Sword and Shield

by Emblem of Water

When a 12 year old Shirou finds himself in another world with no explanation how he got there, he knew he was in trouble. The fact that he woke up in a cage, a Slave Crest on his chest and odd new additions to his body underscored this fact. Naofumi, the disgraced Shield Hero, did not care about any of that. He just needed these two raccoon demi-humans to be able to fight. AU.

37. Unknown Dungeon 1

Sword and Shield

Unknown Dungeon 1

The first thing Shirou noticed as consciousness returned to him was a blinding headache, one severe enough to make it feel as if someone was using a jackhammer behind his eyes. The second thing he noticed was the thin layer of cloth around his body, and the feel of a hard surface beyond that cloth.

"Ugh," he groaned as he blearily opened his eyes.

Not that opening his eyes did him much good. Wherever he was, it was dark enough that it effectively made no difference if his eyelids were open or not.

"Shirou-sama! You're awake! Thank goodness…"

Atla's voice pierced the darkness. A hand closed around his forearm, the thin layer of whatever cloth was wrapped around him separating their skin from touching directly.

"Atla… What…" Shirou's voice was dry and raspy.

"Here, Shirou-sama. Something to drink."

What felt like a canteen was pressed up against his lips. Shirou didn't hesitate to open said lips, taking a few greedy gulps of water, easing the scratchy feeling of his parched throat and mouth.

"Thank you," he said, sighing in relief as soon as the canteen was pulled back.

"No problem, Shirou-sama."

Shirou was about to ask where they were, but he stopped when he noticed something. His voice sounded different, in a way that was both foreign and familiar at the same time, somehow. As a matter of fact, his entire body felt off in a way that he could not describe, a feeling that made alarm bells go off in the back of his head.

"Atla, what happened?" he eventually asked, his headache slowly starting to recede.

"…Several things have happened, Shirou-sama," Atla's voice could be heard after a momentary pause. "The most important thing and what explains everything else, I think, is that we have ended up in another world."

Ah, yeah. It was coming back to him now. At the end of the last Wave, during their battle with Glass, L'arc, and Therese, Atla and Shirou had ended up being dragged back with them, to the otherworlder's own world.

"…Are we prisoners?" he asked bluntly.

"I do not think so," was Atla's immediate response. "We are confined, yes, but by circumstance and not by anyone else. I don't know exactly what happened when we crossed over, but I don't think we ended up in the same location that our enemies did. Unlike you, Shirou-sama, I did not lose consciousness when we arrived here, so I know for a fact no one placed us where we are, and I can sense no human-like presences around us. I believe we ended up where we are by pure random chance."

"Hmm," Shirou hummed, digesting Atla's words. All the while, his headache lessened, and he became more and more cognizant of how the rest of his body was feeling.

"…I also believe, Shirou-sama, that our arrival in this other world explains what happened to you."

"What happened to…me?" Shirou repeated slowly.

"…You've changed, Shirou-sama. You're…smaller," Atla said hesitantly.

Smaller. That word bounced around in his head, not quite computing. He had long since realized that something was off with his body, but the blinding headache he was experiencing made it difficult for him to focus on that feeling. However, said headache was now quickly lessening, and he was starting to realize that Atla's words lined up with whatever this feeling was.

Shirou moved to sit up.

"Let me help you, Shirou-sama," Atla's hands took a hold of him, helping him get into a seating position.

As that happened, the cloth wrapped around his body fell away for the most part, freeing up his hands. He pressed the palms of said hands together and intoned, "Faust Light."

While Atla could 'see' without light, he very much could not.

A small, but bright sphere of light manifested between his hands as he pulled the two palms apart, separating them again. As the light drifted out from between his palms towards the ceiling of wherever they were, it allowed Shirou to see where he was right now.

It was not much to focus on, really. They were in some kind of cave, stone enclosing them both in nearly all directions. There was a small opening in the cave to their left, one that was small enough that he would have to crawl on his stomach to fit through said narrow opening.

Atla was to his side, the same as ever.

"…!"

A gasp of shock escaped Shirou, one that he failed to suppress.

He couldn't help it, really. Because, while Atla was no different, he himself had changed radically.

…Maybe it would be more accurate to describe himself as having 'reverted.'

Because Shirou was once again as small as a twelve-year-old, the same age he had been when he had first somehow found himself inexplicably in one of the slave pens of the Slave Trader. Back when he had somehow been transported from his own world to the world Raphtalia called home and Naofumi had been summoned to. Though, to be sure, he hadn't returned to his old look entirely. He still had the extra raccoon bits, the extra set of ears and fluffy tail and all. And said bits were still bone white in color, while his eyes retained their deep red irises, the changes wrought by Avalon during his Class-Up stubbornly having stuck even after he had somehow reverted to being a child.

"…The hell?" Shirou said up straight, his headache forgotten in his bewilderment. Even his own voice, the much higher one of a child instead of the deeper one of an adult he had grown used to, made him feel even more bewildered.

As that happened, the cloth wrapped around his person fell away even further. In a distant corner of his mind, Shirou realized it was the usual set of clothing he wore underneath his armor. Now, it was far too big for him. Obviously, Atla had wrapped it around him to keep him warm and decent while he was out.

Shirou briefly wondered where his armor was, or his weapons for that matter. He didn't see those crucial pieces of his kit laying around anywhere. However, he was quick to push said thought aside. He had considerably more important questions that needed answering.

He cast a questioning look towards Atla.

"Look at your Menu, Shirou-sama," she said.

He did, and the answer to his reversion to being a twelve-year-old became blindingly obvious.

[Emiya Shirou Lv: 1]

Blinking rapidly, Shirou glanced at Atla. He could see that she had, just like him, also reverted to being Level 1.

The only reason he had been an 'adult' was that of how high his Level had been. As a demi-human, his Level influenced his aging. By the time he had been Level 20 and had a couple of weeks of growth behind him, he had been a young adult, just a little over twenty years old in apparent age.

In that context, it made sense than if his Level were to drop back down to 1 somehow, his body would also undo the aging he had undergone.

"That's…not good," Shirou said slowly.

"I think our Levels were reset because we have entered another world," Atla offered. "If Levels you earn only apply in the world you earned said Levels, then…"

Shirou's mind spun a little as he digested that. His eyes darted towards the Hakuko.

While Atla's Level had been similar to his own, she had yet to begin growing because of her race, which explained why unlike him she hadn't changed physically at all. That still meant that she was an order of magnitude weaker than she had been, just like him.

Idly, he looked at his Stats, which brought along a much more positive surprise. Though he could not quite remember how high his Stats had been when he had first arrived in a game-like world, he knew for sure that the Stats he had right now were considerably higher than they had been when he had previously been Level 1.

He still had his Divinity Stat, but that did not quite explain how much higher his Level 1 Stats were right now compared to back then. And Shirou was not sure why that was, but he would accept the small consolation of that little factoid.

Still, that didn't change the fact that he was far, far weaker than he used to be.

"…Where are my armor and my weapons? And where are we?" Shirou eventually asked.

"I placed your armor and your weapons in your Item Box Gem, Shirou-sama. And when we arrived here, I…" Atla began her tale.

When they transferred worlds, Shirou had lost consciousness, probably because in the process of doing so, he had reverted into being physically a twelve-year-old. This was in contrast to Atla, who had been awake and alert all the way through until they arrived.

Which was good because they had arrived in some kind of underground cave filled with monsters. Atla had quickly gathered up Shirou, placing almost everything on his person in his Item Box Gem and wrapping him up in his now much too big clothing, carrying his much smaller form on her back. With her unique 'sight,' she hadn't been impeded by the total darkness of the cave, and with the extended range of her Life Force sensing, she managed to avoid the monsters stalking the winding passageways of said cave and find the small little hidey-hole – which thankfully hadn't been far away from where they had initially emerged – they were in now.

After that, Atla had stayed put and guarded Shirou until he had woken up, which brought us to now.

"Okay," Shirou ran a hand through his hair. "I think I understand our situation now."

As he said that, he reached for his Item Box Gem that had been placed on the ground alongside him. With a touch, the Magic Amethyst Longsword popped out.

Shirou pursed his lips at the sight of the weapon.

"It's like you said, Atla," he sighed.

The Magic Amethyst Longsword looked fine, but that was only appearance-wise. The Stats of the weapon – something that became visible thanks to his inherent Status Magic – that floated into view alongside the weapon were garbled and messed up beyond recognition.

In other words, the Magic Amethyst Longsword was unusable. Probably yet another consequence of being in a totally different world.

"Let's take stock of our situation, Shirou-sama," Atla suggested.

They did just that. First, they looked over their equipment, materials, and provisions. The verdict? The materials and provisions, which were all stored inside their Item Box Gems, were perfectly fine and usable. However, in contrast to that, their equipment – their armor and weapons – were completely shot. Just like the Magic Amethyst Longsword, the Stats and Enchantments of said equipment were garbled and unusable.

The only exception to that were their accessories – Shirou's Energy Stone Pendant and Atla's Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin – which were functioning without issue.

"I wonder why these still work?" Atla wondered aloud, idly fingering the exquisite hairpin in her hair.

"…Therese presumably came from the world we're in right now, and she uses jewels and accessories as a basis for her magic," Shirou said, tilting his head. "Maybe it's because, when it comes to jewels and accessories, this world and ours function the exact same?"

It was only a theory, but it did make sense. Not that the reason for functional accessories mattered all that much. So long as they did, indeed, function that is.

All in all, their situation could be summed up as the following.

They were in another world, separated from their party and stuck in an underground cave filled with monsters. Their Levels had been reset, making them an order of magnitude weaker than they had been, something that had also de-aged Shirou. Their weapons and armor were bugged out and nonfunctional, while their provisions/materials – the potions, concoctions, food, water, and general loot – were perfectly fine. Finally, their accessories, including their Item Box Gems, were a notable exception to their malfunctioning equipment, still working as intended.

The situation was…not good. It was hard to say how bad it really was, but – on the other hand – so far it didn't appear catastrophic yet either.

"…What do we do, Shirou-sama?" Atla eventually asked.

"How deep underground are we?" he asked a return question.

"I can't say," Atla admitted. "My senses do not extend far enough to reach the surface, so I have no idea how far away that surface actually is."

"I see," Shirou fell into pondering.

"My apologies," Atla lowered her head, her feline ears folding down on her head.

Shirou didn't respond, eyes focused on the ground in front of him as his mind raced for a plan of action. As such, he didn't notice the flash of crushing guilt that appeared on Atla's face for the briefest of moments.

"…Before we head out, we better prepare as best as we are able," Shirou eventually said. "Atla, give me your accessory…"

---

Atla 'watched' quietly as Shirou worked. He was sitting in front of her, his legs folded underneath him. In one hand, he held her precious accessory. In the other, he held a chintzy-looking accessory that he had Projected into existence. Both accessories were faintly glowing, in the midst of transferring a certain Enchantment from said 'fake' to the Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin.

