Caster Mom!

"Cackle, cackle, cackle!"

In the room, which had become somewhat livelier with the increased number of people, Luvia's teeth-grinding could be heard from time to time.

Watching Tohsaka Rin chatting and laughing with Emiya Shirou as they cooked together in the kitchen, she suddenly wondered if she should learn some cooking herself.

Tohsaka Rin had her hair tied in a ponytail and looked valiant and dashing. This was not her first time cooking with Emiya Shirou either, and she was highly practiced at it.

When Illya and Miyu came downstairs and saw the scene, they too were full of surprise. Miyu in particular froze completely upon seeing Emiya Shirou's face, unable to stop herself from murmuring two words.

"Big brother."

They were all people with stories. The thing called fate linked them all together, and it seemed that no one could escape fate's arrangements, except—

Mo Shuying!

"Intentional Blast Punch!!"

Covered in blood, Mo Shuying raised his hand and unleashed his strongest punch! The Heroic Spirit Value he had accumulated to the maximum due to his injuries flooded into his fist in an instant! Carrying an unstoppable momentum, a wind cannon formed entirely from the force of his punch roared forth!

"Boom!!"

"Roar!!"

The four-meter-tall Obsidian Gargoyle had its chest punched straight through.

"Crack!"

The massive hole, over a meter in diameter, directly destroyed the gargoyle's core. Deprived of its core, the gargoyle lost all power. Its enormous body began to crack and shatter, eventually turning into a pile of rubble.

"Whew!! Finally got it!"

After defeating the gargoyle, Mo Shuying dropped onto the ground and panted. He had fought this gargoyle for half an hour before finally taking it down.

Then came the rewards.

The full 400 experience points made Mo Shuying level up once more. He was now level 17.

His injuries recovered completely amid a burst of light. The healing from leveling up was still incredibly useful.

Next came the Daily Quest reward, which meant this gargoyle had been the final batch of invading monsters for the day.

"Ah, I'm so tired. This is even more exhausting than working 997! I'm on call twenty-four hours a day without a single day off all year! No, no more! Boss! Boss, are you there?! I want to take leave, Boss!"

The one Mo Shuying was calling for was naturally the Voice of the World, but obviously no one paid him any attention. He was just shouting nonsense.

The statues nearby continued to vanish, leaving only a black skill crystal behind.

"A Skill Stone? Not bad, not bad!"

The moment he saw there was loot, Mo Shuying sprang to his feet, went over, picked up the Skill Stone, and tapped to learn it.

[Magic Resistance B]

Gain magic-resistant skin. C-rank magic will be ineffective against you, while B-rank magic will have its power reduced by 50%. Magic above B-rank can be resisted to a small degree.

This skill was pretty good. It was the highest-ranked skill Mo Shuying had gotten so far, and it was extremely useful to him.

Mo Shuying had long noticed his weakness. He had plenty of health and strong defense, but his magic resistance was not high. That morning, when he fought a Flame Serpent Bird, he had been burned terribly. He had not expected to solve that problem by nightfall.

With this skill, Mo Shuying believed that if he encountered a Flame Serpent Bird again, he could charge through its flames and tear the bird apart. It would feel absolutely amazing.

Thinking about how he now possessed resistance to magic, Mo Shuying could not help turning his gaze toward Ryuudou Temple.

After obtaining five Class Cards, Mo Shuying discovered that his Singularity space had continued expanding, growing nearly five times larger than before.

As a result, more than half of Fuyuki City now fell within his range of activity. Ryuudou Temple, which he had previously only been able to reach at the edge of his territory, was now fully enclosed within it.

However—

Only the surrounding mountains could manifest. Ryuudou Temple atop the peak, along with a vast stretch of land behind it, had not appeared at all, as though some mysterious force had gouged them deeply out of existence.

Mo Shuying had some guesses. Ryuudou Temple was where the ley lines converged, and its magical energy was powerful. Perhaps the magic was simply too strong, or perhaps it was due to Caster Mom's arrangements. In any case, he could not see it.

He had tried approaching it, but the moment he did, that terrifying mental force warned him away, stopping him from proceeding any farther.

But today—

"Let's investigate again."

Having grown stronger once more, Mo Shuying gained a bit of confidence. Ryuudou Temple, a magical convergence point in Fuyuki City, was undoubtedly an extremely important place. If possible, he wanted to figure it out.

And so—

More than ten minutes later, Mo Shuying stood at the foot of the mountain, activated Presence Concealment, and climbed the steps one by one.

Ryuudou Temple was built on a mountain with a pleasant environment. The mountain was not high, and he soon reached the summit. Before him lay only an illusory expanse, like the fog-covered unexplored area of a game map.

Mo Shuying waved his hand and summoned a Swift Wolf. The Swift Wolf howled and charged inside. Then there was nothing—until the Swift Wolf soon poked its head out of the mist, signaling to Mo Shuying that it was safe.

"Why is everything going so smoothly today??"

Mo Shuying was somewhat wary. In the past, he would receive a mental warning even when standing at the foot of the mountain. Yet today, he had reached the summit without encountering anything that tried to stop him. That was not normal.

After thinking it over, Mo Shuying decided to test it himself. The Swift Wolf was fine, so he should be fine too.

"Tap~"

Mo Shuying dismissed the Swift Wolf and took a step forward. He entered the mist, and immediately felt solid ground beneath his feet. Surprise filled Mo Shuying's eyes, because he had arrived in the front courtyard of an ancient temple.

"Is this... Ryuudou Temple?"

Mo Shuying muttered as he looked over the surrounding buildings. The moment he finished speaking—

"That's right. This is Ryuudou Temple."

Mo Shuying turned to look into the sky and saw a cloaked woman slowly descending. Her cloak spread like bat wings, several purple magic circles spinning across it as they carried her through the air.

"Medea."

Mo Shuying spoke instinctively. The cloaked woman paused slightly before breaking into a smile.

"Heh, you actually know me."

"Ah, I'd heard a little about you."

Mo Shuying scratched his cheek, not expecting to run into the real Caster Mom here.

At that moment, Medea slowly landed. Hecate's Staff lightly touched the ground, and countless skeletal Dragon Tooth Warriors immediately burst from the earth around them. Armed with all kinds of weapons, they stood at the ready, prepared to attack at any moment.

"Since you know me, that makes things easier. Let me tell you this: you have already set foot in my territory. I'm just a housewife who wants to live in seclusion now. I don't want conflicts with anyone. Leave, and I'll pretend nothing happened."

After the last Holy Grail War, Medea had somehow obtained a body and survived. For the past few years, she had been living with her Master. Though they were not married, they were already a real husband and wife in all but name.

She loved this peaceful life and did not want anyone disturbing it.

Mo Shuying glanced at the Dragon Tooth Warriors. In terms of strength, they were probably no more than a single punch for him. But what concerned him was Caster Mom.

He could clearly sense that Medea seemed to have become one with Ryuudou Temple. This was Caster's unique skill, Territory Creation, which could turn an area into a battlefield best suited to herself.

Fighting Medea in such an area would undoubtedly put him at a considerable disadvantage. Mo Shuying was just about to retreat when—

"Medea, who is he?"

The inner gate of Ryuudou Temple opened, and Medea's Master and husband, the public school teacher Souichirou Kuzuki, appeared, his cold gaze fixed on Mo Shuying.