It took a moment to snap out of my awe before composing myself, "y-yes. I am your master; my name is Harry Potter." I held out my hand for him to shake, only to notice the fresh new Command seals tattooed on the back. A small smile formed as I looked at the blood-red stag now imprinted on my hand; how fitting, I thought.
Seeing the success of my summoning, Marie walked over with a satisfied look, Mash and Fujimaru following behind. "Well done, Potter. With your successful summoning, our chances of survival have gone up," Marie congratulated, Mash and Fujimaru nodding in agreement.
"Congratulations Sempai," said Mash, looking relieved. Probably from no longer being our only servant, I thought, sympathising with her situation. Looking at Fujimaru revealed that she couldn't keep her eyes off of Richard, a look of awe etched on her face.
Looking back at Richard, I saw that he took the new arrivals calmly before coughing to get our attention. "I believe introductions are in order, I already introduced myself to my Master, but I shall do so again. I am the King of Britain, Richard the Lionheart, Saber class servant."
As he spoke, I noticed that I was standing straighter than usual. Years of trying to stay out of the spotlight at the Dursleys and Hogwarts had led me to develop a slumped posture; however, being in Richard's presence made me stand at full height. Glancing at the others showed they too were at attention; even Mash, who was shy at the best of times, was staring straight at Richard.
A skill, I concluded. Channelling magic into my eyes, I searched his stats before focusing on his Personal Skills. Lionheart, a form of charisma/intimidation, I read. I focused back on the conversation as Marie spoke up.
"A pleasure to meet you, Richard; my name is Olga Marie Animusphere, Director of the Chaldea Security Organisation. You've already met your master, Harry, and these are Mash kryielight, a Demi-Servant and her master Fujimaru Gudako," she introduced.
Fujimaru hesitantly stepped forward before bowing, "A pleasure to meet you, Richard." Mash followed her example and bowed as well.
"Also a pleasure." She greeted, "and can you please step off my shield?" She asked hesitantly. Richard looked down before stepping off of Mash's great shield.
"My apologies, Lady Mash." He said, before gaining a curious look, "What is a Demi-Servant? I have never come across such a servant before", he asked Mash. Finishing picking up her shield, Mash looked to the Director, who subtly nodded at the unasked question before looking back at Richard.
"A Demi-Servant is a term for humans who have Saint Graphs of Heroic Spirits fused to them, granting the use of their skills and Noble Phantasms." She explained, "however, the Heroic Spirit fused to me has refused to give his name. As such, I cannot wield their Noble Phantasm or skills," he finished forlornly, Fujimaru patting her back sympathetically.
At her revelation of her combat potential, I frowned. One full servant and a Demi-Servant who doesn't have access to any skills or Noble Phantasms I assessed. We were at a significant disadvantage, especially if the enemy had access to more than one servant. I kept trying to think of a plan before I was interrupted by the Director.
"Speaking of skills and abilities, Potter", she addressed, "What are Richard's parameters, skills and Noble Phantasms?" she asked. Thinking back to what I read when I first looked, I answered.
"He has no Stat or skill below a C, and his skills are quite versatile. However, he does possess some weird Noble Phantasms," I explained, looking to Richard as I finished. He looked at me confused before he comprehended what I was talking about.
"You refer to Excalibur, yes?" He asked.
"It's not what you think," I halted Marie's incoming barrage of questions. "Anything he holds becomes Excalibur; however, it will never be as strong as the true Excalibur," I explained.
"In life, I idolised King Arthur and his Knights," Richard took over. "And in return, the Throne has rewarded me the ability to use a replica," he finished, looking over at Marie, who was chewing her thumb in thought as he explained the origins of his Noble Phantasm.
"Having a servant who possesses Excalibur, even a fake, is a massive advantage," she muttered before she straightened up. "Alright, with that covered, it's time to discuss our plan-" she stopped and sighed, noticing Fujimaru had raised her hand, "what is it, Fujimaru?" she asked resignedly.
"How do I see a servant's stats?" she asked, lowering her hand.
Marie groaned before answering, "you channel your magical energy into your eyes, and you should see something similar to a stat sheet," she explained, "you do know how to do that, right?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes at Fujimaru.
Fujimaru wilted under the Director's glare and shook her head. Marie gained an exasperated look, "I don't know what I was expecting, but we can't waste time teaching you how," she looked to me, "Potter, assess Mash's skills."
Looking to Mash, I again channelled magic into my eyes, "her lowest skill is a D in agility; everything else is at least a C. But I can't read her personal skills or Noble Phantasm; both are blurred," I explained.
Mash looked apologetic at her lack of abilities and attempted to open her mouth, most probably to apologise, but the Director beat her to the punch. "Don't apologise, Mash; it's not your fault. We shall deal with your abilities later. Right now, we need to plan our investigation," she said before clearing her throat.
"For the newly summoned servant," she nodded to Richard, "and for those who fell asleep," here she glared at Fujimaru, who looked sheepish, "I shall explain where we are and our mission," she declared. "We are in Fuyuki, Japan, in the year 2004. According to Chaldea's records, this city hosted a Holy Grail War, a free-for-all battle where seven mages summon seven servants to fight for them." She paused to let the information sink in and opened her mouth to continue; however, a nearby noise made her pause.
