6 Chapter 5: A Dating Simulator?
Noticing the battle had reached its conclusion I walked up to Mash who was breathing a little heavily after dealing with the skeletons but did not look wounded in any capacity.
"Master, I have dealt with them. What should we do now?" As she said that I suddenly noticed a very crucial detail. The mobs she killed vanished like dust, and sometimes they dropped.
LOOT!
Well, it's only bones and crystal shards but.
LOOT!
"Well, obviously Mash. We defeated the mobs that means we have to collect the loot now?" Mash looked between the scattered materials on the ground and me before furrowing her brows.
"But master, I don't think we have anywhere to store them? Besides, I think some other things take priority right now?" Hearing her point I had to begrudgingly nod my head. The hoarder gamer in me taking critical damage from the fact I was leaving loot behind.
"Kuh! You are right, looting must, unfortunately, take a backseat now-"
My words were cut off by the familiar screams of a woman.
"Kyaaaaaaah! What the hell! Why do these things keep happening to me!?" Hearing this but Mash and I looked at each other at the same time, near instantly having an unspoken agreement as we both started sprinting toward the voice.
To be in the clear I briefly flickered on Nine Eyes and the coast was clear, meaning only yellow where we were going.
It did not take us long to turn the corner to see our dear director being cornered by another horde of skeletons as she Gandr's from her fingers, taking out a skeleton per shot but seemed less than effective since there were several dozens. Suddenly a skeleton dodged her gandr and leapt toward her.
"Help me Lev!"
Well, I don't know why anyone would ask for that man to save them but the job is up to me it seems.
"Mash!" "Yes!" Mash with her servant speed was already in front of the skeleton before I could finish my words. With ease, she smacked the skeleton it disintegrated before she locked onto the other skeletons and started clearing them too. As she was doing that I slid down the rubble with Fou nestling on my head to walk up to the cowering director.
"Whelp, it's nice to see you again Director. Are you all right?" She turned her head toward me in shock before she swiveled her head again to look at Mash who just cleared the rest of the stragglers and joined us.
"Director, are you hurt?"
The Director looked at Mash with scrutiny.
" …What's going on with you?"
"Director? About my situation. I know it's hard to believe, but the truth is—"
Mash was about to explain but rude crybaby director cut her off.
"A Demi-Servant right? It's pretty obvious that you fused with a Servant. What I want to know is why it's successful now all of a sudden! Also, you! The one who tackled me, how did you manage to make a contract with her?"
Taken aback by the rude crybaby director now pointing fingers at me I simply raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, that's me. That's my name, tackler." the rude crybaby director shook her head and glared at me.
"How did a substitute commoner like you manage to form a contract with her? Only first-class Mages can enter contracts with Servants! There's no way you could ever become a Master! What did you do to her to have her do your bidding?" I don't know why but it feels like she is projecting a little.
"Well, maybe it's my electrifying charm?" Saying that I placed my chin between my pointer finger and thumb while winking, earning just a blank unimpressed stare from them.
"...Sorry, the humour helps me cope. To answer you honestly, I have not the slightest idea what's happening here. Hell, I don't even know if I even am a master. So could we just start there please?"
At my words, the rude crybaby director made an expression that was both parts exasperation and disbelief. I did know what the terms were and what they meant actually, I just wanted to affirm my knowledge here.
"What do you mean you don't even know?"
She walked up to me and grabbed my wrist, pointing at the back of my hand. I could see her expression when she saw the expected on the back of my hand.
And as expected my command seals were there too. And I almost instantly recognized what they took the shape of.
They were in the almost exact same shape as the Swords of Revealing Light card from Yugioh. With a radiant star in the middle above of them, looming below the star connected to its light were three indistinct swords of light.
Pretty cool.
"You, that command seal on your hand proves it. You are a master. And that means you must have formed a contract with Mash." Regaining calm somewhat the rude crybaby director stated.
As she was about to continue a bracelet in her hands shone before a hologram of Roman appeared before us.
"Alright, I finally managed to establish a connection, hello? This is Chaldea Command Room? Do you read me?"
"Huh?! Why are you running the show, Romani? What about Lev? Where's Lev? Put Lev on!" Shouted the rude crybaby director with dependence issues upon seeing Roman's hologram come through.
"D-Director, you're alive? And you're unharmed? What the… I thought the bombs..."
"What's that supposed to mean? Where's Lev? What's the head medic doing in charge?"
"Don't ask me why. I'm fully aware that I'm not cut out for this job. But there's nobody else, Olga Marie. Currently, the surviving full-time staff of Chaldea is less than twenty people, including me. The reason I'm in charge of operations is because there's no one ranked higher than me who survived. Dr. Lev was supervising from the Command Room. There's no way he could survive that blast."
earing this the Director shut her eyes tight, but did not cry, I am impressed, maybe I will have to change her title. While I want to mention that Lev was likely the one who set off the bombs in the first place I feel like that does not fit here.
"No way—Lev… No, forget that, wait… please wait. Less than 20 survivors? What about the Master candidates...the coffins?"
