DanMachi: The Epic of the Heroic Spirits of Emiya Shirou

"Wait a minute, does that mean that super-sized, super-terrifying giant can get even stronger?!"

One of the onlookers, Raul, whose jaw had dropped in astonishment, exclaimed in disbelief.

"Could it be possible to transform into a complete giant...?"

"Is it even possible for muscles to grow on a skeleton?"

"Or put on armor and pick up weapons... That would be terrifying."

The discussion among the crowd became lively.

"Excuse me."

A voice rang out; it was Anachitium, a Level 4 adventurer from the Loki Familia, the "Lady Cat": "Who forged this sword?"

Everyone immediately fell silent, waiting for the answer to the question.

"Shirou Emiya of the Hephaestus Familia."

Riveria replied, "The title 'King of Swordsmiths' is truly well-deserved."

……

[Superhuman] Raul was the first to act. He took off running and rushed towards the direction of the Tower of Babel... Hephaestus Familia's specialty store.

There was a figure who was even faster than Raul, but she had just turned around and hadn't even had time to start moving when Riveria called out to her.

"Ais, where are you going?"

Riveria said softly.

Little Ais shuddered, a sudden unease welling up inside her.

122

Chapter 122 The Prototype of a Noble Phantasm

Little Ais mechanically turned around, only to see Riveria's gentle smile.

"Ais~"

Riveria asked softly, "The expedition is scheduled to begin the day after tomorrow. Are you ready?"

"...No, not yet."

Ais answered cautiously.

Faced with Riveria's sudden change to gentleness, Ais felt even more uneasy.

"Don't train for the next couple of days. Just rest well in the clan. Make sure you take good care of your physical and mental health, Ais."

Riveria said, "You'll be our main attacking force on the next expedition."

“Hmm…I understand, Riveria.”

Ais's body seemed to stiffen slightly as she nodded with difficulty.

"By the way, Ais, is there anything you want to say to me?"

Rivera asked the question in a seemingly casual manner.

Ais: "..."

Something's not right. Has Riveria discovered something, or is she just bluffing?

"No, no."

Without time to think it through, Little Ais instinctively denied it.

Little did she know that this unusual reaction had already revealed enough information.

"Ais, get some rest."

Riveria's smile grew even gentler.

Meanwhile, Loki quietly distanced himself from the Elf Princess and Little Ais.

"Riviera's mother's expression is terrifying..."

Loki muttered to herself, then looked at Alicia: "Speaking of which, Alicia, what's the name of this sword?"

Alicia replied truthfully, and Loki's expression became subtle upon receiving the answer "Skadi the Ice".

"What's wrong, Loki?"

"Ah, no, it's nothing..."

Loki instinctively tried to evade the question.

He couldn't very well tell the truth that he had been hung up and beaten up by the Ice Goddess in the realm of gods for being too persistent with Skadi...

Although she had long lost all her prestige and image within her clan, she naturally wouldn't reveal such a shameful incident to outsiders.

"Shirou, did you know that someone went to the clan's shop yesterday and bought all the weapons you made?"

Inside the workshop, the goddess Hephaestus spoke with a smile.

"what?"

Emiya asked, puzzled, "Why would anyone do something so strange?"

With the ability to create swords, he can easily forge swords that surpass those of ordinary blacksmiths. After gaining the ability to develop "mystery," the swords he forges during practice are all absolute masterpieces.

Even weapons forged from ordinary steel are sharper than regular swords and knives. With the use of some special materials, level three and level two weapons can be created.

However, this does not mean that swords crafted by Emiya are necessarily worth buying. The reason is simple: the price of a weapon is based on its quality. You get what you pay for, and high-quality weapons are naturally priced higher.

Moreover, weapons are not necessarily better the sharper they are. Rashly pursuing high-quality weapons is not a rational behavior. Living within one's means is the right approach.

Emiya's works are priced according to the rules and standards of the Hephaestus Familia. You can't just lower the price because he can easily forge swords. If you did that, how would the other blacksmiths in the Familia do business?

"It's the Loki Familia. Their people bought all the weapons you signed."

Hephaestus couldn't help but chuckle.

"I guess they want to invest in advance. Once you become famous as a blacksmith, Shirou, these early pieces of equipment can be sold as collectibles at high prices."

Emiya nodded: "I see."

As for why the Loki Familia reacted this way, it was naturally because of that sword.

"Projection, start (Trace on)."

He raised his hand, and an ice-blue longsword appeared in his grasp.

Hephaestus: "As expected, the weapon with the lightest consumption and burden from projection must be the one you forged yourself."

Hephaestus's eye sparkled as she gazed at the beautiful arc of the ice-blue longsword.

From a purely weapon perspective, this sword wouldn't even qualify as "mortal" to the God of Forging. The sword Hephaestus truly forged with the divine power of fire and the God of Forging possessed the power to split mountains and overturn seas, and to shatter the earth and burn the sky. If that sword were to descend to the mortal realm, a single strike wielded with full force would be enough to burn the outer edge of an entire planet in an instant.

However, Hephaestus saw it differently—the creation of the gods and the miracles created by the children of the mortal realm, even if their powers differed greatly, she was still more moved by the latter.

"How beautiful this sword is."

Hephaestus spoke softly, glancing at Emiya:

"Shirou, can you still forge swords like [Higanbana], [Swallow Returns], and [Skadi of Ice]?"

"It's hard."

Emiya answered bluntly, "To forge such a sword, I need to enter a special state; otherwise, what I'll create is merely a slightly sharper first-level weapon."

