Chapter Five "E-Rantel"
The Re-Estize Kingdom's city of E-Rantel was situated at the border between the Baharuth Empire and the Slane Theocracy. 3 layers of walls separated the city into zones, each having their own unique characteristics. The outermost walls were used by the Kingdom's military and thus had the necessary military equipment. The innermost wall housed the administrative zone. It had its own warehouses for food, and was heavily protected by soldiers. The zone in between these two areas was the residential area for civilians. E-Rantel was thus also known as the Fortress City because it was so heavily fortified and was home to a high number of soldiers, as well as being a bustling city full of civilians.
In the lively crowd, shop owners loudly shouted in an attempt to attract customers. Merchants haggled over the price of fresh ingredients; youths were being enticed by the fragrance of food. The plaza was incredibly lively in the day; the noisy and crowded atmosphere would carry on till sunset.
Suddenly, every eye in the plaza was drawn to a figure as it stood motionlessly near the entrance.
The figure was a male who was his prime of twenties. The corners of his eyes were sharp and shone with the brilliance of steel. His spiky, shiny white hair defied gravity and his snow-white skin glittered in the sun like pearls. What was most noticeable about him beside his physical characteristic was what he wore. He wore a body-fitting black leather armor that covered his body from neck down. He carried himself with dangerous air. The air of a warrior. His twin-tailed coat also helped aid to the aura of a warrior he projected for its colour seemed a result of so much blood being spilt on it to create a distinct crimson-red color.
He looked around and then started towards the building.
The crowd started to murmur as they watched the back of the figure fade into the distance. The rare sight surprised them but they felt no fear or wariness towards the unusual figure for individuals such as the figure they had seen were surprisingly common.
When the figure disappeared from the plaza and entered the building, everything reassumed like it had prior to the figure's appearance.
- O -
Shirou silently opened the door and entered the five-story building in equal measure and looked around him. The interior was spacious. It was packed with armed individuals. How well armed the individuals were varied with each other, but they strongly depended on their method of fighting. He found that the quality of the fighters' equipment seemed very closely connected to the type of medallion they wore around their necks.
Adventurers. People who sought out the unknown, venturing around the world. That was the notion that Shirou associated with adventurers. But after questioning his new fanatic followers, he learned that adventuring was a practical and dull career. In short, adventurers were 'mercenaries who deal with monsters'. Some parts were similar to the adventurers that she was familiar with. They did explore the unknown for wealth and opportunity, but they were basically monster hunters. Differing from the adventurers of Earth to explore the unknown for fame, wealth and opportunity, the adventurers of the New World were strictly governed by laws and organizations with harsh consequences for failing to adhere to the regulations and orders of the authorities.
Those were the armed individuals before him, and within the room.
The medallions they wore around their necks determined their ranks as Adventurers. The ranks of Adventurers were determined by the following order: Copper, Bronze, Iron, Steel, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril and Adamantium. The higher up the Adventurer rank went, the lower the number of adventurers who had attained it, within the room.
While most of the Adventurers were ignorant of Shirou's entrance, those who did were of the higher rank such as Gold and above, or were those who were especially sensitive to sound and very aware of their surroundings. They looked at Shirou and accessed him.
"Does anyone recognize him?"
"No, I think he is new."
"He probably is. His medal is absent."
"You do know that hiding the medal is actually pretty common. It could be that you're embarrassed about your rank or want to remain conspicuous. Just leave him be."
The adventurers who noticed him began to make comments about Shirou and it caused others who hadn't to look at him. There were a few that paid no attention to Shirou because of various reasons, but most of the room within moments began to stare at him.
Shirou ignored the attention that he was getting and walked forward to one of the many receptionists behind a desk that happened to be within the room.
"I would like to register as an Adventurer of the Re-Estize Kingdom branch's Adventurer's Guild." Shirou spoke as he made her way in front of a female receptionist.
"Do you have any experience with fighting?" The receptionist asked as she glanced at Shirou.
"You don't have to worry about me being inexperienced. I have plenty of combat experience, and will demonstrate it if necessary." Shirou replied.
"No. No. You don't have be offended or demonstrate that you know how to fight. It was just a question that I am required to ask. There have been plenty of past cases where someone ended being seriously injured or killed because they hadn't been asked if they had any combat experience prior to the very first assignment they received." The receptionist apologized with a sorry expression. She quickly brought out a stack of paper and a quill. "Please fill this out be registered with the Adventurer's Guild."
