Chapter 17: Azure Shadow King Awakening?
A light blue smoke enveloped Diarmuid, who had already begun to energyize.
In less than a few seconds, Diarmuid transformed into a mass of golden energy. This heroic spirit energy swam within Su Xiao's palm, while Diarmuid's soul drifted away.
"The amount is less than expected."
Perhaps due to consumption during the battle, the heroic spirit energy Su Xiao obtained was not much. Although not abundant, it was far more substantial than the amount from a single arm before.
The golden heroic spirit energy sank into Su Xiao's palm, using his arm as a conduit to enter the Devouring Core near his heart.
The intricately constructed Devouring Core immediately began operating, purifying and refining this heroic spirit energy, ultimately converting it into a colorless energy.
As the first wisp of colorless energy drifted out from the Devouring Core, the Azure Steel Shadow energy within Su Xiao's body became extremely active, surging forward in an instant to absorb that colorless energy completely.
As the heroic spirit energy within the Devouring Core decreased, the amount of colorless energy drifting out noticeably increased. After a few minutes, all the heroic spirit energy had been converted.
Su Xiao stood still, a faint blue light flickering in his eyes, the blue smoke drifting from his arms disappearing.
"Whoosh~"
Su Xiao let out a long breath. Every time he devoured high-level biological energy, it was a test of his mental fortitude.
Turning his head to look outside the unfinished building, his perception of this type of energy was extremely sharp after just absorbing heroic spirit energy.
"Already gone far, huh. Compared to Diarmuid, your energy is so rich it makes one drool."
The direction Su Xiao looked was where Saber and the others had strategically retreated.
In the distance, Saber, dressed in a black suit, suddenly stopped and instinctively turned to look in a certain direction.
"What's wrong, Saber?"
Emiya Kiritsugu's wife, Irisviel, looked at Saber with confusion. She was a beautiful woman with white hair.
Irisviel's identity was not simple. She was not human but a homunculus created by the Einzbern family. More importantly, she was the vessel prepared by the Einzbern family for the Holy Grail's descent.
As the Holy Grail War continued, whenever a heroic spirit fell in battle, Irisviel would grow weaker. The weaker she became, the closer the Holy Grail's descent.
Destined for tragedy from birth, that was the life of the beautiful woman Irisviel.
At present, Irisviel was not too weak, as only two heroic spirits had fallen so far (Diarmuid + Lancelot).
Hearing Irisviel's question, Saber shook her head.
"It's nothing. I just have an ominous feeling. That combination of heroic spirit and Master is too strange, as if..."
"As if their roles were reversed."
Emiya Kiritsugu finished the sentence, also having noticed the clue.
"Exactly, roles reversed!"
Saber strongly agreed with this assessment.
"The Command Seals on that 'Master's' hand... are drawn on."
Emiya Kiritsugu's words stunned Saber and the others.
"Drawn on?"
Saber was somewhat surprised, clearly unable to accept such an operation.
"That's right, drawn on. Although no Master in previous Holy Grail Wars has done this, it's a good method."
"Then we should also..."
Irisviel raised her fair hand, seemingly wanting to draw a Command Seal on it as well.
"No."
Emiya Kiritsugu refused decisively.
"Although drawing a Command Seal on the hand can confuse enemies from a distance, it requires corresponding combat strength and many conditions. You can't do it, but Saber might consider it."
Hearing Emiya Kiritsugu's words, Saber fell silent, clearly unwilling to draw a fake Command Seal on her hand to deceive others. The knightly virtue of 'honesty' did not permit her to do so.
The group fell silent. After a long while, Emiya Kiritsugu suddenly spoke.
"Saber, if you were to face that heroic spirit, what are your chances of victory?"
"Six... no, at most five. I have the advantage in Noble Phantasms, and I have ways to deal with his swordsmanship. It's just that blue smoke drifting from his hands... that smoke seems to be able to... devour me!"
Saber's swordsmanship was not weak, but it was slightly inferior to Su Xiao's. However, Saber had the A-rank ability 'Instinct.' A-rank Instinct could already foresee the future for a short time, such as predicting the angle of Su Xiao's slash in advance.
