The Floor Boss of the 37th floor, Udaeus, fell without much resistance. With the Elf troops pushing forward, Shirou also shone brightly. However, the destructive power of three super Fantasy Breakdowns nearly swept up his own allies. For this, Finn reprimanded him, and Shirou, regretting his recklessness, acknowledged his mistake. He realized that his actions had been overly aggressive, unlike his usual self. The environment around him had likely influenced his behavior—after all, a person's personality is strongly shaped by their surroundings. Regardless, Shirou knew he couldn't become someone who disregarded his teammates. In future battles, he focused on close-quarters combat, and Finn, understanding him, didn't pressure him to provide ranged support from the back.
Facing monsters with LV.4 abilities, even Shirou found it challenging. While he'd reached his limits in all his levels, the boost from leveling up was substantial. The real challenge came from the overwhelming number of monsters; there were simply too many. Despite that, Shirou enjoyed these kinds of battles—the life-or-death struggles that ignited his inner fire. As the pressure mounted, his stats improved rapidly.
This was the power of Self-Forging through Sharpening. The more difficult the battle, the greater the improvement after overcoming it. All external pressure seemed to exist to forge the strongest sword—Shirou, the strongest sword.
Deeper, constantly deeper.
Despite the increasingly formidable obstacles ahead, the Loki Familia pressed forward. The real trouble began on the 49th floor, the first of the Deep Levels. Here, all the monsters had LV.5 abilities. Facing swarms of Fomorians, the once invincible vanguard was breached due to a moment of carelessness. The overwhelming stat advantage of the monsters made it perilous, even with Finn's tactical expertise. Still, with the constant support of the executives, the magical unit's concentrated fire, and Shirou's continuous archery and Fantasy Breakdowns, they stabilized the situation.
Dungeon 50th Floor, Safe Zone.
The Loki Familia finally arrived at the 50th floor and immediately set up camp to rest. Their ultimate goal was the 59th floor. Shirou, tasked with finding ingredients, allowed himself to indulge in some well-deserved laziness.
"So this is the 50th floor? What a peaceful sight! A safe zone like this always feels surprising, no matter how many times I see it."
Lying by a cliff's edge, Shirou rested his arm under his head, savoring the soothing breeze. "In that case, the next step is exploring the Deep Levels."
Although reaching the 50th floor was exciting, Shirou had some concerns. On the 59th floor, after breaking through the vanguard, Ais annihilated the Fomorians and, against Finn's orders, charged alone into the unengaged Fomorian army. Shirou wasn't concerned about Ais's disobedience—she was often a "problem child," prone to acting recklessly when caught up in battle. What troubled him was that this incident might indicate the main storyline of the DanMachi world was about to unfold. New species would soon emerge, and the expedition could end prematurely due to equipment damage. This was the beginning of what was known as Sword Oratoria.
"Ah, what a headache. I can't prevent this from happening. After all, I'm just a newcomer; how could I have information about the Deep Levels?"
"Forget it. I won't worry about it. Anyway, no casualties resulted from the incident, so we'll let nature take its course. Besides, I've already gotten what I needed."
Shirou's mood lifted as he thought about his gains. The high-level experience he needed to reach LV.4 was already sufficient. After two consecutive Floor Boss defeats, Shirou, with his basic stats all at A level, could level up at any time. But his goal was to reach SSS in all stats! He couldn't level up yet, but the feats required for leveling up were complete. Now, he just needed to wait until his basic stats hit their limit, and he could level up. The improvement speed was comfortable.
"Brother, where are you? It's time to go back!"
Hearing Lefiya's voice, who had also come to gather ingredients, Shirou quickly stood and called out, "I'm here! I've already gathered everything. Let's head back!"
"Mm!"
"Cheers!"
"Although we're only drinking soup, we still need to set the atmosphere!"
Finally, the Loki Familia had reached the 50th floor, and the atmosphere was much lighter. Their strength had been tested, and after the 40th floor, they'd faced significant challenges. Yet, under Finn's direction, they always managed to turn danger into safety and overcome the difficulties. This highlighted Finn's importance.
However, once they reached the 49th floor, even with Finn's commands, the Familia faced continuous dangers. This wasn't due to any mistakes on Finn's part, but because the Loki Familia's strength was falling short. Unlike other Familias, which adopted an elite strategy after reaching the Deep Levels and focused on breakthroughs with only LV.4 adventurers, the Loki Familia, under Finn's leadership, still had LV.2 members present. It wasn't until the 50th floor that the Familia began to focus on its elite members for breakthroughs.
The rise of the Loki Familia was greatly tied to Finn's leadership. Under him, countless members grew rapidly during expeditions. In contrast, the Freya Familia's strength came from Goddess Freya's unique ability to discover hidden talents. This allowed them to boast one LV.7, four LV.6, and four LV.5 high-end combatants. The Loki Familia, however, was on the verge of surpassing them. Although they only had three LV.6 and four LV.5 members, after the upcoming battle against the Corrupted Spirit's clone, they would have seven LV.6 members.
Level increases were, of course, influenced by individual talent and effort, but the environment was even more crucial. Under Finn's leadership, the members thrived in a better growth environment, allowing for rapid improvement. Finn was the irreplaceable Captain of the Familia, and within the group, he was the one everyone trusted completely.
As the relief of reaching the 50th floor washed over the members, they weren't celebrating the end of their journey, but that they no longer had to hold back Finn and the others. They knew their strength had reached its limit, and from here on out, they would depend on Finn and the elite members for the exploration of the unknown. Even if they never saw the final destination, the glory would belong to the Loki Familia.
"Everyone, reaching this point is the result of all our efforts and struggles. Let us be proud of ourselves!"
"Let's cheer for ourselves!"
"Ooh!"
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter