He had wanted to keep things low-key and discreet, deliberately choosing a remote location.
But now, it was clear that subtlety was completely out of the question!
"BOOM!"
Under the starlight, the magic radiance showered down, converging toward Marco.
Gradually, the stars in the sky dimmed, leaving only one constellation of the Zodiac still shining—a constellation that had originally been faint.
In the sky, the remaining flickering stars formed a bright celestial map: a ram with its head lowered, thick curved horns pointing forward, its front legs raised high as if ready to charge.
[Congratulations! The Aries Gold Cloth has been unlocked!]
A system message popped up, accompanied by a flash of golden light as the constellation symbol of Aries—resembling curved ram horns—appeared.
Aries, the first house of the Zodiac, the starting point of the spring equinox, the beginning of all things awakening, a symbol of new life emerging from the underworld—this was a constellation of profound significance.
As the unlocking process concluded, the stars in the sky gradually faded.
By then, the shower of starlight had already descended upon Marco.
"Ah—"
The immense surge of Star Magic seeped into Marco's body, merging into his limbs, his bones, every cell, and even his magic source, which resembled a swirling galaxy.
Marco gasped as a tingling sensation spread throughout his entire body.
Marco hadn't even seen the Gold Cloth yet, but just the spectacle of unlocking it had already given him a significant boost.
The infusion of Star Magic into his body significantly boosted his magic reserves, magic recovery speed, and physical strength.
A single surge of magic infusion was equivalent to prolonged rigorous training.
As the magic was gradually absorbed, Marco slowly regained his composure.
He had been completely immobilized by the overwhelming force of the Star Magic moments ago.
"Phew—" Exhaling deeply, Marco flexed his limbs.
The tingling sensation akin to evolution had now faded.
"If all twelve—no, thirteen—Gold Cloths were unlocked, just the exaggerated effects from unlocking them alone would give me a substantial boost. Is this the grandeur of unlocking a Gold Cloth? Truly astonishing!"
Marco couldn't help but marvel.
If the mere act of unlocking a Gold Cloth was this extravagant, how much more astounding would the Gold Cloth itself be?
It was almost amusing.
He had come here specifically to unlock the Gold Cloth, yet only now did Marco finally have the energy to focus on the Cloth itself.
He shifted his gaze to the system space.
Upon seeing the gleaming Aries constellation symbol, Marco decisively summoned the Cloth box from the system.
The radiant golden Cloth box appeared, its quality far surpassing that of Bronze Saint Cloths and Silver Cloths.
Just the sight of it was enough to stir excitement.
It was inevitable.
Even someone with no eye for value would be moved by such an exquisitely crafted golden chest.
With a thought, Marco opened the Aries Gold Cloth box, revealing the Cloth itself—a strikingly golden ram poised as if mid-stride, its entire body gleaming gold with two long, curved horns atop its head.
"So elegant," Marco murmured.
The golden ram was vividly lifelike, its movements mirroring those from mythological tales, as if it had truly come to life before his eyes.
Aries was indeed the most fitting among the Gold Cloths.
It was, after all, a golden-fleeced ram—the very source of the legendary "Golden Fleece."
'Come forth, Aries Gold Cloth!'
Marco willed it, eagerly summoning the Aries Gold Cloth to don it immediately.
He couldn't wait to test its power.
"Clank! Clank! Clank!"
The ram-shaped Aries Gold Cloth swiftly unlocked, transforming into armor that enveloped Marco's body.
The coverage of the Gold Cloth was unparalleled, far exceeding that of Bronze or Silver Cloths.
The Aries Gold Cloth was complete in every component, offering full protection, with its distinctive curved horns adorning the shoulders.
Standing still, Marco absorbed the information transmitted by the Aries Gold Cloth, taking a moment to process it all.
"There's even a cape?"
After assimilating the information, Marco examined the Cloth's appearance.
Swinging his arm, he felt the white-and-blue cape draped behind him.
The cape was equally impressive, its quality rivaling the Gold Cloth itself—at the very least, it wouldn't tear easily in battle.
"Not bad. If nothing else, the aesthetics are undeniably cool!" Marco was thoroughly satisfied with the Gold Cloth's appearance
Every detail exuded a calm, effortless elegance.
"The enhancement effects that come with this Cloth are incredibly powerful. Truly worthy of being a Gold Cloth."
Marco attempted to connect with the Aries constellation, but received no response.
The constellations of the Zodiac were relatively difficult to link with—even his Scorpio constellation, which had already awakened its abilities, remained inactive up to now.
"But even without connecting to the constellation, this Cloth is already ridiculously strong."
Marco raised his hand and slashed horizontally in front of him.
Magic surged forth, forming a transparent wall before him.
"Crystal Wall!"
That's right.
Even without linking to the celestial constellation, the Aries Gold Cloth already came with usable skills—and directly such a powerful one as 'Crystal Wall' at that.
Marco had been looking forward to this move for quite some time.
He was genuinely lacking a defense-focused ability like 'Crystal Wall'.
The abilities of the Lyra constellation were inherently offensive, making them less effective for defense.
In contrast, "Crystal Wall" was a skill specialized in defense—though not just that.
It also had a rebound effect, capable of reflecting enemy attacks.
