The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 13

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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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The Weapon Replicator of the Academy Episode 13
Chapter 3: Fate Manipulation (4)
Jane examined the wall that Frontier and Siebel had crossed.
But she couldn’t press the foothold again, and no other mechanism was visible. It seemed the trap couldn’t be reactivated.
“Frontier! Siebel! Can you hear me?”
Silence.
Whether they couldn’t hear her from over there, or she couldn’t hear them from here, or both—in any case, communication seemed impossible.
“What do we do? They’re both first-years,”
Quinie was about to voice her worry when she felt a violent rush of wind beside her.
She turned to see Aster’s body engulfed in white light.
“I’ll break through it.”
Aster’s Divine Power—Baldur.
The moment he saw his companions in danger, Aster didn’t hesitate.
But then—
“You can’t.”
Jane stopped him.
“Why not? With my strength, I should be able to break through.”
Aster spoke already fully braced for action.
Jane shook her head.
“Yes, you probably could break through. It would be easy, and if you’re not careful, you might bring down this entire Dungeon.”
“……!”
At Jane’s composed words, Aster regained his composure.
Jane looked at Aster directly and continued.
“Aster. If the Dungeon collapses, the two inside could be buried alive. Then there’s nothing we could do.”
“…….”
After hearing Jane’s words, Aster fell silent for a moment. Then he released his Divine Power and closed his eyes.
“……I apologize for losing my head so carelessly.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
Watching Aster apologize sincerely, Jane smiled.
But the situation was far from resolved.
Jane considered carefully.
Would Frontier and Siebel stay where they crossed over, or would they move forward?
Frontier would want to stay put. He knew the traps well, and besides, he was notorious for his laziness.
But Siebel—she wouldn’t be able to stand waiting. Until just moments ago, she’d been broadcasting her boredom loud and clear.
If Jane and Quinie were with her, a little restlessness would be manageable, but now there were only two of them.
‘……They mustn’t move. I can only hope Frontier keeps Siebel in check.’
That meant they still had time.
“We’ll continue forward. Once we clear the Dungeon, it loses its power and the area returns to its original state. Then they’ll be safe too.”
“……Yes. Then let’s hurry.”
Quinie nodded with a determined expression.
Jane looked at Aster.
“I’m counting on your strength, Aster.”
“Leave it to me.”
Aster replied with a tone full of conviction.
Even without breaking through the wall, his power was essential for clearing this Dungeon quickly.
* * *
Jane probably hoped we’d stay put. It’s dungeon basic survival.
But Siebel and I were walking steadily forward.
Siebel looked around nervously, her gaze mostly fixed on me.
‘Separating from the group was the right call after all.’
I triggered the trap deliberately. To leave only Siebel and myself behind.
There were several reasons for this.
One was Quinie’s sharp perception.
I’ve cleared this Dungeon many times, so I remember the location of nearly every trap.
Without meaning to, I glanced at their positions with my eyes, and she caught that brief moment.
It’s better to stay separated from Quinie while in this Dungeon.
The other reason was Siebel.
Siebel’s fate bends to her desires.
The Dungeon exploration so far, speaking kindly, hadn’t been what she wanted.
She’s interested in Aster. She wants to see him shine and for their relationship to deepen by his side.
But I’m not particularly happy about it. I know Siebel is a villain.
Of course, Siebel in this world might turn out differently.
Yet through countless playthroughs, she never changed. I have no confidence I can change her now.
So it’s better if Aster and Siebel stay as far apart as possible.
The problem is that Fate Manipulation of his.
If Siebel’s desires go unsatisfied, there’s no telling what unforeseen variable might descend upon us.
A monster from the “outside” appearing in this lower-tier dungeon—something that doesn’t belong here—is entirely possible if it’s her.
So before that happens.
I’ll take a hand in her Fate Manipulation myself.
“Don’t come near me. Don’t.”
The moment Siebel and I were alone, her wariness spiked to maximum.
This must be her true perception of me—revulsion, and something close to fear.
Seeing Siebel’s unguarded expression was oddly refreshing. Probably almost no one else had ever seen her like this.
But for two first-years, a lower-tier dungeon is a dangerous place.
Even if Siebel dislikes it, staying separated from me is risky.
Monsters are manageable, but most first-years can’t identify traps.
I, however, know every single one.
And I’ve been saving them to my inventory each time I spot one.
So then, where should I start?
Let me reshape Siebel’s “desires.”
Click.
I deliberately pressed down on the unnaturally protruding stone.
Whoosh!
The same arrow trap as before.
This time the arrows came streaking straight at us from the front.
“Oh!”
Knowing exactly where they’d fire, I gasped as if startled.
Siebel stood right next to the arrow’s trajectory.
“H-huh…!”
Siebel trembled as she stared at the arrowheads.
The arrow would have missed her anyway. Even if it hadn’t, Siebel’s reaction time would’ve gotten her clear.
Not just Siebel—any combat-focused student from Constellation would react in the nick of time. Even if they failed to react, her peculiar luck would’ve saved her somehow.
But since I’ve blocked it, none of that’s necessary.
No luck needed means no luck activates.
“Sorry, I must’ve stepped on a trap.”
“You… you…”
Siebel’s face crumpled on the verge of tears.
She’d like to resent me, but with zero knowledge of traps, she can’t tell if I stepped on it deliberately.
Even as her expression wavered, Siebel fumbled to draw her weapon.
