I Think I'm on Vacation
Fate/Stay Night x Solo Leveling
Un-betaed
Summary: As a reward for completing a quest in the Demon Castle, Sung Jin-Woo received a Cursed Random Box, which was said to provide what he needed. Unfortunately, the System might have been drunk when it gave him the box, because Jin-Woo totally didn't need to be a tour guide for a certain overworked Counter Guardian.
(Or: Literally just CG EMIYA demanding for a vacation.)
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Before I begin, here are some important notes about this fic:
1. This fic is AU and a Crack, mainly just for the lols (Emiya having a vacation should be telling enough). This may involve some OOC-ness.
2. This fic is also completely unrelated to Finally, a Vacation!, another of my Emiya's-vacation fic.
3. I have pre-written this fic, and it is almost done (around 11 chapters in total). I will try to publish a new chapter every day.
3. Chapter 1 starts from Solo Leveling webcomic chapter 61, right after Jin-Woo defeated the Guide of Souls, Metus. At the start of each chapter, I will indicate which Solo Leveling webcomic chapter it is based on.
4. There is NO PAIRING. That means NO slash, NO Jin-Woo x Emiya whatsoever (though I do ship Jin-Woo x Hae-In. God, I ship them so hard, especially after chapter 115). Although there will be a scene that suggests so, it is just a misunderstanding.
5. I have to admit, some of the story ideas I've written here are dumb or full of nonsense, but I decided to include them anyway because they are funny to me. Please remember that this is a free crack fic written for, first and foremost, myself.
6. I am not a Korean, nor a Japanese. I do have some degree of knowledge about both cultures from watching/reading animes/mangas/manhwas/webnovels/kdramas, but they are imperfect. If you see anything wrong about the Japanese or South Korean cultures expressed in this fic, please let me know.
7. I have NOT read Solo Leveling webnovel; I have only read the webcomic because I like the art so much that I prefer to enjoy it to the fullest without knowing about the plot beforehand. When I began writing this, I was at around chapter 80 of the webcomic. My past self decided to write this anyway, so pardon me if you spot any misconception/something different from the webnovel.
(I think those who've read the Light Novel will kill me because of this. I'm sorry in advance lol.)
8. Please do not post any spoiler of Solo Leveling webnovel in the reviews!
Sorry for the long A/N. Without further ado, enjoy!
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Edit 10/01/2021 - Prologue is an Omake. It has little relevance to the entire story and is simply there for shits and giggles.
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Prologue (Omake)
Emiya Shirou stared at the floating set of parameters in front of him.
"What the…," he mumbled, not really understanding what these things were. He had just accepted Alaya's contract in exchange for stopping the nuclear meltdown when time froze, his surroundings dimmed, a full body mirror materialised next to him and these stuff appeared in front of him.
The parameters were labeled with things such as 'Hair Colour', 'Mouth' and 'Height'. They suspiciously looked like those stuff online game players must go through whenever they created a new character. Issei had once briefly taught him how to play those games but Shirou didn't remember it to be this complicated.
What was he supposed to do? There was no mouse to click or anything. Touch with his hand?
Hesitantly, he raised his finger and poke the 'Gender' section. Two options appeared, with the one labelled 'Male' already highlighted.
Shirou stared at the other option, shrugged, and tapped the 'Female' word.
Instantly, he could feel himself getting shorter, his chest heavier and his crotch—
"Aaaaahhhhh!" Shirou repeatedly hit the 'Male' button at a lightning speed. He didn't expect it to do that to his own body! It was a horrific few seconds of crisis before he went back to normal. Wheezing, he closed the section and avoided looking at 'Gender' like the plague.
It was 'Skin Colour' next. Finding no possible traps behind those words, he tapped it. A slider appeared, with the marker positioned on the left side.
His eyes widened when his skin immediately changed colour as he moved the marker slowly to the right. It gradually turned darker and darker, until…
"...Wait," Shirou furrowed his brows at his current dark skin tone. "That looks familiar for some reason."
Leaving the section without changing his skin tone back, he moved on to 'Eye Colour'. A similar slider appeared. He shifted the marker around until familiar grey eyes stared back at him from the mirror.
Feeling morbidly curious, he jumped to 'Hair Colour' section and changed it to white.
Shirou slicked his white hair back. Lo and behold, Archer of the Fifth Holy Grail War now stood in front of him.
"Huh?!" He gaped stupidly and Archer, dressed in his clothes, gaped back at him from the mirror in an identical manner. "Archer—What—Me?!"
However, before he could change back his appearance (because this was awfully disturbing), a panel popped out in front of him.
'Time remaining: 10 seconds'
A second later, the '10' shifted to '9'.
