T/N: Congrats everyone on reaching 300 Power Stones, man! What an incredible journey it's been. As promised, here's your bonus—enjoy it! Thanks for sticking with the adventure, and stay tuned for more exciting updates ahead!
Oh yeah also, new rule: for every 5 reviews, I'll drop a bonus chapter. For the first bonus when we hit 10 reviews, I'll give 2 bonus chapters right away, then after that, it's 1 bonus for every 5 reviews. So keep those reviews coming!
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"Looks like you've had your fair share of hardships too," the Campione Su Mo said thoughtfully. Listening to Type-Moon Su Mo's story, he suddenly felt like he was actually quite lucky. If he hadn't awakened his golden finger from the very start, he would've either lived an ordinary life or risked his life slaying gods. He'd never have had it as easy as he did now.
"So your current timeline is mainly running through the Tsukihime storyline, huh..." Campione Su Mo rubbed his chin as he analyzed.
The Type-Moon world contained numerous parallel universes, each with different storylines. The Tohno family mentioned by the newcomer was central to Tsukihime's plot. Compared to the more globally famous Fate/Zero, Fate/Stay Night, or Fate/Grand Order, Tsukihime had a smaller but very devoted fanbase.
Though Su Mo had some basic knowledge of it, he didn't know all the details. He only knew the basics of Makihisa Tohno's depravity. Fortunately, Type-Moon Su Mo had already dealt with Makihisa. Up next, his remaining major opponent would be SHIKI—who was a Dead Apostle Ancestor, the vessel of Michael Roa Valdamjong, the Serpent of Akasha.
For the previous Type-Moon Su Mo, this would have been nearly impossible to overcome. Especially since Roa's existence also connected to one of the top powerhouses of the Type-Moon universe—the True Ancestor Princess: Arcueid Brunestud.
To put it simply, Arcueid was someone who could drop a replica of the moon onto the Earth with her ultimate ability. Maybe not a real moon, but at least a continent-level destructive force. In terms of power level, she roughly matched Su Mo's base form when not using his Tiga transformation.
Of course, even if they were technically the same level, Su Mo's overall combat strength far surpassed hers. Not to mention, Arcueid was often limited to only 30% of her full power, while Su Mo wielded the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and divine authorities. Even without his Campione abilities, Su Mo could easily crush the True Ancestor Princess in direct combat.
While the True Ancestors were incredibly powerful, their abilities were often too specialized. Whether it was their superior physiology or reality marble abilities, they simply couldn't match the versatility and raw destructive might of Su Mo's authorities.
"Speaking of which, if the Nanaya family exists, then the Fujou, Ryougi, and Asakami exorcist clans should also be around, right? Meaning your world also has Kara no Kyoukai's plotline?" Campione Su Mo asked curiously.
"Yeah! I've heard of Ryougi Shiki," Type-Moon Su Mo nodded. "By the way, just for reference—it's currently 1994 in my world."
Seeing Campione Su Mo's surprised expression, Type-Moon Su Mo added, "Yes, you guessed right. I'm currently in Fuyuki City, preparing to participate in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Never expected I'd stumble into this place right before the war officially begins."
As expected, Campione Su Mo was surprised. "So your worldline has both the Dead Apostle Ancestors and the Holy Grail War?!"
This was indeed unexpected. Many assumed the Dead Apostle Ancestors and the Holy Grail War didn't exist on the same worldline. But then again, the Type-Moon universe was famous for its countless branching timelines. This level of overlap, while surprising, was still within reason.
What surprised him more was: "You seriously planned to enter the Holy Grail War without a cheat ability? You've got guts!"
After all, even though Type-Moon Su Mo had mastered the Nanaya assassination arts and awakened the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, his actual combat power was still not particularly high. Facing off against the Servants in the Holy Grail War would be extremely difficult. Sure, he could probably bully Assassin from the Fourth War. But against heavy hitters like Gilgamesh, Iskandar, or Diarmuid? He'd stand little chance.
And with his limited magical capacity, he wouldn't be able to summon any particularly powerful Servants either. It was clear that his setup screamed "early elimination." Even if he had advance intel on all the Servants, it would still be nearly impossible to win. In the end, raw power remained the deciding factor.
