Note to self: Punch oneself in the face for failing to pull Castoria and now doomed to wait three days to try again.
Good lord, I have abysmal luck. But I suppose I got lucky with that blue Avenger dog, forgot the name of it. Anyway, there are probably some of you wondering why Shirou's Black Bow is required Level 1. Mostly it was due to the fact that he created it, and I wanted to throw the guy a bone for what's to come.
Spoiler: I have no idea what's to come.
Wondering the streets of the industrial giant of a city became tedious when most of the buildings and houses were similar in appearance. Granted, he stuck with going in one direction because sooner or later, he'd reach the wall surrounding the entire place. He chose to forego the screens in his vision due to having little to no experience or knowledge of it. But he at least knew that this strange "Holy Bow" could copy weapons.
But it could only copy other bows, as he had tried with one of his ordinary swords. He couldn't hold it, so he settled for letting it float in the air. He quickly came to realize that he had to hold whatever he wanted copied, so he gave up on the attempt. Not like he needed to try anyway, there was no need.
"Probably could have tested this thing before leaving the castle."
The idea was quickly thrown out due to him already being out here, and the fact that he didn't want to be anywhere near the place. He favored being out in the wilderness instead of populated areas. Not that he avoided them outright, but the chances of people found by the Clock Tower during his journey only got higher whenever he visited a city anywhere in the world.
The king wasn't very helpful in what he had to do in this world, but the first thing he'd have to figure out would be at the church. His eyes scanned around him before spotting an almost equally large building with the usual décor of a place of worship. Bright, white with a cross on top.
It didn't take long before he had reached it, the massive entrance easily wide enough to fit ten people shoulder by shoulder. The grounds around the church were relatively empty with the occasional nun walking with worshippers or children. It seemed like a peaceful place but looks can be deceiving. Kotomine played enough of a part for that train of thought.
He squinted his eyes at the sun that brushed past the rooftop, the rays inconveniently directed in his eyes. Putting a hand in the way, he allowed himself to continue to the entrance to where he looked upon the main hall. Rows of pews lined both sides leading up to the altar, also empty. Today must not be the official day of worship. Or perhaps it has already passed. The sun was already past noon judging by its position in the sky.
"Welcome, Sir Bow Hero." A voice suddenly rang out, prompting him to spin around, facing the direction of the voice. No one.
"Up here."
He looked up to find a man dressed in a pastor's robes on the second floor. He waved lightly before turning around and leaving somewhere.
"I will meet you at the altar, sir hero." His voice slowly fading as he made distance from the balcony. Shirou calmly walked to the altar and waited for the man to arrive. It didn't take long since the stairs were not far from where he stood, and he watched as the pastor made his way to the floor level before walking up to Shirou.
Stopping in front of him, the pastor bowed. "It is wonderful to have you here, Bow Hero. My name is Archibald, one of the few pastors that still tend to this church."
"There aren't more of you?" He smiled sadly at the question.
"Unfortunately, the king doesn't favor the church as much as his father did. But I will not lie, I still much prefer his son."
"The more I hear of the father, the less I want to hear about him."
"It's good that you think that way, the man was quite the disturbing ruler. Due to his son killing him, tensions began to rise at the discovery of the usurper's deed. Last I heard, the queen of Melromarc is here trying to handle some of the political backlash." Politics, the very thing he wishes to avoid.
"I hate politics, all talk and no action." Archibald raised an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't be so hasty on the judgement. Queen Mirellia is as much of a warrior as she is a ruler."
Not entirely surprising, seeing as how kings of old ran at the front of the army to battle. Just like Saber.
"Reminds me of someone I knew."
"Pray tell." Should he tell him? There isn't a Grail War, nor is this Earth at all. There should be no harm, right?
"She used to rule a kingdom of her own in my world. Sadly, it fell to rebellion, with her own son taking her life."
Archibald grew a sympathetic expression, "Forgive me for asking then. My curiosity got the better of me." Shirou shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. These things happen."
"How did it fall?"
"That… I'm not entirely sure. The one thing I do know is that at the beginning of her rule, she cast aside her humanity to lead her people to salvation and peace. In the end, it ultimately led to her downfall."
