Hello, everyone!
This is another release of Fate Overlord. I hope you enjoy it. Please tell me if it is good, bad or meh.
Chapter Four "Path to Godhood"
Shirou Emiya groaned as his eyes fluttered open, and he sat up while clutching his temples in pain. Luckily the headache he's suffering right now wasn't as bad as before when it felt like his brain was going to explode. In fact, Shirou didn't think that that was much of an exaggeration. Before falling unconscious, he had actually felt parts of his brain literally in risk of exploding as it became so suddenly overworked.
He still felt phantom pains in the parts of his brain still suffering from the information overload. Luckily, his changed physiology was quickly adapting to the increased neural activity of his brain. Looking back on it, had such a thing happened to his original body, the one before not-YGGDRASIL, his head might have actually exploded.
"If I had been the same person before arriving in these unknown lands, I might have died…" Shirou shivered at the grim image of such a spectacular death.
The picture of such a gruesome fate quickly left his mind as he began the task of organizing the memories that were not his own that were crammed into his head. As he was starting to do so, however, he was stunned to find a drastic transformation of his mind. Prior to arriving at Carne Village, the knowledge contained in his mind could have been best described as a small study room.
Now? His mind had become something like a small library. Quite literally in fact.
Shirou also noticed something that he hadn't really paid attention to before because of the information overload and headache. It was not just the transformation of his mind alone that stunned him, but the appearance of multiple versions of himself, the feeling something resembling how Sion described Memory Partition.. He only now realized it, but he was not overwhelmed by the mental strain of effectively being fed information from multiple versions of himself in his mind. In fact, it felt completely natural to him.
Shirou chuckled at the thought of imagining Sion's face, as he could now claim to be an accomplished Alchemist as well.
"Let's test myself slowly," Shirou muttered as he took control of a mental clone of himself.
The sensation felt incredibly strange. It was like he was attempting to use a skill that had been left unused for years, and he was trying to refresh his memory of the skill at the same time as trying to perform it. Shirou needed several seconds to get used to the experience of controlling two mental versions of himself at the same time, and his mastery became stronger the longer he practiced. It was several minutes before he believed that using another mental avatar didn't seem a problem.
It felt like an eternity later that Shirou seemed to be able to gain control over his fifty-some mental avatars. When he did, Shirou finally set on the task of organizing all the memories and knowledge that had appeared in his mind like organizing books into the shelves of the small library.
He couldn't help but grin at the image of Sion having an aneurysm as he surpassed Atlas' record for partitioned memory by about seven times over.
As Shirou began reading the book, he found out that each book matched the memories and knowledge of a Carne Villager who, he had later found, had decided to become Shirou's believer. As Shirou manipulated his mental avatars to go through the books, he was surprised that the memories and knowledge of each believer was a mess and was all around the place, and not in the chronological order he had been expecting.
"Actually, my standards were just too high," Shirou muttered as he realized that the average human hasn't received the mental training that all mages did to improve their mental abilities. Something which was crucial for their ability in learning magecraft, a study that placed high demand on a practitioner's capability for memorization and recalling of knowledge.
As his mental avatars roamed around, picking books here and there, Shirou found that, placed around the small library, were computers and all the electronic accessories that a modern library would possess. Shirou's mental avatars started to make their way to a computer each and scanned the contents of the books in their hands. The contents of the books would be uploaded onto the computer as electronic data before they would be reorganized in a manner that made it easier for Shirou to recall from his mind better in the future. Memories and knowledge were the first two categories, then they would be further reorganized into categories of smaller divisions.
It was not long before the process of reorganizing was finished, the contents of each book printed and placed on the shelves of the library. Shirou was confident that he could recall each book as easily as he could call up a blade from his Reality Marble.
"Sir Emiya," a voice called out, snapping Shirou out from the library that was now his mind.
"What can I do for you, child?" Shirou asked the adorable-looking child before him.
"Sir, I brought you food. Everyone was worried since no one had seen you for a day." The girl replied as she brought a basket.
A day? That felt much longer than a day. Shirou remarked silently in surprise as he felt that he had spent much longer in his mind, reorganizing the memories and knowledge of his new believers.
Suddenly, he came to a realization of something that he had missed. If he used the analogue of the human brain being similar to a computer then the fact that he could use Memory Partition, which had been impossible for him before, meant his brain got an upgrade in computer terms, processing power. His mind was working much faster meant one thing. He had subconsciously been using Thought Acceleration.
Does this mean I can join Atlas as an Alchemist since I can now use Memory Partition and Thought Acceleration? Shirou subconsciously smiled at the image of a shocked Sion and the others at Atlas being stunned at the sight of his ability to qualify as one of them.
He quickly snapped out of his musing as he saw the girl patiently waiting, food in hand before him. Shirou thanked the girl and took the basket.
As soon as he opened the lid, he was greeted with delicious smells wafting out of the basket. He looked inside it to realize that the meal prepared inside was not only fresh, but was made out of ingredients that commoners of an agricultural village would have likely only used for special occasions. It seemed that Carne Village had used the freshest and finest ingredients that they could likely find.
"Thank you," Shirou said as he rubbed the girl's head affectionately."Please thank the village for the food."
"Oh!" The girl cooed as she felt her body fill up with energy and felt that all sorts of aches that came with helping her family in the farm disappear."What did you do, Sir Emiya?"
"Just a small blessing," Shirou smiled as he gently patted the girl's head."Go along now, I would like to enjoy this delicious meal alone. Please tell everyone in the village that I would like to not be disturbed unless it is something very important."
"Okay, Sir Emiya!" The girl nodded excitedly as she started running away whilst waving back at Shirou.
Shirou continued to wave back until the girl disappeared from his vision. He sat down and started to enjoy his meal as he thought about what to do next after eating.
- O -
Linda was awestruck by the sight that greeted her as her eyes fluttered open. She could scarcely believe that she was still alive at all! Comprehending the fact that every single one of her comrades was also alive is also beyond her. She had sworn that she had seen them die before her eyes, the fact that she and her comrades were alive could only be described as a miracle. As she saw her equally confused comrades, she also saw her superior, Nigun Grid Luin standing calmly among the confused warriors.
"Shit! How are we alive?"
"Maybe because we were redeemable and were given a second chance?"
"Psst, redeemable? We don't need to be redeemed! Everything we have done was in the name of the Six Great Gods! What we have done has been sanctioned and blessed. This was a boon granted to us by the Gods!"
"Yeah! That is true, we are part of the Sunlight Scripture! All the demi-human scums and heretics we have killed were to ensure the survival of humanity! The Six Great Gods must have revived us for our hard work!"
Her fellow warriors all continued to discuss excitedly among themselves anything that came to mind to justify their continued existence. The various theories thrown around eventually consolidated as to that what they had done must have pleased the Six Great Gods to allow them a second chance at life. Linda continued to listen for a while before she noticed something unusual.
"Were you the ones to revive us?" Linda asked as she turned to her superior, Nigun.
"No." Nigun shook his head."Neither I nor my mages have the ability to resurrect so many people in such a short time. It would take us months in between recovering and casting resurrection magic to bring back so many."
"I got the feeling you're going to say that the gods were not the ones responsible for our resurrection." Linda said in a fascinated tone.
Nigun nodded his head."That is correct." He gestured at their surroundings."Have you noticed anything unusual? If you haven't, I will spell it out to you. Our gods did not resurrect us. If they did, why would we be placed inside a building imbued with enchantment used in prisons or have ourselves stripped of our gear."
A confused frown formed on her face. She had indeed been confused about where her gear had gone, but there were many other possible reasons that could explain why that was so. Linda looked around to find several magic sigils around the room she recognized used in prisons.
"I will not bore you with information that you will not understand and simplify it for you," Nigun continued."Those sigils you see placed around the room? They create a magic field, and anyone that is not registered in the restraining magic fields' system will have their physical and magical abilities restrained. Furthermore, the one restraining magic field placed in this room is the most powerful of its kind that I have ever seen. It is so powerful in fact, that anyone underneath the 4th Tier will turn back into a normal human."
Linda's eyes widened in surprise, to be able to even reach the 4th Tier was an incredibly difficult goal that most never were able to accomplish in their whole lives. For Adventurers, that would be equivalent to being the Adamantite-class. In most nations, people of such a level are their trump cards that were rarely deployed. And, even in the populous and powerful Slane Theocracy, a 4th Tier individual would be ranked amongst the elite. For there to be a magic field capable of restraining 4th Tier individuals seemed overkill.
"You are greatly underestimating my Bounded Field." Shirou drawled as he entered the room."Anyone below Level 70 will not be able to resist the debuffs placed in the room."
A chill ran down Nigun's spine.
No one inside the room really understood the significance of the second sentence uttered by Shirou, except for Nigun. It was simple really, the reason why Nigun was so scared and horrified by the figure in front of him was because he had heard similar words before.
Recorded in the holy books dedicated to recording every word uttered by the Six Great Gods were the exact same words the thing in front of him had used.
If Nigun recalled correctly, in the Gods' ranking system for someone to be considered a Demigod they have to be at the very least Level 60. And to be considered a god, they had to be Level 70 at the minimum.
Does that mean, the man I fought is a god?! Nigun almost screamed in disbelief, as his instincts told him that the chances that Shirou was lying was so incredibly low that it would be akin to witnessing a miracle.
"Bow down before this man!" He shouted to the revived warriors and mages under his command, his voice radiating with the power that befitted his status as the Captain of the Sunlight Scripture.
Linda, the warriors and mages were confused to say the least. But their respect for Nigun as the captain of the Sunlight Scripture was so ingrained that they bowed to Shirou without any second thoughts. Nigun was someone that they respected and feared in equal measure, for someone like him to give such orders must mean that there was a reason, but they just didn't know why.
