Chapter 15 – １５ – Ordinary Masquerade Class

Entrance Ceremony Arc

Back when Naru was taking his first Masquerade class alone.

The 299 new students of this year had been gathered on the Duel Academy grounds.

By the second day, small cliques were already beginning to form among the new students, and their gazes were fixed on the teacher standing atop a platform on the field.

“Hmm. It is time. Very well, we shall begin the Masquerade class. First, a self-introduction: I am Ajitori Tento. I will be overseeing your Masquerade classes for the next three years. As you can see, I am a man of practical application, but I am well-versed in theory as well, so please feel free to come to me with any questions.”

The teacher’s name was Ajitori Tento.

He was a man standing two meters tall with a heavily muscled physique.

Despite not using a megaphone, he continued to speak in a booming voice that could be heard across the entire grounds, which encompassed a 400-meter track.

“Now, what I want you all to do today is activate your Masquerade and simply run laps around this field. You will do this until you can no longer maintain your Masked Form and the Masquerade is deactivated. That is truly all there is to it.”

“???”

Several students tilted their heads at Ajitori’s words.

Their expressions seemed to ask: What is the point of doing something like that?

“Hmm, hmm. It is only natural to feel doubt. However, for a Duelist, it is also important to think through those doubts on your own. That said… let’s see. Since this is the first time, I will tell you this much: this is the most efficient method imaginable to train you. Rest assured, and run until your limit.”

“…”

The reactions to Ajitori’s words varied.

Some continued to tilt their heads, some didn’t bother hiding their dissatisfied expressions, some looked as if they weren’t thinking of anything at all, some seemed convinced regardless of the intent, some peered at the faces of those around them, some showed eagerness, and others lost their motivation. It was a textbook example of “ten people, ten colors.”

However, the fact that none of them were wasting breath with idle chatter suggested that most of them were high-achieving students gathered from all over the country.

“Now, to make it easy to measure the distance and time you run, please either hold or attach this tag to your wrist. It’s a wonderful piece of equipment that measures everything automatically.”

Tags with long strings were distributed to the students.

These tags were special items that would not be caught in the owner’s Masquerade; they contained an IC chip that automatically recorded who entered the track, when they ran, and when they exited.

“As for the running order, the nine members of the A-Rank Magic Capacity group will start all at once. Then, once they have run about half a lap, we’ll start the B-Rank Evaluated group… let’s say, twelve people to start. After that, anyone whose Masquerade is deactivated must quickly move off the track. In accordance with that, the next person will enter the track and run.”

The students moved according to Ajitori’s instructions.

The nine who had received an A-Rank Evaluation in the Magic Capacity Examination during their third year of middle school lined up side-by-side at the starting point.

Seven of the nine were wearing hoods for Masquerade Activation Assist. The remaining two—a girl with a red ponytail, Morikuni Tomoe, and a black-haired male student, Fuchibeni Yoshio—were not wearing hoods.

Their appearance almost seemed to proclaim that these two were already a step ahead of the other A-Rank holders.

“Now, begin!”

“Masquerade Activation!”

And they were right.

At Ajitori’s signal, the nine students activated their Masquerades simultaneously, donning their Masked Forms.

Then, even before the transformation was complete, two shadows bolted forward, pulling ahead of the other students.

“Can you keep up with me?”

One was a girl clad in full Japanese armor known as tosei-gusoku, with black-turned hair spilling from the gaps in her helmet, running while carrying a naginata on her shoulder… Morikuni Tomoe’s Masked Form.

Her stride was light; it was clear within a few steps that she was accustomed not only to the Masquerade but to running itself.

“Don’t make me laugh. You’re the one who’ll be keeping up with me. I’ll show you that it’s not just about the difference in Magic Capacity.”

The other was a young man wearing a gold vest and protectors over a black full-body tights suit, the upper half of his face hidden by a golden mask… Fuchibeni Yoshio’s Masked Form.

His stride was not as steady as Morikuni’s, but it was certainly not slow enough to fall behind.

“Transformation complete—whoa, so fast!?”

“Let’s follow them!”

“Right on it!!”

Chasing after the two, the other A-Rank group members began to run.

Their appearances were wildly diverse: some wore full-body suits with helmets of a specific color scheme, some wore a full set of ceremonial military uniforms, one looked like a total sukeban delinquent, and another had a fluffy, fuzzy form that looked entirely unfit for running.

“Eh, huh? Whoa, what is this?”

“So this is the power of the Masquerade!”

“My stride feels so light!?”

As they continued to run, they quickly began to notice their own abnormality—their speed.

