24: Chapter 24 Strategist, Time to Work Overtime

The explosive popularity of "FGO" on Blue Star not only drove a traffic frenzy across the entire Youxing Network platform but also fostered an extremely hardcore "academic discussion" atmosphere among the player base.

After experiencing the initial clearing of Fuyuki City, the "flying dragons to the face" in France, and the liver-bursting hell of Da Vinci's infinite lottery, the average progression level of the players finally improved.

As a large number of players began to possess multiple max-level Servants, the first "FGO All-Servant Strength Tier List," co-produced by high-end players, made its debut on the Youxing Forum.

The top T0 tier of the list was undisputedly dominated by a few names:

[Saber Artoria]: An impeccable heavy-armored ground meat grinder, with her ultimate move "Excalibur" washing the entire screen.

[Archer Gilgamesh]: Invincible anti-air, fire suppression with the Gate of Babylon, everything can be shot.

[Saber Siegfried]: Dragon-slayer trait, the eternal god for specific stages.

However, at the very bottom of this list, in the place jokingly called the "sewer (T3 tier)" by players, lay a five-star SSR card radiating brilliant golden light.

[Caster Zhuge Kongming (El-Melloi II)]

In the Shark Stream Room, PD was letting out a helpless long sigh at the Zhuge Kongming he had just pulled on screen.

"Brothers, I got spooked again. A double gold in a ten-pull, and it turns out both are this damn strategist."

PD opened Zhuge Kongming's status screen with a face full of disdain:

"Look at this status. As a five-star Caster, his normal attack's magic damage is outrageously low! His ultimate, 'Stone Sentinel Maze,' doesn't even deal any damage; it's all freaking slows and crowd control!"

"The most frustrating part is his skills, [Discernment of the Spirit], [Tactician's Advice]... they're all buff skills that add attack, defense, and a tiny bit of skill points (SP) to teammates."

"I spent thousands of yuan to pull a five-star, is it just to have him stand on the high ground and cheer for others?"

The bullet chat was also filled with agreement:

"Indeed, this card is simply the shame of five-stars."

"In a tower defense game, the pressure on the defensive line is so high, and high-ground spots are extremely valuable. You definitely want to place high-burst Casters or Archers! Putting a support with no damage is just occupying a spot without doing anything."

"I've already thrown him in the warehouse to gather dust. I advise everyone not to level him up; it's a waste of EXP materials!"

In this parallel world, the players' thinking was still stuck in the shallow logic of "only a Servant who deals damage personally is a good Servant."

They didn't realize at all what the term "Support (Gua)" meant in the Type-Moon world.

Until 8:00 PM that night, the server-wide announcement suddenly lit up, accompanied by an extremely eerie and oppressive Japanese-style BGM.

[Chaldea Emergency: Rashomon Great Grudge Rising — Ultra-High Difficulty Challenge (Raid) Open!]

"Ultra-high difficulty? Just in time!"

Seeing the announcement, PD immediately rubbed his hands in excitement.

He now held a max-level Gilgamesh and Saber in his hands, considering himself invincible.

Without hesitation, he entered the first stage of the Rashomon event, [Oni-Slayer Grade].

The VR screen shifted; a drizzling rain of blood fell from the sky, and an ancient Japanese torii stood at the end of the road.

[Battle Start!]

However, as soon as the battle began, PD and the millions of viewers in the stream felt something was off.

In previous stages, monsters would walk out slowly, leaving players enough time to accumulate Cost to deploy Servants.

But the monsters in Rashomon—those crimson "Oni" wielding spiked clubs—were not only massive and had extremely high health, but their movement speed was as fast as mad dogs!

"Holy crap! What is this movement speed?!"

PD hurriedly deployed Cu Chulainn and Georgios to block the path.

But the Oni's attack power was terrifying to the extreme!

The max-level Georgios, under the siege of three Oni, didn't even last ten seconds. His shield shattered, and he was instantly killed on the spot!

The defensive line collapsed instantly! The Oni roared as they rushed into the blue gate.

[Mission Failed]

"How the hell are you supposed to play this?!"

PD was stunned. "The monsters' movement speed is too fast; heavy-armored units can't hold them at all! We can only rely on the five-star big shots' ultimates to clear the screen!"

He immediately changed his tactics. Holding onto his mana tightly at the start, he finally scraped together 32 Cost and placed Gilgamesh on the high ground.

"Gil! Shoot them dead for me!"

Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon indeed dealt high damage, but the health of these Oni was simply too high. Without using a Noble Phantasm, they couldn't be instantly killed.

PD stared anxiously at the skill point (SP) progress bar above Gilgamesh's portrait.

According to Gilgamesh's attack speed, he needed to stand and output for at least 40 seconds to fully charge his ultimate, [Enuma Elish]!

But the Oni of Rashomon wouldn't give you 40 seconds at all!

"Hurry! Let the ultimate be ready!"

Under PD's despairing gaze, the Oni swarm pushed through Gilgamesh's normal attacks and forced their way through the defensive line.

At this moment, Gilgamesh's ultimate progress bar had only reached a pitiful 50%.

[Mission Failed]

A night passed, and the player forums across Blue Star completely turned into a massive mourning scene.

"Scum devs! Stat inflation! This is definitely stat inflation!"

"The monsters run faster than dogs, their health is thicker than city walls, heavy-armored units can't hold, and ultimates can't be charged! This Rashomon isn't meant for humans to play!"

"Impossible! I declare this stage absolutely impossible! Even with a full team of max-level five-stars, you'll just be instantly trampled by these mad dog Oni!"

