Watching my Servants and Sakura's Lancer clear the Dragon ID trice in a row and leveling up in the process, I learnt a few important and somewhat frustrating things.
For starters, due to the static nature of most Heroic Spirits in that were unable to change on their own once they were recorded in the Throne of Heroes and only they way humanity saw them could, Servants could not grind stat points. No matter how fast they ran, how hard they hit, hot much physical effort they put into something, their stats would never change from it. They could not improve via regular training.
On the other hand, the XP they gained from killing Dragon after Dragon did allow the to level up and thus gain the regular 5 stat points that they could allocate in either STR, VIT, DEX, INT, WIS or LUCK as they pleased. So, they could improve, but only by adding something on top of their Servant Containers.
"My Gamer ability and the stat threshold bonuses they are benefiting from are the same. It would not be wrong to say it's like an over-abundance of prana from a Master to a Servant, pushing their parameters higher but still within the limits of the Heroic Spirit itself and the quality of the Servant Container." I theorized as I watched Nero bathing in Fafnir's blood, just as Illya had in the previous batch.
And boy, had the little albino been embarrassed!
There was, however, some more good news concerning ways for the Servants to increase in power. Specifically, their HP and MP increased with their level, independent of their other stats.
"It's just like in that Grand Order game." I concluded. "And the allocable stat points are like using Status Up Cards, just for more than just ATK and HP."
"Nee, Onii-chan?" Illya called out, drawing my attention to her.
"Yes, Illya-chan?" I inquired, noticing the embarrassed and slightly jealous look in her eyes as I showed no shame in ogling Nero, while I clearly looked away when she had done the same thing. "She may be technically legal and not blood-related to me, but she still looks like just entering her teen years, for god's sake!"
"I think it's morning." She pointed at a window that she had summoned before her.
"Hm?" I summoned my own status window which very helpfully showed the time in the real world. "You're right. I suppose we'll head back and have breakfast after Nero is done. No rushing her, though. We don't want her messing up and ending up with a weak spot like Siegfried." I said firmly.
"You just want to perve on her longer." Illya huffed.
"Don't be ridiculous." I snorted. "With the way she dressed, you can say she's more covered now with the dragon blood."
"…Fair point." Illya sweatdropped.
"Besides, with how forward she and Tamamo have been with me since the very beginning, a simple invitation would be enough to get them into my bed. But, I'll leave that matter in Sakura's very capable and possessive hands." I suppressed a small shudder as I remembered how Sakura had dealt with the last girl that had been 'infringing on her territory'. It had not been pretty.
Shaking my head, I looked into my inventory and sweatdropped at the sheer amount of dragon parts I had stored there, dragon blood included. The only reason I was having the girls bath in fresh blood was to properly follow the legend in order to achieve the maximum effects.
"Well, with three level 300+ Servants, I guess it would be okay now to move on to the next Dungeon while bringing people with me." I concluded. I had refused to take Sakura with me in the next, higher level Dungeon for two reasons.
One, the Corruption Dungeon was full of creepy demons, Lahmu and Bel Lahmu, with Kingu as the Boss, which were guaranteed to remind Sakura of her unpleasant time in the 'care' of Matou Zouken. This would likely distract her and possibly send her into a traumatic flashback at the wrong time, meaning I would have to keep an eye on her at all times, essentially babysit her.
And two, the levels of the monsters within the Corruption Dungeon ranged between 301 and 350 with Kingu at 355, making them veritable threats by any standards and thus not something I could afford to give anything but my full attention – thus, not being able to watch over Sakura.
There was also the added benefit of being able to bring Illya along as well despite the dramatic level difference simply via implanting a Traced Avalon in her and letting her use the Artoria Pendragon Saber Class Card. Between the stat boost she would get from the card, the broken regenerative powers of the sheath and the effectiveness of the strongest Holy Sword against demons, she should be more than alright. Excalibur certainly had the ability of making all of one's problems disappear… usually preceded by a beam of all-consuming golden light.
"And I guess that this way they'll level up faster rather than just 1 level after clearing three dungeons… or four, if the one before they joined my Party counted." I mused as I glanced at the Servants' stats.
