Chapter 2: Acclimatizing

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness.

Finished earlier than expected, lots of part have been changed to fit the current version of the story and we've also made several improvement of the dialogue and fate lore. Overall, almost the entire chapter has been reworked.

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-Kuoh-

"Hmm…" 

As morning came and the sun lit up Rias Gremory's bedroom, the young Devil woke up. Devils being creatures of the night made the simple task of opening her eyes a monumental ordeal. "A few more minutes…" she groaned, only to bury her head back into Archer's chest, wanting to enjoy a few more minutes of rest.

"Mmmm…" the buxom redhead moaned pleasantly, taking in the sensation of a source of warmth and comfort present next to her the first thing in the morning. She was glad that there weren't any contracts yesterday, allowing her to return home earlier than usual and have a long, relaxing night full of peaceful sleep. She knew that she'd have to get up soon so she could get ready for school, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy a few more minutes of cuddle-time with her new Servant.

Yes, that sounded like a very good idea. Rias decided as she tightened her grip on Archer, who on a side note now seemed a lot cushier than she remembered him being.

"Master, it's time to wake up."

She suddenly became alert as Archer's voice sounded from behind her, his hand gently shaking her shoulder. Opening her eyes, the Devil saw that she wasn't holding her Servant, but a pillow. As for the actual Archer, he was currently attempting to get his Master out of bed.

"Archer?" Rias looked over her shoulder at him with a confused face. "When… How did you—?"

"I slipped out of bed a short while ago to familiarize myself with the house and also to prepare your breakfast, but you seemed lonely so I substituted myself with a pillow until it was time for you to wake up." The Servant interrupted, answering her question. "I do apologize for disturbing your sleep, Master, but if you don't get up now you're definitely going to be late for school. Breakfast will be on the table in thirty minutes, so use that time to shower and get dressed. There's a clean uniform, folded and ready for you waiting on your desk."

"..."

A part of her was a bit let down that she didn't get to have more time with him, but duty called and she couldn't be late for school.

The Master sat up as the Heroic Spirit turned around and left the room, astonished at how he had so easily taken stock of his new situation, and was even taking the initiative in her morning routine. Rias couldn't imagine what it was like to be a Servant, but she figured that it would have taken one at least a little while to adapt to having themselves be summoned from the… 'What did he call it again? Ah yes, the Throne of Heroes,' to the mortal plane — and one in a different world at that — and be bound to serve a Master he'd never met before and knew nothing about. 

Then again, maybe Archer's ability to adapt to bizarre scenarios like his current one so quickly had been one of the qualities that allowed him to become a Heroic Spirit in the first place, and he'd also mentioned being summoned as a Servant at least once before.

Shaking her head, the young Devil reminded herself that she could spend the rest of the day mulling these thoughts over, right now though she had to prepare for school. Getting herself fully out of bed, she made her way to the shower. 

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Archer hadn't been completely honest with his Master when he woke her up. While he did do exactly what he'd said, he neglected to mention that ever since discovering what his Master was, he had been more than a little suspicious of her, and of just how honest she was being with him. 

Taking advantage of the time she spent asleep, he'd examined the entire house as thoroughly as he could with both his eyes and other senses for anything that might suggest that his Master had lied about the way Devils treated humanity in this new world he'd been summoned to; in which case, the pact he and his Master shared would be a very short-lived one…

'Devils and Demons in general were never known for their… peaceful relationships with humans. I can't exactly take her word at face value upon our first meeting.'

But despite inspecting the entire property from top to bottom in the last three hours, the only thing that Archer's nose could pick up that fell within the bounds of the mystic world was his Master herself, and even after Structurally Analyzing everything — and he really did examine everything — he didn't find a single thing that would indicate that his Master had lied about the nature of Devils, or even suggest that she might have malicious intentions towards anyone, human or otherwise.

There was no trophy room displaying the skulls of her victims, no swimming pools filled with blood, no torture chamber containing the screams of its victims still clinging to life and the decay of those who were not, no portal that was connected to the lowest depths of Hell — although that might be because his Master was able to teleport there all by herself at a moment's notice — not even a single grimoire about how to conduct a ritual in which one steals the soul of a sacrificial victim. The fact was, aside from its inhuman resident, there wasn't a single odd thing about this house.

It was normal, never in his life did he ever picture a Devil or Demon with such a simple life.

Although there was one thing that was rather peculiar: a large walk-in storeroom that was filled with over three dozen shelves, and packed tightly together on the shelves were row upon row of manga volumes, along with HD DVDs and Blu-rays for their corresponding anime, plus numerous figurines of their characters. 

There was even another room next to it that was completely identical, except the shelves were only about a tenth full, and there was also an honest to god figurine making kit neatly tucked away in the corner next to several cans containing different colors of paint as well as a paint gun.

When it came down to it, Archer could honestly say that he was astonished at how… ordinary the house was.

Well, except for all the manga merchandise, but even those weren't all that strange in and of themselves. He could probably find similar collections in houses all over Japan, if not the world.

Now that he thought about it, the Servant had to admit that he was actually more than a little disappointed. Make no mistake, he wasn't upset to find that his Master hadn't been lying and that she wasn't harvesting the souls of gullible, corruptible humans, oh not at all. Rather, he was disappointed that he had been summoned by a Devil, a creature of myth and legend whose mere existence was leagues beyond anything most humans were able to achieve, only to find that her home didn't even have the most basic components of what could find in even the temporary dwelling of a magus back in his home dimension.

She didn't have a Temple.

She didn't have a workshop.

She didn't have a library filled with forbidden knowledge of sacrificial rituals.

She didn't have a single magical tome in the entire house.

Part of Archer reminded himself that his Master wasn't human, she was a Devil. Hell was her natural home, so it might be the case that she did her training, research, and whatever else she did, down in the fiery depths of the underworld.

