DanMachi: Heroic Epic of Emiya the Great Hero

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Emiya came to the Babel Tower for the second time. The entrance to the dungeon is located on the underground first floor of this white giant tower.

Last time, because he was moving with people from other familias, he didn't get a chance to observe carefully. Only now did Emiya start to pay attention to the scenery here.

The entire hall is themed in blue and white, with black stone tablets engraved with the names of many adventurers scattered around. Thick and long pillars are set at equal intervals, so many that one can't take them all in at a glance. Looking up, one would see the sky filling the entire ceiling, giving a grand and awe-inspiring feeling, as if a piece of the real sky had been moved here.

In the center of this temple-like magnificent space is a huge hole, with spiral silver stone steps leading deep into the hole. This is the entrance to the dungeon. Crossing this silver staircase, one truly enters the world of monsters.

However, although one side of the hole is a demonic realm opposed to the world, the other side is filled with the hustle and bustle of human life. The circular plaza centered around the large hole is exceptionally open, and it's no exaggeration to say that it could accommodate thousands of adventurers. Yet, this spacious area is actually somewhat crowded at the moment.

"Esteemed adventurer, do you need a supporter? I have the [Behind-the-Scenes Hero] skill, very suitable for being a supporter. Please, give me a chance—"

"Thank you, but no need.",Politely refusing the constantly pleading dwarf girl, this was the third self-recommended supporter Emiya had encountered.

Avoiding the other's regretful gaze, Emiya passed through the crowd. Seeing the emblem of a volcano and a forging hammer on his cloak, the crowded people tacitly made way for him.

"Those supporters looking for teams in the plaza are not trustworthy. If you need a supporter, it's best to choose a partner from the same familia or a known friend, or spend money to hire a reputable supporter from the guild. The price will be more expensive, but at least they are reliable."

When first entering the dungeon, that senior from the Loki familia, Raul, earnestly shared these experiences. Supporters are the cornerstone of a team and must be someone trustworthy.

Encountering some dishonest people stealing spoils is a minor issue, but if you meet someone with ill intentions colluding with other adventurers, then it's troublesome.

However, Emiya doesn't need to consider these for now, because as the goddess Hephaestus said, he simply doesn't need a supporter.

Backup weapons? Not needed, he has [Unlimited Blade Works] to project. Medicine? It doesn't take up much space, just carry it with you. And the most important spoils? Just leave them.

Whether it's goblins or orcs, magic stones or dropped items, just abandon them. Don't even think about carrying them; don't even pick them up.

As the goddess said,"If Shirou wants to make money, forging a sword in the workshop can earn millions in minutes. Picking up those magic stones and dropped items isn't worth the time!"

The goddess's words are so reasonable that Emiya was left speechless.

The [Caladbolg: Magic Sword] that Tsubaki just forged is now estimated to be priced at 100 million valis, and the actual selling price will only be higher, not lower.

Because even the most inferior magic sword, which can only release a small fireball, can sell for nearly a million valis, and the magic scale and expected power of that [Caladbolg: Magic Sword] are record-breaking.

Tsubaki and the goddess's plan is to do some preliminary promotion first, then let the familias capable of buying the magic sword bid for it, and 20% of the transaction amount will belong to Emiya.

Tsubaki insists on doing this. If it weren't for the high cost of preliminary research and production, she even thinks Emiya should get a higher share.

That is to say, if the selling price is 100 million valis, Emiya can get a huge sum of 20 million. Referencing the bounty of 80 million valis for the Level 1 wanted criminal Miss Ryuu, that's equivalent to earning 0.25 Ryuu at once. If the selling price can reach 200 million valis, the 20% share would be 0.5 Ryuu.

Therefore, there's no need for any supporter or picking up any spoils. The only thing Emiya needs to do is fight and kill monsters.

The two newcomers from the Ganesha familia and their senior from the same familia formed a fixed team. Lefiya stayed with the Loki familia for magic training with Riveria. After careful consideration, Emiya finally decided to venture into the dungeon alone.

Because only in this way can he truly go all out.

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.

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"Gah—"

On the fourth floor of the dungeon, drawing the bowstring and shooting an arrow, a bright blood flower bloomed on the right eye of the small humanoid monster [Goblin].

The charging group of goblin monsters instantly faltered. With their low intelligence, it's hard for them to instantly understand the reason for their companion's death, but instinct makes them fear the figure hidden in the cloak in front of them.

However, the speed of the arrows is faster than their reaction.

"Right eye, right eye, right eye—",The arrows successively pierced into the right eye sockets of the goblins, the rhythm like a brisk spring rain.

Even goblins, which are too weak to pose any threat, can be used to train archery and [Agility] abilities in this way. Emiya doesn't miss any opportunity to train himself.

Several goblins fell to the ground, black-red blood splattering, but not a single drop could stain Emiya in the distance.

As life faded, the goblin corpses began to rapidly decay.

Ignoring the magic stone fragments that might be in the corpses and the possible dropped items [Goblin's Fang], Emiya turned and left, continuing to hunt on the fourth floor.