Beside Shirou lay a tarp, on top of which laid a bevy of crafting tools he had pulled out of his Item Box gem. He had used said tools just now to 'touch up' the Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin, using all the skill and knowledge he had attained after using his unique talent to his advantage. After all, said accessory had been made before he had gained the accumulated knowledge and experience of several dozen craftsmen, so there was definitely some room for improvement.

That touching up had already been done, but the transferring of the Enchantment that Shirou intended to Atla's accessory was a slow-going process. As had been explained to her, because of a bevy of factors, any given accessory could only accept so many Enchantments before being 'full.' Even Shirou's Divinity born ability to downright cheat when it came to Enchantments couldn't change that fact.

It was for that reason that the transfer was taking so long. The Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin was already more or less at capacity. Because of that, it was taking far more effort and time than usual, even with the overall improvements Shirou had made to the accessory that increased said capacity just a tad, for the transference to be completed.

After this last Enchantment add-on, the Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin would be 'full.' In other words, a finalized product.

But Atla didn't mind the long wait. It gave her time to order her thoughts. And when she did, she came to the same conclusion her feelings had already arrived at earlier.

This is all my fault.

If only she hadn't been brazen enough to attack their enemies like that, they wouldn't be in this position. Isolated and alone in another world, weakened and separated from their party, monsters prowling all around them in some cave.

Near the end of the Wave when everyone else had been abandoning ship, Atla's unique 'sight' had allowed her to perceive the perfect route through the chaos, one that would lead her directly to their enemies. Enemies who she just knew would neither expect nor see her coming as they tried to make their escape.

Enemies which – one of them, at least – had seriously harmed Shirou. There was a reason she had targeted L'arc first, after all.

As such, she had acted, with all the consequences of that now resting on her shoulders.

If only-

"That look doesn't suit you, Atla."

Atla's head snapped up. Shirou's firm but kind voice had cut through her morose thoughts like a katana through flesh.

"…What look, Shirou-sama?"

Shirou raised a brow at her. Even though he was still doing his work, both accessories still glowing in his hands, his full focus was now on Atla.

"Don't try and hide it. Though you don't show it on your face, your feelings are rather obvious," he said, his eyes darting towards Atla's feline ears and striped tail. Said feline ears were folded down atop her head, occasionally quivering, while her tail was curled behind her, quivering in tune with her ears. Which, honestly, was just adorable, but the fact that Atla was in distress took precedence over the cute display.

"Really, you're reading too much into it," Atla forced a smile. "I'm fine…"

"Atla," Shirou cut across her, gentle but still firm. "I don't have your Life Force sensing abilities, but I have known you for long enough now that I can at least tell when you're troubled. So, please, don't try and lie about this, not to me and certainly not about this."

At that, Atla deflated a little, finally allowing her feelings to show on her face.

"I just don't want to trouble you, Shirou-sama…"

Those words elicited a rueful smile from the de-aged demi-human. "…Do you still remember that night, back during the civil war? After one of our battles in the Igreja Region? When I had separated myself from everyone else in order to be alone with my thoughts and you came to find me?"

Atla did indeed remember that night. She had caused a scene in order to lose her brother, then went out to find Shirou, managing to do so thanks to a tip from Raphtalia. When she had found him back then, Shirou had been sitting in a large clearing in the forest with a full moon above, the stars twinkling away, and him seeing nothing of it as he had been staring off into the far distance with a thousand-yard stare.

At that time, Shirou had still been struggling with the inherent paradox of wanting to be a hero who could save everyone. The constant series of harrowing battles in the Igreja Region had forced that paradox to be at the forefront of his mind all the time, and it had begun to wear him down.

Though Atla hadn't been able to provide him an answer to the paradox back then, she had still offered both her verbal and silent support because…

"…I knew how you had been feeling, what was bothering you," Atla sighed.

"That's right," Shirou nodded. "You also told me not to hide how I am feeling, because if you know how I am feeling, but if I don't come to you for help, that would just cause you to worry even more about me."

"I did say that, didn't I?" Atla muttered to herself, and indeed she had. Shirou had echoed her own advice back at her, almost word for word.

That gave her only one option, really.

"…If I hadn't attacked the otherworlders, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Probably not," Shirou confirmed with a nod. "But there are a thousand and one things that might have caused things to go differently."

"What do you mean by that, Shirou-sama?" Atla tilted her head.

"We could have attacked Glass without giving her a moment to speak, for one," Shirou said. "Or maybe one or more of us could have joined you when you went on the attack. Or maybe we could have made some distance and blown up the entire ship with our enemies on it. God knows we have enough people with the firepower to do that."

At that, Shirou briefly fell silent, allowing his words to linger in the air.

"My point being," he eventually continued. "Combat is chaos. A single choice, inaction, or moment of hesitation by anyone present might cause the flow of battle to change. Might cause the conclusion to change. The two of us didn't end up in this world solely because of your actions, but also because of me. Because of our enemies. And because our allies. That's simply how the cards ended up this time, so there is no reason to beat yourself up over it."

Atla visibly mulled those words over. After a long moment, she said, "I get what you are saying, Shirou-sama, but I can't just accept that and let it go. The fact is that, if I hadn't attacked in that moment, none of this would have happened."

Unexpectedly, those words got a chuckle out of Shirou, the sound of which made Atla's feline ears twitch.

"That's alright, because you have already done what you needed to do."

"I have?" If Atla's eyes weren't perpetually closed, she would have blinked right then.

"Yes. You confided in me, after all."

The glow from the two accessories in Shirou's hands faded. A second later, the chintzy Projected accessory broke, shattering and disappearing, leaving only the Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin in Shirou's left hand.

Shirou held the accessory up in front of his face.

Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin – Enchantment: Attack Up (Max) / Agility Up (Max) / Holy Magic Up (High) / Health Regeneration Increase [Shadow of Avalon] (High) / Sacrificial Protection (ingrained spell) / EXP Up [30%] (Blessing: High → Max / Medium → High / 20% → 30%)]

Inwardly, Shirou felt satisfied. Who could have thought that he would find an Enchantment that increases EXP gains by 20% - now upgraded to 30% - from some seedy-looking merchant at Cal Mira's market place? He sure hadn't. He was fairly certain that the merchant in question didn't know he even had such a gem in his store because everything else in his inventory had been cheap, mass-produced knockoff junk that he was just trying to swindle people with.

Correction: mass-produced stuff that was 99% useless, but, with a little luck, in a rare 1% of said mass-produced stuff, something highly useful might just pop up.

"I…confided in you, indeed I did," Atla nodded.

"Yes. Back then, you hadn't been able to solve my problem, either."

As Shirou said that, he reached out to place the accessory back in Atla's hair.

"But you still offered to help me, to provide a listening ear, to always be there when I needed it. All you asked for in return – maybe in not so many words – was that I would confide in you when I was troubled. Because how else would you know what was wrong and if you could help me or not?" With a delicate touch, Shirou secured the Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin in Atla's hair on the left side of her head.

The tenderness conveyed by both Shirou's gentle touch and his even more gentle words was enough to cause Atla's tail to wag behind her, for her feline ears to stand back up and twitch happily, and elicit a healthy blush from her, covering the pale white of her cheeks.

"We confide in each other, and we try to help each other. That's all we really need to do," he said, idly placing his hand atop her head and petting her. In spite of herself, Atla instinctively leaned into his touch while her blush deepened, and both her lips and her perpetually closed eyes curled into happy smiles. "That's how we are going to get out of this mess, isn't it, Atla?"

Said Hakuko girl didn't immediately respond, just taking a moment longer to luxuriate in Shirou's tender touch, but then-

"Yes, we will, Shirou-sama!"

-she exclaimed, any previous dark emotions suddenly forgotten.

…Maybe this whole scenario has its upsides, too, Atla allowed the traitorous thought to pop up in her mind, still enjoying the wholesome moment for what it was.

---

Energy Stone Pendant – Enchantment: Attack Up (Max) / Light Magic Up (Max) / Shadow Magic Up (High) / Health Regeneration Increase [self] (High) / Sacrificial Protection (ingrained spell) / EXP Up [30%] (Blessing: High → Max / Medium → High / 20% → 30%)]

Ruby Ring of Stealth – Enchantment: Noise Cancellation (ingrained spell) / Scent Cancellation (ingrained spell) / User Link: Jade Ring of Stealth (ingrained spell)]

Again, as Shirou slipped the chain of the Energy Stone Pendant back around his neck, he felt the telltale surge of a craftsman's satisfaction at a job well done. Just like Atla's accessory, he had taken the time to upgrade his own accessory as much as he could. On top of that, he had crafted a simple ring topped with a small ruby: an accessory specialized with stealth-based Enchantments.

According to Atla, they were deep underground in some cave that was just infested with monsters. Considering their own weakened state, going with the stealthy approach seemed appropriate.

And that wasn't all he had done, either…

Jade Ring of Stealth – Enchantment: Noise Cancellation (ingrained spell) / Scent Cancellation (ingrained spell) / User Link: Ruby Ring of Stealth (ingrained spell)]

The Jade Ring. Back when he had first met Atla, when she was still owned by the Zeltoble Slave Trader, he had given her this accessory to ease her burden. Now, he had taken it, removed the Health Regeneration Enchantment applied to it – which, honestly, had been made entirely superfluous at this point – and added the same Enchantments his newly made Ruby Ring of Stealth boasted, creating the matching Jade Ring of Stealth.

"Thank you, Shirou-sama," Atla took said accessory from him, looking all too happy.

The both of them slipped their new and/or improved accessories onto their ring fingers. Unlike most other Enchantments, the stealth-based powers of the Ruby Ring of Stealth and the Jade Ring of Stealth would only activate when they fed a little magical energy to the rings in question. Shirou, for his part, was just relieved that Atla had long since had her Magic Circuits opened back in Melromarc before they had set out to Cal Mira. Because of time constraints, Atla had trained exclusively in hand-to-hand combat, the art of using a bow and Hengen Musou, electing to push magic training towards the future. But at the very least she could use accessories like the Jade Ring of Stealth just fine.

Besides that, all their malfunctioning armor and equipment had been stored inside of his Item Box Gem. Shirou had also slapped together a simple, but functional set of armored clothing for his now much smaller self, made mostly out of hardened leather retrieved from his Item Box Gem. It wasn't anything fancy and certainly not something that he would usually wear into combat, but given the circumstances, it was the best that he could whip up on short notice. He had still managed to apply a halfway decent Defense rating to said piece of slapdash armored clothing, so Shirou considered that a win.

"…Okay, everything's set, I think. Atla?"