But even while keeping that in mind, the Servant of the Bow didn't feel like that was the case. In fact when he took into account that he'd been summoned in what seemed like a school clubroom, all the Devils present for his summoning had been wearing school uniforms, and he himself was even helping his Master get ready to go to school right this minute — it began to look more and more like he had been summoned by a high school student who just happened to be a Devil.

And was also a bit of an otaku.

"Dammit," he sighed. "Maybe I'm just reading too much into things too early. It's been less than twelve hours since I even materialized and I'm already debating whether or not I should kill my Master when I barely know anything about her. It's too soon to come to an accurate conclusion about this world or my new Master. As far as I can tell though, she's been honest with me and hasn't done anything to betray my trust. For now I'll just try a wait-and-see approach, and stay true to my word to serve and protect her so long as she proves worthy of it."

Appearance could be deceiving; he on many occasions had personally seen how even the most seemingly innocent of people could hide the darkest secrets.

His mind made up for the time being, Archer stepped into the kitchen. Saying the place was big would be an understatement, even Rin's mansion didn't have anything close to this size and cleanliness. Then again, she didn't have much of a choice back then… Putting these thoughts aside, he began the sacred task of preparing his Master's morning meal. 

Why do such a thing for her? Because he was curious, maybe even letting his paranoia take control over the most simple things. He wanted to see if Devils enjoyed a simple meal or if they required something more… specific.

"Hmm, I wonder what kind of breakfast I should make?" He muttered about this for a full minute before the answer came to him; it was so obvious he could have smacked himself! With the exception of the bedrooms, everything in the house — the walls and floors, the kitchen, living room, bathroom, even the garden — was all structured and decorated in the traditional Japanese fashion.

…In some places the concept had been taken a bit too far in his opinion. The house was made with European standards after all and not Japanese style. 

In any event, knowing what kind of breakfast to make for his Master now, Archer started taking out the necessary ingredients and utensils, and got to work.

"Let's see if I can satisfy a Devil with my cooking…"

{Break}

(Half an hour later)

Rias had just finished taking a shower, her hair perfectly combed while she made sure to use her favorite scented shampoo before getting changed into her school uniform and opened the door to leave her room when an abundance of mouth-watering aromas hit her square in the face. 

"Wha…" When the Devil realized that the various scents were coming from the kitchen where her Servant was making breakfast, she made her way to that part of the house just a little bit more quickly than she usually did.

The scent was far too appetizing to ignore.

Rias walked into the house's dining area just in time to see her Servant lay out some chopsticks on the table next to her plate before stepping back and allowing her to take in the wondrous sight before her.

The food… for a second she could have sworn it was sparkling. It smelled delicious; far better than anything she'd smelled in her life. Not even the meals prepared by her family's personal chefs had ever smelled this good!

"Ah, Master," Archer's voice snapped Rias out of her trance and drew her attention over to him, "perfect timing, I just finished preparing your meal. I do hope you enjoy it."

'If this tastes even a tenth as good as it smells, I most certainly will.' Rias thought as she thanked Archer for the food and knelt down on the cushion to eat with no small amount of enthusiasm, taking in the sight of the meal set before her. In terms of selection, it was just like any other Japanese breakfast, with miso soup, rolled omelet, broiled fish, and fermented soybeans, with some steamed rice waiting in a cooker off to the side.

"You certainly went all out." 

He shrugged, "You can say I have a knack for Japanese cooking. Or even just cooking in general." In his mind, a certain blue haired girl flashed before disappearing a split second later.

Rias respectfully put her hands together and said "Itadakimasu." before eagerly filling her plate with fish and several bits of rolled up omelet, and filling her bowl with rice before mixing in some soybeans, as was the traditional style, and then taking her first bite of omelet.

It was everything she dreamed of and more.

Her mouth simply burst with flavor, and Rias couldn't help holding her spare hand up against her blushing cheek as she moaned in utter bliss.

The redhead proceeded to wolf down everything that was on her plate, as well as her second and third servings, in a manner that left her feeling rather embarrassed after she finally swallowed the last bite. She was the heir to the House of Gremory and prided herself on always acting in a manner befitting her noble ancestry, and yet the grace and etiquette that had been ingrained within her since she was old enough to walk had crumbled upon tasting the wonderful breakfast that Archer had prepared for her.

Daintily wiping her mouth with her napkin in an attempt to salvage some of her dignity, Rias glanced over at her Servant to find the Heroic Spirit leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed, looking rather pleased with himself, causing the Devil to narrow her eyes slightly in annoyance even as more blood flowed to her cheeks. While Rias didn't really blame Archer for taking what was obviously well-earned pride in his amazing skills as a chef, she certainly could have done without that damn smirk of his.

Instead of verbally expressing her frustrations though, the Gremory heir rose to her feet and turned to face the Servant with a polite smile. "Thank you for the food, Archer. It was truly delicious, and I hope I will be able to enjoy such wonderful meals again soon and often."

Archer simply shrugged. "If that's what my Master wants, then I suppose I have no choice but to comply. Speaking of which…" He then reached for something on the counter behind his back, and when he brought his arm back out again it was holding out a wrapped up bento for Rias to take. "Here is your lunch for the day, Master."

Eyes shining briefly at the prospect of eating more of Archer's amazing food, Rias gladly took the offered bento into her hands and gave Archer her thanks before heading back to her room to grab her school bag and then slipping on her shoes as she prepared to leave, but not before saying goodbye to the newest resident of her home. 

"Goodbye Archer, I'll be back to bring you to the room where me and my peerage meet after school's over. In the meantime, feel free to make yourself at home." But as she moved to head out the door, she felt the Servant's hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Archer?"

The Servant had a stern look in his eyes. "Master, you cannot mean to say that you wish to simply leave me here with nothing to do while you go out. As your Servant, I am obligated to remain at your side so I can protect you."

