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As an enthusiastic participant in the "Snipe Max Night" coordinated event, Maverick naturally timed his ranked queue entry to match Max's schedule perfectly—entering the game at the exact same moment to maximize their chances of being matched together.
Whether they'd actually end up in the same lobby? That was purely up to RNG and the matchmaking gods.
But regardless of the odds, Maverick was absolutely determined to give this everything he had.
So he immediately decided to summon his most reliable, most powerful Heroic Spirit: Artoria Pendragon.
Of course, compared to Maverick's practical choice, the self-righteous commenters in his chat had different opinions:
[Noob]: Oh come ON, Maverick! Can't you be less of a one-trick? Other streamers' inventories have at least two or three different Holy Relics, but you only have ONE!
[Boring]: Yeah, other streamers are already experimenting with niche Heroic Spirits, but you're STILL playing Artoria. Aren't you worried about getting hard-countered?
[NewHere]: I'm new—is this the streamer's first time playing Holy Grail War?
[PointsWhore]: Oh, talking all righteous about "going all out," but in the end you just don't want to risk losing ranked points, you coward!
Yes, it wasn't that Maverick didn't want to summon other Servants and diversify his roster.
But when facing unknown opponents in a competitive ranked environment, he could only reliably summon Artoria with any consistency.
Rather than potentially summoning someone like Lu Bu—who might just as easily turn around and decapitate him for looking at him wrong—it was infinitely safer to stick with Artoria.
After all, Artoria's combat effectiveness was extremely reliable, her loyalty was absolute, and her tactical flexibility was excellent.
Although there was no guarantee he'd actually match with Max in this specific lobby, Maverick was willing to go all-in for the chance to face off against the game developer he genuinely admired.
However, as the brilliant blue summoning light faded away and the magical circle dispersed...
The Artoria standing before him felt somehow... different.
"I am Saber! Artoria Pendragon!" Her voice rang out clearly, filled with youthful enthusiasm. "I am a newly knighted warrior, striving every day to become a worthy king! Are you my Master?"
"Yes... I suppose I am..." Maverick responded, slightly uncertain.
Maverick hadn't actually expected Artoria to retain memories from previous Holy Grail War cycles—that would be an absurdly generous feature.
After all, based on standard practices from most game companies, everything should have been completely reset between matches to maintain competitive balance.
However, since the developer was Max from Forest Studio, Maverick had maintained some small, wild hope that maybe—just maybe—there might be some continuity mechanic.
But looking at the Artoria now standing before him, Maverick felt like something had gone slightly sideways with his summoning ritual.
Although she definitely had Artoria's unmistakable face and features...
Her full-body armor wasn't the iconic blue and white color scheme he remembered.
Instead, it was primarily silver and white with different accent colors.
At the same time, she had a black bow ribbon tied decoratively in her blonde hair.
Her ahoge—that signature antenna of defiant hair—stood as proud and firm as ever, practically begging someone to reach out and give it a playful tug.
But the overwhelming sense of youthful energy radiating from her entire being, combined with that pure smile as healing as a white lily blooming in spring sunlight...
It made Maverick feel like an actual angel had just descended to stand beside him.
As for what kind of angel... it certainly wasn't one of those grimdark armored Space Marine angels.
If that ruled out the edgy options, then there was only one possible answer!
[ANGEL]: AN ANGEL! THIS IS A LITERAL ANGEL!
[Healing]: That smile is TOO healing! My heart can't take this!
[BrotherNo]: Second brother, you traitor, stand up! STAND UP FOR ME! Why did you collapse at the sight of a smile?!
[NewArtoria]: Holy shit, a NEW Artoria variant has appeared in the wild!
[HowMany]: How many different versions of Artoria are in this game?! Why are there so many Saber-class Artorias with the exact same face?!
[DistractedBoyfriend]: Who cares about lore consistency? I'm making my move first before you degenerates claim her!
[Guilt]: Wait, don't you feel GUILTY? This Artoria is clearly much younger psychologically than the original! Looking at that innocent smile reminds me of my adorable little sister who just started middle school and calls me "big brother" every morning with that same pure energy. I genuinely can't bring myself to lewd this one. My soul feels cleansed.
[Agreed]: AGREED! PROTECC MODE ACTIVATED!
[Death]: Damn it, DIE you normies with happy family lives!
Combining his extensive experience from the first Holy Grail War, it became immediately clear to Maverick that while the Artoria before him was definitely Artoria, she wasn't quite the standard version.
