After a series of internal struggles, Fujimaru Ritsuka took the glass-like fruit, closed her eyes, and bit into it.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"It's actually pretty tasty!"
Jeanne Alter took a bite of grilled fish, then the fruit, nodding approvingly. "Not bad. It'd be great as a side for roasted meat."
She was already planning how to pair the fruit with regular meals.
Morpheus mused that this trip could inspire a cooking show, Taste of Sumerian Age of Gods.
Suddenly, silver moonlight glowed around Ritsuka, with magical runes spiraling. Mash's eyes widened. "It's not about the taste, Senpai!" She looked to Morpheus for help.
Mash hadn't eaten the fruit, so she was unchanged.
Ritsuka quickly refined her mana like a trained magus. Her Command Seals glowed red, forming a matrix to convert the fruit's power.
Even so, her body was evolving toward a higher dimension.
Mash, checking the instruments, exclaimed, "Senpai, your Magic Circuits are resonating with the ley lines!"
The earth's latent mana resonated with Ritsuka, channeling vast, dangerous energy into her. Ordinary humans couldn't handle such raw mana... it would poison them.
In the future Earth, this wouldn't happen, but in the mana-rich Age of Gods, it was expected.
Morpheus had anticipated this. He could control mana flow to avoid ley line resonance, but Ritsuka couldn't.
"Draw Ame-no-Murakumo," He instructed.
Ritsuka unsheathed the sword instantly. Its power fortified her body, boosting mana resistance. In a blink, the potentially toxic mana became harmless.
The freely gained mana was retained by Ame-no-Murakumo, stored within her.
Her physical strength surged, rising several times above a normal human's before stabilizing.
Morpheus, observing, stroked his chin. She was evolving from mortal to mythic being.
Just before manifesting mythic traits, the evolution halted.
Now, Ritsuka's raw physical ability could match weaker Servants in combat, potentially overpowering those with low battle prowess.
This excluded mana enhancements, as the mana had converted to life force, strengthening her body. Even without mana, her physical power surpassed human limits.
With basic magecraft like body hardening or defensive spells, her combat ability could triple, letting her hold her own against average Servants.
This assumed she used common magecraft techniques.
Morpheus smiled, turning to Jeanne Alter.
Unlike Ritsuka, Jeanne Alter's body was a mana construct, cycling between "mana → body → mana," never fixed as flesh.
She absorbed the fruit's mana far more efficiently, integrating it instantly. Lunar, thunder, and divine powers took root within her.
She didn't draw Durandal, instead savoring the divine infusion.
She wasn't becoming a god but gaining divinity, like a divine vassal.
Her Saing Graph evolved, ascending to greater heights.
Like Artemis's divine core, this was a fundamental enhancement. Jeanne Alter extended her hand, watching a fleeting lunar rune appear and fade.
Lunar, Zeus's thunder, and creation-destruction powers elevated her Saing Graph to Grand Servant levels.
Perhaps not matching a specific Grand's abilities, but her raw stats reached that tier!
As a Heroic Spirit in her full form, no less!
Feeling this, she grew eager. If Morpheus summoned her true self and merged with it, what heights could she reach?
Seeing their changes, Morpheus grinned at Mash. "Your turn."
Mash swallowed, then, under his gaze, shoved the fruit into her mouth and bit down.
Sweet juice burst on her tongue, its flavor spreading. She understood why Ritsuka commented on the taste.
It was delicious!
But soon, she sensed something amiss.
Her mana absorption mirrored Jeanne Alter's, as her Servant body was mana-based.
Yet, it also triggered ley line resonance, targeting her this time!
Instantly, she realized why... she was both a Servant and a human with a flesh-and-blood body!
Her Servant nature prevented mana poisoning, and her body absorbed it efficiently, making it her own.
Her Demi-Servant status became an advantage, blending human and Servant strengths.
Her body strengthened rapidly, drawing from ley line mana.
Her Saing Graph gained divinity, incorporating godly authorities and even traces of True Magic, tied to her Servant aspect.
