Multiverse: Why does the world show a health bar? !

The sunlight today was just right.

In the forest halfway up Mount Enzou, patches of light dotted the ground. The winter sun drove away the chill in the deep woods, making the cold, damp ground slippery. The forest was eerily silent, with no chirping of birds or buzzing of insects. Everything was still.

The warm winter sun was the most pleasant weather in this cold January, making the air less harsh to breathe.

There was a hidden cave here. Originally, it had been protected by a bounded field, and following the path inside would lead to the Greater Grail hidden deep within. Now, however, there were clear signs of human activity. Tents were set up inside, serving as shelter from the wind and rain, and a fire burned in the depths of the cave.

"Magecraft, huh…"

Magecraft was truly miraculous. For example, the smoke from the fire in front of him was concealed by a spell Medea had cast, making it invisible to outsiders. Otherwise, Li Mo feared he might be arrested by the police for "setting the mountain on fire."

Li Mo sat by the fire, feeling the magical energy being generated within his body.

In the world of Type-Moon, magical energy was created by converting Mana from the greater source and OD from the lesser source. OD, or the lesser source, referred to one's own life force. This process required Magic Circuits to achieve. This was why magus families placed such importance on the quality and quantity of their descendants' Magic Circuits.

Li Mo had no Magic Circuits.

The methods modern magi used to obtain magical energy couldn't be directly applied to him. But that didn't mean it was impossible to replicate.

Behind him stood a magus from the Age of Gods.

The Witch, Medea.

Three days had passed since Li Mo formed a contract with Medea. After settling the children, he had immediately gone up the mountain with her. Among Atrum's assets were records of magecraft. After all, as a nouveau riche of the Clock Tower, Atrum hadn't kept such critical documents at home but carried them with him.

Even the Magic Crest on Atrum's hand was now in Li Mo's possession. However, the crest was incomplete, and Medea could only preserve it temporarily. With her knowledge as a magus from the Age of Gods, repairing the Magic Crest was possible, but it would inevitably delay the construction of their base. Li Mo didn't want to lose sight of the bigger picture for a small gain, so he decided to keep the crest for future use.

While Medea was busy constructing their base, Li Mo spent his time studying the magecraft texts Atrum had left behind, trying to understand the magic of this world. He compared it to the divine arts of the Yougou Shrine and once again felt the limitations of his own intellect.

It was all so confusing…

Even the process of converting magical energy had required Medea's assistance. At the same time, Li Mo noticed something peculiar: his body seemed to adapt perfectly to every world he traveled to. This was strange, as the Type-Moon world was unique. Humans from the Age of Gods would struggle to adapt to the modern era, while modern humans would die from the overwhelming concentration of Mana in the Age of Gods.

Yet, Li Mo adapted almost perfectly. This was likely due to the system's influence.

It seemed that even though the system had been incomplete at the beginning, it wasn't entirely useless.

"Miss Medea, do you have some time now? How's the progress on analyzing the Greater Grail?"

Li Mo saw Medea emerge from the depths of the cave and asked her.

Earlier, after completing the base's construction, Medea had ventured deeper into the cave to study the Greater Grail. Now, she was taking a break from her research.

Medea replied, "Not yet. The Greater Grail system is quite intricate. Initially, it was rather crude, but it seems to have undergone self-improvement over time. After a century or two, the system's complexity…"

She began to explain using technical terms, which Li Mo only half-understood. Concepts, fields of study, and so on.

Li Mo felt like a wooden puppet, only capable of listening.

After a while, Medea asked, "Master, how is your progress in learning magecraft?"

She knew that her Master couldn't fully grasp what she was saying. He had studied mysticism, but it was more akin to the outdated Onmyoudou of this island nation.

Thinking about it, in the modern era, Mana from the greater source had become more obscure. For example, the process of converting Mana into magical energy crystals, which they had done earlier, would have yielded far more energy in the Age of Gods.

"I've mastered the 'Baghdad Battery' spell. As for other basic spells like reinforcement and projection, I can use them too," Li Mo explained.

Although his progress was slow, the system's peculiar nature made learning magecraft relatively easy for him. His skills improved quickly, much like his mastery of the "Redirection" technique, which had reached a considerable level after so much time.

He probably wasn't inferior to Kaku Kaiou now.

Unfortunately, Li Mo hadn't yet visited the world of Baki. Otherwise, he could have tested his hand-to-hand combat skills against those monsters and taken his abilities to the next level.

"From now on, Master, I'll have more time to teach you magecraft."

"Yes, Teacher Medea," Li Mo said. "But, Miss Medea, how are the preparations for the irregular summoning of Assassin going?"

In the original storyline, Medea, as Caster, had irregularly summoned Sasaki Kojirou as Assassin at Ryuudou Temple. This operation wouldn't change just because of his arrival.

—With two Servants under his command, Li Mo would have the confidence to do anything. For example, launching a surprise attack on Kirei Kotomine.

According to his reasoning, if he could steal the Command Seals for Cu Chulainn from Kirei, he would gain another valuable ally. After all, wasn't that what Kirei had done?

But that was a plan for the future. The immediate priority was the irregular summoning.

"The preparations are complete. However, Master, we need to choose the right time. Also, we don't have a catalyst."

"We don't need a catalyst. Let's see who we summon directly."

To magi, Mount Enzou was undoubtedly an excellent location. Under Medea's layered preparations, the area had already become a "bounded field." A "bounded field" was a conceptual space rather than a true alternate dimension.

As time passed, Medea continued to answer Li Mo's questions. Her vast knowledge as a magus from the Age of Gods cleared many obstacles for him, broadening his horizons. Unfortunately, Li Mo's talent was average, and he could only barely keep up with what Medea was teaching.

But soon, this period of learning came to an end.

The time for summoning a Heroic Spirit had arrived.