Chapter 8

After his vision recovered, Luo Zhen found himself in a vast forest.

"————"

The forest was silent, not even the slightest sound of birds, beasts, or insects.

"Is this the battlefield for this time?"

Luo Zhen quickly scanned his surroundings.

This was not the first time Luo Zhen had participated in a simulation battle.

Therefore, Luo Zhen not only quickly adapted to the current situation but also clearly knew what would happen next.

"Shouldn't I be 'summoned' about now?"

Luo Zhen muttered to himself.

As mentioned earlier, in the face of the grand mission of "correcting human history," the adaptors, who are mere humans, are quite insignificant.

The adaptors are merely the wielders and commanders.

The true warriors who fight across different eras to correct human history are higher beings compared to humans.

They are heroes.

They are transcenders.

In the past, they left various great achievements in this world, thus becoming legends.

These great legends, due to their achievements, ascended to a state similar to that of 'spirits' after death, and are called 'Heroic Spirits,' recorded in the 'Thrones' on the surface of the world.

Only such beings are true warriors.

And Chaldea possesses a system that can summon the Heroic Spirits recorded in the 'Thrones' and bind them in a contract with those who have the 'qualifications' to be adaptors.

The Heroic Spirit Summoning System —— 'Fate.'

Through this system, those who form a contract with the Heroic Spirits and gain the right to command them are called —— 'Masters.'

The Heroic Spirits, demoted to become the familiars of the Masters, are called —— 'Servants.'

All magicians who can become adaptors possess the qualifications to become Masters.

Luo Zhen is one of the best among them.

A mechanical prompt sounded a second later.

"Activating the Heroic Spirit Summoning System: Fate."

As the prompt disappeared from the world, a splendid magic circle suddenly spun out from in front of Luo Zhen and appeared on the ground.

"Is it here?"

Looking at the splendid magic circle, Luo Zhen couldn't help but be captivated.

No matter how many times he saw it, he was still enchanted by it.

The intricate patterns, the beautiful geometric shapes, the magical significance contained within, and the surging magical power rolling in front of him all made Luo Zhen, as a magician, feel a burning passion.

After all, it was a miracle that a mere magician could never achieve.

After all, it was a broad path leading to the truth of the world.

As a magician, one could not ignore such a mystery.

Not to mention, Luo Zhen was a magician who was "devoted to this path."

"When will I be able to complete a summon of this level with my own power?"

While Luo Zhen was murmuring to himself, a figure gradually formed within the shining light of the splendid magic circle.

"Servant Summoning: Complete."

"Contracted Servant: Archer."

"Battle Time: 30 minutes."

"Simulation Battle: Begin."

The prompt faded away, and the magic circle gradually disappeared, leaving behind the formed figure.

Looking at the figure standing in front of him, the burning passion in Luo Zhen's heart receded like a tide.

The reason was simple: the summoned Servant was simply not capable of maintaining such passion.

It was a figure shrouded in black mist, with only the outline of a human form visible, the rest being pitch-black magical power. It was more like a shadow than a human.

Staring at it, Luo Zhen first exhaled, then sighed in disappointment.

"Sure enough, the current 'Fate' can only summon a Servant of this level?"

Although Chaldea has the Heroic Spirit Summoning System, summoning Heroic Spirits as familiars and Servants, and commanding them, is not an easy task. They are legends recorded in the 'Thrones.'

According to Chaldea's records, the Heroic Spirit Summoning System has successfully summoned Servants only three times.

And those three Servants are said to currently live in Chaldea, but no one knows where they are.

Even Luo Zhen, who has lived in Chaldea for three years, only knows one of them and the location of another, while the third is so mysterious that there are no rumors about it at all.

Thus, it is not easy to summon a Heroic Spirit in a simulation battle.

The Servant summoned in front of him is merely the 'shadow' of one of the Heroic Spirits recorded in the 'Thrones,' a degraded, unconscious remnant or clone with only a small portion of its power.

"Even though it's small, it's still much stronger than an average magician. If I were to face it, I would probably be killed in a few moves, right?"

Luo Zhen calmed his somewhat disappointed heart and consoled himself.

"Besides, the class being Archer is advantageous for me."

Heroic Spirits are beings separated from the timeline, summoned to all eras, whether past or future.

With their powerful strength, Heroic Spirits are considered important combat forces for Chaldea in the mission of correcting human history.

However, summoning the main body of a Heroic Spirit recorded in the 'Thrones' is extremely difficult, almost impossible for humans.

Therefore, humans can only summon their clones as Servants.

When summoned in this way, the power of a Heroic Spirit is fixed in one direction.

For example, a Heroic Spirit who could use both sword and spear and wield 100% of their power in life will, when summoned as a Servant, only possess one of these weapons and wield only that power.

This power determines the direction of the Servant, which is its class.

Thus, when a Heroic Spirit manifests, it first receives a 'Spirit Core' as its heart. Centered around the 'Spirit Core,' the Servant forms a body made of magical power and obtains a container called a 'class,' thereby materializing.

This class, or container, is known as the 'Spirit Base.'

It determines how much of the Servant's power from life will be retained and in which class they will manifest.

Therefore, the larger and more extensive the Spirit Base, the stronger and more powerful the Servant.

Typically, Servants are divided into seven classes.

—— 'Saber (Swordsman).'

—— 'Archer (Archer).'

—— 'Lancer (Lancer).'

—— 'Rider (Rider).'

—— 'Caster (Magician).'

—— 'Assassin (Assassin).'

—— 'Berserker (Berserker).'

The Servant Luo Zhen commands is an Archer, skilled in long-range combat and equipped with powerful ranged weapons.

"For me, the most desirable Servants are those of the Archer, Caster, and Assassin classes."

Because these three classes of Servants are the easiest to coordinate with Luo Zhen's abilities.

Several tactics immediately flashed through Luo Zhen's mind, and he crouched down, placing a finger on the ground and closing his eyes.

"Magic circuit, activate."

In Luo Zhen's body, the 'switch' that generates 'power' was turned on.