The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 160

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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 Duplicator of the Academy — Episode 160
Chapter 53: Divine Rank
“It cannot be done.”
The answer came without hesitation.
Angen knew precisely what Frontdier was about to say, and he had already prepared his response.
“You are not ready for this, Frontdier.”
Angen’s tone was resolute.
Yet Frontdier found himself smiling inwardly.
‘Now he says I’m not ready.’
Angen, who had always insisted it was impossible, beyond reach.
Something had shifted, even in his unconscious mind.
“You cannot even control your own body properly.”
Angen’s words struck something tender in Frontdier.
In truth, his sparring with Artzie had yielded no victories—hadn’t even become proper combat yet.
Certainly he showed more promise than the students of Constellation Academy, but the gap remained palpable.
Artzie always wore that calm expression, as if it were no concern, but who knew the reality? Perhaps she was speechless at the slowness of his growth.
Every victory Frontdier had won thus far owed itself to his skills, his weapons, information warfare, and surprise attacks that exploited his reading of an opponent’s psychology.
Against distant foes, he commanded formidable means; yet when an opponent closed within arm’s reach—when it came to close quarters—Frontdier remained trapped at a student’s level of combat. Though of course, that was only natural.
“That is precisely why I wish to go.”
“To master your own body? You will die before you reach that point.”
Angen shook his head as he spoke.
His eyes, rarely so, were clouded with concern.
“You must have learned something in Taeibun. That, at least, was not arrogance on your part.”
……
“The reason I permitted you to go to Taeibun was because it was summer.”
Angen had initially refused; but through Frontdier’s grave words and his conversation with Artzie, after careful deliberation, he had relented. Or rather, he had simply ceased to prevent it.
Yet this was different.
“The Barrier is the boundary between humanity and monsters. There, you encounter the creatures from beyond, and they are formidable—yet even they are not the true ones. The deeper you venture into the inhuman frontier, the more you face beings of an entirely different order. And in winter, such beings come to breach the Barrier.”
Of course Frontdier understood this. The difference between summer and winter, the existence of deeper abysses even among the outer monsters. At Taeibun, he had learned to gauge the divide between inner and outer creatures, and he had viscerally felt how savage and terrible even those barely beyond the boundary could be.
Further still, the deeper reaches of the beyond: the outer monsters grow stronger the further out they dwell. Winter is when such beings assault the Barrier.
‘But my current strength will certainly help to some degree.’
The Firecracker that targeted monsters’ vital points, the Bombardment from Excalibur, and the “Precision” he had forged through combination with Mjolnir. No outer monster could withstand a strike from Divine Rank and a Legendary Weapon unscathed.
Yet that was precisely why he should not rely on it. That was merely self-aggrandizement.
No matter how formidable, Yeranhesp had never once fallen—unlike Taeibun—under Angen’s “Iron Wall.”
Whether it was Firecracker or Bombardment, the shock would be momentary. Frontdier would gain nothing, nor would Yeranhesp. To Angen, it would appear only as an adolescent son making childish displays in a foolish manner. And that would be the truth.
That, above all, was arrogance. He was not going to Yeranhesp to earn Angen’s praise.
‘I must verify the Helhame Fragment, no matter what.’
The Helhame Fragment—the warden Esther had offered it as a substantial hint.
Locked within glaciers to the north of Yeranhesp lies the Helhame Fragment in slumber. That meant it lay beyond the Barrier.
If the Helhame Fragment truly was Black Heaven, he had to obtain it by any means.
But he could not say this to Angen.
“I will not engage in combat at the Barrier.”
“What do you mean? If you will not fight, what reason is there to go to the Barrier?”
Angen regarded him with suspicion.
Frontdier spoke with a serene expression.
“I simply wish to observe the Roach Knights.”
──Mm.
“By learning from them, I hope to understand the true nature of the Iron Wall.”
Frontdier had been somewhat evasive, but it was not an outright lie.
To obtain the Helhame Fragment, he would need to devise a way to slip beyond the Barrier; but until then, he had no intention of sitting idle.
Angen’s achievement—having never once allowed a monster breach—could not possibly rest on him alone.
It must be possible only because the knights he had trained were tempered to a formidable degree.
If he could extract something from them, perhaps he could master ‘controlling his own body,’ as Angen had put it.
“None of the knights are idle enough to teach you.”
“I will not learn. I will steal.”
It was an audacious claim, yet it sparked something in Angen’s eyes.
“Combat at the Barrier—especially against monsters—will not be permitted, under any circumstances. Will you proceed regardless?”
“Yes.”
Upon hearing Frontdier’s reply, Angen fell into thought.
Indeed, this proposal was also not displeasing to Angen.
Frontdier wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could fight at the Barrier the way he had at Taeibun, and he recognized his place and sought to learn.
Even if the Knights didn’t teach Frontdier directly, spending time with them would naturally yield its own lessons.
If Frontdier didn’t venture too close to the Barrier itself, there would be time to respond even if Monsters breached.
‘Besides, he couldn’t expect to be protected forever.’
Angen had witnessed Frontdier’s resolve last summer.
Frontdier had changed. He’d shed his lazy habits and strived to become a true member of Roach.
That effort had borne clear fruit. The fact that he’d returned from Taeibun without serious injury was proof of it.
Angen had only ever considered casting Frontdier out from the family. Because of that, he’d never thought to raise him as a warrior.
‘Perhaps that habit had lingered until now.’
Having finished his thoughts, Angen spoke to Frontdier.
“The Knights of Roach won’t be as kind as Artzie.”
“……Yes.”
Artzie, kind.
Frontdier had plenty to say, but he held it in for now.
“You leave in a week. Prepare thoroughly until then.”
Permission, finally granted.
Frontdier grinned widely and bowed deeply.
Angen regarded him with a moment’s bewilderment.
Frontdier would be the only one smiling about heading to the Barrier.
Especially one who’d already been there once before.

