The Gaming Magus Chapter 2: Let it begin, a fate/stay night fanfic

Disclaimer: This is now a habit.

Lawyer To- Fuck no, you're not coming back.

Lawyer- Nope.

Law- I own nothing!

Going to clear this up for all the people that might think Shirou's ooc. Shirou Emiya is not a sexist. He just believes that men should protect the women and not the other way around. If he was sexist, he would be gallivanting around and saying women should stay in the kitchen while the men worked. Which in turn would result in him getting his skull caved in by Taiga.

Seriously though, Shirou's been around women enough to know they can take care of themselves, but not long enough to know that women can protect men as much as men can protect women.

And you know what a really fucking good feeling is? Getting a perfect grade in a test after you've studied for the entirety of a week. No multiple choice, only identifying what is being asked, and a bit of essays. Honestly, I'm on cloud nine. Call me a damn nerd, but god damn does it feel good to have all your work pay off.

XxX

"Trace, On." He inserted the hot rod into his spine, feeling his body begin to simmer as he created a magic circuit to power his magecraft.

New item created!

Makeshift-Circuit (level 5) – Through your bastardized teachings, you have created a way to use prana without using your own latent Circuits. (Actively drains 5 HP per second. Actively gives a 50% bonus to your (Tracing) skill's experience growth.)

Like clockwork, the message appeared again. This had been the fifth time it had appeared ever since he started his magecraft practice tonight. And each time the message popped up, the level on the (Makeshift-Circuit) increased by 1. However, there was no message to indicate he had leveled a skill.

He cleared his head, he couldn't get distracted. He needed to keep practicing.

"Analyzing basic structure," It was a rock. Uneven and rough, it looked like every other rock you see in every other place.

Yet to him, it was so much more. It wasn't really a rock, no. Closer analysis showed that it was a piece of concrete, shaped like a rock and uneven simply because it had been part of a building demolished just down the street.

It had gotten to his lawn because of simple physics. Dynamite hadn't been used, and the only other good alternative to bringing down a building was through sheer brute force. Thus, a wrecking ball had been used, and the wrecking ball had been a bit too good in its job as it destroyed a portion of the wall the concrete had been a part of, and it had flown upwards and over his own wall and landed in his yard.

Congratulations! Through delving into an objects inner structure, your (Structural Grasping) skill's level has increased by 1!

Structural Grasping – Passive/Active – 45 – Passively grants perception, an ability that allows the user to understand the going's on around him and spot the tiniest details. Active: Grants the user the ability to delve deeper into an objects structure

He felt sweat begin to form on his forehead, before he clenched his teeth as the heat was becoming unbearable. The sweat had spread from his forehead to all over his body, but even then it wasn't cooling him down. His shirt and pants were drenched, and his body felt like it would catch on fire.

"Changing basic makeup," He pressed on nonetheless; he couldn't slack off, not if he wanted to be-

He felt the piece of rubble begin to heat as he inserted his prana into it, changing its makeup and reinforcing it with his prana. He felt it growing… finer, heavier, and then harder.

At this point, he felt his eyes start twitching, before his breaths began to get shallower and shallower. He guessed that if he opened his eyes, the piece of rubble would be glowing as well. Hopefully though, he di-

Congratulations! Through diligent training, your (Tracing) skill's level has increased by 1

Tracing – Active – Level 10 – An offshoot combination of the Structural Grasping) skill and the (Projection) Skill. This skill allows one to understand the core of anything they choose to understand.

Congratulations! Through persistence in your quest, a new skill has been formed!

Reinforcement – Active – Level 1 – No, it does not make things harder. This skill allows you to transfer your prana into an object to better its molecular structure and 'Reinforce' its basic principles. (Actively drains 10 mana per minute for each (Reinforced) item you're using.)

Congratulations! Through diligent training in your magecraft, your WIS increased by 1!

Congratulations! Through diligent training in your magecraft, your INT increased by 1!

Congratulations! By practicing your magecraft for the majority of the night, you have gained the trait (Uneducated Practitioner) for the next 24 hours!

Uneducated Practitioner – Trait – Practicing things you barely understand is a dangerous art, but danger and learning go hand in hand. (All your skills will have an increased 50% experience growth for the duration this trait is active.)

And just like that, his concentration was gone and the rock grew unbearable hot.

He let it go with a yelp, before he felt it explode into a thousand pieces, all of which went everywhere. He opened his eyes, as he stared at the place where the piece of rubble should be, and sighed as he saw nothing but a black ring on the floor.

Damn it, he had to get used to those messages. But could you really blame him? Those things appeared in front of him, even when he had his eyes closed! How could he read something with his eyes closed and without him touching anything! It was just-

He took a breath to calm himself. Okay, complaining about the weirdness of the situation wouldn't help him. He needed to face reality and accept that this was his life now… no matter how weird and disconcerting it was to have messages appearing in front of him even with his eyes closed.

Shaking his head, he stood up and opened the menu with a wave of his hands. He navigated the subsequent windows, before he pressed his status screen.

Name: Emiya Shirou

Class: Magus (3rd rate)

Title: Brownie (+10% increased reputation gain)

HP: 526/526

MP: 50/50

STR: 10 (35)

VIT: 10 (65)

DEX: 9

AGI: 7 (15)

INT: 9 (-10)

WIS: 6 (-10)

LUK: N/A (-5)

EXP to next level: 300

Skills:

Tracing – Active – Level 10 – An offshoot combination of the (Structural Grasping) skill and the (Projection) Skill. This skill allows one to understand the core of anything they choose to understand.

Reinforcement – Active – Level 1 – No, it does not make things harder. This skill allows you to transfer their prana into an object to better its molecular structure and 'Reinforce' its basic principles. (Actively drains 10 mana per minute for each (Reinforced) item you're using.)

Traits:

? : This user is a *ERROR*. His skill set allows him to [Trace] *ERROR* to the point that it feels like the original. Due to the very nature of this user, he cannot be more than a 3rd rate magus at best. (+30 to VIT, +30 to STR, +?% experience to [Tracing] and [Structural Grasping] skill)

Helpful: This user is a helpful person. (-50% to self-worth, +5% increased reputation gain.)

Levelheaded – This user has the ability to think clearly and make good decisions, even under intense pressure. (Allows the user to be calm in situations that would otherwise make others panic.)

Heroic – This user is a very brave person. This user will stop at nothing to save people, even going so far as to give up themselves to try and save a total stranger. (-50% to self-worth, +10% reputation gain with the opposite sex, +5 to STR, +5 to VIT, +5 to AGI, -5 to INT, -5 to WIS, -5 to luck.)

Dense – This user is a bit thick in the head. This unit's inability to read into other's emotions and feelings has left much to be desired about his interpersonal skills. (-5 to INT, -7 to WIS, +20 to VIT)

Uneducated Practitioner – Trait – 23:58:05 – Practicing things you barely understand is a dangerous art, but danger and learning go hand in hand. (All your skills will have an increased 50% experience growth for the duration this trait is active for the user.)

Making sure to go over only on the basic things, he skimmed over his status screen. His eyes glancing past most of his skills and looking only at his traits and the three skills that had increased their levels for the night.

At least he had levels going for him, not that he cared, but still, it was nice to know he was making progress.

Item lost!

Makeshift-Circuit (Level 5) has lost mana and is has now vanished!

And once again, the circuit he created had fizzled and turned back into a regular nerve. It had happened the first time when he started practicing, and it kept happening every time he took a minute rest in between his trials of Reinforcing something.

He didn't care that it did. No, he wasn't at all worried that his circuits were dissipating. What did worry him was the description the Makeshift-Circuit had.

