Shinji Matou At Your Service

Chapter 330: The Familiar Heroic Spirit

Shinji confirmed that his perception was not mistaken.

Although he had not formed a contract with little Jack nor become her official Master, and thus could not exercise the Master's authority to view the Servant's basic attributes, he was quite familiar with the unique aura of each class from participating in two Holy Grail Wars. Experts of a certain level could distinguish a Servant's class from their aura.

But the little Jack in front of him had no such characteristics. This sensation had only appeared before with the army summoned by Iskandar. Jack's previous two attacks also corroborated Shinji's judgment.

She was too weak, so weak it was pitiful.

A Servant's strength depends on four aspects: their strength in life, the enhancement of their legend, the quality of their Master, and their class.

Their strength in life forms the foundation. The stronger they were, the stronger they would be as a Servant.

The more legendary and well-known they are, the higher their additional attributes. Summoning them in their place of legend could even yield phenomenal results.

The quality of the Master is self-explanatory; the stronger the Master, the higher the Servant's basic attributes.

Finally, there is the Servant class. For the same Heroic Spirit, Berserker has the highest base attributes, followed by Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, and Assassin, with Assassin being the weakest.

Little Jack was easily dispatched by an unnamed magus during her lifetime, so her strength could only be described as weak.

"Jack the Ripper" has worldwide renown, and the current setting in Japan ranks high in terms of legendary significance, so the enhancement should not be low.

As for the Master's quality, it currently seemed that Shinji was her only possible Master. With a C-rank in magical energy—an impressive level most magus never achieve in their lifetime—he was a top-tier Master in terms of providing enhancements.

Therefore, the issue could only lie with her class.

Class is a peculiar system; it's a container designed for Heroic Spirits who shouldn't exist in the present world. It can limit strong Heroic Spirits, such as Lancer-class Diarmuid who lacks his most famous dual swords and single blade; it can also enhance weaker Heroic Spirits, the most typical example being "Jack the Ripper."

In Fate/Apocrypha, Assassin-class Jack used her class's traits to repeatedly trouble powerful Servants.

In Fate/Strange Fake, Berserker-class Jack was even more exaggerated, capable of transforming into thousands of forms and even into a demon, allowing her to retreat unscathed from encounters with top-tier Servants like Enkidu.

However, the little Jack pinned to the floor by Shinji had not demonstrated the expected level of prowess. While she was not as weak as she had been in her lifetime, being easily dispatched by a magus, she still lacked the strength to contend with regular Servants. She was essentially the extreme of what a Jack without a class could achieve, a combination of her wraith-like nature and the enhancements from her legend and renown.

But the question remained: Could the Holy Grail War summon a Servant without a class? Iskandar using his Noble Phantasm didn't count.

"Normally, it can't, but this time the situation is special."

Justeaze's voice arrived belatedly. She had already discerned Jack's condition and found the answer while Shinji was still contemplating.

"A special situation? Could it be because of us?"

"Exactly."

Shinji had only mentioned it offhand, not expecting it to be the correct answer.

"The summoning of Servants by the Holy Grail system involves two steps: First, connect to the Throne of Heroes through the Grail to materialize the Heroic Spirit; second, place the materialized Heroic Spirit into the designated container to become a Servant."

"This time, I tampered with Miss Fiore's summoning, causing your soul to directly enter the Assassin container, replacing the Assassin. This led to the step of connecting to the Throne of Heroes not being executed. Earlier, you initiated the summoning ritual, which activated the missing step and materialized Jack. The previous two failed summoning attempts lacked a suitable container to bring Jack into the present world. Finally, as the Assassin, you stepped into the magic circle, providing Jack with the perfect vessel."

"The reason it's Jack is likely because you continued the interrupted summoning ritual of Sagara Hyouma. He probably intended to use the act of gutting Miss Reika Rikudou as a catalyst to summon 'Jack the Ripper.' He got what he deserved."

As Justeaze mentioned, according to Fate/Apocrypha, Sagara Hyouma, due to the exposure of Hassan's information, decided to take a unique approach and summon someone unexpected: "Jack the Ripper." He manipulated Reika Rikudou with suggestion magecraft for this purpose.

However, he did not know that even without Shinji's intervention, successfully summoning Jack would not save him from his fate. Reika Rikudou's intense desire to live resonated with the unborn children, leading Jack to kill him. Jack then formed a contract with the dying Reika, becoming an independent third force in the Holy Grail War, not aligned with either the Red or Black factions.

Shinji did not care about the dead man. What concerned him was his relationship with Jack.

The absence of Command Seals on his body indicated that they were not Master and Servant. However, according to Justeaze, Jack was dependent on him, which puzzled Shinji.

Justeaze provided an answer to this as well.

"A dependent relationship. The three elements that constitute a Servant are the Spirit Origin, Spirit Foundation, and Spirit Vessel (Container). She possesses the Spirit Foundation of an Assassin, while you have the Spirit Origin and Spirit Vessel of an Assassin. Together, you form the complete Black Assassin. Since you occupy the Spirit Origin and Spirit Vessel, you hold the dominant position. She exists by relying on you, which should classify her as a familiar or a dependent spirit."

Someone else might not understand what Justeaze was saying, but Shinji did. Justeaze's explanation reminded him of a unique Servant: Artemis, who descended under the name of Orion.

In one summoning, the moon goddess forcibly intervened in Orion's summoning ritual, resulting in both descending together. The moon goddess possessed the Spirit Vessel, while Orion held the Spirit Foundation, and the Spirit Origin was influenced by both.

Since the moon goddess occupied the Spirit Vessel, the Servant's appearance was that of the moon goddess, while Orion inexplicably turned into a teddy bear.

Because the Spirit Foundation was Orion's, the moon goddess's divine powers did not manifest at all.

The Spirit Origin, influenced by both, appeared very chaotic—attributes skewed towards Orion, Noble Phantasms belonging to the moon goddess, and skills shared between the two.

In day-to-day activity, the moon goddess, who occupied the Spirit Vessel, took the lead, while Orion served as a mascot, responsible for being cute and funny.

Shinji speculated that this would be his and Jack's dynamic going forward. Shinji would fight as the Assassin, while the less combat-capable Jack would stay in the background, essentially acting as an adorable daughter.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Shinji's face, and he relaxed his grip a bit.

Sensing the change, little Jack quickly rolled away, escaping Shinji's grasp and retrieving her four daggers.

Seeing this, Shinji couldn't help but touch his nose.

He almost forgot that she was a naughty child who would kill at the slightest provocation and liked to dig out people's organs.

PS: Scáthach and Artoria's descent involved tampering with the first step, while Shinji directly ignored the first step and proceeded to the second.

PS2: Daughter, you just stick to being cute from now on. Daddy will handle the fighting and killing.

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