This is the second of the two chapters today.
Chapter 4: New Bonds
EMIYA, together with his new companions Tersia, Farrie and Welt, who would be dubbed as Team EMIYA from now on, was now walking on the cobbled road of the market street of Castle Town.
After the test fight with the youngsters, the ex-Counter Guardian had figured out some very important things.
First of all, even though this body had the experience and skills he had acquired in years of fighting, the power it contained was severely limited, maybe because of that strange system. A Servant is something way beyond a normal human; even if he had held back a lot he should have been able to blitz all five youngsters without them being able to even see how he moves. But during the fight, even though he could overwhelm them by sheer skill, his strength and power didn't exceed theirs too far, even though he had to put quite some effort into it; it was kinda like an adult fighting a bunch of teenagers.
Secondly, after thoroughly beating Bakta and Walther, he had seen a notice popping up.
[You gained a level.]
He opened his status window to have a look, and saw a new line in the table that hadn't been there before. The line was named LP, and next to the name, there was a number 5.
LP? What might it be… Level Point?
He had inquired the Sword for the answer, and she had given him this answer.
LEVEL POINT
Level Points are earned when the Hero gains levels through battles. In addition to the improvement of parameters through leveling up, these points can also be used to determine the parameters of the Hero through improvements in the Legendary Weapon's stats. The higher the stats are, the more difficult improving will become.
Below his parameters now appeared another set of parameter scales, but different from the original one, all of them were empty with the number 0 next to each bar.
Hmm… so it means by leveling up, I can somewhat decide what I should increase in my parameters. EMIYA thought. This system is still kinda thoughtful, I guess, letting me choose how I should improve myself. Very well then… maybe I should improve what I am lacking first? Or maybe…
Giving it a lot of thought, finally he had decided to use the gained LP to increase his Strength, MP and Luck. He doesn't want his luck to be abysmal forever, and mana is always necessary for his use of magecraft. After selecting the numbers, he could see that all the parameters that he chose barely went up, even though he dumped everything he had into it.
Great. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. It would take forever for it to go up a rank.
And that led him to the third thing. He remembered that the weapons that the Legendary Sword absorbed and recorded could raise the stats in his parameters. And even though he could, he wasn't that used to fighting with a two-handed sword anyway.
That was the reason why the team was on their way to the market district. He needed to find a weapon that he could use well without having an absurd level requirement to unlock it. And the team would also need some better equipment as well, so two birds with one stone. Even though they hadn't gained his full trust yet, keeping them alive was still something he needed to do.
Finally, they stopped in front of a shop near the center of the town. There was a large sign in the shape of a sword hanging over the wooden door.
He pushed the heavy door open and walked inside. Just a glance around the room already showed him what to expect of the shop. Weapons of all sorts were hanged on the stone walls, as well as all types of armors and stuff an adventurer would need on their journey. And he didn't even have to use his special magecraft to realize that all of those things were of very high quality. The owner of the shop must be a very skilled craftsman.
"Welcome," the aforementioned man called out to them from the counter. He was exactly someone people would picture when thinking about the owner of a weapon shop. A muscular man who was in his middle age, he looked like the kind of honest merchant who everyone could trust after a few times trading with him. He was bald, but sported a pretty impressive beard on his face. His body, as well as his face, was full of old scars, the sign of a veteran who had gone through a lot of battles.
"Hello," EMIYA walked to the counter and offered his hand, and the swordsmith readily grabbed it with a smile. "My companions here told me about your store, and I must say they didn't exaggerate when talking about you at all."
The man grinned. "Well, isn't that kind of you. Haven't seen you here before, eh… Oh, isn't that little Tersia and her friends?" he asked upon seeing the three teenagers, who waved at him. "So you must be… the Hero of the Sword, aren't you, young man?"
EMIYA glanced at Tersia in amusement. "You must be a regular here, aren't you?"
The girl blushed a bit. "Yeah, well… Uncle Erhard usually gives me a hand taking care of my sword here, you know…"
"The ladette is actually a really good girl, you know," the blacksmith, now named Erhard, grinned and tapped the counter. "Treat her well, Sword Bro. By the way, you look pretty fit to be a hero, I would say."
"Thanks," the ex-Guardian answered, even though he was a bit annoyed from that last comment.
"You're welcome," laughed Erhard. "Anyway, you coming here would mean you need equipment for your journey, wouldn't you? So how can this humble shop help the Sword Hero?"
"Just Emiya or Shirou is fine," EMIYA nodded. "Well, to be honest, I would need some equipment for my companions here. Some better weapons and armors would be nice, I guess."
"Sure thing," the swordsmith nodded, "but how is your budget looking?"
EMIYA pondered. They only had 600 pieces of silver, and they would have to save some for other equipment needed for their journey, too. So…
"Can you give me some offers, then?"
The shop owner took a quick glance at the three youngsters. "This boy", he pointed at Welt, "is the light archer type, so the best thing for him should be some light adventure clothes and a good bow so that he can constantly move and back the team up by firing from afar. The little lady here," he glanced at Farrie, "is obviously a spellcaster, so what she needs are robes light enough for her to easily move around and a staff for a boost in her magic power. And of course, little Tersia is a warrior type who takes the frontline, but with that greatsword of her, she already had enough defensive ability, so light armor offering decent protection and mobility is a must. And I got a pretty wide range of all those things available here," he waved his hand at a rack of clothes and armors at a nearby wall.
