Introduction:
Baptized in fire and steel, a boy faced off with a god of evil deep in the wilderness.
As steel rained down through the mountains and forest, the eastern sky turned crimson with light.
[Gift Effect]:
While in possession of this gift, there is a 50% chance that slaying a "god" or "divine being" will allow the wielder to inherit a random power from the target.
The [Five-Star Special Commemorative Gift: Kill God] was the first five-star gift Kurosawa Ren ever acquired.
Its effect was nothing short of overwhelming.
To be able to claim the powers of a god just by killing one...
Even with only a fifty-percent chance of success, the potential was limitless.
But that wasn't all—during that same battle, Ren also acquired a rare item bearing the same name as a key material from the original game: [Heart of the Barbarian God].
[Item: Heart of the Barbarian God — Description]
The heart of a barbaric demigod. Though labeled a "sub-god," its divine nature remains intact. With every beat, it radiates corruptive curses.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
Ren raised a brow as he stared at the pulsating purple heart floating in his personal space, its foul stench hanging in the air like rotting meat.
"It's not gonna max out my skills just by existing, right?"
Ren chuckled dryly, the thought reminding him of the many years he'd spent grinding for materials in RPGs.
But then the system pinged—and what it revealed wiped the smile clean off his face.
[Note: This item is an essential material for forging a divine weapon.]
"Wait... what? It's actually required to make a divine weapon?"
Ren blinked, stunned for a moment. But then, joy washed across his face like sunrise over a battlefield.
In the lore of Fate X: Starry Chronicle, "divine weapons" aren't forged by human hands. They're either created by gods or born of beings equal to them in power—conceptual weapons defined by myth and legend, not metallurgy.
Such weapons were incredibly rare in the Age of Mystics and held unbelievable power.
For instance, the "Sword of Promised Victory" wielded by King Artoria was a divine blade forged from the stars.
Or take the infamous treasure of the "King of Lamps"—The Star of Heaven and Earth Reversed—a cosmic weapon of unspeakable strength.
The unique feature of these divine armaments was their absolute exclusivity. Even a system as powerful as the "Unlimited Blade Works" couldn't replicate them.
To forge his own divine weapon, Ren would first need a three-star gift called [Godsmith's Craft], and on top of that, divine-grade materials.
In short, the conditions were complex and demanding.
Unfortunately, he didn't yet possess the [Godsmith's Craft] gift.
For now, all he could do was carefully stow away the "Barbarian God's Heart" and bide his time.
Clearing Chapter One of The Legend of Monsters netted Ren 35 Saint Quartz as a reward.
Adding that to the 5 he'd previously earned from acquiring the cursed item "Ring of Perdition," plus 8 from defeating the "Minotaur," and the remaining quartz he'd saved...
He now had a grand total of 53 Saint Quartz.
"Ugh, just seven short of doing two 10-rolls…"
He sighed. It was a small regret, but still stung a little.
Then again, killing the Devil Mother Goddess was a huge win in itself—he couldn't complain too much.
"…Every time I go somewhere with you, my entire worldview gets flipped upside down."
There was a long silence.
Mizaki Ming finally broke it, her heterochromatic eyes—one green, one red—brimming with confusion and awe.
How was Ren becoming more and more impossible to read?
He had just taken down a terrifying curse spirit like it was a training dummy.
"You really need to be careful. These things are only going to show up more often from now on."
Ren shrugged, half-joking, which earned him a frustrated eye-roll from Mizaki.
"Big brother Ren," came a voice from the side—Baoyue Yexiao, her face scrunched in effort.
"Could you help me move the stone statue of the Devil Mother Goddess from the shrine? I tried, but it's way too heavy."
Even with her alienated physique that gave her the strength of an adult, lifting a statue that weighed hundreds of kilograms was out of the question.
Jian Qiming patted the little girl on the head and sighed, clearly sympathetic.
"Serves you right. You're the one who let Ren turn that poor statue into gravel."
"Sorry, I got carried away," Ren muttered, sheepish.
He'd been mid-battle with the Mother Goddess and had absolutely obliterated her—completely forgetting that the statue was part of the objective.
"No worries, brother Ren."
The little girl blinked, nodding sensibly. "That thing was way too strong. There's no way I could've captured it with just a physical manifestation. It's actually better that you destroyed it."
