Chapter 102: The Commotion Caused by the Guaranteed-Victory Golden Sword!
After receiving confirmation from Hestia, Shirou officially reached Level 3. This caused a stir within the Hestia Familia and made Bell's expression rather complicated, as if he felt some sort of pressure.
Although Shirou's level-up wasn't something that happened under normal circumstances, Bell still instinctively felt a sense of urgency. "I-I'm going to the dungeon!"
Overwhelmed by intense emotions, Bell rushed out of the room without looking back and headed straight for the dungeon.
"Sorry, I'll go keep an eye on Lord Bell." Liliruca quickly bowed to Shirou and Hestia, then followed after Bell in her role as supporter.
"Ay-yay-yay, that kid always pushes himself too hard," Hestia said, shaking her head helplessly. "He really doesn't need to take it so seriously."
"Pressure makes you stronger. For Bell, this is a good thing."
Shirou, on the other hand, remained optimistic about the pressure Bell was feeling.
After all, he had always known the potential hidden in Bell. Sometimes, even Shirou himself would be amazed by Bell's potential.
That's why he believed that one day, Bell would become the strongest adventurer in the entire dungeon city.
However, even though this should be a good thing, Shirou couldn't shake off a vague sense of unease. It felt as if there were deeper, more complex forces behind Bell's rapid growth...
Because it was too vague to grasp, Shirou quickly dismissed the meaningless thought and turned to Hestia with a question: "Did I gain any new skills from this level-up?"
"There's no way you'd get a new skill so soon." Hestia waved her hand. "Most adventurers can level up several times and still not gain a single skill. You already gained one when you reached Lv.2—that's way better than most people."
"So, no new skills then?"
"Well, I haven't had time to look closely yet, but judging by the number of skills, there doesn't seem to be a new one… Wait, hold on!" Hestia suddenly froze mid-sentence.
Before Shirou could ask, Hestia's eyes widened. "Something's not quite right. While you haven't gained a new skill, your existing one, Karma's Flame, seems to have changed."
Saying this, Hestia displayed his updated status using the language of the gods.
Just like before, Shirou's stats were blurred and unreadable. His level had changed to Lv.3.
But the most significant change was in the skill section: Karma's Flame had evolved into a new skill called "Karmic Flames of Vow." There was also a new description: Karmic Flames of Vow: The flames ignited shall become the dawn that rises, purging tainted souls.
Although the skill description was still cryptic, the fact that it had evolved was proof that reaching Lv.3 had enhanced the original skill. As Hestia had said, Shirou's skill was far too unusual—ordinary people couldn't hope to understand what it really meant.
"In any case, forget the skill for now. What's important is that your level-up to Lv.3 must be kept secret," Hestia said seriously. "Normal adventurers simply don't level up this fast, especially someone with so many unknowns like you. For now, pretend you're still Lv.2."
"Can I really hide it?" Shirou asked with some doubt. "Aren't there magic spells that can see through an adventurer's level?"
"Yes, but until someone sees through it, you should hide it as much as possible." Hestia sighed. "The longer we can keep it hidden, the better. After all, there's never been anyone in Orario who leveled up this fast—it'll cause a huge sensation."
"Alright then." Shirou could understand where Hestia was coming from.
Though he knew he leveled up thanks to the golden magic stone, that wasn't something he could talk about publicly. The golden magic stone was related to the Evilus faction.
If people found out that it could be used to level up, the consequences could be catastrophic. It might even lead to innocent people getting hurt.
Therefore, at least until Shirou resolved the Evilus threat, he had to keep the link between the golden stone and his level-up hidden.
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After the crisis with the Ishtar Familia was resolved, Shirou returned to his normal daily life.
Because he asked the witnesses of his battle with Kali to keep it a secret, this time his actions didn't cause the kind of uproar that followed his defeat of the Apollo Familia.
However, despite that, a small number of gods and adventurers still learned about it, and the reputation of "God Slayer" began to spread in a limited circle.
At this point, Shirou had defeated divine beings three times in a row. No one believed it was luck or coincidence anymore.
The gods had begun to agree: this man named Emiya Shirou possessed something beyond mortal understanding—an anomaly.
Of course, Shirou himself didn't care about how others saw him. He lived a peaceful life, spending his days immersed in forging.
Perhaps it was due to his level-up to Lv.3, or perhaps because of the awakening of the skill Karmic Flames of Vow, or maybe even because he had used divine power and divine fire in his battle with Kali to forge weapons.
Regardless, Shirou's blacksmithing had improved dramatically.
Even the weapons he forged casually were on par with second-tier gear. If he got serious, he could craft top-tier equipment that surpassed anything produced by any smith in Orario.
