So...no, I'm not dead, I was simply re-examining my story and, after a period of reflection, I decided to re-write it. Again. I apologize for this, since I wrote that the previous version was the final one.
The thing is, I deviated rather quickly as I wrote the chapters from the basic idea from the beginning (quirkless protagonist using armor to enhance his abilities with senjutsu), and as I went along I added things that didn't convince me.
This brings us here. A fic with the gamer system. Honestly, I'm quite skeptical about how I set it up (when I publish this I'll probably be writing chapter 7), but, pardoxically, even though I have to take into account various skills and bonuses, it's quite easy for me to frame someone's strength since I have numbers to rely on.
Having said that, I warn you that there may be some errors in the translation, which a friend will correct if he is finished with his university exam commitments (thank Darklord331 and WhiteDragonSky for the chapter). That said, happy reading!
An: If you're still interested in reading the rewrite, I'll put it as a separate story and upload the first chapter to Hagane as well.
Honestly, when I started the day I thought it would be just another Thursday. I thought I was going to get up, eat breakfast, walk the dog, do the other boring morning errands, then go to my very boring underpaid job in the equally boring small town in the Marche region of Italy, because I really couldn't afford to go live somewhere else, or live alone to begin with.
So I think you can imagine my surprise when, after a grueling shift with overtime, leaving the house to catch the bus (thanks to my starvation salary, I couldn't even finish my driving school exams for the time being), the vehicle I had to catch at the stop below my house was the last thing I saw.
As he flipped over, crashing right into me...
[Congratulations, you just died!]
And you will understand my equally great confusion when everything went black, and the only thing I could see was an orange text box.
[Now, while you might be confused, I don't really care so I'm going to give you the bare minimum of information because I don't feel like standing around explaining to you for hours what's going on. I've got 91 other dead people to send to other worlds after you] I stared at the stupidly cheerful text box with extreme confusion [So I'll make it very short: you're dead; therefore, my creator will use you to test a Gamer system he's programming, since he doesn't feel like doing anything else this time of year. I guess summer sucks for everyone, huh?]
"..." I could only stare wordlessly at the supposedly stupidly cheerful AI. I could almost hear its voice talking with sick amusement about my situation.
Not that I could say anything in the first place, I don't have a mouth. Or arms. Or legs. Or head. I don't feel like I have a body at all right now; therefore, any attempt to create a dialogue or ask questions to figure out what the fuck the being in front of me was talking about was completely futile.
Also, Gamer System? That thing that makes anyone who has it stupidly OP?
[Maybe yes, maybe no, this depends entirely on how inclined you are to grind. And on how lucky you are, I suppose]
If I had a stomach, I would feel it squirm upon hearing his last statement. I had already ascertained in my life that if something is based on luck, then regardless of what it is with me it will always go the worst way possible. It doesn't matter if it's an upgrade with a 99.9 percent chance of success that fails; fishing at an exam for the envelope with the only one of the 19 topics on it that you don't know by heart, which is literally in the middle of the syllabus; or not getting a follow-up email on time that causes you to miss the job that would have changed your life. Regardless of how big or small the bullshit in question is, with me if you get luck involved it will always go the worst way possible.
[So I will outline the parameters that Gamer System 4.0 will use:
Status:
Name: (blank - will be assigned to you at birth)
Level: 0
Gender: (blank - will be assigned to you at birth)
Age: 0 (21)
Race: (blank - will be assigned to you at birth)
Main class: (blank - will be assigned shortly, based on user affinity)
Sub class: (will be available after level 50)
HP: 0/0 (you are not yet reborn)
MP: 0/0 (you are not yet reborn)
SP: 0/0 (you are not yet reborn)
Vitality (VIT): 0 (you have not yet been reborn)
Temper (END): 0 (you are not yet reborn)
Strength (STR): 0 (you are not yet reborn)
Dexterity (DEX): 0 (you are not yet reborn)
Intelligence (INT): 0 (you are not yet reborn)
Charisma (CHA): 0 (you are not yet reborn)
Luck (LUK): 0 (you are not yet reborn)
Class skills (will be unlocked later)
Personal skills (Will be unlocked later)
Racial traits (will be assigned automatically after your rebirth)]
So...now what will happen?
[I will briefly explain how the statistics work and everything else:
Main class: normally, you should choose the class right after creating your avatar, but now it will be assigned to you automatically based on your origin and the element you are akin with respectively creation and metal. You can only equip one main class at a time and you cannot change it until it reaches the maximum level (100). Once you equip the class you will be able to unlock skills inherent to it, but you can also use all the skills brought to the maximum level with other main classes. Keep in mind that some classes need additional parameters or conditions to be unlocked or changed. Once you have unlocked multiple main classes, you can change them at will, whenever you want.
Sub class: a secondary class that is leveled at the same time as the main class, but will only receive one-third of the exp that the main class receives. The sub class will allow you to use some abilities of the equipped class not inherent to the main class, if you have the stats to use them]
[Your soul has been placed in a new body. Class randomization:
.
.
.
Main Class: Machinist]
What?
[Description: for a tech, anime and manga nerd with an almost unhealthy obsession with robotics and Gundams in particular, it's pretty much perfect, right?
Class Skill: Creation of all machines: increases the speed of learning, creation and development of everything that has to that do with engineering and all its branches of study by 200%. During creation, you have a 20% chance of getting a better result than 40%]
This was...how should I put it...I just don't know what to think about it. On the one hand I feel like I should be pissed off that he's basically making fun of me and my passions, but on the other hand I might be able to build my own Gundams? Really really?
