After dinner, Shirou and I happily enjoyed our lovey-dovey bath time before bed~ Up to there, it had been a wonderful day. If asked, I'd say that hubby's dream of becoming a hero had always been one of his charm points, and a great many parallel worlds seem to agree, because he's constantly getting conscripted into saving people in all sorts of interesting places.
To be honest, we all panicked the first time he disappeared, but eventually grew used to it. Besides, even if he spends years in other worlds, he always reappears within an hour at the most from when he left, so barely any time passes at all.
Of course, it happened at any time of day or night, so we often wouldn't know until he told us. From his point of view. It got to be such a common event that he got himself a top-of-the-line smartphone with as much memory as he could get his hands on, filled it with the type of information you'd need to start your own civilisation, and always keeps three-to-five solar batteries at hand.
We worry, of course, but decided to do our best to not let it show, or he would just stop telling us about it. Honestly, we all prefer to go with him, but it is hardly our choice. And up until now, it had always been about Shirou. As far as I know, this is the first time any of us is going alone, and I while I am of course a bit surprised about it, the truly surprising part is that it was me.
I mean, nee-san is a genius, while Saber and Rider are so strong... I can't help but to think there was some kind of error involved.
We were taken to the castle's audience chamber, where an elderly magus we were told is this country's king told us about the dangero situation in this world.
Well, to summariza the king's tale:
Their prophecy of destruction is coming true. The world is being assaulted by Waves of Calamity, events where thousands of monsters break into this world and flood over the land, bringing death and destruction to everyone they find. According to the prophecy, saving the world implies repelling these events until their fury is spent.
Even though the enormous magical hourglass in the capital's cathedral was counting down to doomsday, it has done so endlessly for hundreds of years. Until roughly a month ago.
The sands in the Hourglass of the Dragon's Era actually began to decrease a little over a month ago, and when it was fully empty, the first Wave of Calamity struck.
A dimensional crack appeared in this country's skies, and monsters invaded in untold numbers. Their country's adventurers and knights just barely managed to repel the monsters, and before anyone noticed, the hourglass had spun around and began to count again.
There is roughly one month until the next wave, which will be even more powerful than the first. And without summoning the Legendary Heroes, they could not hope to repel the waves. That was the current situation.
Well, it was convenient that the [Mystic Code] on our arms automatically translate all languages for us. Or so I thought, until the gentlemen that were summoned along with me began to talk.
"I understand your situation, but you didn't ask for our consent, and yet want us to risk our lives for you. Isn't this kidnapping and enslavement?"
"Your tale is incredibly suspicious."
Seriously? We are in the centre of a magus' den, surrounded by his guards and followers, and you want to sass him? Please spare me, I better make clear that me being here is a mistake.
"…I am sorry, but I am fairly sure you meant to summon my husband, not I."
Hopefully, hubby will show up any minute now. Well, I am sure he will want to help the people before we go home, though. Ah, at least the last gentleman seems smart enough to keep his mouth shut...
"Indeed, we have no obligations towards you. After we are done risking our lives, we will have nothing to show for it. And once peace returns, will you just dismiss us as if nothing? I want to know which assurances you'll give us. You do plan to compensate our efforts, right?"
I was wro~ong! I could feel myself stiffen as cold sweat runs down my back. Hopefully they won't turn us into lab specimens or enslave us with this world's equivalent of a command seal. I mean, who would summon 'Legendary Heroes' and just let them do as they please? A~ah, Shirou, what should I do?
"Fumu~" The king looks towards one of his men.
"Indeed, we are prepared to compensate the heroes properly for their efforts!"
Uhm? We are not dead? They are going to pay us? Really? My fellow transmigrators seem to be extremely excited about the way things are going, but I think its way too soon to lower our guard. Ah... I really don't understand what I'm doing here. And this bow attached to my arm, isn't this basically screaming 'Shirou' or maybe 'EMIYA' out loud? If I make it back home, are we all going to start doing as Shirou, and carrying libraries worth of magical grimoires, encyclopedias and technical data books on our smartphones henceforth? Ah, but nee-san is really bad with tech, so maybe she won't.
I really wish I had memorized that magic circle nee-san designed for Shirou to call home from anywhere and whenever he happens to be, just for cases like this.
"We have already prepared support in the form of money and safety. You will be protecting our world, after all." The elderly man next to the king explains so.
"You seem to understand well."
"Just money and a place to sleep won't be nearly enough, though. We expect your continuous support in exchange for our work."
"E-excuse me... really, you want my husband, not I..."
"Uh-hu..." The king just huffs and nods.
What's wrong with him? He keeps ignoring my words... well, he's a magus, so he probably doesn't care about our opinions in the first place.
Then again, this room seems full of courtiers and politicians, so I guess there's a chance he's being honest. It seems extremely unlikely for this world to have a single country in charge of every single corner of the world, so there should be agents and spies here that will report everything that is said and done back to their employers... but what do I do if they are planning to use a [Geas] to enslave us, and just want the rest of the world to know they now control the 'Legendary Heroes'?
[The Hero is immune to slavery magic.]
E~eh!? W-what's this? It's like a phone message just popped right in front of my eyes... anywhere I look, it is right in the middle of my field of view. I wonder if this means I am already under some form of mind control? Ah, I managed to close it by willing it away, so maybe it isn't some weird charm?
[The Hero is immune to slavery magic.]
It came back... when it says 'the hero', is it talking about me? Where are these messages coming from?
[A Legendary Weapon has a [Help] function.]
...its like a cellphone's user guide? Wait, is this... is this the bow itself!? I can tell I reflexively reinforced my mind, so I am perceiving time hundreds of times faster than normal, but is it enough to deal with this? I focus on this [Help] menu and go through as much information as I can while the king starts to open his mouth to speak... if this can be believed, I really am immune to [Geas], [Command Seals] and any other form of mind control while the [Legendary Bow] is attached to me.
"Well now heroes, let us hear your names."
The king straightens up and looks at us... looks like I need to make a choice, and do so right now. Assuming the bow is telling me the truth, I should give my real name, since it is not that hard to create a [Bounded Field] that will let you know when people are lying to you. In that case, I should be truthful, because doing otherwise risks offending the king in the middle of his own court.
Ah, but I was born as Sakura Tohsaka, then had my name changed for Sakura Matou, and after marrying Shirou, I became Sakura Emiya. They are all my real name, being my birth name, my adopted name, and my married name, respectively. Honestly, I don't want to use the name Matou if it can be helped, so its either Tohsaka or Emiya, and from those two, my birth name is of course more dangerous than my current name, so regardless of wheter the bow is telling me the truth or not, let's go with Sakura Emiya.
"My name is Ren Amaki, I am a sixteen years old student."