The receptionist was about to say more when Shirou quickly snatched the papers out of her hands and began to fill in the provided forms. The provided forms were just like any that would was completed in when registering with an organization. Shirou filled the paperwork without delay.
"Done," said Shirou as he handed the forms back to the receptionist.
"…I didn't even get the chance to say that I will fill it out if you cannot read or write… It is rare to see an adventurer to be able to write or read…" The receptionist said in surprise. "Everything seems to be in working order." The receptionist spoke as she read through the paperwork that had been filled out. She carefully stacked the paperwork and placed it upon a neatly organized stack of paper before withdrawing an object from below the counter. Grabbing Shirou's hand and placing the object in his hand, the receptionist continued speaking with a proud smile. "Here is your medal. I hope you the best of lucks, Adventurer."
When Shirou looked at his hand was medallion just like all of the adventurers wore around their necks. Instead, his was metallic-red. Forged out of copper to symbolize his rank as a copper class adventurer. The medal itself was nothing special. It was made out of cheap metal and created without much care. What it represented was what made him think back.
"Man… This reminds me of my time playing YGGDRASIL…" Shirou muttered as he recalled the first job he got in YGGRDASIL and that was a basic job: Adventurer.
"You will find assignments on that noticeboard there," the receptionist pointed towards a gigantic noticeboard that took up an entire wall filled with paper.
Shirou thanked the receptionist and handed her a generous tip of ten coppers coins – enough money for three days worth of food.
When he walked up to the noticeboard, the words of the paper wasn't what caught his attention. It was the coloured circles that were stamped on the right hand corner of the posted paper. Likely the circle corresponded with the recommended adventurer level. He grabbed a random piece of paper from the noticeboard.
Approaching the counter of the receptionist that had helped him out, Shirou placed down the paper.
"I will take this request." Shirou spoke.
The receptionist looked puzzled by the paper placed before her and smiled awkwardly. "I am sorry, this job can only be undertaken by platinum class adventurers…"
"So, I was wrong… The stamps were not recommendations for the level of adventurer to undertake a request, but a pre-requisite?"
"That is correct," the receptionist replied as she nodded her head.
"Is this a rule in the guild or just formality?" Shirou asked.
"It is a rule. A rule that was created to prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths of naïve and overconfident adventurers."
"I am neither naïve or overconfident about my ability."
"Each request that the guild receives is carefully evaluated of the dangers and risks involved in filling out the request. The rule was created to protect adventurers." The receptionist bluntly replied in a nonsensical tone.
Shirou Emiya just sighed. It was obvious how the conversation was going to end if he didn't do something drastic and unexpected. Something like displaying his abilities that would differentiate him from the other adventurers. Once upon a time, he might have done something like that, but his time as an Enforcer of the Mage's Association and time as a YGGDRASIL player had taught him that power tended to attract the attention of the unsavory. It seemed that he was going to have to start from the lowest rung of the adventurers and work his way up if he didn't want to gain attention.
"Is there anything I need to do or is my registration as an adventurer all complete now?" Shirou asked.
"No, everything is done." The receptionist replied.
"Then thank you," said Shirou before he turned walk away.
"How about helping us with our work, then?" A voice spoke as Shirou was about to leave the adventurer's guild.
Shirou turned around to see a four-man adventurer team, their silver plates glittering on their necklaces, looking at him and what seemed like the leader of the group that had spoken to him.
"The job in question… it's a worthwhile assignment… right?"
"Mm — well, I feel it's worthwhile."
"Let's hear about the details then," said Shirou as he walked towards where the team sat.
"Please have a seat."
Shirou did as he was told. He looked at the group that had invited him over.
The men were all quite young, probably under twenty, but there was no childishness in them and they possessed a maturity which did not match their ages. Although they seemed to have seated themselves randomly around the table, judging by their distance and positioning, they could draw their weapons at any time. An unconscious display must have been a habit born from countless close encounters with death.
"Before we begin discussing the job, let us introduce ourselves."
The speaker was the man who looked like a warrior. He had the typical blond hair and blue eyes that Shirou had found out was very common amongst the human residents of the Re-Estize Kingdom, and while there were no other distinguishing features on him, he looked quite handsome.
