Magic Power: I0 - G280.
The goddess of the Hephaestus Familia sat at the table, with [Holy Sword User (Saber)] Shirou Emiya by her side.
Representing the Guild were Guild Master Royman Mardiel and the half-elf staff member Eina.
As an elf, Royman completely defied the common perception of the elven race—slim, elegant, and noble.
His hair was dry and white, and his eyes were dark green. The lively temperament that elves should possess was completely absent in him.
When handling Guild affairs, he was full of utilitarianism, and his attitude towards adventurers and Guild staff of lower status always seemed impatient and contemptuous.
And now, this Guild Master was once again making the two goddesses speechless.
Royman wiped the oily sweat from his forehead, speaking in a disturbing, weak tone characteristic of obese people.
"What you're saying, that there are other people or even forces deliberately cultivating Enhanced Species, is absolutely, absolutely, absolutely impossible!"
The goddess's anger was evident: "Insects, mammals, amphibians, fish, birds… and even dragons! So many different types of Enhanced Species appearing in such a short period, and you still say it's a coincidence?!"
You should know that the monsters on the twenty-fourth floor, apart from the rare species Treant Dragon, are mostly only at and level.
And if such a thing were really happening, the adventurers who are usually active in this area would have noticed the anomaly.
Royman stammered, trying to cope with the situation with such rhetoric.
"Treant Dragons are rare species… Does the Guild Master not know what 'rare' means?"
He glanced at Shirou Emiya and continued, "Sorry, [Holy Sword User], I'm not questioning your information, it's just that your current level is , so you may not be able to accurately assess the true potential of the monsters…"
In response, Emiya's mood was quite calm.
After realizing Guild Master Royman's position, he understood that negotiations with the Guild would not yield effective results.
After all, the chaos caused by the Dark Faction had barely subsided, and the various familias were back on track with expeditions and exploration.
Royman wiped the sweat from his forehead again and continued, "In the end, your guesses don't have any clear evidence, do they?"
But the problem is, in this situation, is "evidence" really important?
Goddess Loki shook her head: "Alas, it seems that more words are useless."
After the goddesses left, Royman glared at Eina. To him, the source of all this trouble was this staff member who had informed Emiya without authorization.
Although Royman also knew that even without Eina, Emiya could find out the public information about Enhanced Species with a little effort, these facts could not stop him from venting his emotions on her.
Eina could only lower her head deeply.
After leaving the Guild, Lefiya asked with some confusion: "So, what should we do next?"
Finn replied.
It is not entirely impossible that there is an "abnormal situation" in the Dungeon.
For this reason, they need to use the Guild's system to gather and analyze information.
"However, at least from the present, it seems that the other party has no immediate plans to take action."
She paused, seemingly considering whether to express her thoughts.
Emiya said, "When he mentioned 'other people or forces,' why didn't he use the phrase 'someone or forces'? Generally speaking, the latter sounds more natural, right?"
—These were the original words spoken by the Guild Master in front of two gods who can see through lies.
"You mean…"
Hephaestus said in a low voice.
Was Royman trying to use rhetoric to bypass the gods' ability to see through lies?
However, the idea that the Guild itself is cultivating Enhanced Species… is simply too absurd.
In the deepest basement of the Guild, a dim and quiet space, it seemed that no external noise could reach.
A Dark Elf said in a low voice.
Uranus sat on the divine throne, his expression calm and his eyes deep. The Dark Elf continued: "In any case, encountering three Enhanced Species in a row is too abnormal."
Uranus's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not answer immediately, just listening quietly.
Irregulars, this is the name that the god Uranus uses to refer to those monsters who possess reason and intelligence and are friendly to humans.
"By creating Enhanced Species, they have the motivation to increase their companions."
"Those Enhanced Species who have no intelligence and only know how to devour and kill will actively attack other monsters. In fact, Irregulars are in an antagonistic relationship with them… so it's impossible for them to be doing this."
The Guild's head god, Uranus, is indeed related to those special "Enhanced Species."
And in the minds of ordinary adventurers, whether it is "Enhanced Species" or "Irregulars," they are essentially the same—just monsters.