The Sword Hero glanced at the rack. Everything there was indeed of high quality, but he could say that they were going to cost quite a lot. That blacksmith really knew his stuff, he had to admit. He was impressed with the man already.
"So what can you give me for 600 silvers?"
His three companions looked at him in surprise. "But that's everything we have, sir! If we spend everything on our equipment like that…" Farrie began.
"Don't worry, we'll find a way to deal with that," he waved the girl off. "Right now, ensuring that you all have what it takes to defend yourself is more important. So, old man?"
"I like you already," grinned Erhard. He pulled out three sets of clothes and armors from the rack and placed them on the counter. "Tell you what; these three sets usually cost over 700, but for you, I will take 600 for all of them. Consider it a welcome gift for the newest customer of our shop."
Surprised by the generosity of the shop owner, EMIYA answered him with a grin of his own.
"Thanks, old man. Well, here you go," he picked the clothes up and threw them to Welt, Farrie and Tersia, who caught them by their hands with surprise and awe clear on their faces. "Do you have somewhere for them to change?"
"Well of course," the shop owner pointed at a corner of the shop, where three small stalls with curtains were lying. "Just go change in there, and I will gather up your old clothes for you."
After the three youths had disappeared inside the stalls, EMIYA turned back to Erhard. "Oh, and by the way, do you have something like swords that go as a pair?"
This time it was the blacksmith's time to be surprised. "Dual wielding, eh? That's a rare ability, even for veteran soldiers. Are you sure you can handle that?"
"That's my specialty, I guess," EMIYA shrugged. "I'm actually more used to handling things like them than single broadswords or long swords."
"I guess that's fair," the man nodded. He walked to the back of the store and pulled out a pair of swords from another rack.
"Here," he placed them on the counter. "They are the only of this type that I have left in this store. Not a lot of people prefer this kind of weapon, you know. Made of Siderite, one of the best types of metal you can find in the market, and coated in Blood Clean. Would last for quite some time."
The ex-Guardian looked at the swords carefully. They were about fifty centimeters long each, and different from Kanshou and Bakuya that he was used to, they were double-edged swords, making them more like daggers than the normal sabers that the two Chinese married swords were. They looked pretty old, but were still very good weapons in the eye of a professional. They must have seen a lot of uses in their history, because when he scanned them with Structural Analysis, he could see a lot of different wielders in the past, including…
"Well, these used to be the weapons I used when I was still an adventurer," Erhard grunted. "They might be old, but they are worth the money, I tell you."
EMIYA knew that the blacksmith was not lying. The pair of swords was obviously worth the money, but the problem was… he had no money left. After spending all the money the king gave him for his companions' equipment, now his pocket was completely empty. He would need to find out if he could pay for them later if he wanted to buy them.
When the Sword Hero was still contemplating, the front door of the shop was pushed open once again. He glanced back, and saw two newcomers entering the shop. It was Naofumi and his companion, Myne Sophia.
"Oh, hey, Shirou-san," the Shield Hero waved at him. "You're shopping for weapons, too?"
"Well, some of this, some of that," he shrugged back. "Have to equip my companions properly, you know."
"Ah, so this is one of the newly summoned Heroes, too?" the shop owner looked at Naofumi from head to toe. "You don't seem that impressive comparing to the boy here, though."
"Hey!" the Shield Hero complained immediately, to everyone's amusement. "You don't have to rub it in my face like that!"
"Well, it was you who said that you got the short stick yourself, didn't you?" EMIYA pointed out, and Naofumi glared at him.
"Well, even so…"
"You would need a lot of preparation for your journey then, Shield Bro," said Erhard. "If you don't, other adventurers will wipe the floor with you for sure."
"Well, that's the reason why I come here," Naofumi retorted. "I am the Shield Hero, Iwatani Naofumi, and since things might get rough from now on, I've come for your assistance," he said in a dramatically aggressive way.
What the heck, thought EMIYA. Is this guy for real? Does he think he's in a drama club or something?
"Mr. Naofumi, then," the shop owner grinned. "Hope you will become a regular here. Very well, let's see what I can do for you! How is your budget looking?"
Myne looked up and down Naofumi as if appraising him. "I think we can spend up to 250 pieces of silver."
"That much, huh?" the swordsmith pondered. "Then I think you might like this."
He walked to the shelves and started pulling out various kinds of weapons. "Tell me, kid. Do you have any favourite weapon?"
"Not yet."
"Then a light sword for beginners would be what I recommend," Erhard placed a few swords on the counter. "These swords are, in order, made from Iron, Magic Iron, Magic Steel, and Silver Iron, and are all coated with Blood Clean, so they won't be eroded from repeated uses. Pretty easy to handle, for someone who hasn't had any experience fighting with weapons."
So he hasn't realized that he could not use any other weapons apart from the Shield… EMIYA thought when Naofumi reached out to pick up a sword, before remembering something important. "Wait, Naofumi, don't…!"