"Please forgive us for offending you, o divine one!" Nigun shouted in a respectful tone, not even letting out a hint of his internal fury at the heresy he was committing. Please forgive me, Six Great Gods, that I am acting this way to a heretical god, he prayed in his mind."May I ask why you revived us?"
"Since you were bold enough to attack the village under my divine protection, I have decided that you must be punished. The punishment is serving the village you attacked forever from now on." Shirou replied in a nonchalant tone as if Nigun and his subordinates were beneath him. And if he's really a god, heretical as he is, then that's quite true.
For the first time, Linda, along with the warriors and mages, finally caught on to what was happening. If they had been unwilling to bow to Shirou before, that disappeared completely. Only if someone was to peer into their mind would they be able to learn how they hated submitting to Shirou. But, credit where it's due, such a thing was impossible to learn from their body language.
"My subordinates and I would have never attacked the village if we had known it was under your divine protection! Please forgive us, divine one!" Nigun begged shamelessly.
"Whatever you say or do will not change my mind," Shirou said in a nonchalant tone. But the perceptive Nigun could pick up a hint of anger in his tone."Your fates as servants of Carne Village will never change until I decide so. And do not think that death will save you from your fates, I can resurrect you again and again until the lesson sticks. There's no need to worry though, you have a long time ahead to learn it, restrictions of resurrecting those that died from old age doesn't apply to me. I can have you easily extend your lives by centuries."
Nigun shivered in fear, he didn't doubt Shirou's claim one bit. It was not just his instincts that told him, his position had afforded him clearance to know secrets of the gods that others below him wouldn't know.
If Shirou was truly a god as Nigun suspected, then extending someone's lifespan didn't seem far-fetched with the god-like powers at his disposal.
He peered at his subordinates and found that, while they didn't possess his secret knowledge of the gods, they were as similarly intimidated as he was.
A soft thump drew Nigun from his thoughts. Instinctively, the kneeling Nigun and his subordinates raised their heads, and what they saw was a gigantic scroll. They raised their heads then turned to Shirou and looked at him fearfully.
"Write your names on the scroll." Shirou commanded, and the very air felt like it was pressing down on them.
If any shred of resistance had been left despite everything so far, it was utterly crushed when Shirou, for the first time, displayed his might. Everyone was smashed into the ground as if gravity had increased several folds.
As everyone struggled futilely from being crushed into the ground, they also felt an intense amount of power radiating from Shirou. It was so oppressive that nothing they had ever encountered felt as powerful as Shirou. For the first time, everyone now no longer acted subservient, they really were facing a god.
The first to act was Nigun. He was far more perceptive and knowledgeable than any other in the room. It was one of the reasons why he was the most senior-ranked amongst all the current Sunlight Scripture members despite not being the oldest nor the longest-serving member. He crawled on his hands and feet and signed his name on the large scroll.
After signing his name, Nigun immediately felt different, something within him had broken apart. It took a while for him to realize what had changed.
Impossible?! Is he more powerful than the Six Great Gods?! Nigun cried out in disbelief mentally as he stared at the God in front of him in shock. How else can he break the divine oaths that bind me to the Slane Theocracy otherwise?
Nigun's eyes widened as he felt even more powerful restrictions than the ones that had just been destroyed when he swore loyalty to the Six Great Gods and the Slane Theocracy started forming. These new bonds, while not as restrictive as the ones before, were powerful enough that even attempting to subvert it was nigh impossible from what Nigun could feel.
"From henceforth, you are now my servants. Service shall be rewarded, while poor performance shall be punished. Here is a taste of your reward should you serve me well and faithfully." Shirou announced as he waved his hand.
Energy then began filling Nigun's body, it felt like it filled him to the brim. He could feel every part of his body being saturated in the energy and being strengthened. And contrary to the other methods that forcefully increase someone's strength, not in a bad way. It felt pleasant, as if someone were massaging his whole body. Nigun felt the urge to test out the newfound power coursing through his body.
The sudden increase in strength was intoxicating. He felt like his strength was not just doubling, but increasing several-fold instead. Nigun would have succumbed right there and then, and tested out his new strength if it wasn't for the presence of the unfathomable human in front of him, which was likely a god in flesh if Nigun's guess was right.
The last thing Nigun wanted to do was bring the ire of a god down on himself and die again with no chance of a revival.
Nigun looked around curiously to see how the others were reacting, it seemed like they had similarly benefited as him. The thing that pleased him the most was not his subordinates becoming stronger, but the common sense they showed. They might not believe that they were in the presence of a god, but the power Shirou had shown was enough to deter even the most foolish.
As Nigun observed his subordinates' behavior, it seemed like the rest of his subordinates had come to the same conclusion.
"I swear to faithfully serve to the best of my ability and do everything in my power to help achieve what you wish, oh Holy One!" Nigun shouted decisively as he got down onto his knees and bowed to Shirou, the air now no longer pressing down on him.
Soon the rest of the Sunlight Scripture followed Nigun's example.
Shirou smiled at the sight of his former enemies getting onto their knees and swearing their loyalty, but internally he became alarmed by a rapid feeling of change of his mind. He closed his eyes and entered his mental world once more as new memories and knowledge from the Sunlight Scripture entered the library that was his mental world.
He entered it to find that his mental world had undergone another transformation. If it had been a small library before, it was now a sizeably large one.
It was not just the mental world that had changed, but the number of mental avatars had also increased significantly. He had made the presumption before that the number of believers might affect the size of his mental world and number of his mental avatars, but it seemed that presumption had not been completely accurate.
It's not just the number of followers that affects my mental world. Each believer is not equal in what they contribute. Shirou noted as he looked at the books that had formed as the Sunlight Scripture pledged their loyalty to him.
The size of each book was much larger than the ones created from the memories and knowledge of the ones the Carne Villagers had produced. It showed just how much more knowledge and experience each Sunlight Scripture member possessed just from the books created from their memories and knowledge that now called Shirou's mental world as home. The amount of increased books seems to correlate with what his believers know, as even the oldest of the villagers didn't add significantly more books than the younger ones.
His bolstered mental avatars quickly got to work to go through the new books and reorganize the contents inside to create books more suited to Shirou's way of searching memories and knowledge. Each of the books were then placed on shelves for ease of access and importance, the whole procedure was now much faster than Shirou's first attempt even when the volume of books had increased several-folds.
By the time he was finished and opened his eyes, no more than a couple of minutes had passed compared to his first attempt, which had taken hours.
"You may go!" Shirou ordered the bowing new believers."Until I give you new orders, you are to help the villagers to rebuild."
Nigun was the first to stand up as he bowed gratefully to Shirou as he quickly left the room. Soon the rest of the Sunlight Scripture followed suit until Shirou was left alone in the room.
A semi translucent window suddenly appeared in front of Shirou as he began pondering on his new believers.
Shirou stared at the semi-translucent window, and the information that Shirou saw greatly pleased him. He doubted that he was still in YGGDRASIL or in any form of virtual reality at that, but Shirou might as well be, given the detailed information that kept appearing in his vision. It was like he was reading the status of NPCs under his control. Shirou saw many things, and he could likely find out more about the former enemies he had resurrected than they might even have known about themselves.
The words and numbers he saw to describe his former enemies, now turned believers, would have been well regarded when YGGDRASIL Players first started the game. But, by the end-game where the Players had reached the max cap of Level 100, it would have been nothing more than trash. His new believers, despite the stockpile of EXP that he had given them, might be nothing more than trash to the eyes of the high-level and end-game Players of Levels 80+ when placed in YGGDRASIL, but it was a completely different story in this new world he had come to call the New World.
If his memories and knowledge of his new believers were anything to go by, and his own analysis was somewhat correct, then it seemed that Level 20 was what was generally seen as the limit of what can be achieved by most humans if they dedicated their entire lives solely to leveling. Level 30 being the human limit, which only a few humans of every generation could surpass, their names going down the annals of history as powerful figures of their era.
Shirou looked at his floating screen to find that former Sunlight Scripture ranged between Level 20 and Level 28. He could make a pyramid to describe the Levels of his new followers, with each Level having fewer numbers than the preceding Level. Nigun rested at the top at Level 33, which was impressive as he had stepped into what the humans of the New World considered the Realm of Heroes (Level 30+).
He sighed in relief that the former Sunlight Scriptures members were powerful enough that they would be considered the trump card of a sizable force for most human nations of the New World. Most threats that the New World had to offer could be defeated without any assistance from him by them. So, unless a huge number of lesser enemies below Level 20 or equal/greater force of higher Leveled enemies appeared, Carne Village would be safe.
With Carne Village safety assured, Shirou now didn't have to worry about the people he had just saved and turned his attention to make plans for the future.
"From what I have learned so far, I shouldn't be in any real danger in exploring the New World, but I don't want to take the unnecessary risks…" Shirou noted as he opened his Magic/Skill Menu. "I seemed to have unlocked more True YGGDRASIL Magic and Skills after unlocking the Quest,'The Path to Godhood.' Let's see..."
As he was browsing the list of abilities he could now use, a certain Magic/Skill caught Shirou's attention. His lips curled upwards."Interesting. I could use this… to great effect." Shirou said to himself as he created a temporary building to conduct his experiment.
- O -
"Hey, ya! Long time no see, Shirou." A familiar figure appeared in a flash and greeted Shirou.
"Hello, Leonardo," Shirou replied."It has been a long time since we last met."
"It's been 6 years, 321 days, 2 hours, 42 minutes and 25 seconds since we last met Shirou." Da Vinci smiled."I see that your magical skills have improved remarkably since I last saw you. Otherwise, it would have been quite impossible for you to be able to summon me, and without the Grail or Chaldea's support at that."
Shirou cringed when he remembered his past self's ability in magecraft before working as a Chaldean Master.
