Chapter 84

"Summoning by affinity?"

"Well, without the preparation of relics, the only ones who can respond to the summons are those who have a good affinity with the Lord..." Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at Asclepius and sighed helplessly, "First of all, we should start with the conventional classification of servant ranks by magicians. After all, although there are differences between the legends of the servants themselves, in the eyes of magicians, there are also differences in strength and weakness in the ranks."

"Although there are many types of classes, the Holy Grail War system will only include a maximum of eight classes - it is enough for you to know about these eight classes." Fujimaru Ritsuka made the "eight" gesture to Amura Ransu, "In addition to our Servants and the referee 'Ruler' I mentioned earlier, there are another five classes."

——Lancer, Archer, Rider, Assassin, Berserker.

In the original Fuyuki City Holy Grail War system, there were only seven classes: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker. Among them, Saber was recognized by magicians as the strongest class. At the same time, because Saber, Lancer, and Archer were mostly from the time when the Age of Gods had not yet subsided, they all had extremely stringent qualifications, and modern magicians could hardly hurt them at all, so they were collectively called the Three Knights, also known as the Upper Three Knights.

"Participants in a Faction War generally won't attack the referee, Ruler. But if the Lord wants to ask the Servants to fight, that's fine." Fujimaru Ritsuka touched his chin and looked away subtly. "But it's generally not recommended - because Ruler, like the Lord, has Command Seals that work on Servants. Although he has one less Stroke than the Lord in terms of individual numbers, the Command Seals of the Holy Grail War system are powerful weapons that can turn the tide of the battle even if there is only one Stroke left."

"I think Caster should have told you about the effect or usage of the Command Seal... But even if he didn't, it doesn't matter. After all, he will mention it as we go on." Fujimaru Ritsuka spread his hands nonchalantly. "Besides, I think you can probably guess how to use the Command Seal directly - after all, it's obvious. You are that kind of guy."

"This time, let's start with the Caster class."

The only requirement for Caster is that the magic ability value reaches the highest level. Due to its characteristics, the combat ability of eligible Heroic Spirits is relatively low. In addition, most Servants have class skills against magic, so it is evaluated as the weakest class - but even if it is recognized as the weakest class, a Servant with divine nature is not so easy to summon.

Asclepius was a Greek hero who learned medicine from Chiron and was later called the "God of Medicine" - he was the ancestor of the concept of "medicine" that has continued to the present day. Even if this feature is not taken into account, his identity as the son of Apollo is enough for him to possess the skill of divinity, and it is a very high-level divinity.

The probability of summoning a servant with divinity when there are relics is extremely small - after all, the relevant relics are quite difficult to find.

Not to mention that this time it was all based on compatibility summoning... Although seeing how much Ransu Amura hated doctors, Fujimaru Ritsuka could guess that he had a very troublesome bad fate - but who makes compatibility summoning only look at fate... The summoning system doesn't care whether these relationships are bad fates or not.

"...In short, whether you admit it or not, the fact that you can summon Asklepios in a summoning that relies solely on affinity means that you and Asklepios have a deep connection." Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at Amemura Ransu who was standing behind Asklepios, "Otherwise, it would be impossible to summon Asklepios no matter what."

"Besides, although the strength of the rank is meaningful, the strength of the Servant is also affected by the qualifications of the Lord, the difference in ability during life, and the difference in the degree of mystery." Fujimaru Ritsuka tilted his head and raised his hand to destroy the barrier he had set up. "Just like the magicians of the Age of Gods could use the power of God by calling the name of God, modern magicians can never replicate such a miracle again."

“I have a question for you.” Asclepius pointed his staff at Charlemagne, his words carrying an irresistible meaning, “What is the connection between you and Saber? Although you said you are not a magician, magicians do not know the Holy Grail War system to this extent—no, even the summoned Servants themselves do not know it so clearly.”

"It is meaningless for us to ask you to understand the reasons for the Holy Grail War system, but if you do not answer my questions, I will regard you as a true magician and challenge you to a battle."

"Let me answer this question." Charlemagne glanced at Fujimaru Ritsuka and took a step forward to stand in front of her. "In fact, my Master is a person who can get everyone's response as long as he knocks on that door. The compatibility between you and me alone should make you the protagonist of an adventure story. In the past, the characteristic of being able to get everyone's response made you the savior of humanity. But now..."

