Fate Of A Gamer

You know? I'm not much of a Star Wars fan. I mean, I've seen a couple of the movies, and they were nice, but they're just so not my style, you know? I can definitely see the appeal of it all, but the way the story goes on is just…yeah. Don't really have any words to describe it. Right now, the only thing I can remember is that there's two sides of the force, and that there's a rebellion and stuff.

But damn, if the dark side had powers like this, I'll probably join up instantly!

"Um, are you okay, master?" I turn to a very worried Gareth next to him, the wide smile still on my face. "Of course!" I say, enthusiastically waving around the mobile phone I have. Not that the mobile device was interesting (though it is 10 years better than current phones), but what's most important is that sweet 100% battery.

That I charged! In thirty seconds!

Aah~, knowing that I can do stuff like this, I'm falling even more in love with this new skill of mine!

[Voltaic Charge Lv 1 – 32%]

The sounds of distant thunder roar through the rainy winds, the burst of lightning striking down from the heavens above, burning anything it touches into ash. Cackling, jolting, it is the strength of nature, the wrath of the sky sent down from above. You now wield its power, and it has become your own.

Grants you power over lightning, either creating it or manipulating existing lightning

Cost depends on the power and intensity of lightning being created and controlled

You are immune from being electrocuted

When a lightning storm is occurring, all your stats are increased by 100

Passively grants +5 Intelligence and Wisdom

I…think I got this skill book back when I escaped…Alaya's prison? Yeah. Pretty sure. Anyways, even at level 1, this is a pretty bloated skill. It's basically a [Attribute Enchant: Lightning] mixed in with [Lightning Resistance] or something like that. The +100 on all stats when a lightning storm is happening is a nice addition as well.

But damn this skill is hard to level up!

To give some context, I used the skill book this morning, and I've been using it ever since. It…certainly made my morning spar with Shirou a lot more fun, with how he needed to dodge the lightning instead of blocking it (conductivity baby!), but that aside, roughly three hours have passed since I started using it, and as you can see, I've only gone up by 32%, Which, with some quick maths, roughly equates to 10% every hour.

And that'll go down with each level up.

Yikes.

To be fair, ȧssuming the passive buffs go up by 5 every level, +500 to Intelligence and Wisdom on Max level is broken, so I do understand the difficulty curve. But! It's still annoying.

Anyways, I'm currently browsing through the [Item Store], since I haven't checked it in a while, and I don't have anything to do anyway. Shirou's currently out with Akemi and Ride, both because we're still on the lookout for 'true' Assassin and to teach Akemi a thing or two about magecraft. Seeing as the girl is completely average in terms of prana capacity, I'm having Shirou help her practice, since he too suffered from the same dilemma.

Since I can handle myself, I also sent Gareth and Francis with him, just in case.

Though it's more because I wanted some alone time to myself. .

Which I won't get, because someone's discovered my secret spot on the roof of the hotel.

"You seem quite bored, Hanami." And just like that, the personal bubble I had myself in popped, though I was hardly annoyed. Putting away the [Item Store] tab, I turn to see Gilgamesh make herself comfortable beside me, sitting by my side on the ledge of this incredibly tall building.

"Not really. I'm just winding down. You know, passing the time and all."

It's strange really. I mean, I'm sitting beside Gilgamesh, ya know, the first hero in human history. Yeah, Gilgamesh is female in this universe, but it's still Gilgamesh. I'm surprised I haven't fallen off from anxiety or something.

I guess that's just what makes this version of Gilgamesh so different.

She feels human.

In the myths, Gilgamesh was not fully human, nor was he fully a god. He distanced himself from both sides, instead viewing the world like an outside observer. He saw himself different from both humans and gods, and he reigned as a separate entity away from the world. It was why Enkidu was sent down, and why he was so loved by the fandom despite being the jackass he is.

The closest comparison I have for her is Caster Gil, but even then she felt more…welcoming?

Or was this something special just to her?

"Don't you have anything to do?" I ask back, and Gilgamesh smiles. "This war broken. All the laid rules are useless. What I do now doesn't matter." She answers simply, and…well, yeah, that's true. This technically isn't even a battle royale to get the Holy Grail anymore, and besides, she's Gilgamesh. She can probably just grab a copy or two of the damn artifact and use it to drink some of her wine.

"Guess so." She laughs, and we soon ŀȧpse into peaceful silence. The wind whistles around us, the hustle and bustle from the city below sounding like distant echoes, and I see a golden portal appear beside me. Out of it comes a golden cup, not quite the Holy Grail, but magical enough for the magi to probably go crazy, and Gilgamesh picks it up and drinks wine from it.

How fittin-, oh, and she's even holding a cup for me.

"Thanks."

We spent about half an hour just sitting there, enjoying the peace before the upcoming devastation. In that time, I also used my Mystic Eyes to slowly retrace Gilgamesh's story. Of course, I did it silently, since I didn't feel like breaking the privacy of Gilgamesh and all.

I saw heaven.

I saw hell.

I saw glory.

I saw defeat.

It was all a jumbled mess that even my Mystic Eyes couldn't decipher completely. As expected of the first and oldest hero of mankind, her history and legend is the richest of them all, and I'm simply not strong enough to take it all in.

I saw life.

I saw death.

I saw hope.

I saw despair.

To that, I'm grateful for the sturdiness I've managed to build up through all of my experiences. Had I not held on, I would've probably broken out in pain and fell off the roof (again).

But there was one thing I managed to see clearly.

I saw her shout, and the heavens came crashing down.

