Week Two

Preparing For The Hunt

[Day Six]

[Evening]

(Classroom)

"Tomorrow's finally the day of the Elimination Battle." Saber said as we entered Taiga's classroom. "Since the enemy already used a Command Seal to our benefit, I doubt we'll have much trouble. Still, to win this, I may need to step it up a notch or two." I get the feeling that she means her Noble Phantasm. We'll need it as a means of a trump card. But there seems to be some hesitation from Saber as I looked at the expression on her face.

"If you don't want to use your Noble Phantasm-"

"N-No, that's not an issue or anything. I am a Knight of the Round Table, and it's my job as a knight to protect you. So don't worry about it. I'll win with or without the need of my Noble Phantasm." The issue drops, but some unease lingers in my brain. Some day, I may decide to use my Servant's full abilities, but for now, I'll put my trust in her brute strength.

"If you say so...on a different note...shouldn't Taiga be in here? I mean we did give her the item that she needed, so she should give us something in return for it...right?"

"So, you have graced me with your presence again, my favorite student!" The door to the left side of the room opened up quickly as Taiga entered the room spinning around like a top for a moment before stopping and pointing a finger at me. "Well as a way to thank you for fulfilling my request. I shall give you the last piece of information you need." She said before reaching for a piece of chalk from off her desk and walking over to the blackboard behind herself. "All right, let's review the information that you were able to gather, shall we?"

"Dan Blackmore. Our opponent this time is a veteran soldier. Since I could never hope to make up decades of experience in a week, he's got the advantage over me. But that doesn't mean he's perfect. We were able to figure out that his Servant is an Archer class servant."

"What makes you think that?" Taiga asked after finishing writing what I said on the board.

"That day in the Arena, the Servant fired a poison arrow at me. That kind of precise marksmanship was enough to tell me the enemy's class category."

"Not to mention that it also shows that the Servant and his Master don't have the best bond between the two of them. Given how Dan is more of a knight and fights fair, Archers prefer to snipe people from a distance and stay hidden. Like a hunter trying to hunt for an animal to eat." Saber added. "He also forbade his Servant to use his bow to fire poison arrows. That bow he has is his Noble Phantasm, the yew bow." She said as Taiga continued to write on the board. "Bastard used that bow on egghead during the prep period. Which made Dan utilize a Command Seal to disable its further use. Telling him to fight fairly. I'm not against fighting face-to-face."

"Okay, anything else that you gathered? I think I might know who this Servant is, but I need one more bit of information to know who he is for sure." Taiga said as I picked up from where Saber stopped.

"We did ask for some assistance from a girl named Rani. We brought her Archer's arrow and from what she was able to find out from reading the stars, he's from a forest called The Sherwood Forest."

"And with that, we have our answer. The legendary hero of the Sherwood Forest! Robin Hood! While the origins of the legends of the chivalrous thief who dwelt in the Sherwood Forest are a subject to constant and spirited debate, it is generally acknowledged that there was an actual person who held the name Robin Hood and that he died at the hand of his aunt, the Prioress of Kirklees, who is believed to have bled him to death in the guise of administering aid for his wounds. However, many of the exploits attributed to him are a curious amalgamation of Celtic, Greek, and Druid mythologies. One of the most persistent of the Robin Hood legends identifies him originally as a faceless hero who was born from the prayers of residents of the British Isles. Weary of the seemingly endless incursions and invasions of their country, they asked the heavens for someone to fight off the foreign invaders. As concurrent legend pegs Robin Hood as a representation of the "Green Man", a spirit of the woods who would carry out the actions and deeds that the common layperson couldn't. It was this belief that transformed the name into a title assumed by many nameless, faceless heroes who took up the mantle of protecting the people."

"Huh, never knew something like this was in human history," I said while writing down the information Taiga was giving me.

"Those who assume the identity of Robin Hood ten to be very conflicted young men. Incredibly virtuous and honorable, yet always working out of the shadows like an assassin or thief, there seems to be a slight tinge of cowardice to their makeup. To cover the self-loathing that also seems to be part of every Robin Hood's personality, they all uniformly adopt a somewhat combative and derisive attitude. And though every person who adopts the Robin Hood persona truly values life above all else, they have little appreciation for their own. As the original Robin Hood, he is under the protection of the fairies and is well-versed in the archaic lore of the Druids. And like all "defenders of the forest," his knowledge of naturally occurring medicines and poisons is second to none."

Matrix Level: E

Enemy Servant Info Complete

"Well damn. Guess he was around during my time when I was still alive back in Camelot." Saber said as she folded her arms in amusement. "Glad I wasn't around when he was still living. Pretty sure that punk would've died by my hands."

"Once again, you're a lifesaver," I said before bowing my head to Taiga. "Thanks, um. Ms. Taiga."

