Chapter 40

Saving one person is saving one person—that was his value.

"In this timeline, you and your lord were not lord and vassal but friends, which gave rise to the miracle of a friend's promise bringing you back for one night. The Seven Star Lantern was merely a trigger; your return relied on your own will."

As Zhuge Liang said, Fujimaru Kyoya's brief resurrection at this moment was not solely due to the Seven Star Lantern, but also the talent known as "Last Will."

A gentleman's promise, unbroken even unto death.

Even if trapped in hell, Fujimaru Kyoya would return as long as there was a chance.

"The sky... is growing light."

Zhuge Liang's vision blurred; he could barely see anything now. Killing Sima Yi had drained his last breath.

Fujimaru Kyoya's figure also began to fade.

"Take care."

Zhuge Liang struggled to rise and bowed to Fujimaru Kyoya with clasped hands.

"Take care."

Returning the bow, Fujimaru Kyoya dissolved into mist and vanished within the military tent.

That day, a star fell at Wuzhang Plains.

Later generations lamented Zhuge Liang's death, but Zhuge Liang smiled—even unto death, he was still smiling.

Chapter 70: Let Future Generations Judge Right and Wrong

"Kyoya, you bastard actually reading a book? That's weird as hell."

Matou Shinji looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Was the world going to end tomorrow? Because Fujimaru Kyoya showing up in a library was about as likely as a Resident Evil outbreak.

"Is it really that exaggerated? I'm just looking up some materials."

Fujimaru Kyoya glanced at the copy of Records of the Three Kingdoms in his hand, while also scanning the information displayed on the simulator.

[You have died.]
[You have completed the ending "Star Falls at Wuzhang Plains." You may draw one of three basic talents.]
[Begin drawing, please wait... Drawing complete.]
[You have obtained the talent "Ghost Brain."]
[You have inherited the talent "Non-form."]

After finishing this simulation, Fujimaru Kyoya had hastily bid farewell to Kishinami Hakuno and rushed straight to the Fuyuki City library, all for the sake of this set of Records of the Three Kingdoms in his hands.

Pages flipped. As Fujimaru Kyoya's eyes swept over the words, even without trying to memorize them, a stream of information poured into his mind, gradually becoming inescapable.

Damn, was this "Ghost Brain" some kind of learning cheat? Zhao Tian's whole life without reading a single book—what a colossal waste.

Fujimaru Kyoya was basically "quantum reading" right now, yet he still remembered everything he saw vividly. Getting into the University of Tokyo in this life probably wouldn't be a problem.

No wait, my first choice can only be Hogwarts.

"What's the point of reading like that? If you want to ask something, just ask me directly, right?"

Matou Shinji couldn't stand Fujimaru Kyoya "wasting" books like this, so he snatched the book back. He knew the Three Kingdoms content by heart.

"What was the outcome of the Battle of Changbanpo?"

"You're asking that?"

Matou Shinji immediately looked at Fujimaru Kyoya like he was an idiot.

"In Luo Guanzhong's novel, Zhao Yun charged in and out seven times to rescue A Dou. But in the official history, Zhao Yun single-handedly held off five thousand Cao troops, buying Lady Gan and Lady Mi a chance to escape."

Even Matou Shinji couldn't help but marvel at this point—who the hell was fiction and who was history?

That piece of history was so exaggerated that many questioned its authenticity. Instead, Luo Guanzhong's novel balanced the disparity, and the dramatic "seven charges and seven exits" presentation gained wider acceptance.

"What about Sima Yi?"

"He lived a long life in the novel, but in the official history, he died at Wuzhang Plains by a scheme Zhuge Liang left before his death."

Matou Shinji couldn't help but sigh. Such a small place as Wuzhang Plains had claimed two great figures at once—truly lamentable.

"I see."

Fujimaru Kyoya took back the Records of the Three Kingdoms. He naturally didn't remember when the Sima Clan usurped the throne or when their dynasty fell, but when he flipped to the Battle of Yiling and saw Liu Bei being rescued, he still couldn't help but sigh.

Those one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred men of Zhuge Liang's—they were probably saved, after all.

The broad strokes of history hadn't changed much, but some details had indeed deviated—proof that Zhuge Liang and he had once been there.

What an interesting simulator.

"By the way, you set aside some money for me, right? I'm thinking of taking some out now."

"Money? You really don't want to keep it? I counted it as your Technology Shareholding, you know."

Matou Shinji looked at Fujimaru Kyoya. This kid had been acting all mysterious lately, hanging out with Tohsaka Rin—was he planning to step into the world of Magecraft?

"Kyoya, you should know yourself. Once that crisis of '08 hits, the prospects for Cryptocurrency will be huge."

Back when Fujimaru Kyoya had pointed out the Subprime Crisis of '08, and Matou Shinji had confirmed it, Fujimaru Kyoya had then brought up the concept of Cryptocurrency.

In short, after that economic crisis, many people grew suspicious of the US Dollar and planned to establish a decentralized currency.

If Matou Shinji could have introduced such a currency immediately after the crisis, whether he expanded the concept of cryptocurrency or cashed out and left, he would have reaped enormous profits.

This was the "Technology Shareholding" Matou Shinji had proposed. Now, Fujimaru Kyoya, in order to train in magecraft, intended to take out that money.

"Money is something I only need enough of. Right now, I've reached the point where it's not enough."

"Not enough? You're not saying..."

"Indeed. Lately, I've been learning magecraft from Tohsaka."

Although magecraft was a secret that needed to be hidden, the man before him also came from a magus lineage, so Fujimaru Kyoya didn't conceal it.

