Ultra-Small Flawless Holy Grail

The picture showed a golden cup filled to the brim with an unknown liquid, giving off specks of crystalline light!

Special item: Ultra-Small Flawless Holy Grail

Functions: 1. Can merge into the body, increasing its owner's mana tenfold.

2. Grants one opportunity to summon a Heroic Spirit in their true form. A holy relic is required.

Note: Because its capacity is too small, it cannot serve as a vessel for the Holy Grail War, grant wishes, or be used to contact the Root.

After reading the description of the last item, Xiahou jumped straight off the couch.

This was a golden legendary! Though it had three shortcomings, didn't it still have two incredible abilities? Never mind the tenfold increase in mana; that would only grow stronger later on!

The important part was the second function! He could have a Heroic Spirit of his own!

Ever since his first encounter with Fate, Xiahou had been deeply fascinated by it, especially the Ahoge King!

Who wouldn't want to be a fan of Wong? Although more Heroic Spirits had appeared in later games and anime,

My King would always be a god!

Then he thought of the conference table fragment he had drawn earlier. Though there was only a one-in-thirteen chance, that was obviously much higher than the rates from a certain company!

Besides, he had just drawn a necklace that added ten luck. At the thought, Xiahou hurriedly claimed everything into his inventory.

He took out the necklace, put it around his neck, and patted it with his hand.

Then he took out the grail, but he merely held it in his hand. He didn't know how to use it.

Hesitantly, he moved it toward his chest, taking care not to spill the liquid inside.

When the grail touched his body, it slowly merged into him as if it were intangible.

Slade had been watching Xiahou covertly this whole time, but he didn't understand what Xiahou was doing until he saw him take out a cup made of gold.

He really is rich! he thought. Then he watched Xiahou merge the cup into his body.

Once the grail had completely merged into him, Xiahou felt the mana in his body begin to boil and expand rapidly. It stopped only after it had grown tenfold.

He checked his panel again and saw that his mana had risen to over 110,000. Though his body hadn't grown stronger, he could now use his skills freely, apart from the uncapped Quantum Bomb.

But all that had increased was his mana. How was he supposed to summon a Heroic Spirit? Wasn't there an instruction manual?

After checking all his items and his personal panel again, he still couldn't find anything about summoning Heroic Spirits.

Xiahou began to grumble inwardly. Don't tell me it's another bug? Does it have to screw me over this badly?

Then he suddenly remembered that, in the anime and games he had seen, summoning Heroic Spirits required a summoning circle and an incantation. Although the games simplified it, the anime always had them.

He crouched down, ready to start drawing the magic circle, but...

He couldn't remember the details of the circle at all!

And what was the incantation again? All he remembered was something about filling up?

Xiahou roared inwardly, Don't do this to me! Wasn't my memory supposed to improve when my intelligence went up? How come my intelligence is over two hundred, but I don't feel any improvement in my memory? And as time passes, my memories of so many things are getting fuzzier!

But then he thought of a solution. He still had the game shop! Surely it sold something for this?

He hurriedly opened the game shop and searched for everything related to Fata. It really did have things: besides various items such as Heroic Spirit relics and Mystic Codes, it even sold Noble Phantasms! Especially the Lesser Grail and Greater Grail listed farther down!

He could buy them and start a Holy Grail War in Marvel right away!

But one look at the string of zeros after those items made him abandon the idea! A single Lesser Grail actually cost a hundred million, enough to buy a Superman template outright.

Even ordinary Mystic Codes cost several hundred thousand, far more than he could afford. He still needed to earn energy points! But when he remembered that he had earned only 300,000 in over two years, he instantly lost the desire to work hard again.

After searching for a while, he finally found what he needed.

Detailed guide to Heroic Spirit summoning incantations and magic circles: 150,000 energy points

Xiahou could barely keep himself from swearing. The things in this shop really were expensive! He only regretted not studying them properly before!

But he gritted his teeth and bought it anyway, following the description of the magic circle in his head.

Xiahou moved everything in Johnny's workshop to one side. Although Slade didn't know what he was doing, he helped him move the things.