"I'm ready when you are, Shirou-sama," was Atla's confident response. Both demi-human children nodded at each other. With that, they made their way out of their hidey-hole. Even with their small selves, they had to crawl on their hands and knees to fit through the small opening.

All the while, they had their stealth rings activated.

"Atla?"

"There are no monsters out in the corridor," Atla reported. Even though any noise they made or scent they gave off was being canceled, they could still perceive and hear each other just fine thanks to their linked accessories.

They emerged into the corridor, everything completely dark.

"…I command the origin of swords. I have read and deciphered a law of nature. Let me and my allies be like an assassin's blade, unseen and unheard!"

"All Zweite Hiding!"

Shirou was quick to cast the spell. This – as well as the Faust variant – was the only illusion spell he had been able to learn so far. As usual, spells that didn't explicitly have something to do with swords, but did belong to the light and shadow branch of magic, he could learn, but it required a massive time investment to do so. To the point that, for Shirou, learning such spells was almost as much a painstaking exercise in patience as it was an exercise in magic.

Still, given their situation, he considered it time well spent as the spell fell over both him and Atla, rendering them invisible to everything but each other. Now, they were completely and utterly hidden.

"Shirou-sama, here."

Atla took him by the hand, guiding him as they began to walk. The cave was entirely dark with no light to speak of, and even though Shirou had sharp eyes, his eyes, just like anyone else's, still needed a little bit of light in order to see anything. He could cast light magic, certainly, but that would undoubtedly draw monsters to them, which was a definite no-no, even with the fact that they were entirely hidden away from mundane senses.

Having been born blind and relying on her unique 'sight' and Life Force-based senses, Atla had no problem with being deprived of light. It was all the same to her. Which meant that Shirou would have to rely on her to guide him through the pitch-black corridors.

So hand in hand they walked, exploring the underground cave. As they made their way through the twisting corridors, it became blatantly obvious that calling the cave infested with monsters had been spot on. Nearly every other passageway had at least one or an entire group of monsters prowling them.

And Atla managed to get them to safety – carrying his unconscious form on her back all the while – even though you could barely take a couple steps in this place without running into a monster? The sheer amount of stealth required to pull that off, especially without magical aid, nearly boggled Shirou's mind.

If he had ended up alone in this place, he would have been toast. It was all thanks to Atla that he was alive right now.

Shirou shoved that thought into the back of his mind, even if said thought still made him squeeze Atla's hand a little tighter, a gesture with Atla reciprocated. For now, he observed his surroundings and the monsters prowling the cave carefully.

Some of them were small.

[Albino Arachnoid Lv: 36]

A pure white spider, just big enough that their bulbous hindquarters came up to their knees in height. Always traveling in packs of half a dozen at least, Atla and Shirou had to frequently step out of the way and press themselves against the walls of the cave to allow the spider-like monsters to skitter past them. The creatures' many-faceted, blood-red eyes gleamed as they passed the undetectable demi-humans, and the corridor echoed with the chittering sound of the arachnids.

Some were larger.

[Ravenous Cave Troll Lv: 41]

A hulking brute of a creature, it had to stoop in order to avoid hitting its head on the ceiling of the cave. It possessed mottled blue skin, with only its stomach area being a pale white. The head of the creature was large, but warped from the perspective of a human, with its flattish face, slavering jaws—equipped with fangs to match—and overly pronounced forehead. Except for that, the monster was all bulging muscle and stored fat, with little else, as one of its meaty arms dragged along a roughly hewn club on the ground behind it.

And others were just off-putting.

[Will-o'-Wisp Lv: 39]

The skull of a creature that was not quite human, set aflame and floating through the air. Its jaw, even if it should have been anatomically impossible, periodically opened and closed, the sound of its inhumanly sharp teeth clacking together echoing. Except for that, the undead creature was silent. Even the flames it was wrapped up in didn't produce that usual crackling sound.

Despite their newfound vulnerability at Level 1 and the swarm of monsters present in the enclosed space they found themselves in, the duo pressed on. The Zweite Hiding spell and their stealth-specialized accessories proved to be their greatest allies, allowing them to navigate through the monster-infested cave undetected, as they searched for a way out.

However, after searching for what felt like hours, Shirou and Atla found themselves back in their little hidey-hole, right back where they had started. And that was because…

"There's no way out," Shirou let out an explosive breath. Above them, a sphere of light produced by Faust Light floated, illuminating the confined space.

"We don't know that for sure, Shirou-sama," Atla countered. "We didn't find a way up, but we did find a way down."

That they did: a set of stairs leading deeper underground. That proved that, wherever they'd ended up, it wasn't an entirely natural environment. Clearly, someone or something had to have created and/or modified the cave they were in; otherwise, there wouldn't be something incongruent like a set of stairs in a place like this.

"Considering that set of stairs, I think we might be in a dungeon," Atla added.

A dungeon. Shirou mouthed the words. The only experience he had with such places was the small, simplistic dungeon in Riyute village he had tackled together with Naofumi and Raphtalia not that long after inexplicably ending up in Raphtalia's world. Except for the Two-Headed Black Dog, it hadn't proven to be that great a challenge, but he was certain that this dungeon – if it indeed was a dungeon – would prove to be far more difficult to conquer.

"I can remember Erhard saying that you can clear a dungeon completely of monsters, but the moment that you leave, it fills right back up with said monsters," Shirou muttered.

"I have been told the same by Onii-sama," Atla nodded.

"The question now is, what are we going to do?" Shirou stated aloud with a pondering look.

"I thought that would have been obvious, Shirou-sama."

Shirou raised a brow. In response, Atla gave him her signature, ever so battle-hungry grin.

"As weak as we are right now, we can't just start going down and explore the dungeon. Even with our stealth accessories and your magic, that would be far too dangerous." In spite of her words, the battle-hungry grin on Atla's face only widened. "That being said, we are presumably in a dungeon, which means we'd have no shortage of prey to hunt, to gain EXP and get stronger! I say we clear the entire floor we are on of monsters, then descend to the next floor. Rinse and repeat until we find a way out. Once we're out, we'll be powerful in this world, too!"

Even sitting as she was on the ground, legs folded underneath her, Atla's excitement got the better of her. Her fists were clenched in front of her, arms raised, while her voice quivered with the telltale sign of anticipation. Shirou's response? A deep, highly amused chuckle.

"Hah. You really do look at the positive side of things, don't you, Atla?" Shirou said, amusement coloring his every word as his lips curled up.

"It's one of the things I am most proud about, Shirou-sama!" Atla cheered.

Shirou had to hold back a laugh. Atla's excitement was contagious, and he fought a mental battle to keep his own anticipation at bay. He won that battle, but not entirely, because he could still feel a deep thrum of eagerness in his blood.

"Alright then, I'm aboard with this plan," Shirou nodded, still smiling. "That said, with us both being Level 1 right now, just going out hunting would be far too dangerous. We will have to make some preparations…"

RUMBLE.

A deep rumble could be heard, causing him to pause. Shirou stared at Atla, whose excitement had been dashed as her face colored entirely red all of a sudden. Her stomach was making its hunger known to the world, growling loudly.

"But first, let's make something to eat," Shirou said, reaching towards his Item Box Gem, which contained, amongst other things, plenty of food and other provisions. If this were an anime, a massive sweatdrop would surely have been hanging from the back of his head right about now.

"Please do, Shirou-sama," Atla mumbled, her face still beet red.

---

They shared a hearty meal, cooked by Shirou. As they ate, they discussed a plan of attack. The fact of the matter was that the monsters around them were of a far higher level than themselves, which made it extremely dangerous to attack them head-on. Both Atla and Shirou could use Life Force, so regardless of the difference in stats, they would be able to harm said monsters. Still, that didn't change the fact that, as things stood, a single solid hit might do them in. In other words, an ambush was their best bet.

"It'd be best if we take out loners first before moving onto groups," Shirou said around several bites of cooked and well-seasoned meat.

"My thoughts exactly, Shirou-sama," Atla nodded, munching on some grapes. Items stored in the Item Box Gems flat out couldn't spoil. "With your accessories and our Life Force, hitting hard and fast from a complete blind spot shouldn't be all that hard."

"From a blind spot and fast, yes, but hitting hard is relative here," Shirou grumbled. "Our stats aren't exactly anything to write home about now."

"Oh, I have already thought about something to help with that…" Atla grinned widely, showing off her small fangs and getting a raised eyebrow out of Shirou.

Their discussion continued, hammering out the details of their plan of attack. By the time their meal was finished, they activated their stealth accessories, Shirou hid them from sight with Zweite Hiding, and they left their hidey-hole once more. Atla, holding Shirou's hand, led them towards a certain location they had found in their earlier exploration. Dodging monsters all the way, they made a beeline for the location of their soon-to-be ambush.

"We're here, Shirou-sama," in spite of the noise cancellation Enchantment they were under, Atla still kept her voice low.

Seen only by Atla, Shirou nodded. "Describe the area."

Atla did, pulling Shirou towards a large rock they could hunker down behind. They were in a corridor that suddenly widened in all directions, the walls further apart and the ceiling almost a dozen meters high, until it just as suddenly narrowed again in the middle distance. In other words, it created a relatively small room with more open space to move around in. Various sized rocks dotted the room, one of which Shirou and Atla were now hidden behind.

"Any monsters nearby?"

"No, Shirou-sama."

Shirou once again nodded and chanted, "Trace, on."

One by one, taking care, Shirou Projected eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses into existence, lying on the ground around them. It was a stroke of luck that weapons Projected by Shirou didn't possess the same malfunctions that the genuine articles brought over with them had. He was not quite sure why this was, especially because armor that he Projected did malfunction. What lay in the difference? Was it because of his Origin? Something that bypassed the rules of this world only with swords Projected solely by him? Again, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that it gave them another leg up in the unreasonable situation they found themselves in.

Meanwhile, Atla tapped her own Item Box Gem. Out popped a concoction, yellow powder contained within the fragile glass casing.

With that done, both demi-humans began to wait.

And they waited for well over an hour, even though monsters regularly passed through the room. Groups of Albino Arachnoids and Will-o'-Wisps, even if it was just two individuals, they let pass unmolested. Dealing with more than one monster at a time was simply too great a risk right now. The same held true for the single Ravenous Cave Troll that came through. As blatantly the most powerful monster they had encountered so far, ambushing it was not their first choice.

But then-

"Shirou-sama."

Shirou's raccoon ears perked up. "Yes," he whispered, a note of eagerness in his voice.

"An Albino Arachnoid, a single one. It's coming from the left," Atla reported succinctly.

"…Let's do this."

"Yes," Atla pressed herself up against Shirou's back, even as he closed his eyes – as he literally couldn't see anything anyway – and rested his head against the rock they were hiding behind. If there had been any light, his eyes would have been just high enough to have a clean line of sight over said rock.

The eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses laying on the ground twitched, before floating up slowly. The levitating swords silently spread out over the room, Atla's whispered words guiding the gladiuses as Shirou manipulated them to his will.

"…It has just entered the room."

Shirou strained his hearing, inwardly cursing the complete darkness they were laboring under, in an attempt to hear the monster approaching. He succeeded, just barely making out the ever so light tap, tap, tap sound of the Albino Arachnoid's spindly legs skittering over the floor. However, the sound was so faint that figuring out where it was coming from and/or going was beyond him.

And that's why he had to rely on Atla, just like he had been ever since they wound up in this death trap.

"Almost…"

Shirou tensed. In response, Atla slung an arm around him, hugging him tight. Behind him, he could feel her Life Force starting to slowly swell. Up high, the eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses shivered in the darkness, responding to Shirou's very own anticipation.

"Almost…"

Atla herself was tensing up, clutching tighter to Shirou. Just beneath her skin, her Life Force was surging, ready and waiting.

"Almost…"

One. Tap. Two. Tap. Three. Tap.

"Now."

The word hadn't even left Atla's mouth, and the concoction in her other hand had already begun its flight, flung in a subtle arc over the rock they were hiding behind.

CLANG!

"Flashbang," Shirou whispered.

Two of the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses clashed together, the telltale ring of swords colliding resounding as a blast of intense but short-lived light suddenly filled the room.

SCREEECH!

For a single heartbeat, darkness no longer clung to everything. For a fleeting moment, light drove away the shadows. For an instant, the Albino Arachnoid was overcome with pain, its many-faceted eyes overwhelmed by the alien experience of bright, stinging light.

For that solitary moment, Shirou could see clearly, having opened his eyes a mere millisecond after his Flashbang technique went off. The flash had mostly passed after he did so, but the residual light was enough for him to get a clear picture of the scene.

The Albino Arachnoid, dead center of the room, tottering on its many legs, stunned. The concoction, flying through the air and about to come down on it. Up in the air, the eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses scattered throughout the room snapped towards the stricken monster, their razor-sharp tips pointed straight at it.

In that instant, Atla's Life Force surged into him. Just like in the battle with L'arc and Therese, an artificial recreation of Peerless Activity was activated, increasing his Stats across the board. An increase in power that the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses also benefited from, as they were under his mental command and equipped to his person.

SHATTER!-CRACKLE!-WHISTLE!

Atla's aim had been dead on. The glass container that held the flung concoction shattered on the Albino Arachnoid's head, the yellow powder showering the monster. With a crackle of electricity, static enveloped the spider-like monster's body, locking up its muscles as the Status Condition of Paralysis took hold.

And as that happened, the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses whistled through the air, stabbing down from every direction.

SQUELCH!

And made a pincushion out of the Paralyzed Albino Arachnoid.

"Exploding Sword!"

BOOM!

After which, a massive explosion consumed the monster, fire and smoke enveloping it. The fire in question died out quickly, causing total darkness to once again take ahold of the room.

However…

"Shirou-sama! It's still alive!"

Was Atla's furious whisper, causing Shirou's eyes to narrow. As they hadn't yet gained any EXP, he had already suspected as much.

'Seen' only by Atla, the Albino Arachnoid was dragging itself out of the shallow crater it found itself in. Thanks to the Defense-ignoring nature of Shirou's attack, the monster had sustained significant damage, deep puncture wounds covering its body, its frame set alight while two of its eight legs having been blown clean off while another was broken, laying limp.

All of this just underscored the importance of Stats. Though the Albino Arachnoid's Defense Stat had been circumvented, there was no getting around its HP. And though Atla's and Shirou's assault had been brutal and perfectly executed, it still hadn't been enough to kill the monster. There was simply too great a difference in Stats for pure skill and brutality to make up the gap.

That, however, by no means meant that they were planning to throw in the towel just yet.

"Atla, guide me!"

"Yes!"

Once again, eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses manifested. They snapped forwards before shooting off like rockets, Atla furiously whispering in Shirou's ear to guide him in the total darkness they were laboring under.

The Albino Arachnoid, for its part, fought its way through the pain and disorientation. Its emotions were simple and to the point: rage and fear. Rage at the one who had harmed it so, and fear, also for the one who had harmed it so. When it once again heard the whistling sound of an incoming attack, the same attack that had wrecked its body, fear won out and it began making a beeline for the nearest opening out of the room.

Like hell we are letting you get away!

On this, Shirou's and Atla's thoughts were the exact same.

Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses stabbed down from on high, manipulated by Shirou's will but under the guidance of Atla.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

Miss. The first few gladiuses buried themselves in the ground, the Albino Arachnoid juking back and forth madly in order to make itself as hard as possible to hit. Slowed down as it was by its injuries, it still made rapid progress towards escape.

THUNK! THUNK!

Another two gladiuses. Again, both missed.

THUNK!

Another one. It missed by a hairsbreadth, almost grazing its bulbous hindquarters.

The opening out of the room was right there! Another few steps and-

BOOM!

The arachnid's frantic thoughts/instincts were cut off, as the Wandering Cross Guard Gladius that had just missed it suddenly exploded. The shockwave and the accompanying fire caught up, slammed into the monster from behind and carried it forward. It slammed into the wall right beside the opening with enough force to crack its already wrecked carapace further, disorienting it even more.

Instinctually knowing that to stop moving equaled death, the Albino Arachnoid tried to right itself as quickly as possible, but-

SQUELCH-THUNK!

Only to prove too slow. Two Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses found it simultaneously, the Life Force empowered weapons punching clean through it and nailing it to the wall.

"Almost there! Go all in, Shirou-sama!"

Shirou didn't hesitate to follow Atla's advice. He spawned weapons all around him and fired them like buckshot, burying the Albino Arachnoid in agony and the steel that had brought said agony down on it.

"Exploding Sword!"

And then the steel in question exploded, creating an even greater scene of devastation than the explosion the monster had been caught in at the start. With a terrible rumble, the wall collapsed, sealing off the opening on that side of the room in the resulting rubble.

Shirou and Atla barely took any note of that. And that was because-

[+ 110 EXP]

They had gained EXP, for the very first in this world as the kill was confirmed. And that was the only first for them in this world, either.

[Emiya Shirou Lv: 3]

[Atla Ga Fayon Lv: 3]

Having been mere Level 1, the pittance of just a little more than 100 EXP had been enough for both of them to gain two Levels at once.

"…We did! We did it, Shirou-sama!" Atla enthused. It was just a single ordinary monster, just a single kill, a kill made far more difficult because of unreasonable circumstances. But you know what they say: succeeding at something with genuine effort is far more satisfying than doing something with ease.

In her exuberance, she didn't hesitate to hug him even tighter from behind than she had already been, burying her face in the crook of his neck. In response, Shirou's hand came up to wrap around the arm holding him, smiling. He knew that Atla would be able to detect that he was just as happy as her at the successful result of their ambush, and he had no compunction about sharing that with her. At the happy sigh he heard just beside his ear, he had been right on the money. For the moment, both of them were content to just celebrate their victory.

Tap.

Both of their demi-human ears twitched.

Tap. Tap.

Their breath hitched.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Happy emotions were extinguished. Feelings of resolve took their place.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

A surge of Albino Arachnoids rushed into the room, over two dozen at once, obviously having rushed over to investigate the cacophony that had been taking place previously.

"Atla," Shirou hissed. They were soundless and scentless, yes, and they were invisible on top of that, too, but they were not incorporeal. And they were in a fairly small room, with one end of it sealed off, while over a dozen monsters were now crawling over every surface.

As things stood, they would be found in short order. Considering the odds, their deaths would follow quickly after. Especially because Shirou's Magic Circuits were still groaning under the strain of the spells he had unleashed rapid-fire just moments before.

"Guide me," Shirou grasped Atla's forearm.

Moving slowly but deliberately, Atla unwound herself from Shirou and took him by the hand again, leading him towards the sole remaining entrance. On the way, they slowed and/or stopped multiple times to allow an Albino Arachnoid to pass, some of which were skittering around the few remaining Cross Guard Gladiuses buried in the ground.

It was nerve-wracking, moving like that, especially for Shirou, who could only perceive Atla's hand wrapped around his own and the sound of dozens upon dozens of spindly legs skittering over the ground. Still, he placed his trust in her without a second thought.

"Shirou-sama," Atla whispered. "More of those arachnids are coming down the corridor and into the room."

At that, Shirou squeezed Atla's hand, and she squeezed back.

"We will be spotted," he concluded. With even more monsters in the room and near the entrance, the chance of getting away undetected was virtually nil.

"Exactly. We need a distraction."

Luckily, Shirou could provide exactly that.

"Get us as close to the exit as you possibly can," he instructed.

For once, Atla didn't respond with words. Instead, she pulled Shirou forwards, heading towards the exit at a snail's pace, stopping and starting, slowing down and speeding up at intervals that a person unaware of the situation might have considered random.

"At the count of three, Shirou-sama," Atla said.

Shirou took a deep breath, steadying his heart. Inside his mind, his metaphorical hand hovered over the on switch of his Magic Circuits, which had thankfully cooled down a bit by now.

"One."

They took a step forwards.

"Two.

Another.

"Three."

The final one.

"Now!"

In that moment, Shirou could swear that he felt something hard and chitinous brush his leg. He didn't give the feeling any thought. Instead, he just acted.

"Exploding Sword!"

Behind them, the few remaining Cross Guard Gladiuses abruptly exploded, sending the arachnids closest flying – even if it didn't do much actual damage. More importantly, the explosions were accompanied by a sudden harsh blast of light, something that burned into the highly sensitive, unaccustomed to light retinas of the Albino Arachnoids.

Screeches of pain were released, almost deafening in their intensity. For a precious moment, the spider-like monsters were completely and utterly stunned.

"Yah!" Atla exclaimed, suddenly taking off in a full-on sprint. Shirou matched her pace, their hands still holding each other. They rushed through the exit, almost stepping on a couple of Albino Arachnoids as they did so, Shirou just barely managing not to do so thanks to the swiftly dying light from the explosions.

"Trace, on!" Shirou chanted. Two new Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses manifested on either side of him, which then unceremoniously struck each other, "Flashbang!" Yet another flash of blinding light lit up the area, eliciting even more pained and furious screeches.

That done, the two Cross Guard Gladiuses rotated, aiming their tips at the walls of the corridor on either side. They shot forwards, buried themselves into the stone and-

"Exploding Sword!"

-promptly detonated. The walls of the corridor rumbled, signaling a coming collapse.

"We're almost safe, Shirou-sa-!"

From behind, a deluge of purple stingers came barreling down on them. Said attack had been fired from the wide-open maws of the few Albino Arachnoids that proved to be tougher than the others and had managed to gather their wits about them. It was a spray and pray attack, almost fired at random. Most of said stingers were swiped out of the air before they could close the distance with Shirou and Atla by the clumps of earth and rock falling as the corridor began to collapse. However, a few stingers managed to get through and struck the duo in the back.

