DanMachi: The Epic of the Heroic Spirits of Emiya Shirou

It is worth noting that she always walks barefoot, even in the dungeon.

"We were training newbies on these floors. We heard the dragon's roar and came to check it out, hoping to get lucky, but you beat us to it..." Aisha said nonchalantly, "I just came to say hello, why are you looking at me so seriously? Do you have a handsome young man in your team?"

"Wow, there really is!" Aisha noticed Shirou behind Alicia and habitually gave him a flirty wink.

"Leave here, Amazon, or I won't be polite!" Alicia said coldly. At the same time, Ryu covered Shirou's eyes to prevent him from seeing Aisha's revealing clothes.

"Okay, okay, I'll leave right away, please don't cast any spells!" Sensing the temperature around her starting to drop, Aisha quickly raised her hands in surrender and left dejectedly.

"Shirou, you must stay away from the Amazons from now on, especially from the Ishtar Familia, understand?" Alicia said seriously.

"Yes, I understand." Shirou tried his best to keep a straight face under the watchful eyes of the three female spirits beside him, and answered seriously.

The Ishtar Familia's main business is running a pleasure district, which is a perfect match for the naturally open-minded Amazons, something the noble elves despise most.

After driving Aisha away, Alicia used ice magic to seal the baby dragon's mouth, preventing it from making any noise.

“No adventurers should be coming any closer,” Alicia said, then added regretfully.

"It's a pity. If it had been you, Shirou, who fought me one-on-one instead of me, we would definitely have obtained enough [Great Achievement] to upgrade."

Emiya shook his head: "Sister Alicia, the [Young Dragon] is not so easy to deal with. Besides, it ran away as soon as it came up, not giving me a chance to try."

There is also a difference between Lv.2. Young dragons are not mass-produced monsters like the Minotaur; they are genuine boss-level beings.

Emiya has enough attack power to deal with the baby dragon, but he lacks the strength for direct confrontation, the agility for dodging, and the stamina for a prolonged battle. He might have a chance in a one-on-one fight, but the risks are considerable.

Especially since he had already expended a lot of physical and magical energy, and the high-grade elixir he had just drunk hadn't fully taken effect yet.

It's a real shame. If he had waited until he had leveled up his Lv.1 stats before encountering the baby dragon, he could have really tried a one-on-one fight, and he would definitely have achieved his goal of leveling up.

"We're really lucky to have run into the baby dragon right off the bat. It feels like it's heading this way," Alicia exclaimed.

Emiya nodded; he had the same feeling. The young dragon seemed to be heading straight for him, and the [Pseudo-Red Hound] in his hand seemed to be guiding the young dragon's location.

Could it be that dragon slayers and dragons are attracted to each other?

However, the boy wielding the "Dragon Slayer Sword" did not do it himself; instead, the elf mage beside him trapped the dragon-shaped monster.

The main reason was that the baby dragon flew over aggressively, but when it saw Alicia start chanting, it turned around and ran away without any backbone. Otherwise, Shirou would definitely have gone up and fought it if he had the chance.

If it's determined to escape, then Alicia will have no choice but to freeze it.

“Shirou, I only froze the baby dragon. It’s not dead yet. You can kill it.” Alicia said, “Although it’s not as effective as a one-on-one fight, I can still gain some experience points.”

Just like in a game where high-level teammates weaken the boss and then a newbie takes over, the same thing can be done in dungeons.

Large clans can help newcomers grow in this way, but the downside is that the experience and achievements gained are quite limited unless they fight with their full effort.

Moreover, the experience gained from last-hitting is very "mediocre," unable to break through the bottleneck of ability values, and does not help in acquiring magic, skills, or developing abilities.

The acquisition of skills and development abilities is closely related to adventure and combat experience. Adventurers who kill more monsters are more likely to obtain the [Hunter] skill, craftsmen who do a lot of blacksmithing may obtain the [Forging] skill, and those who are poisoned more often are more likely to obtain [Abnormal Resistance], and so on.

If you rely too much on high-level adventurers to feed you experience and achievements, you will find it difficult to acquire skills.

Emiya has experienced enough high-quality battles, so he doesn't need to worry about this issue. For him, having a great achievement is better than having none.

"By the way, you can try using your strongest attack to kill the [Young Dragon]. If you can deplete the [Young Dragon's] durability in one go, you can also obtain a considerable amount of Merit," Alicia suggested. "This is an upgrade method that only mages with high firepower can use."

Although it's not a one-on-one fight, being able to unleash an astonishingly large amount of damage in a single strike can still be considered an achievement.

No wonder the Loki Familia's elf mages are able to level up so quickly.