But he couldn't suppress his curiosity. As they moved things, he asked Xiahou, "What are you planning to do?"

Holding various repair tools, Xiahou replied offhandedly, "Clearing some space to draw a magic circle!"

Seeing that he didn't really want to answer, Slade had no choice but to suppress his curiosity for the time being. He would find out soon enough anyway.

After clearing enough space, Xiahou took out Red Queen, cut his palm, and began drawing a magic circle on the floor with his blood.

When he finished, he checked it over several times, afraid he had made a mistake somewhere.

Once he was certain there was nothing wrong, he placed the Round Table fragment in the center of the circle, then stepped back to its edge.

He began reciting the summoning incantation: "Your body shall serve under me, my fate shall be entrusted to your sword... I shall accomplish all the good in the world... Come forth! Guardian of the scales."

As he chanted, light began to surge from the magic circle, accompanied by thin arcs of electricity. When he finished the final line, a heavy object landed in the center of the circle, kicking up a thick cloud of dust, and the light faded.

The dust gradually settled, revealing a figure clad in a full suit of silver armor adorned with red runes. She also wore a helmet that covered her head, with decorations resembling bull horns.

She was a little dazed. Had she been summoned again? She had already let go of her dream, yet someone could still summon her again?

Xiahou also got a clear look at the Heroic Spirit he had summoned and was immediately a little disappointed. It's not My King! He failed to notice the Command Spells that had appeared on the back of his right hand.

Then he cheered up again. Though she isn't My King, Mordred isn't bad either! At least they have the same face, even if she's just as bad at understanding people's hearts. (Only after growing up did My King come to understand people's hearts!)

Mordred had already put away her helmet. She said to Xiahou, "My name is Mordred, the sole legitimate heir of the knight Arthur Pendragon! I ask you, are you my Master?"

Hearing that familiar opening, Xiahou couldn't help remarking, "Mordred! Can't you use a different opening?"

A greatsword appeared right at his throat, and Mordred's voice rang out at the same time. "What? Got a problem with me?"

Xiahou hurriedly raised his hands in surrender. "Of course not! I was just making a remark! I don't have a problem with you!"

After sensing Xiahou's aura, Mordred said with a look of distaste, "Tch, it's that guy Siegfried's aura again! Hey, what's going on with you? Don't tell me you ripped out that brat Sieg's heart and put it in your own body?"

Xiahou's face darkened at once. Still, it looked like this Mordred had taken part in the Third War. He just didn't know whether she had also taken part in the later Singularities.

He went on to explain how he had obtained the heart. After listening, Mordred asked, "Since there's no Holy Grail War, why did you summon me? If you can't give me a convincing reason, I'll definitely kill you and then return to the Throne of Heroes!"

Instead of answering her question, Xiahou asked, "After Shishigou, did you take part in any other wars?"

Mordred expressed her displeasure by swinging her greatsword to the side, instantly leaving a deep gouge in the floor and wall.

"I was the one who asked you first, so you should answer first! But I'll let it slide this time. I didn't take part in any other wars after that! Your turn."

After hearing her answer, Xiahou understood her current state. This was Mordred after she had let go of her obsession with her father, the King!

He then said seriously, "I need a companion, so I used the Lesser Grail I obtained to summon you. Besides, you shouldn't have anything you absolutely need to do right now, should you? Would you like to have fun with me in this world?"

"There are lots of powerful people in this world! Demons, gods, all kinds of villains with superpowers! There's no time limit either, so you can do whatever you want! Besides, I can't die. There's no point in killing me; I'll be revived the next day!"

Mordred raised an eyebrow and asked, "We'll have to try it to see whether you can die! But do you mean you want me to conquer this world with you?"

Xiahou shook his head repeatedly. "No, only an idiot would conquer the world! My goal is for you to join me in fighting different powerful people in this world, helping ordinary people now and then, and experiencing a different life!"

As Xiahou spoke, he thought, I'm not deceiving a kid here! I'm an ordinary person, and she's someone who's always been chasing after others. Isn't being here a chance for us to experience different lives?