Section 1: A Giant and a Forest

...Sen...Sen...pa...

...pai! Senpai! This is an emergency! Please open your eyes!

？！

Fou? Fooou?

Senpai, please calm down. It's just an illusion! Just your imagination!

Senpai! Oh I'm so glad! Yes, it's me, Mash Kyrielight!

Fou, fooou! Fofou, nkyu?

...You must be confused. It's me, Mash Kyrielight!

？！

♪ Nants ingonyama, bagithi Baba!!! I am Thomas Alva Edison!

Ah, my apologies. That may have been a bit much. Allow me to explain our situation.

A mere twenty-seven minutes ago, we observed a slight space-time fluctuation over Chaldeas.

It was a very small anomaly, but showed no signs of natural decay, and so you Rayshifted to accompany us on a mission to investigate...

Sadly, we've lost communication with Chaldea. Currently, we're working to repair the Spiritual World Communicator and restore communications.

？！

Of course not. With Miss Blavatsky's help, the Spiritual World Communicator has been strengthened!

With the power of science, we shall debunk all the world's many misconceptions! And if the spiritual world proves to be real, we can expand our consumer base!

We'll listen to Edison's ramblings later. Master, can you get up?

？！

Ah, good! You had no trouble getting up! I would expect no less from a seasoned Master like you! Ever reliable once you are properly alert!

Now we need only gather information. Geronimo is currently out scouting.

I'm back, king of inventors. Based on the vegetation and the stars, we're definitely in North America.

However, I did not see any airplanes or satellites.

Hm, so it is safe to assume we are in America prior to the 19th century. Or at least a world very similar.

Still, we're not at all clear on our situation. We had to Rayshift quite suddenly.

There is a possibility that we are in a distant future where humanity becomes extinct, but let's not think so pessimistically.

Fou.

Let's just work on not getting worked up over nothing.

Fou, fooou.

Looks like the animals are getting along nicely. Now, about our precise location

Grrrrrr...!!!

Oh-ho. Has a primitive being made its appearance...? No, could that be

(It looks...human...?) Geronimo, what in the world is that!?

A humanoid monster... A wendigo!?

A man-eating spirit of legend passed down by the Algonquin people. There's no returning one possessed by a wendigo to their normal human form!

？！

Roger that, Master! Mash Kyrielight, moving to the defense!

Guoooooo!!!

Uryyyyyy!!!

Senpai! Are you all right!?

I'm glad...!

...Uh, um... What was that bit at the end?

M-Master...!? That look you're giving your wound...it's not...hungry is it!?

U-um, no! Don't! Don't try to eat it! It will taste bad! It's bad! No good!

We need to end this event while we can still keep our characterization consistent!

(...Mash is losing her cool too... Hm...I hope this is not some type of Mental Corruption...)

？！

I must admit, we are quite thoroughly surrounded. Troubling...

This campsite may be protected by the Territory Creation Geronimo and I have, but...

Right. I'm not certain we can take an attack like this. If necessary, I can go out and attack them.

No, hold on. I have every confidence in your skill in battle, but I am not sure how well Mash and I can defend Master alone... Hm?

What is this rumbling...?

Something truly gargantuan is coming this way...! Is it a Phantasmal? No... It's...!

Th-that is...!?

？！

Impossible...! A Spirit... A Divine Spirit... No, it can't be...!

Are you okay? I'll help you!

Gyaaaaaaaaa!!!

A-amazing...! The wendigos are going down like it's some massive game of whack-a-mole!

Okay! Keep this up! Let's go!

Are you okay?

You really helped us out...

No, Master! This definitely needs explanation! This person is obviously not normal!

？！

...At least I don't sense any hostility from her.

Giant one, what Spirit has guided you to us? I am a warrior of the Apache from the south.

I have many names, but those closest to me call me Geronimo.

I would ask you for your name. Without it, I cannot show my gratitude or tell my ancestors of you.

...Bunyan.

Eh?

Paul Bunyan. That's my name. I come from far away, and I go far away.

Bonjour and nice to meet you, unknown Mage.

