Shape Moon, The Road to the Magician

——It's a dream.

The dark dungeon has become a paradise for rats and maggots, and heart-rending wails echo in my ears all the time.

Xia Yuan was very familiar with this scene. He returned to the prison tower again, but this time the protagonist was not himself, but him.

Looking at the poor man imprisoned deep in the dungeon, Xia Yuan subconsciously wanted to reach out to him, but stopped.

"……"

He saw the man covered in injuries getting up tremblingly, with no trace of confusion in his eyes, and a fire burning in his eyes.

Until finally the man turned his back and gradually disappeared into the darkness, leaving only a whisper

【Wait and hope】

……

……

After Xia Yuan woke up, a little cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He looked above his head nervously, fearing that a Lancer would suddenly burst out from the ceiling.

The Hyatt Regency Hotel, he knew it was the most luxurious hotel in Fuyuki City, and it was also Kenneth's hometown. Did the Earl take him to live in someone else's magic workshop?

Seeing Xia Yuan's fear, the earl said calmly:"Don't be nervous. Although it is very close, the building where the workshop is located is not connected to this one. We are well hidden, as long as we don't use magic here. , so they won't be discovered."

After hearing the earl's words, Xia Yuan also felt something. He stood up and opened the curtains, and at a glance he saw the larger and more luxurious main building of the hotel opposite Jianjian.

Moreover, there was a powerful and unhidden magical aura emanating from the top floor of the building. It was this magical energy that he noticed.

Good guy, are you so arrogant?

He probably figured out the situation. With Kenneth's aristocratic temperament, he would definitely choose the most luxurious main building as his base. The side building he was in was not taken seriously by him at all.

This is still typical darkness under the lamp.

Although Kenneth was very arrogant for daring to expose the magic workshop, he would never have imagined that there would be a magician more arrogant than him, who would suddenly dare to hide near his magic workshop.

But being so close is quite exciting...

The first night has passed. Thanks to a certain Dream Demon, he also figured out the situation of this Holy Grail War, but this Holy Grail is often eaten by mushrooms. The war will last at least six days and six nights...

According to intelligence, the waters of this Holy Grail War are obviously deeper than he expected. The guardians have all come out, and what's more, they are all hostile to him.

Except for the disgraceful Assassin Heavenly Group, all the servants in the room are equipped with top-notch equipment. With the combat power in his hands, he can't survive the Holy Grail War, let alone complete the mission.

Is the earl strong? A very strong, first-class servant, and his speed is top notch.

But he couldn't beat the other servants in this war. Needless to say, Gilgamesh was the strongest servant killer in the entire war. Finn, the Celtic mythical dragon Aotian, was no better than Gilgamesh in terms of strength. Mesh was too far behind, Iskandar, and Arturia were all top servants. If they were to fight hard, the Earl couldn't defeat any of them.

He didn't show up last night, but Tokiomi Tokiomi and Kotomine Kirei knew him very well.

Servants in other groups will not let Caster go easily, because the most troublesome Servant in the Holy Grail War is not Saber, who has the strongest comprehensive ability, nor Archer, who has super long-range sniping and sniper nuclear explosion capabilities, but Archer. Caster seems to have the least destructive power.

Because everyone is a magician, they know it all.

It’s okay if only a modern Servant is summoned as a Caster, but what will happen if a God-era Caster appears?

I'm afraid that if it weren't for the magic from the Age of Gods that he could fool everyone around him, and he could bypass everyone and attack the Great Holy Grail silently, no one would even notice.

Thinking about myself and others fighting to the death, and finally the Holy Grail is so close at hand, but someone has secretly taken advantage of it. Just imagining it makes my brain start to bleed.

Therefore, all the masters and servants present are very afraid of Caster, who did not appear last night. I am afraid that every group is searching now.

If that's true, it would be fine. While taking risks, they can also directly attack the Holy Grail and the Earth Line to increase their chances of winning. However, the problem Xia Yuan has to consider is that they are not Casters at all, but they are Casters in the eyes of others.

Looking at the earl sitting next to him, Xia Yuan raised his hand and grabbed it in the air, using the detection magic he had just learned.

Then he saw a scene that shocked him

【Caster——Merlin】

【Strength: B, Durability: E, Agility: D, Magic: A, Luck: C】

"hiss……"Seeing the count's outrageous panel, Xia Yuan took a deep breath and exclaimed:"What a guy!"

Did he even guard his Master? Merlin simply used magic to camouflage the count's faceplate, and gave his faceplate completely to the count for disguise.

If that guy Shiro Amakusa uses Ruler's ability to check the earl's information, he will definitely suffer a big loss during the battle.

"Count, let's go"

"Where to go? The earl frowned and said,"Don't you plan to stay here and take a good rest?" After all, your condition is not that good."

"It's no longer needed."

Xia Yuan stood up and jumped off the bed, looking at the sun already hanging high by the window,"Night is the Servant's battlefield, and daytime is my home court. Although I am not qualified as a Master, I still want to help as much as possible. you."

Now that you have been named Caster, let's just maximize Caster's trouble-making attributes.

Now is the time when you can't slack off the most. You must do something. If you continue to sit back and wait for his death, you will have to wait for him. Destiny can only lead to destruction. First of all , we must thoroughly muddy the waters, and then guide the situation of the battle to the direction that is most beneficial to us.

���…

"Off we go, count."

"clear"

……

……

"Your expression is exactly the same as that of the prisoners who are about to go to the execution ground."

The count joked while smoking.

"Even though I'm scared to death, do I still want to go in? Although I don’t know much about magicians, I can still tell that this building is unusual."

"Yes, after all, it is a magic workshop set up by a magic Lord. Even a Servant might not feel comfortable inside."Xia Yuan looked helplessly at the building in front of him.

This is a magic workshop, and it is also a very strict magic workshop, and it is completely exposed to everyone's sight, with no intention of hiding it.

He has already put that kind of"I’m right here, if you want, come in and beat me!"The arrogance of"is displayed to the extreme.

Should I say that he is worthy of being Kenneth? The arrogance of a top magician has been written on his face. Even if he realizes the power of Servant, he still makes this decision.

He is very confident about his own magic level. I was so confident, but it was a pity that I met a magician killer like Emiya Kiritsugu who had no martial ethics at all. His high-explosive C4 was a fool, and he had no intention of breaking the formation honestly.

"Of course we have to go in. If we don’t go in, how can we attract strong foreign aid?"

"Oh, why do you think the magicians in this workshop would cooperate with us?"The count asked with some doubts.

"Do you know him well?"

"Yeah, I understand that very well."

Xia Yuan said the reason without hesitation.

"Because I've seen it all."

Everything... you really told me, your secret

"Hahahaha, that’s a really good answer, Master."The cigarette butt that was about to burn was flicked away, and the earl laughed happily.

"Since you said so, then go in and take a look, and remember not to leave my surroundings later."

"I know."

Entering someone else's magic workshop is equivalent to entering someone else's domain. Your own strength will be weakened, and the enemy's strength will be strengthened. Everything in it is controlled by the other party, and you may die without knowing it..

Although he is just a quick and half-assed magician, Xia Yuan still has some eyesight, so of course he does not intend to force himself, but has a sincere exchange.

"Hello, could you please forward this letter to Mr. Kenneth who is staying in this hotel. I am his friend."

He said hello to the staff at the front desk, and took advantage of this moment to release a few butterflies to fly past her eyes, allowing the [suggestion] magic to gradually complete its erosion of her thoughts.

"Okay, sir, just a moment."

With the help of suggestion magic, the service staff very cooperatively sent someone to help him deliver the letter to Kenneth on the top floor.

After a while, a classically handsome man with long blond hair slowly walked down the stairs. , whose elegant posture attracted the attention of the crowd

"My lord, please come and meet me upstairs"

"Please lead the way."

Following Fenn into the corridor, Xia Yuan felt that someone was staring at him in the dark. If he did anything unusual, Nice would immediately take action to suppress it.

However, this time he did He came with sincerity, and the chips were so big that even the monarch Kenneth was attracted by it. In addition, this was his own magic workshop, so Kenneth didn't think anything could happen, so he agreed to meet with him.

When the last door was pushed open, a splendid and luxurious hall appeared in front of Xia Yuan, and every inch of the land revealed the smell of money.

"Damn capitalism!"Xia Yuan protested in his heart, but he still said politely.

"excuse me."

After entering the room, he saw Kenneth in classical clothes holding black tea and sitting on the sofa to savor it.

He is worthy of being a true nobleman...

After sighing slightly, Xia Yuan looked at Kenneth and said:"First time meeting you, Your Excellency Kenneth Elmloy Archibalud. Although this visit is a bit abrupt, I am very sorry. The situation is urgent and I can only meet you in this way."

"Um? Is there a kid sneaking into the Holy Grail War?"Kenneth's face was full of aristocratic arrogance and disdain.

Xia Yuan didn't care about Kenneth's rude behavior, because the arrogance of magicians is engraved in their bones, especially for aristocratic magicians like Kenneth. Their arrogance What's more

"Although it is a bit sudden, I would like to ask my dear Lord El-Melloi, since you have chosen to invite me to meet, it means that you agree to this transaction, right?"

"Well, a precious magic mark that has been passed down for hundreds of years is very tempting. I think any magician has no reason to refuse this king's generous offer."

"However, why should I believe that an ordinary person like you can come up with such a treasure? So, prove it to me"

"good."

Hearing Kenneth's request, Xia Yuan did not refuse. He activated his magic power and made the magic mark on his arm appear.

"Is this okay?"

