disclaimer: No Game No Life is owned by Kamiya Yuu. Fate franchise is owned by Type Moon.
=====00=====
Where is my status screen?
Illya POV
I am falling.
From somewhere above the clouds. It must be more than ten thousand meters above ground right? Forget it, even if it was five thousand meters, I would still be splattered on the ground.
Looking back at this moment later, I should not be afraid. My immortality guaranteed that I would still be alive even after my body crashed on the ground. But tell me honestly, if you were in my position, could you calmly thought about that and not panic?
The one who said that there would be no tension after the Third Magic, shame on you! Try falling down from the sky without parachute!
Anyway, at this time I didn't remember about that fact, so I screamed. "Kyaaaaaaaah"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaah"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh"
There were voices other than me. Huh.
I looked around. I saw Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, and Berserker in the sky adjacent to my position. Saber was stoically examining her situation. Rider and Berserker was silent. Wait, Rider brought her dagger close to her throat, she must be considering taking out her Pegasus.
Archer and Lancer were screaming. They were the ones I heard before.
Well, I was sure they had something up their sleeves that they could pull. Saber had taken out her sword and aimed at downwards. Maybe she intended to use the wind to soften the fall?
Berserker... I had no worry at all. Noticing the Servants action, I also thought about how I would survive this fall. Now what should I do...
Come to think of it, I seemed to miss something.
And suddenly, I stopped falling. I was suspended mid-air. A shadow descended from above and adressed me. "I noticed you have a bit of trouble." A woman voice said to me. "And I have some questions that need answers. Can't get that answers with you dead."
I looked above, and lo, there was Caster, floating with style. Damn, why she could fly and I could not. If only I know how to fly I could... huh?
Threedimensionalmaneuvergravitationalwavesaircurrentweightreductionforceinertiabrakemanacontrolaccelerationforcefieldaroundtheskindescendingascendingbreakfallvelocity...
Huh? I think I know how to fly.
Not that I would try it immediately. Ugh my head got a bit dizzy and my eyes were seeing some incomprehensible things.
Saber said from her position. "Well, maybe you should put us down first. It will be nice having discussion when we have the ground touching our feet." Apparently, Caster also suspended other Servants in the air.
Except Berserker.
"Hey, why do you let him fall?" I protested.
Caster replied in annoyed tone. "If you don't notice, doll, I am taxing myself here. Look at Saber." She pointed at Saber who fell down in slow motion. "I need to keep her afloat despite her magic resistance. And other Servants also have magic resistance. I need to manipulate the air around them. I think," She emphasized it. "I don't need to waste my energy for a guy who don't need it."
I looked around. Well, what she said was true. I conceded, "Fine. Now let us down. Slowly."
Caster had annoyed expression, but she let us touch down smoothly. It took several minutes, but we were all safely descended. Even Berserker had come from his landing spot and stood near our landing zone.
Hm. Maybe Caster was getting soft after the dream world. She was enjoying a newlywed life there after all.
I looked around us. This was another world? What's that strange shape on the horizon? The planets were close. Or were they moons?
"Where are we?" Saber said.
"Huh, are those chess pieces?" Archer said.
"I think that's a floating island..." Rider said.
Lancer then looked at me and said, "so, I remembered we were in some kind of illusionary world, and then there is this guy who pull us out. Now all I know is that we are in another world and I should ask you for more information."
Caster nodded. "The same information I got. Usually Servants are given basic information about the world they are summoned into. But I only got 'ask Illyasviel' for that."
Wha! No wonder everyone was looking at me since a while ago.
"I only know that this is the world of Tet, god of game. It is called Disboard and he take us here to play games. He said that after we fulfill certain conditions, we can challenge him." I told them the little information that I had. Tet didn't really told me much.
"Illyasviel." Rider said. "You have become my Master, correct? I can sense our contract."
"Yes. That's true." I answered. "I become the Master for all of you."
The reaction that I got from my Servants... were not encouraging. They each had attachment to their original Master. Saber lamented that she could not see Shirou. Archer didn't show much, but it seemed like he regretted being separated with Rin. Caster cursed the heaven and complained about her ruined honeymoon.
Rider... she said that she regretted that she didn't kill Zouken and Shinji when she had a chance. Huh. Interesting.
Berserker was happy that he came with me. I knew it from his expression.
Lancer was silent. I couldn't get a read from him. Maybe it was complicated?
Anyway, it was all just attachment from the dream world anyway. I reminded them that all of them had passed away and were in the process of going back to the Throne of Heroes anyway. Before that altercation happened.
"So, what should we do?" Archer said.
"Well, a world that belong to the god of game must be fun." I said. "Why don't we all just take it easy and follow his rules."
