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However, unexpectedly, Hephaestus is not worried about Shirou. With the eyes of a god, she has long seen that this child is special.
'He has clear and firm eyes, knowing what he wants.'
"Shirou, next, would you like to try dungeon adventuring?"
———
"Shirou-kun, are you preparing to enter the dungeon, nya?",Anya asked while eating grilled fish.
This cat girl is only particularly elegant when eating fish, fast and skilled, a small fish is quickly reduced to bones, and not a drop of oil stains the cat girl's mouth.
"Yes, for the first time, it's just to familiarize myself with the dungeon environment.",Shirou said while grilling small fish,"At the beginning, there will be experienced adventurers leading."
Bringing up the topic of the dungeon, Ryuu's mood visibly darkened, but after struggling for a long time, she could only say,"Shirou, be careful."
After these two weeks of interaction, Ryuu's condition has improved significantly, she's not as stubborn as before, and her psychological trauma seems to have healed a lot.
Also, Ryuu and Syr's relationship has improved a lot, Syr seems to have put a lot of effort into counseling the elf girl.
However, now only Shirou and Syr can approach Ryuu without triggering her instinctive resistance, Anya is very dissatisfied with this, feeling isolated, and tries various ways to touch Ryuu's hand, but Ryuu still can't completely control her instinctive reflexes.
It often ends up in a battle between Lv.4s, with the cat girl having the racial advantage in hand-to-hand combat, but as long as she gets a weapon, even a spoon, Ryuu can immediately turn the tables.
Considering Ryuu is an elf, high-level elf adventurers mostly have magic, Ryuu's overall strength should be above Anya's.
This is Shirou's own judgment, during this time he has occasionally helped at Hephaestus's equipment store and has met a few Lv.4 adventurers.
Somehow, he feels like those adventers would be knocked down by a few full-powered cat punches from Anya…
"By the way, Ryuu, Anya, and Syr, please take these.",Shirou took out a small box.
Inside the box were three bracelets, with green knots and leaf pendants, orange knots and cat paw pendants, and silver knots and gardenia pendants respectively.
"This is a gift for everyone.",Shirou said.
"Eh? These aren't made of mithril, are they? They seem expensive, nya~"
"I made them myself, using leftover materials from Tsubaki-nee's forging."
"I see… but Shirou, giving girls gifts before your first dungeon dive feels like setting up a flag, nya… ouch…"
"Stupid cat, don't say such unlucky things!"
"Useless elf, because Anya said it out loud the flag is broken, how dare you hit Anya's head…"
"Don't worry, I will definitely come back.",Emiya Shirou smiled and said.
"Promise, Shirou."
———
"Has the Loki Familia not arrived yet?"
At the entrance to the dungeon in Babel, Tsubaki and Shirou waited.
On his first day as an adventurer, Shirou completed his adventurer registration under the guidance of his familia seniors, but it's only now that he's first come to the dungeon's entrance.
Although he has seen Babel from afar, being this close is a first, and Shirou is awed by the towering giant tower.
And for some reason, he vaguely feels like someone is watching him from the tower… probably just his imagination?
"Sorry, Captain Tsubaki, we're not late, are we?"
"No, we just arrived early, my child is excited for his first dungeon dive.",Tsubaki said.
Appearing before Shirou was, how to put it, a man who doesn't stand out much.
Wearing what looks like ordinary full-body armor, with an ordinary hairstyle and unremarkable features, he's the type you wouldn't notice at a glance in a crowd of adventurers.
"Oh~ it's [High Novice].",Tsubaki recognized him.
"Although I don't really like this title… but yes, it's me, [High Novice] Raul Nord."
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[Titles] are something every adventurer above Lv.2 has.
More than fifty percent of adventurers in the labyrinth city are stuck at Lv.1, worldwide this percentage might be as high as seventy, and the conditions for leveling up are:
1. One status value reaches at least D rank, which is 500.
2. Achieve a great feat.
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The former isn't too hard, even a dull person can slowly reach it through perseverance, at least endurance will go up after being beaten enough, the latter is more difficult and abstract, and is the reason many adventurers are stuck.
Therefore, any adventurer who reaches Lv.2 has at least achieved a great feat, and even in the labyrinth city, the center of the world, they can be considered a notable figure.
At this point, the gods will hold a [Banquet of Gods], as the name suggests, a banquet of gods, and through collective decision, assign them a [Title].
Like Tsubaki's title is [Cyclops], and this man's title is [High Novice].
Lv.4 adventurer, [High Novice] Raul Nord, a high-ranking adventurer of the Loki Familia.
But the meaning of this title isn't "High Novice", but "super ordinary man", yes, Raul is not only ordinary in appearance, but his adventurer status values are also very ordinary.
