Chapter 2

Chaldea/My Room/Morning/6 Days Left

'Okay...' I murmured inwardly 'Next is to practice Memory Partitioning again and hopefully increase it.'

I sat down on my bed and reaffirmed my glasses. I have two mental 'rooms' which both use 64 partitions and 128 partitions in total.

'Let's try to increase that number.' I decided.

In order to increase that number I created another 'room' which handled another 64 partitions and then I had 192 partitions in total.

"Ugh..." I grunted, my head feels as if I was hit by a truck. 'The problem is that they probably aren't stable.'

I then proceeded to try to refine them, but I wasn't focused enough. Maybe I need a keyword. 'Actually, separating my ability categories will come in handy in the future.'

I thought for a moment 'Mental Abilities are going to have the keyword "Simulate" and while I'm talking about this, Alteration spells are going to have the keyword "Link".'

"Ugh..."

I grunted as the mere act of mentioning "Simulate" allowed me to make my Memory Partitions more stable.

MEMORY PARTITION (192) 2/3 MASTERY

"Simulate." The increase of information being processed was a bit disorienting, but after a while of getting used to it I didn't mind it much.

Chaldea/My Room/Evening/6 Days Left

'I need another spell.' I grabbed the book and decided which spell to obtain third.

I found it.

'Flash Air.' Displacement Magecraft which substitutes something for something else. Can be surprisingly useful. Doesn't say the limits.

I picked up a toothbrush from the bathroom "Link." Green rigid lines ran across my arm and in my hand was the book whilst where my book once was is a toothbrush.

"Easy."

FLASH AIR 1/1 MASTERY

"I have time for something else..." I muttered as I decided for the next spell.

I flipped a few pages and entered the Rune section. Ehwaz 'hardens' things, if I get enough time I could probably harden my bones.

'Whatever.' I went to a drawer and picked up a pair of fingerless gloves, it was there when I checked earlier when I went to sleep.

However, before drawing the Rune on it, I first did it on a piece of paper. I repeated the process over 50 times so I could immaculately copy the design of the Rune.

After I was sure I could do it perfectly with my finger, I picked up one of the gloves and inscribed the "Ehwaz" rune using my index finger which was assisted by my magical circuits. The first glove had a slight mistake as I didn't start with even energy, but I know I can do better.

"Trash."

Runic spells need a keyword too, it makes focusing a lot easier. "Word."

'Yeah, that'll do. Simple is best.' I sighed 'I hate putting so much effort into things.'

"Word EZ." I muttered and the magical energy was distributed perfectly on the next glove. I both hate and love the focus.

EHWAZ 1/3 MASTERY

I yawned.

I'll go to sleep, for now.

'Or maybe I could stay awake, afterall there's only 5 days left.'

Nah, there's an entire 5 days left.

'Shit, I'm being negligent because reality hasn't struck me yet.'

Oh well, I'll just let reality hit me when it does.

"Damn it..." I muttered as I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

Chaldea/My Room/Morning/5 Days Left

'My next course of action is learning one more spell and then I'm gonna need to make allies.' I decided.

And I knew which spell.

'Transference of Consciousness.' Transmition of consciousness to an object to get information from a different perspective – commonly used to remotely control dolls and familiars and inanimate objects from a distance. The flaw is that soul and personality works against the caster hence control isn't entirely possible with them.

'This'll be useful.' I muttered "Simulate."

One of my three 'rooms' was occupied with the processing of a perspective of a pen. 'Oh damn, I can see myself. Feels weird.'

"Oh wow." I muttered as I could click my pen on and off to work. Kinda like pseudo telekinesis.

"This'll be useful in the future." I can only do this to things I 'know' well enough though, for now.

TRANSFER CONSCIOUS 1/5 MASTERY

I yawned.

"Ill go out."

Chaldea/Inside/Evening/5 Days Left

After grabbing dinner, I realised something.

I am socially inept.

How do I talk to someone? Do I go up to them and say "Hey what's up"? Won't it be a bit too forceful? Actually, why am I being considerate of them? Oh yeah, they'll be the allies that'll keep me alive.

"Meh." I grunted. I don't need to make allies of the Master Candidates because they'll die – or be put into cryostasis instead – anyway. Only the protagonist Ritsuka – if he's male – or Rikka – if she's female – would be a noteworthy ally because they're... well... the protagonist.

And I'm just an insignificant nobody who's trying to cling onto life for no reason other than I can. I don't have a grand – heh, 'grand' – reason for wanting to survive other than "why not?" whilst everyone else does. Hell, I'm pretty sure anyone from my world would be a better pick.

"Meh..." I shook my head, I need a goal and a reason for now.

I spent a few minutes on it.

Goal: Save Humanity of my world (I'm not optimistic enough of this world but it'll have to survive by association)

Reason: Multiverse would die, my family probably still wanna live, it'll be a bit sad that the entire multiverse will have to die because of one world.

'There...' I smiled slightly 'I obtained a reason.' Now I can put maximum effort, no matter how miniscule that is.

For now though... 'I'll have to abide by my 'identity' as a 'researcher/potential investor from the Wizard Marshal' and I'll have to do it by actually inspecting things.'