[Hp: indicates your life points and is affected by your vitality
Mp: mana points. They indicate your mana reserves, magic-related energy source, and other similar abilities, which I'm not going to spoiler now.
Sp: special point. Another statistic influenced by your vitality and temperament. It is a special bar that allows you to use abilities related to Ki and life force in general (it will be unlocked when you learn the basics of using it)
Vitality: basic statistic that affects Hp, Sp and sometimes serves as a requirement to use or unlock certain skills.
Temper: statistic that affects your SPs, general, physical, and resistance to state anomalies.
(Additional information: 1 point of tempering is worth 2 SP, while 1 point of Vitality is worth 10 SP)
Strength: I suppose from the name it's pretty easy to guess what it's for.
Dexterity: increases agility, speed and reaction time.
Intelligence: affects spell and skill casting speeds, computational ability, and learning speed.
Charisma: entices people to believe and follow you.
Luck: Again, the name is rather self-descriptive, except that this statistic also protects you from conceptual attacks. The greater your luck, the more likely you are to survive when the situation calls for it.
Additional information: luck and charisma are exempt from level up, but like the other statistics, with certain actions they can accumulate points on their own.
For example: by studying your intelligence will grow. By training in the gym your physical stats will increase. Same thing if you practice magic].
This is...a rather simple and straightforward guide.
Telling you everything right from the start can be boring in the long run, viewers have to be given something to read, right?
What?
[What?] replies the voice, almost as confused as I am [Anyway, let's continue with the explanation of the parameters:
Personal Skills: these are skills of various types that you can learn during your journey as soon as you are reborn. Depending on the skill, you will need parameters or achieve certain requirements to be unlocked. You will be assigned a random skill compatible with your primary class
.
.
.
Eidetic memory: Eidetic memory is the natural ability to mentally visualize images after viewing them for only a few moments, with great precision and sharpness for a short period after viewing, without using any specific mnemonic technique...except that it doesn't work exactly that way for you. Increase the INT statistic by 20% and the images you see do not disappear from your memory]
I - okay? It will come in handy, but really I couldn't get something more broken?
[Race: Human]
He ignored me!
[Racial trait: traits that have advantages and disadvantages depending on the player's race, which may vary when altered.
resilience of humanity
Description: increases the exp obtained by 30%.
Additional information: this racial trait will be lost if the player's race changes.
Quirkless: reputation gain halved with anyone naturally born with a quirk]
[And that concludes the status presentation, do you have any questions?]
Quirk? Wait, what world am I going to exactly? My hero-
[No? Perfect, then goodbye and have a good trip].
The next thing I knew, I woke up in the body of a 4-year-old British-Italian boy who had been in a fatal accident. Apparently I had 'survived' but my 'family' had not. I was subsequently placed in the care of a friend of my 'father' since he and his wife could not have children, being renamed Kurogane Jack, the name of the boy I replaced. From there problems began.
First of all, I was reborn into a quirkless kid in the world of My hero academia, in Japan of all places, where everyone has super powers except me evidently. And I'm pretty sure the bastard who created the system did it on purpose! Society really didn't make it any easier to adapt, especially considering how much it treated those without Quirk like shit. People are indoctrinated to work as a team and fit in with the system from childhood, but me who was different, even though because of genetics and most importantly, was a foreigner who came from Italy . A 'gaijin' as many like to label me. I suffered on a daily basis, ever since the diagnosis identifying me as without Quirk which occurred shortly after the accident, constant discrimination at school, taunts from neighbors or verbal bullying just about everywhere I went. I had a lot of disciplinary notes and suspensions over the years because 'promising pupils' wanted to show me my place, but it went very badly for them. I never pushed myself too far, since I was mainly dealing with kids (the first year after I was born again at least), but still the teachers ignored the attacks or problems I faced on a daily basis because they didn't want to ruin the possible 'careers of future heroes or prominent people,' and they would shift the blame for standing up for me onto me. Not that I really gave a damn. I tended to ignore them, since they weren't worth my time and I didn't see a good reason to give them any more attention than I had to if I didn't have to defend myself, but still we often ended up at the hands, much to my annoyance, when I had to defend myself.
My tutors never blamed me for the problems at school; on the contrary, they always urged me not to let anyone step on my toes like that, although they sternly warned me not to become proud of my 'superior' abilities and intellect even by the standards of today's quirk-enhanced scientists. After the...fourth expulsion, instead of enrolling in another elementary school, I enrolled directly in a university in Tokyo. There I got a bachelor's degree with honors in engineering with a master's degree in computer engineering. I even took extra courses in using support tools in civil settings. Then I went on to a second degree in bioengineering.