He couldn't finish his sentence before the Shield Hero got zapped violently by the Legendary Shield, and the sword fell out of his hand onto the ground, nearly stabbing his foot in the process.
"Ouch! What the hell…!"
"I was gonna tell you about that," the red hero winced.
The pop-up screen appeared in front of Naofumi, and the Shield Hero's eyes widened. "What?! So that means I can't use anything other than this shield in battle?!"
"Can you let me see that?" offered Erhard. His face was now serious. Naofumi held his shield arm out to the man, and he mouthed something to himself. A small ball of light shot towards the shield, and bounced off it harmlessly. "Hmm…"
"What's wrong?"
"Well, I don't know…" the swordsmith muttered. "It looks like a normal Small Shield, but… Do you see that jewel on your shield? I can feel a great amount of energy coming from it. I tried scanning it with my appraisal magic, but it was somehow reflected, and I couldn't see any information. If there were a curse on it, I should have known instantly."
So he can also use a kind of Structural Analysis magecraft… thought EMIYA, impressed.
"It was the same with my Sword," he added in. "I tried picking up other weapons before, even other swords, and it didn't even let me hold the weapons. It seems that we Heroes can only use the weapons assigned to us when we were summoned."
"Well that's just unfair," Naofumi muttered.
"But there is a way you can improve your weapon though," the red hero said. He turned to Erhard. "Can I borrow these swords for a while?" he said, pointing at the pair of swords the old man had shown him on the counter.
"Uh, sure?" the blacksmith said, uncertain what he was going to do. EMIYA nodded, then pulled out the Legendary Sword and touched the pair of swords with its tip. The pop-up screen immediately appeared in front of him.
WEAPON COPYING COMPLETE
[Name: Twin Siderite Swords – Quality: Good – Base Power: 20x2]
[Attack + 5]
[Skill Unlocked: Synch Blade (0/100), Shooting Star Swords (0/500)]
[Proficiency: 0%]
[Unlocked at Level 1 - UNLOCKED]
He mentally willed the Sword to take the form of the newly acquired twin swords. In front of him, the Legendary Sword started shining brightly, and in a flash of light, it transformed itself into the shape of the pair of weapons.
"Whoa!" Naofumi exclaimed in awe. "So the Legendary Weapons can do things like that?!"
Different from the Shield Hero, Erhard was now twitching his eyebrows in annoyance. "You do realize that it was no different from stealing my goods, don't you?"
"Sorry old man," the red hero scratched his head sheepishly. "I will pay for it if you need…"
The blacksmith rolled his eyes. "Oh well, what's done is done; it's not like those swords are something expensive anyway… but," he glared at Naofumi, "if you want to do something like that you would have to pay for it; I cannot do charity work all the time, you know. Now, I guess you would be wanting some defensive goods?"
Naofumi's eyes brightened. "Yes, please!"
"Well, considering your budget, what you can have should be a suit of armor," the blacksmith nodded. "Full plate armor would inhibit your mobility, so chainmail might be something better for you. And maybe you would want to have a new shield to add to your arsenal?"
Right at that time, the three members of Team EMIYA emerged from the changing rooms. "We're done, sir! Oh, the Shield Hero is here, too."
They didn't seem to be really thrilled seeing Naofumi there, though. EMIYA noted that down; he would have to ask them about that later.
He set the bag of money the King had provided him on the counter. "Old man, here's the money. I'll be back if I need something else. Thanks for everything!"
The man grinned back. "Good doing business with you, Sword Bro. See you later!"
After walking out of the store, Tersia voiced her concern. "Sir, we already spent all of our budget on our equipment. How are we going to get money to buy food or rent a place to sleep?"
EMIYA pondered. Then, he looked at the three youngsters. "Is there any forest nearby with wild animals?"
Surprised, Welt answered. "Well, yes, sir, there was a forest nearby where I usually go hunting with my family, but…"
"Perfect," the red hero grinned. "Let's go hunting."
An hour later, the team arrived at their destination. The forest was not very thick, but there were a lot of signs of living creatures here and there. It surely is a good spot for hunters to make a living.
"This forest is not only the home of things like deers and hares," Welt had told them before they entered the forest. "There are other more vicious ones too, such as boars and bears; sometimes we even see tigers and wolves. Oh, and of course, there are monsters, too. Hopefully we won't see anything too bad…"
And sure enough, about ten minutes after they entered, the first monsters appeared to greet them. Although…
"They don't look that bad to me, though."
He looked at the creatures hopping around in front of him. They didn't look like any kind of animals, but instead some kind of green blobs.
"They are called balloons, sir," Farrie helpfully provided him the information. "They are pretty common around here; I heard some kids even want to raise them as pets."
"Well, to be fair, they are pretty cute," Tersia said, scratching her head.
"But they're not as harmless as you think," Welt shook his head. "Their bites hurt a lot. Trust me, you wouldn't want to let any part of your body get near their teeth."
Guess it's time to test my new weapons. EMIYA thought. He walked up and pulled out the Legendary Sword, which immediately transformed into the Twin Siderite Swords at his command.
Then he saw something new pop up at the bottom right corner of his view. A small new button had appeared there which he was pretty sure he hadn't seen before. Curious, he activated that button. A screen popped up in front of him.
