Entering the room Yith mentioned, Shirou's first impression was that it felt extremely high-tech.
Although the exterior looked just as run-down as the rest of the building, through analysis of the walls Shirou could sense subtle traces of numerous machines operating behind the scenes.
"Combat training, huh…"
Gripping Kanshou and Bakuya, Shirou gradually entered a focused state.
"The next phase is combat simulation. You will face various enemies here and must locate the blue light marker. It will appear after five minutes. Before that, you must evade the attacks of these simulated enemies. You may either survive until the end or eliminate all enemies, both are acceptable."
Yith's explanation came through the speakers. To make sure Shirou understood, he spoke a bit slower than usual.
"So for the first five minutes, it's just dealing with enemies and after that, I find the blue light to clear the test?"
Even though Yith had already explained clearly, Shirou summarized it himself.
"Correct. I will adjust the difficulty based on your performance. The equipment you are wearing will simulate your physical condition, so while the enemies will not cause fatal damage, you should avoid getting hit as much as possible."
Yith added.
"Understood."
Shirou grasped the process: survive at least five minutes, then reach the blue marker while the difficulty adjusted dynamically.
And although the attacks were not lethal, the equipment would simulate the damage, so avoiding hits was still important.
"The test will begin in ten seconds. Please give it your all, your full strength."
As Yith finished speaking, Shirou saw several machines in the distance power up.
Scanning his surroundings, he noted at least three directions where enemies were activating.
He took a few steps toward a direction where no machines had started yet, already simulating how to respond in his mind.
"Good awareness, he noticed enemy directions right away."
Yith carefully observed Shirou on the monitor, recording notable details.
As the countdown ended, Yith pressed a red button. The machines in the room began moving simultaneously.
These machines had all been configured by Yith, designed specifically for this terrain. Outside of this environment, they would be little more than scrap but here they were perfect for testing.
Seeing the machines charging toward him, Shirou immediately dashed toward cover while throwing Kanshou and Bakuya. The leading two units were destroyed instantly.
On Yith's screen, Shirou moved at incredible speed toward one side of the machines. Even after throwing his swords, identical ones reappeared in his hands, while the thrown blades dissolved into blue light after a short time.
Wherever the blades passed, they left clean, precise cuts through the machines.
"Extremely fast and efficient. His decision-making is good too. It's hard to believe someone like this would willingly be a housekeeper."
After Shirou destroyed a third of the machines within a minute, Yith commented while slightly increasing the difficulty.
"?"
Noticing a change in the machines' attack patterns, Shirou immediately retreated behind cover.
From the initial exchange, he had already figured out their attack styles, it consisted of mostly rubber bullets with some attempting to ram him and most operated independently.
But just now, their movement patterns had shifted like a disorganized group suddenly being coordinated by a commander.
"In that case, Kanshou and Bakuya alone will not be enough."
Shirou dismissed the twin blades. In their place a black bow appeared in his hand.
"A bow?"
Yith watched with interest, he was curious how Shirou would use it. Despite how easily Shirou was slicing through the machines even Exusiai using etched rounds would struggle to penetrate some of them.
Shirou held the bow in his left hand, several arrows in his right. The moment he stepped out of cover, he nocked and fired.
The arrows glowed red like streaking meteors.
One arrow, one machine. Several machines were destroyed instantly.
"…"
Even for someone as experienced as Yith, this was a first.
The machines Shirou destroyed were heavily armored assault types and yet each was taken down with a single arrow.
And it had not taken long for Shirou to destroy more than half the machines. When Texas had taken this test, she only made it halfway. Shirou, however, was clearly aiming for total annihilation.
"If he can use long-range weapons, then deploying drones is only fair."
Yith made a few adjustments and released dozens of drones.
Normally, tests involving melee weapons would not include so many drones, at most one or two near the end to interfere with the objective.
But since Shirou had switched to a bow, deploying a full drone group usually reserved for ranged weapon tests was completely justified.
Shirou, however, did not see it that way.
He had planned to gradually thin out the enemies with arrows, but a sudden sense of danger made him abandon his position immediately.
Moments later, a swarm of drones unleashed a barrage of rubber bullets at where he had just been.
"Drones!?"
Seeing over a dozen drones hovering above, Shirou realized the test had just become significantly harder.
While running and dodging the incoming barrage, he prioritized targeting the aerial drones, their mobility made them far more dangerous than the slower ground units.
He leapt to avoid an attack and landed on a raised platform.
Kneeling on one knee, he tilted the bow and nocked an arrow.
Infusing it with mana, he fired.
The arrow burst midair like fireworks, scattering and destroying a cluster of drones in one area.
"Excellent tactics and technique… Where exactly is your limit? Let me see!"
Watching Shirou rapidly eliminate the drone swarm, Yith decided to take control personally.
In an instant, Yith assumed direct control over all remaining machines and drones—
and began coordinating a systematic assault against Shirou.