Chapter Three: The Secret to Increasing Affection

“Summoning successful. Saber, Artoria Pendragon.”

“Talent System Plugin successfully loaded.”

The anomaly vanished in an instant, and the summoning ticket in Zhao Tianhe’s hand transformed into a character card. Upon it leapt the image of a dignified knight maiden in a blue and white dress, her appearance nearly identical to the card illustration in the game.

This so-called Artoria was, in fact, the legendary King of Knights, ruler among the Round Table of European myth, bearer of fantastical blood, and a peerless being surpassing humanity.

“Is that all?” Zhao Tianhe was momentarily stunned, then opened his Hero System panel.

Zhao Tianhe

Race: Earthling / Heroic Spirit of Good

Base Attributes

Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Constitution: 5
Spirit: 5

Free Attribute Points: 1

Basic Stats (not including equipment)

Attack: 0~6 (each point of Strength increases max attack by 1)
Base Defense: 1.2 (each point of Strength increases base defense by 0.2)
Attack Speed: 0~6 (each point of Strength increases max attack speed by 1)
Movement Speed: 0~6 (each point of Strength increases max movement speed by 1)

Perception: 6 (each point of Agility increases perception by 1; even the sixth sense is enhanced)
Dexterity: 6 (each point of Agility increases dexterity by 1; distinguishes between clumsy and nimble hands, resolves disconnect between mind and hand)
Comprehension: 1.2 (each point of Agility increases comprehension by 0.2; affects learning and practice efficiency, the difference between prodigy and slacker)

Health: 50 (each point of Constitution increases health by 10)
Health Regen per Second: 1 (each point of Constitution increases health regen by 0.2 per second)
Stamina: 50 (each point of Constitution increases stamina by 10)
Stamina Regen per Second: 2 (each point of Constitution increases stamina regen by 0.4 per second)

Mana: 50 (each point of Spirit increases mana by 10)
Mana Regen per Second: 0.5 (each point of Spirit increases mana regen by 0.1 per second)
Elemental Affinity: 0.5 (each point of Spirit increases elemental affinity by 0.1)

Class System

Novice Hero, Level 3, Class Experience: 12/400
Each class level grants one free attribute point

Talent System

Summon Across Worlds
Plugin Loaded: Fate/Grand Order
Heroic Spirit Summoned: Saber, Artoria
Artoria Status: Unavailable, Affection 0/100

“Unavailable…” Zhao Tianhe frowned at the card in his hand. “And what’s with this affection stat…? This setup feels like a dating sim. Wait! How could I think of Our King in such a way?! No, wait—FSN is a dating sim at its core… But still, that doesn’t make it right!”

“What’s not right?” A voice suddenly sounded by Zhao Tianhe’s ear, making him jump.

He turned to see Pixie perched on his shoulder, having arrived unnoticed.

“How did you get in here?! Uh…” Zhao Tianhe glanced at the floor, realizing how silly his question was—anyone could hear all this noise.

“What’s that?” Pixie fluttered over to the card in Zhao Tianhe’s hand, gazing at the image of Artoria. “Such a beautiful human… No, she doesn’t look quite human. Is she a fairy or a sprite?”

“Something like that. I just blew up a mutated elite with a protective scroll, and this dropped.” Zhao Tianhe hesitated at first, but then thought better of hiding it. There wasn’t any reason to; this wasn’t some cutthroat cultivation world. Society here was orderly, and besides, no one else could use this thing even if they stole it.

“This thing activated my Talent System, but for now I still can’t use my talent abilities…” Zhao Tianhe sighed. “I plan to report this in town, maybe apply for another scroll. You’ll have to be my witness!”

“I know, I know! Ah~ My little loser, you’ve finally made it!” Pixie, out of nowhere, produced a tiny white wig and donned it, then, wearing an old and wrinkled expression, patted Zhao Tianhe’s forehead and croaked, “A hero without a Talent System can hardly be called a hero at all.”

“Alright, alright, enough. I know you’re old…” Zhao Tianhe said with a wry smile as he walked back to the cave entrance.

Wood sprites were nature spirits, different from elves, embodiments of the natural world with endless lifespans. Even Pixie herself didn’t know how old she was—if anything, she should be as old as the world itself. Yet, despite their longevity, nature spirits were scatterbrained and guileless, caring little for power, and so lived perpetually like children.

Rogue Town was a peaceful inland settlement. The nearby dungeons were weak, save for the Slime Cavern—so feeble it set the record for lowest possible dungeon rating, the one and only F-class trash dungeon. Within a hundred miles, there were only two E-class and one E+ dungeons.

Thus, the local Dungeon Management Association branch was staffed by a single matronly woman. There were only a handful of heroes: Zhao Tianhe, who worked alone, and three small teams—hardly any challenge at all.

“Where’s Aunt Liu?” Zhao Tianhe entered a shop-like house and addressed the young girl behind the counter.

“Zhao Tianhe, right? My mother’s ill. I’m covering for her from today.” The teenage girl, with twin braids and freckles, replied with a serious expression.

“Call me Brother Zhao.” Zhao Tianhe, grinning menacingly, pulled out a tea egg as a bribe.

“Hello, Brother Zhao! Please, let me know if you need anything. I’m still young and inexperienced, so I hope you’ll teach me!” The girl straightened, saluting with shining eyes, a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth.

This girl was Liu Cai’er, daughter of Aunt Liu, the branch head. Because her mother suffered from back problems, she often covered the post. Liu Cai’er was quite pragmatic and usually paid Zhao Tianhe—the “useless” hero—little mind, only bothering with his payroll. For everything else, she’d give him the runaround.

