"——"
Were those words in my mind merely a self-justifying fantasy I conjured up, or did someone actually say them? Since I never again felt that thought afterward, I can no longer tell. But at least one point in that message I truly agree with: no matter what, I must grasp this life that belongs to me here and now.
So…
"It's time to pull some gacha!"
I quickly open the summon interface. This simulation score was a full 80 points—an unprecedented high for me! A huge improvement!
Though the simulator's evaluation even noted, "Thanks to your attendant Guinevere's activity, your own rating rose greatly," which felt embarrassingly like saying I just rode his coattails… I must have contributed something! After all, Guinevere's prowess reflects my good judgment: if I hadn't insisted on allocating resources to the most capable carry, we wouldn't have done so well. So I at least deserve, say, 10% credit!
"…Though at the start I planned to protect Guinevere properly in this simulation… in the end I again relied entirely on him to carry me through the hardship."
I feel my cheeks flush. I can't keep this up forever; next time I must play a larger role.
Resolving this inwardly, I turn back to the simulator. A high score is good: as prompted, with a simulation score above 80, the chance to draw excellent rewards increases, including a higher probability of obtaining rewards related to this simulation. That means my chance to pull Guinevere's Holy Swordbearer character card should be high, right?
"Paradise, grant me your protection… summon!"
I pray to my chosen staff and tap the summon button with hope. Before the gleaming summoning circle, I clasp my hands and bow my head in earnest prayer. Please, please deliver! I really want Guinevere's Holy Swordbearer card.
But the starlight I hoped for does not arrive. A silver card back slowly appears, and in my disappointed gaze it flips over:
[Congratulations, you've obtained: Limit Break · Strength x1]
[Note: Upon acquiring a "Limit Break," one attribute's cap is raised to a higher level. Each Limit Break card raises its attribute cap by one rank.]
[Having obtained "Limit Break · Strength" x1, your Strength cap rises one rank; it is now capped at A rank.]
"…Huh?"
Reading this reward, I quickly check my base attributes. Strength was E-rank? Now raised to D? Actually, if cap is A, but current is low? I exit the panel and glare at the screen.
"What on earth is a Strength Limit Break?! It doesn't even boost my current rank, just raises the cap. What use is this reward?!"
It's infuriating. They could simply boost my Strength stat by one tier—that at least would slightly improve my combat power. True, Limit Break can help eventually via bell-chiming to raise stats: the attribute I most need to break the cap on is my durability, which is only D. Without solving that, I'll always be the team's weakest link. But "Limit Break · Strength"—what's the point? When my Strength reaches A, my Mana will have long since reached A too. At that point as a support mage in the back row, why bother with an A-level Strength? Should I go pound enemies to death with my staff? As a mage, once your Mana is high, who uses physical attacks?
I wonder if "Paradise" would mind my swearing.
"No, calm down, Altria. You are the Child of Prophecy; it's not good to lose your temper so easily… You still have extra summon chances, right?"
I soothe myself and quickly tally my resources. Besides the free pull after each simulation, I'd saved twenty Saint Quartz fragments from the previous run. This simulation's summary showed three Legendary Events:
[Legendary Event "Light of Norwich": When facing the despair-inducing disaster that crushed Norwich's spirit, as the Prophecy Child you were the first to step forward. Even knowing the odds were hopeless, your defiance inspired everyone behind you.]
[Legendary Event "Killing Chocolate": In Edinburgh, during the contest against Northern Queen Knocknarea, you innovatively combined chocolate with a heart shape to win. Your unexpected magic talent produced a forbidden "killing chocolate," unprecedented in history.]
[Legendary Event "Prophetic Pilgrimage": As the Prophecy Child, you completed the mission given by Paradise, rang the six pilgrimage bells to end the legendary journey, then returned to the Starboard Sea and forged the Holy Sword with your being. That sword saved Fairy Britain from its destined destruction.]
Although I want to grumble, "What the heck is 'killing chocolate'? Why is that a Legendary Event?"—each Legendary Event grants five Saint Quartz fragments, so I'll accept this embarrassing dark history. Who can argue with rewards? Saint Quartz is guilt-free. It's my hope to summon the Holy Swordbearer Heroic Spirit card!
[You exchange 35 Saint Quartz fragments for 5 Saint Quartz.]
Now I hold my future in hand.