"Is that so? Then the best course is to avoid his sharp edge."
Emiya Kiritsugu began contemplating his next strategy. The reason he retreated now was to let Su Xiao take out more heroic spirits, thereby reducing the competition.
Unfortunately, Su Xiao would not reappear in Fuyuki City for a short time.
...
Inside the unfinished building, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground, faintly able to hear Kariya Matou's roars from the empty lot below.
The Azure Steel Shadow energy within his body gradually stabilized. Su Xiao opened his eyes, and a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Due to absorbing energy converted by the Devouring Core, Azure Steel Shadow level increased.]
[Azure Steel Shadow has been raised to Lv.22.]
Azure Steel Shadow had increased by two levels, or more precisely, by one and a half levels. As Su Xiao continued to use the Azure Steel Shadow ability, this skill would gradually improve.
One heroic spirit raising Azure Steel Shadow by about one and a half levels was far less than what a Tailed Beast had provided, after all, the energy base of the two was vastly different.
The combat power of a heroic spirit differed from that of a Tailed Beast, and the power systems of the Naruto World and the Holy Grail World were also different.
Compared to Chakra, the magical energy of the Holy Grail World was several ranks lower, not in terms of power, but judged from multiple aspects such as energy function and nature.
An 'Arc' flickered at Su Xiao's fingertip. The manifested Azure Steel Shadow energy resembled lightning, but the nature of the two was different.
Although it had only increased by two levels, Su Xiao felt that the density of his Azure Steel Shadow energy had significantly increased. He opened his skill list to check the detailed information after the Azure Steel Shadow skill upgrade.
[Azure Steel Shadow (Active Skill)]
Use Condition: After activating (Azure Steel Shadow), the Hunter consumes 66 Mana Points per minute (increased by 4 Mana consumption). Automatically deactivates when Mana Points fall below 1%.
Skill Effect: After activating (Azure Steel Shadow), each melee attack burns 140 Mana Points from the enemy (increased by 10 points) and deals True Damage equal to the burned Mana Points value + 10% of the enemy's consumed Mana Points (increased by 1%). The enemy will suffer intense pain from the Mana burn.
Lv.20 Additional Ability
Controller: Can highly materialize Azure Steel Shadow energy, with three forms.
Form 1, Demon Hunt: This is the basic form of Azure Steel Shadow, burning the enemy's Mana Points and dealing True Damage.
Form 2, Proud Song: This is the defensive form, capable of generating an energy shield of any shape to defend against enemy attacks. The shield's strength is related to the Mana Points consumed, with a single-use Mana consumption cap of 400 points.
Form 3, Azure Shadow King (2% Awakened).
...
All attributes of the Azure Steel Shadow skill had improved. When Su Xiao saw the introduction at the bottom, he suddenly noticed that the 'Azure Shadow King' ability had actually awakened by 2%.
This surprised and puzzled Su Xiao. He hadn't done anything special. Was it because of the Azure Steel Shadow level increase?
Perhaps that wasn't the reason. Previously, in the Naruto World, when the Azure Steel Shadow ability increased from Lv.20 to Lv.21, the 'Azure Shadow King' still showed no signs of awakening.
Could it be a natural awakening? That possibility also seemed unlikely.
Su Xiao felt a headache coming on. There was no doubt that the 'Azure Shadow King' ability was one of the ultimate moves of the Shadow of Law Destruction. But for now, this ability was unusable, and the method of awakening was unclear.
Chapter 18: Strong Luck
The unfinished building was deathly silent. After confirming that no other heroic spirits were nearby, Su Xiao regrouped with Bubu Wang.
The formation remained the same: Bubu Wang followed Su Xiao, Sakura Matou followed Bubu Wang, and Kariya Matou followed Sakura Matou.
The group gradually moved away from the battle site. Because Kariya Matou was too conspicuous, Su Xiao could only search for an uninhabited house on the outskirts of Fuyuki City.
Half an hour later, inside an abandoned warehouse.
