Roar for Me

"Sorry?" I asked, dumbfounded. Three days of not hearing anyone else's voice besides my own has made me pleasantly surprised to talk with someone again.

"The spear, you're here to take him, yes?" The absolute giant of a man asked again while smiling. Now what to answer? He sounds friendly enough, even if he is intimidating as hell. In times of uncertainty however, it's best to remain cautious.

"No. Not exactly" I answered truthfully, but not giving away much. "I did want to take a look at it for a bit. Maybe study it more closely." Specifically by using my newly found ability to bond with blades.

"A shame then. He does not like wasting away in the sands for too long." He nodded, sounding a bit disappointed, though his smile never left his face.

"Say, are you guarding the spear or something?" I asked, trying to get some information out of him in return. It's bizarre that I finally found a person in my reality marble, my soul, of all places.

With that question, he pulled the spear from the ground and hefted it. "Aha! I see no reason to guard such an old thing such as he. He can protect himself just fine." He shouted. Jesus, even his voice is fit for a giant. I took a couple of steps back when he grabbed the weapon, just in case it got violent. He continued. "Pray tell boy. What do you wish to learn by studying him?" He grinned.

There it is again, addressing the spear as if it's a person. Is it a cultural thing? Or something else? I shrugged. "I'm not sure either. I just want to learn as much as I can, really. I figured that a noble phantasm such as this surely would have incredible stories to tell." Huh, being cautious with information was easier than I thought. Well to be honest, I didn't have much that was worth keeping a secret anyway.

"An adventurous spirit! I myself was such in my youth, but turmoil in my kingship led me to not being able to pursue such passions in my final years." Man, he speaks like a gym bro.

"Kingship? Are you perhaps King Leonidas of Sparta?" Straight and to the point. I asked the question that's been in the back of my mind all this time.

"Leonidas. I've been called by that name before, yes." Well that's cryptic. "But I am not him. Not really, truth to be told." He stabbed the spear into the ground again.

"What do you mean?" I couldn't help but ask.

He just looked at me for a while. "You wanted to study the spear, yes? Since you are an adventurous kin of mine, you have my authority to do so." He said, instead of answering my question.

I didn't really consider myself an adventurous type, nonetheless I'll accept his offer. I was still a bit wary, but since he had left the spear alone again, I allowed myself to go near the noble phantasm. Still looking at his grinning face, I put my hand on the body of the spear and bonded with it.

I was brought into the world of ancient Greece. Where they worshipped Zeus and his pantheon of gods. I saw a young Leonidas growing up as a soldier, being the third born son without a chance to the throne. I saw him taking up kingship with the death of his older siblings and the threat of the Persian army. And finally I saw his end of days, as he and his 300 spartans protected that narrow pass with their lives from the massive forces of Xerxes.

This spear was not one he held in his life. Leonidas never felt any attachment to any one spear. As royalty, he had the coin to own more than one. At war, the weapons the soldiers carry got lost and swapped all the time. This spear in my hand was an amalgamation of all the spears Leonidas used in his life that allows him to use his skill with the weapon to the fullest potential, created as a noble phantasm to accompany him with his ascension to the Throne of Heroes.

I now understood. The ghost I talked to all this time in my reality marble wasn't Leonidas. Just like how I heard the voice of the old sword from before, I heard the voice of the Spear of Leonidas. He was the spear itself, who took the likeness of his wielder. A noble phantasm's history and presence in the world was so strong, that it has formed a sentient spirit I was able to converse with.

When the visions of the spear's life had gone, the reality marble filled my sight again. Only the noble phantasm in my hands remained and the spirit of the spear was nowhere in sight. "I guess he has passed on huh." I hope he had his wishes fulfil-

"What in the Hades are you talking about? I am still here boy." The ghost behind me said.

"Holy crap dude that's the second time you scared the shit out of me!" If it weren't for the memories I received I would think he was ancient Batman with the cape and all.

"Well you took your time, so I opted to rest." He said being completely unaffected by my outburst. After a couple of seconds of silence, I spoke. "Thank you, for letting me experience your life."

He waved me off. "It is of no consequence. All I did was sit here." He grinned. He may have just sat there, but the memories I received were of incredible value. It contained the wisdom and fighting skills of a heroic spirit after all. "But do me a favor boy. Call me out in the real world to fight. This marble of yours gets quite dull at times, and a weapon that does not get used becomes rusty. I'm sure a lot of my brothers and sisters out here are of the same mind."

I nodded. Such a simple request is the least I can do. "I will. It might take some time because I'm still studying how to project weapons into the real world, but I definitely will."