"Besides, her whole body's basically a treasure trove. I needed her remains for a spirit weapon anyway."
Hearing her words jogged Ren's memory of the original game.
The Goddess's Dharma Body was absurdly strong.
Though it could initially only project short-range beams, it later evolved into a devastating magical blade that sliced through ghosts like tofu.
Because it could block demonic attacks, Yexiao often used it to exorcise spirits or internal curses.
It was technically a branch spirit, and no one was really sure how much of the original will remained within it.
The trio entered the shrine.
Inside, they found the remains of the Devil Mother Goddess's statue—thoroughly shattered by Mizaki and Yexiao's combined efforts.
This particular curse had met a brutal end.
Its spiritual clone had been wiped out by Ren, and its physical form had been carted off by the group. Not even dust remained.
The torso was significantly larger than the limbs, but Ren had no trouble storing it all in his personal inventory.
Then, the system chimed in with an unexpected reward.
[Congratulations. You have collected the special curse item: Ghost-God Statue (Complete). You are awarded 5 Saint Quartz.]
That little bonus brought his quartz count to 58.
"If I trade in 22 of those quartz for stones... that's 61 total! I can finally do two 10-pulls! Hell yes!"
Feeling triumphant, Ren followed Mizaki and Yexiao out of the forest.
The sky was dark and still. A cool breeze drifted through the trees.
Moonlight spilled like mist through the leaves.
Were it not for the carnage behind them, the scene could've passed for a peaceful corner of some sleepy countryside.
Late at night.
Ren pulled out two bottles of juice from his bag and handed them to the girls.
Thanks to the [Gift: Taste of Power], even simple apple juice offered restorative effects.
When he learned that Yexiao had traveled to the site alone by bus, he summoned his [Motorcycle Armored Cavalry] and insisted on escorting her home.
The little girl, orphaned and currently living with her older cousin Eiko Hozuki, was scolded the moment she stepped through the door.
"Thanks for bringing her back," said Eiko, clearly relieved but still flustered. "I was starting to panic—it's so late!"
Eiko wasn't that much older herself—just a freshman at university—and quite pretty. But from the looks of it, she still had no idea about the supernatural world around her.
Ren said nothing. After exchanging a few polite words, he and Mizaki quietly left the Hozuki residence.
The Next Morning
After last night's exhausting battle, Ren slept like a rock.
But just as he was starting to wake, he felt something warm and heavy on his chest.
Opening his eyes, he found Mito Yukino curled up beside him in a scandalously snug office outfit.
The previous night had been brutal—not just the exorcism of the infant ghost summoned by the Mother Goddess, but also their… post-battle "training session."
Still half-asleep, Yukino wore a crisp, tailored suit.
Her blouse clung tightly to her ample curves, the top buttons undone, while hip-hugging slacks clung to her like a second skin.
Her long legs, wrapped in sheer black stockings, glimmered faintly in the early morning light.
The ultra-thin crystal fabric of her stockings felt like it had just come out of a freezer, thanks to Yukino's snow spirit heritage.
Pressed against her pale skin, the effect was translucent and alive—glinting like morning dew under sunlight.
"Good morning… Master."
She nuzzled into his chest with a blissful smile, visibly content and warm in the Tokyo summer heat.
They lingered in bed for a while.
Eventually, Ren stood and dressed—thanks to Yukino's precise and attentive care, it still took nearly twenty minutes.
He'd taken the day off for a specific reason:
To teach Mafuyu Kirisu the fundamentals of magic.
Kirisu Residence
Ren sat across from Mafuyu, the pink-haired beauty, in her quiet living room.
"Close your eyes. Focus on the flow of mana inside you, and try to guide it with your thoughts."
They sat on the plush gray sofa as Ren gently held her soft, slender hands, his expression calm and serious.
A magic circuit, after all, was a supernatural nervous system—one that transformed life force into magic energy.
The number of circuits a person had was determined at birth. No amount of training could increase it.
If you were like Shinji Matou and born without them… tough luck.
But Mafuyu, surprisingly, had been blessed with 20 circuits.
That was nothing short of a miracle.
Just for comparison: even Shirou Emiya, protagonist of legends, had only 27.
And in this world… that kind of luck was as rare as winning the jackpot.