I don't own Fate/Grand Order or it's related fandoms and characters. The same applies to any other fictional work(s) that may be referenced. And be warned that some non-OC characters might be OOC.

Chapter 5

"WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS?!"

"Haha! Come on Jacob, don't be like that! I believe in you!" My traitorous teacher just kept laughing at me while I dodged a tail slash.

"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY! YOU'RE NOT SURROUNDED BY TWELVE DRAGONS!" I screamed at her before ducking to evade a bite that would have taken my head off.

"Those are wyverns, and since you killed four already, there should only be eight left."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" I dodged another attack, and took the opportunity to slash the thing's head off.

"You took out five of them already! Come on, just seven more to go!"

"FUUUUU-"

It's been a bit over two weeks since I met Musashi, and came to this village.

In the meantime, monsters have attacked thirteen more times, though it seems their numbers have stabilized at around nine per attack at most, but whenever we tried to search for the source of them, they would appear in groups of between eleven and sixteen.

At the beginning, I would only take care of at most three Magical Beasts at once, the stragglers, while Musashi dealt with the rest, be it during our searches, or when we were defending the village.

But today, my sensei decided that it was about time that I learned how to deal with multiple enemies at once, so she decided to have me fight a group of 12 wyverns that we met while searching for clues about what was causing the sudden increase in monster activity and variety around here.

It was a really sudden increase in the amount of creatures I had to deal with, but as insane as her teaching methods could be sometimes, like having me defend myself from a lion-like beast blindfolded, or fight some alligator demon inside the water with just my hidden blades, or climb a mountain carrying her on my back (I'm pretty sure the last one was just her messing with me), I could see the results of my training with her, so I couldn't complain much about it. Still…

"Next time, please give me a heads up before literally throwing me into a herd of monsters, would you?" I ask her sulkily before taking a swig from my water flask, given by those nice villagers.

"Hehe, I might've gotten carried away a bit. Still, you did quite well, I can see you've been taking my advices to heart. I'm really proud of how hard you've worked to improve yourself."

"All thanks to you sensei. After all, it would have been impossible for me to improve as much as I did without having you there to guide me and point my mistakes."

"Geez, quite the silver tongue you got there, huh?" She asked me drily.

"I learned from watching you haggle with that poor baker." I answered in kind, causing her to blush.

"Well, regardless, we have more serious matters to discuss."

"You mean those marks on those wyverns' backs?"

"Yes, it seems my hunch was right. Something or someone is controlling these creatures. And it seems they come from that direction." She finished pointing towards a mountain in the north.

"Wait, but didn't the villagers say…" I didn't finish as my blood ran cold in realization.

"Yes, they believe that mountain is the home to an Elder Dragon."

Although I kept referring to wyverns as dragons, thanks to the knowledge I'd received from Gaea, I knew they were only the lowest type of draconic beings. Even the Dread and Evil variations were just strong when compared to the common one.

A real dragon, though, is considered to be the pinnacle of Phantasmal Species. After all, Dragon Kind has members in all three classes of Magical Beasts, and they are considered to be the greatest species within each class.

"So, do you think you can continue, or would you rather go back and train more?" She asked me, her facing not giving away anything about how she felt.

I wished I could just go back and rest but…

"…The longer we wait, the more dangerous the situation might get, right?" I asked back.

"Hm, that's indeed the case. Another thing to consider is that I can feel that this world will soon expel me, so if we retreat now, you might have to deal with whatever might be waiting alone."

"The closer we get to the mountain, the more enemies we will have to face."

"And in the end, we probably will end up facing the Elder Dragon, and maybe some other unknown being as well. Knowing all that, what is your answer?"

"…I won't falter now." I finally say, getting up, and show her my determination.

She smiled at me.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's go slay a dragon!"

As expected, the closer we got to the mountain, the more enemies we met. The vast majority were wyverns, the other two variations making their appearance in greater numbers than usual, but there were many other Magical Beasts helping them as well.

I dodged, slashed, ducked, beheaded, rolled away, stabbed, turned, jumped over, time and time again…

I killed wyverns, pseudo-komodo dragons, lion-like creatures, alligator-like creatures, horned horses, demonic monkeys…

I killed 1...3…6...10…14… I lost count of how many monsters had died by my hands.

And for every one I managed to kill, Musashi killed four more. There was a point I started doubting whether I was the Servant, or she was.

They came in groups, and every time we killed some, we would have a brief respite before more came.