[Skill list]
Shooting Star Swords: Charge the swords with magical energy, then swing them to release a wave of stars. (NEW)
So, a new skill. Let's see what it does. Remembering how Bakta had tried to use his skill before being cockblocked midway by him, he gripped his swords tightly, swung both of them ahead and shouted.
"Shooting Star Swords!"
The effect was immediate. The wave of stars shot out from the two blades and obliterated the three poor balloons, together with a whole vast of grass behind them. The level of destruction of course cannot compare to that of powerful Noble Phantasm such as Caladbolg or Excalibur, but for something that cost only twenty points of MP, it was already pretty impressive.
"Wow," Tersia winced upon seeing the destruction. "Those poor balloons…"
EMIYA noted to himself not to use this skill again except for when he needed to face dangerous enemies.
[EXP gained: 3. Synch Blade: 3/100. Shooting Star Swords: 3/500] The system beeped. It seemed killing those monsters gave him some experience, even though not a lot. Even his weapons gathered some experience for the skills, too.
Then he saw something on the ground, where the three balloons used to be. He walked toward the place and picked those things up. They looked like the balloons themselves, but were already deflated.
"What are these?"
"Ah, they are loots, dropped after you defeat a monster. I heard from people that weapons of the Heroes are supposed to turn monster carcasses into things like that," Welt explained. "How can't you know this, sir? You have a lot of experience fighting monsters already, right?"
EMIYA shrugged. "Well, maybe it's different here. In my world, monsters don't drop loots, or give you experience when they are defeated."
Farrie blinked. "Huh? Then what do they drop?"
"Nothing. They are usually vaporized, or smeared on walls, or blasted into a bunch of chunky salsa," the red hero shrugged nonchalantly.
Then he saw the faces of the three teenagers. All of them looked rather green. "Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that."
When the loots got near the Legendary Sword, however, they started glowing softly. And suddenly, they disappeared into the gem on the hilt of the sword.
"What the…?!" EMIYA nearly jumped from the sudden reaction. And at the same time, the system started beeping again.
[Blue Balloon Skin acquired. Balloon Sword: unlocking conditions met.]
Balloon Sword? Now that's new. So with materials, instead of copying the form, status and abilities, the Sword would absorb the materials themselves to unlock new weapons for him to use. He opened the Weapon menu and check the new sword he had just acquired.
[Name: Balloon Sword – Quality: Poor – Base Power: 5]
[Defense +1]
[Proficiency: 0%]
[Unlocked at Level 1 - UNLOCKED]
Not a very good weapon, then. This sword only gave him one point of defense, and no other abilities. Still, this gave him an idea. If materials obtained from monsters can be used to unlock new weapons, then what about other types of materials?
He bent down and picked a blade of grass. Carefully, he let the Legendary Sword absorb it.
[Grass acquired. Grass Sword: unlocking conditions met.]
[Name: Grass Sword – Quality: Poor – Base Power: 2]
[Skill Unlocked: Gathering 1 (0/50)]
[Proficiency: 0%]
[Unlocked at Level 1 - UNLOCKED]
The new sword, while even weaker than the Balloon Sword, and having no stat bonus, gave him a new skill which he guessed would be related to material gathering.
Oh hell yeah. He's gonna have a field day with this.
After an hour of hunting, the team once again gathered at the clearing they had started the hunt with. Each of them had managed to gather quite a lot of loots, even Farrie, even though she looked a little bit out of breath. Must be because of spending too much MP on spells.
And EMIYA himself had also unlocked quite a few swords during the hunt. Some of them had abilities that would be extremely useful if used in the right way, especially the one called Green Mush Sword, which allows him to synthesize items from materials, and the Mush Sword, which gives him the ability to appraise plants.
He also discovered another function of the Legendary Sword. After acquiring the necessary materials needed to unlock a new sword, the unneeded materials would be stored within the Sword so that he could take them out to use later whenever he wanted. Basically, not only was the Legendary Sword an incredible replacement for his Reality Marble, it was also an unlimited backpack.
He's starting to like this sword more and more.
"Right, I think that's enough for today," he told his companions. "We got quite a lot of loots; how much do you think we can sell all of them for, Welt?"
"I think that should be enough for us for quite some time, sir," the boy answered. "I know a vendor who we usually sell our stuff to after each hunt; we might get a good price for all we got…"
Then he looked at the sky, hidden behind the roof of leaves above, and frowned. "Although… I don't think his store is open at the moment… it was already pretty late…"
"Welp, that would be a problem for us now," Tersia deadpanned. "We don't have a single coin left; how are we supposed to get a place to eat and sleep tonight?"
Before anyone could answer, a loud shriek had pierced their ears from behind. They turned back, and saw a huge wild boar charging at them, its eyes gleaming dangerously. This was the largest boar EMIYA had ever seen in his life, of course not counting those demonic boars he had met in the Singularities. It was twice as big as a normal boar, with a pair of tusks rivaling any elephants he had seen before. Its muscles were bulging up, showing that it had been living and developing well for quite some time.
And judging from the bloody red eyes and how it was charging at them, it must be very hungry.
"Scatter!" EMIYA yelled, and the group immediately jumped away right before the vicious creature managed to ram its deadly tusks on anyone. The animal skidded into a halt and turned around, growling in anger.
