Caster Who Cannot Use Magic

The Caster Servant, summoned by Karl, wasn't strictly speaking a Servant.

His stats were just too weak in every aspect.

What's more, the flow of magic couldn't be sensed. This was too strange. If it were an Assassin, this could be explained by Presence Concealment, but Caster?

Furthermore, this Servant clearly wasn't much of a fighter. He looked like an old man in his sixties or seventies, with white hair and beard, dry skin, and a hunched back. He was simply draped in a loose, gauzy robe. He looked like an old man who had just bathed. If this were a Servant from myth and legend, people would probably laugh their heads off.

It was true that Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology, was said to particularly enjoy appearing as an old man. However, this old man wasn't one-eyed, nor did he possess even a shred of the heroic aura that a Servant should have...

"Hmm, I see."

For some reason, the old Servant seemed to quickly understand something. His withered, gnarled hands, like ancient tree roots, cupped his large beard as he nodded in understanding.

"The Holy Grail War... Servants... summoning... I see. So then... Caster Servant, Leonardo da Vinci. A scientist."

Da Vinci, a globally renowned genius of omniscience and omnipotence, was proficient in multiple fields, such as painting, sculpture, and science...

Yes, science.

Summoned as Caster, Da Vinci was an elderly scientist who didn't understand magic!

Science and magic were diametrically opposed.

Even in today's world, where thinking was relatively open, mages still looked down on science. Abner was called a heretic for studying science, and Lord El-Melloi II was heavily criticized for passing the time with video games.

Similarly, scientists always tried to explain everything around them with rigid formulas devoid of beauty or mystery. For science, there was nothing that couldn't be explained, only things not yet understood. Therefore, they dismissed all magic-related matters as monstrous illusions and kept their distance, considering them mere fairy tales.

The two were fundamentally different.

Mages believed the world was based on mysticism. Humans understood the laws of mysticism, used the laws of mysticism, and sought to explore the highest realm of mysticism, to understand the "realm of magic" that "humans cannot achieve."

Scientists, on the other hand, believed the world was material and that everything had its laws. They understood and used them. In science, there was nothing that "cannot be done," only things that "have not yet been explained."

Scientists detested the baseless talk of monstrous illusions, and mages felt that those foolish mortals were beyond communication.

A scientist summoned as Caster?!

This was utterly ridiculous. It was like buying a pound of peanuts because you wanted to eat watermelon – completely incomprehensible.

However, it also made sense.

Servants summoned in the Holy Grail War, without the support of Saint Graph, would inevitably be influenced by the Master's quality, summoning Servants comparable to the Master. If it were a top-tier mage, they would naturally summon top-tier Servants. Similarly, conversely...

Karl's quality had now dropped to its lowest point, and even his life was threatened. How could he possibly summon a powerful Servant?

Even in his dying state, he hadn't lost his Master qualifications. And his current state could only summon a Servant that matched it. A "dying" level stat wasn't something you could find just anywhere. Few who were recorded in history as Servants were this weak.

The Holy Grail itself had probably racked its brain before finding a scientist to be Caster, linking all E- stats to "dying."

A dying Master, a mage who didn't understand magic, what a fitting combination!

If there was any combination more perfect than this, it would probably be the combination of Caster Bluebeard and the serial killer Ryunosuke Uryu during the Fourth Holy Grail War.

The person who designed the Holy Grail War system probably never considered such an absurd situation.

It was only now that Tsukahara Meiji finally understood why this Servant's stats were all E-. He shouldn't have been summonable as a Servant in the first place, just as a dying person couldn't normally become a Master. These were all special cases...

Moreover, the Sixth Holy Grail War occurred after the Holy Grail was dismantled... This was clearly also a "special case."

A disturbing special case.

Tsukahara Meiji's head was already spinning.

"Caster?! What kind of magic can you use... Hurry and save him!!"

Just as Tsukahara Meiji was about to ask if he could use healing magic, Da Vinci had already crouched down. Although his figure was hunched, his movements were quite agile, not like an old man.

"This marvelous crystal shard... I see. Is this magic? Hmm, lend it to me."

Before Tsukahara Meiji could react, Da Vinci had snatched the Crystal Playing Card from his hand. Exquisite circuits were faintly outlined on it, forming crisscrossing lines. The old man's withered thumb, like a tree root, slowly and surely traced along the semi-transparent patterns, gliding over the crystal's smooth surface. His gaze was clear, possessing a captivating power, as if he intended to memorize the crystal shard with his eyes.

"Apologies, Master, there are no usable herbs nearby."

Suddenly, Archer's slightly apologetic voice sounded in Tsukahara Meiji's ear, rescuing the boy from his stupefied state. Noticing this, Tsukahara Meiji realized that his Servant was in spirit form, attending to him.

It was normal not to have herbs. This place was developed as an artificial tourist attraction; how could rare medicinal herbs possibly grow here? Would they have specifically selected medicinal herbs to plant during construction? Don't be foolish, think about how much that would cost...

"No, it's nothing, Ro... Archer..."

Tsukahara Meiji mumbled a perfunctory reply to his Servant while focusing all his attention on Caster. He had a very strange feeling, always feeling that this old man possessed a special quality that made people trust him. He felt that he had a convincing magical presence.

If Karl died, Da Vinci, as his Servant, would inevitably die with him. Even for his own sake, he would do his best, right?

Perhaps sensing this expectation, Archer also shifted his gaze to Caster Da Vinci. Seemingly confirming that he posed no threat, she found it too much effort to even draw her bow, so she simply watched from the side.

"I understand. Is this magic?"

In a flash, Da Vinci uttered a sound of realization. His white beard trembled slightly with excitement. The joy of this skeletal, thin old man surged powerfully from his frail body, enthusiastically infecting those around him.

With a forceful grip, his seemingly weak hand crushed Tsukahara Meiji's Crystal Playing Card without hesitation. He then flipped Karl over onto his back. Karl's eyes were now vacant, like a fish stranded on land for too long, suffocating from lack of oxygen...

Karl was probably done for.

The old man's withered hands moved with the agility of a young man. A Servant's appearance was merely a "container." What truly determined their power was "magic capacity," not "lifespan." Although he looked like an old man, Da Vinci's body was still maintained at peak human condition. It was just that with his lack of magic capacity, he couldn't unleash any powerful attacks.

He inserted the crystal fragments into Karl's body in a specific order. The sharp crystal shards pierced his flesh, but no blood flowed out, indicating that Karl's snake venom had reached a fatal level.

(Is this it? The legendary acupoints of China?)

Tsukahara Meiji thought this, staring blankly as Da Vinci skillfully inserted fragments one by one into Karl's body. While he knew about China, being Japanese, his knowledge was limited. As one of the core elements of wuxia novels, he could only say he had a vague understanding of "acupoints."

In fact, Da Vinci was indeed inserting them into Karl's acupoints. Back then, to thoroughly research science and better understand art, Da Vinci had dissected corpses more than once, gaining knowledge of the human muscles, bones, and deeper internals. He was confident in his understanding of the artwork that was "human" – a confidence unmatched by anyone else.

Eastern acupoints had been the core of Traditional Chinese Medicine since ancient times. There was a reason for everything; acupoints were used by TCM practitioners for so long naturally for a scientific reason. Whether it could be explained clearly was one thing; whether it existed was another. Although Da Vinci didn't understand TCM, his accumulated knowledge from his youth allowed him to fully recognize the vital importance of these special points on the human body.

Suddenly, Da Vinci stopped working and nodded slightly, saying, "Is there blood?"

"Yes! Plenty here! How much do you need!"

Hearing his words, there was hope! Tsukahara Meiji rejoiced and quickly rolled up his sleeve, offering his yellow skin.

"Master!"

Archer's voice carried a hint of rage. Who would so casually offer their arm to someone? This was the brachial artery! If that Caster had malicious intent! A single slash could end him!

Archer, in their spiritualized form, frowned... no, when spiritualized, she didn't have a physical brow, it was merely a feeling.

"It's alright, Archer. Karl is my savior. Even if something happens, I'm just repaying him."

On this matter, Tsukahara Meiji was quite open-minded. He jiggled his arm, urging Da Vinci to hurry, as Karl's complexion was worsening...

Da Vinci smiled, a faint, pleasant curve appearing beneath his white beard.

"Not much is needed."

He used a crystal shard to cut Tsukahara Meiji's finger, treating the index finger like a quill. With his blood, he began painting complex Magic Circuits on Karl's chest.

Yes, Magic Circuits.

His hands were fast. In just over ten seconds, a pattern of blood covering Karl's chest was complete. Was it to be expected from a Servant famous for his identity as a painter? Even though he wasn't using ink, and it was a rushed creation, the patterns Da Vinci drew were still filled with artistic beauty.

Having completed everything, Da Vinci nodded with satisfaction in the posture of an artist, examining his work. Beneath his white beard, the aged Servant spoke with an irrefutable certainty:

"Come, Magus, inject your mana into it—my analysis should not be wrong. I've learned a bit of new knowledge... this feeling of fulfillment is truly irresistible."