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...
Unable to accept Airmid's new physique, Mika and Gabriel rushed to her room and showered her with a barrage of advice.
Only then, as Airmid stared back at them in bewilderment, did they finally retreat.
Time dedicated to learning always seemed to pass swiftly.
One month after the conclusion of the Holy Grail War, Merlin returned to the Matou residence with Artoria in tow.
During their journey, they not only fulfilled the task of assisting Kiritsugu Emiya in retrieving Illya but also embarked on a leisurely tour of Britain.
Witnessing the current state of her homeland, Artoria's once-restless heart found a semblance of peace.
"It seems my approach was quite effective after all," Mika remarked with a playful smirk.
"I always said that Artoria's stubborn wish was simply the product of her overthinking during her idle moments. A change of scenery was bound to do her some good."
Artoria's face darkened as she glared at Mika, who sat on the sofa, teasing her with a nonchalant air.
With a huff, she turned and headed upstairs.
Over the past few months, she had developed a close friendship with Airmid and Mellie.
Therefore, despite having just returned, she sought refuge in their company, unwilling to remain in the same room as the two men.
"Is she... angry?" Mika asked with a chuckle.
"Probably," Merlin replied, exchanging a knowing glance with Mika before they both burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Hearing their boisterous laughter from downstairs, Artoria clenched her fists, her annoyance growing.
How infuriating!
Downstairs, after their laughter subsided, Mika and Merlin settled into the sofa and began conversing.
Through Merlin's recounting, Mika mentally retraced their journey.
"By the way, Kiritsugu asked me to give you this."
Merlin handed Mika a long, cloth-wrapped object.
"What is this?"
Unwrapping the white cloth, Mika's eyes widened as he saw Artoria's Noble Phantasm, Avalon.
"I never expected this Noble Phantasm to return."
Mika shook his head and chuckled softly.
He envied the power of Avalon, but it was not a Noble Phantasm he could assimilate.
Bound by his "Contracts and Oaths" ability, Mika was unable to convert weapons that formed bonds with specific individuals.
"Perhaps it's his way of expressing gratitude for your assistance to his family. He decided to gift you this relic."
"Although it's not particularly useful to me, I appreciate his sentiment."
Rewrapping Avalon in the white cloth and placing it beside him, Mika turned to Merlin, his expression growing serious.
"Now that you've returned, Merlin, our next task is to purify the Holy Grail, correct?"
"Indeed. According to Gabriel's plan, that is our next objective."
Merlin couldn't help but shake his head at the thought.
"To be honest, the task itself isn't as difficult as one might imagine. However, the process is incredibly tedious."
"I haven't even begun, yet I can already feel a headache coming on."
Seeing Merlin's troubled expression, Mika placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
"I'll leave it to you, then."
...
Six months had passed since the conclusion of the Holy Grail War.
During this time, Mika and his companions dedicated themselves to training, achieving remarkable progress.
Airmid and Mellie experienced the most significant growth. After spending three months in the Type-Moon world and undergoing rigorous training with "En," they finally reached their limits and achieved a level up.
They evolved from Level 2 adventurers to Level 3 adventurers.
This transformation brought about a substantial increase in their overall strength.
Before their level up, both Airmid and Mellie had reached the limits of all their basic abilities. In addition, Airmid had surpassed her limits in both strength and endurance, while Mellie had achieved a breakthrough in her magic stat.
Upon leveling up, they both acquired new magic.
[Name]: Airmid Teasanare
[Level]: LV.3
[Stats]: Strength: I0 Endurance: I0 Dexterity: I0 Agility: I0 Magic: I0
[Development Abilities]: Mystery H Healing I
[Magic]:
Dia Fratel
Faraway Utopia
Barrier magic.
Isolates the space within the barrier from the outside world.
Heals those protected by the barrier.
[Skills]:
Sharing Weal and Woe
====================
Airmid's newly awakened magic was directly influenced by Avalon.
After Merlin returned Avalon, Mika placed it within Airmid's body for her to study.