"I see, I understand now." Emiya thought for a moment; to inflict massive damage in a single strike, that move was the most suitable—

[Fantasy Collapse] is a technique that unleashes the full power of a Noble Phantasm like an arrow.

The [Pseudo-Red Plains Hound] in his hand is the most suitable "arrow". He also needs a bow, but an ordinary bow may not have enough power.

Emiya began chanting the incantation again.

[Identifying Creative Concepts]

Scenario Basic Framework

Copy the component material

Imitation production technology

Empathetic growth experience

Replay cumulative years

Overcoming and completing many projects──

At this very moment, the sword that embodies all of fantasy is complete.

That was the bow held by the Heroic Spirit who stood at the pinnacle of all Heroic Spirits, symbolizing the "strongest".

Belonging to Hercules, the son of the gods in Greek mythology, this is the Noble Phantasm most trusted by this great hero, and its name is "Nine Lives".

It's less of a weapon and more of a fighting style. The hero Hercules' Noble Phantasm, "Shoot Down a Hundred Heads," is a versatile Noble Phantasm that can change shape depending on the target.

Its original form was the bow and arrow used by Hercules when he destroyed the immortal Hydra.

With his exceptional mind, skill, and physique, Hercules, who is proficient in using all weapons, is most powerful in the "Archer" class.

And that hero in mythology who overcomes numerous dangers and trials with wisdom and strength is, in a sense, Shirou Emiya's ideal.

Archer possesses powerful and diverse abilities, but his relatively weak stats have become his biggest constraint.

Hercules' (Archer) abilities, combined with Emiya's (Archer) methods, represent the ultimate goal that Emiya, having received "divine grace," set for himself.

Therefore, he subconsciously chose this weapon for projection—[Pseudo-Hundred-Head Shooter (Nine Lives Ⅱ)]

The massive, heavy longbow fell into Shirou's hands.

Taking a deep breath, Emiya raised his longbow, which he could only place horizontally because the length of the heavy bow was almost greater than his height.

His magic, restored by the use of high-grade elixirs, was once again completely depleted, yet his mind remained exceptionally clear.

"All you need to do is fire an arrow with all your might."

Grasping the hilt, the form of the [Pseudo-Red Plains Hound] began to change, transforming from a "sword" into an "arrow".

This is the [Red Hound] that is more often seen in Emiya's hands. Compared to the original longsword, the [Red Hound] with the "tracking" characteristic is more suitable for this form in a sense.

The arrow was nocked onto the longbow, and the bowstring was drawn taut like a crescent moon.

“Go—” Emiya said softly.

There was no howling wind or sonic boom tearing through space, only a fleeting flash of blood-red light, as the arrows, like fierce dogs silently hunting their prey across the wasteland, tore into the young dragon's body.

Then came a violent explosion that tore the dragon-like monster's body to pieces.

"The effect of the skill [?????? (Roadless Valhalla)] is activated."

Temporarily acquired the skill [Mind's Eye]

"Temporarily gained the development ability [Hunter] I"

"Temporarily gain the development ability [Archer] G"

"Temporarily gain the development ability [Swordsman] G"

"Temporarily gain the ability to develop [Fist Warrior] I"

"Temporarily gained the development ability [Lancer] I"

"Temporarily gained the development ability [Knight] I"

"Development abilities for [Archer], [Swordsman], [Fist Fighter], [Lancer], and [Knight] are combined into [Martial Arts]."

"Temporarily gained the ability to develop [Divinity] H"

"Affected by abnormal environment, lost the ability to develop [Divinity] H"

Emiya, who had just fired the arrow, nearly fainted from exhaustion of his mental energy. At the same time, he seemed to feel the ground beneath his feet trembling slightly.

A sudden sense of crisis surged into his heart, and a chilling coldness began to spread from the soles of his feet, running up his spine to the top of his head, as if he were being targeted by tens of thousands of sharp arrows. Emiya shivered, feeling as if a venomous snake had coiled around his ankle, as if he could feel the cold, slippery touch.

In a daze, he saw images of people falling from a height.

"Ryu, Lefia, Alicia, watch out for the ground!" Emiya shouted immediately, warning Ryu and Alicia.

As soon as she finished speaking, the dungeon began to shake violently, and cracks appeared beneath Lefia's feet, which then spread rapidly.

Before anyone could react, the floor beneath their feet collapsed completely.

The Malice of the Fortieth Floor Dungeon (Part 2)

Everything in sight was covered in rock. The walls, the ground, and the ceiling were all formed of rock, and the air around was somewhat damp.