"The more magic you pour into it, the sturdier the Crystal Wall becomes, and the closer it gets to reflecting 100% of the enemy's attack. In other words, as long as the Crystal Wall isn't broken or suppressed, it can essentially reflect attacks completely."
Marco's eyes gleamed with excitement.
This move was just too good.
Once he became more proficient with it and mastered its applications further, he might even be able to deploy "Crystal Wall" instantly in front of him without any visible movement, making it undetectable to enemies.
Under such circumstances, any enemy who attacked him would be caught off guard and have their own attack reflected right back at them.
The harder they hit, the harder they'd get hit in return—an insidiously effective tactic.
"Definitely useful."
Marco tapped the Crystal Wall and circled around it to observe.
The wall truly had no time limit—it would persist indefinitely until broken, with the magic sustaining it showing no signs of dissipating.
"I think Mu used this move to guard his home."
Marco recalled that Mu, the Gold Saint of Aries, often resided in Jamir and was frequently absent from the Sanctuary.
As a result, he would use "Crystal Wall" to protect the Aries Temple.
A few of these walls blocking the way meant even a Gold Saint wouldn't be able to enter easily.
With a casual wave, Marco dispelled the "Crystal Wall" he had just created.
He had no intention of leaving an invisible wall lying around.
Now, if he encountered a situation like the one with Jose Porla last time, he'd be able to handle it easily—just block with the Crystal Wall and reflect the attack back!
Marco thought to himself.
Jose Porla's previous outburst had left a deep impression on him.
He never wanted to experience that helpless feeling of wanting to save more people but being powerless again.
"If 'Crystal Wall' is already unlocked, what ability would connecting to the constellation unlock? Starlight Extinction? Galactic Revolution? Or something even more overpowered, like Psychic Tempest or Meteor Smash?"
Marco was quite looking forward to it, though he felt the most likely possibility was Galactic Revolution.
After all, this move could be considered the inherited skill of the Aries Gold Saints, while Starlight Extinction was a technique Mu created himself.
Although Starlight Extinction was also passed down, it was clearly not as representative as Galaxy Revolution.
Besides the Crystal Wall, another highly significant legacy was unlocked—the ability to repair Cloths.
With this legacy, the materials obtained earlier could finally be put to use, and the knowledge he had acquired now had practical application.
Although Marco had previously learned how to repair Cloths, he had never actually practiced it—nor was it easy to do so.
Given his abilities, he couldn't meet the requirements outlined in the repair manual.
The reason why not just anyone could repair Cloths was due to the extremely high demands.
Even the most basic Cloth repair techniques required Psychokinesis at the atomic level and masterful control, demanding an intense degree of concentration to perform atomic-level restoration.
Moreover, aside from atomic-level Psychokinesis and extraordinary mental focus, one also needed keen eyesight capable of discerning the finest details to truly complete the repair of a Cloth.
These were the two additional abilities unlocked by the Aries Gold Cloth, aside from the "Crystal Wall"—Psychokinesis and the All-Seeing Eye.
Psychokinesis could be considered the specialized ability of the Aries Gold Saints.
It was an incredibly versatile skill, offering numerous functions when mastered to a high level.
The All-Seeing Eye, on the other hand, was the power to perceive the underlying principles of all things and learn the mechanics of their operation—it could also be called the Eye of Insight.
No matter how durable an object was, there existed a single weak point that, when targeted with even the slightest force, could shatter it entirely.
As a master of Cloth repair, one had to possess the ability to locate this weakness.
"Feels like I've gained a lot of abilities all at once—though they all require practice to be effective. This Gold Cloth is truly extraordinary. It was worth the long wait."
Marco marveled once more.
The enhancements brought by the Gold Cloth, even without having connected to the star chart, far surpassed those of Bronze or Silver Cloths that had already established such a connection.
Storing the Aries Gold Cloth back into his system space, Marco left the forest—only to run into Laxus, who had rushed over.
"Marco? What are you doing here?"
Seeing Marco, Laxus came to a halt with a suspicious expression.
"Was that you in the forest just now?"
Before Marco could answer, Laxus pressed further.
"Uh... if you're talking about the commotion earlier, then yeah, that was me."
Marco's expression turned awkward.
He had a rough idea why Laxus was here.
Given the huge disturbance he had caused in the forest—and with Laxus living nearby—it was only natural that he'd notice and come to investigate.
In fact, it wasn't just Laxus; the commotion he'd made had likely alerted the entire town, and many people were probably on their way.
Marco had no doubt about this, especially since Porlyusica also lived in the forest.
If there was a major disturbance, Makarov would undoubtedly be the first to check it out.
Sure enough, Marco had just thought of this when a little old man hurried over in a fluster.
The old man had come from the city but arrived at about the same time as Laxus, who lived by the forest—proof of just how anxious he was.
"Laxus? Marco? What are you two doing here?"
Seeing his two grandsons here, Makarov stopped in his tracks.
"Ask Marco. He's the one behind what just happened."
Laxus shrugged, already relaxed.
Since it was Marco's doing, there was no need to worry.
"Marco? So it really was you?!"
Makarov turned to Marco, his eyes wide with a look that said, 'I knew it was you!'.
The strange movement of the stars across the sky had already made him suspect it might be related to Marco—after all, there was probably no one in this world more closely connected to those stars than Marco.
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