Second big problem: I suck at acting. I never took part in a play in my previous life, I usually did background characters at best since I just couldn't fit in properly as a child, and it only got worse as I grew up. I never did any exercises because I had never been interested in acting, especially after the one time I took part in a Christmas play in the theater, in front of an audience, to give the proceeds to charity, I had panicked a bit and messed up. Returning to the main topic, when Naomasa Tsukauchi had come to question me about the incident, I was very puzzled. She thought I had hit my head (which had actually happened. Jack, the child who died, had sustained a severe head injury among other injuries) or something like that; therefore, informed me that my 'accident' was due to collateral damage caused by the clash between villans and heroes that destroyed almost half of Musutafu (I later found out through the news that the heroes' raid in an attempt to foil a terrorist attack from unknown parties had failed, leading to that result). Again, not having been there personally I didn't know what the fuck he was talking about, so he concluded on his own that the shock from the incident was preventing me from remembering or something. Fortunately, I never saw him again after that encounter. After returning to school, however, I was unable to settle in. I was still not fluent in Japanese, but I understood it fairly well having studied it on my own in my earlier life between anime and vr chat, but thanks to my particularly sharp eidetic memory I was able to learn the alphabets and speak better than 80% of Japanese in a couple of weeks .
When I had realized what my brain was capable of, I began reviewing topics to get into college and skipped elementary, middle and high school. Having taken two courses, which on average last four years apiece but which I had shortened to just under seven in total, I had managed to get a head start. Although the advent of quirk had greatly curtailed the development of technology because of World War III, and the dark century immediately after, computer science and robotics were far more advanced than they were in my previous world.
In all of this there was only one problem, however.
[Name: Kurogane Jack
Level: 10/100 (6.42%)
Sex: male
Age: 15
Race: human
Main Class: Machinist(70/100)
Sub class: none
HP: 750/750
MP: 6660/6660
SP: locked
VIT: 55
END: 75
STR: 95
DEX: 60
INT: 666 (555+20%)
CHA: 80
LUK: 80
Class skill: {
Creation of all machines: increase the speed of learning, creation and development of everything related to engineering and all its branches of study by 200%. During creation, you have a 20% chance of getting a better result than 40%
Mechanical engineering ( )
Nuclear engineering ( )
Materials Engineering ( )
Computer engineering (lv.90)
Electrical engineering ( )
Chemical engineering (lv.60)
Bio-engineering (lv.99)}
Personal skills: {
Observe (lv.11)
Mp regenerate: automatically recovers 1% of Mp per second. (67 Mp/s)
Parallel thinking: allows the user to think as if they had multiple brains. +INT base for each thought parallel (does not affect maximum MPs)}
Martial Art (lv.9): increases damage during hand-to-hand combat by 9 percent
Mastery with arm weapons (lv.6): increases damage of attacked weapons by 6%
Weapon mastery (lv.7) increases weapon damage by 7 percent
Sword mastery (lv.11): increases sword damage by 11%.
Mastery with rod weapons (lv.9): increases the damage of rod weapons by 9%
Mastery with one-handed weapons (lv.11): increases the damage of one-handed weapons by 11%
Two-handed weapon mastery (lv.7): increases the damage of two-handed weapons by 14 percent
Firearms Mastery (lv.6): increases the damage of firearms by 6 percent
Racial traits: {}
List spells : {
Reinforcement ( ): increases the statistics of the reinforced object by 60%. Consumes 10 MP/s
Structural analysis ( ): allows structure analysis anything the user touches or sees down to the atomic level.
Gradation air (Lv. 81): creates a copy of any projected object with the shape and substance of the original, with the statistics equal to a maximum of 50% of the original and a duration parts to 31%. The cost varies according to the projected object.
Alteration (lv.71): alters shape and material of an object into something else, also changing all its properties. Probability of success:71%. Cost varies depending on the object altered and what it is changed to.
? (blocked)
Statistical points retained: 45
Equipment:
Alaya-Vijnana System (type E)
Description: human-machine interface system apt to maximize performance while using armor with this integrated system. The Alaya-Vijnana system creates a pseudo-brain lobe in the pilot's body using nanomachines, allowing the pilot's brain to directly process mobile suit data fed through the physical connection. Because the pseudo-brain lobe also governs spatial awareness, the pilot's spatial awareness is enhanced. The more implants a pilot has, the greater the speed of information transfer through the system. This continuous connection can cause forced maintenance of consciousness even in situations where the pilot is supposed to pass out or even die instantly.
If the machine has AI, the neural load can be reduced by diverting some of the data to her to help the user make the most of the system for longer.
INT increased by 90% during use (30% per plant) (Does not increase maximum MP when active)]
Alaya-Vijnana was one of my three greatest jobs, without a shadow of a doubt, along with my last armor. Thanks to eidetic memory and class skills, I got some killer items for my level (and compared to the technological peak of the rest of the world), which I am incredibly happy about.
However, the game didn't tell me that my general and main class levels didn't go up simultaneously! Not only that, but I don't even have core skills like gamer body, gamer mind, inventory, or anything else! I only got 'observe' because 'structural analysis' went to the highest level in the first place! And up until now it had been fucking useless because with structural analysis I could do things like analyze everything I saw! Fuck, it was so fucking advanced now that I could analyze the atoms of what I saw by now, as well as the history of the object, the method of creation, and all the other shit that Shirou does with Unlimited blade works! Okay, maybe not that much, but that's the point. I can easily determine whatever material was used and how, the technique used to make the object/subject, and examine the status of whatever happened to it recently. The point is that in order to use that damn skill I had to level up, because if the target is too strong compared to me I could see practically nothing!
Fuck, the whole reason I got the basic nasuverce thaumaturgies is because the creator of the system was getting bored seeing me not leveling for four years. FOUR. FUCKING. YEARS! The only reason I got to level 10 is because half of those levels I got from a world quest, which was to get All Might to hire me as a costume designer and open a research division!
Not to mention those damn question marks! I've had them in my magic list since I was reborn and I haven't the faintest idea what the fuck they are!