What the heck did it mean by "Bastardized Teachings"? Kiritsugu had taught him this technique, and he would be damned to know that Kiritsugu was leading him astray when his first words to him about Magecraft were "To be a Magus is to walk with death."

He shook his head to clear his mind. No. Maybe the description was right, maybe Kiritsugu was wrong. But hell, Kiritsugu had been the only teacher he had, and he couldn't doubt himself now. Not when he was steadily gaining progress.

He sighed. He didn't trust the… game thing about its descriptions, but he trusted it to tell him he was making progress?

He needed sleep. He threw his hands behind his head, before he carefully lay down on the floor and closed his eyes. Just a few minutes of napping here, and then he's off to his bed. His workshop really helped him calm down some.

Gaming Magus

XxX

"Oi," He blinked as he heard someone rudely shout as he put a foot inside Homurhara Academy grounds.

"What?" He looked around, and saw no one. He scratched the back of his head, before he shook it. He was hearing things. Which was weird, since he clearly remembered eating breakfast with Taiga and Sakura this morning. Especially since the same quest about making breakfast yesterday had popped up. That was 50 experience points, and that meant he was 'this' much closer to leveling up.

And it was still weird for him to think that way. Like his whole life was a game.

Sighing, he faced back towards the main grounds and kept walking. Whoever's voice that was; maybe it hadn't been meant for hi-

"I was talking to you!" He felt his left arm jerk as someone grabbed it and pulled him back. He felt his body spin, before it stopped in front of the person that had rudely caught his attention.

He blinked. "Mitsuzuri?" He spoke her name as if it was a question. Apparently, that wasn't the right thing to say as her face scrunched up and her shoulders squared. He took an inadvertent step back, before his eyes flickered upwards.

Mitsuzuri Ayako – (upcoming) Star Archer – Level 16

"What part of "Talk after club" did you not understand?" Ayako asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at him.

He was a pretty tall (for a regular Japanese teen) guy. But it somehow felt like it was Ayako that was looking down on him and not the other way around.

Still… "That it was a metaphor and you wanted to talk whenever?" What the heck, was he seriously going to die because he didn't talk to a girl when she said something he was meant to take literally?

For a few seconds, Ayako just glared at him, before she let out a huff of air and started laughing.

He blinked a few times, before he actually raised an eyebrow at the still giggling Ayako. "…you're messing with me." He said blankly, a bit of exasperation leaking from his voice.

Ayako raised a hand to him as she let out a few more giggles, before she calmed herself enough to answer. "Okay, I was expecting a lot of things, but you just blankly stating something literally weren't one of 'em." She said in between breaths, a grin on her face as she stared at him.

Despite his incredulity at the situation, he felt himself smiling. "You still scared me half to death though." He said truthfully. He wasn't about to lie about something like that, not when someone was smiling, despite it being at his expense. "Made me think you were really mad at me."

Your Reputation with Mitsuzuri Ayako has increased by 16.5 points!

That reminded him he still had to open the relations window. Though he had an idea of what he would see there. Especially since there was a… relationship system in this ga – his life.

Damn it, his life was a game. How hard was it to accept that fact?

"Well, I was a bit miffed you didn't at least wait for me after club, but eh, kinda my fault. Was too ambiguous about it." Ayako said with a grin as she walked past him. He followed her, matching her stride as they approached the main building.

He raised an eyebrow at Ayako. "That was you being ambiguous? I would think it was rather blunt." He said. His question only caused Ayako to shrug her shoulders.

"Didn't exactly set a date y'know? And it was ambiguous because it never really said when we were going to talk, just after club." Ayako explained.

He had to concede to her point, it was really ambiguous and never really said when they were going to talk, and just that she was interested after club. "Well," He began as they approached the entrance to the main building. "We are talking, and it is still technically after club."

Ayako let out a laugh. "You're taking this too seriously. Is this the first time a girl showed interest in you Emiya?"

He tilted his head in confusion, before he shrugged. "Not really." Sakura came to mind. She wanted to be his friend ever since Shinji had come over and told her to look after him.

Not only Sakura, but also Taiga. But the less said about that the better.

She felt a hand clap his back, and stared at Ayako in confusion, who smiled at him in response. "Still pretty blunt aren't you? Relax a bit and don't take everything so literally. We're friends right?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah." He said as they finally approached the shoe lockers. "But I was serious. You're not the first girl that wanted to be my friend. Not the first person either. Just never really have time for friends outside of my free time." Every last thing he said was true. And while he wasn't popular, he still had friends and he doubted they didn't take an interest in him when they were the first ones to approach him. And while they were his friends, he didn't have much free time. From practicing his magecraft, to doing housework, schoolwork, and generally work around the neighborhood helping his neighbors, he pretty much had zero free time. The last few times he did have a reprieve, he spent it fixing up his house and all the things Taiga had left there through all the years. It was one of the reasons he had experience with RPG's he guessed. Taiga had left her old consoles there, and before he got to disassembling them, he spent a little time playing with software.

Not that he got far with them, since he hadn't the time to play those games at all. He spent a few hours, before he went ahead and disassembled those consoles.

Still, thinking about games, he had to wonder… "Do you play video games Mitsuzuri?" He didn't have anything to lose from asking, and it would help him a little finding someone (other than Taiga) that knew about RPG's and what to do in them.

Ayako gave him a confused look, before she shrugged her shoulders. "Kinda out of the blue question, but yeah. I play a bit. I have a console at home."

He perked a bit as he stopped in front of the set of lockers. Ayako copied his action and looked at him curiously. "Why?" She asked. "Are you some sort of closet otaku that likes to play video games all day long?"

He ignored the jest and shook his head. "Nah, I just… recently got a game that I've been having problems with." Half-truths. He couldn't lie for the life of him, but he could at least withhold information that wasn't important.

Like how his life had turned into a game. An RPG that he had no clue how it worked.

Ayako seemed to perk at his words. "New game you say? Which one was it?"

Crap, he didn't take into account that she was going to ask for a title. What the heck was he goin-

"Oi Emiya." A rather smooth voice spoke from behind him. He let out a slight breath of relief as he turned around and faced the owner.

"Yo Shinji." He greeted his friend with a slight smile and wave. Shinji mirrored the gesture, though with a touch more flare than needed.

"Was my sister at your house again?" Shinji's voice was a touch bit apprehensive, but he figured it was just worry for his sister.

"She came over with Ta- Fujimura-sensei. Don't worry Shinji she's fine. Fujimura-sensei called in a driver to take her to her school." He tried to reassure his friend that if he and Taiga was around, nothing would happen to Sakura, especially since well, no one messed with the Fujimura's in this town.

It only half-worked, as Shinji still looked apprehensive despite the slight smile appearing on his face. "You have to learn to take care of yourself Emiya. You can't just rely on my sister every day, what kind of man would you be?"

He shrugged his shoulders. Despite Shinji attempting to get under his skin, he didn't really care that women took care of him at home. "That would make me like any other man in the world. Even you're taken care of by your sister right?" He smiled at Shinji.

Shinji however, only shook his head. "I meant you live alone. What kind of man doesn't know how to take care of himself and lets women do housework when they live alone?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with that? Everyone has his or her place. It just so happened that Sakura and Fujimura-sensei like taking care of me at my home." He paused for a second, before he shook his head. "Besides, I take care of them too. Who do you think cooks?"

Shinji let out a laugh as he shook his head. "Seriously Emiya? Just when I thought you couldn't be less of a man you admit that you cook? You might as well be a woman. Yeesh, all that's left is for you to wear pink clothes and drink-" Shinji seemed to pale as his eyes darted to the person behind him.