The Servants agreed after some discussion. For now, we would try heading to the nearest town. Caster had seen it from the sky before.
While we walked to a direction of the town, I contemplated about what Tet had said. He seemed to imply that this world operated under special rules, just like a game.
Maybe we were inside a Virtual Reality game?
Or a different world that had Level system? Maybe they had Adventurer Guild, and we would have to do quest to raise our Rank. Hmmm, I would love to do some goblin extermination. Or maybe like the cliche story, I would be a Hero and defeat the Demon King. Ohohoho.
Let's try to confirm it. If this world operate on Level system like RPG game, or if it was a VR game, there must be a Status Window. And Inventory. Or something like that.
"Menu! Status! Stats! Inventory! Skills!"
Nothing came out.
"Illyasviel, what are you doing?" Saber asked me. She was confused by my behavior.
"Log out!" I tried again. "Link start!" "Link end. Link down. End game."
I also tried to gestured with my hand, trying to call up the Menu Window. Damn, no result. This was really a buggy game. Or maybe the evil GM trapped me in here and erase the log out button?
"Call GM!" Nothing happened.
Hmm. So this world had no status screen or something like that. Maybe it was all manual? Like those adventure game without HP bar and you had to rely on instinct.
"Maybe she was practicing a magic ritual. Ignore her." Caster said to Saber. Caster looked like she wanted to forego walking and teleported all the way. I was still wary of her, but it seemed that she didn't have any reason to betray me. For now.
By the way, we were all colorful bunch. We wore our usual outfit, the one we usually used in Holy Grail War. I hoped armor and robes were the standard attire here, or we had to buy some clothes to blend in. They could transform to spirit form, but they liked having material body.
We were not far from our landing zone where a group of bandits ambushed us. Correction. We actually let them ambush us. We were kind of curious about the level of strength the inhabitants of this world had. Now was the good time to test Servants' power against them.
The gang of bandits had surrounded us. Ten, maybe twelve people? Their garbs were the typical thief / bandits outfit in fantasy stories. Strange, they were not intimidated by Berserker. Or the fact that Saber, Lancer, and Archer were obviously better equipped than them. Did they have some sort of trump card?
One of them step forward and said in challenging tone. "If ya wanna pass through, ya gotta do a game with us!"
...
...
...
Well, that's unexpected. Maybe it had something to do with rules that Tet had said. Still, playing a game? And if not, they would block our way? I didn't want to waste my time. Let's instruct Berserker to toss them aside.
"Berserker." I commanded. "Swat them aside."
Berserker growled. "▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!" He roared loudly.
But he didn't move. Eh? Why?
Archer had traced his swords, but he was also rooted on the spot. "I... I can't attack them. There is a mental interference that prohibit me from harming them."
The other Servants also tried to attack, with the same result. The bandits were grinning and chuckling. "Ya can't do anything ta me. Now play dat game! Or you will be here till nite."
Well, they couldn't really hold us here. The Servants could jump, or went into spirit form. I could be carried away by one of them. Caster could fly. Their threats meant nothing. But we needed information.
"What game?" I asked him.
"You can decide. I bring some board games and cards with me."
"What happen if I win or lose?" I asked again. Things about this world started to become clear.
"If I win, I will get all of your belongings. If I lose... how about all of my belongings?"
So it was a bet, decided by a game. "How about if I win you will honestly answer all of my questions? I need some information."
"Deal! Who will play?" He asked with a grin.
Hm. I glanced at the Servants. Who could play and absolutely win?
"Archer. Come here."
I outlined the rules. They would play a guessing game. Cards would be put on the ground, face down. Players could only touch the cards with one finger, and guess which card it was. They would take turn guessing and flipping the cards. The first one who guessed right five times would win.
"Ok then." The bandit leader said. "Aschente!"
"?" I was confused. "?" Archer also stared at him blankly.
"Oi, what are you doing." The bandit said. "You're supposed to take the pledge. Don't tell me you don't know. From what sticks are you from?"
"Ah sorry. What was it again?" Archer tried to say the word. "As-~# $urrghhh" He was cut off in the middle.
'Illya, I can't take the pledge. Something prevented me to say it.' Archer said.
What? Why? This was another confusing thing. Where was the game manual where you need it? Could it be because we were from another world?
'No, it is because he is not human. Only the Exceeds can take the oath.' Tet's voice sounded in my head. The Evil GM was here!
He chuckled after hearing my retort. 'Your Servants will be treated as part of you. Your own limbs. Only you can take the pledge. So don't hesitate and say the word Aschente, and then you can let your Servants play for you.'
Well that's nice to know, but there's no way I would believe everything Evil GM said. I said to the bandit leader, "I will take the pledge, but he will be the one representing me to play. Is it okay?"
