Chapter 162: Let Me Show You What EX-Rank Luck Is!

In the rooftop of Homuhara Academy, Rin was shocked by what she's seeing right now. It's only their lunch time, hence she immediately snapped from her thoughts and asked:

"How?"

Shirou, who has the projected Kanshou and Bakuya, replied, "Well... It just happened. I tried to use [Gradation Air] on a sword, but we noticed that it lasted longer than the other projections that I did. These are also closer to their real counterparts, so we deduced that my [Origin] has something to do with swords..."

Hearing this, Rin realized that everything clicked in perfectly. Before, Shirou tried to cast [Elemental Magecraft], but he couldn't even produce a small spark of fire. From then, she thought that he must have an affinity with other elements.

Never had she expected that Shirou has an [Affinity] towards swords instead...

"Everything makes sense. You can use [Gradation Air] in an instant and its duration is longer, too. Looks like taking them in is not a bad choice."

"Right. Miki-san seems well-versed in these kind of things. I wonder how knowledgeable her mentor is..."

"...He should be comparable to my father."

"Your father?"

"Yes. He's very knowledgeable with magecraft. However, it is also my first time hearing about the higher level of [Reinforcement] from others."

From what Sayaka had taught Shirou, she gave some "basic" knowledge such as [Reinforcement]'s true potential. Given enough experience with it, a human can "fill in" the holes on their existence, making them on par with Heroic Spirits or even "Gods".

Naturally, she thought about this possibility before. The Association's side has an "ongoing research" regarding it, but Sayaka hinted that they already have some results towards it.

This made the image of her "mentor" more mysterious in the eyes of the "Second Owner" of Fuyuki.

*****

In a desolate and creepy clearing in the Shinto Town, three teenagers are surrounding a particular tree. It seems that they have dug it, in which they found an old black box.

"Looks like I found a hidden stash of something."

"Sensei, that is?" Sayaka asked.

"If I'm not mistaken..." Shiro opened the box shortly after he said that. "Yep, it is that."

Inside it, a set of six .30-06 bullets are stored. It is used for the Springfield 1903A, a bolt action rifle. Mami also saw that it is somewhat similar to the bullets from her percussion-lock rifles.

"Emiya Kiritsugu's [Origin Bullets]. In a single shot, it can mangle a magus' Magic circuits, rendering them crippled or even dead."

"It's that powerful..?" Mami asked.

"That's right. Kiritsugu's unique [Origin] was used to create these bullets, so might as well say that it is a very rare Mystic Code in this world."

Hearing this, Sayaka couldn't help but exclaim, "Sensei's luck is off the charts. We're not even at our main destination, but we've already encountered this?!"

Back in her world, she saw how ridiculous Shiro's luck can be. At a very random event, he found 10 kilograms of gold underneath the ground. He also found a few stashes of Grief Seed which are hidden by the Magical Girls as a kind of back up to their successors. Not only that, a 10-million yen check literally flew right on top of his head!

They didn't even arrive at that bridge, but his luck is already affecting them like this...

"It's a wonder why he didn't give it to Shirou or at least keep it in the house. He might as well use it during his final struggle at the Einzbern Castle..."

Shrugging off those thoughts, he placed the box in his backpack. He then faced the two girls and said:

"Let's go to that place now. I'm hoping for a few Noble Phantasms, but I don't care anymore."

""Why?""

Helplessly, he scratched the back of his head and replied, "I know my luck is about to affect our earnings."

Speechlessly, they proceeded to their destination. Of course, his lucky encounters didn't stop there. A stone that is actually a gemstone with 50-year old rubies, discreet herbs that possessed potent magical power in them, and even broken fragments of Noble Phantasms were found by them near the bridge.

While it doesn't serve much use for most people, it's different for someone who's proficient with [Projection].

Just as Shiro and co are strolling, they stopped once they sense a very faint signature. Since this place is a grass field, there wasn't much trouble to get it.

After some digging with the help of magecraft, they saw a rusty blade. It is a Noble Phantasm on the verge of disappearing.

Shiro touched a part of its blade, only for his finger to be instantly wounded by it. This didn't faze him as he blankly said, "Holy sh*t. Sayaka-chan, go try this."

While bewildered, Sayaka went ahead and used [Structural Analysis] on it. At that moment, she was drawn into its mysteries—to be exact, in its "memories".

The core of each Noble Phantasms are none other than its 'experiences'. In the first place, Shirou projected [God Hand] by reading its memories (i.e., Heracles' 12 Labors).

'This is...'

Sayaka realized that she was drawn into yet another set of memories. She had gone through this when she projected [Arondight] as a Witch, but feeling it herself is much more mystifying.

Hector, the chief of the Trojan army, the elder brother of Paris. He is the first wielder of this holy sword. He is the greatest warrior of Iliad, someone who led Troy to its great age.

Even when Paris started the Trojan War by rescuing Helen of Troy, Hector didn't concede his younger brother.

Even though he knew how foolish he may be, he didn't choose it.

All of his struggles, from the start of his career until his death under Achilles' hands, was seen by this holy sword that was a spear at that time. It saw how his final actions led to the killing of the hero loved by gods, whom have been shot by Paris to his heel.

