Chapter 95 – ９５ – Prototype 'Silk Cloud Crown' Field Test vs. Marie Gold Cane

Sports Festival Arc

“Now then. Shall we begin? ‘Mana Shoot’.”

The mass of golden magical power released from Marie’s hand flew with the speed of an arrow, heading straight for Naru, who wasn’t even holding up a shield.

The skill ‘Mana Shoot’ is the most basic offensive skill, which simply ejects magical power with minimal processing.

Its greatest feature is fuel efficiency.

Because it possesses only two functions—high-speed ejection and damage to the target—it is exceptionally efficient compared to skills like ‘Fireball,’ which launches a sphere of flame, or ‘Shock Bolt,’ which releases a weak electric shock at a designated location. Even a typical B-Rank Duelist can easily use it thirty to forty times in a single duel.

As for its power, it is roughly equivalent to a normal Masked Form swinging a blunt weapon with all their might. While one cannot expect a one-hit kill, it is fully capable of serving roles such as harassment, chipping away at an opponent, or delivering follow-up attacks.

For that reason, it is a skill that many Duelists end up utilizing one way or another.

Naru tracked the attack from this skill clearly with both eyes, and then…

“Hmph!”

“!?”

“Whoa.”

He crushed it effortlessly with his left hand.

His open palm bore not a single scratch, and since Naru didn’t even bother to check his condition, it was obvious to everyone that he had taken no damage at all.

As mentioned previously, ‘Mana Shoot’ has the power of a blunt weapon swung with full force; normally, if it hits, it provides enough impact to stagger the opponent.

However, thanks to the performance of the Custom Device known as ‘Silkcloud Crown,’ Naru’s body had been enhanced to a level of defensive performance where an attack like ‘Mana Shoot’ wouldn’t just fail to wound him—it wouldn’t even make him flinch.

In other words, Naru no longer felt so much as a tickle from the equivalent of a normal Masked Form swinging a blunt weapon.

“Rapid fire. Here I come. ‘Mana Shoot’!”

“Yeah, bring it!”

Understanding this, Marie fired ‘Mana Shoot’ in rapid succession as if testing something.

Naru met them with his clenched fist to cancel them out, generated a shield just before they hit his skin to block them, deliberately took some directly on his skin only to let them slide off harmlessly, dodged by a hair’s breadth, and neutralized others one by one with a series of kicks.

“Yeah, if the attacks are at this level, no matter how many come, they won’t deal any damage.”

“Wow, Naru dear’s defensive power is incredible…”

“At this rate, there seem to be very few Duelists who could land an attack using conventional means.”

“I had made predictions based on data and recordings, but this is beyond expectations…”

The result was zero damage.

Between the magical power consumption of Naru’s Masked Form and Naru’s own magical power generation, the generation rate was superior, to the point where it felt as if he wasn’t consuming anything at all.

Faced with this abnormal result, the onlookers could only mutter in disbelief.

“So, Marie. How is the ‘Silkcloud Crown’ feeling?”

“Extremely comfortable. Skill activation is smooth and easy to handle. I suspect it’s a matter of the Device’s delicacy and feasibility, but it’s so different that I wonder why fire-power-centric Devices were the mainstream until now. The feel of the outfit against my skin and the fit of the hat also feel more tailored to my body than the Academy-issued ones; I feel it has become a form more suited for dueling.”

Marie’s words echoed, stripped of her usual unique accent.

The words coming from her mouth were praises for the ‘Silkcloud Crown,’ and upon hearing them, the employees of Silk Cloud nodded with satisfaction.

“Then, can you do it?”

“Yes. Shall we try?”

Having praised the Device, Marie took a single gold coin from her chest.

The true nature of the gold coin was a crystal of magical power created by Marie combining her own magical power manipulation skills with the functions of the Masked Form.

Normally, objects based on magical power created during Masquerade Activation vanish the moment Masquerade Release occurs.

However, through the properties of magical power and techniques inherited from her father, Marie had succeeded in creating magical gold coins that did not disappear even after releasing the Masquerade.