Having reached the height of Lv.4, but with 0 magic, 0 skills, and no outstanding basic status values, too ordinary, to a strange degree.
"Ahem, this is our Loki Familia's newbie, an elf mage, Lefiya, level Lv.2.",Raul coughed twice, he stepped aside to reveal the child hiding behind him.
"Lefiya Viridis, pleased to meet you.",The elf girl hurriedly bowed, somehow giving off an unexpectedly clumsy vibe.
The girl has a head of rich golden hair, tied into a ponytail at the back, her hair color is very eye-catching, reminiscent of beautiful yamabuki flowers[1].
Her appearance is as proper and beautiful as expected of an elf, with long ears peeking out from her hair, unlike Ryuu who is also an elf, Lefiya doesn't give off a cold or unapproachable vibe, but is instead very cute.
"And then there are two newbies from the Ganesha Familia, we met on the way, so we came together."
"Niran Moors, Lv.1, warrior, pleased to meet you."
"Conny Saltlin, Lv.1, spearman, pleased to meet you."
[A/N: These two newbies are original characters, they won't be teaming up with them later.]
Niran is a female minotaur, with a very tall height and an exaggeratedly voluptuous figure, not only Raul and Conny, but even Lefiya and Tsubaki couldn't help but glance and secretly compare themselves, it's just the minotaur race, their racial talent is too strong, even Raul couldn't look away.
This is probably the law of universal gravitation.
Besides the exaggerated "pectoral muscles", Niran also has robust abs and a height and shoulder width exceeding that of the average man, carrying a huge shield and greatsword on her back, this physique as a warrior gives a strong sense of security.
On the other hand, Conny is a dwarf, in stark contrast to Niran, with golden hair, carrying a spear taller than himself.
"Emiya Shirou, Lv.1, skilled with the sword, also somewhat knowledgeable with the bow, pleased to meet you."
On the advice of Captain Tsubaki and Goddess Hephaestus, Shirou has taken up the bow again.
His highest basic ability is dexterity, this attribute doesn't directly enhance combat power like strength, endurance, or agility, but affects some more subtle aspects.
Such as weapon handling, attack accuracy, the probability of finding and hitting enemy weak points, etc…
And it's the most important ability for production-type adventurers, blacksmiths might need strength, endurance, and dexterity, while alchemists mainly pursue dexterity.
And for high-dexterity adventurers, the weapon that benefits the most is the bow, because the biggest role of dexterity is to increase the accuracy that bows need the most.
Additionally, Shirou's magic [Unlimited Blade Works] is also perfectly suited for bows—as long as he has enough magic power, his arrows can be replenished infinitely.
Coincidentally, Shirou has experience with archery from his previous life, so he picked it up quickly with a bit of learning.
"Looking at it this way, our team's configuration is very balanced.", the dwarf Conny said,"Warrior Niran as the vanguard, me the spearman as the midguard, Shirou as the rearguard, using the bow to support us while protecting the mage Lefiya in the rearguard, how about that."
No one had any objections, Conny proposed the most reasonable formation.
Tsubaki patted Raul's shoulder,"Then, I leave my child to you, make sure to bring the kids back safely."
"Leave it to me!",Raul forced his spirits up, giving a thumbs up in response.
"Anyway, this guy would just go squander in the pleasure quarter if left idle, might as well have him guide newbies.",being said so by his companions and then assigned this task, although Raul is reluctant, he will definitely put in 100% effort to complete any task assigned by the captain.
Vanguard: Niran, Lv.1
Midguard: Conny, Lv.1
Rearguard: Emiya Shirou, Lv.1; Lefiya, Lv.2
Supporter: Raul, Lv.4
And so, this adventurer team, or more accurately, newbie training team, composed of new members from various familias, was formed and set off for the dungeon.
As Shirou and the others entered the dungeon, a rumor began to spread.
"If you see a team composed of a human archer, a minotaur warrior, a dwarf spearman, and an elf mage, if you don't want to die, you must avoid them."
"Ah? That scary? What level are they?"
"I don't know what level they are, but Lv.4 [High Novice] Raul is their supporter."
———
Entering the relatively safe first floor of the dungeon from the entrance, Raul spoke,"As long as it's not an unsolvable danger, I won't intervene, except for Lefiya, you are all entering the dungeon for the first time, this adventure activity is mainly for training and teaching you about the dungeon."
Raul, ostensibly carrying a large bag, follows behind everyone as a supporter, but in reality, he's both a supporter and a guide.
Supporters are regular members of adventurer teams, usually the weakest in the team—often a dwarf, responsible for carrying equipment, medicine, and loot obtained in the dungeon.
