Making Delta of Fate at the Start of a Multiverse Adventure

Kazuma Satou pulled a thin, square card from the Haki Soldier’s box. Holding it in his hand, he unconsciously flicked it, producing an incredibly crisp sound.

"Ding—"

The sound was exceptionally pleasant, like he had flicked some sort of rare metal.

Hachiman Hikigaya leaned closer. It was a card, glowing with golden light.

The question was, even if this keycard was made of gold… what was it good for?

They had not played the original Delta Force game for very long and had never encountered so-called keycards. They only had a rough understanding of the game’s mechanics.

Hikigaya asked instinctively:

"Can I touch it?"

"Here."

Kazuma Satou handed him the keycard directly.

Hachiman Hikigaya took it, and the moment he touched it, his entire body went damp with excitement. The texture was unbelievably smooth—smoother than milk chocolate.

He could not help flicking it too.

"Ding—"

It sounded like an echo from heaven’s grand hall. Truly music to the ears.

Once Hachiman Hikigaya held the card, he gained ownership of the item and successfully viewed its information.

After one glance, his expression froze.

Item: "Emiya Residence Storage Room Keycard"

Type: Keycard

Rank: Gold

Durability: 20/20

Description: Opens the special resource point, Emiya Residence Storage Room, where high-grade supplies can be searched for.

Note: Special resource points can yield high-level special Magic Formal Wear, Noble Phantasms, materials, consumables, and more. The drop rates are higher than at wilderness resource points.

Note: Normal mode consumes 1 durability point, Confidential consumes 2 durability points, and Top Secret consumes 10 durability points.

"Bro."

Hachiman Hikigaya returned the keycard and solemnly patted Kazuma Satou on the shoulder.

"Don’t show me something like this next time. I… might not be able to resist."

"We’re bros."

Kazuma Satou took the card back and offered it to Kurisu Makise, who was standing nearby with a hint of curiosity.

Kurisu Makise shook her head slightly, declining.

Since she knew it was valuable, she should not take it. There was no need to test herself.

Hachiman Hikigaya looked at the school building before him, itching to make a move.

"Going inside?"

"Wait."

Kazuma Satou took out the Yuhen Map and checked it again. Hohzuki Academy’s only high-level resource point was the school building.

By normal game design logic, the more abundant the resources in a location, the more numerous and powerful its enemies would be.

Kazuma Satou thought for a moment, then raised his left hand and glanced at the Concealment Command Spell.

"How about I go in and scout it out first?"

"OK."

"Be careful."

Kazuma Satou pursed his lips and gave a thumbs-up, thinking he looked pretty cool.

"Leave it to me."

Conan: "Kazuma Satou… I didn’t expect him to be so cautious. If he were a suspect, he’d probably be the troublesome kind."

Marcille: "Excellent scouting awareness and squad command. That’s unusually high praise coming from Kilchak."

Customer Service Xiang: "…Does the game not have pain? I saw Hachiman Hikigaya grimacing after getting slashed… That wasn’t just him fooling around, right?"

Hachiman Hikigaya: "100% realism means 100% pain feedback. Luckily, I got ‘Hundred Refinements of the Spirit,’ which reduced pain by around 20%. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have been able to take it."

Hachiman Hikigaya: "It’s like that original game the group owner sent us before. Getting shot hurts just as much, and you need painkillers or an injection, otherwise it greatly affects your combat ability."

Hachiman Hikigaya: "Anyway, it depends on your Craft Essence. If you’re afraid of pain, invest in agility, or work logistics and let the friends you play with take the front line."

Customer Service Xiang: "…"

Sachiko Toyokawa fell silent at her workstation.

She had even quit CRYCHIC.

Now… where was she supposed to find friends?

Three Punches Bury the Looting Dream

Rin Tohsaka: "By the way, I know Shirou Emiya too. Isn’t he an ordinary person…? What could his family warehouse possibly contain? Magic Formal Wear?"

