A Certain Elite in a Holy Grail War

Prologue

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka

I woke up to a new day, as mundane as always. Although the tasks given to me vary from day to day, the outcome has stayed the same.

All I've been doing is survival.

I walked out of my quarters, a pure white world with but a single bed given to me. Once, there were multiple of these same beds. Now, they're all gone. The last one left only a few years ago.

An instructor's voice filled my ear, describing the routine I'd be undergoing today. Today is a rather physically oriented day, without a lot of magical or academic tasks.

I was ordered to head to the cafeteria first. I had to eat a nutritious but bland breakfast. Compared to the other things I've eaten, there isn't much difference.

This facility is owned and operated by my father, a mage. I've heard that he's neither very talented nor from a well known family. He was, in other words, a have-not. Almost everything about him is average, apart from just one thing. His ambition.

All mages wish to reach the Root. It's said that you'd obtain true Magic once you reach that place. My father, in his own way, is trying to get there as well.

His facility, the White Room, trains and educates children at a young age to become a perfect human. Other than that, there's also his research into homunculus. He works with many other mages from different departments within the Clock Tower to create them, and even works with some well-known families.

I'm just another one of his projects. Another test subject. My usefulness extends to the data I give to the researchers.

I finish eating, as it'll soon be the time to receive my first task.

Before my physical tasks, I'll do one that tests my history. The reason is because of the short time period between my breakfast and my tasks.

Doing physical tasks immediately after breakfast isn't ideal, after all.

I head to the testing room, another blank room with only one desk in the middle. Whether the blank interior was to rid myself of distractions or not isn't known to me.

A testing paper is placed on my desk.

I quickly skim over the paper before systematically and methodically filling out the answers.

A majority of the questions were regarding the history of mages, and even about the different eras.

Some different questions caught my eyes. Ones regarding the outside world, rather than the monotonous history of it.

They explained the complex intricacies of society. Humanity, Mages, and Servants. Humanity, the inventions and innovations created that allowed them to prosper. Mages, their magecraft and their eternal pursuit towards the Root.

Finally, Servants. Familiars that served the mages. Mostly Heroic Spirits, often coming from the crevices of history. They serve the Masters, mages who partake in a Holy Grail War.

There are 7 different classes of servants, each with their own unique skill sets.

This sort of information is almost common knowledge amongst some mages, yet incredible to me.

Servants... I want to see them.

I suppose it would be impossible for me to get the chance. For now, I'm stuck in this cage, forever enhancing my abilities.

For the rest of the day, I couldn't get my mind off of these "Servants". Even whilst exercising or taking tests, I thought about the enormous possibility of these servants.