His ability in magecraft had been very limited indeed, to three magic spells to be exact. Reinforcement, Alteration and Projection, he was the very picture of a third-rate mage. Though perhaps it was not only the fault of his lacking education in the subject, he was what one would call a crippling Over-Specialist.
After all, it was only thanks to the expertise of Chaldea's staff and the many Servants that they had been able to modify his body and soul to be able to do what had been impossible for him before. To be able to use magecraft that had once been beyond his grasp.
"I wish I had gotten that much better in my magecraft to be able to summon you… Sadly, it wasn't so." Shirou sighed."It was only thanks to YGGDRASIL's peculiar game mechanics that it was even possible for me to summon you."
"YGGDRASIL's game mechanics?" Da Vinci repeated in confusion. Suddenly her eyes shone with a peculiar light."I see… This is a very interesting situation you find yourself in, Shirou."
"What just happened? You make it seem as if you know what is going on?" Shirou asked curiously, surprised by the eccentric genius' knowing look.
"The current me that you have summoned might not be a Servant, but my current existence is something similar, therefore I am spiritually connected to you. This connection allowed me to peer into your memories." Da Vinci explained simply.
Shirou frowned at Da Vinci's glibness, what she had done should be impossible. It might have been possible to him pre-Chaldea, when he knew relatively nothing about magecraft, and even less about the soul. And more importantly, when his defenses in that matter were pretty much non-existent. But now, after being taught by some of the greatest mages to have ever lived, he was now a passable expert on matters relating to the human soul and mind, and creating defenses around it.
So, any of Da Vinci's attempts to peer into his memories should have been detected before she could do it. And even if she was successful, then he should have noticed the act at the very least. The fact that he hadn't spotted Da Vinci's attempts or even her success greatly troubled him, it meant that his ability to detect intrusions into his mind was not as strong as he had believed.
"Why are you so worried? I would never betray you, Shirou." Da Vinci continued after noticing Shirou's discomfort.
"Have you forgotten about Lev Lainur Flauros? He had been amongst Chaldea's most trusted, and yet he still betrayed Chaldea. And it was not like he wanted to betray Chaldea and humanity, yet the result of not having better safeguards nearly ended with the Human Order being destroyed." Shirou responded, memory still fresh of the Demon Pillar's betrayal.
"Lev was a worst-case scenario of what could happen, but I see your point." Da Vinci grudgingly conceded."But, if you're really that worried, this is the basics of how to prevent even those spiritually connected to you from intruding into your mind. First…"
Shirou nodded his head as he took in mental notes of everything Da Vinci told him."Is that all? Anything more I should know?" He asked.
"Nothing more that I could think up, I only know the basics, and without a Workshop the more involved procedures are unavailable. You will have to ask someone like Merlin if you want to become a master on the matter." Da Vinci shook her head."Anyways, you should be wondering what is going on in Chaldea right now, right?" Shirou nodded.
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I am as much in the dark as you. The last thing I remember is overseeing the tragic ending of YGGDRASIL, one of Chaldea's greatest inventions, before being summoned by you." Da Vinci shook her head sadly.
Shirou sighed as he shared the same sentiments as Da Vinci did. If he hadn't been emotionally invested in YGGDRASIL, he wouldn't have continued playing it for more than a decade until its ending. Just thinking about the final countdown of YGGDRASIL's servers made him recall the fun he had during his time playing YGGDRASIL. It seemed not so long ago that he had acted as one of the first play testers to the video game that was YGGDRASIL's predecessor, a research project (code-named Project YGGDRASIL) created and ran by Chaldea to create a VR simulator to train Chaldea's staff and Masters.
Suddenly he felt a revelation come to him.
"Can this New World be connected to YGGDRASIL somehow?" Shirou asked dubiously.
"This world could be…" Da Vinci posited hesitantly."This New World might indeed be a Singularity as you had hypothesized, and one connected to YGGDRASIL at that. How? I have no idea. At least with what paltry information about this New World we have right now." Da Vinci admitted as she shook her head sadly.
"More information…" Shirou muttered as he smiled wryly. He couldn't help thinking back to the time that he was known as the Last Master. To the time when humanity faced extinction, with the Human Order facing erasure. His long, perilous journey peppered with many great moments of happiness/sadness and sacrifices. At the time he had managed to prevent the Singularities from driving humanity into extinction.
It seems like my plans to gather intelligence on the New World were going to have to accelerate ahead of schedule.
"Oh! That is so interesting!" Da Vinci suddenly shouted in excitement.
Shirou looked at the very exuberant genius."Why are you so excited?"
"Oh. It's just that, something that I had always wanted to study but never got the chance to encounter just popped up," Said Da Vinci."Divinity! Oh, such an interesting and mysterious topic! I never thought I would get the chance to study a human in the process of becoming a deity of all things. How exciting!" Da Vinci then started to flail about, as she began to invade Shirou's personal space.
"The divinity that you're talking about." Shirou addressed Da Vinci."It has to do with the memories and knowledge of my believers, right?"
In response, Da Vinci nodded excitedly."That is indeed correct." She smiled as she stared at Shirou as if he was a rare specimen."There is so much we don't know about divinity, including the process of a human transforming into either a Heroic or Divine Spirits. We only have theories about the transformation process, if that. It will be fascinating to observe the process first-hand and learn more about divinity."
"Don't think about dissecting me or anything." Shirou joked with a smile."Since you know more about divinity than me, is there anything that I should know about?"
"You have two Spirit Origins in your soul." Da Vinci replied calmly, as she began to poke Shirou, as if she hadn't just said something very surprising.
"Wait, a second!" Shirou shouted, interrupting Da Vinci before she could continue."I have two Spirit Origins in my soul? How is that possible?! A human is only supposed to have a single Spirit Origin! Ignoring that fact, I would have noticed if there was another Spirit Origin in my body!" Shirou said incredulously.
"Well," Da Vinci smiled as she thought deeply."I called it a Spirit Origin, as it is the closest thing to describe it, but it's not exactly that. Though, the fact that you didn't detect another Spirit Origin in your soul kinda proves that it is similar to a Spirit Origin but not one. Maybe the best way to describe it is as a Pseudo Spirit Origin? Still, whatever it is, it bears a great resemblance to the Spirit Origins of the Divine Spirits that Chaldea has encountered…" That is the point she stopped talking, and then Da Vinci started mumbling at ever-increasing speed as she started theorizing about the Pseudo Spirit Origin in Shirou.
Shirou panic began to subside, and a smile began to grow as he watched the familiar sight of Da Vinci launching into a monologue, analyzing the growing divinity inside him that she had dubbed a Pseudo Spirit Origin. It was fascinating to listen to one of humanity's greatest scientists, inventors and artists working.
Much of Da Vinci's monologues regarding science and technology were gibberish to most, but he had known Da Vinci long enough to pick up some knowledge of science and technology from it. So, as he listened with great interest, despite not understanding much of Da Vinci's analysis, there were still things that he could learn about his so-called'divinity'.
"Shirou… Shirou, are you there?"
His mind snapped back into reality when Shirou felt a finger constantly poking into his cheeks gently. He turned to see a worried-looking Da Vinci peering into his eyes. In response, he made a friendly smile.
"I'm fine. I just got lost in my own thoughts after hearing your analysis on what you have dubbed the'Pseudo Spirit Origin'." Shirou replied."So, what do you think about the New World?"
"If you know where to look, then you can find a multitude of evidence that this New World is influenced by YGGDRASIL in many ways. All you need to do is look at their history, myths and legends. I suspect many, and possibly all, of the noted figures in this New World's history, myths and legends were either Players or NPCs created by them." Da Vinci responded as she had perused the great Library inside Shirou's soul.
Shirou blinked in surprise. He had some suspicion that this New World was somehow connected to YGGDRASIL after fighting the Sunlight Scripture, now his followers. Especially when they had used Tier Magics only seen in YGGDRASIL. To also hear Da Vinci conjecture that famous figures in history, myth and legends of the New World being suspected Players or NPCs were not what he had been expecting. The fact that Da Vinci had even thought about something that he hadn't, strengthened his resolve to summon more members of Chaldea.
He needed more people like Da Vinci who would notice things or do things that he couldn't.
The urge to see for himself which historical figures had gotten Da Vinci to suspect them as possible Players or NPCs, overwhelmed Shirou, and he entered his mental world to look through his believer's memories and knowledge. With the aid of several dozen mental avatars, he had found what he was looking for without too much difficulty.
"The Six Great Gods of the Slane Theocracy, the Eight Greed Kings, and the Thirteen Heroes are just some of the well-known figures that you suspect as potential Players or NPCs, right?" Shirou asked.
"That is correct," Da Vinci nodded."From what I have been able to learn, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that suggests that the Six Great Gods of the Slane Theocracy and the Eight Greed Kings are Players, and a whole guild at that. My instincts tell me that I cannot be wrong." Da Vinci said solemnly.
Shirou considered Da Vinci's words very seriously. There was a reason why Da Vinci was in charge of Chaldea's science and technology department. She might not be the most adroit of analysts like Sherlock Holmes, an unrivaled master of Magic like Merlin or as well-versed in science as Tesla, but Da Vinci was the master of many fields and can collate much more facts. An achievement that had earned her the rare title of Polymath.
"I agree," Said Shirou as he recalled the details about the Six Great Gods and the Eight Greed Kings stored within his divinity."They were the ones that had introduced YGGDRASIL's Tier Magic to the New World's denizens. Something which hadn't existed in the New World before their appearance. No one but an YGGDRASIL Player or a Player created-NPC would be able to do such a thing." Shirou said pensively.
"Though, just for the sake of seeing if we could be wrong, I'll play devil's advocate," Da Vinci said with a smile.
Shirou nodded in agreement. Debating was a good way to find flaws in people's assumptions and allowed them to come up with opinions and findings that they wouldn't have otherwise thought about.
