FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Ah! I was so busy talking that I completely forgot to invite her to dance. Ah!!! This is truly the biggest blunder I've made this time!"

Seeing Nero's disappointment and frustration, Xia Yan smiled slightly and put away the pendant Arcueid had given her.

Even then, he still didn't quite believe that he and Nero could defeat Arcueid.

With the boulder that had been pressing on his shoulders lifted, Xia Yan felt a great sense of relief and pulled Nero back to the lobby on the first floor.

"Oh my, you actually came back alive. It seems the help I gave you yesterday was effective."

Kirei Kotomine stood smiling in front of Xia Yan and his companion as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Thank you, Father Kotomine."

Although Xia Yan was quite familiar with the information provided by Kirei Kotomine, in terms of conveying it to Nero, these peripheral details were definitely more comprehensive and detailed than his verbal explanation, so it was only right to express his gratitude.

"Wait a moment, Master Xia Yan."

Just as Xia Yan and Nero were about to leave, Kirei Kotomine called them back.

"As I mentioned before, there are only three rounds in the qualifying rounds. You've successfully made it through the qualifying rounds, so it's necessary to tell you how to participate in the knockout stage."

Upon hearing Kirei Kotomine's words, Xia Yan stopped in his tracks.

"Come to the lobby on the first floor first thing tomorrow morning. You will be teleported to the new area for the elimination rounds. The rules will be explained by the person in charge there."

Xia Yan nodded, expressed his gratitude again, and then left.

For the rest of the day, Xia Yan did nothing but eat and sleep. In the previous battle between Nero and Arcueid, Nero consumed much more magic power after using his Noble Phantasm than when he fought Vlad III. This caused Xia Yan to feel weak and "completely drained" after the battle.

Even after resting and recuperating for most of the day, Xia Yan still felt that he had not fully recovered.

Besides his own physical condition, Xia Yan was also very concerned about Nero's condition.

Not content with merely inquiring about Nero's condition, Xia Yan also specifically checked Nero's Servant panel.

[Real Name: Nero]

Class: Saber

[Strength: C]

Durability: C

Agility: A

[Magic Power: B+]

[Lucky: A]

[Noble Phantasm: B]

Xia Yan remembered that Nero's Strength should only be D, but the Nero she summoned had a C. Xia Yan asked Nero about it, and Nero said that she didn't know either, since the data of a Servant's Spirit Origin is fixed at the time of summoning, so there is no possibility of a sudden increase later.

Xia Yan thought about it and decided that the improvement in the six-dimensional values ​​was a good thing, so he didn't dwell on it too much. After all, Nero still had another not-so-good point to pay attention to.

【Inherent skills】

【Even if the sun sets three times A: Perseverance can be triggered 3 times, currently has 1 remaining chance to trigger Perseverance】

Xia Yan hadn't paid much attention to it before, but Nero's perseverance played a crucial role once again during the process of defeating Arcueid, which made Xia Yan think to check Nero's skills.

You wouldn't know unless you looked, but once you do, the problem becomes clear.

Nero only has one more chance to trigger Guts, and he only triggered it once in the battle against Arcueid. This means that in the five days or so between defeating Li Shuwen and the battle with Arcueid, the number of Guts he could trigger had not been restored, even though he experienced three sunsets.

Xia Yan didn't think that the number of times Nero's Perseverance would not be restored, but judging from the current situation, the frequency of once a day or once per battle was not right. So the most likely scenario was that Nero's number of Perseverance would only be restored after the trial was completed. In other words, Nero could only trigger Perseverance a maximum of three times in a trial.

Xia Yan asked Nero about this, and Nero said that she had indeed noticed the situation, but since she didn't understand why, she didn't say anything so as not to worry Xia Yan.

Xia Yan immediately criticized Nero's thinking, because only by discovering the problem can it be solved. If one pretends not to see the problem just because one cannot think of a solution, the problem will eventually erupt.

"I accept the criticism. I will never do it again."

Nero's attitude in admitting his mistake was good, so Xia Yan did not blame him excessively.

After spending these past few days together, especially the battle with Arcueid, Xia Yan felt that his relationship with Nero had grown closer, which would be a positive for the upcoming knockout stage.

The morning after defeating Arcueid, Xia Yan and Nero arrived at the first-floor lobby as instructed by Kirei Kotomine.

Sure enough, there was a magic circle on the ground emitting a faint blue light.

"You're here. Then hurry up and stand in the center of the magic circle."

Xia Yan and Nero immediately did as instructed, but to their surprise, Kirei Kotomine also entered the magic circle.

Seeing the two people's somewhat surprised looks, Kirei Kotomine smiled and said, "I never said I wouldn't go, did I?"

The magic array shone brightly, and Xia Yan immediately shielded his eyes with his hand.

When his vision returned, Xia Yan found himself still standing in the lobby on the first floor of Moonsea Academy.

Hmm? Could it be that the teleportation failed?

Just as Xia Yan was wondering, several men and women of different ages walked out of the corridor. With just one glance, Xia Yan could tell that these people were not NPCs, because their clothes were the same as his and they had nothing to do with Moonsea Academy.

In addition, these people were surrounded by all sorts of Servants, who were undoubtedly also Masters who had passed the qualifying rounds.

"Hey, isn't this 'Cheater' Xia Yan?"

A piercing voice rang out from the crowd.

Xia Yan frowned and turned his head, only to see Li Zhuang's mocking face.

"Who are you? What gives you the right to accuse my performer of being a 'cheater'!"

Nero was furious upon hearing this and immediately questioned the other party.

"Oh? He summoned Nero again? How come your luck is always so good? Everyone, take a look! This is Xia Yan, the 'cheater' I exposed on the world channel. Look at the Servant he summoned this time—Nero, one of the three Servants that the protagonist, Kishinami Hakuno, can use in the Moon Holy Grail War. Morgan, Cú Chulainn, Miyamoto Musashi—no wonder everyone's surprised that this guy can always summon such powerful Servants?"

"Yeah, this guy's Servant quality is way too overpowered. Why can I only summon yandere like Salome?!"

"Brother, you should be content. After all, she's a beauty, which is better than me summoning a difficult-to-communicate brute like Spartacus."

"We're about the same level, but the key question is why that guy can only summon powerful Servants?"

"Exactly! Why should I?!"

The crowd was immediately incited by Li Zhuang and began pointing and whispering about Xia Yan. However, they were not stupid. Xia Yan's servant strength was undeniable, and they would not actually clash with him here. They simply wanted to encourage others to be the "first to stick their necks out".

But how many of the Masters who have come this far are still brainless idiots?

Therefore, although the crowd was very indignant, no one was really prepared to attack Xia Yan.