Welt screamed in panic. Even though he had been going hunting with his family for quite some time, this was the first time he had to face something like this. Even experienced hunters would have had a lot of difficulties fighting this kind of animal.
His brain immediately drew out several futures of being trampled on the ground, or being skewered on those nasty tusks…
Then he jumped when EMIYA's hand grasped his right shoulder. The red hero was looking at him; his eyes were full of grim confidence and determination.
"Do you trust me, Welt?"
The boy blinked. "Yes, but…"
"Then do not think of running away. This is the time for you to prove yourself. We are going to fight as a team for the first time, and we are going to defeat it."
EMIYA isn't the kind of person who would rush headfirst into a battle without thinking. If he deemed a fight unwinnable, he would not be ashamed of retreating to save his life, and coming back another day. The reason why he would choose to stay and fight this time was because he knew that, together with his new team, he could win.
The boar snarled in wild fury. It seemed that this was the first time any of those puny humans dared to stand their ground against it. It lowered its tusks again, ready for another charge.
This thing is pretty powerful on its own, but after all, it is just a wild animal. It only fights by instinct, not skills and experience. Then…
"Tersia! Do not try to engage it head-on; keep dodging its attacks and try to find an opening!" he barked out short commands like a veteran military commander. "Welt, stay afar and cover us with your most powerful attacks at its weak points! Farrie, focus on avoiding and healing us with your healing magic!"
"Huh?!" Startled by the sudden commands, the three teenagers nearly jumped and could only barely avoid the deadly rush of the hostile animal. EMIYA sighed. It would take some time for them to get used to battling as a team, huh…
"Do not lose your head!" he barked. "Keep your eyes on the boar's movements; pay attention to how it moves and figure out how to avoid its charges! You can do it; JUST NEVER LET YOUR HEAD THINK THAT YOU CANNOT!" he roared the last sentence as if it was a battle cry, and those words served as a powerful trigger in the three teenagers' heads. Suddenly, all of their fears disappeared all at once, and the enemy in front of them didn't seem as scary as it used to be just a few seconds ago.
Good, it seems they got it, EMIYA grinned mentally. Now let's see what they can do with this renewed resolution they got. He transformed the Legendary Sword into the Twin Siderite Swords again, and leaped into battle.
The fight now became one-sided, just as the red hero had expected. Even though the charges of the boar were still as vicious as before, it couldn't hit the three teenagers anymore. They could anticipate the way it moved and get out of the way before it could land hits on them, and could also retaliate with their own attacks, too. However…
That monster's skin is too thick. Even though they landed hits on it, it couldn't deal a lot of damage. There needs to be some way to deliver decisive blows that could finish it off… but… how…
The monstrous animal roared in anger. Those puny humans should have been easy preys for it; it had made many of those ones its meals before. So why…
WHY WERE THESE ONES GIVING IT SO MUCH TROUBLE?
Its eyes flashed bloody red, and standing on its hind legs, the boar raised its forelegs high. EMIYA's eyes widened; this is not going to be good…
"Tersia! Be careful, it is going to…!"
Before his warning fully escaped his mouth, the monstrous boar had brought its legs down on the surface. The tremor coming from the sudden attack was so great Tersia, the one who was standing the closest to it, couldn't react in time and was knocked down on her butt. And of course, the animal wouldn't let go of this chance. It swung its giant tusks at the girl who was lying helplessly on the ground.
The attack hit Tersia with the power of a truck. She flew backward like a log and slammed her back at a big tree behind her. Based on the sickening "crack" everyone could hear very clearly, she must have broken quite a few bones in her body, and maybe even her spine. Blood spurted out of her mouth.
The Sword Hero's inner organs felt like they had all made a flip at the same time. Letting out a thundering roar, he stabbed both blades of the Twin Siderite Swords straight at the monstrous boar's snout. Not expecting the sudden attack, the animal couldn't evade, and took both swords right into its nostrils. It screeched in pain and swung around wildly, trying to shrug the red hero off.
Farrie was the one who reached Tersia first, and naturally, she was horrified at the state of her friend now. The orb at the tip of her staff glowed brightly in her grip, and she said three short words, firm and clear.
"All Zweite Heal!"
A soothing wave suddenly swept through the clearing. The team suddenly felt revitalized, as if the battle had just only begun and they had still been at full strength. All the wounds on Tersia's body immediately closed up, and the girl's eyes snapped open with a gasp coming out of her mouth.
Even EMIYA was taken aback for a second by the power of the healing spell which had just been cast. He had seen healing magecrafts being used before, but only top-tier Casters such as Medea of Colchis could cast something this big and in such a wide area. And it surely is effective; Tersia had just been knocked down only two minutes ago, and now she was already back in the battle, jumping around with her sword as if nothing happened. The girl was now dancing around the animal with her sword, even faster and more energetic than before.
That moment was enough for the boar to regain its balance. It twisted its body with a sudden movement, and managed to shook the red hero off. It screeched and lowered its body again for another charge, but EMIYA had already moved out of the way to avoid the attack. It seemed the stabs into its nostrils had only managed to make it even madder than before.
