I wonder what they have for sale here?
I need to hurry in order to get a copy of the new Fire Emblem Fates
Aw crap, the line was too long, it's gonna take me an hour to get it at this rate, oh the sacrifices I make for the greater good as I stand here at the back of the staring at the random passersby in different costumes, hey I see a Master Chief walking by Luke Skywalker holding a balloon with Mickey's face on it
Damn how long is this gonna take, I know it's only been ten to twenty minutes but it feels like hours, maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me, maybe it could be true. If only I brought my watch
Ok I think I can see the shop, why do people take so long to find a game? You people should go here with a game in mind, it helps a whole lot for both you and those who just got here
After a while things were looking bright for me, I'm next, WOOHOO my patience has paid off
Then I was hastily shoved to the side by some big guy in a black leather jacket
"Hey watch it"
Well maybe that wasn't the best idea to say to a guy taller than you by a whole foot, and now said guy is glaring at me, if looks could kill, I'd be buried 6 feet down in half a second an hour ago
"What did you say?" He growled,
"N-n-never m-mind s-sir, p-please e-e-enj-joy your d-day" I managed to stutter out
"Good" He responded with a menacing look on his face
God I'm such a coward
Just my luck, now with the douchebag taking my spot I'll have to go all the way back
Maybe I could ask the guy who was behind me
I approached the man who was behind me before I was pushed out, he has an average build wearing a brown blazer on top of a green shirt accompanied by his black jeans and sneakers
"Umm excuse me but may I please line up in front of you?" I asked quietly
"Sorry man but I've been here for a while" The man said as he began to scratch the back of his head with an awkward smile
"No, I mean, what do you want in exchange for me to line in front of you?" I asked again
"Do you have a copy of the limited edition Sin of The First Flame?" He said while raising his left brow
"The what?" I said nervously
"Thought so" He looked away from me again
I heard a crack, I think it was my heart, oh my poor and fragile heart, it wasn't prepared for this, I can't take it
If only no one was looking, I think I'd cry myself to sleep
WHAT HAVE I DONE LORD ALMIGHTY, IS THIS THE PAYMENT FOR ME NOT LEAVING A TIP FOR THAT WAITER, I PROMISE I WILL ALWAYS LEAVE ONE IF YOU GIVE ME ONE MIRACLE
Why oh why has my lord forsaken me, maybe I should start praising Satan?
Well no point in bellyaching about it time to make my way back to the end of the line, oh the agony
"Hey kid, you want a copy?" Said a rough voice
"Huh? Who said that" I asked to no one in particular while looking around
"Psst...over here" Again I here his voice
I turned around to find a game booth that appeared to sell various games, ranging from action RPGs to little sister eroges. Umm... is it legal to have video game covers like that? Wait..
Was that booth there before?
"Yeah kid, over here" I can now see who was calling me. He seems old but he still had a large build, with grayish white hair, a fancy suit and cane under his left arm, and a bright red cap with the letters KZS stitched on it. Odd, maybe it was the name of the shop?
"Uhhh were you calling me?" I asked
"Yeah kid you" He pointed at me "Now come over here" He said with a loud voice, how can someone speak that loud and go unnoticed, hell why is everyone ignoring that booth, it appeared so eye catching now with its big signs of popular games
It was peculiar, maybe no one wanted to notice it and it was being promptly ignored by any who goes near it, not even bothering to take a glance his booth
And now the owner, or employee, was calling me
I turned around and stared at the line again, yeah maybe talking to this guy won't do me any harm, what do I have to lose?
And without further ado, I went to him
"Ah hello sir, why were you calling me" I asked with a weak voice
"Hey kid now that I've got your attention" he said with a large grin on his face
"What would you say if I could get you any game of your choice" he said
"R-really?" Wait is this my miracle Lord, I take back everything I said about you
"Yes, Yes, of course" Holy Sh- Cow this is amazing "But first I will ask you a few questions regarding some of our company's productions"
Seems easy enough, hopefully it will be small survey questions like 'what do you want in a game' and other similar questions
"I'm fine with that" I said
He picked up a brown clipboard from the side of the counter, if it was a list of pre made questions then I should be fine and I'll just respond with short and simple answers
"Alright kid now, question number one" He said as he looked at the list
"Are you familiar with the visual novel Fate Stay Night?" He asked
Well not what I expected, I remember Fate/Stay Night but I only watched the anime, the Unlimited Blade Works one, and that was a long time ago, along with Fate/Zero. Ok, apparently it had a visual novel, now I feel like I've pissed off a majority of the fans, I can imagine them calling me a heathen and a pagan, it's not my fault, I wasn't really into full visual novels
"I'm sorry, I'm familiar with its anime adaptation but this is the first time I've heard of it having a visual novel" I said with an apologetic voice
"Oh, that's fine, I wasn't expecting you to know" He said with a large smile on his face
"On with the next question" He said while looking at the clipboard again
What's the point of asking me in the first place?
