"So this is the summoning circle for a Servant? It looks pretty cool."
Fu Zhu and Xing were led by members of the Hound Family to a stage, upon which a summoning circle had been prepared in advance.
The only thing that made Fu Zhu a bit uncomfortable was the group of reporters setting up cameras below the stage, seemingly intent on recording the entire process of their Servant summoning.
"Yes, Mr. Fu Zhu."
A member of the Hound Family nodded. Fearing that Fu Zhu and Xing wouldn't know how to summon a Servant, he pulled two instruction manuals from his pocket and handed them over.
"This is the Servant summoning manual prepared by Mr. Oti. Any materials required for the summoning will be provided by Mr. Oti. Of course, you two may also use your own materials to summon a Servant of your choosing."
Fu Zhu glanced at the manual and casually tossed it aside. He wasn't an expert in the Servant summoning ritual, but he wasn't a stranger to it either. As for the required materials, he planned to try his own first.
But before that, he looked at Xing.
"Sis, you go first. Let me see what your luck is like."
"Me?" Xing scratched her head in confusion and asked, "Does the order make a difference?"
"Of course. The Servant classes are broadly divided into seven: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker. Among them, Saber is arguably the strongest. Of course, this is just in general. Once a Servant of a corresponding class has been summoned, you can only summon from the remaining classes, which is why I'm letting you go first."
"Alright then."
Xing took a deep breath, walked onto the stage, and began to chant the incantation to summon a Servant.
"…Cross the Wheel of Balance and appear, Guardian of the Scales!"
Xing stretched out her right hand, her eyes shut tight, as she awaited the appearance of her Servant.
However… ten seconds passed, and the stage remained completely silent.
Xing cautiously opened her eyes, glanced around, and saw no sign of anyone who might be a Servant. She turned to her big bro below the stage, looking aggrieved.
"Bro, where's my Servant?"
Fu Zhu watched Xing standing in the middle of the circle, trying to hold back his laughter.
"That circle is for summoning Servants. By standing right in the middle of it, aren't you blocking the very door they're supposed to come out of? How do you expect your Servant to appear?"
"Oh, so that's how it works!"
Xing quickly stepped out of the summoning circle. The moment she left, countless strands of golden light began to rise from the center of the circle, weaving together into a human silhouette. When the light dissipated, a woman in a blue dress appeared in the center of the circle, her eyes closed.
The moment Fu Zhu saw her, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Sis, your luck is really good. You actually summoned a Saber."
Xing, who had been observing her Servant, immediately looked over when she heard Fu Zhu.
"Bro, you know her? I can't tell which famous person from Penacony's history she is."
Fu Zhu grinned, rubbing his chin as he stared unblinkingly at the Saber on the stage. "She's no one from the history of Penacony. Isn't that right? Artoria Pendragon."
On the stage, the Saber had just opened her eyes, preparing to greet her Master, when she heard someone nearby call out her true name. This caused her to frown.
Upon being summoned, the Holy Grail had granted her some common knowledge about this world. She understood that this world was not one she was familiar with, yet someone had recognized her and called out her name at first glance. Could it be an acquaintance?
But as Saber looked over, she scrutinized Fu Zhu for a few moments yet found no related face in her memory. She immediately made a grasping motion with both hands, as if holding an invisible sharp blade, and aimed it at Fu Zhu. She then signaled to Xing with her eyes.
"Master, be careful. This person saw through my true name instantly. He is no ordinary man!"
However, Xing simply laughed as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "My brother is no ordinary man, of course. Saber, lower your weapon. He's my big brother."
"Yes, Master."
Hearing Xing's words, Saber lowered her weapon and stood by Xing's side, though she still watched Fu Zhu with a hint of vigilance.
Fu Zhu paid no mind to Saber's wariness. He waved at them both, then walked onto the stage.
"Sis, you two get acquainted. I need to summon my Servant. Let's see if I can summon an old acquaintance of your Saber."
Fu Zhu walked to the edge of the summoning circle. He stared at it, pondered for a moment, then pulled a grass block from his MC backpack and casually tossed it in.
"…Cross the Wheel of Balance and appear, Guardian of the Scales!"
The next second, the crimson summoning circle began to flicker erratically, like a bad signal. Countless strands of light started to converge within the circle, gradually forming a face that was extremely familiar to Fu Zhu.
Wasn't the figure the circle was about to form… himself?!
However, the "Fu Zhu" in the circle had glowing white eyes and looked chillingly cold.
Just as Fu Zhu realized he was about to summon himself, the entire summoning circle shattered with a loud crack. The half-formed head of the Servant vanished in an instant.
"Did it fail…?"
Fu Zhu frowned. He hadn't expected the summoning ritual to fail. Could it be because of his own uniqueness, making it impossible for the Holy Grail to summon another version of him?
Fu Zhu sighed. Since that was the case, he would have to try a different approach. He turned to the members of the Hound Family.
"Help me patch up the summoning circle. I'm summoning again."
---o---
"Yes, sir."
The Hound Family members seemed to have been prepared for this. They immediately went on stage and, in a flash, had the summoning circle completely restored.
This time, Fu Zhu didn't choose the grass block. Instead, he crafted an End Crystal and placed it inside the summoning circle before starting the incantation again.
At the same time, in the depths of space, an Ender Dragon that was flying around the Path of [Nihility] seemed to sense something. It looked toward a certain direction, then turned its body and flew straight there.
---o---
Fu Zhu watched as the summoning circle before him flickered nonstop before shattering completely once again, and he sighed with some regret.
"Why can't I summon anything from MC… This Holy Grail is so lame, isn't it?"
Helpless, Fu Zhu could only have the Hound Family members restore the summoning circle again. He still had a few backup plans!
After several members of the Hound Family had patched up the circle, one of them stepped forward hesitantly and said, "Um, Mr. Fu Zhu, the materials for the summoning circle are quite expensive. If possible… could you please be a bit more careful!"
"It's just money. Old Oti isn't short on it."
"Well… alright then."
After the Hound Family members walked away, Fu Zhu took the Godfall Sword out of his backpack. He then enchanted it with [Mending] and, holding it in his hand, used his own experience points to fully repair it.
"To be collected by Herta, its original owner must have been a very powerful being, right?"
Fu Zhu plunged the Godfall Sword into the summoning circle and recited the incantation once more.
"…Cross the Wheel of Balance and appear, Guardian of the Scales!"