The bandit leader agreed. So I said "Aschente!" And then I let Archer play the game.
Of course I told him to use [Structural Grasp] to read the card. He got 100% correct guess.
Still, the bandits didn't immediately surrender. They planned to overwhelm us with numbers from the beginning. I propose the same game, and they agreed. Strange, why didn't they try to pick another game? Surely they saw how Archer wipe out his opponent?
After we defeated all of them, Saber began the interrogation. The information we got was fairly interesting. It turned out that Tet was The One True God, aside from the God of Game. He rised to his position without fighting, because all of the competition had self destructed. When he ascended, he enforced a rule that "Everything will be decided by game."
All the sixteen intelligent races on the planet had to follow the new rules. The rules were called the [Ten Oaths]. The rules effectively eliminate all violence. Things were not decided by power anymore, but by wisdom.
Hmm, number five, that's why the bandits didn't try to change the game.
I need to memorize these rules.
【1】 All bloodshed, war, and pillage is forbidden throughout the world.
【2】 All disputes are to be resolved through the outcome of games.
【3】 In games, wagers will be made on what both parties decide to be of
equal value.
【4】 Unless contrary to "Three", the game content and the things wagered donot matter.
【5】 The challenged party has the right to decide the contents of the game.
【6】 "As per the Oath", the wager will be unconditionally adhered to.
【7】 All matters for group conflicts will be decided by a representative.
【8】 If cheating is detected during a game, it will be regarded as a defeat.
【9】 The above rules are unconditionally everlasting, upheld in the name ofGod.
【10】— Everyone should get along while playing games.
We left the bandits who had fallen into despair and resumed our journey. We also discussed the [Ten Oaths] along the way. The Servants had already discovered several loopholes to circumvent the oaths. I didn't really know whether it was their wisdom stat was high, or their crime coefficient was high.
I walked while enjoying the scenery. The sky looked different. The plants were strange. Was that a dragon flying in the sky?
We arrived to the town without any more trouble. I told my Servants to get into spirit form for now, because their outfit were too conspicuous. Except Saber, who for whatever reason couldn't do it. I don't know what's her problem, she was pure spirit in the Akashic Space before! Maybe she's just being difficult.
We got the name of the town. Elchea, capital of Elchea Kingdom. How unimaginative. And there was no other city in the kingdom. Hey, if you want to make a city-state, just say it from the beginning! No need to make a misunderstanding!
"Ah, little miss, it's not like that. You must be from afar." The kindly grandfather that spoke with us said. "Elchea used to be bigger. Much, much bigger. But we had fallen into hard times recently."
And that's when we listened to thirty-minutes lecture on the history of this pathetic kingdom. And the idiot useless king who wagered his territory eight times against the Werebeast and lost. How he had died and then a new king would be chosen by tournament.
Apparently he said, "Rather than be of my blood, the succeeding king shall be humankind's greatest gambler." Hmm that's quite a cool statement there. The previous king must have some hidden purpose.
But his purpose was irrelevant. The important thing was how to take advantage of the situation.
We were transported into this world without any money. After asking around, we found out that there was no Adventurer Guild where we could take RPG-like quest. With prohibition of violence, there was no war where we could be hired as mercenary. There was no goblin to exterminate, no princess to save, no medicinal herbs to be gathered (even if there is, I would not do it), no demon lord to be defeated.
We need a place to sleep. And that royal palace sounded good already. If I became the king, I didn't need to work, I had place to sleep, and I would always have food to eat.
Of course we could get by even if we took other path. Archer could cook. Others could take some jobs. Though, from what I saw of the economic condition, it would be difficult. There were too many unemployed and homeless people. Alright, to be king then!
And think about it. That Evil GM God threw us at this region, where the king's selection was in its last phase. Coincidence? I think not. Maybe this was the quest! Saving the country!
I need a place to sleep tonight. Let's register and defeat all remaining participants before dusk!
And I would definitely win. After all, cheating was okay. The rule number eight basically said that it was okay as long as you don't get caught.
Card games? I could do [Structural Grasp] to the whole deck, or use [Spying] magic. Or changing the cards with [Alteration].
With that thought, I strode to the registration table.
=====break=====
Ding! You have learned new skill [Flight]
Ding! You have formed contract with Saber
Ding! You have formed contract with Archer
Ding! You have formed contract with Lancer
Ding! You have formed contract with Berserker
Ding! You have formed contract with Rider
Ding! You have formed contract with Caster
Ding! A new Quest [Become the Queen of Elchea] has been accepted.
=====000=====
AN
Next time, a rematch with Kurami
and a match against Jibril
