Chapter 84. A Hero's Compulsory Course
Mythological Age, an unknown primeval forest.
The morning sun pierced through the dense canopy, dappling the dew-covered grass. The air was thick with the fragrance of soil and... a mouth-watering aroma of meat that seemed to trigger humanity's most primal appetite.
Gulp.
Argo swallowed hard, his eyes—restless even in sleep—snapping open. Like a cat sensing catnip, he launched into a sprint, scrambling and crawling toward the source of the scent.
"What is this?! What kind of divine smell is this?! Did the gods in the heavens accidentally knock over their breakfast?!" Argo waved his hands exaggeratedly, hopping up and down around the figure busy by the campfire.
"Not a god, just a passing cook." Shirou Emiya held a large wooden spoon, stirring a stone pot he had procured from somewhere. A rich broth bubbled inside; chunks of wild boar meat rose and fell within, paired with wild greens and mushrooms gathered from the forest. The colors were so enticing they practically glowed.
"Brother Emiya! You are practically my second father!" Argo tried to pounce on Shirou (or the pot), but was precisely parried by the handle of the spoon against his forehead.
"Go wash your face and hands. Otherwise, no food." Shirou's voice was flat but filled with authority, like a parent dealing with a disobedient brat.
"Yes! Sir!" Argo gave a clumsy salute and sprinted toward the nearby stream.
Watching that exuberant back, Shirou sighed helplessly. Last night, after coming to terms with the devastating fact that he had traveled to "before the Age of Gods," Shirou had to accept his current situation.
'Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it.'
He had a constitution that attracted trouble in the future anyway; coming to the past was just changing the map to grind monsters.
And... Shirou looked at his right hand. The prosthetic fused with dragon bone seemed even more active in this mana-rich ancient environment. The concentration of primordial magical energy (Mana) in the air was incredibly high; with every breath, his Magic Circuits greedily absorbed energy. Although he couldn't use a big move like [Unlimited Blade Works] for now, basic Projection and Reinforcement were no problem at all.
"Brother Emiya! I'm washed! I even cleaned behind my ears!" Argo ran back with a dripping face and sat obediently on a rock, holding two simple wooden bowls (which Shirou had carved last night).
"Let's eat." Shirou served Argo a full bowl. "Specialty: Primeval Forest-style Braised Wild Boar Stew. It lacks seasoning, but I used some spicy berries as a substitute; the taste should be passable."
Argo took a sip of the soup impatiently. In that instant, his expression froze. Then, two lines of clear tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Wh-What's wrong? Is it poisonous?" Shirou was startled, wondering if ancient people's constitutions couldn't handle spicy food.
"N-No..." Argo put down the bowl with a tremble and grabbed Shirou's hand. "It's too delicious, ahhhh! This is a miracle! Everything I've eaten in my life compared to this is pig food! No, it's worse than pig food! Brother Emiya! You must join my Heroic Faction! Even if you aren't a swordsman, being the head chef is fine! For this meal, I'm willing to give you half of my future kingdom!"
"What would I do with your kingdom... and right now you have nothing but a broken sword." Shirou pulled his hand back and began to eat calmly.
"However, since you enjoy the food so much, I suppose teaming up temporarily isn't out of the question."
"Really?! Awesome!" Argo excitedly pulled a tattered notebook and a charcoal pencil from his robe. "Then I shall add a brilliant stroke to the first Chapter of the Argonautica! 'It was a morning of destiny; the future Great Hero Argo met the Red-Haired Sage from another world. The Sage passed the Hero's trial with a bowl of legendary stew (actually he was bribed), and the two became brothers of different fathers and mothers...' "
"Don't write nonsense! Who's a Sage? And what on earth is that trial?!" Shirou couldn't help but complain, but seeing Argo's serious face, he found it somewhat amusing.
'This guy... though he seems like a clown who only knows how to brag, that optimism—bordering on stupidity—is surprisingly not hatable.'
After the meal came the routine post-meal digestion (special training).
"Since we're teaming up, I need to understand your combat power." Shirou stood in the clearing, holding two wooden sticks. "Attack me. Use what you think is your strongest move."
"Hehe, Brother Emiya, don't look down on me." Argo wiped his nose and struck a flashy-looking pose. "Although I don't have magic that creates swords like you, I am a man who has self-taught the Royal Swordsmanship (mostly by peeking)! Take this! Sure-kill — Argo Spiral Thrust!"
He shouted the move name and charged, spinning like a top.