I sighed.

In my bag was an identification card for this particular situation.

"What to do..." I murmured as I came to a conclusion 'Resources, how do they get food and resources here?' I picked up the map and went to the kitchen to ask the head-chef.

He was a redhead in a white uniform with golden eyes and a scar on his eyebrow.

'Isn't this just Yukihira Soma?' It is, isn't it? 'Is this what Zelretch meant by multiverse? Or is there more to it?'

Interacting with the guy was fairly simple and we only talked briefly. But from the information I got from him, the resources come from the Seraphix Offshore Oil Rig. I looked on the map and led myself there and... they had what seemed to be a miniature world enclosed within a room full of crops and the like. It also seemed to be mobile.

"Interesting." My index finger and thumb held my chin. 'Magic being used like this is... not new as a concept, but to actually see it in action is entirely different, somehow.'

"Hmm?" I heard a murmur from nearby. It was the purplette from the library, the one with the short skirt.

Taking a proper look at her, I identified her appearance because I know for a fact that I probably won't identify her name. She wore a scholar hat with an orange rope(?) hanging on the right of her head, just above her purple twin-tails and above a bang that reached her chin. She wore a... navy and blue corset which held a golden outline. Her miniature cape had an emblem of white and golden – kinda resembling some of those Russian dolls – and her sleeves were white with the armistices being the same colour as her corset.

And again, really short skirt. Short white skirt. Is she a pervert? Is this normal? Or is it just me?

She's also really unheathily pale, is she alright?

Also, she wore black thighsocks which had a green stripe with a golden outline and also wore pale white shoe-heels.

"What?" I asked, like the blatantly socially incapable person that I am.

"Are you... the researcher sent by Wizard Marshal Kishur Zelretch Schweinorg?" She inquired.

So I have some renown. That's troublesome.

"Yeah, my master sent me here to, in his own words, 'develop myself' and to see if this place is worth investing." I lied as easily as I breathed. Wasn't that hard, I'm a good liar. I think.

"Hmm?" She hummed "Is that so?"

There was an awkward silence as we just kinda stared at each other. Am... Am I supposed to do something?

Suddenly a giggle resonated from her. "You're socially awkward, aren't you?"

'No need to rub it in.' I'm so happy I have a good poker face around strangers. "It would seem so."

The laughter intensified.

'Okay, this is a bit of a piss-take.' Too bad my show of gender equality would be frowned upon.

"Sorry, sorry." She apologised as she held her palm out "Why don't I give you a tour of Seraphix?"

Tempting offer. But why would she? What's her reasoning? What would she gain? A pay raise? Maybe.

"Meh, I'll take it." I muttered and her laughter was getting out of hand as I shook her palm.

"Lead the way, Purplette." I let go.

"Its Sion, Sion Eltnam Sokaris." She informed but that didn't change anything really. Her name's too long and her hair is purple.

"Right, Purplette."

She pouted "Is this your revenge?"

"No." Yes.

Chaldea/Seraphix/Evening/5 Days Left

She showed me around Seraphix and... it was quite normal. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a plan to use this as a second base. She led me around and I saw how the resources were produced. They had fields, crops and all sort of materials just as previously mentioned but the only interesting thing – or at least in my not-humble opinion – Is the fact that the oil produced and excavated have magic formulae to convert them into food.

Would come in handy in some countries that are practically filled to the brim with oil.

Pretty sure there's at least one.

Though, I never bothered to actually remember which country.

So, Purplette's been dragging me and showing me around, however something caught my interest.

"Hey, Purplette." I called out to her to which she raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm?" She followed my gaze and saw that I was looking at... a chapel (?) inside this place, her eyes widened in realisation as I pointed at it.

"That." Why is it here? I swear Magi tend to not care about religions. I mean, I do know that the church has a bunch of assassins but that's it.

"Oh, the Chapel?" She nodded in affirmation – as if to confirm something with herself – then she pulled my hand and led me inside.

'Awfully, touchy.' Is she trying to gain favour from me? What for? What's she planning?

KNOCK KNOCK

Purplette knocked on the door and a disturbingly serene voice played out, "Come in."

'This feeling... My body feels hot. Why is it? It's annoying.' My body was being overtaken by a... supposedly 'pleasant' warmth, but it was in the way so I ignored and 'crushed' it and regained my calm.

There's no use in behaving irrationally.

I then came face to face with someone else. She had three red dots – probably symbolic for something – on her forehead, long black – mildly untidy – hair that definitely reached pass her waist, golden eyes, a labcoat over a silver dress that reached from her neck to her thighs and she wore black stockings and white high heels. Her body could be considered 'developed' as her bust is expansive and the same could be said for her rear and thighs. Although, I would argue that Purplette has more in the thigh department.

Also interesting to note is her golden Egyptian necklace that resembled a plate of gold on the front.

"Sion? Any problems today?" She asked with a serene voice. Another unknown feeling awoke in me, I had to crush it once more.

"No, not today." She shook her head "But I've been showing the facilities to a possible investor from a big name."

