The Multiverse: Starting by Creating the Delta of Fate, My Friends Are Going Wild Chapter 11

He had fantasized before about possessing magic or swordsmanship, fighting all kinds of monsters.

Could he really do it?

Could he actually manage this?

"...Let's just go with this."

Hachiman Hikigaya took a deep breath. He'd come this far—rummaging through trash cans, flipping over manhole covers, poking into bird nests.

Whatever shame there was to be had, he'd already exhausted it!

At this point, there was nothing left to fear!

He reached out, his hand grasping empty air, and activated the imitation Noble Phantasm "Oath of the Swordless," speaking aloud:

"In my hand, no sword—yet still a sword.

The peerless glory of an unbroken blade.

Even if only for this moment!

Oath of the Swordless!"

A flash of a vengeful youth's entire life raced through Hachiman Hikigaya's mind.

At first, he had been insufferably arrogant, but after repeated setbacks in both love and battle, he became gloomy, insecure, cautious, passive in everything he did... somewhat world-weary.

The most relatable episode.

What first appeared in Hachiman Hikigaya's hand was nothing but a battered wooden sword.

But gradually, starting from his palm, that shabby wooden sword began to transform, bit by bit, into gold.

In the memories Hachiman Hikigaya had received, this sword had no name and no definition.

Just an ordinary wooden sword you could find anywhere, borrowing the shape of a blade someone wanted to obtain, gaining a sliver of insignificant power.

That was all.

[Achilles: "Durandal? Oh... just a replica with its appearance."]

[Gilgamesh: "Another faker, is it? How unsightly."]

[Luvia: "Madicardo of Orlando? The one who got Hector's armor and weapons, then got kicked to death by Ruggiero?"]

[Madicardo: "Wah wah."]

No matter what others said, Hachiman Hikigaya liked it.

He had never felt this satisfied.

If this... was a gift, it would be his favorite thing in life.

Compared to a flashy exterior, Hachiman Hikigaya preferred the essence of the sword in his hand.

The simplicity and pursuit within it—that was the "true thing" he wanted.

"Here I go."

Hachiman Hikigaya had never trained with a sword, and he showed no particular talent, trading blows evenly with the Haki Soldiers.

He took wounds several times.

But he charged in again and again.

His fighting had no elegance to it—just... an ordinary person's struggle.

Kurisu Makise tilted her head and asked:

"Aren't you going to help him?"

Kazuma Satou shook his head slowly and seriously, a complicated expression on his face:

"Look at his face."

Kurisu Makise looked over and was slightly surprised.

That boy, always so gloomy, as if weighed down by countless worries and troubles—

He was smiling!

Hachiman Hikigaya's lips curled upward.

He was smiling, laughing without restraint.

Though his wounds ached, in his heart there was a joy... like being reborn.

Sword stroke after sword stroke, he was constantly stabbed by the Dragon Bone Soldiers' blades and spears.

No real technique—just trading injury for injury, grinding down the Saber Class Dragon Tooth Soldier's health bar until it was empty.

The Dragon Tooth Soldier crumbled into gray ash, scattering into the air, leaving behind a chest and a pile of dropped items.

[Hachiman Hikigaya - Killed - Lancer Class Dragon Tooth Soldier]

[Hachiman Hikigaya - Killed - Saber Class Dragon Tooth Soldier]

"Slap slap!"

Kazuma Satou stepped forward and smacked him hard on the shoulder twice.

"Not bad! You stole all the spotlight, you bastard!"

Hachiman Hikigaya leaned on his sword like a crutch, too exhausted to stand. If friendly fire were on, those two hits from Kazuma Satou might have emptied his HP bar.

He caught his breath and said self-deprecatingly:

"This amateurish sword of mine... where's the spotlight? What's not bad about it?"

"Everything's not bad!!"

Kazuma Satou gave him a thumbs up.

The two locked eyes and burst into laughter at the same time.

"Hahaha." "Hahahaha."

Hachiman Hikigaya wiped the sweat from the corner of his eye and laughed out loud:

"True. For me, surviving is a complete victory!"

"What do you say, open the treasure chests?"

Kazuma Satou elbowed him. "Wanna see who gets the better one?"

"You're on."

"Let's pick up the dropped materials first."

"OK."

The two gathered the materials the Dragon Tooth Soldier had dropped.

[Dragon's Tooth x3]

[Type: Material]

[Grade: D]

[Description: The tooth of a Dragon Kind.]

[Use: Can be ground into basic magical material for territory construction, item crafting, spell casting, etc.]

[This material can also be used at Dao Tian Palace as an operator enhancement material to strengthen the base abilities of a character you are using.]

[Degraded Dragon Bone Arrow x11]

[Type: Consumable]

[Grade: E]

[Description: An arrow made from degraded dragon bone. After the passage of time and weathering, there is little mana left on it. Whether for magical or physical attacks, it is a relatively weak arrow.]

Parallel world, Ryuudou Temple.

Medea watched Kazuma Satou and Hachiman Hikigaya toy with the genuine Dragon's Teeth in their hands, and froze for a moment.

Those Dragon Tooth Soldiers in the school building were clearly hers.

But the problem was that she made Dragon Tooth Soldiers purely through magecraft—she hadn't used any Dragon's Teeth as materials.

How... could they drop real goods?

What the hell was going on with this game??

Too bizarre.

As a Divine Era mage, she could still understand things like internal skills and Noble Phantasms in the game.

But this strange livestream and game were completely beyond comprehension, let alone analysis.

This... what kind of person made this?

Medea suddenly had a bad feeling.

Did she also have so-called NPCs in this game?

Probably... not, right?

--

"Opening time!"

Kazuma Satou and Hachiman Hikigaya opened the boxes from the Dragon Tooth Soldier they had just defeated at the same time.

They had originally planned to give one of the three boxes to Kurisu Makise, but she said she hadn't contributed at all and refused.

Hachiman Hikigaya opened the first one. Inside were all small white junk items.

"No worries, just warming up my luck."

He bowed devoutly to the sky three times, then opened the second Haki Soldier's box.

The light circle spun for a short while, and to his surprise, a specific item actually appeared.

"This is going to be a big haul!"

Hachiman Hikigaya was suddenly a little excited.

He already knew that the longer an item took to condense, the higher its quality—the blue "Hundred Refined Will" he'd just gotten was proof of that.

Finally, a flash of purple light.

[Item: "Awakened Will"]

[Type: Craft Essence]

[Grade: Purple]

[Description: To save someone precious, with an unwavering, absolute desire—even if mocked for mediocre ability, even if it's one-sided, even if it's just a fantasy, never waver.]

[Active Effect: Gain 12% Noble Phantasm charge effect, while deducting 5% of your maximum HP.]

Setting aside whether the effect was useful...

Why did everything he opened... come with a downside?

Hachiman Hikigaya stared up at the sky with dead fish eyes.

Could it be... I'm really destined to be a suicide bomber card?

Whatever.

Since he'd pulled something, he'd go show it off to Kazuma first.

Hachiman Hikigaya stepped forward, only to find Kazuma Satou lying face-down on the ground, still clutching the Haki Soldier box, completely motionless.

...No way?

Still nothing after all this rolling?

Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't believe it—what kind of grade was he even pulling?

"Holy crap, holy crap, look at this!"