Stranger in a Stranger Land (Worm/Fate/Grand Order)

[NOTTHISWAY]

Yo!

This is a story-only version of a quest currently being run on my patreon!

You can find the Patreon Post, where you may submit your votes, at this link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/149708773?pr=true

All votes are counted, though they don't all count the same, and the poll is run every sunday after every chapter, like a proper quest! You don't have to go over to my patreon if you don't care about voting, but I'd really appreciate it if you did.

Tarot wasn't my thing. I wasn't superstitious, my reluctance to go into the Fortuneteller's tent was not because I was afraid of any supernatural forces, rather, I just didn't want to spend my money on it, but with it being free and me having nothing better to do, I went into the tent.

Right now, I can't even remember where I'd been. The last thing I remember as I fall is that tent, is walking into it... The fortuneteller's face was shrouded in shadow, hidden underneath a thick hooded cloak. When I stepped past the curtains that hid her from outside view, she had a set of golden cards spread out in front of me on a circular table, sitting on a purple cloth.

She spoke only a few words, "pick a card", with a measured, calm and collected voice, and as soon as my finger touched the card that I didn't even notice I chose, I saw a ruby red eye within a keyhole that suddenly opened up, like a swinging door and then I fell deep into the abyss.

I woke.

Standing, on my feet. I woke suddenly. There was nothing behind me, no past. I stepped out of the tent, and I looked around me. Buildings made of brick and mortar. An inner city, the architecture being a vaguely western mishmash of old and worn down buildings as well as more modern, slightly less run down and worn down buildings.

It wasn't familiar. But then, nothing really was familiar.

I brought a hand to my face and adjusted my glasses - glasses? I was wearing glasses. Did I need glasses? I didn't remember. Pulling them off, the world around me remained vivid and defined, the glasses were just for show then.

My hands were encased in red gloves, my fingers were thin and my hands were slim, feminine. Looking around myself, I caught sight of a window. I had to know what I looked like, the window was a bit dirty but clean enough to reflect my visage back at me. The sidewalk under me felt like it was moving as I took my first step, and I cast my gaze down.

Greaves and shin guards in black steel with glowing green cross marks, red high heeled boots that were a little hard to work on... I was waering black tights, no, as I noticed, looking at myself, I was wearing a black bodyglove, with detailed cross markings of duller black, a bright lime green torso cover, complete with a breastplate molded to my chest, and a half-jacket in red and black sitting on my shoulders.

Powered servos hissed along my wrists as my huge green and black vambraces let me have full range of motion, how had I not noticed those from before?

Shaking my head, I tried to collect myself, walking step by step, moving as if I was trying to walk through thick, sweet and delicious molasses, gaining control of my body with each step, approaching a severely run down brick building next to a steel warehouse, the closest window to me.

My own visage looked back at me. Pale skin, golden eyes, glasses, a petite nose... I thought I could even describe myself as cute. The X motif across my armor was even more obvious now that I could see it directly.

I touched my face, making sure that, yes, that was me.

I ran my fingers along the pale blonde tresses that fell beside my ear, my own golden eyes almost glinting in the glow of the phosphorus streetlights as if I was glaring at myself. Trying to relax was pointless, that was my resting face... My hair was very long, I could tell, and as I tilted my head forward, I noticed much of it was tied behind my head into a bun, held together with a tight braid.

I could hear the sound of vehicles, cars, in the distance. The failure of an exhaust pipe caused it to be much louder, almost deafeningly so, as I saw a car rip through the street past me, blasting unintelligible garbling that might've been rap, it was filled with idiots in black, green and blue getups, laughing and partying.

My nose scrunched, the stench of piss was reaching it as the sights, sounds and smells of the city around me became all the more evident, as if I was falling off of a trance, the daze leaving me as I caught up with the world around me.

I didn't know where I was, but it was a city, a very decently populated one if the din and hubbub around me was anything to go by. Car noises never ceased even as the car that had just sped past me faded into the distance. The district around me seemed mostly abandoned, but some of the warehouses were still in use.