"You said that you were at least familiar with the adaptation so let me ask you this" He said as he put the clipboard down on the side of the counter and looked at me with a serious face
"What we're the main character's ideals" He asked with a deep voice and, shaded eyes? That's real!? I taught it was just anime effects
"Uh-uh-uh" The way he asked was making me nervous
If I remember correctly, it was
"To be a hero of justice" I said with confidence
Yes! I said it without sounding awkward
"You are..." He trailed off, still using that intimidating voice, possibly pausing for a dramatic effect
"Correct my friend, Ha Ha Ha" In an instant, gone was the scary old man, now we have happy old man, happy old man good
"Yes his ideals and dream was to be a hero of justice, to help save anyone in need" He said, this time with a sagely voice as he looked to the side
"But let me ask you this" He looked at me with a small smile on his face
"Is it possible to save everyone? Depending on your full answer I will decide if you get the free game or not" He stated
Again I was confused, maybe this wasn't for promoting their game but nevertheless, I answered
"Looking at it logically, no it's impossible to save everyone, there will be people that will be harmed in order to save others, like criminals, there will be people who don't want your help in particular, and people you may not have the power to protect" I said rather wisely if I do say so myself
"Hmm..." The old man began running his bearded chin
And then smiled, and looked at me
"If that is the case, regarding the first part of your answer, would you harm someone in order to save more?" He asked with his head tilted a bit to the right
"That depends" I said while looking down, wow this man is really asking deep questions I never would've asked myself
"As a person, or as a human, I am selfish, I want things to go my way, in away that benefits me the most or allows me to have things I want to keep" I said as I scratched my left cheek
"If was just a random nobody with no connection to me whatsoever or if he or she was a horrible person, it would be easy to hurt them for the greater good, like stopping a dictator hellbent on starting a war" I said with a sad smile
"What if someone told you kill a friend to stop a great force of darkness?"
"If someone told me to harm a person close to me or someone I care about for the greater good, I don't think I could do it, no matter what the circumstances are, I will find a way to stop them without killing them" Heh, wow, to say these types of opinions to some guy in a game booth, making me think about my moral compass. Is it just me wanting to get that game or am I really just this open about my opinions?
"Hmm...Good answer" he said with a thoughtful look on his face
Just something I want to clear out, where are we going with this?
"Okay my boy" My boy? "One last question, If you were given a chance to be a hero, to be the man who protects the innocent, to be a man who would give it all just to see all the people you care for live another day with a smile one their faces, would you take it?" He asked with a curious expression
Ok, damn this is deep
" I wou-" I was cut off
"But, to protect these people" He quickly developed an intimidating look "You will be required to kill those who harm them, similarly to what happen to Shirou Emiya when he became a Counter Guardian, where the ideal to be a hero of justice, to save everyone, slowly changed into into "kill one to save ten, kill a hundred to save a thousand", would you still want to be a hero?" He asked again this time staring straight into my eyes, its like he's gazing into my soul
"Honestly" I said before pausing, thinking to myself, Asking myself
What is a hero? Someone who saves? Someone who stops the bad guy? Or someone who needs to do the dirty work for the people?
Would I be willing to kill others to save innocents and those I care for?
"Yes" My answer came out smoothly
"Care to elaborate?" He asked with an interested smile
"Well, there will always be people who will harm and kill others for their own personal amusement, others will kill for a reward, others are just following orders, and some were just forced into a situation that requires them to kill innocents, and thinking it through, what would happen if you let these types of people go? Some might repent and turn themselves to the proper authorities in order to atone for their crimes, while others would come back again to stab you in the back as revenge" I said with a sad smile, thinking about all the people who died from getting caught in robberies, genocides, and illegal affairs
He raised a brow
"I told you before, I am selfish I want things to go my way, and my way is to protect those I care for, even if it means using violence, even if people have to die for peace, I would do it for them, if anyone dares to lay a finger on them, I will cut it off, that's the kind of hero I would be" Big words coming from me, but I'm giving my honest to God opinion here
People die if they are killed, I know that, if someone dies, there is no way or bringing them back, they're gone, that's it, and thinking about the guilt of taking someone's life is haunting me, making my hands feel heavy, wherein this weight will never go away no matter what you do, and time can't heal these wounds. But if it will save those who want to live their lives peacefully, and those who I care for, I'd kill for them, for them to live another day in bliss
Big personality change, from normal guy and pretty much a nerd to anti-hero in a few questions, maybe I'll need to go to a psychiatrist after this and work on my rehabilitation later
This time the old man appeared to ponder on my words he cupped a hand over his mouth "perfect"
Did he say something?
"Anyways my boy, that's all I'll be needing to ask you" He said with a broad smile
Yes Yes fates here I come
"So what game do you want?" He asked in a polite tune
"Do you have a copy of Fire Emblem Fates? The latest one in the series" I eagerly asked him
"Your into Fire Emblem? Let me guess you've played awakening" He said but this time with a hint of distaste
But it seemed forced
"Yeah, so what?" I asked
"Bah I can't stand that game, it's too weak, the animations are too simple, and There. Are. No. Explosions!" He said with, childish anger I guess? The same kind you get from telling a kid you can't buy him a new toy
"But that's not the point of the game!" I declared loudly
"But modern games are all about the action!" He said with anger
But it felt fake
"Fire Emblem isn't a pure action game, it's a strategy game with multiple characters that have individual personalities and traits accompanied by the alluring plot line" I said stating a few amount of reasons why I enjoy it
"Bah! fine if you want it so bad" He said as he walked to the stack of games as he picked one up
"Here you go" he said again with distaste, as he placed it in a small paper bag, small enough to fit the cover perfectly, folded to top horizontally and taped it
"Thank you" This is the miracle I asked for, I won't have to line up again
"Hahhh, your welcome kid" Now we're back to kid
I swear I'll tip every waiter from this day forward
I looked at the paper bag, maybe looking at the cover won't hurt
I removed the tape, unfolded the top and pulled the game out
Here it is, Fire Emblem...Awakening? This wasn't what I asked for, I already have a copy of this at home, this is pointless
I turned around, walking back to the location of the booth
"Hey old man you gave-huh" The booth is gone, What?
