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My magic blades are my only means to attack now, even if they disappear shortly after I make them because of the barrier, but at least I can keep regenerating them. Thankfully they don’t require too much mana, and I have a pretty large mana supply myself, so I should be able to last an entire day with them.

But the moment I hit a Protione with them, the blade just slides over its armor and won’t pierce or cut.

And while I’m busy recovering my stance after that, another Protione lunges in to attack, so I have to jump back to dodge. Then the moment I land another one comes in, and then another. They’re really using their advantage in numbers as best as they can.

I still try to strike them while I dodge, but I can’t get any damage through, thanks to the barrier and their resilient armor.

Back in the Academy I had tried practicing with Ruri a few times, but my swordsmanship never really improved too much, as I mainly relied on my magic blades’ sharpness to brute force my way through, rather than actually getting better.

Actually, Arrold also said something about purified mithril earlier, so I guess their armor is also tougher than anything I’ve encountered before.

This really isn’t the time to go around putting myself down for not training more.

I’ll just have to switch my fighting style to use both magic blades at once, something I usually don’t do.

If one wasn’t enough, then maybe two…

“!”

But my naive delusions get flicked off together with my blades as I strike the enemy’s armor again. And I take a hit while I’m recovering too, which sends a dull pain through my body.

Now that I think about it, it kinda makes sense. Armor is usually designed to block blades, and magic automatons are essentially walking armor. There’s no way my clumsy attacks will do anything to them.

The barrier is stopping me from taking out my magic gun, and my magic blades are useless. I guess the only option I realistically have is to use my fists instead.

But even if I try to punch them I won’t deal nearly enough damage. It’s not like I have any way to strengthen myself though. At this rate all they’ll do is crush me, so I just have to try everything at my disposal.

“Magic blade, form change.”

The magic blade is mana that has been materialized and shaped into a specific form. Since I’m really bad at fighting from close range, I’ve always shaped the blade in a way that’s easy to just spin around with to attack in all directions, but if I really wanted I could stretch it out like a spear, or enlarge it to resemble a greatsword. Now I just form fists which I cover with mana.

“I guess it’s more like magic gauntlets now.”

These magic gauntlets had been what led me to discover magic blades, but if they’ll be of more use now then I might as well go back to them. I have to sacrifice some range for them, but range means nothing if my attacks don’t work.

Once I punch one of the Protione, it staggers for a bit as a small dent appears on its armor. I guess this is enough to deform mithril then. But I can’t underestimate my opponents yet.

Magic automatons will act as magic automatons, that’s something I learned from none other than Ophelia herself. These aren’t mere puppets made of extremely resilient materials. There’s more of a gimmick to them, a magical source that powers their abilities. And their gimmick also empowered their defining feature, their arms.

Two of the Protione raise their hands, which begin to glow red, and as they swipe at me I feel strong heat waves passing by me. Just as I think I’ve evaded their hands, one of their arms twists in an unnatural angle and grabs the lapels of my uniform.

Soon after my nose is filled with the stench of burned clothes.

“Let go!”

I jump back to tear that hand off me, which leaves a scorched hole through my maid outfit, but at least my skin underneath is still intact. Thankfully my uniform broke off easily and I avoided any burns, but if I had been wearing something more resilient I probably would’ve been cooked inside.

I can’t afford to sigh in relief now though, as those red hot hands continue to reach for me.

“Tch!”

I manage to shake them off with my magic gauntlets, but then one of the automatons with its hands unchanged rushes in and swipes through the air. It’s not even close to me though, what was it trying to do?

Did it just miscalculate the distance? Or was it a malfunction? I wondered for a moment, but I quickly got an answer. The arm that just swung through the air created many blades of wind, which quickly flew at me and left various cuts into my body.

In response I just kick the Protione away from me, as if trying to ward off the pain, and then regain my stance.

Meanwhile the Protione get up from the ground and then dash at me on all fours like animals. They’re so fast!!

While it’s difficult for a humanoid to run on all fours, these magic automatons seem used to it and move really quickly.

Both the red hot hands and wind blades are really basic spells. The barrier is probably making them weaker, but I can tell how powerful they still are when I’m dodging them.

On top of that, it’s still me alone pitted against five of them.

“Hmm, you might be the arm’s original, but I guess this is still too much for you.”
“What did you say?”

I feel like Arrold just mentioned something really important.

“Oh it’s nothing. It’s just that we built these Protione by reverse engineering your arm, though we still had to replace certain materials with more common variants. But in exchange we made sure they can still fight within the magic sealing barrier.”

Wait what’s he saying? That the arm I tried to stab Arrold with back then led to the creation of these? But they haven’t been able to obtain the same materials? That should mean they’re inferior to me then.

Then why am I getting cornered like this when I’m the original? Is it because I can’t use my guns or magic? Is it because they have the advantage in numbers? Can I really not win against such counterfeit copies of myself? Even though I’m Ophelia’s masterpiece? Against these inferior copies? Are these magic automatons really better than me?

No way in hell!! I definitely have the superior, harder body, there’s no doubt about that. But I haven’t defeated a single one yet, so it must be that again.

Ughh goddamnit all!

Because my consciousness is still too soft, I can’t wring out all the capabilities of my body, making me inferior. Stop being such a wuss, me! How many times has this happened already?

I nerf myself so much it’s not even funny anymore. How long am I going to get in my own way! Move out already!

“Function Limiter Level 4, 5, Unlocked.”

My physical and magic abilities are enhanced, and a portion of my functions that remained dormant until now become usable.

“Scanning environment.”

«Analyzing enemy strength and battlefield status»
«Five enemy magic automatons detected. Main components: Mithril, Hazel»
«Low magic availability in this environment. Unable to cast basic spells.»
«Proposal. Medium level magic is composed of large quantities of mana and won’t dissipate entirely. Counterargument. Medium level magic proficiency too low»

“Calculate means to fight back.”

«Due to high mana strain in this environment basic spells could fail before activation. Direct combat and revision of current strategies recommended»
«Current weapon, provisionally named magic gauntlets deemed as suitable»
“Optimize the magic gauntlets.”
«Switch from single masses to multiple areas, added flexibility to joints»
«Extension to full body armor… Complete»
«Removing all clothing obstructing movement»

Everything happened in less than a second.

“Exterminate all targets.”

My body starts to move largely on its own as my tattered maid uniform is torn apart entirely as I charge forward, my fist swinging at a Protione and sending it flying against a wall.

While I doubt they have a real sense of comradery, they still turn to look at the Protione I just punched away, so I use that opening to grab the arm of another one and kick straight at its torso. This hit is much more powerful than those before, and it successfully tears off the arm from its shoulder.

I crush the arm in my hand and then move to the next target.