Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero or any other associated works.
Caster watched as the two detectives who had come to interrogate her Contractor left the room.
He yawned, seemingly confident in his ability to win the war. She did not know him well, but from what she could tell, he has something up his sleeve which would give them an edge in winning the Holy Grail. Moreover, he had a tactical, scheming mind, much like her own. His first move in this War is what told her that.
The Magi of this era do not have any faith or trust in the local law enforcement. They rely on their Bounded Fields and other protective Magic to guard themselves, their allies and their properties. they would never suspect a Master of the Holy Grail War hiding out in a Police Station of all places. And as long as Caster continues to hypnotise the right people, and they run before anyone realizes, they could wait out the War until a couple of other Servants are destroyed.
Or at least that's what he explained to her.
She frowned. It was admittedly a good strategy, and the police station is the last place anyone would expect them to be, but...
"You seem confident that nobody would find you here."
"I am. While you go out and prepare for the final fights, I will stay in here and practice whatever Magecraft you are willing to teach me."
She snorted. Her Contractor presumes too much. While he is confident in his assumptions, he is making some serious flaws in his thinking. He hasn't bothered to ask what her capabilities are and he is also under the impression that he will not need to face the other Masters. Moreover, he lacks the means to defend himself. While she could, potentially, prepare a Mystic Code which he can use, she lacks the materials and catalysts required to actually create one using her Item construction skill.
Truthfully speaking, she doesn't even know what exactly she is doing helping him. She doesn't need a Master, her unique skill capable of giving her more than enough Magical Energy to sustain herself in this World. And even without that, she is a Caster. She can simply draw in Mana directly from the Ley lines under Fuyuki.
Still, she found her Contractor fascinating. He clearly knew how strong a Servant is, but he still chose to argue with her, instead of using his Command Spells. He claimed to know the identities of the other Masters and Servants of this War, something which would grant her a massive advantage against the other participants in the War. While he had not shown that knowledge to her yet, likely out of distrust, he did show a lot of cunning in turning his capture by the police into an advantage.
In life, she would have considered someone like him to be a tremendous potential asset or a dangerous possible rival. She wanted him to be the former.
While her wish wasn't as grand, glorious, noble or righteous as some of the other participants of the War, she desperately needed it to be fulfiled.
I stare as Caster vanishes from the room.
I couldn't tell if it were teleportation, or if she just left but I could tell that she was gone. I chalked it off to weird Magus sense but I would think that it's because of our Master-Servant bond.
I think about my plans for the future. More specifically what to do with the War.
I wasn't lying when I told Caster that none of the other Magi will find me here. Tokiomi and Kayneth are classical Magi, who wouldn't even think about looking for a Master in a Police Station. Kirei will follow Tokiomi's lead, at least until Gilgamesh turns him to the dark side. I don't think Kariya would focus on me, since his main target is Tokiomi and I don't think that Waver would be actively looking for me here. Kiritsugu will be my main problem and the greatest threat overall, but as long as neither Caster nor I make a move which will indicate my position, I think I will be safe for the time being.
Caster was another issue. She probably doesn't trust me fully yet, but is rather sticking with me for my 'supposed' knowledge on the War. She probably thinks of me as a tool so that she could acquire whatever wish she has.
The very problem that she is a Caster is an issue. For a person with zero experience in Magecraft, Caster is the best class, since you can train directly under a reputed Magus, potentially from the Age of Gods. However, it is a double-edged sword. Caster could just do what Medea did, kill me and fight independently, which isn't really going to help me stay alive.
I had just sent her to the Ryuudou Temple, where she is to set up a temporary workshop. She could easily turn on me, and start her own faction, so I will need to win her over before that happens.
Still, I think I have a good idea of what exactly to do next. Though it would depend on Caster's abilities in combat. So far I have seen her rejuvenate my stamina after the summoning and hypnotise a bunch of cops. The (potential) first phase of me winning this Grail War depends on this.
Speaking of magic...
Before she left, Caster had told me how to open and utilise my Circuits properly. I will need to use an Aria to activate a mental trigger which in turn activates my Circuits. I knew about that though. Shirou's is the firing of a gun while Rin's was of a knife piercing her heart. I will need to come up with something unique as well.
