Chapter 21: The Self-Cultivation of a Cheater
In a hazy state of consciousness, Tohsaka Rin felt a slight coolness coming from her back. It wasn't painful, just a little itchy.
"Mmm~"
Half-asleep, Tohsaka Rin sat up, the silky blanket sliding off her. She looked out the window, where the chirping of birds could be heard.
"Is it already noon?"
Scratching her messy hair, Tohsaka Rin sat up wrapped in the blanket. Immediately, she sensed a change in her body. The magical energy within her had completely vanished; her Magic Circuits were utterly empty.
This startling change caused Tohsaka Rin to be momentarily dazed. All her past efforts had gone up in smoke. This sense of disparity made her heart sink to rock bottom. But in the next moment, she felt an abnormality on her back. Soon, she realized that all the magical energy within her had gathered at that spot on her back, or rather, it had converged in some unknown place.
Barefoot, Tohsaka Rin ran pattering over to the mirror and pulled down the blanket covering her back. She saw the Alchemy Array on her spine. The array was circular in shape, its crimson patterns nearly covering her entire back.
As Tohsaka Rin attempted to activate her Jewel Magecraft, the Third Star Radiance Alchemy Array glowed with a faint red light. The entire array seemed to come alive, magnificent and dazzling.
If Tohsaka Rin's original maximum magical energy storage capacity was 20, she now had at least 600 or more. Of course, this didn't mean her strength had increased thirtyfold. The power of her Jewel Magecraft hadn't changed; it still relied on her Magic Circuits. However, the number of times she could use Jewel Magecraft had drastically increased. To some extent, the Third Star Radiance Alchemy Array had replaced most of her Magic Circuits.
"It's somewhat like a storage device? Or a converter? Truly amazing technology."
Tohsaka Rin was very satisfied. Setting aside her magical energy storage capacity, even from an aesthetic standpoint, she didn't dislike it.
"An unexpected gain."
Tohsaka Rin smiled happily, but in the next moment, Su Xiao's words poured over her like a bucket of cold water.
"Don't get too excited. The performance of the Third Star Radiance Array is indeed excellent, but given your constitution, this thing can only be an inscription, not an imprint. If I had imprinted the Third Star Radiance Alchemy Array on your back, you'd be lucky to even crawl right now. You can't bear that thing yet."
"Inscription? Imprint? What's the difference?"
Tohsaka Rin pulled up the blanket. Although she had been seen completely naked last night, she still had her sense of shame as a lady, and it was quite substantial.
"Literally. Inscription means it's drawn on, a consumable. Imprint means it's embedded into your flesh and blood, a permanent enhancement."
"Then can I choose the imprint?"
Sensing the surging magical energy within her, Tohsaka Rin's tone was firm. A Magus's pursuit of magecraft is something ordinary people can't understand.
"Are you sure?"
Su Xiao took a sip of seafood soup, his smile becoming increasingly gentle.
"Somewhat... not so sure anymore."
"That kind of power is beyond what you can handle. Because the materials are excellent, the array on your back can last for 3 to 5 months. If used frequently, it can probably sustain itself for about 15 days to a month. After the array shatters, you'll be weakened for a few weeks. Also, while the array exists, don't try to fill it to the brim with magical energy, or you'll regret it. If you want to turn into Starlight, feel free to try."
"Starlight?"
Tohsaka Rin had no understanding of Alchemy, so of course, she didn't know what Starlight was.
"A rare biological material with an energy conduction efficiency of E12 or higher. Most of it is converted from intelligent life forms. When the Starlight Alchemy Array was first completed, it was used as bait for rapid power acquisition. It contributed no small amount of Starlight Dust for Alchemists and tricked countless people thirsting for power to their deaths. Only after more than a dozen refinements did it become the current 'Third Star Radiance Alchemy Array.'"
"I don't want to turn into Starlight Dust at all. What's the safe limit?"
"Around 95%. Exceed that energy storage limit, and you'll... boom."
Su Xiao made an explosion gesture. Tohsaka Rin's mouth twitched. Sure enough, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. While gaining power, she also had to bear certain risks.
"So, can we go find the other Masters now? I feel like I'm very strong right now."
"Of course... not."
Su Xiao had explained so much to Tohsaka Rin because he was in a good mood. Through Bubu Wang's surveillance and his summary of the Blood Gate Adventurers' movements, he had basically guessed what their team's main mission was.
At the beginning of the Holy Grail World, the Blood Gate people started purging the contractors within this world. At that time, they still prioritized the plan for the Artificial Holy Grail. But after Su Xiao appeared, Stan decisively abandoned the Artificial Holy Grail plan. This wasn't because Stan was a coward, but because he had elevated the team's main mission to the top priority.
After the Blood Gate's first ambush, they immediately turned around and attacked the Kirei Kotomine Church, sealing off the central district. This seemed like a trap to lure Su Xiao out, but in reality, the Blood Gate's target wasn't Su Xiao. They simply needed to go to the Kirei Kotomine Church. As for sealing off the central district, it was just to prevent Su Xiao from interfering.
The Blood Gate Adventurers almost leveled the Kirei Kotomine Church. At that time, the church was empty. This meant they were searching for something, or someone. After finding nothing, they blew up the church as a smokescreen to make Su Xiao mistakenly believe it was a trap set for him.
Initially, Su Xiao hadn't thought of this. The battle with the Blood Gate at that time was too intense. But shortly after, when he was fighting Gilgamesh, and the three of them, Stan, arrived at an unbelievable speed, he vaguely sensed something was wrong.
The three of them arrived far too quickly. From the time they left the barrier in the suburbs to when they approached the battlefield between Su Xiao and Gilgamesh, it was only a few hours. To pinpoint the location so accurately could only mean one thing: Stan was looking for Kirei Kotomine.
Su Xiao and Stan were already locked in a life-or-death struggle. At this point, the other party still had the leisure to look for Kirei Kotomine? The situation was very clear. The Blood Gate's target was Kirei Kotomine, or rather, Kirei Kotomine was closely related to the Blood Gate's team main mission.
"He who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind."
Su Xiao couldn't help but laugh, because the current situation was very interesting. Stan had probably dug a pit for himself during the Fourth Holy Grail War, and now he was being pushed into it by the team's main mission.
Hearing Su Xiao's laughter, Tohsaka Rin, who was admiring the Star Radiance Array in the mirror, felt a chill run down her spine. She was conflicted inside, unsure whether having such a Servant was a good thing or a bad thing.
Having seemingly figured something out, Su Xiao was in an even better mood. If nothing unexpected happened, this Holy Grail War would end very quickly. Once the Blood Gate Adventurers were dealt with, he could steamroll everything from there on.
"Rin, find a way to contact the Mage's Association. Preferably, contact the Clock Tower directly. Tell them that Kirei Kotomine has abused his position for personal gain."
"This..."
Tohsaka Rin was stunned. Kirei Kotomine was a member of the Holy Church. If she were to report him, it should obviously be to the Holy Church. Besides, she herself was suspected of 'cheating,' having three Servants backing her up. Reporting Kirei Kotomine at this point gave her a sense of guilt, like a cheater reporting someone else for exploiting a bug.
"Just go ahead and report him. Don't worry, the Mage's Association will be much more enthusiastic about this matter than you think."
Su Xiao's goal was simple: to find Kirei Kotomine before Stan did. No matter what Stan wanted to obtain, capturing Kirei Kotomine first was the right move. As for reporting him to the Mage's Association, this was using the local forces to search for Kirei Kotomine.