The previous Director had won the 2004 Holy Grail War together with his Caster Servant. He used his wish on the Grail to obtain vast wealth, and that was how Chaldea first came into existence.
But!!!
If the final victor of the 2004 Holy Grail War in this timeline was the Saber faction, then please explain—
How did Chaldea even come to exist in this world if Marisbury never won the war and never built it?
A chill ran down Adam's spine as a flood of questions surged through his mind.
He suddenly realized that Singularity F was far more complicated than he had originally thought. Back then he had simply defeated the blackened Saber and walked away without investigating anything deeper.
It looked like he would need to explore this Singularity thoroughly after all.
Still, a Singularity was a Singularity. It had to be corrected eventually.
They would still need to locate and retrieve the Grail.
Adam informed the group of the Grail's approximate location—in a large underground cavern in the northwestern suburbs.
The team immediately set off.
On the way, Olga Marie began explaining the basics of the Holy Grail War to Ritsuka, with Mash walking close behind them.
Up ahead, Adam walked side by side with his own Mash.
He decided to set the troubling questions about the Singularity aside for now.
He opened his system panel and checked the numbers.
Emotion Value: 20,000
He switched over to the Emotion Summon Pool.
Time for one of every gacha lover's favorite activities.
Pull!
Let me see what this pool has to offer.
My turn! Draw!
With a single mental command, Adam tapped the ten-roll button.
And so began his journey as the unluckiest summoner alive.
[3★ Craft Essence: Azure Black Key]
[Copper Apple]
[3★ Craft Essence: Verdant Black Key]
[Silver Apple]
[Copper Apple]
[1★ Craft Essence: Severance]
[1★ Craft Essence: Severance]
[1★ Craft Essence: Chain]
[2★ Craft Essence: Resonance]
[Copper Apple]
The group had been walking steadily when Adam suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
Everyone turned to him in confusion.
His Mash immediately went on high alert and scanned the surroundings.
"Senpai? Did you detect an enemy?"
Adam blinked, quickly composed himself, and waved them off with a smile.
"It's nothing. I just felt a sudden wave of terrible luck, that's all. Let's keep moving."
The group continued onward.
Adam stared at his results.
Four Copper Apples, one Silver Apple, three 1★ Craft Essences, one 2★, and two 3★.
The apples restored mana and stamina—Copper Apples gave a small amount, Silver Apples a moderate amount.
The 1★ and 2★ Craft Essences were nearly worthless.
He had hoped for some actually useful 3★ ones, but instead…
He looked at the two Black Key Craft Essences and his expression turned even darker than the keys themselves.
These things were only good as throwing weapons at best.
Absolutely nothing worthwhile.
Well… it was his first pull. He couldn't expect miracles right away.
He still had ninety rolls left.
There was no way he could stay this unlucky for ninety straight pulls… right?
Clearly he just hadn't rolled enough yet.
Another round!
Second ten-roll.
[Copper Apple ×4]
[Golden Apple ×1]
[1★ Craft Essence ×3]
[2★ Craft Essence ×2]
"..."
From a probability standpoint, as long as better items existed in the pool, enough rolls would eventually yield them!
So obviously he just hadn't pulled enough times yet.
Third ten-roll.
[Copper Apple ×3]
[Silver Apple ×2]
[Golden Apple ×3]
[3★ Craft Essence: Hydra Dagger]
[3★ Craft Essence: Leyline]
Adam's eyes widened slightly.
Oh? Finally something decent.
Hydra Dagger—a blade steeped in deadly poison. Even Heracles could be corroded by its toxin. Perfect for surprise attacks.
But the real prize was this one.
Leyline—the flow of magical energy running through the land. Effect: Greatly increases maximum mana capacity.
This was a god-tier 3★ Craft Essence!
With this equipped, he would have far more freedom during prolonged battles and Servant rotations. He wouldn't be stuck letting them carry him the entire second half of every fight.
Not bad at all.
Now… how did he equip these?
[Host, you may equip Craft Essences in your equipment slots.]
Following the system's guidance, Adam opened the equipment menu.
He could currently equip one Craft Essence, though more slots could apparently be unlocked later.
Unlocking an additional slot required 60,000 Emotion Values.
In other words, three hundred rolls.
Adam sighed. His reserves were still far from enough. He would need to keep working at it.
His luck was finally turning. Keep rolling!
Fourth ten-roll.
[Copper Apple ×1]
[1★ Craft Essence ×6]
[2★ Craft Essence ×3]
Adam's brows furrowed. Something felt wrong.
What the hell?
Why did the quality drop so sharply all of a sudden?
Whatever. Normal probability. Good pulls were often followed by dry spells. As long as he kept rolling, the good stuff would come again.
Fifth ten-roll.
[Copper Apple ×7]
[Silver Apple ×1]
[1★ Craft Essence ×2]
"???"
He stopped walking again, staring at the disastrous results.
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
Both Mashes were once again on high alert.
"What's wrong this time, Senpai? Enemies?"
After a long moment of silence, Adam finally forced a smile and waved them off again.
"Nothing. I'm just starting to think I have what it takes to become the chieftain of an African tribe."
The group continued forward.
To hell with probability!!!
He refused to believe it!
He had already pulled a Leyline earlier!
There was no way he was stopping here!
One more time!!!
Sixth ten-roll.
[Copper Apple ×10]
Dude… you're not even pretending anymore, huh?
Adam stared wide-eyed at the system.
Be honest with me, System!
Did you secretly lower my rates?
[The System would never engage in such malicious behavior toward its Host.]
[All items drawn from the pool are determined solely by the Host's luck.]
Adam: "..."
He fell silent once again.
Meanwhile, Ritsuka had finished listening to Olga Marie's explanation of the Holy Grail War.
She walked over excitedly, wanting to share her newfound knowledge with Adam so she could be more helpful to him.
That was when she saw his twisted, suffering expression.
"What's wrong, Adam? You look like you just pulled the world's biggest pile of garbage."
Adam looked at her, opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"Nothing much… I just realized I might actually be the unluckiest person alive."
***
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