We all stilled, straining to pick out the oncoming noise. Pinpointing the noise coming from behind me, I whirled around to see a group of skeletons shuffling around the corner. They were generic skeletons, draped in loose cloth and wielded an assortment of weapons, from bows to swords. "Not more of these things!" Marie whined.
"More?" I questioned, readying the Elder Wand. But before I could start casting, Richard had walked ahead, sword already in hand.
"You need not worry about those undead Master; I servant Saber shall deal with them", he declared, looking at me with a confident grin.
I looked back to the others; Marie was panickily looking for an escape alongside Fujimaru, while Mash stood to the side, unsure of what to do. I let out a frustrated sigh before looking back at Richard, "Richard, deal with the enemies in front of us," he nodded and rushed to the oncoming skeletons, quickly dispatching the first three with ease. With the front dealt with, I turned back to Mash. "Mash!" I called out, causing her to stand to attention, "guard our flank, make sure we aren't surrounded by more," I ordered.
Mash stared confused before looking determined, "understood, Sempai," and she ran to the back of the group, shield raised. With Mash dealt with, I focused back on Richard's fight only to see he had dealt with most of the skeletons already and was finishing off the remaining stragglers.
From what I could see, it was clear that the skeletons were not meant to fight servants. Their movements were too rigid and predictable, making it trivial for a servant of Richard's calibre to dispose of them. A vertical slash from one was sidestepped and was bisected by Richard's own sword; a second skeleton tried to stab him with a spear only to get punched in the face for the trouble.
This continued until the last skeleton crumbled to dust, Richard surrounded by ragged cloth and rusted weapons. He stood battle ready for a few more seconds, eyes peeled for any more stragglers before he relaxed, sheathed his sword and made his way back to me.
"Enemies eliminated Master. I was hoping to show off more of my abilities, but they went down too fast," he reported. At his return, Mash relaxed her grip on her shield and turned to face the group, "no enemies on this side either, Senpai. We are in the clear for now," she said.
"What were those things, Mash?" I asked.
"Skeleton warriors Senpai, Master and I encountered them when we first arrived here and again when we met the Director. They are the only enemy combatants we've faced," she explained.
I walked over to Marie as Mash spoke, the Director seemingly immobile from panic. "Director, Director," I gently shook her, bringing her attention to me.
"W-what is it, Potter?" she asked.
"We need to get to a safer area; the summoning attracted the skeletons, and more will be on the way alongside whatever else survived the war. Is there any place we can go that can act as our temporary base?" I questioned.
Coming to her senses, she broke from my hold and pondered for a bit. As she did that that I checked on Mash and Fujimaru. The two girls had gravitated toward each other and awkwardly stood around before noticing my approach.
I gave them a reassuring smile, "are you two okay?" I asked to which both responded with nods.
"I'm fine, Senpai", answered mash, "my mana reserves are nominal."
"I'm okay too," Fujimaru answered next, "I just feel a little bit out of place," she admitted quietly.
I reached out and patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry; once we get back, the Director, Mash and I will teach you all you need to know, isn't that right, Mash?" The violet haired girl nodded her head in agreement. With Mash and I's assurance, Fujimaru relaxed just a little. Giving her one last comforting squeeze, I finally went to congratulate Richard on his battle.
The king in question was keeping watch, for the most part, his eyes darting left and right before locking on to me at my approach. "Thanks a lot, Richard," I said. However, the man merely waved his hand and shook his head.
"You need not thank me, Master. We forged a contract as master and servant, and as your servant, it is my duty to protect you and your allies," he said.
"Still, thanks anyway," I replied before turning back to see the Director nodding to herself and waving everyone over.
Once we were all huddled in front of Marie, she cleared her throat. "The source of this Singularity is most probably the Holy Grail, and while there are many places it can manifest, the most likely is the temple grounds on the local mountain," she explained. "As for our temporary base, that shall be the second owner's house, which is coincidentally located close to the temple."
"How do we get there?" I asked.
"From the scans, the house should be southwest of the temple. We shall head for the mountain, do some cursory scans, and then head straight for the second owner's home. With any luck, we should be able to find some information on what happened," she explained.
"Director," she looked at me, "what if the person who sabotaged Chaldea is here as well?" I asked, the idea occurring to me as Marie laid out our plan.
Marie looked troubled at the notion, as did Mash and Fujimaru, but before panic could descend on the two girls, Marie gave her answer. "While there is a chance of the saboteur being here, we can't waste time searching for them. However," a cruel gleam entered her eyes, "should we encounter said person, then I will make sure they suffer a thousand deaths for even thinking of destroying Chaldea."
"The Director can be scary when she wants to be," Fujimaru muttered quietly, but not quietly enough, as the annoyed glare Marie sent her way attested. Seeing that we were ready to set off, I cleared my throat to catch everyone's attention.
"We will most likely encounter more skeletons on our way, and we still don't know the situation with the servants of the war. So, Mash will lead, followed by Fujimaru, then Marie, then myself, and Richard will bring up the rear," I ordered.
Marie nodded approvingly, "I agree. You heard him! Get into position and move out." And with that, while off to a terrible start, Chaldea's first mission began.
Me: a cruel gleam in her eye
Grammarly: a cruel sparkle in her eye
Me: ?