Based on her specific word choices and mannerisms, it wasn't difficult to deduce that this Artoria was likely from an earlier point in her timeline.
Most probably, this was Artoria from immediately after she'd first drawn the Sword of Selection from the stone.
"What's wrong, Master?" The young Artoria tilted her head with concern, noticing his contemplative expression. "You look troubled. Do you have something difficult you'd like to discuss? Or... did I do something wrong already?"
She quickly added with endearing lack of confidence: "Of course, if you don't want to share, that's perfectly fine too! But if there's anything at all I can help with, please don't hesitate to tell me. I'll do my very best!"
Remember what was established earlier in the lore?
A Servant is essentially just one facet or "snapshot" of a Heroic Spirit's existence across their entire legend. The summoning ritual can pull their older self, their younger self, or any significant period in between.
And in FGO specifically, youthful versions of normally adult-appearing Servants are collectively referred to with the suffix "Lily."
Like Artoria Lily, Jeanne d'Arc Lily, and Medea Lily.
And what had appeared before Maverick now was precisely Artoria Lily—hereafter referred to simply as Lily for convenience.
She was the version who had just drawn the Sword of Selection and had not yet embarked on that long, arduous journey of kingship that would eventually break her.
The current Lily's smile was exceptionally pure and genuinely innocent. Her personality—much like a certain energetic forest princess—was full of natural liveliness and optimism.
Completely unlike her future self, who would develop only the king's practiced composure and unshakeable resolve at the cost of her humanity.
At the same time, compared to her fully matured version whose Instinct skill ranked at a full A-rank for pure combat applications, Lily's Instinct was ranked slightly lower at B.
However, in terms of versatility of application, it was significantly broader in scope.
Not only could she perceive the most ideal tactical development in combat situations, her incredibly keen sixth sense could almost function as limited precognition, and it could reduce by half any obstacles or interference affecting her sight and hearing.
The same enhanced perception applied to everyday social situations as well—Lily could keenly discern another person's worries and emotional state with just a single glance.
It was precisely this empathetic ability that made the current Lily completely unable to stand by and watch anyone wearing a troubled expression without trying to help.
At this moment, she'd immediately noticed the confusion flickering in Maverick's eyes, which prompted her direct question.
But her lingering self-doubt still made Lily quickly add that self-deprecating caveat after her initial offer of concern.
In response, Maverick—who already harbored strong positive feelings toward Artoria from previous encounters—naturally wouldn't hide anything from this earnest young knight.
He directly voiced the question weighing on his mind:
"Based on what you've said, you should be King Arthur from immediately after drawing the Sword of Selection, correct? In that case... do you have any memories or knowledge of your future? Because that future... isn't a particularly happy one."
"In terms of raw combat strength, I'm definitely not as powerful as my future self will eventually become," Lily admitted honestly, her expression serious. "After all, I've only just begun my training in the way of the knight. But I promise I'll give you my absolute best effort regardless!
As for knowledge of the future outcome..." She paused thoughtfully. "To be completely honest, it's very blurry and indistinct in my perception. Like looking through dense fog.
But I won't give up or despair because of some predetermined fate! Human effort and determination can change destiny! My future self may have encountered failure and regret.
But if I—right here, right now, in this present moment—simply train harder, fight with more conviction, and govern more wisely...
Then I will be able to lead my kingdom to prosperity and peace! I have to believe that!"
This was a common philosophical question that many Lily-type Servants wrestled with: What is their perspective on knowing the predetermined tragic outcome of their future?
Their answers, without exception, followed a similar pattern: "Is that so? That's truly unfortunate and sad. But if I start working harder and making better choices from this exact point forward, perhaps I can reverse that fate."
This represented something their jaded adult counterparts had lost along the way.
An existence called "Hope."
So when Lily finished speaking with that determined conviction, Maverick looked directly into her eyes.
Her gaze sparkled with genuine, unshakeable hope and optimism.
And this combination of adorable earnestness and iron resolve made the chat viewers collectively lose their minds:
[AWeiIsDead]: A WEI IS DEAD! A WEI HAS BEEN SLAIN!
[Casualty]: ANOTHER CASUALTY! THE ANGEL CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM!
[Daughter]: This is DAUGHTER energy! MAXIMUM PROTECC!
[Corrupted]: My dark heart has been purified against my will!
Maverick smiled genuinely for the first time in the stream.
Yeah. He could work with this.
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