Author's Note:

I do have a problem with POV's because I'm used to third person but I realized a few flaws in I and had to change to first person, so it quite confusing for me.

Do appreciate the criticism, you guys be helping me pass me English Exams.

Questionnaire Session:

'If Shirou determined that his magic had no ill effects, then why was he apprehensive about using it'

He's Shirou, he won't risk unnecessarily when lives are on the line. He knows that he was never a proper magus so his hypothesis might be untrue. During an experiment, you use safety equipment right. Cause Murphy's Law.

'Shirou was able to learn the readable language of this world in one night'

Plot Convenience. Nothing else. I would rather not deal with him trying to learn a language for several chapters. I did give the reason that he knew how to speak the language and he did have good linguistic skills as a frequent traveller. Flimsy Excuse, I know.

'Shirou luck should not put him in life-threatening situations'

Really, I feel the Luck-Stat is actually quite consistent. Especially in Fate Route, where when Archer was facing against Berserker, Moonlight gave away his position when he tried to buy time. That was bad luck and even Ilyasveil commented that the Lunar Goddess did not bless him, but since the Age of Gods had already ended and Ilya knew that, it was his Luck Stat. It hadn't killed him directly in a way but was a reason of his death, even if in the end he was going to die in the hands of Berserker but I felt that maybe he could have taken one or two more of his lives had he had better luck. This was one example of the luck stat. Lancers always die due to shitty reasons and plot devices like Karna in Fate Apocrypha. So, I concluded Luck was an important Stat. I hope who commented that this answers your question. Like literally, Chu's Gae Bolg only worked on himself. It was blocked by EMIYA using Rho Aias, Killed by Assassin before he could use it in Heaven's Feel and blocked by Arturia. Now that is prime bs luck.

What Shirou said that earned him the eerie of the Author was that he could listen to the silence. Can you listen to silence? No.

And Who said that Naofumi getting his Wrath Shield?

Foreshadowing. ...

Haven't decide on it though.

Fate: Sword Hero

Chapter 4:

Journey

I was in a desert. When I decided to head eastwards, I had not realised that I would be heading to eastwards would lead me to The Great Desert. The Great Desert of Zerzura. Brazestar was a game deeply inspired and based of the Mythologies of various cultures. In Egyptian Mythology, Zerzura is said to be a city in the Sahara full of treasure with a sleeping king and queen. Here, in this world, the desert was also called the Desert of Zerzura also known in Greek Mythology as The Great Desert of Dionysus. When I asked why it was named as such, the local villagers in the village before at the outskirts of the desert had said that a mythical city existed around an oasis. Then they proceeded to laugh it off as merely rumors. Though I knew better. There was city known as Zerzura in the Desert. I had visited it in the games. But I did not know how to reach since direction in games literally meant travelling for a few minutes while following a proper map that was a reward for the First Wave but here the First Wave was already done, so I was never going to obtain that map. I was again going to have to make do with what I have.

I was going to Zerzura because I would probably level up from the perilous journey to the place. Also I did remember Zerzura selling some exclusive items that would be very useful in the long run especially should I try to learn Brewery. There were several herbs that could only be found in deserts at specific locations and were rare enough to sell for a lot. The fact that I had gotten a lot from Alpha Dire Wolf Pelt was testament to the fact that the herbs would sell for loads. They were also essential in making higher tier potions that could only be brewed by a player with the Brews-Master Class, one of the utility classes in the games. They usually acted as merchants selling to defence parties. But even they were supplied with these raw-materials by the Hired Mercenary or Adventurer Systems. But it was rarely requested for since the amount of players who unlocked this class and much less used it was a minority. But they did sell for several gold coins in bulk. It would also be extremely useful for me since the Legendary Hero Classes could use all utilitarian classes which was certainly useful considering all the support classes that were necessary for Defence against the higher tier Wave Bosses. Some examples would be the Miswak Herb that were an essential component in Full-Recovery and Active Regen Potions. So, I had decided to sell a majority of any herbs that I could find since they would eventually be converted to useful Potions that could indirectly save someone's life.

