The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 43

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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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Weapon Replicator of the Academy Chapter 43
Episode 11: Dragon Heart (3)
I’d gotten myself into a bind.
My reluctance to form a team wasn’t just about dividing the points, though that was certainly part of it.
I’d been planning to use the Weaving Technique if things went south.
Of course, with the Drone hovering nearby, I couldn’t exactly use it freely—but that was a better gamble than slipping into the lower ranks.
I couldn’t afford to be expelled.
Given the right conditions, I could destroy the Drone without anyone noticing.
The Drone only broadcasts my performance to the other students; they’re not protecting it out of sentiment. It’s not indestructible.
But with Aten here, all those schemes evaporated like morning mist.
Well, her skill was probably far superior anyway. No point dwelling on it.
“I look forward to working with you, Frondier.”
“Yeah. Same.”
I gave my response and swept my gaze across the forest.
Hmm. This field.
With eyes that had seen the real world, it struck me as both fresh and oddly nostalgic.
“First, let’s establish a Base Camp.”
“A Base Camp? The practical exam isn’t that long, is it?”
“Not a real camp, obviously. We just need somewhere to gather proof from the monsters we subjugate.”
“I see.”
I began our reconnaissance with Aten, who had nodded without protest.
……Though I’ve noticed this recently:
Frondier’s body desires laziness by instinct.
I’ve only walked a handful of steps, and already I’m drowsy and exhausted.
Is it a habit carved into my flesh over more than a decade?
Without realizing it, my eyes lose their focus and my expression goes slack.
But I have to do what needs doing.
I plucked a few plants as I walked.
Aten, catching sight of this, asked:
“What are you doing?”
“Gathering herbs.”
“What kind of plants are they?”
“Medicinal herbs. Apply them to wounds and they help with healing.”
Their effectiveness isn’t remarkable, but they’re simple to prepare and usable on the spot.
In a place like this without pharmaceutical equipment, hunting for high-grade herbs wouldn’t be worth the effort.
“Have you studied Herbalism, Frondier?”
Aten asked, her expression one of surprise.
Learning Herbalism helps with identifying plants.
At first, you can only tell if something’s toxic or not, but eventually you grasp the specific effects.
Of course, I shook my head.
“I just… already knew it.”
“Oh…….”
The way Aten’s eyes gleamed with pure admiration felt burdensome.
It wasn’t a lie. I’d seen it countless times in the game.
Actually, this might be the most honest thing I’ve said since arriving in this world.
As we walked, I harvested useful plants and scanned the surroundings for a suitable campsite.
I collected edible tree fruit as well.
When Aten asked how I knew which ones were edible, I answered: “I just know.”
I noticed a certain sparkle had been added to the way she looked at me.
“……Rumors really can’t be trusted, can they?”
Aten said this suddenly.
I turned to look at her, and she wore a slightly sheepish smile.
“I’d heard some unfavorable rumors about you, you see.”
“Yeah.”
According to those rumors, I should have been nothing but dead weight.
Someone who’d trail along behind doing nothing, someone who’d grumble at any effort and doze off at the first opportunity.
That’s probably what people imagined.
“But as it turns out, rumors are just rumors. Your face just looks sleepy…….”
“It’s not that my face looks sleepy. I’m actually drowsy.”
“Is that so?”
A soft yawn escaped his lips as he spoke.
His eyes were already half-shut.
Still, keeping them half-closed seemed to push the drowsiness back a little.
……Though it was probably just his imagination.
“So, wouldn’t a cave be better for our Base Camp?” Aten asked.
She posed the question thoughtfully.
I shook my head.
“No. Too dangerous.”
“Are the Monsters in the cave that strong?”
“It’s not the Monsters. It’s the people.”
“The people?”
Aten tilted her head, puzzled.
I looked into her eyes.
That innocent gaze held genuine confusion.
So this was truly a princess.
“You heard it during the briefing—Monster Materials have to be brought to the instructor by the time the Subjugation period ends.”
“Why is that?”
“Why do you think? Once you obtain Monster Materials, you should settle accounts right there.”
This field belonged to Constel Academy’s facilities.
There was already a Drone hovering nearby, recording.
Since every location was being monitored for the students’ safety, settling Monster Materials was a simple matter.
But they didn’t do it that way.