"I'm the leader of the 'Swords of Darkness,' Peter Mauk. That fellow over there is the eyes and ears of our team, the ranger Lukrut Volve."
A leather-armored blond man nodded in acknowledgement, and his brown eyes seemed to have a spark of delight in them. He was slender and long-limbed, kind of like a spider, but his lean torso was wiry and muscular.
"Next is our magic caster and the brains of our group, Ninya, The Spellcaster."
"Pleased to meet you."
He was probably the youngest person in the group, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Though he was an adult, the smile on his face looked too youthful. Unlike the tanned skin of the group's other members, his skin was pale, and his face was the prettiest of the group's. It was more of an androgynous beauty than any masculine concept of attractiveness. His voice was higher-pitched than the others. While the others all wore armor, he wore a leather robe. However, Shirou could see that beneath the table he had various strange items in his belt, including oddly-shaped bottles and peculiar wooden objects and so on.
"...But Peter, can you not use that embarrassing nickname?"
"Eh? But it's a good one."
"That is nickname? It seems very generic to me. Why such a bland nickname?" Shirou asked, with no idea the nickname 'Spellcaster' could possibly have. Maybe it has the same contation it does with the Mage's Association. A magic user that doesn't devote their lives in the research and development of magecraft, but someone that uses as a tool like my father and myself.
"He's a talent holder, and a genius magic caster." Peter explained.
"Oh…" Shirou murmured.
"It's nothing much, it's just that I happened to have a talent pertaining to that field…" Ninya said in a very embarrassed tone.
"Oh…" Shirou was even more interested, and he leaned forward, straining to listen.
What he had unknowingly come across perked his interest. A persona that had been born from spending too much time with Rin and other mages came forth. The persona that more on lines of what was expected from mages, a thirst for all knowledge related to magecraft that could possibly advance their magecraft.
Shirou quickly went through the knowledge that he had been able to gather from his followers and the villagers of Carne Village. About one in every two hundred people was born with a talent. While talent-holders were not rare, the abilities themselves varied greatly in potency and type. For instance, there were talents like being able to predict tomorrow's weather with seventy percent accuracy, the ability to strengthen summoned monsters, hastening the harvest by several days, using the magic of the dragons which once ruled this world, and so on. However, all of these were inborn abilities, which could not be chosen or changed. It was quite common to encounter situations where these abilities could not be applied. If someone was born with a talent that could improve the destructive power of their magic, but they never had the chance to become a magic caster, then their talent would be useless.
What caught Shirou's attention about what the New World called "Talent Holders" was that it seemed very similar to what mages knew as Origins. Origins was said to be the starting point that defines one's existence and directs one's actions throughout life. It is the driving force from the inside of the Root that managed to stream out of the Root and take material form. The form it can take at times is that of a human being, and all humans match their actions to be in harmony with the driving force that originated them from the moment they enter into the world. These actions are more along the lines of an inherent compulsion that could be called a person's instinct rather than a conscious decision.
His adoptive father was a great example of how Origins affected people. His father had the dual Origins known as Severing and Binding. His Origin often affected in his everyday life when doing hands-on work. While he can fix normal contraptions, he is not very skilled in working with delicate machinery. His unskilled hands suddenly cause everything to become the opposite, and the more he wants to fix something, the worse the damage becomes for the machine. He can use handcraft to piece together a snapped metal wire while still restoring the original function, but fixing a delicate electric circuit using the same principles will have fatal results. It is not something that will work as long as everything is connected, and if the connections are out of order, the circuit will lose its function. Rather than being caused by his personality or temperament, it is the true essence of the root deep within his soul.
There was also himself. His Origin of Sword made him incredible skilled with magecraft that dealt with the concept related to blades. It made him incredible difficult to learn and use other forms of magecraft that didn't revolve around blades, but it allowed him to use magecraft that few humans had ever achieved such as the ability to create copies of Noble Phantasms and the actualization of a Reality Marble.
Shirou shook his head as he remembered that he was getting sidetracked.
"I think his talent had something to do with being suited to studying magic, and he only took four years to learn what should have taken eight years. I'm not a magic user, so I'm not sure how great that is." Peter explained.
