Chapter 10

As the sky grew darker, Shinji Matou, having completed his daily physical training and routine tasks, lay down by the riverbank, panting heavily and continuously complaining in his heart.

"Damn it, every time the daily tasks come up, this damn system seals all my powers as a mage, leaving me exhausted and without even the strength to climb ashore."

[Grandson, this is all for your own good. Endure the hardest of hardships, and you'll rise above others.]

"Shut up, don't talk to me, I don't want to hear anything from you."

[In that case, you probably don't want to activate the lottery feature either. Well, well, I...]

"What are you talking about? It's an honor to speak with you!"

[Call me grandpa.]

"Hmph! What do you take me for?"

Shinji Matou snorted in his heart while struggling to climb up the riverbank.

"You think I, an African luck person, would give up the lottery feature for a bit of dignity?!"

[If you don't want it, then forget it.]

"Grandpa!"

[...]

Lying on the lawn, Shinji Matou looked at the lottery interface on the system page.

[Lottery rules: one free chance refreshes monthly.]

[Additionally, you can use points to draw up to ten times a month.]

[First draw costs 100 points, the second draw multiplies by ten, and so on.]

[PS: Ten consecutive draws guarantee an epic item! The free chance is highly unlikely to yield anything!]

"Damn it!" Shinji Matou cursed silently at the last note. "What a scam! In the previous life, no system novel I read had a system as lousy as mine! Not only are the task rewards pitifully low, but the lottery is a rip-off too!"

After a quick glance at the prizes on the wheel, Shinji Matou noticed that most were items worth a few hundred points in the points store. With a sigh, he clicked the start button.

Three seconds later, seeing the pointer land on a bottle of brain-dead pills, Shinji Matou's eye twitched uncontrollably.

[Grandson, want to draw again? You have 1100 points left, enough for two more draws.]

Seeing the lottery wheel now with a few more high-end items, Shinji Matou nervously used his mind to click start.

As 100 points were deducted in an instant, Shinji Matou felt as if his heart was bleeding.

Three seconds later, seeing the pointer land on brain-dead pills again, Shinji Matou suddenly felt the urge to slap himself.

"How can this be? I clearly have true European blood in this life! This is unreasonable!"

[Want to draw again? I have a feeling you'll get something rare next time.]

"Draw your head! No more! I'm going home, not playing anymore!"

[Not satisfied with the items? You can resell them to the points store.]

"Hmm?" Suddenly interested, Shinji Matou thought, "If I sell a bottle of brain-dead pills for 100 points, even with depreciation, two bottles at 80% can still earn me 60 points!"

"How much is the depreciation?" Shinji Matou asked with some anticipation.

[30% value.]

Smack!

The slap Shinji Matou had promised himself finally landed.

After roughly drying off with a towel from his bag, Shinji Matou was about to put on his clothes when he caught sight of Sakura standing on the riverbank.

"Has she finished watching the high jump?"

As Shinji Matou thought this, the FSN plot was finally about to begin, with only four years left until the next Holy Grail War. The main task deadline was also just four years away.

He had no choice but to prepare with all his might.

The main task was mandatory and came with penalties; failing it had a 90% chance of turning him into a vegetable, and he didn't dare gamble on the 10% chance.

Meanwhile, watching Shinji Matou and Sakura slowly leave one after the other, Rin turned and quietly walked away from them.

By the way, Shirou was still at the school field trying to clear the high jump.

And he still hadn't cleared it.

Time seemed to...

In short, two and a half years had passed! Four months ago, Shinji Matou, who had entered the same high school as Shirou—Homurahara Academy, found his life no different from middle school.

However, the high school teacher, Shirou's good neighbor and sister figure, Fujimura Taiga, was clearly on a different level compared to the middle school teacher, Yuuko.

Her resentment towards Shinji Matou for frequently skipping classes was deep.

Every time, like a real tiger, she would chase Shinji Matou all over the campus, trying to correct him.

Attendance was also simple; only Shinji Matou's name was called. If someone responded, it meant everyone was present; if no one responded, she would secretly note it down and use force the next time she saw Shinji Matou!

But it was all in vain.

Skipping classes had become part of Shinji Matou's life.

Of course, Shinji Matou had changed a bit. For instance, he was now 1.73 meters tall, far surpassing his 1.67-meter height in the settings, and had spent half a year learning swordsmanship with Fujimura Taiga.

He also spent three months at Ryuudou Temple, undergoing rigorous training for a regular task, where he met Issei Ryuudou.

It was said that after Shinji Matou's rigorous training ended, Issei's father, the muscle-bound head monk, almost tearfully wanted Shinji Matou to stay, reasoning that he had never seen such a hardworking, resilient, and exceptionally talented child!

Shinji Matou wanted to tell him it was the system driving him, but he gave up in the end.

Thus, Shinji Matou and Issei had a pretty good relationship, at least before high school.

After entering high school, Issei, now part of the student council, became the primary enforcer of capturing and educating Shinji Matou, with Taiga as the secondary enforcer.

Also, Shinji Matou's stock holdings were increasing.

Now, Zouken Matou had even abandoned his only hobby, stock trading, leaving it all to Shinji Matou.

Compared to Zouken, Shinji Matou was much better at it and yielded terrifyingly high returns.

For Shinji Matou, since all this money would eventually be his, how could he not manage it well?

With some memories from his previous life and combining them with the real situation in this world, in just a few years, Shinji Matou had multiplied the value of the stocks he obtained countless times.

He even secretly founded a holding company, becoming the president of a company, investing in various projects and starting operations in industries, like the biggest amusement park in Fuyuki City, set to break ground this month.

As for the Matou family's spiritual lands across the country, they were mainly managed by Zouken, though Shinji Matou took on many burdens to ease his father's pressure. Yet, his cheap father still drank excessively due to the stress.

Over the years, Shinji Matou had advised Zouken to drink less more than once, but it was useless, and the latter continued to drink all night.

Eventually, Shinji Matou stopped trying.

In the summer of 2002, in early September, just after the summer vacation ended.

With less than a year and a half left until the Fifth Holy Grail War.

Even during the summer vacation, Shinji Matou had a packed schedule. After the school year started, he still didn't settle down, skipping a week of classes after attending the first day of school.

Just as Shinji Matou was busy dealing with various tasks, Shirou suddenly asked him out.

On a scorching summer day, in a café in Fuyuki City.

Seeing Shirou sitting opposite him with a cast on his right hand, Shinji Matou suddenly remembered something he had forgotten due to his recent busyness.

"This guy got injured around this time!"

He had previously reminded Shirou to be careful while working, but it turned out to be fate indeed!