It can't be stopped like this. The only way to actually deal some good damage to it is to attack it at a soft place where weapons can penetrate… like in the nostril… but…
Then EMIYA saw it. There's only one place that they could use to deliver significant damage to the beast, and it was…
"Welt, can you aim your shot at a specific place on the boar's body?"
Surprised at his leader's question, the boy shook his head. "No, sir… if it keeps moving around like this I cannot aim accurately…"
"But if it stops moving, you can?"
He was taken aback at this rather specific question. "Uh, yeah, I think, but…"
"Good," EMIYA didn't let him finish his sentence. "Then when it stops moving, aim the most damaging skill you have at its eye. We only have one chance, so do not miss."
Before he could question further, the red hero had already leaped away, back into the fight again. He gripped his bow so tightly his knuckles turned white. Would he be able to do it?
On the frontline, Tersia was struggling. Her sword didn't let her move as quickly and nimbly as the others, which means she wouldn't be able to last much longer. She took a glance at Farrie; the girl was lying on the ground, seemingly out of breath. It seemed the massive healing spell she had just cast had taken away all of her remaining energy. Farrie wouldn't be able to heal her again if the enemy tried that move one more time.
Then she heard the Sword Hero's voice, coming from behind her.
"Tersia! Give it a swing as strong as you can, straight at its snout!"
She grinned. Finally!
Putting all of her remaining power into her arms, with a mighty roar, she delivered a brutal swing at the snout of the boar. In the middle of its charge at full speed, the animal couldn't react in time to dodge; it rammed straight into the blade of Tersia's great sword. The backlash was so strong it temporarily stunned the animal, and at the same time, sent the girl flying backward. Her butt smashed on the ground painfully.
And this was exactly what the ex-Counter Guardian was waiting for. In his hand, he was holding a sword that no one had seen him wielding before. Stabbing the sword into the ground, he yelled.
"Binding Sword!"
Vines burst out from underground upon his command. They immediately wrapped themselves around the stunned animal, tying it up tightly. The creature roared and struggled, but it had lost so much stamina in this battle it couldn't manage to draw enough strength to break through the restriction.
The Vine Sword was something EMIYA had unlocked when he tried letting the Legendary Sword absorb a piece of vine. It could create vines from underground to bind up an enemy in a very short time, with the cost of a hefty amount of MP. Usually, this would be a useless skill, considering it costs too much energy for only a short period of restriction, but at this time, when the only thing they needed was to keep the enemy standing in one place for a few seconds, that was the very same thing that they must depend on.
EMIYA turned back to Welt and roared.
"Now, Welt! It's your chance!"
The boy hesitated for a split second. Then, his face hardened, and he raised his bow. Putting all of his MP into the arrow nocked on the bow, he yelled.
"Focus Shot!"
And he let it fly. The arrow crossed the distance in less than a second and stabbed into the exposed left eye of the boar so cleanly and deeply the feather tail nearly reached the eyeball. The animal screeched in agony; its strength was seemingly amplified in pain that it managed to snap the binding restraining it.
But at the same time, its mouth was opening so big a human could climb inside it. And EMIYA rushed in; on his hands were the Twin Siderite Swords. With a loud roar, he stabbed both blades into the upper jaw of the animal.
Time seemed to stop for a few seconds. No sound could be heard, even the flapping of insects' wings. Then, slowly, the boar collapsed to the side, completely dead.
"We… we did it," Farrie mumbled. Judging on how her face looked like right now, it seemed she still hadn't believed that they had just managed to kill such a powerful enemy.
"Yeah," Welt also breathed out. He tried to take a few steps forward, but ended up dropping his body unceremoniously on the ground from exhaustion. "Lord Sword Hero really is amazing…"
"It's not me who is amazing," said EMIYA. He reached out his hand and pulled Welt back on his butt. "Had it not been for you three, it would have been impossible for me to defeat it alone. You all did nothing less than me in this fight; you should be proud of that. And just keep what happened today as a lesson for you all; you are only unable to do something if you think that you are unable to do it."
"Yes, sir!" the three youngsters chorused cheerfully.
Then a loud rumbling noise echoed around. It started, not from any enemy, but from the three youngsters' bellies.
EMIYA broke into laughter. "So everyone is hungry, huh."
"Yeah," Tersia rubbed her belly in embarrassment. "But it seems we would have to fast tonight… there is no time for us to return to the town to sell our loots anymore…"
"Who said that we are going to fast?" EMIYA answered her with a smirk. "Now, help me carry this to the river outside of the forest, and," he pointed at the boar carcass on the ground, "Welt, you are going to help me dismantle it, and Farrie and Tersia, please gather some wood to make a bonfire. We are going to cook."
Once again, the three teenagers were completely taken aback.
The man named Emiya Shirou was a complete enigma to them. Not only because his personality was mysterious, but also because he was seemingly good at everything.
He was a master fighter, and also a very experienced hunter. Just look at how he stripped the boar corpse to the bone and separated the meat, the offal and the skeleton of the creature so cleanly, with the assistance of Welt.
And apparently, he was also a five-star chef.
