Arrived in the Type-Moon World, Now Out of Contact Author: Journey to the West
Synopsis
System—a lofty, high-end term. The golden thigh among cheat abilities. A mass producer of overpowered players.
Just as Li Zihan discovered that he had a system backing him and was overwhelmed with joy, he received a message from it.
This system will soon shut down due to insufficient energy. Host, work harder and collect enough energy as soon as possible to restart the system.
Starting Today, I'm a Master
Late twentieth century, Fuso, Fuyuki City.
It was afternoon. The sky was dark, and the air damp and stifling. Before long, icy raindrops fell from layers upon layers of cumulus clouds, followed by wind and storm alike. The crystalline, immaculate raindrops descended into the jungle of steel and concrete, gradually taking on the city's gray hue before flowing through man-made channels into the world beneath the city.
Perhaps because of the weather, the streets that had once been bustling were sparsely populated. The few pedestrians there were hurried along like worker ants rushing back to their nests. The city, never especially lively to begin with, appeared even lonelier now, even somewhat desolate.
If a traveler from another land passed through here, they would surely be disappointed. In weather like this, they could not possibly experience the charm of the East. They would only feel utterly out of place beneath this sky, consumed by loneliness.
"Fuyuki City is absolutely wonderful." A clear voice rang out on Fuyuki Bridge, shattering the silence broken only by rainfall. A slender youth held a black oil-paper umbrella resembling one from the Tang or Muromachi era in one hand and carried a silver-white suitcase in the other. He leaned halfway over the bridge railing, his excitement plain and his delight overflowing.
Well, a big forest had all kinds of birds, and humanity had several billion people. There would always be people with strange tastes—or scrambled brains.
Li Zihan was in a very good mood. He had been in a very good mood even before arriving in Fuyuki. He was about to bid farewell to his miserable life and embrace a bright future of infinite possibilities. How could he not be thrilled?
As a transmigrator, Li Zihan's habits and values from his previous life differed ever so slightly from those of the local powers in this world. A few disagreements had arisen, then a few conflicts. Well, minor conflicts. Then he had no choice but to leave his school, receive a Sealing Designation, and get chased for several months by some half-baked magus over a few other issues.
It was a sad story. Fortunately, it was about to come to a perfect end. There was nothing left to fear. A white—white and beautiful tomorrow awaited him.
Every scene reflected one's emotions, and joyous events lifted the spirit. If someone threw Li into Siberia or the Sahara now, he would find the scenery majestic or gorgeous, then break into song.
"Berserker, what do you think of the scenery here?" the youth asked the empty air beside him. If anyone noticed his behavior, they would probably question his mental state.
No one answered him. Or rather, no being answered him.
Li shrugged. It would have been stranger if Berserker, who possessed no reason, had responded. His Servant was not some anomaly like Kiyohime. Though he would have loved to summon a beautiful young woman like Kiyohime, with fair skin, a lovely face, and long legs, the Holy Grail War this time was rather intense. The Masters involved included, but were not limited to, a major local landowner from Fuyuki, a once-in-a-century serial killer, a war dog with no bottom line whatsoever, and a Clock Tower Lord who had been enhanced.
This was not the Holy Grail War at Homurahara Academy ten years later. For the sake of his own life, it was better to summon someone who could actually fight. Unfortunately, Li Zihan did not possess any Holy Relics capable of summoning those especially formidable beautiful girls. He could not have a gorgeous queen carry a bronze-tier noob like him to victory.
The Holy Grail War, also known as the Broken Cup War or the Rigged Match War, was a battle over the "Holy Grail," which could grant its holder's wish. Seven troublemaking magi summoned seven heroes from history to slaughter one another, working together to create a peaceful and friendly Fuyuki City. Every time it was held, several magi died on Fuyuki's streets, yet a bunch of blockheads still showed up on schedule to join the free-for-all.
The Holy Grail was a miraculous relic born from the legend of Christ. Within Christianity, many tales circulated of travelers seeking the Holy Grail.
Of course, Fuyuki City's broken cup was not a relic of that Holy Son. If it were, the fanatics of the Holy Church would surely "kindly" send these heretics, who used sacred relics as tools to conduct magecraft rituals, to meet the great Lord.
The process might be a little painful. They would probably be nailed to crosses and sent into cremation furnaces, their ashes scattered afterward.
Fortunately, this Holy Grail was a counterfeit. Thus, the magi did not need to worry about suddenly appearing Holy Church Executors beating them into crippled wrecks. They could focus wholeheartedly on tearing into their peers, lifting the All-Works Cauldron, and reaching the Root.
Unfortunately, on this timeline, countless people had died on the road to the Holy Grail, while the number of magi who had obtained the All-Works Cauldron was zero. One could not help wondering whether the Holy Grail War was something the Holy Church had invented solely to mess with magi.
Still, every occurrence took out a few magi who spent all day trying to stir up trouble. From a social perspective, perhaps the Holy Grail War was not such a bad thing.
As a transmigrator, Li Zihan naturally knew the truth about that Holy Grail. Relying on that broken cup to grant wishes was less useful than praying at the Holy Church. Perhaps God might hear your wish and lend you a hand.
Yet even knowing everything, Li Zihan had still joined the battle for the broken cup.
There was only one reason: the system was almost out of power.
Yes, the system was out of power. More precisely, it had shut down fifteen years ago. It booted up, handed out a gift package, kicked the bucket, and shut down. Then it left a message on its black screen: "This system has forcibly shut down due to insufficient energy. Host, work harder and collect Exotic Energy to restart the system." After that, the screen went completely black. The entire sequence had been smooth and efficient, so cleanly executed that Li began to question his life.
Coach, this was completely different from the promised formula. Wasn't the organization supposed to have chosen me to become an overpowered protagonist, showing off and slapping faces in another world? Shouldn't I have started martial arts at one, beaten ten-year veteran masters at three, and single-handedly thrashed Konoha jonin at five? System, what was I supposed to do when you kicked the bucket so early?
Before you continue