Summon Finger

"Hah!"

Emiya Shirou raised the Carian Knight Sword high. A blue greatsword condensed from magic power, broad and thick as a door panel, came crashing down upon the Demi-Humans' heads after three stages of charging, carrying overwhelming force with it and erupting in a deafening boom.

In an instant, countless wooden shields were smashed apart, turning into flying splinters mixed with chunks of Demi-Human flesh and blood. Emiya Shirou swept his straight sword horizontally, harvesting the remaining Demi-Humans who had yet to die.

Watching the bloody, violent scene, Lu Mingfei's eye twitched. He silently mourned the Demi-Humans who had died such miserable deaths for one second, then stabbed his sword into the Demi-Human chieftain's backside, followed up with a fierce kick, and pulled his sword free in one motion.

The battle was over.

Looking at the Demi-Human corpses in his vision, chopped into nothing but mosaics, Lu Mingfei could not help marveling at the beauty of stats.

Compared to Emiya Shirou, Lu Mingfei was practically an uncivilized caveman. The red-haired boy's fighting style had clearly developed into a complete system. His swordsmanship was incomparably skilled, far surpassing Lu Mingfei's, and he even mixed in magical combat techniques like Banzai Caria. Although its charge time was obviously too long, once unleashed, it was enough to shake the earth and split the mountains.

The armor he wore was clearly no ordinary equipment either. The Demi-Humans' attacks could not shake it in the slightest. Lu Mingfei had even watched one of the Demi-Human chieftains bite down on his arm, yet Emiya Shirou's expression did not change as he cleaved it apart with a single stroke.

Not a trace of exceptional technique... it was all pure stat crushing.

"Say..." Lu Mingfei scratched his head. "Can I learn that magical combat technique?"

Having finished clearing out the fodder, Emiya Shirou took a breath and lowered the knight sword in his hand. "Of course. But it may not necessarily suit you."

As he spoke, Emiya Shirou turned the knight sword toward Lu Mingfei and pointed at the blue gemstone in its center. "Look, this is the source of magic power: Glintstone. It's also the medium I use to cast magical combat techniques.

"Magical combat techniques differ from ordinary combat techniques. They are not summaries of a warrior's experience. They are techniques transformed from magic, mastered by Caria's knights.

"So, if you want to learn them, you first need a certain talent for learning magic.

"And different schools of magic are learned differently..."

Lu Mingfei naturally understood what he meant. The red-haired boy was tactfully telling him that magic was difficult to learn and required specific talent.

"And besides," Emiya Shirou scratched his head, "I might not be able to teach you either. In Rudeus's words, all my talent points are invested in magic related to the 'sword.' My theoretical knowledge is a complete mess. I only learned this kind of magic through intuition.

"My original world also had things related to magic. I have something called Magic Circuits, which helps me better master magic.

"But my total magic power is very low. Attacks like that one just now can only be used four or five times in a row before I'm basically empty."

Emiya Shirou spread his hands.

"Got it." Lu Mingfei nodded. "Pay-to-win talent."

Unexpectedly, Shirou actually understood Lu Mingfei's nonsensical gaming term.

He smiled helplessly and pointed at Lu Mingfei's eyes.

"Lu, you don't need to envy me. Your eyes... aren't they pay-to-win talent too? The moment I arrived, I could already feel the pressure they gave off."

Lu Mingfei was startled. "That can't be right. Isn't this the light of the Site of Grace? Don't you have it too?"

The red-haired boy shook his head.

"It's different. Once you become stronger, you'll understand something about the source of power... What is hidden in your eyes does not share the same origin as the Erdtree."

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt both delighted and wistful. Those two lightbulbs had clearly never lit up in his original world...

"Say..." He scratched his head, his gaze drifting toward Emiya Shirou's armor. "This gear of yours... don't tell me it's pay-to-win equipment too?"

"No."

Emiya Shirou's expression suddenly darkened.

"This was... left behind by a friend."

Lu Mingfei keenly sensed the sensitivity of the subject and wisely changed the topic.

"That Rudeus... is he strong? Is he a native of the Lands Between?"

Emiya Shirou smiled, a nostalgic look appearing on his face.

"He's my friend. Like us, he's also a Tarnished who crossed over from another world. His situation is rather unusual. According to him, he crossed over from Japan in his original world to another world, then crossed over here again.

"His talent for magic is much greater than mine, and he has mastered more than half the magic taught at the magic academy.

"But he's rather cautious and usually doesn't like going out. If you truly want to learn magic, I'll introduce you to him when we have time next."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Lu Mingfei seemed a little dazed. "You're saying that besides the two of us, there are many Tarnished who crossed over from other worlds? Didn't they say the Tarnished were all descendants of exiled warriors?"

"Ah." Emiya Shirou thought for a moment. "You haven't defeated the Demon yet, so you really don't know much about this.

"Most Tarnished like us, who can wield Runes and do not die, crossed over from other worlds. The native Tarnished have instead become scarce because of wars and internal strife."

"What?!" Lu Mingfei clutched his chest in anguish. "If I'd known, I would have bought a Furlcalling Finger Remedy from Galena sooner."

"No." Emiya Shirou looked at Lu Mingfei solemnly. "This is exactly what I was about to warn you about. Don't explore while constantly in the 'Summon Finger' state, or you'll attract Red Phantoms."

"Red Phantoms?"

Lu Mingfei was puzzled.

"Summon Fingers like us are divided into White Phantoms and Red Phantoms.

"White Phantoms are divided into Friendly Phantoms and Hunters. Friendly Phantoms leave golden signs in various places to help others, while Hunters are Tarnished who possess Blue Cipher Rings. They appear to hunt Red Phantoms when a holder of a White Cipher Ring is invaded by one.

"Senior Jonathan Joestar is one of the best Friendly Phantoms. He has helped me more than once.

"There are also powerful Tarnished among the Hunters, such as Senior Himura Kenshin."

Emiya Shirou spoke slowly.

"As for Red Phantoms, they are divided into Bloody Fingers, Recusants, and Duelists.

"Bloody Fingers and Recusants are invaders who hunt Summon Fingers, plunder Runes, and obtain Rune Arcs. After killing a Summon Finger, they receive Rune Arcs and a portion of the Runes on your person as spoils.

"Bloody Finger Ken Kaneki, Recusant Light Yagami, and Lelouch are all notorious invading phantoms.

"As for Duelists, they are signs Tarnished draw when engaging in duels. As long as you don't summon them, you'll be fine."

"Understood." Lu Mingfei nodded, then bowed sincerely to Emiya Shirou. "You've helped me a lot. Thank you, Senior Shirou."

When the red-haired boy heard the words "Senior Shirou," a strange expression suddenly appeared on his face.

Emiya Shirou waved his hands repeatedly, looking troubled. "No, no, Lu, there's no need for that. I'm actually a year younger than you. You should just call me Brother Shirou."