"Irigal, you're not joking, right?" Li Xiang was shocked to hear a name he never expected.
[Nope, it's exactly who you think—the Queen of the Land of Shadows, Scáthach. Pretty impressive, huh?] Irigal said, clearly fishing for praise.
"That's impossible."
Li Xiang, trying to be rational, pushed back. After all, the system was built by Chaldea to assist Masters. Chaldea's technology was advanced, but it still relied on the 'Fate System' to summon Servants. Since Chaldea hadn't even been established yet, this system could only function as an auxiliary tool.
Irigal pouted, clearly dissatisfied. [It's a memory, okay?]
"I see." Li Xiang nodded, still a bit surprised. Obtaining Scáthach's memory was quite a big deal, though the initial excitement quickly faded.
[It's not really Scáthach's actual memory but the memory of the Lancer-class Scáthach summoned by Chaldea.]
"So, you really are from the future?"
[Ah...] Irigal paused before replying, [To be precise, I'm from a parallel world's Chaldea.]
"A parallel world?" Li Xiang narrowed his eyes. "Did you have something to do with my transmigration here?"
[Hey! I'm just a system! I don't know anything about that.]
If I believed you, I might as well see a ghost right now!
But the mention of parallel worlds made him think of someone—Zelretch, the Kaleidoscope.
Li Xiang remembered the old man on the Kaleidostick five-star Craft Essence he had always wanted to draw in the game.
Zelretch was one of the five True Magicians, wielding the Second Magic, which allowed free travel across parallel worlds. Li Xiang wondered if his transmigration was somehow related to Zelretch, although the Spiritron Transfer system might also have had a similar effect.
[Do you want to accept this quest, Master?] Irigal asked again.
"Yes." This time, Li Xiang didn't hesitate. Combat training was something he desperately needed right now.
In the Mage's Association, most magecraft and magi were focused on research, with only a few specializing in combat. Those who only used magecraft were often looked down upon, known as "magecraft practitioners."
A prime example of this was Lord Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi, who met a tragic end during the Fourth Holy Grail War. As the Lord of the Department of Mineralogy, Kayneth was a true genius, but his over-reliance on his workshop and magecraft, along with his lack of combat experience, led to his downfall.
Though the Clock Tower did offer self-defense courses, they were no match for Scáthach's training.
---
Side Quest 4: Generated... Haunted
Quest Description: You've discovered that Flynn is being haunted by a ghost and decided to help. Please investigate the cause.
Quest Duration: Thirteen days.
Quest Reward: Combat training from Scáthach.
---
"Is there any significance to the thirteen-day time limit?" Li Xiang asked, picking up his textbook and leaving his seat.
[Because after thirteen days, the quest will expire.]
"Got it."
After leaving the classroom, Li Xiang headed back to the Department of Modern Magecraft, arriving just in time for lunch at the cafeteria.
It was free.
While the free food was nice, the taste reminded Li Xiang of his high school cafeteria.
Different world, same cafeteria experience.
After lunch, he took a two-hour rest in his dorm room before heading back to the Clock Tower for more classes. The afternoon's course was still part of the Department of General Fundamentals.
The Complete Basics of Modern Magecraft.
The lecturer, Mill Isidor, was an extremely rigid magus, and the entire class was spent with him monotonously reciting from the textbook. To make matters worse, he dragged the class on for an extra half hour.
Though it gave Li Xiang a headache, he did come away with a basic understanding of modern magecraft.
The term "modern magecraft" here referred not to the Department of Modern Magecraft but to the magecraft that had developed since the end of the Age of Gods. The variety of modern magecraft was vast and seemingly endless.
The textbook only covered some of the more common forms of magecraft, most of which Li Xiang had never heard of, though a few were familiar.
Projection Magecraft—Using magical energy to materialize imagined objects, though the quality of the projected items was generally poor. However, Shirou Emiya's projection magecraft was fundamentally different, as it was tied to his Reality Marble, Unlimited Blade Works, allowing him to manifest the objects of his imagination.
Jewel Magecraft—Storing magical energy in jewels, which could be unleashed with great power, though it was also very expensive. For example, Rin Tohsaka went bankrupt after her father, Tokiomi Tohsaka, died, because of her reliance on jewel magecraft.
Charm Magecraft—A form of magecraft that induces powerful attraction or fascination in others. An example of this was Diarmuid Ua Duibhne's Love Spot in the Fourth Holy Grail War, a charm that drove women wild.
In addition to these, there were other forms like Chaos Magecraft, Beast Magecraft, Electric Current Magecraft, Necromancy, and Time Manipulation.
After class, Li Xiang followed Flynn to his dorm room but found nothing out of the ordinary. Later, they went to the cafeteria of the Department of General Fundamentals.
Seeing all the delicious-looking dishes laid out before him, Li Xiang sighed.
"I'm perfectly happy in the Department of Modern Magecraft... but man, that fish and chips looks amazing."
Reluctantly, he left the Department of General Fundamentals, wishing he could eat there every day if it weren't for the fact that other departments charged for meals.
Back in his dorm room, Li Xiang placed his textbooks on the desk, took a shower, and then relaxed on his bed.
He began to think about how to approach the side quest.
Flynn had no idea why he was having nightmares, and there was nothing unusual about his dorm room when Li Xiang checked it. Tomorrow, he planned to ask Flynn if he had visited any unusual places recently or encountered any strange people.
With these thoughts in mind, Li Xiang soon drifted off to sleep.
Sometime later, a white light appeared in the darkness of his room.
"Is he asleep?"
Two voices whispered to each other.
"Should we just eat him now?"
"Stay back. The smell of blood on you is too strong; it might wake him up. Besides, he doesn't have much magical energy, like he just became an Apprentice. Eating him now wouldn't be worth it."
"What a shame... Guess we'll just have to let him stew in resentment for a while."
"Let me handle this."
The one speaking wasn't like the other ghost, who was dressed in bloodstained clothes. This one was more solid, though half of his face was missing. From the nose up, there was no skin, just two bare eyes.
He floated toward Li Xiang.
[Master, wake up!]
In his sleep, Li Xiang heard Irigal's voice, tinged with urgency.
Is something wrong?
Usually, you sleep more soundly than I do. What's going on today?
He groggily opened his eyes.
"!!!"
Li Xiang's hair stood on end, and his drowsiness vanished.
Holy crap!
I'm seeing a ghost!