If it were on deeper floors, such behavior might bring risks. Magic stones not taken by adventurers, if eaten by other monsters, could lead to the birth of "enhanced species."

But before the fourth floor, there's no need to worry about this issue. Many adventurers are exploring this area, and some will specifically pick up magic stone fragments that other adventurers don't want.

Above the fourth floor, an additional step of crushing the magic stones is needed, but compared to digging out the magic stones, it's still much more convenient.

Emiya only took a short time to cross the first to the third floors but decided to stay a bit longer on the fourth floor.

Starting from the seventh floor, with the appearance of monsters like Killer Ants, which are short in height and have hard shells, appearing in large groups, bows will no longer be suitable, and his main weapon will switch to swords.

Therefore, he hopes to first use the goblins and kobolds that are everywhere on the fourth floor to deliberately train his archery.

Encountering a lone kobold, without hesitation, he raised his hand and shot an arrow, piercing the monster's left eye.

When encountering goblins, shoot the right eye; for kobolds, shoot the left eye. Emiya moved through the maze, raining death with his arrows.

The projected arrows dissipated along with his figure, leaving only the monster's remains on the ground, eye sockets with blood holes staring at the maze's ceiling.

At the same time, a blonde girl carrying a sword and a huge backpack on her back also entered the dungeon alone.

———

[Dungeon, 17th floor]

"Has Goliath already been defeated?",A blonde girl carrying a huge package looked at the empty maze, her tone disappointed.

The 13th to 17th floors of the dungeon are called the Cave Maze, with the 13th floor being the boundary between the upper and middle layers.

Starting from the 13th floor, the walls, floors, and ceilings are made of solid rock. Compared to the upper layers, which are just flat circular mazes, the layout of the middle layers is more complex, including intertwined upper and lower tunnels. The light becomes dimmer, and the air becomes damp. There are also vertical holes randomly appearing that lead to deeper floors.

On the 17th floor, a wide maze room contains a huge wall known as the Wall of Grief, the cradle where the Dungeon King Giant Goliath is born.

The Dungeon King (Boss) is a special type of monster individual that only appears on specific floors and possesses potential abilities far exceeding the average level of that area.

For example, the Dungeon King Giant Goliath on the 17th floor has a comprehensive Level 4 potential ability, with endurance reaching Level 5, while the most powerful ordinary monster in this area is the Minotaur with a comprehensive ability of Level 2.

Only one Dungeon King will appear at a time, and as long as it is not killed, no new Dungeon King individual will appear. Moreover, the birth cycle of the Dungeon King is much longer than that of ordinary monsters. For example, the Dungeon King Goliath has a rebirth period of a full fourteen days.

The blonde girl had seen the information about the Dungeon King's rebirth and rushed to the 17th floor, only to find it empty.

"Thinking about it, the Ishtar familia's expedition team just returned to the surface yesterday. The newly resurrected Goliath was defeated by them, ugh...",The girl made a frustrated sound, her body slightly bent, the package on her back seemingly heavier.

The blonde girl, Ais Wallenstein of the Loki familia, the [Sword Princess], the youngest Level 1 adventurer in the labyrinth city and even the world, a terrifyingly talented 13-year-old Level 5, is now burdened with pressure, or rather debt, that doesn't match her age.

The last expedition of the Loki familia ended in a disastrous defeat due to Ais's impulsive actions, and her bonus and pocket money were naturally all deducted by her guardian Riveria. Moreover, she has to compensate the familia for the huge loss of property due to her actions.

Even after compensating with all the magic stones and dropped items obtained from killing the enhanced dragon monster, it's still not enough. Little Ais, at a young age, owes a debt of 200 million valis, needing to catch Ryuu 2.5 times to pay it off.

Additionally, Riveria strictly forbids her from entering the lower and deep layers, and even the latter half of the middle layer is off-limits, restricting her activity range to within the 18th floor.

Because the middle layer has the [Pitfall] mechanism, if one accidentally falls to the 27th floor in the latter half of the middle layer, they might encounter the Dungeon King with a potential ability of Level 5 and underwater combat ability of Level 6, the Twin-Headed Dragon, Amphisbaena.

Clearly, the leaders of the Loki familia aim to give Ais a profound lesson while also tempering her temperament.

Fearing that she might be sold off by Riveria to pay off her debt, little Ais wrote a letter of reflection overnight and then rushed into the dungeon to hunt monsters and collect magic stones.

To save money, Ais didn't even hire a supporter and carried a large bag herself.

After all, with her Level 5 status and combat ability, even carrying a bag doesn't hinder her from hunting monsters in the upper and middle layers.

The [Sword Princess]'s primary target is naturally the strongest monster in the upper and middle layers, the Dungeon King Giant Goliath. To pay off her debt, the girl set her sights on Goliath's huge magic stone and dropped item [Goliath's Fang].

Just unfortunately, she arrived too late.

"In that case, I can only go up...",If she can't go below the 18th floor, she can only go up and bully the Minotaur, Hellhound, and Unicorn Rabbit groups, which only have Level 2 strength.

