"Let's get started. First of all, do you know what a reality marble is?" Hakuno takes a moment to think. She did recall Taiga mentioning about it briefly in one of her earlier lessons, though she didn't exactly explain it in detail. "Err...from what I know, a reality marble is type of forbidden magecraft that requires a large amount of mana to create an altered space?"
"Correct, though in a more accurate sense, it's a thaumaturgical technique whereby our space is transformed into a completely different space. Some servants are able to generate reality marbles. As it takes a great deal of energy to sustain reality marbles, most last for only a few minutes." The concept of a reality marble...so what Leo was explaning was that while it seemed incredibly useful, it also poses a threat to the user since it uses up a ton of magical energy within the span of a few minutes.
"The school that housed the preliminaries happened to be a reality marble that was generated by the Holy Grail. Besides the school as it appeared during the preliminaries, the current school, the Arena, and the coliseum...all are individual reality marbles creating by the incredible magic of the Holy Grail." Hakuno listens on, not hiding the surprise from her face. To think that the space they were talking in right now, every inch and corner, was a reality marble was beyond her anticipation.
" Let's see...to give you an idea on how powerful the Holy Grail is...even the most advanced supercomputer there is couldn't sustain one reality marble this length of time." So that powerful of an item was controlling the war. Somehow, it almost seemed frightening knowing what havoc it could wreck when placed in the hands of the wrong person.
"All the participants of the Holy Grail War had their memories wiped out upon entering. Then, the Holy Grail's reality marble gave all the participants school personas to inhabit. Masters had a total if four days to realize that they've been tricked into playing a role of a mere student. Potential masters had to pass that basic test to enter into the Holy Grail War. *chuckle* Although Tohsaka seemed to shake off her yoke...very quickly if I am to add." Leo pauses for a moment to quietly laugh, before excusing himself. Hakuno raises an eyebrow at his brief drop of usual demeanor, finding his amused response to be rather unexpected.
"By the way, Fujimura-sensei and Issei Ryuudou aren't masters. They're NPCs with specific functions." So Shinji was right about the war having an 'administrative puppet', though this raises another question: were they both NPCs even before the war began? Hakuno did recall Issei exerting odd behaviour during the preliminaries, and the man seemed almost inhuman most of the time. Did that mean that all the other teachers and student council members were NPCs too?
"The masters who did not break free of the fantasy were dealt death. Tragic, but the Holy Grail War itself is a length process of culling the weak." Leo taps his chin thoughtfully before raising his eyes to meet hers with a smile. "A word of advice: learn all you can. I assure you that the information will greatly benefit you later on."
Hakuno gulped at his words. Leo clearly wasn't just offering 'advice', but he was also warning her of how competitive this war could be. There were so many strong masters present in this place, Leo included, that could easily kill her if they wanted to if not for the system interferring. One wrong move and she could be wiped out from existence in an instant. It didn't really matter even if she had info on his servant.
Biting on her lower lip, she tips her head in thanks. "Sure...I'll remember that. Thanks Leo." With no more to be said, the young man continues to smile at her even as she turns to leave the library. Hakuno stands with the now closed door behind her, before she lets out a sigh of relief. She didn't think that being in one's presence could be that...intimidating.
Shaking her head, Hakuno tries to calm down and regain her composure. No...there was no use worrying about him now. What she needed to do at this moment was focus on her own opponent, Shinji Matou. Her mind flashes back to what he had mentioned a few minutes ago. He hid all the books on his servant in the Arena...so that meant that she had to go in and retrieve them. As much as a pain it sounds, she had no choice.
Making her way downstairs, she pauses upon noticing a certain teacher smiling up at her in anticipation. Speak of the devil, it was none other than Taiga Fujimura. "Hey there Kishinami-san! I don't suppose you've already found and have my kendo sword with you?" Hakuno blinks at her for a moment, before she realises the reason for her standing there. Taking out her terminal, she scrolls through her inventory and locates the kendo sword code, the item materializing in her free hand a moment later.
Taiga doesn't even wait for Hakuno to return the sword to her as her sparkling eyes widen in happiness, the teacher running up and practically ripping the sword from her hand as she gazes at it fondly before hugging it tightly. "Ah, my beloved kendo sword! You've actually found it! How I've missed you so!" she says joyfully whilst her cheeks rub against it affectionately. Meanwhile, the brown-haired student sweatdrops as she watches the exchange feeling both amused and awkward at the same time.
"Thank you so much Kishinami-san! I'm so grateful to know that there's still some kind students who's willing to help out their teachers!" Hakuno forces a smile on her face and laughs sheepishly in response. "It's alright. The sword wasn't too hard to find, so the task wasn't that difficult." With this, the girl hopes that Taiga would be satisfied and just...leave, because she really needs to be heading to the Arena and can't afford to waste anymore precious time chatting away with her.
But as fate would have it, such a wish was not to be fufilled. "...Um...by the way...I hate to ask you for another favour...but..." From her tone alone, Hakuno could already sense the impending danger approaching her. Slowly backing away, Hakuno attempts to retreat back upstairs when Taiga grabs her by the wrist, preventing her from escaping.
"...Kishinami-san, do you think you can do your teacher one more teensy favour? I promise you that it won't be too difficult," Taiga says in an all too sweet voice, the grip on her wrist tightening immensely that Hakuno feared her bones would break. Tipping her head in defeat, Hakuno looks back at this demon of a teacher. Hopefully Taiga was truthful when she said that the task wasn't troublesome. "...Sure, why not?"
