Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King's Personal Knight [432] (Patreon)

"Lady Da Vinci, what do you plan to use the Holy Body's computational power for?"

This conversation took place several days after Alaric had undergone comprehensive data collection by Qin Shi Huang.

Due to his uniqueness, Qin Shi Huang had spent days operating the Holy Body at full capacity to gather sufficient and detailed data.

If it was only collecting the physical data of Hinako as a celestial being, Qin Shi Huang wouldn't have gone to such lengths. But with Alaric, who bore the nature of "Humanity's Evil," things were completely different.

A brand new world had unfolded before Qin Shi Huang.

To this end, Qin Shi Huang went all out, even recalling Hinako and Xiang Yu, who had previously been ordered to stand by, for another round of data collection.

Though Hinako was unhappy about this, when Qin Shi Huang threatened Xiang Yu's life, she surrendered completely, begging for mercy in total submission.

After that, she dutifully cooperated with Qin Shi Huang, submitting to continuous data collection, no matter how terrifying it became.

Alaric even got to enjoy several days of Hinako's fierce glares.

"So, why is this girl so fierce?"

After one session ended, Alaric, lounging with his legs crossed, casually conjured a drink and glanced at the gloomy Hinako nearby, joking, "I look like I'm bullying someone. Is Xiang Yu going to come beat me up?"

Hinako ignored Alaric—she still considered him a threat to the Lostbelt.

Even though Qin Shi Huang had declared Alaric a trading partner rather than an enemy of Great Qin, Hinako didn't change her mind.

During her standby period, Hinako had received information from the Crypters: the Russian Lostbelt had been wiped out, and she knew exactly who was responsible.

No doubt—it was that man, still leisurely sipping orange juice!

The thought made Hinako grit her teeth in frustration.

Even if she reported this to Qin Shi Huang, it wouldn't matter. There had never been a light belt in the sky, so Qin Shi Huang would never believe the Lostbelt's claims—unless she could provide truly convincing evidence.

But that wasn't the development Hinako hoped for. She preferred Qin Shi Huang to stay skeptical rather than to accept the Lostbelt's reality as true.

Maintaining the status quo would have been acceptable, but after learning that Alaric and Da Vinci had wiped out the entire Russian Lostbelt, she abandoned that hope.

It wasn't just defeating the Fantasy Tree—it was outright annihilation of the entire Lostbelt.

A being like this in the Chinese Lostbelt was nothing less than a ticking time bomb!

Getting angrier by the second, Hinako visibly reddened with heat, making Alaric twitch at the corner of his eye. Was she about to explode?

Unaware of her inner turmoil, Alaric had no idea how her anger kept compounding in this vicious cycle—until it reached a breaking point.

Fortunately, Hinako didn't physically explode, though her bloodshot eyes looked downright demonic.

….

Returning to the present—

Facing Alaric's question, Da Vinci pondered briefly before replying, "You know about Xiang Yu's high-speed calculations, right? That's almost like foresight itself. In Chaldea, only Chaldeas has similar functions.

In other words, Xiang Yu possesses a fate-calculating ability akin to Chaldeas. He can definitely determine your weaknesses."

"Of course he can—no one is invincible," Alaric replied calmly. "Even someone like Goetia failed. How could I be any different?

But if you want to defeat me, you'll have to wager everything and fight me head-on."

"Confidence is good, but let's move on," Da Vinci said, raising an eyebrow at Alaric's lack of concern that Qin Shi Huang might develop a counter-strategy.

Having collected Alaric's body data, Qin Shi Huang could now devise more accurate and lethal tactics against him—making Alaric much harder to deal with.

Objectively, this was a risky move, but both Alaric and Da Vinci felt the gains outweighed the risks.

Da Vinci didn't dwell on this topic and quickly got to the point: "I understand now how Qin Shi Huang aims to attain the realm of a true immortal."

"Oh?" Alaric grew interested. "Do tell, Da Vinci."

Just physical data alone couldn't achieve perfection. After all, anything created by mimicking Alaric and Hinako's bodies would only be an imitation, not a true, balanced 'Zhenren' (Perfected Being).

While being the subject of data collection, Alaric had gathered deeper intel, but Da Vinci had only just unveiled the mystery these past few days.

"It's the Fusang Tree."

