Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 894 - : Atrum and Medea

What is a nouveau riche?

A nouveau riche is someone who has acquired considerable wealth in a short period, often used to describe someone whose cultural and moral standards haven't kept pace with their newfound wealth. Unlike aristocrats and established families, the term carries a derogatory connotation.

A similar term is upstart, but unlike the clear derogatory tone of nouveau riche, this term is more neutral and sometimes even carries a hint of praise.

Atrum and his family, the Galliasta, defined themselves this way. They considered themselves the new elite of both the financial and magical worlds, people who were in tune with the times and destined to replace those old, decaying families and lead the new era.

In Atrum's eyes, those who clung to their history and glory, and used these to set barriers and look down on others, were laughable. They were bound to be swept away by the tides of time.

Just look at the world's leading powers. How many years of history does the world's only superpower, the United States, have? And yet, it has become the world's dominant force. In contrast, what influence remains of the British Empire, which once ruled the world and was known as the empire on which the sun never sets?

"I will become the United States of the magical and financial worlds, while those so-called noble families will decline just like Britain."

Atram had never doubted himself, even after suffering a setback during the Iselma incident, where he was thoroughly humiliated by a group of young people.

The young people from the El-Melloi classroom were also considered upstart. Like Atrum, Waver had no prominent background or long history, rising from an insignificant student to his current status. In comparison, Atrum had far better resources and talent. If Waver could achieve greatness, why couldn't he?

That's why Atrum had come to Fuyuki City, the place where a lord and a Crownless Lord had once struggled. He intended to start here, achieve enough merit, and return to the Clock Tower in glory, reclaiming the face he had lost!

To this end, he invested an astronomical amount of money and made thorough preparations. He spared no expense in obtaining a top-tier catalyst, the Golden Fleece, to summon his Servant. He even bought an entire commercial building in Fuyuki's New City district to set up his workshop.

After the workshop was initially completed, he gradually brought his subordinates and equipment into the workshop, ready to act. Shinji was not wrong when he said Atrum had restrained himself. Indeed, Atrum had toned it down a bit, opting to keep a low profile after arriving in Fuyuki by private jet. If it had been any other place, he would have not only flown in by private jet but also arranged a grand motorcade comparable to a head of state's entourage.

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Everything was for the sake of winning the Holy Grail War. Everything was to show the Clock Tower his power!

From beginning to end, he never entertained the thought of failure. After all, this was just a small ritual—how many strong opponents could it attract?

Waver Velvet lost because he was weak back then.

Lord El-Melloi's disappearance was part of some other scheme. Just look at how the El-Melloi faction is thriving now, almost on par with the three great families.

But Atum Galliasta was different. He wasn't scheming anything, and he was strong enough. Aside from another person sent by the Clock Tower, he didn't consider anyone else his rival.

Now, everything was ready. All that was left was to summon a Servant and secure his ticket to the war.

"Proclaim—"

On the night of his arrival in Fuyuki City, Atrum, feeling no sleepiness, stood before the summoning circle drawn with various precious materials, pressing his hand against his Command Seals while loudly chanting the incantation obtained from the Association.

In an instant, thunder and lightning flashed as unimaginable amounts of magical energy pierced through the boundary between worlds, bringing a manifestation of myth and legend from a distant realm to the present.

"Servant Caster, Medea. Pleased to meet you, Master."

Seeing the woman standing in the center of the summoning circle, her face hidden beneath a cloak, and hearing her speak her true name in such a pleasant voice, Atrum clenched his fists in excitement.

It succeeded. The summoning was successful. I've obtained the strongest trump card. Victory is within my grasp!

However, this good mood didn't last long before it was utterly destroyed by a series of crushing blows.

First, his initial objective was not met. Although Medea was a hero associated with dragons, due to the limitations of her era and the burning of the Golden Fleece catalyst, she couldn't display her ability to command dragons.

Second was Medea's attitude. Like Kayneth ten years ago, Atrum viewed Servants as little more than familiars. So what if they were heroes? They were just strong beings with their own will, but ultimately, they still had to rely on the Master's magical energy.

But once he summoned a Servant and witnessed their power, he realized how wrong he was—terribly wrong!

Before Medea even made a move, Atrum had condescendingly declared that as a magus, he was ready to suppress all other Masters. He had eagerly shown Medea the Galliasta family's secret arts, which was also why he had purchased a building in Fuyuki City and built a workshop there.

It was an ancient form of magecraft that generated mana at the cost of life itself, using the lesser source, the life force inherent in living beings, as the sacrifice. By sacrificing living beings, the lesser source could be extracted and refined into magical energy crystals for his use. As long as there were enough sacrifices, he could obtain an endless supply of magical energy.

To this end, Atrum had purchased a large number of living sacrifices through his family's human trafficking network—after all, in the war-torn Middle East, no one cared if a few people went missing. This was his trump card for victory.

What he didn't expect was that his greatest reliance, the source of his confidence, would be utterly dismissed by his Servant.

"Using life to create crystals of this level is the work of a third-rate magus."

With these words, Medea casually waved her hand over Atrum's carefully designed and proudly modernized altar, producing a magical energy crystal dozens of times more potent than what six living sacrifices could generate—purer and more effective.

"What did you do?"

Atrum could hardly believe his eyes, crying out in disbelief.

"How did you produce mana out of thin air in an empty furnace?"

"Out of nothing? For modern magus like you, there truly is nothing to see. The techniques for generating magical energy are on a different level—no, a different dimension entirely."

Medea's tone was calm, like plain water, but to Atrum, it was grating. It was a complete negation of his life and efforts. He struggled, questioning her.

"Then... then what about the incantations? I designed this workshop specifically to reduce the time needed for incantations!"

"I don't need incantations. For me, magecraft is nothing more than issuing a command."

Her tone remained flat, but the more it stayed that way, the worse Atrum felt.