"Really! Oh, thank you! Truth be known, I really need a tangerine, stat!" Hakuno pauses to process her request, before she utters a single word which summarises her reaction: "...Huh?" The teacher pouts, letting go of her wrist. "Now don't go looking like that again! You did say you'd grant my request now, wouldn't you?!"
"Well...yes but, what do you need a tangerine for, Fujimura-sensei?" "It doesn't matter what I need it for! All you need to remember is that I need it in three days, and I'm sure that there's a tangerine somewhere on the second floor!" Again, Hakuno sweatdrops at her somewhat unreasonable request.
"If you could get it for me by the end of the first round, I'd get ecstatic! I'll even give you a fabulous decoration for your private room as a reward!" This causes Hakuno to perk up. "...A decoration? Like what?" Taiga places her index finger to her lips and grins. "That's a secret! But you'll find out if you get that tangerine for me! With that, good luck!"
Taiga's hand connects with her back painfully as Hakuno lets out a gasp of pain, watching as her teacher begins skipping away to the faculty room. The girl is left dumbfounded, but doesn't have time to react when a tall figure approaches her. The girl's eyes look up to properly face him, coming to a realization that she's now staring at none other than Kotomine.
"Greetings, young master. It's been a while since we've last spoken to each other. How do you do?" Kotomine begins, his hands placed behind his back. Hakuno stands straight, ignoring the stinging pain of her back as she backs away a step. For some odd reason, she had the feeling that Kotomine had the habit of standing closely in front of people...too close for comfort that is to say. "Ah...well, I'm good. I've managed to get the first cipher key and all!"
Kotomine nods contently at her answer. "So you already have a cipher key...excellent. You'll be able to obtain the other one in no time at this rate. The second floor is where you'll get the second cipher key."
Pointing towards the direction of the Arena, he continues. "Head to the Arena. You should be able to access a new floor." Well, even if he hadn't appeared and said so, Hakuno had intended to go there anyway. Nevertheless, she thanks him and begins to walk away, but not before Kotomine gives her a new piece of information.
"Oh, I almost forgot to ask. Have you set foot in the chapel yet?" This question causes her to halt as she turns to face him once again. The chapel...did he mean the church-like building located by the gardens? "Well...no I haven't. Why?" she asks.
"The system's jurisdiction doesn't penetrate that far but...you can strengthen your servant there." The bomb in the room causes Hakuno's jaw to drop in disbelief. Had she heard right? You could make your servant stronger by heading to the chapel? How?
Was there some sort of ritual in there that increases a servant's overall power? In the first place, she had never considered the idea of strengthening a servant. Heck, she didn't even know it existed! She had just assumed that Archer's strength was limited to her abilities as his master.
Before she could question the priest more about it though, the man turns his back towards her and begins to walk away. "Well, I've said my piece. Go and slaughter to your heart's content." Hakuno wants to protest and stop him before he is able to fully walk away from her view, but decides against it. Knowing him, he'd probably want her to go to the chapel herself and investigate...and that is what the girl does as her feet begin taking her towards the gardens.
Opening the door, she finds herself surrounded amidst the colourful, blooming flowers, the fountain in the centre squirting water which shone against the sunlight. Looking around, she immediately spots the chapel, the huge building looking out of place with the peaceful atmosphere. Standing outside the door, she gives it a knock and waits. The minutes go by, and no response. Hakuno raises an eyebrow and frowns. Maybe there wasn't anyone inside?
However, when she places her hand against the door once again and gives it a push, it opens slightly with a creak. Hakuno withdraws her hand, staring at the building before her suspiciously. Well, now that she's here, she couldn't possibly just walk away. Besides, she doubted that Kotomine would lie on such a thing. Taking a deep breath, she steels herself for what was to come before pushing the door open and entering, the door firmly closing behind her.
The girl is seized with darkness as soon as she enters, with only the candles by the walls and the translucent glass windows by the side providing a glimmer of light to guide her. She looks around, surrounded by rows of wooden benches in a large church hall. Eerie organ music plays in the background, with a chandelier high above her head.
She looks across and manages to make out a large coloured glass window on the stage, showing what appeared to be the virtual moon outside despite it still being daytime. Hakuno gulps. Just what was this place had she had set foot into?
Though it gave a normal impression that this place was a place of worship and prayer, she couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. It almost feels as if this place was cut off from the rest of the world. Her eyes lower towards the stage, where she sees a flash of colours that almost hurt her eyes. There, present in the centre of the stage, was what appeared to be a large floating cube enclosed by red ribbons of data circling around it.
Hakuno stares at it with awe, slowly walking towards the stage with her hand stretched out to get a better look at it when a voice cuts through the atmosphere, the organ music in the background ending abruptly. "I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Hakuno freezes and sharply turns her body to the side where she heard the voice. Squinting, she can make out the figure of two women approaching her.
As soon as they're close enough that Hakuno can properly see them, the girl stares back at the two women who definitely didn't look like nuns. One of them had short blue hair in a bob cut with fair skin and spectacles to frame her deep blue irises perfectly, wearing a violet sweater with long white pants. The other woman on the other hand, had a slightly paler complexion with long blood red hair and matching irises, dressed in a simple grey hoodie and long cream coloured jeans.
