Revelation

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"The Reinforcement Magecraft and Projection Magecraft acquired by the host were abilities Shirou Emiya had already mastered before becoming a Heroic Spirit. Therefore, the host can directly acquire these two abilities, but still needs diligent training to use them proficiently."

Shiro had known that already. With this lousy system, there was no way he could expect it to instantly grant him mastery. Though he felt a tiny bit regretful, Shiro was still satisfied. After all, if he trained himself, he would understand it better himself—though the system could have just force-fed the knowledge into him.

No! Just thinking about it made his heart ache! His resentment grew even stronger. Because not having to work hard really did feel great.

Shaking his head, Shiro quickly cast aside those unrealistic thoughts and gathered his scattered focus.

"The remaining abilities require the corresponding conditions before they can be mastered and further improved."

"Conditions? What conditions?"

"The host may understand them simply as the foundation required to master the corresponding abilities. Clairvoyance is an ability possessed by many Archers. They can accurately locate enemies from a thousand miles away and shoot them down. After their deaths, the legends they leave behind are enhanced when they ascend to become Heroic Spirits, producing this ability. Current data is missing. The conditions for acquiring Clairvoyance are unknown!"

"Mind's Eye refers to the ability to seize even a one-percent chance and launch a counterattack. It requires the host to possess extensive combat experience."

"Wait, I have extensive combat experience! Why haven't I mastered it?" Shiro asked in confusion. Over the past year, he had projected countless kunai and Shuriken. Aside from gaining over a thousand kinds of ninjutsu—though only Wind Release could be used, as mentioned before—he had also acquired countless combat experiences involving kunai and Shuriken! By the system's explanation, he should have been able to master Mind's Eye. Yet in reality, he had nearly been successfully ambushed by two rogue ninjas that afternoon!

"Host, please note that the combat experience required by Mind's Eye must be possessed by you personally, rather than acquired after projecting weapons. Shirou Emiya was able to achieve this through his long-term practice of Projection Magecraft and years of combat experience. You are currently unable to do so."

Indeed, Shiro currently knew what he should do, but his body and mind could not react at all. Otherwise, when those two rogue ninjas ambushed him that afternoon, he would not have been kicked flying—he would have instantly killed them instead. With Shiro's current strength, he was fully capable of doing that!

"So it really is a lack of combat experience? Looks like I'll need to take on more combat missions in the future." After thinking for a while, Shiro continued questioning the system. "What about Class Skills?" Shiro no longer held out hope that he could quickly master Class Skills. They probably had conditions he had yet to meet as well. He only asked now so that he would have a direction for future training.

Sure enough, the system's next words confirmed Shiro's guess.

"Class Skills are abilities granted to Heroic Spirits when they descend as Servants. Shirou Emiya descended as the Archer class and therefore acquired Independent Action and lower-ranked Magic Resistance. Independent Action was originally the ability that allowed a Servant to continue fighting without a Master, while Magic Resistance refers to resistance against Magecraft. Since the host is not a Servant, the Class Skills have undergone an unknown mutation. Class Skills can only be mastered after acquiring the corresponding class."

"Wait, but I'm not a Servant. How do I acquire a class?"

"Once the host possesses the abilities an Archer should have, a class can be acquired through the system by consuming energy."

Shiro thought about it and realized he did not meet a single requirement. He could not even use a bow yet, so acquiring a class was nothing but wishful thinking. Though close combat was an Archer's primary means of attack, who told the class to care about that sort of thing?

"Then what do I need to raise Mana to Rank B?"

When Shiro had previously enhanced his Mana, he had learned that breaking through to Rank B required certain materials. However, the system database had not been repaired at the time, so the conditions were unknown. The most important thing now was to increase his Mana as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he could not even use Projection Magecraft—project Noble Phantasms.

"According to currently collected data, raising Mana to Rank B requires cellular tissue from the Otsutsuki Bloodline, fragments of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path or Tailed Beast Chakra, as well as fifty percent of the energy reserve."

"..."

"Damn it! Other than the first one, none of these are easy!"

No wonder Shiro was losing his mind. Of the three, only the first was somewhat simple. After all, Konoha had three branches of the Otsutsuki Clan's bloodline. But the other two were difficult. First, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. If Shiro remembered correctly, Madara had already summoned that thing. And who was Madara? The Asura of the Shinobi World who ended the Warring States Era! Though he was old now, as the saying went, a tiger's might remained even after death! And he was not even dead yet! Pass! Taking a step back, there were the Tailed Beasts—

Forget it. Let's talk about how to get fragments instead. Maybe he could pick up some scraps? After all, there was the example left behind by Shiro's ancestor. Tailed Beasts, on the other hand, were even harder to deal with. First of all, any random Tailed Beast could crush Shiro as easily as crushing an ant. Furthermore, Tailed Beasts were closely monitored by every major ninja village, making it difficult to find an opportunity. So, pass! Finally, fifty percent energy. It sounded simple, but in reality—

It was also fairly simple! Increase his own Chakra, kill ninjas and absorb part of their dissipating Chakra, solar energy, and other energy sources—there were many kinds. Moreover, as the system was repaired, its absorption efficiency would gradually improve. At first glance, it seemed easy, but in reality, the efficiency was extremely low. Shiro's own Chakra was not plentiful to begin with, and he had to keep some in reserve in case of emergencies. Most people in the Shinobi World did not have much Chakra either; when they died, only part of it dissipated, and the system could only absorb a portion of that. As for solar energy, its conversion rate was even lower. All things considered, gathering fifty percent energy would be difficult. More importantly, repairing the system also required energy.

"Alright, the current plan is simple. First, strengthen my other attributes and increase my strength so I can obtain Tailed Beast Chakra in the future! And repair the system while I'm at it!" Since his Mana could not be enhanced further, Shiro could only do this. "Oh, right, System. The Chakra consumption for projecting kunai, Shuriken, and short blades is about the same. Is that because they aren't Noble Phantasms?"

"No. It is because the host's Origin is 'Fantasy + Materialization,' causing a slight change in the host's Projection Magecraft."

"Origin!" Shiro was startled! This was no trivial matter. Originally, Shiro had thought that, because he used a Heroic Spirit Card, his Origin had become Sword just like Shirou Emiya's. Who would have thought it would reveal such a massive bombshell!

In the Type-Moon world, an Origin was extremely important to a magus. It was connected to the Magecraft they practiced. Take Shirou Emiya, for example. As a First Hokage magus, his Origin was Sword, so he consumed less Mana when projecting sword-type weapons, and their power was also greater. Projecting other weapons, however, consumed enormous amounts of Mana. Some magi even had to modify themselves before they could practice the corresponding Magecraft!

Therefore, Shiro immediately asked the system, "What effect will my Origin have?!"

"The host's Origin is 'Fantasy + Materialization,' making it extremely compatible with Projection Magecraft! The host can freely project all types of Noble Phantasms with unchanged consumption, but still cannot project Divine Constructs and the like, just as Shirou Emiya cannot."

"Furthermore, due to the influence of this world's rules, the host cannot use ninjutsu involving Nature Transformations other than Wind Release."

Aside from the changes to Projection Magecraft, this had a negligible impact on Shiro's future training plans. After all, he had long known that he could not use ninjutsu with other Nature Transformations, so he had never intended to invest much effort in that area.

Some might think he could still train the Rasengan. After all, it was a non-elemental ninjutsu, and the subsequent development involving the Nature Transformation of Wind Release Chakra was quite clear, with considerable power as well.

But—

Don't forget, Minato was already thirteen years old. Though he had not developed it yet, he should already have the idea. Furthermore, training the Rasengan could not possibly consist of only those three steps. There had to be other details that Kishimoto simply had not drawn. After all, Kishimoto was just a manga artist. What the hell did he know about ninjutsu!

Therefore, there was no way Shiro could master the Rasengan in a short time.

And by the time Shiro finished training the Rasengan, Minato should already have a prototype. At that point, who did he think the Third Hokage and the others would believe—Minato or Shiro?

Even if Shiro got there before Minato, the result would not change much. Whether in background or the talent he usually displayed, Shiro could not compare to Minato. He would most likely be treated as a spy or thrown into Root so Danzo could teach him a lesson.

Besides, although the Rasengan was a hand-sign-free ninjutsu with considerable power, it consumed a huge amount of Chakra. Shiro's current Chakra reserves were not enough to support using the Rasengan in battle. And once his Chakra reserves became sufficient, why the hell would he still use the Rasengan? He could just use Broken Phantasm instead!—detonating a projected Noble Phantasm, the origin of the Nuke Sword Immortal.

In short, Shiro declared that even if he jumped off Hokage Rock and died outside, he would never train the Rasengan!

It was just that training in Projection Magecraft now had to be put on the agenda.

But he could not rush it. Although Shiro's Mana limit had risen to Rank C++, his Chakra reserves would not noticeably increase anytime soon. Besides, he needed to find a suitable explanation to give Projection Magecraft a reasonable origin. After all, the Third Hokage had the Telescope Technique. Though Shiro did not think the Third Hokage would be bored enough to spy on him, it was better to be prepared.

And there was also Konoha's Pot King, Danzo, whom all sorts of fanfics loved to blame for everything. The Pot King had been portrayed as someone who wanted every Kekkei Genkai and secret technique. Though Shiro did not think Danzo was that extreme, the same old saying applied: better safe than sorry.

In short, Shiro's principle was: lie low! Develop discreetly! Ideally, lie low until that ruthless bastard destroyed the village over a bag of rice! Though that was unlikely.

"Host, please note that the following is important information!"

"Hm? Important information? What important information?"

"It concerns the host's True Magic!"

"True Magic? Is there something wrong with my True Magic?" Shiro had not fully recovered from his previous train of thought and did not notice the system's wording. Only after a moment did he realize it, crying out in shock—

"True Magic?!!!!"