Hero of the Sword, Ren Amaki: A high school student, is he? How nostalgic. I had already gone through the Holy Grail War at his age. I wonder what sort of experiences he has gone through in order to be chosen as a hero? He is barely a couple of inches shorter than me, though I think he's considerably taller than I was at his age. He seems to take great care of his personal appearance, which is an easy way to tell he has at least some discipline in his daily life.
"Then, next is yours truly. My name is Motoyasu Kitamura. Twenty-one years old this year, a university student."
Hero of the Spear, Motoyasu Kitamura: A lancer with a ponytail and an appearance that makes you think he'd be popular with women. Talk about nostalgic. Ah, Lancer died when he was poisoned by a jealous woman, but that's probably irrelevant right now.
"...then, I am Sakura Emiya. Twenty-two years old, and happily married."
Ah, I can't feel any alarms going off. Well, my name is a technical truth, anyway. Does this means I'm safe, or that there weren't any magical alarms and sensors in the first place? Let's try and stretch my magical energy a little bit... what is this...? T-this world is basically oozing magical energy! I have to be careful, or it feels as if my magical circuits are likely to get flooded and torn apart.
Let's tone it down... calm down... calm down... there we go... I couldn't sense any magical sensors in the audience room. I can tell many of those present here have magical energy, though, as well as a few [Mystic Codes] of their own. Hm. It was the correct decision to say 'a' real name. I can't tell what those [Mystic Codes] are for, after all.
Ah, there's quite a few hidden observers watching from hidden passages and chambers in the walls and roof. Honestly, it is comforting to know I can feel their spies. If I couldn't, then I would have been truly worried.
"Finally, I am Naofumi Iwatani, age twenty, university student."
The last gentleman has kind eyes and... wait a minute, I can't feel any magical energy circulating in any of my fellow transmigrators. If they were magus, they would know that was the easiest way to raise your magical defences against curses and spells, so... are they incompetent, or are they normal people?
"Fumu~ Ren, Motoyasu and Sakura, is it?"
"Your majesty, you forgot about me..."
"I apologize, Naofumi-dono."
I think the king may have noticed me prodding at his magical energy, just now... maybe. All the same, I have been busy placing magical sensors in the castle, starting with this room and moving outwards. In a few minutes, I should have the entire place under watch... ah, there's a few rooms with defenses against such things. I was beginning to think I was just being paranoid, but if they are worried about such things, that means that such things exist.
"And now, please heroes, let's check your stats. Actually, please do so by yourselves." The king nodded.
"Eh?"
"What do … stats?"
"Yes, I did so already."
I was the only one that seemed to know what the king was talking about, while everyone else seemed to be a little lost.
Well, the concept was explained in the [Help] section of the bow, and I had the experience of being Rider's master, after all. On the other hand, if these gentlemen really are just regular people...
"What the hell... you guys didn't even notice that much after being summoned to a fantasy world!? If it wasn't for Sakura-san, I'd think I'm the only one here with a working brain." Ren looked quite shocked by Motoyasu and me not knowing about this.
How curious. Ren-san... ah wait, I'm the sempai now, so Ren-kun. Ren-kun seemed somewhat familiar with the way [Menu] works, though try as I may, I cannot feel magical energy circulating through his body. First chance I get, I'd like to try some skin-on-skin contact to check if his circuits are open or not.
"Fine, whatever. You see the icon in the corner of your sight?"
"Eh?"
"Just focus your mind on it, and it'll show you."
Both Motoyasu and Naofumi-san seem quite confused by all this, adding more weight to the idea that they are just normal people. Let's try letting slip that I can use magical energy. It's not as if the existence of magic is a secret at this point, after all. We all just got summoned to another world to begin with.
"Level 1, is it... doesn't sound very safe."
"Right, forget saving the world, can we even fight like this?"
"Well, my magic is shown..."
Uhm. They all seem quite surprised, though only them.
"Looks like magic such as this is uncommon in the heroes' world, Sakura-sama? It is ubiquitous in this world, helping us improve ourselves."
That's what he says. Of course, I am putting about as much faith in an unknown magus' words as I would on a lottery ticket I found on the streets. I think there's more chances of finding a winning ticket than of finding a magus in a position of power that didn't had a secret agenda.
"Is that so? Back home, magic is an incredibly well-guarded secret."
"Hold on, wait a minute. Sakura-san, are you saying that magic was real back home!?"
"...for finding out, you'd normally be killed, though. Along with your family, friends and neighbours, as well as whomever it was that told you about it."
I am starting to grow concerned on these gentlemen's behalf. Motoyasu-san seems just as surprised, though he's being quiet. Let's try and find a reason to touch Ren-kun as soon as I can.
"So, what should we do now? Our current numbers are quite worrying."
"Fumu~ As of now, you heroes must venture forth to raise your levels, as well as the power of your Holy Weapons."
"Raise their power... does that means the Legendary Weapons are weak?"
"That is only true at the moment. Each weapon has different ways of strengthening, and as you do so, they grow mighty indeed."
A [Mystic Code] that can grow and evolve? Well, this world is practically overflowing with magical energy. If the Age of the Gods hasn't ended here, I guess such things are possible.
"In that case, isn't it fine since our weapons will grow in the end?" Motoyasu commented while twirling his spear through the air.
"So, all four of us will go fight together?"
"Ah, heroes, please wait."
"Hm?"
...will he reveal his plan now?
"Each of you needs to gather your own party in order to grow with the best possible efficiency."
"What do you mean?"
"Fumu~ The legend explains that the world blesses the Holy Weapons, their users, and party members, and this blessing is shared equally between them. If you are too close together, the blessing is reduced by that many Holy Weapons."
"Are you saying that we can't group together?"
That is not what the king said. Now that he knows I am a magus, he has begun to circulate his own magical energy within his body, which means that he's on guard. Just as I didn't want to lie in his presence, he'll be careful about doing the same before me, which is handy since I don't actually have a way to tell when he is lying to begin with.
"No, his majesty is advising us to take full advantage of the World's Blessing, but it's not as if we 'can't' group together, either." I explain calmly.
We all looked at each other, and then a pop up message appeared in our field of view.
Attention
If the wielders of the Holy Weapons work together as a united front, a rejection effect will occur. Therefore, please move separately whenever possible.
"It looks like that is indeed the way it is..."
Hmm~ looks like they are just assuming the [Holy Weapons] won't lie to them. This could be bad.
[A Holy Bow exists to support its hero.]
Is what popped up in my field of view. Right, let's dismiss this message.
"Recruiting comrades and improving ourselves. I wonder which is the highest priority?"