Pushing up glasses that had appeared from nowhere, Da Vinci's eyes gleamed with wisdom. "The immortal arts Qin Shi Huang uncovered weren't from anywhere else, but from Fusang Wonderland. From the Fusang Tree itself, she obtained the method of ascension, but lacked sufficient data to fully realize it.

Hinako's celestial data fulfilled this, and your addition was the finishing touch."

In these days, Da Vinci had explored most of the Holy Body, discovering that it wasn't just Qin Shi Huang's body but also a repository for all her overseas findings—including the remnants of the Fusang Tree.

Through this, Da Vinci learned about the overseas immortal mountain expeditions of two thousand years ago, the origin of Eternal Qin.

"Fusang…"

Alaric nodded. He knew the name Fusang.

Fusang is found within this blue sea, its land covered with trees whose leaves resemble mulberry, growing to thousands of zhang in height and over two thousand in girth. The trees grow in pairs from the same root, leaning on each other.

"With the ascension method derived from Fusang, combined with celestial and 'Humanity's Evil' data, what kind of existence is the final product?" Alaric mused aloud.

But curiosity aside, there was a more pressing matter yet to be discussed.

"So, Lady Da Vinci?"

Alaric pressed, "What's the main point?"

If it was just about tracing the source, that information meant little to Alaric. But Da Vinci wouldn't go to such lengths for so little.

"The point?"

Da Vinci's lips curled up. "The ascension method derived from the Fusang Tree, combined with Hinako's celestial data and yours, allowed Qin Shi Huang to attempt creating a 'Spirit Origin' in the cultivation pod—not a normal flesh-and-blood being, but a body that reached the level of 'Xian'.

It's a spiritual body on par with a Servant's, but even stronger—or rather, 'higher'."

Now that Da Vinci had seen what Qin Shi Huang could cultivate, she could barely contain her excitement. "It's not just about strength, but a vastly higher capacity."

"The Spirit Origin level even surpasses advanced ones?"

Alaric looked up. "Ageless, immortal, the ultimate balance—the only true being. Qin Shi Huang has reached—"

"The Grand Servant class," Da Vinci declared with certainty. "After artificial enhancement, she obtained a man-made Grand Spirit Origin."

"Then—"

Alaric seemed to understand Da Vinci's intention, or perhaps had already guessed before Qin Shi Huang even spoke.

A being who achieved the 'Perfected Being' state could no longer be described as mere flesh and blood. They'd be akin to a celestial like Hinako, or a True Ancestor—essentially a Servant's Spirit Origin.

Yet he hadn't expected Qin Shi Huang's final product to be this: an artificial Grand Spirit Origin.

"Exactly as you imagined!"

Da Vinci snapped her fingers in excitement. "Just like Merlin, who responded to Ritsuka's summons as a Servant, with a Grand Spirit Origin!"

It was an old concept—to emulate Merlin by becoming a Servant capable of supporting under specific circumstances.

But that idea was eventually shelved.

Not only was there rarely a suitable time or place, but it was generally unnecessary.

After all, Alaric could provide support independently using Independent Manifestation, with no need to limit himself as a Servant.

But this time was different. Having allied with the Alien God, Alaric had his own business and couldn't always stay by Ritsuka and the others. Though Da Vinci knew he wouldn't fail so easily, it was still safer to have backup.

Thus, becoming a Servant became her condition for joining Alaric's side.

In Russia, with Alaric present, this hadn't mattered. But now, Alaric and Da Vinci had entered the Chinese Lostbelt, while Chaldea's survivors headed towards the Scandinavian Lostbelt.

Judging from the timeline, they should have encountered the Lostbelt situation by now.

Alaric, though unable to observe the Lostbelts directly, could sense the threads of fate stirring in the dark. By Servant summoning standards, the requirements were already met.

Now seated on the Throne of Humanity's Evil, Alaric possessed a higher perspective.

You might call it a higher-dimensional viewpoint, allowing him to survey information he'd never grasped before. Fate was one such thing.

His first encounter with fate was during the month he apprenticed under the Old Man of the Mountain, when he comprehended destiny and fate. Through repeated adventures and using Independent Manifestation to transfer, Alaric's understanding of fate deepened.

All these factors let Alaric grasp the presence of fate more clearly.

