Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 999: Jewel Magecraft Duel

Jewel Magecraft and the Jewel Magus are deeply connected. The latter's existence certainly played a significant role in amplifying the former's prestige. However, the popularity of Jewel Magecraft in the magical community, where it has thrived for many years, isn't solely due to the Jewel Magus. Even before Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg was born, Jewel Magecraft was already a prominent mainstream form of magecraft.

Gems hold special significance in the realm of mysteries—they can store magical energy or even directly store spells. No matter how powerful a magus might be, there's a limit to how much magical energy their body can contain, as well as a cap on the number and scale of spells they can use simultaneously. Jewel Magecraft breaks these limitations. By storing magical energy in gems over time, a magus can access more power when needed, allowing them to surpass the usual limits on spell quantity or potency. Unlike Rune Magecraft, which requires specific runes for storage and activation, Jewel Magecraft is infinitely versatile. As long as you know the spell, you can store it in a gem.

Of course, such a superior form of magecraft isn't without its drawbacks. First, Jewel Magecraft is fundamentally about accumulation—trading time spent storing energy for a momentary burst of power. If you haven't stored enough, the power of your burst will naturally be insufficient. Second, as the name suggests, gems are the primary medium, and they are incredibly expensive. Without substantial wealth, it's impossible to even begin training in this type of magecraft.

However, for the two young women currently outside Fuyuki City, none of this was a problem.

Rin Tohsaka.

She hails from the Tohsaka family, the traditional overseers of Fuyuki City. Though her father passed away early, with the help of the Matou family, particularly Matou Kariya, her family's fortunes have remained stable, if not prosperous. This is quite different from the Rin in Fate/Stay Night, who, despite her outward elegance, was struggling with a declining family and the constant worry of keeping her household afloat (and, ahem, drawing questionable illustrations for income—scratch that).

Today's Rin has the kind of family background and wealth befitting a true heiress. The gem powder she's using was made from over ten different kinds of gems and cost more than 300,000 yen. The magical effect it created was equally impressive—under her control, the gem powder seemed to scatter and coalesce simultaneously, painting a rainbow across the sky.

Her opponent, Luvia Edelfelt, outclassed her in one aspect—not in magecraft ability or talent, but in sheer wealth. The Edelfelt family, with its longer history and much greater accumulation of wealth, far surpassed the Tohsaka family. Even though Luvia hasn't officially taken over her family, her spending is far more extravagant than Rin's.

While Rin used high-quality gem powder, mostly made from the cut-off edges of larger gems, Luvia went straight for full-sized, uncut gems. Even the smallest one she used was larger than a thumbnail, and the results were evident. While Rin's magical display was partially illusory, Luvia's magic was solid—she conjured a literal wall of magical energy, a perfect demonstration of what it means to wield obscene wealth.

Rin's eye twitched. She had seen wastefulness before (thanks to Matou Shinji), but this was on another level. That was a top-grade emerald—Rin herself wouldn't use one without constructing an A-rank spell first, and yet Luvia had just blown through it in one go.

"What a waste. Such a waste," Rin muttered, saying exactly what she thought.

"This is a necessary expense, in my judgment. Ah, but a little girl hiding away in here, with no exposure to the wider world, would never understand. O-ho-ho-ho-ho!"

Luvia crossed her arms and let out a loud, haughty laugh. Now that her true nature was exposed, she made no effort to hide it, fully embracing her extravagant persona.

Rin snorted in response, countering, "Oh, is that so? You used such valuable gems, and yet you only managed to cancel out my spell. For someone who's supposedly seen the world, you're not doing much better than me, are you?"

"That's because the gems I'm using now are the worst of the lot. It's a bit of a waste to use them on a country bumpkin like you, but in battle, sacrifices must be made," Luvia continued, flaunting her wealth.

"Hmph, or maybe you're just not skilled enough. You're using wind-element spells despite being an earth-element magi. If it were me, one or two gems would have been enough. Typical nouveau riche behavior... Sigh," Rin mocked, attacking Luvia's magecraft techniques instead of her wealth.

"That's because you can only manage two gems, country girl. Sure, you've got me beat in that area, but in terms of magical energy, it's clear that I have the advantage. Magecraft is all about accumulation—magical energy is the foundation."

"No, the most important thing in magecraft is the practitioner. No matter how much magical energy you have, if your efficiency is poor, it's useless."

"Hehehehe~~~~"

"Hohohoho~~~~"

The two girls exchanged sharp smiles, as radiant as flowers but colder than winter.

From another perspective, this could be seen as a form of mutual recognition. After their earlier exchange of spells, they had both gained some insight into the other's capabilities. Attribute-wise, Rin held the advantage with her Five Great Elements, while Luvia surpassed her in raw magical energy, possessing over a hundred magic circuits.

Their verbal sparring reflected a long-standing debate in the magical community—what mattered more, magical energy or elemental affinity? Family heritage or personal skill? The Clock Tower's two major factions had been at odds over this for years.

While the magical world had yet to find an answer after all these years, it was clear that these two seventeen-year-old girls weren't going to resolve it either. They stopped debating and turned to action—this was a truth as old as time itself: The victor is king!

Magical energy surged, gems gleamed, and the magus began their chants.

"Call blue, red, green for your queen."

Gems circled Luvia as if knights protecting their princess.

A sapphire slipped from her fingers like a knight saluting, emitting a brilliant light.

As if igniting a fuse, all the gems resonated together, their luminous power increasing geometrically, bathing Luvia in a radiant blue light.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

This was the core of the Edelfelt family's philosophy—a philosophy of circulation. While the family was like a hunting dog, constantly collecting treasures, they didn't simply pride themselves on the value of the treasures alone. What mattered to them was the act itself.

The same applied to their magecraft.

Though Luvia only had a single earth attribute, under the guidance of circulation, she made the surrounding environment flow with her.

The heart of the gems was also the heart of the world outside.

The wind had already begun to blow, and the water had started to flow.

Everything moved as naturally as the cycles of the four seasons, which made it incomparably strong.

PS: Elemental attributes can be inherited or mutated, and sometimes a prodigy can appear unexpectedly. But magic circuits are different—they can only be accumulated over generations. Shirou, with his 27 circuits as a first-generation magi is quite impressive, but compared to Rin, he's still far behind.

PS2: Lorelei Barthomeloi is a prime example of family heritage and accumulation. Her attribute is only wind, but with overwhelming magic circuits, she has become one of the strongest magus of the current era. It's estimated that she has more magic circuits than Rin and Luvia combined, and perhaps even Sakura as well. If anyone in modern times could single-handedly handle multiple Servants, she would be the top candidate.

PS3: With that many magic circuits, getting hit by an origin bullet would be...