"Please allow us the honour of selecting capable companions for you. And besides, the She is beginning to set over the horizon. Heroes, please rest for today, so your journey can begin tomorrow. We shall make arrangements and scout for talented individuals that will walk with you towards a glorious fate!"
Ah, I should play along for now.
"""Thank you very much."""
"Thank you."
We had expressed our thanks, and the king ordered someone to prepare guest rooms for each of us.
~O~
All of the heroes are sitting within one of the luxurious guest rooms that had been prepared for us. The men had their own room, of course, but I had come over to compare notes with them, and we had all been so busy reading through the information on our weapons that the sun had long ago sunk behind the horizon. I could see hundreds of different bows listed, each with different prerequisites to unlock. Some asked for levels, some asked for materials, some asked for previous bows.
It was incredibly convenient, and therefore made me suspicious of it all.
"Yo~ doesn't this feels like a videogame?"
Video games, is it? I know what they are, but I just don't have the time to look into them.
"I am just barely familiar with video games. Hubby installed some in our house's computer, but I am afraid they are completely unrelated to this. Magus are, in general, very bad with technology."
"I-is that so, Sakura-chan? This is really familiar to multiplayer online role playing games. I've seen quite a few with a similar system to this."
"Eh?" I... have no idea what Motoyasu-san is talking about.
"This world has the exact same system as my favoreite MMORPG."
"Eh?" No, seriously, I do not understand what Motoyasu-san is talking about.
"I can't imagine Sakura-san enjoying violent games, so that's fine, but I consider myself an splendid gamer and otaku, you know? I can't believe I never even heard of anything like this."
"Wait, hold on. What do you mean MMORPG? Don't you mean VRMMO?"
"What?"
Over the next few seconds, it became clearer and clearer that Motoyasu-san and Ren-kun were familiar with the [Menu] provided by to us by the [Legendary Weapons]. I am more and more convinced that they are normal people who sprung a very powerful magical trap of some sort in order to get dragged into this world.
"Gentlemen, please." If they are really normal people, I should try and help them. "I am of the impression that we may actually be from different japans."
"""Uh?"""
It was an strange conversation, but basically, each of our japan had a different prime minister, and while it would be possible for us to be wrong on things about small countries and relatively obscure historical events, some of our worlds have wildly different histories or even extra continents, which was a dead give away.
I did my best to explain to them about parallel timelines and different worlds. Well, it was clear that we were in a different world, and it was clear that we came from different timelines, so it wasn't that hard to explain.
Well, in the end, it looks like both Motoyasu-san and Ren-kun were somewhat familiar with this world's [Menu] through the games they played, while Naofumi-san says that parallel world adventures are actually a fairly popular literary genre nowadays, so he is quite familiar with the concept, if nothing else.
The 'secret of magic' is meaningless in this world. To begin with, we were all brought here through magic and we were all at least familiar with the concept. Furthermore we each had a different [Mystic Code] strapped to our arm, and couldn't put it down no matter what. My worry now is that these young men do not seem to be taking the situation as seriously as they should.
"Well, since we came from different worlds, I guess it would make sense if we each had different reasons to be chosen."
"I... am bad at socialising, but I think we should exchange as much information as possible."
Ren-kun seems quite nervous as he starts to tell us about himself. He's just a normal high school student, isn't he? If one of my archery club members found himself in this situation, I'd want someone to take care of him, and hubby would surely take him under his wing. I think.
As for his history. He seems to have been groomed for coming into this world for quite a while through this game of his, and then tested by placing his childhood friend in danger to see what he would do. Was this the doing of the 'Holy Weapon'? I can't help but to feel that these [Mystic Code]s in our arms are suspicious and untrustworthy. Their information is too vague, with terms like (small) and (medium) even though everything else is clearly expressed in numbers.
Perhaps its just because I use [Imaginary Numbers] to control my magic, but I would feel much better if all the cards were laid clearly on the table.
[A Holy Weapon exists to support its Hero!]
Yes yes, so you've said. See how much I trust you. Let's dismiss this dubious window until this thing starts showing actually clear and relevant information. For now, let's try and calm down Ren-kun. He really tried his best to save his friend, didn't he? I bet hubby would have approved, but I am going to have to keep an eye on him, least he goes and die heroically somewhere out of sight.
"There, there. You tried your best, you are a good boy." Poor thing must be shaken. I am a bit worried he may not have a place to return to if he's 'dead' in his homeworld.
"I... was already here before I could feel a thing."
"I see, you protected your friend. Good work. But be more careful from now on. You need to realize, now you have a responsibility to save the entire world, so please think about keeping yourself alive no matter what, alright?" Since his knee-jerk reaction is to be a hero, let's begin appealing to his self-preservation instinct from that direction. I never thought I would be ever grateful about hubby's bad habit of self-sacrifice, but it does at least give me some experience in handling his type.
Motoyasu-san pointed at himself and began to talk.
"For me, I was caught by my many girlfriends. And after this and that happened..."
"You got stabbed for two-timing? Three-timing?"
Ren's voice was completely level. Well, he's a lancer alright.
"Man, girls are really scary, aren't they?"
Yup, he's a lancer alright. He somehow seems like an scared puppy right now. Ah, [baby lancer] is the [god of puppies].
"GOD DAMMIT!" Oh, Naofumi-san seems to be quite upset. Were you that touched by your companion's painful death?
Uhm... well, hubby would want me to watch over them, or to at the very least offer some advice, so here we go.
"My husband is a hero." I begin. "So he is always getting dragged into situations like this. That is why, I think the summoning was flawed somehow. I mean, he's a good enough archer to snipe a fly from three or four miles away and have it die in a huge magical explosion." Let's not go into detail about how huge. "Well, from experience, I can tell you that unless there is an important time difference between parallel worlds, I am fairly sure hubby will find his way here and pick me up in a couple of days. Ah! But he's likely to help you save the world first!"
Yes, according to my experience. Hubby is almost always gone for a couple of hours at the most, even when he later explains he just spent 2 or 3 years in another world. He was gone for an entire month once, though, and his adventure seems to have been about that long, so it looks like time compression is proportionally reverse to how long it takes him to fix a problem. Well, if time is running really fast in this world, I should assume a couple of hours until he wakes up and realizes I'm gona could be as much as 2 or 3 years, but let's not worry the kids. It is better if they think help is coming soon.
"But, this seems really interesting! This time, it will be his turn to say 'welcome home' with a smile!"
"Ah... Sakura-san... about your death...?" Ren-kun looking up at me is stirring my motherly instincts.
"Hm. All I remember is walking into hubby's magical workshop to clean it up a bit."
"""I... see."""
That means the [Legendary Weapon] had probably placed a trap for hubby in a place he was likely to visit as soon as he woke up, and I just happened to trigger it instead.