But the journey to Zerzura was one of the hardest in the game due to weather conditions. Some of the harshest of weather that prevailed around the World Map was found here. The heat rendered your thirst meter to zero within minutes of travel within the game. I did feel the urge to drink more water every passing second due to the unbearable heat but I avoided doing so. Though I knew what I would be facing and had bought hundreds of bottles of water and stored them, even they would run out if I did not regulate my thirst properly.

Then there was the problem of terrain. It was all sand as one could guess. I had to buy specialized sandals with wider surface area just to be able to walk without my foot sinking a foot deep in the sand. There were the case of violent dust storms that raged within this area though thankfully I had not encountered any yet. I could see several sand domes moving across me, a common occurence to my eyes in these past few days.

Though I had reached Level 24 in these past few days fighting- and I could see the sand dunes starting to clash together and started to slowly take form of huge sand boulders. The sand boulders then started to attach themselves to largest sand boulder amongst the bunch and started to gain sentience and formed a large golem. These things were the most obnoxious monsters I had ever come across. Even in the games they were annoying. These were [Sand Golems], often found in coastal regions and deserts. They were mostly intangible hence were impossible to hurt when they were standing still. Magic was the only way one could effectively damage these beast. Though there was also another way that Melee users could damage these behemoths. When they were attacking, they had to turn their bodies tangible to attack else it would just be sand flowing past you, so they hardened their bodies for some brief moments before unleashing attacks. This meant that there was a window of opportunity to strike the golems down when they were charging their attacks.

I saw the Sand Golem turn its boulder like appendages into solid mass. It slowly charged at me and crashed its fists straight into the ground as I jumped high above and gave a gravity assisted slash straight down its arm, slicing it into two. I saw the arm detach itself from the body of the golem. It stared at me with its hollow eyes as it started to suck up sand from its surroundings and formed another arm. This was another annoying ability of the Sand Golem along with its other variants like the [Mud Golem] and [Boulder Golem]. They could suck up the materials of the same body material that lay near them and regenerate every inch of its damaged body. The only way to effectively neutralize these Golems was to destroy the [Spirit Core], a gem fitted deep inside the thoracic cavity, in the place where the heart is situated. Spirit Cores were gems that were cursed and had a literal soul (Evil Spirit) trapped in them. After the gem was cracked, it would release the soul trapped. A basic principle to follow, it was annoying to fight golems but at least the area around the Spirit Core was Tangible most of the times the golems attacked, a flaw in the design of a golem, I guess.

The golem started to run towards me with raised fists containing the powerful might of the mass of its whole body concentrated in one attack. I raised my sword in anticipation to block. The powerful blow met my sword head on. I used the sand as a measure to avoid losing ground as well footing. I had successfully blocked the first blow but the golem's other fist had also hardened and was heading straight towards my face. My feet were firmly fitted in the sand so dodging was not an option. I could block, but then I would be stuck deeper into the sand due to the extreme force of the golem. So, the only option was to parry the blow. In a burst of power, my Legendary Weapon met the fist with a flash of a golden light. I had been able to hit the fist at an angle of elevation to perfectly parry the blow. I guess it was time to end this.

With a mental command, my Legendary Sword started to flash with a familiar white light. It started extending to ludicrous lengths. Then, with a shake of my hand, the transformation was complete. This was [Monohoshi Zao], the sword of the Nameless Assassin of Fifth Holy Grail War. It was over five shaku long, 150 centimeter, Bitchu Aoe blade. It was so long that its very name stated that it would be better to use it as a Laundry Drying Pole than a proper sword since it was too long to be effective. But Assassin had proven their hypothesis wrong. He had managed to use so effectively that even Saber was hard-pressed to defeat him and only one due to the dent on the blade itself. His Skill in a blade was unmatched and only few could ever keep up to compete with it. His swordplay was fast enough that even Saber has trouble following it through and predicting where it would land even with her [Instinct] Skill. He worked his sword like a hurricane, using elastic tracks to parry blows from opponents stronger and faster than himself, all while flowing toward the opponent's neck to decapitate them with certainty should he detect an opening. Each of his attacks is fatal, meant to take the opponent's life by decapitation, so it is not possible to employ a strategy like taking a strike to then overpower him during the aftermath. He struck with a curved path, a graceful arc that does not take the shortest route to the opponent, leaving them dead before they even realized it. Although it was made from mundane materials, Monohoshi still had a restriction of level of level 22. I had already reached that threshold.

