Having an alliance (sort of) secured was a relief. Especially since it was with actual mages; now any questions I had about the magical world as a whole, rather than specifically Heroic Spirits and aspects of the Holy Grail War, I could get answers to. As for what I offered… Well, they started the damn thing, so what could the scraps I looted from the Einzberns, which they had deemed so trivial as to be fine to just abandon, really get them? I wouldn't lose much, as I'd just type up a copy onto my computer first. If anything, me handing that shit over was a good thing; it would show that while I was hiding some things initially, I wasn't hiding anything truly important.
As for figuring out the identities of enemy servants, or even their servants… A bit of a brush up on major history and myths, and I should more or less be able to. The fact they seemed to value that, even a little bit, was weird to me though. Like, if you know these Heroic Spirit things are from myths and history, or really just history… yeah, that's still weird to think about… But anyways, if you know all of that, why would you yourself not brush up on that stuff as preparation for the war? …Well, I guess it still would be difficult; not like I can just straight up name Saber or Lancer, despite having seem them, and even seeing Saber in his armor. Ok… fair enough to them on that then. Just means I'm really going to have to work my own, special kind of magic then…
Outside of the alliance thing I now had, the next major thought that hit me came when I woke up in the morning.
"Oh yeah, today's Friday…"
It wasn't that this Friday was a special Friday or anything. It was just that this was the end of the school week. Based on what was said about how the daytime was used as a grace period, that would mean that both Johnathan and Sortiara would still be going to school, right? However, what would they do on the weekend? Do they attend school only as a cover for the family and to fit in with society at large, or do they also live 'regular' lives day to day in general? There was so much about being a mage that I wanted to know!
"Mage… Magus… Right, they would be maguses? No, magi? Ugh, I'm going to hate this terminology bullshit; they're basically the same thing, aren't they! What the hell is the distinction!?"
As I made my way over to Glenwood Park, I considered asking Caster about that. While he wasn't a mage himself, he did live in the same era as the likes of Circe and Medea. Combine that with how he was able to tell I wasn't a mag- magus! Magus, magus, magus… Well, point being was that him now being a Heroic Spirit seemed to give him so kind of affinity for magic. After all, despite saying he couldn't do magic, he did create a hammer and chisel out of basically thin air, as well as create that chunk of the labyrinth in one strike after a chant. Maybe he would be able to shed some light on the difference? Of course, would still be best if I follow up on what he said with Johnathan or Sortiara anyways, seeing as they were actual, modern day magi…
"Hopefully I can actual- huph!"
As I was about to walk through the entrance thing to Glenwood Park, I felt a strong tug on the collar of the back of my shirt.
"Your stupidity is truly boundless, isn't it" I heard Caster growl as he released me.
Did he really have to grab there, of all places?! Damn near chocked me real good, to say nothing of how he almost took me down to the ground completely by killing my momentum like that! He could have at least just tugged on my backpack, or jacket, or something. Anything but my shirt collar!
"Nice to see you too, Caster" I smiled after clearing my throat. "Man, that spirit form thing is legit though; didn't know you were there at all. Gonna have to keep my guard up at all times, it seems."
"Implying you weren't already… Still, you know about spirit forms now. Take it that means you've run into an actual master."
"What can I say, I was busy yesterday. Especially since I couldn't get into the labyrinth; had to go about finding things out another way."
"It's not like I can just close of the labyrinth, child! If it wasn't opening for you, then you evidently weren't at an entrance to it!"
"Well, I'm not a mage; how would I know?"
"The labyrinth doesn't discriminate; it's meant to entrap and kill anybody and everybody. You don't need to be a mage to be able to enter. If you get near an entrance it will begin to glow the same red light as it did before."
"Ok, good to know. Though that would still leave the issue of me not being able to navigate it though, wouldn't it? Even if it's not the same labyrinth from before, based on what you said about ownership earlier, I take it then that while you don't own the original thing, you own the… concept of the labyrinth, I'll put it that way. Assuming that's correct, isn't it basically impossible for anyone save you to navigate properly?"
"…I admit child, I thought such a conclusion was frankly beyond your possibility to understand, but in terms of my ownership over the concept of the labyrinth, you would be correct. As for the ability to navigate it, you fall short. Anyone in possession of the string of Ariadne can nullify the effects of the labyrinth and navigate it as normal. In addition, you would be able to navigate it perfectly fine as well; being my master, you are considered an extension of myself."
"Wait, how can string nullify the effects of the labyrinth? Also, what effects? Since when did the labyrinth have magical effects attached to it?"