Name: Karna
Class: Lancer
Title: Hero of Charity, Son of the Sun God
Level: 301 Next Level: 20,3%
HP: 633.196,4/ 633.196,4
MP: 70.000.000/ 70.000.000
HPR: 871% per min
MPR: 275,5% per min
STR: 2.573,25
VIT: 8.610
DEX: 8.610
INT: 1.750
WIS: 2.555
LUCK: 8.640
Name: Tamamo no Mae
Class: Caster
Title: Nine Tailed Fox, Avatar of Amaterasu
Level: 301 Next Level: 0,9%
HP: 236.858/ 236.858
MP: 210.000.000/ 210.000.000
HPR: 194,325% per min
MPR: 1742% per min
STR: 2.555
VIT: 1.843,25
DEX: 2.555
INT: 16.800
WIS: 17.220
LUCK: 8.610
Name: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
Class: Saber
Title: Emperor of Roses, Beast of Babylon
Level: 301 Next Level: 4%
HP: 215.622,75/ 215.622,75
MP: 140.000.000/ 140.000.000
HPR: 194,325% per min
MPR: 275,5% per min
STR: 2.555
VIT: 1.843,25
DEX: 8.610
INT: 1.750
WIS: 2.555
LUCK: 8.610
"Karna increased his STR and both Nero and Tamamo increased their VIT. It may not boost their HP right now, but it does increase their HP Regeneration." I mused. "Not bad choices." I concluded before turning my attention towards Sakura and Illya who had also benefited due to being in a party with those three, despite not doing much fighting themselves.
Name: Matou Sakura
Class: The Hollow Shadow
Title: Shadow Princess
Age: 16
Level: 119 Next Level: 23%
HP: 198.350/ 198.350
MP: /
HPR: 801% per min
MPR: 798,21% per min
STR: 3540,4
VIT: 7910
DEX: 3455,6
INT: 7340
WIS: 7282,1
LUCK: 3627,85
Elemental Affinity: Hollow (Imaginary Numbers), Water
Origin: Hollow
Name: Illyasviel von Einzbern
Class: Justeaze Model Homunculus
Title: Einzbern's White Holy Grail
Age: 18
Level: 65 Next Level: 10%
HP: 1225/ 1225
MP: 86.383.500/ 86.383.500
HPR: 4,5% per min
MPR: 83,8% per min
STR: 18
VIT: 45
DEX: 30
INT: 600
WIS: 138
LUCK: 30
"Sakura's stats did not go up too much from just 7 levels. She got a bigger boost from the copy of the Tohsaka crest I gave her." I concluded. "Illya, on the other hand… well, I might not have given her a Philosopher Stone yet – don't want her getting ideas about transmuting he body to look closer to her real age; she hasn't had a real childhood so I'm going to make sure she will this time – but she did get a decent boost from the Emiya Crest, not to mention the C-rank Heaven's Feel I taught her – it's only right, given that I myself leant it from a version of her mother. Her MP, at least, nearly doubled." I concluded.
Lunchtime
"Are you certain this is a wise approach, Praetor?" Nero asked feeling a bit uncomfortable in simply walking up the stairs towards the lair of Assassin, Ryuudou Temple. Sure, she liked direct approaches over complicated schemes and treachery, but simply walking into the enemy's base and potential trap seemed rather foolhardy to her.
"Certain? No." I admitted. "But, if things are as I expect them to be – and given what I have uncovered of Assassin's original Master, they are – then I have a good idea on who Assassin is and the quality of her guard-dog. So, I don't have much to worry about. Just stay Astralized. If you get hit by Assassin's Noble Phantasm, it would be a lot more troublesome than me losing a limb or two, trust me on this."
"And just how likely is it that you'll lose a limb, Goshujin-sama?!" Tamamo demanded.
"Given the level of my Magic Resistance and the fact that we're dealing with a Assassin that should have been a Caster… less than 1% chance. And that before we take my other skills into account." I assured her before cutting the mental chatter as we nearly reached the top of the stairs… and a Servant materialized before the Temple Gate.
He was a handsome blond man with green eyes the same color as Nero's. He was dressed in rich clothing with several golden-colored articles and some actually made out of gold such as his rings and armlets as well as the handle of the short sword sheathed at his waist.
His eyes shone with arrogance, irritation… and recently humiliation.
"I know who this guy is!" I realized with a hint of amusement. "Well, at least now I know what Catalyst Atrum Galliasta used to summon Medea. She must have reused it to summon this guy. Though, I'm certain she was not aiming to summon him of all people using a fragment of the Argo."
"Halt! I…" the Servant, Rider by process of elimination, began arrogantly.
"My, my, how the mighty have fallen. From king to door-boy… oh, who am I kidding, you're Medea's bitch now, Jason." I grinned widely.
"…So, you know who I am. And who Assassin is." Jason scowled.
"Yes." I confirmed as I faded from his line of sight as I used my impressive speed to all but teleport behind him, drawing his sword in the process and giving it a good look to record it in Unlimited Blade Works should I have need of it at some point – "Unlikely, this thing is just a sword, not a Noble Phantasm" I easily concluded – before stabbing into the back of his skull all the way to make the blade exit via his right eye, killing him all but instantly.