For someone like Shirou Emiya, judging threats and eliminating enemies often happens in an instant.
If an Irregular appeared in front of him, there might not even be a chance to explain before being instantly killed.
"Even if those Irregulars who are close to human form were to gamble their reactions and sword speed against [Holy Sword User], the risk would be too great…"
In addition, there is another problem—Shirou Emiya has some terrible rumors in the city, and is even privately called the [Demon King of Swords].
Uranus nodded: "Then, let the Irregulars avoid him as much as possible. Also, regarding the Enhanced Species, Fells, please do your best to assist the Loki Familia and the Hephaestus Familia."
203
Chapter 203: Profit Sharing.
As Finn said, there is not much they can do at the moment, because they have too little information, and they do not even know whether the enemy really exists.
The Loki Familia's last expedition was a huge success, and with Riveria's return, the strength of the entire Familia has been further enhanced. The target of the next expedition may be directly aimed at the fifty-eighth or even fifty-ninth floor.
Finn looked at Emiya, his tone tinged with apology: "Emiya-kun, about Aiz's weapon, let's wait until the compensation from the Razia Kingdom arrives, or we can order it during the next expedition…"
Goddess Hephaestus didn't care about this, and said with a smile: "It's okay, you can keep an account. The Loki Familia's credit is still trustworthy."
Moreover, for [Sword Princess] Aiz, if she has a new weapon, the Loki Familia's expedition will definitely reap greater rewards, and the Hephaestus Familia, as the creditor, will also benefit from it.
Finn coughed lightly and turned to Emiya: "Speaking of which, Emiya-kun, Aiz has been practicing the techniques you taught her last time. Aiz also wants to know when she can ask you to practice again."
Emiya said.
"Clatter."
Emiya and Lunuva placed several bulging money bags heavily on the table. The heavy gold coins fell, making a pleasant sound. The sound of metal colliding was exhilarating.
...
Inside a tense meeting room at the Adventurers' Guild headquarters, representatives from three factions gathered.
The goddess Loki of the Loki Familia was present, accompanied by the captain, Finn, the [Brave], and Lefiya, the [Thousand Elves].
The chairman of the Adventurers' Guild, Royman Mardiel, was a man known as the "Shame of the Elves" and the "Guild Pig."
His physique was obese, and his short legs and bloated body made him appear much shorter than ordinary elves.
Royman's character was also completely opposed to that of the elves—he was known for his greed and arrogance, and he had an undisguised desire for power and money.
This behavior made Royman's reputation extremely poor in the city, especially among the elves, where he was despised.
"The increase in the number of enhanced species is just an 'anomaly' in the dungeon. This is a subsequent effect of the previous dungeon riot, and the Guild has already come to a conclusion on this."
Loki slammed a palm heavily on the conference table, making a loud noise: "Are you kidding me?!"
"Moreover, that 'Treant Dragon' has at least potential, and its subjugation difficulty may even have reached . How many magic stones did it eat in the twenty-fourth level to grow to this point?!"
The Treant Dragon would probably need to sweep through an entire floor of monsters to accumulate enough magic stones to raise itself to difficulty.
"M-maybe multiple Treant Dragons were born at the same time, and then they devoured each other, and finally only one was left..."
His words were so absurd that even Loki was speechless for a moment.
Royman was obviously a little embarrassed by the pressure, but he still tried to maintain his position, waving his hand and saying indifferently: "Anything can happen in the dungeon. Besides, when it comes down to it, the level and strength of that Treant Dragon are just your words..."
Royman's words seemed to imply that Wemiya was exaggerating the strength of the enhanced Treant Dragon he had killed.
"Someone or some force is carrying out secret conspiracies"—such a possibility was unacceptable to Royman.
For Royman, this hard-won peace was very precious, and he would never allow any uncertain factors to disrupt it.
Indeed, the existing intelligence and signs were not enough to constitute conclusive evidence to prove that there was some kind of conspiracy behind the appearance of these enhanced species.
"Let's go, Shirou."