Wait. What the hell?, the booth, gone
I walked near the booth's original location, there was nothing, no trace of it ever being here. Was I talking to a ghost or have I gone mad, maybe I do need to go to a psychiatrist
I pinched my cheek, hard
"Ow, what happened? just great, now the queue is longer than before"
Maybe today wasn't my day, I might have given my mental state to an old man who happens to be a ghost, hey at least it lets me brag about having conversation with a ghost not like anyone will believe me. I went to take a seat on the nearest bench, and stared at the game given to me by the old man
I took out the game from the paper bag
The cover was pretty much the same save for the red gem on the top of it
I pinched my cheek, again, no it wasn't a hallucination. The game in my hands was real, I held the game in my hands, staring at it, it's real, it's not disappearing, it just gives me the feeling to open it
Should I?
Well, why not? It won't hurt anybody
What could go wrong?
And in a flash,
Pain
I was lying down, I can feel the grass brushing my back
I open my eyes to see the leaves of a radiant tree with the sun's rays peeking through gaps
Argh... my head, it hurts
What's going on?
Am I dead now? Heaven hurts
So apparently after burning to death and witnessing the legendary UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS, all the pain goes to your brain as a massive headache
Good, it's going away, slowly, but going away, I placed my hand on my head
Huh, I placed my hand on my head, I CAN MOVE! I'M HEALED
Slowly I began to sit up, and take a look at my hands
That's strange? My hands were tanned, I know I had pale skin, and another question, what am I wearing?
I began to take a good look at myself, I seem to be wearing a black shirt with white lines in an odd pattern accompanied by a small black breastplate with the same pattern as the shirt, connected to me with a black leather strap across my back in an 'X' shape, seen behind my long sleeved red jacket, do I even call it a jacket? The back of the so called jacket wasn't stitched together, instead it was connected by a short steel chain, the front had two crosses paralleled from one another that were connected by the same type of steel chain, I was also wearing black pants, I'm unsure what it's made of, it feels comfortable, black shin high boots with steel tips and steel shin guards, and finally some sort of cloak that hangs around my waist, being locked by a curved steel guard
Basically I was wearing what Archer was wearing, save for some extra armor and missing belts, that simple
This is weird, really REALLY weird
I looked to my right and saw a pond not too far away
I walked over to the small pond not too far from the tree and near to the surrounding forest
I bent over to have a good look at my face
What. The. Fuck!? My face, it's completely different, thats not me at all
Gone was my simple everyday face, now I had sharp features, grey eyes, a smooth hard face, and my black hair had now turned white
Holy shit I pretty much looked like a copy of Archer! Save for some small details in my face and few strands of black hair
Now to do the one thing I should've done the moment I woke up here
Pinch my cheek, again
Ow, that hurt
Well, that confirmed that this is not a dream, the pain was too real
I walked back to the tree to notice something on the other side
A black longbow with a rather unique design made for the archer to have a better grip on it and it allows the arrow to be placed in properly that helps increase the archer's accuracy
On the side of it was a black leather quiver with, one, two, three... 14 arrows
I went to take an arrow and inspected it
Unlike the bow, the arrow was pretty much normal, nothing special with nothing worth noting
I now went to the third and final item, a bag, a simple bag with two slings that allowed me to wear it like my old bag, a spot to put the quiver in, and a slip on lock in the middle
I opened the bag to have a look inside
There's a small pouch of gold with the number 500 on it, is this the currency here? Damn people must be rich here to be able to trade with gold. There were a few pieces of bread, a small bottle shaped like the ones you'd find in a video game with red liquid inside in, smells like cherry.
And last but not least, a book, a book with the title
Magecraft for Dummies
By: KZS
With a small chibified version of the old man now wearing glasses and holding a book
Is this a joke? If it is, I'm not laughing
What's next KZH turns out to be some sort of grand wizard or the booth was a dimension traveling spaceship?
I tried to open the book but it's stuck, the title changed after glowing red
You Have Not Met The Requirements To Unlock This Book
I'm done
Just no, I'm done
What is this supposed to be, a game? What do I have to do, level up by farming pigs?
Well, that was pointless
I put the book back in the bag and carried the bag using it's one sling
I also picked up the quiver and placed it on the convenient strap on the right side of the bag
Just out of pure curiosity I picked up the bow, and held it on my left hand, it's lighter than it appeared to be, and took an arrow from the quiver
Placing the arrow on the left side of the bow, I looked around to find a suitable target,
Ok, found one, I pulled back the arrow, wow this bow doesn't take as much strength to pull as I thought it would, and aimed at the distant tree, near the entrance of the forest probably 30 meters away, it's my first time shooting a bow so why does this all feel so natural?