"My condolences, Sir Hero. I'm sure she is with God now." Perhaps. But with her accepting her mistakes and letting go of the past. Surely, she must have reached Avalon, at least he hoped it was the case.
"Since we're still here, I hope you can lead me to this Dragon Hour Glass?" Archibald nodded enthusiastically before leading Shirou towards the second set of massive doors at the side of the hall. Upon opening them, the large downward slope leading a few floors down revealed a doorway with bright golden light shining through. Must be the hourglass.
They reached the bottom of the ramp before rounding the corner through the doorway. His eyes widened lightly, admiring the massive ornamental piece. Of course, it has a purpose to these people, but to him, it was just a shiny hourglass that would give him what he needs for this world.
"Simply walk up to it and touch it. I'll prepare a sample of the sand for your bow. You're going to need it when the wave returns." Shirou nodded, allowing the pastor to make his leave for the small errand.
Shirou exhaled before walking up to the construct and placed his hand on it. The screen returned abruptly, displaying numbers at the top of his vision if he focused on it.
24:16:37:22
Judging from the final set of numbers counting down steadily, it was safe to assume that the final set were counting the seconds, from minutes to hours and finally to days. It is quite convenient to have an exact idea on when these waves appear.
His musing was interrupted by the pastor returning with a small pouch with what was assumed to be the sand that he said he'd get. Shirou wasn't sure what it would do to help him, but he accepted it all the same. He handled the pouch with care, inspecting it. There was obviously a decent amount of magic running through the grains of sand, but that was basically it.
"What am I supposed to do with it now?" The pastor gestured for the bow on Shirou's back.
"The ancient scriptures tell of the gem on the bow being what consumed materials and such to allow for growth in power and experience. It's what makes the Cardinal Heroes truly powerful at their prime. Their growth is unlimited, along with your growth as well."
Unlimited growth in power? His travels may have made him stronger and more experienced, but his gain in power was simply ease of use for Noble Phantasms over the years. If what this man said was true, it could very well be possible to achieve the equivalent of a Servant's power. The idea excited him, but also led him to become hesitant. Too much power causes overconfidence, the only reason he didn't lump Gilgamesh in with the rest of the arrogant idiots is that the king had the power to back up his words.
Getting back to the topic at hand, he chose to concentrate on the time that remained. Nearly a month to prepare, and with much of the world still unknown to him, including how it even works. Hopefully there is someone in this city to explain in better detail than simply guessing.
"Maybe there's a help menu. Games have those, right?"
"What should I do now?" He asked the pastor, to which he only smiled.
"Who's to say? To you, this world is a brand new adventure, but if I can be of any help at all, I would suggest looking to the Adventurer's Guild at the edge of the city walls. They're always looking for recruits, and it could help you gain experience." To say the pastor is helpful is an understatement. This entire time he was nothing but giving in information and kindness.
"Shirou smiled and bowed to Archibald, "I will never forget your kindness, Pastor Archibald. You've been kind to me this entire time and for that, I thank you." Archibald sighed and smiled.
"There is no need for you to bow, Sir Hero. It is my duty to guide those that are lost in this world. To give them purpose, to give them hope that they can still be of use to themselves and those around them."
"That is why I thank you. For being kind to someone not of this world."
"Being from another world doesn't change my feeling on people. If they seek help, I shall give it freely. Moreso to the heroes of our world." Shirou nodded in agreement before backing up slightly.
"It's best that I continue where I started. I hope to speak with you again in the future."
"I've no doubt that you will." Archibald waved at the retreating hero, watching as he disappeared around the corner and through the doorway. His smiled dropped to one of sadness, his eyes drifting to the floor.
"I pray the king does not take advantage of your good heart…:
Shirou had already made his way out of the church and slowly continued up the road that led to the edge of the city. A thought occurred to him that the Guild could be anywhere in the city, but common sense dictated that it be near the gateway in the wall. It would prove to be inefficient for it to not be.
His eye wandered from side to side, looking upon the countless people milling about despite the dark clouds of smoke in the city. Their expressions were of indifference, but they weren't miserable.