That statement made Shirou wonder about magecraft of the New World. Magecraft was something that required extensive training to be able to use. It took years of physical and mental preparation to safely use Magic Circuits without the risk of self-injury or death from the improper use of magecraft. After learning the foundations of magecraft and unlocking to safely use magic circuits without self-harm learning magic spells wasn't that too difficult as long as you knew what you were doing. It was like mathematics or any science. As long as you knew the equation or concept then it was possible just about any magic spell. On average, Shirou estimated that most mages could learn how to use most magic spells in a matter of days at worst. It was only when magecraft that was heading towards the territory of magic ritual such as magecraft that required more ten line incantation of the simplest magic rituals to the grand magic rituals like Heaven's Feel that it took months or even more to learn and gain the ability to use.
Unlimited Blade Works was a very personal example to Shirou. He, who had learned it from Counter Guardian EMIYA, one of his parallel counterparts in the multiverse, had taken ten years to create the foundations and another ten years to manifest Unlimited Blade Works.
Shirou wondered if Ninya was a very powerful mage or that the conventions of magecraft in the New World was different from Earth. He would have to investigate later. Now was to be listening to Peter.
"...I'm really lucky that I was born with this ability, because it allowed me to take a step closer to my dream. Without this power, I would have ended my days as a lowly peasant." Ninya muttered in gloomy and solemn tone.
As though to sweep away the grim air hanging over the room, Peter continued in a completely different tone. "Well, no matter what, you're still a famous talent-holder in this city."
"Still, there's people more famous than me."
"The leader of Blue Rose?"
"That person's famous too, but I was talking about someone within this city."
"You mean, Nfirea Bareare?!" The last person of the group¸ who had not yet been introduced yet, shouted.
"...And what sort of talent does that person have?" Shirou asked.
A look of surprise came over all four of them. Then they looked at him in shocked before they seemed to think that he was playing some kind of joke of them. A look that asked him, "are you serious?" Something that would seem was common knowledge.
"Guys, I think we can all conclude that he isn't joking," said Peter to his friends. "You are new to town given that you don't know who we are talking about. Right?"
"Indeed, that is correct. I only arrived today to E-Rantel." Shirou nodded his head.
"Then of course, you wouldn't know who we are talking about. He's a famous person in this town, but he's probably not that famous that distant cities. That might be why you know about him."
"Who is this man you're talking about?"
"As my friend has said, the person we are talking about is Nfirea Bareare. The grandson of a famous herbalist. His talent allows him to use any magic item. Not only can he use scrolls of a different spellcasting system from himself, he can even use items made by the non-human races. Even items restricted to those of royal blood shouldn't be a problem either."
Shirou's eyes widened at the statement he had just heard. The talent he heard about seemed incredible. The ability to use any magic item was in itself nearly unheard of to Shirou. Magic items in general needed knowledge and skill to use, unless they were specifically created for even unskilled magic users to be able to wield. One such Mystic Code that Shirou knew were the Kaleidoscicks, Magical Ruby and Sapphire, they were created by Zelretch, to be able to be used just about everyone and grant powerful magical abilities that even people that had no skill in magecraft could utilize.
Shirou, himself, kind of fitted the statement that Peter made about Nfirea. Afterall, he was able to use Noble Phantasms, crystalized legends of Heroic Spirits, that only the original owners of the Noble Phantasms should be able to use. If Nfirea could also do the same with Noble Phantasms as Shirou did then Nfirea Bare could potentially be a very dangerous foe or ally.
"Is something the matter?" Peter asked.
"Oh, no, it's fine, don't worry." Shirou replied as he shook his head. "Speaking of which, could you tell me about your last friend?"
"Yes. He's a druid – Dyne Woodwonder. He uses healing spells and magic that controls nature, and he's well versed in herbal lore. Let him know if there's anything wrong with your body; he has medicine that's good for stomach pains."
"Pleased to meet you!" The burly, barbaric-looking man with a full, bushy beard, greeted,
"My name is Shirou Emiya. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sword of Darkness." Shirou greeted back.
"Wonderful, I hope we'll get along," said Peter happily. "Now onto business… Our mission today is to exterminate monsters in the nearby area around E-Rantel."
"What sorts of monsters will we be exterminating?" Shirou asked.
"It changes all the time. Somedays it isn't even killing monsters, but regular animals such as wolves and bears. Other times it can be common goblins and orcs to even the rare orge." Dyne added.
"Sometimes, we don't even kill anything," said Ninya.