[A Legendary Weapon exists to support its Hero!]
Yes, yes. Dismissed. This time I wave a hand at the annoying window.
"Wait a minute, do I absolutely have to tell you about my origin story?" Naofummy-san seems nervous.
"Well duh. We already told you ours."
"I guess you are right. Sorry to say, but I was just reading a [Suspicious Book] in the library."
""...""
"Uhm~ sounds like magical bait." Definitively a magical trap. But his [Mystic Code] could at least have done him the courtesy of letting him read some more in order to become as familiar as possible with the situation here. These [Mystic Codes] are just too suspicious.
[A Legendary Weapon is not suspicious at all!]
Oh, so you can talk in less vague terms but hadn't been doing so until now? So suspicious. Dismissed.
"He has the shield, uh?"
"Do you think its the same as in our games?"
"Hmm~"
I wonder what would give these young men the best chance to survive. I guess I should impress upon them the fact that we could all end up as test subjects for any reason. At best, we are convenient political tools for these people, and... ah, now that my magical sensors have spread through the entirety of the castle, there's a lot of secret passages in the walls and roofs. I don't like the conversations I am hearing, either. They have zero intention of letting us go even if we save their world, and... well, it seems like they are planning to keep us around and are arranging to have 'ideal future partners' mixed into our parties.
Or rather, there's so many such individuals thinking the same thing, that won't our 'companions' end up as nothing but politically chosen honey traps? Motoyasu-san and Ren-kun will probably be especially weak against such a plot...
Sigh "Can't you guys give us a few tips? Come on guys."
"Well, leave it to big brother to teach you things."
"..."
"As a Shield Hero, you start with very high defense."
"Uh hu."
"But since none of us can use any other weapons, you will never be able to attack with a sword, so basically..."
"Basically?"
"After the first few levels, once monsters become stronger... you'll just take damage until you die."
"What the hell!? What kind of unbalanced shitty game is this!? Balance Patch! Update! Seriously, who designs a class with no attacks!?"
"Hm... I'm sorry but..." Let's try and get them to make a common front, at the very least. "I don't know about this four Holy Heroes system, but it looks somewhat similar to my world's Heroic Spirits, and..."
"Hh- Sakura-chan really comes from a magical Japan uh?"
...Motoyasu-san, I understand you are used to handling girls, but I am a married woman, you know?
"...as far as I know, plenty of heroes use shields to attack. I mean, right here we have [Lancer] (I gesture towards Motoyasu), [Saber] (I point at Ren), [Archer] (I place my hand on my chest), and [Shielder], so I don't really see the problem..."
"Eh?"
"What?"
"Is that so?"
Ah, it makes me a little nervous to suddenly be in charge of three young men out of the blue. No, let's calm down and think back on the archery club. This now is the Hero club, and I'm their captain. Yes, that works!
"Well, if possible, I'd like to trade."
"What?" Naofumi-san seems confused.
"Can you hand me your shield and take the bow?"
"""WHAT?"""
"I told you, I am a magus. I can attack using magic. Why do I need a bow? Yes I was in the archery club, but doesn't having an indestructible shield sounds amazing when you already have magic to attack with? I mean, it's indestructible, you know!? What am I going to do with a bow, give up magic for pointy sticks?"
They all seem to be thinking about it. Good.
"Besides, is it really that bad? Isn't an indestructible object, by definition, the ultimate weapon anyway? We are still breathing, right? So can't you shove it down a dragon's throat and suffocate it to death? Why can't you just bash someone on the head with it? Between an indestructible shield and a very destructible skull, I think I know which one would win..."
"Well, you know, Sakura-san..."
"Ehr... well, you see..."
"..."
"""DPS is a man's romance!"""
"E-eh!?"
W-what is that!? De P**n*s!? What!? Just what are they talking about now?
"N-no!" Motoyasu-san stands up. "It isn't lewd, I swear! It stands of Damage Per Second, see? It means, how much damage you can dish out, the quicker, the better!"
"But isn't winning without letting anyone get hurt a hero's romance?" I mean, that is hubby's dream, anyway.
"""..."""
Ah, it looks like they've understood. That's good. Let's take the role of their shield. Its better if they can all attack with at least some degree of safety, and the bow should be the safest, so it would be wrong of me to cling to it.
"That's why, I'd like to trade with you, Naofumi-san."
"Uh... I don't think we can?"
"Right, you cannot." Ren chirps in from the side.
"Is that so? I don't know much about how this world's magic system and [Mystic Code]s work."
"Mystic code?"
"Magical items."
"""Oh."""
Well, the world of magus is basically hyper paranoid about the secret of magic getting out, so we use euphemism and vaguely related terms for most things. For now, Ren-kun and Motoyasu-san seem to be somewhat familiar with the workings of this world's magic system even if they can't use it themselves, so let's try and get information out of them. For now, let's try the direct route.
"Could you explain it to me?" I look at Ren
"Ah, sure."
Ren-kun is doing his best to explain things, though he seems oddly fixated on saying 'in the game' every once in a while. I am more and more concerned. He seems to be truly fixasted in seeing this world as a game. Is it a coping mechanism or is his [Mystic Code] affecting his mind?
[A Legendary Weapo-!]
Dismissed. Come back when you have something relevant and accurate, alright? I am not interested. I have polished myself in the market street, dealing with all the uncles and aunties at the fruit and veggie stands, plus hundreds of door-to-door salesman and telemarketeers, there is no way I will be purchasing such a dubious product.
I wonder if there's a 'Do not show me this message again' function somewhere?
Anyway, the [Mystic Codes] have a weapon copy and inventory functions, as well as methods to power up, which basically goes like this:
Level Link (core): As the Hero levels up, all weapon forms will grow stronger alongside them.
Mastery: Using the same weapon would improve its stats up until it is fully mastered.
Energy Transfer: When you have gained mastery in using a weapon, you could reset its mastery level and release the amount of energy you had invested in it. Finally, any items that you had absorbed into the weapon could also be turned into energy.
Rarity Up: By imbuing a weapon with energy gained from resetting mastery levels, you can increase its rarity level and the weapon's abilities. A weapon's rarity can be repeatedly increased starting at common (C), then uncommon (UC), and so on.[
Well, looking at our [Menu], those methods are indeed listed there, but...
"Uh, Ren-kun, what about these other things here?" I try to point at my screen, but apparently they cannot see it. This means each of these already dubious [Mystic Codes] is free to feed us whatever information it feels like...
"What?"
"Well, the bow is showing me your methods and four more."
""Uh?"" Both Ren and Motoyasu seem confused.
"Its true, I can see more than just those four, too." Ah, so Naofumi-san too, uh?