"An artificial Grand Spirit Origin… this is truly—"

Alaric didn't object to becoming a Servant to support Ritsuka, but he was more amazed that Qin Shi Huang could manufacture a Grand Spirit Origin.

From what he'd seen of Grand Servants, such a Spirit Origin was beyond human means.

A Grand Spirit Origin could fully contain a Heroic Spirit's power—even that of divine spirits—making it an immensely powerful existence.

"But how do I do it?"

Alaric asked, "Qin Shi Huang only managed to cultivate a body after countless failed attempts in the pod, right? If I'm going to manifest as a Servant, what do I need to adjust my Spirit Origin to Grand level?"

Having never manifested as a Servant before, Alaric was clueless about such matters, but knew that a Servant's Spirit Origin was usually formed on site or prepared in advance.

However, as Alaric was not a true Heroic Spirit, he couldn't prepare a Spirit Origin in the Chinese Lostbelt to become a Servant, and would have to manifest on Ritsuka's side instead.

But this meant a key nurturing step was missing—

"Spirit Origin Ascension, of course."

Da Vinci answered matter-of-factly. "With sufficient data, you can always upgrade to Grand level afterward. I'll leave that task to the other me over there."

Da Vinci had also considered Alaric's concerns. After consideration, the plan was to have him manifest as a standard Servant first, then, using special adjustments and the data provided by Qin Shi Huang's ascension method, ascend to Grand Spirit Origin.

Normally, this would be impossible. But with Qin Shi Huang's data, it became possible. Though her manufacturing environment couldn't be replicated, Alaric's Imaginary Manifestation could bridge most of the gap, and the Shadow Border submarine already had the equipment to adjust Mash's Spirit Origin in real-time—perfect for this purpose.

And this was only the beginning. If proven feasible, it would be a quantum leap for Chaldea.

After all, for Chaldea, which relied on Servants for combat, an artificial Grand Spirit Origin was like upgrading from a Zaku to a Gundam.

Alaric, understanding this, nodded in curiosity. "Alright, I get it. So after I manifest as a regular Servant, I provide Qin Shi Huang's data to Da Vinci-chan, and she'll upgrade me to Grand after?"

"That's right!"

Da Vinci grinned. "What a surprise this outcome is—no one ever imagined an artificial Grand possible!"

While Chaldea had many Heroic Spirits who improved their Spirit Origins through ascension, none had ever reached Grand status.

That Spirit Origin couldn't be summoned normally; only Heroic Spirits summoned by the Counterforce would be granted a Grand Spirit Origin.

Even if the conditions for making a Grand were harsh, a single one could change the entire battlefield!

"Wait, wasn't there another thing?"

Alaric raised two fingers. "Didn't you ask Qin Shi Huang for two things? One was sharing his ascension data, but what about using the Holy Body's computational power?"

He already knew the benefit of sharing research, but the reason for using the Holy Body's computational power was unclear.

No matter what Da Vinci wanted to calculate, it would essentially be shared with Qin Shi Huang, since the computations used his body.

What research topic compelled Da Vinci to use the Holy Body for calculations?

"It's for perfecting the Coronation Ritual. Currently, the Light Belt is outside the Lostbelt, blocked by the Storm Wall."

After a moment's thought, Da Vinci continued, "It's impossible to conduct the ritual in Russia as before, so we have to consider bringing it in from outside.

Your Independent Manifestation can achieve this, but ideally, we need a method of dimensional travel, which falls under the Second Magic. Researching that requires even more computational power."

"Is that really necessary?"

Alaric considered. "As long as the 'Light' can enter, then with me present, the Coronation Ritual can proceed."

"That's not enough; a more complete ritual is needed."

Da Vinci shook her head. "The first and second stages of the Coronation Ritual are just preparation. Simply storing phenomena as a Light Belt is only stockpiling energy.

Goetia wanted to gather the Light Belt to shatter the Spiritron Fixation Belt—but you're different. You aim to achieve the ultimate self, reaching the ultimate 'Human' and 'Dragon' as Qin Shi Huang did.

It's a great idea, but the process is as complex as developing a Magic to reach the Root."

In her quest for the root of self, Da Vinci finally glimpsed Alaric's true nature—not a crystallization of tragedy, but a gathering of countless survival instincts.

A man bearing many blessings, setting out on the path across the Star's Inner Sea.