Chapter Two: The Novice Quest

"Fate! I choose Fate!" Upon seeing the three options, his instincts as an otaku screamed that picking Fate would lead to a merciless ordeal, but as a devoted follower of the King, he made his choice without hesitation. After all, she promised that he wouldn't die.

"Are you sure?" Lianhua began to doubt his decision. It was his first mission, and yet he didn't pick the easy one—was this guy an idiot?

"Of course!"
"Are you sure you don’t want to at least check your stats before you choose? If you die, don’t blame me~~"
"Uh, fine, I’ll take a look first." He hesitated. After all, not dying was one thing, but there were fates worse than death. Better safe than sorry.

"I am a resident of the Second Dimension," he murmured to himself, and in that instant, a screen appeared before his eyes. He selected his attributes directly with his mind.

Name: Lancer
Bloodline: Human
Experience: 2000 (starting gift)
Strength: E+
Items: None
Abilities: None

The stats were simple, but he could see his own strength. Noticing the bloodline, item, and ability sections, he realized there would likely be better things to acquire in the future, especially since he hadn’t explored the details yet.

"Alright, now I get it. I’m an E+, but what exactly does that mean? What do the ranks stand for?" Now that he knew his capabilities, he wanted to understand his limits.

"F – Ordinary human
E – Someone trained and skilled, the pinnacle of humanity, but still human
D – No longer considered human, but still can be killed by ordinary humans
C – Ordinary people can no longer stop them
B – Expert, among the best of the non-humans
A – Comparable to figures from myth
S – These are the so-called 'gods'
You don’t need to know anything beyond that for now. When the time comes, you’ll find out," she said.

"But in the Fate world, there should be S-rank beings. Why is the difficulty only D? Even the weakest Servant in the Holy Grail War isn’t something a human can kill!" He was nearly losing his mind—was this loli toying with him? He’d thought D-rank for a first mission meant it would be tough but doable, but these revived heroic spirits were not something a mere human could stand against.

"Don’t worry, even if your opponents are strong, they won’t attack you. Besides, isn’t this a series of missions? The first is D-rank, but there’ll be C, B, even A-rank ones later. Still, your first is D, and once you finish it, you don’t have to jump right into the next. I do allow breaks!" She finished with a look that all but begged for praise.

"Even if it’s a trap, at least I can’t fall in just yet. Fine, I accept!" Gritting his teeth, he made his decision. For the sake of Saber, his ultimate favorite, he would go for it!

"Mission selected. You may proceed whenever you wish. To initiate transfer, just call for me," came the metallic voice from his ring as he resolved himself.

"Well then, since you’ve made your decision, I won’t bother you further. I’m off to rest, so search for whatever you need yourself. Bye-bye~~" With that, Lianhua’s figure vanished from sight.

"Looks like I’ve boarded a pirate ship with no hope of getting off," he muttered, but his expression was one of excitement. His abilities were already top-tier, but his identity kept him from taking missions often, which was stifling. Now he could do as he pleased and meet the characters he adored, from the naive yet gluttonous Artoria, to Iskandar, whose subordinates remained loyal even in death, to the ancient king Gilgamesh. The thought of meeting these anime legends thrilled him.

"Now, let’s see what I can pick." He opened the selection screen and, sure enough, there were options for bloodlines, items, and skills. The bloodline section was immediately skipped—even the cheapest cost at least one point. Better ones, like the King of Heroes’ bloodline, required a staggering fifty thousand. He quickly moved on. The skill section was also expensive, though he could afford a few, so he decided to check that later. As for items, mundane objects like gold were quite cheap—one point of experience could buy a hundred kilograms, so he’d never lack for money after crossing over. Anything with energy, though, was much pricier.

He bought a Desert Eagle with unlimited ammo, deciding not to bother with modern firearms as their lack of mystique made them too cheap to be useful—just ten experience points. Still, he found something interesting: a wooden crossbow, a weapon once used by a criminal to kill his own brother. It was a cursed crossbow; its wielder was compelled to betray friends, and anyone struck in the chest by it would die. After modification, it no longer caused its owner to betray allies, but, being unremarkable, it was classified as a C-rank weapon in the Fate system—very affordable at just 1500 experience. He bought it without hesitation. With little experience left, he bought a ton of gold and decided not to spend the rest—480 points weren’t enough for anything good anyway. Healing potions were too expensive or too weak to bother with—a single instant-heal potion cost 200 points, so he passed.

"Okay, let’s do this! Transfer me!" Knowing it was just him and Lianhua present, Lancer shouted excitedly as he prepared to traverse space-time for the first time.

"The gate to yonder has opened! Go forth!" A gem-blue metal door opened before him, emitting a thrilling sound.

Without a second thought, he stepped through, and the door quickly closed behind him.

-------------------Dramatic break-------------------

"Where am I?" Waking up, he found himself in a forest. He was sure this wasn’t the forest surrounding the Einzbern Castle in Fuyuki City of the Holy Grail War—the air was too pure. Taking a deep breath, he questioned his ring.

"What is this place?" Lancer asked, having already discovered the ring’s impressive abilities during his experiments. It couldn’t hold a conversation but could provide mechanical reports.

"This is the world of DOTA. Here you will begin your novice quest. Lady Lianhua said you’d be doomed if you went to that other world so unprepared, so you’ll be given life-saving resources first." With that, the voice fell silent.

At the same time, a panel similar to his attribute screen appeared before him.

"Novice Quest—Choose: Dire or Radiant."

Two options appeared on the panel. Lancer promptly picked Radiant; after all, anything was better than siding with the undead.

Upon selection, a booklet materialized in front of him, titled "Basic Information."

Opening it, Lancer saw his new identity:

Free Ranger—Lancer

Skill 1: Taunt—Using his sharp tongue, he taunts all enemies, raising his own armor and attack power. Beginner level.

Skill 2: Poison Coating—As a Free Ranger, Lancer had concocted a potent poison during his travels. Any enemy contacting it is silenced; each application silences for several seconds, lasts 20 seconds per dose, and replenishes automatically after 60 seconds. Beginner level.

Skill 3: Weapon Mastery—As a ranger, he is adept with many weapons. Each time he attacks while wielding a weapon, he strikes a vital spot, leaving a damage mark. Hitting the mark again deals double damage. Beginner level.

Skill 4: Ranger’s Justice—When he sees the weak or bullied, Lancer will act, regardless of his own injuries, using poison to stimulate recovery and protect those in need. The poison ensures his combat power won't drop or suffer debuffs for 30 seconds, but his armor decreases by 30% and his attack increases by 50%.

Having read the booklet, he realized he now possessed all four skills. Overjoyed to have gained strong abilities for free, Lancer felt genuine gratitude toward the naturally airheaded Lianhua.

And as soon as he acquired these skills, his first mission arrived.

"Mission One—Aid the Orc Tribe.

The Dire Legion’s iron hooves have begun their assault, and the innocent Orc tribe is under attack. Go and support them immediately. Enemy heroes may appear; proceed with caution. Mission rewards: 500 experience and favor from the Beast Hero."

He hadn’t even gotten settled before his first task arrived. While he was a bit disappointed that his skills couldn’t be leveled up with skill points as in the game, overall he was delighted—the mission didn’t seem too hard, just a support role with no other requirements. The only thing that made him uneasy was the "hero favor" reward, given that Bloodseeker and Axe were both orc traitors. Still, he set off in the direction indicated by the quest, not wanting his first mission to fail due to tardiness.