The matured women looked thoughtful at that then turned to me. My poker face refused to flinch. I refuse to allow my hormones to dictate my actions.

"Its a pleasure to meet you." I bowed as I realised something 'Oh my fucking... I'm being... polite.' I can feel my meagre pride dying inside...

Purplette spoke up with indignation "Hey! You weren't like this with me."

Okay, that's justified. I'm an advocate for equality and I'm simping for someone I just met, that must be remedied. But first...

"I gave the same respect you gave me." I deadpanned. Technically not a lie, it's just the time frame is.

"Sure~" She didn't seem off-put in the least. Good for me then.

"Anyway, this is Kiara Sessyoin. Seraphix's resident Therapist." I could see her being a therapist, but her job is kinda redundant when Magi tend to generally be crazy and psychopathic on average.

Actually what's Purplette's job? "What's your role?"

"Me? Oh, I'm Chaldea's Security Chief." She replied and for the first time... I was stunned. What's wrong with this place?

"Should you be so carefree?" I asked perplexed.

"Oh don't worry," Her reassurance didn't help me in the least, maybe that's why this entire place will blow to bits in a couple of days; negligence. "I'm monitoring the place 24/7 through Magecraft."

Is she observing me for anything suspicious?

"How?" Transference of Consciousness? How many memory partitions would that require to be able to do it 24/7? Actually, is it even Transference of Consciousness?

She smiled ambiguously and didn't answer.

After that we parted ways.

I'm tired.

[THE EMPRESS 3-III]: KIARA SESSYOIN RANK 1 GAINED

[THE HIGH PRIESTESS 2-II]: SION ELTNAM SOKARIS RANK 1 GAINED

...And I started the bridge to gathering allies.

Chaldea/My Room/Morning/4 Days Left

I'm still tired, but I have to make sacrifices for the salvation of mankind!

Pfft, who am I kidding? I don't care about mankind, in fact I don't even really care about this at all.

Yet, why do I continue to assist their survival?

Oh right, I'm apart of mankind by association and my family is currently dead due to being erased along with the world.

Sounds stupid, but whatever.

Ugh, I sound kinda edgy...

My brothers would probably enjoy to live. One's married and the other is a waste of space just starting to begin in his adult life despite being the oldest. My mother... well, she's not the smartest of people but she's somewhat hardworking. And she gave birth to me which accounts for something and my dad is trying to make up for his mistakes.

"Meh." I groaned.

I guess I still owe my family a debt for somewhat educating me about the world. Made it easier to fake it till I apparently 'made' it.

Guess I'll just do it for them then.

But for now...

'I've had enough social interaction for a while. I'll do some tomorrow.' I decided as I then got off my bed and went to my chair.

'I'll have to train a spell.' The question is which one?

'Oh I know.' My index and thumb on chin 'Transference of Consciousness.'

Why? Obviously because if mastered enough I should be able to observe from a longer range hence I can spy on the targets and get a summon like an assassin to take them down.

If they don't comply? Well, the command seals are a thing and I'm pretty sure Chaldea can restore them somehow.

'Okay... then.' Plan decided.

I then spent the morning mastering Transfer Consciousness.

TRANSFERENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 2/5 MASTERY

"Simulate." Not adequate enough, I can only transfer my consciousness to nearby items.

Chaldea/My Room/Evening/4 Days Left

I grabbed breakfast and made minimal interaction with anyone. Although, I did try to find the bombs covertly enough to not draw suspicion.

But, I couldn't find them. Eh, I tried.

Now back to magic.

I trained Transfer Consciousness again, and now I can transfer it to a supposedly 'medium' distance.

Aren't I advancing a bit too quickly? Nah, these are just basic spells.

Although, what matters is how you use it – as corny as it sounds.

TRANSFERENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 3/5 MASTERY

But still... Not good enough.

I need it to be at least long range, to have it be of some use.

I'll spend the morning of tomorrow dedicating to developing it.

Chaldea/My Room/Morning/3 Days Left

Transferring it at medium distances was easy but long distances? Now that's hard. Lucky enough, the Chaldean corridors are long – like a lot – which allowed me to train it quite well.

After spending an entire 12 hours – Oh god, I've spent so much effort – training this one spell, I finally managed to increase it to long distances.

Heh, easy...

A little TOO easy.

Did humanity's desire to avoid extinction or the vampire do anything to me?

Questions... Questions... Questions... Unfortunately, I do not have the answer.

Might as well chalk it up to being considered 'average' between the best Magus talent and the worst Magus talent.

Anyway, I managed to achieve my goal but I then hit a road block.

Pretty sure I'll need something like omniscience to develop even further.

TRANSFERENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 4/5 MASTERY

Chaldea/Inside/Evening/3 Days Left

Now... time for social interaction.

Fuck my life.

Why do I need to get along with these homicidal psychopaths?

'Whatever.' All that matters right now is the goal.

So...

'How do I go about this?' I seriously don't know what to do.

I guess I'll just 'inspect for the Wizard Marshal' whilst trying to start up conversation with people.

And I already have a plan for it: just simply ask them. I'm done being considerate of their wellbeing. This is essential for my survival.

