The Epic Story of the Heroic Spirit of Emiya Giant Warrior

Even joining a top-tier Familia doesn't guarantee an easy and smooth journey. Within Freya and Loki Familia, there are examples of talented individuals who joined with high spirits, only to end up as mere gatekeepers.

Indeed, that's the reality. Anya and the others believe Shirou has talent in combat, but that's actually false, a result of cheating. Shirou accumulated enough training and combat experience in his past life, which is why he appears to have a natural aptitude for fighting.

However, forging is different. He had no experience with blacksmithing in his previous life, but the moment he stood beside the bellows, he displayed extraordinary talent.

Hephaestus truly has a discerning eye. Shirou Emiya is a natural-born blacksmith. It would be a waste of his talent if he didn't join the Familia of the God of the Forge. In terms of forging alone, Emiya's talent is top-tier in the Lower World.

Shirou carefully studied the blueprints and then used magic.

“Trace, on.”

A "magic sword" appeared in his hand. Of course, it didn't contain the explosive magic power of a true magic sword; even the material was just a simulated ordinary iron.

Tsubaki stared intently at the magic sword in Shirou's hand. After a moment, she exclaimed in realization.

Blueprints and physical objects are completely different. Some things may seem reasonable on paper, but problems can be easily discovered in real-world creations.

“How about adding a conduction inscription? Paralleling two circuits increases the flow while maintaining the caliber of a single circuit, like this, Shirou—”

A new sword appeared in her hand.

“That should solve it. Wait, there's still a slight issue. If the magic power transmission power is too high, will there be interference…? How about making the blade wider and thicker, like this?” Tsubaki revised the blueprint again.

“Simply increase the power. As long as the power is worthy of the materials, it's not a waste, like this.” Shirou suggested, “Trace, on.”

“Trace, on.”

“Trace, on.”

“Trace, on.”

“Trace, on.”

“Feeling a little dizzy…”

Shirou's magic power was being depleted excessively.

However, too many times will always accumulate, especially since Shirou's ability scores aren't high right now.

If not for his strong spirit supporting him, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand it.

“Tsubaki-san, I'll rest for a while.”

Tsubaki lowered her head, scrutinizing Shirou's cheeks while looking at the “finished product” they had jointly decided on the table.

Modify this a little, modify that a little, change the shape, change the length, change the blade, change the hilt, and finally, even the attributes were changed.

Flame Magic Sword, activating it releases powerful lightning magic…

Yes, this is our first work.

“The next forging will be entrusted to you, Onee-san!”

In Tsubaki's eyes, a flame of passion ignited.

【Unlimited Blade Works】 is too significant for a blacksmith. Tsubaki had a premonition that with Shirou's help, she could achieve her long-held ambition—

“Oh~ Shirou-kun, are you here to update your ability scores?”

“This is Tsubaki-san's suggestion. She said that even if I don't update my ability scores, the experience points I gain will accumulate in my body. Moreover, I'm currently in a crucial period of skill development. Gaining more ability score bonuses at this time might not be a good thing.”

A typical example is that adventurers with a higher "Dexterity" score tend to learn "Archery" skills faster, but in actual combat, their performance will be far inferior to elves with the same "Dexterity" score.

“Yes, Tsubaki-san also thinks it's time for me to update my ability scores.”

This is also one of the benefits of joining a large Familia. The valuable experience of the gods and high-level adventurers extends to researching whether or not a newbie should frequently update their ability scores.

Fifteen days have passed since Shirou received the God's Blessing.

The seniors in Hephaestus Familia are all very kind, possibly because they know Shirou is a protégé favored by Captain Tsubaki. In any case, they never hold back, patiently imparting various experiences, and Shirou learns very quickly.

The more he understood, the more amazed he was by Anya's strength. The catgirl's overall ability should be among the strongest at Lv.4. He didn't know what happened to make her give up her adventurer status and choose to stay in this tavern.