Taking a deep breath, Rias replied "Archer, while I appreciate your concern, you must realize that since I'm going to school, I can't exactly take you with me."

The Servant blinked before realization dawned in his eyes and he moved his hand from his Master's shoulder to his chin, the other one coming up to cup the elbow. "Ah, I see. Apologies, Master, I forgot that you'd never even heard of Servants prior to summoning me, and I neglected to mention this earlier."

"Mention what?" Rias tilted her head in confusion.

"Servants have the ability to enter an astral state, also known as our spirit form. In this state, we are completely invisible to anyone except for our Master, as well as other Servants. We also use much less Magical Energy when in this state, which in turn makes us far more difficult to detect, although those who are attuned deeply enough to the mystic world may still be able to sense us." 

Just to showcase it, he changed right in front of her by turning into blue light particles and vanishing completely. Rias absentmindedly waved her hands around where he was only to find no one. A few seconds later he reappeared in the same spot seemingly not having moved an inch.

"Wow, that's pretty cool." She couldn't help but comment.

"Thank you," he replied. "So Master, now that you know about that little ability of mine, may I accompany you to your school in my spirit form?"

'These Servants are just full of surprises.' Rias thought in amazement, though on the outside she kept her cool and replied "Yes Archer, I would be delighted if you did."

He nodded, "Thank you. Now, unless there is anything else, I believe it's time to go."

The Master and Servant traveled to the former's school in silence, though as they walked through Kuoh Academy's gateway and set foot on the school grounds, the other students who were still milling about all stopped whatever they were doing in favor of staring at Rias in complete admiration as soon as they noticed her. 

While none of them seemed to have the courage to actually talk to Rias, Archer could easily hear the numerous comments they made about his Master. A few of them were talking most enthusiastically about her vibrant red hair, others commented on her beautiful face, a lot of the girls talked about her intelligence or athletic ability, with many of them also referring to her as "Onee-sama."

'Another Ojou-sama case… am I cursed to always get summoned by such Masters? Is that a particular trait attached to my summoning requirements or something?' He couldn't help but think about this possibility as a joke.

But a small part of him did worry that such a thing could be possible.

There were quite a few groups of boys in the area who were gawking at his Master's breasts, some shamelessly so. Others at least attempted to make it seem like they were looking at her face, but even if he hadn't had his C ranked Clairvoyance, Archer could clearly see their eyes dropping back down to her chest.

Although to be completely fair, he couldn't hold it entirely against them; his Master was a young woman, 'No, Devil,' of exceptional beauty, and had a body that just about anyone attracted to the female gender would find desirable. As for the boys' — as well as some girls funny enough — habit of almost constantly staring at her breasts… as much as the Servant hated to admit it, it was to be expected given how his Master's enormous jugs bounced every single time she took a step or moved her upper body. 

Honestly, how by all the mysteries and secrets contained within the Akashic Records was that even possible? He knew for a fact that she was wearing a bra — he distinctly remembered laying one out for her along with her uniform, and he'd even Structurally Analyzed her clothes during the walk here just to confirm that she had it on! Twice! Thrice now!

'She must be using some spell, I see no other logical explanation… or her current undergarments are of exceptionally poor quality.' 

Making a mental note that he might need to take his Master out shopping for some proper underwear when they had the time, the Servant decided to address her as they entered the school's main building and made their way to Rias' homeroom. 

'You seem to be something of a celebrity here, Master.' he spoke directly to Rias.

The girl flinched as she heard Archer's voice sound from within her head, and her eyes shifted to where she saw her Servant, invisible to all but her, casually walking beside her. "Archer?" She asked while keeping her voice down to a whisper.

'Ah yes, I forgot to mention this as well. My apologies. Due to the pact that exists between us as Servant and Master, you and I are able to communicate with one another telepathically regardless of the distance between us.'

"Well that's certainly interesting," the Gremory heir muttered while doing her best to make it look like she wasn't talking to thin air as she entered her homeroom and sat down at her seat. "But how do I do it?"

'Simply look within yourself and search for the part of you that you feel is most closely linked to me. Focus on that connection, and I will be able to hear your words, spoken or not, just as you are able to hear mine.'

As the five-minute morning homeroom meeting that took place daily went by, Rias took a deep breath and did as her Servant advised. Sure enough, she soon found what he'd said to look for. It was small, like only a few microscopic cells, but it still felt like an integral part of her very being, and she could also feel what she could only describe as some kind of thread connecting her to something similar inside of Archer. Rias took that link, the pact between Archer and herself, and focused on it. 

'Like this?'

'Exactly so, Master.'

Rias shook her head the slightest amount and smiled to herself as homeroom ended and she got up from her chair and made her way to the room for today's first class: English. 

'Every time I learn more about Heroic Spirits, they always seem to find a way to become even more amazing.'

'Why thank you.' Rias was startled as Archer's voice once again surprised her. 'And by the way, I heard that, Master.' 

Even though she wasn't looking at him, she could feel the smirk that was sprouting on the man's face as he spoke. But the redhead refused to give any indication that this annoyed her in the slightest while she entered her classroom and sat down at her desk next to Akeno, who smiled at her and offered a quick greeting, which she returned before focusing back on her conversation with her Servant. 

'So, are there any other abilities that you feel you should inform me about? Or is this the last surprise?'

'Hmm, well I can't feel any connection to the Holy Grail, but it does seem like there is a support system in place, surprisingly. So I guess we might as well see how closely it resembles the system I'm familiar with.'

Now Rias was just confused. 'The Holy Grail? Why would a Christian artifact have anything to do with us, Archer?'

Of course, different world…

'Right, right, sorry. Allow me to explain as best I can. Back in my reality, the practice of summoning Servants first came about towards the end of the 18th century, when three families of mages worked together to summon a magical device known as the Holy Grail.'

He made sure to stop and allow her to process the information.