"She is the one who unifies the primates."

"Okay, this question-and-answer session ends here." Fujimaru Ritsuka signaled Charlemagne standing beside her to transform into a spirit. She turned around and walked out, but she didn't expect that someone else ran into this dead end and bumped into her directly. "I'll leave first... How come another group of people accidentally walked in here!!!"

However, the visitor this time was somewhat beyond Fujimaru Ritsuka's expectations - the one who bumped into her was not a Servant or a Lord, but a small puppet.

"Hello, don't run so fast!!!"

Then, a boy with blue hair and blue eyes followed the doll into the room.

Fujimaru Ritsuka slowly turned her head and looked at Asclepius who was standing beside her. Asclepius had a sullen face and questioned why he had a better understanding with other servants' guardians than with the current guardian, while setting up a barrier to prevent the outside world for this dead end.

——It seems that they can’t get out in a short time. However, the combination of puppets and humans... it doesn’t seem like a group that can be used in the Holy Grail War.

"Why are there dolls here?" Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the fallen Hemei, and then at the boy who was still panting as he hurried over. "Hey, let me ask you - what's your name and your faction? No matter what kind of battle it is, you've already lost the initiative by rushing in like this, right?"

"But fortunately, we are not prepared to fight with others, so - you should at least provide some intelligence related to yourselves? But I don't want much, three pieces are enough."

"Ah, my name is Ashiya Hanae." Ashiya Hanae picked up the fallen Hinamiya and subconsciously looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka's golden eyes. "Although it's good not to have to fight, but... what is a camp?"

"Before you came to this garden, you should have appeared in a room with nothing but a summoning circle and a door, right?" Amura Ranshu, who was standing at the back, sighed helplessly and glanced at Asuka Hanae. "After touching the summoning circle, you will answer the question of whether to turn the spring - after answering the question of turning the spring, you should be forced to recite the summoning spell."

"You, haven't you ever gone through this process?"

Ashiya Hanae: "No, I had the same experience—"

“I wanted to know how you guys activated the Summoning Array when you knew nothing about the Holy Grail War and weren’t in the same situation as Emiya-senpai. I never expected that the rules forced you to say that.” Fujimaru Ritsuka turned his head and glanced at Amemura Ransu. “But it’s true that if you were forced to say it, there’s no way you could have made a mistake. But, it seems that the camps were forced to be divided.”

"So, what did you say after 'Pure silver and iron. The Duke who made a contract with the cornerstone.'?"

"…The color dedicated to it is red." Ashiya Hanae glanced at the red rose beside her subconsciously and answered the question while muttering.

——Although I had a hunch when I saw the puppets, I didn't expect that there were really three camps. Since strictly speaking, only the White Camp can be related to Alice's story, then the core of this space is obviously closely related to the puppet representing the Red Camp that appeared at the end.

"So, what happened after your summoning was over?"

After Ashiya Hanae's summoning ended, a suitcase containing a doll appeared in the center of the summoning array - he opened the suitcase and found a blonde doll wearing a pink Lolita skirt inside, and then turned the doll's spring; then, the doll with the turned spring came to life in front of him.

——That’s the hibiscus berry.

——Living dolls... "Artificial life"? No, although it seems like something that the alchemists of the Atlas Institute would research, it doesn't fit the purpose of those guys... In any case, the honeyberry doesn't seem to fit the alchemists' philosophy of "you don't need to be the strongest yourself, you just need to create the strongest."

——But if we only look at the dolls themselves... Could it be the magicians of Baruye's "Creation Department"? After all, Baruyereta is a group of magicians who pursue the "ultimate beauty" to reach the "root". And the doll with life in front of me is enough to be called a beautiful and eye-catching girl.

——The situation of the three camps has been roughly clarified. The Black Camp and the White Camp are the combination of the Lord and the Servants, while the Red Camp is the combination of puppets and humans... No, it should be the combination of puppets as the leaders. The component belonging to "Alice" in this space should also be brought by the existence of the Red Camp.

The only question now is, why is the Red Camp, which should not belong to the Holy Grail War system and obviously has another system, counted as one of the camps in this Holy Grail War?

"I have already asked two questions." Fujimaru Ritsuka patted his clothes and smiled as he looked at Hinamiya who was held in Ashiya Hanae's arms. "Then, the third question - I need to know what you living puppets are fighting for."