Sniffing the air, I caught the salty scent of the sea, a body of saltwater nearby, with a hint of rotten fish, urine, feces and the vague scent of street foods.

I needed a vantage point. Looking around, I searched for an emergency exit from the taller buildings, ladders or stairs or anything I could use to get up, finding nothing, the only one that even had an escape stairwell on the ally next to it was broken and only the upper half remained, the rest only debris at the mouth of the alley.

Could I-

No, a thought flashed across my head. I didn't need stairs, what was I thinking? The Quantum Armor I was wearing was equipped with boosters, I could, no, I didn't even need boosters to clear that jump. I knew, I knew immediately, I was strong, strong enough to make a three stories leap... so I did. I jumped, using as much strength as I thought I needed, clearing the jump and going up, and up, and up- well past twice the height I'd attempted to go.

Flailing in the air, pure instinct guided my thoughts as I activated the thrusters on my boots and the Gravity Manipulation program of the Quantum Armor, stabilizing myself in mid air and then releasing the world's grip on me, giving me a feeling and sensation of weightlessness that was really nice actually.

A little lost, I tried to kick my feet and grab at the air with my hands, trying to swim across the air, comically failing to get any movement done, I really was unstuck and unbound from gravity, pushing the air around me only moved me just a little.

Right.

Thrusters. This is why they were there. I activated them and with my mind tuned them to the lowest setting, giving me actual control of myself in mid air. My armguards had extra boosters as well, and I could slowly but surely gain control of myself, and with that, I could start to lower myself back down to the building, decreasing the power of my thrusters and anti-gravity device.

As I came down slowly, I could look around, and realize, I really had no idea where I was. I could tell I was almost certainly in a city, a coastal city. A HUD on my glasses informed me of the conditions, screens appearing right in front of my eyes, somehow perfectly fit to match my field of view without obscuring anything.

Most of the information wasn't exactly helpful. Mostly just telling me the temperature, humidity, wind speed... No location information. No useful minimap popping up somewhere to guide me in real time.

Instead of going down, I activated the thrusters and flew up a little. To the south was an affluent area, with many high rice buildings, probably the rich downtown area of the city if I had to take a guess. To the west, a residential district that faded from an urbanized area to the south to affluent suburbs to the southwest, and a poorer inner city closer to my own location, seemingly sprawling towards the north as well, where a heavily industrial area had once been, though now, it seemed most of it was lost, derelict and abandoned.

Right under me was an industrial center, most of which seemed to still be active, I seemed to be in a large bay, I must've been in the industrialized area of the docks, the commerical areas to the south was a lot nicer.

Looking to the east, I saw, almost like a beacon, a monolith built out of an oil rig, a massive fortress... my glasses immediately began presenting me with data. Some sort of shield was running interference, and its properties were immediately presented. Repulsor shield, would withstand most forms of attack, more experimentation would be needed.

I could at least get my bearings. I was in a city. I think I can understand the language, the signs I saw were in English. That means I'm in an English-speaking country.

A city with what appeared to be... or to have been a thriving maritime industry, because as I looked down, I saw a massive graveyard of ships of many sizes, abandoned shipyards, warehouses... a humongous oil supertanker was blocking most of the entryway to the industrialized part of the bay.

Road and car size, as well as the small sidewalks, suggested I was in the USA.

Okay.

That was a start at least.

The Gravity Manipulation device was a bit overtaxed, so I had to slowly let it drop me, generating a counter-gravity pull that negated the world's grip on me was causing it to overheat, and my chest was feeling a little strained.

I got the idea, using too much power too quickly was not a great idea. Coming down to the roof of a three story building, the tallest in my immediate area and for a few blocks, I had to think about what I could and what I should do.

I...

Didn't know who I was. No idea really. In fact, I couldn't tell you my name, I couldn't tell you where I was from nor could I even tell you where I was going.