The only other way to level up was to complete daily assignments, which by now gave too little exp to level up unless I unlock new challenges, or some important quests that are more unique than rare though since there was no imminent danger! I couldn't level even in dungeon IDs or something like that because I don't have them! I had seen in the menu that there was actually a universal auction, so maybe I could find something to replace the dungeons there, but I needed to get to level 15 before I could unlock it...
The last 10 years were seriously spent as a backstory for me to study! I want a refund, damn too absent system!
However, over time I understood a few things about this crappy system. Each level up increases about 1.2 exp for the next level, while skills needed more than twice as much exp, although those were not a problem thanks to the class skill and the racial trait. So if to go from level 1 to 2 needed 50 exp, the next level would need 60 exp, then 72 exp, then 86 exp, and so on. Same thing with skills. Each level up gives 5 points to each statistic as well as 5 to spend as I want. Moving on to skills, you can learn new ones after doing the same things for a long time or if some recognized master teaches them to you. The difference between having a skill at level 1 and not having it? Having it gives you an intrinsic knowledge of what you are doing, preventing you from being a danger to yourself or others. Leveling it, however, is a real pain. Simply continuing to use it is enough, but it is a very slow process, especially if as a self-taught person you make mistakes. In that case, skill growth is drastically reduced. The most efficient way, is to learn from a certified master at least in the beginning, because at some point it will be so difficult to level up that simple training will no longer be enough. Although I am inclined to believe that the biggest problem with learning from a master is his skill level. The higher it is, the faster it goes up, but the highest level in melee skills I have found is 12 in instructors. The best I've seen with a sword is Yoroi Musha, with a level 42, but he doesn't take students.
The only other way I get faster is to fight and kill using them, and I can't become a serial killer to increase the general and skill level. I could, but I'm not that desperate and I don't want to do that. I like my life enough as it is, so even though it is irritating most of the time, I am not willing to turn to the dark side to get stronger quickly.
So, to summarize: the gamer system was just slightly speeding up and making easier what I usually do...
I let out a heavy sigh as I leave the Might Tower. Three years ago All Might had been debilitated in its clash with All For One, and Nighteye had quit the agency. I had run into him by chance at a convention where the symbol of peace Toshinori was supposed to be present, and I had accidentally let his hero name slip out, although fortunately only the hero number 1 had reacted, due to his superhuman senses. That blond idiot, even in his skeletal form was too strong to be analyzed by Observe, damn .
However, I had improvised and revealed that my clear contact lenses was equipped with night vision , x-ray and optical zoom, as well as being able to adjust the light reaching my retinas so as not to be blinded by flashbangs and the like. They also have at nd an interface connected to my AI, Jarvis. Yes, it stood for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. One can make an almost endless list of faults and merits of Tony Stark, but his movie version was incredibly funny and brilliant. It was a tribute to him, because I am a very imaginative and original person.
Nanotechnology is really great, isn't it?
Returning to the main topic, I had lied by telling the truth about why I knew about his injury, admitting that I had seen him before (and it was true, in more ways than one) and finding it strange that the condition; therefore, I had asked my AI to analyze him and the DNA matched 100%.
Needless to say, Toshinori was very skeptical, and he almost panicked when I began to describe his quirk. I had not called it by name, but I had described how it worked and the risks in using it. In his basic stage, when he still cannot access the other stored quirks, he transforms the stored kinetic energy and manifests it in the form of physical enhancement, in an ideal form that allows him to make the most of it. The main problem? Since he lacks organs, his body can no longer use the quirk safely. Without the stomach he could not feed himself properly, which over time caused him to lose fat and muscle, causing him to become more and more skin and osa; therefore, One for all to compensate he drastically increased the size of the muscle fibers, which in turn caused tremendous stress on the other organs . The remaining lung had to work twice as hard to compensate for the lack of the other, while the heart had to pump to exhaustion to provide the oxygen needed to maintain muscle form.
There was a ton of stuff to say later on the subject, which could be boiled down to: I was hired as the head of the Might Tower development division. I was literally the only one who knew how more or less one-for-all worked, and with All might's mammoth budget, I had managed to create a set of costumes that could sustain him without destroying himself in the process, allowing him to regain some of his lost strength and lengthen the time he could remain transformed without too many consequences. It was only a temporary measure, since once he passed the residual ofa would inevitably wear off and at some point he would have no energy left to power himself, but that's okay. There were still a couple of years to go before All Might passed the baton, and he would have been in a much better state than his canon counterpart, since in addition to the costumes I was also taking care of his health. Although he would definitely retire after his next confrontation with All for One, perhaps he would still be fit enough for the war against Shigaraki Tomura's Paranormal Army or Re-right, if I can get rid of Tomura's nephew before it gets to that point.
At one point he had even offered me to become his successor after he found out that I was aiming for the UA hero class, but I declined because I had another quest to choose my 'path'. But, even without that quest I still would have declined the offer. I didn't mind a hand in reaching my goal, after all, I couldn't be everywhere and do everything on my own, but anything I could do on my own I wanted to do on my own strength, otherwise I knew I wouldn't feel satisfied in the end.
