"Cheers!"
Gathered around a blazing fire, the Loki Familia adventurers celebrated with ease and joy.
They were at the passage entrance from the 24th to the 25th floor. After a day of travel, the Loki Familia had reached this point and was now taking a break.
"How is it? Does it suit everyone's taste?"
Shirou asked with a smile, looking at everyone drinking soup.
Since he had little to do as a rear guard during the day and had been constantly on the move, Shirou, when it came to cooking, had for the first time in a while unleashed his full power and showcased his skills.
"Delicious!"
"It's absolutely scrumptious!"
"Shirou's cooking is the best!"
Listening to the numerous praises coming from all around, Shirou's lips curved into a slight smile. This was probably the satisfaction of a chef. It was a pity that he still had things he wanted to accomplish, otherwise, he would truly wish for a distant Time Warp to allow him to travel to a gourmet world. Perhaps he could wait until everything was over.
"Here, Raul!"
Tossing a fruit he found in the forest to Raul, who was on night watch, Shirou walked up to him and asked, "How is everything? Is it still peaceful?"
"Don't worry, I don't know how many times I've done this already."
Raul smiled and confidently patted his chest, giving a thumbs-up.
Looking at the damaged walls around Raul, Shirou couldn't help but recall the knowledge he had learned in school.
The Dungeon was alive.
After centuries of continuous exploration by adventurers, they had managed to understand some of the Dungeon's rules.
For example, the Dungeon prioritized repairing damaged walls over spawning monsters.
Therefore, to rest safely at night in non-safe floors, adventurers would destroy the surrounding walls and then monitor their repair.
When the walls were close to being fully repaired, they would destroy them again, effectively hindering the birth of monsters.
And this was the job of a night watchman.
As one of the second-tier members most trusted by Finn and the others, Raul frequently accompanied the Loki Familia on expeditions. Eight years of adventuring experience made him intimately familiar with all the details of an expedition.
"Starting tomorrow, it'll be the real expedition. You need to rest well and recharge!"
"The real expedition?"
Shirou nodded slightly.
The uppermost twenty-four floors of the Dungeon were like a pleasant stroll for the Loki Familia.
But after the twenty-fourth floor, that was when the real expedition began.
According to the Dungeon's classification, every twelve floors belonged to a single tier.
The first twelve floors were the Upper Floors, floors thirteen to twenty-four were the Middle Floors, twenty-five to thirty-six were the Lower Floors, thirty-seven to forty-eight were the Deep Floors, and forty-nine to sixty were the Super Deep Floors.
As for areas below the sixtieth floor, they were called Unknown Floors.
With each tier passed, the monsters' strength would experience a leap in improvement.
Monsters on the upper floors were Level 1, middle floor monsters were Level 2, lower floor monsters were Level 3, deep floor monsters were Level 4, and super deep floor monsters were Level 5.
Monsters beyond the sixtieth floor were all Level 6 and above.
One must remember that the number of monsters was constantly regenerating. In such a den of monsters, even the Loki Familia could suffer heavy losses if they weren't careful.
According to the Loki Familia's deployment, once the main force broke through the 49th floor and reached the safe 50th floor, subsequent exploration would be conducted in small teams.
The main combat members of these teams would be Loki Familia executives of Level 5 and above. The others would set up camp on the 50th floor, waiting for Finn and the others to return from their exploration.
After all, monsters on the super deep floors were all Level 5 monsters.
This illustrated the terrifying nature of the Dungeon.
Therefore, in all of Orario, only a few Familias could reach the 37th Deep Floor.
Only six Familias: Loki Familia, Freya Familia, Hephaestus Familia, Ganesha Familia, Ishtar Familia, and the Astrea Familia, which had been completely wiped out, leaving only Ryu.
Of course, going further back, there were also the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia, but that was considered another era.
In the era dominated by Loki and Freya, there were only these six Familias.
"Starting tomorrow, the monsters we face will reach Level 3, and the pressure we experience will sharply increase. You should go back and rest early; you'll have a chance to shine tomorrow."
"I understand. You be careful too, Raul!"
After saying goodbye, Shirou returned to his tent.
Raul was right; as the monsters' abilities increased, the importance of the rear guards would rise sharply.
As a magic sword archer, he also needed a good rest!
In the following days, the Loki Familia team, under Finn's command, rapidly delved deeper into the Dungeon.
As the surrounding monsters' strength suddenly increased, Shirou also unleashed his full power as he wished.
One Broken Phantasm after another swept through the monster groups, destroying all the monsters around them.
This made everyone look at Shirou's firepower with renewed admiration.
Especially his stamina; it was simply unyielding.
Unlike other mages, Shirou could project weapons in advance and store them in Unlimited Blade Works.
Therefore, his Broken Phantasm hardly consumed any of his own magic power.
This was the reason for his incredible stamina.
Under the overwhelming power of the group, they smoothly passed through the Water Labyrinth on the 27th floor, where the Two-Headed Dragon Floor Boss resided.
In this battle, Shirou also used his new type of weapon for the first time.
A magic sword projected by him.
"Super Broken Phantasm!"
This was the new name Shirou specifically gave it to differentiate it from Broken Phantasm.
As for its power?
Looking at the rising mushroom cloud, Shirou couldn't help but exclaim.
"This is the true nuclear blast!"
In terms of destructive power alone, this attack was probably no less than Black Saber's Excalibur Morgan.
In short, it had the power of an A-rank Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm.
The Level 5 Floor Boss Two-Headed Dragon was directly evaporated by Shirou's single Super Broken Phantasm, leaving only a massive Magic Stone as evidence of its existence.
See, that's what you call magic!
Unfortunately, Shirou's proud magic power didn't last long.
In the battle to conquer the 37th floor, he was taught a harsh lesson.
Following the rule of Floor Bosses appearing every ten floors, in the first floor of the Deep Zone, the 37th floor's White Palace of Evil, the Udaeus Floor Boss subjugation battle was about to commence.
But before that, an endless army of monsters stood in their way.
It was a Monster Feast.
This was the terrifying nature of the Dungeon; you never knew when it would deliver a fatal blow.
A Monster Feast from the 37th floor.
Endless Level 4 monsters surged forward, and at that moment, one of the Loki Familia's trump cards was revealed.
The Elf Force!
This was the trump card unit led by one of the Loki Familia's three executives, the Level 6 Riveria.
Under the amplification of Riveria's Elf King's Crest, ten elves launched a linked magic attack.
Terrifying magic power surged above them as the ten elves chanted their spells in unison.
"All troops, retreat!"
With Finn's roar, all the front-liners withdrew, leaving the stage to Riveria's Elf Force.
The baptism of magic began.
"High-Level Victory Sword!"
"Volleyed Fire Javelins!"
"Ice Cone Greatblade!"
"Lightning Arrow!"
"..."
Endless magic raged across the land, destroying everything in sight.
Looking at the elves' magic, Shirou's fleeting sense of pride instantly vanished.
This was magic!
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter