Chapter 2: Do You Believe in Gravity?
Heh. Forget it. I'm tired.
Just let it all burn.
He had confirmed that there were truly no loopholes to be found. Even if he beat this "game" world, the system wouldn't give him any rewards. It was as if this system of his was truly just a super gaming console from the future.
At most, in terms of gameplay, the world inside this super console wasn't a virtual world built of "0s" and "1s" or lines of code. It was a real world. The only thing that could be considered "virtual" was that, through the system's power, he could descend into this world to play in the role of a virtual game character.
At this point, Shirou Emiya felt it would have been better if he had actually just crossed over into this world bodily. At the very least, with his familiarity with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure from his past life, he could think of several ways to heal the injuries on his original body back in the Type-Moon world.
...Wait a second!
—"System, let me confirm one more time."
Something had suddenly occurred to Shirou Emiya, and he questioned the Infinite Game System in his mind once again:
—"This game world is real. History, characters, abilities... all these elements exist in a real world and are not a virtual world created by you, the system, right?"
This point was vital. it concerned whether Shirou Emiya could continue living after returning once this game ended.
—[Yes. This system's ability is to take you, the Host, to a real world. However, crossing between worlds is no simple matter.]
—[For example, other worlds might contain lethal viruses that your original world lacks, or things could be even worse.]
—[Therefore, to ensure the Host's safety, this system updated to this latest, strongest crossing method after its upgrade!]
'No, actually, it would have been fine if you hadn't upgraded.'
Shirou, who could faintly hear the pride in the system's voice, felt this was entirely unnecessary. However, thanks to this, Shirou Emiya confirmed one thing: the probability of him surviving had greatly increased.
Or rather, in this situation, an ordinary person would have been beyond saving long ago. But he was Shirou Emiya! Even though the memories of his past life and his current life had
merged, the memories of practicing magecraft in the Type-Moon world were still preserved in his brain.
Just as a reader might habitually cast a recommendation vote for an author, with just a slight flick of his finger, he could easily, familiarly, and habitually use the magecraft from those memories!
And Projection Magecraft... if the memories of his past life weren't wrong, his Projection was less of a "projection" and more akin to Marble Depiction. It wasn't about using magical energy to project an object, but rather pulling what his heart desired out from the inner scenery of his soul.
Aside from sword-type Noble Phantasms, his original self had successfully projected other objects. At most, he was limited by a lack of understanding of the structure and the influence of his Origin attribute, so other projected objects weren't as refined as swords.
—"But that was the old me. Back then, I hadn't been 'polluted' by knowledge."
—"The realm of 'Man and Sword as One' is already considered old-fashioned after receiving the memories of my past life."
—"The 'Sword Saint of Ashina' philosophy
—why use martial arts when you have a gun
—is the mainstream thought of my past life."
This wasn't false modesty. Shirou Emiya truly believed this now. And he wasn't alone. In the era of his past life's memories, almost no netizen would find it strange if a "Sword Saint" character suddenly pulled out a flintlock. Even in a certain famous game, Dungeon & Fighter, the sword-master characters, after reaching the realm of controlling swords with their hearts, started using hammers to smash people upon their next awakening...
One can see the profound influence here.
Since that was the case... if guns and hammers could be considered "swords," then why couldn't Stands in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure be considered "swords" too?
Once this train of thought opened up, Shirou Emiya suddenly felt he had nothing left to fear regarding his current situation. Next, he just had to find a way to join the "Egypt DIO-Slaying Team."
This wasn't actually that difficult for Shirou.
After all, while he was busy communicating with the system, Jotaro Kujo—who was likewise communicating with his own mother—had already begun showing off his special trick of having an "evil spirit" catch a bullet.
But it was obvious. Including Shirou Emiya, everyone except Holy Kujo and Jotaro Kujo was unable to see the Stand behind Jotaro.
—"Although Stands and Ripple (Hamon) are both related to life energy, unless one awakens a Stand, a Ripple user who hasn't trained to the peak cannot see a Stand."
—"Just like Gyro in JoJo Part 7, who practiced the Steel Ball technique similar to Ripple; he couldn't see Stands before being strengthened by the Saint's Corpse."
—"Magecraft techniques that utilize life energy will naturally be no exception."
Shirou Emiya, who had opened his Magic Circuits by feel and circulated prana to his eyes but still saw nothing, thought this to himself. At the same time, he felt it was a slight pity that he couldn't use "being able to see the Stand" as a reason to join the protagonist's group.
—"But this is still within my expectations."
While Shirou Emiya settled his emotions and entered the process of "waiting and hoping," the police officer who had brought him back saw the scene from just now. Trembling, the officer carefully tapped on the iron bars of the detention cell.
After moving Jotaro's cellmates—who had long since wanted to leave—to other rooms, he didn't forget to ask Shirou, who showed no intention of leaving: "Hey, if you don't want to die, get out of there quickly.
Also, I believe now that you really were framed and got dragged into this because of that guy next to you."
When the officer spoke those words out of fear, Jotaro Kujo, who had been resting with his eyes closed, couldn't help but shift his gaze over.
'Thank you, anonymous officer.'
Seeing Jotaro's reaction, Shirou Emiya—who had been wondering how to intervene—felt the corners of his mouth curl up slightly. After thanking the officer in his heart, he began to put on the pretentious expression of a mystic.
"I know I was framed, of course. But Officer... do you believe in gravity?"