[You spend 3 Saint Quartz for a regular-pool summon.]
"Please, Starboard Sea, bless my summon—I've never gotten an SR or above reward! I'm so weak; you don't want me to die unexpectedly at the start of a journey, right?"
Muttering, I press the summon button with all-or-nothing determination. Golden light blinds me.
"Wow, wow wow! Wow woah!"
In that instant, blinded by golden light, I achieve the "Frog Chorus" alone and immediately bow twice toward the northern swamps of Britain:
"Thank you! Thank you thank you! Thanks to my homeland for the golden reward—huh?"
After bowing, I eagerly check the screen—and freeze:
[You obtained an innate skill: Forbidden Alchemy · A]
[This skill is born from your personal Legendary Event "Killing Chocolate."]
[You possess an extremely outstanding ability to craft items. Moreover, because your innate talent in forbidden knowledge aligns perfectly with the principles of forbidden alchemy, any Craft Essence items you create will be of higher rank, and those you craft have a chance to gain additional new abilities at random; they may even ascend into living magical entities.]
["Being able to make chocolate into a murderous monster—that's in some sense a terrifying talent, right?"]
—A magic teacher defeated by a student's creation
"Enough already! Is this unavoidable? Who wants a reward like this?!"
Anger veins bulging, I glare at the description: "Why can't I get something more fitting? Is it so hard to get a reward related to the Holy Swordbearer Guinevere?!"
"I can't take it! I'll do another pull! I refuse to believe I can't get Guinevere's Holy Swordbearer reward!"
Driven, I tap "Restart Simulation" on the screen.
[Sorry, this function is under maintenance.]
"Huh?" I pause at that message.
[Detected that you and your attendant have cleared the mainline of this simulation. The simulator will now unlock entirely new simulation gameplay and systems.]
[New Mode: FATE/Destiny Simulation: In this mode, the worlds you can simulate are no longer limited to Fairy Britain but expand across infinite parallel universes.]
[These universes each have vastly different fates, futures, and scenes of joy and sorrow, but they share one thing: their destinies often revolve around the Holy Grail and Heroic Spirits.]
[Via a new "Entry" system, create your own character cards—whether as those legendary Heroic Spirits, or as magicians driven by obsession, or simply as someone living in that universe—and participate in their stirring legends, writing your own epic story.]
[FATE/Destiny Simulation mode and the Entry system will be implemented after this update. Release date to be announced.]
[Thank you for your continued support of the simulator series.]
"Ah?" Reading this long explanation, I grasp it promptly:
"So… I can no longer use my free single summon to pull Guinevere's Holy Swordbearer?"
Then I instantly fall to the floor in despair:
"Why?! Is the simulator itself targeting me?!"
…
[Congratulations, you have received the reward: "Savior Holy Swordbearer · Guinevere" Memory Fragment.]
"How disappointing… I didn't directly get the full character card, only a memory fragment?"
Looking at the golden-lit reward, Guinevere sighs:
"I never expected—even with my Luck A—there'd be a day I'd miss. I thought at least I could draw a 3-day trial card to enjoy Heroic Spirit summoning."
[Note: A Heroic Spirit card's Memory Fragment is a one-time consumable. Upon use, you gain memory of a Legendary Event from that spirit's life and obtain a skill or Noble Phantasm associated with that event.]
"Whoa!"
At first I thought the fragment would be mediocre, but after reading, I immediately reverse that thought. Come on! This locks in a Legendary Event's skill or Noble Phantasm—and even grants its memory! Now I can fill in gaps where I couldn't access simulated memories!
"This is Luck A? Never felt so wonderful!"
Without hesitation, I use the memory fragment:
[You consume "Savior Holy Swordbearer · Guinevere" Memory Fragment x1]
[Randomizing this spirit's Legendary Event…]
[You are about to obtain the Savior Holy Swordbearer · Guinevere's Legendary Memory: "Norwich's Heavenly Fire"]
Seeing this, Guinevere rejoices, almost laughing aloud. But very soon, when that familiar Calamity Hand and the endless flames appear before him… he cannot laugh. In the simulation, that moment when he unleashed his Noble Phantasm, raising the Heavenly Fire of Judgment to advance…
—A surge of indescribable agony floods from all directions, from every inch of his body, instantly overwhelming his nerves.
Only then does Guinevere realize the true gap between reality and illusion.