Needless to say after deciding that, I went to observe the observatory. They let me in after I scanned my identification.

High tech machines sure are convenient.

The Observatory – in short – was an area in which observing the rayshifting – time travelling – is made possible through a glass window. From what I learned they essentially convert a human into spiritons (another word for magic energy) and insert them into a timeline because apparently prediction-based magic predicted that humanity wouldn't last the next 100 years which... isn't really surprising.

Afterall, dwindling resources and an ever-growing population sure don't help the future of humanity - that's for sure.

Anyway minor things aside, other than a few computers to regulate the rayshifting they also have monitors to monitor the people that'll be shoved in a coffin using heat-monitors, magic monitors and a bunch of other stuff.

I still couldn't find any bombs, which was... unnerving.

"Hmm?" I heard a mature voice mumble "Who might you be?" I turned my head and... I didn't particularly act surprised. It's only expected that the demon in disguise would monitor everything and everyone. He knew the protagonist afterall, and he was only there for like a day.

But for now, he probably doesn't have a clue and there's no point in acting nervous. That'll only clue him in.

"Its a pleasure to meet you, Head Advisor." I bowed. I don't remember his name since he was just a half-bit boss that didn't really fight and somehow 'stunned the protagonist and the servants in fear' by merely being there whilst also throwing Olivia(?) at something as hot as a sun (apparently) but I remember his role.

"Oh please," I didn't get a good look at him but he wore a hat that resembled a pirate's and a fancy green suit that resembled stuff from medieval France. Also he had long hair. "Please, just refer to me as Lev."

I guess this is where I insert my name? "Its a pleasure to meet you Head Advisor Lev, I'm Noble HP Four."

"An alias?" He looked intrigued but someone as apathetic as me could tell he clearly didn't care in the slightest. (Birds of a feather do NOT flock together... The birds try to bite each other. I swear I'm not being edgy.) He was just using it to gain more information from me. Probably.

"Yes, my master, tasked me to identify whether this is worth investing." I nodded "And he ordered me to do it under an alias so my household gains more security."

Technically didn't lie, it's just that the 'investment' includes 'saving humanity' and the other half also isn't a lie as he acknowledged me to use an alias, as well as the said alias giving me security which will in turn give security to my family if they come back alive. (Although, it wasn't an 'order' but rather an attempt at convincing.)

Because I'm pretty sure that I'll make enemies that'll try to use them as leverage over me if they can. Maybe... if they can...

He nodded and smiled "Reasonable, but I wouldn't suppose you would just tell me." His eyes glinted a bright colour.

A glaring image of ripping off a mask appeared in my mind.

I felt compelled to do as he asked but logically I knew I shouldn't, so I didn't.

Too much danger and effort; I'm already wasting my time by merely interacting with him. "No I suppose I wouldn't, afterall I find the security of my household to be a very endearing yet important task."

His smile flinched for a moment but then he nodded. "Intriguing..."

Well time to get the fuck out "Now if you would excuse me, I have places to be." I bowed and exited the observatory.

I hate having to put so much effort into my behaviour. I hate having to suck up to someone. I hate faking my behaviour.

Oh well, what I want and don't want doesn't matter anyway and it never did.

"Ugh." I grunted as I bumped into a golden-eyed individual.

"My apologies." She bowed as we both examined the other's appearance.

From top to bottom, she wore black high-heels which was strapped around her feet, red leggings (didn't know those existed), a white dress which peaked out from under her victorian-esque black and orange – with golden decorations – coat and one of those medieval napkins near her throat which was red and attached to a amber gem – which was clearly radiating magical energy – and her sleeves had an area near the end which was orange but also kept the golden decor. Also, interesting to note that she had long silver – or white – hair which reached down her back and it was tied somewhat on the left part of her face whilst her bangs covered part of the right section of her face although both golden-amber eyes could be seen.

'Hmm...' I was stuck between a decision 'I could either act like an asshole like the common Magus or act politely to gain favour...'

Meh, being an asshole when it doesn't benefit me is a pain in the ass.

"Likewise." I bowed as I met her gaze with my own. She's sizing me up, right? I'm not efficient enough in social communication to recognise it, but I do remember some book I read before stating that long stares are usually to examine another.

If that's true, then I have no reason to hold back my gaze either.

"..."

"..."

It was awkward, we were just kinda staring at each other.

'Oh fuck, are we both socially inept?' A thought resounded in my mind, and then the last bits of Olivia's(?) life in FGO replayed in my thoughts.

She was whiny about no one liking her.

In other words, definitely socially inept.

Fuck, to think I would see my own kind.

And she's a director right? Can't be good for morale.

Double fuck.

That also means she has no order and people would be more hesitant in following her orders when humanity dies, right?

Triple fuck.

That also means she has no technical allies, right?

Quadruple fuck.

Oh wait, she dies in FGO too, right?

Quintuple fuck, is someone out to kill me? I mean, technically yes – Lev (oh yeah, that's his name) – but still...

A certain thought appeared in my mind 'Is she necessary to the survival of humanity?'

The answer was a simple 'No.' because – simply put – she is not the protagonist neither is she irrelevant enough to fade into the background.

