Miraculous Forger

"It's not difficult, but you'll have to prepare the traits yourself." Chen Li nodded.

Everyone heard that—Matou Zouken had asked for this himself.

Wouldn't that make him even more convenient to use as a self-destructing bug?

"No problem." Matou Zouken nodded immediately.

"Then let's sign the contract. I'll forge a miraculous item that grants you longevity and immortality. In exchange, you'll give me your eligibility to participate in the Holy Grail War and that little girl, intact. You'll also provide the necessary resources for my participation in the Holy Grail War and agree to let me travel to your world at any time. How about it?" Chen Li said, taking out the Forced Transaction Coin.

"What will you do after coming to my world?" Matou Zouken asked after a moment of silence.

"You still care about that? As long as I don't destroy the world or kill you after going there, would you really worry about what happens to anyone else?" Chen Li sneered.

"..."

"If you don't agree, I'll find someone else. If you don't want miraculous items—"

"Deal." Matou Zouken agreed before Chen Li could even finish.

You really know how to read people!

A faint golden glow radiated from the Forced Transaction Coin, signaling that the transaction had been completed.

"Then hurry up and cultivate bugs with the best possible degeneration or transformation effects. The more successful your cultivation is, the less I'll have to spend, and the lower the fee will be. If you can't cultivate top-tier ones, then cultivate several that are merely decent. The Holy Grail War starts in a year, right? Then I'll see you in eleven months." Chen Li waved a hand.

"...See you." Matou Zouken had wanted to smile and leave a good impression, but he found that he simply could not smile.

By the time he snapped out of it, Chen Li had already ended the video call.

"It's finally over." Matou Zouken could no longer maintain his somewhat amiable expression, though he also let out a sigh of relief.

No matter what the other party's attitude had been, at least the deal had been made.

As for that Tohsaka Sakura... no, Matou Sakura, she could stay with the Tohsaka Family for a while longer.

Though Matou Zouken did not dislike his own home, he knew its environment did not seem particularly suitable for a child's upbringing.

Especially since Chen Li wanted the little girl intact.

"It's finally over. I accidentally made myself sound like a pervert who likes little girls." Chen Li had a bit of a headache.

But it was fine. He had intended to trick Matou Zouken from the start, so there was no need to care about his reputation.

As long as someone died or became a good person, they would not speak ill of him.

"Oh, right." Thinking of this, Chen Li hurriedly added Jiantong as a contact and sent another message.

My name is Sparkle.

But then again, he could not completely ignore his reputation.

Let Sparkle suffer a little. He would share some merit with her later.

Although Chen Li had never met Sparkle, he was certain that Sparkle must be lacking in virtue.

His willingness to share some merit with her was proof of his kindness.

"Overall, this transaction was fairly successful. Not only did I get the Old Worm to provide the traits himself, I also secured the chance to travel to his world and eligibility for the Holy Grail War. Oh, and I saved a little girl too."

Chen Li increasingly felt that the attitude he had taken toward the Old Worm was the correct way for a Miraculous Forger to operate.

The Type-Moon World had many good things, especially for a Miraculous Forger.

Whether it was Heroic Spirit Noble Phantasms, the "Origins" that everyone possessed and might awaken, or the "conceptual" items that were everywhere in the Type-Moon World, they were all valuable materials.

The Holy Grail War itself was actually the least important thing to care about.

The reason he had asked the Old Worm to cultivate several decent bugs with degeneration or transformation traits was because one of the profession skills among the series rewards for Chen Li's Novice Task was a skill called "Stacking."

The effect of this profession skill was that it could increase a trait's brightness by fusing identical traits together. Although the requirements were rather harsh, its value remained extremely high.

"But was this skill the reward for Novice Task Series Seven or Eight? Seriously, that Pixie keeps stringing me along every day."

Because the Pixie could see the underlying code of the Miraculous Forging Guide, she could spoil things for Chen Li.

It was just like how Chen Li played FGO: because the overseas and Chinese servers progressed at different rates—the Japanese server being ahead—players could predict upcoming Chinese-server content through the overseas server's event schedule, earning the joking title of "Clairvoyance." (In the Type-Moon World, high-level Clairvoyance could even see the future.)

Chen Li changed the status of the Old Worm's world to "Offline" for eleven months, then stopped paying attention to it.

Under this status, those eleven months for the other party might amount to only a few days or even a few hours for Chen Li, because the flow of time differed between worlds.

In theory, Chen Li could use this function to continuously place ordinary weapons he had forged into other worlds, allowing them to develop powerful traits through the tempering of time and fate. Then, whenever he remembered, he could travel to that world and retrieve those traits.

A true mastermind behind the scenes.

Having settled the preliminary preparations for the third Miracle Commission, Chen Li looked at the remaining two commissions.

This commission was good, but it did not meet Chen Li's desire to complete a miracle check-in.

Camping: I want a barrel of instant noodles that never runs out!

Posted by: Kakamigahara Nadeshiko

Reward: 1–10 crystals

Risk: Low

"Alright, got it. Next time I forge a wondrous item, I'll help you forge it too." Chen Li nodded and looked at the next one.

Once again, the facts proved that Houraisan Kaguya was incredibly useful!

Invisible: I hope to have a pair of glasses that, once worn, makes ghosts and ghouls invisible.

Requester: Miko

Reward: 1–10 Crystals

Risk: Low

"Another commission where I can't farm Miracle Cards... Huh, wait." Chen Li, who had nearly overlooked its potential reward because the reward was too low, suddenly brightened.

"Why make glasses that hide ghosts and ghouls? Wouldn't it be better to just kill them all?!"

Miko: Damn, This Forger Was So Righteous It Was Almost Evil!

