The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 166

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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 166
Chapter 54: Remnants (3)
As I disposed of the goblins one by one, I surveyed my surroundings.
I’d thought that through lessons and training at Constellation Academy, I’d raised my Energy Perception to a respectable level, but it was clear now that pinpointing where the culprit was watching from remained impossible for me.
I had no choice but to leave it to Gregory.
‘Still.’
I glanced briefly at the goblins, their eyes gleaming with relentless malice and dull ferocity. Three remained. They seemed devoid of fear toward death, yet hesitation flickered across their movements.
They understood well enough that a reckless charge would mean certain death.
‘They haven’t completely lost their sanity.’
Since the Golem incident—when Hephaestus had intervened in Edwin’s case—and after Serf’s business card incident, I’d learned something.
Controlling someone wasn’t as simple as it appeared.
Edwin had convinced himself his heart had changed, but there was a clear trigger: me. And the real puppet-master was a ‘God.’
Serf’s business card was effective as a means of control, certainly, but without direct commands it wouldn’t budge, and anyone could see at a glance that its user was being manipulated.
‘These aren’t either of those.’
They weren’t fully sane, but neither were they automatons. Their killing intent toward me was unmistakable, and though their focus wavered, they attacked of their own volition. No one was commanding them.
Either someone was temporarily amplifying a single emotion, or…
‘…are they intoxicated?’
Thrust! Thrust!
I punctured the throat and chest of the nearest goblin and killed it, then cast a quick glance at the Heukcheon smeared across its body.
‘Let me try.’
I had to be careful not to be noticed—just a little.
I used ‘Weaving’ to resonate with the Heukcheon.
‘…It works.’
The instant I saw the Heukcheon on their bodies move, I quickly cancelled the Weaving.
The way my Weaving responded perfectly confirmed that what was smeared on these creatures was definitely Heukcheon.
And though I’d somewhat anticipated it, I felt a degree of resistance. Since Heukcheon is inherently liquid, using it this way requires continuous magical treatment to stabilize.
‘It succeeded more easily than I expected.’
I must have pierced through the target’s magical resistance to make the Weaving work, but the resistance itself wasn’t particularly strong. It seemed my Weaving was operating at a superior level of force.
I didn’t want to use gaming terminology, but it felt like a difference in grade.
“Phew.”
After dispatching the remaining goblins, I exhaled slowly.
For someone who’d deliberately interfered with my mind to isolate me and then attacked, they hadn’t been particularly impressive.
‘I’d like nothing more than to recover the Heukcheon right now.’
But I should hold off for now.
Until I knew the culprit’s true identity and purpose, I couldn’t afford to act rashly.
What I’m really after is a Hel-heim Fragment. Compared to that, the Heukcheon scattered among these goblins was mere pebbles.
“So, the way back…”
I gathered my wits and retraced the path I’d taken here.
Direction, the location of my lodging, distance—all of it came back to me. The mental interference seemed to have lifted.
And considering I’d just taken a beating from those knights in sequence, my body was in no condition to boast about. Yet I’d defeated goblins with nothing but combat technique, no Weaving—perhaps I’ve grown after all.
…Or maybe the goblins in this world are weaker than in games. Since I’m meeting them for the first time today, I can’t be sure.

