But, the mont [War God] Takemikazuchi raised his knife, it was as if an invisible pressure blanketed the entire space.
The custors instinctively held their breath, afraid to disturb that sharp glint of cold light.
"Today's blade dance is to thank a benefactor," Takemikazuchi's voice was low and powerful, as if it pierced into the depths of everyone's hearts, "Though it may sound presumptuous, I ask all adventurers to watch and rember this blade dance as much as possible."
Takemikazuchi swung the kitchen knives and began to cut the fish, no, it should be said, slash the fish.
The blade flowed over flesh like water traveling through a mountains contours.
The god's movents were smooth and natural, like a strange kind of dance. The two kitchen knives in his hands seed not to be cold tools, but the continuation of his soul.
Piece after piece of fish was perfectly sliced off and stacked neatly together. The slices were thin as cicada wings, shining with luster, as if the fish quivered slightly under the light.
The cold gleam of the blade drew arcs of light through the air. The spectators' minds were seized, their gazes tightly following the flow of the blades.
When Takemikazuchi completed the final cut and placed the last perfect sashimi piece on the counter, the entire store remained silent, as if everyone was still imrsed in that beautiful blade dance.
In that instant, they seed to hallucinate. What Takemikazuchi cut was no longer fish, but spiders and evil spirits, yaksha and rakshasa, fierce tigers and giant serpents, the curse gods of Kumano, and ancient battlefields from long ago.
A mont later, as if waking from a dream, the crowd burst into excited applause and cries of amazent.
Just then, soone suddenly shouted loudly, "Three tis! I'm willing to pay three tis the price!"
Imdiately, more people started bidding, "Five tis! I bid five tis!"
"Ten tis! As long as I can taste that piece of fish that was just sliced!"
"Shirou, what did you see?", The goddess Hephaestus asked.
Emiya: "I saw a sword. A sword nad [Futsu no Mitama]."

"Did you rember how it looked?", The goddess asked.
Emiya nodded slightly, thought for a mont, and raised his hand, "I bid one sword of first-grade armant."
———
"This sword is called [Izumo], a weapon I forged not long ago. Though its performance is not particularly excellent, it ets the standard of a first-grade armant," Emiya said as he handed the sword to Yamato Mikoto.
Yamato Mikoto stared blankly at the sword in Emiya's hand.
Emiya had not gone all out in forging this sword, but even so, it was still rated as a first-grade armant.
In terms of official pricing, excluding the premium from Emiya's signature, [Izumo] would be worth around ninety million valis, just under one hundred million.
However, this weapon was not a product for sale, but a return gift from Emiya to Takemikazuchi for his help. Therefore, no money was involved, and no fee was charged.
The goddess Hephaestus added, "Of course, considering your current level, it's still too early for you to use this sword."
"You can store it in Babel's preservation vault for now. Once you reach Lv.3 and max out your stats, then it'll be about ti to switch to this sword."
First-grade armants are extrely valuable. If it were placed directly within Takemikazuchi's familia, it might attract many people to take risks.
Therefore, the goddess suggested it was best to pay a modest storage fee and hand it over to the guild for safekeeping to ensure its security.
Yamato Mikoto nervously waved her hands, "No, no, wait, this is... too precious..."
Emiya looked at her, his voice calm, "This isn't a gift. It's an equivalent exchange. In fact, I've gained more on my side."
After witnessing Takemikazuchi's sword dance and eating that most tender piece of sashimi he had sliced, within Emiya's [Unlimited Blade Works], a new sword appeared.
The Blade of Pacification, the Spirit Sword of Conquest, [Futsu no Mitama].
Strictly speaking, what Emiya obtained wasn't the real divine artifact [Futsu no Mitama], but a sword materialized through supplented imagination based on Takemikazuchi's strikes and sword dance.
Rather than calling it a replica of the original, it was more of Emiya's understanding and construction, similar to how he had created [Kanshou and Bakuya].
For Emiya, such a construction was much better than clumsily analyzing the divine artifact [Futsu no Mitama] and forcibly projecting a shell of it.
In fact, the sword dance Takemikazuchi perford today was specially presented for Emiya.
Among the adventurers present, the only one who could truly grasp the divine intent of the 'War God's Sword' was Emiya.
And for this reason, Emiya decided to repay with a first-grade armant.
Coincidentally, Emiya still had a test piece from when he was upgrading Ryuu's black and red twin swords, a tachi nad [Izumo].
"These are [Flying Snow] and [Cold Rain], weapons forged by Tsubaki," The goddess Hephaestus said, placing two exquisite tachi in front of Yamato Mikoto.
"Although they're just third-grade armants, their power and handling are pretty decent."
Tsubaki had blood from the Far East, so she favored eastern wepaons. Her main weapon, [Benishigure], was a naginata.
"These two weapons will be loaned to you for now, take them. Their price is really just pocket change compared to [Izumo]. Takemikazuchi helped Shirou a lot this ti, so don't be shy."
Takemikazuchi said gently, "Mikoto, take them."
Yamato Mikoto lowered her head and looked at the two tachi before her, "Feels like I owe more and more..."
Takemikazuchi smiled, patted her shoulder, "Then repay it with your performance in the dungeon."
Yamato Mikoto looked up, gazed firmly at Takemikazuchi, then at Emiya and the goddess Hephaestus, and solemnly nodded, "Yes!"
———
A few days later, after a round of rest and preparation, Emiya and his group stepped into the dungeon once more.
This ti, the team's equipnt configuration had slightly changed. Lefiya's huge backpack was replaced with a small leather pouch, and the large pack was now carried by the supporter Yamato Mikoto.
"This ti, our target is the twenty-fourth floor," Emiya said.
The twenty-fourth floor was the deepest part of the middle levels, and starting from the twenty-fifth floor, they would officially enter the dangerous lower levels.
Moreover, on the twenty-fifth floor, there was a chance of encountering the solitary king of the labyrinth, the two-headed dragon Amphisbaena.
[Amphisbaena] was different from [Goliath], the latter mostly stayed in the deepest part of the seventeenth floor's great room and only occasionally charged into other rooms or the eighteenth floor.
But [Amphisbaena]'s movent range was wider, covering the twenty-fifth to the twenty-seventh floor. It could swiftly move using the large waterfall and waterways that spanned those floors.
In fact, based on the team's setup, they already had the capability to face [Amphisbaena] head-on.
As for its most troubleso water-combat capabilities, Emiya could restrict them using ice-based magic swords and [Skadi of Ice]. Moreover, lightning-based magic swords would be even more effective in such a moist environnt.
However, dungeon battles were never just about strength on paper. They tested teamwork, individual reactions, and accumulated experience.
This was only their second expedition, and they had new mbers. They still needed ti to build synergy and mutual understanding.
Emiya handed out a few badges to the team. Using these tools, Yamato Mikoto could use her skill [Yatanoshirogarasu] to sense the positions of her teammates.
Lefiya: "With this, I feel a lot safer in the dungeon. Miss Mikoto's skill is amazing!"
Mikoto's face flushed slightly, looking a bit embarrassed, "I will do my best to use my ability to help everyone."
Emiya continued, "The dungeon boss on the seventeenth floor hasn't respawned yet. We'll try not to stay too long before reaching the eighteenth floor."
"Our goal is to reach the safe zone on the eighteenth floor before nightfall, rest for one night, and then continue onward."
The girls replied, """Understood!"""
Emiya nodded and turned to Yamato Mikoto, "Miss Mikoto, can you take the lead in combat before the twelfth floor?"
Mikoto paused briefly, then bowed, "Lord Emiya, please just call by na... Thank you very much for giving this opportunity to train."
Before reaching the eighteenth floor, they would travel along the main path, with relatively few monster encounters. Letting Mikoto lead the fight would allow the others to better gauge her strength.
Also, it would help Mikoto, who carried the backpack, gradually get used to fighting as a supporter by taking on so weaker monsters.
"Hopefully we'll get lucky this ti and run into a rare variant of the tree dragon," Lunoire said.
———
Deep in the twenty-fourth floor, a masked figure stood still. She had just taken down a tree dragon with potential up to Lv.4 using only her bare hands. The huge creature collapsed with a loud boom, shaking the ground.
In her hand was a massive magic stone, glowing a bright purple, extrely dazzling.
If Ais were here, she might recognize it. This magic stone ca from a powerful monster she had once defeated, the top-tier monster on the fifty-first floor, the Lv.6 Strong Dragon Cadmus.
The masked figure slowly walked up to the fallen tree dragon, crouched down, and shoved the powerful dragon's magic stone into the mouth of the rare draconic monster, tree dragon.
———
In the shadowy corridors of the seventh dungeon floor, Yamato Mikoto was facing a group of attacking monsters alone.
Two Shadow Warriors lunged fiercely at her, their sharp claws slicing through the air. Overhead, a Purple Moth flapped its wings, scattering toxic powder in an attempt to disrupt her vision.
Mikoto's gaze was focused. She quickly sidestepped the claws of the Shadow Warriors. Her [Flying Snow] and [Cold Rain] blades alternated in a storm-like dance, striking the monsters' weak joints precisely.
Flashes of blades, both Shadow Warriors were instantly and cleanly cut down. Then, with a nimble flip, she avoided the area affected by the Purple Moth's poisonous dust.
Next, the girl spun gracefully in the air and, upon landing, swiftly pulled out a kunai from her chest and hurled it upward.
A glint of cold light, her sharp kunai struck the airborne Purple Moth directly. The moth gave a brief shriek and fell limply to the ground.
"Miss Mikoto, you're amazing!", Lefiya looked at Mikoto in awe, her tone full of genuine admiration.
Though not quite on the sa level as Emiya, Mikoto's combat power was absolutely over-spec for a Lv.1 adventurer. One couldn't help but marvel. Iindeed, a child raised by the War God.
So much so that Lefiya doubted even at Lv.2 she could beat the newly blessed Mikoto.
Even with a level advantage, Lefiya didn't think she could finish chanting her magic once Mikoto got close. With Mikoto's combat skills, she might not even put up a proper resistance before getting her throat slit.
For Mikoto, what she still lacked were higher stats and powerful finishing attacks, so far, she hadn't learned any magic.
But in this team, that issue was easily solved, just carry more magic swords.
With Emiya's current mana level, projecting ordinary magic swords cost him almost nothing. So at least in terms of magic swords, supply could be guaranteed.
In the center of the team, Haruhi was also actively training. She carried a moderately sized backpack, training her stamina while continuously using [Fox Fire].
The girl gripped the sword hilt with both hands, trying hard to concentrate, releasing one small fireball after another from the blade.
Though most fireballs missed their targets and barely hit any monsters, it at least helped her train her magic control and ntal focus.
"Firebirds?", Emiya furrowed his brows and asked.
They had just arrived at the eighteenth floor's safe zone, preparing to rest a bit, when Rivira's leader, Bors, ca looking for them.
Bors stood before Emiya, looking tense, "Yes, a large number of Firebirds have gathered on the nineteenth floor."
Firebirds were an uncommon avian monster skilled in long-range fla attacks.
Though not physically strong, their troubleso flight and ranged attacks earned them an estimated danger level of upper Lv.2.
However, Firebirds could easily be countered by adventurers with long-range abilities, such as those skilled in archery or throwing weapons.
"If it's just Firebirds, can't you issue a request to adventurers? It should be easy to solve," Emiya asked bluntly.
Bors lowered his head, even more nervous, with a tremble in his voice, "I-I led people to subjugate the Firebirds... But, among those damn monsters, there was a huge purple-black Flabird!"
He gasped slightly and continued, "Our subjugation team encountered that purple Flabird, and several people were sacrificed. We barely made it out alive."
"I see... That's why Rivira feels so gloomy."
Emiya pondered, 'Another variant?'
According to intel from Eina, reports of variant monsters had been appearing frequently lately.
Including the crystal mantis they had personally killed, there were already four reports of variants.
They were: the crystal mantis they killed, the twin-headed Hellhound taken down by the [Phantom Triple Stars]...
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