Her role is to die so that they have an excuse to cryogenically preserve the master candidates without the main magus organisation sending harm to the protagonist in particular once all is said and done, because then they can blame the "incompetent" director rather than make them seem like accomplices. I think.

However, personally I don't want someone I've exchanged words with to simply drop dead, even if it was only a few words. If it was an absolute stranger then I wouldn't care, but these annoying norms and values I was socialised with force me to not abandon anyone that I can possibly save.

I couldn't help but silently sigh.

'And how the hell am I supposed to enjoy my sleep if I just remember a dead-girl everytime I try to do the one thing I can 'feel' pleasure in?' I couldn't help but ask.

I value my sleep highly, because without it... I'd probably go insane.

Afterall, it's a time in which I can simply not give a fuck about anything else except the blank darkness that is my dreams.

I refuse to taint it with worldly virtues, sins, desires and regrets. It's my only relaxation method, and I would go to... drastic lengths for it.

'Fine then...' This was probably the vampire's plan anyway – to hold my sleep hostage 'I'll save you.'

"It's a pleasure (not really) to meet you Director Animusphere." I extended my palm. Only reason I can remember her second name is that it's similar to the word 'anime' because yes kids I watch anime to pass the time. Surprising, I know.

She huffed with pride (I think) and took my hand "Likewise, Mr..."

Now I know this social queue "Four. Noble HP Four."

Her eyes widened in realisation for a moment "You must be the Wizard Marshal's next disciple."

I nodded in apparent approval, "As expected that someone of your calibre would know even such insignificant information." Sucking up is harder than I originally thought. Kinda respect corporate slaves now. Somewhat.

She let go and raised her shoulder in confidence... or is that arrogance? Or maybe a bit of both? "Pay no heed, in fact I would prefer to inquire your personal opinion of my leadership."

Her eyebrow twitched for a moment. I don't think she was planning on saying that.

Anyway... 'leadership' is it? That's a relief because her directorship is horrendous, I've seen literal primary school students have better directorship than this girl.

Now then... I'll have to spin this 'my' way. Leadership: meaning – to lead or direct people in a certain direction (or at least my take on such a word). Directorship: meaning – to command and direct people specifically for certain roles (again, my take on it).

"Your leadership – from what I can see – has been immaculate." I nodded to show my approval (let's hope I'm doing this right) "You have directed your people to a common goal spectacularly from what I have seen," Technically not a lie, it's just that her flaw is that she's merely 'leading' them rather than 'commanding' them. "From my observations, different departments work in unison and in-sync to adhere to your directions." Almost used 'commands' instead of 'directions' which would be trouble, since that would be a lie "As such I have no qualms against your leadership."

Again, I did not lie. I have no qualms against her 'leadership', only against her 'directorship'. Although, I could say that the only flaw in her leadership is that she doesn't inspire others but instead wields status over them but that's a heavy task for a fellow socially inept person, so I won't hold that against her.

Her face reddened somewhat. Shit did I make mistake somewhere? "...I see. Thank you for your humble opinion." She bowed and then promptly walked away.

I raised an eyebrow as she did a fistbump a few metres away. These hallways are long so it's hard to escape from other people's sight, y'know?

Although, her face probably reddened a few minutes ago because of happiness or some similar emotion.

'I almost feel bad about somewhat deceiving her, although that would be a lie.' I shook my head.

Almost.

[THE EMPEROR 4-IV]: OLGA MARIE ANIMUSPHERE RANK 1 GAINED

So that's her name... That's a really annoying name. Fuck it, I'll just remember the last 2 names because the first name is frankly too uncommon for my pea-brain to remember correctly.

I mean seriously, at least the 4 (in total) people I've personally talked to (and remember) had easier names. I mean the pinkette is uh... Mash(?) Mashu(?), Soma is Soma, the therapist is something Sessyoin (more like Sessyoink) and Purplette is Purplette.

'Oh fuck.' Even the people I supposedly remember the names of, I forgot.

I never said my memory was good, on the contrary I blame my mother's genes for my bad memory. I mean seriously she had shit memory, and I probably got it from her.

Although, funnily enough, I can remember things that happened a long period of time ago.

Oh well, "Meh."

I think I did pretty good in my social interactions.

Chaldea/My Room/Morning/2 Days Left

I need one more social interaction and then I'll just train magic – projection in particular – for some illusion-based benefits.

"Guess I'll go to the library." I muttered.

Why don't I compare my books with theirs?

Chaldea/Library/Morning/2 Days Left

Good news, the library had lots of books and could possibly help me survive with the power of knowledge.

Bad news, it's occupied by a bunch of stuck-up magi whom I've seen are subtly observing me, and also from what I've seen a lot of the books aren't as good nor informative as the books the Vampire gave me.

'Oh well, I'll just research...' I scanned the shelves for a useful book.

'Unique art of strategic shapes in war part 1.' Seems useful, I could use this. I sat down near the corner of the library near a spectacled woman who seemed like she just wanted to be left alone.

Good, loners flock together mwuhahahaha.