"Your inconsistency in being able to understand things is tiresome to deal with… As you said, I own the concept of the labyrinth. Thus, by extension, the labyrinth I created is a conceptual fortification. Now tell me, what is, in your own mind, the concept behind the original labyrinth I built?"
"Um… a massive maze-like structure that was impossible to navigate and escape from by all save the greatest mind: you. That is, until Ariadne gave Theseus the string. It also served as both your prison after the minotaur died, and your refuge towards the end of your life, once Minos had been killed. Speaking of, was that you, or-"
"Irrelevant to the conversation at hand, child! Stay focused! Now that you have stated the concept of the labyrinth, in your mind, covert such a concept into a structure, or fortification, enhanced by the magical nature of Heroic Spirits."
"…Ah, so now that you're a Heroic Spirit, the labyrinth is also magical in nature. Thus, by extending the concept of it being impossible to navigate to the realm of the magical, it would only make sense for it to have some inherent curse-like effect to massively hinder navigation within it. Which would then also mean, as the string was what enabled Theseus to navigate the actual place, the owner or wielder of the string would also have the ability to either nullify or be immune to the curse-like effect of this labyrinth, as the string holds the concept of being able to navigate the labyrinth! The same logic also applies to why you're able to create a workshop within it; it was your refuge before, so it now holds to concept of being your refuge."
"Took you long enough. Now, if we're done here, get out of here and don't return. Your stupidity is going to get me killed."
"But-"
"But what? You want the grail? I can't use it without a master, so once I win I'll find you. Until then, just stay out of my way."
"I can't do that."
"Oh? And why ever not, child?"
"Because that's so much beauty that'd I'd just end up missing out on witnessing!"
"…Do I even want to know what that's supposed to mean?"
"I mean, you're… well, you! The greatest mind who ever lived; the creator of the greatest works of beauty the likes of humanity has ever seen! And now you're here, creating more beauty! How could I just let that go by without witnessing it?!"
Caster remain silent for a good while. He didn't move, didn't blink, nothing. It was as if… as if he was trying to rapidly contemplate a situation that he found unbearable to tolerate, yet also wanted, even if only by the most insignificant of fractions. I couldn't help but wonder what it was exactly he was seeing in his mind at this moment. Ah well, I suppose it was just a mystery I would never know the answer to.
"You won't do as I ask, will you?"
"If you mean stay away from here, then no. You can bet your ass that I'm gonna pop on by, multiple times."
"…"
"…"
"…It would be… troublesome to deal with you, here and now…" Caster eventually sighed, reaching into his robe. "Fine then… if it means I can reach the grail, fine."
Caster tossed something at me; a rolled-up piece of paper. More like a scroll really. Except, when I opened it, it as just a map of the city. A rushed one too, judging by the look of it. Certainly, wasn't something I expected Caster to just be carrying on him. On the map were seven red dots, scattered about the city.
"What's this-"
"Just start walking to the first point on the map" Caster sighed. "If I can't get rid of you, might as well keep you in sight; ensure you don't get yourself killed."
"Oh, is that what you were up to yesterday then? What doe this- wha-?"
Just like that, Caster was gone from sight. He had been standing right in front of me. It had to be that spirit form thing, but damn… that's quick! I didn't even notice any, like, shimmering effect, or anything! …Though I was busy looking at the map, so…
"Well, what are you waiting for?! Get a move on child; time is precious, don't squander it!"
"...Wait, Caster?! How are- Where-"
"Stop talking out loud already; you look like a gibbering idiot talking to yourself. Masters and servants are linked, remember! One of the supposed benefits of that is that they can communicate to one another telepathically. From now on, while I'm in spirit form, talk like this!"
"…So… like this?"
"Yes, like that... Now get moving already!"
"Alright, alright, I'm going!"
Damn, this was a dope ability to have! Also, thinking back to last night and my first run in with Johnathan and Saber… That must be why Johnathan had been taking so long at points and just seemed to be standing around thinking; he was communicating to Saber! A really practical ability, though I wonder if it has any weaknesses? Like, can it be listened in on, or severed, or something like that…? A question I would have to ask my new allies when I saw them later tonight. For now, it was time to see what Caster wanted at these locations…
"So… why did you want to come here, exactly?"
I thought it was a fair question to ask, considering our destination ended up being nothing more than a corner plaza parking lot! There was a small convenience store, dry cleaners, paint shop, pizza place and a vet here, but beyond that, nothing. Sure, it wasn't like the journey to this place had been long or hard, but what could someone like Caster possibly want here? Johnathan more or less agreed with my claim that Heroic Spirits were ghosts, so I doubt it was for the pizza. Dry cleaning that rag of a robe would be pointless, and unless Caster had a pet he wasn't telling me about, a trip to the vet was pointless as well.
