Why fight the Holy Grail War? Let's play cards!

"Is this what I will look like in the future? I feel so awesome!" Little Illya's eyes twinkled with stars. She had no idea what she would face next.

"Right, Illya is amazing! Then, with the effect of [Illyasviel von Einzbern [Cloak of Heaven]], I Special Summon [Illyasviel von Einzbern] from the Graveyard!"

A soulless replica of Illya appeared in the battle area, assuming a fighting stance while manipulating the Engel Lied hair.

"Then unleash the [Origin Bullet] to destroy Emiya Kiritsugu. That's it! Illya, take this attack with a total attack of 4000!"

After [Irisviel von Einzbern] was destroyed, little Illya, whose LP was not full to begin with, was directly hit by an attack of 2500, and her LP returned to zero!

Then, Emiya Kiritsugu was knocked away.

Seeing Illya's puzzled look, Jiang You explained, "There's nothing strange about this. The stakes of the duel were shifted to Emiya Kiritsugu at the beginning."

He checked his email and found no battle rewards. "It seems like there's only one deck, or maybe only rewards for defeating the participants in the Holy Grail War. This game's guidance is terrible. I'll have to give you feedback later. I just don't know how much the favorability has increased. As an important Illya-related card, it should be very good."

"How can this possibly make me like her?" Illya couldn't help but complain when she saw her childhood self looking at Kiritsugu, who was lying on the snow with one hand pointing at his face, with great concern.

"Of course it went up. I've already played all the cards and won, so how could it not go up? Yeah, maybe Old K doesn't allow me to see the favorability bar just to make it more engaging. I think it's good too. The more intuitive the experience, the more positive feedback. I'll have to include this in the feedback."

Seeing Jiang You was talking nonsense again, Illya took the initiative to interrupt him and began to ask about the previous topic. "Let's not talk about this for now. Caster, you really like dueling, right? I want to summon you to the next Holy Grail War. Won't that give you more dueling opportunities? Can you at least tell me your real name?"

Because Jiang You's personality was too eccentric, and he was easygoing in some aspects (referring to not getting angry even when being kicked in the face) and he also had a strange fondness for her (referring to the powerful linkage card she wanted), Illya and Jiang You became familiar with each other in a short period of time.

"That's really my name!" Jiang You felt that Konami should have given players a history when setting it up, so that being a Heroic Spirit wouldn't be too out of place. "As for the summoning method, we've been in contact so much, and I'll be summoning you often in the future. How about you try treating yourself as a Holy Relic?"

"Can this still happen?"

"I think it should be possible..." Jiang You said as he saw another email notification. It said a new expansion pack was being prepared, and at the bottom was a ticking countdown of [171:42:03]. "When will you prepare for the summoning ceremony?"

"About seven days later, what happened?"

It was a perfect match. Jiang You, while internally praising Old K for his vast collaboration and his unwavering conscience, replied with certainty. "Just summon me when the time comes. I'll definitely come."

"Really?" Illya's gaze shifted slightly towards Emiya Kiritsugu and confirmed again. "Is it an appointment?"

"We've made an appointment, I will definitely come! You can doubt my character, but you can't doubt my desire for the new expansion pack! I will come to play cards even if I have to take a leave!" Jiang You promised, patting his chest.

Illya understood every word Jiang You said, but when they were put together, it sounded like some niche language. She sighed deeply, "Caster, if only you could be more normal. You're a bit of a waste of this skin."

Illya watched her younger self help Kiritsugu up, brushing the snow off him with her mother. The three of them were in harmony, and she began to imagine what it would be like after she summoned Jiang You. "First, we have to win the Holy Grail War. Even if the Holy Grail is tainted, it won't be a problem for the Servants to manifest. But even if we lose, we have to ensure that Caster's manifestation method can be maintained. That way, my mother can visit me more often. Of course, I won't be too greedy and won't take away too much of my happiness here. As for that guy Emiya Kiritsugu..."

Earlier in the study, Jiang You had told her the general course of the Holy Grail War. Emiya Kiritsugu had indeed not abandoned her, but Jiang You had also explained in detail the choices Kiritsugu had made.

"For the sake of world peace and saving humanity, abandoning me and my mother... This is truly unforgivable. He clearly said he would come back for me." Illya was in turmoil, unsure how to handle such a family relationship. Her feelings for Kiritsugu were genuine and unconditional, and so were her mother's.

But how much does Kiritsugu have? Perhaps the desire for the destruction of Kiritsugu's family occupies a large proportion of Kiritsugu's heart, but how much does Kiritsugu have now?

"Caster, you said Kiritsugu..."

