'Master' and 'Servant'

'Master' and 'Servant'

Once his vision cleared, Luo Zhen found himself in a vast forest.

"..."

The forest was utterly silent. There was not even the slightest sound of birds, beasts, or insects.

"Is this the battlefield this time?"

Luo Zhen quickly swept his gaze across his surroundings.

This was not Luo Zhen's first Simulated Battle.

Therefore, not only did Luo Zhen swiftly adapt to his current situation, but he also knew exactly what would happen next.

"Should be about time for it to be 'summoned,' right?"

Luo Zhen muttered to himself.

As mentioned before, before an undertaking as great as "correcting Human Order," Adaptable Ones who were merely human were quite insignificant.

Adaptable Ones were merely the ones who controlled and gave orders.

Those who truly fought across the ages to correct Human Order were beings far superior to humans.

They were heroes.

They were transcendent beings.

In the past, they had left behind all manner of great achievements in this world, becoming legends.

After death, these great legends ascended into beings similar to "spirits" through their achievements. They became known as "Heroic Spirits" and were recorded within the "Throne" located on the world's surface.

Only such beings were true warriors.

And Chaldea possessed a system capable of summoning the Heroic Spirits within the "Throne" and having them form contracts with qualified Adaptable Ones.

The Heroic Spirit Summoning System—"Fate."

Those who formed contracts with Heroic Spirits through this system and gained the right to command them were known as—"Masters."

Those who descended from Heroic Spirits, becoming familiars commanded by Masters, were known as—"Servants."

All Magi capable of becoming Adaptable Ones possessed the qualifications to become Masters.

Luo Zhen was among the best of them.

The next second, a mechanical prompt sounded.

Initiating Heroic Spirit Summoning System: Fate.

Once the prompt vanished from the world, a dazzling Magic Circle suddenly spun into existence before Luo Zhen and appeared on the ground.

"Here it comes?"

As he watched the dazzling Magic Circle, Luo Zhen could not help but be captivated.

No matter how many times he saw it, he was still utterly enthralled by it.

The exquisite patterns, the beautiful geometric shapes, the magical significance contained within them, and the surging mana rolling before him all set the heart of Luo Zhen, a Magus, ablaze.

After all, it was a miracle that a mere Magus could never accomplish alone.

After all, it was a broad path leading toward the truth of the world.

No Magus could turn a blind eye to such Mystery.

Not to mention that Luo Zhen was a Magus "devoted to this path."

"When will I be able to complete a 'summoning' of this level with my own power?"

As Luo Zhen murmured dreamily, a figure gradually took shape within the dazzling Magic Circle and its radiant light.

Servant Summoning: Complete.
Contracted Servant: Archer.
Battle Time: 30 minutes.
Simulated Battle: Begin.

The prompts faded away, and the Magic Circle gradually disappeared as well, leaving behind the fully formed figure.

The moment Luo Zhen saw the figure standing before him, the heat in his heart ebbed away like a receding tide.

The reason was simple: the summoned Servant before him made it impossible for him to maintain that excitement.

Its entire body was shrouded in black mist. Only its outline revealed a humanoid shape; every other part was nothing but black mana. Rather than a person, it resembled a shadow.

Staring at it, Luo Zhen first let out a breath, then sighed in disappointment.

"As expected, can Fate only summon Servants of this level right now?"

Although Chaldea possessed the Heroic Spirit Summoning System, Heroic Spirits were historical legends residing upon the "Throne." Summoning them as familiars, as Servants, and commanding them was hardly so easy.

According to Chaldea's records, the Heroic Spirit Summoning System had apparently only successfully summoned Servants three times.

It was said that those three Servants currently lived in Chaldea, yet no one knew where they were active.

Even Luo Zhen, who had lived in Chaldea for three full years, only knew one of them and the whereabouts of another. As for the third, he had not even heard any rumors. That one was incredibly mysterious.

Given that, it was naturally not easy to casually summon and command Heroic Spirits in a Simulated Battle.

At most, the Servant summoned before him was merely the "shadow" of one Heroic Spirit on the "Throne," something like a degraded, mindless remnant or duplicate that possessed only a small fraction of its power.

"Though it may be little, it's still far stronger than an ordinary Magus. If I faced it, I'd probably be killed in just a few moves, right?"

Luo Zhen steadied his slightly disappointed mood and consoled himself instead.

"Besides, an Archer Class Servant is advantageous for me."

Heroic Spirits were beings separated from the flow of time and could be summoned into any era, whether past or future.

Coupled with their immense power, Heroic Spirits could serve as warriors for restoring Human Order and were regarded by Chaldea as an important combat asset.

However, summoning the true bodies of Heroic Spirits recorded upon the "Throne" was an extremely difficult task. For humans, there was almost no way to accomplish it.

Therefore, humans could only summon Servants, their incarnations.

The power of Heroic Spirits summoned by such means would be fixed in a single direction.

For example, a Heroic Spirit who could wield both sword and spear in life, bringing out one hundred percent of their power, would only obtain either the sword or the spear upon manifesting as a Servant, and could only display the power of that one weapon.

This direction of power determined the Servant's Class.

Thus, when a Heroic Spirit manifested, it would first obtain a "Spirit Core" as its heart. Centered around that Spirit Core, the Servant would form a body constructed from mana and gain a vessel known as a "Class," thereby materializing.

This Class, this vessel, was what was known as a "Saint Graph."

It determined how much of the Servant's power in life they would possess and which Class they could manifest as.

Accordingly, the larger and broader a Saint Graph was, the stronger and more formidable that Servant would be.

Generally speaking, Servants were divided into seven Classes.

—"Saber."

—"Archer."

—"Lancer."

—"Rider."

—"Caster."

—"Assassin."

—"Berserker."

The Servant Luo Zhen commanded was Archer, a Class skilled in long-range combat and equipped with powerful projectile weapons.

"For me, the Servants I most hope to obtain are Archer, Caster, and Assassin."

Because Servants of those three Classes were the easiest to coordinate with Luo Zhen's abilities.

Several tactics immediately flashed through Luo Zhen's mind. Then he crouched halfway down, pressed one finger to the ground, and closed his eyes.

"Magic Circuits, activate."

Within Luo Zhen's body, the "switch" that produced "power" was flipped.

PS: Congratulations to "Winter Melon Who Eats Sheep," "Lonely Lactic Acid," and "I'm Called The Count, Nice to Meet You" for becoming this book's first three Alliance Leaders! You big spenders! Let me hug your thighs!