CLANG!

Both demi-humans stumbled as an odd hollow sound rang out. Unseen by them both, the jewels of their accessories flared brightly for a moment before said glow died just as quickly. Both proved to be unharmed as they continued to run, and as the corridor collapsed in their wake – sealing off the room filled with Albino Arachnoids – they managed to make good on their escape.

---

"Whew, we made it back."

Once again having returned to their hidey-hole, Shirou and Atla sat down, breathing deeply. They had made a beeline back to this place, making sure to continue moving swiftly, all the while under the effects of their stealth accessories as Shirou periodically refreshed his Zweite Hiding spell. Once they had escaped, it had proven enough to get away with no further confrontations.

"You alright, Atla?" Shirou asked, steadying his breathing.

"Yes, thanks to you and your accessory, Shirou-sama," Atla nodded.

"Same here," Shirou sighed.

Even as he pulled out the Energy Stone Pendant from underneath his clothing, Shirou glanced at the Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin in Atla's hair. With his experience in accessory crafting and the application of Enchantments, he could see it quite plainly. The Sacrificial Protection (ingrained spell) Enchantment on both their accessories had been triggered. Which meant, in other words, that if it wasn't for said Enchantment, that both of them would have died. Without Sacrificial Protection, the singular hit they'd taken would have been the end of them.

That was the cold, hard reality of Stats. They were simply too weak compared to the foes they were dealing with.

Without a word, he indicated Atla to give him her accessory, a request she complied with without question. Placing both the Energy Stone Pendant and the Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin in the palm of his hands, said accessories lit up as Shirou began feeding magical energy into them, beginning the re-imbuing process of the Sacrificial Protection Enchantment. After all, said Enchantment was single use only. It could protect you once, and then the Enchantment would burn out.

As Shirou was busy with that, Atla called up her Menu and 'looked' at her Stats. Even though she was blind, her inherent Status magic still allowed her to 'view' her Stats just like any other person. All of a sudden, she started, obviously surprised.

"What is it?" Shirou asked idly, focusing on his work.

"My Stats have grown much more than I had expected," was the prompt answer.

Blinking, Shirou called up his own Menu, continuing his work as he did so. As he beheld his Stats, he blinked once again. "What the?" he mumbled. "It's like I gained four Levels, not two. As if…"

"…We are still under the effects of the Legendary Shield's increased Stat growth," Atla finished.

"But that can't be possible, right?" Shirou visibly began to ponder. "I mean, we definitely don't have the increased EXP gain we used to have as Naofumi's party members."

Holy Heroes and their companions had the so-called Blessings of the World, increasing their EXP gain by an unspecified, but quite clearly massive margin. Even with the EXP Up Enchantment making up a little of the shortfall, the EXP they were gaining now was still far lesser than they were used to. And the reason why was obvious: they were in another world, and no longer in the party of a Holy Hero.

But, somehow, they did still have the increased Stat growth? That didn't make any sense.

Shirou and Atla pondered and discussed the conundrum at length, but as neither of them could come up with a reason for the discrepancy, they eventually let the matter drop. Questioning a boon like this served no purpose, after all.

"Here," Shirou said, having finished his work and giving the Diamond Flying Tiger Hairpin back to Atla, who took it gratefully. He slipped his own Energy Stone Pendant back underneath his clothing, the Sacrificial Protection Enchantment reapplied.

With that done, the two of them would share another meal as they discussed their next 'outing' and how they were going to tackle their next ambush. Though their first attempt had worked out in the end, it had taken a huge effort to accomplish and it nearly had been the death of them.

If only I could use the Way of the Dragon Vein, Shirou inwardly grumbled. He acutely remembered Sadeena in the Activation Event, reset to Level 1 and still wiping a small army of monsters all at once because she could use a class of magic that wasn't reliant on the Stats of its user. It was unfortunate that, in order to be able to use the Way of the Dragon Vein, you would need the blessing of an actual Dragon Emperor. Otherwise, Sadeena might have been able to teach them something that would have been highly useful right about now.

With a shake of the head, he forced that thought to the back of his mind. He had no time for wishful thinking. Instead, he focused on his discussion with Atla, working out their next plan of attack.

---

A single Will-o'-Wisp floated down a corridor. The flame that wrapped around the skull that made up its entire body was odd. Though it did give off light, said light was muted, only providing the bare minimum of illumination to its surroundings, seeming to create shadows more than anything else.

However, said light was just enough for Shirou's sharp eyes to make out his surroundings clearly.

"Trace, on!"

Eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses manifested all around the Will-o'-Wisp, which froze in midair as soon as the weapons of war appeared.

SHING!

Without pause, the gladiuses swung for the monster from every direction. The Will-o'-Wisp proved fast enough that it managed to avoid the majority of the sudden assault, but not all. Three gladiuses struck true, their Life Force empowered edges ignoring its Defence Stat and doing mild damage.

Oddly enough, the monster didn't make a sound as it was hurt. Once again having taken advantage of their stealth accessories and Zweite Hiding Spell, the two of them had taken the time to observe the monsters. They had already noted that the Will-o'-Wisps were oddly silent creatures, but after observing a little longer, it became clear that the undead monsters were virtually soundless.

It didn't make a sound as it floated. It didn't make a sound as it congregated with its fellows. It didn't make a sound as it fought other monsters. And, most importantly, it didn't make a sound as it was hurt, either. The only noise it made periodically was the sound of its jaws clacking together, a sound so minor that even Shirou's and Atla's sensitive hearing could barely make it out.

Which meant that, with proper care and battle tactics, that a fight with a lone Will-o'-Wisp wasn't liable to draw in a horde of monsters. Which was exactly why Shirou and Atla had chosen a lone Will-o'-Wisp as their next target.

SHING!

The eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses reoriented themselves, swinging yet again for the undead monster. Though the Will-o'-Wisp wasn't caught off guard like last time, boxed in as it was, it was still struck a couple times even as it attempted to madly juke back, forth, up and down in the air through the constant, relentless assault.

The undead monster was struck a couple more times, steadily doing more and more damage, before its patience had been exhausted. The Will-o'-Wisp opened its maw wide, as if it was about to scream. Instead, the fire around its head swelled suddenly, releasing a shockwave that pushed the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses away with awesome force, the floating weapons slamming up against the walls and the ceiling of the corridor.

With that done, the Will-o'-Wisp surged forwards. Obviously, in this case, it had decided that prudence and escape was the better part of valor.

CRACK!

Not that it would get the chance to exercise that valor. A glass bottle flew from an unseen angle and shattered on its bare skull, showering it in yellow powder. The concoction did its work, paralyzing the Will-o'-Wisp in midair as yellow static electricity enveloped it.

SHING!-STAB!-SHING!-STAB!-SHING!

A second later, the eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses had returned, relentlessly slashing and stabbing the monster in a constant rhythm, one attack following after the other. The Will-o'-Wisp's health bar, the thing usually forgotten in the heat of combat, was rapidly starting to deplete, going into the red.

The yellow static electricity enveloping disappeared as soon as it had appeared, allowing the Will-o'-Wisp to move again. Spinning rapidly in the air, it spat balls of its oddly soundless fire in every direction, attempting to simultaneously ward away the blades swinging for it and hit its unseen assailant.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Large Calibre Piercing Bullet!"

Only to get a large oscillating sphere of compressed Life Force to its side for its troubles. Smoke enveloped the Will-o'-Wisp in the aftermath of the attack, still none the wiser about where its invisible, scentless, and soundless assailants were. On top of that, its 'counter-attack' hadn't managed to ward away the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses, which continued to slash and stab into the smoke.

SHING!-STAB!-SHING!-STAB!-SHING!

The smoke quickly dispersed, revealing that the Will-o'-Wisp was once again enveloped in static electricity. Paralyzed as it was, it couldn't respond to the consistent assault it was under.

STAB!

When a single Wandering Cross Guard Gladius found one of its empty eye sockets, stabbing into it and out the back of its skull, its health bar finally went empty. Soundless like always, even in its death throes, the Will-o'-Wisp dropped to the ground, the fire enveloping it snuffing out as it landed with a dull thump.

[+ 148 EXP]

[Emiya Shirou Lv: 4]

[Atla Ga Fayon Lv: 4]

"…Do you sense any monsters coming our way, Atla?"

"I don't, Shirou-sama."

"I'll store the remains of the Will-o'-Wisp in my Item Box Gem."

"…I think continuing to target these Will-o'-Wisps will be our best bet."

"My thoughts exactly."

"That said, I can't say I like this way of fighting, Shirou-sama."

"Me neither, to be honest. It really slows down how fast we can gain EXP and Levels."

The problem with seeking out a specific lone target was the time required to do so. The Albino Arachnoid they had ambushed previously had taken two hours to fall into their laps. And they had been shadowing the freshly killed Will-o'-Wisp for about three hours, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"There is nothing for it, though. A head-on fight is simply too dangerous for us right now."

"I understand," was said, followed by a deep sigh.

With that – not having been seen, heard, or smelled by anything else – the duo would set out again. Working together, they would continue to reap a bloody and steady harvest from the monsters in the (presumed) dungeon they were in.

But first, they headed back to their hidey-hole. Periodic rest was definitely needed, after all. The two of them shared a meal cooked by Shirou using the materials stored in his Item Gem Box, then settled in for sleep the first time arriving in this place.

However, there was a small scene before Shirou and Atla fell asleep that deserved mentioning.

"…What do you think you are you doing, Atla?"

"Trying to go to sleep, of course."

"But do you have to do that…like this?"

"I don't see a problem with both of us going to sleep, Shirou-sama. With the precautions we have in place, we don't run the risk of any monster stumbling on us. And even if they did, we'd wake up before they actually found us."

That was true. They had blocked off the small opening leading into their hidey-hole. On top of that, the Ruby Ring of Stealth and the Jade Ring of Stealth were no longer on their fingers. Instead, those accessories were placed in the center of their hidey-hole, laying in a faintly glowing magic circle, a very basic form of Formalcraft that Kiritsugu had taught Shirou in the past. Said magic circle would continuously feed magical energy into the atmosphere to the accessories, keeping them activated and extending the range of their effects. In other words, no sound and/or scent would escape from their hidey-hole. Couple that with the jewels hidden in and around the blocked-off opening, jewels that had been enchanted to act as an alarm if a monster were to try to get in, there was no way for a monster to get the drop on them. Even if they were fast asleep.

"I get that, but…"

"Don't be so difficult, Shirou-sama. It's cold in here, and you are very warm."

Shirou was laying down on the ground, having enveloped himself in several layers of cloth taken out of his Item Box Gem. He had done the same for Atla, only for her to eschew that and join him in his own impromptu bed instead. Considering her previous escapades, he really should have expected this.

