FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Alright, the next event is the final of the 'Einzbern Cup' beach volleyball tournament. Please bring in the players from the two qualifying teams," referee Ilya announced through a megaphone.

"Hmph. You can't achieve final victory by using trickery and deceit."

Artoria expressed her disdain for the previous illegal matches between the Rin and Xia Yan groups.

"Artoria, open your eyes and look carefully. It was clearly the other side who fouled first."

Morgan was not to be outdone.

"Then do you dare to fight us fair and square?"

"A provocation, huh? No problem. As long as you follow the rules, we'll maintain the same conditions."

"Alright, let's have a fair fight then."

Unlike the tense standoff between Artoria and Morgan, Xia Yan and Shirou both saw helplessness in each other's eyes.

They didn't really care that much about who won or lost, but since the girl they cared about cared, they had no choice but to try their best.

"Brother Xia Yan, I'm sorry, I have to let Saber win."

Shirou patted the volleyball, preparing to serve.

"No need to apologize, Shirou. Because we will be the ones to win."

Xia Yan also got into position to receive the ball.

Since both sides agreed not to use magic, the volleyball's trajectory and speed remained within the normal range.

Xia Yan's team still held a clear advantage in height, but Shirou's team had slightly better athletic talent than Xia Yan's team, so the score showed a trend of alternating increases.

The score remained tied at 10-10, then 21-21, and then 35-35. Since the difference between the two scores never exceeded one point, the outcome was still undecided.

"Sister, they won't keep fighting like this until the amusement park closes, will they?"

Sakura said with some concern.

"If there are no restrictions, it might really happen. Saber is really something, she clearly agreed to entertain Xia Yan and Berserker together today, but she forgot all about it when her competitive spirit kicked in."

"Rin, how dare you criticize others? You yourself..."

Before the Heroic Spirit Emiya could finish speaking, he was brutally beaten by Rin.

"Anyway, let me think of a way."

Rin walked over to Ilya and whispered a few words to her.

Ilya was also yawning repeatedly because the battle was too intense.

"Okay, let's do it this way."

Ilya agreed with Rin's suggestion, then picked up the megaphone and shouted to Xia Yan's team and Shirou's team, "It's getting late, and the score is currently tied, so let's decide the winner with a single point."

"We have no objection."

"So are we."

Xia Yan and Shirou readily accepted Illya's suggestion; they certainly didn't want to fight until tomorrow morning.

The atmosphere on the field immediately became tense.

"Let's start."

With a whistle from Ilya, Xia Yan tossed the volleyball up and hit it hard into the corner of the opposite court.

Shirou desperately tried to save the ball, and finally managed to bounce it up before it hit the ground.

"I'm sorry, Saber, the rest is up to you."

"It's alright, Shirou, watch me."

Although the ball bounced in less than ideal position, Artoria arrived in time and jumped to prepare for a smash.

Just then, Artoria felt the world in front of her suddenly go black.

Xia Yan and Morgan unexpectedly came to the net together to form a double block.

Since beach volleyball only involves two players, double blocks are rare because they would create a large vacuum in the backcourt.

Therefore, a double block is an extremely risky move, but it can also produce unexpected results.

In a flash, Artoria hit the ball, but unfortunately, she couldn't break through Xia Yan's block, and the ball eventually landed in Shirou's half of the court.

Beep!

Ilya blew her whistle.

"The match is over! The winners are Xia Yan & Berserker's team!"

"Looks like we're in pretty good shape," Xia Yan said, supporting himself on his knees.

Thanks to his hard training all along, Xia Yan's physical fitness has far surpassed that of ordinary people, but even so, he still feels that he has reached a bottleneck in his physical fitness.

Under the extremely envious gaze of Rin Tohsaka and the unwilling gaze of Artoria, Xia Yan took the small treasure chest full of gems from the two maids.

Suddenly, a message box popped up in front of Xia Yan.

[Item Obtained: 50 Gems that can store magic power]

[Item Description: This item allows you to store magical energy within it. When needed, you can throw it to activate the corresponding effect. The effect of the gem is related to the type of magic the user can use.]

There was an unexpected surprise!

Xia Yan suddenly had a guess: Could there be many hidden elements in this world waiting to be discovered?

Xia Yan still remembers that he was able to enter this world again because he obtained an achievement called "Enthusiastic Citizen of Fuyuki City".

The hidden condition for obtaining this achievement is to keep Shirou Emiya, Artoria, Rin Tohsaka, and Sakura Matou alive at the same time, provided that the side quests are completed.

Such stringent conditions only yield a world for relaxation and leisure, which seems unreasonable. However, if there are many undiscovered elements hidden within this world, then it makes much more sense.

Xia Yan thought about it more and more and it made more sense. It seemed that he would have to explore this world more if he had the chance in the future.

Pulling themselves out of their thoughts, Xia Yan and his group left the water park together. After playing all afternoon, everyone's stomachs started growling.

So, everyone headed towards the Emiya residence, and the next step was naturally to enjoy a meal at the Emiya family's house.

Suddenly, a group of people wearing sunglasses and suits, but with messy hairstyles and hair colors, surrounded the crowd.

Many of the people inside had tattoos and were clearly members of a gang.

The blond-haired guy who had just been threatened by Xia Yan stepped out from the crowd and said to the leader, "Boss, this is the guy."

Without a doubt, the direction the blond-haired man was pointing was Xia Yan.

"So you're the one who kicked our little brother into the pool?"

The leader strode menacingly toward Xia Yan, looking ready to stand up for his underlings.

"Huh? Aren't these the Fujimura Group members?"

He bought Artoria a souvenir keychain from the water park, so Shirou Emiya, who came out a little later than the others, recognized the gangsters across the street.

The once menacing gang leader immediately grabbed Shirou's hands and shook them vigorously, while repeatedly expressing his gratitude for taking care of their young lady.

"Haha, you're too kind. Fujimura-nee and I are old acquaintances, so there's no need for me to trouble you or take care of you," Emiya Shirou said politely.

"On another note..."

Seeing Shirou and Xia Yan standing very close together, the gang leader cautiously asked, "Are these people Emiya-kun's friends?"

"Yes, they're all my classmates and friends. By the way, Xia Yan worked with Fujimura for a while before," Shirou said, pointing at Xia Yan.

"Why?"

The gang leader was now in an awkward position.

Originally, he wanted to stand up for his younger brother, but he didn't expect to run into an acquaintance of his young mistress.

In a flash, the gang leader made an extremely wise decision.

He grasped Xia Yan's hands with both of his and shook them vigorously, expressing his gratitude to Xia Yan for taking care of his young mistress at school in a tone similar to the one he had used to thank Shirou earlier.

Xia Yan felt a little embarrassed by the 180-degree change in attitude.

Actually, as a student teacher, I received more help from Fujimura Taiga at the school. The only time I helped Fujimura Taiga was when I followed Shirou and Saber to rescue him from Matou Ryouken.

Thinking about it this way, I don't feel guilty about receiving such a warm thank you from the Fujimura group.

"Big, big brother, you..."

The situation left the blond-haired guy completely bewildered. Just as he was about to remind his older brother again, he heard his brother, who was turning around with a cold look in his eyes, order: "Drag this new kid back and give him a good talking-to, then make him memorize the list of people in our group who are absolutely off-limits."

Huang Mao knew he had really messed with someone, and said aggrievedly, "But brother, this person isn't on that list."

"We have it now. Considering this is your first offense, we will handle it accordingly."

Amidst the aggrieved cries of Huang Mao, the Fujimura group bowed and took their leave of Xia Yan and the others.