With an excited smile and eyes glowing with passion at the idea of playing devil's advocate, Da Vinci started with her argument."Tier Magic isn't an example of YGGDRASIL's influence at all. The appearance of Tier Magic is simply an example of the convergent evolution of magic. YGGDRASIL's and the New World's Tier Magic came from different origins but share a strong resemblance simply because like evolution, Tier Magic is simply the product of centuries of research resulting in the most advantageous usage of magic."
"How then do you explain the same name and effect of the New World's Tier Magic being the same as YGGDRASIL's Tier Magic? I find something like that happening naturally very unlikely, despite the possibility of a convergent evolution." Shirou refuted.
"Despite how unlikely it seems, I believe the fact that YGGDRASIL's and the New World's Tier Magic are nearly identical is just a series of coincidences. There are differences you didn't notice within your believers' memories and knowledge. Some are very subtle and yet some are as obvious as day." Da Vinci replied strongly and started to list several examples.
Shirou and Da Vinci soon found themselves lost in their debate. The painter of the Mona Lisa, despite her true opinions being the same as Shirou, played her role as the devil's advocate marvelously, pointing out the various possibilities and discordant information that they had received. What they discovered in their debate surprised them and would have remained unknown if the debate hadn't taken place. Hours passed until Da Vinci couldn't find any more reasons to denounce the New World not being connected to YGGDRASIL.
"That was an enlightening debate," Shirou commented in an amused tone.
"Agreed," Da Vinci nodded."YGGDRASIL's connection to the New World is undeniable." She sighed."The influences of the Chaldean Simulator, the predecessor of YGGDRASIL, on the New World, are pretty much non-existent. Of course, it is possible that the influence of the Simulator might be too subtle that it could be mistaken for many other possible reasons, completely unrelated to the Simulator or YGGDRASIL. But if we were to take such things into account, we would be here all day."
Just as Shirou and Da Vinci were about to launch into another debate, this time about the Chaldean Simulator's influence on the New World, there was a loud knocking on the door of Shirou's temporary abode."Sir Emiya, may Linda and I come in?"
"Come in, Nigun, Linda, I am free," Shirou replied loudly.
"So, these are your two Clerics," Said Da Vinci as she inspected the warrior and mage entering the room."They would have been amongst Chaldea's strongest warriors and Masters before Project YGGDRASIL was implemented. Post-Chaldean Simulator, they would be about average."
"Don't look down upon them, they represent the peak of what most humans are capable of achieving." Shirou replied to Da Vinci in disapproval.
"Who would this be, Sir Emiya?" Linda asked curiously as she stared at Da Vinci.
"This is Leonardo Da Vinci," Said Shirou as he gestured to Da Vinci."My most trusted and experienced advisor in many matters. She is one of the most intelligent and talented humans that I know of."
"Nice to meet you, Linda and Nigun." Said Da Vinci with a smile."I'm looking forward to working with you in the future."
"Interesting…" Nigun murmured as he inspected Da Vinci."She is some kind of spirit, but I feel Sir Emiya's mana is sustaining her existence."
"I am starting to like Nigun already." Da Vinci smiled."Can I take him under my tutelage? He has a sharp mind, I can see a great potential that I can nurture."
"Go ahead." Shirou nodded."I assume that you will not have any problems with this, Nigun?"
"I would be honored, my Lord," said Nigun happily. Even if his new liege lord hadn't ordered it, he would have taken Da Vinci's offer eagerly. He had the feeling that Da Vinci greatly far surpassed him in just about every area as a mage, and he would only benefit from being taken under Da Vinci's tutelage.
"Excuse me." said Da Vinci as she walked over to Shirou."This might hurt a bit."
Shirou wondered what Da Vinci was doing, though he doubted that Da Vinci was acting on a whim. Too many times had Da Vinci surprised him in the past with her intelligence and brilliance that any time she was up to something, Shirou expected something marvelous and unexpected was going to happen.
A pained whelp came out in response when Da Vinci dug her nails into his right arms to extract not just a piece of his flesh, but also his soul. Definitely unexpected.
"What are you planning, Vinci? You're not just extracting a piece of my flesh and my soul for fun, are you?" Shirou demanded as he glared at Da Vinci.
"I am replicating a phenomenon that many of the Divine Spirits that have worked with Chaldea have told me about. If everything works out as I expected, you are in for a huge surprise." Da Vinci replied.
"Incredible…" Nigun muttered in amazement as he took in the scene he had just witnessed.
The actions of Da Vinci had been too quick and complicated for Nigun to completely grasp, he would go as far as to say that he hadn't understood a hundredth of what had happened. Nigun had just witnessed a level of magic that far outstripped anything he understood. And, the fact that such a complex magic that combined so many arcane disciplines seemed like child play to Da Vinci boggled his mind.
Just thinking about being taught by Da Vinci after what he had witnessed greatly excited Nigun.