The goddess Hephaestus also said lightly: "If the Guild is unwilling to face reality, we will solve the problem in our own way."
It was because of her nosy behavior that the Hephaestus Familia and the Loki Familia were dragged into this pointless argument.
"You don't understand anything, you just cause trouble. That's why you 'half-breeds' (half-elves) are useless..."
Royman snorted coldly, his face full of contempt and disdain.
"To be honest, there is very little we can do now. The possible enemy is hiding very deeply."
As Finn said, they couldn't even be sure if there really was a clear opponent.
But what they didn't expect was that the Guild's attitude of rejection would be so firm.
Finn looked down at his thumb, feeling no pain or discomfort.
Loki frowned, recalling the Guild President's reaction just now, and said, "To be honest, Royman's reaction was a little too guilty. Although I can tell directly that the pig wasn't lying, but..."
"It is absolutely impossible for other people or even forces to deliberately cultivate enhanced species!"
A hint of surprise flashed in Loki's eyes, and the goddess Hephaestus also looked at Wemiya thoughtfully.
Finn also reacted: "His statement seems to deliberately exclude the 'Guild'."
But in any case, one thing was certain, and that was that the Guild was not worthy of their trust in this matter.
"Uranus, the god, is already suspicious of the [Holy Sword User] who has been encountering enhanced species continuously."
Before the pillar god of the Guild, a black-robed figure spoke.
She paused for a moment, considered her next words, and continued: "This matter has nothing to do with them—at least, that's what they say."
The black-robed figure's voice echoed in the basement: "However, whether we can trust them, I cannot be sure. After all, they, those monsters with reason and human-like characteristics—the Heretics—are, in a sense, also special enhanced species."
The black-robed figure hinted at a possibility.
The god Uranus lowered his eyes, and after a moment, he finally spoke, his voice low and heavy: "I believe them."
The god said.
The black-robed figure nodded: "I see, I understand..."
He paused for a moment, his tone slightly hesitant: "However, the Loki Familia and the Hephaestus Familia are probably no longer trusting us."
Uranus: "Is there any possibility that the [Holy Sword User]... can accept the existence of Heretics?"
The black-robed figure thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head and replied in a low voice: "It's hard to gamble. His personality is very decisive, and he acts decisively and neatly. Moreover, his sword and bow are too fast..."
The black-robed figure's voice carried a trace of helplessness: "If the Heretics rashly appeared in front of him, I'm afraid there wouldn't be time to speak."
After all, there are some monsters in the dungeon that have human-like appearances, such as Wyverns (Dragon Girls) and Gorgons, but they are still enemies of life without reason, only knowing how to kill.
The black-robed figure couldn't accurately judge this person's true character, and wasn't sure what attitude and actions he would take towards the Heretics, especially those beautiful humanoid female Heretics.
"Understood."
The black-robed figure Fels responded in a low voice, and she took a step back, her figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.
However, this didn't mean that they were completely idle. At this time, the most correct thing to do was, of course, to improve their own strength as soon as possible.
Wemiya Shirou had already obtained the [Great Feat], and only needed to raise his ability values to a satisfactory level—at least to A-rank or S-rank or above—to complete his level up.
By that time, he would be able to deal with enemies like the enhanced Treant Dragon alone without relying on the power of the [Million Jewel Sword].
Although the last expedition was a great success, the huge upfront investment left the Loki Familia in a tight financial situation and still in deficit.
In fact, the previous debt was as high as 600 million Valis, but the Loki Familia had repaid nearly half of it through one expedition, and such debt repayment ability was enough to be trusted.
Finn said sincerely: "Thank you very much for your understanding, Lady Hephaestus."
Loki, who was standing aside, muttered in a low voice: "A money offensive, how despicable."
Wemiya recalled the time he spent at the Loki Familia's residence before. At that time, after Ais became his disciple, he practiced swordsmanship with her for half a day, and then Ais practiced hard on her own.
"Ah, that can be done recently. We just finished an adventure and need to rest for at least a few days before setting off again."
"Wow, is, is this, all earned by the cats?"