"Oh," He stepped to the side to make sure Shinji saw Ayako. "Sorry Mitsuzuri, should have stepped aside to let Shinji greet you to." He recognized the smile Ayako was giving Shinji, and to be completely honest, he wasn't at all envious of his position.

"O-oi Emiya, y-you did-" Shinji began stuttering as he saw sweat begin to form on his forehead. But before Shinji could get out another word, Ayako stepped forward and clapped Shinji on the shoulder.

"No, no." Ayako's voice was cool. It was calm. Yet the underlying rage there couldn't be missed even by the densest person. "You were saying something Matou. Please. Go on."

The last part was Ayako daring Shinji to keep going.

Congratulations! Through understanding the situation and the feelings of those around you, the (Dense) trait has been updated!

Dense (lesser) – This user is a bit thick in the head. But through understanding when to read a situation and how to interpret the situation, you've gained a bit of empathy. (-3 to INT, -5 to WIS, +16 to VIT)

Erk, now he felt just a little bit guilty. He hadn't meant to use Shinji's personality to better his traits.

Still, that didn't mean he had to save him.

"Well, since you two look like you have something to discuss, I guess I'll go ahead." He excused himself as he directed Ayako with a small smile, and a mouthed 'you're on your own' to Shinji. Hey, he may like helping people, but if you got yourself into a situation, then he firmly believed in the saying 'Dig yourself out'.

Hopefully, Shinji wouldn't take it personally.

You left a friend in need. Your reputation with Matou Shinji has decreased by 15 points!

You've let your friend get his just desserts! Your reputation with Homurahara Academy's student population has increased by 17 (21.25 for certain women) points!

You've let your friend be unjustly persecuted! Your reputation with certain woman in the Academy has decreased by 15 points!

Okay, what the heck was with that last one? Were there factions in these things? Some sort of hierarchy of students? Cause he sure as heck never noticed those damn things before, at least, not in his previous school.

Congratulations! Through understanding that you're no longer a middle-schooler, you've unlocked the (Faction) system.

Note: This only applies to certain areas.

Again, he felt his eye start twitching. Now he really had to open the relations window.

"Oi Shirou!" He looked behind him, temporarily forgoing figuring out the weird system that was now his life. He mentally said an apology to Shinji as he saw Shinji's collar clutched into Ayako's hand as she kept shaking him.

The fact that she was addressing him while doing so should have disconcerted him, but hey, Shinji deserved it.

"Meet me after school. There's no club today, and I wanna hear the rest of your story. Y'know, about the game you were having trouble with." Ayako said with a small wave of her hand, before she refocused on Shinji.

He returned the wave with his own, before he disappeared behind a set of lockers. Crap. What was he going to say to Ayako? He couldn't outright lie to her, and just telling her about his… situation would probably land him in a looney bin, or worse. Have Clock Tower enforcers come in and destroy Fuyuki City.

Either way, both weren't prospects he wanted to have. So he had to think of something to say to Ayako or at least do something with her after school so that she wouldn't ask about it.

Well… actually, he had one option. But… no. He had the whole day to think about this, and that option would be his absolute last resort. There was no way he was going to-

The bell rang that signaled that he had a five minute period before he got to class. He sighed before he sped up his walking and made it towards his own shoe locker.

At least his mind was now preoccupied. He had to get to class on time.

Quest complete! Arrive to school on time!

Reward: 60 experience points!

Your reputation with Fujimura Taiga has increased by 16.25 points!

Your reputation with Homurahara Academy has increased by 10 points!

EXP needed for next level up: 190

XxX

Quest Alert!

Quest: Help out!

Your innate personality prevents you from just ignoring a cry for help. A group of students have come to you asking for help cleaning up the swimming pool. Help clean the pool to complete this quest.

Completion reward: 150 EXP

Increase reputation with Homurahara Academy's janitorial staff.

Increase reputation with students in class 2-D

Completion failure: 30 EXP

Accept this quest?

Yes/No

Now that was new. He now had the option to deny the request? Huh, okay then. Not like he had much to do since classes are over for the day.

Quickly pressing the 'Yes' button, he nodded at the male student that had asked for his help. The student's face changed from desperate to incredulous in a heartbeat. "Really?" The student asked, confused.

He nodded his head. "You did ask right?" He asked the student, the student nodded his head. He shrugged his shoulder. "Well I'll do what I can." He couldn't really leave them alone like this.

He remembered that morning that Taiga had been complaining loudly that the janitorial staff in the school had been overworked lately, and had been forced to ask for students to help out with cleaning up some parts of the school. A few janitors would oversee some students as they helped, while the rest were to clean up the rest of the school. The student's would be given extra credit if they helped.

Thus, he wasn't surprised to see that the only ones that were helping were those that knew they needed the extra credit.

"Thanks Emiya!" The student said with a bright smile. He was slightly taken aback by him knowing his name, but otherwise, shrugged his shoulders as he followed the student towards the pool.

"How many are you helping clean the pool?" He asked as they approached the pool. He could count maybe three students busy using the long strainers to pull out leaves and a few pieces of trash that happened upon the pool.

The student turned his head, but otherwise, kept walking. "Ehh, probably just four or five." The student shrugged his shoulder. "Can't blame us though, we're the bottom rung in class 2-D. We need as much extra credit as we can get."

Huh, so he wasn't wrong when he assumed that the students helping were people that had low grades. Still though… "Isn't it a bit early to be saying things like that?" He asked the student. "Err, oh yeah. I didn't catch your name." He couldn't keep calling him 'the student' now can he? Besides, he was also his senpai.

"The names Ryuji. But just call me Ryu. The others do." Ryu said with a slight shrug. "And we know our grades. We hang out with each other after all." A slight smile appeared on Ryu's face as if remembering something he was particularly fond of. "And besides, we already volunteered for 2-D. If we back out now, the others are gonna rip us apart. So really, you're not just helping me and my friends there, but you're also helping out 2-D."

He wondered how that worked, since the only people getting the extra credit would be the ones helping, but in the end, he just shrugged. It wasn't his job to think about that kind of stuff. He was asked to help and help he would do.

Through sheer focus, your (Concentration) skill has increased by 1 level!

Through swiftly sifting through trash in the pool, your AGI has increased by 1!

Quest Complete! Help out!

Reward: 150 experience points!

Your reputation with Homurahara Academy's janitorial staff has increased by 13 points!

Your reputation with students from class 2-D has increased by 30 points!

Your reputation level with students from class 2-D has changed from 'Neutral' to 'Friendly'!

EXP needed for next level up: 40

Your reputation with Mitsuzuri Ayako has decreased by 13 points!

Crap. That took longer than was needed. It also didn't help he had forgotten he had to meet with Ayako after classes were over.

Quickly stashing away the pool cleaning chemicals and strainer. He turned around and was about to make his way towards the entrance of the school, but was blocked by Ryu and his group of friends. All of which were smiling at him.

"Yo Emiya! We just wanted to thank you for helping us today!" Ryu then pushed something to his chest. He was surprised to see… a video game case?

You've received "Last Phantasm VII"!

He blinked as he raised the video game case to his face. Unsure how he should react to it and how to react to the timely way it had appeared in his life. So with nothing to say, he could only stare at it, and then look at Ryu, who was smiling at him.

"Don't worry, it ain't porn." The sudden confession made his ears warm. "I brought it to school cause I was gonna sell it today. My old console broke down and I was looking for buyers for all my old games. I'm assuming you have the console, since well. The Tiger looks after you right?"