Countless years had passed, and it was only until it was handed to the King of Charlemagne did it find itself a new wielder once more.

It became a symbol of bravery in the hands of Roland, one of the twelve knights of Charlemagne.

As for its name...

Crackle-!

A bolt of black lightning appeared in Sayaka's free hand. Soon, it turned into a sword with a golden cross-guard. Huge amounts of mystery is present into it due to the special relics in which it was created during the time the Angel had passed it down to King Charlemagne.

Some of them included Saint Peter's tooth, one of Jesus' twelve apostles, and a part of Saint Mary's robe, Jesus' mother.

"The Unbroken Hollow, Durandal."

Shiro, who held the [Hidden Heaven Shrouding Array], said, "Congratulations for the third A-ranked Noble Phantasm, Sayaka-chan."

During the time she became a Quasi-demon, she successfully projected two Noble Phantasms, namely: Arondight and Excalibur Morgan.

Due to the latter's nature, something corrupted by [All the World's Evil], she opted to use the former more.

"...Ah."

Realizing the blunder that she'd done, Sayaka quickly cancelled her projection and saw Shiro who activated the concealment array for them. If not for it, they would've caused a stir and attracted the attention of every Magi and Servants here.

"Sorry, sensei."

"No, it's fine. This is good for you anyways."

Meanwhile, Mami is going 'As expected of sensei..!' internally.

"Sensei... Your luck is too good."

Shiro replied with a smile and said, "Don't be surprised."

Cancelling the array, he gestured to continue following him. When they arrived under the bridge, they immediately sensed something hidden yet potent. Thanks to their Soul Gems merging into their body, they received a huge increase in their perception. Their state is akin to a materialized soul, but less complete.

Of course, they can still improve.

From their senses, they already saw a couple of complete Noble Phantasms, ranging from D-Rank to an A-Rank. The fragments that constituted it is more abundant, too.

With a 'helpless' smile, Shiro spoke:

"This is the might of EX-rank Luck."

*****

Side Story: Monarch of Shadows

A dreary throne room.

Sitting on top of the ancient-looking throne is a knight in red. Surrounding them are pieces of armors... and hundreds of black metallic strings that covered nearly the entire room. These are tied to the giant pillars that surrounded them.

Lightning arcs are being produced by it, evident that the battle had ended just now.

Facing the red knight is a girl in gothic dress. She's the one responsible for killing most of the ordinary living armors in one go through the help of her experience and the stacked [Stealth] skill: one from Aincrad and the other from her [Ashborn's Inheritance].

For those who survived that onslaught? She ended them by her original technique, [Electromagnetic Shot]. By combining a few [Lightning Magecraft], she ended up mimicking a railgun. She created an electromagnetic field and enveloped in into her dagger. Once it was thrown by her, it'll be launched with a speed that far surpasses the speed of sound!

(A/N: Speed of sound is around 767mph while a railgun usually has a speed of 5,500mph. Her attacks are slightly below 1,000mph.)

Coupled with the attractive force that she can attach to the living armors (since they are made of metallic substances), clearing this [Job Change Quest] became extremely easy.

At this moment, the two of them had a silent staring contest. The red knight showcased his strong will while the girl in gothic clothes seems to be acknowledging it.

"A knight that deserves a worthy end."

She threw the red dagger in her and and coated it with EM forces. Then, she directed it towards the knight's neck, cutting it in a single go.

[You have defeated the Captain of the Knights, Igris.]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

Not minding the notices, she picked up the drops from Igris.

[Red Knight's Helm]

[Leather Pouch]

[Rune Stone: Ruler's Authority]

[Immediate Return Stone]

'Is this it?'

Just as she thought about it, she saw another prompt.

Ding-!

[You have acquired the Immediate Return Stone.]

[The Job Change Quest will now commence.]

"More like it."

Instead of being surprised, she smiled. It has been two years since she made her choice regarding this world. One of the things that made her happy about it is a certain person, and another is the excitement that it would bring her.

The thought of her death makes her sad, but she decided to make the best out of it instead.

Ding-!

[In ten seconds, dimensional portals will be opened.]

[You have a choice.]

[You can cancel the quest by using the Immediate Return Stone or...]

"Heh." Kuroneko chuckled at the sight of it.

[00:00:10]

[00:00:09]

[Or last as long as you can and earn many 'Advancement Points' as possible in order to have higher-leveled job choices.]

[00:00:08]

...

[00:00:01]

[The class change will now commence.]

[Good luck.]

Kuroneko raised an eyebrow towards its final message, but she soon focused on the dozens of portals that formed around her. Then, knights stepped into this throne room endlessly.

Looking at the timer that restarted at [00:00:01], she didn't say anything and took out her collection of daggers instead. They all flew in complex directions, smashing the knights effortlessly.

Seconds turned into minutes before it became hours. As soon as she reached the maximum time reachable, the portals closed as the surroundings are now filled with separate armors and staves from the mages.

"Phew."

Recalling back the daggers to her [Dimensional Storage], she focused on the window that indicated her current job choices. Upon seeing one of them, she exclaimed:

"What a good match..!"

Without hesitation, she chose the job class that matched her title.

Selecting one of the new skills that she has, she stood in front of Igris and declared:

"Arise."

From this day onwards, a new Monarch of Shadows was born...