Now then... time to read this book. And the contents.... were truly fascinating. Deploying the units in shape-like structures could have such drastic effects in certain situations. Having units in a square like structure to defend a single point of interest, having a triangular structure – a more cautious – strategy to operate and even an all-rounder circle structure (hell even a basic line structure) has so much potential.

'This was informative.' I closed the book and stood up.

ART OF SHAPE CONFIGURATION 1/10 MASTERY

I'm also feeling I can apply this to something other than war... although I don't know what.

TAP TAP

Someone tapped by shoulder and I looked over to what mortal dare interrupt my quiet time. Oh, it was the person who wanted to be left alone. Nevermind.

She had long dark-brown hair – which surpassed her hips – tied in twin-tails with bangs partially covering the sides of her chest-nut eyes. She wore a black turtle-neck long-sleeved wool dress which covered just before her leather boots under a sleeveless white coat that was slightly shorter than her black dress. Also, she noticeably wore a spectacles similar to mine but also a bit thicker than my glasses.

We had a silent exchange of greetings and we both nodded at each other. Good to know I don't always have to verbally communicate with another.

[THE HUNGER 11-XI]: HINAKO AKUTA RANK 1 GAINED

So that's her name... I'll take notes – not. Although... 'Hunger', huh. Wonder what she's after?

I gave the book I was holding to her and we both parted ways.

Chaldea/My Room/Evening/2 Days Left

Now that I'm done with social interaction... time for projection magic aka gradation air.

The concept is fairly simple. Use magical energy to shape it into a material composition whilst having the design of an object in mind.

"Useful." Afterall, I could project a key to enter an illegal facility just by knowing the keyhole's shape and plus I can even make a clone of myself if needed. Hell, I could even put a special effect if necessary like huffs of breaths or adding a shadow or even adding footprints behind or even images of dirt being moved subtly or overtly. The possibilities seemed to be tailored for a rogue or even a thief.

The only flaw is that the world doesn't recognise it as anything but a Phantasm – an illusion – that doesn't belong which causes the world to erase it, which could even be used to my advantage because it erases the trails so a third party aren't clued on the clone's actions. Plus apparently the more stable an image the more effective it will be. Having knowledge of materials and blueprints increase it even further.

"Link." Turquoise lines ran down my arm and in my hand appeared a book that vaguely resembled the one Vampire got me.

GRADATION AIR 1/5 MASTERY

"Needs more work."

Chaldea/My Room/Morning/1 Day left

Needless to say, I didn't bother with any pesky human interactions. Don't need that shit. I just began developing my Gradation Air even further to make it more realistic. The accuracy was around 2/3 good enough. I already fully examined my body by using Transference Of Consciousness on an object and promptly examined my movements as well as made my image more accurate.

"Link."

GRADATION AIR (CLONE) 2/5 MASTERY

'Needs more work.' Although, it's interesting to know that I created my own brand of Gradation Air. I'll just call it Gradation Clone.

Chaldea/My Room/Evening/1 Day left

And day zero will be here under 24 hours. I feel so safe. Psst sarcasm.

'Oh well.' No use fixating on it. If I die I die, if I live I live. Simple as that.

Anyway, onto Gradation Clone. I managed to perfectly replicate my appearance and movements but all that's left is adding special effects and inserting enough MP into the clone so it actually has an effect on the world.

Oh, and a neat idea I had was integrating Transference Of Consciousness because that could make it more handy and useful. Afterall, my clone is objectively classified as a Phantasm... so it should work.

"Link."

GRADATION CLONE 3/6 MASTERY

"I'll have to spend the rest of tomorrow's morning on this." Afterall, tomorrow is day 0 and they're planning to start the operation during the evening. Must be the world's excuse to giving the protag experience with servants.

Chaldea/My Room/Morning/0 Days Left

And... I can feel a weight gather in my core. I guess this is what's called 'nervousness', at least from my inference.

I sighed and released that 'nervousness', no use worrying about it.

"I'll integrate special effects." Honestly I contemplated on adding an exertable force by the clone but that'll have little use as of now. Though, I did notice that the range of my clone is quite high. Integrating TOC should come in handy after I hand over a mental 'room' to the clone. It'll be like having 2 bodies.

Anyway, better start.

"Link."

GRADATION CLONE 4/6 MASTERY

"I added special effects."

Ugh, ima get coffee before shit hits the fan. That'll give me the energy to go through this.

Chaldea/Inside/Evening/0 Days Left

After a minor mishap (read: spilling some coffee onto a chuunibyou eyepatch girl and promptly being given a death glare) I roamed the hallways to find a place to sit.

And then... I met her. The protagonist, Ritsuka – Or rather Rikka (If the wordplay is working correctly) – Fujimaru just sleeping on a silver bench.

I stared down at her with a glare. I'm honestly tempted to pour my coffee on this standard average protagonist.

"Oh she's here..." A feminine voice muttered and I turned to look at the pinkette from before. "I'll just... wake her up."

I nodded while calmly sipping on my coffee.

"Senpai..." Pinkette muttered "Senpai!"

"Wha!" She rose with a burst "I'm not interested in CGI!!!" She exclaimed with an unrepentant fervour as she slowly came to the conclusion that we apparently didn't give a fuck, as shown by our blank stares.

