That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

Shinji Matou returned to his spacious room, which contained only a bed, a bookshelf, and a desk. The sparse furniture made the room seem too empty.

Shinji Matou, whose body was not yet six years old, sat down at the desk and continued to study the books about magic in the Matou family's collection. The contents were all written in English, and there were also some undecipherable coded languages ​​and Old English mixed in.

After studying it for a long time, Shinji Matou closed the book and sighed inwardly: "Damn magician, was it necessary to go to this extent? If you don't want future generations to inherit your magic knowledge, then don't leave this book. Some of the coded language is impossible to decipher. Who knows if the magic content recorded in this book is true or false?"

Shinji Matou, having experienced several worlds, suppressed his frustration and used his understanding of magic and his deductions to verify the accuracy of the information in the books.

Shinji Matou glanced out the window. The glass window faced a tree, a corner that the light couldn't reach, and most people wouldn't notice anything unusual.

Shinji Matou's keen eyes vaguely spotted a fist-sized insect clinging to the tree trunk, motionless, as if it were dead.

"As expected, that old bug hasn't let up on its surveillance of me yet." Shinji Matou said calmly.

A year has passed since he transmigrated into the body of Matou Shinji. During this time, Matou Shinji changed his previous mischievous behavior and demanded to learn magic. He spent almost every day reading and studying.

Shinji Matou's drastic change in personality naturally attracted the attention of Zouken Matou, the head of the Matou family. Zouken was a bug manipulator who would control bugs to monitor Shinji Matou in his spare time.

Zouken Matou is a very complex character. From a magician's perspective, he is undoubtedly an outstanding individual. In terms of his attitude towards his family, Zouken Matou is also quite tolerant.

"No, to be precise, it should be indifferent." Shinji Matou internally corrected his assessment of Zouken Matou.

Zouken Matou could ignore Kariya Matou's shirking of his responsibilities as a magician, and he could even watch him suffer and die. In his already corrupted mind, the only criterion for evaluating others and family members was probably the word "value."

For five hundred years, they hated their increasingly decaying souls and bodies, yet feared dying without accomplishing anything. Over time, this formed a twisted obsession, which they used to judge the world's value to themselves.

Shinji Matou knew that his unusual changes would arouse suspicion, but he couldn't care less. Shinji Matou was six years old this year, and there was less than a year left until the Fourth Holy Grail War. He had to become a Master within this time.

Magic is key, even if it's only half-baked. The level of Masters in the Fourth Holy Grail War was originally very uneven. Even someone like Ryunosuke Uryu, who had no knowledge of magic, was chosen. As a member of the Matou family, Shinji Matou also has a great chance.

Several points need to be stated.

First: I consider myself a bit of a stickler for setting the story, so this book has been rigorously researched in terms of its settings, but everything is still based on my personal opinion.

Second: Although I know that the Fourth Holy Grail War is a rather old-fashioned world, I will try my best to write something new. What is certain is that three Servants will be replaced by other Servants in this Fourth Holy Grail War, with the classes being Lancer, Berserker, and Caster.

Guess who the main character will summon?

Chapter Three: The Gate of Truth

At first, Shinji Matou was in despair. Despite being born into a prestigious family of magicians, Shinji Matou did not believe he could become a magician without any external help.

The most important thing for a magician is inheritance. Every magician has what is called magic circuits, which are similar to the human neural network. By analogy, magic circuits are like meridians in martial arts novels or aptitude in fantasy novels.

Magic circuits are organs that are present from birth. Although there are methods for transplantation, they are rarely used due to their extremely low success rate.

However, there are methods to artificially increase magic circuits. Instead of modifying the individual, one can modify the parents who gave birth to the individual. This way, offspring with superior magic circuits can be produced as many times as possible. Therefore, the older the magician family, the more superior the quantity and quality of the magic circuits of their offspring tend to be.

Unfortunately, Shinji Matou couldn't enjoy such a head start. Hundreds of years ago, the Matou family could be considered a prestigious magic family. After moving to Japan, the family passed down the magic tradition for generations, but it declined with each generation. By the time of Shinji Matou's father, they had already lost the qualifications to become magicians.

The main reason for the decline of the magic lineage is that it was unable to adapt to the local environment. The Matou family was originally named "Zorgen" and was a famous magic family in Russia. After moving to Japan, they were unable to integrate into the Japanese magic community.

The so-called magic disk is rather complicated to explain. It can be seen as the magic network in the D&D novel system. Casting spells requires the magic disk to be completed.

If we compare the magic wheel to a car, magic is the gasoline, and the necessary rituals for performing magic are the key to start the engine.

The West has its own magical foundation, and Japan has its own. It is worth mentioning that the Holy Grail is a ritual created based on the Western magical foundation. As a result, Eastern characters, including Japanese Servants, cannot be summoned in the Holy Grail War.

Otherwise, summoning a well-known Japanese Servant, even if their own strength is not good, can boost their overall ability by increasing their popularity in Japan.

