63 [63] Ripple Fortress

"Hmm... looks good."

Running his hand over the freshly decorated wall, Kazuya's heart stirred slightly—

A Ripple emanated from his hand, traveling along the wall and spreading throughout the surroundings!

Crackling—

"It worked! It has texture!"

Kazuya exclaimed with joy, not regretting spending a fortune to renovate this room once again.

This was perfect. With this in place, even if this were a Type-Moon world, even if actual magus were to come, it wouldn't matter! Whoever the magus that came, it didn't matter! He didn't need to hide; he could just wait here!

Kazuya climbed the stairs while holding an apple. "Speaking of which, everyone has different thoughts... For some people, getting close to something mysterious and potentially life-threatening can be terrifying, but I'm different... even if I have no power, I'd still approach, even if it means dying in the process. I want to—see the mystery with my own eyes."

In his previous life, he had explored like this but inevitably failed.

When he first arrived in this world, one of the reasons he went to the Tohsaka and Ryougi families was the same. At that time, he was dazed, almost driven purely by instinct. The mismatch between soul and body left him with only instincts—

And!

What were his instincts doing at that time? Instincts led him to the Tohsaka family and then to the Ryougi family!

The pursuit of mysteries had already been deeply ingrained in his soul—

Now, everything was ready... if this world were a Type-Moon world, this would be his final test. If... if his [Fate/Zero] sent out into the world received no response...

Then he would have to figure out how to erase the things that Sakura in that manga would never have experienced in real life. The methods for that were also prepared.

But even if [Fate/Zero] failed, it shouldn't be his last test...

A world without any mystery... how despairing, how boring.

Crackling—

Kazuya threw an apple into the air, and it stuck to the ceiling thanks to the ripple.

"Let me see the specific effects!"

Kazuya rushed downstairs to a random spot.

"Hu—ripple, go!"

Crackling—

The ripple spread from Kazuya's feet and then along the floor under his feet, extending to the wall, and then—spread upward along the wall!

Swish, swish, swish—

Thud—

"Alright! How's the situation?"

Kazuya ran back upstairs.

The apple that had been stuck to the ceiling by the ripple had fallen!

Kazuya picked up the apple from the floor, and faint cracks could be seen on it.

Kazuya withdrew the ripple, and the next moment—the entire apple split into eight evenly sized pieces.

"Finally... a complete success, Ripple Fortress!"

In that instant, Kazuya used the ripple to spread from the floor, then all the way upstairs. Using the splashing ripple, he severed the connection between the apple and the ceiling, and—cut the apple in the process!

This was something he had practiced in his dreams for several years... the control of the ripple, which he finally succeeded in using in reality.

He speculated a bit about how things would go if those magus from Fate/Zero came knocking...

Among them, Kayneth's threat was the greatest. His mystic code, Volumen Hydrargyrum: Marrow of the Moon Spirit, might not be able to withstand it... no, it was highly unlikely. Even with the Ripple Fortress in place.

Next was Tohsaka Tokiomi...

His Jewel Magecraft might pose a significant threat, and the regular flames probably couldn't ignite this ripple-pervaded room. However, he was uncertain about the effects of his magical flames, relying solely on what he had seen in the anime.

Then, there was Zouken Matou...

His worm magecraft probably wouldn't pose much of a threat, but it was just an estimation... and since he came all the way from Fuyuki to here, he couldn't have brought too many worms with him. So there was a threat, but it shouldn't be that significant.

Finally, there was Kiritsugu Emiya.

His threat to him was actually the smallest. Whether it was long-range sniping or anything else... he could sense it and dodge it.

Unless he planted a bomb under his house or something, but—that wasn't such a simple task... he would definitely notice if someone tried to work beneath his house.

As for his Origin Bullet...

Unfortunately, he wasn't a magus, which meant that even if he were hit, it would only result in injuries. However, the damage might be more severe due to the firearm's power, but this was assuming he could be hit in the first place; if he couldn't, then nothing else mattered.

And now that his ripple fortress is complete, there's nothing safer than this, and he won't be moving or anything, trying not to disturb the people around him.

"So... next— all the plans will gradually begin."

Tonight, he'll try again, see if he can gain the abilities from his original manga... Of course, real superpowers would probably be cool, but he already tried changing the settings several times and failed.

Originally, he had intended to set up a system for "superpower transactions" where money could buy "superpowers."

But it was utterly useless.

Furthermore, he had set up libraries and online resources where people could learn techniques for free—

Of course, initially, he intended to make it powerful, the best technique that would be widely spread. Well, even though this could be considered a BUG, he couldn't control it much.

The result, as expected, ended in failure.

He learned in his dreams, but couldn't use it in reality.

And then... he lowered the standards of his techniques time and time again.

Previously, he had come up with a new setting—

In this setting, he was still a martial artist, but this time it had a unique method of consumption. It could absorb the life energy from food and store it in the body, with no other effects except for longevity.

However, when using this method, the digestion speed would increase significantly, and he would have to eat a lot.

Furthermore, he set the prices of fresh food in that world to be very expensive—

Previously, he had tried setting it as cheap, and it had failed.

This time... in the manga, it should make more sense logically. He didn't know if it would work or not.

---

If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 20 chapters: 

https://www.patreon.com/XElenea