"That's the spirit! I am sure you will figure it out. And when you do, call my name and I will come." He said, slapping my shoulder. Even his strength is fit for a giant.

"What should I call you though? You said you're not really Leonidas." And I agreed. The spear contained the memories of Leonidas when he fought and practiced with the weapon. However Leonidas was more than his fights. He was also a king, husband, father, politician, and so much more. The weapon did not have those memories.

"That is true." He nodded, thinking. "But I have been called that name for so long it would be strange to be called by another. Henceforth, call me Leo, to honor the name." Leo, the name fits.

I bowed slightly. "Thank you Leo. It's my privilege to call upon you to battle." And I meant it. "Please call me Luke Song." I offered my hand.

"Luke eh? A fine name." He took my hand and shook it. "Well then. It is about time you return is it not?" He's right, I can hear the voices practically screaming now. "How long was I out?"

"I would not know. There is no sun for me to look at in this marble of yours. But it took you quite a while." He explained, looking at the void above. At this point the voices are getting unbearable. "I guess I'll see you around Leo."

[REALITY MARBLE ESCALATIONS]

With those last words I'm back in the real world in bed. No pain this time, though my circuits were certainly warm. I shut them off and let them rest.

That was an interesting experience to say the least. My ability to bond with blades came as easy as breathing. All I had to do was introduce my own mana to the blade, making it a part of the cycle of my mana flow, and the spirit of the blade does the rest of the work, telling me their story.

If I had to guess, my extreme attunement to swords allowed me to understand them deeply, similar to Shirou understanding a sword's whole history just by looking at them. The only thing different between us are the voices. I can hear the spirits of the blade, while I don't remember Shirou showing such abilities.

Case in point, Leo. I thought he was a heroic spirit at first, but now it's apparent that he's instead a weapon spirit of a noble phantasm. Which makes a whole lot of sense considering the fact that if he was actually a Heroic Spirit, summoning one without a grail would mean I touched upon the third true magic, Heaven's feel.

While mildly disappointed upon the discovery that I'm not a True Magician, the ability to learn from the weapon's spirit is still an invaluable asset. What I need now is to bring out the weapons into the real world. Leaning Tracing just became the forefront of my priorities.

As I started my daily routine, I turned on my circuits again, experimenting. My ability, Bonding with the blades by opening up myself and my circuits to the weapon essentially functions as Structural Grasping. There are differences however, since for one, Bonding only works with bladed tools. I tried using it on a piece of wood and received no information but gibberish. Additionally, the spirit of the weapon is the one giving me the information. Without a spirit, even if it's a bladed tool, the best I could get is the composition of the materials.

The advantages of this method however is that even a three day old mage like me can do it. Also, whenever I have turned on my circuits, I could feel the blades I bonded with in the forefront of my mind, eager to be released in the real world. Leo, being the strongest presence of them all.

To actually use that advantage however, I still have to learn how to bring them out. Which all things considered is looking positive seeing as I now have a replacement for Structural Grasping. I can now focus on Tracing and Reinforcement.

Let's start with Tracing. I remember it being a seven step process created by Shirou Emiya as a result of his faulty education with Magecraft. It's his own special brand of Gradation Air, also known as Projection. I don't remember the whole seven steps, but it started with Judging the concept of creation. Hypothesizing the materials? Something something.. Reproducing the years.. Excelling every manufacturing process.

It's something like that. I forgot the exact wording. It didn't seem important at that time. What I did remember however is that unlike normal Gradation Air, Tracing reproduces everything, from the composition of the materials, the way it was built, to the history of the weapon itself. It was basically Shirou's seven step program to being a broken anime character.

Reinforcement like its namesake allows an object to be stronger than it naturally is. It not just makes it tougher, but it reinforces the concept of the object itself. A lightbulb reinforced becomes brighter, a sword becomes sharper.

In both cases of Tracing and Reinforcement, it is a requirement that I know the composition of the material I'm using it on. And currently, the only items of interest that fulfilled that requirement are blades that I have bonded with. Which is why I'm currently holding a kitchen knife.

It is nothing special. Just a hunk of steel sharpened and fitted into a wooden hilt. It has no spirit to speak of, but for the purpose I need it for, it is enough. On my right hand I am holding the knife, Bonding with it, allowing myself to study its every nook and cranny. On my left, I am attempting to mirror the shape of the knife as I go through the process of studying the original.

I had limited success. My mana is very eager and willing to do anything blade related, hence why I'm easily making progress despite knowing nothing about magic four days ago. Anything outside of that is pretty much impossible.