The level restricting system only accounted to material, forging and all the abilities of the blade itself. But it did not ever account the skill of the wielder. It was one of the holes in the system I had discovered. I guess no one had taken into account my ability to Structurally Analyse something to the point I could read its history and be able to replicate the style of the wielder. I steeled my nerves as they received an influx of a lifetime's worth of experience in a blade. I felt my body and my sword move with more fluidity than it ever had. I looked dead at the target of my attack, the 'heart' of the golem. With a deep breath, I unleashed the ultimate attack of Assassin.

[Tsubame Gaeshi]

It was not a Noble Phantasm, but it has reached a similar level out of pure godlike skill. It would be unavoidable as long as there are no errors in its execution, making it a deadly technique. Though even with my ability to copy one's skill, I would never be able to execute it perfectly due to body structure difference and imperfection caused by my mind. But it would no doubt overwhelm anyone below Heroic Spirit level. It was enough to do the job here as the golem was struck with a multi-directional blow that cleaved through the very fabric of space-time striking at the same moment from different directions using the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, a complicated maneuver that I was barely able to comprehend to use. The golem was stuck from three sides and fell when one of the blows reached its core. It crumpled into dust and sand that blew away with the wind. I changed the form of my sword and quickly went over to suck in the gem. The gem itself was extremely valuable since it had the power to store a soul. A craft that was very close to Heaven's Feel, combined with Jewelrycraft. It was a gem that Rin would pay her entire fortune for. And I had about 20 of those. I could already imagine her reaction should she ever find out. It certainly brought back some memories. Nostalgic, but loitering around in enemy territory was always a fatal error. Especially in Sand Golem territory where you could be attacked by a horde- and I was being attacked by a horde of Sand Golems.

I saw several Sand Golems form themselves and encircle me from the outside effectively trapping me. I had lost all means of escape and my only option was to fight. Looks like this was going to be a long day. I braced myself for long fight and shook myself into my stance. An original stance used to combat unintelligent creatures since Archer's Style relied on the opponents skill to take advantage of but against monsters, it was ineffective. My style relied on taking advantage of the mindlessness of monster to mostly dodge and parry their blows and deal damage on counter-attacks but this style lowered my defence so I was much more vulnerable and could easily be back-stabbed. Though I had experienced several betrayals, my faith in humanity would never waver, hence my choice in using this style. I was once a fool and still a fool, so to speak.

One golem charged at me but I was able to dodge the blow with the skin of my teeth. Then the golem, unable to slow down crashed into another golem to its opposite end and both fell tumbling. Then another golem charged at me with brute force. I skillfully parried the blow and drove my sword through the chest of the golem, freeing it from the gem. But as I turned my attention to remaining ones, one had already reached a foots length between me and had smashed its fist straight at my chest but I blocked it in the nick of time but was thrown back several feet and had lost my footing in the sand. As I reconfigured myself, my feet sank deep into the sand. Sand was terrain I was familiar with due to my travels in Arabia but never got the hang of it. I was used to fighting in rocky and plain terrain and sometimes ice but a sandy ground was always my downfall. The 5 remaining golems stared at and advanced at a slow pace. They were certainly bulky but they were quite slow, so their attacks were easily to dodge when you weren't caught off-guard. One golem immediately accelerated forward with a faster pace but the pace was pathetically slow. I jumped over his fist and landed square on its shoulders which had hardened and quickly boosted away while stabbing my sword from its back, neutralizing it with one stab.

Two down, four more to go. Another golem raced past to attack me. They weren't really intelligent creatures so they did not know what teamwork was, else they would attempt to overwhelm me with sheer numbers and not just stand there like dolls. Well, technically they were like dolls made of sand. But that was not important. But what was important was that the golem came charging like a bull trying to body smash me. I, with the grace of a matador, avoided the attack and sliced the golem in half.

Then finally the rest started charging at once towards me. It was the perfect time to use a Skill since all their weak points had become tangible. And unleashed a skill I had.

[One-Hundred Swords]

A hundred swords materialized themselves and raced past the air in flurry of barrages that completely overwhelmed the remaining golems which disintegrated into sand.