* * *
“You found her?”
[Of course.]
The raven spoke with absolute confidence.
What Gregory had spotted was a girl sitting in a tree—she’d been watching my fight from her hiding place.
[She hid her presence well. Looked quite young, though.]
“How young?”
[About your age, I’d say.]
“…Is that considered young?”
[How old do you think you are?]
Seventeen.
Right, I’d momentarily forgotten. Frontdier is a first-year at Constellation Academy. Don’t forget that.
“She didn’t notice your presence, did she?”
[She saw me, sure. I’m a raven. But she hasn’t the faintest idea she was being watched. My technique has never been detected. Not even by that ‘Elody.’]
When he said Elody, he meant Elody, didn’t he.
“It was detected. Elody knew about it.”
[That was because of her gaze! If Serf hadn’t kept pestering me to spy so relentlessly, I would’ve gotten away with it. And she only sensed the gaze—she didn’t see through my identity. My ability goes only so far.]
Gregory puffed himself up with tremendous pride in his own skill, and watching the raven do so was both irritating and laughable.
“What about your clothes?”
[Nothing remarkable. The sort of outfit you’d see anywhere in Yelanheus. But the face—without a mask, it would be instantly recognizable. Not the kind of face suited for undercover work.]
“Why?”
[The appearance was too striking. Not the cheap, tawdry beauty of a courtesan, but the kind of clean, noble, and pitiful face that could pass for a famous knight. Green eyes and golden hair. Even if someone called her a vanished elf from ages past, I’d have nodded along.]
An appearance far too striking.
I’d never seen a face like it since arriving in Yelanheus.
But if her clothes were ordinary, then surely.
“She’d be somewhere nearby.”
[Right. And the odds are high that she wears a mask in her daily life—not when working. The opposite of how typical underworld operatives do things. With looks that exceptional, living openly would entangle her in all manner of tedious complications.]
Mm.
Of course, she wouldn’t have started wearing a mask the moment I arrived. She’d have been doing this from the beginning.
So the feeling is—someone from the underworld had been conducting operations in Yelanheus on assignment, and then I, utterly unexpected, invaded.
“……Is the target Angen?”
[Why?]
“Even if they blend into daily life, if their real work is crime, they can’t stay in one place long. So assignments get finished as quickly as possible. My being here creating interference by pure chance—that doesn’t happen easily. Her reasons for coming to Yelanheus probably won’t stray far from my predictions.”
Angen comes to the end of this barrier every winter to seal it. That’s true whether I’m here or not.
In other words, her meeting with me wasn’t mere coincidence.
Originally, she’d begun her assignment targeting Angen. But unexpectedly, this time I’ve also come to Yelanheus, so suddenly my presence became an obstruction. That’s the right way to think about it.
[Indeed, that makes sense.]
“Don’t feign surprise. You were thinking something similar.”
[Not at all. I’ve already moved beyond that thought to consider whether, if Angen truly is her target, it wouldn’t be assassination. First, it’s not feasible, and if her purpose were to kill Angen, you’d make no sense as interference since you have almost no connection to him. You and I were thinking entirely different things.]
This bastard.
I was irritated, but he was making a valid point, so I let it pass. That was Gregory’s way of helping, too.
Another thought occurred to me, and I spoke.
“And while dealing with the goblins, I noticed something.”
[What?]
“Heukcheon probably isn’t the Hel-heim Fragment itself.”
[Why do you think so?]
“If it were, the Hel-heim Fragment wouldn’t be trapped in glacial ice in the first place.”
[……Hmm.]
This was a doubt I’d carried since before arriving in Yelanheus.
If what the warden Esther said were true—that the Hel-heim Fragment is “a vast frozen lake trapped in glacial ice”—then
why was Heukcheon, supposedly a part of it, discovered in the dungeon wearing the false guise of Mistilein, and why do I now hold it in my hand?
At first, I thought the Hel-heim Fragment wasn’t completely sealed, and there might be some open region. Or perhaps it had developed cracks and was leaking through.
But if so, Heukcheon should have been found far more frequently. In the game, Heukcheon never appeared except during the “Nobles’ Assembly.” Of course, when playing the game, it was just “black water” anyway, not even named Heukcheon.
“What I took from the goblin was definitely Heukcheon. Heukcheon and the Hel-heim Fragment are clearly not unrelated. But they’re not completely identical either. What if Heukcheon is a residue—some byproduct left over from working with the Hel-heim Fragment?”
In combat, I use Weaving, Heukcheon, Menosorpho, and so forth, all together. That’s because each compensates for the limitations of the others.
Conversely, each one on its own has terribly unclear utility.
Weaving was originally for creating illusions; Heukcheon without Weaving is just a liquid that hardens under pressure—an impossible-to-work metal; Menosorpho might even be something others could use better than I.
I use them as a set, but truthfully, these three aren’t a set. They’re unrelated to one another.
Looking at Heukcheon in isolation, it couldn’t really be called valuable.
Liquid at rest, yet solid when force is applied—an impossible trait for an ordinary metal. Despite possessing such extraordinarily strange magical properties, Heukcheon is of low value.
Which means—isn’t there a “true” version somewhere else with identical magical properties to Heukcheon?
[You mean the Hel-heim Fragment?]
“That’s what I think.”
I drew out the necklace Heukryeon and gazed at it for a moment.
Since Edwin, Vinkis, and Daud are creating a new Heukryeon entirely from scratch, I no longer needed this one. Thanks to that, I could bring it with me.
The black liquid within it—Heukcheon. I’ve received considerable aid from it until now.
As Weaving did at first, I still know nothing about Heukcheon.
It was time I learned.
“I don’t know why he’s attacking me, or why he made a point of having the goblins carry Heukcheon as if showing it off.
I don’t like being targeted blindly.
If someone aims for me, I simply give myself reason to aim back.
And for him, that reason exists clearly.
“He seems to enjoy tests.”
Then he wouldn’t mind being the one tested instead of the one testing, would he?
I won’t disappoint.

* * *
The next day, I headed to the barracks as usual.
If she attacked me, that means she saw me somewhere. We might have locked eyes, exchanged greetings, or simply passed each other in the street.
If she’s a woman of such striking beauty, as Gregory said, then naturally she’d be wearing a mask while conducting her operations.
“Silbain, I have a question for you.”
“What is it?”
I decided to test it out and used the Analysis skill on Silbain.
[Silbain]
– Captain of the Roach Knights.
– An elite who caught Angen’s eye early on through his exceptional skill, reputation, and unwavering conviction. His dedication to the safety of the people is something that will break before it bends.
– Recently has taken an interest in Frontdier and wishes to train him. Likelihood of extending an offer to join: 15%.
– Was originally left-handed but was corrected to be right-handed through training. The correction happened so early in his life that he himself has no memory of it. His growth would be significantly greater if he wielded his sword in his left hand.
“If I were to wield a sword in both hands, would I need to decide which one blocks?”
“First, I wouldn’t recommend it at all. But if you must do it that way, then yes, you should decide. If your shield hand is holding a sword instead, that blade must both parry and defend simultaneously. And it mustn’t interfere with the sword in your other hand.”
Silbain answered my question with complete sincerity.
He didn’t seem to notice the Analysis. It was the same as when I had analyzed Selena—Analysis doesn’t give off any tells to others.
I learned information from analyzing Silbain that I hadn’t even considered, but that’s a matter for later.
‘Well then.’
Even if I don’t know who the culprit is.
I’ll show you a simpler method to uncover the other’s identity.

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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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