And just like that, Wemiya's new title was decided.
Just like before, it's a top-tier title consisting of a single word..."
At Babel Tower Plaza, near the entrance to the dungeon, adventurers gathered around the notice board, their eyes glued to the newly posted announcement, engaging in lively discussions.
This rule can be traced back to the previous era, exemplified by titles such as [Empress], [Conqueror], [Silence], [Gluttony].
Of course, the children of the Lower World generally cannot comprehend the deeper meaning of this level.
After discussing and boasting with their companions, they would continue their lives and adventures, facing the dangers and challenges of the dungeon.
"Today is our first time exploring the dungeon as a team, so let's take it slow."
Anya and the others: "No problem."
"Alright then, let's go."
A few minutes later, a cat person male youth quietly appeared at the edge of the plaza. His eyes were gloomy, staring intently at the entrance to the dungeon.
After entering the dungeon, Wemiya and the others adopted a standard front, middle, and rear formation.
Kuroy patrolled flexibly on the flanks, responsible for monitoring the surroundings, while Chunji and Lefiya were protected in the center of the team.
Lefiya also carried a large backpack, serving as a "supporter." Although her strength and endurance were lower at each level, her powerful base level as a Level 3 adventurer allowed her to carry the heavy luggage more easily than ordinary supporters.
"From the first to the fourth floor, we can take our time and let Chunji practice here a bit."
However, Chunji's special magic could not be effectively amplified by ordinary staffs. Therefore, Wemiya simply forged her a sword, his specialty.
Similar to Lefiya's [Wind Guardian], this sword had solidified magic.
Solidified magic [Foxfire], Chunji could consume mental power to release a small fireball from the blade.
In theory, [Foxfire] could adjust its direction and speed according to Chunji's will, but she was currently unable to achieve such precise control.
And next, under Chunji's efforts, the adventurers witnessed a different kind of "trash," completely opposite to Ryu, the "trash fairy" who only knew how to fight.
However, excessive pressure prevented her from concentrating, and each fireball she fired deviated bizarrely from the target, either hitting the wall or heading straight into the air, completely missing any monsters.
Just as she was frantically trying to rescue the sword from the rock wall, a kobold monster pounced on her fiercely.
"Ugh..."
The girls beside her couldn't bear to watch, covering their faces and revealing helpless expressions.
Lunova shook her head helplessly and sighed, "No, not just those who have received the grace of God, even ordinary people who have trained a little would not lose to this kind of low-level monster."
As for Chunji, she lay on the ground, her face red to the roots of her ears, so embarrassed that she wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. She didn't even dare to look up at Wemiya, fearing she would see disappointment in his eyes.
"Okay, okay..."
Although Chunji was shy, her will was firm and her determination did not waver.
Wemiya looked around and said, "This is the twelfth floor of the dungeon. Next, we will enter the middle layer area."
Under Wemiya's command, everyone except Chunji put on cloaks made of "Fire Spirit Cloth."
As for Chunji, her protective measures were even more complete. The leather armor worn by the girl had extremely high defensive power, especially against various elemental attacks.
These monsters were huge, incredibly strong, and extremely violent. Each silverback ape's muscles shimmered with a cold light, as if indestructible.
Silverback apes, monsters that were extremely troublesome for Level 1 adventurers or even those who had just upgraded to Level 2, seemed harmless in front of Lunova.
"Lunova, your attack movements are a bit too dangerous."
After watching her fight, Wemiya reminded her.
If the opponent was a fearless Level 3 monster, the situation might be completely different—she would probably already be injured.
"In dungeon battles, adventurers must try to avoid injury as much as possible."
Lunova had carried out many high-risk missions, in which killing the specific target was the top priority.
Lunova said embarrassedly, "Ah, I know, it's just that when I start fighting, I habitually rush too far... I will try to adjust."
Wemiya: "Continue forward, Lunova, switch your weapon to a sword and shield. When you encounter the next batch of monsters, don't actively kill them, Anya too. Let Lefiya carry out ranged bombardment. We need to adapt to various combat modes as much as possible."
Suddenly, Kuroy, who was walking on the flank, frowned, twitched his nose slightly, and said with a solemn expression, "Wait a minute, the smell ahead is wrong. The stench of blood is very strong, it seems like... the smell of human blood."
The entire room was filled with a strong smell of blood, and several broken corpses were scattered on the ground, obviously having just encountered a fierce battle.