It was the one scene that shone the brightest, depicting her pulling the gates of heaven down onto the earth. What it means, I don't know, but holy hell does it look epic!

And more than that-

[In the wake of the king's despair, her people clawed on, fighting against the endless tides of fate. It is in that moment that the legend of the first hero truly began to unveil, when she became a hero to humankind. You have witnessed it, experienced the wonders of that time long gone.]

[We leave you behind with this. We beg you, traveler from afar, accompany our king until the very end.]

[You have gained the skill [Age of Babylon]!]

I got this little thing as a present. Of course, the first thing I asked was who this 'we' was, but then I read the name of the skill, and the face of a certain genderless person appeared in my head, along with the many warriors I saw standing behind Gilgamesh in that final scene, and I realized.

[Age of Babylon Lv Max]

"For it is in the name of our king that we move onwards."

In that time of peril, when gods still walked the earth with men, dangers lurked close to the heart. But she came to rule over them, and her friend gave knowledge to the people, and with it, they grew, becoming a bastion in the torrent of demonic entities. Now their knowledge is imparted to you. May you use it well, [Gamer].

When performing any acts of [Crafting], there is no longer a chance of failure.

When performing any acts of [Crafting], all items created will always be Rank D or higher

All skills of [Crafting] gain experience 200% faster

?

-[Crafting] skills count for all skills that create ([Blacksmithing], [Tailoring], [Crafting], etc.)

"…Hmm."

"Anything interesting, Hanami?" I blink for a moment, turning to look at the woman beside me, before smiling.

"It's nothing."

"Oi, that's hell you're walking into."

'?!'

With a jump, Kiritsugu wakes, cold sweat pouring down his pale face. That dream again? He frowns. He knows of the [Dream Cycle], where he would view the life of the servant he summoned, but he'd already seen Saber's. If so, then what was that burning cityscape, and who was that white-haired man standing in the shadows, saying that exact lines every time.

The dreams started coming a month ago, and he came no closer to deciphering what they mean. It was all a jumbled mess really. Sometimes he'd start with him and a faceless boy staring at the night sky, and other times he'd see himself walking towards the Einzbern castle, his surroundings covered in snow.

But all of them always led to that same burning city, with that shadowed man saying those words to him.

The only clue he has is of the boy he'd occasionally see in his dreams, of his bright red hair and his beaming smiles, but other than that, nothing.

Is he worried? Perhaps, but the Holy Grail War is upon him, and all distractions must be cast away.

"That's hell you're walking into."

He winces, feeling a slight burn in his lungs, but he pushes forward, rising from the empty bed. Iri seems to be with Saber. That is fine by him.

"Good morning, Kiritsugu."

"…Ah, Maiya." The woman bows, gently closing the door behind her. Her face holds no expression, and she stares at him. "Are you alright? It's unlike you to wake up late." Kiritsugu looks to the watch on his wrist, and as she said, it is just past 8 in the morning, nearly two hours past the time he'd normally wake.

"I'm fine." That was a lie, and Maiya clearly knows as well.

"Kiritsugu."

His body has been weakening. It isn't physical, he'd gone to several doctors to examine his body, and they'd found nothing. It doesn't seem to be magical as well. There are no traces of curses or lingering prana in his body.

If so, why does he feel so weak? Why does his lung burn with every breath he takes?

"It hurts, doesn't it, oh hero of justice?"

"Kiritsugu!" Suddenly, Maiya comes to him, holding him before he can plummet onto the floor. He gasps, but even the sound is muted, weak. It's the weakest he's ever felt. The colors of the world grow dull, and the ringing in his ears grows.

And then he sees himself sitting on a wooden porch, staring at the night sky, and his son sitting beside him, tears flowing down his golden eyes.

"Yeah, you can rest, dad."

His name echoes in the throes of his mind.

"Shi…rou…"

Kiritsugu blacks out.

~~~

When Irisviel hears that Kiritsugu suddenly fainted, she was understandably worried. She and Saber had immediately ran back to her bedroom, and there she saw Maiya sitting by the bedside, her normally expressionless mask broken by a worried frown, and Kiritsugu sleeping on the bed, his face pale and his breath short and ragged.

Worry then turns to horror when Maiya shows the thermometer she had used on Kiritsugu, and the terrifying 42°C it displays. The fever her husband is suffering is far above the norm, and they don't have the necessary medicines to help him.

But a sliver of hope appears when Maiya mentions the name Kiritsugu had said before he passed out.

"Shirou. He'd said that name. I…looked through the recent documents in the city, and there was only one that matched the name." She'd said as she handed a small file. In it is a picture, depicting a pair of what she ȧssumed to be teenagers. One is a girl with light brown hair, and the other a boy with deep, red hair and golden eyes.

The boy made her feel…strange. He seemed familiar, yet she knew she'd never seen him, since she would've easily remembered such. Saber seems to hold the same sentiment, stating that seeing him made her heart ache slightly, as if remembering an old memory.

The history they had wasn't very long. They arrived in Fuyuki nearly a week before and soon rented a hotel to stay in. But before that, the two were found in Miki city a month ago, injured and bleeding, and had been treated until they fully recovered.

That was it.

They had appeared a month ago.

The same time when Kiritsugu began to weaken.

Whether or not they were the culprit to Kiritsugu's worsening health, she isn't sure. They are young, but appearances are deceiving. But she knows the boy holds the key to her husband's recovery.

Kiritsugu had helped her so many times. It was time for her to do the same for him.

Irisviel wasted no time.. With Maiya remaining behind to care for her ill husband, she and Saber went out into the city, searching for the red-haired boy.