Daytime, Sunday.
Ryuya spent the day properly resting with Yukino, who had just become a woman. Traces of their love were all over the apartment.
Having stood up Eriri yet again, after dinner, a somewhat guilty Yukino declared that she absolutely could not be as self-indulgent tomorrow as she was today. She would strive, she would rise!
She would...
"Onii-chan, I can't sleep!"
Even though they agreed to sleep in separate rooms tonight, Yukino, who had just started dating and found release, couldn't bear the lonely feeling.
Tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, she eventually ended up honestly snuggling in Ryuya's arms.
"Mmm, sleep."
Gently stroking Yukino's hair, Ryuya calmed his mind and began thinking about the specific situation of the world he was in.
First, according to the information transmitted by Clue, this world was chaotic, very chaotic, so chaotic that multiple types of mystical forces existed.
For example, the Nasuverse's worldview represented by magi.
The youkai representatives... this one was hard to pin down, as there were too many worlds with youkai.
The vampire representatives, like youkai, had too many source works, hard to judge.
For Ghouls and CCG… Ryuya knew this one.
Flame Haze, Crimson Lords… this was Shakugan no Shana, and the existence of Midnight Lost Child proved it.
Clow Cards… this was the CLAMP's worldview, currently the most top-tier power Ryuya had encountered.
Apart from these six major supernatural forces, the remaining characters from daily life comprehensive anime were also numerous.
Ryuya completely couldn't understand why an Age of Man could accommodate so many mysteries.
'If this were Uruk, fine, the Age of Gods with its peak mystery, so many non-human races living without issue. But the same situation in the modern world... did this world really have the Counter Force of Alaya and Gaia? Or perhaps this world actually...'
Remembering those broken world fragments in the Sea of Imaginary Numbers, a sense of foreboding rose in Ryuya's heart.
'Nation of the End, Ideal Nation, the world's final co-ruler... I still don't really understand this skill, but to complete it, I definitely need to start a simulated life, right?'
The two simulations in Uruk netted him the Ultimate Being, Sun God, The Beast of the Apocalypse, and King of the Myriad Tribes… four SSS-rank rewards, and finally the Nation of the End with an unclear effect.
After some thought, Ryuya felt he should start his next life simulation. The intelligence about the real world made him feel this world seemed somewhat unreliable.
[Host can select scenario: Empire of Eternal Night, Land of Trials, Twilight of the Gods.]
'System, can you give a recommendation? Which scenario is easier for me to initiate the Nation of the End?'
When in doubt, ask the system. Except for last time during the World Archive, when searching for who caused the archive, the system said it couldn't specify, any other time, the system could answer his questions, including many strange things, though it required spending points.
Seemingly recognizing the correct use of points, Ryuya pondered that this time there were three scenario options… maybe the system could answer?
[All three scenarios can increase the host's completion rate for Nation of the End.]
The voice sounded a bit cold. The Life Simulator System seemed unhappy again.
'All three work? But there must be one most suitable for me, right?'
Tightening his arm around Yukino, Ryuya felt this girl slept just as restlessly as she did when she was little.
[None are the most suitable, playboy.]
'???'
'Wait, did I mishear? Did the system just insult me?'
[1000 points to exchange for information on the most suitable scenario. 10,000 points to alter the scenario composition, making it the most suitable for the host.]
A moment later, just as Ryuya wondered if he was hallucinating, the system's voice sounded again.
'Total 11,000 points then, got it. Exchange.'
A strong desire to survive and intuition told Ryuya that he absolutely shouldn't say anything more right now, and he should just pay up obediently.
[Exchange confirmed. Recommended execution: SS-rank scenario, Land of Trials.]
[Land of Trials: In the Third Holy Grail War, a magus from the Assassin faction told the intelligence he obtained to his companions back in America before his death. After that, politicians craving the Holy Grail began replicating the legend of Fuyuki City. They hoped to create a False Holy Grail War, then evolve it into a real one to realize their ambitions.]
[Six False Masters, seven True Masters. A pseudo-war evolves into a true war. This is the cruelty called the Land of Trials, a variant Fourth Holy Grail War.]
[Confirmed modification of Land of Trials scenario composition. Modification complete. Land of Trials scenario permissions opened. Number of simulated participants increased. Currently automatically selecting characters from the real world with close relationships to the host.]
[Characters selected: Yukinoshita Yukino, Yukinoshita Haruno, Shinomiya Kaguya, Okita Souji.]
[Note: This simulation will proceed as a faction-based battle. Simultaneously, the simulation method is Real-Time Synchronous Projection. There is only one simulation attempt. Please host, grasp this opportunity well…]
[Initiate simulation?]
"!!!"
Looking at the information from the Life Simulator, Ryuya was shocked.
'A variant Fourth Holy Grail War? And opening the number of simulated participants?'
'Yuki-chan, Haruno… I can understand them being considered close to me. But Shinomiya Kaguya, we've only known each other for a short while, she counts too?'
'And what the heck is Okita Souji? I don't know her.'
Completely baffled by the list provided by the Life Simulator, Ryuya wasn't worried about Yukino and the others having issues after entering the scenario. After all, the system said this simulation was a real-time projection, meaning they were essentially crossing directly into the scenario themselves.
With Ryuya himself there, safety would naturally be guaranteed. The problem was the selection of people.
'Why would Shinomiya Kaguya and Okita Souji come?'
'The former was just a classmate, the latter I'd only seen in the gacha pool.'
'What's going on?'
[Initiate Life Simulation - Variant Land of Trials (SS)?]
'Ini...tiate.'
Hesitating for a moment, Ryuya felt that pondering these questions further was pointless. Better to start the scenario and deal with Souji when he met her.
[Confirmed initiation of scenario Land of Trials.]
As his vision blurred, Ryuya found himself in an unfamiliar city.
Sensing his own body, he found it was exactly as the system said, and his powers were identical to reality. Noble Phantasm like Rashomon, Midnight Lost Child, etc., were all there.
Simultaneously, a screen appeared beside him, displaying a countdown.
[Time until Fourth Holy Grail War begins: 366 days.]
[Time until Yukinoshita Yukino arrives: 332 days.]
[Time until Yukinoshita Haruno arrives: 335 days.]
[Time until Shinomiya Kaguya arrives...
The countdown timer informed Ryuya how long until Yukino and the others would arrive in this world. The preparation time he had... was less than a year.
'Hmm... whatever, let's find a place to live first.'
Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, Ryuya could feel the active leylines underfoot, 'This was probably the location where the Fourth Holy Grail War would take place.'