A sword thinner than her own arm, its hilt adorned with a crossguard to protect the hand.
A Rapier.
I drew the Dagger from my pocket. Normally it’s needed to harvest materials from monsters, but it’s my only weapon. Truthfully, I barely need even this.
Still, I had to act tense so Siebel would stay on edge too.
“Let’s go.”
“Y-yeah.”
Siebel had softened a bit. But the distance between us still hadn’t narrowed much.
Hmm.
She still hasn’t let her guard down.
—Screech!
—Ahhhhh!
—Mom!!
As we walked, I deliberately triggered traps, and I personally handled each incoming attack. Each time, Siebel jumped in fright.
Of course, I didn’t activate every trap. For most of them, I pointed out their location to Siebel, instructed her to avoid them, and disarmed what I could.
Building up her trust this way, and just as she was beginning to relax,
every so often—
“Ahhhhhhh! No!!”
This time it was a floor-collapse trap.
I caught her hand just as she was about to fall from the edge.
Siebel’s body hung at a diagonal angle toward the cliff’s edge.
Her entire weight balanced solely on my hand—if I let go, she’d plummet.
“Phew, that was close.”
“Help me, help me, help meeeee!!”
“You’re alive, so calm down.”
I pulled her hand. Siebel’s body tumbled into my arms.
Once she’d regained her footing, she trembled while staring into the darkness below.
The bottom of the pit was invisible to the naked eye. Not knowing what lay beneath terrified her all the more.
But truthfully, there was nothing down there. Just bare ground.
A trap of the sort where even a fall poses no real danger if you land calmly.
“Hnngh, hnnnngh…….”
All her wariness and suspicion toward me had vanished; now she clung to my side.
Of course. Siebel intuitively sensed that fate bends itself to her will, yet she didn’t grasp the true magnitude of that power.
Her extraordinary fortune wasn’t the sort of comic luck that lets you dodge an arrow with a sneeze.
Rather, an arrow would never come her way in the first place. The very circumstance that would produce one simply ceases to exist.
Because of this, Siebel had almost never experienced an arrow bearing down on her.
Not some weak luck that circumvents crisis at the last moment, but a force powerful enough to erase the crisis entirely.
Ironically, when fortune proves that overwhelming, it breeds confusion the instant she faces a genuine threat.
“F—Frontier…….”
Already she was on the verge of tears, though she hadn’t suffered so much as a scratch.
Had she been alone in such a situation, she would have found reassurance instead.
Most traps she would never notice and thus avoid, and even those she did trigger would either fail or prove so trivial they’d only comfort her further.
But I step on them myself and disarm them. I continue to place her in danger, then eliminate it.
Because I do what her luck should do, her luck never activates.
In other words, my very existence has become her ‘fortune.’
Yet Siebel must be hopelessly confused. From her perspective, I’m the one in peril.
It appears I’m barely holding back the traps, which means she doesn’t sense her fortune working at all.
‘If only her desires would change from this point forward.’
If her interest in Aster would fade and be replaced by a desire to leave this place—I could help with that easily enough.
I understand the layout of this Dungeon.
The path we’re taking has more traps, but it’s actually the shorter route to the Sanctuary.
Since the Sanctuary is the Dungeon’s final chamber, reaching it means we’re nearly at the exit.
Yet even so, Aster will arrive there faster.
He’s burning with righteousness and will tear through without sparing Divine Power.
Shortening our distance won’t let us match that pace.
“Ah, it’s opened up.”
As we walked, I surveyed my surroundings. We’d entered a noticeably broader space than before.
“So when it’s wider, what’s different about it?”
Pressing close behind me, Siebel asked in a frightened voice.
“Fewer traps.”
“Really?”
That’s the truth. Traps aren’t laid where there’s ample space to avoid them.
Unless the entire zone itself is a trap.
“But where exactly did you learn all that?”
Siebel asked with evident suspicion.
“From lessons.”
“……From what I hear, you sleep through every class.”
“Haven’t you heard I’ve been paying attention lately?”
It feels strange, speaking of myself as though I were someone else.
In truth, I’m not really Frontier, so I suppose I am, technically.
“So if it’s not traps, what else is there?”
“Well.”
We walked a short distance further before a herd of beasts came into view ahead.
Gray fur with crimson eyes, backs distinctly hunched, yet they walked upright on two legs—their faces unmistakably rat-like.
Ratmen.
“Things like that.”
“……I see.”
Siebel seemed to settle somewhat; she drew her Rapier and gave it a light practice swing.
I gripped my Dagger again.
“Better than traps, wouldn’t you say?”
“A hundred, a thousand times over.”
The herd of Ratmen charged toward us.
About ten of them.
If they’d all come at once, it would’ve been annoying, but seeing them arrive one by one just proves rats have rat-level intelligence.
Siebel struck down each enemy as they came.
There was something peculiar about Siebel’s swordplay — most would rely on thrusts with a rapier, but she fought primarily with cuts, wielding that thin blade with slashing strokes.
After awakening her Aura, the frequency of those cuts grew even more pronounced.
It made sense — a blade sheathed in Aura doesn’t break easily.
“Hey! You! Aren’t you going to fight?!”
Siebel pressed me while fighting hard.
I shrugged.
“Sorry. I can’t fight.”
Siebel’s face filled with disbelief.
“A student of Constellation like this…?”

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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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