The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 170

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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 Duplicator — Chapter 170
Episode 55: The Plan
I left Lorie fuming and sank into thought for a moment.
If I took her words at face value, the Helheim Fragment and Lorie had nothing to do with each other. Rather, she’d come here investigating precisely to learn the truth herself.
I asked her a question.
“What did you mean, thinking it was your father’s doing?”
“Yeranhesx is Angen’s domain. When something happens near the Barrier, it’s only natural to suspect the closest lord on this side has something to do with it.”
Standard procedure—whenever a major incident erupts, you look first to whoever’s nearest.
Lorie pressed on.
“What’s more, the timing isn’t far off. The Monsters started this worship around the same time your father returned to Yeranhesx. True, it could be coincidence, but he brought along a second son today—a son he’s never brought anywhere before.”
“So you figured that second son must be involved somehow.”
Lorie nodded, and I felt a premonition settling in—this was going to be more complicated than I’d thought.
In the original Etius Game, I’d known that something called the Helheim Fragment existed, but I’d never known what it actually was.
That was partly because Esther, who provided such information, had little to do with Aster, and partly because even if I’d known, the lands beyond the Barrier were so vast.
What I could learn through the game was only the territories within the Empire. Cross the Barrier, and I’m no different from any other inhabitant of this world.
‘Beyond the Barrier, there are things I simply don’t know.’
Seeing the Helheim Fragment would be a first for me. Hearing that Monsters worship something—that too was new.
Yet even amid unknown information, certain deductions were possible.
‘If Black Monsters are born from the Helheim Fragment, and those Black Monsters then impart Heukcheon to the other Monsters outside…’
Then when winter came and Monsters migrated south, surely those creatures would be mixed in among them.
But playing through the game, I’d never once heard mention of “Black Monsters.”
In other words, an event triggered only in this world.
And the trigger was likely me.
In this far north, a place I’d never set foot in before, where I seemed to have no connection whatsoever—if something had unfolded here because of me…
‘Unlikely as it sounds, it feels like divine intervention.’
Given that Hephaestus must have blabbed about me to Hestia and Ares, most of the Greek gods would know of my existence by now.
If the others shared Hephaestus’s feelings, they’d be desperate enough to kill me.
But for a god to descend into this world required various conditions. Thanatos—the first god I’d met—could serve as an example, with his skill rigged with a trigger.
However, descending through such a method carried severe limitations. If Thanatos had possessed his full power back then, he could have ended me in an instant without even giving me time to open my mouth.
The fact that I could move my lips at all in that moment was evidence his power had been weakened considerably.
‘If this situation really is divine intervention, it makes sense that the Monsters would worship the fragment.’
There was another way for a god to descend.
A multitude of believers, a place where those believers gathered, and a medium connecting this world to the god.
With those three elements, a god could descend. Of course, the power they could exercise would diminish depending on how many believers there were and for how long they prayed, or how close the medium was to the deity—but it would surpass the irregularity of a trigger-based descent.
The most compact version of this method was the Sanctuary I’d found in the first dungeon. The statue before it, called the Guardian of Truth, was a medium for all gods and the Sanctuary’s sole believer.
That’s why a god could appear at the Sanctuary and, even if limited to a few words of conversation and a modest display of power, could still manifest.
‘So some god incited the Monsters to worship in order to descend…’
Just to kill me.
That’s genuinely touching devotion.
“So.”
Having finished my reasoning, I opened my mouth.
“What exactly are you?”
“T-that… I can’t say.”
Lorie spat out the words and immediately tensed up.
After everything she’d been through, she was probably wondering what I’d do to her next.
But I had no such intention.
“Well, I figured as much.”
At my words, Lorie’s expression softened and she blinked.
“Y-you’re not going to torture me?”
“I’ve never tortured you.”
“What are you talking about? You bound me with weapons and suddenly had me hanging sideways…”
“You call that torture? Mangot’s assassins would laugh.”
“Ungh—and you locked me away for a whole month…!”
“I didn’t lock you up.”
Had that month already seared itself so deeply into Lorie’s mind? She must have found it genuinely terrifying.
“Besides, you and your kind already know which information you can share and which you can’t, right? I’m aware wasting time beyond that point is pointless.”
I’d learned this during my time with Selena—when extracting information from people involved in the underworld, there was something critical to understand.
There exist certain secrets that will never be divulged.
No matter how much pain or threat is applied, no matter how close death draws, even unto death itself—some information will not be spoken. And one shouldn’t touch such things.
Of course, being human, perhaps if someone devised a more ingenious and novel torture method they hadn’t been trained against, they might break.
But I don’t know anything about that, and if someone tried it, the cost and time would be considerable.
‘And regarding identity—Analysis would be faster than torture.’
It consumes a fair amount of Mana right now, so I don’t use it lightly, but Analysis would provide far more reliable and better information.
Of course, I won’t know what information surfaces until I use it, but Analysis has a particular strength in focusing on the essential nature of its target.
‘I have a rough idea what it might be, anyway.’
Even though I tested my abilities with a goblin at first, Lorie isn’t exactly my enemy. She came out to investigate this sudden anomaly herself, so in a sense, layers of misunderstanding have brought us to this moment.
But she’s part of an organization that must conceal its identity, and if necessary, she’d be willing to oppose either me or Angen. Yet if she came to investigate a fragment, she must have been concerned about the Barrier.
‘…The Imperial Secret Service, then.’
From the fact that Lorie knows so little about me, it’s clear she’s not remnants of Mangot or Indus.
Philly keeps his mouth shut, so he wouldn’t casually mention me, and besides, the Imperial Secret Service doesn’t answer to Philly’s orders.
An institution that exists solely for the Emperor and the stability of the Empire. Conversely, for that goal, the Secret Service will do anything—things that must never be known to the Empire’s citizens. That’s precisely why it’s called the Secret Service.
Philly knows the Secret Service exists, but he likely has no idea what specifically happens beneath the Imperial Palace.
“Fine. I’ve heard what I need to hear. You can go.”
“…You’re really letting me leave?”
“Yeah. Good information. Thanks.”
I waved my hand in farewell. Lorie retreated slowly, but didn’t turn her back to me—bracing herself for whatever I might do next. Her eyes were saying things like, ‘If I turn around, you’ll stab me in the back that instant, won’t you? Coward!’ without uttering a word.
Once considerable distance had opened between us and Lorie felt safe enough to turn around—
“Oh, right.”
“See! I knew it! Bastard! How dare you mock me? Even if it kills me, I’ll tear out both your eyes and—”
“No, listen before you go. I just wanted to ask you something.”
“Huh? Ah, yes?”
Lorie spun around and began backing away again, slowly. Had my calm demeanor settled her nerves a little?
“You saw that glacier with your own eyes, didn’t you? The one beyond the North?”
“Of, of course I did. I saw it with my own eyes. How could I speak of such a thing without seeing it?”
Hmm, fair point.
Which is why I asked.
“How did you cross the Barrier at Yeranhesx?”