Shirou noticed that Ryuu liked to look at the stars, and also, after Tsubaki-san came to the tavern for dinner one day, Ryuu always stared at him from behind. He didn't know what was going on.

It wasn't until Tsubaki judged that Shirou's foundation in forging techniques was relatively solid that she had him come to the deity to update his status.

“Shirou-kun's physique is getting better and better.” The goddess Hephaestus said, skillfully piercing her finger and smearing divine blood on the boy's back.

Endurance: i0 - G204

Agility: i0 - H104

Development Ability:

Summoning Magic

Using magic to materialize mirror images and replicas of existing objects in reality.

Skill

【Oath of Protection】

When acting to protect others, attack power and durability are increased, and the effects of magic and skills are enhanced.

When there is a close bond with the protected target, all abilities are enhanced beyond their limits, the growth of ability scores is accelerated, the limits of ability scores are broken through, and the effects of magic and skills are enhanced beyond their limits.

The total amount exceeded 1000, with an average increase of more than 200 for each item, and the highest Dexterity increased by more than 300. Magic power also increased by more than 200.

However, thinking about it carefully, it's also reasonable.

If that child lives in the 【Hostess of Fertility】 tavern, there are at least two high-level adventurers who have free time to spar with him. As long as he can withstand the attacks of high-level adventurers with skill or willpower, he can gain a lot of experience.

And all of this is considering that he spends a lot of time learning forging techniques.

Shirou has a skill that accelerates growth. The third stage of 【Oath of Protection】 has the effect of accelerating the growth of ability scores, but triggering this stage is still relatively demanding, and it's likely that it hasn't been triggered.

Hephaestus had also seen this kind of abnormal growth rate.

From then on, he began to train desperately, exploring the dungeon recklessly, not only leveling up quickly, but also increasing his ability scores by nearly 800 points in the two weeks after leveling up.

His name is engraved as a "Hero" in the history of Orario's struggle against the Dark Faction, but Hephaestus doesn't want that to happen again.

However, Shirou being able to enter Tsubaki's workshop as an assistant from the very beginning already put him ahead of everyone else.

"Shirou-kun learns so fast. To be able to repair damaged blades so well as a beginner is truly unimaginable," Tsubaki praised. "He's simply a natural blacksmith."

In reality, Shirou's combat abilities outside of swordsmanship and archery are only those of an ordinary person. It's only because he deeply understands what the limit of an ordinary person's martial skills looks like that people mistakenly believe he has talent.

He can understand the quality of materials with a light touch; he can construct the model of equipment in his mind with a single glance; he can confirm the state of the furnace with just his senses.

Tsubaki also believes this to be true. Even without the magic of [Unlimited Blade Works], Shirou Emiya's forging talent is no less than her own—so after Shirou completed the polishing of a long sword, she simply invited him to help check the blueprints of the magic sword, trying to see if he could provide some ideas.

However, the shape and structure are completely consistent with the finished product. This is the model Shirou constructed in his mind based on the blueprints of the magic sword.

"I see!"

"The blueprint has a deviation. The inscription at the connection here is too thin, so problems will occur when the magic power transmission power reaches its maximum. It should be thickened a bit."

Tsubaki immediately pounced on the blueprint, sketching and drawing.

"But if it's thickened, will it cause magic power leakage, leading to a reduction in the magic sword's storage period..." Tsubaki said to herself:

"I know," Shirou said. "Trace, on."

"Trace, on," Shirou also projected again.

"Wouldn't it be too wasteful of materials? With this volume, the material usage is 1.5 times the original. Hmm... then how about this, hollowing out the middle?"

"Okay, this saves materials, but the forging difficulty of a hollowed-out magic sword is too high."

"Oh, oh, good idea," Tsubaki nodded. "If we increase the material here, the power can be increased even further."

Changing the shape of the magic sword to accommodate more materials.

Increasing the length a bit more.