The warehouse was filled with a faint smell of dust. Su Xiao didn't mind this. He was waiting for the aftermath of the previous battle to settle.
Undoubtedly, the previous battle would attract the attention of other heroic spirits or Masters. And Ryuudou Temple was near that battle site. Waiting a few hours before searching for Ryuudou Temple was the safest approach.
With nothing to do, Su Xiao took out the Heroic Spirit Box dropped by Diarmuid. This item was similar to a treasure chest but could only yield one item or skill.
When opening this kind of 'treasure chest,' Su Xiao naturally had to use the Destiny Redemption lighter. Destiny Redemption had already been upgraded. Due to its high compatibility with the Golden Wax, Destiny Redemption had rightfully advanced in quality, from Blue quality to Purple quality, and there was also a surprise.
Taking out the Destiny Redemption lighter, this all-metal lighter had become even more exquisite.
Destiny Redemption +5 (Quality upgrade, enhancement level -2)
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: Purple
Category: Accessory (Extremely Rare)
Durability: 42/42 (Increased by 4 points)
Equipment Requirement: Luck Attribute below 8 points (Increased by 3 points).
Equipment Effect 1: Fortune Theft (Passive): Steals the fortune of any defeated or killed creature. Fortune is stored within 'Destiny Redemption.'
Tip: Fortune stored at 100%.
Equipment Effect 2: Power of Fortune (Active): Releases the fortune stored within 'Destiny Redemption.' Holder's Luck Attribute +4 (Increased by 1 point). Effect lasts 3 minutes (Increased by 1 minute duration). If 'Destiny Redemption' has no fortune stored, pay 500 Paradise Coins instead of fortune to achieve the same effect (-300 Paradise Coin consumption).
Tip: Power of Fortune (Active) cooldown is 4 natural days. (Reduced by 1 natural day.)
Equipment Effect 3: Strong Luck (Passive): Luck Attribute +1.
Rating: 150+ (Purple equipment rating 70 is 150 points)
Introduction: The product of fate and luck combined. The Goddess of Fortune is smiling.
Price: 46,000 Paradise Coins.
...
When Su Xiao first entered the Holy Grail World, he had already checked the attributes of Destiny Redemption. Looking at it again now, he still felt his heartbeat quicken.
Destiny Redemption had gained a new 'Strong Luck' attribute. The skill effect was simple: Luck Attribute +1!
It was precisely because of this that Su Xiao's heroic spirit Luck Attribute was E- to C+.
Do not underestimate this C+. It meant that Su Xiao was luckier than the average person. If it were his original Luck Attribute, it would most likely be E- to D, with a maximum luck cap of D+ at best. It would never reach C, let alone the current C+.
As for why his luck fluctuated so wildly, Su Xiao wasn't sure. Was it because his fate was ill-fated?
Thinking about it, it made sense. When Su Xiao was young, his biological parents died in an accident. Afterwards, he was adopted by a pair of Contractor couples.
Based on Su Xiao's judgment, the Contractor parents who raised him should have been quite strong, conservatively estimated at Rank 3 or above. He wasn't sure exactly how strong they were. But even such adoptive parents were 'cursed to death' by him, demonstrating the power of E- Luck.
If those 'innocent' adoptive parents knew about Su Xiao's Luck Attribute, they would definitely not have chosen to adopt him.
Su Xiao shook his head. Although his Contractor adoptive parents had used him to conceal their identities, he didn't have much resentment. Regardless of their motives, the grace of raising him was a debt of gratitude. Moreover, the revenge for his adoptive parents' murder had already been settled. Dwelling on these things now was meaningless. Some things had no right or wrong.
Su Xiao's current goal was to survive. That's right, just survive. In this cruel Reincarnation Paradise, only by surviving could one live a vibrant life.
And not only survive, but also continuously grow stronger. Not growing stronger = slow death = being bullied = no freedom = feeling stifled.
Therefore, considering ideals, the future, and such now was empty talk. In a place like Reincarnation Paradise, becoming stronger was the top priority. As for other things, they could only be achieved after becoming strong to a certain degree.