"Hey there, welcome to the chapel. You're here to perform an Alteration of the Soul?" the red-haired female began as they both took a seat in between in large cube. "Ah...you're that...what was it again? ...Odd, I can't remember the last time I forgot something. Well, it's not like the details matter. The more test subjects, the better, I always say," the blue-haired female mutters, before properly facing Hakuno. "Welcome to the Eden of the East. I assume you're here for an Alteration of the Soul?"
Hakuno blanks out at her question. Alteration of the Soul? What was that supposed to mean? Was it a ritual of some sort? Realizing that she has no clue as how to answer, the red-haired female sighs and shakes her head. "You don't know what an Alteration of the Soul is, but came here anyway? Amateur."
The blue-haired female on the other hand, pays no heed to her companion's insult as she straightens her spectacles. "Alteration of the Soul...what is it you ask? Hmm..." Though she takes a moment to think, she eventually begins explaining. "Simply put, we link a master's soul to their servant's. When a master's rank increases, we can strengthen the link. That's done by hacking into each soul and choosing what to improve."
So Kotomine was right...one could actually strengthen their servant by coming here...though the process seems more complicated than she thought. Though the girl has some questions she'd like to raise herself, she decided to stay silent and listen on.
"In an Alteration of the Soul, you can improve your servant's overall strength and power by using Skill Points that you earn in the Arena by defeating various enemy programs. In addition, once a certain number of skill points is used, your servant can gain powerful special skills. These skills your servant gains will be useful in battle in making your foes easier to defeat. As such, we'd recommend that you come here to frequently strengthen your servant, especially before the Elimination Battles." Wow, to think that she's stumbled across such an amazing place thanks to the priest...Hakuno couldn't have asked for more at a time like this!
"Well...it's like my sister said. My job is to perform Alterations made possible by various events. You get the gist of it right? If you want to do an Alteration of the Soul, just let me know," the red-haired woman adds. Sisters...so were these two really related? I mean, from the way they were dressed and how they talked Hakuno doubted that she meant 'sister' in a religious sense. However, before she could question her, Hakuno senses a wave of hatred from the two that almost seems to engulf the entire place with its heavy tension.
"As for that creature over there, she's totally useless..like 8-track tapes or C/ prompt. In fact, you'd best ignore her," the red-haired girl goes on. "And you're lower than dirt. Don't screw up or the Moon Cell will come down on you...again," the blue-haired female interrupts, crossing her arms over her chest. The red-haired girl practically glares at the woman, her eyes full of venom.
"Gah! How many times do I have to tell that the Master was at fault...that time! They specifically told me to do quasi-legal alterations, so I just added a few...extra skills." Hakuno sweatdrops as the fight got more intense with each passing second. She felt relieved at the idea of Archer getting stronger but...now that she's watching the two bicker with each other, she's starting to doubt that coming here was the best idea, especially after learning how the red-haired female handled the alterations so recklessly.
"Hmph, laugh now, but it wouldn't be funny to the person who lost because of your towering incompetence." Turning her attention back to Hakuno, the blue-haired female speaks. "Listen well, girl. If you value your life, do not put your trust into that thing's abilities. If I were you, I'd stick to regaining the spiritual statuses that your servant may have lost-" "Well then, what do you say we try an Alteration right now?" the red-haired female interrupts.
Hakuno looks back and forth between the two. Should she really go with such a process? Then again, if this was the only way to make Archer stronger...
"Then...what am I supposed to do?" Hakuno finally asks. Looking relieved, the red-haired girl gestures towards the cube. "Have your servant stand here and touch this cube first. That way I can start linking his soul to the device and then we can begin the procedure." Nodding, Hakuno asks for Archer to appear as he walks towards the cube and touches it with his hand. As soon as he does this, a virtual computer appears in front of the red-haired female as she begins typing.
After a few minutes, she looks away from the screen to Hakuno. "Alrighty, it's done. Now you need to come over and register yourself as his master before you can verify what to improve in his overall stats and parameters." Listening to her instructions, Hakuno walks over and does what she's told.
Soon, after the verification had been completed, Hakuno looks over the various skills and stats that she can improve or level up for her servant. "Hmm...it'll be best to increase his attack and defense parameters for now. I'll probably come back to increase his other parameters after I'm able to obtain more skill points in the Arena," she thinks.
After telling the red-haired female her commands, the red-haired female initiates them as a swirl of red data begins to envelope her servant. "Ok, the process should be good to go. Now all you need to do is to hold your servant's hand to it to complete." Silence fills the air as Hakuno (and Archer) blanks out. No, she was probably mishearing things. "...W-What?"
"You need to hold his hand for the process to complete," the red-haired woman repeats, raising her eyebrows at the now flustered master. "Huh?? W-Why should I need to do that?!" Archer's eyes widen at his master's sudden outburst; she had reacted more strongly than he had anticipated...and she herself was aware of that.
"You need to hold onto your servant's hand so that I can link both of your souls to the device. It's also proof of your master-servant bond. I don't see why you're getting so worked up," the blue-haired female explains. "That's...is that really necessary?" Hakuno asks. "It's an essential step in the altering process. If you cannot do that, the process cannot fully proceed," the blue-haired female replies.
"There's nothing too intimate about it really. The two of you are just holding hands. What's there to worry about some physical contact? In most processes where transfer of magic is involved, masters and servants will be doing more than just 'holding hands' y'know," the red-haired female teases. Hakuno bites down on her bottom lip. The two of them had a point.
Besides, this was for both her and Archer's sake. It wasn't like there was any hidden meaning involved in them holding hands. Right, this was just holding hands and nothing more. There was no need for her to act like some panicky highschool girl in a shoujo manga!
Giving herself a mental pep talk, she slowly approaches her servant and in one swift motion, takes ahold of his hand. Almost instantly, the girl can tell how significantly larger and warmer his servant's hand felt when compared to her own. Looking away, the girl tries not to squirm or think too much about it as she could feel the heat at the back of her neck. It's just holding hands, it's just holding hands...did the girl continuously repeat in her head.
Why was she getting all flustered in the first place?? It was just her servant for pete's sake! It wasn't like he was her lover or anything of the sort! Was it because of her somewhat loner personality that such simple things like holding hands easily made her embarassed?! Darn it! "Ok...I'll begin the procedure now. Please wait for a few minutes."
After what seemed like an eternity, the red-haired female gave the thumbs up to signal that the procedure was done as Hakuno immediately released her hand from his, thankful that it was over. It was at this moment that her terminal begins beeping loudly as Hakuno takes it out to read the notification that was sent.
Eyeing the screen, she sees that her servant's parameters had gone up by a rank, and that he had gained back the skills 'Red Hound- Weaken' as well as 'Pre-projection'. Tapping onto the 'Pre-projection' option, she reads the description:
"The effectiveness and accuracy of projection is the key to victory in battle. The effectiveness of Projection can be enhanced by first using the Pre-projection skill. Also, different skills require that option to be at a certain level, otherwise they cannot be used. The higher the projection level, the more powerful the related skill." Huh...what a unique skill. All conditions aside, it was great knowing that at least now Archer will be able to fight with more ease in the Arena. "The tuning of my magic circuits went well. I've gotten two skills back. Let's test them out in the Arena," Archer suggested, walking towards her.
"So then...need another Alteration? Or are you satisfied?" the red-haired female asks. Hakuno shakes her head vigorously; there was no way she was go through that again right after the process had just been completed. "Ah...no, we're alright for now...but thanks..." She stops midsentence, realizing that she had yet found out about their names.
"The name's Touko Aozaki. And she's Aoko Aozaki. But our names aren't that important. For now, head to the Arena and try fighting some enemy programs. Even if the change is small, you'll definitely see it," Touko replies, a smirk on her lips as she waves Hakuno off. With a bow, Hakuno thanks the two of them and begins walking off.
What an odd pair she had met. However, she was glad that the procedure was done and over. Now all she needs to focus on is obtaining those books from the Arena. Opening the door, she is barely able to take a step out from the chapel when she hears someone yelling the the gardens. Turninh her head, she blinks in surprise when she sees Shinji along with some fellow female NPCs yet again causing more trouble...as usual. And this time he seems to be bickering with an old man too.
"...A chapel is for quiet reflection. I do not know who your god is, but you should know that much," the old man scolds sternly in a calm manner. Shinji scratches his head and without so much as seeming apologetic, replies, "Sorry, my bad. I'm an atheist...swear to god!" From the conversation alone, it seemed as though Shinji had been thrown out from the chapel after angering the old man.
"...Hmph. I have always believed that the Japanese were polite. I guess I was misled." With that said, the old man turns his back to Shinji. "Leave this place at once. The gates of heaven shall remain closed to the unbeliever. It appears that in your haste to fight, you forgot to learn dignity and respect," the man quietly utters in disappointment as he walks up the steps towards her.
Hakuno kindly moves away to let him in, the man's eyes meeting hers for a brief moment. "Thank you young one," he says, with Hakuno tipping her head in reply as the man continues walking into the chapel before he eventually takes a seat on one of the benches in the front row, his head bowed and his hands clasped together in prayer.
Hakuno, making her way outside while gently closing the door behind her, looks out to see Shinji already walking away with the NPCs following closely behind him. The man angrily stomps away towards the door leading back to the school building, clicking his tongue in frustration. "I really hate old geezers like him, always talking down on me! When it comes to fighting, you can bet your ass that I'll be teaching him a thing or two!" he spats shortly before he storms into the building, the door slamming behind him. "Wow, what a kid. To think that an old man's lecture could get him that upset...guess he really is an idiot," Archer comments a second later, with Hakuno sighing as she gave a nod.
Upon returning to the school building, she hears her terminal beeping. Taking the device out, she eyes the message displayed on it: "The second cipher key has been generated on the second floor of the Arena." Huh...so this was what Kotomine mentioned. If that were the case, she'd better head to the Arena soon. But before that, the girl decided to stop by the commissary for some supplies.
After getting the items she needed, Hakuno proceeds to the door leading to the Arena. Standing in front of it, she places her head on the doorknob just as a window appears before her with two options:
"Head to the Arena?
- Head to the First Floor
-Head to the Second Floor"
Choosing the second option, she twists the doorknob and pushes the door open, a light blinding her sight as she walks forward to enter the Arena, well aware that she only had 3 days left into the preparation period before the fated Elimination Battle
0101010101010101010101010101010101
First Chimeric Lunar Sea- Second Floor
Arena Level 08
Greed and lust combine to burst into brilliance, and lead onward to the sepulcher of the sea.
