The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 188

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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, Episode 188
Chapter 60: Graduation Ceremony
[Ready?]
Frontdier heard Malia’s voice coming through the phone.
“Yes.”
[Then let’s begin. You’ve done it before, so you won’t be thrown off, right?]
Immediately after Malia’s voice.
Frontdier began to see two landscapes overlapping. Malia’s Sense Sharing was beginning to appear through his eyes.
“…All right. I’ll end the call for now.”
Weaving, Black Heaven
Rank — Divine Authority
Criselacatos, Iokeira
The Heukryeon, Amulet, and Necklace, improved and returned to his hands.
Frontdier had since learned from Edwin the precise method of operation and become able to control Black Heaven.
Frontdier shaped the Black Heaven flowing from the Amulet into a Bow and Arrows, drew the string taut. Up to this point, it was no different from when he’d first demonstrated Fireworks at Constellation Academy.
But this time.
Whee—
Boom-boom-boom-boom!!
Arrows bursting and splitting countless times in the sky.
Yet the arrows that were originally meant to travel toward a single point split in two directions and fell.
Two groups flew toward completely different places. One fell near Frontdier, while the other flew beyond the forest and vanished from sight.
Frontdier picked up the phone again.
“How was that?”
[Success!]
Malia’s delighted voice came through. It also appeared in Frontdier’s shared vision. The other group of arrows that had flown beyond the forest struck precisely at the wooden marker.
Frontdier had just conducted a test.
Malia’s Sense Sharing could share vision, and by sharing, it allowed Frontdier to see the same sight Malia was seeing.
Using the vision Malia shared, striking precisely whatever was visible with Criselacatos, executing ultra-long-range fire. This was the original “Fireworks.”
What he’d done this time wasn’t largely different from that, but Frontdier realized he was only sharing vision from one eye and conceived of a different idea.
‘Since both eyes are seeing different landscapes, if I shoot arrows while seeing both, wouldn’t simultaneous bombardment on two points be possible?’
It was a reckless and outlandish notion, but Criselacatos actually pulled it off. It had just been proven.
“This way, if combat breaks out simultaneously in multiple locations, immediate support becomes possible,” Selena remarked from beside him in admiration.
“Exactly. Originally, I’d planned to use this in the coming battle.”
Frontdier smiled wryly.
Frontdier’s original plan had been to slip out of the Barrier “secretly.” Once Selena brought Malia, he would activate Sense Sharing, then slip past the Barrier to destroy the Fragment, and in case the Monsters attacked the Barrier in the meantime, he would fire simultaneously at both the Fragment and the Barrier.
That was why he’d asked Selena to bring Malia.
But that plan depended entirely on Frontdier not appearing in the second battle. He’d thought that even at Selena’s speed, she wouldn’t arrive until after the second engagement.
Yet the actual battlefield never conforms to one’s expectations. It would be nice if reality unfolded exactly as a game would, but the activated Fragments of Helheim, the Black Monsters born from them, divine intervention—none of it had been accounted for.
Frontdier had pushed himself hard, driven into a truly perilous situation.
But it wasn’t only the enemy that failed to go according to plan.
Selena returning far faster than anticipated, the swift awakening of Silbain with his left hand, the sudden emergence of the Imperial Covert Division—
there were allies whose existence clearly helped overcome the chaos.
‘In the end, looking back, I’ve received so much aid that Malia’s Sense Sharing wasn’t even necessary.’
Had he fought alone, Malia would have been indispensable. After actually receiving Sense Sharing, Frontdier had kept watch on the state of the Barrier through the shared vision while heading toward the Fragment beyond the battlefield.
But the exploits of Silbain, the Roach Knights, and Angen exceeded his expectations.
Especially Silbain—after switching the sword to his left hand, he seemed like a different person entirely. Even if he’d been naturally left-handed, adaptation would have taken time.
Watching their fighting, Frontdier had judged the situation at the Barrier to be “manageable.”
Of course, bringing Malia wasn’t without meaning.
He could conduct tests like this now, and when heading to the Fragment, had Frontdier not been watching the Barrier’s condition, he might have been too preoccupied with worry to concentrate properly.