That one attack had taken more than a quarter of my SP. SP was essentially the stored energy of the blade which apparently increased as I leveled up. I could also see the loosening of some seals and fraction-by-fraction the sword was unsealing itself thus increasing its gross energy as I leveled up. I could also see a major boost in power at milestones like Level 10. I slowly withdrew a bottle of water from my Legendary Weapon, chugging it down in a heart-beat. As I dropped the bottle with the remainder of my water inside my inventory, I surveyed the land before me. It was an endless expanse of sand everywhere in all directions. I could see water in the distance but it probably hallucinations caused by the intense heat. From the position of the sun I could tell it was high noon, which was not good. Not only did I have limited time-frame before the night would hit, but also that I was close to running low on water. I had bought about one hundred water bottles before I entered the desert, but now I barely had 20. I really needed to find the city or an oasis or I was going to be in serious trouble.

I did not know where to head exactly. I had a rough idea that the way to enter the city was slightly northwards from the centre of the desert but I did not know where the centre actually was. I did not have good spatial awareness to know where I was headed but I had written down the directions I had headed in a notebook but it was only a little useful. According to the direction I had followed up until now, I should be heading north-west to reach the centre. Looks like it would take another day or two

It was night-time and the temperature had dropped several degrees and it was freezing outside but luckily I had found an oasis which was a perfect pitstop. I had refilled all my empty bottles and set up my tent and a simple detection bounded field around the oasis. It was mostly a safe spot for. I was able to cut down a palm tree near the oasis and was able to obtain firewood for the night. If I had some marshmallows, it would certainly provide a camping-esque feel. In middle of the desert.

Looks like the desert had amplified my dry humour thousand folds. Not that I had much to begin with in that department. I looked to overhead to see the thousands of stars that glittered in the sky. My ideals were like those stars above. Unreachable, even if I tried, sweat blood and broke my bones or my gave life, my ideals would always be left unfinished. Even if I managed to save everyone on one day, people would still sie the next day. It was the unfortunate truth. Reality was cruel, but it was the way of life. Something no had been able to avoid. We always had a limited time on this Earth, some left a mark, while others blended in the shadows.I was perfectly content in my role. I did not need to be recognised as a Hero. the titles that had been bestowed upon me in my previous life were always meaningless, they held nothing for me, I held no pride, I deserved no recognition for my merits, for maybe I did not deserve to survive but in the end I had. So, maybe it was my duty to do the same for others.

It was quite late and if I did not sleep early, I would not wake up early enough and would burn daylight unnecessarily. I took one last glance into the pool of water in front of me. The sky was completely imprinted onto the surface of the lake, glimmering with moonshine as it swayed with the occasional breeze. It really was a beautiful night. As I took in one last breath of the cold air of the night, I returned to my tent for a good night's sleep.

How had I gotten myself in this situation?

I was currently in a huge pit with a vortex of sand trying to suck me in. In the eye of the sand vortex was a huge beetle-like insect. It had a robust fusiform body, a very plump abdomen, large square flattened head which held enormous sickle like jaws with several hollow and sharp projections. This was the [Ant Lion]. It was a rare beast that rarely popped up but it was extremely dangerous as well. It had a dangerous trap ability of [Sand Vortex] which formed a huge depression that sucked everything that entered within the vicinity too close to it. After a prey was caught in the trap, the Ant Lion would rear its head along with its menacing jaw like projections pulling the prey to it centre and killing it by decapitation or suffocation. They were extremely dangerous and team tactics usually proved ineffective. Magic was ineffective because of its thick armour which could be pierced by slashing or thrusting weapons. But to use melee weapons, one would need to voluntarily enter the trap. It could only be escaped if you killed the Ant Lion or had high enough speed to overpower the slowness effect.

I had been caught off-guard when the sand underneath me had transformed into the deadly sand trap. I knew I couldn't escape it but to slow down my decent and untimely end, I used one of a pair of dual swords to grip onto the walls of the trap. The Ant Lion was snapping its jaws and slowly moving towards me to latch onto my legs. I was able to evade the first lunge and deflected the second but lost my footing and was slipping faster in the sand. If I switched my swords, then I would lose my ground and slowly slip and fall. What I had to do was to daze the Ant Lion. If the Ant Lion was dazed then the sand vortex would stop momentarily, enough time for me to change weapons and gain footing. I slowly but surely baited the Ant Lion with one of my legs. The Ant Lion fell to my provocations and lunged at my leg but I had swiftly lifted my leg over and stomped it jaws. It fell crashing down and my sword was removed from the ground and used to slash at its armoured head. I heard a crack when my blade made contact with the exoskeleton of the Ant Lion.

The Ant Lion had been completely dazed and the sand vortex stopped abruptly. I quickly used this opportunity to switch to Assassin's Blade. The blades length would come in handy for attacking while maintaining distance. Which was exactly what I needed. The Ant Lion had already recovered from my assault and stared at me with its menacing red eyes in fury. It quickly lunged at me with an intention of grabbing my lower body and using its strength to rip my body in half. I was able to block the attack but a flurry of lunges followed from then on.

Block at Lower Left.

Block at Lower Right.

Parry the Slice Attack.

Counter with Stab.

Slash at Right Centre.

Double Deflect Pincer Attack.

Sword Bash at Skull.

It was all like a cycle. But with repetition, I was losing ground and Ant Lion was at closer range to execute its pincer attacks. Its pincer attacks were the most dangerous since they could easily slice me in half. I could not use Assassin's trump card either because the fight was not on level ground. To execute Tsubame Gaeshi, one needed to be on plain level ground for accurate connection with the opponent's head for decapitation. And neither did the Ant Lion give me any more breathing room since it was relentless with its attacks. One attack finally connected to my lower knee as it gave a large gash up till my thighs. Fresh red blood was oozing with a translucent glow as Avalon was quickly patching up the wound, and within seconds it was healed. For some reason, Avalon worked far more faster in this world. I could not find out as to why, but maybe it was due to the absence of Gaia but Avalon was independent of it. It was the entire Realm of the Fae within one scabbard, so it was a Divine Mystery, an entire world, that could not be influenced by my world. Though it could be due to this world's System affecting it because it was much more potent as it did not waste energy countering all magecraft. But this was not the time to hypothesize as the Ant Lion again swung in for an attack but this was countered by the Shroud of George as a small green protective shield appeared. It was apparently the latent ability of the cloak according to the Status Magic, one which completely blocked lower level attacks. But the time of activation was unusual as it only deflected at certain times, of which the conditions of activations were not known to me. But this activation had occurred at a crucial time when I really required physical and mental stability to fight against this creature. It again stared at me with perplexion as it did not understand how I was unharmed.

That brief trance of the beast had provided me with an excellent idea. Excellent by my standards and suicidal by Rin's. I carefully entered a little closer to the Ant Lion inside its trap. It noticed this and immediately lunged at me trapping me in its mighty jaws. With a flash of my thoughts, my sword quickly retracted into two small dual stabbing knife. I stabbed both the knives deep in its eyes. As my daggers were removed from its pupils, black sludge leaked out of them as the Ant Lion screamed in plain. Noticing the stopping of the sand vortex, I swiftly switched to the base form of my Legendary Blade and in a powerful arc, I sliced the Ant Lion in half at the very crack I had made in the start of the battle. It stopped its struggling legs after a few moments and lay dead on its back. The fight was over as a window signalled of my level up from level 28 to 29 appeared.

That was certainly an exhilarating fight, my blood was full of adrenaline and it was probably going to take a while to calm down. My nerves were on fire as the influx of information from Assassin's Blade was taking its toll. But there was that sense of accomplishment upon defeating the Ant Lion. Was this how Herakles felt when conquered each trial? But why was it so much more enjoyable than it ever had been in my world? Conquering each Servant in Grail War had its own form of relief but excitement, I had felt none when doing so. Philosophy certainly wasn't my forte and I was never going to indulge in it. But it certainly felt unique. But I was broken out of my train of thoughts by another window.

You have unlocked [Vortex Sword (Sand)].

Attack Damage: 59

Equip Bonus:

Def: +20

Str: +14

Agi: -2

Weapon Ability:

Exoskeleton:

Provides temporary armour that is worn over equipped defensive armaments. Able to block damage upto certain extent and damage limit increases upon upgrades.

Current Duration: 150 seconds.

Sand Vortex:

A weaker version of a higher sword. Causes a big swirling vortex to appear around the user that suck everything trapped it in towards the centre. Gives slowness effect to all those are trapped inside. Effect is boosted on sandy terrain and radius of effect is also increased.