0101010101010101010101010101010101
Upon entering the Arena, Hakuno could definitely tell that the second floor seemed different compared to the first. Looking towards the walls, she can make out what appeared to be underwater sealife, with the entire floor submerged within it. There would probably be more stronger enemy programs lying in wait around the area too, with the trigger being more difficult to obtain.
Her servant had already materialized by her side, and was also looking around to inspect the area. "Hmm...it seems that they've managed to make it this far as well. Their presence is...unmistakable," he comments. Looking around, the master didn't sense any prana around the area unlike the last time the two ran into Shinji and his servant.Then again, they could just be concealing their presence...so she couldn't afford to let her guard down.
"It'd really suck if they ambush us as we return to campus later on, so it'll be best if we deal with them now," Archer suggests. Hakuno frowns at his idea. The last time they tried to do so, the two only ended up getting their asses handed to them. She didn't wanna sound pessimistic but...she doubted that even with Archer's power up were they able to face Shinji and his servant on equal terms.
"Master, I'm not suggesting that we fight them now. What I'm saying is that we should try to find that book before that little punk and his servant find us," Archer explains. Oh, so he meant a completely different thing. Well, it was reassuring to know that Archer wasn't thinking of going head to head with them again unlike last time. Agreeing with his plan, the two decided to head onwards.
While jogging down the Arena, Hakuno halts. Was it just her or did she see an enemy program in the distance? Taking out her terminal, she looks through the map. Odd, she swore that she saw an enemy program but...there's nothing there in her terminal map.
"Master...what's wrong? Did something catch your attention?" Archer questions. "Ah no...it's just...I could've sworn I saw an enemy program over there but...there's apparently nothing on the terminal's map." Pointing at the direction of where she saw it, Archer squints. "Well would you look at that...I see it too." "Huh?! You too?!" Were they both just seeing things, or was there some sort of bug in her terminal that prevented her from seeing the full layout of the Arena?
"...There's only one way to find out Master." Walking towards the enemy program that was at the other side of the wall, Hakuno widens her eyes in disbelief. Was Archer attempting to...go through the wall?!
Before she could stop her servant from possibly injuring himself however, the man manages to literally walk through the wall as more wall and floor panels begin to magically appear before him. Hakuno's jaw drops in surprise as she watches Archer continue to walk until he came head to head with the enemy program, engaging it in battle. No way...her servant had just discovered a hidden passage?!
After thoroughly exploring the hidden passageway and encountering several enemy programs on their way out back towards the path indicated on the terminal map, Hakuno and Archer were faced with their first problem. The girl frowns, looking up and down as she points at the red gate blocking their way. "...The path is completely sealed off. What do we do now?" After going about in circles and even checking the map on her terminal, Hakuno confirmed that this was the only path they had to continue.
However, with the path blocked by the gate, it seemed impossible to move forward...and that seemed anything but good. Climbing over the wall didn't seem like an option either, since the gate's height was from the floor to the ceiling itself...and destroying the gate also wasn't possible. "Hmm...there should be some mechanism somewhere that could open the gate...otherwise Shinji and his servant also wouldn't be able to go further in," Archer concludes after thinking for a while.
"A mechanism? Like...a switch or something?" "Yeah. Let's look around the area a little more. Maybe the mechanism's located somewhere near the gate." And true enough to his words, the pair soon encounters a button located at the far end, guarded by an enemy program.
Upon defeating said program and pressing the button, the gate opens. "Wow, were you good with maze puzzles back when you were alive?" Hakuno asks jokingly as they proceeded. "What does that have to do with this?" her servant asks with raised eyebrows. Yeah well, she figured that he couldn't take a joke.
The two continued to explore the Arena floor, killing off tons of enemy programs in the process and uncovering item folders holding various items and formal wear. After 2 hours, the two found themselves at a dead end, with the books yet to be uncovered. Archer sighs, the swords disappearing from his hands as Hakuno falls to her knees in exhaustion.
"It doesn't make any sense. We've been exploring the area from top to bottom and still nothing. Not only that, but we've come across yet another gate but this time...with no mechanism to open it. We're practically stuck here at this rate," Archer says in irritation, placing a hand to his forehead.
Hakuno bites on her thumb, trying to think. Shinji said that he'd hidden the books somewhere on this floor...so it was obvious that the books wouldn't just be in plain sight for them to find. She recalls what he had told her back in the library. "I just thought that you'd have more fun getting the info you want, so I hid every book somewhere in the Arena. Although, I wonder if a weaksauce master like you can even find them in the first place."
The girl pauses, suddenly thinking of a possibility. It did seem a little far-fetched, but that was the only idea she could think up of at this moment. "...You don't think...there's a hidden space somewhere, do you?" Archer looks at her, raising his eyebrows. "Huh? What makes you think of that Master?"
"I mean...we've looked through the entire area and couldn't find anything. Besides, knowing Shinji, he'd probably find the books in a place hidden off from the map so we wouldn't be able to locate them." "Hmm...you may be right about that but...how are we gonna find this hidden space when it's hidden in the first place?"
