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Everyone who saw Alex's new status window was stunned. His growth rate was downright terrifying.
Only Artoria looked completely lost, her expression blank. She had no idea what "blessings" or "parameters" even meant.
Hestia was the first to react, eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Alex! You took down so many Heroic Spirits in that battle—your great achievement is complete! You can level up right now!"
Alex smiled, quite satisfied with his stats. His foundation was practically perfect already.
"Then let's do it," he said simply.
"Alright!" Hestia nodded, her hands beginning to glow as she pressed them against his back.
A faint blue light spread across the tattoo on Alex's skin, countless runes flickering within it. A few seconds later, the ritual was complete.
The last step was to choose a Development Ability.
Under the blessing system, every time someone leveled up, they earned one of these traits. They were like passive skills—subtle but powerful.
For example, Abnormal Resistance could nullify conditions like poison, paralysis, or dizziness.
Hestia scanned the new list that appeared before her—seven options in total. Her eyes widened when she reached the final two.
"Alex! Your Development Abilities are: Swordsman, Martial Artist, Magecraft, Combo Attack, Abnormal Resistance, Luck, and Mystery! Which one do you want?"
Alex was surprised too—he hadn't expected both Luck and Mystery to show up at once.
Swordsman and Martial Artist would boost his combat techniques.Magecraft enhanced his spellwork.Combo Attack improved melee performance.Abnormal Resistance fortified his defenses.
All of them were great… but compared to Luck and Mystery, the choice was obvious.
Without hesitation, he said,
"I'll take Luck."
Mystery was tempting too, but he had a feeling it would show up again next time. After all, with that multiverse chat group of his, he could travel between different members' worlds—his "Mystery" stat would only keep growing naturally.
"Knew you'd pick that one!" Hestia said with a grin, clearly pleased.
With the choice made, the blessing upgrade was complete.
Name: Alex
Level: 2
Stats: Strength: I0 | Endurance: I0 | Dexterity: I0 | Agility: I0 | Magic: I0
Development Ability: Luck I
Magic: —
Skills: —
After leveling up, all visible stats reset to zero—ready to be raised again from a stronger foundation. The old Level 1 values weren't lost, merely hidden beneath.
Alex could already feel his power surging higher than before.
Artoria, meanwhile, still hadn't understood a thing. She turned to Merlin and asked softly,
"Merlin… what exactly is this 'blessing' Master has?"
She'd already started calling him "Master" naturally, as one of his Servants.
Merlin chuckled and explained everything he knew—how Hestia was a goddess, how Alex was her follower, how they came from another world, and that this "blessing" was part of that world's power system.
By the end of it, Artoria was speechless. The information was so overwhelming it took her a while just to process it all.
Once the upgrade was done, everyone chatted a bit longer in the living room before heading off to their rooms to rest.
The Next Morning – Day Six of the Holy Grail War
For the first time in ages, Alex didn't wake up early to train. He actually let himself sleep in.
By the time he got up, it was already eight in the morning.
When he entered the living room, the girls were already having breakfast. Luo Hao glanced at him with clear disapproval, her gaze sharp enough to make him flinch.
"Alex," she said sternly, "you know the martial path is like rowing upstream. You made a breakthrough just yesterday, yet today you're slacking off already? How will you ever reach the pinnacle of humanity at this rate?"
Alex quickly bowed his head.
"You're right, Sis. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."
Hestia immediately stepped in to defend him.
"Come on, Luo Hao! Alex was just an ordinary person a few weeks ago. He's been training nonstop since then—what's wrong with taking a little break? Balance is important too, you know!"
Luo Hao frowned.
"I never said he couldn't rest. I'm only asking that he keeps his morning training consistent. What he does with the rest of the day is up to him."
Hestia opened her mouth to argue, but Alex cut in first.
"I get it. Unless something special comes up, I'll keep waking up early to train from now on."
He knew Luo Hao meant well. Her scolding didn't annoy him—in fact, it warmed his heart.
Seeing his sincerity, Luo Hao's expression softened.
After breakfast, Alex headed out to the courtyard to practice Perfect Martial Arts. By the time he finished, it was already ten.
After a quick shower, he went to find Hestia and Irisviel.
"Alex," Hestia asked curiously, "what's up?"
Alex turned toward Irisviel, his expression serious.
"Is it possible to remove the Lesser Grail from her body?"
Irisviel froze.
"Wait—what? The Lesser Grail? You mean… inside me?"
She had no idea such a thing even existed within her.
"That's right," Alex said, and patiently explained everything.
Originally, the Summoning Ritual of Heroic Spirits had been a grand system meant to save mankind—seven Heroic Spirits representing the seven attributes would be summoned, and the Grand Servants among them would destroy the calamities threatening human civilization. But over time, humans twisted that ritual into something else—the Holy Grail War.
In truth, the Grail War was a massive ritual system constructed by the three founding families—Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Makiri (Matou)—as a way to reach the Root.
The so-called Lesser Grail, said to grant any wish, was actually nothing more than a vessel for storing Servant souls and stabilizing the flow of magical energy between the Greater Grail and the real world—a crucial component for achieving the Third Magic.
Up until the Third Grail War, the Lesser Grail had been a literal cup—a sacred artifact. But when it was destroyed during that war, the system broke down.
To prevent that from happening again, the Einzbern family learned from their mistakes. They created a self-sustaining version of the Lesser Grail—an artificial human modeled after the "Winter Saint," Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern. These homunculi were designed as living vessels, called the "Grail Guardians"… or simply, the "Vessels."
"..."
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