"What should I do?" Sitting on the chair, Asagami Fujino watched Tohko Aozaki fiddling with something nearby.
"You don't need to do anything." Tohko Aozaki walked over, smearing a strange substance on her hands.
"What is that?" Fujino asked.
"A little something to help open your Magic Circuits," Tohko replied. "I really didn't expect you to be this strong without any circuits open. How did you manage it?"
"Training. Not everyone needs magecraft to grow powerful," Fujino said calmly.
"Is that so?" Tohko smiled. "Take off your clothes."
Hearing that, Fujino didn't hesitate and promptly removed her top.
"Just bare your shoulder." Tohko's eyes swept over the exposed skin—not out of attraction, but because the distribution of Fujino's muscles was flawless. As a doll-maker, Tohko's knowledge of human anatomy was second to none, and even she was impressed.
"Hurry up," Fujino urged, uncomfortable under Tohko's appraising gaze. Being stared at by another woman didn't bother her, but the way Tohko looked at her—as if she were an object—reminded her of the Celestial Dragons she'd met in the Pirate King world.
"Alright." Tohko withdrew her gaze and pressed her salve-covered hand against Fujino's shoulder. "This might hurt."
"Go ahead."
"Activating." Light flared from Tohko's palm.
Pain surged through her body, but Fujino's expression didn't change. She'd endured far worse; the sting of awakening Magic Circuits was nothing.
Tohko watched her unmoving face with a flicker of surprise. She knew the agony of circuit activation—the channels were akin to nerves, and forcing them open was brutal.
"How many points do I have left?" Fujino asked the System in her mind.
"host currently possesses 70,850 points," the synthetic voice replied.
Koichi must have killed quite a few mages. After Jibril was summoned, every mage she slew granted Fujino half the usual points—one reason Fujino had sent the angel on a hunt.
"System, how many points to raise my circuits to the highest grade?" Fujino's own circuits were few and mediocre; she intended to upgrade them.
"The System advises against it. This world's circuits evolved only to combat the fading of mystery; spending points on them is inefficient."
Fujino considered and realized the System was right. In the Fourth War, Saber—King Arthur—possessed no circuits; her draconic factor let her generate vast mana with every breath and heartbeat. Most other Heroic Spirits likewise had no need for circuits.
"host has two options, both affordable with current points," the System announced.
"What are they?"
"One: spend 75,000 points to gain a flawed Draconic Factor. With your circuits now open, the cost is only 70,000."
Fujino didn't decide yet. "And the second?"
"A special quest will be issued and must be completed within a set time. Reward: a mana system worth roughly 300 million points, available for early withdrawal."
She skipped asking what the reward was. "If I fail, what's the penalty—erasure?"
"This System does not erase hosts. Failure will strip all power and restart you from zero."
Not death, yet in a way worse.
"I accept. What's the reward?" A 300-million-point item couldn't be weak; one-hundred-million-point items already offered leaps in power.
"Command confirmed. Quest generated and locked—cannot be abandoned."
"Reward generated… locked: Extraordinary Evil Power of Veigar the Tiny Master of Evil from the League of Legends universe."
"Extract now, host?"
"Warning: Extraordinary Evil Power is potent dark mana. Upon extraction, the surrounding land will be shrouded in it, causing drastic change and possibly alerting the counter force."
"Hey, what's wrong?" Tohko's voice cut in. Fujino's circuits had long since finished opening, yet she hadn't moved an inch.
"Move!" Snapping back to reality, Fujino grabbed Tohko and mentally called Jibril; the angel appeared beside her the next instant.
"Master, what's up? You called me back so suddenly." Jibril's clothes were spattered with fresh blood—she'd clearly been hunting mages moments ago.
"Something's come up," Fujino told her, then turned to Tohko. "Stay here. I'll come back for you. Watch the witch outside—if she wakes up, knock her out again. And if you run, you're dead."
Releasing Tohko, Fujino seized Jibril. "Koichi, fast—take us somewhere empty. We have to hurry."
"Master, are you going to…?" Jibril's eyes lit up in excitement.
"Something like that." Fujino Asagami nodded without explaining further. "Jibril, let's go."
"Yes, Master!" Jibril immediately used her ability, taking Fujino Asagami and vanishing from Tohko Aozaki's sight in an instant.
"What is this even!" Tohko Aozaki tugged at her hair in frustration, her mood gloomy. Finally, she could only sit in her chair, smoking and chuckling bitterly.