His musings were interrupted by the sound of crashing pots in the alleyway to his left. The sound of muffled yelling, and more sounds of breaking obstacles. His eyes narrowed before he swiftly entered the alleyway to find the culprit of the issue.
Two large men were holding someone against the wall, someone… a boy.
"Hey!"
The two looked to him before one sneered.
"This isn't your business, move along." Shirou moved forward, bow in hand. One of the men backed away slightly to let the other keep hold of the kid, before he stalked up to Shirou. His stench became more apparent the closer he got. It took a good effort not to physically show it. His face remained stone, while his mind started to run rampant again, ready for a fight.
"I said you best be gettin' out of here, lest you wanna find yourself in the same problem as that scrawny rat." He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the boy who was still struggling against the other.
"You're really tough, you know? Picking on a small boy." Even if the boy stole something, it shouldn't have to resort to them nearly choking the kid against a wall.
He leaned back, watching as the man's fist flew past in a horizontal swing. He was fast, compared to normal people. Shirou smirked before thrusting the bow center piece into the man's nose, the force behind it broke the cartilage in his face. Blood flowed profusely from his nostrils, the man grunted in pain before Shirou ducked down and swept his leg outward, tripping the man onto his back.
Instinct led him to jumping back as the second man was nearly upon him. He countered the sloppy swing before jabbing the man in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Reinforcement wasn't needed for these men thankfully, but his strength alone was still quite a ways above these two.
The boy watched as Shirou made short work of the two, leading to both of them finding themselves thrown into the wall. He walked slowly to them, before they quickly got up and ran off towards the exit of the alley. Shirou sighed lightly, thankful that he didn't have to go further.
His attention focused on the boy who was still staring at him, eyes wide. Shirou began to walk forward before hearing footsteps behind him.
"Felix! There you are." Shirou backed off, watching as the man ran past him, choosing to focus on the boy instead. The man kneeled down, looking over the boy's injuries before breathing a sigh of relief.
"What are you doing out here by yourself? Those two are still out there looking for you, we have to get you back to the orphanage where it's safe."
"I'm fine Gerald, those two won't be bothering me anymore. He beat them up." The boy, Felix, looked to Shirou with a smile before the man, named Gerald, looked him up and down with a slight frown that soon turned to a smile.
"Thank you, mister. My little brother has a tendency to run off, especially when his older brother is handling errands that prove to be dangerous to anyone close to him." Gerald said, glaring at the boy. Felix winced before looking down, "I'm sorry, Gerald. I just wanted to see where you were going. I didn't think those men knew I was with you; I wasn't even close to you."
"Of course, they know you, they've seen me with you before and you nearly paid for it. Promise you won't do that again." Gerald said, holding his little brother by the arms, looking into his eyes. His face filled with worry and concern.
Felix sighed, "I promise."
Gerald stood up, before looking to Shirou.
"As you've heard, my name is Gerald, and this is my little brother Felix."
"Nice to meet you."
"And you."
Shirou took the short time to look at Gerald, realizing that his attire was one of combat. Lightly armored in the critical areas, with leather covering the rest of his extremities. A short sword lay at the back of his waist rather than either side with a grey vest and green pants. His physique indicated that he ran and jumped more than he fought. Perhaps a scout?
"You seem a little more armed than a regular person." Shirou said, gesturing to the man's outfit.
"Yes, I'm an adventurer at the Guild. Are you looking to recruit yourself?"
"Yes."
"That's good, I was headed there before I found out my brother was following me through town." The jab wasn't lost on the boy, who continued to sulk a bit more.
"Anyway, I'll help you get settled in there, just follow me." Gerald turned around, pulling his brother along before Shirou followed in step.
The guild, thankfully, wasn't far from where they were at, closer than Shirou assumed but was nonetheless happy to have arrived. The building itself was well made and held the typical Eastern European style of housing nearly two hundred years from present day on Earth. How he knew this, his time traveling the world led him to learning a lot, despite not settling anywhere.
"Here we are. Guild House of Faubrey, you won't find anywhere better within a hundred leagues." Gerald stood proudly in front of the building while Felix rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. Shirou chuckled at the sight, "I appreciate what you've done for me, Gerald."