Well, I explain that my [Holy Bow] has the following strengthening methods:
Weapon Rarity (core): The rarer a weapon is, the stronger it is. A weapon made from rarer materials will be stronger than a weapon of equal quality but more common materials.
Ore Equip: The power of a weapon can be raised by equipping it with certain ores. This never fails.
Item Enchantment: Items that have been absorbed into a weapon can be turned into energy, and that can be used to raise the percentage of various stats. Success is based on probability, decreasing with each successive enchantment. Upon failure, the item enchantment level is reset to 0.
Job Level: You can increase specific stats by using the energy contained in absorbed monsters or items. Upon filling the level gauge for the desired stat, the stat is increased and the level gauge is reset with a cooldown timer.
"""Hm~"""
We are all looking at our [Menu] while thinking about it. I think... these [Mystic Codes] calling themselves [Legendary Weapons] are the pinnacle of suspicious. They are already feeding us whatever information they want. This is an information war, and we need to make absolutely sure we have the upper hand.
[This Legendary Weapon is doing its best.]
Dismissed. Uh, it somehow feels like this [Mystic Code] is about to cry.
"Yup, I see them." Naofumi-san is the first to speak.
""Wut?"" Both Ren and Motoyasu are staring at him.
"Are you serious?" Motoyasu is lifting an eyebrow
"I don't see them."
"Maybe it needs more time to load? I don't know, why would Sakura-san lie to us? Also, it worked for me just fine."
"I-i guess you are right. If Sakura-nee says so, it is probably the truth."
Eh? Sakura-nee? Little brother get?!
"Ah, I can see them now, yes, there they are." Ren nods after a moment.
"What!?" Motoyasu looks like he can't believe his ears. "How!?"
"Uhm." I need to be clear. "A big part of magic is perception." I explain. "That is why complex spells are made easier, or even possible, through the use of [Aria]s."
"Like magic chants?" Ren is the first one to speak, but they all seem interested so far. Good.
"Exactly. But the purpose of an [Aria] is self-hypnosis. To place yourself in an state of mind where you are able to direct magical energy in the best possible way for the best possible effect, free of doubt and hesitation."
""So in short..."" Ren and Naofumi turn to look at Motoyasu. ""You just have to trust.""
"Nakama power, uh?"
He rubs his head with both hands. Well, I guess it would be hard to believe for a civilian.
"Well, we can't actually use any of those methods right now. We haven't killed a single mob, and we don't have money or materials, so that will have to wait until tom-o... hm." Naofumi starts to talk, but then stops.
"What is it?"
Ren turns to look at him.
"Well, I think my basic shield's defence bonus went up a couple of points."
"Now that you mention it, I think my sword's atk and spd bonuses went up by 1 each."
"Is that so? Is it because we've already had our weapons for a while?" I take my smartphone out and start taking notes. I want to keep track of this thing's growth. (Small) bonus? Yea right, give me actual numbers please. Maybe then I will doubt you a little less.
"Anyway, I can see the shield has two extra ways."
"Only two?"
Trust: Trusting and being trusted leads to increased abilities.
Energy Boost: The heroes have energy called "EP" that they draw on automatically as power from the weapons, and this is always active. Assigning this energy to skills will allow more powerful skills to be used.
"Oh? That sounds really cheap." Says Ren.
"I think its wonderful." Really, it means they have solid reasons to trust in me. All the better to keep everyone alive!
[A Legendary Weapon would like some trust as we-]
Dismissed. I already told you, come back when your dubious drink has a clear ingredients list in the back, including gr oz and %, thank you.
"That's why I'm saying it. In game lingua, it means its too strong for nearly no cost. A hero that grows stronger just because people trust him? We're heroes, you know, the people's hopes are going to be piled unto us. With such an easy, cost free, effortless power-up method, no wonder there's only two of them. If he had more, it'd be ridiculous!"
Well, that seems to have given Naofumi-san some food for thought. For now, let's write down how much stronger the bow got... there. Now all we're missing are the spear's methods of strengthening.
"Motoyasu-san~ " I look at him. "Please?"
"I can't find any of it on my own screen."
"Please~ "
"...alright."
So, the spear's strengthening methods:
Weapon Mastery (core): By growing more and more accustomed to one weapon form, you will find its strength starting to increase.
Smelting: The user can power up a piece of equipment using ores. While there is no limit to this method, there is a chance of failure which increases as it is used.
Spirit Enchantment: Pieces of monsters' souls that have been absorbed into a weapon can be used to imbue the weapon with special powers. This has no chance of failure-maybe.
Status Enchantment: Stats can also be increased by absorbing items dropped from monsters.
"""Got it.""" We chirp together.
"You are kiddin' me!?"
"Its nakama power, Motoyasu!"
"Just believe!"
"Motoyasu-san..." It will be really bad if we can't get everyone on board with trusting each other.
"Ugh..."
He stands up while rubbing his hair into a mess, his ponytail coming undone, too.
"Argh! Fine! I'll step on it, damnit, feel free to laugh at me, but I believe yo...uh?"
His eyes are fixed on something only he can see.
"They showed up, didn't they?" Ren's grin is infectious.
"I am happy for you, Motoyasu-san." Really. This means everyone's chances just went up a little more.
"Good work, man."
And on that happy note, Naofumi-san has still more news!
Sharing (core): Share the power-up methods from other legendary weapons and vassal weapons. While this works without knowing the power-up method, knowing that this is the Shield's power-up method greatly magnifies the effect of shared power-up methods.
"Your shield is so fucking cheap... Ow!"
I actually reinforced my hand for that ear flick, you know?
"You shouldn't use such foul language."
"Ah... sorry."
Ren stands up and goes to open the door.
"Mister," He addresses the guard outside. "Would you mind loaning me your sword and shield for a moment? Also, could you please bring a spear and a bow?"
"Uh? Certainly, hero-sama!"
The guard sends a maid to fetch a bow and a spear, while Ren walks back is and hands Naofumi the guard's kite shield. As soon as he holds it in his hands, his shield changes shape to imitate the guard's shield. That's great, it means that we just confirmed the [Weapon Copy] ability is working, nice!
[This Legendary Weapon has updated its stats display.]
"Hm." Alright, let's have a look...
Ah, yes, this is much better. Now I can see a clear display showing how much the [Mystic Code]'s stats have changed in the recent past, going from one number to another ever since we began sharing information. Let's compare it with my smartphone's numbers... they match.
[A Legendary Weapon wouldn't lie!]
Yes yes. Trust, but verify. I don't trust you to begin with, though. Oh, I think its actually crying. What amazing mimicry. Is it crying harder now? ...I think my dark side is having fun.