I then calmly continued on my way even as Rider's power was collected by one of the two Lesser Grails I had in the pockets of my jacket, just in case. Using Tracing, it was quite easy to detect all the traps Assassin had set up and Ring of Solomon disabled them all, essentially eroding a path as I entered the Temple Assassin had created with her Territory Creation skill. Clearly, she has the Double Summon skill, making her both an Assassin and a Caster.
"Show yourself, Medea. I know where you are and I prefer not to bring down the whole Temple just to have a conversation with you." I called out loud.
A few seconds later, what appeared to be Assassin materialized in midair a few meters away from me.
"An illusion, eh?" I arched an eyebrow. "Very well, it will suffice for this."
"What do you want, Master of Saber?" Assassin demanded coldly.
In response, I reached into my Inventory, ignored her tensing, and pulled out a Philosopher Stone charged with a tenth of my full MP capacity before throwing it at the feet of her illusionary form.
"…What is this?" Assassin asked slowly.
"Bribe. Specifically, a Philosopher Stone with enough power stored within to incarnate you several times over, not just once. Take it, make yourself a body and get out of Fuyuki before nightfall. That way, you won't get caught up in the mess is bound to occur when I destroy the Grail." I told her flatly.
"Destroy the Grail?" Assassin exclaimed in shock. "Why would you…?"
"Because it's corrupted." I replied. "Before the Third Grail War, one of the Founding Families, the Einzbern, used a backdoor they left for themselves and tried to cheat the System by summoning a Divine Spirit. I doubt I need to explain to you of all people how bad of an idea it is to tangle with Deities." I deadpanned. "Especially when the one they tried to summon is Angra Mainyu, the Zoroastrian God of Evil. They managed to summon the human prototype of the God as the irregular Servant Avenger, and when he died he became a full deity within the Grail, tainting it and corrupting whatever wish made to result in destruction. A decade ago, Angra Mainyu was almost born into the world to wipe out humanity, if not for my father ordering his Servant, a Saber King Arthur, to destroy the Lesser Grail. Even so, some of the curses within spilled out, causing the Great Fuyuki Fire. I plan on insuring there is no second time." I told her with finality.
"…I see." Medea turned her attention to the Philosopher Stone. "From what I can sense from this, you don't even need a Holy Grail to grant whatever wish you may have."
"True enough." I shrugged. Even without the Wishcraft I recently copied from Illya, with as much power I possessed, more than a dozen Counter Guardians combined, I could just throw my power around to bend the world to make my will reality. I just saw no reason to poke Gaia like that after the numerous irritations I had already given here. Alaya as well, for that matter.
"Why are you helping me, though?" Medea asked. "You could kill me easily enough, I realize this."
"Why didn't you kill all the girls your former Master had kidnapped in order to gain prana and instead came here at the risk of fading before you could tap into the Ley Lines?" I shot back.
"…" Medea's illusion merely stared back from under her cowl.
"As far as I'm concerned, you've proven you deserve a second chance at life, Princess of Colchis." I turned and began to walk away before pausing. "Oh, when you drag Kuzuki-sensei shopping, you might want to hit Akihabara. They have a lot of things for your Cosplay fetish." I told her over my shoulder with a teasing grin before leaving, ignoring her red-faced splutters of denial.
"That was entertaining." Tamamo giggled. "You could have recruited her, she would be fun to tease."
"Nah, she's already got a love interest and made plans for her life with him. They have a good thing going on, no sense to ruin it for them." I smiled slightly even as I finally moved the filled Lesser Grail from my pocket into my Inventory.
"With this, only Gilgamesh remains." Nero remarked.
"Don't forget Kotomine Kirei. Even without a Servant backing him up, he's a pain in the ass." I warned. "Not to mention his curse-made heart."
That evening – near Kotomine Church
"Showtime." I telepathically told all my Party Members, including Illya whom I had made stay back at my house and keep an eye on Tohsaka, much to the albino's displeasure and protests.
"So, you've come." Gilgamesh remarked as he stepped out of the Church, already clad in his golden armor. "Just as I expected you would. Still, I have to admit that I had not foreseen whatever you did to the Lesser Grail and the power of the fallen Servants. It's enough to throw Kirei's planning on its head, most entertaining." He chuckled.
"Unfortunately, from here on things will get a bit predictable. Me and my allies trying to kill you, with the fate of the world on the line." I shrugged. "I'm sure you can sympathize with our desire to remove an entity of Divine origin capable of wiping out humanity at a whim."
"I do… though, just for comparing me with those wretched Gods, I will not offer you the painless death I had in mind." Gilgamesh glared.
"Oh, that hurts. Right here." I mockingly grasped at my heart. "ID Create: Empty." I uttered under my breath and suddenly we were all drawn into the Illusion barrier, Kotomine who was still hiding inside the Church included.
"How, a Reality Marble of sorts?" Gilgamesh looked around with disinterest.
"Oh, this is not a Reality Marble." I assured him even as my and Sakura's Servants materialized around the two of us. "Unlimited Blade Works." I declared and in an explosion of heatless flames the landscape changed entirely into an endless field full of weapons, mostly sword stabbed into the ground under the Moonless sky above. "This, on the other hand, is a Reality Marble."
"You… Faker!" Gilgamesh spat in disgust as he glanced around, recognizing a few of his own treasures in his vicinity.
"Oh, you misunderstand, King of Heroes. These are not copies. Rather, they are merely recordings of the originals. Mere data that lack a vessel." I corrected. After all, it was what I created with Projection or Tracing that was a fake. These, in my Reality Marble, were identical to the read deal. "But on the other hand, speaking of fakes…" I tilted my head thoughtfully "Given that Servants are copies of their real selves within the Throne of Heroes, wouldn't that make you a fake?" I asked innocently.
Gilgamesh stared a me wide-eyed for a few moments, in disbelief at my sheer audacity, before snarling more hatefully than I had ever seen him, either in person or in some manga or anime, and opening a literal sky of golden portals that began spiting out swords, spears and various other dangerous weapons right at me.
"You filthy mongrel! DIE!" the King of Heroes screamed in anger.
Even as I greedily ate up the new blueprints offered to me, copies of those weapons and more shot from all around us and either deflected those coming from the Gate of Babylon or outright destroyed them if they were fragile enough.
"What?" Gilgamesh whispered in shock.
"Go!" I ordered the three Servants, echoed by Sakura, and Karna, Nero and Tamamo dashed at the Golden King at speeds that took him by surprise. After all, while Gilgamesh had a C rank Agility, even the slowest of my and Sakura's Servants, Tamamo, had the equivalent of nearly A+++ rank Agility thanks to the boost from my Gamer ability, while both Karna and Nero had more than three times that.
To Gilgamesh's credit, though, he did manage to materialize a few shields that lasted long enough form him to begin another wave of raining weapons, this time aimed at the more worthy threats in his eyes and from closer so I could not afford to block or deflect as many of the weapons as before, at least those not those in close-range to my and Sakura's Servants less they blew up in their faces.
We were making progress, clearly, as due to how empowered Saber, Lancer and Caster were, they were easily not just defending from the treasures thrown at them and swiftly recovering from whatever damage they incurred thanks to the plentiful prana supplies from me and Sakura as well as their own high HP Regeneration rates.
However, Sakura soon pointed out to me that while getting increasingly angry at so many of his treasures being destroyed, Gilgamesh did not seem to be running low on energy, even without the Grail giving him some support like with all Servants. And, given that Kotomine was not know for his large prana reserves, I could draw only one conclusion.
"Those kids he's using as prana batteries for Gilgamesh were also pulled into the Illusion Barrier from within the real Church." I concluded grimly.
I had known from the very beginning about those poor kids. However, I had not attempted to save them for one simple reason: they were beyond saving. They had been reduced to mindless emaciated husks that were just barely kept alive to keep producing prana for the King of Heroes to draw on in order to freely use his Noble Phantasm. Death would be the only salvation they could hope for, and the only reason I had put it off was due to not wanting to draw attention to myself after already taking a risk to examine those poor kids in the Church's basement while Kotomine was away on an Apostle Hunt and Gilgamesh was touring the world.
"Now, on the other hand, is a perfect time to put them to rest." I concluded as I materialized a handful of Caladbolg in the sky above the former location of the Church, Broke them and then rained them down onto the spot, blowing it up with enough force that the blast wave blew all the Servants and Sakura off their feet, only I remaining standing thanks to summoning a huge sword stabbed into the ground behind me to hold steady against.
The sudden drop in his prana supply most certainly drew Gilgamesh's attention back to me from the three Servants and, with a hateful glare that I had forced him to resort to this, began to draw out Ea from his treasury, intent on ending this humiliation…
…Only to find himself unable to move, bound in chains. Very familiar chains at that.
"You dare?" Gilgamesh whispered, his rage now well past apocalyptic.
