[You have successfully escaped your encounter with Fairy Lancelot.]
[Because you had previously discussed the plan with your teammates and deliberately stayed at the rear during the battle, those who had gone deeper into the cave—like Artoria—were not affected by the explosion.]
[It didn't take long for you to regroup with your companions.]
[Additionally, since your battle with Fairy Knight Lancelot ended with your successful escape, your fight against a vastly stronger foe is deemed a victory. "Relentless Assault" win streak +1. Current win total: 11.]
[Because you endured massive damage and still survived, the "Relentless Assault" effect has triggered—your base attribute growth rate has greatly increased.]
[Your Endurance level has increased.]
[Current base attributes: Strength D, Agility C, Endurance D, Mana E, Luck B]
"Huh?"
Seeing that not only had his "Relentless Assault" buff not disappeared, but actually accumulated another victory and increased his stats, Guinevere was taken aback.
"So that's how it works... Looks like this buff is more about mentality. Seems the simulation counted the objective of the battle as 'survive Fairy Lancelot' rather than 'defeat her head-on.'"
Rubbing his chin, Guinevere quickly figured out the logic.
"After all, this buff was triggered under the influence of Artoria's 'Holy Sword Fairy' tag, and it reflects my mental state. I wouldn't feel discouraged just because I couldn't beat Fairy Lancelot—in fact, I'd feel slightly proud for surviving a direct encounter with her."
With that thought, his gaze lingered on the description of Artoria's new title:
[Holy Sword Fairy · SSR: All your base attributes and their upper limits are increased by one level. Additionally, your companions' Luck is enhanced. While by your side, they are more likely to receive beneficial boosts.]
"Impressive... Even in a real combat simulation, Caster-types are such powerful supports."
Just then, Bavanzi, walking ahead of him, suddenly paused in her steps. At the same time, Artoria—hearing her name muttered—turned around and asked:
"Guinevere? What were you saying?"
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud," Guinevere replied, waving it off.
"By the way, since this Vein Corridor can connect to any city in Britain, which city should we head to next?"
"Hmm, tough call… Gloucester is definitely out," Artoria said first. "Since we've already shown intentions of heading there, if we try again, Fairy Lancelot will probably intercept and kill us."
But after a pause, she suddenly clapped her hands.
"...Wait! Isn't that place currently enforcing a 'power negation' rule? If we can forcibly bring you and Lancelot's stats to an even playing field, Guinevere, maybe you could beat her?"
"Please don't randomly set such unrealistic expectations for me," Guinevere sighed, tilting his head.
"Even just thinking about that ridiculous 'seya' technique she used… If she just spams that move nonstop, I really can't do anything against her."
He might not be the same weakling he once was, but Lancelot had leveled up too—going from a pure stat monster to a stat-plus-mechanics monster. At this point, sheer numbers couldn't close the gap anymore.
What could he even do? The seya-people were like that—constant invincibility frames, mobility, and damage packed into one. Total nightmare to deal with.
"In that case, I have a suggestion," Oberon chimed in thoughtfully. "Why don't we just remain hidden in the Vein Corridor for a while? This pathway winds all across Britain, and with its complex terrain and many monsters, it may be a nightmare for normal people, but for us, it's actually a decent place to lay low."
"Besides," he looked at the group with a smile, "as the prophesied savior squad, we're still a bit too weak. So why not use this underground realm to train ourselves properly?"
[Oberon's suggestion aligns perfectly with your thoughts. Both Bavanzi and Artoria also seem satisfied with the plan. Thus, your group decides to linger in the Vein Corridor for long-term training and combat practice.]
[Thanks to your shield, large numbers of monsters in the cave actively head toward your group. From this point forward, you will face swarms of monsters every day.]
[On the very first day, you encounter over forty different fantasy creatures. Your win streak jumps to 25.]
[In today's battle, you reap substantial gains. Due to the intense and frequent fights, "Relentless Assault" triggers again—your attribute growth rate soars.]
[Your Endurance level has increased.]
[Current base attributes: Strength D, Agility C, Endurance C, Mana E, Luck B]
[At the same time, your team proves exceptionally efficient at utilizing the slain monsters.]
[After gaining experience from using them as whetstones, the edible ones are butchered and cooked, providing vital sustenance in this supply-scarce underground realm.]
[Bavanzi collects the blood spilled during the butchering and identifies the portions rich in magical energy for consumption.]
When asked why, she explained that as a vampire fairy, she could heal or strengthen herself by drinking blood.
—But in truth, it was thanks to a newly acquired "Vampire Fairy" tag.
Though he acted like he believed her, Guinevere knew full well this wasn't some innate ability—it was a feature granted by her latest title:
[Vampire Fairy · SR: Your Endurance is increased by one level. You can heal or empower yourself by drinking the blood of others. The closer your relationship with the person, the greater the effect.]
Judging by her actions, the buff grew stronger the closer her bond with the source was. But even enemy blood worked—just less effectively.
As long as the volume of usable monster blood was large enough, Bavanzi's powers could still steadily improve.
Guinevere wasn't sure what had suddenly caused her to embrace the bloodsucking path—she used to firmly resist it—but since this was her own decision, he wouldn't interfere.
[Beyond the high-magic-quality blood, Bavanzi also collects other monster blood samples. She uses her blood manipulation skills to keep them floating and transportable. They will serve as ammunition in future battles, or—if you decide to demonify again—function as mobile bloodpacks.]
[Meanwhile, Artoria strips the inedible parts from slain beasts—bones, horns, claws, shells, scales—and uses them as materials to craft new magical tools with her forbidden alchemy skills.]
Seriously, even Master Li San Guang would be humbled by this efficiency.
Seeing his team's performance in the simulation, the real Guinevere was dumbfounded.
Now this was truly "no waste left behind":
While alive, monsters were XP fodder.
After death, their meat became food, their blood became ammo, healing items, and steroids, and the leftover parts were recycled by Artoria into gear.
Capitalists would weep tears of joy at this level of resource extraction.
[Moved by the way monsters were drawn in by your shield only to meet their doom, you decide to name your shield the "Treasure Magnet Shield."]
[In just one day, your team wiped out all the monsters in your section of the underground cave. To lure in more prey, you began exploring deeper.]
[On the second day, you faced another dozen or so fantasy beasts. However, due to your increasing power, some of the enemies drawn in were too weak to qualify as valid "Relentless Assault" targets. Your win count only increased by 10, bringing the total to 35.]
[Your stat growth slowed accordingly.]
[Your Mana level increased.]
[Current base attributes: Strength C, Agility C, Endurance C, Mana D, Luck B]
[On the third day, only 7 valid wins were recorded, total now at 42. No stat increase.]
[Over the next week, 15 additional wins were earned, bringing the total to 57. Mana increased by one level.]
[...]
[Time passed steadily. Soon, a full month had gone by. You engaged in daily high-volume battles and gained rich combat experience.]
[However, as your power increased, fewer monsters remained strong enough to count toward "Relentless Assault." From the tenth day on, you often gained less than one valid win per day. In the latter half of the month, it sometimes took hundreds of battles over multiple days just to register a single win.]
[After one month, your total win count reached 69. Your Agility and Endurance each increased by one level.]
[Current base attributes: Strength C, Agility B, Endurance B, Mana C, Luck B]
[Amid all these battles, your "Shield Throw Mastery" skill leveled up, and you acquired two new skills.]