"This has a time limit?!" Shirou panicked. He skimmed through the other parameters before realising that he was supposed to fill in the 'Name' section. "Crap!"
A floating keyboard appeared in front of him. Clumsily, he typed out his family name first.
It was three seconds left when he realised that he wrote his name in caps. He only managed to delete "SHIROU" when 'Time's up!' interrupted him.
'Welcome, EMIYA.'
Shirou wanted to cry.
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Part I (Ch61)
Sung Jin-Woo stared at the rusty key in his hand with a frown.
He had received the key from the Cursed Random Box as a reward for completing the latest quest in the Demon Castle dungeon. It was a gamble; the first Reward had stated that he could choose any item. Jin-Woo had thought about getting the most expensive equipment from the store, but ever since he purchased the Knight Killer, he found out that he could obtain better equipment just by running dungeons. He might end up selling the item back to the store or abandoning it in his Inventory once he found a better one.
Other than weapons and armors, there was little else he could think of that was priceless enough. 'Item' was such a broad category that Jin-Woo was at loss on what to choose.
In the end, he chose the Cursed Random Box, which was said to provide the item he needed. Jin-Woo had learned about its existence when he completed the Hidden Daily Quest previously. He figured that if he didn't know what he needed, then the System could decide that for him.
And apparently, what he needed now was another key.
Jin-Woo honestly felt a bit cheated. He had obtained the key to this Demon Castle from the Blessed Random Box, and now he got another one from the Cursed Random Box. Perhaps, the System should rename the reward 'the Blessed/Cursed Random Key' instead.
Furthermore, this key barely had a description, which was a first. It only revealed a name and a place.
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[Item: Key to Unlimited Blade Works]
Item Class: ?
Type: ?
This item can be used at Izakaya Ryoshi in Myeong-dong.
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'...Unlimited Blade Works?' Jin-Woo tilted his head in confusion. 'What a strange name for a Gate. Maybe I'll fight bladed monsters there or something.'
Shrugging, he put the key in his Inventory and forgot all about it in favour of accepting his next Reward.
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A few days later; the night after Sung Jin-Woo's Hunter Rank Re-evaluation
Jin-Woo blinked at the floating screen in front of him.
There, right under the tab [Weapons] in the Store, was a new subtab named [UBW].
"Since when…?" Jin-Woo scratched his chin in puzzlement. He was looking for suitable equipment to protect himself from the blazing flame in the Demon Castle's upper floors when he noticed the unfamiliar subtab in the Store. "What does UBW stand for? Unit by Weight? Usable Bags Whatnots? Ultimate B...Blade—Oh!"
Without closing the Store window, Jin-Woo opened his Inventory and took out the rusty key he'd gotten a few days ago.
"Unlimited Blade Works," Jin-Woo hummed in understanding. "It's a strange name, so I remember it quite well. Can't think of any other meaning of 'UBW' and I just got this key, so this must be it."
Now, his curiosity was piqued. Jin-Woo tapped the subtab in anticipation. A list of items appeared, including thumbnails on how each item looked like and their prices—
"Holy—!" His eyes bulged at the number of zeros. "These are way more expensive than what I've seen in the original Store!"
After figuring out that, yes, this was listed from lowest price to highest, Jin-Woo tapped the...cheapest...item in UBW.
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[Rule Breaker]
Item Class: C
Type: Dagger
A ceremonial weapon that materialises and embodies the divinity of Medea, the Witch of Betrayal.
Effect 'Anti-Magic':
Capable of dispelling and destroying any kind of thaumaturgy. Once it comes into contact with an ensorcelled item or person, enhancements, connections bound through magical contracts, and creatures created and maintained by magical energy, they will all be returned to their original components.
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"...What? No additional damage?" Jin-Woo tried scrolling down to see if there was anything else, to no avail. "Even Rasaka's Fang has one, and they are of the same class. Is it because it's a ceremonial weapon?"
But the price did not add up. Jin-Woo considered the dagger's ambiguous effect, which apparently could dispel any kind of thaumaturgy and return them into their original components. All Hunters, regardless of their ranks, were technically considered practitioners of magic as they had to possess mana to be qualified as one. Most relied heavily on equipment imbued with magic, and the more professional raids usually involved additional buffs from the spellcasters. If the ability of this dagger were to be believed, did that mean it could destroy any Hunter in an instant?
Judging by the price, that must be the case.
'And if it's used by humanoid monsters, especially the likes of the Ice Elf Baruka…,' Jin-Woo shivered at the thought. 'It could dispel my Shadow summons effortlessly. That'd be half of my strength gone, or even more.'
And this was supposed to be the cheapest one?