Whack. Shirou simply stepped aside, the wooden stick in his hand lightly tapping Argo's wrist. "Ouch!" The wooden sword flew from Argo's hand, and his momentum sent him face-first into the grass, eating dirt.
"..." Shirou looked at the "Future Great Hero" sprawled on the ground and fell into deep thought. Although he had expected it... this was too weak. With this kind of combat power, let alone defeating a Demon King, even killing a chicken at the village entrance would be a struggle. If this were a game, this would be a "blank slate" character with all starting stats at 1.
"Again!" Argo climbed up unyieldingly and picked up his sword.
"That was just an accident! The ground was too slippery! Witness my — Argo Flash Slash!"
Whack. This time he was tripped.
"Again! Argo Meteor Strike!" Whack. He was tapped on the forehead.
Half an hour later, Argo was lying on the ground in a "star" shape, panting, his head covered in bumps, his eyes dazed. "I-I can't... Brother Emiya... are you a monster? Why can't I even touch the hem of your clothes?"
"It's not that I'm too strong; it's that you're full of openings." Shirou tossed the stick aside and sat by him.
"Your movements are too flashy. Combat isn't a performance; you don't need those redundant spins and shouts. Plus, your stance is unstable, your core strength is poor, and you actually close your eyes when you swing... are you trying to hit the enemy with faith?"
"But... if I don't shout the move name, there's no momentum!" Argo argued righteously. "Aren't heroes all like that? Shouting a finishing move at the critical moment and then turning the tide with one hit! That's how it's written in the storybooks!"
"Those are storybooks. In reality, shouting your moves only reveals your intent and makes you bite your tongue." Shirou sighed. It seemed training this idiot into a combatant would be a long and arduous journey.
However... Shirou looked at Argo's eyes, which remained full of light despite his pathetic state.
'This guy's 'tenacity' is actually surprisingly good.'
Despite being beaten so many times, he never truly gave up. This "cockroach spirit" that couldn't be beaten to death might be his only talent for becoming a hero.
"Forget it, basic training can wait. We need to leave here first." Shirou stood up and looked into the depths of the forest. "Do you know where the nearest town is?"
"I do!" Argo scrambled up and brushed the dirt off his butt. "Heading north for about half a day's walk, there is a settlement called 'Ratatoskr.' It's a human stronghold. However..." His expression suddenly became somewhat lewd (strike that) mysterious. "Our goal isn't a small village like that. We are going to the 'Royal Capital' further in!"
"The Royal Capital?" Shirou raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly!" Argo pulled a crumpled bounty poster from his chest. "Look at this! It shows a golden-haired girl; though the drawing is abstract, you can still see her noble aura. This is the 'Princess Imprisoned by the Demon King' — Her Highness Ariadne! Rumor has it she was snatched by a terrifying Minotaur and is currently locked in the Capital's Labyrinth waiting for a hero's rescue!"
"Ariadne?" Shirou paused.
'That name... and that hair color.'
Why did it feel a bit like a certain Sword princess who only ate fried potato puffs? Could it be an ancestor?
"If I rescue the Princess, I'll become famous! Money, fame, even the Princess's heart... hehehe..." Argo fell into a beautiful delusion, drooling.
"Wake up, it's daylight." Shirou hit him on the head heartlessly. "But since there's a goal, let's head out. Whether it's saving a princess or fighting a demon king, it's better than feeding mosquitoes in the forest."
.
.
.
The two packed their gear (mostly Shirou packing while Argo posed nearby) and set out.
Along the way, Shirou deeply realized the meaning of "chatterbox." Argo's mouth was like a perpetual motion machine, talking about everything from ancient myths to gossip about the widow in the next village, from his "heroic blueprint" to the dream he had last night.
"Brother Emiya, did you know? Actually, there's a dark power sealed within me..."
"That's just the dirt on your body because you didn't bathe yesterday."
"Brother Emiya, look at that cloud; doesn't it look like a roaring dragon?"
"That's a dark cloud about to rain. Walk faster, or we'll get soaked."
"Brother Emiya, if I become a Great Hero later, I'll appoint you as the 'Hero King's Imperial Chef,' how about that?"
"Gee, thanks. Can you change it to something better? Like 'Ally of Justice' or something?"
"Pfft, 'Ally of Justice'? That's so lame! Who uses such a retro title these days!"
"...A clown holding a broken wooden sword has no right to judge me!"