* * *
[That woman was telling the truth. There was a Portal beyond the Barrier.]
“Portals are one-way, so humans can exit the Barrier, but outside Monsters can’t enter. Smart thinking.”
After hearing Lorie’s information, I had Gregory inspect the Barrier.
Gregory discovered a concealed Portal device, and it wasn’t far from this lodging I’m in now.
Well, “not far” compared to other locations—but it’s quite a treacherous path for human legs to cover on foot.
“Since a Portal’s anchor point becomes its reference frame, it returns to that location—so someone must have secretly crossed the Barrier in the past and installed it. Bold move.”
Definitely the Imperial Secret Service.
Portal is one of the rare spells applicable to all three categories: pure Magic, Magical Circles, and Magical Artifacts.
Pure Magic, where the caster themselves completes the Incantation, Formula, and Activation Word from the start, can use almost all spells; by contrast, Magical Circles and Artifacts have limited applicable spells, each with different constraints.
In that sense, Portal functions stably across all three. It just demands an extremely high skill level from whoever creates it.
[Haven’t you been ordering me around way too casually lately?]
The raven suddenly said something like that.
I paused for a moment, looking into those eyes, then spoke.
“What are you talking about?”
[Don’t you dare take my service for granted. I’m helping you out of goodwill, nothing more. I could leave this place anytime I please.]
“My tamed raven is talking back to me—I must have trained you too well.”
[Do you really think I’m tamed?! That was just the cover story inside Constellation Academy!]
The raven ruffled its feathers indignantly.
In truth, it was said in jest, and I do appreciate Gregory. His abilities have been genuinely helpful.
But then again.
“When do you get out, anyway? Indus is dissolved and Kraken’s been arrested. There’s nothing stopping you from leaving now.”
[…Even with Indus dissolved, my sentence remains. Release is still far off.]
“Once you’re released, I’ll hire you properly. Until then, I don’t have the means to do anything for you.”
There’s not much I can do for Gregory while he’s locked up in prison. Maybe I’ll bring him food later?
[Hmph. Well, I just thought you were being too casual about using me. In any case, don’t forget my value.]
The raven flapped its wings as it spoke. Gregory had a somewhat cunning side to him.
[So what now? Even as we speak, those Black Monsters are probably still pouring out from the Helheim Fragment. And it’s not just that—they’ll make the Monsters outside even stronger. If you don’t act quickly, the next Southern Migration could be catastrophic.]
Gregory’s words were sound.
Even with the Roach Knights and Angen as formidable as they are, dealing with suddenly empowered Monsters won’t be easy.
The ones tainted with Heukcheon might merely become somewhat harder, but I still don’t know how powerful the Black Monsters themselves truly are.
My deliberation, however, didn’t last long.
From the very beginning, the answer was already determined.
“Selena. Are you there?”
I called for Selena, and she appeared before me at once.
“Yes.”
Selena knelt on one knee before me. Her posture and voice were flawless, but she was dressed in pajamas.
Well, it was late at night—hardly surprising.
…….
I paused to study them for a moment. These too were better than before, but still emphasized her figure in a way that defeated the practical purpose of sleepwear entirely.
‘The next time I buy clothes for Selena, I should get her proper pajamas.’
I added one more item to my mental shopping list.
Hmm, I cleared my throat lightly before speaking to her.
She had likely already anticipated this first word from me.
“From now on, I will devise a plan to destroy the Helheim Fragment.”

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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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