She really...is huge...

？！

That's not the point, Master. Talking is one thing, but one wrong step, and you will get pancaked!

It's like we're conversing with a small mountain. Geronimo may be used to it, but this is inconvenient.

Huh? Where did everyone go?

Oh? Could it be...?

？！

Hm. It is likely very much like our inability to hear the footsteps of the ants around us.

Ah! Master, step aside! The giant Spirit is starting to walk!

Alone...again... I'm so lonely...

And she's gone... Should we follow her?

No, even if we follow her, she will not hear us. Let us follow the Spirits' guidance to our destiny.

Hm. What a rational way of thinking. Then let's set forth! So long as we keep moving, we will eventually reach civilization!

？！

Yes. We've been walking here for over three hours. It's like we're going in circles...

I am afraid that I am not familiar with the forests of the north... My apologies. For an Apache scout to get lost... This is an embarrassment to my tribe.

？！

Heeeeeey!

Is that...?

Wh-what a relief! I finally found you guys!

Is she...smaller?

？！

Hmmm... What unknown work of science could this be!? How interesting!

...Strange and rare Spirit, I am grateful that you have answered our call.

Heehee. Me too. I got scared because I couldn't hear you guys anymore.

This is my Master. His name is Fujimaru.

？！

Yep. Nice to meet you!

This is wonderful, Senpai. Bunyan seems like a wonderful person!

Hehehe.

All right, Paul Bunyan. I am Edison.

Ehhh!? This fluffy thing is Edison!? Where's the zipper in his costume?

Stop! There's no one inside! I am Edison! No more and no less than the man himself!

I-I'm sorry. I just get this urge to take stuff apart when I see something so intricately made...

Oh, but I really respect you! You are the king of all the world's inventors, after all!

Harumph. That's right. Children needn't know that I am also called the king of lawsuits!

It is wonderful that you are so innocent! Here, take a Mini Edison Lion Badge.

Collect ten, and you can exchange it for a Mega Edison Lion Badge. Surely the big badge would suit your big body!

!

Fou, fou...

Ah, but I digress. We are wondering just what in the world you might be, Bunyan.

...I'm a lumberjack! And I'm okay! I got summoned by someone, and ended up in this forest.

This whole time...I've been alone in the forest...

When you say you were summoned...does that mean you're a Servant?

？！

Servant... Yep, probably. I think...I'm a Heroic Spirit.

...?

？！

Yeah. I'm...hungry.

？！

Is that...okay?

？！

Okay! I think, I can be useful! Ask me anything, okay?

Then let's get down to business. Where in North America are we? We aren't familiar with this place.

I think...it's North Dakota.

North Dakota!?

...Well, we certainly ended up in a dreadful place.

I'm not that versed in American geography... Is North Dakota really that bad?

...To be blunt...

？！

It's the boonies!

North Dakota is about 183,000 square kilometers in area. It is the equivalent of the majority of the British Isles or an island nation like Japan.

But the entire population is about 760,000 as of 2017. It's been like that for years.

Which means, in a state with such a low population, we may walk for hours and hours without finding any trace of civilization whatsoever.

Fooou. (Nods)

If worse comes to worst, we may be stuck in this forest forever!

The forest is teeming with Spirits. We even run the risk of using up all our magical energy, or Master's!

Grrrrrrrrr...!

Speak of the devil... I mean Spirits! Can you help us, Miss Paul Bunyan!?

Yep! I'll chop 'em all up with my axe!

...It's so...vast...

Hm...indeed it is. This is the problem with the countryside... Not so much as a streetlight in sight.

？！

If only we could reach a village... We can only camp out so many times.

The weather around here can change in a blink of an eye. If a snowstorm were to start, Master will definitely be in trouble.

If only I had my favorite axe, this would be easy.

Yep. My special axe for chopping down trees!

What...are you talking about?

Master, it's okay this time! We don't need to farm anything in this event!

(Yet another bizarre outburst... Could there be something in the air causing this strange behavior?)

？！

I see. If Miss Bunyan did have her favorite axe, she could open up this forest to create a path for us.