'Now to be clear, this Holy Grail wasn't the artifact that belonged to the God of the Bible's son, Jesus Christ, but was instead a wish-granting device that was said to be omnipotent. The ritual was designed with each of the families contributing essential components; the first family provided the vessel that would become the Holy Grail; the second provided land rich with high-quality ley lines filled with abundant mana for the Grail to draw upon, and they also developed the ritual used to summon the Servants; while the third family created the Command Seals so as to keep said Servants under control.'

'Wait,' Rias interrupted, confused about something. 'As fascinating as this story is, Archer, I'm confused as to why these families of mages would need to summon Heroic Spirits for a ritual involving a wish-granting device.'

Oh right, he should explain that first. Though given what he'd seen of her so far, she wouldn't like it. Ah well, she did ask for it and it was his duty to inform her.

'Ah, an excellent question. You see, the way that the Holy Grail granted wishes involved the vessel absorbing the souls of dead Servants. Once all the preparations had been completed, the seven Masters involved in the ritual would have all used their Command Seals to compel their Servants to kill themselves and subsequently be consumed by the Grail and be converted into pure mana to serve as the power the vessel needed to grant wishes.'

'What!?' She nearly screamed for real, horrified and angered by this piece of news.

Hearing that caused Rias to clench her teeth as her eyes widened in silent fury. 

The idea that someone would go through the trouble of summoning and contracting a Heroic Spirit simply to kill it off as a sacrificial pawn for some obscure ritual disgusted her more than she could describe. It didn't matter to her what sort of wish she might have; she would never throw away the lives of one of her own servants! 

The young Devil glared at the Command Seals on her left hand, having some slight resemblance to her family's mark, and the knowledge of their original purpose made her feel like she had something foul engraved on her hand. She now wanted more than ever to be rid of these crimson marks, but couldn't; if that happened, she'd lose her pact with Archer. So as much as she despised the Seals, she'd gladly put up with them if it meant keeping her Servant. 

"Fuuu…" Taking several deep, calming breaths, she continued to listen to Archer, completely ignoring the teacher's words as he began the lesson, though she at least pretended to pay attention to class.

'By this point the Grail would have absorbed enough power from the ley lines, which when combined with the Servants' souls it had consumed, would allow it to fulfill its main function, and return all the Heroic Spirits to the Throne of Heroes within the Akashic Records, creating a gateway to them in the process that humans would be also able to travel through, at least in theory.' 

She heard him chuckle at that last part, his tone almost mocking and making it sound like a joke.

'This was precisely what the second family in particular wanted, as their wish was to reach… the Root. Which for simplicity's sake you can consider it as the source of everything and anything you can imagine. Reaching the Root is the ultimate goal of everyone in my world who calls themself a magus, and it is one that most magi will do literally anything in order to accomplish.'

That she could understand, such a possibility would be very enticing for even Devils, let alone humans.

'Of course, this was not the only wish that the Grail was capable of granting. With that much raw power contained in the vessel, one would have been able to wish for just about anything. One of the families wanted to use the Grail to regain an incredibly powerful type of magic that their family had possessed nearly a millennium ago. While the third family's head desired everlasting life.'

"Hmm," Those were understandable reasons as well. Given the context, she concluded that this family's magic was probably something similar to a Devil House's unique power. And immortality of course remained the most coveted desire for any human. Devils were said to live for eternity, yet no one knew for sure as everyone eventually died in battle or succumbed to illness at one point or another. Not a single member of her species had ever died of old age.

Archer continued with his explanation.

'However as the ritual was nearing completion, the three families discovered a troubling fact; the Holy Grail could only grant one wish at a time every sixty years. When the three families realized this, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that they all quickly turned on one another in order to claim the wish for themselves. By the time the fighting was done, none of the Masters or their Servants had survived, and no one got the Grail.'

A grim reality, she couldn't imagine the carnage that would have erupted after such a major disagreement.

'Every sixty years since then, seven mages from across the globe are bestowed Command Seals by the Grail itself, with three of the Masters serving as representatives for each of the three families that originally designed the ritual. Each Master summons a Servant of their own, and then they all meet in the land where the ritual first took place, which is now a Japanese city called Fuyuki. There, the Servants, guided by their Masters, would battle one another to the death until only one is left to determine who is worthy to claim the Grail. And thus, my Master, the Holy Grail War was born.'

'I must say, that is quite an interesting story, Archer.' The heir to the House of Gremory commented. 'But I have to ask, how much do you think the Holy Grail War might have to do with us right now? Does the Grail have any connection to Sephiroth Graal?'

'I'm not sure about the last part, it was just named like that due to the Holy Church being a part of the war, and it was originally called the Heaven's Feel Ritual.' Archer shrugged. 'As for the first part, short answer; I don't know. Like I mentioned before, I can't exactly sense any kind of connection to the Grail, and I'm not sure if someone in this world would even be able to create such a specific item in the first place. So if you had a certain wish that you wanted it to grant, I'm afraid it seems that you're out of luck. However, I can guess that there should definitely be some sort of support system in place, but I have no idea who or what's behind it. Your reserves are large, Master, but that still wouldn't be enough to maintain a Servant's existence all by yourself for more than a day. If I'd been summoned as Caster, I could probably tell you more, but alas that's not the case.'

Archer was eligible for a Caster role? That was an interesting piece of info in her opinion. 

'Additionally, it would be safest to assume that six other people in this world have also received Command Seals just as you did, Master. And for all we know they've all summoned their Servants by now. We may not be fighting a Holy Grail War, Master, but some of the other Masters could very well be our enemies.'

'Um, I didn't actually receive the mark out of nowhere, Archer.' Rias said, realizing she hadn't mentioned anything about the dead mage case.

'Hm?'

'Well… ' she started to explain everything from the beginning. With how she found the body and accidentally stepped into the circle while getting the mark. And how she discovered the other parts for the summoning ritual.