Countless high-end players and whales met their downfall at the gates of Rashomon, questioning their lives.

Until the next morning, a video titled "Who Says Rashomon is Impossible? The Man You Trampled into the Sewer is the True God of This World!" was quietly posted by the uploader "White Night."

With extreme reluctance and curiosity, PD clicked on the video.

In the video, White Night's lineup not only included the usual low-star Vanguards and Defenders to survive and generate Cost in the early game, but more strikingly, his two core Servants:

One was the top Berserker praised by the entire internet—[Berserker Vlad III].

The other was the "weakest five-star" being trampled underfoot by the entire internet—[Caster Zhuge Kongming]!

"Bringing a support with no damage to a high-difficulty stage? What is he thinking?"

PD was full of question marks.

The video began to play. In the early stage, White Night used Cu Chulainn and Georgios with extreme difficulty to hold back the first wave of Oni charges, relying on kills to generate Cost and finally accumulating a large amount of mana.

But immediately after, a Boss-level Oni Leader, as large as a small mountain, roared and charged toward the already teetering defensive line with frenzied movement speed and world-destroying attack power.

In a conventional strategy, the Boss must be killed before it contacts the defensive line; otherwise, with one swing of its hammer, the entire defense would melt instantly!

With extremely fast hand speed, White Night deployed Vlad III in the most dangerous melee position, then threw Zhuge Kongming onto the nearby high ground.

Attentive viewers noticed that White Night had equipped Vlad III with a 3-star Craft Essence that usually no one cared about—Dragon's Meridian.

This card's trait was: upon deployment, it starts with an initial 50% skill point (SP) charge!

As a Berserker, Vlad III was extremely fragile, and his Noble Phantasm required a long charging time.

Seeing the frenzied Oni Leader already in front of him, raising its deadly spiked club and about to smash Vlad III into meat paste.

Just then, Zhuge Kongming on the high ground waved the white feather fan in his hand.

Kongming's three god-tier skills: [Discernment of the Spirit], [Tactician's Advice], and [Tactician's Command] were instantly clicked in succession by White Night at this moment!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

An incredible miracle exploded on the retinas of all the players from the other world!

Under the effect of Kongming's skills, a massive 50% mana charge was instantly infused!

The [SP] progress bar above Vlad III's portrait, which was stuck at half-full, suddenly skyrocketed like a rocket, jumping from 50% directly to 100%!!

Fully charged, Noble Phantasm ready!

"Holy shit?!" PD practically launched himself out of his chair.

In the video, only three seconds after deployment, Vlad III, fully buffed by Kongming and with an instant charge, directly unleashed his Noble Phantasm that dealt devastating single-target damage!

"[Kazikli Bey: The Blood-Stained Royal Demon]!!"

Countless blood-red stakes erupted from the ground, instantly impaling the full-health Oni Leader at the front like a pincushion, killing it on the spot!

During this process, Zhuge Kongming's seemingly damage-less Noble Phantasm, [Stone Sentinel Maze], also unfolded.

A massive Bagua formation enveloped the entire field.

The extremely broken group slow + stun effect made the remaining Oni feel as if they had fallen into a swamp, unable to move a single step!

With the support of Kongming's unreasonable instant charge and all-around damage buff and defense debuff.

White Night's "Nuclear Burst" lineup turned the Rashomon high-difficulty stage, which had driven the entire internet to despair, into a one-sided slaughter with no suspense!

The video ended.

"Holy hell!!! What did I just see?! An equipment card comes with 50% charge, and the support fills the other half instantly?!"

"Support... is this the freaking true way to use a support?! Directly eliminating the wind-up time for the main DPS's ultimate?!"

"Kongming lands, and the big boss draws his sword! This is literally 'ignition upon landing'!"

The exposure of the "Power Bank" mechanic completely overturned the fundamental understanding of the game for all players in the parallel world.

They finally understood that while damage-dealing Servants were important in "FGO,"

the "Supports (Gua)" who could allow these damage dealers to ignore rules and wind-up times, instantly unleashing world-destroying power, were the true and only ceiling of this game!

While countless players regretted not leveling Kongming or even pulling for him,

someone silently pointed out another way:

"Brothers... don't forget, in Chaldea's formation system, you can borrow a Friend's Support!"

These words were like opening Pandora's box.

A few minutes later, the few players who had coincidentally leveled Zhuge Kongming to max at the server launch suddenly found their game clients frozen.

Their friend request lists were instantly and completely overwhelmed by players from all over the world!

"Big shot! Please accept my friend request! I want to borrow your Kongming!"

"Father! Kongming is my biological father! Let me borrow him for a charge; I've been stuck on Rashomon for a whole day!"

Over the following week, in the data monitoring room of the network backend, Gu Yi looked at the absurd data report.

The Servant with the highest deployment rate across the server was no longer Gilgamesh, nor was it Saber.

Instead, it was that helpless-looking Zhuge Kongming with the feather fan in his hand.

His server-wide deployment rate was a terrifying 99.8%.

On average, for every player who owned Kongming, their Kongming had to work overtime in various friends' worlds more than 300 times a day!

A parody fan art quickly reached the top of the trending topics on the Youxing Forum.

In the image, Zhuge Kongming had two huge dark circles under his eyes, his soul was escaping from his mouth, and he held a stack of "overtime documents" while being forcibly dragged onto the battlefield by countless red-eyed Masters.

Seeing this familiar ACG meme reappear in such a vivid way in this parallel world, Gu Yi smiled broadly.

"Strategist, time for overtime."