Shinji Matou has no magic circuits and has not inherited any magic crests, making it virtually impossible for him to become a magician.

As the saying goes, when God closes a door, he opens a window. Feeling disheartened, Shinji Matou realized something very surprising: his door was still there.

The Gate of Truth contains all the knowledge and skills an alchemist has acquired throughout his life. It is the foundation of alchemy. Without the Gate, it is impossible to perform alchemy. This is the truth of the world of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Having studied alchemy for over a decade, Shinji Matou knew very well what the gate still represented; it was arguably his only lifeline.

Inside the room, Shinji Matou eagerly studied magic knowledge, while simultaneously reasoning in his mind: "Alchemy also exists in this world, and it is a school of thought that is no less than or even surpasses magic. However, although the basic concepts and foundations of alchemy in the two worlds are very similar, the rituals are different and therefore cannot be shared."

"The difference between a bow and arrow and a firearm is that both propel something forward, but a bow and arrow utilizes the elasticity of the material, while a firearm utilizes the impact generated by the explosion of gunpowder."

"The nature of the existence of truth in the two worlds is completely different. In the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, truth can be touched as long as a price is paid. In the world of Type-Moon, truth is the source, the ultimate knowledge that all magicians dream of, and even magicians cannot access it."

"The setting of the two worlds is like the difference between Android and Apple systems." Shinji Matou closed the book, smiled bitterly and said nothing. He often felt a strange and inexplicable sense of rejection in his body. At first, he thought it was the suppressor acting up, but after some investigation, it seemed to be more like the world rejecting him.

Although the Matou family's magical bloodline has weakened, their accumulated knowledge of magic should not be underestimated.

A large part of the reason why Shinji Matou studied magic day and night was that he wanted to find the cause of his aversion and a solution.

The foundation of Japanese magic rejects the magician bloodline of the Matou family, and the very source of this world rejects truths from another world.

"This is my only chance; success or failure hinges on tonight!"

Shinji Matou picked up a pen and easily drew a perfect circle on the white paper in front of him, without any flaws. An uninformed person would probably think it was drawn with a tool.

Drawing circles is the foundation of alchemy and is related to the success or failure of alchemy. The more perfect the circle, the higher the success rate of alchemy. Back when Shinji Kiri was still an alchemist, he practiced drawing circles for three whole years and it is estimated that he drew no less than a million circles.

In this world, most alchemy is ineffective, but some basic transmutation arrays still work. The key is simplicity; the simpler the array, the more it omits the rituals required to activate alchemy.

Having drawn a perfect transmutation circle, Shinji Matou placed his right hand on it, blocking the entire circle, and closed his eyes as if he were fast asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, Shinji Matou's consciousness arrived in a pure white space. Shinji Matou remained seated, and the chair and table from reality materialized.

“Only in this world can I feel at peace.” Shinji Matou shook his head and muttered to himself, turning to look behind him where a huge stone gate stood, its doors tightly shut, carved with the Kabbalah Tree of Life. To Shinji Matou, every character and every image seemed alive, and he could directly understand their meaning.

This is the alchemical knowledge that the immortal alchemist Shul learned throughout his life.

Shinji Matou turned his head to look at what was in front of him. Behind him, the Gate of Truth was replaced by a magnificent and simple stone gate, more than a hundred times the size of the Gate of Truth. The gate was also tightly closed, but there were no words or pictures on it.

Ancient and solemn, just standing there can make people feel a sense of oppression that makes it hard to breathe.

"It should be almost finished."

Shinji Matou grinned, knowing full well that behind the magnificent stone gate lay the world's origin, which drove all magicians mad.

The vortex of origin, the cause of everything, the effect of all things, is the ultimate knowledge for a magician, much like the truth sought by the man in the bottle, Holmes.

Arriving before the magnificent stone gate, Shinji Matou reached out to touch it. The familiar feeling of rejection instantly overwhelmed Shinji Matou's consciousness. This feeling was more intense than any physical pain. If an ordinary person were subjected to this kind of rejection, their consciousness would probably collapse and they would become an idiot.

Shinji Matou was certainly influenced by it, but he had simply gotten used to it.

"As expected, the world's rejection of me has weakened considerably compared to a year ago, and my thoughts are undoubtedly correct." A confident and composed smile appeared on Shinji Matou's pale face.

Chapter Four: Origin Awakening

"Trash protagonist, I could do better."

Shinji Matou has traveled through time eight times since he uttered those words. Although he doesn't consider himself a keyboard warrior, he actually feels somewhat inadequate to say those words.

This statement became the reason and purpose for Shinji Matou's travels to different worlds; if he couldn't do better than the character he was possessed by, he would lose evaluation points.

Aside from that, Shinji Matou was basically unaware of what had happened to him.

Having traveled through different worlds, Shinji Matou has come to some conclusions. What he understands most deeply is the difference in rules. Different worlds have different cosmic rules, and the magic learned in one magical world is basically impossible to use in another.