Think about that later, take aim at the tree
And release the arrow
It flew faster than a normal arrow by ten folds, landed on the tree in less than a second, and broke right through its midsection completely along with the next tree and the one after that before it stopping on the fourth tree
Holy. Shit. That's power
I dub thee, EXCALIBOW
Too much?
I jogged towards the trees to inspect the damage dealt by the arrow, the trees now had a hole big enough to fit my arm through it. Moral lesson of the day apparently a bow and arrow can do that here, not sure if something like this could ever happen in the modern world unless the arrow had a rocket attached to it, it was at this point I doubted I was still in the modern world
Speaking of arrows, I walked over to the fourth tree to take a look at the tree, to see that it had some sort of impact mark that looked like it was hit by a mallet, I pulled out the arrow only to find the tip dented and broken, heck the arrow looked like it was ready to collapse at any time.
At the cost of one good arrow, I now learnt how badass this bow is
Maybe I can be the new Hawkeye?
Wait starting to lose track of what I was supposed to do when tossed to a place with no clue where I am
Finding out where the hell I am, well time to look around
I placed the bow on my back
Goodbye random tree in the plains I will miss you, you will never be forgotten
Oh sweet, a road, and whenever there's a road, there's a town. Onward through the somewhat yellow dirt road
Walking down the road was a rather calming and tranquil experience, after experiencing pain that was the equivalent of going through hell and back, a nice walk was just what I needed
Looking further down the road I see a white carriage with a big brown horse pulling it and a grown man with clothing you'd find in all the villagers in RPGs wear, or basically a blue tunic and brown pants with slippers
Maybe I could ask him for directions, I also needed to make sure to sound happy contrary to my appearance, if you see a man with a look of a fighter with a happy outgoing attitude, it's easier to talk to them
He's getting closer time to ask-
"Hail traveler" He said with a happy smile
Or he could be the happy person
Now respond accordingly
"Hail" I said with a smile while I waved my right hand, I just realized how my voiced changed, it used to be somewhat squeaky but now it was deep
"Umm, sorry for taking your time but, do you know where the nearest town is?" I asked while bowing
"Sure, just go down this road and turn right on the next split, you won't miss it" He responded cheerfully
That was easier than I expected
"Thank you sir" I said
"No problem, happy to help, well I've got to go to the capital, goodbye" He said as he tapped the horse's back signaling it to go
"Goodbye" I responded happily
Now that I have directions to the nearest town, I can use that to find out where I am
It's getting late, the sun was going down, and I was getting hungry while walking so I ate one piece of bread while walking
How far is this so called "Nearest Town". No point in complaining not like that's helping me at all
Maybe I should take a break, I looked down the road to notice something far away
A few buildings, taverns, towers, and what looks like a church in the middle of the town
Drop that idea of stopping, I'm so close
And when was my eyesight this good in the dark?
I hurried to to village, it was further than I thought but nevertheless I made it
To Southtown
Where all the buildings and shops seem familiar, but there is no fire or bandit attack so my theory of where I am is still on hold
The sights were to behold, this place was bright and clean with many people shopping even when it's night, and taking a small look at me before looking away
Yeah maybe I'll need a cloak to hide my clothes
Look a shop that sells cloaks, just what I needed
Okay Siris, ask nicely with a happy voice, don't let my appearance fool them
I approached the shopkeeper, who looks like a generic shopkeeper in games, and asked
"Good say to you sir, may I ask, how much is one of your cloaks" I asked with a smile and a simple tone
"Oh sir, their nothing much, just ten coins" He said with a smile
I went to pull out the pouch of gold from my bag and picked out ten coins one by one before giving it to him
"Thank you for your patronage" He said
I put on the cloak, it was a simple white cloak with a hood, you needed to tie a small string to hold it on your neck, the cloak was able to hide my clothing save for my bag and bow, I used the hood to hide my whitening hair but still allowed my face to be seen
With the new piece of clothing I walked to a near by inn, how did I know it was an in, was because of the doors and the sign that said Morning Inn
I pushed the door open and walked in, taking a look around to see a lot of people drinking, laughing, and playing jokes on one another with the waiter being the entertainer, there was also a map at the side so I went to have a look at it
I quickly found where I am at the moment, they had circled Southtown with red paint, I went to take a look at the surrounding towns and cities nearby, but something caught my eye
I found the capital of Yliss, Ylisstol
My theory was confirmed
I'm in Fire Emblem, or rather the World of Fire Emblem, I bet all my gold and my amazing bow I will find Chrom and friends visit this town when it's on fire, why Chrom and friends you ask? Because old man ghost gave me a copy of Awakening and the first town I've been in is Southtown, God Damn Southtown
Now to think what I'll do when they get here, maybe I should take it as a chance to be recruited into the Shepards. It will help me progress the story. I'm sure I can be a good archer with a bow like this
I'll just stay here until they get here, I needed to join them in order to progress the story
I needed to mentally prepared myself not scream like a fan girl when they get here, Okay Siris deep breaths, don't look like a fool and break your cool new appearance
I just noticed, there was a request board right next to the map, maybe I'll take these to pass the time during my stay here, most of them were missions to take out local bandits, I could use those to practice my skills and take my battle virginity
It's getting late now, I needed to sleep
I walked towards the barkeeper by the counter
"Excuse me sir may I kindly request a room to sleep in and another question, how much for one night?" I asked with a smile
"Hmm oh sir you may and to your other question, it costs two coins to sleep at night and six to live in that room for 24 hours, our price is somewhat higher due to the fact we are an inn" He said before serving a drink to the man on the other side of the counter
Six gold for a day stay, and the requests give around ten to twenty gold, I think I'll manage
"Well, then may I request a room to stay for one day please" I asked while taking out the appropriate amount of coins for him
"Thank you sir, enjoy your stay" he said as I handed him the required amount of gold, pulled out a key from his pocket with the number 4
"Here's the key to your room, don't lose it, you'll find it upstairs" he said before turning to work on another drink
"Ah, thank you sir" I said
I made my way up the stairs to find my room, it was the second room on the right side of the corridor
I used the key to unlock the room and found myself in a fairy simple but comfortable room, with a queen sized bed to sleep in,a few wooden chairs, a chest that could be unlocked with the same key for the door, and a drawer on the side of the bed with a lantern on top
Time to sort things out and plan on what to do, I'll take a request early in the morning to take out a small group of bandits in the forest, that'll help me improve my combat ability and give me experience in fight, I still don't know what I can do in this body, after that I'll continue doing small jobs until Chrom and friends go here, prove my worth, and hopefully get recruited.
