My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Alignment: Order/Good

Strength: D

Durability: D (Although it is a dragon, the child's stamina is still relatively poor)

Agility: D (Although his physical attributes are decent, he has no real combat experience and occasionally slips and falls on flat ground.)

Magic: A

Lucky: D

Class Skill: Magic Resistance B

Skills:

Longwei: C

Once activated, the skill can intimidate opponents within a certain range, even rendering enemies immobile in fear, and is especially effective against the evil faction.

Holy Light Dragon Breath: C

The golden dragon's breath is not only extremely hot flames, but also enhanced by holy light, which can purify evil and burn everything.

Noble Phantasm: Her Highness the Princess's Golden Sword

A golden dagger inlaid with rubies, used for ceremonial purposes. It can also be used as a wand, but its other properties are no different from those of an ordinary sword.

……

As he slowly browsed through the attribute values ​​of this generation of Saber, Kiritsugu Emiya felt his heart and brain twitching.

There was no way around it; what had just happened was far too much of a test of his mental fortitude.

—Holding the scabbard of the "Excalibur" as a sacred relic, yet instead of summoning King Arthur? Instead, a dragon was summoned?

Although the legendary Knight King Arthur Pendragon did claim to have the blood of a red dragon, barely making a connection with the dragon race, a fantastical species that sits at the top of the food chain... that only applies to red dragons. So what's going on with summoning a golden dragon now?

Well, dragons are also top-tier fantasy species, not much inferior to human heroes.

But how did they manage to summon such a weak baby dragon?

Looking at these stats, if I were fully equipped, it seems like I would have a pretty good chance of defeating this golden dragon cub!

—A Noble Phantasm that's completely useless, a Servant whose combat power is even weaker than their Master? Are you kidding me?

With such terrible resources, how are we supposed to fight this Holy Grail War?

Although Kiritsugu Emiya is currently unaware that his Heroic Spirit cannot materialize—to be precise, none of the Heroic Spirits of this generation can conceal themselves through materialization—the information he has already gathered is enough to fill this "Magician Killer" with endless melancholy.

Watching the snowflakes slowly fall from the sky, he couldn't resist taking out his cigarette case and lighter, lighting a cigarette with a "snap," taking a deep drag, and then letting out a long, drawn-out sigh as he exhaled a ring of smoke.

"...It's over! This generation of Saber is no good!"

However, just as "Magician Killer" Kiritsugu Emiya was frowning over his underwhelming Servant, he never expected that at the same time, in the distant city of Fuyuki, several other Masters who had just summoned Heroic Spirits were also uttering similar complaints...

P.S.: Several high-rise buildings along the Yangtze River in downtown Chongqing have a very sci-fi city vibe.

Chapter 30, The Masters' Tragic Comedy (Part Two)

Late at night, in Fuyuki City, at the Matou family mansion.

Under the desolate moonlight, nestled among lush green trees, the Matou family's mansion appeared particularly eerie.

While lush forests are often pleasing to the eye, the grove surrounding the Matou family mansion seems to lack any sense of natural beauty. Instead, it appears strangely shaped and filled with a certain aura of fear, like a tree spirit monster from a fairy tale.

The Matou family of Fuyuki is not native to Japan. Their original surname was Machiri, and they were a family of magicians from Eastern Europe. They were later expelled from Russia and settled in Fuyuki, Japan. The family's most famous signature magic is insect magic—the art of manipulating insects—where the magicians offer their bodies to insects as nourishment and manipulate the insects inside. Their magicians are often utterly twisted in their minds, which explains why they were collectively expelled from their hometown by the magicians.

Furthermore, the Matou family is also skilled in the magic of controlling and enslaving familiars. Therefore, among the three founding families that held the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, it was the Matou family that designed and developed the system of Servants and Command Seals.

However, after arriving in Fuyuki, perhaps due to the unsuitability of the soil and spiritual veins of their new home, the Matou family's descendants have fewer and fewer magic circuits. But as long as the first head of the family, Matou Zouken, from two hundred years ago, is still alive, the Matou family will not completely decline.

This is probably not a good thing for the descendants of the Matou family.

At this very moment, in a dark and filthy basement inside the Matou family mansion, countless hideous insects wriggle about.

The air was filled with a nauseating smell of decay and sourness, and the terrifying noise of worms chewing on rotting flesh echoed in my ears.

However, in this hellish environment, Kariya Matou, the second son of the Matou family and one of the most famous tragic characters in the Type-Moon universe, is enduring excruciating pain in his internal organs as he painstakingly inscribes a magic circle to summon Heroic Spirits, preparing for the greatest gamble of his life.

