The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Academy Weapon Replicator Chapter 10
Book 3: Manipulating Fate (1)
“Today’s lesson concerns the Aura.”
A fundamental combat theory lecture.
Ales, the instructor, surveyed the assembled students before speaking.
They were lined up at the Outdoor Training Ground, listening intently to Ales’s explanation.
Combat-related classes were typically held here, though occasionally they’d reserve the Assembly Hall or the Field instead.
“The human body has its limits. Growth is necessary, of course, but excessive muscle mass only impedes movement—and as you know, muscle is inherently heavy. For a warrior, what matters is a body with the proper balance of flexibility, strength, and agility. You cannot simply pile on muscle in pursuit of raw power.”
Having said this, Ales surveyed the students again, his gaze settling on Aster.
“Aster, come forward.”
“Yes, sir.”
Aster stepped to Ales’s side.
Ales placed his hands on Aster’s shoulders.
“This is what we call ideal balance. Adequate muscle enhances agility; too little or too much degrades it in either case. Aster here has achieved precisely that balance. I want all of you to use this physique as your standard for muscle training.”
Aster’s expression grew somewhat embarrassed.
Not that I disagree with Ales’s assessment of Aster’s physique—I don’t.
But Ales has always favored commoners, and when dealing with Aster, their representative, he lays on the praise with particular generosity.
“So increasing power is not a matter of mindlessly building muscle. You must harness another force within the human body—something that allows you to maintain physical balance while effectively boosting combat strength. That force is the Aura.”
Ales stepped before a massive stone that had been positioned for the demonstration.
He drew his sword.
“Using only muscle, it is impossible to cleave a stone like this with a blade—not merely because of insufficient strength, but because the sword itself would shatter. However, an attack executed with proper form developed through repeated training can channel the Aura.”
Ales took his stance.
He gripped the sword in both hands, held it vertically before him, eyes forward, blade point aligned with his gaze. The posture was flawless, almost painted from a picture.
Ales raised the sword overhead and brought it down toward the stone. A pale blue shimmer rippled along the blade’s edge.
With a crisp crack, the blade sliced cleanly through the rock.
Gasps of admiration rose from the students.
Ales’s expression remained unmoved.
He’d demonstrated this at every lecture, after all.
“A warrior, through tens of thousands of repetitions, learns to channel the Aura into their blade. At first, it’s possible only for an instant, and only within a single motion—but eventually, you will command the Aura across many different techniques.”
“Excuse me, Professor.”
Someone raised their hand.
From where I sat, I couldn’t see their face.
Given that I didn’t recognize them, they must be an extra character.
“If we keep training, can we eventually keep the Aura constantly infused in our weapons?”
Hmm.
That kind of question confirms they’re an extra.
Ales grinned as if it were an excellent question and nodded approvingly.
“Absolutely. And you can achieve even more than that.”
“More than that?”
“At the pinnacle of Aura mastery, you can weaponize your bare hands without needing a blade at all.”
The students’ eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Of course, I haven’t mastered it myself. Not yet, anyway.”
Light laughter rippled through the group at Ales’s self-deprecating remark.
“Today’s exercise is to strike this stone with whatever weapon you possess.”
Ales gestured toward the remaining half of the stone he’d cleaved.
“Some of you may have already learned, before enrolling in Constel, how to channel Aura into your weapons through practice and training. But cutting through this stone will be far from easy. This is no ordinary rock. It has been specially crafted through the magic of our instructors.”
Even if one can infuse Aura, the quality of that Aura varies enormously from person to person.
One might scratch a normal stone, but cleaving it cleanly is far harder—and if normal stone presents such difficulty, a specially enchanted one is another matter entirely.
The students’ eyes dimmed with discouragement.
Perhaps foreseeing this, Ales raised his voice.
“However, if any of you can crack or destroy this stone using only your weapon—without channeling Divine Power—I will grant one five-person party a single entry pass to a lower-tier Dungeon. That party must include at least one third-year student and at least one instructor among its five members.”
At this, the students’ eyes reignited.
A Dungeon is a precious place where one can obtain the materials and wealth of various magical creatures. Though their origin remains unclear, they share the common trait of forming in places where mana accumulates.
Dungeon conquest doesn’t merely mean finding and reaching the exit.
Defeating the Dungeon’s boss, solving ciphers, and triggering hidden mechanisms can all be valid methods of conquest.
As Dungeon difficulty increases, not only do the creatures within grow stronger, but the traps and mechanisms become more devious.
Still, a Dungeon offers the chance to earn money and accumulate both experience and items.
Moreover, unexpected treasures can surface—like the “Mystilthane” that made headlines recently.
Of course, it turned out to be counterfeit, but until I proved otherwise, no one was entirely certain of its falsity. There remained some small possibility it could have been real.
In any Dungeon, what items might appear is always uncertain.
“Then let’s begin.”
At Ales’s word, the students lined up in turn. All of them burned with eagerness, hungry for that Dungeon Access Pass.
But honestly, I had no interest in cutting that stone.
‘If I wove Gram, could I slice through it?’
Still, the Dungeon Access Pass wasn’t worth exposing Gram for.
Weaving is my only true weapon.
I’m not in a position to fight with all my cards on the table.
What I’m actually interested in right now isn’t whether I can cut the stone or not.
It’s finding the student who can.
If I remember correctly, there’s exactly one person here who can do it.
“Ugh!”
It was Aster’s turn.
The blade he swung left a considerable gash on the stone. But it didn’t cut through.
“Hiss.”
Aster’s clothes billowed as though caught by wind. An instant later, his eyes blazed white, the luminous hue spreading through his hair.
Ah, that.
“Stop. Aster. Divine Power is forbidden.”
“Oh, ah. I apologize.”
Aster bowed his head and returned to his place.
Of course—if he borrowed Baldur’s strength, a stone like that would be nothing.
But the students’ enthusiasm dimmed somewhat after that.
Aster couldn’t cut it either. The realization struck them like a blow.
And after several more turns—
Slice.
“Oh?”
The stone had been cut.
The woman wielding a blade thinner than her own arm stood there, her own expression equally startled.
She stared at the cleanly split stone, caught between wonder and confusion.
It was only natural that Ales and the others’ eyes went wide.
——Found her.
Pink hair, eyes of green.
“Kyah! Professor! Look! I did it!”
Her hair dances, her shoulders lift in exultant lines.
Each gesture radiates both vivacity and allure, while her expression gleams with such pure cunning it borders on innocence.
From crown to heel, every line of her is exquisitely crafted, as though touched by divine hands.
“……Sybel, you pass.”
Ales spoke with visible reluctance.
Sybel Forte.
A woman beloved by fate itself,
and one of the Main Villains of Aethius.
‘Sybel Forte…….’
If this world were shaped not by the movement of grand forces, but by the element of ‘luck’ that dwells within individuals.
Then Sybel Forte is a creature born of nothing but that luck.
Sybel isn’t a villain because her nature is inherently wicked. At her core, she is simply an optimist, a pragmatist—she does what she wants, and doesn’t do what she doesn’t want. If she grows bored mid-way, she stops.
But her destiny always bends to match wherever her will is directed.
“Sybel, have you been able to use Aura before this?”
“No! This is my first time!”
Sybel’s cheerful reply is no lie.
Though others might mistake it for false modesty, Sybel had genuinely never wielded Aura until this very moment.
The reason she was able to cut through that stone now is simple.
Because she wanted to.
Because she wanted that Dungeon Access Pass that Professor Ales mentioned.
Not everything she wishes for comes true.
But if a thing is possible for her, she achieves it. If what she desires is not realistically impossible, it happens.
While others repeat their training again and again, building knowledge and technique layer by layer, Sybel skips the entire process.
And that is precisely why she is a villain.
The moment an enemy appears that her power and her luck cannot overcome, she crumbles instantly.
Because she has never tasted the experience of rising again after hardship.
A figure destined for ‘ruin’ or ‘exit’.
That is why, on a first playthrough, Players trust her because of her excellent stats and convenience—only to get betrayed spectacularly at the end.
If I keep pushing Sybel forward without restraint, her talent and luck—boundless as the sky itself—will carry her to an extraordinarily high position.
And from that height, she will ruin the soldiers under her command, the territories she governs, entire nations.
Then she will slip away alone, unscathed, and vanish without a trace.
Conversely, if I impose hardship on Sybel from the start to force her spiritual growth, her destiny simply won’t allow it.
There is no character whose strength can overcome Sybel’s “luck.”
Not even Aster can stand against it.
So in the end, the Player must neither aid nor obstruct Sybel, but instead concentrate on their own growth and surpass her through sheer personal strength.
There are few villains as troublesome as this.
“Teacher, about the Dungeon Access Pass. We need companions for it, don’t we?”
“Right. You need to fill five slots total. One third-year student and one instructor must be included, so if you want classmates, you could add two more besides yourself.”
A dungeon expedition accompanied by an upperclassman and a professor is extraordinarily safe.
Moreover, most people here have never experienced a dungeon before. Someone with experience is essential for a proper excursion.
I knew from the beginning who Sybel would want to go with.
Opening her mouth slowly, Sybel spoke exactly as I’d anticipated—
“Aster.”
She spoke his name.
I nodded quietly, satisfied.
The truth is, I have nothing to gain from the dungeon.
What matters is what Aster Evans gains from this expedition. To clear this game, Aster is just as crucial to my growth as my own advancement.
‘It’s not a difficult dungeon, and with Aster and Sybel, they’ll clear it easily. The teacher will be going too.’
It’s a party with no cause for concern.
In the meantime, I can concentrate on my own training.
“Come with us, yeah?”
Sybel’s tone was almost seductive.
A fresh smile, her head tilted slightly.
Her pink hair shimmed in the light.
“Sure, sounds good.”
Aster answered readily.
Sybel was visibly delighted, even clapping her hands.
Wow—I could actually see the light drain from the eyes of the male students around us.
It was easy to feel Sybel’s popularity this directly.
“But there’s still one classmate slot left. Can I pick that person?”
Then Aster said something odd.
As far as I knew, Aster shouldn’t say things like this.
Later on, Lunia Prisel—all but the game’s official heroine—would join out of jealousy toward Sybel.
But Aster wouldn’t be the one to make the first proposal to someone.
“Sure, go ahead.”
At Sybel’s answer, all eyes turned to Aster.
Everyone was curious: whom exactly was Aster talking about?
“Frondieur.”
He called my name.
“…Huh?”
I lifted my head, having been lost in thought.
What on earth was his purpose in suddenly calling on me?
Wasn’t he looking for someone to go to the dungeon with?
“Want to come to the dungeon?”
So it was me.
Even at Aster’s sudden nomination, I maintained my composure.
As Korea’s proud gamer and one thoroughly saturated in this game, I could keep my equilibrium in any situation.
With that detached frame of mind, I grasped Aster’s true intention, reached understanding, and gave my answer.
“…Huh?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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