Standing up, Hakuno carefully begins looking around. "Think...where would he hide them?" Her eyes scan the area for a few minutes before they stop, her chocolate brown irises fixed on a tiny glint in a distance. "...It's there!" she points, running forward. "Ah...wait, Master...that's-"
As if right on point, her body manages to pass through a certain panel on the wall, her feet carrying her to the other end before... *SMACK!* Her body ends up falling butt-first onto the ground (and that was the sound of her face smashing against the wall). Hakuno lies there, clearly disoriented by the blow before she grasps her red forehead and nose and writhes in pain a few seconds later. "Owwww...!"
Archer quickly catches up to her and looks down at her master's state still on the ground. "Wow, that was certainly a good blow. Was that a new self-defense technique you wanted to show me Master?" he asks sarcastically, trying his best not to snicker. Hakuno glares up at him and fails to come up with a witty response as she massages her now red forehead and nose. "Oh, quit it with your teasing! I did see something over there!" she replies, pointing in the direction of the glint she saw.
Archer frowns and squints his eyes at where Hakuno was pointing. "...And so you thought that the best idea was to run forward without a care in the world? What if there was a trap lying in wait there instead?" he asks slowly. "That's...well we won't know until we go there and find out!" Drowning out her complaints, Archer continues to stare at the glint, before he presses his hand against the wall where Hakuno banged into. "...Are you even listening...??" Hakuno pauses to ask with a sigh when she finally realizes him ignoring her.
"...You're right about that Master. But with this wall here in the way, it doesn't seem like we can proceed," he finally says. Hakuno bites on her lower lip; he did have a point. "Then...what should we do? We've gotta find a way to get there...or don't tell me you intend for us to just give up and return to the school building, especially since it was your idea that we find the books anyway."
"...I've got an idea. Stand back Master." Hakuno blinks, obviously confused. A plan?What could he be thinking about? Did he see another path nearby that they could take to get there? Then why did he ask her to-
In an instant, Archer catches her unaware as he summons his swords in hand. Hakuno's eyes widen drastically as she jumps back just as Archer's swords connect with the wall, shattering it to virtual shards. The girl remains in mute shock for a few seconds as the swords vanish from his hands, the man now smirking. "...Wha...what did you just do?! Why did you do that?!" she finally asks. "What? I just cleared the path for us to continue on like you wanted...or was that not your original intention?"
"No! I mean...how...why did you destroy the wall there?! I didn't even know you could do that!" Hakuno's mind raced with worry at the thought of the SE.RA.PH inflicting some sort of punishment on them for literally wrecking havoc on the arena grounds. Archer raises an eyebrow at her reaction. "...Just so you know, this is a virtually programmed wall not by the system, so cutting it down wouldn't affect us in any way."
Hakuno pauses at his reply, totally dumbfounded. "...W-What? What do you mean 'not by the system'? Who could've programmed it then?" "Probably that cowardly dumbass. This wall seemed out of place to begin with, and there wasn't any switch to deactivate it too, meaning that Shinji conjured this wall up. He had no intentions of letting you waltz in that space even if you found it." It all made sense now. To think that Shinji would go so low as to even prevent them from getting the books...what a jerk!
As much as she'd like to complain about him, they really had to get to that place. God knows how long they've been staying in the the arena. Determined than ever, Hakuno runs through the path (again without caring of Archer's warning) and ends up in a small enclosed space, her servant joining her a moment later. "Master, you should've been more patient! What would've happened if an enemy program was lying in wait here to attack you?!" Archer scolds.
His warning however, failed to register in Hakuno's ears. Paying no heed to him, Hakuno quickly approaches the item folder placed by the corner. Touching it, the item folder emits a blinding light, startling the brown-haired master as she covers her eyes and quickly backs away, distancing herself just as the light died down. "...! Master, get down!"
Hakuno, yet to even open her eyes, follows her servant's order on reflex as she ducks, her ears hearing the sound of Archer's swords clashing against something as her eyes pop open. Standing just two feet away from her was her servant who was now engaged with an enemy program, a rather large one in the form of a giant, hulking fish. "W-What the-!" Where on earth did the enemy appear from?! Did it pop out of the item folder earlier?!
She doesn't even have time to comprehend the sudden situation they were in as Archer kicks the enemy program away, nailing a few attacks at it with enough force to send the enemy program crashing against the Arena walls. The enemy program, although injured, quickly regains itself as it bolts at alarming speed towards the servant clad in red.
Thinking quickly, Hakuno opens her terminal and equips one of her Mystic codes, immediately stunning the enemy program as it was about to attack Archer. The enemy program abruptly halts its movement, unable to move whatsoever due to the Mystic Code's effect, letting out a mechanical-sounding cry of fury. Her servant uses this opening to finish the enemy program off, landing a couple more hard blows before the enemy program eventually fizzles out into data.
Archer sighs, possibly in relief, as the swords vanish in his hand just as he walks over towards Hakuno, still somewhat shocked over what had just taken place. "T-That enemy program came out of nowhere," she mutters, her eyesbrows creasing to form a frown. "More like it came out from the item folder. I warned you earlier to not move about irrationally and do as you like, but it seems that you still didn't listen," Archer scolds, giving her a good flick on the forehead.
Hakuno yelps, her mouth open with the intention to protest when her attention goes back to the item folder, her eyes spotting a large, faded journal. The girl, slowly approaching it, takes ahold of the item carefully. There it was, in her hands. The book that Shinji was so desperate to hide was none other than a diary of some sort written on sheaves of parchment.