That is to gamble with one's life to participate in the Holy Grail War.

It's funny to think about it now. Eleven years ago, he fled his home precisely because he was afraid of the Matou family's grotesque and ugly insect manipulation magic.

However, a year ago, Kariya Matou returned to the Matou family, a place he both feared and loathed. He had Zouken Matou implant Crest Worms into his body, sacrificing his life force to gain enough magical power to participate in the Holy Grail War and vie for the omnipotent wish-granting machine.

Because he never imagined that his act of fleeing the Matou family would lead to his beloved Aoi's child being pushed into a pit of fire.

Ten years ago, he thought he had escaped his nightmare and fate, but ten years later he realized that it was just wishful thinking on his part.

When he heard the news and rushed home last year, witnessing Sakura being engulfed by the writhing sea of ​​insects, his heart broke. But what chilled him even more was the attitude expressed by Sakura's mother, Zenjou Aoi—no, now Mrs. Tohsaka Aoi—in this matter. When Aoi calmly uttered those words, he simply couldn't believe his ears!

"...This is a problem between Tohsaka and Matou, and it has nothing to do with you now that you're out of the world of magicians."

"...From the moment I decided to marry into the Tohsaka family, from the moment I decided to become a magician's wife, I was mentally prepared. A clan with the blood of magic flowing in their veins cannot possibly pursue even the most ordinary family happiness."

"...If you are able to see Sakura, please take good care of her. That child is very close to you."

Sister Aoi! What are you saying? That's your daughter! That's the Matou family, who use their bodies to feed insects!

However, by the time he learned of this, it was too late. When he returned, Sakura's body had already been implanted with Crest Worms by Zouken Matou, and Sakura's heart had been torn apart, turning her into a heartbreaking walking corpse.

Sigh, it's all his fault. If he hadn't left the Matou family, Sakura wouldn't have become his replacement.

No, it's all Tokiomi's fault!

—Although Zouken Matou was the direct culprit who harmed Sakura, Kariya Matou, out of long-standing fear, dared not confront this old monster. However, he desperately needed an outlet to vent his pent-up anger and resentment.

He hated it! He dared not hate the terrifying and powerful Matou Zouken, nor did he want to hate the "misjudging" Aoi. So he only dared to vent his anger on Tohsaka Tokiomi: as a father, Tohsaka Tokiomi actually pushed his own daughter into Matou Zouken's insect pit. For the sake of the so-called magical bloodline, he actually abandoned Aoi's happiness, destroyed Rin and Sakura's happiness... and destroyed the last ray of light in Matou Kariya's heart.

That lucky man, despite winning the heart of the most important person in his life, was unable to protect that person or bring them happiness.

Since that's the case, let Matou Kariya make a huge scene and slap Tohsaka Tokiomi across the face!

To "save" Sakura and Aoi, and to defeat Tokiomi Tohsaka, what does it matter if I risk my life?

In any case, ever since he underwent the Crest Worm modification a year ago in preparation for the Holy Grail War, Kariya Matou's life has been nothing but a path shrouded in darkness, with no end in sight.

Even if one were to sacrifice their life force to undergo the Crest Worm transformation, they might not be able to win this Holy Grail War, which is filled with many powerful warriors.

Even if they manage to win the Holy Grail War and offer up the Holy Grail, their own old monster might not keep his promise to remove the Crest Worm from Sakura's body and give her a happy childhood.

Even if Zouken Matou truly keeps his promise, his internal organs are riddled with holes from being eaten away by the Crest Worms, and he won't live much longer. It's hard to say whether Zouken Matou will break his promise again after his death and throw Sakura back into the Worm Pit...

However, at this point, Matou Kariya has no way to back down and can only give up on himself and continue down this path to the end.

Therefore, Matou Kariya numbly and silently drew the magic circle to summon Heroic Spirits in the insect cave. Following the suggestion of Matou Zouken with a sly smile, he added two lines to the summoning incantation specifically summoning the Berserker: "...May your eyes be clouded, your mind be berserk, and may you be a prisoner bound by the cage of madness. I am the master who wields these chains..."

At this moment, he couldn't care less whether the old monster Matou Zouken's suggestion contained any ulterior motives. In any case, with Matou Kariya's pitiful knowledge of magic, even if there were some traps involved, he probably wouldn't be able to see them.

In short, the moment Matou Kariya finished reciting the incantation, the magic circle in the insect cave, as expected, suddenly burst forth with countless rays of light.

The next moment, a domineering and powerful figure slowly appeared in the center of the magic circle.

That was a giant dragon from Western legend!

