Alright, most of the reviews were talking about the Gamer's Mind, so I'll dedicate this section to talk about it. One of the reasons this chapter took so long to come out was me trying to come up with a way to talk about it without spoiling a bunch of major plot points so here we go. As you have noticed, this system is quite different from the original Gamer's system. The Gamer's Mind is no different. Rather than completely wiping out emotions, it's more like a suppressor. I've highlighted the fact that Senshu still does feel emotions and act erratically. He loves his family. He enjoys spending time with Taiga. He misses Merlin. He's scared for the war.

The Gamer's Mind only triggers when Senshu starts to feel intense emotion. Rather than suppressing his emotions, it forces him to bottle it all in, only letting out bits at a time. Now, could he fight this mechanism? What if he doesn't want this? He still does have the emotional consciousness to potentially feel like this whole Gamer's Mind is a curse rather than a blessing. Well, where would be the fun in letting you know now?

I hope this clears all the misunderstandings with the Gamer's Mind and if it doesn't I'll be happy to answer any questions about it, within reason. Don't want to spoil everything for you all. With that, let's get into the chapter.

Chapter 6: Port

Even with years of prep time, Senshu had no idea what to do. The first thing he did when he arrived was set a small bounded field around him to help disguise his presence. It took roughly fifteen minutes to do so, but thankfully, he had time. Unlike Irisviel and Saber, who still had to spend a bit of time trying to find Lancer, as they only had a rough guess as to where he was, Senshu knew exactly where to go.

It's honestly a miracle that he didn't sense me already, Senshu thought to himself as he crouched down. He couldn't see Kayneth or Lancer from here, but that was fine. The bounded field was only a couple meters in diameter, so he didn't have much wiggle room.

Honestly, this is a bit exciting, Senshu thought. He could feel the Gamer's Mind actively suppress the wave of emotions surging through him. Adam Edwins spent a lot of his adult life following the world of Fate and Tsukihime, and now he was getting to see one of the pivotal moments of that world's history go down in real life.

Senshu was snapped from his stupor as he heard two sets of footsteps. Saber and Irisviel had arrived.

"Welcome. I've been observing the city the entire day. Everyone simply hides away in their little holes," Diramund's voice rang throughout the port. Senshu took a deep breath as the man himself appeared, facing the duo. "You alone accepted my offer. With that pure energy surrounding you… there's no doubt about it. You must be Saber."

"Indeed," Saber tensed her muscles and took a step forward. "And you are Lancer."

Way to state the obvious, Saber, Senshu thought.

"Being unable to honorably name myself in combat makes me uneasy," Lancer shook his head and smirked. "These rules irk me."

Class change: Archer, Senshu thought to himself. Instantly, his eyesight sharpened. Although the Archer class was a recent addition to Senshu's roster, obtaining it not long after joining the Kyudo club, it has proved to be invaluable. The class automatically enhanced his eyesight and appraisal skill when activated, and although he was still learning, he could confidently get a bullseye half of the time when shooting seventy-five meters.

"I'll take care of Lancer," Saber declared as she stepped in front of Irisviel. "It worries me that Lancer's master hasn't revealed himself."

Senshu closed his eyes. It took a few seconds to run though the steps, but soon enough, he had a bow in his hands. After a few more, an arrow appeared

Still slow, Senshu thought to himself. It took roughly fifteen seconds to trace normal items and it took minutes to trace Merlin's weaker mystic codes, especially when he didn't have the Faker class activated.

Saber said a few more words to Irisviel, but Senshu didn't hear them. He was too busy scanning the area once more. He could faintly detect another presence, but he couldn't register who it was.

He physically flinched when he heard the sound of steel clashing. He focused his attention on the two servants clashing. It was only thanks to his enhanced eyesight that he could accurately track the servants' movement.

Alright, let's run test number one, Senshu thought as he focused on Gae Dearg. "Structural Analysis."

Ding!

Warning!

Target too complex. Analyzing target will result in loss of HP.

Continue?

Y/N

No, Senshu dismissed the message with a thought. Figures I can't analyze Noble Phantasms, which means I can't trace them. If I want to pull a Shirou, I'll have to resort to Plan B.

Plan B was highly dangerous and a single misstep would result in death. Hell, he still might die if he succeeded, but if he did, he would have a major advantage during the war. If not this one, then the next.

Senshu scanned the battlefield once again to see Kiritsugu and Maiya conversing with each other.

Shit! Senshu dunked under the crate he was peeking over. There was no uncertainty in Senshu's mind. If Kiritsugu saw him, he was dead.

Why the hell am I even here? Anxiety started to flood through Senshu's mind. Thankfully, the Gamer's Mind brought it back down to a reasonable level.

That's right. I'm here to get stronger, Senshu resolved himself to the song of weapons clashing. I need to get stronger to protect those I need to protect.

He remembered the scene in Fate/Stay Night where Medea took Taiga hostage. He was shaken up during the playthrough, but it means a lot more now that he was friends with Taiga. He needed to protect Taiga.