Right now, Team EMIYA was now staring at the bonfire they had made, Around it, sixteen skewers of fresh pork with forest fruits were sitting, waiting to be eaten. Even though he didn't use any kind of seasoning except for a few types of herbs they could easily find around, the breathtaking aroma coming from them still made the three youngsters drool heavily.
It helped a lot that they were incredibly hungry right now.
"What are you waiting for?" said the aforementioned chef after coming back from washing his hand at the river. "Dig in."
Hesitantly, Tersia grabbed a skewer and took a bite. Her eyes immediately widened.
"This… this is…!"
She had never tasted something so delicious in her life. Even though he didn't use any salt, the natural taste of the boar meat seasoned with local herbs was more than enough to stimulate her tastebuds in a way that no kind of food she had ever eaten could do, which was only amplified by the sweetness coming from the forest fruits. And the tenderness of the meat itself was so much it melted immediately in her mouth when it touched her tongue. She devoured her first skewer in just two minutes, and was already reaching for her second.
Seeing their friend's expression, any doubt within Welt and Farrie's minds disappeared. They also took their own skewers, and just like Tersia, their eyes widened when the food touched their tongues.
"Oh my god!" the healer of the team exclaimed in disbelief. "I've never tasted something like this in my life! It's so delicious!"
"Yeah!" Welt agreed enthusiastically while devouring his own skewer. "Where did you learn to cook like this, sir?"
"It took me quite some time," answered the red hero mysteriously. He grabbed his own skewer and took a bite. "Hmm, this pork was of high quality. Should be able to sell it for quite a bit of money, I guess. Or we can just keep it for ourselves for food…"
The team ate in silence for a while. Then, EMIYA asked something that he had been wondering about for quite a while.
"You seem to cherish that sword a lot," he looked at Tersia. Even when eating, she still didn't let herself be separated from her sword. Right now, the big weapon was lying right behind her, with the hilt right next to her right hand. "Why don't you use another type of weapon? It doesn't suit you very well."
Tersia scowled a bit, but she didn't seem angry. "This sword belonged to my dad. He was an adventurer, and he made quite a lot of successful journeys with it. I've always dreamed of becoming such a great adventurer as him… until…"
"He's killed in an adventure?" the red hero guessed. But Tersia shook her head.
"No… A few months ago, before you were summoned, a very large Wave, the First Wave, hit a village near the coast of Melromarc. At that time, my dad was in the village, and he was one of the people who helped defend it. But in the end… the Wave was just too terrible. His body was brought back home a few days later… together with this," she gripped the hilt of the sword tightly. Even though she tried to keep her voice stable, EMIYA could see that she was trying her best to swallow her tears.
He looked at the sword, and silently scanned it with Structural Analysis. The weapon was immediately copied into Unlimited Blade Works, and he could see through its history; it had been passed through a lot of wielders, had slain many enemies both humans and monsters, and the last wielder had fought brilliantly against an army of monsters but had finally succumbed to his many injuries. She was telling the truth.
"Since then, I've sworn not to ever use any other weapon," she continued; her voice hardened a little bit. "I want to end the Waves by myself with the same weapon my dad used so that he could rest in peace in Heaven. That's why I volunteered to become a follower when they announced that they would summon the Heroes. Yeah…"
EMIYA processed those words in silence. So that's the reason why she fought so awkwardly with that sword before. It wasn't made for her, but she had her own reason to insist on using it.
This world really isn't a game as the three other Heroes seemingly thought. The citizens of this world are living, breathing human beings; they also have their families, their own feelings and people they cherish. But if the three other Heroes keep treating them as characters in their games…
Tersia suddenly looked at the Sword Hero. "Do you think I'm stupid, sir?"
"It would be a lie if I say your dream isn't a little bit childish," the red hero chuckled. And he continued before she could say anything. "But that doesn't mean it is wrong. I know a person who dreamed to become an ally of justice, to ensure that everyone can be happy. And that dream, while a stupid, impossible dream, still has its own beauty. What matters is whether you can follow that dream until the end and never go back on it."
The three members of the team stared at their Hero with a look full of admiration. To them now, the man wasn't just a Hero, or a soldier, or a killer anymore. He was way more than that: he was a teacher, and a real leader.
"I didn't want to go at first," blurted out Welt suddenly. It seemed Tersia's story had served as a trigger for him to let go of everything he had been holding back in his mind. "My dream for the future is only to have a normal family, and live a slow, happy life without having to worry about competing with anyone. But…" he bit his lip, "…my father doesn't like that. He told me that as a man, I had to make a name for myself. Which is ironic, considering he is just a common hunter…"
"I see," EMIYA nodded. "So do you regret your decision to go with me now?"
Surprisingly, the boy shook his head. "No, sir. Just a day going with you and I have learned so many things I didn't know before. For the first time in my life, I have understood that I actually can do something, and I'm not just a useless boy whose only dream is to run away from everything. Now I believe if I follow you, I will be able to become a real man in my own way, not the way my father wants me to."
The red hero nodded in satisfaction. In just a day and the boy had grown so much. He's going to become a very dependable companion for sure.
Everyone looked at Farrie, expecting her to say something. The girl squirmed uncomfortably under the stares of her companions.