He resisted the urge to palm his face and instead nodded his head. How did they correlate Taiga being his guardian and him having a console? Did she really have that kind of reputation? "She's my official guardian yes." He confirmed, before he let out a sigh. "…And yeah. Her old consoles are still lying around my house somewhere. I tinkered with a few of them, but I can probably piece them back together if I really needed to." That wasn't a lie. Every single piece of machinery he had tinkered with, he knew how to reassemble and disassemble. It was part of his own mental training after all. He wouldn't stop doing something until he at least perfected it, and that translated to taking apart or putting together a lot of things.

One of Ryu's friends whistled. "That's a handy skill to have. We'll make sure the Student Prez knows about you. I can see him paying you if you can get some old equipment working again."

He smiled at the man. "I don't help to get paid. I just help to help." Had he been younger or less set about his ways, those words would have embarrassed him. But as of now, it was simply him stating the truth. It was the reason he was here and not with Ayako anyway.

Speaking of… "And I really should get going. I forgot I had to meet someone after school, and I can tell she's going to be pissed at me if I keep her waiting anymore." He bowed a little in respect to his seniors, before he turned and started to walk towards the school building. Making sure to grab his backpack as he did so.

"Oi Emiya!" He turned around as he heard Ryu call his name. Ryu gave him a smile, while the rest of his friends waved at him and grinned. "If we ever need a hand, we'll call! Just make sure you don't miss any dates!" Ryu teased as he raised a hand and joined his friends in waving.

He shook his head, before he turned around and made his way towards the entrance of the school building. He could feel a smile appearing on his face.

It felt so good to help people and see them smile.

XxX

Ayako stared at him from across the table, her arms crossed and her face a picture of suspicion.

He felt sweat begin to form on his forehead, but otherwise, kept a cool façade as he simply smiled at her and took small sips of the iced tea in front of him. The piece of chiffon cake that came with it wasn't touched at all. He simply didn't like it and would take it to go. Maybe Sakura or Taiga would want it.

"So…" Ayako began, uncrossed her arms as she leaned forward and stared into his eyes. "You didn't think you'd at least inform the person you had plans with before you do something else?"

He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Err… That was my bad. But yeah, it does sorta come out that way doesn't it?" He said nervously, never taking his eyes away from Ayako's. It may have scared him, but hey, you reap what you sow. And in this case, he forgot he had plans and made someone wait. In his opinion, Ayako was completely entitled to be a little cross with him.

"And what?" Ayako began again, her tone suggesting annoyance. "You've got nothing to say except you forgot and that you're sorry? Not even going to defend yourself?"

His nervous smile turned into a frown. "Well, no." He admitted. His answer seemed to have surprised Ayako, but otherwise, he paid it no mind and kept talking. "I just thought it was the right thing to do at the time."

Ayako hummed as she stared at him. Which caused him discomfort as he shifted in his place. "What?" He finally asked when the discomfort was turning to disconcertment.

Ayako kept staring at him for another five seconds, before she sighed and shook her head. "You're not at all repentant are you?" She finally asked, actually surprising him at her question.

He thought for a second, before he shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah." He admitted. "If you're going to be angry at me, I'll take it. But I won't be sorry that I blew you off to help someone else. It's just the right thing to do."

A silence stretched that bordered on awkward as Ayako stared at him. He kept his eyes on Ayako and didn't look away. He was sorry that he made her angry, but he wasn't sorry that he blew her off just to help someone else. It just wouldn't be right with him if he was.

Your bluntness in admitting your convictions has impressed/annoyed your friend! Your reputation with Mitsuzuri Ayako has increased by 12.5 points!

Your reputation with Mitsuzuri Ayako has decreased by 10 points!

He had to blink at that. He idly wondered how he managed to keep impressing Ayako like that, but otherwise, didn't complain. If it meant she understood, then there was nothing to complain about anyway.

Finally, Ayako broke the silence as she sighed, before she directed a wan smile at him. "I have no idea whether to be exasperated, or impressed by you." She admitted.

He took that as a good compromise. "I have the distinct feeling you're feeling both either way." Wasn't a feeling. His… video game/life HUD told him that she was feeling exactly what she was saying.

"Well, anyway." Ayako began as she took her own glass of iced tea and drank. She gulped down her entire drink, before she put the glass down and let out a deep breath. After taking a second to compose herself, she began again. "About the video game you were mentioning this morning."

Well, he was expecting this, and thus, he had a practiced response to it. "That's the first thing you want to talk about? Video games?" He raised an eyebrow as he directed an amused look towards Ayako. He had to sell this. He had to sell this or else he'd be stuck in a loo- Well, not really. If worst comes to worst, he'd just pull out the game he was given by Ryu.

Somehow though, it felt like doing that would be too convenient. Like… it was programmed – wait… didn't video game protagonists have some sort of luck that gave them items that conveniently solved puzzles every time one popped out?

Before he could fully comprehend the absurdity that was now his life, Ayako began talking again. "Well, what did you expect?" She asked, directed a grin at him. All her previous exasperation now gone from her face. "I won't be talking about Kyudo, since you got that down in spades. And as much as I want to replace Shinji as vice-prez. He's actually pretty good with handling the lower years. I mean, if he's not niggling them. No offense." Ayako raised a hand to him as if to stave off whatever annoyance he got from her words.

He just shrugged before he spoke. "Nah. Like I said before, Shinji is Shinji. More often than not, his mouth is faster than his thoughts, but he has a good head on his shoulders. Knows a lot about micromanaging." He then shook his head. "Doesn't really help him out that much though. I can't rightly defend a friend if he's got it coming to them."

Ayako let out a small whistle as she stared at him. "Dang Shirou, that's just cold." Ayako shook her head as she continued. "Never thought I'd hear the day Shirou 'I'll help you!' Emiya would just turn away someone that needs helping."

He raised an eyebrow at Ayako's choice of nickname, but otherwise, paid it no mind. "You reap what you sow. Not that I'm saying that I won't help, but if you made the situation to what it was, I think you should be the one that tries to fix it." He took a sip of his iced tea, before he continued. "And for the record, helping people isn't wrong."

Your reputation with Mitsuzuri Ayako has increased by 12.5 points!

Ayako raised both hands in the air as if surrendering. "Hey, I never said helping was wrong." Ayako then dropped her hands and shrugged her shoulders. "I just thought you'd be so naïve that you'd help people deal with every problem." Ayako then sighed as she shook her head again. "Still though, that way of thinking is just begging for you to get taken advantage of. Really manipulative people could, I don't know, guilt you into thinking it's your fault or something."

He shook his head, not bothering to say something in reply to Ayako's words. Instead, he steered the conversation back towards the original topic. "So, why are you so interested about the video game I mentioned?"

Ayako straightened herself before she spoke. "No reason really." He blinked at the sudden answer. "I just don't particular have any topic that we can discuss. After all, I know next to nothing about you except that you like helping people. What kind of friend would I be if I know only one thing about you?"

Huh. Well, he couldn't really fault that logic. Still though… "I'm not really a video game aficionado or anything like that. It's just that… this game is really weird and disconcerting for me. I was going to ask if you played any kind of RPG that was similar to it, but then I realized you probably haven't."

Ayako looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes as if scrutinizing him. "From the way you're talking about said game, can I safely assume it's an RPG?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess it is. But here's the thing though. It's not exactly like any RPG I've seen." He could list down the number of RPG's he's played on Taiga's console, and not a single one of those games were similar to what was playing out in his life.

Ayako raised an eyebrow at him, and didn't say anything. It took him a second to realize she was waiting for him to elaborate, before he sighed and kept talking. "Well, it's got a… system where the main character gets stats for doing random tasks. There are no monsters to get experience points from, and the quests are randomized each time you start a day." He listed down the weird things that he was happening in his life that wasn't part of any RPG he's seen. "And there's also the lack of a storyline. It's just… the game goes day by day without really, uhh, advancing a story or something."