* * *
The next day, Frontdier made straight for Quinie’s Residence.
Quinie welcomed him warmly. Frontdier tilted his head at what seemed a warmer light in her eyes than before, but stepped inside regardless.
After hearing Frontdier’s explanation, Quinie spoke softly.
“……So you want to improve the necklace.”
“Yes.”
Frontdier nodded.
“There’s nothing to hide from you anymore.”
Frontdier set down the mold he’d brought onto the table, and placed the Black Lotus Amulet on top of it.
With a sharp squeeze, the Black Heaven inside shattered cleanly into the mold.
“With this, I can make weapons. A sword, a spear, anything.”
“Mm. You can just tell me all that?”
“As I said before, there’s no reason to hide from you now, nor any need to.”
Quinie had already seen Frontdier use Black Heaven countless times.
She would have guessed his ability well enough; this wasn’t even a revelation. He was merely repeating what Quinie already knew.
“Right, right. No need to hide. Hmm.”
Yet Quinie seemed embarrassed somehow, shifting her gaze elsewhere.
Frontdier tilted his head but continued explaining the situation.
“I’ve obtained information about securing more of this liquid. Though the truth of it remains unclear.”
“So you need the necklace to hold a larger quantity than before?”
“Yes.”
“This necklace already has Space Expansion Magic on it. There’s room for more even now, but you need even more than that?”
“Yes, I suspect it still won’t be enough.”
Frontdier nodded at Quinie’s question.
Of course he knew the necklace had space expansion on it. There was still room even with all the Black Heaven inside.
But to contain all the Helhame Fragment, it would be hopeless. Esther hadn’t called it a “lake” for nothing.
“Is there perhaps an artifact of the same kind as this necklace, something more advanced?”
Frontdier asked with a faint hope, but Quinie shook her head.
“No, nothing like that. This is custom-made.”
“……I see. Custom-made.”
When he’d first asked Quinie for this, it was only their second meeting. There had been no intimacy or trust between them then.
Yet she’d fulfilled his request by commissioning it custom-made despite all that.
“The information you gave me then was worth it.”
Quinie spoke, reading Frontdier’s expression.
“Because of it, I saved many lives. Prevented deaths. And I gained you as a connection. Looking at it all, it was a profitable exchange for me.”
“Am I really a worthwhile connection?”
“The best one I have.”
Quinie smiled softly as she said it.
Certainly, her manner toward him had become far gentler than before.
‘Has my market value gone up considerably?’
Frontdier pondered this for a moment before asking again.
“Then would it be possible to improve the necklace instead?”
“Hmm, that’s difficult too. This isn’t just anything—it’s a gemstone. If I tamper with an already-completed artifact, there’s only a higher risk of ruining it.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
Quinie folded her arms and gazed down at the necklace in silence. She gave a light huff and spoke.
“Can’t be helped. We’ll simply have to make a new one.”
“Make a new one?”
“Yes. Before, I just poured in a fortune and had it custom-made, but this time we’ll select people carefully and craft something properly. Specialists from every relevant field.”
“Specialists…”
As Frontdier trailed off, Quinie nodded.
She raised one finger.
“First, a Magical Circle engraver.”
“To inscribe the magical circle inside the gemstone, I assume.”
“Right. In addition to Space Expansion, we’ll have them carve in everything else that’s worth having.”
She raised another finger.
“A Magic Engineering specialist.”
“To ensure the magical circles function properly by connecting them, correct?”
“Sharp. And we’ll also need one to prepare for errors when it breaks and reverts.”
And one more finger.
“A security magic specialist.”
“…Security magic?”
“When I first heard about this, I didn’t think much of it, but now that we’re discussing it properly, the liquid going inside is quite important to you, isn’t it? We need security enchantments on the necklace itself so that just anyone can’t steal or break it. Only you should be able to touch or break it.”
Hearing Quinie’s explanation, Frontdier nodded.
The Black Heaven would be an important item that would continue to accompany him. Then surely there would eventually be people who valued it highly.
It was important to safeguard it against being stolen by such people.
Frontdier thought for a moment.
A Magical Circle engraver, a Magic Engineering specialist, a security magic specialist.
…Hmm.
“Um, senior.”
“Hmm?”
“Somehow, it feels like all of them are people I already know.”
At Frontdier’s words, spoken with a somewhat subtle expression, Quinie broke into a grin.
“Doesn’t it?”

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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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