In the corner of the room, a black-haired, delicate-looking elf girl was cowering, trembling.
The blood-red mantis monster, after tearing apart the last adventurer in the center of the room, suddenly let out a sharp hiss, its eyes revealing a murderous light.
Swords cut through the air, drawing out sharp arcs, and before the red mantis's sharp forelimbs could strike, he had already stood in front of the girl.
[Attack power, durability, magic and skill effects are increased when acting to protect others]
"A Level 4 enhanced species."
Based on the monster's appearance and movements, it could be seen that this red mantis was a rare monster in the middle layer of the dungeon, a variant of the Level 2 Crystal Mantis.
In addition, the mantis monster's forelimbs used for attacking had also become extremely sharp. Although limited by the generally low ability values of "insect-type" monsters, its strength was only at the middle level of Level 3. With the blessing of blades sharper than many adventurers' weapons, its attack power directly rose to the upper level of Level 4.
The difficulty of defeating this red mantis monster reached the upper level of Level 4. Whether it was its attack speed, reaction, or sharp claws, the threat to second-tier adventurers was terrifyingly high.
However, once its super-standard attack speed and sharpness lost their effect, its individual ability value was, at most, a slightly stronger Crystal Mantis.
The mantis monster's body swayed slightly, and then it violently vibrated its wings, trying to get rid of the unfavorable situation in front of it and escape to a higher place.
Its metal carapace was very hard, but it was not enough to resist the punches of the [Black Fist].
Wemiya calmly and quickly commanded, "Lefiya, fire a fire magic sword!"
A scorching fireball shot out from the magic sword, heading straight for the mantis's back.
Then, as Wemiya expected, the fireball hit the mantis's side, but was directly deflected on the monster's metal shell.
His real purpose was to confirm as much information and weaknesses as possible about this unknown enhanced species monster before destroying it.
Wemiya quickly threw out the [Gan Jiang Mo Ye] in his hand. The two black and white swords drew elegant arcs in the air, quickly approaching the mantis monster's body, attracting its attention.
"【Holy Sword User (Saber)】… and 【Hero (Braver)】, 【Mighty One (King)】"
Although it's not a strict rule, and some exceptions exist, there's an unwritten pattern vaguely present in the titles given to adventurers at the 【Gods' Assembly】—the shorter the title, the more significant its meaning tends to be.
…
Or rather, the more such titles reflect the gods' "serious attitude" rather than mere "playfulness."
The adventurers simply realized that another hero who would make history was born, nothing more.
And in a place unseen by these adventurers, Shirou Emiya, the center of the topic, had already quietly passed them, entering the dungeon with his companions.
Emiya said, "Let's set the final goal at the safe zone on the eighteenth floor, how about it?"
The adventurers passed through the huge entrance in the center of the square, gradually disappearing into the shadows of the dungeon labyrinth.
186
Chapter 186: Entering the Dungeon and an "Accidental Encounter"
Lunoire and Anya took on the roles of vanguard and mid-guard respectively, guarding the front of the team and ensuring that no monsters would suddenly attack. Emiya walked at the rear, serving as rearguard, using his bow and arrows to shoot down monsters ahead while constantly watching out for potential threats from behind.
The goal of this exploration was only the eighteenth floor, more for team cohesion than a formal adventure. In future in-depth explorations, they would still need to hire more professional and trustworthy supporters.
Emiya suggested while observing the surrounding environment.
The weapon he prepared for Haruhime was not a conventional staff, although the girl was a mage and staves were usually standard equipment for spellcasters.
However, this was not an ordinary sword. Although, assessed by standards such as sharpness, this sword could only be rated as a third-class weapon, it possessed special additional attributes.
This magic, while seemingly just a normal fire attack on the surface, carried the unique magical properties of Haruhime, the fox-person girl, because she was the user.
Emiya and the others found a lone Kobold on the first floor of the dungeon.
Haruhime was nervously sweating all over, gripping the sword tightly with both hands, trying to cast 【Foxfire】 as Emiya had taught her.
She tried to raise the sword and slash at the approaching Kobold monster, but her movements seemed unusually stiff. As a result, due to insufficient strength and skill, not only did the sword miss, but it also got stuck in the rock wall and couldn't be pulled out.
"Ah!"