Well lights out for now, time to get some shut eye I'm beat
I went to put my bag in the chest and keep my bow on the side of my bed, but when I came back to lock the chest, my bag glows yellow, I went to check what's happening to my bag so I opened it and found the book glowing, the title changed again it now said
Congratulations
With the chibified old man now drawn with a jump of joy
Why? Not a why is this happening to me why but a why of pure confusion
And now the book can be open, but only the first page has writings, the rest were blank or had a lock drawn on them
There was no table of contents, only a page that tells me you can awaken your magic circuits by injecting a small amount of Prana(?) into your nerves, and a press here to start button, yes a press start button in a book, a bright red button that says press start on the lower part of the page
The side of the button said that this is the start of me learning Magecraft
As a fan of fantasy games and magic, I pressed it without thinking twice
And pain, the same kind of pain I felt before I came here
And now I suffer
PAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN
And I blacked out again
Argh my head, what's with me and getting hurt, does the world think I'm a masochist?
What the hell magic book my ass, this is more of a masochistic paradise in a box
I mean, what's with all the body burning that happens to me
And now magic book is glowing again this time green
I don't what to open it, everything I open burns me starting from the game to the book, now all I need to do is open a chest and get hit by a flame trap
I slowly stood up, and once again all signs of me feeling agonizing pain is gone the moment I wake up. If this is going to be a reoccurring feeling I'll need to learn how to be fire resistant or at least find a drug that numbs my senses
Great now magic book it glowing brighter than earlier
I want to throw it away but I don't want to risk losing my only chance to learn magic
So I opened the book again
Unlike last time where the book had a giant start button this page is pretty much an explanation on what I did to myself
I forgive everything that book has done to me
Apparently what it opened my dormant magic circuits while also adding a few more by, as said earlier by magic book, turning my nervous system into magic circuits which was the cause of the extreme pain
Even though it is said that changing your systems into circuits is extremely deadly and a high chance of killing me, I still forgave it
I mean it's my start in Magecraft, I'll be able to do magic, and it was my fault for pressing the button without reading the note on the side
To be a magus, is to walk with death
I need to keep in mind that when I start practicing magic, even the basic ones, I'll need to do it knowing that failing a spell could be potentially lethal to me
I continued to read the book, it now gave an explanation on the types of Prana or magical energy there is and a basic explanation on what are the differences and uses of each one
They two types of energy were Mana and Od
Mana was the energy that can be found in the world, after opening my circuits I can feel how rich the mana is in this world, and Od which was the energy produced by my circuits which regenerates when not in use
Based on what the book said, it is much more reliable to use Mana for the most of your spells as its power source while using Od to shape the spell to how you're supposed to use it
Honestly, it was kind of confusing at first but it turns out this system can be explained with video game terms
An example was also given, lets take a fireball spell as an example, the power of the fire ball costs 4 points of Prana to cast, 3 points of mana for the spell's power with 1 point of Od to shape it and use it as a fireball spell
Now that that's over with I can begin learning magic, first spell is called Structural Analysis, it is a simple utility spell that allows me to well, analyze the Structure and the composition of objects and possibly living beings, it can also make my eyesight better
Maybe I could use this spell to judge a person's strength like Robin's Tactician's Eyes but on weapons and the extra effect helps me in taking out enemy's at a longer range
After with Structural Analysis comes another spell called Reinforcement
Reinforcement has a simple concept, reinforce objects making it much more efficient in its purpose by pouring Prana into the chosen objects cracks, an example is making a knife sharper, lighter, and sturdier than an average knife even if they are both made of the same materials. Reinforcement can also be used on mundane objects like papers and sticks, but most of the time it just increases its durability, but it's said with enough Prana on a piece of paper it is possible to cut rocks with it. You can also use reinforcement on yourself to make your body stronger
But if I load a low amount of Prana into an object, the change would be barely noticeable and if I load too much, it would overload and explode
Scary thought if I failed reinforcing my body, but I'll get to that after some practice on some leaves
Reinforcement can be use along with Structural Analysis to better understand how much Prana I need to pump in an object without blowing it up as fast as possible. If it took me a minute to reinforce an arrow, I'd be dead the moment the risen try to rush me
And the ability to reinforce my body was an awesome idea, I'd be stronger and faster than I already am
These were not really spells I expected to be learning when my circuits were unlocked, but that does not mean they're worthless, heck they're actually really useful
Well time to change my plans on what to do, I want to at least be able to reinforce my clothing as a backup for if I get hit and arrows to make my already badass bow even more badass with now badass arrows
It's time to learn shit and chew bubblegum, but I don't have any gum
I've been practicing both Structural Analysis and Reinforcement for a while now
Learning how to use Structural Analysis was much easier than I thought it would be. Similarly to the bow, learning how to use it was more or less me trying to relearn skills I've gotten in the past kind of like trying to ride a bike after leaving it alone for months.