And yet, Shirou realized that he still hadn't reached the level of a true first-tier weapon—what Hephaestus called Divine Artifacts.
No matter how hard he tried, the weapons he created lacked any part capable of holding divine energy. It was similar to how Shirou once couldn't project god-forged weapons with his magecraft.
There was an invisible chasm between humans and gods—one that blocked Shirou from going further and reaching the next level.
"Ha!" Shirou hammered away at a weapon, and the moment it was completed, he tossed it into the furnace without even looking. Letting it return to raw material.
Only someone like the current Shirou could afford to do something so extravagant.
If it were another blacksmith, throwing away equipment painstakingly forged would be heartbreaking.
But Shirou didn't care about the weapons themselves. To him, only the improvement of his forging skill mattered. Only by refining that could he say he'd accomplished something.
Of course, no one else could understand that mindset—not even the forge goddess Hephaestus.
"You're melting your forged weapons again, huh?" Hephaestus walked into the forge and sighed. "If you sold even one of those, you could make millions. If you put them up for auction, maybe even tens of millions. Don't you care about money at all?"
"Not really. As long as I have enough funds to continue forging, that's all I need. Earning extra serves no purpose." Shirou looked at the red-haired, one-eyed goddess and replied quietly.
"Yeah, yeah. But what you're doing is causing my Familia to lose tons in commissions," Hephaestus said helplessly. "You know, the number of people looking to have weapons forged by you is nearly as many as those chasing Tsubaki. And she's the best blacksmith in my entire Familia."
"I don't think I'm anywhere near as good as Miss Tsubaki." Shirou knew who Tsubaki was.
Her full name was Tsubaki Collbrande. Her title was One-Eyed Master, captain of the Hephaestus Familia and a Lv.5 adventurer.
She wasn't just powerful—her forging ability was the strongest in the Familia. She could even craft magic swords with her bare hands.
Forging magic swords without Crozzo blood—one could imagine how insane her skills were.
"If Tsubaki heard you say that, she'd probably die from anger," Hephaestus said. "You realize how much of a shockwave you caused when you revealed Caliburn?
Forget just my Familia—even the nearby Goibniu Familia was shaken. So many blacksmiths had their very will to forge shattered just from seeing it."
"…"
Regarding the fact that he accidentally revealed the existence of Caliburn, Shirou himself also felt quite helpless.
At the time, he had only intended to ask Hephaestus to confirm the condition of Caliburn, since it was the first weapon he had forged using divine power and divine flame.
Naturally, he thought it must differ significantly from ordinary weapons and might help him further comprehend the path to forging divine artifacts.
However, after Hephaestus completed the appraisal, even she was shocked by the sword Shirou had forged.
Hephaestus even suspected that the sword was already infinitely close to a first-rank weapon — that is, the concept of a Divine Artifact.
According to Hephaestus' appraisal, Caliburn had reached the highest tier of weaponry. It possessed four skills, surpassing the usual limit of three — and that alone was enough to be considered unprecedented in history.
The four skills were:
[Symbol of Royalty]: When the wielder possesses the qualities and capacity of a king, it maximizes the user's abilities and keeps them at their peak at all times. On the other hand, if the wielder violates the sword's will, the weapon itself will be destroyed. [Magical Power Convergence]: While wielding the sword, the user's magical energy will automatically converge and stabilize, maintaining a continuous increase of mana. [Holy Sword of Light]: By concentrating mana into the sword and then releasing it, a sea of light will be unleashed to overwhelm enemies. It deals bonus damage against dark-attribute enemies. [Karmic Hellfire of Vow]: Increases resistance to curses for both the wielder and the weapon. Its slashes, based on karmic causality, deal bonus damage against the "non-human" concept. The blazing karmic hellfire purifies tainted souls, reverses unjust karmic relationships, and corrects unreasonable sins.
Just like the other weapons Shirou had previously forged, the first three abilities came from the weapon itself — and among all the weapons he had made, this sword's effects were undoubtedly the strongest.
As for the final skill, there was no doubt that it came from the power boost Shirou received after leveling up, specifically the power of karmic hellfire.
However, to this day, Shirou still didn't fully understand what karma's flames truly did.
The only time its power had manifested clearly was when he eliminated the mutated plants before.
Could it be that this power was solely for restraining such mutant organisms?
Shirou couldn't figure it out and had no way to confirm.
In any case, the above were the effects of Caliburn.
Originally, only Shirou and Hephaestus knew about the sword. Shirou had even specifically asked Hephaestus not to speak of it.
However, Hephaestus' appraisal process left records within the Familia, and due to being too shocked at the time, she forgot to erase them.
As a result, the fact that Shirou had forged Caliburn ended up spreading completely.