After a long time of fighting, we finally arrived in the foot of the mountain. I could sense the danger and the magical energy from quite a big distance, but now that we were close enough to see a cavern that seemed to lead to the core of the mountain, the presence of whatever was awaiting inside it felt suffocating.

"Are you ready?" Musashi asked looking at me.

I nodded.

And then we jumped.

It really was an Elder Dragon.

I knew it would probably bigger in size than wyverns, but…it felt bigger than anything I could have thought up.

Thankfully, my daze was completely shattered by the terrific sight of my companion hitting the titanic being and pushing it back.

Shaking my head, I charged to assist Musashi in battle.

The dragon completely ignored me so it could defend against it's biggest threat, which was fair honestly.

Although, considering I managed to sneak up on it and take one of it's eyes off, that was still a mistake on the dragon's part.

*RRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR*

I used the momentum the Elder Dragon provided when it decided to shake me off to get away from the it, before dodging it's gigantic claw swipe.

However, the moment it tried to deal with me, Musashi took the opportunity to immediately cut off the monster's wings.

*RRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR*

After being made a fool of twice in a row, which resulted in serious harm to itself, it seemed like the beast had enough, as that's when the Elder Dragon decided to show the ability it's kind was most known for.

The breath attack.

It's maw started emitting a ruby red glow, and it looked towards Musashi, she seemed to realize what was going to happen, and at the most crucial moment she managed to evade the flames.

But I didn't manage to see that.

All I could see was how the Elder Dragon released it's hellish flames upon my sensei. And how there was nothing left on the place where the first person who showed me kindness in this world used to be afterwards.

And then it clicked.

"I walk in the shadows, to serve the light. I am an ASSASSIN"

And with unbelievable speed and strength gifted to me by my Noble Phantasm, I instantly reached the monster and cut it's head off.

The fight was short but…

"…I'm sorry I didn't unlock my full potential sooner, Musashi-sensei." I could feel the tears falling on my face, but I didn't bother stopping them.

"Don't worry about it, that was incredible! I knew you were progressing fast, but now I can't help but want to have a match with you!"

"But if I were faster I could have…saved…" The tears stopped and I slowly turned around.

"Huh? Why are you crying? A-are you okay?" The teacher that I believed to have died was standing right there in front of me, looking none the worse for wear.

"Y-you a-a." I started trembling.

"Yeees? What about me?"

"YOU ARE A GHOST!" I screamed at her, pointing my sword at her with shaking arms.

"Nope, I am alive!" She seemed really amused now for some reason.

"But, HOW?!"

"I just dodged the fire."

"…"

"…"

"…Well, now I feel stupid."

"Aw, you were worried about me! Admit it!"

"Okay, fine, I admit it. Now, can you please get off my back?!"

"Nope!" She just hugged me tighter, as a matter of fact.

"Why do I have to carry you? The fight lasted for like, 30 seconds, and you didn't even have to give it your all!"

"Because I'm your sensei, of course!" She smiled brightly at me, and even though I couldn't see it, I could feel it on my back.

Damn, I'd become a pushover.

Although, to be fair, I don't think many people would dare to go against Musashi will. And it's not like I was tired anymore, thanks to the food I'd brought and the atmosphere here brimming with magical energy, I was back at top shape after half an hour of rest.

"But there's something that's been nagging me for a while." I started frowning.

"What is it?"

"Well, that Elder Dragon has been around for ages, according to the villagers. So why did it choose to attack now?"

"You didn't see it, then?"

"See what?"

"The dragon also had a mark on it's back." I stopped walking after that statement.

"That means…" I trailed off as I felt her nodding on my back.

"Yeah, that thing wasn't the one whom we were looking for, just another pet."

And, that's it for this chapter.

The fight against the dragon was purposefully anticlimactic, mostly because this is all just building up for the real fight that will happen next chapter. And that's when things get REAL dark, but that's enough spoilers as it is.

I won't post Jacob's status update this chapter, but it's worth telling beforehand that while the chant for his first NP is from Assassin's Creed, that's mostly because the oath from the game is the what our MC thought to embody the essence of a true Assassin, and while AC is a game in his world, I won't make the characters of the games appear like Edmond Dantes did, as fictional characters that gained life. Ritsuka will be aware of the game, and that might lead to some misunderstandings, but that's about it.

Hope you guys enjoyed it. If not though, criticism, so long as the reviewer stays respectful, is always appreciated.