The shape of the mystical energies on my left hand is mirroring the information I receive from my right, but whenever I make a tiny mistake that causes it to not look like a blade, it falls apart. I could almost feel it, the mana in my left hand almost taking a solid form. Sadly, my human brain cannot focus on two things at once, causing me to fail again and again. I know it's possible though. Shirou, in his youth, managed to do it as his first success in magecraft. It's the one that came the most naturally to him initially.

I cannot focus on two things at once, but I was a drummer. My legs and hands, despite doing different things at once while playing, could manage to work together to continuously make a rhythm despite only being able to focus on one thing at a time. What I did while playing drums is that I kept in mind the pattern of the beat. My limbs just went through the motions of a repeating motion, my mind monitoring if there is something that required changing up. Of course, more complex patterns require more practice, but that's all it requires in the end, practice.

After a short break, I put my theory into action. Instead of a continuous flow of mana into the Kitchen knife, I pulsated into it, creating a beat that followed my heart's own. I repeated that beat. Anchoring it to my heart's pulsing allowed me to focus on the task even less.

My entire focus is being dedicated to my left hand. With every pulse of information the blade becomes more complete. The mana slowly hardened, sharpened to the shape of the tool it is mirroring.

Hundreds of beats later, and voila! My left hand now holds a terrifying weapon, a misshapen kitchen knife. Yes, it's not perfect, the knife probably won't even cut a boiled potato, but it's there! Actually in my hands, a product of my own magecraft! In my mind, this is a huge success! And so I recorded in my notes:

Day 2 of Magecraft Training

I have successfully Projected a kitchen knife.

Magical intensity on the Projection of said knife: "Around twice the normal amount. A bit less actually."

Like I said, practice is all it requires to perfect the task. And so I did just that the whole day. I held the real knife in my right, and Projected it in my left. Every time, it becomes a bit easier, the knife looking more perfect. When I perfected that, I tried doing it vice versa, holding it in my left, Projecting it in my right. When I also perfected that, I tried other blades in the kitchen.

Each attempt makes the next, even if it's on a different knife, easier, so my progress was phenomenal. Getting faster and more perfect every time. When I went through all the kitchen blades, I decided it was time to try Projecting one from my reality marble. Specifically, a blade with a spirit.

So far, my previous projections were a perfect copy in terms of composition, and the making of materials. But since they were without a spirit, I cannot see and copy their history. Perhaps Shirou can do it with his Structural Grasping, but I only have my own Bonding, making me limited to blades with spirits that can tell me about themselves.

Me being poetic, I picked the old mundane blade that I first saw. I felt for it through my reality marble. It was easier, since it was one of the few blades I have bonded with, allowing me to sense it even without me going into my reality marble.

I simply repeated the process I have practiced all day, pulsing my mana through it. On my left, I mirrored the information I received. This time however, I also replicated the history the spirit within the sword told me. Before my eyes, the sword I was projecting aged. It didn't rust because I simply copied the rust, nor the sword became dirty because I copied the dirt from the original. It was speed running through time, going through the same history the original went through, with the assistance of my insane attunement with blades, and the spirit that dwelled in it.

With a significantly more mana usage, a perfect copy of the mundane blade was Projected on my left hand. That was easier than expected. I'm happy, very happy. As far as I'm concerned, I have succeeded in my task, though the blade looked uncanny for a lack of a better term. I studied the one in my hand, and the one in my reality marble closely. At first glance, they were like twins of each other, perfectly mirroring every aspect.

As I looked more closely, I saw the differences. I didn't notice it on the knives, since they were well maintained, and mostly symmetric. This blade however has rusted in places, and the design itself wasn't symmetric so it's easy to notice.

I have not simply projected a copy, but Mirrored it. Literally. The copy I made is similar to the original in every way, except that it's projected as if it came out of a mirror. "Huh, I didn't know that was possible." The original had a symbol of an eagle on its hilt, looking to the right, but the copy I made had the eagle looking to the left.

I checked the knives I projected before, and sure enough, upon closer inspection, they were also Mirrored. It didn't seem to be a problem, but I didn't want to take chances. I tried again, this time, I focused to make sure that I don't create a Mirror, but a copy. The process was mostly the same, and before I knew it, a Traced version was in my hands. After a couple more practices, the Traced version became easier to project each time.

I wanted to call Leo, and bring him out to the real world. I can also feel his excitement, his desire to be let out and battle. But between the couple of dozen practice knives I Mirrored, and the few swords I Traced, my circuits were quite hot. I could still manage a good amount, but if I were to Trace a Noble Phantasm for the first time, I would need all the preparations I can.