Type-Moon, Path of the Magus

Rubbing his forehead, the Count felt a bit speechless, but still patiently explained to Xia Yuan about the relationship between Heroic Spirit summoning and the magic circuits in his body.

After hearing his explanation, Xia Yuan’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he became excited.

“You mean I can become a magus too?!”

“Theoretically, yes, but you should also prepare for the worst. After all, I’m just a vengeful ghost, not some famous magus, so I can’t guarantee that the stimulation won’t cause any accidents.”

“Of course.”

After saying this, the Count smiled mischievously: “If you’re afraid, you can choose to refuse now. After all, you’re the Master, and I also…”

“I trust you, Count.” An immediate answer.

“Won’t force you, after all, I’m just…”

“Hm? What did you just say?”

“I trust you, Count.”

The serious look in his eyes contained no falsehood. He wouldn’t mistake it; the light shining in those eyes was trust and acknowledgment.

Not showing any signs of retreat, and not even hesitating? This kind of trust was the trust to entrust one’s back, even surpassing the trust relationship between Master and Servant.

I’m even a bit jealous of the me outside. Being a vengeful ghost yet still receiving such trust from you.

“Is that so… I really can’t help you.”

“Kuhahaha, fine, since you’ve chosen to continue, then just endure it. I’m a vengeful ghost without any compassion, so I won’t hold back because of your pain! Prepare yourself, Master!”

“Osu! Count!”

Chapter 5: Becoming a Magus

The dryness in his mouth, the tearing sensation in his body, the burning heat coursing through his internal channels.

The pain feedback from various parts of his body made Xia Yuan’s mind even clearer.

He couldn’t help but let out a few screams of agony: “Urgh, aah…”

“Since we’ve already started, grit your teeth and persevere to the end, Master.”

Seeing Xia Yuan’s strong reaction, the Count in the Prison Tower felt a bit worried.

In the outside world—

Mumbling sounds came from the sleeping Xia Yuan’s mouth, sweat beading on his forehead had already soaked his entire face. Accompanied by slight convulsions in his body, the faint blue outlines of magical energy circuits on his skin gradually became vaguely visible.

The beads of sweat running down his forehead and the contorted expression inevitably made the Count, who was standing by Xia Yuan’s side, feel anxious.

He wiped away the sweat on Xia Yuan’s forehead with a freshly washed towel. Although his face remained expressionless as usual, the pile of cigarette butts at his feet well reflected his state of mind.

Seemingly as steady as an old dog, but actually panicking like a horse, he was also very worried about his Master’s condition.

Observing the magic circuits beginning to appear on Xia Yuan’s skin, the continuous mumbling, and his increasingly distorted face, made his mood become more anxious.

“Master… hang in there…”

As a Servant, he could of course recognize what the faint blue veins appearing on Xia Yuan’s skin were.

[Magic Circuits.]

This is the innate source of magical energy for magi.

It’s also a unique organ of magi. Simply put, its function is to act as a converter and driver for magi to transform their life force into magical energy. Without these organ-like nerves, magi would have no way to use magecraft.

Similarly, the quantity and quality of magic circuits can reflect a magus’s aptitude, because the number and quality of magic circuits are determined at birth. Likewise, achievements in the magical world largely depend on one’s aptitude.

Xia Yuan had formed a contract with himself, so he would peek into his memories or dreams.

The main purpose of deliberately pulling the Master into the Prison Tower was to ask another version of himself to help Xia Yuan open his magic circuits.

The Count was very clear that his Master would never be mediocre. He just lacked an opportunity, lacked some tempering, before he could become a true strong person.

Although sending him into the Prison Tower was very cruel, he had no other choice at this point.

If he couldn’t steel his heart, the fate awaiting him would only be death.

Xia Yuan couldn’t provide the magical energy he needed. For a Servant, what value does a Master who can’t supply magical energy have? If he didn’t possess the [Self-Replenishment] innate skill that allowed him to recover magical energy on his own, he might not have lasted until today.