I can really tell the improvement in eyesight, just by looking outside the window I can count the number of scratches the tavern on the others side of the street has. For an extra effect this would be very helpful in long range sniping
But alas it still takes me at least 3 seconds to properly scan something small like a pebble, I tried analyzing a nearby tavern and it took me at least 4 minutes, and all I was able to scan was the roof
Same with my Reinforcement training, it takes time to reinforce something small I was able to reinforce a leave properly, it made it sharp enough to make scratches on the wall, but it took me 4 seconds to do that
At least that's better than the 36 other leaves that either blew up or were too weak to use and broke when I tried to scratch the wall
I tried to reinforce something bigger like one of my arrows, it took around 6 to 8 minutes to reinforce it, and holy shit it's tough, like with the leaves I tried to hit the wall by throwing the arrow at it, and what happened required me to pay 25 gold coins to the owner to fix that wall
I slowly but steadily got used to reinforcing the more I practiced and I can tell I'm improving by leaps and bounds every time I use it, I remember the first time I made a successful Reinforcement took me around 5 minutes just for a leaf, and I've been practicing for hours after
Wow I've been practicing of this long? If this world's clock functioned the same as mine then the time would be around 3 to 4 pm
And now that I took a break I'm feeling hungry. I've practiced for so long that I also missed lunch, time flies when your doing something productive
Time to eat
I made my way down to the ground floor bringing my bag and bow with me and went to the barkeeper to order something
"Excuse me sir do you sell food here?" I asked politely
"Ah yes we do, and today our special salmon is on sale, it's very popular around here" He said as he directed me to the other customers who were eating salmon with their pals
I can also see how big the special is, they kept a salmon on the wall to the right
At first it may look too much for me to eat but considering the fact that missed yesterday's dinner and today's lunch
"I'll have one sir" I said to him
"Coming right up" He told me before walking to the back
I sat down on a table near the door to wait for a bit
I was thinking about what will happen eventually and when will Chrom and friends get here
I can't tell whether to be happy or sad when I smelt smoke and heard screaming nearby
I was about to run outside until a group of 5 bandits walked into the bar and began to trash the place
Ok Siris this will be your first fight here, get ready, steel yourself, don't be afraid to kill them, you can do this
They turned to look at me
"What are you lookin at!" The guy on the right of them said
I smiled, and threw the table at them
I also need to learn how powerful my physical strength is, that table felt lighter than it looked
The table slammed into 2 of them and brought them to the wall before it broke, knocking them out
I can't use my bow here, we were in a closed room and I don't have time to draw it, I had to improvise
So I took the salmon from the wall, analyzed it in a flash, and reinforced it accordingly
I held the salmon on my right hand and wielded it like a sword by holding the part near the tail
And pointed at them with it
"Who's next?" I said with a smirk
"Don't get cocky" Bandit #3 ran in attempting to hit me with an overhead strike with his sword
It was slow, really slow, I can tell where it will hit and how it will hit before he even brought it in front of him to hit me
I reacted by swinging my salmon blade upwards to parry his strike, then I proceeded to stab him in the gut while he was confused
I pulled out the salmon and rushed the remaining two, ducked under the first's swing to give myself space to lash out at him, I stabbed him in the chest near the heart, quickly pulled it out to stab the second's heart during his attempt to engage to end their lives quickly and painlessly. I know I'm killing bad people but that doesn't mean I enjoy watching them suffer, I learnt that after seeing how the first slowly choke on his blood after being stabbed
You did it Siris, you stopped 5 bandits in the tavern, time to help Chrom and friends
I was about to run outside until I heard a man yell behind be, apparently one of the two who were hit by the table was still conscious and now tried to kill me with a diagonal axe slash. Once again I reacted
By stopping the axe with my salmon, pull on his arm, and tossed him through the door- wall apparently
I REALLY need to check how strong I am after this
"Eeek!" I heard a familiar cleric's scream
"Stand back!" And a familiar knight's voice
Chrom and friends are here, I need to appear strong to increase my chances of getting recognized and hopefully recruited
I walked out of the inn two look at the two, while still holding the salmon in my hand. It was both badass and stupid, but mostly badass thanks to my cloak now graciously flowing in the wind along with my waist cloak, still don't know what to call it and I don't want it to be a skirt or a butt cape
I looked at them and then the guy on the floor
And threw my salmon to the right side of the cleric's head
"Lissa!" The knight shouted as he tried to intercept the strike, the cleric now named Lissa closed her eyes waiting for the flying salmon to hit her
Only for it to hit the bandit's head on his attempt to strike her from behind
I walked to the fallen brigand past both Lissa and who I am sure is Frederick based on his heavy armor, starter spear and face, and pulled out the salmon from his head with blood now coating the salmon
I looked at them and place my salmon to my side
"I don't know who you are" Lie obviously " But if your here to stop this attack be my guest" I said
Both Lissa and Frederick turn to the open wall too see the fallen bandits and the civilians hiding in the corner
"Did you do this?" Frederick asked with suspicion while raising his spear pointing it towards me. As expected from Frederick the wary
"Yes" I responded
Lissa looked towards my salmon with a curious look
"With that?" She asked while pointing at my salmon. Is it possible for people to have starry eyes?