Lighting a cigarette, Su Xiao used Destiny Redemption to ignite it. His base Luck Attribute was 2 points. After adding the 4 points from the 'Lucky King State,' his Luck Attribute reached an astonishing 6 points.
What did this mean? Previously, the Eida (Lucky Sister) who fought Su Xiao in the Survival Trial had 8 Luck Attribute points. Once the Luck Attribute exceeded 5 points, it began to transform into tangible combat power.
The moment the Lucky King State took effect, Su Xiao felt as if the entire world was smiling upon him.
Picking up the Heroic Spirit Box, Su Xiao hesitated only for a moment before opening it.
[You have opened the Heroic Spirit Box · Dark Purple.]
[Please begin random drawing.]
A turntable appeared before Su Xiao, with a black pointer on top. The turntable was divided into several sections, each a different color: Purple, Dark Purple, Light Gold, corresponding to the colors of equipment quality. The higher the grade, the smaller the area occupied.
For example, the 'Basic Footwork Lv.10 Scroll' pattern in the Purple area occupied one-third of the entire turntable.
There were also several Dark Purple areas nearby, with patterns including: Crimson Rose of Exorcism, Mustard Yellow Rose of Annihilation, and four other patterns.
The smallest areas were Light Gold, only two of them, with patterns: Mind's Eye (True), Sealing Scroll · Love's Black Mole.
Su Xiao's gaze locked onto Mind's Eye (True). He had already mastered the Mind's Eye ability, and this Mind's Eye (True) should be an enhanced or upgraded version.
During the previous battle with Diarmuid, Su Xiao had noticed that although Diarmuid was suppressed by the Counter Shield, and his strength was far inferior, and his use of the spear was not as exquisite as Su Xiao's swordsmanship, it was still not easy for Su Xiao to land a hit on Diarmuid. This must be due to the Mind's Eye (True).
At the start of the battle, Su Xiao had slashed at Diarmuid from behind, and Diarmuid had begun to dodge almost the moment Su Xiao made the move. This left a deep impression on him.
With the enhanced Lucky King State active, Su Xiao's confidence was overflowing. He spun the turntable with his mind, and it began to rotate at high speed.
Su Xiao's gaze was fixed on the black pointer, hoping in his heart that Mind's Eye (True) would stop on it.
After more than ten seconds, the high-speed turntable gradually slowed down. Su Xiao's heartbeat quickened. He felt this was more thrilling than opening a treasure chest.
What could be opened from a treasure chest was basically unknown. Now, the things he could obtain were right before his eyes. The Light Gold pattern made him envious. With the Lucky King State active, Light Gold was not a dream.
"Stop!"
Su Xiao shouted softly. Sakura Matou, who was drinking yogurt nearby, stopped sucking. Her small hands tightly gripped the yogurt bottle, which prominently read 'Wahaha AD Calcium · Paradise Milkshake Drink Shop Improved Flavor.' Needless to say, this must have been given to Sakura Matou by Bubu Wang.
"Um..."
Sakura Matou spoke weakly. This was her first time conversing with Su Xiao.
"What?"
Su Xiao, who was intently watching the turntable, didn't turn his head.
"Do you want some? Although it's delicious... but... if you want to drink it..."
Sakura Matou held out the yogurt bottle with the straw inserted.
"No, I don't. I wasn't talking to you. You go ahead."
The turntable was about to stop. Su Xiao had no time to deal with this little girl who liked drinking yogurt. Along the way, Sakura Matou had drunk at least 5 bottles of yogurt.
"Oh~"
Sakura Matou continued drinking her yogurt. Compared to suffering in the Matou household, she preferred following this terrifying person. Moreover, after observing for a while, Sakura discovered that this man would not harm her, at least not throw her into the insect pit. She was content with her current situation.
The turntable slowly came to a halt. Su Xiao still stared intently at the Mind's Eye (True) area. That area was far from the pointer. The power of the lower limit of E- Luck was beyond doubt.
PS: (Another chapter in twenty minutes)