Flipping through the pages, she confirms that the book is indeed genuine and not some fake item planted by Shinji to trick them. Though the book is worm out to a point where the ink has begun to fade, Hakuno can make out the name of a ship, the Golden Hind, along with the names of several islands and the partial manifests of hijacked ships.
This must be a ship's log of a pirate that sailed the high seas. Seeing that Shinji was unable to destroy the folder and had to hide it in this space, Hakuno assumed that this book was probably a very powerful program too. "Hmm...her true name has faded away, but this diary should prove to be very valuable in discovering her identity," Archer muses to himself, looking at the book's contents over her shoulder. "...Then this means..."
"...I can see why the boy wanted to hide it, even going as far as to place an enemy program to safeguard the journal. In fact, this place speaks volumes about that idiot." Taking a brief look around, Archer spots the button mechanism for the second gate as he walks over and pushes it. "This is definitely a spot where someone like him would hide such a book. It seems like it was worth the time searching for such an item."
Hakuno nods and begins inputting the journal into her terminal, the item fading from her hands a moment later. Now with this out of the way, she can focus on obtaining the trigger-
"...Damn it! I didn't expect you to find it so soon Hakuno!" Eyes widening, Hakuno whirls around sharply to see Shinji and his servant standing across them, with Archer quickly standing in front of his master, swords materialized in hand. "Shinji!"
The man pulls at his hair angrily, grinding his teeth in frustration. "And to think that I went through all the trouble of bringing it down here...yet you were still able to find it!" Glaring at her viciously, Shinji lets out a sinister laugh. "...Oh well, I'll just have to take it back from you now! Hand it over Hakuno!" he demands.
Hakuno takes a step back, clenching at hands into fists as she glares back at him. "...And what makes you think we'd do that?!" she retorts, causing Shinji's eyes to widen in disbelief at her actually defying him. "...Heh. You must be getting desperate if you're going so far as to search for a book in a place like this! Too bad for you! You came all this way for me to yank that book away from you! And I'd suggest you do it now before things get ugly!"
Though Hakuno seems worried, Archer calmly watches the exchange before deciding to intervene. "...What's wrong? I expected you to follow up with your jackass-like braying, but maybe you're actually worried?"
Shinji's face crumples like a paper ball with more boiling anger as he stomps his foot on the ground and points his finger threateningly at Archer. "Why you...! I'll show you what happens when you piss me off!" Glaring back at his servant, he gestures towards her angrily. "Don't just stand there, go kill the both of them now!" he yells. His servant, looking disinterested, sighs as she readies her twin pistols.
"It's lecture time, Master. Using my blade, I will show him the consequences of giving away information," Archer says just as a familiar blue string of data stretches out over the horizon, covering the perimeter as the four were engulfed, now enclosed within a large open space.
Shinji's servant wastes no time as she begins shooting at Archer. Archer parries her attacks and unlike last time, seems more confident as he begins dashing towards her. Dodging her attacks, he nails a blow at her exposed shoulder. Surprised, the female servant's eye narrowed dangerously as she kicked Archer away, eyeing the large bleeding scar.
The servant didn't have time to worry however, because Archer had recovered almost instantly and was now dashing towards her once again. The man jumps into the air, avoiding another hail of bullets as he attempts to punch her, but missed as the female servant twists her head to the side and kicks Archer away once again.
Rider attempts to aim at Archer's legs as she continuously fires at them. However, sensing her plans, Archer manages to deflect most of them, with only some of them nicking him here and there as he charges in and knocks one of the pistols off her hands in one swift motion. She grits her teeth, slamming his fist into his torso to reel him back.
Meanwhile, Hakuno watched as the two servants exchanged blows, making careful glances towards Shinji now and then. Seeing that his servant was now somewhat struggling only made him angrier. "What the hell are you doing?! Use your skills against him!"
Upon his command, the female servant smirks as she distances herself from the servant clad in red. "Roger that!" With a snap of her fingers, Hakuno could see discs of light appear behind the pink-haired woman, before large cannons began emerging from them. Eyes going large in horror, she twists her head towards her servant. She was planning to shoot cannonballs at him?! There was no way he was gonna survive such an attack with no cover!
Archer however, had a plan. Dashing to the side, he quickly zooms in towards the servant. "Hmph, you're too late! Take this, culverin cannons!" With a loud blast, Shinji's servant sends a hail of cannonballs towards him. Hakuno could only watch in utter terror as Archer was about to get maimed by the giant cannonballs.
At the very last second before she yelled her attack however, Archer had already thrown his swords towards her direction. While Shinji's servant had jumped out of the way to avoid them, she didn't realize that he could control the direction in which they were moving, and the blades began closing in at her exposed back.
As if time had stopped, Hakuno watched as Shinji's servant gave a surprised gasp of pain, the blades embedding themselves straight into her back as the cannons disappeared along with the cannonballs just before they hit Archer. Shinji watched in disbelief as his servant dropped to her knees just as the warning from the system came in, terminating the fight.
"N-No way...how could she possibly get hurt?" Turning to face Hakuno, he glares at her once again. "D-Don't start getting cocky now! And anyway, the SE.RA.PH is watching! I'll be victorious in the end!" With no other retort he could give, Shinji quickly takes out what appears to be a return crystal and vanishes a second later along with his servant.