"Oh, you again!" She coughed "Nice to meet you, I'm Fujimaru... Rikka Fujimaru! We didn't introduce ourselves the first time." She extended a handshake. Seems like she switched to the European way of introducing oneself.

"Nice to meet you Senpai. I'm Mashu Kyrielight." She bowed as the focus went onto me.

I examined the Protagonist. She had orange medium-length hair which was tied in a tail using an orange scrunchie on the intersection between her back and left side but funnily enough her bangs still neared her eyes. Guess it's for fashion. Her golden eyes were also noticeably a match for her appearance. Oh, and in terms of clothing she had a long-sleeved dress shirt which had belts on her waist, under her expansive breasts and above it which emphasises it even more, but other than that she wore tights and black shoes.

I guess this where I insert my name "Noble HP Four."

She looked at me funnily "That's a weird name."

I raised an eyebrow "Its an alias, and I don't plan to use anything other than it." It finally clicked for her "And other than that... I guess it's nice to meet you?" Is it really though? I mean, shit is about to hit the fan.

"There you are." A mature voice called out and it seemed to be the half-bit boss. "I was looking for you; come along now."

Pinkette bowed but before she went Rikka called out to her.

"Wait!" They paused as I watched the interaction. "I've been wondering for a while...This girl... why does she call me 'Senpai'?"

Yeah, I'm a bit curious about that too. Where's my underclassmen calling me "senpai"? I'm in a Japanese gacha game, damn it! Oh well, I don't really care anyways (lol).

"That's because to her... everyone is a senpai." He responded with something quite ominous.

Senpai means "senior" and everyone being a 'senior' when it clearly isn't referring to education means overall. Overall senior could refer to life.

'Oh.' I blinked out of tune for a moment 'So she's artificial. Like a homunculus or something.'

"What...?" Rikka was confused but I'm pretty sure info like this is better off not being known to her. We just watched them walk away.

After a few minutes she turned to me "So! Why don't you show me around this place? More specifically my room?"

I sighed.

'Might as well carry favour with the protagonist. It'll probably keep me alive.' I opened a map and I showed her to her room.

[THE FOOL 0]: RIKKA FUJIMARU RANK 1 GAINED

[THE AEON 20-XX]: MASHU KYRIELIGHT RANK 1 GAINED

Chaldea/Rikka's Room/Evening

When we entered Rikka's room we came upon a man slacking off. He resembled Rikka – to the point it wouldn't be surprising if they were related – as they both had orange hair although he had green eyes. He also wore white gloves, trousers shoes and a long-coat with white as an outer design with green as an inner design.

What's with Magi and their stupid looking coats?

"W-Wha?! What are you doing here?" He splattered as I watched the hologram he was watching from. Is that... precure? The fuck.

You know what? Fuck it, ima regain my snarky sarcasm since shit is definitely gonna hit the fan soon. "You're under arrest for pornography of minors! Anything you say or do may be used in court." I'm pretty sure it goes like something like this.

"Wait what?!" He fell off his chair (lol).

"Huh?" Rikka looked confused for a moment but soon smirked "Put him in the back." She dramatically shook her head.

"Wait, no! I'm innocent!" He looked genuinely panicked which made me somewhat less nervous. Haven't really relaxed as much as I've wanted to since I've got here.

"Tell it to the judge, scum." Rikka added as they both continued this banter for a while.

"Anyway," He coughed "Nice to meet you, I'm the director of medical care, doctor Romani Archaman! And I'm guessing one of you is the new owner of this room, right?"

I pointed to Rikka "Yeah, its her room. She's Rikka Fujimaru and I'm Noble HP Four."

"An alias, huh..." He muttered.

Rikka spoke up "Oh and where are we exactly?" He froze and then soon they both began explaining the unimportant stuff to each other. Meanwhile, I was busy wondering and anticipating the moment shit was going to hit the fan.

Then suddenly... the lights cut off and the moment finally came as sirens went off.

BOOOM

Romani went onto his holowatch instantly "Monitor show me what's going on!"

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! A FIRE HAS BROKEN OUT IN THE CENTRAL POWER STATION AND CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM! THE CENTRAL AREA BARRIER WILL CLOSE IN 90 SECONDS! ALL STAFF MEMBERS MUST EVACUATE GATE 2 PROMPTLY!" Well, things have finally come to this.

"What's going on?!" Rikka exclaimed in panic "Wait, Mashu!" And they both ran off in a hurry.

I sighed.

I'll go to the observation room, to see if anyone's alive.

I sprinted in a systematic pace. No use overexerting energy for people I barely know or care about.

'Oh yeah, I forgot to save Animusphere. Oh well...'

Chaldea/???/Evening

I entered the observatory and I could see Romani pressing a bunch of buttons in the command centre through a window. I could also see Rikka trying to free Pinkette through the observatory's broken window – half of her body is crushed under a giant slab of refined stone. No point in trying there, she's a supporting character that's gonna survive.

'Where's Purplette?' I questioned as I saw a few bodies on the floor that resembled some people I knew. I calmly walked over to them and tried to see if they had a pulse. They had a pulse.

