Part 6: Update VI - Night of fate

Update VI - Night of fate

Video: Servant Summoning
Music: None


We can already see Newshound's corpse off to the side, but the first dude's effigy has vanished.





I go as pale as the corpse before me and I can no longer think coherently. All I can do is stare in bewilderment. It is at this moment—



We already know how this story goes.

The fallen effigy lying next to the male student comes to its feet with a clatter. After having to fight several enemy programs to get here, it's obvious that this thing is an enemy as well. Without warning, it suddenly twists around and comes right at me.



Music: Duel - Unauthorized Battle


Unlike Newshound, Hakuno gets an actual fight!



But there's no preview.



Surely there's no chance the other guy spams Break this turn, right?



Five breaks and one guard, what are the odds!



Yeah, this fight is just as unwinnable as Newshound's.

In fact, this is the only mandatory fight in the game that's outright rigged like this.



Even if you use savestates, the game will change the rogue effigy's turn on the fly. You'll get a few wins, a few ties, but at the end of the day...



We only do slightly better than Newshound.

Music: Stops


Man, I'm getting some major déjà vu here.



...I can hear the sound of a distant voice.

The time has come. With your inevitable loss, I will consider this round of preliminaries to be over. —Farewell. I pray you'll find peace in your annihilation.

That is the voice's final words to me. I don't have the power to protest. All I can do is stare at the floor. ...I think I'm going to die here. Suddenly, at the edge of my now hazy vision, a number of brown colored lumps seem to rise from the ground. Actually, it might be that I just noticed them now. They may have been there from the beginning for all I know. Those lumps are the bodies of an untold number of fallen Tsukumihara Academy students.



This has been going on for a while.

The guy before me wasn't the only one to fall. All of the others made it here and died, unable to do anything. ...And in a very short while, I suppose I'll become one of them. —Maybe I should just close my eyes now. I did all that I could, so maybe it'd be better for it to end now.



Interestingly, accepting death is the default option here. Even mechanically, you have to go against the flow to survive.

Just let it end now.

My eyelids lower as if weighted down and my consciousness begins to fade as I seem to melt into the floor. And just like that, I slowly fall into a deep slumber from which I will never awaken—



Some Dead Ends are kinda obvious.

I refuse to give up.

But while Newshound just gave up and accepted his death, Hakuno is cut from a different cloth.

I refuse to give up... I summon all of my strength in an attempt to get back on my feet. However, as I try to move, an unbearably intense pain shoots through my entire body. If that's how it's going to be... No, if this is...



The top option gets the exact same Dead End.

I still refuse to give up.



I don't want it to end like this. I cannot ignore the intense pain coursing through my body. I've reached a point where I no longer see stars as my eyes feel like they're on fire. I feel like all five of my senses are being ripped from my body.

Music: Fear


It's not right that I disappear here. My consciousness, shot through with waves of distortion, screams out against the injustice of it all. What was the purpose of suffering through those headaches just to fade away here and now? What were they all for if I just fade away here and now?



There's another burst of static, but Hakuno refuses to stop.



Music: Stops


A voice chimes in.

I have absolutely no idea of who you are or where you're from, but your lamentation, your perseverance— While other gods choose to ignore you, your cries have reached my ears!

Music: Battle - Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea (You should probably listen to this.)


I mean, I'm sure this absolutely charming soul is a wonderful person! Please, can I have it?















The obligatory 'Are you my Master', moment.

A small note, Caster is using 'goshujin-sama' for 'Master'. While it does mean Master, it can also mean 'Husband.'



Yes.





Although she'll occasionally use Master.

To be honest, I, the mighty Ta- I mean, I hoped that I could be a Servant to someone like you! ...Oh, my abilities might be a tad limited so you might not be happy with me, Master, but...I'll try my best!

~

No.

Hey, that's just horrible and mean! You really need to get a clue! If you don't make a contract with me right now, you're as good as dead. Are you okay with going out a loser?!

Pushed along by the intensity of the kimono-clad person in front of me, I "agree" to become her "dear Master."

Yay! Now things are as they should be!



A mark appears on our hand.

She takes a hold of my hand and helps me to my feet. From the hand she had grabbed comes a sudden warmth...and then a sharp pain, like I've been cut by a knife. On the back of my hand, as though tattooed, is a strange symbol that looks like some kind of crest. Totally confused, I alternate between staring at the mark on my hand and the person standing before me. And then—









Combat subtitles!