It’s just that someone has already logged off and gone to sleep, leaving only the sound of the whistling wind.

Chapter 10 Security Check Guy: We Will Win

"Here, Brother Jiang, your noodles." The girl with a side ponytail placed a bowl of noodles in front of Jiang You. The red soup swayed under the influence of inertia, spreading the aroma all over the room. "It's rare for you to come here, why don't you come to say hello and just sit here browsing on your phone?"

Seeing Jiang You concentrating on his phone, the girl tapped his head lightly with the dinner plate to get his attention.

Jiang You then raised his head and looked at the girl. "Xiao He? You've taken on a side job, so you have to be worthy of your salary. You just finished your work recently, so you have the opportunity to come and have a meal. But instead of saying that it's rare for me to come, it's better to ask why you have time to come and help your mother serve dishes?"

Jiang You grew up in this city. He was a frequent customer of the restaurant not far from his home. The boss lady's soup noodles were famous, and it was because he was very familiar with the boss lady that he was spared the trouble of queuing.

It was just because Xiao He's family background was relatively good and she had never suffered any grievances since childhood. She was still very spoiled when they met two years ago, but her capable appearance when she came to help with the business today made Jiang You a little surprised.

Jiang You just thought she was in college and had matured a little.

"Why? In your eyes, am I the kind of person who has never done housework?" Xiao He put his hands on his hips, his little face puffed up.

"That's true." Jiang You said with a smile.

Ignoring Xiao He's pink fist, Jiang You picked up a chopstick of noodles and inhaled it.

He paused, frowning slightly. He put down his chopsticks and looked at the bowl of noodles.

The color and smell haven't changed in the past ten years, but the taste of the noodles is not right. It's not that it's not delicious, it just feels a little off.

"Little girl, stop flirting with your boyfriend. I'm starving!" The old diner at the next table urged jokingly. Because the noodle shop was crowded, there was indeed not much free time for Xiao He and Jiang You to chat.

Xiao He shook his fist at Jiang You, made a "wait" gesture, and started his work again.

Looking at the busy Xiao He and the proprietress who was busy pacing around in the kitchen, Jiang You lost the desire to ask.

The noodles were just a little off, but still very delicious.

After finishing a satisfying meal, Jiang You said hello to the mother and daughter, then hurried home to start playing his game intensively.

As Jiang You walked away, the bustling restaurant suddenly became quiet. Dozens of diners seemed to have pressed the pause button, frozen in place, maintaining the same posture as the previous second.

The expression on Xiao He's smiling face slowly faded, becoming overly solemn. "He realized something was wrong."

The proprietress poked the broth expressionlessly. "It's just the taste. You were in a bad mood, accidentally added too much seasoning, or maybe you asked me to teach you how to make it specifically for him—all of these could be excuses. The data has been fully recorded so there won't be any mistakes next time. But do you really think you can fool him like this?"

"You should also know that he is [stranded] in this world, not [descended] into it. If he denies the reality of this world and desires to return to where he came from, everything in this world will pave the way for him. His existence far transcends ours. Even if this universe were to fall silent, his wish would not be fulfilled. This universe would become an infinitely collapsing singularity. He simply subconsciously believes that this is the way it should be. The very concept of rules has been twisted into his will. Even with all the computing power of Mooncell, he couldn't replicate even one ten-thousandth of this area. It's not so much that we opened this place up as that it was his will. Why not weave a fantastic dream for him?"

"This can only temporarily stave off destruction. Now, because of his own thoughts, he has trapped himself in the body of a low-level Heroic Spirit. This is his only chance."

"I will not allow you to do anything. Although it is hard to believe, he essentially possesses the entire concept of humanity. He is a concept among concepts, a human among humans."

"So this is why you favor him? Even at the cost of using your power against the Beast?"

At the same time, the monarch of a certain clock tower felt an uncontrollable surprise and joy.

"The scale of this spiritual base? It's really amazing that such a small rural magic competition can summon such a powerful Servant."

The golden armor gleamed brightly, and the tall man arrived like a nation.

"...Who is calling me? Is that so? That's truly astonishing... I see. Then I'll say this: Roma (I) will protect everything!"

Although the result was far from what the Holy Relic he had prepared should have achieved, the Lord of the Clock Tower was still very satisfied. "I have won! Waver Velvet, my naughty student. Let me teach you a lesson!"

"Caster, can't you transform into a spirit particle? Why do you need to take a plane?" Just like in the original novel, Kiritsugu Emiya went to Fuyuki to scout the area in advance. Jiang You replaced Saber and took a plane to Fuyuki with Irisviel.

