By the time I got back, it was already well past the time when anyone would be awake at home. The perfect time to sneak in without anyone seeing me.
Something I need desperately, given the multiple bloodstains on my uniform that I'll have to clean out silently tonight before Sella or Liz finds out.
That damned Phantasmal really made a mess of things with its acid blood attacks.
I could not help but sigh as I remembered the disaster of a night that I've just experienced.
First, it was that damned honest-to-god magical girl fight I saw above Kuoh, which was orchestrated by none other than my two old friends who have not been seen in the city for nearly three years now.
Then, there was the shock of seeing Class Cards other than mine in their hands.
While I had prepared myself for the worst-case scenario of all the Class Cards finding their way into this world, it was still too much for me to see that even my worst calculations had been thrown out the window with the existence of another Archer Class Card in Rin's hand during the fight.
That alone opens the door to all sorts of disastrous scenarios that I am not in the mood to think about right now.
Then those damned Mystic Codes took off to who knows where after dropping the girls in the river below.
Then I ran into one of those Phantasmal creatures that have been haunting this town, which distracted me long enough for the sticks to escape my pursuit completely.
So, in the end, I accomplished none of the goals I set out with this night.
I did not have answers to any of my existing questions. I found out that my childhood friends have turned into fucking magical girls somehow. I found out that there are other Class Cards aside from my own out there, with the potential for an entirely separate deck from my own existing out there. And I learned that my luck is still the same terrible one as my Servant counterpart.
All in all, a disaster of a night.
With a sigh, I changed out of my clothes and snuck into the bathroom, cleaning up my uniform and hanging it up to dry. Then, I grabbed some food and headed back to my room.
However, instead of going to sleep, I snuck out again and installed the Archer card, heading straight for the ruins of Ryuudou temple.
Issei Ryuudou left Kuoh with his family when we were children after some kind of disaster struck the Ryuudou temple and caused a lot of property damage and loss of life. I heard that the Church on the other side of the town was also abandoned during that time.
It was also during this time that the Matou family left this town as well. Since I was not aware of Sakura's existence back then, I did not know about this. It was only after the memories of my alternate selves started flowing into my mind that I investigated the Matou family and found out about this.
Based on what I managed to find, after breaking into some old records and other stuff, it would seem that Kariya Matou left Kuoh with his niece, Sakura Matou, after whatever happened back then.
The official records show that he left for London. As for Matou Zouken, he is officially declared deceased. A fact that I confirmed for myself after visiting the former home of the Matou family and infiltrating the place, finding that there were no bounded fields or any defences of any kind.
Not only that, but the house was completely empty. No books, no magus workshop, no mystic codes, nothing. Not even the damned pit full of worms that I remember from my alternate self's memories.
Later on, when I went to check out Matou Zouken's grave, I found that there was an actual body down there, and it was not some decoy either. Matou Zouken was actually dead.
The only silver lining in this whole mysterious event that has been bugging for so many years is that Sakura seems to have found some kind of a happy ending in this world with her uncle.
Anyways, back when Issei left after the so-called disaster, I was not yet aware of the supernatural and had not stumbled upon the Archer card just yet, so I took that news at face value and gave my goodbye to my best friend at the airport.
But now, I cannot help but think that there might have been something more to that incident back then. Something so major that one of the two main magical families of this town left, along with the ancient Buddhist family being forced to abandon their ancestral land, and the Church being shut down all at once.
Whatever the case might have been, ever since I got the Archer card, I have been using this place to practice in secret and continue my training using the memories of my alternate selves.
Walking into the ruins of Ryuudou temple, I went into the deeper parts of the crumbling building and removed the cloth covering the Formalcraft circle that I carved here long ago in accordance with my memories of the circle within my counterparts' home in Fuyuki, slightly modified to meet my needs here and to match the strange rules of magecraft in my world.
The moment I channeled my Od through the circle, I felt the isolation field activate, clearing the ambient mana and creating a space for me to use my abilities without interference from the world, even if that did not seem to exist in this world.
Sitting down, I took out a few rubies and started channeling my Od into the jewels like I remembered Rin's counterparts teaching me.
When it comes to Magecraft beyond those that I know and fall out of my Element and Origin, I am completely shit at them, which also includes Jewelcraft. Thankfully, I found out that at least I can create my own Od batteries from jewels like Rin to power my spells should the need ever arise.
Not to mention that I would probably need them when I finally activate my Reality Marble and manifest it into reality, given that my Od reserves are not yet at the level where I can manifest it for extended periods of time.
It is a shame that I can't use the Formalcraft needed to convert the mana from the Leylines into Od directly, which would make my life much easier since I could use the Leyline below my feet to charge the rubies with Od instead of using my own Od to charge them.
With the daily ritual done, I put away the rubies and took out a red jacket, a black leather underarmor, black pants, and boots that I either bought or created some time ago, and a few regants, beginning work on my other project.
Seiðr Wool, spun ritualistically over the course of a few months, which took a whole lot of effort on my end, acted as the base, helping me weave the Runic symbols onto the inner layer of the Jacket.
Wolf Fur, another regent that took me a lot of effort to acquire, acted as the base for many of the Runes I wanted to inscribe, thanks to its symbolic connection to Odin.
Silver and Iron threads that I created through Alteration and weaving them on sacred days, such as winter nights, according to Scandinavian traditions, worked as the Od channels.
I used Snake skin to make the shoes for their symbolic connection to dragons, which allowed me to channel that Mystery through runes.
I also used Bear hide for the underarmor and Linen that was also woven in winter nights for the pants.
With a few other regands in the same league, I managed to weave a handful of the runes I remember my counterparts using into the Jacket, underarmor, pants, and shoes.
Ehwaz for hardening and complementing my Reinforcement. Kenaz to enhance my sight. Sovilo for borrowing the concept of the 'Sun' to protect myself from the darkness attribute of the primary Phantasmal species that I regularly run into in this town. And a few other runes for presence concealment, and a few other things here and there.
This combat uniform is my very first attempt at making my own Mystic Code, and truthfully, I could not be happier with how it is progressing.
At best, I give it another week before the whole ritual is complete and it is ready for use.
With this mystic code, I would no longer have to keep using Install on my Class Card to gain armor and obscure my identity. This mystic code could do just that and would allow me to hide much better with its built-in presence concealment rune.
This would allow me to save the Install option as a trump card for the direst of situations.
It was only when I saw that it was well past midnight that I finally stopped and put away my projects in a hidden compartment underneath the floorboards, concealed by a few concealment runes, and headed back home.
I need to get up early in the morning and start preparing for the day ahead.
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1