✧

To give an example:

In the actual year 2023, the record for a 100-meter footrace for Japanese high school boys is roughly 10 seconds for the fastest.

An average student runs it in 14 seconds, while a slower student takes 18 seconds.

Tokuto, who was running at the front of the seven A-Rankers, had been a baseball player in middle school. While not as fast as someone in the track and field club, he was certainly faster than the average student; based on the previous example, his 100-meter time would be around 12 to 13 seconds.

✧

And now, having activated his Masquerade and donned his Masked Form, Tokuto… finished 100 meters in under 10 seconds.

Not only that, but the next 100 meters, and the one after that, and the one after that—he finished each in under 10 seconds, completing a full lap of the track.

Even then, he wasn’t out of breath and was able to continue running in peak condition.

“This is the Masquerade! Can physical abilities really increase this much!?”

“I mean, at this rate, if I just keep the same pace, I feel like I could go until my magic power runs out.”

“I-I wasn’t really that good at sports, but it changes this much!?”

Furthermore, the outfits Tokuto and the others were wearing could hardly be called suitable for running.

Despite that, they even had the leisure to talk.

This was a sight sufficient for not only Tokuto and his peers but for anyone watching to truly feel the power of the Masquerade.

However, because everyone felt that power, there were also things they were forced to realize.

“Why did I put horns on this thing?! They’re in the way!!”

“I don’t know how to run on all fours!”

“Carrying this equipment while running is brutal!”

For instance, they realized which parts of the Masked Forms they had created on the first day were hindering their movement.

“Ugyaa!?”

“Wait, don’t just suddenly trip!?”

“Migyaaa!?”

For instance, they realized that if they couldn’t control their suddenly spiked physical abilities, it would result in things like falling.

“W-we started after them, and yet…”

“My magic power is already gone…”

“T-this is the difference in Magic Capacity…”

For instance, they realized how much the difference in Magic Capacity changed the amount of time they could maintain a Masquerade.

“Hmm. The students are all beginning to notice. How excellent a teaching tool this running exercise is.”

What they could do, what they couldn’t, what they should trim away, and what they should add… and why A-Rank Magic Capacity Holders are given preferential treatment. The students learned these things through direct experience.

These realizations were exactly what this class aimed for.

“Haa, haa… damn. I’m at my limit.”

“M-me too. Ah, damn it, among these three, I should have the most Magic Capacity.”

“Hee-hee-foo, hee-hee-soo…”

After running for a while—about ten minutes in total—the A-Rank group, including Tokuto, began to drop out… yet two shadows continued to run at the same pace they had maintained from the start.

“Why don’t you just give up? Setting aside Magic Capacity, it’s already obvious that my basic physical strength is superior to yours.”

“Don’t underestimate me! I can still run! You’re the one who should give up!”

It was Morikuni and Fuchibeni.

The two weren’t just running; they were repeatedly provoking each other and were even accelerating.

At this point, their time to run 100 meters had already dropped below 8 seconds, and they were maintaining that stability.

The conclusion came after nearly twenty minutes of running.

“D-damn it… I… to a girl…”

“Sss… fuuu… that was a nice run…”

It happened when Fuchibeni reached his limit of magic power and dropped out.

After the Masquerade deactivated, he collapsed on the spot, exhausted to the point that the teacher had to hurry to recover him.

Even after Fuchibeni fell, Morikuni continued to run for a while longer, deactivating her Masquerade only when her Magic Capacity hit its limit.

However, her stride remained steady even after deactivation, and she even had the composure to smile and wave to the spectators. It was a sight sufficient for anyone to recognize the gap in class… the strength of the girl who would have been the top Magic Capacity holder among the new students if Naru weren’t there.

✧

Because they had been shown such a sight, someone whispered.

“If those two could run that much, I wonder how insane it would be for Midorikawa… the A-Ranker who didn’t show up today?”

Hearing that whisper, someone else whispered.

“No, wait. Having Magic Capacity alone is meaningless if you can’t use it. Maybe he’s not that big a deal in actual practice.”

The conversation continued.

“This time they just ran. We don’t know what would happen if they actually had a Duel on stage.”

“Even looking at past records, it’s common for someone with nothing but high Magic Capacity to be easily defeated.”

“Maybe we’ll be able to get that kind of power too.”

“I heard he’s not appearing because he’s taking special lessons.”

“Ms. Morikuni is already decided as the representative for the first-years. After all, she’s the ace of the next generation.”

These words were clipped, or misinterpreted, and passed on to unexpected people.

“I… I am strong! I am superior! I am the chosen one! Next time, I’ll prove it!!”

And so, someone made a resolution.