Hephaestus nodded slightly. In fact, she was the one who understood the special characteristics of these weapons better than even Emiya himself, the blacksmith, because of her insight as the goddess of forging.

The goddess gave those weapons a name—the prototype of a Noble Phantasm.

These swords clearly have the potential to grow: a fully loaded Star Sword Box might trigger some unexpected effects; similarly, the ice giant summoned by Alicia could be further improved as her magic power increases.

【Higanbana】 and 【Swallow Returns】 originated from Alyssiere and Kaguya Gojou, while 【Skadi of Ice】 originated from the great feat of defeating Black Goliath.

The birth of a "prototype of a Noble Phantasm" requires these elements that transcend matter: spirit, the fifth element, ether, great deeds, miracles... People have invented these terms to describe it, but none of them are quite accurate.

The goddess Hephaestus named it—[Record].

"I've been spending too much time in the workshop lately, I feel like I should go explore the dungeons."

Emiya looked up and folded up a newly drawn drawing.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of Emiya's workshop. After being granted permission, a guard from the Hephaestus Familia entered.

"Goddess Hephaestus, Mr. Emiya, we have a guest, Riveria, one of the Nine Demon Princesses of the Loki Familia."

"Rivilia?"

Hephaestus glanced at Emiya, her expression somewhat subtle.

Hephaestus: "Did she say why she came?"

"It seems that the Loki Familia's expedition is about to begin, and she hopes to invite our family's blacksmiths to join the expedition as aiders."

Hephaestus's gaze toward Emiya grew increasingly subtle: "As expected, he came for Shirou."

The misunderstanding deepened once again for the goddess who had sealed away her omniscient power in the lower realm.

1

Chapter 1: The Legend of the Sword Demon King.

"Shirou Emiya, Hephaestus Familia, Lv.2, Official Title: [Sword King] Danger Level: Black, Extremely Dangerous."

Other unofficial titles include Elf Hunter, Amazon's Owner, Sword Demon, and Sword Hell.

Daedalus Street is a labyrinthine district located in the city of Orario.

This vast and chaotic residential area is a gathering place for the urban poor and underground forces.

In a secluded room in this chaotic neighborhood, several men and women gathered in dim light for a routine meeting.

Where there is light, there is shadow. The labyrinth city not only has glamorous and dazzling clans, but also many underground gangs lurking in the darkness.

Among these organizations, the five most influential underground factions in Labyrinth City are known as the "Five Fingers" by the city's residents.

At this moment, the five people sitting around the round table are the leaders of the "Five Fingers".

The leader of Thumb is a burly dwarf male who controls a gang of dwarves known for his barbaric and ruthless style.

He is one of the few blacksmiths in the labyrinth city who possesses the ability to develop [forging], yet he is not affiliated with any production faction such as the Hephaestus Familia. He is one of the main arms suppliers in the underworld.

The leader of the Index Finger is a human male who controls the largest smuggling ring in the city. He was once a high-ranking adventurer of the Njord Familia, but left the faction due to disagreements with the Familia's ideology and started his own business.

It is said that he controls many secret access routes and manipulates the flow of various illegal goods in the city.

The leader of the Middle Finger gang is a male dwarf. His gang was originally an armed guild formed by laborers in the city to help them fight against the oppression of large merchant guilds.

However, this organization has long since deviated from its original purpose and degenerated into a group of thugs employed by the Chamber of Commerce to persecute ordinary people.

The leader of the Ring Finger is a werewolf woman who mainly deals in information trafficking and brokerage, and also provides medicine and medical services, although the quality of her medicine is questionable.

She claims to be a pharmacist with the ability to "harmonize" her medicines, but it is widely believed that her medicines are heavily adulterated.

The leader of Little Finger is an Amazonian woman whose main business is running entertainment venues such as casinos and brothels.

Many believe her organization is the black glove of factions like the Ishtar clan, specializing in dealing with transactions that cannot be made public.

These gangs wield significant influence in Orario's underworld and possess considerable strength; each "finger" has at least one powerful Lv.3 member.

The reason they were able to establish themselves in the city was, of course, because of their formidable strength... but that's just wishful thinking.

In fact, the so-called "five fingers," though they sound impressive, could be easily severed by a single Lv.5 first-class adventurer if the Ganesha Familia were to take it seriously.

Their ability to establish themselves in Orario was not due to superior combat strength, but rather to their astute vision, complex network of relationships, and cautious, low-key approach.

Indeed, although the "Five Fingers" are a criminal organization that commits all sorts of evil deeds, their leaders are well aware of the mindset of city administrators—in Orario, the existence of underground gangs is an unavoidable reality.

If the "Five Fingers" disappear, they will only be replaced by more radical and uncontrollable forces. Therefore, as long as they do not excessively provoke the city's administrators or cross any taboo lines, they will not be completely eliminated.

Moreover, the reason why the Adventurers' Guild and the Ganesha Familia tolerated the existence of the "Five Fingers" was because during Orario's dark period, these underground gangs were firmly opposed to the factions of darkness.

They provided considerable support in the fight against the Dark Faction, contributing significantly to the stability of the city.

It may sound unbelievable at first, but it is true—although the dark factions and underground organizations may seem to have many similarities on the surface, there are fundamental differences in their essence:

The motivation for underground organizations to commit evil stems from the pursuit of wealth, power, and resources; while the dark factions are different, their purpose is purer, simply to do evil for the sake of doing evil.