But the person who summoned me took my axe away...

They said it was really dangerous...

？！

...I don't remember. They went really far to the east...

That is interesting.

？！

That's more reason we need that axe... Unfortunately, my magecraft is not up to the task.

Dwahahaha! What are you saying!?

What a strange question to axe!

...Is the sort of wacky nonsense one might say, but that one will not be THIS one! Why? Because I'm a genius, of course!

Edison?

Miss Bunyan! As a denizen of the United States, you must realize you are forgetting one critical thing!

That's right.

Do it yourself!

DIY... Make...it...myself...

Indeed! The pioneers all started out in small shacks and eventually built their own world!

Just like me! I started out in a small, poor lab, but eventually expanded into a giant corporation!

What are your hands for!? What are your arms for!?

Yes! To build your future! Don't hesitate! Break through! Fight it! And if you can't fight it, sue it!

That's the frontier spirit!!!

Frontier Spirit... The pioneering mentality...

Great Spirit Bunyan. I also agree.

Once in the past, the coyote stole the source of knowledge from the sun, giving the world its light.

Steadfast determination changes the world a bit at a time. We shall lend you a hand, O Spirit.

Okay. I have the plans... As long as we can make a workstation, we can probably make the axe.

？！

？！

I believe so. We have just about everything Bunyan requested.

Yes! Let's keep going, Senpai!

Senpai! I completely understand how you feel, but please calm down!

Besides, how do Gears and Proofs of all things enhance my skills? It doesn't make any sense!

(There's a change in the air again... Are the Spirits agitated? Is...something terrible about to happen...?)

？！

Gyaaaoooooo!!!

Another monster!?

Ugh! Senpai, prepare for battle! It seems the monster has decided we're enemies!

？！

Oh, yes! Sorry to interrupt, but here come the wyverns!

I'm sure it doesn't even have any good materials to drop, but let's just grit our teeth and power through!

Fou, fooou!?

...The Spirits have stopped stirring. It seems that was the last of the wyverns.

？！

Sorry, I do not have much to say or do here...

Please watch "Fate/Apocrypha"...now streaming on Something-or-another-flix...

The light novels are...well, you could import them... I'm counting on you, Master...

He just...plugged his title...and left...

Master... Who are you talking to? Is it a Spirit that I can neither sense nor see?

？！

Hm. Perhaps this is the same principle as the Spiritual World Communicator. Fujimaru...you're...um...

Perhaps you may have heard the voice of a ghost...someone very much like you, yet different...

...I-I see...

You must have some notion that I cannot quite fathom. If it's all right with Fujimaru, it's fine, though.

Anyway, Bunyan said that the workstation is complete. Come with me.

Tiiiiiiiiimmmbeeeeeerrr!!!

This is amazing...! The trees are falling like dominos.

Hm. Even the logging machines humanity has developed are no match for Bunyan's axe!

B-but don't you think she's going a bit overboard? At this rate, there won't be any forest left!

Don't worry.

Eh?

I chopped them down so they can be used as lumber, and I cut them so they could grow back!

I'll create a path to civilization for you, and then bring all that to the lumberyard!

Um, about that...

Come on, let's go!

Th-the forest really is gone...! All that's left is a neatly stacked pile of lumber!

Ah! I knew it! Paul Bunyan! I've heard that name before!

What!? You know her, Edison!?

？！

Don't fret about the small things!

Not every player has played every event, you know!

Isn't this what a proper global social mobile RPG targeted at a broad audience should be like?

Within me, George Washington is saying the only thing to not fear is not fear but the mundane itself!

？！

...At any rate... Who is this Paul Bunyan?

I have not heard of this Spirit. Is it one you revere, or perhaps an angel or saint?

Hm. I believe I recall that in newspapers she is said to have been the greatest lumberjack in all of America.

A single blow of her axe created the Mississippi River, and a blow from her fist could dig an oil well that would reach clear through to China!

She could drain all five Great Lakes dry in a single gulp. A swing of her pickaxe could shatter the entire Rocky Mountain range!

