[3rd person pov]
Gilgamesh observed the boy with a faint smile, the faintest glint of curiosity flickering in his crimson eyes. The boy, in turn, stood motionless.
'This kid really knows nothing. But it's somewhat strange that he looks so affected by his Origin, after all if someone is not aware of it, it shouldn't have any impact on their life. Is it his element fault? Well, I'll think about it later.'
Then, as if struck by a passing thought, Gilgamesh's eyes widened slightly.
"You haven't told me your name yet, boy." he remarked, slightly curious. "It is only proper that a servant announces himself to his king."
"My name is… ▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅."
Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow, confusion flashing across his face. He had heard the name clearly, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with it.
"What?" Gilgamesh's tone was incredulous, almost disdainful. "Are you lying to me, little mongrel? Don't think you can deceive me?"
The boy blinked slowly, his dull eyes betraying nothing but confusion. "… I'm not lying though." he said, his voice quiet but certain. "That really is my name."
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed further. There was no hesitation in the boy's voice. The confusion seemed genuine. He took a quick glance at the bell on the table he left before the boy woke up. Being deprived of his third noble phantasm Gilgamesh took precaution to ensure the boy never lied.
And he didn't, as the bell hadn't rang even once. But that didn't make sense, if the boy was telling the truth, then why did his name feel so... empty? It's like that one feeling you got when you knew for sure a child is telling a lie to an adult even before they admitted it.
'Wait.'
Gilgamesh's eyes glinted with realization. He thought back to the characteristics he discovered when he inspected the kid's body. The boy wasn't lying. He had spoken his name honestly. But if that was true, then the only explanation was–
"Hah." Gilgamesh scoffed softly, disbelief coloring his tone. "I see. You truly are empty, aren't you?"
The boy's dull eyes blinked again, clearly not understanding. "What does that mean?"
A low chuckle rumbled in Gilgamesh's throat. 'He can't even think of his name as his own.' He thought to himself, almost fascinated. 'That's why it feels so empty, why it doesn't even register as a name at all. He's so detached from himself that he can't even realize it.'
"Hmph. How utterly revolting." He declared, though his tone was more thoughtful than mocking.
'Well his Origin and affinity were already stimulated again when I activated his magic circuits so now his Origin should have even more of an effect on him. No wait.
Could it be that it's not that his Origin affected him that he is like this but that it's because he didn't have it stimulated that he didn't improve. He hopefully might even actually slowly start to fill himself. So he should get less annoying as time goes on.'
Gilgamesh leaned his on his fist and sighed, as if coming to a decision. "Well, it doesn't matter. A name is irrelevant to one such as you anyway. What matters is that your life is mine now, from today forward you are forbidden from using that name. Name or no name, you will serve me. I will just refer to you based on how I feel at the moment."
After that Gilgamesh leaned back on his throne, resting his chin on one hand as his gaze landed on the window briefly, then returned to the boy.
"I have another question for you, brat." He said, his tone more imperious . "Tell me, in which country and city are we? I didn't really check around before dumping you here."
The boy blinked slowly, not expecting this kind of question. "...Japan." He replied after a moment, his voice flat. "The city is called Tokyo."
"Tokyo…" Gilgamesh repeated, rolling the name on his tongue with mild interest. His eyes glinted faintly as he looked the boy up and down, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Is that so? Hmph. What about you?"
The boy tilted his head slightly, confusion evident in his eyes. "Me?"
Gilgamesh chuckled softly. "Indeed, you." He remarked, almost amused. "You hardly look Japanese at all, boy. Your features suggest otherwise, maybe Western, if anything. Where are you originally from?"
The kid shook his head slowly. "…I don't know, I've always lived in an orphanage so I have no idea of where I could be from."
"I see, how unamusing. Well, it wasn't really that important anyway." remarked the king, slightly annoyed.
After a moment, Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed slightly, his tone becoming more measured. "Then I suppose I should explain a few things." He said, almost lazily. "It would hardly do for my subject to remain so ignorant. Consider this a rare courtesy, child. Listen well, for I do not care to repeat myself."
The boy just nodded in response as he wasn't sure what else to do.
"Let's see, for starters in this world there exists something called magecraft." Gilgamesh began, his tone more mellow than before lacking the usual venom. "It's the practice of manipulating the world's natural laws through mystery and rituals, an imitation of actual magic. Those who wield it are known as magi. Most of them are fools, blinded by their own ambitions. Mystery could be summarized as the fuel they make use of and the more ancient and unknown the mystery is the stronger it is, as for rituals they are one of the many ways they utilize that fuel to cast actual magecraft."
The boy's eyes narrowed faintly, confusion evident. "Magic…?"
"Ah, do not confuse magecraft with magic." He corrected smoothly. "In this era True Magic refers to actual miracles that manifest in the world and are unreachable through scientific development. Magecraft, on the other hand, is nothing more than a crude imitation, made of tricks and rituals to mimic effects that can be reached through science but simply more easily. They research it trying to reach those miracles either to obtain them after reaching the Root like the first and fifth, or learn the second, third or fourth as they are means of reaching the Root."
