Chapter 87 – ８７ – Preparations for the May Duel

Sports Festival Arc

Now, the events for the Sports Festival had been decided, and practice had begun.

However, being a student at the National Duel Academy means one cannot focus on just a single thing.

“Hmm?”

“You’ve got a message.”

The notification arrived during dinner.

Consequently, I paused my meal for a moment to check my smartphone.

Let’s see… the title of the message was “Regarding the Duel Schedule for May.”

As for the content… it seems my duel has been scheduled for this Friday afternoon.

Since this affects my Masquerade class grades, forfeiting would mean my marks would drop accordingly.

“Naru. Who is your opponent?”

“Uh, the name listed is Greater Arm.”

“Hmm…”

I told them the opponent’s name.

The moment I did, Suzu looked as if she had sensed something, Ichi looked as if she had remembered something, and Marie looked as if she had realized something.

Their expressions only served to confuse me further…

“A first-year from Kou-U Dormitory. Magic Capacity is around 900. He has a Masked Form characterized by a massive weapon and oversized arms. In terms of raw striking power alone, he’s above Tomoe, so they probably intend to use him as a touchstone to see how much damage he can deal to you, Naru.”

“In his debut match, even with a Skill, he blew away an opponent holding a shield in a single hit through their defense. However, I believe everything other than his attack power was at a general level or lower. In short, he has a Masked Form specialized for offense.”

“If the goal is simply to win, Naru could win just by running away. However, given that they specifically paired you together, what is being demanded of Naru is not evasion, but rather taking the attack head-on and enduring it. It is convenient for Naru’s training, but it is far too blatant.”

“Hieee…”

Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information provided by Suzu and the others, my voice overlapped with those of the surrounding students who had been eavesdropping.

“Hmm? Are you scared, Naru?”

“I’m scared of the amount of information you guys have…”

I mean, I just gave a name, and suddenly I’m presented with his affiliation, approximate Magic Capacity, the appearance of his Masked Form, his combat style, and even the intent behind the pairing… I really didn’t expect that.

“I hope I’m mistaken, but do you happen to have information on every single student?”

“Now that would be impossible. I don’t have the time or the hands for that, Naru. There are some people who haven’t even appeared in a debut match yet. The people I know are… those considered highly skilled even among the A-Rank Evaluated like Ms. Morikuni, or people with distinct characteristics like this Greater Arm.”

“I-I see…”

“I do know everyone in Inui Dormitory, though.”

“!?”

I suppose that’s exactly what I should expect from Suzu.

Wait, is this level of information not just the result of Ichi and Marie’s cooperation?

I have a feeling they might also be receiving help from the second and third-year senior, like Ms. Maruta…

Regardless, it’s a story that leaves me unable to stop my cheek from twitching.

“It’s okay, Naru. I’m not thinking of using it for anything malicious.”

“Well, I trust you, so that’s fine.”

“We won’t leak it unnecessarily, Mr. Naru.”

“Yeah, I trust you too, so that’s fine.”

“Marie and the others will only use it to achieve victory.”

“I-I see. Just… keep it in moderation. It is personal information, after all.”

Perhaps—or more likely—the fact that they’re bringing this up now is a kind of warning.

Or maybe it’s a form of information warfare?

For now, I’ll just warn them not to overdo it and make too many enemies.

“Uh, so. Is it okay for me to have the information on Greater Arm?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. But just keep in mind that since you’re his opponent, he’s likely poured all his Device and Skill points into firepower. Make sure you distinguish between the parts that are useful as a reference and the parts that aren’t.”

“I see.”

I received the information on Greater Arm from Suzu.

I see.

He has a massive, muscular upper body and carries a giant weapon.

And in his debut match, it was a one-hit KO, just as Ichi said.

In terms of simple burst damage, it does feel like he could rival one of Tomoe’s strikes.

On the other hand, his mobility and defense seem low; it seems he won his debut match largely because his opponent prioritized defense.

If he brings a Custom Device that focuses on firepower, and his Skill is similar… I see, he could be a threat.

However, conversely, if I can take this head-on, I can probably assume that no other first-year can break through my defense using legitimate one-on-one means.

I see… This really is a touchstone just as Suzu said, and as Marie mentioned, it seems convenient as a training partner.

“Oh, Naru. Just so you know, Greater Arm won’t be using a Custom Device.”

“Really?”

“He’s not from Ms. Morikuni’s family, so it’s simply not possible for him to have one in time. Among the current first-years, the only ones who might have Custom Devices are the A-Ranks—Ms. Morikuni, Ms. Hitsujiuta, and Kibitsu—and maybe a dozen or so B-Ranks whose parents are active professional Duelists with ties to Device companies.”

“Which means?”

“It just means he’s using a commercially available Device that suits him well and is geared toward attack.”

“I see.”

It seems I was being a bit overly cautious.

Well, it doesn’t change what I have to do, so I guess it’s fine.

As a side note, it seems there are grades to Custom Devices.

Owners of the highest grade—those whose Devices are custom-made from the design level, like the one I’m having Silk Cloud make—are said to be very few.

Mostly, they are just existing Devices that have been tuned to fit the individual user.

Furthermore, it’s quite common for the users themselves to do the tuning rather than having a professional do it.

As for Greater Arm, considering his skill and family connections, he’s likely just using a compatible commercial product without any tuning.

To be honest, that’s the case for most Duelists.

Since this doesn’t cause any problems, and while it doesn’t increase performance, it absolutely doesn’t decrease it either.

“By the way, do we learn how to tune them at the academy…?”

“There are classes for high-achievers or those who are particularly obsessed, and there are books in the library. But for you, Naru, it’s unnecessary—or rather, it’s better if you don’t mess with it.”

“Those kinds of books assume the user has a general magical power nature.”

“Yes. That’s why I think Mr. Naru should avoid it.”

“Ah, right.”

Apparently, considering my magical power nature, this is a field I should stay away from.

Well, since I can change my outfit as I like, I can just make the necessary adjustments there.

As a final side note:

There are 75 students per grade in Inui Dormitory, totaling 225 students across three grades.

Among them, there are five A-Rank Evaluated, including Naru, and the rest are B-Rank Evaluated.