─You are truly solitary, aren’t you.
─As if you knew everything.
─Always fighting alone. Human Sloth Frontdier.
Empress Philly’s blade-sharp counsel, heard long ago, echoed in his ears.
“Ha ha.”
‘It’s going to stick in my ears until the day I die, I think.’
Frontdier laughed bitterly.
Even if he took that counsel to heart, Frontdier would surely find himself fighting alone again someday.
He was the only human in this world who knew how it would end.
Bound by information and knowledge held only by himself, moments would certainly come when he was not understood, times when his actions would be condemned by none else.

The fragment of Helheim, the black monsters, the intervention of divinity. There was only one reason these variables had come into being.
Frontdier de Rohwald.
A figure who scarcely appeared in the game before vanishing—now raising his head again. That was why such a dangerous variable had emerged.
‘In other words, it’s because of me.’
No one else would know it.
The reason this battle had been so much harsher than any other attempt in the game was the butterfly effect caused by Frontdier.
‘So no matter what happens, I have to stop it.’
Frontdier moved to prevent the world’s destruction.
Yet that wasn’t a heroic impulse.
It was simply because this was the main quest. Because he had to clear this game.
But if the world he sought to save became all the more dangerous by his own actions, what meaning could that possibly hold?
‘So I’ll do everything.’
While thrashing to prevent annihilation, he would also suppress the typhoon that his thrashing itself would create.
“Selena.”
“Yes.”
“It seems I really am quite greedy.”
“Absurdly so, sir.”
“Hah.”
Selena’s answer came without a moment’s hesitation.
The bodyguard who watched most closely had given her blessing. There was no point denying it—he should simply accept it.
[Frontdier, come back now. Seeing you standing there is making me anxious.]
At Malia’s words, Frontdier glanced absently around him.
The fireworks he’d just fired—half had struck true at Malia’s marker, but the other half had impaled every monster in the vicinity.
Nor was that all; scattered around were countless vanguard constructs fashioned by Frontdier and Selena.
Bloodied though they were, if one traced what the two of them had wrought, it had already crossed into the realm of art.
Indeed. Frontdier and Selena had crossed the Barrier once more.
“Is this some kind of final cleanup? Like crushing an ant colony?”
Selena, standing beside him, posed the question.
“No, not quite. I wanted to eliminate the final variable that might trouble us.”
Frontdier replied.
The last variable in this battle.
‘If there are monsters that fly through the sky, then the opposite must exist as well.’
That was a monster that wouldn’t emerge until some future time. Because only Frontdier knew of it, he couldn’t explain it to anyone, but since the divine had intervened, he’d grown concerned that this monster too might rear its head.
Selena had just called it an ant colony, which was a very apt phrase. Though she herself had no idea how apt.
‘……But not yet, it seems.’
Frontdier sensed keenly for any presence around him. Yet neither he nor Selena detected anything else.
──That monster did not appear yet.
“All right. Let’s go back, Selena.”
“Yes.”
Frontdier turned his body, and Selena followed in his wake.
With the Barrier standing between them, humanity grew by expanding its territory.
To overcome those terrifying monsters beyond it, to widen the Barrier once more. Someday to reclaim this entire continent as humanity’s domain again, and to meet whatever other secrets might lie beyond the sea.
But if ever a time came when the ‘Barrier’ itself lost all meaning, then mankind would─
“……That’s a problem for later.”
“Sir?”
“Ah, no. The holiday, that’s what I meant. A problem for later.”
Frontdier hastily gathered up the words he’d let slip without thinking. But Selena only looked at him more oddly.
“A problem for later, sir?”
“Hmm?”
“The holiday ends tomorrow.”
……What?

* * *
The end of winter break.
Which meant the conclusion of each academic year.
With the holiday over and the new year begun, the Graduation Ceremony took place at Constellation Academy.
Constellation Academy’s Graduation Ceremony was conducted far more elaborately than at other schools, and the students’ enthusiasm ran high—for it was the time when promising third-year students took their first steps toward becoming professionals, and juniors earnestly offered their prayers for their seniors’ well-being.
Once the Graduation Ceremony proceedings in the Auditorium were complete, the real mass migration of students began.
