"Trial? You mean this Holy Grail War?"
"Yes. Don't be so quick to show your displeasure. I know you're upset, but listen to what I have to say."
Shirou waved his hand, signaling Shinji to stay calm.
"It's true that you're improving very quickly, but at your current speed you won't be able to catch up with your teacher even if you were given a thousand years."
"So exaggerated?"
"It's just that exaggerated. Indeed, improving strength is like climbing a mountain. The higher you go, the harder it is to walk, but it doesn't mean standing still. Your teacher is not a fantasy person who sleeps in her nest all day. Although she says, 'Where is the person who can kill me?', she still insists on training every day, and has been doing so for thousands of years. Even if she only gets a little stronger every day, she is still making progress. Don't say that you haven't reached her level yet. Even if you do, do you think you can walk faster than her?"
"..." Shinji was speechless, and after a while he shook his head and said, "No."
There are several major factors that determine the speed of strength improvement: talent, mentality, hard work, and luck. Except for the last point, Scathach is much stronger than Shinji, and luck is too illusory and can only be encountered by chance. Unless you really hit the jackpot, there is no hope in ten thousand years, let alone a thousand years.
"So, if you really want to defeat her, conventional methods won't work. You have to use something unconventional, such as origin and magic. Origin is the power of continuous accumulation, which can greatly shorten the time gap between you and your teacher. Magic is a mysterious beyond the norm, with infinite possibilities. Zhu Yue's defeat at the hands of the old man with gemstones is the best example."
"You are a little too cautious in your cultivation. You are not sure whether you have an 'origin' as a time traveler, and you are afraid of being dominated by the impulse of origin, so you have been unwilling to dig deeper in this area. However, you don't know that the contract with Yustisa and the advent of Perseus have already activated your 'origin'. And your 'origin' is related to the third magic. If you don't deliberately refuse it, perhaps there won't be so many twists and turns."
Shirou said this sincerely, but Shinji was not satisfied.
"So, what you did before was all for me to awaken the Origin? To help me comprehend my own magic? There's no need to resort to such an extreme method. You can just talk to me nicely. As long as the Jewel Master asks, I will definitely do it."
"He—? He won't tell you. Just look at his useless disciples and you'll know his character. If you can't achieve it, it's because you're stupid—and it's not just about the 'origin' and magic."
As he spoke, Shirou's expression darkened.
"Before, you were more like a madman who relied on the advantage of being a prophet, charging around recklessly, never suffered any loss, and had a condescending sense of superiority. But you are not invincible after all, and those old monsters who have lived for thousands of years are not useless. In the long run, when the advantage of being a prophet no longer exists, you will have problems sooner or later, and they will be big problems that can kill you or even your whole family - do you think those old guys can't do it? Not everyone is as open-minded as the old man with the gem."
"I... "
Shirou's words made Shinji break out in a cold sweat.
Looking back on his previous behavior, it was really like this. Perhaps at the beginning, because of his own weakness and uncertainty about the development of the situation, he was still cautious and vigilant. But later, as his calculations succeeded again and again, his own strength and power gradually increased, his mentality inevitably relaxed, and he acted more and more casually. Surviving from the hands of "White Wing Lord", one of the oldest dead disciples, made his mentality inflated to the extreme, and he completely forgot that without the secret help of "Jewel Man", he might have died.
If things continue to develop in this way, once the big guys among the twenty-seven ancestors really take it seriously, what will happen to me? You know, the Type-Moon world is far from as beautiful as it looks in anime novels.
Looking at Shinji's frightened look, Shirou finally smiled.
"Do you understand?"
"Understood."
Many times, people are so mean that they won't listen to anything when they feel good about themselves. Only by beating them up and shattering their own fantasies and pride can they calm down and truly grow.
"It's good that you understand. If you understand, you will pass this trial."
"What if, I mean what if, I don't pass?"
"You didn't pass. I'm afraid that's all you can do for the rest of your life. You'll never reach the level of your teacher. At best, I'll ask old man Gem to keep you safe for the rest of your life for my sake."
Shinji lowered his head, his expression constantly changing, sometimes angry, sometimes depressed, sometimes sad, sometimes crazy, and finally turned into a word: "Thank you."
Just as Shirou expected, after this hurdle, there would be no hatred, only resentment and dissatisfaction at most. Maybe the two could not become friends, but they would not become mortal enemies either.
"You don't have to thank me. Although my intentions were good, I did go a little too far in the process. Maybe it's because I adjusted my mentality to that of a 17-year-old. In fact, I should be thanking you for not chopping me off just now."
"I still want to say thank you, even if not for me, then for the family without me."
A kid who hasn't even graduated from high school went to work, and in Shirou's shop? And he remitted all his salary to his parents in his previous life? Is it possible without Shirou's secret support
This point also hit Shinji's soft spot. After all, he was not open-minded enough to be indifferent to praise or criticism. Even if Shirou really did it for his own good, he really couldn't accept such a method. Even if he couldn't do anything to him now, he would definitely retaliate in the future.
But in recognition of the kindness of secretly taking care of his parents, Shinji would never seek revenge. That was his biggest concern for his previous life, the family bond that could never be severed. He hoped that they would be safe and happy, even though he was no longer here.
In response to this thank you, Shirou just smiled: "Didn't I say it? Good people are rewarded. You are a good person, so you traveled through time. She is a good person, so I helped her. I helped you, and I did something good, so I got a reward."
"Your reward?"
"Yes, this store has special meaning to me, so I need someone I can trust to look after it while I'm away. I wanted to call my sister over, but her form... Anyway, that girl saved me a lot of trouble. As for you - your presence itself is a reward."
"Well, I'm a little confused."
"Listen to my explanation and you won't be confused. As you know, there are many world lines in the Type-Moon Universe, such as the world you are in that is similar to "Fate Zero", the outside "Fate Apocrypha", and the world of Mooe/Extra. Some of these world lines are very similar, and some will have different developments, but no matter how they develop, for the Earth and for mankind, they will all usher in a common end—"
Shirou poured wine into his mouth helplessly, while Shinji swallowed his saliva involuntarily and said the name of the end in unison.
"—'Earth of Steel'!"
PS: Although the Type-Moon world promotes love, friendship, and justice, the original "Tsuki-hime" and "Fate" games have far more bad endings than happy endings.
PS2: FGO mentioned the example of the Master's increasing strength. Today's Big Dog is already able to kill the Master of that time, but - the Master has grown again, so Big Dog is in tragedy again.