"I have nothing that I'm proud of, sir," finally, she sighed. "In everyone's eye, I am just a normal girl without anything special. I'm not good at anything; I'm not pretty, and my body is weak. I was always bullied by other girls in the neighborhood, and I didn't have any friends, except for Tersia-chan. Well, even that was just because of an accident anyway…"
"Don't say that!" objected Tersia strongly. She jumped to where Farrie was sitting and grabbed her hand. "You can't say that healing the arm I cut off during training was an accident! You are better than you think!"
EMIYA was surprised and impressed at the same time. Healing an amputated limb, while not impossible, was still a very great feat that only very powerful magi in his world could do. And yet this girl still thought of it as something unimpressive…
"Yeah…" Farrie sighed. "Healing magic is the only thing I think I'm decent with. That's why when Tersia-chan said I should try to become a sister in the Church of the Three Heroes, I was thrilled. I thought I had found my way of life… but… two years working in the Church and I'm still just a trainee. I've been trying my hardest, but they just didn't let me become an official member. And everyone in there seems to hate me, just like before. Then one day they announced that the King was going to summon the Cardinal Heroes of the Legendary Weapons to fight the Waves. And they assigned me this as a quest, telling me that if I can successfully assist the Heroes in stopping the Wave once and for all, my training will finish and I will become an official member of the Church."
Hearing this, EMIYA couldn't help but feel pity for the girl. Poor girl… she didn't even know that she was being thrown away.
"At first, I didn't know which Hero I should go with," she continued. "But then Tersia-chan said she was going to go with the Sword Hero, so I decided to follow her. I… I really didn't know what to do back then… I don't know any good skills, and my abilities are limited to healing only, so I thought I could do something if I had my friend around to help…" she finished miserably.
EMIYA looked at Tersia for confirmation. She nodded bitterly.
"Yeah… Since she was a child, Farrie-chan has always been mocked by everyone because she was a loser in their eyes. So that's when she told me that she was going to become a trainee in the Church, I was so happy for her, but in the end…"
There was no lie in the girl's eyes when she said those words. EMIYA narrowed his eyes; someone like that, a person who desperately wanted to do something useful in their life, is usually manipulated into doing bad things easily. He would have to be careful.
And there was something strange in what the shy cleric had just said. The Church of the Three Heroes. Why three? There are four Cardinal Heroes.
He had to investigate this later.
"Can… can I call you Shirou-sensei?" Welt suddenly blurted out.
EMIYA obviously didn't expect something like that to happen. "Wha…?!"
"Yeah! In a single day, you have taught us so many things, and I'm sure we will learn even more during our journey, so Shirou-sensei!" Tersia agreed enthusiastically, to the red hero's horror. He glanced at Farrie, the last person in the group, for help, but…
"Y-yeah, please, Shirou-sensei, please teach us more things in the future…"
Shit. What have I just agreed to do?
He could only sigh in defeat.
[Tersia gained a level.]
[Welt gained a level.]
[Farrie gained a level.]
[You gained a level.]
[Companion's Sword: unlocking condition met.]
[Name: Companion's Sword – Quality: Poor – Base Power: 20]
[Unique Skill: Companion Growth Up (small)]
[Proficiency: 0%]
[Unlocked at Level 1 - UNLOCKED]
[Skill unlocked: Hundred Blades]
The next morning, the team decided to depart early to return to Castle Town. They needed the money, and the sooner they could get it, the better they could prepare for their journey.
But they didn't have the time to do anything. A soldier stopped them at the front gate of the town with an urgent look on his face.
"Lord Sword Hero! Thank goodness you are here. His Majesty has summoned you to the Royal Palace. You have to get there as soon as possible!"
The red hero narrowed his eyes. "Is there something wrong?"
"Yes, sir," the soldier nodded. "The Shield Hero has committed an unforgivable crime."
So, EMIYA made some new bonds.
And I think it's time to make clear what the powering up methods EMIYA got by acquiring the Legendary Sword are. With the sword, besides stats gaining from leveling up, he is going to have these methods of powering up:
- Mastery: Using a weapon form again and again would improve its stats until the Proficiency level is maximized at 100%. Together with this, every skill the forms have also has their own proficiency level, and with each monster the wielder kills, 1 proficiency point would be gained until the wielder completely masters the skills, at which point he would be able to use the skills with any forms the Legendary Sword takes. The same as in the novel.
- Quality Up: By using money and the necessary materials, the wielder can "reforge" the sword forms the Legendary Sword absorbed to increase the quality of the sword forms and give them additional abilities after the Proficiency level reaches its maximum. The quality of the forms varies from Poor (the lowest) to Legendary (the highest). After reforging, the user needs to master the weapon forms again.
- Alteration of the Soul: By gaining levels, the hero would gain Level Points, which he can use to improve the parameters of the Sword, giving himself an additional layer of stats on top of his base stats which he can decide on his own what to improve.
Anyone who has ever played Fate/EXTRA would be able to notice what Alteration of the Soul is. It is basically EXTRA's leveling up method, with a little bit of tweak. It gives EMIYA another layer of stats besides the normal improvement when leveling up, which he can control and decide on his own unlike that when he levels up. And for your information, this is a power-up method for the Sword, not for the wielder. With this, his leveling up would be much more complex than that of the other heroes.
Until next time.