"To confirm things… Yes, this is indeed a spot."
"...A spot for what?"
"For the Holy Grail to manifest."
"…Wait, what? How do you know that? And why would it 'manifest' in this random ass parking lot, of all places?"
"Because this parking lot sits above the ending of a leyline."
"A leyline?"
"Yes, a leyline: part of a sys-"
"I know what leylines are. …More or less, that is."
"Oh? How would you know that?"
"It's a common basis of magic systems in literature and other forms of storytelling. Basically, they're the equivalent of veins in the human body, though instead of blood running through them, its mana."
"Then why the pointless question, child?"
"It wasn't meant as a question! Just that I was… surprised, is all. I didn't think the world would actually have leylines."
I mean, leylines weren't a very… western concept. Most western stories with magic systems in them just have mana manifest within either the mages themselves, or just ambiently in the world. An actual leyline system was far more common in eastern stories, based on what I've read.
"So, now what? You plan to booby trap the place?"
"No; too inefficient and unlikely to succeed. Besides, I don't have mana to spare for anything less than what's necessary."
"Ok… so then why are we here?"
"You're denser than the concentration of mana pooling here, child! This is a prime source of mana. I need mana. What do you think I'm going to do?!"
"…Ah, you're going to siphon from it."
"Took you far to long to reach that conclusion…"
"Right. So, um… how do you plan on doing that, exactly?"
"With this" Caster materialized beside me, holding a small device.
"No idea what that is" I confirmed, returning to speaking out loud, seeing as Caster was no longer in spirit form. "Looks neat though; what it do?"
"It will absorb mana from the area and entraps it. Think of it as a battery for mana."
"…You know about batteries?"
"Unlike you, child, I was actually busy last night…"
"And once you plant that… somewhere around here… you plan on setting another one at each of these six other locations?"
"Only if I deem it safe" Caster began walking about the parking lot, looking for a place to… I guess hide the device. "Ideally, I would, but that is highly unlikely. Two spots I already know will be, practically speaking, impossible."
Impossible for even Caster? Right, checking the map again… Ah, this one here is in the office tower area where I ran into Johnathan last night. He said the area was unsafe for us to talk in, so there was probably some magic thing going on that I couldn't sense. That would most like be one of the two spots. So, the other one… Huh, hang on… Isn't that dot centered on Johnathan's house? He has a leyline directly on his property?! Damn… so that's what they call a home field advantage…
"…Can all of these dots be a location for the manifestation for the grail" I asked Caster, looking up from the map.
"...In theory" Caster sighed. "That's the other purpose of this device: limit the possible locations the grail can manifest at."
"Huh? How is that little thing going to stop the grail from forming?"
"Hmph! Small in size, maybe; not in storage capacity! It should be able to continuously siphon enough mana from the leyline to… dissuade the grail from manifesting here, considering other leylines will remain better suited."
"So… the grail has a priority system for choosing the location of its manifestation?"
"…"
"Right… But then, by doing this, don't you also make it easier for the other masters to set up their own territory around the most likely manifestation locations?"
"Let them try" Caster laughed. "What could any mage possibly create to overcome my labyrinth?"
"…Fair point" I noted, slight smile forming as I thought about it. "But, ah, how do you know those things will work?"
"I don't know."
"Cool… Huh? What do you mean you don't know?"
"How could I know! Not like I made these before; I based them off the design of batteries! We didn't have batteries back in my day! This is my first time testing out something like this!"
…Another fair point. Damn, Caster was amazing. And that device… beautiful. I hoped it worked; a powered-up Caster meant that, surely, he could go on to create more beauty. What would he power up with these magical batteries of his? Would he expand the labyrinth, or create something entirely new? Or-
"Come now, child; other locations await" Caster dragged me back to reality as he walked past me, before once again disappearing into his spirit form.
Thankfully nobody was hanging around a place like this in the afternoon on a Friday; can't imagine it being good to have other people just see Caster disappear and reappear out of thin air. I should probably tell him to be careful about that… or maybe not? Eh, I suppose it was fine either way; not like I had an interest in keeping the secrets of magic from the rest of the world. Or giving Caster orders; I'd witness far more beauty just letting him do his thing.
"Right then, next location is…" I checked on the map quickly, checking to see which dot was the closest to our current location.
Considering even Caster was basically ruling out two locations… yeah, it should be doable: reaching all the other four possible good locations before I had to leave Caster and meet up with my allies. For a moment, I considered offering to Caster to place one of the devices in Johnathan's house somewhere, but that very quickly was ruled out. Simply too many ways that could go very, very wrong for me, after all.