Although most people had never seen the sword and suspected it might not exist, the truly top-tier blacksmiths firmly believed it was real.
Moreover, the specifications of the sword far exceeded what any blacksmith in Orario could currently achieve.
Thus, as the forger of Caliburn, Shirou's reputation within Orario's blacksmithing world instantly reached its peak.
If not for Hephaestus' special care in preventing outsiders from disturbing him, Shirou's forge would have long been overrun by endless visitors.
Even so, members from various Familias frequently came to request weapons from Shirou.
But no matter how outrageous the prices they offered, Shirou never agreed.
It wasn't that Shirou had no interest in money, but rather that he didn't want his weapons to circulate freely.
By now, Shirou clearly understood how special his weapons were. If they ended up in the hands of those aligned with order, that would be fine — but if they were accidentally obtained by villains or, worse, the dark factions, who knows what kind of immense consequences could arise?
So Shirou set a principle for himself: his weapons would only be given to those he personally acknowledged.
If the recipient wasn't someone he recognized, then no matter how high the price, Shirou would not sell even a single blade.
Because of this principle, even though Shirou was already the top-tier blacksmith, the only weapons he had ever forged for others remained just Ame-no-Habakiri and Hrunting.
Hephaestus obviously understood Shirou's thinking. That's why she never forced him to forge weapons for sale, and instead helped him secure a quiet environment to work in.
This honestly made Shirou feel very grateful, and he didn't know how to repay her.
"So, Hephaestus, why are you looking for me?" Shirou looked at the red-haired goddess in front of him. "Normally, you wouldn't interrupt my forging."
"Mm. Normally I wouldn't," Hephaestus nodded. "But this time, I have a request."
"A request?"
"Welf Crozzo. You remember him, right?"
"Of course."
Shirou had a deep impression of Welf. After all, he was the only individual Shirou had encountered so far who likely possessed the bloodline of the fairies.
The Crozzo bloodline was even influenced by Spirits, allowing Welf to freely create magic swords.
"About Welf — I hope you can help persuade him to start forging magic swords," Hephaestus said sincerely. "That child is a very talented blacksmith. But precisely because of that, his personality is extremely stubborn. If he keeps running away from forging magic swords, he'll never be able to become a truly great smith."
"You think I can convince him?" Shirou asked.
"At the very least, you're the most likely person to do so," Hephaestus smiled. "To Welf, you're basically the embodiment of his ideals."
"The embodiment... of ideals…"
"Yes," Hephaestus nodded. "In Welf's heart, I'm sure he wants to be like you — forging weapons only for himself or for those he acknowledges, while still being able to forge the finest weapons.
But if he keeps avoiding the magic sword path, he'll never become someone like you.
He'll only drift further away from his dream."
Shirou fell silent upon hearing her words. He hadn't expected to become someone else's ideal without even realizing it.
But thinking about it, it did make sense.
Eventually, he spoke quietly: "I'll try — but I can't guarantee anything."
"Mm, I only hope you'll try," Hephaestus nodded. "If it doesn't work, then it means that's as far as the child's path goes."
Shirou didn't respond to that.
He didn't believe Welf would be finished just because he didn't forge magic swords — but he also hoped Welf would choose to forge them.
This was a sort of mutual understanding and resonance between blacksmiths.
As for Welf himself, according to Hephaestus, he had gone into the dungeon to hunt monsters and level up in order to break through Version 2 and acquire the development ability [Forge].
So Shirou could only wait until Welf returned before discussing the topic of forging magic swords.
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After Hephaestus left, Shirou continued to immerse himself in blacksmithing.
It wasn't until evening that he came back to his senses, cleaned up, and left the forge.
On his way back to the Hestia Familia, he suddenly saw a familiar figure walking toward him.
"I'm back."
Ais Wallenstein — the Sword Princess — appeared in front of Shirou.
She looked at him expectantly, and as soon as they met, she couldn't wait to ask:
"The Loki Familia has finished the investigation in the port city Meren. Can I meet the Sword Demon now?"
So Ais had actually been looking forward to meeting the Sword Demon all this time.
Shirou couldn't help but laugh wryly.
Looking at Ais, who resembled a small animal waiting to be fed, he quietly nodded:
"Alright. Tomorrow morning at dawn, I'll let you meet the Sword Demon."
"Mm!"
Upon hearing Shirou's response, Ais's face immediately lit up with excitement.
At that moment, she looked just like a girl in love — about to meet the person she cared about, her expression filled with anticipation, excitement, and nervousness.
It was a scene hard to imagine happening with the Sword Princess. If the members of the Loki Familia saw it, they'd probably have their jaws drop to the floor.