IBHJ Chapter 913

When he turned around, Altera was gone, leaving behind a small bundle. He opened it to find a pile of blurry flesh, a requirement for his class advancement.

"This girl...she says we're enemies, but doesn't this seem like something a friend would do?" he mused. "What trouble has she gotten herself into now?

With a sigh, he tucked the bundle away and headed into Zaun Castle to deliver it to the Vampire King.

"Oh? You've brought me the flesh so quickly. Very good. I shall bestow upon you the blood blessing of the ancestor!"

The Vampire King's slender finger traced a line in the air, and a beam of blood-red light struck his forehead. A system message flashed before his eyes.

[System: Received the Ancestor's Blood. Congratulations. You are now Lv2.]

He had spent time in the thunder cave for a reason. Killing monsters gave you experience, but leveling up required completing class advancement quests. Mindlessly grinding was pointless.

He clenched his fist, testing the new strength of Level 2. Not a huge difference, but the game's restrictions on his body and power felt a bit looser. For native adventurers, leveling up meant gaining strength. But for Heroic Spirits like him, it meant shedding the game's weakening effects.

He estimated he was now at roughly 40% of Artoria's power. At Level 5, the game's limitations would disappear completely, and further leveling up would grant him the game's blessings.

"You have now become a qualified, elegant vampire," the Vampire King declared. "As the King of Vampires, I must advise you. While vampires possess great power, we fear strong light and must consume the blood of living creatures to maintain our vitality. This has made humans hostile towards us, leading them to establish the Holy Church to hunt us down."

"Although external threats have forced humans to cooperate with us on the surface, there are still killings happening in secret. Many vampires have fallen prey to their hunts. Hmph. Such barbaric humans, how can they compare to our elegant vampires?"

After a pause, the Vampire King continued, "Evil Flower, you are now a true vampire. You must be aware of the matters between races. Be wary of humans, and even more so of external enemies. Take pride in being a vampire and fight for the prosperity of vampires for life."

The Vampire King finished his speech, and Shirou nodded, but didn't take it to heart. This game world was a virtual world created by the Council. To understand the truth of this world, it would be more practical to ask Enkidu than to listen to these NPCs.

Back at the inn, everything was ready.

His plan involved misdirection. Like hiding something in plain sight, putting the [God's Brain] out in the open would make the adventurers focus all their attention on it. This would allow lower-level players like him and Mordred to go unnoticed. This kind of distraction is like hiding something under a lamp, where it's least expected to be found.

In this situation, he planned to use Mordred's Grail to escape underground. Although the system was constantly reporting his position, as long as they got out of the small Zaun City, their range of activity and autonomy would increase.

However,

"You can't find Shirou?"

He looked at [Sweet Little Girl], controlled by Morgan, with confusion.

She replied with a worried expression. "Shirou said earlier he was going to the control room, but when I went to look for him just now, they said he never went there."

"Have you checked his room?" he asked.

"I've looked, but he's not there." She shook her head and continued, "I haven't been able to reach him in the game since earlier either."

"In the game? ... Wait, does he play this game too?" he asked quickly.

"He doesn't. But because you and Altera disappeared while playing, he suspected you were pulled into the game world by the Council. So he came to me. I lent him an account to use, the one called [My Daughter is Super Cute]," she explained.

My Daughter is Super Cute...

It clicked. Shirou thought of the strange, headbutt-loving white-haired girl from before. Although he had guessed that [My Daughter is Super Cute] might be a Chaldea player, he hadn't expected it to be Artoria!

And that account was now most likely beyond help, trapped deep within the Heaven's Corpse, since the whole map was its body!

But this didn't matter much. Artoria was a Chaldea player, not an adventurer who had entered this world or even stumbled in here like him or Enkidu. She was protected by a screen...

No. Even with the game screen's protection, it was no longer effective. Shirou recalled how he and Altera had fallen into this connection point. They had been grabbed through the screen by the Gatekeeper.

"Mom, it's time," Mordred nudged him gently. "The adventurers are already waiting in the hall."

"Oh," Shirou responded absentmindedly. He reasoned that Artoria couldn't have been pulled in too, otherwise [My Daughter is Super Cute] would have told him when he said he was from Chaldea. Besides, the avatar's movements were clunky, and the responses felt more like someone mashing a keyboard than an actual person. The whole thing screamed newbie player, not a real person.

He pushed the thought aside for now. The priority was to escape from Zaun. He turned to Morgan. "Sis, could you please give it one more try? Focus on cafes and restaurants."

She nodded. "Of course." Only then did he feel a bit of relief as he headed out the door.

"Still thinking about that man at a time like this," Mordred muttered, watching his back with a hint of jealousy.

Illya asked curiously, "Mordred, do you dislike Shirou-niisan that much?"

"Dislike? I super ultra dislike him," she said bluntly.

"I see..." Illya laughed nervously, realizing she'd stepped on a landmine. Even with her reversed age, Mordred's feelings toward Shirou-niisan hadn't changed. Their relationship was complicated, to say the least.

With a sigh, she put on a serious face. "We should get ready, Mordred."

"I know, I know, no need to treat me like a kid," she grumbled, retrieving her Grail.

Illya turned to the quiet girl beside her. "Aqua, it's up to you now."

"Understood," Aqua replied, hands clasped in front of her, eyes closed peacefully. Her calm face was full of quiet determination. "Master's already given me my instructions. I'll pray until my wish comes true."

Meanwhile, Shirou stepped into the hall, carrying the new lottery box he'd just made.

"Evil Flower! Evil Flower!"

The adventurers' eyes were glued to the box, filled with hungry anticipation. The God's Brain, the only one-of-a-kind item on the server, was inside. And soon, for a measly 1000 QP, it would be theirs. A chance to rule the game overnight for practically nothing was too good to pass up.

Facing the adventurers' undisguised greed, he smiled. "Thanks for waiting, everyone. Now, let's see who the lucky winner of the God's Brain will be."

"Hmph. A pointless game," Gilgamesh scoffed, arms crossed. "The God's Brain already has an owner. If this wasn't a safe zone, your nerve in trying to take what's mine would get you chopped to bits."

The adventurers fumed silently. The safe zone was practically Gilgamesh's territory, and with his system-given [Clairvoyance] skill to track them down, arguing was pointless. They begrudgingly held their tongues.

"Relax and enjoy the show," Enkidu said smoothly, trying to calm everyone down.

While Gilgamesh soaked up the attention, Morrigan watched Shirou from the sidelines. She knew his first layer of identity, but it only made her more confused. When had Artoria become so good at manipulating people's hearts?

The lottery rules were simple. Everyone could buy a ticket from Illya for 1000 QP, then he would draw a number from the box. The drawn number would be the winner.

As long as they kept their ticket hidden, no one else would know who won. In theory, everyone had an equal chance, so most were okay with the lottery. Of course, some of the more arrogant and two-faced players had to play along because Gilgamesh had the upper hand.

What they didn't know was that Shirou was going to rig the results. Or maybe they had a sneaking suspicion, but given his weakling image and low level, they probably dismissed the idea. Who would suspect a nobody like him of such a thing?

Under everyone's intense stares, he slowly reached into the lottery box, rummaged around, and pulled out a slip of paper.