Feeling both morbid and excited, Jin-Woo took a look at the other weapons featured in the subtab. He could recognise some of the names, such as Kusanagi and Excalibur, but most he had never heard about. A quick search on the Internet revealed that most had the same names as the legendary weapons which existed in mythologies. It was a first, and made Unlimited Blade Works all the more mysterious.
At some point, the number of zeroes listed in the prices were so many that Jin-Woo gave up counting. To think that he'd considered those subpar equipment at the Hunter's online auction as 'expensive'...
"Wait, I'm getting distracted." Sighing, Jin-Woo reluctantly closed the subtab and pulled up the Orb of Avarice. "I'm tempted to sell this in the Store for more Gold, so that I could buy at least one dagger from [UBW]...But there are no fire-resistant armours sold here. Should I try selling the orb in the Hunter's auction and buy one from there? But then they'll ask me how did an E-rank Hunter get such an unimaginable artifact..."
Jin-Woo idly browsed through some of the local major guilds' websites as he contemplated on his current situation. It would take at least three days for his re-evaluation result and his new Hunter license to come out, and he would need at least an A-rank Gate entry in his Hunter record to avoid suspicion from selling an item as rare as the Orb of Avarice. However, A-rank Gate raids required a minimum of B-rank Hunter license to join the team, so there was no way they would let an E-rank Hunter like him to join—
"Huh?" Jin-Woo pulled up a recruitment page from the Hunters Guild's website. "A Mining team?"
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The next day
"Good work, Jin-Woo-ssi," Team Leader Bae Yoon-Suk grinned as he handed Jin-Woo his pay envelope. "Thanks to you, we were able to finish the job 2 hours ahead of time. Wasn't expecting that we'd finish before the collection team, hah!"
"Thank you, sir," Jin-Woo bowed a little as he accepted his pay. The other miners joined the Team Leader in praising his apparent mining talent. Some of them even patted his back. "Good work to you too."
"It's my first time meeting someone as good as you. You're very talented in mining," the older man mused, before clearing his throat. "I don't usually say things like this, but by any chance, do you want to work under me?"
'Oh dear,' Jin-Woo scratched his cheek in embarrassment. For a moment, he wondered if it would've been better if he had joined a mining team back before his Double Awakening. These people were good at their job and most of them were amicable towards him despite his E-rank status. Too bad he didn't realise this sooner. "I'm thankful for your kind words, sir, but I already have another job lined up."
"That's a shame," Yoon-Suk sighed. "Then, what about tomorrow? The Hunters Guild is going to have another raid tomorrow."
"So soon?" Jin-Woo looked up in surprise. Most Hunters could not do consecutive raids since they needed a few days off to recover, maintain their equipment and resupplied. Plus, the Hunters Guild's raid team had yet to defeat the Boss in this dungeon.
"Yeah. It's also another A-rank Gate," Yoon-Suk grinned, knowing very well that he had the new recruit hooked. "But it'll be the B-team instead of the A-team tomorrow. That's the Hunters Guild for you; it's probably the only guild in South Korea that can split their attack forces into two teams to clear A-rank dungeons."
Jin-Woo considered the offer. He was planning to have a look at [Unlimited Blade Works] tomorrow since the Hunters Guild's recruitment page only mentioned the mining job for today. But it was rare to discover an A-rank Gate in South Korea, let alone going inside one. It would be a waste to miss this legitimate opportunity to not only see the inside of another A-rank dungeon, but also to check out the other half of Hunters Guild's attack force.
Besides, since his job had finished early, he had plenty of free time to take a quick look at [Unlimited Blade Works] today.
"Count me in."
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A few hours spent in an unknown dungeon would not be enough, especially if it was a high-rank one.
But ever since he took a look at the weapons featured in [UBW], Jin-Woo couldn't stop thinking about the rusty key he'd gotten from the Cursed Random Box. Something told him that [Unlimited Blade Works] was no normal Gate, because there must be a link between the new subtab in the Store and the key to the dungeon. If he did not go today, he wouldn't know when he'd be free enough to check the dungeon out. Once his re-evaluation result is out, he'd be too busy focusing on obtaining the last ingredient of the Holy Water of Life.
Besides, he still had the Hearthstone obtained from the Instant Dungeon, so if things got dangerous he could use it to teleport out of the dungeon.
After a few minutes of walking around and searching through the Internet, Jin-Woo finally arrived in front of the entrance to [Unlimited Blade Works]. Izakaya Ryoshi was an old Japanese bar which miraculously survived in the bustling district of Myeong-dong. It was an oddly small and inconspicuous place for a potentially S-rank Gate entrance, but he'd heard of Gates appearing on highways and even inside the Blue House, so it wasn't all that strange either.
Making sure that no one was paying attention, Jin-Woo took a deep breath and opened the Gate.
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Ominous, ominous.
Thanks for reading and stay safe!