The reason was completely different. The rules of the Holy Grail War had been completely altered by Jiang You, and there wasn't much difference between a Servant and a Master acting together. Emiya Kiritsugu and Jiang You were operating separately to gather more intelligence, at least to determine the identities of the enemy Master and Servants, and ideally to witness their encounters and gather deck information.

Jiang You was primarily responsible for the safety of Irisviel, the Little Holy Grail. The rules of the duel currently only covered participants in the Holy Grail War. Other participants would need to provide a deck or be invited by Jiang You to duel.

As for how Jiang You knew this rule.

The black-haired guy entered the country without a passport. His deck was so powerful that it was like a monster, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't be stopped!

The security guy said: "That's really strong! I doubt he has used his full strength yet."

In the end, it was Alice who used the magic of suggestion to help Jiang You pass the security check successfully.

"You mean that? That's logging off. You'll be back where you logged off. You'll have to fight the Holy Grail War on your own." Seeing Irisviel's bewildered expression, Jiang You offered an explanation even a magus could understand. "Just think of it as a phase shift that records coordinates. When I disappear, I'm active in another world. I can't actually transform into a spirit."

The waiting time was too boring, so Jiang You started playing with his previous email rewards.

The transparent crystal reflected a fantastical color. Jiang You looked at it for a long time but couldn't read any system prompts. He put the crystal and the card together, but it didn't do anything.

Jiang You could only throw stones on the spot.

"Ca... Caster, what is that in your hand?" Seeing what Jiang You was holding, Irisviel was so anxious that her hair almost flew up.

Shenyoutianwai Jiangyou replied nonchalantly, "Oh, this? The soul crystal."

Irisviel was only a micrometer away from exploding on the spot.

Chapter 11 It’s time to brush up on favorability materials

"You...I..." Faced with the thing in Jiang You's hand, Alice completely lost the ability to speak.

"You look like you want this thing?" Jiang You shook the soul crystal in his hand. Seeing Irisviel's piercing eyes, his soul almost flew out of his chest. So he handed it to her directly.

"Then I'll give it to you. I don't know what this thing is for, do you know?" Jiang You still hadn't figured out what it was. After all, the Third Law hadn't specifically appeared in the plot, and it was all just specious stuff. And in his eyes, this was a Konami game, so anything sent in the mail should be related to Yu-Gi-Oh!

Irisviel looked at Jiang You in disbelief, and she accepted the crystal with trembling reverence. Tears flowed uncontrollably, and her changing expression made it hard to tell whether she was laughing or crying. Jiang You even suspected that there was something wrong with the AI.

"Sir Caster, thank you, thank you so much. Einzbern will never forget your kindness." Irisviel carefully wrapped the crystal layer by layer, and did not forget to release a small barrier to disperse idlers.

Jiang You suddenly received an email notification, claiming he'd received [Irisviel von Einzbern]*2 [Celestial Clothes]*2...most of which were related to Irisviel dekas, supposedly rewards for improving Irisviel's favorability. It was quite generous, the only drawback being that it wasn't a full three.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier that it was a favorability item?" Jiang You suddenly realized and began to think about the source of the soul crystal.

At this time, Irisviel had already knelt at Jiang You's feet, saying words of praise as best she could. Jiang You only listened to a few words and quickly pulled her up. He was so embarrassed that his toes almost scratched through the plane.

After calming down a few times, Irisviel respectfully requested, "Please allow me to go back. I must bring this long-cherished wish back to my family."

"Huh?" Upon hearing the news that Irisviel had rushed back, Emiya Kiritsugu, still sporting bruises, revealed a bewildered expression. "You said you gave her something, and she took a flight back the moment she landed? What did you give her?"

"Soul Crystal, judging by its effects, it should be a high-level favorability item, similar to aphrodisiac cake. I'm also curious what kind of card you can get if I give it to you."

"That's quite the way you say things. Cards are everything to you. No wonder your Noble Phantasm is like this." Emiya Kiritsugu held his head, trying to understand Jiang You's thoughts, but found it was all in vain. "This thing is worth enough to bribe the participants of ten Holy Grail Wars to play matches with you."

"It sounds like if I take it, hundreds of people will jump out and rush over to attack, shouting, 'The competent takes it.' Next time, I'll give you one. The others don't matter. I'm determined to get your 'Bitter Choice'."

"It's wrong of me to discuss this with you. Let me tell you the information I've got so far." Kiritsugu Emiya tried hard to return the situation to normal.

