*4 hours later, forest by the road.*
Heh-heh-heh. Fuck, pedaling here tired me out. Plus my heart suddenly grabbed me, made me fall off the bike—thought that was it, done running. Even crossed my mind the heart was old already. Maybe only natural stubbornness and self-irony got me crawling back until it let go. So, what conclusion? Contract apparently still there, still in the game for the Grail. Though fuck knows why I need it now, no idea. The wish temptation still appealing, but I don't need anything right now! Got everything I wanted.
If the Grail fully crashes and grants or doesn't grant the wish, I'm sure it won't affect me! Take Gilgamesh as example—living fine in the world for 10 years already, no plans to vanish. True, he's Archer, and they have "Independence" with delayed disappearance—not 2 hours, but 2 days. Gave him time to solve it, now lives on sacrifices.
In my case, don't think I'll need that; besides my heart having "Independence" too, it's just the heart, not whole body like I said before. And if push comes to shove, replace it. But something tells me second time won't work, and where find people for surgery?
True, made me wonder if Gilgamesh himself limited by ritual boundaries? Can a Servant leave ritual bounds at all? Hmm, what can I say—guess I'll have to win to wish for freedom, be like Dobby—FREE! Or just not die and survive the war, then stay in Fukuoka till next war and try again, if there is one and I live that long. Situation not that bad, unpleasant but not dire.
Calmed down, looked at bike left further on road. Tsk tsk, how to get it? Can't go further, turned back—fuck, almost 20 km on foot to city. Pondered; in theory, find long sturdy branch and hook it somehow...
*30 minutes later.*
Worked, transport issue solved! Dragged it into bushes, went deeper into forest and got to why I came—tests!
*Evening, forest.*
Lots of discoveries today—first, spirits, spirits know no fatigue. Ancient folk wisdom, seriously—shadow clone doesn't tire, at all. Good, though no extra physical strength or agility. But I could phase into Intangibility in it—interesting sensation, light as a feather, can't fly of course, but 3-4 meter jumps easy. And grabbing a tree and climbing to the top just with arms was insanely easy. Jumped from 2-meter height, barely felt pain; then from 4 meters—same.
Theory: since clone not fully material, no sprains, twists, breaks possible. Even more, maybe only another Servant, artifacts, or Magic can damage it! Don't think full physical damage ignore, but firearms probably won't hurt.
Speaking of Magic, digging into inherited memories pulled out curious knowledge. Specifically, about circuits and that they can be turned on/off. Also found my count—8, don't know if much or not; Illusionist had 11. Local Magic theory interesting: circuits heat and cool—heating longer, cast longer; cooling obvious.
Circuits act like skill panels? Light a flame—strain 1 circuit, fire arrow—2 circuits, Fireball—3. My phrasing of course; they call it Magic incantations. Recalling what Hassan said, incantations under three didn't affect him—so arrow for 2 circuits won't pierce, but Fireball for 3, maybe, not full power? Not sure how his Magic resistance worked, since he was in this world short and couldn't test. Probably applies to my clones too, can't check yet.
Not sure about myself—not fully Hassan, Mystic Heroic Spirit. I tire, can't Intangibility in main body, etc. Didn't bother me much, just remember. After clone body, hard to gauge physical capabilities right.
And of course tested the Magic I got! Illusion, aka Glamour in my terms—costs 2 circuits, casts in a minute, lasts half hour; first time I magicked long hair and horns on myself. Switched to clone, poked to see materiality. Hair real, not static image. Horns solid, but strained and broke easily, Glamour vanished.
Satisfied; bad if dispersed on touch. Don't know how it works—perception deception? Still Illusion; how react to techniques? Camera? No answer yet, figure later.
As for second spell, called Mirage—costs 6 links, fussed 15 minutes. Name fits: mask something or create object—but materiality/quality inferior to Glamour, hand passes through, real only at distance. Tested on tree, hid behind stone wall illusion.
In uniform terrain—desert, forest, maybe house—can make target walk circles. Urban streets? Not sure, good no witness limit. Area effect, duration depends on scale.
Uniformer terrain, longer hold—max in memories third of day. Desert though, mirages common especially in heat. Interesting/important: experiments showed clone has circuits too, can cast! But Mana reserve shared.
Experiments found my reserve: hour tests spent ~42 circuits, measured 1 circuit = 1 Mana. Recovery speed—1 mn in 20 min. Simple math/check: 39 mn total. What it gives? Don't know yet, but better know and keep in mind. Yes, depletion gives body pain and light paralysis—unpleasant.
Pondered. Dismissed clone, retested. Recovery down to 18 min. Loaded up heavy, added extra zero to prior results for precision. Recalculated recovery. Hour gone, couldn't figure, dropped zero. One more test, sat clone in shadow—result, no Mana use for existence. Still 1 mn in 18 min. Mentally tired, concluded not critical yet.
Wanted to learn my Origin too. Need other-type spells, see what's easiest. Maybe sneak clone to Rin Tohsaka's house, search books. But she surely has protection, magical. Likely from father/ancestors.
So checked other abilities: "Enhanced perception"—works only on clone. Binoculars and Magical sight analog. Viewed main body with circuits on/off—closest "glows." In Magical sight, like dim bulb with circuits on. Made me think—others have Magical sight analog? Assumed yes. So no needless circuit use.
Presence Concealment—standard stealth, Invisibility. Couldn't test effectiveness/principle. Visible up close? Yes, but moving? Silhouette? With circuits? Intangibility? Servants in Intangibility see each other? Assassin/Archer skill? No answer, wait for 2 clones to test.
Interesting—clone odorless, cloak/clothes silent. Footsteps audible, learn silent walk as possible—memories of such finesse inherited.
Pondered weapons. Clone making knife from nothing failed, worth try. Good I never part with mine, tested throwing—memories vs practice different. Fun: knife back to clone belt after minute on ground.
No need disposables, but expand arsenal/specifics—grappling hooks, ropes. Checked Shadow dagger durability—couldn't break, promising. Won't hold another Servant long with shadow rope, but normals yes. Magic damage durability? Unknown. Made me eye Rin Tohsaka's library mentally again.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan