The End of the Root is the Imaginary Number Tree

Dan Lei felt as though he had been purified.

Ever since his soul was sucked away by the Root Hole the Holy Grail had created, soaking in ultra-high-concentration Ether left Dan Lei feeling completely at ease.

All around him was a passageway like a tunnel through time and space—though whether this was truly its appearance, or merely a manifestation shaped by his own understanding, only the heavens knew.

But Dan Lei didn't care. He had finally achieved his wish and escaped this godforsaken world.

The Type-Moon Universe—a place Dan Lei had once yearned for.

Back in his youth, when he was immersed in the 2D world, the Fate series had been an unforgettable memory.

Even after growing up, Dan Lei never fully left the 2D realm. During his normal work hours, he was just a beast of burden; after work and on days off, disliking social interaction, he naturally holed up at home watching anime and playing games, using the virtual world to ease the bitterness of reality.

In that time, he'd read no shortage of power fantasies about being transported to the Type-Moon Universe, using foreknowledge to crush all opposition, rising step by step to become a Sorcerer, with countless beauties throwing themselves at him along the way.

But when he actually and inexplicably transmigrated, after the initial excitement, Dan Lei discovered this world was anything but beautiful.

No cheat ability, no backing. As for so-called foreknowledge—what real use was it to a first-generation commoner magus with only two Magic Circuits?

And those two Magic Circuits had been activated by an evil alchemist who wanted to use children as pills for refining elixirs. That same alchemist had given Dan Lei his name.

As for his original parents, Dan Lei had no idea. From the moment he gained consciousness, he was just a child fed all kinds of supplements daily, raised as alchemy material.

If that alchemist hadn't been killed before he could harm Dan Lei, Dan Lei would probably have earned the achievement of "landing in a box."

Of course, at that time Dan Lei hadn't given up on growing stronger. He managed to stow away from the Eastern Land to the Eastern Kingdom, since he knew the situation there better.

After all, in his previous life, to watch anime raw as soon as it aired, he'd specifically learned the Eastern Kingdom's language. At least listening was no problem, and he could fumble through speaking and writing.

Then, relying on his foreknowledge, Dan Lei went to Ryougi City and, after tremendous effort, found Garan no Dou.

Honestly, it was only because Dan Lei was so pathetic that Aozaki Touko didn't think a kid who knew nothing of magecraft or combat could be a spy or assassin, and didn't just kill him outright.

After Dan Lei pestered her for a long time, Aozaki Touko finally took in the then-ten-year-old boy.

Unfortunately, clinging to Aozaki Touko's thigh didn't let Dan Lei soar.

Though he earned her trust through long, diligent service, his naturally garbage Magic Circuits capped his potential.

Turning into a Dead Apostle and walking the inhuman path was completely out of the question—unless Dan Lei was willing to abandon his reason and slowly climb up from the lowest rank of Dead Apostle.

As for finding a True Ancestor to convert him, Dan Lei could only say that was something to dream about.

Even if he knew where a True Ancestor was, why would they bother converting him?

Originally, with his ceiling locked, Dan Lei had resigned himself to just coasting through this life. If he kept a low profile, he should be able to survive peacefully.

The Holy Grail War? Dan Lei figured that if he went, he'd have a ninety percent chance of dying.

And after formally entering the world of magecraft, Dan Lei already knew this world's Holy Grail War followed the Fate/Apocrypha timeline.

So Dan Lei kept comforting himself: "If I can live well, I shouldn't go looking for death."

Unfortunately, Dan Lei later heard a piece of news—news about Chaldeas in Antarctica.

The moment he heard "Chaldeas," Dan Lei's first reaction was that he couldn't stay in this world. He had to run.

Because who knew if this universe had a Fujimaru Ritsuka? And even if it did, she might not be able to save all of humanity.

Before Dan Lei transmigrated, FGO's story had already opened to Part 2, Chapter 2. In that worldview, even Sorcerers weren't safe.