Perhaps due to Airmid's inherent desire to protect her companions, as she persistently attempted to replicate Avalon's power using her Nen abilities, she eventually awakened a remarkably similar magic.
Mellie's growth mirrored Airmid's.
[Name]: Mellie Ambrosius
[Level]: LV.3
[Stats]: Strength: I0 Endurance: I0 Dexterity: I0 Agility: I0 Magic: I0
[Development Abilities]: Mystery G Magic I
[Magic]:
Hero Creation
Dream Prison
Eternally Isolated Utopia
Flower barrier.
Transforms all inanimate objects within the barrier into flower petals.
Allows for spatial movement within the barrier.
[Skills]:
Illusion
Mental manipulation technique.
Allows for mental intrusion.
Projects illusions into reality.
====================
Compared to Airmid, Mellie's progress was even more remarkable.
In addition to awakening a new magic, she also gained a new skill.
Both of these abilities originally belonged to Merlin.
This phenomenon was due to the unique connection between Mellie and her otherworldly counterpart, Merlin.
It was similar to the relationship between Shirou Emiya and the Heroic Spirit EMIYA.
EMIYA's existence was the culmination of Shirou Emiya's relentless refinement of his skills, reaching their peak before his death.
Therefore, the gap between their abilities wasn't something that could be easily bridged by a few decades of experience.
However, if the two were to engage in combat, Shirou Emiya could rapidly develop his skills to match EMIYA's level.
Even without combat, simply being in close proximity to EMIYA would accelerate Shirou's skill development exponentially.
This was one of the unique aspects of the Type-Moon world: the transference of experience.
The relationship between Mellie and Merlin was similar.
When learning other forms of magecraft, Mellie displayed the aptitude of an ordinary genius. However, when it came to mastering Merlin's unique techniques, her learning speed was nothing short of extraordinary.
Thus, following the Holy Grail War, Airmid and Mellie inherited the Noble Phantasms of Artoria and Merlin, the master and apprentice duo, respectively.
From a certain perspective, they could be considered a perfect couple.
Their connection was something that even Mika envied.
Why haven't I inherited anyone's Noble Phantasm?
Huh?
I've run out of magic slots?
Never mind, then!
Both Mika and Gabriel were overjoyed by Airmid and Mellie's growth.
After all, they were their cherished companions!
However, perhaps influenced by other factors, neither Airmid nor Mellie's newly awakened magic required incantations.
This was completely unheard of within the Falna system.
Yet, it had undeniably occurred.
"Perhaps this is a miracle born from the collision of different power systems," Mika mused upon learning of this phenomenon.
In addition to their new magic, Airmid and Mellie also gained new Development Abilities.
Airmid acquired "Healing," while Mellie gained "Magic."
These abilities respectively enhanced Airmid's healing prowess and Mellie's magical capabilities.
They were the most fitting Development Abilities for each of them.
As for Mellie's newly awakened skill?
Initially, Mellie speculated that the "Illusion" skill's mental intrusion aspect might overlap with her "Dream Prison" magic.
However, after conducting practical tests, she discovered that the "Illusion" skill's mental intrusion actually enhanced the capabilities of "Dream Prison."
Not only did it make controlling "Dream Prison" easier, but it also increased its versatility and effectiveness.
As for the ability to "project illusions into reality," it expanded Mellie's range of manipulation options and further refined her techniques.
In short, both Airmid and Mellie experienced an epic power surge during this level up.
Furthermore, their six months of dedicated training significantly increased their latent Aura capacity, which in turn boosted their Nen abilities considerably.
Compared to Airmid and Mellie's advancements, Mika's progress seemed somewhat less impressive.
After all, Mika's power system had already been established, making exponential growth less likely.
Unless he leveled up.
Or acquired abilities that transcended his current system.
For example, the Five Great Magics of the Type-Moon universe.
During these six months of training, Mika had successfully developed his new Nen ability: the ability to transform spirits into Nen beasts.
He named this ability "Angel Transformation."
As a member of the Yahweh Familia, Mika felt it was entirely appropriate to call his Nen beasts "angels."