Though noisy, the journey wasn't boring. Shirou found that while Argo had a combat power of only 5, he was unexpectedly reliable in strange ways. For instance, he could accurately distinguish which berries were poisonous and which mushrooms were edible (though this
was earned through the painful experience of "I ate this before and had diarrhea for three days"). He also had an amazing intuition for terrain, always finding the safest (or laziest) shortcuts. This was likely what one would call "survival wisdom."
However, in this mythological age, danger always accompanied opportunity (not really).
As the two crossed a canyon, the road ahead was blocked by a group of creatures. They were a pack of... wolves. But not ordinary wolves. They were massive, each the size of a small calf. Their fur was iron-gray, and their eyes shimmered with a bloodthirsty red light.
[Dire Wolves (Ancient Type)]. Quantity: Approximately twenty.
"Waaaah! It's a Dire Wolf pack!" Argo instantly hid behind Shirou, his movements practiced enough to be heartbreaking. "It's over! These are monsters even regular armies would detour around! Brother Emiya, let's run!"
"We can't run." Shirou looked around calmly. The wolf pack had already fanned out to surround them. These ancient monsters had high intelligence and understood pack hunting tactics.
"Twenty-three in total. The alpha is on the high ground to the left." Shirou's [Mind's Eye (True)] completed the battlefield analysis in an instant. In this era, without the Grace of the Gods (Status), humans truly were only meant to be slaughtered by such monsters. But Shirou Emiya was different. He didn't have a Grace, but he had—cheats.
"Argo, don't run around. Stay within a three-meter radius behind me if you don't want to become wolf droppings."
"But... you're only one person! And you don't even have a proper weapon!" Argo looked in terror at Shirou's empty hands.
"Who said I don't have a weapon?" Shirou took a deep breath. The magical energy in his body, like a rushing river, surged toward his hands.
Trace — On.
Hum! A flash of black and white light. A pair of sleek, cold-emanating short swords appeared out of thin air in Shirou's hands. [Kanshou & Bakuya].
"Is this... a magic trick?!" Argo's eyes widened, forgetting even his fear.
The wolf pack attacked. Three Dire Wolves pounced simultaneously, their foul-smelling maws snapping at Shirou's throat and limbs.
"Too slow." Shirou's gaze was cold. Under his pseudo-Level 4 dynamic vision, the movements of these monsters were like slow motion.
Slash! Slash! Slash! The black and white blades traced three perfect arcs in the air. No wasted movement, no flashy tricks. Just a single moment of crossing paths.
Squelch! While still in mid-air, the three wolves had their heads separated from their bodies. Blood sprayed like blooming red lotuses.
"I-Instant kill?!" Argo's jaw hit the floor. He looked at the youth standing in a pool of blood, not a single drop touching his clothes, and felt his worldview being refreshed.
'Is this really a human? This is a monster in human skin!'
Awooo—! The death of their comrades didn't scare off the pack; instead, it incited their ferocity. The alpha let out a long howl, and the remaining twenty wolves charged simultaneously.
"Since you want to die, I'll oblige." Shirou reversed his grip on the twin blades. "From now on... it's one-sided slaughter time."
It was a performance of "Violent Aesthetics." The red figure blurred through the wolf pack like a dance of the Reaper. Every swing took a life. Every parry was accompanied by the sound of shattering bones.
Argo hid in the back, his blood boiling.
'This is... a hero! This is the power he dreamed of, the power that can protect everything!'
"So cool..." Argo gripped his broken wooden sword, eyes shimmering with longing. "I want... to become like that too."
Just then, a cunning Dire Wolf bypassed Shirou's defensive line, quietly sneaking to Argo's side. It targeted this dazed "weakling," opened its massive maw, and pounced.
"Watch out!" Shirou was dealing with three wolves in front and couldn't make it back in time. Trace — Project! He wanted to throw a blade, but the distance was too great.
It's over! Argo looked at the maw inches away, smelling the stench of death. His body wouldn't move. His legs were jelly.
'Am I going to die? Die worthlessly, just like before?
No! I refuse! I am... the man who will become a hero!'
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" In the moment of life and death, Argo erupted with courage he didn't know he possessed. He didn't close his eyes. He didn't run. Instead, he raised his ragged, broken wooden sword and stabbed fiercely at the wolf's throat.
'Even if I die... I'm taking one of your teeth!'
Thump! The wooden sword pierced the wolf's throat. But the impact of the wolf also sent him flying back. Sharp claws left three deep bloody gashes on his chest.
"Cough..." Argo fell to the ground, the intense pain making him nearly faint. But he still gripped the sword handle tightly, not letting go.
The wolf struggled for a few moments and then died of suffocation from the pierced throat.