Hearing the Campione Su Mo's words, the Type-Moon Su Mo simply shrugged. "To be honest, I never intended to win the war in the first place. After all, the Holy Grail has already been corrupted by All the World's Evils—the wish-granting system is essentially broken. Sure, the access to the Third Magic—Heaven's Feel—still remains, but with my strength back then, it would've been nearly impossible for me to reach the Root through it." He paused, then added, "So right from the start, I never planned to actually participate in the fighting."
Though their experiences differed, the Su Mos from various worlds shared one common trait—caution. Fully aware of his own limitations, the Type-Moon Su Mo had no intention of getting involved in a battle he couldn't handle. While he did intend to enter the Holy Grail War, he never planned to compete for the Grail itself.
"Then what was your plan?" the Campione Su Mo asked, intrigued.
"The Servants," the Type-Moon Su Mo answered, emphasizing his point. "In a few years, I'll have to face the Dead Apostle Ancestors and Arcueid. To avoid getting killed by accident, I needed to strengthen myself. Participating in the Holy Grail War was just a way to find a Heroic Spirit to serve as my mentor."
Unlike the other Masters who entered the war to claim the Grail, Su Mo's goal was completely different—he was simply looking for a teacher. Whether for martial arts or magic, any kind of guidance would suffice. After all, he couldn't acquire any relics to summon a specific Heroic Spirit and could only rely on summoning compatibility. In a way, his intentions made him a rare outlier among Holy Grail participants.
However, what he didn't expect was that before the war officially began, his luck would turn, and he'd awaken his golden finger—instantly gaining god-slaying power. With his current strength, his original plan was now irrelevant. The only lingering concern was that he had already summoned a Servant before awakening his abilities. Though his Servant wasn't particularly strong, it hardly mattered. With his own power, Su Mo could easily sweep through the Holy Grail War single-handedly. In fact, he had grown fond of the Servant he had summoned and wasn't interested in replacing them. He didn't feel any regret about it at all.
"Damn, that's actually pretty brilliant," the Campione Su Mo said with genuine admiration. "You summoned a Servant not to fight, but purely to study and train under them? That's dedication. If I had this kind of attitude back when I was studying for exams, even Tsinghua or Peking University wouldn't have been out of reach."
"—But the Holy Grail War, huh." The Campione Su Mo grew thoughtful. "The Third Magic is a treasure. If you manage to obtain it, our base strength could increase at least tenfold."
He wasn't exaggerating. After becoming a Campione, one's curse power usually stopped growing. Slaying more gods might grant additional Authorities, there was no upper limit to how many Authorities one could acquire. However, the amount of curse power a Campione possessed did have its limits. That's why even veteran Campiones could sometimes be defeated by newcomers.
—Of course, Su Mo's ability to increase his magic power through his Danmachi world leveling system was a special case.
For a Campione, more curse power not only meant greater endurance, but also enhanced the potency of their Authorities. With enough curse power, a Campione could easily reach star-destroying levels of strength using just their Authorities.
The greatest example of this was the final boss of the Campione world—the King Who Manifests at the World's End. His near-invincible power allowed him to purge every previous generation of god-slayers, not because his Authorities were overwhelmingly superior, but because of the Covenant Ritual that allowed him to channel the collective curse power of all Campiones. His curse power alone surpassed the leylines of the earth, granting him world-destroying might. The damage wrought by his Divine Sword far exceeded that of most heretic gods.
The Campione Su Mo had thought about targeting the Holy Grail which provided power to he King of the End before but had never taken concrete steps. Now, however, he was starting to reconsider. Why bother with the Holy Grail, when the Third Magic—Heaven's Feel, the materialization of the soul—could act as an infinite magic reactor? With it, his magic power would never be exhausted. His curse power would continuously grow, eventually surpassing planetary levels. Amplifying his Authorities to star-bursting strength or beyond would no longer be just a dream.
At this point, not only the Campione Su Mo but even the Navy Admiral Su Mo and the Type-Moon Su Mo were feeling tempted.