After all, he, "Michael," was an Archangel himself (chuckles).
Along with the birth of this new ability, Mika finally recognized his limitations.
He had reached the maximum number of Nen abilities he could currently possess.
Perhaps with each level up, this limit would gradually increase.
However, those increases would be relatively minor.
According to Mika's estimations, a significant expansion of his upper limit wouldn't occur until he reached Level 6 and underwent a complete transformation.
Besides this realization, Mika hadn't made any other significant, noticeable progress.
Of course, this referred to readily apparent advancements.
In less conspicuous areas, Mika's growth remained substantial.
His latent Aura capacity had increased dramatically.
His martial arts skills had improved considerably.
His basic stats had also been steadily rising through "En" training.
These improvements weren't immediately obvious.
However, as fundamental components of Mika's combat strength, they significantly impacted his overall power.
The increased Aura capacity enhanced his stamina and endurance in normal situations.
His improved martial arts skills expanded his repertoire of combat techniques.
While Mika's martial arts prowess was already impressive, his fighting style, based on the swordsmanship of Demon Slayer, was still far from reaching the pinnacle of the Type-Moon world: the realm of the Gods.
This was a realm that even among Heroic Spirits, only a select few from the Age of Gods could attain.
Mika yearned to reach this level.
Therefore, after observing the Servants' martial arts during the Holy Grail War, Gabriel began imparting more profound martial arts knowledge to Mika and the others.
This led to a significant transformation in their fighting styles.
Thus, the improvement in Mika's martial arts undoubtedly had a profound impact on his overall strength.
Finally, the enhancement of his basic stats was even more crucial for Mika.
During his three months in the dungeon, Mika's most prominent stat, endurance, had already reached Rank E.
During his battle against Gilgamesh, where he unleashed the suicidal attack "Heavenly Fire: Annihilation," his endurance had surged to Rank D.
At that point, he had qualified for a level up.
Therefore, after defeating Diarmuid, Mika had accumulated sufficient achievements to fulfill the requirements for his next level.
Even though his victory over Diarmuid had been relatively easy, it was largely due to Merlin's enhancements and blessings, as well as Gabriel's magical support.
In a sense, that battle had been more of a team effort against Diarmuid.
However, as a direct participant, Mika had earned enough achievements to justify his level up.
Therefore, he no longer needed to concern himself with selecting achievements.
He simply needed to accumulate them.
For Mika, increasing his Falna level was the most significant form of advancement.
"Are the defensive measures in place?"
Standing within the vast cavern at the heart of Mount Enzou, Mika addressed Gabriel and Merlin, who were returning from their work with cheerful expressions.
"Rest assured, everything is complete," Merlin replied, pumping his fist excitedly.
For someone who valued freedom as much as he did, being confined to a single location for an extended period was incredibly tedious. Mika was surprised he had managed to endure it for six months.
"So, all that's left is to wait, correct?"
"Precisely!"
With her hands on her hips, Gabriel floated in mid-air, her voice laced with a hint of disdain. "To accommodate this restless fellow, after six months of in-depth analysis and a thorough understanding of the Holy Grail system, we've created an automated purification device."
"As a dedicated purification device for the Holy Grail, we no longer need to remain here and maintain the process manually."
"Consider it my liberation from this tedious task."
Gabriel's face broke into a bright smile.
Mika nodded in agreement.
He had complete faith in the device created through the combined efforts of Gabriel's crafting skills and Merlin's magecraft.
After all, it was a masterpiece meticulously designed by two brilliant minds, driven by their desire to free themselves from a monotonous chore.
"Can we trust the defensive measures?"
"Don't worry, I've transformed this place into a magical stronghold. It's equipped with an automatic detection system that will permanently trap anyone who harbors malicious intent towards this location," Merlin explained with a sinister grin.
"However, if someone stumbles upon this place accidentally, I can guide them back safely. After all, I can remotely control this area."
"That's reassuring."
Mika gazed at the Holy Grail in the distance, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"It's been over six months since we arrived here."
"After such a long time, it's time for us to return home."
...
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