Lunge:

Performs a lunge when a target is trapped in a sand vortex. Lunge increases speed by 200% for a split second to cover the distance between the target and the user. Can be used on one target at a time only.

Level Restriction

27(Unlocked)

Those were certainly useful abilities this sword had. The Sand Vortex ability was definitely the spotlight. The armour was certainly handy along with my Shroud and the lunge was also neat and could be like an acceleration boost should I need one. But the real deal was the Sand Vortex. While the sword itself was not as good as Assassin's blade, the ability to make sand vortex's at will was unique. None of the blades in my arsenal could do so. There were Noble Phantasms that could cause violent typhoons, hurricanes and whirlpools but never a sand vortex. Though was a bummer that a sword slightly lower agility but it was too small to ever be significant. It would certainly be one of my staple swords to use for a while, at least until I found its superior version.

But all that was currently unimportant. I had reached the hypothetical centre of the desert, if my directions were correct and the shape of the desert in the map was at least roughly right. I did not remember specifically how one reached the city of Zerzura but I did remember that it involved finding a temple that could be seen after a mirage was broken. It was the safety mechanism to dissuade travelers from the city. One had to specifically detect the illusion field in order to reach the temple.

Thankfully, I was like a hound at sensing magical energy. Even if there was a leak of prana from 400 mts away, I would be able to pinpoint its location with ease. It was a really useful ability I had which had been crucial when dealing with rogue Sealing Designees and Dead Apostle. And if the tingling in my nose was an indication, I was nearing my destination. I could thinly make out the lines of the bounded field. If one wanted to enter the bounded field, one had to be aware of its existence to pass through. This was mostly done by the people of the city as a countermeasure to avoid any unwanted visitors. They often traded with the outside world, they still valued their safety far more, so they came up with this strategy.

As I traced the lines of the bounded field that were lit by a green radiant light, a small gateway opened up in it. I slowly walked inside it and saw a completely different world.

In complete contrast to the barren desert that lay outside desert, inside the bounded field looked like tropical jungle. I could see the lush greenery, the colourful flowers that bloomed with a variety of shapes and the natural wildlife that graced this tropical environment. I could see a sparkling stream flow under a rocky curved bridge. Several schools of fish swam in them, each of different colours, of different species. I could see ducks dipping their necks inside the water, in search of their next meal. Birds sang their melodious chirps in flight as they soared above the reservoir. One of them sat on the timber that floated downstream and stared into the crystal-clear water.

As I walked over the stone bridge, I took in the panoramic view of the gateway to the city. It probably spanned over kilometers of land yet was so hidden that only some could ever find it. Down below me ran the broad stream, pouring gently out from its narrow pools amongst the cold stones, spreading into colder shallows, lit by kingfishers. I could see the great turtles that lay motionless on the banks of the stream. As I squatted down and slowly touched the surface of the water, I felt the surreal feeling of the cold water running down my skin. I took a palmful of water and slowly sipped it down. I could taste the rich minerals that lay within it, tingeing it with a slightly sweet taste. It was the taste of nature, one that I had forgotten in the dark polluted cities that I usually dwelled inside. Had it been that long since I had tasted water so pure. Untouched and Untainted by the hands of man, it had a taste I could never recreate even if I had worked as a master chef, whose culinary skills had surpassed everything, even salvation, or so Rin had told me.

As I looked forward towards the entrance of the temple, I could see the massive rectangular archway that stood before it. The archway was made of polished sandstone lined with thin veils of gold that separated each brick. In the centre of each brick was an embedded gemstone of several different types like rubies, sapphires, aquamarines, amethysts, diamonds, emeralds and so many more I could not recognize. The archway itself was over 70 feet high and 40 feet wide. The sheer cost of making this archway would be astronomically high in my world. It was certainly a fancy way to invite visitors.