A Servant that was already quite mana-consuming, paired with a Master who couldn’t supply mana, was undoubtedly adding frost to snow. Due to Xia Yuan’s limitations, he couldn’t even exert one-fifth of his power. Xia Yuan himself had no means of counterattack when faced with other magi’s attacks.

He himself had no other means besides some street fighting methods. In this state, his own strength couldn’t be fully utilized. If this continued, when the Holy Grail War came, they would definitely be the pair that died most miserably.

So he very clearly realized that continuing like this would only lead to a slow death.

Rather than sitting and waiting for death here, it was better to send Xia Yuan in to take a gamble.

Although it’s called the Prison Tower that exists in the world as hell, containing the world’s greatest sinners, it is hell, and also the convergence of all pain. The black fortress contains all the suffering and despair, and the prisoners absolutely cannot escape from it…

But… unable to escape?

The Count looked at the young man lying on the bed, raising his hand to wipe away the sweat on his forehead.

There is no prison in the world that is absolutely inescapable, and no truly hopeless predicament.

Even that Prison Tower is the same.

At least one person had escaped before, and the method of escape was right before his eyes…

That prison couldn’t hold the King of the Cavern, and of course, it couldn’t hold his Master either, so…

“Don’t worry, Master, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

…

“Urgh, aah…”

The sudden pain from some sensory point made Xia Yuan let out piercing screams. Although he didn’t understand magecraft, the Count’s reckless method of opening the circuits was obviously unreliable.

This method of injecting magical energy into the body and using it to forcibly break open the shackles and open the magic circuits was unheard of to him. When watching Emiya Shirou open his magic circuits in his previous life, it definitely wasn’t this painful.

This feeling was much more painful than being cut with a knife several times.

As the ritual continued, the burning sensation in his body’s channels became increasingly intense. The pain even made Xia Yuan start to doubt whether the Count really understood how to develop magic circuits.

That sentence about him being just a vengeful ghost, not some magus, and not being responsible if something went wrong, had actually come true at this moment.

“Aah…”

Heart-wrenching screams came from his mouth. Whether in the outside world or in the dream, his body was already soaked in cold sweat. The Count beside him, seeing this, frowned slightly and called out to him.

“Hold on, endure it! Don’t succumb to the pain of your body. Use your iron will that erupts in desperate situations to overcome the suffering, complete your revenge on yourself.”

“Ugh, who understands what you’re saying…” He gritted his teeth and retorted.

Can this intense pain really be compensated for by sheer willpower?

Fortunately, the duration of this pain wasn’t too long, just the longest few minutes of his life, after which the pain began to recede like the tide.

Seeing Xia Yuan, who had consumed all the magical energy ash and was about to collapse on the ground, the Count promptly stepped forward to support him.

Looking down to observe the faint dozen or so blue veins that had appeared on his skin, he nodded with satisfaction.

At this moment, the magic circuits in Xia Yuan’s body had been activated, and he had taken the first step into the world of magecraft.

Similarly, both the Count in the dream and the one in the outside world, who had formed a Master-Servant contract with Xia Yuan, could vaguely sense a considerable amount of magical energy being supplied. It was quite a good amount of magical energy supply.

For the Count in the outside world, this was the first time he had received magical energy supply from his Master, apart from eating and his self-replenishment skill.

“Well done, Master!”

“This good amount of magical energy supply indicates that your magic circuits are highly efficient in converting life force into magical energy. Although the quantity isn’t that impressive, the quality is quite good… I didn’t expect this reckless method to succeed on the first try.”

Succeeded on the first try?

If it had failed, were you prepared to try several more times?

Thinking of this, Xia Yuan’s expression became somewhat unpleasant.

If he had to endure this torture a few more times, he would definitely faint from the pain.

“You did exceptionally well, Master. I saw your will that erupted in the desperate situation,” the Count, who had witnessed everything, clapped his hands in satisfaction, praising Xia Yuan. “The iron-like will that erupted in the desperate situation overcame the pain of the body. It’s like launching a revenge against your past self.”

“To overcome your past self with the will that erupts in desperate situations, and to be reborn, completing revenge against yourself, it’s truly splendid, kuhahaha—!”

What do you understand?

Seeing the Count shouting again at the slightest provocation, Xia Yuan wanted to retort, but the pain and weakness feedback from his body had already left him speechless.

Even though he was holding onto the Count’s hand, his legs and feet were still shaking uncontrollably. Mustering his strength, he asked,

“Are we going directly to the Judgment Chamber on the first floor next? By the way, can I rest for a while? I feel like I could faint at any moment in my current state.”

Hearing this, the Count just laughed “Haha” and nodded, saying, “Of course you can. Your soul entered through the gate voluntarily, you’re not a prisoner here, so naturally, you won’t be constrained here.”

“The Prison Tower can’t trap you. You can come when you want to come, and leave when you want to leave. Of course, you can leave at any time.”

“But remember, your ticket is only valid for the duration of this Holy Grail War. When your connection with that me is severed, you won’t be able to come and go anymore.”

“Huh? Then… what you said earlier about being unable to escape…”

“Kuhahaha, of course I was lying to you. If I didn’t cut off your escape route, how could I make you erupt in adversity?”

Seeing Xia Yuan’s face full of black lines, the Count couldn’t help but laugh, raising his hand to pat Xia Yuan’s back, showing a pleased expression, which made Xia Yuan’s face look even worse.

“Don’t blame me, Master. These are all things that other me asked me to tell you. He said if I didn’t say it this way, you wouldn’t struggle wholeheartedly!”

“You guys actually schemed against me!”

“Don’t be angry. Anyway, the result isn’t bad. Master, take a good rest, and we’ll see each other again later.”

Seeing Xia Yuan’s exhaustion, the Count stopped teasing him. He slowly raised his hand and struck the back of Xia Yuan’s neck, physically putting him to sleep with a chop. Then he took off his cloak and draped it over Xia Yuan’s back, supporting him up, trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

In his hazy state, Xia Yuan heard the Count’s final farewell.

“Take a little rest first, Master.”

“Until we meet again, my accomplice.”

…

…

In the outside world—

When Xia Yuan regained consciousness, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the Count who had been watching over him by the bedside all night.

But this time, what he encountered was reality.

What he saw was no longer that gloomy and damp prison tower, but his own cozy and familiar little house.

“Yo, awake, Master? You’ve slept for two days and two nights straight. It’s good to be young, able to fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.”

“Hm?”

Seeing that green fellow at the bedside teasing him, Xia Yuan immediately felt angry. He didn’t bother to respond, just reached for the pillow at the head of the bed and threw it at him.

“Huh?”

Seeing Xia Yuan still full of vigor, the Count smiled slightly, his worried heart finally relaxing. He easily caught the pillow Xia Yuan threw, shook his head and said,

“Your morning temper is really bad.”

Chapter 6: A Priest’s Visit

After waking up and washing off the cold sweat in the bathroom, Xia Yuan still looked a bit dazed. The fatigue feedback from his body made him feel weak. The dream and reality were interconnected, and the experiences in the Prison Tower were reflected on his body in the real world.

Raising his hand to try converting magical energy, seventeen magic circuits of varying thickness flickered with a faint blue light, and several streams of magical energy began to circulate within his body along the magic circuits.

He started trying to refine and mobilize magical energy.

“So this is what magic circuits feel like… This feeling of magical energy flowing through the meridians is quite amazing, not bad at all.”

Trying to circulate magical energy and familiarizing himself with his current body state, Xia Yuan nodded.

Although he had just opened his magic circuits and was still not quite used to his body’s condition, the fullness of magical energy circulating in his body made him feel unexpectedly novel.

Seeing Xia Yuan successfully circulating magical energy, the Count sitting in the chair also received the corresponding supply. Feeling the magical energy filling his body, the weakness from the long lack of magical energy supply was gradually disappearing.

Although his innate skill, Self-Replenishment, could help him maintain a separate magical energy supply when separated from his Master, that amount of supply could at best only maintain his most basic activities. Small-scale battles were possible, but it was far from enough for using Noble Phantasms or fighting against other Servants.