After a few minutes, there's knocking at the door. The maid brought along a female knight with an spear In one hand and a bow in the other. Lets the sword and shield before we proceed. I touch the bow briefly and copy it, then pick up the spear and hold it for Motoyasu-san to copy.
"As you can see, we can strengthen the Holy Weapons by copying existing weapons. Do you think you could take us to the armoury later? We will not be taking anything with us, so the country shouldn't lose anything by it."
"Oh! Yes, hero-sama!" The female knight seems quite happy to do as I say.
Well, it only makes sense, and if the country has any strong [Mystic Code]s we can copy it without having the country lose anything in the process, all the better.
Motoyasu-san stands up and walks over to me, then quickly copies the spear and unlocks its form, so I give the spear back now that we are done with it.
"We will talk for a bit longer still, so please make arrangements in the meantime." I explain to the female knight.
We talk for a but longer about Motoyasu and Ren's knowledge of 'hunting grounds' while I keep fiddling with my [Menu]. I am happy to see things shown more clearly now, but there's plenty of room for improcement. You heard that?
[A Legendary Weapon will work hard.]
Yes, yes you will.
"... literally spawn through the walls once we leave, so we can just go right back in to continue 'grinding.'"
"Wait, what was that?" What did Ren-kun just say? Monsters?
"Dungeons will refill with monsters after we leave them, that is how this world should work."
"I am sorry, could you please describe these dungeons to me?" Dungeons full of monsters, all I can think of is 'grandfather' and his horrible worms.
"Well, you know... caves, mines, maybe thick enough forests...?"
"O-oh! Alright then." Oh, so its just another 'gamer term,' and not an actual dungeon. Alright.
Well, I guess I could just flood them with darkness and kill them all in one go. I am not a helpless child anymore. Nee-san has been teaching me magic for 5 years now, and I have gone to parallel worlds with hubby a few times, so I am not helpless anymore! I am not! Ah, well, lets try and make sure these gentlemen don't meet a bad end.
"Have you noticed?" I begin. "How vague the [Menu] information is unless you probe it for details? The longbow form I copied from the knight outside only said it granted an (Small) bonus against humanoids until I mentally willed it to switch into a numerical value showing a 5% increase."
"But Sakura-nee, isn't (Small) pretty self-explanatory? It is an small bonus. Nothing special."
"And yet, the damage value of the bow is expressed in numbers. I'd rather have a clear-cut idea of what everything does." Wait, you actually don't mind? "I don't know about videogames, but my best magic is based around mathematics and imaginary numbers. I just don't feel comfortable with vague terms such as (Small) when I could have a clear-cut '+5%' instead. It feels as if the system messages were designed by a lazy person, for a lazy person."
"Ah~ now that you mention it, it really is quite vague at some points." Motoyasu-san agrees, and seems to focus on his own [Menu] for a couple of moments. "There, changed all of those vague (Small) into +5%. I am surprised you noticed something like this, Sakura-chan."
"Are you looking down on me because I told you magus are typically bad with modern tech?"
I mean, if it was nee-san... no, sorry nee-san, just because you can't operate the blue-ray recorder at home, it doesn't means you are bad at everything tech-like. I mean, you learnt to use the phone. To send and receive calls, if only that...
Why are you all looking away!? You really think I'm bad with tech? I use hubby's computer to browse for recipes all the time, you know!? ...I even learnt how to use G*ggle translate to check recipes for national dishes in their original language, you know? I'm not nee-san!
"I'll have you know, my grades were top of my class and I use hubby's computer to keep track of our household's budget. Plus, remember my magic is number-based. I would much rather have a clear number whenever possible."
"Ah, right, I am sorry, Sakura-nee."
""Please forgive us.""
"...alright."
"Sakura-nee, could you show us some magic?" Ren looks at me with hopeful eyes
Well, I had already decided the Secret of Magic is worthless in this world, anyway. Plus, there's something I've been itching to do for a while now.
"That... alright, but please don't overreact, alright? I was going to do this soon enough, anyway." Ah, they all nod and wait. "My will is absolute, my shadow shall become a door."
Two muffled cries can be heard for just a moment.
"There." I just got rid of the people spying on us.
"Sakura-nee, what was that?"
"It was kind of..."
Eh? Oh, I guess they missed it. Well that's alright since I am not done. Let's raise a hand to help focus and...
"My will is absolute. My shadow shall become a blanket."
I stretch my shadow throughout the entire room, covering the floor, walls and roof with it, then double-layering it and giving it depth to trap air between its layers in order to make the room soundsproof starting now.
"Wha-?!"
"That's...!"
"Amazing!"
"I just had to get rid of the two spies first. This blanket should keep out prying eyes, and keep sound from leaking outside the room."
"What spies?" Ren looks quite surprised.
"I don't know. We all just got here, so how would I know who sent them? I just moved them out into the hallway."
"That's what those two screams were!?"
"Yes?"
Well, short distance shadow jump is actually one of my simplest spells. So much so its about as hard as balancing on one toe, which is to say, its something you need to do consciously, but its hardly impossible.
"Can you teach us magic, Sakura-chan!?"
"I could if we had six or seven years, and that is assuming you have magic circuits... Ren, give me your hand for a moment, please." Yes, thank you Motoyasu-san, this is a great way to check on Ren at last. "Uhm... you do have a few high-quality magic circuits, so it wouldn't be impossible, but I'd need to teach you constantly in order to make sure you don't fry yourself in the process."
"W-what?!"
Ah... his circuits are closed, he really is just a civilian. I can scratch one worry off my list now, thank goodness. On the other hand, it means that I really am the one in the strongest position right now. Our weapons are currently at their lowest point, so all we have to rely on is whatever equipment and abilities we brought with us. In this case, that means I'm still a strong shadow mage, and they are just regular young men. Well, let's explain a few things.
"Magical circuits circulate magical energy through the body, which causes it to heat up. Back in my Japan, it was actually quite hard to use magic because the world hates anomalies, so magic is really weak and tends to get erased by the world after a short while, but ever since arriving, I have been 'flexing my magical muscles' so to speak, so I can say with some certainty that is not the case in this world. Both the ease of use and quantity of magic in this world are amazing, so if I taught you the way I was taught, there's a good chance you'd cook yourself from the inside out. Instead, we should look into this world's magical traditions and methods of learning, since they have probably developed safe, or at least safer, ways to learn magic."
I let out a big sigh and place my hands on my lap.
"Is that clear enough?"
"Ah, yes, Sakura-nee."
"You are a good boy. And going back to the topic of the spies..." I explain. "Like I said, I don't really know how things work here, but back home, if a magus had succeeded in summoning three young men with [Holy Weapons] attached to their arms, you can be sure you'd all be strapped to a vivisection table by now, and some of your organs would have already been extracted, cleaned, stored away and labelled for later study. If you were lucky, you would have been anaesthetised during the process, but since there's a near-certainty that would flood your organs with chemicals and make studying them harder, chances are you'd be entirely conscious the whole time... don't trust magus, and specially don't trust on magus that specialise in fleshcraft. Ah, I think you'd call them wizards in this world, though."