"I... killed it?" Argo looked at the corpse before him, incredulous. "I... I can do it too?"
"Well done!" Shirou finished off the last enemy and rushed over. He quickly checked Argo's injuries. Fortunately, no internal organs were hit, just flesh wounds.
"That move just now was very brave," Shirou said seriously while bandaging him. "Choosing to strike back instead of running in that moment... Argo, you have the potential to be a hero."
"Really?!" Argo ignored the pain, excitedly grabbing Shirou's hand.
"You think I'm a hero too?!"
"Yeah." Shirou smiled. "Though the technique was a mess and the posture was hideous. But that courage... is the real deal."
"Hehe... hehehe..." Argo laughed foolishly, which pulled on his wound, making him grimace. "I told you! I'm a genius!"
"However..." Shirou looked at the wooden sword in Argo's hand, which was now completely scrapped. "As a hero, your equipment is too shabby. If that sword had been sharper, you wouldn't have been hurt."
He stood up, found a piece of hard ironwood from a nearby bush, and took a magic stone emitting the scent of lightning from the corpse of the Dire Wolf King.
"Since you've joined my team (even if forced), I'll upgrade your gear."
Trace — Analysis. Shirou's fingers brushed the wood and the magic stone. In his mind, a design gradually took shape. It didn't need to be too complex; it needed to be suitable for a beginner, lightweight, and... have a bit of a special effect (since this guy liked to show off).
"Then, you're the one."
Projection — Thunder Wood Sword.
Under Argo's shocked gaze, the wood in Shirou's hand began to deform. The magic stone was embedded at the hilt, and the power of lightning spread along special lines into the blade. The originally plain wooden sword now emitted faint golden electrical arcs.
"Here." Shirou tossed the sword to Argo. "This is a wooden sword with a 'Lightning' enchantment. It's not a divine relic, but it's much better than your previous fire-poker. When you swing it hard, it releases a current that paralyzes enemies. It suits your... well, hit-and-run tactics."
"Waaaah! This, this is..." Argo caught the sword, feeling the tingly sensation, his eyes nearly popping out.
"A Magic Sword?! This is definitely a legendary Magic Sword! You just made it on the fly?! Brother Emiya, are you really human? Are you some Forge God who came down to experience life?!"
"It's just a common enchantment." Shirou waved his hand.
"Alright, the wounds are treated, and the gear is updated. Can you walk?"
"Of course!" Argo leaped up, waving the electrified wooden sword in a pose he thought was cool. "Right now, I feel full of power! Even if a Demon King comes, I'll make him dance with electricity!"
"Then let's go." Shirou looked north. Between the distant mountains, a white city was faintly visible. That was the Ratatoskr settlement, the necessary path to the Capital.
"Our journey... has only just begun."
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Shortly after they left, a troop of soldiers in polished armor stepped out from the shadows of the forest. They looked at the field of Dire Wolf corpses—especially the Alpha, killed in one hit—with solemn expressions.
"A one-hit kill... and the wound was sliced by some extremely sharp weapon," the leading knight whispered.
"This kind of cut... doesn't look like it could be caused by weapons of this era."
"Captain, there are signs of another battle here." A soldier pointed to the wolf Argo killed. "This wolf was stabbed to death by a wooden sword. It seems there was another person."
"Red hair... twin blades..." The captain pulled out a piece of parchment with a blurred figure drawn on it. "According to the astrologer's prophecy, a 'Red Star from another world' will descend and change the fate of this world. Is it him?"
"Follow them!" The captain waved his hand. "We absolutely cannot let him approach the Capital! Her Highness the Princess's 'Wedding' (Sacrifice) must not be disrupted!"
"Yes!"
The soldiers quickly vanished into the jungle, pursuing the direction in which Shirou and the others had left.
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At this time, Shirou Emiya and Argo didn't know they had already been swept into a massive conspiracy. And this adventure would become the Origin of all future Heroic Tales.
"Hey, Brother Emiya."
"What?"
"This sword doesn't have a name yet. Since you made it, why don't you name it?"
"...How about Striking Thunder?"
"Too lame! Rejected! I'm going to call it... Zeus's Wrath Super Invincible Spiral Flash Argo Greatsword!"
"...Too long! You'll trip over your tongue! Let's just call it Flash then!"
"Whatever you want..."
Under the setting sun, the two figures faded into the distance. Though the path ahead was uncertain and full of danger, as long as there was a sword, a companion, and that foolish yet brilliant courage, there was nothing... that couldn't be overcome.
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