“Senior! I’ll definitely stay in touch!”
“Let’s grab a meal together this weekend!”
Popular third-year students with genuine talent received an outpouring of support from juniors and peers during this season.
Conversely, those who didn’t stand out or lacked impressive abilities were often treated as invisible.
So it was only natural that popularity would surge during this time—
“Viet!”
“Senior! Please take this! You can’t forget about me!”
“Mine too, it’s just a small talisman. I really hope you do well, senior…….”
“These are flowers, senior!”
“Me too!”
“And me! I brought a gift! Clothing’s important when seasons change!”
It was Quinie de Viet.
The most popular third-year student about to graduate, she was engulfed in a tide of well-wishers.
Quinie’s own assessment of the situation was simple.
“……I can’t see anything.”
“You certainly look it.”
Her friend Anne smiled wryly and helped distribute the gifts and bouquets.
Buried under a mountain of presents and flowers with only her face poking out, Quinie let out a heavy sigh.
“I don’t even know what to do with all these. It’s not like I’m going to become a professional.”
“Regardless of what you become, your juniors want their seniors to succeed. They’ll be walking that same path soon enough.”
“Ugh—I wouldn’t recommend my path to anyone.”
Quinie laughed dryly, then noticed a graduation ceremony banner hanging in the auditorium. She gazed at it absently.
“……I’m really graduating, aren’t I.”
“Do you want to stay longer?”
“…….”
“Should you repeat the year?”
“Now you’ve killed all the romance.”
Quinie exhaled and glanced sidelong at Anne.
“What about you? No regrets about leaving Constellation?”
“Regrets? Just that I couldn’t escape Father’s shadow after all.”
“Ah…… So you’re going to take over the family business?”
“Well, that’s how it worked out.”
While Anne nodded matter-of-factly, Quinie was visibly startled.
Anne was nearly as talented as Quinie herself. She’d assumed Anne would definitely pursue a professional career.
“Did your father force you into it?”
“Ha ha, no. Father said I could do anything. He approved my coming to Constellation without hesitation, and told me to try whatever I was capable of. But after a while of trying different things, I realized where I needed to be.”
“I see…….”
“But it really does seem like you want to stay longer. You must be considering repeating—”
“I’m not!”
Quinie protested, then fell silent, clearly troubled by something. After a moment, she laughed helplessly and continued.
“Actually, it’s true. I did want to stay longer originally.”
“……I see.”
“You’re not surprised?”
“Why would I be? If I were you, I’d want to stay here forever.”
Anne let out a small snort, exhaling through her nose as she spoke.
Quinie was both a student and a head of house. Once she graduated, the Viet family would truly begin its full operations. Her responsibilities as head of house would grow immensely heavier. Opposition from rival families would intensify, and they would resort to harsher tactics.
“So if you wanted to stay longer before, you don’t anymore?”
“Now I have a clear goal, I suppose.”
As Quinie said this, her eyes gleamed. Anne was taken aback by the change. When Quinie had spoken of graduation earlier, her face was composed, but Anne could see the anxiety beneath the surface.
But this was different. Quinie’s eyes sparkled like those of a first-year student. She had decided on something to challenge herself with.
“It’s something I absolutely cannot achieve while remaining at Constellation.”
“……What is it? This goal of yours.”
Anne had a suspicion but asked anyway. Just as Quinie was about to answer,
“Quinie.”
Someone approached them.
Quinie turned to see who was coming—another junior, perhaps—but her eyes widened in surprise.
“Congratulations on your graduation.”
The man offering the quiet congratulations was Frontdier.
“……Frontdier.”
“I apologize for being late. Well, actually, I’m not sure ‘late’ applies here.”
Frontdier had started with a conventional greeting, then paused, reconsidering. In truth, he wasn’t really late. Besides, could one even be late to a graduation ceremony?
But Quinie simply smiled brightly and spoke.
“No, you’re not late. I’ve been waiting.”
“……I see.”
Anne, standing beside her, was startled by that bright smile and honest tone.
“Actually, I was wondering what to give you as a graduation gift.”
As he said this, Frontdier rummaged through his robes. Anne was surprised again—he worried about such things too?