The previous times, Shirou had been quick to return Atla to her own room. This time, however, he found himself far more reluctant to do so. For one, she didn't have her own room here. Secondly, Atla was right in that was quite cold even in spite of the cloth wrapped around them and the fact that he – like Atla – was still fully clothed. Not to mention, Atla was plenty warm herself…

Giving up, Shirou closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. Atla laid her head on his chest, curling herself around him.

"Sweet dreams, Shirou-sama."

"You too, Atla."

As they shared each other's warmth, their breath started to still as the specter of sleep came for them both. It didn't take all that long for Shirou and Atla to be fast asleep.

Moments before he fell asleep, Shirou could swear that he had heard Atla purring.

---

Remaining hidden at all times, Shirou and Atla continued as they had been, striking at targets of opportunity. They focused mostly on lone Will-o'-Wisps and the occasional Albino Arachnoid, while giving the Ravenous Cave Trolls a wide berth. Those monsters were few and far between, always alone, but as said, trolls were clearly the most powerful enemies present; neither of them was quite foolhardy enough to challenge one of them yet.

This resulted in the slow but steady harvesting of EXP and Levels. Moreover, in the isolation and darkness they were laboring under, it was getting difficult to tell how much time was passing. Was it a couple of days? A week? Two weeks? Longer? And the higher their Level became, the more time it took to gain the next one. It was a situation where frustration was likely to take hold. Something that held true for them both.

However, neither of them allowed frustration and/or impatience to get the better of them. Using every precaution that they could, Shirou and Atla steadily farmed EXP and Levels until...

"… I think we can start being a little more assertive now."

"… I'd like that, Shirou-sama."

[Emiya Shirou Lv: 11]

[Atla Ga Fayon Lv: 11]

Shirou looked at his Stats. With them somehow still profiting from increased Stat growth with every Level they gained, both him and Atla were now strong enough to risk a more direct approach in combat. Neither of them ran the risk of being one-shotted anymore. That, and it seemed that the monsters had clued in on the fact that there was an unseen threat in the (presumed) dungeon that was targeting loners. The only exception to this were the Ravenous Cave Trolls, who never traveled in groups to begin with. As such, it was becoming increasingly more difficult to find monsters moving on their lonesome.

Both demi-humans shared a nod. Then, they set out yet again on their continues quest to get stronger and progress.

They had barely rounded two bends in the road before running into a Ravenous Cave Troll, coming down the corridor towards them. Said troll didn't notice them, of course, still completely hidden from mundane senses as they were.

"Troll. Right in front of us," Atla said. Her hand was still holding Shirou's, guiding him.

Shirou's eyes narrowed, even if to him the world around him was completely dark. As Atla pulled him towards the wall of the corridor, he wordlessly Projected eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses that he immediately took control of with Sword Poltergeist.

"…Let's do this," Shirou said, squeezing Atla's hand.

At Atla's answering squeeze back, he went on the assault. The gladiuses snapped forwards, their spear-like tips pointed at the troll, and then unceremoniously rushed to meet the monster head on.

WHISTLE!

Though the Ravenous Cave Troll looked stupid, no one could fault its hearing or its reflexes. With a great heave, it lifted its huge club and swung it at the oncoming gladiuses.

CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!

Its aim was true, knocking away the flying blades before they could pierce its flesh. With that done, it strained its hearing to find where the attack had come from. Naturally, the troll had no luck on that end, considering its opponents were hidden entirely from its ears.

CLANG!-CLANG!

With another swing, it knocked away another two gladiuses. And then-

WHAM!

-it slammed its club against the ground, roaring. In response, the entire corridor seemed to shake as a series of small fissures ran out from the point of impact, crisscrossing over each other as they raced forward, releasing a dim golden energy as they did so. Obviously, it was some kind of earth magic based attack.

Atla had immediately yanked Shirou aside, pressing both against the wall of the corridor, allowing the attack to simply pass them by. In the dim light released by the attack, Shirou could see clearly, not having to rely on Atla's words to guide his attack for a brief moment.

CLANG!-ROAR!

Two Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses struck their cutting edges together in front of the Ravenous Cave Troll's face, releasing a blinding flash. The troll roared, its free hand closing over its eyes as it stumbled backwards, its retinas burned by the blast of harsh light.

SQUELCH!

At that moment that its guard was down, several remaining gladiuses stabbed themselves into and through the troll's extremely thick hide. In its pain, the Ravenous Cave Troll let out another bellowing roar and started slamming its club against every surface—the ground, walls, and ceiling—it could find, fissures filled with dim golden energy racing outward from every impact.

"Shirou-sama, follow my lead! You know what to do!"

For the first time in a long while, Atla let go of his hand. She ran forward, jumping and weaving over the constantly-spawning fissures. In the dim light released by the troll's reckless attacks, Shirou had enough of a clear view of the situation to act independently. As instructed, he followed after Atla, matching her steps in order to make it through the fissures and their dim golden energy.

In the meantime, another two gladiuses had buried themselves in the Ravenous Cave Troll's body. Finally, it tore the hand covering its eyes away, allowing them to see the bloodshot rage in its beady eyes. It swung its club back, holding it above its head with both of its meaty arms, clearly preparing to slam said club as hard as it could on the ground and release the most powerful attack that it could in the hope that doing so would catch whoever or whatever was attacking it.

Actually, if one didn't know better, it almost looked like it might have spotted Atla. She had already closed the distance, leaping towards the troll with her fist cocked back and enveloped with a highly concentrated Life Force. If the troll brought its club down now, it would come down right on Atla's skull.

It roared madly and did just that-

"…!"

-only for the gladius buried in its left arm to suddenly jerk hard, upwards and to the left. In fact, the pull on its limb from the weapon buried in said limb was so hard that, in its surprise, the Ravenous Cave Troll let go of its club, never finishing its intended attack.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Tiger Bite!"

From the perspective of the Ravenous Cave Troll, an attack manifested from nowhere and struck it in the face with all the force of a runaway dump truck. Its already flat noise was crushed, green blood gushing out as several teeth in its slavering jaws cracked and broke, its Defence useless against the Life Force based attack.

At that moment, the other Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses perforating its body, started pulling and jerking on the monster's mass. Not only did they do more damage as they did this, but they also made the troll fall onto its knees as it was pulled off balance.

Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke.

Atla rapidly jabbed the Ravenous Cave Troll multiple times in the chest, targeting its pressure points, something that she could see clearly in virtue of her unique 'sight.' The troll was frozen, not even vocalizing its pain as Atla piled on the damage, as the Life Force penetrating several of its pressure points had Paralyzed it.

However, said moment of Paralysis passed. Knowing that it couldn't trust its limbs with the blades that were more or less puppeteering said limbs running through them, the troll instead jerked itself forwards and downwards, opening its maw of broken teeth wide in order to take a massive chunk out of the enemy it knew had to be there.

Of course, such an attack had no hope of hitting Atla. She jumped backwards, and as she did so, Shirou jumped over her, Projecting a Dirk into his right hand. Unceremoniously, he stabbed said knife down into the lowered skull of the Ravenous Cave Troll.

ROAR!

Unfortunately, in a game-like world, an injury from such an attack wasn't a guaranteed instant kill. The Life Force enhanced knife did do a lot of damage, bringing the Ravenous Cave Troll's health down to its last 10%, but it didn't kill.

With reserves of willpower it probably even didn't know it had, the Ravenous Cave Troll surged to stand back up on its feet.

"Exploding Sword!"

Only to have Shirou kick it in the face, planting his foot firmly in the troll's already broken nose. As he used said foothold to jump off, launching himself away from the monster, the Dirk in the Ravenous Cave Troll's head exploded, knocking down its remaining health and wiping away its head completely in a shower of gore.

[+ 189 EXP]

[Emiya Shirou Lv: 12]

[Atla Ga Fayon Lv: 12]

Shirou came down, landing on his shoulder and rolling backwards to bleed off his momentum, as the headless corpse of the Ravenous Cave Troll collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. As he did so, he was quick to kick himself back up onto his feet.

"Well done, Shirou-sama."

"You too, Atla."

Atla was quick to return to Shirou's side, wrapping her hand around his forearm to let him know she was right beside him. Now that the battle had ended and the Ravenous Cave Troll was no longer firing its attacks in wild abandon, darkness had once again returned to the (presumed) dungeon they were in.

They didn't get long to savor their victory, however.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Because, as their demi-humans ears twitched, they could hear a group of Albino Arachnoids coming in their direction from further down the corridor. Obviously, just like the first time they had ambushed a monster, the sound of the battle had attracted them.

This had happened multiple times before, actually. Even during their battles with the oddly silent Will-o'-Wisp's, the sounds released by combat would stir the interests of nearby other monsters. This usually means that Shirou and Atla had to make themselves scarce as soon as they had confirmed the kill, or, in the worst-case scenario, before they could confirm the kill.

Now, however…

"Shirou-sama."

"I know."

…there was no longer a need to.

Shirou and Atla turned towards the sound of oncoming Albino Arachnoids. They weren't going to run away or make themselves scarce because they didn't think that they could run the risk of confronting a group of monsters all at once instead of a singular target. Because the successful kill of a Ravenous Cave Troll, the most powerful monster they had encountered so far, told them that they now had attained enough Levels to meet the threats all around them head-on.

"Zweite Hiding," Shirou chanted, refreshing their invisibility.

Fighting head-on, however, didn't mean fighting fair. They were still invisible, soundless, and scentless. And they would continue to fight like that, using everything and anything at their disposal to survive and thrive in this (presumed) dungeon they found themselves in, so that they might escape with their lives.

And, with that thought in mind, as half a dozen Albino Arachnoids closed the distance, Shirou was quick to activate yet another spell.

"Faust Light!"

A sphere of bright light manifested near the ceiling of the corridor, lighting up the area and making the Albino Arachnoids screech. Now that they had attained enough strength that merely attracting more monsters to their general location wouldn't be potentially catastrophic, there was no longer a reason to handicap himself by fighting in total darkness.

As the stunned Albino Arachnoids tottered on their many legs, the invisible Shirou and Atla came down on them with a mixture of spells, Life Force and brutality.

---

STAB!

A Will-o'-Wisp was stabbed clean through, a Wandering Cross Guard Gladius lodged through its jaw and out the back of its flaming skull.

POP! POP! POP!

Several Albino Arachnoids were peppered with Life Force 'bullets', the Defence ignoring attacks, quickly stacking up the damage. The relatively fragile arachnoids popped like balloons under the relentless assault.

SHING!

A Hidden Light Slash struck a Ravenous Cave Troll diagonally, surging against the monster. In spite of its thick muscle and stores of fat, when the technique petered out, it fell to its knees as its guts fell out of the stomach that had been ripped open by the cutting crescent of light.