The lighting was much dimmer than in the previous maze, and the room was much taller and larger than before. The air was filled with a sense of oppression that was completely different from the upper level.

This is Emiya's first time here, while Ryu and Alicia are quite familiar with the place, and Lefia has also been here before.

This is the initial dead end of the dungeon—the middle level.

"What happened?!" Lefia was the first to shout, as Alicia held her in her arms.

In the instant the earthquake and the building collapsed, Alicia's first thought was of Lefia. Because she rushed to protect Lefia, she was unable to avoid the collapse and fell into the suddenly formed pit.

Ryu, relying on her exceptional agility and reflexes, managed to grab the edge of the broken ground just before the collapse occurred. However, seeing Emiya and Alicia fall into the pit, Ryu jumped down without hesitation.

Vertical caves—connecting to deeper traps—are a special type of terrain that should only appear in the middle and later levels of the underground city. They are something that would never appear in the labyrinth of the upper level, yet they appear so openly under everyone's feet.

“We’ve fallen into a ‘vertical cave’,” Alicia explained to Lefia in as calm a voice as possible. “This is a rare ‘anomaly,’ and there’s no doubt that we’ve been targeted by the dungeon’s malice.”

"Dungeons" are not just a simple geographical concept; the gods and adventurers of Orario generally agree that dungeons are alive.

The dungeon is a conscious, living entity that harbors a deep hatred for the gods.

If a deity unleashes its divine power within the labyrinth, it will provoke fierce resistance from the dungeon and cause serious anomalies; such events have occurred in the past.

Therefore, the guild strictly forbids gods from entering the dungeon, and violators will be subject to extremely severe punishment.

Besides the gods, the dungeon also hates adventurers who invade its territory, so "abnormal situations" often occur that seem to be deliberately targeting adventurers and trying to kill them.

Adventurers refer to this situation as "the malice of the dungeon".

In the eyes of Alicia and the others, they were now encountering the "malice of the dungeon".

Moreover, it is the most serious level, far exceeding the "Monster Feast" which generates a large number of monsters at an unreasonable rate in a short period of time and the "Enhanced Species" which have special abilities.

"Ryu, Shirou, how are you? Are you hurt?" Alicia put Lefia down and called out.

“No,” Emiya said.

"I'm fine," Ryuya replied.

Ryu and Emiya maintained their balance thanks to their excellent physical abilities and control, and finally landed safely.

"First, we need to determine where we are." Seeing that everyone was alright, Alicia breathed a sigh of relief, then her voice became serious.

“Based on the length of the longitudinal cave, we’ve fallen more than two or three levels; this is at least the fifteenth level,” Alicia judged.

Lefia's body trembled slightly; the last time she entered the middle level, she didn't have any pleasant memories.

So far, with the help of Emiya and her fellow Familia, she has only managed to adapt to the monsters on the upper levels, while the terrifying monsters on the middle levels will remain a nightmare for Lefia.

In particular, that terrible, lonely king of the labyrinth, the giant Goliath.

"Please don't..." Lefia prayed silently, "Please don't let it be the seventeenth floor."

"After we fell, the tunnel began to seal off. If my senses are correct, there should have been an earthquake in the underground city before the ground collapsed."

Alicia took a deep breath: "If I'm not mistaken, the road to the upper level must be blocked by falling rocks or completely collapsed by now."

Her judgment was based solely on her understanding of the "malice of the dungeon," without any evidence. As a seasoned adventurer with many years of exploration experience, this was not the first time Alicia had encountered the "malice of the dungeon."

“I agree. The dungeon won’t leave us such an easy way out.” Ryu nodded, her fingers lightly resting on the hilt of her katana. At times like these, familiar weaponry can bring adventurers a sense of security.

“If this is the fifteenth floor, it would be easier to get to the town of Rivera on the eighteenth floor than to go back to the ground,” Alicia said. “We’ll wait for rescue from the ground on the safe floor.”

Dungeons contain floors where monsters do not spawn; these areas are called "safe floors." The currently known safe floors are the 18th, 28th, 39th, and 50th floors.

In the most recent 18th floor, adventurers established the adventurer town "Rivera," which has become very prosperous as a transit point for various clans' expeditions.

Once the pathways between different levels are blocked, reopening them is no easy task. It requires not only strength but also patience and a significant amount of time.

Ryu possesses a powerful magic spell, but she has absolutely no confidence in using it to clear the blocked passageway between floors.

A more likely outcome is a larger collapse.

"Before I set off, I asked Miss Seele to inform my family that Lefia and I had come to the dungeon, just to prevent such unexpected situations. I didn't expect it would actually come in handy," Alicia continued, her voice serious but not nervous.