Again, it was a bit surreal talking about his life in third-person like that, but if he didn't want to look like a crazy person, he'd have to keep secret that the RPG he was talking about was his life.

For a few seconds, Ayako didn't say anything. She kept her eyes forward and locked onto his face. Finally, Ayako broke the silence with a sigh. "I've actually heard games like that." She began. "No linear story, randomized quests. The only thing weird would be the lack of monsters, but I suppose it could mean that there are certain areas with monsters, and 'safe zones' where the main character can rest and recuperate."

"Really?" He asked, surprised that his weird life of an RPG was something he could study about.

Ayako nodded her head. "Yeah. They're called 'Sandbox RPG's'. Those kinds of things aren't linear. They're kind of like those choose your own adventure type of books. They don't follow a set path, and you can do whatever the heck you want. Not at all different from MMORPG's, but I'm assuming it doesn't need to be hooked up to the internet to play."

He nodded his head at the last part. "Yeah it's… offline." He guessed that was true? Maybe? He didn't know. Still though, it was surprising he had something to go on about finding out about his RPG life. "Sandbox?" He asked, gaining a nod from Ayako.

"Yeah. Basically it's just doing whatever you want, and then getting stronger as you do those kinds of things. Basically what life would be like if it was an RPG." Ayako finished.

He smiled nervously at the last part. She hit the nail right on the head with that one. "So… doing whatever I want? Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of it being an RPG? Aren't RPG's supposed to be about epic fights about saving the world or something?" Hmm… he didn't know if he preferred that actually. On the one hand his life would still be an RPG, on the other, it would give him a chance to be a hero.

Ayako hummed in thought. "Well, I don't know much. But the stuff I read about these kinds of games has a storyline too. It's just that it's more subjective to the main character than objective to the world."

He tilted his head in confusion. "Err, what?"

Ayako sighed. "Basically the main character is the world. Everything else responds to the main character's goal and attitude." He watched as she then scratched the side of her head with a clear look of confusion. "Honestly though, I think those kinds of things are boring. No goal is set for you, and you sort of have to meander your way through boring menial tasks to get stronger."

He raised an eyebrow at Ayako's words. "You'd rather have someone tell you what to do?" He asked her. Why would she want that?

Ayako gave him a look between confusion and slight annoyance. "Uhh, no. Who would want that? I'm saying that it's boring because for all that it's worth; you're still bound by the writing and programming a couple of writers and programmers have set. It's a game, made by human minds, and while that in itself if a great feat, it's still bound by technology and creativity." Ayako then directed a cross look at him. "Honestly Shirou, it's a game. It's not like it's your life we're talking about here."

Erk… Well, technically… "Err, y-yeah. You're right. Ha." He let out a nervous chuckle, which earned him nothing but confused look from Ayako.

Before she could question it however, he made a show of looking at the clock right behind Ayako and mounted on the wall. Ayako followed his gaze, and then he spoke up. "It's this late already?" He didn't need to fake this. Honestly, he was surprised to see that he had spent so much time talking with Ayako, Taiga would already be at his house and waiting for him to feed her.

"Huh, what do you know?" Ayako said, before she looked over towards him and then look down at his leftover chiffon cake. "Are you gonna take that to go?" She asked him.

He nodded. "I don't like sweets that much. I'll just take it home with me and give it to whoever wants it." He pulled out his wallet, but was stopped as Ayako slammed down two-thousand yen on the table.

"Don't worry about paying. I've got it today, the next one though is on you." Ayako said with a grin, before she grabbed her bag and stood up. "Well, anyway. If you don't mind, I'll go ahead first. I actually forgot I have chores at home, and my dad'll have my head if I don't get them done today." With a wave of her hand, Ayako walked past him and out the door.

He watched as her as she did so, and he couldn't help but smile. She was still forceful in her habits, but it really didn't bother him. It would be nice to talk to her like this again… providing he makes no mention of video games anymore.

Your reputation with Mitsuzuri Ayako has increased by 13.5 points!

XxX

Quest complete! Dinner for 3(5)!

You have gained 50 experience points!

Your reputation with Fujimura Taiga has increased by 14.5 points!

Your reputation with Matou Sakura has increased by 14.5 points!

Level up!

Your level has increased to 7!

Your HP increased by 40 points!

Your MP increased by 10 points!

You have gained 5 stat points!

You have gained 1 skill point!

You need another 600 exp to level up.

Brushing the window away, he finished drying the last of the dishes, before he turned around and nodded his head. "It's about time you guys left right? It's getting late." He said as he spied the clock. It was already 8:30 and most of the town was winding down for the night since it was still in the middle of the week. Besides, Taiga may be immature sometimes, but she did know how to take care of her responsibilities.

"Oh!" Taiga exclaimed as she looked towards the clock herself. She started to get up, before she stretched and kept talking. "I guess we really should go. Come on Sakura, I'll walk you home."

Sakura, who was right next to him as she had done most of the washing, nodded her head as she wiped her hands on her apron. "Okay then Fujimura-sensei." Sakura then turned towards Shirou, and gave him a smile. "Thanks for the hospitality senpai."

He just shrugged his shoulders before he shook his head." It's no trouble Sakura. Just make sure your brother gets that bento I made for him. Hopefully he'll like it and won't tease me about my cooking." He said the last part as a joke, but honestly, the gesture was more for him. He didn't take pride in a lot of things, but cooking was something he really liked and wanted to do. He wasn't going to take an insult to his cooking sitting down.

Sakura nodded her head as she removed the apron and hung it on the hook by the wall. "I'll make sure nii-san gets it." A fire seemed to burn in Sakura's eyes as she spoke again. "And I'll make sure nii-san won't make fun of your cooking and he knows that your cooking is amazing!"

He smiled at Sakura's passionate reply, but it honestly made him nervous a little. So instead of replying with words, he just nodded at Sakura. He then turned towards Taiga, and then spoke up. "I'll walk you guys out."

He removed his own apron, before he moved towards the living room. He waited for both Sakura and Taiga to finish grabbing their stuff, before he walked them out of the house.

But as he was about to slide the door that led to the entrance of his house open, he saw a silhouette of a man on the door's frame. He idly wondered who left the main door open, before he wondered who would visit him this late.

"Who could that be?" He broke out of his thoughts as Taiga spoke up. He hadn't forgotten they were still here, but his mind was too occupied with thinking on who the owner of the shadow was that he didn't think how they would react. He saw Taiga walk past him and grab the sliding door's indent on the side.

"Hey, wait. Fuji-nee-" He called to stop Taiga from opening the door, but was too late as Taiga hastily slid it open.

He looked up.

He saw Taiga look up.

He heard Sakura let out a sound that could be constructed as a surprised yelp.

"Excuse me." He blinked as he registered how… deep the owner's voice was. Not only deep though, he seemed to have an accent that no pure Japanese person should have.

The tall man looked down at them, and though his eyes were hidden by his mop of unruly brown hair, he could still tell that the man was locking eyes with them. "Could you perhaps help me?"

Again, his eyes looked up, but instead of looking at the man, he looked at the space above the man that displayed a set of letters and numbers that only he could see.

Mysterious Stranger – Mysterious Stranger – Level 132

So… his name was the same as his title? No, wait, never mind that. Why the hell was he that high of a level?

He was about to speak up, but then noticed something off about the man's form. He looked down towards the body, and realized that the off thing about what the man's form was the multiple wounds and gashes running across his body.