"Is that supposed to be an Experience or Transformation Potion?" Shirou asked as he recalled seeing something similar to Da Vinci's creation in the Chaldea Simulator.
"A combination of the two." Said Da Vinci before turning back to Nigun and offering him the potion."You will not be harmed by taking this potion, so no need to fret, you will only benefit."
Seeing Nigun's hesitation, Shirou spoke up."I don't know what exactly this potion is, but Leonardo would never do something as silly as poisoning an ally. So, you don't have to worry about your safety."
"Sir Emiya, Lady Vinci, I think you have mistaken my reaction." Nigun hastily spoke up as he seemed to have been misunderstood."It is not that I am afraid for my safety or that I don't trust your intention, I am just overwhelmed by Lady Vinci's magical skills. If I am not wrong, you used some sort of 6th Tier Magic that I don't know of. For something as 6th Tier Magic to seem like nothing breathing to you, Lady Vinci, greatly shocked me."
"Oh, is that so…" Shirou chuckled as he misunderstood Nigun and overthought."I don't know how far you will be able to achieve under Da Vinci's tutelage, but she can teach you everything up until 10th Tier Magic."
"10th Tier Magic…" Nigun repeated with wide eyes."How is that possible… That is reaching into the levels of Demigods…"
Shirou was about to ask Da Vinci a question when he was taken aback by Nigun's response.
"Just as we had with the Simulator, it seems like most humans can only reach Level 30 at best. This is seen as the human limit in the New World. Surpassing Level 30 only happens if you possess some sort of talent, and even then, each level past Level 30 is incredibly difficult to these talented people." Da Vinci explained as she extracted the memories and knowledge of Shirou's believers stored within his growing divinity.
"Oh, is that so," Shirou muttered."Nigun, why don't you take Vinci's gift now?"
"Thank you, Lady Vinci," said Nigun as he walked up to Da Vinci and took the potion."It would be my honor to drink this."
Shirou watched with great interest as Nigun drank Da Vinci's potion and wondered what would happen. As Nigun drank the potion, a ray of light formed around Nigun, and Shirou was not surprised by the phenomena. The Level Up had been expected as Da Vinci's potion was part EXP Potion, the other part of the potion's effect is what he's waiting for. And Da Vinci never disappoints.
A semi-transparent tablet appeared in Da Vinci's hand, and she handed it to Nigun.
"Sir Emiya, Lady Vinci, am I supposed to be seeing things? I am seeing words and pictures that I don't recognize." Nigun asked with great confusion.
Just as Shirou was about to speak, Da Vinci beat him to it."Just keep focusing on the words for a while."
"Understood," Nigun nodded, and he continued staring as instructed."Sir Emiya! The words are starting to change from a foreign language I don't know to something I can read!"
"Describe everything on the tablet to the best of your abilities, Nigun." Da Vinci spoke.
As instructed, Nigun started to describe everything appearing in his vision to the best of his abilities. It was apparent from the start, but the more Shirou heard about it, the more irrefutable his conclusion became. As Nigun finished describing what he could, Da Vinci took the tablet from him before handing it over to Shirou.
Shirou took the tablet and saw the writings for himself to confirm Nigun's words with his own eyes, and his eyes widened at what he saw. There was no doubt about it anymore, he had seen something that he hadn't thought possible for the inhabitants of the New World.
Da Vinci repeated the same process while silently observing Linda, Shirou not at all noticing the pain as he was engrossed reading the tablet. She smiled as the same results happened with the female knight.
"This is great! We now have a method to rapidly strengthen any people we recruit." Da Vinci spoke in a cheerful tone with a huge grin.
"So, are Nigun and Linda now Players?" Shirou asked in a very serious tone, using telepathy to avoid being eavesdropped on by the listening Linda and Nigun.
"Your status as a Player is your greatest weapon right now. I would never let anyone else get that kind of power." Da Vinci shook her head."That might change in the future when we know more about the New World or with people that have proven themselves beyond a doubt loyal to us."
"That's good to hear." Shirou sighed."So, what exactly did you do to Nigun and Linda?"
"I created two things of what I call the'Artificial Player Interface' and'Artificial Player Potion'. They should allow inhabitants of the New World a limited range of abilities unique to a Player." Da
Vinci replied.
"What if both things fall into the hands of other people? Can they be replicated?" Shirou asked in a concerned tone.
"Impossible! You need to know centuries worth of Earth's science and technology to even have a chance of understanding what is going on. Also, you need an additional several centuries' worth of experience in magical craftsmanship to even have a hope of replicating the materials and parts for the Artificial Player Interface and Artificial Player Potion, never mind actually making them." Da Vinci boasted with great pride.
'That is a relief to hear.' Shirou sighed, and he turned to the waiting Nigun and Linda."You should thank Leonardo, Nigun and Linda. Thanks to her, you both have entered a world that separates you from normal humans. Here is how you can use your new blessings…"
Was this god, bad or meh? Please tell me what you think. I accept all criticism as long as it is no flaming.