The sound of thunder caused Senshu to look again.

Oh, great, Senshu thought. Iskandar had arrived.

"I am Iskandar! The King of Conquerors!" The gigantic man announced, his voice booming throughout the port. "I am of the Rider class in this war!"

He paused and let the lighting around him subside. Before he could speak, another voice chimed in.

"W-what are you doing, you idiot?!" Waver piped up. To Senshu, Waver and Lord El-Mellioi II were always two different people, so it wasn't hard to differentiate the two.

"It seems that Fate has brought us together in this war, but first, I want to make a proposition," Iskandar looked at the people throughout the makeshift battlefield. "What do you think of yielding the grail to me and joining my army?!"

This isn't going to end well, Senshu thought to himself. He considered intervening now, but only a psychopath would do so.

"You will all be treated as honored allies and—" Senshu stopped focusing on the conqueror and took a third look at the battlefield. At this point, he could see Kayneth watching with a frown on his face and Assassin standing at the crane.

"Did you interfere with our honorable duel just to present us with this farce?" Senshu shivered at Saber's glare. The pressure was immense, even though it wasn't directed at him. "Furthermore, as the King of Britain, for you to suggest that I bend the knee to another is a grave insult!"

"Oh, who knew that the King of Britain would be a little girl?!" Iskandar's laughter rang in Senshu's ears.

"Do you want to see what this little girl can do?" Saber lifted Excalibur at Iskandar.

"It seems negotiations have failed," Iskandar sighed.

"Waver Velvet," A voice loomed over the area. "So it was you who stole my catalyst. How about I offer you a private lesson on how Magi kill each other."

Seems like someone finally decided to speak his mind, Senshu knocked his arrow and aimed it at Kayneth. Honestly, he had half a mind to kill the man right there, but he was too far. He still wanted to prepare, just in case. The man really infuriated Senshu.

"So you were initially intended to be my master, huh?" Iskandar's ever-present smile receded into a sneer before throwing his hand forward. "Bullshit!"

Senator A*******? Senshu deadpanned in his head. Is this the "Butterfly Effect" all those nerds in his previous life were referring to?

"Only someone brave enough to be at my side is worthy enough to be my Master!" Iskandar shouted.

"Rider…" Waver looked up at the man, tears still fresh in his eyes.

"Now, to my friend lurking in the shadows, what say you about my proposal?!"

"Rider, what are you talking about?" Saber's muscles tensed further. Rider only responded with a smile and a thumbs up.

"Saber… Lancer… you duel was amazing. I'm sure I was not the only one summoned by the clashing of steel," Iskandar said. He then turned to Senshu's direction, causing his blood to freeze. "Now, what about you, young man? Aren't you a little young to be on the battlefield?"

Shit! Senshu's anxiety returned. It took a little longer for him to calm down, but he took a deep breath. Doing anything other than revealing himself would no doubt give Iskandar reason to kill him, so he did the illogical, yet necessary thing to do.

"I'm going to be completely honest," Senshu revealed himself with his hands up, concocting something that was the exact opposite of honest. "I had no idea there was going to be a fight here. My mentor just asked me to bring something."

"Senshu?!" Irisviel's eyes widened and Saber turned to look at him with a mix of shock and betrayal. That look caused a pang of guilt to rush through the boy. He really admired Saber, and to see her look at him like this hurt Senshu.

"What are you doing here, Senshu?" Saber's eyes narrowed.

"Like I said, I'm just here to deliver something, Sempai," Senshu said. He hoped that the informal manner he addressed her was enough to throw her off. Fortunately, it was.

"What—" The bad news was that it only threw her off for a moment, presenting the opportunity for another to enter the fray.

"So, two lesser beings dare call themselves king in my presence," A man appeared on top of a lamp with his arms crossed. "How sickening."

"I don't see the problem. I am the legendary king of conquerors," Iskandar scratched his cheek with one finger.

"Preposterous. Only I am the one true king," Gilgamesh shook his head. "All others are mere pretenders."

"Well, why don't you tell us your name, then?" Iskandar looked up at the king of heroes.

"A king shouldn't have to give his name," Gilgamesh shook his head. "If, even in the presence of your king, cannot discern his identity, then your blindness will seal your doom!"

No! Senshu broke into a sprint towards Saber as the Gates of Babylon opened behind the Golden King. Logically, Senshu knew that Saber could protect herself and Irisviel, but his heart said otherwise. Even though he only spent a day with them, he genuinely cared for the two, more than he did from the other side of a screen. He felt the Gamer's Mind pushing back, but he was already in motion.

I guess there is only one thing I can do, Senshu stood in front of Saber, his hands held together.

"Senshu! What are you doing?!" Saber shouted as swords, spears, axes, and other weapons of unfathomable power flew towards him at blazing speeds. Senshu then widened his arms and shouted but a single word.

"Inventory!"

I guess you know what's happening next. And yes, I'm going here with this. Again, please leave a review if you feel so inclined and join the discord server! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! The url is CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.