Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Crimson flames continued to burn across this desolate land.

Countless swords and blades were scattered across the sand dunes.

The entire area was more like a graveyard of swords than a world of swords, devoid of any life.

On the very top of this deathly silent sand dune stood a man with gray hair, dressed in red, and holding two blades.

"Pfft——!"

That was the sound of a blade tearing flesh apart.

"Pfft——!"

That was the sound of blood splattering in all directions.

"Pfft——!"

That was the sound of some kind of sharp weapon piercing flesh.

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Beast-like roars emanated from the man.

A python flashing with lightning.

A deformed spider that sprays silk.

A bipedal flying dragon with explosive muscles.

The monsters surged towards the man who stood alone atop Sword Hill from both sides.

His face was stained with bright red blood.

The agonizing howls of the monsters echoed in his ears.

"Tick-tock—!"

That was the sound of blood dripping from his arm, which had been violently torn apart by the wyvern and was now covered in blood.

“Puff!”

That was the sound of blood splattering as the sharp fangs of a python, crackling with lightning, pierced his shoulder.

"Boom--!"

That was the sound of a rhinoceros suddenly and powerfully striking his abdomen.

"Qiang————!"

Like steel clashing against steel, on the summit of Sword Hill, Shirou Emiya's blade clashed viciously with the demon's claws, sparking intense flames.

However, the man merely turned his body slightly, and the double blades in his hands suddenly spun around.

The next second, a cold glint flashed.

"Pfft—pfft—pfft—pfft—!"

The sound of flesh being torn apart rang out once again.

The monsters turned to ashes and vanished into the air in an instant.

Crimson blood dripped continuously from the man's body.

Before anyone knew it, the man was already soaked in blood.

"Roar--!"

Just as the man was dealing with the monsters surging in front of him, a roar came from behind him—it was a sneak attack from a wyvern.

With the aid of flight, its speed reached an even more terrifying level.

From the moment it launched its attack until it struck the man in the back, it probably didn't even take a second.

However, under these circumstances, the man in red did not even turn his head.

The reverse blade in his hand spun in an instant, turning into a cold light that pierced through the air and shot towards the two-legged wyvern.

That was muscle memory that I didn't even realize I was experiencing.

“Puff——!”

Amidst the sounds of flesh being torn apart, the two-legged wyvern let out a scream, and once again, large amounts of blood splattered all around.

It crashed heavily to the ground, turning to ashes and disappearing into the air.

Emiya Shirou had no idea how long he had been fighting.

One hour, two hours, a day, or even longer.

After defeating the second Fallen Fairy who broke in from the 59th floor, Shirou Emiya's magical power was completely depleted, and he even lost the magical power to control the flying arrows.

A strong sense of fatigue also lingered around Shirou Emiya.

At this moment, the dungeon seemed to have given up its attack on Shirou Emiya, and the number of monsters was gradually decreasing.

Even on the sword hill where Shirou Emiya stood, thousands of monsters continued to surge forward.

However, their numbers did not increase again.

This is the limit that dungeons can achieve.

It's like a god descending to the mortal realm, but setting rules to restrict himself from using his divine power.

Dungeons also have their own rules.

The monsters' survival floors and respawn times are the rules of the dungeon.

Otherwise, as Finn said before, if the dungeon can target Shirou Emiya, it can also target other adventurers.

Furthermore, dungeons have always been hostile to adventurers, so if they could really target an adventurer anytime, anywhere...

Those exceptionally skilled adventurers must have already perished in the dungeon.

Even the Loki Familia couldn't withstand a floor that suddenly transformed into an arena.

This means that the dungeon has the ability to wipe out an entire party of adventurers at any time.

But why didn't the dungeons, which were filled with malice towards adventurers, wipe them out completely?

No one knows the reason.

But one thing is very clear: like gods who cannot use divine power, dungeons also abide by certain rules of the game.

It will only change if someone breaks the rules or is not within the rules.

One such instance is when a deity descends upon the dungeon.

But even now, no one knows exactly what changes will occur when a god descends upon the dungeon.

Emiya Shirou belongs to the second type.

He was not from this world, nor was he exploring the dungeon under the grace of a god.

For the dungeon, Shirou Emiya is an existence that exists on the fringes of the rules.

He stepped into the rules on one hand, but left those rules on the other.

The dungeon cannot target other adventurers in the same way it targets Shirou Emiya.

However, because Shirou Emiya is not entirely outside the rules, there are certain limits to what the dungeon can do to him.

It cannot truly transform those floors into an arena, relentlessly attacking Shirou Emiya.

Chapter 499 Enhanced Variety Barol

The floor owner, who was supposed to appear two weeks later, appeared at this moment and broke through the 49th floor, directly entering the safe 50th floor.

And the intense sense of oppression emanating from him.

Finn slowly exhaled.

"All second-tier adventurers, return to floor 51! It's a Baror enhanced species!"

Just like the enhanced monsters they are facing on the 57th and 58th floors, the monster in front of them named Baror is also an enhanced monster.

In fact, its strength has probably far exceeded LV7, and it is very likely that it has reached the level of LV8.

But they are now in an extremely dire situation.

Not only do they have to face the enhanced species Balor, who may have reached LV8, but the magic power of Lefia and Riveria, who should have provided powerful firepower, has also been exhausted.

Riveria played a crucial role in enabling them to escape from that endless horde of monsters.

More than 70% of the monsters were eliminated thanks to Riveria's magic.

Even as the city's strongest mage, he was nearly depleted under such terrifying magic consumption.

Both Tiona and Tione, who were forwards, were temporarily unable to fight due to the severity of their injuries.

Currently, the only four level-one adventurers in the entire expedition team capable of directly confronting Barol are Finn, Ais, Bert, and Grace.

Each of them also had injuries of varying degrees.

Even if everyone could participate in the battle, Finn could not guarantee that they could defeat Barol, who was an enhanced species.

You should know that fighting the floor master is like fighting your own "endurance".

The enemy possesses an enormous body that is impervious to the slightest attack, and an inexhaustible vitality. Even if all the essential firepower of a mage were gathered, it would be impossible to defeat such an opponent in a short time.

Unless the adventurers' level is significantly higher than his, any tactical arrangement will easily turn into a protracted war.

Even Otto, the strongest player in Orario, failed to defeat Balor, the boss of the 49th floor, during his solo expedition.

However, this does not mean that Ota cannot defeat Barol by himself.

Just like when Shirou Emiya was considering the consumption of physical strength and magical energy, he chose to reduce the consumption of magical energy instead of venturing into deeper levels on his own in order to return to Orario within a limited time.

When fighting Barol, Ota had to consider a series of factors, such as the extent of his injuries, the loss of items, whether he could return from the depths alone, and the time it would take to get back to Orario, before deciding not to eliminate Barol.

Even after facing him countless times, Barol still proved incredibly troublesome for Finn.

It's not just because of its enormous size and terrifying regenerative abilities, but also because of its jewel-like eyes, which can emit incredibly terrifying lasers.

Being hit by the laser beam fired from Barol would leave them with virtually no chance to try or defend themselves; they would be instantly annihilated.