There Must Be Something Wrong With This Game!

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Preparations Before the War

Duan Fei was familiar with the Holy Grail War.

Whether in his past life or this one, the Holy Grail War was always a red-hot topic. Anyone could lewd... ahem... have a blast with it.

The original Holy Grail War was a conflict between Magicians and Servants of seven different classes, all centered around the "Holy Grail," an omnipotent wish-granting device.

Seven pairs, fourteen people in total. If a pair’s Magician died, their team was considered defeated. The last remaining team would win the Holy Grail and have any wish granted.

If the Servant died, the Magician could still try to hang on, but it was basically useless.

After all, Servants were Heroic Spirits summoned by Magicians through various means. These figures had incredible achievements and reputations in history, all of which boosted a Servant’s strength, granting them Power far beyond that of ordinary people.

So, if your Servant lost, the Magician should just cut their losses and surrender. Don’t even think about a comeback victory against the odds unless you have plot armor.

But over time, numerous variations of the Holy Grail War had appeared, like the one Duan Fei was currently participating in.

Holding the rulebook the woman had given him, Duan Fei gave it a quick read, getting the gist of the details for this dungeon’s Holy Grail War.

To put it simply, the Holy Grail War in this dungeon had become a routine affair.

For powerful Magicians, the Holy Grail War was just a tool for farming resources. A few old-timers would summon a Heroic Spirit when they were bored, order the Heroic Spirit to die, and then collect a large amount of Magic Power.

Those lower on the totem pole could also summon a Fake Holy Grail and play a "casual match" to earn some Magic Power, which served as currency.

Of course, you had to pay an entry fee of Magic Power—the currency here—to summon a Heroic Spirit. The final winner could take all the Magic Power in the Holy Grail, and the total value would be just a tiny bit more than the combined entry fees of all participants.

"So that’s the situation. I bet the last of this month’s living expenses—three hundred—on this Holy Grail War, but it looks like it’s all going down the drain," the woman said, crying.

She was a Magician who seemed quite pretty, but she was dressed in a tacky pink pajama set, with thick Glasses on her face. Her hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in who knows how long. One look and you could tell she was the kind of shut-in who’d stay in bed if she could.

Duan Fei’s mouth twitched as he did the math on her "bet." He couldn’t help but ask, "So, the total prize for this Holy Grail War is just four thousand? You went through all the trouble of summoning a Heroic Spirit for a measly four thousand?"

Snatching the woman’s phone, Duan Fei did a quick search and then said, "The minimum wage here is thirty-two hundred. You could make four thousand in five weeks. Why aren’t you getting a job instead of playing at some Holy Grail War!"

"Because I’m lazy," the Magician, named Yue Hua, sniffled. "For the Holy Grail War, you just have to summon a Servant and send them out. If you get lucky and roll a powerful Servant, you can earn thirty-seven hundred just by lying around."

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll just give up and phone it in?"

"How could you have such a dangerous thought!" Yue Hua asked in disbelief. "Isn’t achieving victory the lifelong Glory of you Servants? Where’s your competitive spirit? Your professional ethics? How dare a low-tier Servant like you think about slacking off!"

"A four-thousand-buck Glory is useless. You’d have to pinch pennies just to buy a trophy."

"That’s true. So, are you in or not?"

Looking at Yue Hua’s expectant face, Duan Fei sat down cross-legged, running a hand through his hair as he thought for a long while. Finally, he said with a sigh, "I’m in."

After all, it was a rare PvP dungeon. It wouldn’t hurt to play a round to get used to the PvP combat style and learn more about other players.

Based on his deductions and the rules of this Holy Grail War, Duan Fei was certain that every Servant in this war was a player.

Each player would be paired with a Magician, and the ten teams would be divided into two factions. Wiping out the other faction constituted a victory.

Besides, this was a society ruled by law, after all. Servants couldn’t attack Magicians, and Magicians couldn’t attack other Magicians.

Necessary interference was allowed, but you couldn’t inflict permanent injuries on the other party.

After reading the manual in detail, Duan Fei felt that the Holy Grail War here had truly been turned into a job. Those qualified to be Magicians could just participate in the Holy Grail War every day to earn Magic Power and live comfortably.

Now that he understood the current situation, Duan Fei moved on to his next objective.

First, he opened his quest log and found that it had been updated.

"Main Quest: Win the Holy Grail War (Your own death will not result in failure. Failure only occurs when the entire team is eliminated or surrenders).

Hidden Element: This dungeon contains hidden elements."

’Just as simple and straightforward as ever.’

Nodding, Duan Fei was about to open his messaging app when he heard a piercing screech.

The screech was clearly not a hallucination, because Yue Hua, who was beside him, also heard the ringing.

Covering her ears, Yue Hua said with displeasure, "What are you doing? Are you trying to use some illegal Power? I’m telling you now, you’re not allowed to use illegal Power in the Holy Grail War, or you’ll get a warning."

’I see. So this dungeon prohibits messaging apps.’

Shaking his head in resignation, Duan Fei felt a little regretful.

’He’d wanted to bug Jinghong and see if he could trick them into revealing which faction they were in.’

The summoning time for each Servant was different, meaning the players entered the dungeon at different times.

Upon entry, they were randomly assigned to a faction. Duan Fei was in the Cyan Dragon Team.

Seeing Duan Fei still contemplating his next move, Yue Hua expertly burrowed into her blankets and said to him, "Duan Someone, just go out and fight in the Holy Grail War on your own."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Stay in bed. I’ve already paid out the rest of my living expenses. I’m going to lie here to conserve energy and see if I can make it through the next few days."

"Get up!"

He yanked the whimpering Yue Hua right out of bed and, without taking no for an answer, dragged her out of the room and into the hallway.

Outside the door was a wondrous world.

Flying vehicles soared through the sky, and Magicians appeared openly in public, their eccentric and colorful outfits clearly announcing their identity.

"I see. According to this dungeon’s lore, Magician has become a Profession," Duan Fei muttered to himself.

"That’s right." Yue Hua squinted at the sunlight, but she still puffed up with pride at being a Magician. "Not just anyone can become a Magician. Only people with an aptitude for Magic can solidify Magic Power. Besides fighting in the Holy Grail War, Magic Power can also be used to power cars, run lathes, and perform some small-scale Magic..."

At this point, Yue Hua cautiously tugged on Duan Fei’s sleeve. "But you have to be careful. Don’t get carried away in a fight and start destroying things. I was trying to save money, so I didn’t get insurance. If you break anything, I can’t afford to pay for it."

"The way you said ’pay for it’ sounds a little suggestive... Still, what a great opportunity!"

Duan Fei nodded excitedly, a plan already forming in his mind.

Seeing the look on his face, Yue Hua gave a nervous laugh. "Duan Someone, you’re not actually going to destroy things, are you!"

"Hard to say."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you’re not really going to destroy things on purpose!"