The name was ‘Accumulation.’

It was a special skill established through magical power manipulation techniques that did not rely on a Device, also known as a Unique Skill.

“That said, I only have one. I don’t know what kind of load it will put on the Device, after all.”

“Well, I suppose so.”

Marie held the gold coin in her right hand, gripped it, and crushed it.

The gold coin was then converted into Marie’s magical power and vanished, gathering atop her right hand.

The amount of magical power was several times that used in a normal skill.

However, magical power alone is meaningless without a method of utilization.

“In the name of Marie Aurum, I command. Gold Stake, devour the gold, and bring forth the one that disturbs the tripod, the Gold Weight of Crus…”

Therefore, Marie utilized a Passive Skill that allows for a significant increase in power in exchange for a large amount of magical power by reciting words suited to the next skill to be activated—a skill called ‘P-Magic Incantation.’

By funneling the magical power obtained from crushing the gold coin into ‘P-Magic Incantation,’ she eliminated the risk of magical power consumption while amplifying the power of the next skill.

“Here I go. This should be stronger than Tomoe’s debut match, at the very least! ‘Gold Pile’!!”

The name of the skill released was ‘Gold Pile.’

Normally, it is a skill that launches a stake about one meter long and ten centimeters in diameter, made of a mysterious golden metal. While the tip is pointed, the stake is a clean cylinder without any ornamentation.

However, the ‘Gold Pile’ Marie released now had its shape drastically altered, taking the form of a cross. Some kind of characters were engraved on its surface, and it was shrouded in a golden aura.

The golden cross flew straight toward Naru, spinning in a spiral.

Its speed was not that of an arrow, but of a bullet; given the size of the cross, it looked like a cannon shell.

“Shield… give it everything!”

In response, Naru summoned a shield in front of him, gripped it with both hands, and poured as much magical power as possible into it.

Due to the performance of the Device, this happened in an instant, yet the magical power of an average single Duelist had gathered within the shield.

Then, the cross launched by Marie and Naru’s shield collided…

“—————~~!?”

A shockwave and a collision sound erupted, sending vibrations through the air that could be felt even through the Barrier surrounding the duel site.

“Phew… I actually pierced through it.”

“Ugh… I guess it actually pierced through.”

Indeed, Naru’s shield had been pierced.

However, it had not been completely destroyed.

Because of this, the tip of Marie’s cross pierced and gouged Naru’s arm, but the attack had not reached Naru’s chest.

“That said, when facing Naru, just piercing the shield isn’t enough, is it? How unreasonable.”

“True. I can heal a wound like this.”

As Naru dispelled the shield, Marie’s cross—which had lost all momentum after the attack—also vanished.

The moment there was nothing left to plug the wound, Naru’s gouged arm began to regenerate. While Naru grimaced slightly at the pain, the bone connected, flesh grew, blood vessels and nerves were repaired, and the skin stretched back to normal, returning as if nothing had happened.

Similarly, the outfit was repaired along with the body, also returning to its original state.

“How is your Magic Capacity?”

“Half of it was shaved off, for sure. Considering the Device’s performance, this is definitely the most damage I’ve taken so far. If I were using an Academy-issued Device, I probably would have been forced into Masquerade Release.”

“I see. Then, as Marie, I’ve obtained sufficient results. With that, I surrender. The test is over.”

Marie stepped outside the Barrier and performed Masquerade Release.

With that, the practical combat test of the new Device concluded.

Needless to say, the employees of Silk Cloud were in an uproar afterward based on the contents of the data obtained.

The metal generated by the skill ‘Gold Pile’ is an unidentified metal that resembles gold but is different.

This is because while its color and electrical conductivity are those of gold, its weight is lighter than gold, and it is far too hard to be gold. It does not match other golden metals such as brass.

Therefore, it is an unidentified metal temporarily generated by magical power.

As a side note, similar skills include ‘Iron Pile,’ ‘Steel Pile,’ and ‘Oak Pile.’