FATE: Target of Grand Master

As the countdown reached zero, a dialog box appeared in front of Xia Yan, allowing him to select a companion.

Morgan, Musashi, Ereshkigal, Euryale, and Nero—the limited number of companion Servants in the information box is exactly five.

After clicking "Confirm," the spirit particle transfer will begin!

Hu~hu~

Before his vision could return, Xia Yan felt a bone-chilling cold. In just a few seconds, he even felt like he was about to lose control of his body.

Fortunately, the magical costumes Miss He made for Xia Yan all had life-sustaining functions to cope with extreme environments. After activating the life-sustaining function of the Atlas Academy uniform, a warm and comfortable feeling began to spread through Xia Yan's body, and he finally regained control of his body.

"Your Excellency, the Queen is looking for you."

A squad of soldiers, wearing white crow masks and black winter coats, walked through the howling wind and snow and stood before Xia Yan.

Xia Yan immediately recognized them as the Killer Hunters, loyal to Ivan the Terrible, the king of the Russian Lostbelt.

Xia Yan turned his gaze around and saw several humanoid beasts looking at him in awe from afar. Xia Yan recognized those humanoid beasts as Yaga, a kind of creature created by mixing humans and magical beasts to withstand the harsh environment.

So this white world, with endless snowflakes falling from the sky and everything shrouded in snow, is naturally the First Lostbelt.

Wait a minute, what did this Killer Hunter call himself just now?

A court magician?

Could I have accidentally put on Kadoc's clothes?

Looking down at his clothes, Xia Yan confirmed that he was still wearing the casual clothes he had worn when he left the safe house.

"Royal Magician, Her Majesty the Queen is looking for you. Please return to the palace with us immediately."

Hearing the leader of the killing hunters urge him again, Xia Yan nodded in agreement.

On the way back to the palace with the Killer Hunters, Xia Yan tried to call out to his five Servants using telepathy, but only Nero responded.

"Nero, where are you?"

"I am currently in the palace. Where are you, you hear me? I will come to fetch you."

Knowing that Nero was in the palace, Xia Yan felt a little relieved. Since these killing hunters had invited him back, they wouldn't harm him. As for what to do next, he would wait until he reunited with Nero before making any further plans.

"I am following a squad of killing hunters towards the palace."

"Hmm. Then I won't need to come and fetch you. You can follow those soldiers back to the palace; I'll be waiting for you there."

Although he was a little puzzled about where Nero's tone of voice, which sounded like "Just come with the butler, I'll wait for you in the main house," came from, Xia Yan did as Nero said.

Right after communicating with Nero, the mission information appeared in front of Xia Yan.

Main Quest 1 (Required): Assist Anastasia in becoming the Queen of the Lostbelts.

Main Quest 2 (Required): Not yet unlocked (will be unlocked after completing Main Quest 1)

Side Quest (Optional): Eliminate all resistance forces.

Xia Yan immediately noticed that there were actually two main quests this time, and the second one would only be unlocked after the first one was completed. It seemed that this trial had a new twist.

Although there were several guesses about the second main quest, there was a lack of clues, so Xia Yan focused his attention back on the first main quest—assisting Anastasia in becoming the Lostbelt Queen.

It seems I really do have to wear Kadoc's clothes.

He just didn't know if Anastasia saw him as the same person as Kadoc as she did as she did as the "court magician."

However, we'll find out the answer to that once we arrive at the palace.

While still on the road, Xia Yan recalled the power structure of the first Lostbelt in the original work. In addition to the Chaldea forces, the Lostbelt was also divided into the faction of Kadoc and the princess, and the faction of Ivan the Terrible.

Looking back now, although Ivan the Terrible, as the king of the first Lostbelt, couldn't compare to the later gods in terms of combat power, his suspicions about the Imaginary Tree, the alien god and its apostles, and even his fear of Chaldea were all correct. As a king who ruled for more than 400 years, his wisdom did not degenerate after combining with the monster.

Unfortunately, his suspicions were directed at either stronger bosses or the final boss, and the fact that the Hidden One Kadoc and the Princess were at odds with him led to his being hypnotized until he woke up and was killed by Gudako and Kadoc.

This time, however, his stance is also hostile to hers.

Although Xia Yan greatly respects Ivan the Terrible, if he wants to help Anastasia become the Lostbelt King, he must defeat Ivan the Terrible, which is an irreconcilable contradiction.

As for the side quest to eliminate all resistance forces, Xia Yan decided to decide based on the subsequent combat strength. As long as his five Servants could gather together, neither the main quest nor the side quest would be too difficult.

Passing through the gate covered in ice and snow, Xia Yan finally entered the palace.

The hunters leading the way brushed the snow off their bodies and tidied their appearance in a pre-designated area. Xia Yan, however, was covered in snow because of the constant temperature mode of his magical costume, so he did nothing.

But it was this composure of doing nothing that earned him even more respect from the killing hunters.

"Your Excellency, the Royal Magician, Her Majesty the Queen is waiting for you on the second floor."

The leader of the killing hunters led Xia Yan to the bottom of the stairs on the first floor and stopped. Clearly, they were only allowed to move around on the first floor.

"Um."

Xia Yan nodded and then walked over.

Upon arriving on the second floor, Nero was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Player, this way."

As if strolling through his own palace, Nero led Xia Yan familiarly down a side corridor.

"Nero, why do you seem to be strolling through your own backyard?"

Xia Yan followed along while asking questions using telepathy.

"Hmm. Player, what you're saying isn't entirely wrong. Did you know that the Tsar actually had connections with Rome?"

"I really don't know. What's the connection?"

Nero glanced at Xia Yan and said, "Sir, although you did it unintentionally, it's quite malicious of you to make me recount this history. Oh well, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. I'm just a beautiful young girl now. Constantine XI, the last emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, had no children, so logically, the legitimacy of the Eastern Roman Empire rests on his niece, Sophia."

Sofia later married Grand Duke Ivan III of Russia, and a series of legal titles and legacies from the Eastern Roman Empire came to Moscow with her. These two were Ivan the Terrible's grandparents. Therefore, Ivan the Terrible, who later succeeded to the throne, could be considered to have Roman legitimacy.

I had just happened to be in Anastasia's palace. After I told her my real name, the princess granted me the right to come and go freely within the palace. Of course, I could sense that she was intentionally trying to win me over.

"I see."

To avoid embarrassing Nero, Xia Yan immediately changed the subject: "So, Nero, how much do you know about the situation here?"

"I understand the basics. However, this isn't something that can be explained in just a few words, so I'll have Anastasia explain it to you."

Nero put a pair of earplugs in Xia Yan's ears, then pushed open a huge palace door that was at least three meters high.