Zhao Tianhe, spurned by a child, refused to give in. He dedicated himself to mastering the culinary arts, recalling the myriad delicacies of his homeland, and at last conquered the little brat!

After previous bombardments of assorted fried skewers and hot pot, Liu Cai’er had long since surrendered. At first she’d tried to act reserved, but now, at the mere sight of Zhao Tianhe’s treasures, she abandoned all pretense.

With a flourish, Zhao Tianhe lined up four tea eggs on the counter, then, with two fingers, handed over the Artoria card. “Appraise this. I got it today from a mutated elite I blew up with a scroll! Listen, your Brother Zhao’s Talent System is finally active. Who knows, I might be transferred to the city for A-class raids soon!”

“Really?!” Liu Cai’er, munching on a tea egg, patted her own “double A-class” assets in excitement and took the card.

“Hey! Wipe your hands first! You’re getting oil all over my treasure!” Zhao Tianhe grumbled.

Appraisal involved placing the item on a magic array linked to the Dungeon Association’s item appraisal department, which held records of countless dungeon artifacts for easy identification. If the item was unranked junk, the appraisal team wouldn’t be able to confirm it, and a specialist would be dispatched to investigate.

“Appraisal complete. Features confirmed. Suspected dungeon artifact, high probability of unranked item. Black Iron Hero Zhao Tianhe, please await an investigator.”

“Brother Zhao, did this really drop from that trash dungeon?” Liu Cai’er asked, puzzled. After all, the message basically meant, “We can’t identify this, you’re probably up to something, and we’re sending someone to check.”

“Of course!” Zhao Tianhe barked, handing over his badge. “Whatever, just give me my pay for today.”

“Alright, coming right up.” Liu Cai’er deftly checked the life pulse energy consumption for the Slime Cavern. “Oh, today’s usage is five times the usual! Brother Zhao, you really did kill a mutated elite! Don’t worry, I’ll vouch for you! By the way, is that beef offal you mentioned really that good?”

“Have I ever lied to you? With my secret spicy sauce, the beef offal will melt your tongue and your heart!” Zhao Tianhe said with confidence. He’d already arranged with the butcher to take all the beef innards they’d usually discard.

“Goodbye, Brother Zhao! Take care!” Liu Cai’er eagerly saw him out.

“Sigh, Brother Zhao is really wasted as a hero…” Back in the shop, Liu Cai’er sighed as she ate her tea egg. “He’d have a brighter future as a chef. I wonder if his world is all about food? Amazing…”

Tossing five silver coins in his hand, Zhao Tianhe hummed a tune, bought a chicken, and picked up a steak and some beef offal from the butcher.

Tonight I’ll make Kung Pao Chicken over rice, marinate the steak for tomorrow’s lunch. Oh, and I still need to clean the offal. Returning to his assigned hero’s apartment, Zhao Tianhe whipped up some egg fried rice with leftover rice from last night, then set to cleaning the beef offal. The butcher had given him quite a lot, but Zhao Tianhe only took tripe, tongue, and liver. After cleaning, he boiled them and set them out to dry.

That evening, Zhao Tianhe marinated and fried two chicken legs, stir-fried a plate of Kung Pao Chicken, and poured it over fresh rice. The leftover rice would go into tomorrow’s steak fried rice.

“Whew~ Whatever else, food is really cheap in this world. Thirty copper coins gets me meat every meal,” Zhao Tianhe said, smiling at the dishes on his table. “But honestly, if I could eat out every day, who would choose to cook for themselves? Now, how do I use this card…”

He gazed at the Artoria card in his hand, troubled. After some thought, fearing his food would grow cold, he set the card on the table and began to eat.

“Artoria Affection +5.”

A system notification rang in Zhao Tianhe’s mind, followed by a clear “ding” sound before him.

It was the sound of a spoon striking the plate.

The Kung Pao Chicken over rice and the fried chicken legs—were gone!

Zhao Tianhe wasn’t stupid; he looked at the Artoria card at his side, only to find it had disappeared as well.

Checking his Talent System, the description had changed.

Artoria Status: Unavailable, Affection 5/100

“The cucumber in the Kung Pao Chicken wasn’t crisp enough, and the chicken leg’s batter would be better a bit thicker.”

“…” Zhao Tianhe was stunned. “There are even tasting notes… But it’s true, the cucumber was a bit old, and as for the batter, I prefer it thin. Does Our King prefer it thicker?”

But more importantly—his dinner was gone!

“No, no, finding the path to increase affection is more important. Food, huh? Then how about this?” Zhao Tianhe picked up a breakfast bun and ate it, but nothing happened.

After thinking, he grabbed a tea egg—and the entire pot of tea eggs vanished!

Artoria Status: Unavailable, Affection 12/100

“A bit salty. Could I have some rice?”

“….” Zhao Tianhe went to the kitchen and scooped up a big bowl of rice—before he could even serve it, the whole pot of rice disappeared!

Artoria Status: Unavailable, Affection 15/100

“The rice is just the right temperature, but only tea eggs isn’t quite satisfying…”

“Hahaha~~” Zhao Tianhe laughed, picking up a kitchen knife and retrieving a whole chicken from the ice-magic refrigerator. “So increasing affection is this simple…”

[Author’s note: I’ve drawn Musashi and Okita on single pulls, so I’m not cursed with bad luck.]