The temple itself was far humbler than the archway. It too was made of polished sandstone lined with light touches of silver. It had a translucent green glow that engulfed its entire body. It was an anti-attack bounded field, a powerful one at that. On top of the temple was a large diamond embedded onto a pedestal proudly glittering as light fell onto it creating a mini rainbow due to the refraction of said light. In the entrance to the temple stood two statues guarding its entrance. They closely resembled the statues of Anubis, the Gatekeeper of the Realm of the Dead. There red eyes stared into your very soul, the mouth was always in that evil bony smile and the scepters in their hands were enchanted and imbued with magic, probably to defend against attacks and act as golems forbidding anyone from entering. They had the intimidation factor checked and hit on the mark. They obviously were not as strong as the actual God of Death of Egypt, but they looked potent enough to give me a run for my money if they were in my world.

My hand ran across the walls of the corridor of the temple. Each was engraved with several varieties of symbols that resembled hieroglyphics. I could recognize a few like the Eye of Horus but there were different symbols that were unique to this world. The walls had a rich and saturated history from what I could tell. Each symbol was uniquely designed to capture the attention of the viewer. Each told a different story. Each had been created with a purpose. It was what made it beautiful in my eyes. For some it would just be drawings carved by a child on a wall, but for me it was way more than that. To me, it was telling a legend, of heroes, of their journeys, of their labour, of their rewards but more importantly of their sacrifices. Some had given their entire lives in the service of people, and they would forever have my respect.

As I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, I knew I had reached the end of the corridor, and into the main room. And as I entered, a blinding light appeared and I had to shield my eyes from it. As the light died down, I was able to open my eyes to see a large enclosed room with an altar. On that altar stood pink crystals, perfectly cut with oblique edges and shone with a bright pink light. I climbed a flight of stairs to reach the altar. The crystals were deeply embedded within the altar. I used my Status Magic to figure out its origin because it was far more convenient than my Structural Analysis.

Teleportation Crystals:

A rare form of crystal that occurs naturally. When touched, allows the user to be transported to a predetermined location instantaneously. Each crystal can be used once per hour to transport upto 5 people at once.

This world had again managed to surprise me. A crystal that allowed for Teleportation. Teleportation was one step below True Magics and was a form of magecraft that could only exist during the Age of Gods. The true art of teleportation was lost to modern magecraft, and probably could not be performed practically even if one were to discover how to do it. And in this world, it could be done by a crystal. And to top it all off, it was naturally occurring even if it was rare. It was something Rin would, again, pay a fortune for.

As I examined the crystal, I noticed one shard that had fallen off the crystal. I lightly tapped it with my Legendary Weapon. Then my Sword immediately began to absorb it inside like a vacuum. Then I received another window.

You have unlocked [Sword of Instantaneous Teleportation].

Attack Damage: 0

Equip Bonus: None.

Weapon Ability:

Greater Teleportation:

Allows for Teleportation of great distances. Can only be used to places that are already visited. Can bring alongside the user 3 other party members. This number increases with Milestone Level Ups. Cannot be used when stuck in [Combat Situation]. Cooldown of 2 hours after use. Cooldown reduces with Milestone Level Ups.

Was this how Way-Pointing worked? This was interesting. Way-Pointing in the game had no limit on party members nor the cooldown effect. This did bring a point to my head. Different items would probably have some limiters placed onto them, from the looks of it. There were some downright broken items in Bravestar, but here they may be a little debuffed. Then was the question of how exactly did the Teleport Sword work? It seemed the world knew my question and answered with a window.

By performing a special action(absorbing way-point crystals), You have discovered a Way-Point.

Way-Point: Zerzula City, the City of the Desert.

You may now create wormholes to the destination of your choosing so long as you have already visited it. You may call out the name while slashing your weapon downwards to create the wormhole.

Looks like it was time to test this feature out. I equipped the Sword of Instantaneous Teleportation and called out the name of the only way-point I had discovered.

"City of Zerzula"

And with a clean motion of my slash, a hole in space-time opened itself. The weird light that came out of the hole gave it a sci-fi vibe to it. It was as though it was ripped straight from a comic book. I slowly inserted my hand into the wormhole to see if it would distort it in any way. After I confirmed that I could still feel my hand, I passed through the wormhole.

Author's Note:

Took some time, I could have made this chapter larger, but I decided not to. I do have my assessments coming up, so I can't update for a while. Probably a solid two weeks, maybe three. Why Shirou won't use his magecraft will be answered next chap. Omake will be continued in next chap too. I just need to think of more ways to kill Chu. I have a pretty good idea on how to do it.