Kiritsugu Emiya: "…"

Rin Tohsaka: "Emiya… No way. Is he a mage too?"

Sakura Matou: "There’s… nothing much in Senpai’s house."

Shinji Matou: "Damn it! You bastard, Emiya!!"

Mao-chan: "Uh, I just want to know what this room keycard does. Does it open houses? If magic exists, can’t you just force it open?"

Tet: "It should be a key for a special resource room? The building was probably designed to be indestructible… How interesting. Can I play this game?"

Customer Service Xiang: "Dear, you need to enter the internal testing group to play this game."

At the company.

After replying to that bizarre customer, Sachiko Toyokawa subconsciously sent a message in the Livestream Room.

She covered her little mouth and tried to retract it, only to discover a very serious problem.

Oh no. The Livestream Room did not have a retract function.

The information she revealed instantly caused a crowd to explode into activity.

Sora: "Internal group?"

Kirito: "Internal group?"

Makima: "Internal group."

Aizen: "Internal group?"

Tet: "Count me in."

Orochimaru: "+1"

Esdeath: "+1"

Customer Service Xiang: "Sorry, this needs to be discussed first."

Customer Service Xiang: "Everyone, please watch the stream for now."

School building.

Kazuma Satou’s entire body had turned transparent as he sneaked through the school building.

What was strange was that

there were no students left inside, yet sounds of teaching and chalk tapping against blackboards could still be heard.

Was that probably the BGM?

Kazuma Satou pondered it. It could not possibly be haunted, right?

But with a world setting that had magic, who could say? Maybe there really were ghosts.

After scouting around for a while,

Kazuma Satou saw that half of his Concealment Command Spell had already "burned away," so he immediately withdrew from the building.

He reappeared at the school building entrance.

"What’s inside?"

Kurisu Makise asked.

Kazuma Satou held his chin in a thoughtful pose.

"A lot of Dragon Tooth Soldiers. Even in places where there are fewer of them, combat is unavoidable… But there’s one problem."

Hachiman Hikigaya instantly understood what he meant.

"You’re… worried that the noise from fighting will draw in the other Dragon Tooth Soldiers too?"

"Exactly."

"The first floor might be easier to search, but if we get surrounded on the second or third floor, we might not make it out… And with combat that intense, our stamina might not hold up."

"That’s true."

Hachiman Hikigaya glanced around. His stamina was probably the best among the three, but it was not outstanding. It was still within the range of an ordinary person.

"Let’s eat something first."

Kazuma Satou suggested, "We’ll recover some stamina after eating, then head inside and search the first floor. If we’re still in good shape, we’ll check out the second floor."

"Yeah."

Hachiman Hikigaya stepped forward and sat with Kazuma Satou by the stairs, beginning to rummage through their backpacks.

Kurisu Makise was getting hungry too and asked curiously:

"What are we eating?"

"Obviously, these."

Kazuma Satou and Hachiman Hikigaya took out the items they had picked up from their respective Replica Rivers and Mountains Maps—their backpacks.

"Let’s see what we can eat."

Mapo Tofu x4

Blue Dog’s Freshly Caught Salmon x5

Merlin Bubble Wine x3

Umeboshi Onigiri x5

Dried Persimmon x8

Hikigaya lifted one salmon by its tail. His dead fish eyes met the fish’s dead eyes.

"This fish Blue Dog caught does look fresh, but it hasn’t been prepared. We can’t exactly eat it like this, can we?"

Cú Chulainn: "???"

Archer: "Pfft."

Kazuma Satou casually said,

"Then bite into it raw."

Kurisu Makise found a bench nearby and sat down. Hearing them, she could not help mocking them.

"What era are you savages from?"

Hachiman Hikigaya immediately shot back, "Apologize to people who eat sashimi."

Kurisu Makise rolled her eyes. "Are sashimi and gnawing on a raw fish the same thing?"

Kazuma Satou stuffed the other items back into his backpack: