Chapter 83: No. 13013
The fountain pen shattered in Su Xiao's hand, transforming into a stream of black particles that formed a sword shape floating in midair.
[Hunter has used World Key: Treasured Keepsake.]
[Notice: Hunter is about to enter the 'Fate/stay night' world. Storyline time: Fifth Holy Grail War.]
[Notice: Detected that the Hunter has participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Synchronizing world data...]
[World synchronization complete. Searching for contractors with the same storyline progress...]
[Search failed. No contractors with the same storyline progress found. The Hunter must either wait patiently or abandon the original world progress, which will clear all plot character affinity, reputation, etc.]
Su Xiao immediately chose to abandon the 'original world progress.' During the Fourth Holy Grail War, his only ally was the old priest, but unfortunately, the old priest had already died.
Coincidentally, last time it was the Blood Gate Adventurers chasing Su Xiao in the Holy Grail World, and this time, Su Xiao was actively tracking them.
Su Xiao didn't have a tracking item for now, so he had to choose another method. According to the information provided by Divine Emperor, Blood Gate was preparing to enter the Fifth Holy Grail War and use some kind of item to extract the 'Corrupted Holy Grail.' For contractors with various rare items, this wasn't impossible.
Blood Gate was trying to artificially create a Holy Grail to reap massive benefits from it. To obtain the 'Corrupted Holy Grail,' Blood Gate's first step was to conquer the Holy Grail World. For something like this, Stan would definitely act personally. It was worth noting that the Holy Grail World was extremely special. Although it wasn't an open world, its combat power would unlock based on the contractor's rank.
If the Holy Grail World went all out, the Fourth Holy Grail War could be classified as a fifth-rank world, while the Fifth Holy Grail War was relatively lower, around fourth-rank. After all, Gilgamesh wasn't in his Servant form, and the Masters were increasingly questionable.
In the Fourth Holy Grail War, both the Servants and Masters were strong. In the Fifth, the Servants were equally powerful, but some Masters were quite embarrassing.
Su Xiao didn't have a tracking item, so he purchased a World Key to enter the Fifth Holy Grail War. Combined with intelligence provided by someone from the Divine Emperor Adventure Group, Su Xiao and the Blood Gate Adventurers entered the Fifth Holy Grail War simultaneously. This way, the chances of both parties entering the same world were high, at least over 60%.
Even if he didn't encounter the Blood Gate Adventurers, Su Xiao wouldn't lose much. At worst, he'd just fight through one Holy Grail War. The timeline of the Holy Grail War was short, with few schemes and conspiracies. The Servants would just clash with each other, and the last one standing would be the victor.
[Notice: Hunter has abandoned the original Holy Grail World progress.]
[Detected a large number of contractors entering the Holy Grail World simultaneously (Fourth Rank). Selecting world...]
[Notice: Due to special circumstances, Artoria Pendragon cannot participate in battle. The Saber (Knight of the Sword) class is being reassigned...]
In Reincarnation Paradise, inside a castle.
Stan, seated on an iron throne, opened his eyes. His upper body was bare, with metal plates embedded in his left chest. A yellow-black energy drifted from the iron throne, charging the plates on his chest.
"What's going on?"
Stan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable weight that demanded a response.
"Not sure yet."
A dwarf clad in full armor beside Stan spoke. He was one of Stan's trusted subordinates, Iron Rat, though most called him Iron Mouse.
"Artoria Pendragon can't fight? Did your world progress mess up?"
"Absolutely not."
"Boss, you gave us orders before. How could we..."
Several dozen contractors near Stan spoke up, showing both respect and fear for him, with fear outweighing respect.
"We're already at the point of no return. Even if Saber doesn't show up, we can't back out now. We've invested so much in the Sakura Matou route. Without Shinji Matou dragging her down, the Servant she summons will definitely be the strongest. Besides, the Servant she summons can, to some extent, break free from class restrictions."
A female voice rang out, clinging like a bone-deep poison. It was seductive but even more dangerous.
The speaker was Stan's wife, Nairoy. This woman was ruthless enough to cuckold Stan, yet he hadn't gotten rid of her.
As she spoke, Nairoy draped her arm over the shoulder of a gaunt man. The man shuddered, a bitter look on his face. He was also one of Stan's trusted subordinates, known as Old Smoker.
Old Smoker wanted to step back but didn't dare offend Nairoy. He could only look at her helplessly, as if to say, "Sister-in-law, I haven't offended you. Don't torment me."
"Cowardly man."
Nairoy chuckled and shoved Old Smoker aside. She felt a pang of nostalgia for Umbrella Brother, even though he had almost been ruined by her.
Thinking of Umbrella Brother, Nairoy couldn't help recalling that passionate night. While they were in the thick of it, she suddenly said, "I'm Stan's wife." The look on Umbrella Brother's face at that moment was priceless...
The fact that he didn't suffer psychological trauma only showed that Umbrella Brother had strong mental fortitude.
Stan tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne. Things had reached a point where, as Nairoy said, they were at the point of no return. Sakura Matou was a plot character they had cultivated for a long time. First, they rescued her from the old worm, then sent her to a certain magician to develop her magic circuits. As expected, the Servant she summoned would be the strongest.
Just as Stan was pondering the earlier anomaly, a sensation of teleportation washed over him. A total of 197 fourth-rank contractors from the Blood Gate Adventurers entered the Holy Grail World. Of course, this wasn't the entire Blood Gate Adventurers. The Holy Grail World wasn't a large open world and couldn't accommodate too many contractors at once, but these were all elite members.
As the Blood Gate Adventurers were teleported into the Holy Grail World, Su Xiao's side also felt the teleportation.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Beini were each struck by a dull blow, and then spatial energy enveloped the team.
In a hazy state of consciousness, Su Xiao suddenly heard faint sounds. He snapped his eyes open.
What met his gaze was a sea of chains. Amu and Bubu Wang were nowhere nearby. Before Su Xiao could examine his surroundings, a pulling force came over him.
[Searching for personnel suitable for the Saber class. Evaluating...]
[Current Saber class candidates: five.]
[Contractor No. 11340, compatibility 70% (Female).]
[Contractor No. 10833, compatibility 17.5% (Male).]
[Contractor No. 12559, compatibility 83% (Female).]
[Contractor No. 10051, compatibility 12.7% (Male).]
[Contractor No. 13013, compatibility 3.5% (Male).]
[Compatibility evaluation: Contractor No. 12559 has high compatibility, gaining 8 priority points.]
[Combat power evaluation: Contractor No. 13013 has extremely high combat power, gaining 27 priority points.]
[Adjudication complete. Contractor No. 13013 will become the Saber (Knight of the Sword) class.]
A flood of notifications appeared before Su Xiao. His fake contractor ID was exactly No. 13013.