Chapter 1: Prologue
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When I opened my eyes, I was in Chaldea.
I was definitely sleeping at home after finishing my shift at the convenience store.
Something was touching my cheek.
Cockroaches occasionally appeared in the tiny studio apartment where I lived.
Thinking a cockroach was crawling on my face, I jolted awake in a panic.
I screamed and flailed my arms.
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Fou!"
My hand smacked a small animal's body, sending it tumbling across the floor.
"Mr. Fou?!"
Huh? That's a voice I've heard many times before. What's going on?
Unable to understand the situation, I stood there dazed, looking around to get my bearings.
A girl with short purple hair wearing a peculiar outfit was staring at me while holding the furry animal in her arms.
Wait, Mash? I knew I was a hardcore FGO addict, but I never thought I'd dream about the game. This can't be right. Was I really this obsessed? Sure, I don't have a single friend and my only hobby is watching FGO-related content on YouTube, but this is a bit much.
Thinking about FGO even in my dreams... should I quit the game?
No. If I quit that, my only hobby left would be YouTube.
"Um... Senpai, may I ask you a question?"
"You seemed to be resting comfortably, but sleeping in the hallway is a bit... Do you have a constitution that prevents you from sleeping unless you're on a hard floor?"
Since it was a dream, I figured it wouldn't matter what I did. I decided to walk around and see for myself just how detailed my imagination could be.
"No, it's not that. I just fell asleep because I was so exhausted. I'm just a perfectly ordinary civilian, so I never dreamed I'd be invited by the Mage's Association to come to Chaldea. I was so excited last night that I couldn't sleep, and it caught up to me. Haha. Nice to meet you. I'm Damascus."
I reached out my hand to Mash for a handshake.
Mash seemed a bit flustered, but she eventually took my hand.
"My name is Mash. Mash Kyrielight. Please feel free to call me Mash. I look forward to working with you, Senpai."
Curious about the limits of my dream's detail, I spoke to her again.
"Mash, I'd like to take a look around the place. Could you show me the way?"
Mash readily agreed. I walked through the interior of Chaldea, asking her about various locations and chatting with several people along the way.
But no matter how much I thought about it, something was strange.
If my memory served me right, the standard procedure was to meet Professor Lev and then get slapped by the Director. I'd been wandering around for over thirty minutes—how was it that no one was looking for me?
"Mash, shouldn't I be receiving some kind of orientation?"
"Oh, you're right, Senpai. I completely forgot. Let's hurry. Looking at the time, we're already twenty-five minutes late."
Whoops. If I go in now, I'll get slapped by the Director, and then the Chaldea explosion incident will start immediately.
Well, it's just a dream. A slap from the Director shouldn't even hurt.
That thought vanished the moment her hand connected with my cheek.
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"Where on earth have you been wandering off to?!"
The Director's hand struck my cheek. Damn, she's got a mean swing.
If I hadn't kept my mouth shut tight, I felt like my jaw would have been dislocated. She hit me incredibly hard. Excuse me? I'm just a civilian who can't even use a single spell, you know?
"If it weren't for your Rayshift aptitude, someone like you would never have set foot in this place. I didn't think a commoner with mediocre Magic Circuits could properly respond to an accident after a Rayshift anyway, so this is for the best. You're expelled. I'll send you back home tomorrow. I have no desire to work with a failure who shows up late on his very first day."
It seemed I had thoroughly made an enemy of her. Usually, I wouldn't be able to speak up, but since this was a dream, I responded exactly how I would to a rude customer at the convenience store.
"Aigoo, my apologies. I never imagined a commoner like me would be chosen for an organization performing such a grave mission as Chaldea. The facilities were just so fascinating that I lost track of time. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Please give me one more chance~"
The Director's face contorted. It was probably because I sounded too playful.
"That doesn't sound like an apology at all. Are you mocking me right now?"
Whatever. It's a dream anyway, so who cares? I spoke my mind.
"I guess I was a bit too cheeky, wasn't I? Sorry~ I'll be going now. Good luck, everyone!"
I quickly opened the door and walked out.
I had taken maybe ten steps when a thunderous roar erupted, and I was knocked to the ground.
When I opened my eyes, the facility had been blown apart. More than a few people lay dead, crushed under the rubble.
"Wait, isn't this way too realistic? And if it's even going to feel hot, what am I supposed to do?"
Muttering to myself, I looked around and spotted Mash. I immediately ran toward her.
"Mash! Are you okay?"
I tried to wake Mash, who had lost consciousness under the debris.
Mash opened her eyes and spoke weakly.
"Senpai... could you... hold my hand?"
Seeing Mash speak as if she were on the verge of death, I couldn't stay calm even though I knew what was supposed to happen next.
"Mash, don't talk right now. Stay with me. With a situation this bad, the medical team will be here soon. Just hold on until then!"
As soon as I said it, I felt a grim certainty that Mash would die before any medical team arrived.
I spoke softly.
"Let's just hold hands until the medical team arrives. Okay? You absolutely cannot fall asleep, understood?"
Mash nodded with great effort.
"Ah... if I was going to dream, I should've dreamed of relaxing comfortably..."
As I muttered to myself, a massive piece of building debris fell from above me.
I thought I heard some kind of announcement system speaking, but I couldn't make it out. How was I supposed to hear an announcement in this chaos?
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Master's vitals within the Coffin...
Do not meet the required threshold.
Rayshift capacity not reached.
Re-scanning for Master... Found.
Resetting Master candidate No. 48, Damascus, as the active Master.
Restarting Unsummon Program.
Commencing Quantum Conversion.
And just like that, I fell into the Singularity.
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