Upgrading the materials, adding more magic stones.

Tsubaki and Shirou were so immersed in their own world, until...

Because he had a full understanding of the structure of the projected creation from the blueprints, and it was a sword type, the magic power consumption for the projection was very small.

If his magic power was completely exhausted, he would completely faint. Shirou was on that edge.

Emiya leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.

After a brainstorming session, the result could not be said to be completely unrelated to the original blueprint, but at least it was completely unrecognizable.

"This shape should be more suitable for lightning attributes. We might as well change it to a lightning magic sword," Tsubaki said.

Even though the original design was for a flame magic sword.

"The blade is spiral-shaped, so let's call it Spiral Sword. Shirou-kun, I will inscribe both of our names on this magic sword."

What Shirou projected was only a sample for reference. The real magic sword still needs the dedicated creation of a blacksmith.

To forge a weapon that surpasses the realm of the gods!

Chapter 11: First Ability Value Update

"Goddess Hephaestus, I've arrived."

"Yes."

"You really are patient. Ordinary children can't wait to update their ability values every day when they first receive the God's Blessing."

Just like giving newcomers too sharp of a first-level weapon can hinder their growth, the update and improvement of ability values enhance the body's qualities and capacity, while the improvement of skills is another matter.

Because the latter is often familiar with bows and arrows and possesses skills beyond the panel before even obtaining the God's Blessing.

"Yes, that's the principle. However, updating ability values allows for higher endurance and magic power, enabling longer periods of training," Hephaestus said. "Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it's important to consider them comprehensively."

"Then, Shirou-kun, let me see your growth in the past half month."

He had a very fulfilling time during this half month. He studied forging in the Hephaestus Familia during the day. Captain Tsubaki is now wholeheartedly crafting the magic sword, and he patiently learns alongside the other artisans.

After finishing work at the Familia, he returns to the [The Bountiful Catch] tavern, buying a fish along the way, and then undergoes combat training with Anya in the evening (occasionally getting beaten up by a eager Ryuu).

After the sparring session, he makes grilled fish for Anya in the courtyard. Ryuu and Syr always join in, but 80% of the grilled fish ends up in Anya's stomach.

Before going to bed, he practices projection until his magic power is exhausted, and then sleeps soundly through the night.

He spends each day like this, fulfilling and meaningful.

Taking off his shirt, revealing a strong body with muscle lines that have clearly changed. Not only his physique, but Shirou feels that his height has also visibly changed in the past half month.

Shirou Emiya

Lv.1

Strength: i0 - H120

Dexterity: i0 - F332

Magic Power: i0 - G248

Magic

[Unlimited Blade Works]

Increases magic effect based on understanding of projected items

Greatly reduces the amount of magic power required to project swords

When having a bond with a guardian object, attack power, durability, and agility are highly increased, and magic and skill effects are highly increased

[??????]

"Wow," Hephaestus couldn't help but exclaim.

One skill is still in an unreadable state, which was expected, but the improvement in basic ability values is a bit beyond common sense.

Even if the ability values increase faster when starting from i0, this magnitude is still a bit astonishing.

The increase in magic power comes from using a large amount of magic. It seems that the child uses up all his magic power for training every day. The projection magic of [Unlimited Blade Works] is indeed very suitable for training.

As for dexterity, it should be because he participated in the forging activities of Tsubaki, a Lv.5 adventurer and the strongest in the city, and made a substantial contribution to the magic sword forging that requires Tsubaki's full effort, thus gaining excessive experience.

"To be honest, if it were an ordinary child, I would feel more worried than gratified about this level of growth."

There was once a child whose important family members were caught in an attack by the Dark Faction and were all killed.

And that child's ending was that, using magic swords and firestone traps, as a newly promoted Lv.2, he perished together with a high-ranking Dark Faction executive who was also a Lv.3.

Unconventional improvement may mean unconventional talent, or it may mean that he is burning himself out.