Hopefully this talk will snap them out of the happy 'this is amazing!' mentality they seem to have right now. This is a dangerous place, and they should keep that in mind at all times.
"The king offered to choose our companions, but I could tell he has quite a bit of magical energy, even if it is currently under a deep sleep. Therefore, I automatically must suspect his intentions. Does he want to study how the [Holy Weapons] work while we fight against the waves? If he could reproduce them, even in a weakened state, I am sure they'd be useful in the army, for example. I cannot stress this enough, but do not trust in magus or the people that work for them."
"What about you, Sakura-san?"
An excellent question.
"I... was a magus' experimental subject as a child... no, it would probably be correct to say I was something between a toy and an experimental subject, so I would never do something like that to someone else, but the right thing to do is to tell you 'I am a Magus, and you shouldn't trust me' Naofumi-san. Whoever the king chooses to go with us, we should probably ditch them the first chance we get, and go on our own way to gather companions we can trust."
"That's a very pessimistic way of looking at things, Sakura-chan."
"Motoyasu-san. From what I gather, you and Ren-san are the two in the most danger."
""What, why!?""
"Because the magical bait that brought you here also conditioned you to think of this world as a game. It is not. My advice is this; as soon as you grow a little stronger, steal all of their equipment and money, then run away."
"Sakura-nee! That's horrible!"
I wonder what he'd say if he knew the nobles are already lining up their daughters to go after his sperm, the church is choosing candidates based on their political loyalty, and the king and his daughter... oh no. I really didn't need to hear their conversation. Couldn't you have gone into one of the warded rooms for that conversation!?
"Girls are scary." Motoyasu... may be okay if he keeps that mentality, so let's affirm it a little bit.
"Well, we are still people. Don't put us in a pedestal, because we are not idols to be worshipped, Motoyasu-san. Out of the three of you here, you specially should already be aware of this."
Motoyasu flinches. I'm sorry Motoyasu-san, it is literally for your own good that I need to shoot down your rose-tinted perception of girls. The faster the better. I'll be busy thinking on how to deal with their plans for Naofumi-san.
"Honestly, if one of those girls had been a magus, you probably would have ended with some sort of amusing curse instead, and what a magus finds amusing tea-time conversation would probably turn your hair white, you know?"
We are just quiet now. Good, that means they busy thinking about what I just said. I hope.
"Come on, let's go to the armoury and try to unlock new weapon forms. I wonder if they have composite bows in this world."
I pause before reaching the door.
"By the way, Naofumi-san..." I better warn him.
~O~
Author Notes:
Oh boy do I have a LOT to write in this section this time... so many people seem interested in this fic with just the one chapter that it surprised me. I was happy to see constructive criticism was the norm for the reviews. If I had to point out any one thing, it would be this – reviews are not personal messages to the author, there's a personal messages button -. Other than that, I am grateful for your comments, but I wish you had writen a review instead of using that space to send me a message.
Anyway!
Yes, I made Sakura into a bit of a mouthpiece for my own opinions. I hate it when things are left vague on purpose so the author can cover his ass later if he makes a mistake. If I make a mistake, I will just say 'oh, sorry' and fix it or at least try not to repeat it, so I won't be having any of that (small) (medium) and (large) bullshit, I'll go with (+5%) (+30%) and (+60%) instead.
Also, I hope that by giving you guys Sakura's POV, some of your questions have been cleared. The 'Secret of Magic'... is an absolutely pointless thing to keep at this point. They were summoned by magic, are surrounded by magic, can use [Mystic Codes] and access a magical system somewhat similar to the servant's attributes during the Holy Grail War, so if Sakura were still thinking that magic is a secret, she would have to be in a state of denial so big she may as well be a blind person having colors explained to her.
Going further into detailñ; I have run roleplaying games for over 25+ years at this point (yes yes forever GM jokes go here) so I am a fan of taking notes, making sure things stay coherent, and having clear-cut character sheets built on working systems. I'm saying I don't much like how vague explanations are in the Nasuverse, or in anime/manga/WNs in general.
I am pretty annoyed whenever I see a character sheet and something like "Strength A+" is displayed. The hell does that means!? Its just pure laziness, I tell you!
A~anyway, I tried to find information on just how strong Sakura would be +5 years after the Holy Grail War, but my super duper reliable friend who is a huge nasuverse fan said to me "all I could find was this note by Nasu saying 'She's an incredibly strong Shadow Mage'. What does that means? Vague as a mirage in the desert, that's what it is!
So, I'm falling back on what I know, and what I know is Dungeons & Dragons take on Shadow Magic, which says Shadow Magic is a different source of power from regular magic, running under different, but thankfully very clear-cut rules. It includes percentages. Yay, rules! With no further delay, here you go, the Shadow Magic I decided to give Sakura, and what each of it does. Just one thing: Shadow Magic spells, in D&D, are referred to as mysteries. That is all, potato potatoe.
Some may say I'm shooting myself on the foot by having rules and by limiting the bullshit she can pull out of the box, but I believe you cannot think outside the box until you have a box to begin with. Reasonable rules do not restrict, they provide a frame you can build upon.
Uses per Mystery
Level Per Day
-Unlimited fundamentals per day-
1 8
2 8
3 8
4 7
5 6
6 6
7 5
8 5
Mysteries Known
Level Known
-all fundamentals-
1 2
2 2
3 2
4 2
5 2
6 2
7 1
8 2
Fundamentals are 'spells' so incredibly basic as to be akin to a magus' version of whistling, and they are usually referred to as 'level zero spells.'
Mysteries:
(1st level) Dusk and Dawn: Create an area of shadowy illumination.
(1st level) Life Fades:Deal (5d6) nonlethal damage and cause fatigue.
(1st level) Bend Perspective: Change point of view, as though you were standing elsewhere.
(2nd level) Thoughts of Shadow: Briefly enhance mental abilities (1 minute/level, Int, Wis or Cha)
*(2nd level) Congress of Shadows: Hold two-way telepathic conversation at a distance.
*(2nd level) Shadow Skin: DR 15/silver
(3rd level) Flicker: Flash through several locations via conduits of shadow.
(3rd level) Clinging Darkness: Root foes into place.
*(3rd level) Dancing Shadows: You grant 1 creature/5 levels concealment, or total concealment to a single creature.
(4th level) Step into Shadows: Short range teleportation/travel through shadow.