Hearing this Roman looked grim.
"...47, all in critical condition and we're short on medical supplies. We might be able to save a few, but all of them might be—"
"Don't be ridiculous! Cryopreserve them immediately. Think about reviving them later. Your top priority is to make sure they don't die!"
"I forgot the coffins had those functions! I'll get on it right away!"
"...That surprises me. Cryopreservation without prior consent is a crime Yet you made the decision right away. You put human lives ahead of your own reputation as the director."
"Don't be stupid! As long as they're not dead, I can explain myself later - why else? In the first place, 47 lives… There's no way I can carry that burden."
Suddenly the hologram started distorting. Seeing this Marie scoffed.
"You're breaking up. 10 seconds until the connection is lost."
"We will continue this later Roman. But for now, Romani Archaman I don't like it, but until I return you're in charge of Chaldea. Make the Rayshift repairs your top priority." After her words finished the hologram cut off. And then she turned to the both of us.
"I understand the situation now. Noah, since it's an emergency I'll approve you and Kyrielight's contract. From here on out, you'll follow my commands. First, let's set up a base camp. Listen, this is the time to search for a Leyline Terminal. A place where magical energy converges. There we'll be able to establish a stable connection with Chaldea…"
Well, I have no complaints, rude baby she may be but at least she looks like she knows what she is doing. I don't mind following her orders for the time being.
"Umm, director. We are standing on the leyline." Mash interjected, making the rude baby director flustered.
"H-hmph, of course, I knew that. Give me a few moments I will a connection." Saying that the Director crouched down and started drawing some sigils that I didn't know
Seeing this I felt it was finally appropriate to collapse onto a near fallen piece of concrete. Making myself more comfortable into a sitting position I felt like I finally had an opportunity to experiment and see what my system could do.
And then I noticed another tab that had appeared next to my status.
___/Relationships\___________
[Mash Kyrielight]
Bond: ♥♥♡♡♡
♡♡♡♡♡
Rewards are available to be claimed.
_______________________________
What.
Explain now.
Contrary to what I thought the system actually answered me for once.
_______________________________
[ Explanation: Bond Level ]
A representation of the bond between you and your servant. It can be increased by going on dates, hanging out, giving them gifts, or interacting with your servants. A higher bond level allows the servant and master to cooperate more efficiently.
[ Explanation: Bond Rewards ]
Depending on the level of bond you forge between you and your servants you can claim rewards for it. The higher the bond level higher the reward. The rewards can range from general upgrades and their personal/class skills to their noble phantasms.
_______________________________
Uhh...
Doesn't this kind of seem like more of a dating simulator than something designed to help me save humanity? But the important thing that caught my eye was the rewards aspect.
To sum it up wasn't this "system" telling me to get close to heroic spirits and in turn get special abilities from them?
Me? The guy who couldn't hold a girlfriend for more than a week?
Send me into a blazing city in the middle of a holy grail war gone wrong and expect me to intervene? Fine, not like I have a choice anyway.
But ask me get a girlfriend? How? You might as well ask me to save the world!
...Oh wait...
Well, putting the existential crisis aside I may as well claim Mash's rewards right now.
_____________________________
[ Reward: {Endurance Up I} & {Physical Damage Reduction I} ]
{Endurance Up I}
Increases the effectiveness of the endurance stat by 10%
{Physical Damage Reduction I}
Reduces all physical damage by 2.5%
_____________________________
Thank you potato mash, you are truly the best girl. You have increased my chances of me making it out of here relatively alive by at least 0.0001%.
That's better than 0!
While I was still sitting on the concrete chunk debating whether I should put my skull through the concrete or not Mash lightly sat down next to me.
"Se- Master, are you ok?"
Hearing her worried tone of voice I shook my head.
"As fine as I can be. I am trying to wrap my head around what we are going to do right now. But from what it looks like. The only thing we can do is our best isn't it?" Hearing my words Mash smiled slightly.
"Yes, it does seem that. Say, Master, can I keep calling you Senpai? While I don't have objections to calling you master I prefer calling you Senpai." She looked hesitant to say that, I can't say I understand why.
"Sure, no problem Mash. To be honest I am not exactly against a cute girl calling me master but my heart is not too prepared for it. Does this mean I should call you kouhai?" Hearing my words Mash reddened like a red potato for some reason before she mechanically nodded.
"N-no, no need to Senpai. Ah, would you look at that it seems like the Director is finished." Mmh, did me saying 'Should I call you kouhai?' come off as too much of a 'how do you do fellow kids?' ugh, now I feel like a cringy old man.
Changing the topic I sat up after I changed the topic.
"Yeah, we should head over to her before crybaby- I mean the director gets cranky because we are lazing about." Mash meekly nodded while steeled my heart to face the director.
Something tells me this whole thing won't be as easy as I hope it will be.
A/N: Sorry for no uploads. I was horribly sick and couldn't write, sorry for the inconvenience. besides that what did you think about the chapter and system? I would love to know.