My goal was not to be a hero because I have the calling to be one, but to be influential enough to change society into a more functional one. Maybe it was because of where I came from, but whenever I heard or saw something that didn't work, I felt the overwhelming urge to build something to replace the broken parts. It didn't matter whether it was a machine, a prosthesis, a costume, a suit of armor or the whole society. I was simply extremely annoyed by anything that didn't work, especially in case it was kept in that state voluntarily. That absurd impulse had diminished and I had learned to deal with it, but at first I had to have it checked regularly, because some times I didn't even function as a normal human being when I started to create something. The first year after my reincarnation I was losing track of time, I couldn't focus on anything else, and I constantly needed someone to watch me to make sure that well, I was acting more like a human being and less like a machine. I even went to a psychiatrist at one point and took some psychotropic drugs for a while. Fortunately, when I started using magic, and especially with a lot of work and willpower, the impulse diminished to something acceptable.
However, the main class had gone up over 40 levels while the class skills I had unlocked were almost all maxed out, just by working there for the past year. With my salary having numerous zeros and my research on nanomachines and alternative energy sources, I had built a lot of useful and pretty cool stuff, bringing me closer to reaching my ultimate goal: I had for till a themed quest!
[The white demon
Goal: Do not accept All Might's offer and enter the UA hero class with your strength, without recommendation ! Any creation of yours is valid and counts as your 'ability'.
Reward completion: 1,000,000 exp; formula for a new item.
Failure: Hero route blocked]
My research...continued. The main problem in all this was that despite my abilities, before that fateful meeting with All Might I could count on my fingers the people who were seriously giving me a chance. The only ones were actually Ryukyu, Mirko, Yoroi Musha or companies like Idaten. The first two because I was making support equipment for them before they even got out of school, the samurai-themed hero by word of mouth once they were told I could make armor and katanas of superior workmanship to anything superior on the market. Even Tensei Iida was one of my first customers actually, and he was always looking for me for equipment for his new sidekicks. I mean, I had created his costume almost 5 years ago, and he still didn't ask for upgrades! Just slight modifications and upgrades from time to time. He mainly came for repairs or maintenance for his agency's stuff. I think that says a lot about my capabilities compared to what's out there. Before my Might Tower job, my budget was extremely limited and I couldn't do too many experiments, only projects that hadn't been done yet, since few would take me seriously because of my lack of Quirk.
Being dragged around by my guardians for once had served a purpose.
[Quest Alert!
Arrival.
Goal: Discover the cause of the dimensional distortion that has just occurred in Japan.
Objective secret: ?
Objective secret: ?
Secret goal: ?
Reward: an ally will be loyal to you for life unless you do something so stupid that it deserves betrayal and death; route with '?' unlocked; 250 Exp.
Bonus reward: ?
Bonus reward: ?
Bonus reward: ?
Failure/ Decline : many people will die without even knowing why. Route with '?' Blocked.
Timer: 6:00:00
Accept/Decline]
I blinked at the sudden notification in the cold winter night as I walked through the Minato district. What the fuck? If I fail a shitload of people die, but if I refuse also?! What the fuck are you asking me to do then, you shitty system! And what so that tiny hint of EXP! I can barely make a level with that!
"Jarvis, check the whole area in and around Tokyo. Tell me if there is any anomaly," I order my virtual major domo.
"What exactly am I looking for?" asks the AI, rightly so.
"Don't know? Distortions in Tokyo space, abnormal phenomena caused or happened to people or things in the last few minutes would be a good place to start."
I ask the Holy Grail
I pray that Miyu will end up in a world where she can be happy
I pray that you will meet some kind people
Pergo that she is surrounded by friends to laugh with
I pray that you find a warm, small, piece of happiness
Emiya Miyu jerks her eyes open, and immediately regrets it when she feels her head throbbing and her body weak, drained of the magical energy that the ceremonial altar had absorbed during the war to use as the Greater Grail. More slowly she opened her eyes again, trying to get used to the lights that surrounded her. The cold air stung her face and legs.
"You finally woke up, I was beginning to worry."
She looked down and saw a boy, who judging by his wait appeared to be little older than she was (or at least, he would if she did not look 11). He had black hair, blue eyes with green undertones, and was decidedly not Asian, although she had spoken Japanese to him perfectly. She also noticed his clothing. Her legs were cold because she was still wearing the low-cut, revealing dress that the Ainsworths had prepared for the ritual, but she had a windbreaker over it, with gloves, neck warmers, and a hat that kept her warm.
"Who are you?" he asks, trying not to panic.
"The person who found you. Were you attacked by someone who had a teleportation quirk?" she asks seriously, confusing her. What was a 'quirk'? Why was she talking about teleportation as if it were normal? How did she know she had been attacked? She was not very knowledgeable about the hidden side from the moon, but even she could tell that the stranger was talking about it too casually in public. Or was it normal in this place? Remembering her brief visit to Fuyuki, this town was too teeming with life and the atmosphere seemed noticeably different, less rarefied in fact. Was it also in the same world in the first place? "Don't be surprised. My boss is a pro hero, I carry out investigations for him sometimes and study quirks. I found you unconscious in an alley, and in those clothes you would have surely died of hypothermia if no one had rescued you" Hero pro? Does his rescuer look younger than he actually is? Is he an investigator? "Where are your parents?"
The question doesn't even make her wince in reality. She didn't even find it too uncomfortable. He didn't remember them anyway. He barely remembered Kiritsugu, despite the fact that it was he and onii-chan who had found her after the disaster in Fuyuki years earlier, because even though they lived in the same house they hardly ever met, since he refused to have anything more to do with her than necessary.