After Emiya Kiritsugu briefly described the Master's identity, Jiang You discovered that the story was unchanged from the original, with the only difference being that Ryunosuke Uryu was dead. After receiving the news, Kiritsugu confirmed Ryunosuke Uryu's identity and obtained the identity information of all the Masters who participated in the battle early on.

"Ryunosuke Uryu died, so I think I know where the Soul Crystal came from." Jiang You, referring to the card he received, guessed that because he occupied the Caster class, Gild Ray was mistakenly summoned as a Saber. As a result, due to a conflict of ideologies, Gild Ray successfully defeated Ryunosuke Uryu, but lost his magic power and was eliminated. Since defeating Kiritsugu would give him a card related to Illya, Jiang You received what should have been the reward for defeating Gild Ray.

If Joan of Arc corresponds to the reward for Gilles de Rais's retirement, then the Soul Crystal is the reward for Ryunosuke Uryu's retirement.

"In other words, soul crystals will be produced when the Master dies..."

Jiang You's eyes involuntarily turned to Emiya Kiritsugu.

Emiya Kiritsugu was so frightened by being stared at that he almost took out the Origin Bullet.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to go the massacre route this time. I plan to experience the plot carefully. And I'm not sure whether it's possible to produce soul crystals with magic power. Isn't this a suitable experimental subject?" Jiang You pointed to the information of the Matou family, one of the three great families on the table.

Emiya Kiritsugu quickly stopped Jiang You's reckless behavior. "It's still the early stages of the Holy Grail War. If you take the initiative, you will only reveal the information of your own deck. It will be very disadvantageous for the subsequent duel."

"What do you know? Fighting, cool!" Because Irisviel had suddenly returned, all previously planned itineraries had been scrapped. After spending an afternoon wandering around Fuyuki in 04, experiencing the local customs and people, Jiang You's card addiction had kicked in. How could Jiang You listen to anything now? He bolted out the door, leaping, rolling, and crawling towards the Matou residence at a speed beyond human limits.

Emiya Kiritsugu watched Jiang You walk away speechlessly. Jiang You's extremely performance art-like movements attracted a lot of attention from passers-by. He only hoped that this Holy Grail War could end soon. He felt that if this continued, his painting style would be affected.

But faced with a Servant who could take out the materialized product of the Third Law and give it away casually, he had no choice but to obey.

Emiya Kiritsugu reluctantly began to use up the favors he had accumulated. "Hey? Please help me communicate with the church and ask them to handle the follow-up work. Just say... this is an acrobatic performance."

……

"Okay, the action ability test is completed. There is no sense of incongruity, and the evaluation is very good. It's just that putting it in a card game is a bit upside down. Could it be that Old K is using it as a test field?" Soon, Jiang You arrived in front of the Matou residence.

Since he was here to challenge someone, Jiang You naturally couldn't just knock on the door properly. He simply kicked the door open and rushed in.

The withered old man sat on the sofa and greeted the evil guest who came from afar head-on.

After all, it was far too difficult for a magician to ignore a shadowy creature crawling outside his base. Matou Zouken set up defensive magic to welcome Jiang You's visit.

"What brings you here so eagerly? What's the matter?"

"Old man! It's time to get the gold coins!" Jiang You was too lazy to talk to him and directly invited him to a duel, and also started the dark game.

"I don't know what you rely on, but I don't know whether I should praise your courage or say that you are reckless for breaking into a magician's workshop alone." After investigating the scale of Jiang You's spiritual base, Matou Zouken showed a disdainful expression and prepared to transform into a bug and disperse.

Then I will use the advantage of the venue to slowly deal with this third-rate servant, thought Zouken Matou.

【Caster has invited you to a duel. Do you agree?】

【Duel/Battle】

The information suddenly appeared in front of Zouken Matou. The space around him was tightly blocked, making it impossible for him to escape. The defensive magic that was supposed to start working around him also stopped responding.

"Is this a Noble Phantasm? There's no sign of it being activated... No, it should be said that it has been activated a long time ago. It's on an astonishing scale." Matou Zouken digested the knowledge in his mind.

"Hehehe... Fine, I seem to have forgotten my past, so let this so-called 'duel' give me some fun." Matou Zouken agreed to the duel fearlessly. For him, resurrection would just consume some magic materials.

"Duel!"

Chapter 12: I want the soul crystal, I want the cards, and I want Matou Sakura even more!

Duel Space Expand

Matou Zouken LP4000

Jiangyou LP4000

"Since I am the master here, I will take the initiative. I activate the Field Spell Card [Bug Magic Workshop]!"

The scene changed into the magic workshop in the basement of the Matou family, and the rustling sound of insects came from all directions.