"It's no problem and thank you for making sure Felix stayed safe. Hope you don't mind, but I've gotta get this little guy back home." Gerald said, ruffling Felix's hair, who didn't appreciate it one bit.
"Would you stop that?!"
"Nope."
The two continued to bicker while they left Shirou alone at the front of the building. He turned to the doors before entering. The doors opened easily enough to reveal the inside of what was no doubt a pub. At least, a part of one. On the far side held the bar, littered with patrons with tables and chairs spread out across half the room.
The sounds of banter and laughter filled the room constantly, bringing a sense of ease in him. The bonds of brothers in arms were well practiced here apparently. A good thing for sure. He walked past the main area to the large board covered in papers, no doubt jobs or bounties.
He didn't stay long before focusing on the service counter to the right. There weren't many people there, mostly those in typical civilian clothing. Perhaps posting jobs for the ones that did them.
He spied one lone lady at the counter, filing paperwork, her focus entirely on her task. He calmly walked up to the space in front of her and waited. It wasn't right to interrupt someone when they were busy.
"Are you here to post a job? Or are you here to be recruited?" Her gaze never left the paperwork, but it was obvious directed to him.
"I am looking to be recruited."
Without a word, she presented a document to him. Taking it, he looked it over to find that it is an application.
"There is normally a fee for these things, but you look enough like a fish out of water. No doubt, you have nothing to your name, given your clothes. I will not mince words, the only reason I'm foregoing the fee is that you helped Gerald with a small problem."
Shirou stared at her, wide eyed.
"How did-"
"These ears aren't just for show. I heard him thank you from outside."
Shirous eyes wandered up to find a pair of… cat ears. He thought it was a bow at first glance. He didn't pay it any mind at first but now that he noticed it, he was rather startled.
"I… didn't notice those. Forgive me."
Her eyes then looked at his, narrowed.
"Either you're a good liar, or you're serious. You really didn't notice them?" He shook his head.
"I really didn't. I was more focused on simply talking to you."
"Hmm. Very well. Write down anything that applies to you, and we'll go from there."
He nodded, taking the paper to an empty space on the counter before looking for something to write with. The only thing there was a feather an ink… One would think with how technology is here, there would be at least something more advanced than this.
Oh well.
He looked over the paper, a thought crossing his mind.
"I can't read this… huh?"
The jumbled lettering on the paper started to move in his vision before changing shape to a langue that he knew well enough. He never had the ability to translate written languages that he didn't know. But it helped well enough.
His thoughts to each question and statement provided ghost letters over the spaces for writing. Whatever is causing this, it's proving to be helpful in reading and writing. His feather traced his thoughts on paper, following the lines.
The only space he was stuck on wasn't difficult to answer, the issue lied with the reaction of those around him. But then, these people look up to the heroes here, yeah? But he'd get surrounded easily enough.
He wrote down his answer before returning to the lady.
"Here."
She looked it over, nodding before setting it down. She looked to him, and then to the bow on his back. She looked around to make sure no one was near before leaning toward him.
"I understand your want to remain incognito to the people here, but sooner or later they will figure it out."
"I know, but I want to learn as much as I can from this world, and I'm best at that alone."
"I won't stop you." She looked over the paper before putting it on top of another stack and opened a drawer to take out a pendant of sorts.
"Here. The lowest rank in the guild. There are a few postings on the wall over there, but I recommend you gain your bearings first outside the walls before taking any of them on. You look capable, but this is for your sake, not mine. I would tell you to not die out there, but I don't think I have to worry any time soon." She smiled lightly, before gesturing to the door.
"Thank you…"
"It's Bailey. Just Bailey."
"Thank you, Bailey. I am Shirou. Just Shirou."
"Alright, just Shirou." He chuckled at the light banter they started but understood the meaning. He turned around and left the guild.
He sighed before looking to the gate that led to the outside.
"Okay."
From the start of this chapter, the Castoria banner had changed twice. Still no luck. I've officially given up on trying. I no longer feel the frustration of failure. Anyway, hope you guys liked this so far. Slow going, but I'm managing to handle it well.