"Dead years ago," he replies, thinking about how to extricate himself from the situation. The stranger's expression doesn't change too much, remaining serious despite the blunt answer. Is he used to hearing such stories?
"Any other relatives or guardians to contact?" he asks, seeking positive feedback but without success.
That question actually cracked her impassive expression a bit. She wanted to cry again when she realized that her onii-chan remained in the other dimension fighting an enemy he could not beat, and who had probably killed him. Or perhaps taken him as a hostage.
"..."
"I see..." the signs of a frown appear on his face for a few moments, but he quickly recomposes himself "Normally I should take you to the police and leave the investigation to them, but perhaps it's best not to stress you too much and let you get some rest before the formalities. You seem to be tried enough by events already."
That was an understatement. She wanted to curl up and cry to the point of exhaustion at the possible end her beloved older brother might have gone to save her, but she had wished for him to be happy. It would not be easy, but she would try, lest her sacrifice be in vain. He highly doubted that he would want her to stay and mope forever after all the effort he had put into freeing her.
But first she had to figure out how to live in this place, wherever she ended up. Money , food, clothing, and any other necessities were handled entirely by her brother, since she could not leave the camp cordoned off around the house (which they really should have known first), before the Ainsworths kidnaped her. In addition, she had to ask for clarification on some terms she had used to better acclimatize herself.
"Well, I can take you to my house if you want. My guardians are coming back in the morning and will be home for the weekend, we can decide what to do from there onward" he proposes and she tries not to look too suspicious of his sudden proposal "You can have a bath to warm you up, eat and rest for the night. I don't have any clothes in your size, but I can give you some of mine to improvise."
"... why are you so helpful to me?" she asks a bit suspiciously, and honestly confused .
"For three reasons mainly: I would feel shitty leaving you to die in the snow; my guardian would kill me if I didn't help a girl with no place to stay, unconscious in an alley moreover; and my boss is literally known as the 'symbol of peace' and one of the most important heroes in the world, if not the most important. He has influenced me more than I would like to admit to be more active in helping others when needed," he replies truthfully, shrugging.
Are mothers always so worried? Honestly, he doesn't remember what a mother's warmth was like. The only one he knows is the one his older brother showed him growing up. Also, from the way she described her boss, he sounds like a very influential man in today's society so, surely he can answer many of her questions and help her integrate if he is a hero as he says. It almost sounds as if it has become a profession from the way she says it.
"I see..." no, she doesn't really, but the discussion was exhausting her more than she would like to admit. There were too many things to think about, too many things to ask, too many points to clarify, and she was too tired to do it now.
"Rest now, I'll wake you up as soon as we get there," he says, continuing to walk, going down the stairs to take the subway "What's your name anyway?"
"Miyu..." she replied exhausted, resting her chin on his shoulder again.
"I am Kurogane Jack."
I ask the Holy Grail
I pray that Miyu will end up in a world where she can be happy
I pray that you meet kind people
Pergo that she is surrounded by friends to laugh with
I pray that he will be able to find his happiness
His brother's wish seemed to be coming true already.
[Quest 'Arrival' completed.
Goal: Discover the cause of the dimensional distortion that just occurred in Japan (X)
Secret objective: find out who is causing the alteration (X)
Secret goal: Complete the primary goal in less than 4 hours (x)
Secret goal: complete the primary goal in less than an hour (x)
Reward: Emiya Miyu will be your ally; Route with Emiya Miyu unlocked; 250 exp received.
Bonus reward: Observe will automatically be raised to level 100
Bonus Reward: amulet of the golden snake
Bonus Reward: Inventory]
[You have leveled up! You are now level 11]
Since I did not know where to start looking for the catastrophe waiting to happen, I decided to hijack satellites over Japan to scan it. There was some panic when several military channels and satellites were blacked out by an unknown hacker, but hey, I was justified given the situation! Also, yes! I finally got that damn inventory!
Reward aside, Miyu's reaction to my house was quite amusing actually. Her tired eyes were literally twinkling when Jarvis greeted us both at the entrance. She was visibly restraining herself so as not to start asking a long string of questions about my AI so as not to be inappropriate, especially when she had seen drones flying around cleaning the house.
I had taken a heavy cue from Tony Stark and made myself a wired mansion designed to be monitored constantly by my virtual butler. It wasn't on a cliff with a killer private beach, but who cares, I've always been a mountain guy. I had tried to reproduce it as faithfully as possible. There were several things, however, that made me turn my nose up at the confusion.
Miyu is a young girl with mid-back-length black hair and golden brown eyes who was currently wearing my clothes, which were too big for her. One of my shirts was big enough to fit her even as a skirt, since I was 30 centimeters taller than she was.
[Name: Emiya Miyu
Level: 2
Sex: female
Age: 13
Race: human (divine blood)
HP: 150/150
MP: 7/4,000
SP: locked
VIT: 15
END: 23 (15+50%)
STR: 15
DEX: 20
INT: 400
CHA: 50
LUK: 600
Personal skills:
Maiden's Willpower: increases END statistic 50%. If a fatal blow resets HP to zero, allow you to survive instead with 1% of maximum HP
Racial traits:
Son of God (blocked): ability that allows the user to grant wishes. Passively multiplies LUK x5. All other attributes are blocked.
Description: she is exactly like her fairy/Kaleid counterpart, except that she is actually older than she looks. The desire to be Shirou's younger sister has inadvertently made her longer-lived, slowing her aging, for some strange reason.