None of these monsters saw their killers, their hunters. Invisible, soundless, and scentless, the hunters stalked the corridors, using light as a weapon against the monsters, who, in virtue of living underground, barely even understood the concept of light. With the use of Defence ignoring attacks launched with sudden brutality, the number of kills were rapidly rising.

In the days before, it had become common, almost instinctive, knowledge that going off on your own was liable to get you killed by an unseen enemy. All of a sudden, something had changed, and the invisible hunters had become far more assertive, attacking whenever they pleased and targeting large groups as well as loners.

It had gotten so bad that the Ravenous Cave Trolls, loners by nature, had decided to work together to protect themselves and get rid of the hunters. They had teamed up into groups of at least three and had gone out to mete out retribution against the ones hunting them. Those groups vanished, never to be heard from again. It didn't take much imagination to figure out what had happened to them.

Nothing that the monsters did in an attempt to counter this mysterious threat worked. Worse, the attacks were increasing in frequency, with the invisible hunters attacking harder and faster by the day. The number of kills was increasing exponentially, too.

And the reason for that was because...

[Emiya Shirou Lv: 23]

[Atla Ga Fayon Lv: 23]

…thanks to their increased Stat growth, even without considering the use of their magic and Life Force, Shirou and Atla were now stronger than the monsters. So long as they didn't get reckless, they could afford to go on a full head-on offense. Something that they did without hesitation.

SHING!-STAB!-SHING!

Several Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses came down on a lone Ravenous Cave Troll, slashing and stabbing in such quick succession that the monster was utterly overwhelmed. The troll trashed, trying to focus through the pain and the harsh light lighting up the area, but the odds were not in its favor. It tried to find the invisible hunter behind all this-

STAB!-BOOM!

Only for a Wandering Cross Guard Gladius to stab clean through its face and unceremoniously explode, ending the monster's life.

"Atla, I'm done here!"

"I'm just about finished, too, Shirou-sama!"

Atla struck an Albino Arachnoid who had tried to jump past her invisible self with a Life Force empowered backhand. The monsters struck the wall of the corridor, leaving behind a mess not that dissimilar to a bug flying up against a windshield of a running car.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Flying Tiger Kick!"

A cutting crescent of Life Force struck an already heavily injured and fleeing Will-o'-Wisp, ending its undead life.

Atla lowered her leg from her kick and took a deep breath, centering herself. She shared a nod with Shirou as he came walking up to her.

"Any other monster nearby?"

"None that I can sense."

With that done, the duo collected all the monster remains in Shirou's Item Box Gem. They once again set out to cull the local monster population, but something became readily apparent to them both rather quickly.

"I think we might have cleared out all the monsters, Shirou-sama."

Indeed, after their last battle, they hadn't run into any other monster in well over an hour of searching.

Shirou pursed his lips and said, "Let's look a little longer. If we don't find any other monsters, we'll go to that set of stairs we found on our first day here."

Atla was quick to agree, stretching her Life Force based senses to search for any stragglers. However, after another half an hour of searching, they found nothing. Another quick discussion followed, in which both were quick to decide that they were moving on.

Both Shirou and Atla now stood at the top of a large set of stairs, seemingly carved out of stone. Though the stairs lacked any kind of handrail, the steps themselves were smooth and perfectly cut. Not to mention quite large, too. Half a dozen people could walk abreast of each other down this set of stairs, no problem. Needless to say, this set of stairs was really out of place in what was seemingly a normal cave at first glance, which was one of the main reasons why they had come to believe they might have ended up in a dungeon.

The stairs continued for quite a while. Even with a Faust Light hanging in the air above them, they could not see the bottom or how far the stairs actually stretched downward.

"Let's go."

Atla didn't respond with words. Instead, she grasped him by the hand as they started down the set of chairs.

The track downward took quite a while. It didn't take long for them to notice that the stairs were curving ever so slightly as they went. After a good five minutes, they managed to reach the bottom, only to come face-to-face with a surprise.

WHOOSH!-WHOOSH!

Two large torches hung up high on the wall in front of them suddenly were set alight, providing light and rendering the Faust Light superfluous. The room they now found themselves in was not all that big, and the only thing of note besides the torches was the large stone gate taking up the majority of the wall in front of them.

"…The odds of us being in a dungeon just increased by a lot," Shirou found himself saying. He did not know a lot about dungeons, but as far as he was concerned, a large stone gate seemed pretty par for the course for a dungeon. "Atla, can you tell what is behind this gate?"

"I can't, Shirou-sama," Atla said, frowning. "There is some kind of odd barrier woven into the gate and the wall. I can't see through it."

Shirou pursed his lips. He didn't like the sound of that.

"…Also, there is some kind of writing above the gate that I'm not familiar with."

At Atla's direction, Shirou looked above the gate. Carved into the stone was indeed what appeared to be writing. There was one small sentence and another larger sentence carved into the wall underneath it, just above the stone gate itself. Unfortunately, he was no more familiar with the writing in question than Atla, so he couldn't read it either.

Shirou was quick to put the unknown writing out of his mind, "We need to figure out how to open this gate. It seems too heavy to push open…" as he said that, he reached out and touched the stone gate in question.

CREAK!

At his touch, the stone gate started opening on its own with a heavy groaning noise. Both Shirou and Atla jumped back, preparing themselves for combat. However, when the gate had fully swung open, revealing a large, dark area behind it, no attack came.

"…Atla?"

"The room beyond the gate is empty; however, it's lined with torches and what appears to be an inert magic circle in the center of the room," was the prompt response. "In my honest opinion, Shirou-sama, the room reminds me of a small arena."

An inert magic circle. Lined by torches. It looks like a small arena.

"…A test in order to progress, huh?" Shirou said. Even to him, that sounded rather cliché.

However, no matter how cliché, they would still need to pass this test.

Together, Shirou and Atla stepped into the room. The moment they did, the torches hanging on the walls lit up, allowing Shirou what Atla had already seen. The room in question was equally wide as it was long, with the ceiling far above them. The stone of the walls and ceiling were perfectly smooth, no markings or anything else on them, the only exception being the torches. The floor was just as smooth, a large and complex but inert-looking magic circle carved into it.

BANG!

The large stone door slammed shut behind them with a loud bang. Neither Shirou nor Atla could find it in themselves to be surprised.

The magic circle lit up, blue energy filling its carved lines and casting an otherworldly glow around the room. In response, eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses manifested around Shirou, snapping forward with sharp sounds. Life Force gathered in Atla's hands as she took a combat-ready stance.

The blue energy surged, gathering power, before suddenly flashing blindingly bright. Once the energy subsided, it revealed that something had appeared in the center of the magic circle.

"Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…"

A disconcerting, inhuman chuckle came from that something as it stood up to its full height, its worn-looking armor clacking as it did so. Even if Shirou had once again grown to be an adult, the monster facing them would still have been two whole heads taller than him.

[Cackling Deadhead Knight Lv: 52]

The monster in question was a disconcerting mix between a knight and a jester; however, it was twisted even beyond that. It was armored in worn but colorful-looking armor pieces, baring checkered patterns of faded yellows and reds. Its limbs, in spite of the armor it was wearing, were lanky and gangly, but they still proved capable of holding a large and colorful kite shield, while the other held a huge claymore, every bit as long as itself was wide.

The thing that stole all their attention, though, was the one thing not hidden away by armor: its head. The head in question was bereft of a helmet and huge, outsized compared to the rest of its body. Moreover, the head was toy-like, seemingly made out of something soft like cotton, sporting a faded red top, its 'hair' falling down in twin tails, on the end of which large bells were attached. Its face, if you could call it that, was peach, bearing two cartoonishly big and blue innocent-looking 'eyes' while its 'mouth' was opened wide in a terrible and monstrous rictus grin, showing off teeth that were far too big and twisted to be natural, even for a monster.

"Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…"

As they observed the Cackling Deadhead Knight, it continued to release an off-putting cackle, giving away its namesake.

For a moment, nothing happened; both sides were simply observing each other. But then-

"Shirou-sama!"

-Atla called out in warning as the Cackling Deadhead Knight all of a sudden jumped towards them, stabbing its weapon forward as straight as an arrow. Its already lanky limb stretched even further than what should have been possible. Still half a room away, its huge claymore stabbed straight through Shirou's stomach.

Or, at least, it would have if he hadn't acted.

Projecting a Dirk into his hand, Shirou showed his own speed by juking to the left, allowing the claymore and the arm wielding it to pass him by. As soon as his feet came down on the smooth stone, he ran head-on towards their opponent. The eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses had already shot forward, reaching the Cackling Deadhead Knight in the blink of an eye.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Bullet!"

Atla's hands were a blur, punch after punch releasing 'bullet' after 'bullet' of compressed Life Force.

"Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…!"

Far from intimidated, the Cackling Deadhead Knight simply cackled louder and withdrew its almost comically outstretched arm back with startling speed, so fast in fact that the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses didn't get the chance to attack the limb, almost acting like a piece of string snapping back into shape after having been pulled taut. Unceremoniously, it slammed the bottom of its massive kite shield on the ground.

BANG!

The sound of it was unnaturally loud, and the accompanying shockwave of magical force revealed it to be an ability of some sort. The shockwave blasted outwards in every direction from the Cackling Deadhead Knight's position, dispersing the Life Force 'bullets', knocking away the gladiuses and catching the oncoming Shirou all at once.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, caught in what felt as if gravity had changed direction and turned against him. He rode the blast of force as best backwards as he was able, coming down on his shoulder and bleeding off the impact of his sudden flight.

Stretching its claymore baring limb as high as it could straight into the air, the Cackling Deadhead Knight brough the weapon down on him, not too dissimilar in fact to how lumberjack might bring his axe down on a piece of wood. Getting back onto his feet in a crouched position, still sliding backwards on the ground as he did so, Shirou was only just in time to see the attack coming. He threw himself to the side, fighting against his own momentum to do so, and the claymore slammed into the ground where he had been, the stone floor shattering underneath the force of the massive weapon as if it were mere kindling.

Not finished with its assault, the Cackling Deadhead Knight forced its comically outstretched limb to the left, going for Atla, who was in the midst of her next attack, instead of Shirou. With her unique 'sight' and senses, she was not at all caught off-guard, jumping just high enough over the sideswiping claymore to dodge it, completing her own attack as she did so.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Large Caliber Piercing Bullet!"

BANG!

Only for the monstrous cross of a knight and a jester to slam the bottom of its kite shield into the ground again, the resulting magical force dispersing the more powerful Hengen Musou technique just as easily as the earlier 'bullets.' "Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…!" the cackling of the Cackling Deadhead Knight continued as it retracted its limb seconds before the claymore it bore would have struck the wall of the chamber they were in.

