"Hello. I'm Flyn Leigh. Are you a student of General Fundamentals as well? I don't think I've seen you before."
"I'm just sitting in on the lecture," Wayland replied.
As they walked into the classroom together, Wayland found an empty seat and sat down. He patted Flyn on the shoulder, his tone serious and paternal. "Friend, let me give you some advice: you need to exercise more restraint at night. Time management is key, you know?"
"No, no, no! You've got it all wrong," Flyn protested. "It's insomnia."
"It's okay. I understand."
"?"
Flyn let out a heavy sigh. "I'm not lying to you. It really is insomnia. I don't know why, but my sleep quality has been terrible lately. Every time I close my eyes, I'm plagued by these bizarre nightmares."
Wait.
That sounds familiar.
Isn't that exactly how I felt when I was first cursed?
"Do you remember what happens in the dreams?" Wayland asked, his interest piqued.
"The dreams..." Flyn pressed a hand to his forehead, looking pained. "Most of them are just fragments. There's no coherent story."
That sounds like a normal dream.
Wayland had experienced that himself. Waking up from a nightmare, gasping for air, certain that something terrifying had happened, only to find the details slipping away the moment he tried to grasp them.
"Wait, I just remembered. In almost every dream, I see a specific type of flower."
Flyn reached for a pen and paper. "I'm not entirely sure what it's called, but it looks a bit like a rose. Let me draw it for you."
Flyn's drawing skills were surprisingly good. Before long, a single black rose took shape on the paper.
"It certainly looks like a rose."
Wayland fell into a pensive silence. He recalled an anime he'd seen once, ID: INVADED. In that series, an object like this rose would be a crucial element--a coordinate for the dream.
"Well, class is starting," Flyn said, pulling out his textbook. "If this keeps up for another few days, I'm going to ask someone from Spiritual Evocation for help. See if I've been hit with some kind of hobbyist magecraft."
Wayland nodded. In the Type-Moon world, any event that defied common logic was almost certainly the work of magecraft.
"Students, please open your textbooks."
An elderly man in mundane clothing tapped his cane against the floor. The sharp, clear sound echoed through the sprawling lecture hall.
Slatt Jeff.
A First-Class Lecturer of General Fundamentals.
Wayland flipped open his copy of The Study of the Greater Source. On the title page, he saw Jeff's name listed as the primary editor.
"The study of the Greater Source is one of the most fundamental pillars of magical knowledge," Jeff began. "The 'Greater Source' refers to the magical energy possessed by the Earth itself--Mana. In contrast, the magical energy produced by a human is called the 'Lesser Source,' or Od. In the Age of Gods, magi could directly utilize the ambient Mana in the atmosphere. This allowed for incredibly fast incantations and immense destructive power."
"However, in the modern era, the total amount of available Mana has been steadily declining. Magi were forced to develop a specialized nervous system known as Magic Circuits to release their own internal energy--essentially, life force converted into prana. Compared to the Greater Source, the amount of energy provided by the Lesser Source is minuscule, determined entirely by the quality and quantity of one's Magic Circuits."
"Setting aside Magic Crests for a moment, the destructive power of modern magecraft has weakened significantly. To compensate, magi have introduced incantations as long as ten verses to fully concentrate their prana."
"Those with weak spirits may attempt to take shortcuts, using bounded fields or ritual circles to convert the lives of ordinary humans into their own magical energy. I expect no one in this room to have such thoughts. Should you be discovered, you will be hunted by both the Mage's Association and the Holy Church. No one escapes their combined wrath..."
The clock in the spire chimed three times. Without another word, Jeff ended the class as abruptly as he had started it.
Wayland checked his system logs. There was no notification.
"Irigal, I just sat through an entire lecture. Why isn't there any progress?"
["Because it wasn't a spell or a skill. Pure, theoretical knowledge doesn't show progress."] After her explanation, Irigal suddenly asked, ["Master, would you like to take on a quest?"]
"I can choose to accept quests now?"
["Of course! This system exists entirely for the Master's benefit. I won't force you into tasks that don't concern you directly. In other words, you'd have run into your previous missions even without me."]
"Wait, that's not true. While the previous quests involve me, the Main Quest was definitely forced on me."
["Ah? Well..."]
Irigal seemed to glitch for a second, her voice stuttering. After a long pause, she spoke again. ["Oh, come on! Since you're in the Type-Moon universe, you have to participate in a Holy Grail War! Wouldn't it be a waste otherwise?"]
"It would not!"
Wayland replied without hesitation. The idea was nice in theory, but the reality was brutal. Just look at the Masters and Servants in the Fifth Holy Grail War--no matter which route you took, people died in droves. If it wasn't for this system quest, Wayland would have been perfectly content to spend the rest of his life within the safety of the Clock Tower.
"..."
Irigal sounded like she was on the verge of a breakdown. Why wasn't her Master following the script? She took a deep breath. ["Just think about it! If you become a Master, you could summon any Heroic Spirit you like! Ereshkigal, Artoria, Jalter..."]
"I've had those thoughts before," Wayland admitted. Any fan of the games had daydreamed about summoning their favorites and being a Master.
"But realistically? The chances are near zero. Ereshkigal is the Goddess of the Underworld; she can't be summoned directly. Artoria is Shirou Emiya's Servant; he has the scabbard inside him, so I can't compete with that. And Jalter was summoned using the Holy Grail by Gilles de Rais. If I tried to find a catalyst, I'd probably just end up summoning Jeanne."
["Not necessarily!"]
Irigal sounded genuinely excited now. ["The reward for Side Quest 3 provides a clue to the catalyst for any Heroic Spirit--including Ere... Ereshkigal. So, do you want to participate now? regardless of who wins or loses, you'll have a chance to spend time with them!"]
"..."
Damn it. Are you a devil?
He was officially tempted.
"Tell me more about this quest then."
["Certainly!"]
Irigal waved an enthusiast hand. ["Normally, this wouldn't involve you. If you don't accept it, a teacher from the Clock Tower will eventually step in and resolve the problem."]
"Is it related to Flyn?" Wayland suspected as much. Flyn was the only person he'd met today who could trigger a quest.
["Exactly! Based on your current rank, the system can detect the attributes of magi with similar strength. Here are Flyn's stats. Take a look and you'll see."]
[Name: Flyn Leigh]
[Gender: Male]
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]