So this was a world where, even if he wanted to live a quiet life, he probably wouldn't survive past 2016.

Dan Lei felt that transmigrating once only to scrape by at the bottom was already humiliating enough. Now you're explicitly telling me how long I have left to live? This was pure torture!

So, under the pressure of survival, Dan Lei gradually went mad. He decided to gamble on a path out through the Root.

Claiming he wanted to use the true Holy Grail's miracle to improve his Magic Circuits, Dan Lei bid farewell to Aozaki Touko and insisted on joining the Holy Grail War in Romania.

Aozaki Touko figured that good words couldn't save a man bent on death. Seeing Dan Lei's persistence, she let him go.

But mindful of their years together, she allowed Dan Lei to take a few less important puppets and helped him find a catalyst.

Otherwise, relying on Dan Lei's own connections to find Rochomsta's catalyst would have been a pipe dream.

What came next was simple. Using a puppet Aozaki Touko gave him, Dan Lei killed Sagara Hyoma before he could summon his Servant, stripped the Command Spells from his hand, and then performed the summoning himself.

Honestly, once he abandoned morality and ethics, even treating his own body as a tool, Dan Lei was terrifyingly effective.

Arriving in Romania, he used his foreknowledge and every dirty trick to kill all the Servants from both the Black and Red factions.

Finally, he made his wish to the Holy Grail: to go home.

Dan Lei had thought it through clearly. Whether or not the Holy Grail could send him back to his original world, he wouldn't lose either way.

If he failed, his soul would scatter into the Root. At least he wouldn't have to face the countdown to death every day, depressed.

If he succeeded and returned to his original world, whether or not he kept his current memories, he'd get a second life.

If he kept them, Dan Lei figured his future days would be like an urban power fantasy.

Even if his original world couldn't use magecraft, with the puppet-making skills he learned from Aozaki Touko and his knowledge of human anatomy, it would be hard not to rise.

Now, feeling his soul continuously shuttling through the passage, Dan Lei thought the chances of success were high.

But in this world, many things aren't just about success or failure. Often, "or" itself can be an option.

After drifting through this channel for who knows how long, Dan Lei suddenly felt a flash of light. Before him appeared a colossal silver-white tree, so immense that countless stars seemed no more than cells within a single leaf.

The next second, a "painting" seemingly made of black-and-white blocks suddenly appeared, and Dan Lei abruptly felt as if he were submerged in water, hearing someone say by his ear—

"General, this is the only Sustainer Egg that survived the disaster site besides that Sinful Dragon's egg. But we don't know if it's been corrupted by the power of Abundance."

"I see. Set this Sustainer Egg aside for now. Every life of the Chizuru Clan is precious. This egg survived so long on the battlefield, which proves it wasn't meant to die.

Besides, the Chizuru Clan hasn't restored order from their internal strife yet. No need to provoke them further right now."

"But the Ten Lords' Commission wants us to thoroughly investigate whether any life has been tainted by Abundance's power. You know how it is with Ying Xing, General."

"Doesn't matter. The Chizuru Clan will definitely stop the Ten Lords' Commission from acting recklessly. If it's just a routine check, it won't affect anything."

Hearing this, Dan Lei felt like he'd ended up in an even more troublesome place, but he was exceptionally drowsy at that moment, and soon fell into a deep slumber.

At the same time, within the Root of the Type-Moon Universe, a young girl's voice suddenly rang out—

"Alaya, Alaya, did you just feel something leak out of our world?"

Soon, another young girl's voice replied—

"It was an outsider's soul that made a Greater Grail and used it as a vessel to break out of our world.

But no need to bother with him. Just a Greater Grail from a doomed timeline. You know what it's like outside the world—that golden power prevents us from exploring deeply.

The Grail's power carrying him out of this world is the limit. An ordinary soul like that will definitely be scattered by those terrifying golden energies once it's out."