Under Yith's control, the machines and drones became significantly more troublesome.
Originally, Shirou could move around and pick them off gradually but now the moment he paused, he would be met with a barrage of rubber bullets.
"This difficulty spike is way too high!"
Shirou did not need to think twice to know Yith was adjusting things from outside. He had already noticed the earlier increases but this time it had jumped several levels at once.
He briefly considered blowing everything up with a Broken Phantasm… but this was an underground facility. One explosion could bury him and Yith alive on the spot.
He decisively abandoned the black bow. In this situation, the moment he exposed himself to draw the string, he would be showered in rubber bullets. Kanshou and Bakuya were the better option.
He still could not smoothly use the bow in mobile combat so he had to rely on the twin blades he was most familiar with.
Even though thrown blades could be dodged, thanks to Kanshou and Bakuya's mutual attraction, he still managed to take down quite a few enemies.
"The numbers are going down… but why is this getting even more annoying? Don't tell me Yith is controlling them?"
Watching the machines and drones move and attack more fluidly, Shirou felt increasingly irritated.
Ping—
A sound rang out, and in the distance, a blue light began to flash.
Seeing it, Shirou quickly assessed the distance and the large number of enemies in between.
"This is not some kind of rigged setup, is it?"
He muttered under his breath, though his body kept moving.
Naturally, this was also Yith's doing. He already had a rough grasp of Shirou's level and now he needed a more extreme environment to push out Shirou's limits.
The simulation's result was judged by him anyway, so even if Shirou did not "pass," it did not matter. Tactical planning and combat ability were inherently subjective.
On-screen, Shirou did not rush forward. Instead, he carefully observed his surroundings.
Then, as if confirming something, he threw out his twin blades. Yith immediately controlled the machines to dodge.
After several exchanges, Yith had already figured out the blades' behavior, they were drawn to each other, always converging.
Once you understood that principle, dodging them should be easy—
"…It exploded?"
Watching the drone's perspective display an explosion, Yith fell silent.
This… was not a possibility he had accounted for.
Using swords, bows, arrows—fine.
But explosive ones too?
Yith suddenly felt like he had taken in too much new information today. His head hurt.
"Does this count as finished?"
On the screen, Shirou hopped around inside the blue light, worried he might not have cleared the test.
After assessing the structure, he judged it could withstand a few small-scale Broken Phantasms. So he threw Kanshou and Bakuya and detonated them.
The effect was immediate and dramatic.
Using the resulting smoke as cover, Shirou moved smoothly all the way to the blue marker.
It had gone so smoothly that even he found it hard to believe. But since nothing happened afterward, he started to feel uneasy.
Only after jumping around a few times did Yith's voice finally come through the speakers:
"Follow the drone out."
As the announcement ended, a drone flew toward Shirou. Only then did he confirm the test was finally over.
"Phew…"
Shirou let out a sigh of relief.
During the test, he had already gone all out, while still ensuring the underground structure was not destroyed. The results should be pretty good.
After all, having clear data would help both him and Penguin Logistics better coordinate missions instead of leaving him idle because no one knew what he was suited for.
So he had taken the test seriously, treating it like an important exam.
Following the drone out, Shirou saw Yith sitting at the computer looking unusually tense.
"…Is something wrong? Did I not do well?"
Seeing Yith's leg shaking so fast it almost blurred, Shirou asked quietly.
"No. Quite the opposite. Your results are excellent, they are so good that they are a bit frightening."
Yith stopped shaking his leg and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.
Then, gesturing for Shirou to look, he displayed the results on the screen.
"Three 'Standard,' one 'Excellent,' one 'Outstanding'?"
This time, instead of dense data, Shirou saw six clear lines of evaluation.
Comprehensive Assessment Results:
Physical Strength: Standard
Battlefield Mobility: Standard
Physiological Endurance: Standard
Tactical Planning: Excellent
Combat Skill: Outstanding
Originium Arts Adaptability: (Not yet tested)
"So… does that make me average?"
Seeing so many "Standard" ratings, Shirou assumed he was just… standard overall.
"Your physical stats alone are indeed average. But your combat instincts and that unknown 'Originium Art' are completely overpowered. Overall, you're very strong by the standards."
Hearing Shirou call himself average, Yith barely resisted the urge to smack him with the keyboard and explained patiently instead.
"The ranking goes: Outstanding, Excellent, Standard, Average, Deficient. Most people fall between Excellent and Average. Only extremes reach Outstanding or Deficient."
After briefly explaining the system, Yith took out a rather unusual-looking… staff.
"This is a staff?"
It was Shirou's first time seeing one up close. It looked similar to the kind of staff a caster would use, exactly matching his expectations.
The idea that Exusiai's guns counted as staff had already been confusing enough.
"Yes. Now we will test your Originium Arts adaptability. Please hold the staff and activate it in whatever way feels most natural to you."
Yith gave a simple instruction. Given what Shirou had shown earlier, he expected at least an "Excellent," if not "Outstanding."
"…A natural way?"
Holding the staff, Shirou thought for a moment and then started swinging it like a sword.
"…Focus your attention on the staff."
Looking at the completely flat data readings, then at Shirou energetically waving it around, Yith reminded him.
"I will try again."
Stopping, Shirou gripped the staff with both hands, mimicking Saber's stance when unleashing a Noble Phantasm.
"..."
Watching the data remain completely unchanged, Yith began to wonder if Shirou was messing with him.
He had just performed brilliantly in the test room—
and now he could not even make the readings fluctuate a little?