"Again. I'm always willing to help when needed, so feel free to come my way so I can give you what you need in return for helping me with my request~" She said as I nodded and began to make my way out of the classroom.

"Now that we have what we need. I can think of a plan for when we have to fight Dan and Robin Hood tomorrow...I better get some kind of Code Casting to deal with curing poison...wait, is it possible to make coding in curing poison?"

"I don't know. I mean it should be possible seeing how you're in a digital world or whatever. But knowing you, I'm sure you can think of something before tomorrow."

"Hm...I'll have to look into this...Saber, I need you to go to the commissary and get a lot of food. For the rest of the day, I am going to be tinkering with some of the formal wear that we got from the arena." I said as I noticed a grin appearing on her face.

"Planning on doing an all-nighter like before?"

"I do have a battle strategy ready and I'll be sure to go over it with you. But I'll need to see if it's possible to augment the Code Casting on the garments and clothes we got from the Arena. Hence why I'll be needing food...a lot of it."

"Alrighty then, I'll meet you back at our private room egghead." Saber said before vanishing from my sight. With her gone, I began to make my way back into the private room to see if I could tinker with the code casting on the items we have.

[Night]

(Private Room)

"This is just amazing!" I said as I did the finishing touches of my new formal wear. "To think that it would be possible to go into depths of magic on a digital-like scale! Why hasn't anypony done this before!?"

"If you mean humans. Then you're a bit late on being the only one doing something like this when studying magic. Now if you're referring to your race, then that's a different story...though it kinda does surprise me that you can adapt so well with tech like this." Saber said as I continued to type on the digital keyboard I had set up.

"I honestly don't know how I'm even doing this. I don't remember doing this, but maybe my body does, so it's doing stuff like this on its own?"

"Weird, but as long as it means that we'll win the next fight, then who am I to complain." Saber said before moving next to me to see what I was doing. "...Hey, um...is this armor you're making?"

"Yeah, expect me to wear it from now on. Mainly due to getting shot at from Archer's arrows...plus I figured I could fight alongside you when training in the Arena?"

"...Did hell freeze over...because of no offense egghead. But you don't look like a fighter."

"And what makes you say that!?" I asked as Saber pointed over to the three bags of trash off to the side of the private room we're in. I could feel a blush appear on my face before returning my attention to the screen I had up. "T-That doesn't count seeing how it's my last meal before my flight tomorrow!"

"Whatever you say thunder thighs...but if you're serious about actually fighting alongside me, then I guess we can do that in the next round...that is if we survive that long." Saber said as I paused and looked over at her.

"You mean it?"

"Yeah well, can't have a weak horse for a master. Plus you could use the training, it might help with getting your memories back along the way...Though if I could suggest what the armor should look like. Try making it based on mine...just don't make it similar to mine." She said as I looked at her armor for a moment before going back to work.

"I didn't think I was allowed to do that seeing how it's your armor and all...I was basing it off of Gawain's armor a bit but seeing how you're willing to let me do this, I'll change it up a bit...oh wait, I can do both!" Knowing that I can make stuff like this within the range of not breaking the rules of this place, I can pretty much make just about anything clothes and possibly augment the stuff I get...wait a minute. "Hey, Saber. Is what I'm doing legal to do?"

"Oh yeah, what you're doing is fine. .PH only attacks if you try to tamper with the system. Like, say trying to cheat your way to the holy grail, or trying to enter into an off-limits area. What you're doing is within .PH's rules seeing how you're making something that helps you hold some Codes Casting...plus I'm sure the system's already taken some of your funds so you're safe."

"Wait what?" Pausing at what I was doing, I quickly checked to see if what she said was true. Once I brought up how much money I had left, it was down from one-hundred thousand to ten thousand. "Huh, guess that would make sense that the system would take money from what I'm doing."

"See, you're in the clear. So go ahead and make your Formal Wear for tomorrow." Saber said as she made her armor disappear and hopped into the makeshift bed of her own. "Try not to stay up too late. Don't want to get too tired that you miss your match."

"I won't be up for long. Just need to make a few adjustments to the code casting and I'll be done for tonight." I said as Saber went off to sleep. As she did that, I turned my attention back to the gear I was making as I made the finishing touches to it. Mainly adding Code Casting in offense, defense, and support. "That should do it for tonight. Let's hope this will give us an advantage for tomorrow." Having said that, I turned the screen off and headed off to sleep for tonight. Tomorrow's the Elimination Battle with Dan Blackmore and his servant Robin Hood. One of us will win and go to the next round, while the other will...No, can't let that cloud my judgment. I have to win this if I'm going to figure out who I am and how I end up in this place...n-no matter how bloody my hands get after all this.