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Alex seemed to see right through her thoughts. Before she could speak, he continued,"The Xiongnu originally came from the northern tribes of Huaxia. The reason they ended up in Europe and built kingdoms there was because Huaxia drove them out that far. I mean, if Britain couldn't even beat Rome, how could it have ever marched east and defeated Huaxia, who had already crushed the Xiongnu?"
Hearing that, Luo Hao's lips curled upward.
That—was the pride of being Chinese.
Artoria, on the other hand, sat back down with a defeated look.
Only now did she truly realize just how weak her own Britain had been.
Even Morgan and Merlin sighed, looking powerless to deny it.
The awkward silence stretched until Irisviel quickly jumped in to smooth things over."Alright, alright, that's all ancient history. Let's not get stuck on that. Come on, eat up."
Seeing Artoria's expression, Alex realized he might have gone a bit too far. He cleared his throat and added,"Hey, don't be too down about it. Your descendants turned out pretty amazing. They led the world's first Industrial Revolution and built the largest empire in history—the empire where the sun never set."
"Really?" Artoria blinked, surprised.
"Of course. In fact, modern Great Britain is one of the most powerful nations in the world. It's one of the Five Permanent Members." Alex nodded as he spoke.
Well, to be fair, modern Britain wasn't exactly the same as the Britain of King Arthur's time.
Arthur was Welsh—her "Britain" was essentially a kingdom of the Welsh. Modern Great Britain, though, was ruled mainly by Anglo-Saxons, with Iberians, Celts, and Latin Romans mixed in.
Kind of like how during China's Qing Dynasty, the ruling people weren't Han Chinese but Manchus.
But he wasn't giving a history lecture—he was just trying to cheer her up. No need to get lost in the details.
Sure enough, after hearing Alex's words, Artoria, Morgan, and Merlin all looked a little better.
The mood lightened, and the group soon went back to eating and drinking happily.
After dinner, Alex took a short rest before dragging Roxy out to the courtyard for magic training.
Roxy had already reached the rank of King-tier Mage, and Alex's own mana had grown considerably. It was time to try learning a Saint-tier spell.
In the castle courtyard, when Roxy heard his request, her expression froze."You… want to learn a Saint-tier spell?"
"That's right. I've got plenty of mana now—I want to give it a shot!" Alex said with obvious excitement.
He'd been dying to learn Roxy's "Roaring Thunderstorm Cloud" spell for ages.
"Alright then. Let's try it." Roxy nodded.
She began instructing him on the incantation and how to channel his magic properly.
After practicing the chant a few times, Alex quickly got the hang of it.
Borrowing Roxy's staff, he began the full incantation:
"O great spirits of water, prince of the storm who treads upon the heavens—Hear my call and grant me thy violent blessing!Let the insignificant behold thy might!"
As his voice rang out, the air around him started to surge with energy.
He swung the staff, and a fierce wind whipped through the courtyard. The clear night sky darkened almost instantly—thick clouds rolled in, lightning flickering within.
But he wasn't done yet.
"Strike the anvil with the hammer of the gods,Let the world tremble, and let the floods drown the earth!"
The gem at the tip of the staff flared with blinding light, amplifying Alex's power.
He raised the staff high, stirring the storm above him.
Bolts of lightning tore across the sky—under his control, it was as if a thunder god had descended to destroy the world.
The sight drew everyone's attention. They rushed out from the castle to see what was happening.
"That's… Roaring Thunderstorm Cloud!" Morgan instantly recognized it—she'd been hit by that spell before.
"Master's talent is getting scary," Merlin murmured, watching Alex wield the staff.
It had been barely an hour since dinner, and he'd already mastered a Saint-tier spell.
"Another kind of magic I've never seen before… and he's controlling the weather?" Irisviel was stunned. Alex's magic had long since surpassed her understanding.
While everyone gawked, Alex's chanting continued.
"Rain—Fall and wash away everything! Drive all things from this world!"
In an instant, torrential rain poured down across the courtyard, flooding the area within a hundred meters.
It wasn't quite Roxy-level yet—her version of Roaring Thunderstorm Cloud covered an entire kilometer—but it was still terrifyingly powerful.
Alex finished his final words and aimed the staff toward a towering tree outside the castle.
"Roaring Thunderstorm Cloud!"
A massive bolt of blue lightning, as thick as a barrel, crashed down from the clouds—striking the tree dead center.
The tree vaporized into ash on the spot.
"The power… that's easily comparable to a C+ or even B-rank Noble Phantasm!" Irisviel exclaimed.
When Alex released the spell, the rain stopped and the clouds dispersed.
Moonlight spilled down again, illuminating the courtyard in silver light.
Roxy smiled and said, "Congratulations—you've graduated."
"Really? Guess that just leaves martial arts, then." Alex grinned back.
He'd already completed Hestia's lessons in magic, and now Roxy's as well.
Only Luo Hao's martial arts training remained.
But that was only natural. Magic and sorcery could be learned once you understood the theory and practiced enough.
Martial arts, on the other hand, required time—grit—repetition. No shortcuts.
"If only I had Rimuru's 'Great Sage,'" he muttered to himself. "Then I could instantly master any skill, spell, or fighting style."
He couldn't help grinning at the thought."Hopefully someone from Rimuru's world joins the chat group one day. Then I could totally go there and start stacking cheats."
Just as he was lost in that fantasy, Luo Hao appeared beside him."Since you've graduated from both magic and sorcery," she said, "starting tomorrow, all your time will be spent on body training and martial arts."
"Got it." Alex nodded seriously. He wanted to master the Ten Perfect Arts as soon as possible—and graduate completely.
The night passed quietly. The fourth day of the Holy Grail War came to an end.
Only three days remained.
It was a peaceful day, with no battles at all.
When Alex woke up the next morning, the first thing he did was check in on the group chat.
It had been nineteen days since he joined, and he'd accumulated 190 points in total.
After spending ten on missions, he now had 180 left.
Points had all sorts of uses—they could be traded between members, or even used to copy abilities.
For example, Luo Hao's divine power came from slaying a god. She couldn't teach that to anyone… but she could use points to duplicate it, then trade or gift the copy.
And it didn't stop there—points could even duplicate special bloodlines and innate talents.
The stronger the ability or lineage, the more points it cost.
"..."
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