Even the Great Plains of the Midwest are said to be what remains of Bunyan cutting down a forest!

In a way, she's a great being who created the United States by hand! That's who Paul Bunyan is.

A legend that created America... That kind of Servant was summoned here?

...I see. I understand now.

But if all that were true...

A being so powerful must be a Divine Spirit. Summoning such a thing should not normally be possible.

(...Hm... There is a more important, immediate reason Paul Bunyan cannot be summoned...)

Let's set those questions aside for now! She is, after all, standing before us!

The question is: who summoned Miss Bunyan? Considering that they summoned a Servant, they must also be in possession of a Holy Grail!

And that tells us that the person who summoned her must be the person who created this Singularity.

Yes. O Spirit, O Bunyan...answer my

Wait.

Eh?

...Something's coming.

What's that!?

？！

Uh, dispatch, this is Deputy Billy. I've got eyes on the site of illegal deforestation.

...Did I get my line right?

Correct. Illegal deforestation is bad civilization!

Huh!? Bad...civilization...!?

Yes! And so I, Wyatt Earp, shall destroy you!

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Ah, the legendary Wyatt Earp! I know of him from my own lifetime! He is a legendary gunslinger of the West!

Truly, there is no question that Wyatt Earp would be a Heroic Spirit! But you're...erm... Who are you?

？！

I know nothing of this "Altera" you speak of. I am Wyatt Earp. Yes. Wyatt Earp.

Master from a faraway land, no matter who you have contracted with...

I am absolutely not them. I am a lawman. Wyatt Earp.

？！

Honestly, just go with it. No use arguing.

We definitely didn't have the budget for a bunch of new art and stuff. So, for today, she's Wyatt Earp.

Just like how I'm a sheriff's deputy here. I guess that makes me our Doc Holliday?

These new stories are overwriting the Heroic Spirits we know... So that's what happened...

I've just received a spiritual message from the developers. "Don't think too hard about it."

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Good. That's the reaction I wanted. That adaptability is your greatest strength. Cherish it.

Save it for the trial. You destroyed a forest illegally, after all.

For such crimes, you must be punished. Right here. Right now.

Wait!? We just wanted to reach town

I was about to ship all this out because I didn't want to waste the trees I chopped down!

Make efficient use of the results of your destruction... I see. Those words cut deep...

But none of that matters! I see the crime you committed, and that is that. Excuses get you nowhere.

What I question is your responsibility of your actions. Paul Bunyan.

(This Spirit of judgment has appeared to pass sentence on Bunyan... Truly that proves that Bunyan is a Heroic Spirit that shouldn't be)

Giant, destructive lumberjack, receive your punishment.

Ugh! I've been struck in the head by an axe-like blunt instrument!

It's over! Don't bother us again!

Altera! Please, listen to us!

...You are mistaken. I am absolutely not Altera. No.

When the morning star shines in the eastern sky, a single ray of light will shine upon Chicago.

That shall be me.

...Actually...

I'm really not sure what this Heroic Spirit is about myself...

Well, then no one understands!

...I-if I had any...if I did...I wouldn't be going through all of this...

Quartz... So small...but so rare...

？！

Ugh! I used up all my time making silly small talk with you! I can only fight for three minutes at a time.

Farewell, for now. You shall be properly tried next time, Paul Bunyan.

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It appears so. Wyatt Earp...what type of Altera was it!?

...And I've been abandoned.

Billy the Kid. The young hero, the Thunderer. O, brave assailant...

Where did you come from, and where do you go from here? Please, tell us.

You and I are both Heroic Spirits. We are both Spirits of the dead who have come from the Throne of the Root.

I'm really not into this whole mysticism junk... Eh, whatever.

So me, Wyatt Earp, and even Bunyan...were all Summoned by the same mage.

...!!!

She's in Chicago. And she's controlling everything from there.

Chicago...that's far to the east of here!

And Altera headed over there too...I see.

Can I go now?

Playing sheriff was okay, I guess. But next time, I'd rather play the outlaw...

...Let's go.

I'll pave the way...to Chicago!