"You're hurt," He pointed out as he stepped forward. He inspected the wounds, and was surprised to see that they were all shallow and weren't really that life threatening. But still… "Come in, we'll help you."

But before the stranger could get his foot through the door, Taiga had shut it in his face. He blinked, before he registered that what Taiga had done was unbelievably rude. He turned an incredulous eye towards her, and only saw her respond with a look that asked him if he was crazy.

"What?" He broke eye contact first as he questioned why Taiga was giving him that look. Taiga's look turned into one of exasperation, before she pointed at the door, or more accurately, the shadow of the stranger that was still there.

"You do not help someone who has wounds, is bleeding, and looks like they came out of a horror movie when it's this late at night and is knocking on your door." Uncharacteristically, Taiga's voice was firm, but he was firm in his beliefs as well.

"He's hurt!" He pointed out. Suspicious or not, helping him would be the right thing to do, and the way Kiritsugu would go about this.

"Taiga let out a sigh, before she shook her head. "Shirou, as someone who was raised around Yakuza, I know for a fact that people that are injured, is bleeding, and this suspicious looking at this time of night have been, or is currently, in a fight that takes up guns, swords, or anything that can and will cause bodily harm." Taiga then crossed her arms. "And I will not have someone that has been in one of those fights in this house."

"You don't even know that!" He tried to argue, but it came out sounding like a whine. Honestly, she was right. But he couldn't, in his right state of mind, leave him out there hurt like that! Besides, he had stepped through the bounded field Kiritsugu placed and there hadn't been an alert on his side. If the really planned on killing or hurting anyone, that would have triggered it.

Not that he could say that to Taiga and Sakura without exposing the moonlit world to them.

He sighed, before he thought up a compromise. "If you're really that paranoid, you can leave while I take care of him." He was a bit miffed that Taiga couldn't trust him to protect her and Sakura, but if it eased her mind-

Taiga shook her head, interrupting his train of thought. "I said no." Taiga said petulantly. "I can protect myself, and I can protect Sakura. What I can't protect is your innate need to help people even if though they look suspicious and or probably looking to take advantage of you!"

This was getting nowhere. He was about to point out the pointlessness of this fight, when the third person in the group spoke up.

"Ah," Sakura began, prompting him and Taiga to look over towards the middle-schooler. Sakura seemed to shrink under the eyes that probably looked angry, but managed to compose herself enough to continue speaking. "I think Fujimura-sensei is right."

At Sakura's words, Taiga puffed out her chest and gave him an 'I told you so look.' But before he could argue, Sakura kept talking. "But I also think that leaving someone that hurt alone and not helping them is wrong." Sakura paused, before she shook her head. "No, it is wrong. Even if we're not doctors, helping someone that hurt should be something anyone should do."

As quickly as Taiga puffed out her chest, she deflated just as fast. And even though he wanted to do the same thing, he knew it would be childish. So instead, he focused back on the topic. "Get him inside." He said to Taiga and Sakura. Before Taiga could protest his decision, he raised a hand, before he pointed his thumb over his shoulder and down towards the hall. "I'll go and get a bokken. If he tries anything, just shout, or flip him over you tig-" He was about to say Taiga's nickname out loud, but the sudden glare that Taiga directed at him, and the worried expression on Sakura's face told him to keep quiet.

"Uhh, anyway, I'll just… go." He turned around and immediately power-walked towards the dojo. He stopped for a second as he turned the corner, before he looked past it and saw Taiga inviting the man in, while Sakura went into the bathroom to get the first-aid kit. Letting out a sigh of relief that Taiga was at least willing to get the plan in motion, he made his way towards the dojo.

It took him thirty seconds, but once he got to the dojo and was about to take a step inside it, a message appeared.

You're about to enter a dungeon. Would you like to enter and fight?

Yes/No

He brushed the message away, making a mental note to check it out later. Now though, he needed to get the bokken before Taiga really put the injured man though the-

Kiritsugu's bounded field went off, and alarm bells rang through his head. Quickly sliding the door open, he grabbed the nearest wooden sword, before he closed his eyes and inserted a hot rod into his spine.

New item created!

Again, the makeshift-circuit message appeared. He ignored it, before he channeled the prana from the circuit into the bokken.

New item created!

Reinforced Bokken (Level 1) – Channeling the prana from your Circuit into the item created a stronger version of the item. Stronger than a normal bokken by a large amount. (When equipped, grants +8 to STR and AGI.)

He then realized that thanks to him activating the (Reinforcement) skill, he was draining 10 points of points of energy per minute. Which meant he had a total of 5 minutes to do something with his currently Reinforced Bokken.

No wait… he had leveled up and had gotten a boost to his MP, also his (Dense) trait had lowered it's deductions,. That meant he had 8 minutes. Still not a good number.

He put the math behind him, before he darted out of the dojo and towards the living room.

He reached the living room in half the time it took him to walk towards the dojo, and when he got to the door, he slid it open before he raised the bokken over his head. He found the man, standing on top of Taiga's prone body, and charged.

He didn't even take two steps, before the man turned and punched his chest.

He barely registered he had been hit, before he felt all the momentum in his run abruptly disappear, before it switched directions and sent him flying out of the door he had come from.

He felt his back collide with the wall and felt his breath get taken away, he blinked a few times, before he heard approaching footsteps. He realized that the man was running towards him, and so rolled to the side just in time to see the man kick the wall where his chest had been. He watched as the cracked it, and then realized that the kick would have no doubt broken ribs and caused massive internal bleeding.

Clucking his teeth, he straightened himself before he took a ready stance. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he drew more prana from his Makeshift-Circuit. He focused the prana he drew into his body, making it stronger and better than normal. He felt his muscles tighten; his heart beat cleaner and purer blood, and his mind processing information faster than normal.

Normally, doing this wasn't the best idea. The normal human body could only do so much, and when you Reinforced it, everything went into a sort of overdrive. The heart would beat faster, risking a heart attack. The digestive system would work better and more efficiently, risking a loss of energy thanks to your body needing more food than normal. And while those things looked like something you can avoid, Kiritsugu had explained to him that Reinforcing your body would have amazing effects for a short time, before leaving you with the aftermath of doing so.

Not only that, but just… pouring Prana into your body was dangerous in of itself. It might make some vital systems of the body fail. Any sane magus wouldn't do this, but he wasn't a magus. He was a magic user. A magic user that had been using his nerves for years as a makeshift-circuit. He knew what his body could and couldn't handle, and this amount of prana was just fine.

He broke out of his thoughts as he focused. He glared at the man standing in front of him, and then looked up again.

Mysterious Stranger – Mysterious Stranger – Level 132

And he was level 7. Well, at least now he knew he couldn't beat him in a straight up fight. Still though, he had seen Sakura for a brief second when he flew out of the door, and she had her eyes closed and was apparently knocked out. True, maybe this guy took her by surprise, but still, it told him one thing. Levels were more like a guideline of strength. They didn't mean that those higher level than you couldn't be beaten.

Quest Alert!

He tried hard to blink as a quest message popped out.

Quest: The bigger they are…

The harder they fall. Levels are guidelines of a person's strength, and that doesn't mean you should follow them. Your opponent is more than ten times your level, but will that stop you? Defeat the Mysterious Stranger and learn why he has attacked you and your family!

Completion reward: 7500 EXP

Completion failure: 1000 EXP

Possible death to you and your family.

Well, aside from the death part and the question marks, everything seemed to be in order.

Still, now he was even more motivated to complete this quest. He didn't care about the question marks, nor did he care about his own death. But he was not going to fail and get Taiga and Sakura killed.

With that said, he turned and ran down the hall. He faintly heard a call of "Wait, stop!" from the man, but it was ignored. He had no intention of letting the guy knock him out for falling for something so stupid.

He looked over his shoulder, and saw the man giving chase. And by giving chase, he meant the man running at him at full speed and quickly catching up to him. Crap. Even with his reinforced body, the man was still faster than him. And if he was faster than him, he was also probably stronger too.

Thinking quickly, he observed the hallway and spotted his open bedroom door. A thought popped into his head, before he dove into the open room and slid the door shut. He guessed he still had maybe three to five seconds to ready himself before the man burst through the thin paper that was the door.

He counted down as he stood up and took a ready stance. 5…4…

He charged forward as the man burst through the door. His Reinforced Bokken raised and prepared to strike the man on top of his head.

He smirked a little. Crude tactics worked sometimes.

With a thud! The bokken connected…. And promptly burst into a thousand pieces.

Item lost!

The item (Reinforced Bokken) has lost durability and has now shattered!

Well, crap.

"Guhk!" He felt the collar of his shirt being grabbed, before he felt himself being pulled hard and fast. He was over the man's shoulder in a heartbeat, before he was flung through the hole in his room's door and out the window in a shower of glass.

He felt his back collide against the ground, but it didn't stop. No, it continued and skid through the ground, kicking up dirt and debris as his body did so.

When he finally stopped, on his back and looking up at the stars, he managed to look at his HP and MP bar.

HP: 266/566

MP: 39/80

He was about to sit up, but a shadow streaking across the sky made him stop and stare. He then realized that shadow was coming down on him fast, and rolled away as the stranger landed and caved the ground he was just laying on.

Scrambling to his feet, he did a brief surroundings check to see if he could do anything to beat this guy.

To his left was the dojo. There he could probably procure another bokken, but the last one didn't last that long and apparently did nothing to the stranger as he was still here and not looking any worse for wear.

Behind him, was his initial target of his Workshop. Truthfully though, he had nothing there that could possibly help him. It was just a storage area that he used every night to practice his magecraft. He didn't have any Mystic Codes, and he doubted that he would be lucky enough to stumble upon one of Kiritsugu's and use it right. He also didn't want to risk it, since well, his luck stat was apparently 'not applicable'.

The stranger had now righted himself, and though the man's body was straight and lax, he could tell that the man was ready to jump any second.

"Why are you attacking me?" He tried to ask as he pondered on what he should do next. He watched as the man shake his head before answering.

"Not my first choice. I was supposed to knock out the inhabitants of this house and investigate." The stranger than sighed, before he scratched the back of his head in a show of surprising emotion. "The reports didn't say anything about a magus living here."

Report? Investigate? What the hell, was this guy part of the Clock Tower? No… wait…

"You're from the church?" Now that he got a closer look at the guy, the man's clothes looked like the uniforms Executor's wore. He hadn't seen one before, but Kiritsugu did a good job describing what they looked like.

The dark coat, the dark shirt, and the dark pants. Everything about this guy screamed that he worked for the church.

The stranger shook his head before he grabbed the sleeves of his dark coat and looked at them as if appraising it. "This old thing? Nah. I'm not really a fan of the church. I just sort of took this thing off an Executor." The man admitted.

He tensed, that meant the guy had killed before. But as he was about to call the stranger out, the guy held out a hand. "No, I did not kill the guy. I sort of just… loaned the thing when he helped me." The stranger shrugged. "It was battered and had holes in it anyway, not like the guy would use the thing anymore. Besides, Executor's clothes are lined with Kevlar, good body armor to have."

That he didn't know about. He idly wondered how heavy that coat and shirt are, but went back to thinking up a way of getting out of this situation. "…so if not the church, who then?"

He got it. Before, when he entered the dojo, it had said it was a dungeon. Maybe if he entered and activated the dungeon, he could do something… no, wait, that was a terrible plan. He had no idea what was in the dungeon that would be spawned.

"For the Magus Association." He balked at the man's admittance of who he worked for. The man seemed to notice his reaction, and chuckled in response. "Don't look so surprised. You must have felt it too right?"

He blinked, all thoughts of the Magus Association being here was whitewashed as he digested the stranger's words. "Felt what exactly?"

Now it was the stranger's turn to look confused. "The ley line? The big spike in mana that happened a few days ago?" The man explained, but it honestly made him even more confused.

"Err... yes?" Maybe? Did he feel some sort of disturbance a few days ago? Was there an earthquake? He couldn't really recall anything of the sort.

The stranger's eyes narrowed. However, it wasn't in a threatening way, instead, the man's eyes looked sort of exasperated and confused. "Are you really a magus?"

The question was blunt, and he realized that the look in the man's eyes was due to the result of him basically saying he wasn't that good a magus. He didn't know how to feel about that to be honest. On the one hand, the man didn't seem like he was going to attack with him asking questions like this. But on the other, he was basically telling him he sucked as a magus.

Still though, he didn't really have any pride in his magecraft. "I like to call myself a 'magic-user' more. I always sucked at using magecraft anyway." He admitted unabashedly.

The stranger stared for a second, before he let out a sigh and relaxed. His posture straightening and a hand scratching the back of his head. "Those reports are out of date then." The stranger said, before shaking his head. The stranger then turned back towards him, before he held up his hands in mock surrender. He said mock, because he just knew the guy could react to anything that might happen, including him running/attacking. "Anyway, I'm not here for a fight. I'm just here to investigate. A couple of days ago, a big spike in mana here in Fuyuki City happened. I'm just going around and looking at the possible points where mana could have escaped into the air."

That made sense… still though; he remembered that every city had a Second Owner. "Why isn't the Second Owner doing anything about it then?" Usually, the Second Owner was the one that dealt with the dealings in the city under scrutiny. They were the ones that investigated any anomalies happening, and they were the ones that approved whether a magus could practice their magecraft in their town.

Which then reminded him that he had no such permission, and he was possibly facing an Enforcer from the Magus Association.

Fortunately for him, the stranger didn't seem to care, or probably didn't know he didn't have permission. "Well, the thing is. The Owner is sort of still a minor. Even for our standards." That meant something, and though it didn't exactly burn him with curiosity, he still wanted to find out what he meant by 'still a minor'. "So we asked her guardian instead to look over the stuff. Well, turns out he was feeling lazy, and asked for someone else to do it. Lo and behold, I'm here."

"That still doesn't explain why you knocked out my family." Really, if all the guy wanted was to look over the lines under his house, he could have disguised himself as an government worker doing a routine check for on select houses. Hell, if worst comes to worst, he could have actually disguised himself as an exterminator and checked to see if there were bugs! He didn't have to go through extremes to just get in here!

He had to admit though, if the stranger really had done those things, he would have fallen for it. Let it be known that he could think up plans and put them into action, but he was like a baby when it came to others' plans… well, not really a baby, but still someone gullible.

The stranger had the decency to look sheepish at his accusation. "Well, actually… I was sorta looking to lift some stuff from you as well." Wait, what?

He had to blink several times to register what the stranger had said, and when it finally did, he felt his eye twitch a little. "What kind of Enforcer are you?" He asked; his voice low as he stared at the stranger in front of him.

The stranger held up his hands as if in surrender. "I never said I was an Enforcer." The man defended himself. "Those guys are what you send when you don't want people investigating. I'm part of the group the Magus Association sends before Enforcers are dispatched." The stranger paused, before he shook his head. "That is, if Enforcers are even dispatched. Honestly, the spike in mana wasn't really that big, it was just enough to cause some heads to look over this way. Normally, the Magus Association doesn't send anyone this far East, but then again, there are a lot of things the Association does that makes no sense at all."

That explained the slight accent then. The man wasn't from Japan, and was most likely sent from somewhere in Europe to investigate the mana spike… that he had no idea happened. "I never felt a spike." He admitted, and though he wasn't really the best magus that there was, he knew that he would have felt a spike if it happened.

The stranger sighed, and this time, he saw him really relax. "I just can't take your word for it, you know that." He did, there was no way the man was going to just let this go with just a few words from a magus as bad as him. "Tell you what though, let me sort through the area a bit. After I'm done, I'll fix up the stuff I broke, and even hypnotize those two girls you had with you into thinking they just fell asleep."

He thought about it for a second, before he let out a sigh and relaxed himself. He felt his hot body begin to cool, and the sweat stop simmering under his skin. He honestly thought he would have exhaled steam, but that would have been an exaggeration.

Item lost!

The item (Makeshift-Circuit) has lost mana and is now lost!

He then remembered that the Makeshift-Circuit was the one powering his body with Reinforcement, and now that it was gone, he really felt his body slow.

He felt the strain leave his body. He gazed up at his HP and MP bar, and cursed himself for being stupid.

HP: 137/566

MP: 39/80

He forgot that the (Makeshift-Circuit) drained his HP per second. That meant he had to watch how long he used that. Or better yet, find out what it meant when it said he had latent Circuits.

He felt Kiritsugu's bounded field settle, and realized that the stranger really had no intention of harming anyone anymore. He looked up towards the man, and realized that while the man was tall and had an accent, he was probably a few years older than him.

He stared for a few seconds, and finally sighed as he realized the quest was still ongoing. "You're not going to fight anymore?"

The stranger looked at him strangely, before nodded his head. "Got no reason to anyway. I never really wanted to fight you, and though I could have, there was no point since it's just extra work." The stranger looked around the yard for a few seconds, before deciding to just crouch down and inspect the ground. "Consider this your win. You actually managed to bonk me on the head with that sword of yours."

A bonk? He called him swinging a Reinforced wooden sword, with his Reinforced body, that hit the top of the head, a bonk?

Quest complete! The bigger they are…!

You have gained 7500 experience points!

You have gained the (Quick Thinker) trait!

You have gained 5 skill points!

Level up!

Your HP increased by 285 points!

Your MP increased by 70 points!

You have gained 35 stat points!

You have gained 7 skill points!

You have gained 1 trait point!

Through your usage of the (Reinforcement) skill in battle, it has gained 1 level!

Through your usage of the (Reinforcement skill in battle using your body, it has gained 2 levels!

Through intense focus during a battle, your (Concentration) skill has increased by 3 levels!

Through your usage of the skill during battle, your (Tracing) skill has gained 2 levels!

XxX

Shirou Stat page

Name: Emiya Shirou

Class: Magus (3rd rate)

Title: Brownie (+10% increased reputation gain)

LVL: 14

HP: 851/851

MP: 130/130

STR: 10 (35)

VIT: 10 (61)

DEX: 9

AGI: 8 (25)

INT: 9 (-7)

WIS: 6 (+5)

LUK: N/A (-5)

EXP to next level: 1320

Status: Status: ? (+30 to VIT, +30 to STR, +?% experience to [Tracing] and [Structural Grasping] skill),

Helpful (-50% to self-worth, +5% increased reputation gain). Levelheaded (Allows the calm assessment of any kind of situation). Heroic (-50% to self-worth, +10% reputation gain with the opposite sex, +5 to

STR, +5 to VIT, +5 to AGI, -5 to INT, -5 to WIS, -5 to LUK). Quick thinker (+10 to AGI, +10 to WIS)

Skills:

Tracing – Active – Level 12 – An offshoot combination of the Structural Grasping) skill and the

(Projection) Skill. This skill allows one to understand the core of anything they choose to understand.

Cooking – Passive/Active – 55 – Passively grants a bonus to stats when cooking (+10% to all stats when cooking). Active: Grants the user the ability to make stat increasing food.

Mechanic's hands – Passive – 40 – Grants the user an understanding of how most doohickeys and doo-dads work. Give the user an understanding of how to fix and/or upgrade certain items.

Vigorous (from Avalon) – Passive – Max – Due to the user's special body item, this user doesn't suffer from illnesses and has drastically increased health regeneration. Also, this unit doesn't suffer from age inhibitors like most others.

Concentration – Passive – 6 – This skill allows the user to focus on the task at hand, granting the user a bonus in their stats whenever they allocate all attention to one task. Warning: Lower levels of this skill can be seen as hard-headedness and thus, can be detrimental if not used properly. (+6% to base stats when concentrating on a task.

Archery (Kyudo) – Passive/Active – 1 – Your arrow has already hit, thus, you need not worry about your shot. This skill grants the user increased perception and awareness when using a (Kyudo) bow. (Passively gives +2 to WIS and +2 to DEX per level up when a (Kyudo) bow is equipped, and +1 to WIS and +1 to DEX per level up when using any other bow. When active, grants the user +8% bonus stats when using any sort of bow, drains 5 MP per second active.)

Reinforcement – Active – Level 4 – No, it does not make things harder. This skill allows you to transfer your prana into an object to better its molecular structure and 'Reinforce' its basic principles. (Actively drains 10 prana per minute for each (Reinforced) item you're using.)

Traits:

Helpful: This user is a helpful person. (-50% to self-worth, +5% increased reputation gain.)

Levelheaded – This user has the ability to think clearly and make good decisions, even under intense pressure. (Allows the user to be calm in situations that would otherwise make others panic.)

Dense – This user is a bit thick in the head. But through understanding when to read a situation and how to interpret the situation, you've gained a bit of empathy. (-3 to INT, -5 to WIS, +20 to VIT)

Quick Thinker – This user thinks fast on their feet. This trait allows the user to make up plans on the spot and to act on those plans quickly. (+10 to AGI, +10 to WIS)

XxX

Jesus Christ, this took longer than I thought.

Two reasons why it took longer though. 1, finals are (actually still is) a bitch. A lot of papers to submit, and most of them needing to have the APA format, since well, I'm a psych major.

Second reason is because this story is hard to keep track of. I'm actually very tempted to just make shit up as I go with this, like I do my other stories to an extent. But with this, meticulous review of each section of the chapter is needed. Mostly because it's hard to keep track of all the levels and skill points and such when the fighting and grinding happens. Which is why I have an extra window for Windows Notepad always opened and being updated every time Shirou gains increasing points.

Also, I keep forgetting to make Shirou un-equip his school uniform. So his AGI has always had +15 points. Next chapter, I'll see about changing his clothes.

With that out of the way, I'll talk about plot. Now, since most of you guys are here, I'll assume you read the summary. Well, those aren't there just to attract people you know. There is truth in that summary, truth in the fact that there will be a lot of things happening all at the same time. Some stuff may look useless, but for the most part, they'll have roles to play. After all, a video game's core doesn't have the time for useless coding, and as such, everything needs to have a meaning.

And also, after every chapter, I'll be posting Shirou's stat page at the bottom. It may look like a waste of space, but hey, at least you guys will be updated and no longer guessing.

Lastly, a reviewer actually got the sort of gist of what I want to do with the gaming system. It's basically like Disgaea. Now for those of you that don't know this game, you can go dig a hole and bury yourself… I'm kidding. Basically, Disgaea has a system where the characters can reach level 9999, but sometimes are beaten by a well developed level 6000 character. Which I will be focusing on by the way. Levels are guidelines, it's how you exploit the game that makes you make a level 9999 secret boss look like a bitch when fighting your level 6000 Prinny god. And to those that got the reference, yes, I kill pringer X from Dark hero days with a prinny. Suck it.

C.O.Y.L out, peace!