Therefore, the existence of the Gate of Truth surprised Shinji Matou slightly, but it was not incomprehensible.

Movies, novels, and animations—different worlds have different differences, but all worlds originate from Earth, which is a product of human imagination. The differences between different worlds are only the tip of the iceberg; their essence is the same.

"That's true, but integrating alchemy into this world is still very difficult," Shinji Matou murmured to himself, gazing up at the magnificent stone door before him.

In fact, it is very simple for Shinji Matou to integrate into this world. He only needs to give up his own Gate of Truth and he will be automatically accepted by this world.

But this also means that Shinji Matou has lost the ability to use alchemy and has become an insignificant mortal.

One major reason why Rin Tohsaka calls Shinji Matou harmless in the original work is that Shinji Matou doesn't possess the powers of a magician, and his mentality is no different from that of an ordinary person. In terms of danger, he is not even comparable to a murderer. From a magician's perspective, Shinji Matou is certainly harmless. From the very beginning, Shinji Matou was just a pawn; even without him, someone else would inevitably take his place.

Shinji Matou is such a nobody, but that doesn't stop him from being considered a scumbag, and even Shinji Matou himself thinks so now.

"Snapped!"

Shinji Matou clapped his hands, and the blue light flashing in his palms indicated that the transmutation technique had been successfully activated. His youthful face gradually became serious. After releasing his hands, the transmutation circle in the center of his palms continued to emit a faint light.

"Part of the Gate of Truth is accepted by the world, while another part is rejected by it. What you need to do is peel away the part that is rejected by the world. The world of the Gate is the best filter."

"This project has lasted for more than half a year, and all the attempts will yield results today."

Shinji Matou's expression was solemn, but his eyes revealed an undisguised excitement. If this attempt failed, the Gate of Truth would probably collapse, and Shinji Matou himself would be swallowed by the Root.

Having traveled to different worlds, Shinji Matou had long since become numb to death. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that, in a sense, only "courting death" could stimulate Shinji Matou's senses.

"Success or failure hinges on this!" Shinji Matou resolutely placed his hands on the stone gate in front of him, and the alchemy circle spread out again from Shinji Matou's hands, gradually covering the towering and magnificent stone gate.

"boom!"

A dull thud struck Shinji Matou's consciousness. The stone door remained unmoved, but the Gate of Truth behind Shinji Matou slowly opened.

Behind the Gate of Truth lies a void of darkness, within which something writhes incessantly before suddenly opening its eyes to reveal a gigantic eye composed of countless spirals.

Thousands of black tentacles emerged from his eyes, slowly extending and reaching across the stone gate covered with complex transmutation circles, past Shinji Matou.

The tentacles are carving the truth contained within the Gate of Truth onto this gate, using a repulsion reaction to determine alchemical knowledge that is not applicable to this world.

"This is!"

Shinji Matou's face turned deathly pale as he felt a silent wave impacting his consciousness. It wasn't a repulsive reaction; it was faint yet more profound than any real sensation in the world. If his consciousness hadn't been incredibly resilient, honed through countless worlds, Shinji Matou's reason would have been destroyed by this strange wave.

"This feeling... could it be the origin?" Shinji Matou pondered, slightly surprised.

The root is the cause of everything, and when life comes into contact with the root, it is very likely to be awakened to a characteristic called "origin".

"Origin," which magicians also call the chaotic impulse, means that all things and life have a direction at the beginning of their birth, and will inevitably move in that direction, just like water always flows downhill.

For humans, this directional tendency is an irresistible primal impulse, and only those with strong personalities and wisdom can suppress its origins.

Origin is the direction determined by the root, and as the absolute command at the core of all things, it cannot be changed no matter how many times the soul reincarnates.

As a transmigrator, Shinji Matou knew the origins of many characters in this world.

Emiya Shirou's origin is the sword, which is why he can use the Reality Marble Unlimited Blade Works and is also adept at using magical projection sword weapons.

Emiya Shirou's adoptive father, Emiya Kiritsugu, originated from the concept of "cutting and combining," which allowed him to create a special Mystic Code called "Origin Bullet" using his own ribs.

In addition, Ryougi Shiki's origin in "Kara no Kyoukai" is "Void", which leads to the existence of the Cave of Garan in her heart. Through the Ryougi family's special technology, another personality is created, which is connected to the Root.

The Black-Eyed Flower's origin is a taboo, causing her to stray from the group and act erratically.

Origin, or to put it bluntly, destiny, determines what a life form wants to do and what it can do.

Kiritsugu Emiya, who possesses the origin of "Severing and Binding," has saved as many people as he has killed as he has saved as an ally of justice.

【Taboo】The origin of the black tung flower is that it likes unusual things and falls in love with its older brother, which are also manifestations of the 【Taboo】.

Origin is also related to a magician's attributes; Shirou Emiya's [Sword] origin and Kiritsugu Emiya's [Severing and Joining] origin are the best examples.