I lifted the salmon to let her have a good view of it
"Why yes, I would have used my bow but the situation demanded otherwise" I said with a smirk
I looked off in the direction of the smoke
"Well, I don't suppose you could use a hand" I said before running off toward another group of bandits in another building
I think I looked badass enough in front of them, now to look cool in front of Chrom and maybe Robin. I wonder is Robin a boy or a girl here?
I ran around the corner of the building to find 4 bandits attacking a town guard
I ran in from behind to slash the first across the back, using the momentum form the slash I turned to stab the second in the gut, the third saw this as an opening so I kicked him away, far away into a lamppost, let go of my salmon to land a punch to the jaw on the fourth, I can hear the crack loud and clearly before he was sent back flying
"Sir" I called the attention of the wounded knight
"There are civilians in the inn near the entrance, could you help them evacuate I'm busy dealing with these bandits" I told him
"Of course, thank you for the rescue" He said before running of to the inn
Good I was able to help him
I kept on running, eliminating bandits along the way with my trusty salmon, there were a lot more here than in the game, but I think it's because this world is real, I'm not in a game, I'm in the game's world so there will be realistic changes, besides I don't think 5 bandits can cause such an uproar to a town like this
I made it to where I can see the bridge that led to the church. I can see Chrom and Robin, girl by the way, pushing back the leader of the bandits or Garrick if I remember his name correctly
They pushed him all the way to the end of the bridge and near the entrance of the church with repeated attacks from Chrom and spells from Robin
They were about to win until Garrick brought out a civilian child from the side near the entrance of the church with both his hands tied behind his back and a rope tied to his mouth
The quick change of events made both Chrom and Robin stop attacking
I can see Garrick shouting something but I was too far to make out what he said
He then brought up his axe to the child's neck shouting something again but I don't need to hear it to make out what he said
I quickly took my bow and placed the salmon on the left side of it. This was stupid, but I want to know what will happen
I grabbed the tail of the salmon and pulled back my bow, aiming for Garrick's right shoulder to at least be able to give Chrom and Robin an opening finish him
Deep breathes, aim, focus, release
And the salmon flew, straight into his shoulder but instead of impaling his shoulder like I thought it would, I ripped right through and broke itself when it hit the wall of the church, probably reaching its limit
Though Chrom and Robin were confused, they attacked at the chance given to them allowing Chrom to land a deep cut across Garrick's chest
Finally, this fight is over, the remaining bandits were caught or were able to escape using the forest
Honestly I did not expect my salmon to be this effective, the description the book gave about reinforcement were vague so I never really knew the extent of how powerful a reinforced object can be, but after seeing how deadly a fish hung on the wall can be I've grown a huge amount of respect for Magecraft, I want to learn more, I should read the book again when I'm alone after I can use reinforcement in a heartbeat, the reason why I was able to reinforce the salmon properly that quickly was because I let my instincts tell me what to do
I walked around trying to find any captured civilians and so far I have yet to see a fatally wounded person, most of them have bruises and scratches but nothing first aid can't fix
I tend to the wounded in a simple way, by bandaging them and teaching them how to stop the bleeding and find the blonde haired girl with the healing staff if there were anymore problems
After a while things were going back to normal, turns out with the Shepherds arriving on time and me dealing with bandits in different houses and buildings no one from the town was killed in the attack which was a huge blessing, I wouldn't want people to die when I can actually do something about it
"Hey" I heard someone call me, I turned around to see Chrom and friends looking at me
"Hello" I gave a small wave before they to approached me
"Based on Lissa's description, he's the one who helped us deal with the attack" said Robin to Chrom
"The guy who fought and defeated the bandits wielding nothing but a salmon?" He replied skeptically
"You saw the fish tear through Garrick shoulder" She replied with a pointed finger
"Oh, ok, I see your point" Chrom let out a sigh
Even if they are real or just characters in a game, their interactions are hilarious
"What happened to the salmon?" Lissa asked curiously
"It broke" Robin replied
"I still find it suspicious how one man was able to fight against multiple bandits using nothing but salmon found on the wall" Frederick inserted, I guess he went to check on the building to see what I was using
As much as I would love to see how where this conversation was going, They were getting off topic, I need to catch their attention
"I don't know if I have any part in this, If you need me, I'll be heading to Ylisstol" I told them, that got their attention
"Why will you be heading to the capital?" I expected Frederick to ask this question not Chrom
Reply appropriately with an answer that shows that I'm recruitable
"Nothing much really, just planning on joining the army or something similar, I've got a bow and I know how to use it" I replied nonchalantly
"It beats being a hired blade, I always get assassination assignments on popular officials, almost all of them were from Plegia giving me massive amounts of gold or make me a lord if I was successful" I said before turning to fix my bag
I can see them raise their guards against me with Frederick looking like he was ready to stab me at the moment I turn my back
"I turned almost all of them down, the ones I did accept were all bodyguard missions"
Frederick raised a brow
"If you were to be given such a large sum of gold for a assassination job which I can tell you can complete with ease, why haven't you accepted one yet?" He asked with skepticism hinted in his voice
At this point I'm amazed I was able to keep up a lie this long against them but time to answer with half truths
"Originally, I wanted to be a hero, the kind of person who helps those in need and stops bad guys" All true except the originally
"How can I be a hero without power I asked myself" See old man's questions
"And now I have power, I wanted to help people with it but how do I help people when they are the ones who start wars" old man again
"So I became a mercenary of sorts, my skill was praised and became known by corrupt lords thinking I could be bribed to murder someone innocent" Half truth
"But what kind of hero would I be I were to kill someone people respect and appreciate what they did for them" Why would anyone want to kill our newest exalt?
