Inherited Magic Crests were fixed, rigid things; it was nearly impossible to alter the spells contained within them. But with a new Crest, one had to be careful not to overload it with too many unnecessary spells, as it would only waste precious prana.
Wayland took a deep breath, his magical circuits flaring as prana surged through the new pathways in his back.
The language that echoed in his mind was strange,ancient, mysterious, and heavy with the weight of the Age of Gods.
The Magic Crest became a focal point, a luminous white energy spreading from his back and unfurling across his entire body.
In an instant, he was encased in armor.
He tapped on the breastplate. The sound was dull and heavy, clearly not metallic. It felt like dragon scales,far harder and more resilient than any common steel.
Wayland moved his limbs, Testing the range of motion. There was no discomfort, no clunky resistance; the armor felt as light and natural as a second skin.
He quickly noticed something else: his physical parameters had significantly improved. The magic wasn't just an external shell; it was enhancing his very foundation.
Wayland immediately pulled up his status panel.
***
[Name: Wayland (Li Xiang)]
[Gender: Male]
[Birthday: March 15th]
[Servant: None]
[Concept Relic: Faceless King]
[Class: Magus]
[Rank: Cause]
[Attributes: Neutral Good | STR: E, END: E, AGI: E, MGI: D, LUK: EX]
[Magic Crest: Dragon Armor (Active Stats: STR: D, END: E, AGI: D, MGI: D, LUK: EX. Current Duration: 1 Hour.)]
[Class Skills (Passive): Magic Resistance D (While Dragon Armor is active, provides resistance against single-action spells.)]
[Hidden Skills:
- Master Aptitude EX: 100% Spiritron Transfer compatibility.
- Shadow Realm Spearmanship C+: Mysterious spear techniques learned from Scathach, Queen of the Shadow Realm.
- Projection (Gae Bolg): Rank D+. A gift from Scathach. Specialized Projection magic that allows the manifestation of Gae Bolg at 50% power.
- Raven Whisper EX: You are the raven, the raven is you. Allows you to blend into a murder of ravens without being detected.]
***
"I guess I'm officially a 'bottom-tier' Servant now."
Wayland evaluated his strength. With Dragon Armor active, he was significantly more formidable than any ordinary magus. He still lacked a True Noble Phantasm, of course; without one, he couldn't realistically claim to be a match for a proper Heroic Spirit.
Wait.
'The Spear of Thorns' combined with the final strike of Shadow Realm Spearmanship... he could just barely mimic the effect of Scathach's Gae Bolg.
Wayland smiled at the thought. He was gaining quite a reputation at the Clock Tower; perhaps after he died, he might actually qualify to join the Throne of Heroes.
["Not just that!"]
Irigal's voice rang out, clear and bright. ["Have you forgotten Eresh-chan's skill? Protection of the Underworld. It's been protecting you this whole time!"]
"Of course I remember." Wayland nodded.
In the seventh singularity of FGO, Ereshkigal had sacrificed everything to help the protagonist defeat Tiamat, breaking two divine taboos just to grant humanity the Protection of the Underworld buff. He remembered her final words vividly:
'If they can remember me, then we will surely meet again. It is for the sake of that single hope that I am here to give my all.'
["Once you summon Ereshkigal, the Protection of the Underworld will activate fully, granting you a permanent boost to your stats!"] Irigal said, sounding proud.
"If that's the case... I might actually be able to pass myself off as a Servant during the war."
Wayland stroked his chin, a plan forming in his mind. After all, everyone knew that if the Master was eliminated, the Servant would soon follow. But if someone mistook Ereshkigal for his Master... now that would be an interesting twist.
***
The Servant Summoning System
"Irigal, I just thought of a problem."
Wayland sat on his bed back at the dormitory, his expression turning serious. "Ereshkigal is a Divine Spirit. Maintaining her manifestation will surely require an astronomical amount of prana. My own aptitude is... average, at best. I'm worried I'll end up weakening her stats or running out of energy midway through."
In the Holy Grail War, a Servant's parameters were heavily influenced by their Master's capacity. Saber, for example, had wildly different stats depending on whether her Master was Shirou Emiya or Rin Tohsaka. Someone like Illya could even boost Heracles beyond his normal limits.
He liked the idea of fighting together, but he was worried his own prana consumption would leave nothing for Ereshkigal.
["Well... that..."]
Irigal seemed to hesitate, but Wayland spoke before she could offer a solution.
"Can we do 'Mana Transfer'?"
["Mana Transfer?!"] Irigal sounded like she'd just experienced a short-circuit. ["No... you... that sort of thing...!"]
"Why are you having such a big reaction? You're a system."
Wayland scratched the back of his head. "I guess I'll just have to prepare a stock of mana-rich jewels or something."
["Ah... right... that! Yes, of course! Anyway, enough talk! You need to focus on your studies. Those theory exams are coming up soon, and I expect you to get a top grade! I'm going to... ugh... take a nap! Bye!"]
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]