"I should've done this a long time ago." Rudeus was gleefully enjoying his time on a computer. While computers in 2004 were bad and trash, it was better than nothing.
To think I was so deep into the war, I had forgotten the fun of things like this. After that disaster of a first night, I decided to take my mind off it by indulging in something I missed from my original world. Night was going to fall soon, which meant we would be out looking for other masters and servants. Since I didn't want a repeat, I decided I would play it a little more strategically. By that, I meant I wanted to figure out how best to use my class skill, Territory Creation, which is rank A.
This is good because if I can find a place to set this down and camp there, my chances of beating a servant in a one-on-one battle will be boosted. The first problem is finding a place. The place should already be rich in mana, so when I infuse more mana into it, the base starts high. Goddamn, I should've been doing that instead of playing on this computer.
I just let out a tired sigh. I wonder if my master would be happy to hear about this plan. She probably will, since this will boost our chances of success. Speaking of which, I haven't seen Sakura since last night. Where did she go?
"Ah, it doesn't matter. She'll turn up eventually. No point in worrying about her now." "Caster," a voice spoke out behind Rudeus. Intrinsically, he turned around. He saw Luvia standing there, and she looked really serious. "Tonight, we will battle Tohsaka no matter what."
She said this with the most intimidating voice she could muster. Rudeus thought it was a little scary, but also she was kind of cute like this. Maybe the mess-up yesterday was worth it.
We both left, and I took to the skies. I really did want to tell her about my plan right now, but it felt like if I did, she'd use all her command spells to make me poop myself. "Caster, do you see anything?" A voice rang out in my head. Right now, I didn't see or sense anything. I looked around once more but saw nothing. "N-" Just before I was going to say no, I sensed two familiar mana signatures. I used my Eye of Clairvoyance to figure out which two people I was sensing. I locked onto the area and saw Saber standing there, her eyes focused on something. Then she struck her sword down on the wind, and another blade materialized and blocked hers.
"Master, I see Saber and that servant from last night." This was bad. Seeing these two, I knew my master would rush for them. I had to warn her not to be rash. "Master, I think we-"
"Two birds with one stone, eh, Caster? Send them a Stone Cannon! Our arrival will be splendid." She rushed ahead, not waiting for her servant to answer. Rudeus just sighed in the air, knowing this would happen, so he wasn't surprised. He summoned his Noble Phantasm, "Aqua Heartia." A magical staff started to materialize in his hand. The base was dark brown and made of special magical wood, and on the tip rested a blue magical orb. This orb amplified all magical spells that were released by it by three times.
He waved the staff in his hand. This was the first time since he was summoned that he had used it. He could feel the power radiating off this staff. The old Aqua Heartia only increased his water spells by three times; this new one, in comparison, was way better. A Stone Cannon formed right next to him. At its base, it wasn't a very strong move. What made the move so powerful was the spin and rotation. The faster the spin, the higher the damage; it's the basic law of inertia. Now with this staff, this spell is three times better, meaning if he shot this Stone Cannon at a servant, it should do critical damage.
Saber sat in calm silence. She had to focus so she could feel where to strike her sword next. She understood what his invisibility did. It didn't make him invisible, just as her sword wasn't actually invisible. He was simply blocking his presence from their senses, and it seemed he couldn't block his presence while attacking. Also, he could only block two senses at a time, which is why the second before he swung, you could hear a slight change in the wind.
"Don't you know it's disgraceful for a swordsman to hide himself in the midst of combat?" Saber said with an indignant tone. She once again blocked another strike from the man. This exchange of blades was not really to her taste.
As she was about to block another attack from the servant, she instinctively struck upwards and cut in half the Stone Cannon that was racing towards her. She then quickly tried to dodge the sword swing but was cut on her shoulder. "What type of trick was that?" Did this mysterious servant do that? But how? Whatever that was, it was packed with immense amounts of mana. If that strike had hit any vital area, she would've been taken out instantly.
The hands wrapping around her sword clenched harder; she had to take this situation more seriously. "Hmm, that was interesting. Well, it's hard for you to judge me since you're concealing your blade," a voice from nowhere sounded everywhere.