As for sneaking down to the lower layers, Ais does have the impulse, but thinking of Riveria's disappointed eyes, she restrained her desire.

If she acts recklessly again, she might be whipped into a spinning top by Riveria with a copper-headed belt.

And the money for buying the copper-headed belt would be charged to Ais's account, as it's equipment for Miss Ais, very reasonable.

Little Ais took out some fried potato balls from her backpack for a snack, munching on them while lifting her sword to head to the upper layers.

———

On the other side, Emiya reached the 12th floor.

Strictly speaking, this is not an area for newcomers. The guild's suggestion is that a Level 1 adventurer should have at least a B rank in basic abilities to explore the 10th to 12th floors.

However, Emiya is not an ordinary adventurer, and his combat power cannot be measured by basic ability values.

The most powerful monster on the 11th to 12th floors is the Infant Dragon, a small dragon monster about 150 centimeters tall and over four meters long, with a comprehensive ability of Level 2. Some say the Infant Dragon can be considered the Dungeon King (Boss) of the upper layers.

However, the Infant Dragon is an extremely rare monster, with fewer sighting reports than the precious Blue Papilio butterfly.

Emiya didn't have the luck to encounter a Infant Dragon, but if he did, he has the ability to maneuver and escape.

If necessary, he could use the magic sword lent by Tsubaki to unleash a Level 4 magician's magic cannon to defeat it.

The rare Infant Dragon can be ignored. Emiya's target on the 12th floor is orcs, which have a comprehensive evaluation of Level 1 but have exceeded the limit in certain abilities, making them Level 1.5 monsters.

At the same time, he doesn't plan to go deeper. Below the 12th floor, Level 2 and above monsters appear in groups, which would be deliberately seeking death rather than adventuring.

"Found three lone orcs—"

Emiya raised his bow and initiated the attack first.

The longbow fully drawn, an arrow shot out, with both speed and power significantly enhanced compared to when shooting goblins.

The armor-piercing arrowhead directly penetrated the orc's throat, a fatal injury for ordinary life, but the large-bodied pig-headed orc struggled.

"Such vitality, truly a monster.",Emiya shot another arrow, piercing the orc's knee, causing it to fall to the ground in a sorry state, clutching its throat and rolling on the ground.

The other two pig-headed orcs screamed and charged at Emiya, but the boy calmly put away his bow.

"Projection start [Trace on]."

Two longswords appeared in Emiya's hands. Facing the two enraged orcs, he didn't choose to dodge but instead charged forward.

The orc raised its heavy wooden club, attempting to smash the boy's head. In its view, with the opponent's physique, even if he blocked, he would be smashed along with his weapon.

However, Emiya had no intention of blocking. Facing the orc with its weapon raised and its heart exposed, he directly used a move that normal swordsmen wouldn't easily employ—throwing the sword.

The few meters between the boy and the orc were instantly crossed by the flying sword, the blade piercing the orc's chest, but only penetrating the surface skin and muscle.

Orcs have formidable endurance, and with the power Emiya used, this strike couldn't completely penetrate its defense.

But he could follow up with another strike.

The longsword in his right hand thrust straight out, perfectly hitting the hilt end of the sword he had thrown, both in position and angle.

The blade pierced through the orc's body, blood splattering, and the orc's arm raised in the air finally dropped powerlessly.

The third orc made a choice in line with its instincts—turning to flee.

However, exposing its back to an archer is undoubtedly the worst choice, even if he's holding a sword.

"Projection start [Trace on]."

In Emiya's hand appeared a straight short sword thirty centimeters long.

Taking a run-up, accelerating, and throwing, the short sword turned into a cold light, piercing the orc's back neck.

The orc didn't even flinch; this level of attack was nothing to its endurance—

The next moment, it directly fell to the ground, lifeless, with a burnt smell emanating from the wound on its back neck.

The magic sword projected by Emiya exploded inside its body, directly burning its spine.

Although it was just a lowest-level magic sword with minimal power, the flames it released weren't even enough to penetrate the orc's thick skin. But if it burns inside the body, even a small spark can cause terrible damage.

"Phew, projecting a magic sword still consumes a lot of magic power.",Emiya let out a breath. The magic power consumed by projecting a magic sword is no less than the magic power released by the magic sword's magic, and compared to ordinary swords, the magic power consumption is completely on a different level.

But the advantage is that it requires no incantation and is instantaneous. It's because of this characteristic that magic swords are valued by adventurers and seen as a trump card.

So far, Emiya's strongest attack method is projecting magic swords, but he can't yet project the [Caladbolg: Magic Sword] with his current magic power, and the same goes for those high-power heroic spirit treasures.

Emiya looked to the other side; the orc that had been pierced through the throat by his arrow and lost its combat ability was still struggling. The vitality of monsters is truly astonishing. Without hesitation, he projected a sword to finish it off and crushed the magic stone in the orc's chest with a sword.

"Who's there?",Emiya suddenly turned his head.

As an archer, his perception is always sharp. Just now, he faintly heard a human voice.

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