"I have warned you from the beginning, Demigod." I uttered as I appeared before him in a burst of speed and, summoning into my hand a barbed red spear that dripped bloodlust, I thrust it towards the bound King of Uruk with a loud "Gae Bolg!"
Gilgamesh spat blood as the spear found itself impaled in his heart, the reversal of causality bypassing the impressive defense his golden armor offered. Still, dying as he was, he continued to glare at me.
"I hold not ill towards you, King of Heroes. Merely disappointment that you so readily dismissed humanity just as the Gods you hold in contempt did." I told him even as the life faded from his eyes, the power leaving his body and being drawn into the Lesser Grail I had placed in my pocket before we even approached the Church, filling it just like it had happened with three others before it.
You have killed Servant Archer Zero, the King of Heroes Gilgamesh! +100.000.000XP.
You have increased in level by 1.
You have increased in level by 1.
You have increased in level by 1.
You have increased in level by 1.
You have increased in level by 1.
You have increased in level by 1.
Name: Emiya Shirou
Class: The Gamer
Title: Faker; Undead Slayer; Immortal Slayer; Type-Fake; Demon Slayer; Dragon Slayer
Age: 17
Level: 411 Next Level: 86,5%
HP: 758.753,75 758.753,75
MP: ,125/ ,125
HPR: 3042,615% per min
MPR: 3613,57% per min
STR: 12.939,25
VIT: 30.326,15
DEX: 13.647,35
INT: 33.984,9
WIS: 33.935,7
LUCK: 9504,6
Elemental Affinity: Sword
Origin: Sword
Point: 2050
Money: ¥
"Hm, 3 levels from Heracles via 50.000.000XP yesterday and 6 from Gilgamesh via 100.000.000XP. Seems legit." I nodded in approval.
"It's over." Sakura remarked with a relieved smile. Only a few of Gilgamesh's treasures were sent her way, the Golden King not having deemed her worth bothering with, and they few that so much as pointed at her were immediately deflected or destroyed by me.
"Not just yet." Nero smiled wickedly. "Going somewhere, priest?" she called out.
A few awkward moment later, Kotomine came out from behind the debris caused by the Broken Caladbolg.
"I suppose congratulations are in order." Kotomine began only to be cut off… by Nero's red blade cutting his head off.
"Enemy of Christianity, indeed." I nodded sagely.
I then causally walked up to the corpse and grabbed the arm bearing the Command Spells unused from past Grail Wars before transplanting them to my own arms with a quick use of Solomon's Ring.
"Tamamo, destroy Kotomine's body please." I requested and within seconds the cursed corpse was removed from existence via divine flames.
"What about this one, Praetor?" Nero pointed at Gilgamesh' body which was still bound in the Traced Chains of Heaven.
"I'm going to keep it for experimentation." I decided after some hesitation. I had actually expected the body to fade away, given that while it was made flesh, it was still constructed using Angra Mainyu's materialized curses. But, since it was still there, I would keep it as spoils, so I promptly shoved it into my Inventory, the fact that it could be stored there assuring me more than anything that it was well and truly dead.
With a relieved sigh, I turned towards the crater that had been caused by the Broken Caladbolg and used Tracing before concluding that the poor kids used to power Gilgamesh had been vaporized by the explosion, so I dropped first my Unlimited Blade Works, then destroyed the ID we were in to return to the real world.
"Well, with this the Grail War is over." I concluded with a relived smile, happy that a threat to humanity had been averted. "Now, all that's left is to dismantle the Greater Grail System…"
"Not quite, Senpai." Sakura's voice was heard… yet it did not come from the mouth of my girlfriend.
Turning towards the source, my blood froze in my veins at the sight of the newcomer.
"Fuck me." I groaned.
"Mm, maybe later, if you're a good boy, Senpai." A new identical purple-haired girl winked at me teasingly.
"Ano, Sakura-san?" Tamamo asked unsurely. "I didn't know you have a twin sister."
"That's because I don't." Sakura said flatly, glaring at the doppelganger.
"Technically, she would be Matou Sakura's younger sister since she was born from data one Matou Sakura had hidden away to prevent deletion. But not my Sakura." I frowned. "Isn't that right, Moon Cancer BB?"
"Bravo, I knew you were special the moment I set my eyes on you, Senpai." BB clapped her hands as she praised me. "However, you got my Class wrong. There is no Moon Cell here, so I can't be a Moon Cancer, now can I?" she gave a bow as she introduced herself. "Servant Ruler, the Impartial Judge of the Holy Grail War, at your service. And, I repeat what I have said earlier. The Fifth Holy Grail War is not over." She smirked. "In fact, officially, it has yet to begin."