In the end, Archer was very lost. This… this didn't make sense to him. How did the mage from the past learn about Heroic Spirits and the Throne of Heroes from another world? How could this summoning spell have allowed Servants to be called all the way here? This wasn't the Earth he was familiar with, Mana was far too abundant and he did not know if an existence like the human order existed here. Multiple questions ran through his mind, yet none of them held any weight since it just brought more questions than even a single answer.

Was it possible that a greater source of power kept supplying him with Magical Energy because…

'Speaking of the other Servants, Archer, I was wondering if you could tell me more about them. I want to know what to expect should we encounter another Servant and it proves to be an enemy.'

'Adorable and prudent. It seems like I've gotten myself a very good Master indeed.' Archer smirked. In spite of his sarcastic attitude though, Rias could tell that he approved of her desire to learn more about a potential threat. 'So, what do you remember me telling you about the other classes after you summoned me last night?'

Rias thought back to her conversation with him the other night before answering. 'There was Archer, Saber, Rider, Lancer, Berserker, Caster, and… Assassin. You also mentioned that the Archer class specializes in long range combat as well as acting independently.'

'Very good, Master,' Archer smiled. 'I'm glad to see that you were paying attention. Now let's see… Saber is often the most sought-after Servant, as they are widely considered the strongest out of all the classes. They usually have high rankings for all of their stats, as well as strong Magic Resistance and even a Riding skill. Their Noble Phantasm almost always involves their sword in some way, but given the name of the class itself, that's no surprise.'

Rias blinked. 'Noble Phantasm?' To which Archer responded by sighing.

'Right. I'll explain later. Next we have Lancer. Stats-wise, this class is identical to Saber for the most part, except they have much greater Agility, also having Magic Resistance as a Class Skill, but not Riding… in most cases. Also like the Saber class, their Noble Phantasm is usually related to their weapon, however for Lancer it's obviously a pole-arm instead of a sword.'

The girl nodded, following along his explanation.

'Up next we have Rider. Now with them it can be difficult to guess what their stats will be like without encountering them, but they will often have higher ranked Agility, and they also have better Magic Resistance and a more powerful Riding skill than the Saber class. Their Noble Phantasm will always be related in some way to their mount, which can range from an ordinary but famous horse, to some kind of Divine Beast, or maybe even a dragon. Their mount could even be some kind of mechanical contraption, like, for example, a ship.'

A servant riding a ship into land combat… Rias found that image so ridiculous. But she'd seen stranger things in the Supernatural world — her brother and Serafall were prime examples.

'Next we come to the Caster class, which has horrible physical stats, but their Mana will typically be ranked at A, if not higher, which they use to fuel a vast array of dangerous and powerful spells. They also possess the Class Skills of Item Construction and Territory Creation, both of which can be a nightmare to deal with if one isn't careful.'

So an extra powerful mage…

'Now we come to Assassin. Like Caster, Assassin-class Servants often have terrible physical abilities, at least when compared to the other Servants, so they tend to be at a disadvantage in a straight-up fight. However they do have the unique skill of Presence Concealment. With this skill, Assassin-class Servants often target enemy Masters rather than the Servants themselves, and even when they do fight other Heroic Spirits they prefer to use ambushes. So understand, Master, that while the typical Assassin may not be that much of a threat to someone like me or any of the other Servants in a fair fight, this is a class specifically made for Heroic Spirits that like to fight dirty.'

Simple to follow, it wasn't anything too different than what she expected. Of course, her knowledge came mostly from the dungeons and dragons games she played.

'Finally we have Berserker. This class consists of Heroic Spirits that have gone berserk or even insane at some point in their lives. Their distinguishing feature is the Class Skill of Mad Enhancement, which sacrifices the Servant's sanity in exchange for greater power. This class was originally designed so that weak Heroic Spirits would have a fighting chance against the other Servants, but just imagine what would happen if a strong Heroic Spirit was summoned as Berserker.'

Rias thought for a minute about a hero that would fit the criteria Archer was describing, until she remembered about Heracles' legend. She did not exactly know how strong Heracles was aside from the feats with his twelve labors, though some estimated him being strong enough to take on multiple Ultimate-class Devils simultaneously. Killing a Nemean Lion with an impenetrable pelt was not something anyone could do, and the same went for defeating a Hydra whose poison had made even the centaur Chiron wish for death to the point that he cast aside his immortality. Just the idea of a Heroic Spirit of that caliber being summoned in a maddened, uncontrollable state sent chills down her spine.

Archer saw his Master's expression, and was able to take a general guess as to what she was thinking about. 

'Do not fret much, Master. I am no Berserker and I have no plans or desires that would result in your untimely demise. I doubt you even need to worry about me using up too much of your Magical Energy, given what I'm sensing from you. I guess that's to be expected from a Devil.'

Rias frowned as she considered what Archer had told her about the different Servant classes. 'I have to say these other Servants sound like they will be very strong indeed. I can't say I relish the idea of having to fight any of them.'

'Keep yourself focused,' Archer advised. 'You are the heir to the ancient House of Gremory, and younger sister of the Devil whose strength was so great that he was able to claim the legendary title of Lucifer from what you've claimed. Therefore I cannot be anything but the most powerful Servant of all.'

Rias nearly snorted at his words. 'Hmph, flatterer.' She did appreciate the compliment, though whether Archer was complimenting her or himself was a matter of debate. 'By the way, Archer, would you mind explaining that term you kept on using? "Noble Phantasm" I believe it was?'

'Of course,' the Servant of the Bow replied. 'A Noble Phantasm, Master, can best be summarized as the manifestation of a Heroic Spirit's greatest legend. Whenever a Servant is summoned, each one possesses a single Noble Phantasm, which often takes the form of their most powerful attack or greatest strength. There are some special cases with heroes having different weapons based on different time periods in their lives.'