The boy listened closely and paid attention but was struggling to understand some of the terms."What is the Root?"
Surprisingly still keeping a mellow tone Gilgamesh replied to the kid as if there was no problem. "The Root is the place from where all souls, including those of Heroic Spirits such as myself, originate from and to where they return after death. The ultimate ambition of those foolish magi is to reach this Root."
"I see." Though he hadn't understood anything he at least got somewhat of an idea about what this magi are.
Gilgamesh observed him for a moment. Then, with a soft scoff, he leaned back slightly. "Hmph. At least you can listen somewhat properly." He remarked. "Perhaps educating you will not be as tiresome as I feared."
"Now onto the bond that ties the two of us."
"The Command Spells on your hand are proof of the contract between Master and Servant. They are symbols of your authority over me, though I would not suggest letting it get to your head even though I doubt you actually have the capacity for such thoughts in your brain."
The boy glanced at the red markings on his hand."These tatoos are an… authority?"
Gilgamesh chuckled softly. "Hah. In theory, yes." He replied with a hint of amusement. "Those spells allow you to issue up to three absolute commands, orders that even I cannot refuse. With them you can also somewhat bend the rules of reality that affects a servant such as making him appear somewhere extremely far away using a command spell or restoring fatal wounds. They are the means by which a Master controls a Servant."
The boy stared at his hand then back at Gilgamesh and asked. "How much can these rules be bent?"
At that Gilgamesh released a low chuckle. "You could even grow a third arm on a servant, though it would disappear in a few moments after causing him extreme pain. But do not misunderstand." He continued smoothly. "The Command Spells are all single use and while they may grant you temporary authority, the bond between Master and Servant is not so simple."
Gilgamesh paused, as if considering how best to phrase it. "Think of it as… a contract," he explained. "You, as the Master, provide the mana necessary to sustain my existence in this world. In return, I lend you my power, within reason, of course as it is your honor to be my Master and my prerogative whatever I help you or not."
"As for what mana is, just think of it as an energy that magi use to fuel the mysteries to use their magecraft." He continued explaining smoothly as if he were a professional teacher. "In simpler terms, it is the life force that flows through all things though it changes name based on where the life force comes from."
The boy said nothing, only listened in silence trying to absorb as much as he could. But it was hardly working.
Gilgamesh observed him for a moment, waiting for a moment to let him absorb the informations before continuing.
"As my Master, you should possess a certain ability, called Master's perspective, it allows you to perceive my abilities and parameters directly if you concentrate on trying to look at me. Try it, kid."
The boy did as he was told and tried to concentrate on Gilgamesh. And as he said something appeared as an image directly transmitted to his brain. "I can see it, I think."
Class: Ruler
True Name: Gilgamesh
Gender: Male
Height/Weight: 182cm, 68kg
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Strength:B
Endurance:A
Agility:C
Mana:B
Luck:A
Noble Phantasm:EX
Class skills:
Magic Resistance: A
Independent Action: EX
'So he can actually see it. Does this mean it's actually a Holy Grail War or was this function copied?' Thought the king to himself, still curious to find out more about the situation.
Gilgamesh nodded "What you are seeing is a representation made in the most direct way your brain can understand it."
"Those are my parameters," Gilgamesh stated. "Each is normally ranked from E to A. Strength measures physical might; Endurance is how much damage can be withstood without other tyoe of protection and stamina. Agility reflects speed, while Mana gauges the magical energy I possess. Luck influences outcomes, and Noble Phantasm represents the power of my greatest treasures."
He then continued calmly. "For regard to Strength, Agility and Endurance their value can be measured by comparing to a normal human. If we give the values of F to an average adult human male being equal to 1 then E is equal to 10. Each rank forward is ten units bigger than the previous with rank A being equal to 50."
"This values can suffer some difference or rather some modifier. A "-" value means that the rank doesn't have a stable value and is at times somewhat weaker than the proper rank. A "+" modifier represents the capacity of a temporary boost in power, allowing a weapon or ability of a lower rank to surpass a higher rank for a short amount of time. A "+" indicates a two-times increase by multiplication, "++" indicates a three-times increase, and "+++" indicates a four-times increase. These modifiers are possessed only by some of the more extraordinary among heroic spirits."
The boy's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the stats displayed before him. His own Noble Phantasm was marked as EX, which he did not know the meaning of yet, but none of his parameters had a plus value.
"Is something the matter, boy?" Gilgamesh inquired.
"It's just… none of your stats have that plus thing." the boy admitted. "Does that mean you're not… extraordinary?"
CRACK
"What!?"
The wine glass shattered in his hand, crimson liquid dripping onto the floor. His eye twitched and a vein was pulsing on his forehead. With barely restrained anger as he took in a sharp breath of air he couldn't help but regret what he said a few minutes ago.
'I take it back. Educating this little mongrel is already proving extremely annoying.'