Part 19: Update XVIII - Means of escape

Update XVIII - Means of escape

Music: None
Sound: Heartbeats




Although appreciated, I don't need Caster's warning to know that someone is watching me. There's no doubt that I am being stalked by a Servant.

Here's the plan: When I give you the signal, RUN!



Run to the schoolyard and regroup

Quick, let's run to a wide open area with no cover and no way out! There's no way this could go wrong!

I try to calm down and prepare for action as Caster and I make eye contact. One, two, three?





I need to find a place with decent visibility— Oh, the schoolyard would be good. I'll be in plain sight there, but so will my enemy. Gasping for breath, I run past the shoe rack. I'm almost there!



We get a quick burst of static as soon as we get outside.

Master!

Right when I'd almost made it to the schoolyard— An unpleasant sensation rips into the joint of my neck and back, like a steel rod has been jammed in.





My cunning plan went wrong again, how could I have known!?



Music: Deathly Silent


Something warm oozes down my back, and I feel myself growing cooler with each heartbeat. I wonder what Caster had been yelling about? I guess I'll never know. My body refuses to function anymore.



~

Escape into the Arena

I try to calm down and prepare for action as Caster and I make eye contact. One, two, three?

Music: Fear






We cut right to the Arena.







Aha! He's shadowing us because we'll retaliate in a fair fight. *Giggle* It seems he knows his place... Let's find a wide open place and crush him to smithereens. *Smirk* Let's show him our true nature— I mean, true power!



This is one of Caster's generic lines when entering the Arena, but damn if it ain't fitting.



A wide open place can only mean the center room.







Archer takes a shot, showing that he isn't even in the dungeon. He's just floating in the void.





Caster blocked the arrow that had been aimed at us the moment we entered the Arena—

Music: Stops




—Sharp pain. When I look, I see a small gash in my arm. It makes me nauseous—more nauseous than seeing a small wound like that would warrant. Caster stopped the surprise attack, but while I was focused on running away, there was a second arrow.



I struggle to stay conscious as the poison starts to course through my system. Whoever that Servant is, they landed a really good shot. There's no doubt that the enemy is an Archer. What good is knowing that going to do me if I die? Before the poison spreads, I have to retreat to a safer place...





We might be actively dying, but that's no reason to put off checking the Info Matrix!







Like the yew tree, Archer's poison makes me constantly take damage, but this time it deals a much scarier 10 damage to everything.



Although it still can't kill me.



The problem is that the exit is directly ahead of us.



The only fights between us and safety are just two Pradoxes, and those are close enough that you'll kill them before the poison can take a bite out of you.



Granted, this could be a much bigger problem if you haven't opened the exit gate, but this is the last day before the second floor opens up, why wouldn't you have everything cleared out by now?





Bizarrely, the game doesn't force you to leave. You can just chill around while badly poisoned.



Better luck next time, Archer!



Music: School III


Does it hurt?! Do you feel ill?! Can you still move around okay? Urgh... It's all my fault for being such a worthless Servant. You should never, ever forgive me, Master. But, I'm still really happy that it's not too serious. The poison will go away by tomorrow.

Just to be careful, let's go to the nurse's office tomorrow and get you some tender loving care. *Giggle*

This Servant is pretty smart to use poison arrows. So they're an Archer. Rrrgh, how annoying! Grrr... I'll pay back the injury done to my Master a hundred fold!



And for his failed assassination attempt, he gave us valuable info.



Music: School IV




I don't know how much of it I can treat with my abilities, but I'll do what I can. But, you can't let this happen to you again. You only have one body, okay? Treat it well.

Sakura Matou administers a detox treatment to me on a bed in the nurse's office. She must be giving me treatment because it was inflicted outside the Elimination Battles. While I dwell on that thought, the doors to the nurse's office open, admitting a surprise visitor.

Music: Stops


The unexpected caller is my enemy Master. I try to ready myself, but I have no strength to call upon. However, his actions greatly betray my expectations.

Music: Duel of Fate


You what.

Please, accept this token of my apology, if only to humor me.

What does this man standing by my bed mean that he disabled his Noble Phantasm?



To break the sovereign rules of the battlefield is to sunder the fabric of your character. This war is between individuals, not countries. There is no longer any need to resort to savagery.

A quiet confession. There's something unshakable about the conviction underlying those solemn words.



You what.

I hereby prohibit any attacks on enemy Masters with your Yew Bow while on campus.

What?! Are you crazy, boss...?! I thought you wanted this to be an easy win!



Remember, using all three Command Seals instantly breaks the contract and kills you, so Dan has one Seal left for the entire Holy Grail War.

Of course. And I will not lose. My victory is the natural outcome of the situation.



There are circumstances in which we may not win. My victory is not the same as yours.

...



Thoroughly scolded, Archer leaves.