Malus:
Numb magic circuits: malus due to overloading the user's magic circuits with more magic energy than they could normally produce. Reduces MP regeneration by 90% for 24 hours and causes physical fatigue]
Finally, observe starts to be helpful and tells me something about her, but she left more questions than answers and I'm not sure if it was just the system playing me or something else. The princess of the other world is 137 centimeters tall, only slightly taller than her counterpart and has the same background. The fact that she's here though, makes me think that either Shirou's desire sent her to a different place in the prismaverse, or the events of that affair will reverberate here, which is quite likely, since the class cards should have come with Miyu. It wasn't that troubling honestly, or at least, not as troubling as it would be if this world didn't have quirks. If the vampire troll doesn't show up I'm pretty sure I can actually access the mirror world. I've looked at some teleportation quirks before and the effects they cause in the environment, and I had created the first model of a quantum field disruptor that could block it a couple of weeks ago, although I hadn't tested it yet. The real question was whether or not I would be able to pull it off before the class card manifestations became powerful enough to break into the real world. At that point things would get complicated, especially if I can't get the job done before saber or berseker appear. Those two, though weakened, were walking disasters, and even All Might will have a lot of problems if I don't come up with something, especially with Heracles. Especially because I don't know if there is actually magic in this way. I can use it because of the gamer system, but I didn't know if there was something like the mage association here.
However...what the fuck is that statistic in LUK! Is it reduced?! Are you kidding me! Exactly how high were they originally! The highest statistic I have seen in a human so far, without alteration by quirk was 100, and it was considered the peak of human strength, just below superhuman! The INT statistic was the exception when you talked about scientists and geniuses, like David Shield and the like. LUK is another exception that I was never clear on how to level. Pro heroes, on the other hand, are advantaged because they receive proper training, which is different from a sports training; therefore, even people like Aizawa could get above 110-180, which fell under superhuman abilities. It was scientifically proven that in people altered by the plus alpha gene it tended to happen, and there were many similar cases in favor of that study.
Of course, they never reached the levels of today's quirks, but still...
However, dinner continued in relative silence except for some basic interaction when we started eating and clearing the table. Having returned later than planned, I did not have time to prepare a proper dinner, so I ordered pizzas, since I was not even that good in the kitchen. She had been soaking in a tub of hot water for almost forty minutes to warm up properly, and then put on one of my old pajamas from when I was 11 years old.
Fortunately, my guardian is a serial hoarder . Okay, not really, but she's too sentimental sometimes. She was fond of that pajama set because she thought I looked adorable in a wolf-themed one, so she kept it, along with other things.
"This is one of the guest rooms, make yourself at home. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask Jarvis or me," I say, making her nod and enter the rather large room.
He approaches the glass window, and looks up at the sky, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
"Do you like stars too? Actually, my guardian chose this place because you have a very good view, especially from the roof or garden. We also have a very powerful telescope there," I try to break the ice. Honestly, how do you talk to a 13 little girl just coming out of a war, about to be sacrificed for a ritual? I didn't have a manual for that.
She looks at me for a few moments before returning her gaze to the night sky.
"Yes. Onii-chan always brought me many books, including on astronomy. I liked looking at the stars."
"Yes, I can understand why people like them, but honestly it's not something that has ever fascinated me too much" I admit, approaching her "When you know that it's a bunch of plasma spheroids that through nuclear fusion processes in their own cores generate energy, radiated into space in the form of electromagnetic radiation, elementary particle streams and neutrinos they tend to lose some of their fascination. More than the stars themselves, I'm interested in what space has to hide" She stares at me "Ah, sorry, I ruined the moment, didn't I?"
"...no, I just didn't expect you to know," she admits a little surprised. Or at least, what I think is surprise. Her eyes were widened a few millimeters upon hearing me speak.
"I studied many branches of engineering, including nuclear before I graduated," I reply with a shrug of my shoulders.
She nods, again a little surprised. But the moment of calm is broken by Jarvis.
"Sir, an unidentified object is heading in the direction of this room at high speed, I am initiating defense protocols."
Miyu stiffens, a streak of fear crosses her eyes, and without warning metal bulkheads cover the windows, just in time I might add, because a loud crash leaves a dent in the heavy sheet of metal, nearly shattering the armored window pane. I pulled the girl away before the glass shards could hit her.
"What the...?" seeing the affected area re-enter, with a shape not unlike a bowling ball.
"I apologize. I didn't have time to activate the anti-aircraft defenses. However, sir, I think you should look at this."
A holographic screen appears, showing us the outside of the house area. Something comes out of the recess, floating a bit wobbly. It has a circular shape, inside of which is a six-pointed yellow star in a ring that has two small blue beads, with two pairs of butterfly-like wings that lighten as they descend downward.
"When demonstrated that he had the ability to speak, I asked him to identify himself he claimed to be a 'kaleidostick' named Sapphire. She says she was involuntarily thrown here by her creator and needs help."
I looked at Miyu, who had clutched at me, stiff as a board. Her stoic expression replaced by a somewhat frightened and alarmed one.
"Did she tell you why she's here?" honestly came sooner than I expected.
The initial timeline of Prisma Illya I don't remember particularly well, since it started to be interesting mainly from the third season. The class cards arrived at the same time as Miyu in Japan; so, how did they quickly get two of them if Sapphire had been with Luvia for a while and the Kaleidostick found Miyu on the same night as her arrival?