(4th level) Shadows Fade: As the spell dispel magic. Think of it as a much weaker Rule Breaker, but at least it affects an area the size of a bedroom all at once.
(5th level) Feign Life: Like animate objects, but the items gain concealment.
(5th level) Pass into Shadows: As the spell plane shift, but must involve the Plane of Shadow.
(6th level) Shadow Storm: Like chain lightning, except half the damage is cold and half electricity.
(6th level) Voyage into Shadow: As the spell shadow walk, but faster.
(7th level) Summon Umbral Servant: Summons 1 Huge, 2 Large, or 4 Medium or smaller shadow elementals. Their stats are in Tome of Magic page 166. Remember those things Sakura was summoning to fight Rin with? I think these qualify as those.
(8th level) Flesh Fails, Greater: Six damage to either Str, Dex or Con. Up to 1 target/level within a 20ft burst. Range close (25ft + 5ft/2 levels). Basically, it means your targets get weaker, clumsier, of sicker. If she makes it so that someone gets weaker, they may end up trapped inside their own clothes and having trouble to breathe as their weight pushes down on their chest. Someone who had their Constitution lowered to zero, however, is dead.
(8th level) Umbral Body: You gain the incorporeal subtype, and all advantages and traits associated with it.
Class Abilities (this is more of a reminder to myself. Readers will probably get nothing out of it unless they are D&D players):
Mystery User (21st effective Caster level, 15th Progression, 3 Additional Mysteries from Shadowsmith)
Sustaining Shadow: Eat 1/wk, 1 hour of sleep, Disease/Poison Immunity
Touch of Shadow: +12 to Climb Checks for 12 min 12/day
Shroud of Shadow: +12 to Hide and Move Silently checks for 12 mins 12/day
Shadow Craft: 6/day make one or two items up to 24 lbs, lasts 12 hours. Weapons, Light Armor and Shields included. Total enhancement bonus +12 (divided as necessary). Armor has Improved Shadow automatically.Standard Action for enhanced items (Craft Check DC20 + Bonus), Swift Action for Nonmagical. One weapon created may have the Shadow Striking ability. This is basically a much, much much much weaker version of Shirou's tracing of legendary weapons since to begin with, these items are 'generic' [Mystic Codes], come with a fixed duration (though since this world doesn't erode magic, maybe not in this world?) and have a maximum power/enhancement pool they have to share between the lot of them, so she can't just armour everyone with magical +12 armours. She could however make twelve +1 armours. Or six +1 weapons and six +1 armour, etc. If I do go with the shadow constructs being permanent, may use it for teasing by having her wear her shadows the way Bayonetta wears her hair, I guess.
Armor of Shadow: 6/day as a swift action gain +4 deflection bonus to AC for 120 mins
Widen Shroud: Can extend Shroud of Shadow to cover up to 6 others within 10'
Inspiration: A Factotum Gains a Pool of Inspiration Points for each encounter
Cunning Insight: Spend 1 IP to gain + Int (18) to an Attack, Damage or Saving Throw as Competence bonus.
Cunning Knowledge: Spend 1 IP to gain + Factotum Level (22) to a Skill you have 1 rank in. Only usable for a skill once per day for a given skill.
Trapfinding - Per Rogue. Basically, she 'can' detect magical traps and sensors, but is not guaranteed to.
Arcane Dilettante - Prepare spells 1/day. 1 7th, 7 others up to 6th. You cannot use a given spell more than once, and each use costs 1 IP. DC is 10 + spell level + Int Mod(20)
Brains over Brawn - Add Int Mod to Dexterity and Strength based skills and ability checks.
Improved Cunning Defense - Add Int mod to AC as a dodge bonus.
Opportunistic Piety - 6/day may spend an IP to heal 64 damage (Factotum level * 2 + Int Mod), deal same damage to Undead, or Turn Undead as a Cleric of Factotum level (22)
Cunning Surge - Spend 3 IP to gain an additional standard action
Cunning Breach - Spend 2 IP to negate a foes SR or DR for one round. Only applies to your attacks/spells
Cunning Dodge - 1/day spend 4 IP to negate an attack that would drop you to 0 or less HP.
Cunning Brilliance - Choose 3 Exceptional (Ex) Class Abilities from any base class 15th level of lower. Spend 4 IP to use this ability for 1 min. May only be used 1/day per ability selected.
Additional Action Points: +2/level
Bonus Feat: Action Surge or Boost
Improved Siberys Mark: Warding: Prismatic Wall 2/day
I am also givine Sakura the Dark Creature template to represent her brush with Angrya Manyu, as well as her still lingering link to the corrupted greater grail.
Dark Creature:
Size and type: Unchanged. Dark creatures found away from the Plane of Shadow have the extra planar subtype.
Speed: As base, plus +10 to all modes of movement.
Special Qualities: A dark creature retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following.
-Dark vision 60ft.
-Hide in Plain Sight (Ex)
-Resistance to cold 10
-Superior low-light vision
Skills: Same as base creature, plus Hide +8 and Move Silently +6
Dark creatures weight only a 30% of the base creature.
The original template is the Shadow Creature template in Manual of the Planes page 190 and Lords of Madness page 167.
What? You made it this far down? What do you want, a cookie? I told you wa~ay up there that this was more for the sake of my ease of keeping notes than for the readers sake. Go on now, shoo, go review or something.
Alright, fine, I guess I have more stuff to say.
I'm not going to keep this he said/she said dual chapter format after this chapter. I am going to have things happen from Sakura's POV, with short scenes featuring the other heroes POVs here and there, but they are unlikely to get their own chapters the way Naofumi did. Probably. Also, a few people complained about me going away from canon. What is that, some form of artillery emplacement? If you want canon, feel free to go read the original novel. This is a fanfic, and nothing bothers me more than when a fanfic is just a rehash of the original story, with barely any color changes to the curtains in the back of the room things are happening in.
Oh, let's throw Shirou in, and yet also have everything happen exactly the same! Hooray, you wrote a fanfic! ...not. You just copy/pasted the novel and added Shirou as a decoration in the back.
As for people complaining about the lack of interpersonal conflict between the heroes, it can still happen, just not for the same reasons. And just telling you now, I plan to have the church and international intrigue be a much greater factor in this version of the story. If you are coming along for the ride, go grab some popcorn because hopefully, it's gonna be great.
Also, I do remember Sakura has a tiny sadistic side to her courtesy of her fucked-up childhood and her brush with Angra Mainyu, and plan to pour all of it unto the bow, most of the time. Yes, its the beginning of 'let's bully the bunnygirl Holy Bow!'
[A Legendary Weapon needs an adult!]
"I am an adult!" Says Sakura as thin lines of darkness creep up from under the neck of her clothes.
[Mommy...!]