But I can tell you just what I am. There's a determination within me that tells me what path I have to follow... I could even tell you that this was something I had chosen for myself, maybe I wasn't even aware of what I was choosing when I did, but, while I don't know my name, I can tell you what I am.

I am a Villain.

Unbound by the rules of society, opposing the Heroes who stood for all things Good and Healthy, championing Sweets and defending Snacks from all who would insist on a balanced and nutritious diet... And I could certainly tell you what I want.

I definitely want to eat something sweet. I can already feel my energy levels depleting, even as the pressure in my chest and the heat emanating from within lessened, I could feel that pang of emptiness. I needed something sweet, delicious... I needed sugar, carbs and everything nice. I needed to eat!

Good thing I'm a villain, otherwise I'd be worried about how I could go about obtaining food!

It was night, but the world around me was still moved. The streetlights illuminated the world around me, though there were many that weren't working quite well, some were flickering every few seconds, others were completely out.

The first matter on my list of problems to solve was obtaining food, and that meant finding a place that had food. The warehouses around me were either abandoned or, based on what I could see, not exactly stocked. They probably had security inside, but I couldn't see anything overt beyond security cameras on a few of them, so they were in use.

The signs were all about hardware and equipment and that sort of stuff, none of them had anything I cared about in them. None of them seemed to be food companies of any sort.

While I definitely wanted sweets, and I wanted them as soon as possible, I could satisfy my hunger at least temporarily by just eating whatever I found that was edible, it would not be anywhere near close to as energy efficient, but I could definitely tell I was running on fumes as it was.

To the northeast there was a fish market, and while the stink of rotten fish was strong, I might be able to find fresh fish from the day and be able to eat it. The whole area still had activity in it, not much, but, enough that I knew I would definitely be able to find a store that was still open, I could perhaps take the food I needed from them.

Another option was to go hit the suburbs in the hills to the southwest. I could probably break into a house and find something to eat, it would probably generate less attention and be less likely to bring me into a fight.

Northwest however was a more urbanized residential area, which contained large department stores and shops that I could no doubt find a meal in, but, undoubtedly, it would provoke a reaction from law enforcement.

Directly south in the big downtown area, the city was bustling as its nightlife was in full swing. Certainly, I could find something, probably might even find delicious, high quality sweets, chocolates, candy, perhaps even something exotic, but I'm guaranteed to find some sort of opposition there.

Conversely and opposite was directly going north, where I would find the most ethnically diverse and poorest section of the city. The poor were unlikely to be able to offer any resistance at all.

Or I could try to stay in the relatively central location I was at. I could see what appeared to be the asian quarter of the city. Surely they would have some delicious Japanese sweets... those were my favorite. Of course, I also expected the area to defend itself, depending on how tightly knit a community it was.

Whatever choice I made, I had to make it soon. I have enough juice to last me for a little bit, but I had to get some food in me. A cool breeze blew past me, the strands of my hair covering my vision for a moment, forcing me to tuck it behind one of my ears.

For all intents and purposes, whoever I was before didn't matter anymore. There's a part of me that still wonders who I was, what I was doing or how I ended up here, but what mattered in the present was survival, not pondering about the life I'd had before. Calming my hunger came first. Then shelter. Then I'd start worrying about everything else.

Carefully considering my options, I chose my next step...

 

[NOTTHISWAY]

Our Protagonist

Name: (Unknown)
Height: 154 cm/5'
Weight: 48 kg/105 lb
Sex: Female

STATS:

STRENGTH: A+	ENDURANCE: A+
AGILITY: C+	MANA: C
LUCK: E-	NOBLE PHANTASM: (UNKNOWN)

Strength (A+): An absolutely immense level of Strength, incomparable to that of normal humans, somewhere in the range between five and ten times greater than peak human physical strength, conditionally. The feats of strongmen might as well be child's play.