"R-Really?"

"Don't worry."

"Can we win?"

"We will win."

"B-But..."

"Why are you asking so many pointless questions? Didn't you hire me to solve the problem of supernatural ghosts and ghouls possibly attacking you if you can't completely ignore seeing them?"

"But I asked you to solve the fact that I can see them, not to solve them. I really must have had water in my brain to believe your nonsense." The timid girl standing beside Chen Li was his client this time.

Miko, a girl capable of seeing the supernatural phenomena occurring around her.

But the ghosts and ghouls in this world were unusual. Though they were everywhere, under normal circumstances, they would not actively devour humans in broad daylight.

However, if a ghost or ghoul discovered that you could see it, it would immediately devour you.

Because Miko could see ghosts and ghouls, she had been deeply troubled by this.

"Don't say that. I was very sincere at the time, alright? I said I could solve your problem, and I can solve it. I absolutely won't break my word," Chen Li assured her.

Chen Li had successfully moved her with the effect of his Childlike Heart, making her believe his words and allowing him to successfully come to this world.

Chen Li truly had been sincere about solving her problem, but he had never said how he would solve it.

"W-Wow! They really can't get in?!" Miko stared in horror at the terrifying vicious ghosts outside the barrier she was standing in.

"They can't get in, don't worry. The Miracle Barrier guarantees your safety, as long as you don't go out. Now I'm going to start forging a wondrous item." Chen Li spoke to Miko.

"Okay..." Miko crouched inside the Miracle Barrier, on the verge of tears.

How had she become so possessed that she believed him, rode alone to this desolate place, and summoned him from another world?

As Chen Li tossed in two Miracle Crystals, a dark blue flame surged up from the Forging Table.

The first thing Chen Li did was forcibly press the ghost and ghoul he had been holding by the neck into the Forging Table burning with Miracle Fire.

Chen Li had only teleported over after Miko rode out into the wilderness. The moment he arrived, he saw a ghost and ghoul following her, so he acted immediately.

Intimidated by the Miracle Card One Arrow Once Slaughtered a Million Demons, it had been scared out of its wits. It clearly had not even endured the first round of intimidation, so Chen Li captured it.

This was Chen Li's first time using Extract Attribute on a living creature. It counted as a rather unusual new experience for him.

The Miracle Fire rapidly spread across the entire body of the two-meter-tall ghost and ghoul. Then, amid its miserable howls, its body rapidly shrank and was swallowed by the Miracle Fire. At last, only a few attributes such as Ghost and Ghoul, Fear, and Devour emerged from the flames, while its body turned to ash and vanished.

"Does this mean that as long as the Miracle Fire spreads over a creature's entire body, even a god—even someone capable of resisting—can be reduced to ashes?" Chen Li fell into thought, but his hands did not stop moving.

Chen Li also tossed a palm-sized little bag into the fire.

He had found this bag among demon relics. Its effect was to draw things toward it, which had nearly made Chen Li think it was a human-seed bag. Later, he discovered that it could only pull things closer and could not suck them into the bag.

And so, the Attract attribute appeared.

Chen Li took the Ghost and Ghoul and Attract attributes, then began forging the wondrous item.

Ghoul Attractor: After use, can attract all ghosts and ghouls within range.

Note: The range can be freely adjusted, but the greater the range, the weaker the effect.

PS: When gravity isn't enough, anger makes up the difference. Adding a little cheeky remark while shouting can improve the wondrous item's effect.

"Miss, do you believe in gravity?" Holding the loudspeaker-shaped wondrous item he had made with 6 Crystals, Chen Li turned and asked Miko beside him.

"I do, I do, I do." Miko nodded frantically.

Who would dare not believe? Faced with a monster who could grab a terrifying ghost and ghoul barehanded before tossing it into a fire to roast, would Miko dare say no?

"Good. Then don't blink." Chen Li turned the loudspeaker's dial to maximum, then took a deep breath.

"With all due respect, you Demons and Ghouls are all idiots*. I can see you. If you've got the guts, come at me! First come, first served!"

"Want to say a few words?" Chen Li held the loudspeaker out toward Miko.

Miko shook her head frantically.

"Then I'll keep going." Chen Li continued using the loudspeaker to spout cheeky remarks without pause.

Forging the extraordinary artifact had used six crystals. Aside from the two crystals spent on Extract Attribute, all the rest had gone into attraction.

But clearly, an extraordinary artifact made with six crystals was still a little lacking in effect. To attract ghouls from all over the world, he would need to add a little quip.

The Ghoul Attractor acted as a loudspeaker. Its voice was not loud, yet it rang in the ears of ghouls across the entire world.

After their brief daze came fury. An inexplicable rage drove them flying toward the source of the sound.

In less than half a minute, Miko and Chen Li, seated within the Miracle Barrier, could no longer see what was outside. All they could see were countless ghoul faces, crazed with anger and packed against the Miracle Barrier, unable to break through it.

Though both were surrounded by ghouls, their reactions could not have been more different.

Miko trembled from head to toe, while Chen Li was ecstatic.

Chen Li had no idea how much merit he would gain after this wave!

How many immoral things could that let him do?

Oh, no.

How many immoral things could "Sparkle" do?

"Come on, have something to eat. We'll wait a few more hours, until even more ghouls arrive."

"Isn't this already enough?" Miko shakily accepted the bag of chips Chen Li handed her.

"This is nothing. I want every ghoul in the world to come here."

"Every... every ghoul in the world?"

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything? Don't tell me you fainted?"

"Mm... unfamiliar ceiling... Whoa! So many ghouls!" The moment Miko opened her eyes and saw the Miracle Barrier covered in densely packed ghouls, she instantly woke up.