That point raised another question for Rias. 'Archer, if I may, have you recovered some of your memories?' she asked, seeing her Servant go quiet for a couple of seconds.

'You can say that, I'm getting more and more bits and pieces here and there.'

'Then… Do you remember what other classes you can be summoned as?'

Archer considered her words for a few seconds before nodding. 'I guess I can understand why you'd like to know that. To answer your question though, to the best of my knowledge I can be summoned as any of the classes except for Rider, Lancer and Saber.'

Rias blinked. That was certainly a surprise, though if she was being completely honest with herself, she did find it a bit disconcerting that he qualified for Berserker. 'It sounds like you've lived quite an eventful life, Archer, having learned so many different ways to fight. I'm assuming then that your Noble Phantasm right now has something to do with a bow? Or maybe perhaps your arrows themselves?'

Archer was glad that he was in his spirit form, because while his Master could see him, he was obscured just enough that she couldn't make out certain things about his expression, namely the knowing smirk that his lips had once again shifted into. 'In my case, yes. I am indeed an Archer solely focused on shooting targets from a distance. Though against another Servant, I would strongly advise you to not immediately jump to any conclusions about the weapons they may wield or their capabilities.'

It wasn't a lie, so he didn't bother much with it.

'What do you mean by that?' Rias asked, unable to understand what point he was trying to make.

'Simply put, there always exists some possibility for a Servant to have multiple weapons at their disposal. And under the right circumstances some of those weapons may even be ones you normally wouldn't associate with their class at all.'

That didn't make any sense to Rias. 'Hold on, didn't you say a little while ago that each Servant only has one Noble Phantasm?'

Archer shifted his gaze outside the building. 'Just like many things in life, there are outliers. Though most Servants have a single Noble Phantasm, it is entirely possible for a Noble Phantasm to consist of multiple parts or the hero to have more than one weapon.'

'…What?' Rias asked, more confused than ever. 'Archer, you're not making any sense. How could what you're describing – badly, might I add – even work?'

The Heroic Spirit spent a few seconds pondering how to best explain the mechanics of Noble Phantasms, before remembering a couple of historical figures that would hopefully help to shed some light on this particular topic for the young Devil. 'Master, I believe that the legend of the Germanic hero Siegfried would help to clear this up. Are you familiar with his tale?'

'A little,' Rias answered. 'He's the warrior who slew the dragon Fafnir, right?'

'You are correct. He did this with the sword Balmung – while his Norse equivalent Sigurd did the same with the sword Gram – and afterwards he bathed in the dragon's blood, an act that granted him a body that no weapon in the world could harm. Now, both Siegfried's sword and his invulnerability are famous and powerful enough that they are each a Noble Phantasm in their own right. But since they are both part of the same legend for the same hero, they are technically part of a set, and thus qualify as a single Noble Phantasm. There are many legendary people with similar stories that grant them numerous powerful abilities.'

'I see, that's another difference as here the Siegfried I'm familiar with used both swords at the same time. At least, as far as I know.' Rias thought to both herself and her Servant. 

Yes, when explained like that, it would make sense for some Servants to have multiple Noble Phantasms, even though they were only supposed to have one. In fact, to put it in terms that Rias herself was more familiar with, Noble Phantasms could, in a lot of ways, be compared to certain types of Sacred Gears. The biggest difference between the two, however, was that instead of simply being born with or given the power, as was the case with Sacred Gears, a Noble Phantasm was something that was earned through a lifetime of battles and hardships, to the point where the wielder's deeds carved out a place in history for them. 

Seeing that his Master was satisfied with what he had told her about the crystalized legends of ancient heroes becoming a Servant's most powerful ability, Archer shifted the topic back to one that his Master had inquired about earlier. 

Archer, so far you've covered how you're able to go into a spiritual form and how we can use our pact to communicate, both of which you're doing right now, but what else are you able to do as a Servant?'

'Well by this point it's actually not so much about what I can do, but what you can do, Master.' At those words, Archer watched as Rias' eyebrows shot up in surprise, much to his secret amusement, which caused him to chuckle slightly. 'Come now Master, surely you didn't think that having a Servant simply meant bearing my Command Seals and supplying me with the Magical Energy I need to survive? If the system in place right now resembles the one used in the Grail War, then you will have gained a couple of new abilities of your own that will prove useful if we have to fight other Servants, the most important of which is easily Master's Clairvoyance.' 

When Rias inquired as to what that was, he began yet another explanation. 'Master's Clairvoyance is what we call a Master's ability to read and assess any Servant. You can practice on me right now; simply channel a bit of your Magical Energy into your eyes, and then look at me as though you're trying to figure out just how strong I am.'

Rias did as Archer advised, and was surprised when only a second later, all kinds of information regarding her Servant seemed to sprout inside her mind in the form of some sort of chart. She could see Archer's class, and what the ranks for all his basic parameters were: his superhuman strength and endurance ranked C- and B respectively; that his Mana was extraordinarily high; that he had below average Luck. She also knew what kind of abilities his Class and Personal Skills granted him, and what their ranks were as well. However she didn't know what Archer's name or Noble Phantasm was, therefore both those slots remained blank, but Rias figured that it most likely had to do with his memory problem.

She only had a few seconds to process all this information before Archer's voice interrupted her thoughts. 'Well Master, did it work?'

'Yes it did, and I must say I am quite surprised as to how much information I am able to gain at just a glance. I also have to point out that your physical capabilities alone are very impressive.'

The Heroic Spirit inclined his head slightly in response. 'I do appreciate your praise, Master.' 

To be honest, those weren't supposed to be his real parameters. They got bumped up by one level higher for reasons he could not explain. But he remained quiet, not wanting to bring up any matter that could lead to a discussion regarding his… 'legend'.

In any event, this was clearly a very useful ability in the redhead's opinion.

Given what he said before though, she could use it on any Servant but so would other Masters.