Twenty Four. That is the number of Circuits I had. They were each of surprisingly high quality, each of them capable of giving me twenty units of Od. They were forcibly opened during my summoning of Caster, who claimed that the prana provided by the Circuits was sufficient for her to be sustained in the World.
She is lying.
The pain which I underwent during the summoning ritual reminded me of the similar pain Rin went through while summoning Archer in the Visual Novel. After the Summoning, Rin actually felt the magical energy generated by her Circuits actively leaving her body to sustain Archer.
I have felt no such sensation, even with my open circuits. Therefore I am not the one providing mana to sustain Caster in this World.
A Mana-producing Noble Phantasm? Like the book Gilles D' Rais had? That's not unlikely, but ultimately irrelevant.
She could betray me anyway, and this merely gives her more reason to do so.
Still, I should have some more faith in her. While she isn't actively following me, faith given is faith returned, isn't it?
"I have returned from the task you had given me, Contractor", Caster said, materializing in front of me.
Even in this significantly more brightly lit room, I have no idea what she looks like under the black hood or veil. While she vaguely resembles Medea, her clothing is plain and nothing like her.
"Hmmm?"
"It is as you said, Contractor. I have assigned a few of my Familiars there, as protection. The mana output in this Ryuudou Temple sufficient for my more powerful Magecraft. "
"Oh? So you don't have some kind of Noble Phantasm actively supplying you Mana?"
She tensed, clearly surprised by what I had said.
"It's not a Noble Phantasm." Not a Noble Phantasm? How is that possible? Then...
"Ah, so its a skill then."
She nodded, somewhat shocked at how fast I had come to that conclusion.
"I can draw out prana from a near-infinite supply. However, the rate of me drawing it slow and it is inefficient for most of my more powerful Magics. And that's not to mention the amount required for my Noble Phantasms."
That would make a lot of sense. It would be like having a large tank full of water, and a narrow pipe taking water from it. A ready mana source like the one in Ryuudou Temple would be pretty useful in that case.
Still, a Skill which provides infinite mana? It is probably a Personal Skill since a Caster's class skills are Item Creation and Territory Creation if I recall that correctly. What did she do in life to get that ability?
"Just what is your speciality, Caster?"
"My speciality?", she seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Healing, Mental magecraft, Familiar Magic, Physical Enhancement, a bit of runes...I don't really have a speciality since I have experience in everything. " She paused for a second. "All of that were the magics I had used most in my life, so I suppose you could call that my speciality."
Hmmm... for my the first phase of my plan, Mental Magecraft is useless. Healing can be pretty useful for the aftermath. If it did what I think it did then, Physical Enhancement is pointless on a Caster. I think runes and Familiar Magic can be used pretty well as well...
"Allow me to rephrase that, Caster. ", I spoke. Looking directly at where eyes should be under the veil. "How confident are you in facing a centuries-old Magus in direct combat?"
I smirked at her answer. If the First Phase goes well, I would have a powerful ally by my side and this city's worm population would be having a steep drop.
A/N: Yeah, this is a shorter chapter I know.
Assassin's fake death hasn't happened yet. It will happen the night this chapter (and the next) is occurring though. It was supposed to be much longer, with sections for Kiritsigu and Tokiomi as well. But I couldn't make the timing fit. This chapter is supposed to act as a bridge between this one and the next, where the action will truly begin.
Responses to Reviews:
Omni-celestial: Orange, Red, Tomaeto, Tomato. It doesn't really matter. Also, it was dark, so it was kind of hard to see. Salutations to you too.
orion399: Interesting that you would mention that specific Servant. To you, all I can say is this: Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies.
downix2k: Thanks. I intend for the OC to be Servant level strength but it's going to take a couple of decades worth of behind-the-scenes character development. And at least two sequels worth of growth.
MetalForge: Thanks, dude.
BlueCore: Oh, do you now? Those are some bold words. We'll see.
Hero of Justice Roxas: Yeah, Caster is not who you think she is. Also, irrespective of what happens in the future, Caster and the MC's relationship will NOT be romantic. It is my intent for it to be platonic throughout this story.
Thanks for all the Reviews, Favourites and Follows. You have truly filled my cold, empty soul.