—The Command Seals. The three absolute commands that a Master may give their Servant. Astonishingly, this old knight in front of me just used one of his Command Seals to force his own Servant to fight fairly.



I intend to grasp victory only on the battlefield proper. I hope you can forgive this incident.



That said, Dan turns around and walks off.



So thanks to his assassination attempt, we got half of the information we need! Thanks, Archer!



He even used one of his Command Seals! And he's getting a penalty for the sneak attack, too! He's scary determined, but even moss can overcome a rock. Kinda like, love can conquer all? Aagh, what a bother!



Music: School IV
Sound: Phone ringing


An electronic chiming sounds from my terminal.



The second Trigger has appeared. I need to find it before the Elimination Battle begins. I'd better head to the Arena while I still can.



Yep, we're halfway through the week and we already have our enemy's Noble Phantasm revealed.




The Information Matrix stumbles here.

See, Noble Phantasms are the smoking gun on a Servant's identity, so with this we should be able to get his True Name here and now, right? Except we can't, because you can only hit Level E on the last day of the week, so we can't actually use this information to figure it out early, meaning Hakuno is stuck only knowing them as Archer for the next few days.

Now, a Servant clad in green, adept in all forms of trickery to cut down superior opponents, that used a forest as his base of operations, and had his grave dug where his final arrow fell? That can only be the legendary outlaw: Robin Hood.

But because Hakuno can't parse the Dewey Decimal system for shit, she'll be running blind until the plot deigns to let her know.





...Acting independently? Color me interested. You and your Servant out of sync?

Annoyingly, the penalties will never have an impact on the actual gameplay. It would have been nice to have a three round fight with Dan before this, then have Robin lose a few hundred HP in the Elimination Battle just to show what breaking the rules gets you.

~

No way! You're alive?! I heard you got ambushed in the school, so I just assumed...

~

I was watching. I saw you act to avoid danger by the lockers. I'm not going to fall for your little woe-is-me act.



You can make important discoveries by exploring the entire Arena.

~

If you ask me, the Servant who attacked you acted on his own. Pretty pointless of him, though, since he screwed up. Or rather, you thwarted his plans.

I'm not asking you, since the man himself told me Robin went rogue.

~

-About the Yew Bow- A short bow made from yew. Considered sacred by the Celts, using yew is thought to signify that one has -become one with the forest-.

The book has no info on anyone who used a yew bow, naturally.



You can compensate for that pesky memory loss by pressing ■ to review any conversation you've just had.



Sir Blackmore will be heavily penalized for his actions. Also, failure pains him greatly. What the penalty is? As a result, a heavy revision of a Servant's ability score will be put in place.



Could there be something that you yearn for?



You blew it? Wow, you...suck. If my Servant was on the case, he'd have beheaded the jerk.

And what the fuck is this about us getting penalized too? This will never actually come up in the plot.

~

I was in the Arena at the time, but word is that you had a little dust-up with your opponent. I guess all's fair in love and war. Odd how none of this popped up in the first round, though.



We get no remark from Sakura about what went on.





Heh heh! I can finally share this with everyone. Oh, I just remembered something... Hakuno, a student asked me for help, but you'd do a better job. So could you help them instead?



Sure, why not?

You're a lifesaver! It seems one of the girls dropped her glasses in the Arena. She said they dropped to the bottom of the Arena's second floor, but she isn't sure. It'd be great if you could poke around the second floor of your Arena as well. She lost them on the second floor. Please try to find them sometime during the second round. Thanks!



I heard that you were attacked on campus, but I guess you managed to survive.



I know she's just an NPC, but the moment I saw that white robe , I was in L-O-V-E.

Dude, I almost died, chill.

~

I know this is no time to be doing exercises, but they really do help me relax. It feels energizing to jog.



Even so, some Masters aren't afraid to break them, or their Servants take the initiative. You can't really blame them, if you consider that THE Holy Grail is at stake.



Having this equipped will allow you to use the Field Attack ability in battle. This technique will give you an edge in battle, especially if the enemy is out of your league.

~

It looks like yesterday was brutal. Get used to it. This place is a battlefield after all. What am I up to? I was thinking about ways to make the food here contain 100% more deliciousness.

A war that can only have one survivor seems like a bad place to focus on food, but what do I know?



Just remember: it's only cheating if you get caught. We are all fighting a war, so anything goes.

~

What happened yesterday? I was in the Arena the entire day, so I missed what happened. ...You were attacked while on campus? I guess there's no safety to be found in this place.

~

Even if someone attacked me on campus, I know my darling would be there to save me. That, and my darling's Servant is, like, super-powerful!



Alright, back to the grind.

Music: First Chimeric Lunar Sea - Second Floor








Well this is a damn sight different from last week!

Next time: Exploring, praying, and stargazing.