These are the reason I got the Perfect Patch. Without it, you have no way of knowing what people are saying in a fight unless you already know Japanese.



With a fully revealed combat preview, you'd have to intentionally lose this fight.





To give a point of comparison between Caster and the other Servants.



Newshound's effigy got killed in a full round.



Caster needs two more hits to kill. Even without the random +20 HP the effigy got between fights, that would still leave it one hit away from death.

And remember, every mistake in combat is punishing, doubly so now that we have the fragile Caster, so having to drag out a fight due to a lack of killing power can make things go very wrong, very fast.



But that doesn't matter right now.



The effigy gives 10 EXP, which nets us our first level!

It also gives us a bit of cash and another healing item.



The EXP requirements for levels is a simple Level² x 10.

Yes, this does mean EXP reqs increase exponentially and make level grinding an absolute pain in the ass, how could you tell?



Leveling gets us a small boost to HP and MP, and also 3 skill points.

You use skill points to increase your non-HP/MP stats and unlock skills.

You cannot use skill points on the spot.

The skill point place takes a bit of time to unlock.

This means that Caster has nothing to actually cast for several more updates, and is stuck slapping enemies for pitiful damage.

...



Music: School III




She continues to talk. ...However, the sound of her voice doesn't quite reach my ears. The heat coming from the mark on my hand grew in intensity during the fight and the resulting pain has become unbearable and burns through my consciousness.



You can use it to give three orders that must be obeyed. Think of them as disposable strengthening spells. It is also proof of your participation in the Holy Grail War. If you lose it for some reason, you will die.

This makes using Command Seals much more restrictive compared to Stay Night, where losing all of them cuts the contract with your Servant, but you're still in the Holy Grail War.

Once again, I hear that voice. I somehow manage to ignore the pain and listen to what it has to say.



Congratulations. You have endured much to make it here. Now rest for a while; you've achieved your first goal. It was an incredibly clumsy effort to say the least, but that's what made it all the more entertaining. I've had this duty for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen a Master as helpless as you. Nevertheless, be proud of your achievement. Your quick thinking came as a result of nerves and rashness.

...Thinking about it, the voice sounds like that of a thirty year old man. And it's really irritatingly smug. For some reason, I can see the owner of the voice as a priest, dressed in a somber cassock.

Yorokobe, shonen shoujo.

Oh, you are curious about my identity? I am honored, but I am insignificant. I am merely a part of the system. I am just a guide, tasked with giving a standard message and given the personality of a prior participant. I am no more than words, no more than the mountain you just conquered, no more than a record of the past.

A record— So if I raise any objections to this voice, does it mean I won't receive any answers in return?

Exactly. —Well, this is unexpected. You have received a commendation. Something about you "having a light."

I have no clue who would say such a thing about me. ...But that short phrase struck my heart because, for some unknown reason, I knew the words were sincere. And as for "I expect good things from you." It seemed like more of a comnand than an encouragement.



For most, the monotony of everyday life continues on without end. Your decision to look beyond the accepted and progress means you have earned the right to exist.



I have no idea what he's talking about. The Holy Grail War...? The right to exist...?



People called it the "Holy Grail" and fought endlessly in an attempt to gain sole possession of it. This war— The System you find yourself in now is an evolution of those struggles. You stand at the entrance of a deadly struggle where many Wizards will perish in pursuit of the Holy Grail... Listen, magi. Had I not bestowed upon the Earth desire, you'd be merely saints capable of committing sin. Now, fight to the death. The fiery throne of heaven will only receive those with the strongest of desires-

The voice reverberates throughout this hidden chapel, as if it were the voice of a god. Kill...? Magi...? Holy Grail that grants wishes...? These questions, and more, swirl inside my head and almost seem to carve themselves into my flesh.

In war, a weapon is needed. That is your Servant. They're the spear that pierces, the shield that protects. A Heroic Spirit whose purpose is to clear your way to the Grail. That is the one who stands beside you.



I look over at the young woman with the fox tail, who returns my look with a glowing smile. She is my Servant...

It seems you have decided, and with that decision as paynent, I now open the gates to the Holy Grail War.

The marks on my hand, my Command Seal, once again begin to become excruciatingly painful. It's over. I can't take it anymore.



We finally fall.

I reach the limits of my endurance and my mind starts to shut down. As I lose consciousness, I can vaguely hear the voice's final words.



No matter the era, deciding who is worthy through battle is the divine providence of man. Magi who have been invited here by the Moon; show me your true strength—

The fucking Moon?



Next time: Learning, talking, and blue.