—Shiny scales, sharp claws and teeth, fluttering wings, and a majestic head that no one could mistake for its own…

When it quietly appeared from the shimmering summoning circle, Matou Kariya, who was performing the ritual, was dumbfounded.

—In the magical world of Type-Moon, although there are legends of dragons, it has been a long time since anyone has seen such a top-tier and powerful fantasy species!

However, the power and terror of dragons are undeniable facts; otherwise, so many heroes and kings throughout history would not have claimed to have dragon blood flowing through their veins.

Immediately afterward, Kariya Matou felt a surge of genuine joy: he never imagined he could summon a dragon as a Servant! With such a powerful top-tier fantasy creature, he should finally be able to defeat that despicable Tokiomi, right?!

Imagining himself thoroughly humiliating Tokiomi, Matou Kariya couldn't help but smile.

But upon closer inspection, the hope that had just filled his heart turned into despair.

Although this dragon's posture is so domineering and powerful, why is its size... only the size of a cat?

What good can such a small dragon do?

Because the gap between hope and despair was so enormous, and the emotional shift so intense, he couldn't help but start hurling insults without thinking:

"...Damn it, why is this dragon so small?! It's all Tokiomi's fault!!!"

Before he could finish speaking, due to the depletion of magic power used to summon the heroic spirit and his own weakened state, his vision went black and he fainted on the spot.

Standing to the side, Zouken Matou made no attempt to help, only leering and mocking, "...How pathetic! Kariya, to summon something like this! Useless is useless! Sigh, this year's Berserker is probably no good..."

Meanwhile, Ernest, the pseudo-dragon boss who had lost all reason after acquiring the Berserker class, curiously surveyed the disgusting environment of the Matou family's insect lairs, and then, driven by disgust and instinct, let out his first roar since arriving on Earth: "...Gawoo—"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Attributes of Ernest the Pseudo-Dragon Boss

Class (Rank): Berserker

Real name: Ernest

Race: Pseudodragon, a very small dragon

Sex: Male

Height/Weight: 20cm/6kg (The pseudo-dragon cannot transform into human form)

Faction: Neutral/Neutral

Strength: D (Although he is a veteran adventurer, he is too small in size and can only fight wild dogs one-on-one in direct combat)

Durability: C (its size limits its durability)

Agility: A (This is a strength of small predators)

Magic: D

Lucky: D

Class Skill: Berserk B

Skills:

Dragon Might: E

Although the false dragon's might can be sensed, it is so weak as to be almost negligible. It cannot even intimidate cats and dogs, and is only enough to intimidate rats.

Dragon Breath: E-

The breath of a fake dragon is much smaller than the flame of a lighter, and its main purpose is to light cigarettes and candles.

Tail spines: D

This is the pseudo-dragon's main attack method; its claws contain venom that can easily kill cats and dogs, but cannot kill humans with a single blow.

Additionally: Because the Berserker class is used, the above skills are slightly enhanced, but the cost is loss of sanity, making it impossible to make rational judgments.

Noble Phantasm: None

Author's message

I just watched *Deadpool 2* and I can't help but have a lot to say—Deadpool, after his wife died, surprisingly had a change of heart and joined the X-Men to do a good deed for free. However, in order to protect a chubby kid (Little Fire Man), he killed at least two hundred people, killing even more ruthlessly than he had done any real evil. Among the dead were villains, teammates, and even random passersby. Especially the scene where Deadpool's five-man team parachuted into the city and were wiped out immediately: To make his entrance more flamboyant, Deadpool insisted on parachuting through the metropolis. And these were a bunch of novices! Besides his fearlessness, four of his teammates either crashed into high-voltage lines and were electrocuted, were caught in a helicopter rotor and turned to dust, or fell into a dumpster. The last one managed to land safely, but when he went to rescue the teammate who had fallen into the dumpster, he was mistakenly killed, and then that teammate also died inexplicably.

Wow, it seems Deadpool is even more terrifying than Conan, the God of Death from elementary school. At least Conan has never killed so many people in one story!

Chapter 31, The Masters' Tragic Comedy (Part 3)

Meanwhile, in Fukayama-cho, Fuyuki City, a clearing in a mixed woodland in a roadside park.

A short boy in a white shirt was busy in the night.

He first cleared a flat area, then, facing an old book, used a wooden stick to draw intricate lines and patterns on the ground...

But this is definitely not like the strange pattern that Haruhi Suzumiya drew on the school playground with lime to "summon aliens" in an attempt to imitate the Nazca Lines in South America, as a case of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome). It is a genuine magic circle.

The boy's name is Webber Velvet, a student from the Clock Tower Magic Academy in London, England.

—By the way, "Clock Tower" is also a synonym for the headquarters of the Type-Moon World Magic Association.