Now, Mash could wield magecraft and, through her link to Artemis, True Magic from the Nasuverse.
Even if separated from her Servant spirit, her body wouldn't weaken, having transcended human limits with mana's aid.
Her enhancements surpassed Ritsuka's. Without Servant powers or Ame-no-Murakumo, Mash's raw physical strength outstripped Ritsuka's!
She had joined the ranks of top-tier Servants!
In other words, Mash now rivaled Grand Servants!
…
Lev Lainur's figure appeared in the jungle.
He inhaled deeply, looking pleased.
"This place is perfect. Dense mana, enough to fuel powerful spells with ease," He muttered, gazing into the distance. "The King worries about trouble here, so I'm to investigate. If needed, I'll end this era myself!"
Sensing the Holy Grail, he looked toward the beast hive in the jungle, then frowned.
"That's not Tiamat. Something's siphoning her power. Gorgon?"
Using his Demon God Pillar authority, he glimpsed the distant scene, narrowing his eyes. "As expected, someone's exploiting Gorgon's Mother of Genesis concept to steal Tiamat's power and resolve this era's crisis? Think that'll work?"
He stepped forward, teleporting instantly, then flashed even farther.
This was his power, spatial magecraft fueled by his Imaginary Number attribute.
No matter the foe's strength, awakening the true Mother of Genesis, Tiamat, would overwhelm this era's humans!
Not just humans... even its gods couldn't resist Tiamat's descent!
The greatest Mother of Genesis, the source of Sumerian divinity, a creation goddess!
Her immense power led to her exile, not to the Reverse Side of the World but to the void of the Imaginary Numbers Space, devoid of life!
The great King himself retrieved her from the Imaginary Sea, bringing her to this world, an equal in status!
Lev relished the thought of Chaldea's team facing this era, imagining their terror at confronting such a being.
He grew excited, itching for an impromptu performance.
…
Aboard her Noble Phantasm, the celestial boat Maanna, Ishtar had left her temple, eager to find the god who'd descended and discern their intent.
Waiting wasn't her style... she preferred action. Friends? Cooperate. Strangers? Live and let live. Enemies? Fight.
Then, she saw a bizarre scene. On the distant plains, giant beasts roamed... not Gorgon's black mud creations but creatures glowing with faint lunar light.
One, an eagle-like beast with six-meter wings, bore lunar runes of the Olympian Moon Goddess on each feather.
It soared at supersonic speed, diving toward the ground!
At the last moment, a figure leaped from the earth, shattering the ground with immense force!
A two-meter-tall rabbit, its leg muscles exploding with power, launched like a cannonball at the eagle!
As they collided, Ishtar saw a lunar shield form, followed by chaotic lightning... Zeus's thunder power!
Neither gained the upper hand. The rabbit used the impact to rebound, kicking the eagle away while propelling itself in the opposite direction, clearly escaping.
Ishtar's mind raced.
She'd been here long enough... were such creatures normal? If so, why hadn't she noticed?
Were these beasts tied to the new god?
With a hunch, she sped up, reaching a small jungle imbued with lunar power. Its crystal-like trees exuded a faint, sweet aroma.
The scent of roasted meat!
"Roasted meat?" Ishtar followed the scent, spotting figures ahead.
A man and several women, one with silver hair radiating dense divinity. In an instant, Ishtar confirmed her identity.
The Greek Moon Goddess, Artemis!
Her divinity and divine core were far beyond Ishtar's expectations!
This Moon Goddess was likely the mysterious entity causing the cosmic upheaval! But when Ishtar's gaze fell on the lone man, her eyes narrowed sharply.
He was grilling meat, using condensed starlight as a tool.
No... that was the light of a planet, the Sword of Promised Victory that vanquished Sefar!
***
If you enjoyed this story, don't forget to drop 5 stars and your power stone. And if you want to read more than 70 chapters in advance, feel free to visit: pat reon . com / KangTL