'So Archer,' Rias continued, 'you said that being a Master granted me a few abilities, and so far we've only covered Master's Clairvoyance. What else is there?'

'Hmm, well this next one isn't really a new ability that you've gained because you're a Master now, but remember that in the end, all Servants are basically just extremely powerful familiars. Therefore, as is the case with any familiar, you can use our pact to send a small part of your soul into my body. Basically you'll be able to see, feel and hear from my senses. Keep in mind though that you can only do this when I'm in my physical form.'

Rias' eyebrows shot up. 'That's useful. But… I've never heard of a spell that does anything like that before...' she reluctantly admitted, embarrassed.

The Servant blinked. 'You haven't? That's strange. In my world it's considered to be a very basic spell for whenever a mage utilizes familiars or puppets.' Archer rested his hand on his chin as he mulled this over briefly before speaking to his Master again. 'I suppose we can chalk this up to a difference between worlds. Though it's not a major problem, we can work it out later on.'

'Yes, please,' the crimson haired Devil agreed. She hated looking weak or unprepared in front of others, especially her own servants. If Archer was offering a way to address any sort of deficiency she might have, she'd accept it.

'Now as for the last thing,' Archer informed his Master, 'to be honest, it really won't be of much use in any given situation, so if anything it's more accurate to describe it as a side effect of our pact.'

'How so?' Rias wondered.

'The pact we share is one that connects the very cores of our magic itself right down to our souls, which also means we are closely tied together not only magically, but mentally as well. This… mental feedback, if you will, has been known to manifest in the form of both the Servant and Master having dreams of one another's past. Though it's worth noting that this phenomenon is far more common for Masters to experience, since Servants don't even need to sleep in the first place, but we can if we so choose as you found last night.'

Rias quickly went over the things that her Servant had just told her about how she herself was affected by their pact with the new abilities and effects.

The first one was both simple and invaluable when facing other Servants, and the second one would be useful once she got it figured out. However Rias wasn't entirely sure if she was prepared for what the third might entail since his memories got affected because of her mistake.

She frowned in consideration when remembering that Archer had mentioned that a support system must have been set up for him to exist here in the first place that closely resembled the one used in the Grail War. But by who? It could have been the unnamed mage from ancient times that Zatouji told her about, and so far it seemed that virtually every aspect of the Holy Grail War from Archer's world had been replicated to some degree in this one. Why and how were her biggest questions.

Rias relayed these questions to her Servant, who had actually been asking himself the same questions since before the sun rose, but until now he had only been able to bounce ideas around inside his own head.

'Unfortunately Master, I'm of no help in this seeing as I'm still searching for those same answers. Though I'm sure we'll be able to uncover everything bit by bit. Patience is the key as they say.'

Rias pondered, 'I had my father come to examine the Command Seals after I got them, as I didn't know of their purpose at the time, and my brother came with him. At first they were clueless, but suddenly went into another room to discuss matters. They must have found out something but refused to explain anything to me — my friend Sona and I had to figure things out by ourselves.'

'I see,' Archer frowned in contemplation. The possibility that there was an ancient group of mages going down on the same path as the three founding families was not lost on him. Yet what they had accomplished was nothing short of a miracle by being able to call forth a Servant from another world. It was both unthinkable and incredible. 

'Worst case scenario is that your world secretly had its own version of a Holy Grail War in the past, and now someone is seeking to revive it. However, there could be other powers at play here, who's to say that mage was truly rogue? And… there are no clues proving that he was the only one doing such a thing. There could easily be more people out there trying to summon Servants for all we know.'

Ever since the Great War had ended, the three factions had been able to enjoy relative peace for the most part. Sure there were brief skirmishes almost every time the different factions encountered one another even to this day, but it was extremely rare for anyone of significant power or political importance to ever be involved in them, as no one wanted to reignite the war that had torn the very Earth asunder. If someone was planning to do just that though, it would spell nothing less than worldwide disaster should they succeed. And if that same individual had even a single Servant on their side, let alone all seven, then the war could get very bad indeed to say the least. Heracles, King Arthur, Siegfried, Achilles… the thought was terrifying.

And somewhere out there in the world, there could be as many as six other Servants running around, whose identities and Masters she knew nothing about.

As Rias worried over the possibilities, Archer saw fit to inform her of another scenario. 'It could also be that all of this was nothing but pure accident. That long ago, someone managed to create a spell and system similar to the Holy Grail in the past but failed, and one of his descendants or a rogue mage stumbled upon it by chance.'

That sentence brought Rias' musings to a halt due to the sheer ridiculousness of it. 'I… I never thought of it like that. I guess it's a reminder to keep every possibility in mind.'

The Servant shrugged. 'Reality can often be stranger than fiction, Master. You never know what life has in store for you and everyone around.'

All they could do right now was keep an open mind.

Rias made up her mind. 'For the time being, we lack the means to draw any meaningful conclusions as to what's behind the system that's supporting your existence, as you yourself have already stated. Right now all we can do is continue on with our lives as we normally would until an opportunity presents itself, and act accordingly.'

'I couldn't have said it better myself, Master.' The Servant responded approvingly. 'And with that in mind, I do believe that it is time for you to be off to your next class.'

Taking a quick look at her surroundings, Rias was surprised to find out that the bell signaling the end of her first class had rung without her even noticing, and her classmates were all starting to clear out. Quickly grabbing her things and making a mental note to ask Akeno for her notes on the class that had just finished, the Gremory heiress made her way to her next lesson, followed closely by her invisible steel-eyed Servant.

The rest of the morning passed by uneventfully for the red haired Devil as she attended her classes diligently as she normally did. As the Master paid attention to her studies, Archer spent most of his time staring out the window, watching the flowers on the trees outside blow in the wind, seeing that the various teachers' lectures were of no interest to him, though he did listen to the Japanese History teacher's lesson about the Heian period.