"So, it is a regularly requested task given to the adventurer's guild? To exterminate nearby monsters to prevent the loss of human lives and the interruption of commerce that flows into and out of E-Rantel." Shirou hypothesized.
"That is correct." Peter nodded. "That's how it is, Emiya-san. How about it? Want to lend us a hand?"
Shirou nodded his head. He was always out for mission such as extermination tasks. As a hero, he took any task that might save lives. And he was also getting the bonus of establishing a connection with team of adventurers. Something that he could hopefully nurture to establish connections with even larger and more powerful individuals and groups.
"I would be honored to help out." Shirou said as he held out his hand.
- O -
Shirou Emiya quickly excused himself from the four-man adventurer team known as Sword of Darkness and found himself in a secluded area for himself. He drew out a small gem from his pockets and held it before him.
He activated the magic crystal. The magic crystal shone to life and created two images. A hologram of Nigan and Linda. His two subordinates that he had designated to lead the two groups of his followers. Nigan led the mages while Linda did with the knights.
"Shirou-sama," Linda and Nigan bowed their heads respectfully.
"Report," Shirou spoke.
"As you ordered, any monsters living in the vicinity of Carne Village have been exterminated." Linda reported.
"My mages have been construction of requested fortifications. So far, we have only been able to construct primitive defenses that have been created from raised earth. The construction of proper fortifications have began, but we are expected to complete a basic level of fortification by the end of the week." Nigan reported.
"That is good to hear," said Shirou, pleased with the reports. "How are the villagers faring? With your inclusion, Carne Village's population has exploded. Are they being able to provide the necessary sustenance, or have you been forced to buy supplies?"
"Shirou-sama, the villagers have more than enough food to feed us," said Nigan.
"I believe they shouldn't be any problems for now, but there might be issues in the future, Shirou-sama," said Linda.
"Explain," Shirou spoke.
"I worry that the villagers will not have enough food for the coming winter." Linda replied.
Shirou smiled. It seemed Linda had already established relationship with the villagers if she was concerned from them already given that she had been trying to kill them not to long ago. A good start that Shirou hoped would allow the villagers and his followers to get past the animosity they had for each other and come to work together.
"That shouldn't be a problem," said Shirou. "Nigan, how are the projects that I gave you is going?"
"This device you called as cooler has been a simple task given that all we had to do was create a box out of solid material such as wood or stone and put ice into it. The more complex device that you called the fridge has been more difficult. The magic array that you taught us is something that we have not encountered before. It will take some time before the mages and myself can create a flawless copy of the magic array that you taught us before we can create these fridges." Nigan reported.
"Oh, so that was the strange things that the villagers were talking about," said Linda. "Shirou-sama, what you have invented is marvelous. The coolers have made drinking cold beer and water a common treat!"
"Cold beer and water? Is that all what you think of what Shirou-sama has invented can do?!" Nigan said in displeased tone. "What Shirou-sama has invented is beyond that. His invention has delayed the rate in which food goes bad. Food that easily goes spoiled like meats and vegetables can last even longer thanks to him. In fact, what would have gone bad in a matter of days have been extended to a week thanks to the cooler. If we are able to create these fridges then starvation because of food going spoilt might become a thing of the past."
"Really?! Shirou-sama did you hear! You created something that might save countless human lives!" Linda said happily. "Did you receive a vision from your ancestors, the Six Great Gods?!"
Shirou Emiya cringed as the whole charade that he was a Godkin, a descendant of the so called Six Great Gods, were beginning to grate him. It had been a convenient excuse that Nigan had created to explain his powerful abilities, but the whole religious worship and fanaticism was starting to get to him. He was actually contemplating to actual dismiss the whole charade he was playing at it was becoming an annoyance.
No, it is more benefical to continue with this act… Shirou sighed. "Maybe…"
"Linda, calm down." Nigan scolded his comrade. "There is nothing else to report and anything that needs to be brought to your attention, Shirou-sama. Though, I must ask. Why must you pretend to be a lowly adventurer? Such a task is unworthy of you. Myself and any one of your followers are more than capable of doing your task in your place."
"I want to gather information with my own eyes and ears." Shirou replied. "If there is nothing more to report then I will be off."
"Take care, Shirou-sama." Nigan and Linda said.
"You too," said Shirou as he ceased the flow of prana that supplied the magic crystal to work and the holograms disappeared. "It is nearly time to meet Peter and his team at the east gate."
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