Having an Lv.4 adventurer as a supporter for the first adventure is not just "top-tier familia" treatment, it should be "top-tier familia" "super newbie" treatment, in fact, Shirou is probably riding on someone else's coattails.
This adventure is organized and led by the Loki Familia, the real core protagonist is that Lv.2 elf girl, she probably has some special magic or skill, recognized as a super newbie with unlimited potential, hence assigned an Lv.4 high-ranking adventurer to guide and protect her.
It's just that the Loki Familia's captain, the [Brave] Finn known for his wisdom, thought to take this opportunity to have the next generation core of the familia establish good relations with newbies from friendly allied familias, hence planning this activity.
Not counting Raul, four newbies, one from the Loki Familia, two from the Ganesha Familia, and one from the Hephaestus Familia, all three familias have first-class adventurers above Lv.5, with a total of nearly twenty top adventurers (Loki Familia seven, Ganesha Familia eleven, Hephaestus Familia one).
Emiya Shirou estimates that the two newbies from the Ganesha Familia probably also have special skills.
'Thinking about it this way, having Raul-senpI lead this newbie team, isn't it a bit cruel to this [High Novice]?'
"Although it's a bit strange coming from me now… supporters are important members of adventurer teams, there are some scum adventurers who bully supporters in the team by taking advantage of their strength… such behavior is absolutely suicidal,"Raul said.
These newbies won't always have an Lv.4 supporter, first they need to understand the importance of supporters, the most important thing in the dungeon is logistics, never underestimate supporters who may seem low level and weak in combat.
"Then, you can further introduce yourselves, getting to know each other is very important for companions conquering the dungeon together, of course, also judge whether some information should be disclosed."
"I'll start.",The dwarf Conny was very proactive,"I came to the labyrinth city Orario because I admire Finn-sama, my dream is to become a great adventurer like Finn-sama."
The Loki Familia's captain [Brave] Finn's race is dwarf, as the strongest dwarf adventurer, he's also the pride of the entire race.
"Um, if you admire Captain Finn so much, why didn't you join the Loki Familia?",The Loki Familia's Lefiya asked the question everyone was curious about.
Conny scratched his head,"Actually, I initially joined the Loki Familia… well, since we're all companions from friendly familias, I think it's trustworthy to be straightforward, I used to be a delivery man in a city, although it's a bit self-praising, I was the best delivery man in the entire city."
He spread his hands,"As a result, after receiving the God's Blessing, I obtained skills and magic that can only be activated in sunlight and within the city, so under Finn-sama's advice, I transferred to the Ganesha Familia."
Conny has skills and magic, but they can't be used in the dungeon, so he really isn't suited for the Loki Familia which focuses on dungeon adventures, but is more suited for the Ganesha Familia which guards the city.
"That's how it is, so in the dungeon, I can't exert my full strength, but I'm somewhat confident in my spear skills."
However, Conny is indeed honest enough, directly telling them about his skills and the conditions of his skills, this is due to the credibility brought by their respective familias.
Lefiya glanced at Raul, hesitated for a moment, then spoke,"My magic, the firepower is very high, the maximum can reach… Lv.4 level?"
"Ah?"
'So you're the real cheat character, an Lv.2 mage with Lv.4 output…no wonder the Loki Familia treasures you so much.'
In fact, Lefiya still hid a lot, she has an even more terrifying magic she didn't reveal, which is, under the premise that all adventurers have at most three magic slots, she has a special magic that allows her to learn all elf magic.
Others can have at most three magics, the strongest mage in the labyrinth city, also from the Loki Familia, the Lv.6 elf adventurer Riveria Ljos Alf, has developed three-stage usage methods for all three of her magics, equivalent to having nine magics, hence her title [Nine Hells].
And Lefiya, theoretically she can use hundreds or thousands of magics.
[A/N: Let me explain the timeline. In the original work, the Astrea Familia's annihilation and Ryuu being picked up by Syr and brought back to the tavern both happened five years before the main story begins, meaning Ryuu only took a very short time to clean up the dark faction. This text adjusts that time to two to three years later.
One reason is to make Ryuu's subsequent leveling more reasonable. In the original work, after working as a tavern waitress for five years, she leveled up twice in a row, which feels a bit forced. She debuted only a year later, and even the [Sword Princess], who is designated as the most talented, only reached Lv.6 at the same period after high-intensity training.
And the main reason is that two to three years before the original story begins, there are some important plot points (such as the Lefiya joining the Loki Familia).
The current time in this text is about two and a half years before the original story begins.]
[[1]Yamabuki Flower: Yamabuki bloom as overlapping many golden yellow flowers on the supple slender drooping branches. Because of the legend and the appearance of the flowers, the meaning of Yamabuki in the language of flowers is "Luck with money" or "Elegance".]
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