As lunchtime came, Rias decided to eat on the school roof instead of in her homeroom as she usually did, the bento that Archer made for her that morning held delicately in her hands. Normally she wouldn't be eating alone like she was about to, but the breakfast she'd eaten this morning had shown her that the food Archer prepared was something to be feared. In fact if she didn't know better, she might even go so far as to say that Archer's cooking was his Noble Phantasm. The heir to the House of Gremory simply couldn't allow anyone else to see her lose control over the savory delight that was Archer's food and allow her reputation to be tarnished. And so it was for that reason why she had decided to eat on the roof today, where hopefully she would have the privacy she desired which would ensure that in the event she did somehow lose herself in her Servant's aromatic cuisine again, no one aside from Archer himself would notice.

Stepping onto the rooftop itself, Rias saw that luck was on her side today; no one else was here. With that concern no longer a factor, the red headed Devil eagerly sat down, carefully placed her bento in her lap, and with no small amount of anticipation, cracked open the lid, finally releasing the wondrous aromas that had been sealed within.

…

Down in one of the classrooms on the first floor of Kuoh Academy, a beautiful young girl in her freshman year with white hair and two hair clips shaped like cats was taking dainty bites out of a large chocolate chip cookie, when suddenly she smelled something.

Immediately the girl ceased to care about anything, everything, and everyone that wasn't associated with that smell. She got up from her desk, letting the cookie, more than half of it still uneaten, fall to the floor and crumble into dozens of pieces. A few of her classmates called out to her, but since they had nothing to do with that smell, their voices didn't even factor into the girl's thought process as she resolutely made her way up the stairs, her entire being focused solely on finding the source of that smell.

…

Rias took in a deep breath as the scents of the different foodstuffs Archer had put into her lunch washed over her before she opened her eyes and beheld what he had prepared for her. There was hiyayakko – chilled tofu typically garnished with shaved flakes of bonito, green onions, and seasoned with soy sauce – yakitori – grilled pieces of chicken on a skewer and seasoned with salt or some kind of sauce – tempura shrimp, and of course, white rice with a few toppings to add some flavor.

Each of these food items were common enough that they could easily be found in any bento in the country, but Archer had somehow taken each one to a level where they wouldn't look out of place in the slightest if it were being served at a five star restaurant.

As the thought of the tall, dark, and undeniably handsome Heroic Spirit crossed her mind, Rias Gremory found that she could only come to a single conclusion as she looked at the astounding meal he had made for her.

'I have the best Servant ever.'

After putting her hands together and thanking Archer for the food, the beautiful Devil took a piece of tempura shrimp in her chopsticks before softly blowing on it, and finally taking a bite.

Instantly the taste of the food threatened to overwhelm her and tempt her into forgoing manners in favor of simply gorging herself, but this time Rias was prepared. With no small amount of effort, she resisted the desire to wolf down everything in front of her for five excruciatingly long seconds, and instead just enjoyed the flavor that was already in her mouth.

Meanwhile, Archer just smirked as he watched.

However Rias found that her efforts did not go unrewarded, as she found herself actually able to savor what she was eating this time, and thus get the full experience out of every bite. She was aware of how the shrimp's flesh burst apart, releasing the juices sealed inside. She tasted the spices added to the tempura itself, enhancing the experience of every crunchy bite. And even after she swallowed, she took the time to appreciate the amazing aftertaste, something she hadn't done at all at breakfast. 

'Yes,' Rias nodded to herself in satisfaction. 'Cuisine such as this cannot be eaten carelessly.' She had made that mistake this morning and paid the price by missing out on the full experience that this gastronomy was able to bring to her tongue. Now she had learned her lesson, and through self-control was able to relish the entire palate.

Oh, and she got to preserve her dignity as well. That was also good.

Ready for the next bit of tempura shrimp, Rias, eyes still closed as she continued to savor the aftertaste, brought her chopsticks down to grab another piece.

…Only for them to collide with the bottom of the bento rather than the food she sought.

Eyes snapping open, Rias looked down at her bento and saw to her absolute horror that her bento was empty – as in, picked clean of every last tempura crumb, grain of rice, and drop of sauce.

'What? No!' Rias began to panic. 'Did I somehow eat it all without even noticing? This can't be! I only got to taste the first bite!'

But before she could delve deeper into that line of thought, the redhead became aware of a pair of thin, pale legs right in front of her, prompting the most popular girl in Kuoh Academy to raise her head and see a certain white-haired girl licking her fingers clean, her expression one of absolute bliss.

"Koneko!"

----------------------------

Archer can't be a saber or lancer? Yes, I was shocked as well with this news. It's also shown on his page in Type -Moon for the classes he's eligible for where saber and lancer are missing.

He can't be a Saber because he doesn't have a legend and one of the qualifications for the class is to have a legend as a knight of the sword.

Another thing is that sure the class container can boost your stats if you're lacking but there are still requirements for each container. For classes like archer and Caster it doesn't really matter since they don't need the physical attributes as much but saber wants a decent baseline.

Which is a hard baseline to hit for Emiya considering he is a normal human from a time where normal humans are weak.

Sure as a mage he can boost himself quite well but he still can't compare to humans from the age of gods for example

This same rule applies to the Lancer class to I guess as even that is not something he's eligible for.

(Thanks Ebering and Fabled Life for the info.)

Also, I'm sure some of y'all noticed his slightly raised stats and no, its not because Rias is his master. He explains it himself, as Archer had Rin as a Master before and his stats werent affected by that. There is another reason behind.

Servant: Archer

Identity: Unknown

Alias: Unknown

Master: Rias Gremory

Alignment: True Neutral

Strength: C-

Agility: B

Mana: A-

Endurance: B

Luck: E

Noble Phantasm:?

Class Skills:

Independent Action: B

Magic Resistance: C

Personal Skills:

Eye of the Mind (True): B

Clairvoyance: C

Magecraft: C

The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.