyone else opposed that idea. In the end, Emiya received 40% of the profits, while the others took 20% each.
"Hey, those guys made a fortune."
"Aren't three of them just kids? Maybe we should...?"
"Are you out of your mind? That's *High Novice Raul's* party."
Raul overheard the murmurs of these rogue adventurers. His gaze turned cold, and the moment he looked their way, silence fell over the area.
"Scram."
"Y-Yes!"
The man who had greedily suggested robbing them scrambled away in terror, practically tripping over himself as he fled.
Although Raul might be seen as an easy "bullying" target by every Lv4, Lv5, and Lv6 adventurers within the Loki Familia, and even give off a gentle senior feeling to the rookies, to the average adventurer, a Lv4 was a terrifying monster, akin to a Floor Boss.
Such is the disparity in this world.
"Emiya-san," Lefiya called out to Shirou as he was preparing to leave. "Thank you very, very much for your help! If there's any way I can do to repay you, please don't hesitate to let me know!"
....
"Ok—status update complete," Hephaestus, announced. "Quite the improvement for your first adventure, especially your dexterity and magic stats."
Emiya Shirou
Lv.1
Strength:H120 → H131
Endurance:*G203 → G205
Dexterity:F332 → F364
Agility:H104 → H112
Magic:G248 → G283
Development Ability:
Magic
- [Unlimited Blade Works]
Skill
- [Oath under the Snow]
- [? ????? (Roadless Valhalla) ]
"Is it my imagination or is my growth not as fast as it was at the start." Shirou noted.
"Well, naturally," Hephaestus replied. "I-rank basic abilities grow the fastest. Once you hit G200, the growth rate slows down, and after D500, it gets even slower. The closer you get to the peak, the harder it becomes." She smiled. "But your growth speed is still very remarkable. At this pace, you might even break the 'Sword Princess' record."
The current record for the fastest adventurer to level up from Lv1 to Lv2 in Orario was held by Ais Wallenstein of the Loki Familia, who did it in just one year.
"Did anything interesting happen during your adventure?" Hephaestus asked, curious.
For gods like her, the fascinating stories about their Familia members adventures were often the highlight of their time in the lower world, and could even be considered their main reason for descending.
Shirou recounted the adventure, including Lefiya and Niran's talents and Niran successful challenge.
"Oh~ Seems like both the Loki Familia and the Ganesha Familia have picked up some promising newcomers. That's good to hear." Hephaestus nodded approvingly.
Currently, the three most powerful Familias in Orario were the Freya Familia, Loki Familia, and Ganesha Familia. The Hephaestus Familia could also be considered among them, with its dominance in the equipment manufacturing.
Relations between these four Familia, except for the Freya Familia who tended to be more aloof and didn't socialize much with the others, were generally close. Finding out that each Familia had promising new members would only spark a little jealousy at most.
These Familias, along with the now-defunct Astraea Familia, had once fought together against Evilus during the dark age of Orario. Although that age had ended, there was always the chance of another great threat in the future that required their combined strength.
The more high-level adventurers within their ranks, the better. More children with potential were always welcome, even for a somewhat eccentric Familia like Freya's. After all, they were still considered an ally.
"That said, our Familia doesn't conduct deep-floor dungeon expeditions on our own," Hephaestus continued. "While we do nurture adventurers, we don't have the numbers or the strength to organize expeditions into the deeper floors."
"Those in our Familia who are Lv.2 or higher typically join expeditions with other Familias as 'supporters.'"
However, this kind of supporter wasn't the same as the ones who simply carried bags and picked up magic stones. They were primarily responsible for maintaining the equipment of the team and, in fact, often needed to be protected and treated as valuable assets during such expeditions.
"We most frequently cooperate with the Loki Familia, so having a close relationship with one of their members is a good thing. But," Hephaestus paused, giving Shirou a teasing look, "When it comes to marriage, I won't accept you marrying into the Loki Familia, though, if you can kidnap one of their members, I'll gladly welcome them."
"Goddess…" Shirou sighed, exasperated by Hephaestus's playful comments, while she only laughed in response.