Shinji Matou at Your Service

When Shirou replaced Amakusa, Shinji had new questions.

"What about Artoria, the Watcher?"

"That was also because of me," Shirou admitted frankly.

"But why an observer? The two counterforces usually eliminate unstable factors directly without mercy."

"There are two reasons: First, most of my soul is from Earth, and the consciousness that came over this time is also the Earth part. Second, they can't eliminate me. Regardless of my strengths, just my usage rights to Mooncell are beyond their capability to handle. As long as I don't touch their bottom line, they won't act against me and might even help clean up the aftermath."

Shinji knew Shirou was telling the truth. Mooncell's power indeed surpassed that of the two counterforces. Although Mooncell itself is merely an observation device without intelligence, only faithfully performing its observational and recording duties, having a user changes everything. Even Shinji knew a few ways to use Mooncell to mess with Earth, let alone Shirou.

The counterforces are mechanisms to prevent extinction; they can distinguish between serious and trivial threats.

"Got a bit sidetracked, let's continue talking about Land of Steel. All of the old man's experiments, including you as a new variable and that world line itself, are to avoid this outcome."

"So what do I need to do?" Shinji asked.

"As for me, you don't need to do anything special. Your existence represents change. Live well, and pursue the outcome you desire in your way. The old man might make some requests, like purifying the Greater Grail or achieving the Third Magic."

"Purifying the Greater Grail is a given. Even without him saying it, I would help Justeaze complete it. With this sample, the likelihood of success next time is high. But achieving the Third Magic, the old man might be overestimating me..."

"It's not overestimation; it's that your opportunity is currently the greatest," Shirou said with a smile, waving his hand.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. The people who have touched the realm of the Third Magic are mostly around you, and your Origin is most compatible with the Third Magic. According to the information I read from Mooncell, the Origin of the last Third Magician was Transformation—this is also why you were chosen to enter that special world line."

"I see... By the way, speaking of Origin, as someone not from the Type-Moon universe, do I have an Origin?"

"Of course you do. The Type-Moon universe is part of the multiverse, and Origin is a concept that exists throughout the multiverse. Origin influences talent and future development direction. Although it's not absolute, following one's Origin is indeed a convenient path, which is why your opportunity is the greatest. However, the uncertainty of 'Magic' is so high that no one knows if it can be mastered. Who knows, the new 'Third Magician' might be Aozaki Touko instead?"

"That would be quite a sight."

Imagining along with Shirou's words, Shinji couldn't help but laugh. For a long time, Touko had been overshadowed by Aoko in terms of Magic. If she mastered the Third Magic, the sister battle would start again, and just thinking about it was exciting.

"Indeed, very exciting," Shirou also laughed.

"In any case, you don't need to worry too much. The old man won't pin all his hopes on you; just know in your heart. By the way, I should reward you."

"A reward?"

"This is a trial, and naturally, there is a reward for passing."

"Awakening the Origin and comprehending Third Magic doesn't count?"

"That is the result of your efforts, not a reward for passing the trial. I severely tricked you once; if I don't give you something good, it would make me seem too petty, and you'd probably hold a grudge."

"What reward?"

Shinji's eyes lit up. The man before him was more formidable than the old man; the reward he offered would not be ordinary.

"Don't you want to end Scathach's immortality? I'll show you the way."

"Really? Tell me quickly," Shinji was undoubtedly moved; this was his ultimate life goal.

Origin and Magic can only shorten the gap between him and Scáthach. Even if he matched or surpassed her, he couldn't kill Scáthach because she was immortal. Normally, unless the world and the outside of the world disappear, she would continue to exist. Without breaking her immortality, he couldn't end her eternity.

"Scáthach's immortality comes from her 'binding' with the world, that is, the planet itself. Therefore, Earthly creations can't break her immortality. But things from outside Earth are different; there are plenty of things that can kill her. The simplest method, I can give you a knife that can sever her connection with the world, thus breaking her immortality. However, I don't recommend this way."

"Why?"

"Because it's a foreign object. The two counterforces are xenophobic; once you use it, they'll detect it and destroy it. If you don't care, I can get you a knife right now."

Shirou looked at Shinji with a half-smile, and the latter quickly shook his head.

"Forget it. I'd rather hear about other methods, especially the one you recommend."

"That's smart. The method I recommend is this—"

Shirou opened one hand, revealing a vivid blue cube-shaped phantom in his palm, resembling a partially missing fifth-order Rubik's Cube.

Shinji, well-versed in Type-Moon information, recognized it at a glance.

"Mooncell!"

"Exactly. Inside it holds power far beyond Earth's, as well as infinite possibilities, including ways to remove immortality."

"You want to give me the rights to use Mooncell?"

Facing Shinji's hopeful gaze, Shirou shook his head.

"That's impossible. Only the creator of Mooncell, the Observer civilization, can grant those permissions. My permissions are limited to myself."

"Then how—"

"Although I can't give you usage rights, I can use my permissions to open a channel for you, allowing you to enter the fictional world within Mooncell. You can search for yourself, and maybe even grab a kingship to play with, which is a higher authority than my user permissions. How about it? No complaints about this reward, right?"

Indeed, there were no complaints. Shinji couldn't even speak, as the excitement on his face gradually faded.

"Uh, what's with that expression? Isn't this method good?"

"It's good, just too dangerous."

Shinji sighed.

"As you said, Mooncell's specifications far surpass Earth's. I'm nothing on Earth, so I'm even less in Mooncell. It's not surprising if I die there at any moment."

"You don't need to worry about that. In the real world, it's hard to say, but in Mooncell, as long as you don't want to die, it's hard to die."

"What do you mean? Can you somehow grant me permissions or directly install cheats, infinite HP and MP, supreme magic power?"

Shirou rolled his eyes: "What next, a dragon-slaying saber with instant delivery on click, one-hit kill, instant max level?"