I first got the fellow introvert out and placed her on the floor outside the observatory. The doors are going to close soon. Definitely.

I repeated the same action with Purplette and she in a daze muttered my alias. "Noble...?"

There's no time for a conversation. "Shut up for now."

She chuckled mildly as tears streamed down her face "This... This is all my fault... isn't it?"

I knew it was gonna happen so it's more my fault but okay "Yeah it is."

Her grip on my beck loosened "I see."

She was crying a lot which was annoying so I spoke up "Next time do better."

She paused momentarily and smiled "Okay." And hence I placed her near the bookworm.

[THE HIGH PRIESTESS 2-II]: SION ELTNAM SOKARIS RANK 2 GAINED

I re-entered the observatory and saw the director under a bunch of rubble. I dusted the rubble off of her and turned to the door.

CLAMP

Which promptly closed. Well, that sucked. I wasn't paying attention to the announcements nor the time frame I had left. I hate it when I focus on things... I filter all the 'unnecessary' yet important shit out.

I sighed.

I dragged the Director with me by putting her arm over my neck and moved to the broken window.

"Simulate." I calculated the safest way to land.

I put the director in a princess-carry and jumped down to the extraction area.

"Ugh." I grunted as I felt pain in my knees. I sighed as I just realised something. I could've just used Gradation Clone to create a rope to come down here safely. Fuck my life.

"Oh well, pain is also classified as a type of stimulant. Probably." The adrenalin pumping around my body also dulled the pain. Afterall, I may not be as phased as others due to alexithymia or my inherent ability to simply not give a fuck but I'm still somewhat phased. Annoying that I can't fully use my adrenalin because of how calm I am.

I put the Director back into the usual carry and walked over to the pair.  Also, I noticed near them was a... dog? Cat? The fuck?

"Yo! How's life." I sarcastically remarked.

Rikka was also snarky "Oh just great – it's just that everything's gone to shit."

"How fascinating, I never noticed." I sat down along the duo as I placed the Director down along with me.

"What's happening?" She asked deliriously as she opened her eyes.

"A firework show." Sorry but I'm still pissed that reality is finally coming to hit me. Oh god, I apologised. At least it wasn't out loud...

"Wait..." Her golden eyes darted open "That's not what's happening." But then she was soon drained of her energy as she went to sleep. She surprisingly doesn't have any fatal injuries except a few bruises.

"I noticed." I sighed.

"THE SURVIVAL OF MANKIND CANNOT BE CONFIRMED! THE FUTURE OF MANKIND CANNOT BE GUARANTEED!" Okay, now it's just being a bitch.

"I also noticed." I muttered.

"Survival... future... mankind?" Rikka muttered with clear shock. "What is it talking about."

Pinkette was huffing in pain as she laid there "Chaldeas turned bright red... no, more importantly..." She shifted her neck towards us "We can't get out... anymore." Her voice pitched "...I'm sorry because of me you two..."

Rikka chuckled as tears run down her face "That's not true. I'm sure it'll work out. More importantly, we haven't hung out as friends yet."

Pinkette – No Mashu teared up "I'm sorry, I couldn't spend enough time with you. I've always wanted..."

How heartwarming... no really, I'm dying by the sugar being produced. Even the dog and cat hybrid was whining with sadness. Wait... did I use 'heartwarming' correctly? Or should it be 'disheartening'? Meh, I don't know enough of myself to judge whether it's any of the two.

"COFFIN VITALS: MASTERS, BASELINE NOT REACHED. RAYSHIFT REQUIREMENTS NOT MET. SEARCHING FOR QUALIFYING MASTER... FOUND. CANDIDATE NUMBER 48, RIKKA FUJIMARU, RESET AS A MASTER."

Sounds neat. Although, it's probably Roman.

"SEARCHING FOR QUALIFYING MASTER... FOUND. INVESTOR KISCHUR ZELRETCH SCHWEINORG, NOBLE HP FOUR, RESET AS A MASTER: CANDIDATE NUMBER 49, NOBLE HP FOUR."

w0t. No seriously, what the Fuck?! Is this a fanfiction? This is cliché as fuck. Roman what's your problem with me?!

Mashu spoke up "U-um Senpai... Investor... could..." She huffed. Surprised she included me.

"UNSUMMON PROGRAM, START. SPIRITON CONVERSION, START."

So this is how it starts...

"Could you hold my hand." I held her hand along with Rikka. Surprisingly, I didn't sigh. Also didn't forget to include the director in the handshake, although the dog/cat hybrid jumped on top.

"ALL PROCEDURES CLEAR. FIRST ORDER, COMMENCING OPERATION."

And thus...

Shit has officially hit the fan.

And everything darkened from there.

.

.

.

[THE FOOL 0]: RIKKA FUJIMARU RANK 2 GAINED

[THE AEON 20-XX]: MASHU KYRIELIGHT RANK 2 GAINED

[THE JUDGEMENT 20-XX]: FOU RANK 1 GAINED

.

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[THE JESTER 0]: CHALDEA RANK 1 GAINED