"So yeah, why not join the army of said person, it was a thought that jumped into my mind" Half true, I wanted to join the Shepherds. The idea came into my mind the moment I found out where exactly I am
"If your looking to join the army, why not join us?" Chrom asked before Frederick could say something
"Not to be rude but join what?" I had to be clueless
"My apologies, we are Shepherds" He replied
I want to say this line sooooo badly
"You tend to sheep, in full armor?" I can now die in peace, my wish has come true
This earned a giggle from both Lissa and Robin
"You too? Nevermind we are a small militia group that is helps the protect the people of Yliss" He said with a smile and raised his hand prompting a handshake coming from me
"Protect people huh? I like the sound of that" Shake his hand calmly Don't squeak Don't squeak Don't blow it Don't crazy in joining
"My lord are you sure about this" Frederick asked
"Don't be a spoilsport Frederick, this man saved this village with nothing but a salmon! a SALMON for Naga's sake" Lissa said emphasizing the fact I fought with a salmon which by all means was a stupid feat but a feat nonetheless
"I'm sure, welcome to the Shepherds...Uhhh" He trailed off. I haven't told them my name yet
"Siris, my name is Siris" I replied before thinking about something
"I never did catch your names" I needed to ask before Frederick finds it odd how I know their names
"My apologies, my name is Chrom, the giggly one is Lissa, the one in full armor is Frederick, and the other one with white hair is Robin" He explained
"I look forward to working with you" I released form the handshake and gave a small bow
Mission Success
A/N: Disclaimer I own nothing
Oh yeah to anyone wondering about when are the post times, I try to update within a week if I don't post on a Saturday or a Sunday that's just my life kicking me in the ass just two days after posting the Prologue I was hit with 4 different projects, as the man I am I completed it all by the end of the week and still have some time to make a few adjustments to this fic.
I wanted to finish everything that happens to Siris until he meets the Shepherds because that writing plan where the story is chopped is really hard to wait for. Regarding on how I explained Mana and Od this how I interpret it in a way that is simple yet memorable. This chapter was also supposed to be posted yesterday but I felt like something was missing so I made what happened before Siris saw UBW, but I'm not sure if it lived up to what I wanted it to be. I'm also not confident on the fights so if anyone would be able to explain to me what makes a great fight scene, whether it be a play by play type of fight, what's going on in Siris's mind, or just a collection of all that's happening in one paragraph
Another problem I have is that I'm not really sure on when a character will speak and what they will say so sorry if they act OOC in speech, I'm still trying to get them to react accordingly depending on their personalities and you know this will eventuality be a bump when I'll need to learn how to juggle character interactions that make a situation where Siris needs to talk to everyone at least once
A note of warning to those who don't really like curbstomp fics:
Spoiler:
Siris will curbstomp everything until Maribelle's kidnapping where the first enemy servant will appear, Siris will need to learn that there will always be someone stronger than him and he will start using different strategies to take them down. From this point onward enemy bosses will be servants from Fate/Grand Order in most fights making the Shepherds construct plans to counter them. One more note of warning there might be Dues Machina moments but it's not guaranteed I'm finding out ways to make Siris stronger without giving him the power of friendship or suddenly have access to UBW but I need to make sure he can get strong fast enough so dreams will be implemented and mind fucks, you know like that time in Persona 4 where he just suddenly got power then slowly gets stronger as the game progresses
Before I have one more thing to explain in regards to a review. I sorry but I have no plans on giving Siris other servant powers. EMIYA is not as strong as the other servants because of their large gap in stats. Read Spoiler to know why but depending on if the idea gets support there will be considerations and plans to see if its possible
Again please leave a review on how to improve my writing, I'm still new to this so I need all the help I can get. Criticism is greatly appreciated if you can tell me what I did wrong and tell me what to do to fix it. There is a HUGE difference from flames and criticism, one of them may be harsh but they give good advice on what to do and the other is just a bunch of assholes who want to get attention or act big despite not being brave enough to try writing something
Til next time