"Wow, I expected a pathetic excuse from him but..." Putting away his swords, Archer gives him a moment to straighten himself up before he continues. "...Anyway, I've realized a few things during my fight with her. First off, that book indeed must to be his servant's...and it appears to be a ship's log. And judging from the ship's battery that his servant had unleashed earlier...her prowess with vehicles is really advanced. That means by without a doubt she is a Rider."
A Rider...that class did seem to match up with Archer's claims. In fact, Hakuno had to silently applaud for him being able to figure out such an important detail in the midst of battle. Is that what they call strategic thinking? As soon as Archer finishes explaining, Hakuno hears the familiar high-pitched ringing of her terminal. Taking it out, she sees that her terminal had deemed the information useful, and her matrix had been updated to level three.
"Well, now that we've got what we came for, I don't see any problems with taking off now, although we could go track down the trigger now too. Stay and search or go and rest, it's up to you." Hakuno gave it some thought, but eventually decided to stay and continue searching for the trigger. They had come so far, so they might as well continue.
After hours of running around, not only did Hakuno manage to locate Taiga's tangerine, but she also managed to locate the trigger. The metal object glimmers in the light as a window pops up below it to reveal its name: Trigger Code Beta. "Alright, so we managed to track down both triggers, or cipher keys as Kotomine likes to call them. If we want to ensure that we get all the triggers in the future, we'd betted make sure to thoroughly scour the Arena. There's no rest for the weary," Archer reminds as she absorbs the trigger into her terminal.
With this, her participation in the Elimination Battle at the end of the week is guaranteed. Though Hakuno still had her worries and doubts, she felt slightly more confident than before after watching Archer in action today. Feeling both satisfied and exhausted, the two decided to head back to the school building.
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Night had descended upon Tsukumihara Academy when the duo returned. Heading back up to their private room, Hakuno decides to turn in early after a quick, hot shower. She winces as she touches the spot where her forehead connected with the wall in the arena earlier; one thing was for sure, that blow would certainly leave a bruise if not for the healing fountain.
"Does it still hurt?" Surprised, Hakuno whirls around just as Archer's fingers brush along her forehead where she had just touched. She stares back at him with those big doe eyes of hers, opening her mouth and closing it again after a few seconds. "Ah...well, thanks to the healing fountain, the pain should go away by tomorrow after a good night's rest," she finally replies.
"...I see." Opening the kit box, she watches Archer rummage through it before her irises move away to stare at her hands, playing with her fingers. "...Ok. Master, can you face this way?" Hakuno didn't realize she had been zoning out as she turns to face the man.
Surprising her yet again, Archer slowly moves closer towards her and bends down until he was at eye level, his face slowly but surely drawing towards hers. Hakuno's eyes were practically bulging out of her head as he leaned in. "W-Wait...Archer...what...?!" He couldn't possibly be...?! No, that was way too sudden even for her!
However, just as she shut her eyes, the girl feels something being placed on her forehead. Choosing to pop one eye open, she sees her servant smirking at her. "Why're you so stiff? I only placed a band-aid on your forehead...or were you expecting something else?"
Hakuno could feel her cheeks flaring up as she quickly brushes Archer's hand away to touch her forehead. That surprised her! To think that she was expecting him to almost...! "I was not!" she retorted, earning a laugh from him as he placed the first aid kit back on the table beside her bed, heading back to his throne of chairs as Hakuno continued to pout at him. Oh, how she hated his teasing!
With her head hitting the pillow, the girl could already feel the drowsiness attacking her despite her body feeling numb and heavy. "I still don't have much power at my disposal. You saw what happened when we attacked that low-level loser." Opening her eyes, she looks over at her servant who was glancing at the window. It was undeniable that Archer fought well today, but it was also true that they still had a long way to go. Hakuno had to be vigilant, and can't afford to relax just yet.
"Well, all that matters today is that you got the feel of the importance of information. That, and you probably noticed that half the prep period has passed," Archer continues before giving a yawn; he must be quite tired after today as well. Nodding, Hakuno's eyes begin to fall with increasing exhaustion as she quietly wishes Archer good night before falling into a deep slumber.
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Archer watched from the corner of his eye as his master's face turned pink at the red-haired female's instructions. Though her reaction was unexpected, he couldn't blame her. The man himself was also feeling awkward at their current situation.
It wasn't like he was embarassed to be holding onto her hand per se, but the whole prospect of holding hands just for an Alteration of the Soul seemed...odd for him. However, what he didn't expect was for his master to actually take ahold of his hand.
The minute she does so, Archer can feel how soft, smooth and dainty her hand was in comparison to his. He held onto her hand carefully, feeling like it would break like fragile glass in his grasp if he were to hold it any tighter than he did. It almost felt nostalgic to say...like he was back to those times where he held onto the hands of his previous master-
Shaking his head, Archer forces himself to think of anything but her. Why did she even pop up in his head again anyway? It was ridiculous that he could even begin thinking about her whilst he was holding onto his master's hand. To think that holding onto someone's hand could shake him off so much made him somewhat ashamed of himself.
Looking over, he can see how tense his master was, her eyes casting downwards towards her shoes. He did know that she was probably feeling embarassed.
...What he didn't know however, was the thoughts that were going through her mind at that time, the girl's face a hue of red underneath the bangs that obscurred her eyes, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.