“I wanted to give this to you.”
Frontdier withdrew something from his robes and showed it to Quinie.
A long cord, neat and dignified in its ornamentation, with a black gem set at its center.
“……Wait, you gave me that.”
What Frontdier had produced was Heukryeon—not a newly made one, but the very piece he’d first received from Quinie.
“Yes. To be honest, this is the first gift I’ve ever received from anyone in my life.”
“……That’s such a sad thing to say, I’m not sure how to respond.”
Quinie smiled wryly at the Heukryeon. It wasn’t a gift at all—she’d handed it over as part of a transaction.
Then she shot him a playful look.
“Hey, are you throwing it away now that you have something new? Is that why you’re giving it to me?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s……”
Though she’d been joking, Frontdier took the matter seriously. After scratching his cheek for a moment, he spoke.
“It’s a talisman I’m offering you.”
“A talisman?”
“Thanks to this necklace, I’ve saved my life more times than I can count.”
The Heukryeon—the only means by which Frontdier could carry the Black Stream back then.
With this in hand, he could fight, and he could win. It had been with him through nearly every battle of his life.
“So it will protect you going forward.”
“……Hmm.”
“I know it’s more superstition than sound reasoning, so if you’ll just think of it as carrying my time and heart,”
“Put it on me.”
Quinie cut him off and spoke.
“Pardon?”
“Can’t you see my hands are full? I can’t take it even if you offer. So put it on me.”
Having said that, Quinie extended her neck, closing her eyes as if she had absolute faith that he would do as she asked.
Frontdier hesitated for a moment, then carefully fastened the Heukryeon around her neck.
Quinie’s eyes opened brightly as she looked down at the necklace now adorning her.
“Hehe, it’s like a couple’s necklace.”
“……They look different to me.”
“Real couple items are supposed to look different.”
Is that so? Honestly, he had no idea.
Then why was it a couple’s necklace?
“Frontdier.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to become a knight.”
Quinie spoke with sparkling eyes—the same brightness Anne had seen earlier.
“I’ll become a knight and raise the Viet house to stand as a complete noble family. Right now we’ve only just risen again, but I’ll make it stand as a pillar of the empire.”
“……”
Frontdier looked at her for a moment. He was not surprised. And so he simply spoke what came to mind.
“……I always knew you would do something like that.”
“So here’s the thing—once I become a knight.”
Quinie paused mid-sentence and carefully set down the gift and flowers beside her.
What was she about to do? Just as Frontdier was thinking this, Quinie suddenly pointed her finger at him with a sharp motion.
“Frontdier!!!”
Her voice was infused with Aura, and it rang loudly through the Auditorium. Every student’s gaze poured toward Quinie.
Bearing the weight of all those eyes with perfect composure, Quinie spoke.
“Join my house!!”
Her voice swept toward Frontdier like the wind itself.
The volume was nearly identical to her previous cry, and the students around them held their breath with a gasp.
Frontdier blinked for a moment before speaking.
“……Are you telling me to abandon the Rohwald house?”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“I was joking. You’re telling me to become a knight too, aren’t you.”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Quinie’s eyes sparkled. Frontdier closed his eyes and smiled.
And for a moment, he let himself imagine it. Becoming a knight, entering Quinie’s household. In game terms, it would be like developing territory. Quinie was capable and brilliant enough that there wouldn’t be much work left for him to do.
With sufficient strength and skill accumulated, protecting her from the rival houses that sought to check her power wouldn’t be particularly difficult.
A leisurely life. A peaceful future materialized before his eyes in an instant.
But then.
“I’m sorry.”
Frontdier spoke.
“I have to save the world.”
It wasn’t mere bravado—it was a statement that already sounded delusional.
And yet for Frontdier it was unshakeable truth, the deepest reason he could not accept Quinie’s proposal.
If he hadn’t known how this world would end.
He might have become her knight.
Having lived through so much with her, Quinie remained compelling in his eyes nonetheless.
A soft laugh escaped him.
Hearing his words, Quinie laughed too, a sound tinged with resignation—
“Yeah, I knew you’d say that.”
And as she spoke those words and smiled again, she shone so brightly.

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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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