"He says his creator, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, was traveling between dimensions when he sensed a powerful magical disturbance, and came to investigate a few hours ago. On the way, however, he and his apprentices ran into a danger biker," the AI replies, causing me to frown. I'm pretty sure it's not telling us everything. I know the old vampire, if someone managed to hold him back then he must have been stupidly powerful, and that is worrying. Is he close to our dimension? It doesn't bode well "She sent her apprentices home since the opponent was too dangerous and launched her and her sister here, to retrieve some strange cards that radiated power. From what she says it sounds like a pretty serious threat if left untreated."
"Of the cards...?" murmurs Miyu worriedly, causing me to frown.
Was he already starting the plot? Miyu was not able to fight at all at the moment. Her MP bar is almost empty, and because of the malus she is not recovering beyond being exhausted. Do we have 24 hours to prepare? From what observe said about Miyu, other than her age there are no different significant; so, I really don't think she has any experience in combat or with magic.
"Send her in, let's see what she has to say."
After my order the bulkheads go up, along with one of the windows, letting in the cold night air.
[Good evening. I am sorry for my sudden and turbulent arrival, but I was launched by the Grand Master to the greatest source of magical power he perceived at that time. My sister is also supposed to be in town] the mystic code introduces himself cordially [As I reported to Jarvis-san, my full name would be Kaleidostick magical Sapphire, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance] the wand ends with a 'bow,' as strange as it sounded to say even in my head.
"...Emiya Miyu" introduces herself in literally two words and wary the girl in my arms.
"Well, since this seems to be an evening full of encounters, my name is Kurogane Jack" I introduce myself "So, may I know how you and your grandmaster came to this world?"
[My creator is a user of the second true sorcery, the Kaleidoscope. I don't know if that is a familiar term in this dimension] replies the flying wand [As I told Jarvis-san, I was sent here to retrieve the cards, but I cannot do it alone. I need the help of someone with great potential magic, like the girl at your side]
"Do you need help retrieving class cards...? All right. I will," Miyu replies without hesitation, breaking away from me and approaching the mystic code.
However, I stop her before she can take more than a few steps, and she looks at me questioningly.
"Don't launch so quickly into something obviously dangerous, especially not without information," I admonish her, before turning to Sapphire "Tell us everything there is to know about the situation. Any details you are aware of are important, don't leave anything out."
[Good point] agrees the kaleidostick [The class cards, according to my information, are seven powerful artifacts charged with magical power. Unfortunately, the grandmaster was unable to better examine the situation because we were attacked by a biker thug]
"If he was a motorcycle thug, why didn't he avoid him or run away?" asks Miyu confused.
[He would have done it, if that thug wasn't a dragon over a hundred meters long] the flying wand replied seriously [His power was shocking. Thinking it was too much for his apprentices to handle, he sent them home and quickly threw me and my sister here, while he stayed behind to hold it back]
His description was annoyingly familiar. I'm sure I've read a similar description somewhere, but I just can't put my finger on it. The only explanation for this is that whatever it is, I read it in my previous life. Unfortunately, eidetic memory perfectly saves what I read after I got it, not before.
[I'm sorry I can't provide any more information on this, but that's all I know. Will you help me gather the papers, Miyu-sama?" she asks hopefully, causing her new mistress to nod.
"Yes"
[Quest Alert!
The seven
Description: help Miyu collect all seven class cards.
Saber: 0/1
Lancer: 0/1
Archer: 0/1
Caster: 0/1
Rider: 0/1
Assassin: 0/1
berseker: 0/1
Reward fully: incomplete scheme for third true sorcery (heaven's feel); 100,000,000 Exp; +50 reputation with Zeldrech.
Failure/ decline : Miyu will die; route Miyu blocked; -100 reputation with Emiya Shirou (miyuverse); -100 reputation with Sapphire; -100 reputation with Ruby; many people in Japan will die.
Accept/decline]
[Quest Alert!
Oath Under the Snow
Description: help Miyu find her brother.
Secret goal: ?
Secret goal: ?
Reward: affection and reputation with Emiya Miyu and Emiya Shirou (miyuverse) permanently maximized; gift package (legendary); 100,000,000 exp.
Bonus reward: ?
Bonus reward: ?
Failure/ decline : Miyu and Shirou die; the Miyuverse is destroyed; your dimension is invaded.
Accept/Decline]
I didn't even need to decide to accept. Besides the absurd rewards, the consequences of quest failure or decline were too great to ignore! Unless I escaped to another dimension it was impossible to refuse to stay out of this. Not that I had done so anyway. I still didn't have a reason to refuse these quests even without the drawbacks. Having Zeldrech's favor would definitely be useful in the future, in case something bad happens in the future that I might need help with, not to mention the other rewards. Seriously, am I going to get a fragment of the third true sorcery? Where do I have to sign!
"Well, if it's not a problem for you, I'll help, too," their gaze shifts to me "I don't look very impressive compared to some of the individuals you might find out there, but modestly speaking I'm pretty smart, and I've built more than a few things that will come in handy on the mission."
The girl and the kaleidostick look at each other, confused and a little curious (I hope), before returning their attention to me.
"Sir, your guardians arrived earlier than expected and want to know why the defense system was triggered," Jarvis informs us, causing me to stiffen a bit in discomfort.
"Perhaps...I should warn you that my guardians are...quite energetic."
Miyu tilts her head in confusion.