"Well, the quality of this magic seal is not low, and it is very well preserved. It is indeed a precious thing that has been passed down for hundreds of years."

"Where did this come from? Such an ancient magic seal must have been inherited from a long-standing magic family. Why did it fall into the hands of a Muggle like you?"

Kenneth couldn't help but frowned when he saw the magic seal on Xia Yuan's arm.

He could naturally see the value of the magic seal of the Matou family, but the more he saw it, the more puzzled he became. He was willing to give up such a precious magic seal just for such a small request?

What on earth was he planning?

"This is the magic seal from Magiri Zolgen. As for how it came about... I and my servants killed Matou Zouken and grabbed it a few months ago."

"Matou Zangyan? I remember that he is the head of the Matou family of the Demonic Family in Fuyuki City. What is his relationship with Makiri Zolgen?"After hearing this, Kenneth frowned slightly and felt confused. He pointed to the chair in front of him and motioned for him to sit down and talk in detail.

Seeing this, Xia Yuan did not shirk. He sat down in front of Kenneth very generously and began to talk about his experiences in the past few months. Those encounters.

From the spontaneous summoning of heroic spirits, and then opening up the magic circuit to become a magician, then destroying Matou Zangyan, etc.……

"It turns out that he is just an ordinary person who became a magician by accident. No wonder he gave up so easily to get the precious seal. He really didn't understand its value."

After some narration, under Xia Yuan's deliberate guidance, Kenneth successfully misunderstood him as a rookie who had just entered the magic way.

Only in this way can he explain Xia Yuan's ability to give up magic sealing easily.

Think carefully about Xia Yuan's letter Kenneth frowned and asked after mentioning several conditions.

"The value of this magic seal is far beyond your imagination. You can even use this seal as the cornerstone to create a new magic family. But now you use it as a bargaining chip, just for that trivial thing. What is your purpose? What?"

Knowing Kenneth's suspicion, Xia Yuan shook his head helplessly and explained:"I have only one purpose from the beginning to the end, I want you, Mr. El-Melloi, to become my teacher."

"If you don't want to believe it, we can set up a self-imposed magic essay competition"

"Self-imposed magic essay, are you sure?"

After hearing this, Kenneth's expression changed slightly.

The magic essay is similar to a contract. The magicians of both parties write the contents of the contract on the magic scroll and then sign it together, which will have a binding effect.

But what Xia Yuan proposed is still A more restrictive self-enforced magic essay, the so-called"self-enforcement certificate", is a spell contract used by magicians when they conclude an agreement that cannot be broken. It is the most absolute form of magic contract made to prevent breach of contract. Guarantee

【The contract is carried by a parchment scroll, and its content includes the binding technique, the object to be bound, the formal content of the oath, the conditions for the oath to be fulfilled, the signature of the oath holder, etc.

Both parties use the function of their own magic seal to impose the curse of"Geas" on the caster himself. In principle, its effect cannot be removed by any means.

Once the magician signs the certificate and fulfills the conditions of the oath to make the certificate effective, even if the oath taker is dead, as long as the magic seal is inherited to the next generation, even the soul after death will be bound. 】

If you sign this, it means that this guy is serious.

"I am certain that I am willing to sign the self-compulsory call for essays, and the content will be exactly as written in the previous letter."Xia Yuan answered in a very affirmative tone, while holding out his fingers.

"First, Kenneth Elmloy Archibalud must accept him as his disciple and teach magic carefully without leaving any omissions or reservations."

"Second, Mr. Kenneth Elmloy Archibald needs to ensure my life safety during the Holy Grail War and not allow me to be harmed by other Servants."

"Third, in return, Xia Yuan and his Servants were prohibited from causing any harmful behavior to Kenneth Elmloy Archibald during the Holy Grail War."

"Fourth, when Xia Yuan himself died, he transferred all his magic properties to Kenneth Ermeloy Archipelud, including magic seals and corpses."

With these four mandatory contracts, Kenneth only needs to accept Xia Yuan as his disciple and try his best to ensure her safety during the Holy Grail War. Xia Yuan, on the other hand, sold himself to Kenneth and handed over his magic inheritance to Eva after his death. The Almero family.

For Kenneth, this contract will indeed bring him some trouble, but compared to the price paid by Xia Yuan, this little trouble is not worth mentioning at all.

"For me, I only need to pay a small price in exchange for a first-generation magician and a long-standing magic seal. I really have no reason to refuse such a transaction."

Seeing Kenneth's heartbeat, Xia Yuan chose to strike while the iron was hot, looked at him with a smile and said

"Yes, Lord El-Melloi, you only need to pay a small price to obtain a precious magic seal, and you will also completely reduce one enemy. What are you still hesitating about?

At this point, Kenneth was not an indecisive person. He replied seriously:"Okay, since you brought these to your door yourself, I will satisfy you. Remember your choice today and don't regret it.""

"Thank you for your advice, but I will never regret the choices I made."