Saber didn't respond immediately, and she knew he was correct. "If I were to unconceal this blade, our battle would end very fast." Just based on their current exchange, she could tell that in swordsmanship, she outclassed him. It made sense why he had to resort to such dirty tactics.
"How considerate," he chuckled. His body began to materialize, and a black figure stood in front of Saber with a blade in his right hand. "Hmm, still too shy to show your true self?" He let out another chuckle at the joke. "If we were in a death battle, I think we could be good friends. You could even try my cooking." He stood there. He wouldn't attack first; he could tell that if he did, she would cook him alive.
Saber lunged. The servant's stance changed, and Saber began to block, killing her momentum. She was shocked that he let out a vicious slash at her while she was in an awkward position. She barely managed to move out of the way, but her body felt slower. "Poison?" she mumbled to herself.
"You're a smart one, girl," he jumped away as Saber slammed her sword down where he just was. He shot at her again but then jumped to her side, going for her other shoulder. It seemed like he was trying to weaken both her arms so her sword skill would weaken. She understood this and shielded herself, but at the last second, she pressed an attack on him.
He struck her shoulder with his blade and jumped out of the way of her sword strike. "Saber!" Shirou was nervous. Why had Saber done that? When she trained him, she never made mistakes like this. What was happening?
"I... what am I doing?" She questioned herself. Why had she gone for an attack at the last second? Were her sword skills really dulling this much? "Hmm, it seems you might die before I ever get to see your true blade."
"Finally, this is my chance to prove the Edlefelt name is the strongest. I'll beat that third-class mage and kill the other servant, then Tohsaka..." Luvia ran with all her might. The more she ran, the more sword clashes she heard, so she knew she was going in the right direction.
Soon, she made it there and saw Saber and that other servant clashing. She also saw Shirou Emiya standing there nervously. He looked like he wanted to jump into the battle. What a foolish boy. "Shirou Emiya!" Luvia shouted his name. He turned to look at her. "Huh? Edlefelt, what are you doing?" Shirou was a little surprised. What was one of his classmates doing up this late? Then he noticed her hand. It had Command Seals, not too dissimilar to Rin's.
His eyes narrowed a little. "It seems you're also a Master. Is that your servant?" He pointed to the servant currently locked in battle with Saber. "Tch, as if I would ever have a servant so disgraceful. Well, actually..." She thought about reconsidering her words. Her servant was pretty disgraceful.
"Well, I won't hold back just because you're my classmate." He already had a metal rod in his hand. "Oh, no need. Even if you went all out, this would be easy. Though it would be better if you just gave me your Command Seals," she said in a sweet voice, hoping she could get an easy victory.
"Never, I would never betray Saber like that. Trace On." His circuits fired.
"Well, I won't hold back just because you're my classmate." He already had a metal rod in his hand. "Oh, no need to. Even if you went all out, this would be easy. Though, it would be better if you just gave me your command seals." She said this in a sweet voice, hoping to get an easy victory.
Luvia chuckled to herself. "Such magecraft is laughable in the face of my family's techniques." She had already been using her circuits. She flared all of her 100 circuits and released a blue gem at blazing speeds. Shirou was shocked. "Just like Rin," he muttered, dodging the exploding gem.
"I'm better than that half-baked mage," she confidently spat, and sent another ruby flying out. She mumbled spell incantations under her breath, and the gem morphed into a earth spike. Shirou was forced to block it.
He grunted under the power of that attack. He knew that if he stayed at range, he would be at a disadvantage, so he had to get close. He rushed at her, dodging and blocking incoming gems. He was nicked by a couple but pressed on. When he reached melee range, he jumped and went for a powerful slash. But before he could reach the ground, he was thrown down in a body slam. "Do you not know that wrestling is a girl's best friend?" she giggled, while Shirou gasped and spat from the contact, dazed.
"That was easier than I expected. Is it even worth defeating you?" she contemplated to herself. It would be boring if she killed this guy before she got to fight Tohsaka. Now that she thought about it, it would be better if Rin knew she was coming. "Hmm, I'll tell you this, Emiya: next time you see Rin, tell her Edelfelt is coming." With that, she used reinforcement magic on her arm and knocked him out.
"Caster, now it's your turn."