Haruhime retreated in a panic, trying to avoid the monster's attack, but tripped over her own feet due to excessive nervousness and fell flat on the ground.
Chloe's lips twitched slightly: "Even a demi-human or child who has just received their Falna wouldn't lose to a Kobold in a one-on-one fight."
However, even though Haruhime's performance was indeed frustrating, apart from Lefiya, who was slightly doubtful, no one denied the rationality of letting this fox-person girl, who was completely "combat trash," participate in the dungeon adventure.
Emiya, who shot the Kobold dead with an arrow, put down the projected longbow, approached Haruhime, and extended his hand to help her up: "Don't worry, Haruhime, the first time is always a bit rough. Take it slow, you'll get used to it."
"Starting from the middle floors, monsters will appear in large numbers, so we must make corresponding preparations."
This special material could effectively resist the Hellhound's fiery breath, and was essential equipment for adventurers exploring the middle floors.
Entering the thirteenth floor, the surrounding air seemed even more oppressive, and a dangerous aura permeated the dim passage. Before long, they encountered a group of Silverback Apes.
"Lunoire."
Emiya said briefly.
"Understood."
The human girl nodded without hesitation, raising her fists, her eyes flashing with fighting spirit. She rushed straight up, her figure turning into an afterimage.
Red and black gauntlets waved in her hands, the wind of her fists howling, and the Silverback Apes fell to the ground with a bang under her punches, with no chance to fight back.
Lunoire did not choose to dodge or defend in many dangerous moments, but continued to attack strongly. Although she was not injured in the end, it was more because her level advantage was too great.
Emiya continued, "This is different from your past combat mode."
As long as the target could be killed, taking attacks or even being seriously injured was acceptable.
However, in the dungeon, the enemies were endless monsters, and exchanging injuries with monsters would most likely be disadvantageous to the adventurers.
In comparison, Chloe's situation was much better. As an assassin, her fighting style focused on self-preservation, so it was easier to adapt to the fighting environment in the dungeon.
"Understood!"
"Got it, meow~"
The adventurers maintained their formation, steadily advancing, calmly dealing with the increasing monster attacks around them, and soon successfully arrived at the seventeenth floor.
After exchanging a quick glance, Emiya and the others accelerated their pace. When they stepped into the room ahead, the sight that greeted them caused everyone to hold their breath for a moment.
In the center of the room, a blood-red, gigantic mantis monster was waving its sharp forelimbs, tearing a human adventurer who had already lost his life to pieces.
187
Chapter 187: Blood-Red Mantis
Its wings spread open, and it pounced directly towards the black-haired elf girl huddled in the corner.
However, Emiya's speed was even faster than its movements.
"Trace, On."
【Skill 【Oath Under The Snow】 activated】
The sword collided with the mantis's blade-like forelimbs, emitting a crisp metallic clang, and sparks splashed in the air.
Emiya made a judgment in an instant.
Compared to ordinary Crystal Mantises, its size and strength had obviously increased. Its carapace had also changed from crystal, which had strong resistance to magic but was not good at dealing with physical blows, to an exoskeleton with a metallic texture that seemed to have extremely strong resistance to physical attacks.
The appearance of such a monster in an area like the seventeenth floor was completely an "abnormal event," and could even be said to be an extremely serious "dungeon malice."
Emiya clashed with the mantis monster, the sword constantly colliding with its sharp forelimbs. The monster's attacks were extremely fierce, with almost no gaps between the swings of its limbs. However, the monster's frantic attacks were all resolved by the young man's superb swordsmanship.
Emiya, who could predict its attack trajectory and accurately suppress it in battle, was undoubtedly its least compatible opponent.
At this moment, Lunoire quickly approached from behind. She raised her iron fist, aiming at the monster's back and smashing down with force.
However, its left wing had not fully unfolded, and was brushed by Lunoire's iron fist, just grazed by 【Hammer Serpent Demolisher】, the power of the metal gauntlet was merciless, and half of the wing was instantly cut off.
Hearing this, Lefiya immediately aimed at the monster. The magic sword that Emiya had projected in advance flickered in her hand.
The flames flowed like water across a smooth mirror, refracting outwards and hitting the wall.
Emiya had not expected that a mere lower-level fire magic sword could harm this strengthened mantis monster.
"As expected, its shell has inherited the magic resistance of the Crystal Mantis."
At the same time, Emiya's hands flashed again, and a new projection instantly formed.