"You... ah~ I'll prepare the money for you. But don't become too much of a magus, Kyoya."

"I know. Then I'll leave it to you."

Fujimaru Kyoya left, and Matou Shinji let out a breath.

"Really, a guy who's good at everything. If it were before, I might have been mad with jealousy."

Matou Shinji said with self-deprecation.

Born into a magus family, he had no talent to become a magus himself. Without Magic Circuits, it was essentially certain he had no aptitude on the path of a magus. But...

"Finally here?"

Matou Shinji looked at a woman in the distance carrying a long, narrow box. This was the person he had been waiting for—a Grand Puppeteer.

"Matou-kun? Truly... unexpectedly young."

Aozaki Touko looked at the Matou Shinji before her. She hadn't expected the one with so many ingenious ideas to be such a young man.

Though it could be some old thing in disguise, couldn't it?

"You flatter me. The reason I sought out Miss Aozaki this time is mainly for that matter."

"Artificial Magic Circuits? Quite a bold concept."

Aozaki Touko drew a Rune in midair, and a Bystander-Repelling Barrier appeared.

"Not Artificial Magic Circuits, but a substitute for Magic Circuits."

Matou Shinji had scoured the books in his house, so he wouldn't make such a basic mistake. What was called magical energy was merely a form of life force. Since Matou Shinji was still alive, it meant there was magical energy within his body.

What he lacked now was the thing to stimulate that magical energy—Magic Circuits.

"Magic Circuits are, in the end, just simulated nerves that act as a filter connecting the Minor Source within the body to the Great Source of the world. There's no reason this thing has to exist inside the body."

An External Organ.

Aozaki Touko had heard of such theories, but the risks were enormous. However, for something like Magic Circuits, which didn't exist for ordinary people, even if something went wrong, it wouldn't be too troublesome.

"The key is stability."

Aozaki Touko didn't deny Matou Shinji's talent. This was indeed an unexplored field.

For magi, "secrecy" was of utmost importance.

No one would be idle enough to research artificial circuits that let ordinary people use magecraft. Now, Aozaki Touko might be stepping into that territory.

"Agreeing to a job that might let ordinary people learn magecraft—what's in it for me?"

As a magus, Aozaki Touko had no reason to do such a thankless task.

"What's your meaning?"

"The price goes up."

Chapter 71: My Jewel Magecraft Is a Bit Strange

"Bang~"

The sound of combat came from the courtyard of the Fuyuki Church. Kirei Kotomine briefly clashed head-on with Fujimaru Kyoya. Though his face was expressionless, his hands were completely numb.

"Wait."

Seeing that Fujimaru Kyoya intended to continue fighting, Kirei Kotomine quickly stopped him. Otherwise, this senior uncle of his would make a huge fool of himself today.

"Winning through hand-to-hand combat is a method only a 'heretic' like me would use. What truly determines a magus's achievement is their skill in magecraft."

"That's right. Jewel Magecraft isn't such a barbaric thing."

Tohsaka Rin chimed in from the side, though watching Fujimaru Kyoya's self-created "Exploding Stone Magecraft" these past few days had made her a bit tempted as well.

"Fine. I've also created a magecraft of my own recently."

Fujimaru Kyoya's words piqued Tohsaka Rin's curiosity. Changing small details of a magecraft hardly counted as creating one from scratch.

"Interesting. Show me."

The clothes Kirei Kotomine wore were blessed by the Church, and his Magic Resistance was top-notch for this era. If Fujimaru Kyoya was using magecraft, it should be easy enough to handle.

Fujimaru Kyoya reluctantly took out a Cat's Eye gem. Back when he played mobile games, he had always adhered to the "free-to-play" principle. He never thought he would end up walking the path of a Whale.

Magical energy was the expression of life force; Magic Circuits were the simulated nerves unique to magi.

These were all parts of Fujimaru Kyoya's body, and the "Ghost Brain" had nearly one hundred percent control over his body.

Fujimaru Kyoya's Magic Circuits activated, surges of Mana beginning to stir. Then, with a burst of strength from his arm, he directly crushed the expensive Cat's Eye gem.

"Jewel Shotgun."

Kyoya flung the crushed Cat's Eye fragments outward. The immense force sent them hurtling toward Kirei Kotomine, and that wasn't the end—the fine dust exploded upon contact with Kotomine.

"Boom~"

A massive cloud of smoke rose. If not for the Magecraft nearby that warded off ordinary people, they'd surely have drawn a crowd.

"Nice."

"Nice my ass. That's not Jewel Magecraft at all."

Tohsaka Rin could see it clearly. This so-called "Jewel Shotgun" was nothing more than cramming a huge amount of Mana into shattered Cat's Eye fragments, destabilizing their internal structure, and triggering an explosion.

Sure, the power was decent, but this had nothing to do with "elegance."

Rin began to regret everything. Kyoya's existence would be a stain on the Tohsaka family's history—their generations-old Jewel Magecraft was about to become "Exploding Stone Magecraft."

"Cough, cough~ What an interesting Magecraft. Where did you draw inspiration for this style?"

Compared to Rin's speechless exasperation, Kotomine—who had taken the hit head-on—had more authority to comment. This unconventional Magecraft might not be "elegant," but its destructive power was far from negligible.

It reminded Kotomine of a man already dead—Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Inspiration? Probably... from Imitation Fist."

That has nothing to do with Imitation Fist.

Not just Rin, even Kotomine silently complained in his mind.

"Imitation Fist is a boxing style that mimics animals. But I figure a pistol is way more powerful than any animal, right? So why not just imitate a gun instead?"

"How can a human imitate a machine, you idiot."