Endurance (A+): Physical endurance, resistance and stamina are all off the charts. Even low levels of superhuman strength would barely make an impact at this level. Conditionally, it could rise to an even higher degree.
Agility (C+): Speed of movement and reaction is three times greater than peak human level, conditionally rising even higher to above six times greater than peak human level, even the fastest of cats are in awe.

Mana (C): A considerable large capacity for Mana, much greater than peak human but not so immense as to be considered infinite

Luck (E-): Defying fate requires a great deal of effort. Throwing off the shackles of destiny is possible, but at a great cost.

Noble Phantasm (?): DATA UNAVAILABLE

SKILLS:

Quantum Armor (B):

An Assault-type powered suit fueled by the Altreactor. Semi-autonomous, magnifies all of the user's abilities and assists in the summon and manipulation of gravitational fields.

Gravitational Manipulation (B):

Freely manipulates gravity via the creation of virtual black holes. It is incapable of reducing the user's weight, making its usability as a flight enabling tool limited.

Extremity of Villains (A):

To live is the ultimate evil. Leave the scars of life in a hostile galaxy behind, take all of its treasures (read: sweets) for yourself!

Existence Outside the Domain (D):

ï̵̢̡̨̤̟̰̙̰͔͈͉͊̈̈́̓̈͑̓̉̆͋͊̂͜͜͠ ̸̨̨̧̱̥̗̗̰͈͉̖̠̙̳̻̙͑͛͑̇̍̄͋͛͂̆̎̂̈́͊͠͝c̸̛̻̱̬̰͖͎̹̭͇̠̿̌̂̎̔̚͝a̸̡̼̫͚̙͕̘̻̦̮̖̭̜͎͓̪̪͋̀n̴̛͈͕͊̈̅̉͛̚ͅ ̶̢͖̈́̔̽̽͌̍̾̐̈̅̈̇͐̔̚͝͝ͅs̴͈̠̮̯̯͔͌̾̊͆̈͒͘̕ẹ̴̡̨̨̝̭̝̤̯̰̞̞͕͕̐̉̅̄̽̋ḛ̸̖̈́̄͜ ̴̞͓̫͉́͑̏̿̂̔̂͠ỵ̴̡̢̰͇̹̥͖̘̭͖̬̒̃̽͒̊̈́̊̇̒͗̾̈́͠o̵̧̢̲̹̻̹̤̮͔̜͇͖̺͈̮͒͂̓͆͌͐̿͗̚͘͠ų̸̛̞̏̾̊͑̑͆̎͋̊̉͗̉͠

Mad Enhancement (C)

Your thoughts are your own... mostly. As long as nobody gets between you and your sweet, delicious sugary treats, anyway.

Magic Resistance (B):

You are highly resistant to esoteric effects of all sorts, diminishing the effect of abilities ranked lower than your own and entirely negating abilities perceived as much weaker than your own.

Altereactor (A+):

A source of infinite energy... powered by sugar. Produces infinite mana to constantly refill your reserves, but consumes large amounts of calories to do so. Effect is disabled if hungry.

 

[Zelretch_VPT]

I might be wrong but is she our favorite gluton space idol ?, (xx alter )

 

[Nephthys8079]

Ahhh ecchan....earth bet is fucked

 

[NOTTHISWAY]

I might be wrong but is she our favorite gluton space idol ?, (xx alter )

Click to shrink...

You are not wrong. The protagonist doesn't know who he is, but the chosen servant was indeed MHXX Alter.

 

[Sypho.uad]

Feels so weird whenever you post a sfw fic lol!

Thanks for the chapter!!

 

[NOTTHISWAY]

Surprisingly the mostly SFW ones are the most popular, so I figure, maybe I should do a little more.

Edit: wow that came out wrong, you'd think a writer would be better at communicating.

Basically I used to dismiss a lot of non-NSFW stories because I feared they wouldn't be very popular, ever since my cat reincarnation story had moderate success I've taken to doing a lot more of them.