In that moment, just after a wave of magical force had passed, Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses had returned. They speared down on the monster from every direction, their spear-like tips glinting in the torchlight.

"Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…!"

Reversing its grip on its massive claymore, the Cackling Deadhead Knight pierced the stone floor with the weapon. A glowing green barrier manifested around itself, a barrier the Life Force empowered gladiuses ran up against and unceremoniously bounced off of. With a crunch, the claymore was buried deeper into the ground. Just as the barrier surrounding it fell away, the jester showed its strength as it swung upwards and forwards, straight through the stone as it ripped the claymore free. A shotgun blast of stone shrapnel followed the swing and came baring down on them.

"Hah! Now this is what I have been waiting for! A true fight!" Atla, for her part, just seemed elated at the challenge they were presented with. Life Force gathered and surged in her hands as she began to throw punch after punch, 'bullets' leaving her fists with every swipe, countering and destroying the shrapnel. Shirou joined her, both firing 'bullets' en masse in the age-old adage that the best defense is the best offense.

With consecutive crunches, the 'bullets' and stone shrapnel met. Dust occluded the sight of everyone as the two forces annihilated each other.

WHISTLE!-BANG!

"Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…Keh…!" with the sound of its ever-present cackling, the Cackling Deadhead Knight was quick to slam its kite shield into the ground again as it heard the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses return for another attempt. Just like previously, the shockwave of magical force blew away the floating weapons like chaff in the wind.

More 'bullets' came out of the thick dust occluding the air, and with what felt like mockery, the green barrier it had deployed earlier once again enveloped the jester. Though the Life Force based attack was steadily chipping away at the barrier, the Cackling Deadhead Knight didn't seem worried. It raised its kite shield a little, preparing to slam it into the ground and release its signature shockwave as soon as its barrier fell.

POKE!-CRUNCH!

Only for a precise spike of Life Force to be driven into its barrier from behind, targeting a vulnerability in the already weakened barrier. With a crunch, the magical defense shattered like glass, and the Cackling Deadhead Knight was suddenly exposed.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Tiger Bite!"

The Cackling Deadhead Knight had not seen, heard, or even smelled the opponent attacking it from behind. It did, however, certainly feel the Life Force infused hammer blow being driven into its back, its armor doing little to slow to blow down, as the Cackling Deadhead Knight arched its back and the armor covering its chest visibly cracked as the Life Force passed through it.

"…!"

The constant cackling was finally interrupted. Moreover, with the barrier gone and the jester, for a brief moment, in no position to defend itself as intended, the 'bullets' found their path unobstructed since the first time the fight had begun. The concentrated Life Force peppered its form, the Defence ignoring attacks rapidly chipping away at both its armor and health.

Fighting through the pain, the Cackling Deadhead Knight moved to bring its kite shield down with all the force it could muster. An action that would both protect itself against the 'bullets' raining down on it and send the unseen threat flying.

CRUNCH!-BANG!

Its unseen assailant struck the limb holding the kite shield from behind, near the elbow. Again, its armor did little to protect the jester, and what passed for the monster's bones could be heard snapping. However, it still managed to bring down its kite shield with a bang on the stone floor, the resulting magical shockwave blasting outwards and dispersing the 'bullets' in the air.

The almost cartoonish blue 'eyes' of the Cackling Deadhead Knight widened as an invisible arm closed itself around its neck. With its unseen assailant literally holding onto it, there was no way for the shockwave to carry its opponent away.

WHAM!-WHAM!-WHAM!

Life Force infused hammer blow after hammer blow struck the monster in the back, cracking its armor on both its front and back as the energy of life steadily wrecked its insides. With a thump, the Cackling Deadhead Knight let its claymore fall to the ground, but this was not done in service of admitting defeat. Even as it thrashed madly in an attempt to dislodge its unseen assailant, its now-free hand reached up in an attempt to tear away the limb around its throat.

WHISTLE!

Even in the struggle, the jester clearly heard the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses coming down on it once more. The cooldown on its shockwave ability had yet to expire, which is exactly why it always switched between said shockwave and its barrier after one had been used, so it instead once again deployed its barrier. The green magical defensive forcefield enclosed the jester and its unseen assailant, closing off their struggle from the rest of the battle.

SHINK!

However, the moment its hand closed around the limb around its throat, its unseen assailant kicked off against its back. Using the hold on the jester's throat as a fulcrum, the invisible opponent arched over its head and, in the same motion, stabbed a knife into the Cackling Deadhead Knight's exposed head. An invisible Life Force empowered kick struck the arm holding onto the unseen assailant's limb. With a violent yank, the invisible opponent freed itself from the jester's faltering hold.

"…!"

It's cackles long gone, the Cackling Deadhead Knight screamed in both pain and frustration. Its kite shield slammed into the ground with an ear-shattering noise.

BANG!

"Kuh!" Atla exclaimed, the Zweite Hiding spell she was under finally failing as the shockwave this time managed to catch her. Even as her back slammed into the barrier enclosing both her and the jester, shattering it, she was quick to shout, "Now, Shirou-sama!"

"Exploding Sword!"

BOOM!

The knife stuck in the Cackling Deadhead Knight's head—the Dirk Projected earlier by Shirou and handed over to Atla when Shirou had used his magic to make her invisible, promptly exploded. Whatever reaction the jester might have had was lost in the explosion.

"Atla!" Shirou jumped, catching her and arresting her flight.

"Keh…KEH!"

With a horrifying sound, the Cackling Deadhead Knight tore itself free from the smoke. Part of its cartoonish head was just gone, taking one of its 'eyes' with it. However, the catastrophic damage did little to stop it from drawing back the limb holding its claymore once more, readying to stretch it out and run them both through while they were in midair.

WHISTLE!-SHINK!

Only to freeze as eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses pierced it from every direction. The cooldown on both its shockwave and barrier had not yet run its course. In other words, even if it had seen the attack coming—which it hadn't, thanks to the tunnel vision it had on the opponents who had harmed it—it still wouldn't have been able to defend itself.

"Exploding Sword!"

BOOM!

All eight gladiuses running it through promptly detonated, ripping the Cackling Deadhead Knight apart and setting the flying remains on fire as said remains were scattered across the room in a grizzly display. The claymore struck the wall to the far left while the kite shield struck the ceiling before falling back down with an equal amount of force, clattering loudly as it bounced back up a little from the impact.

[+ 2448 EXP]

[Emiya Shirou Lv: 24]

[Atla Ga Fayon Lv: 24]

"Yes!" Atla exclaimed as Shirou came down, skidding to a halt on the smooth stone. "That was incredible! You were amazing, Shirou-sama!"

In spite of himself, Shirou chuckled at her enthusiasm and said, "Actually, Atla, I think you carried us more in this fight than I did."

"We both carried this fight. We make a great team, don't we, Shirou-sama?"

"I cannot deny that, no."

Any further banter was put on hold as the magic circle on the floor suddenly flared to life again. Shirou was quick to put Atla back down, and both readied themselves. Fortunately, there would be no further fighting.

A treasure chest rose up out of the center of the magic circle, seemingly fazing straight through the floor to do so. Previously unseen lines branched out from the magic circle, running towards the wall on the opposite side of the room they had first entered. The blue glowing lines ran up said wall, tracing the shape of a gate. The glow disappeared, but the gate remained, either having been created by the magic circle or merely having been made visible by it.

The way forward, as well as a reward. Again, cliché, but quite sweet regardless.

"Let's see what we got!"

Atla skipped up to the treasure chest, Shirou following behind her. In spite of her enthusiasm, Atla still took the time to 'look' intently at the treasure chest.

"Any trap?"

"Not as far as I can see."

At that, Shirou nodded and threw open the treasure chest. Though the lid was quite heavy, there was no such thing as a lock to prevent him from doing so. In spite of the size of the treasure chest, inside there were only a few tiny things to be found. Five small glowing orbs, about the size of a cough drop each. From left to right, the orbs were red, green, yellow, blue, and orange. Shirou appraised them.

[Rare Candy: Attack (+ 50 Attack)]

[Rare Candy: Defence (+ 50 Defence)]

[Rare Candy: Agility (+ 50 Agility)]

[Rare Candy: Magic (+ 50 Magic)]

[Rare Candy: Vitality (+ 50 Vitality)]

Shirou blinked, sharing a look with a Atla. Though it wasn't what they had been expecting, what they found in the treasure chest was quite the boon nonetheless.

"Which do you want, Shirou-sama?"

Shirou pondered for a moment, "I'll take magic and the vitality Rare Candies. Considering our fighting styles and abilities, I think it would be best if I took those and you the other three."

Atla nodded, "Makes sense," she said, as Shirou reached into the treasure chest and gathered up the Rare Candies. On a whim, he tried to analyze the Rare Candies with Structural Analysis, but the information he got back was most definitely incomplete and confusing. The only thing that he was certain of was that these Rare Candies contained highly concentrated and purified magical energy and that was about it.

He handed the Attack (red), Defence (green), and Agility (yellow) Rare Candies to Atla and kept the Magic (blue) and Vitality (orange) Rare Candies for himself. Unceremoniously, both demi-humans raised said Stat boosting items to their lips, swallowing the Rare Candies whole. In the corner of their eyes, the pop-ups of the permanent Stat increases confirmed that they worked as advertised.

With that done, they both looked towards the gate that had appeared on the far wall. After gathering up the remains of the Cackling Deadhead Knight, its shattered armor and its armaments in Shirou's Item Gem Box, the duo made for the gate. The gate in question was the exact same as the one they had entered through. The only difference was that there was no unknown writing carved in the wall above it. Together, they pushed said gate open.

Beyond was another room, the exact same size as the one they had fought the Cackling Deadhead Knight in. Lit torches lined the walls and every surface was just as smooth as the previous room, however, in the center of the room was a raised pedestal. The pedestal in question sported a wide bowl on top which was filled with crystal clear water.

[Rejuvenation Pool]

The name of the pedestal floated into view as soon as they saw it. It didn't take a lot of imagination to figure out what drinking from it would do.

On the other end of the room was yet another gate, again exactly the same. Unknown writing could once more be found carved into the wall above it. Besides that, the room was completely featureless.

"…I don't think we are done with this dungeon quite yet," Atla said. The fact that they were in a dungeon could no longer be denied.

"My thoughts exactly," Shirou sighed. He cast his gaze across the room, "Let's make camp. We'll have dinner, take a look at what we managed to get the last few days and discuss how we are going to proceed."

"Sounds like a plan, Shirou-sama," Atla chirped.

---

Quite the departure from the previous chapters and story arcs, isn't it? Entering a new world and 'resetting' everything was the perfect opportunity to add a few more game-like elements to the story, I figured. I hope you guys agree.

As usual, I'm looking forward to everyone's reviews and thoughts.

Stay tuned for the next chapter!