The Summoning System That Held Me Back

Chapter 12: The Summoning System That Held Him Back

Leff's teasing words made Olga Marie somewhat irritated.

"Who do you think I am? Of course I can tell!"

Olga Marie snorted coldly, her eyes fixed on Luo Zhen's simulated battle as if she were glaring at him, and she spoke in a low voice.

"He's sharing his senses with his familiar, isn't he?"

That was right.

Luo Zhen was sharing his senses with his familiar.

In this situation, the familiars he had summoned and scattered throughout the forest became his eyes and ears—everything they saw and heard was fed back to him.

This wasn't anything astonishing.

Sharing senses with a familiar wasn't unusual; most magi who possessed familiars could do it.

The problem was that Luo Zhen wasn't just sharing senses with a single familiar, but with hundreds, even thousands of them.

"The sights and sounds of hundreds or thousands of familiars all flood back into his mind, giving him hundreds of times the sensory input, and yet he doesn't go insane—that's truly remarkable."

Leff remarked with admiration.

"What's more, Luo Zhen perfectly commands all those familiars, having them complete reconnaissance and even lure the enemy. This level of control is impossible not to respect."

That was why Luo Zhen had mapped out the entire forest's terrain in an extremely short time, located a large number of enemies within it, and exploited their low intelligence by using flocks of birds as familiars to lure almost all of them toward the high ground he had scouted.

Thus, those Lizardmen all became targets in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle.

"If Luo Zhen's Servant had been summoned in the normal way, it would be able to use its 'Noble Phantasm,' right?" Leff said with a smile. "If it could use its Noble Phantasm, then with his abilities, he could definitely devise even better tactics."

—Noble Phantasm.

That was the strongest armament held by Heroic Spirits, the trump card mentioned in that Heroic Spirit's legends.

All Heroic Spirits possessed the Noble Phantasms they had in life, and those Noble Phantasms had the same performance, power, and effects as described in their legends.

Sometimes they were weapons, sometimes shields, ornaments, or even the ultimate techniques they themselves used—the true trump card that could decide the outcome of a battle.

If a Heroic Spirit wasn't particularly strong, only at the level of a Top-Level Familiar, but its Noble Phantasm was exceptionally powerful, it could still defeat a Servant at the level of a Top-Level Familiar.

That was the kind of overwhelming, comeback-making power a Noble Phantasm possessed.

Depending on its strength, Noble Phantasms were ranked.

From high to low, they were divided into five ranks: A, B, C, D, and E.

If expressed numerically, E-rank was roughly "10," increasing by "10" with each rank. So D-rank was "20," C-rank was "30," B-rank was "40," and A-rank was "50."

In that context, even if one was a Top-Level Familiar, if the opponent lacked a powerful Noble Phantasm while one had a high-rank one, it was possible to turn the tables and settle the match in a single blow.

However, Noble Phantasm ranks sometimes came with a "+" concept.

For example, "A+" or "B+" meant it could instantly double in power.

C-rank was originally "30."

But C+ rank could double in an instant, surging to "60," surpassing A-rank's "50."

That was the meaning of "+."

Beyond that, there was also "++," meaning an instant triple, and if "+++" existed, that would be quadruple—so strong it was beyond compare.

Incidentally, above A-rank was Ex-rank.

That meant it was too strong to compare meaningfully. In numerical terms, it was "50" or above, outside the A-to-E range.

Of course, if there was a "+" doubling effect, for example, A+ rank was "100" and Ex-rank was also "100," they could be equal—Ex-rank wasn't necessarily stronger than A-rank.

In any case, no matter what, a Noble Phantasm was an extremely important decisive weapon for a Heroic Spirit. Even when summoned as a Servant, the Noble Phantasm would accompany the class.

For example, if Luo Zhen's Servant had the Archer class, then that bow was likely its Noble Phantasm.

Perhaps in life, that Heroic Spirit had Noble Phantasms other than the bow, like a sword, but the Servant manifested as Archer wouldn't possess a sword Noble Phantasm unless it was a special case.

That was the fixed direction of manifestation as a Servant. A Servant of the Archer class would naturally be limited to the bowman's domain.

"It's a pity that the Servants summoned in simulated battles have no will, their abilities are greatly reduced, and they can't even use their trump card Noble Phantasms."

Leff spoke with a tone that was hard to tell if it was regret or resignation.

"If they could perfectly summon Servants in simulated battles, then Masters could get more thorough training and accumulate a wealth of experience, couldn't they?"

That wasn't all.

If they could truly summon real Servants, Chaldea could have greater, stronger, and more numerous combat power.

Then, the restoration of the Human Order could proceed more smoothly.

In other words...

"Chaldea still has many shortcomings." Leff narrowed his eyes and spoke to Olga Marie with a meaningful tone. "If they don't work hard, it might be Chaldea that holds back this talented Master, you know?"

"Tch..." Olga Marie bit her nail again, as if struck in a sore spot.

Luo Zhen's outstanding quality was enough to make people think that way.

That was precisely why Olga Marie grew even more irritated.

"With such excellent qualities, why can't he just take things seriously?"

This frustration brewed in Olga Marie's heart, a sense of disappointment at wasted potential.

Then...

(Or... could it be that you simply...)

As if recalling something, Olga Marie's face paled slightly.

Just then, Leff beside her suddenly raised an eyebrow.

"It seems Luo Zhen has finally run into a bit of trouble."

Leff's words snapped Olga Marie back to reality, and she quickly turned to look at the screen.

There, around the tree where Luo Zhen was perched, the Lizardmen that had been encircling him had finally arrived.

"Still, isn't the number a bit too much?" Leff remarked, beginning to understand.

Archer's arrows were limited after all. If he sniped them one by one, it was only natural that some would slip through and close in on his sniping point.

With that, combined with the sheer number of enemies, the encirclement was inevitable.

"Luring too many foes isn't always a good thing," Leff commented.

Olga Marie, on the other hand, had calmed down.

"It's fine. With his abilities, this level of trouble shouldn't be a problem," she stated with certainty.

PS: (Third update of the day delivered once again! Three updates totaling 6000 words during the new book period! Even Ru Qing can be called diligent, right? I hope friends will show more support! Recommendations! Clicks! Bookmarks!)