“……Ah.”
Aten made a sound of understanding.
She spoke.
“So other teams could steal the materials from us?”
“Right. That’s why the cave is risky. It’s too conspicuous, and there’s nowhere good to hide supplies. If we get high-scoring materials, each of us would need to keep them close, but for everything else, we’d have to stash them somewhere—and a cave won’t do.”
For the same reason, the evidence of our Subjugations can’t be left in an obvious place either.
The forest is better than plains or grassland. Somewhere with dense foliage and branches.
The camp’s location can be exposed.
Hiding it would be ideal, but we have to accept that it will be found.
What matters is the Monster Materials, not the camp.
There’s no better place to hide them than the forest.
When you’re hiding something, you don’t want to clean up the area around it to make it look untouched.
It’s more efficient to hide it in a place that’s already messy and complicated.
“Ales gave a whole speech before we started.”
—I cannot guarantee that you will always have a strong and trustworthy ally beside you when facing danger.
“That speech was partly about the importance of good Teamwork with anyone, but more simply put, it meant there aren’t many people in the world you can trust.”
The purpose of this Practical Exam is to let students experience firsthand what society is like as a combatant.
The first-year students of Constel Academy were young, but they’d built up decent combat training.
However, becoming a Professional demands far more.
That’s what this training aims to teach.
“This isn’t a Subjugation. It’s a competition for plunder.”
* * *
While Frondier and Aten searched for Monsters,
a man moved silently through the forest.
He had set out hunting for materials from the start.
Greedy students would be too absorbed in hunting Monsters to boost their scores.
‘……Perfect.’
The man stopped moving.
Frondier had wandered into striking distance.
Frondier’s eyes, gazing vacantly at his surroundings, were glazed with exhaustion.
‘!’
This was a stroke of luck.
Of course, Aten beside Frondier was dangerous.
He’d prefer not to engage her directly.
But they hadn’t noticed him yet.
If he approached carefully, he could rifle through Frondier’s pockets without Aten spotting him.
Once he took what he came for, it didn’t matter if they saw him. He could just run.
The Practical Exam was, after all, only a test.
Violence among students is prohibited.
He’s probably watching this through the Drone right now.
Slowly, carefully, he crept closer to Frondier.
He was confident in his stealth. That’s precisely why he’d attempted this hunt for Monster Materials.
Tap.
‘Hm?’
Just then, he felt something brush against his ankle.
It wasn’t carelessness on his part.
He’d been watching his feet as he walked from the start.
‘There was nothing there, though?’
There had been nothing, yet the sensation of contact was unmistakable.
By instinct, the man glanced back at Frondier.
‘……Is it nothing?’
Frondier showed no particular reaction.
He still wore that drowsy expression.
‘Phew, did I tense up too much?’
The moment he thought that, Frondier suddenly raised both arms.
When the man’s body stiffened at those arms spreading with considerable speed—
“Yawwwwn~”
Frondier let out a wide yawn.
It was just a stretch.
‘Geez, what a fright. Making such a racket with a stretch,’
But that was as far as—
the man’s coherent thoughts went.
Crack!
“Thud!”
A wooden branch that had fallen from above struck the man’s skull.
The completely unexpected ambush sent the man’s consciousness spinning away in an instant.
Tumble-tumble.
The branch rolled past him.
Right up until his consciousness faded entirely,
he never grasped the connection between Frondier’s outstretched arms during the stretch and the falling branch.
The man was eliminated.
* * *
‘……This is like a comedy sketch.’
Unfortunately, the man’s undignified collapse had been captured on the broadcast screen.
Elin watched it unfold in utter bewilderment.
She’d originally come to check on her brother Aster, but Frondier appeared on the broadcast screen nearly as often as Aster did.
It was probably because of Aten.
‘Frondier used an invisible weapon before.’
When the man attempted to ambush Frondier, there had been a subtle reaction from Frondier.
He’d probably touched something invisible, and Frondier had sensed it.
Then, as he stretched, a branch had been severed and fell directly onto the man’s head.
He must have thrown something at the branch while feigning a stretch.
It was likely a Short Blade.
Though that too had been invisible.
‘His Throwing Technique has improved.’
Elin’s deduction was reasonably sound.
Such reasoning was only possible because she’d witnessed Frondier in combat before; most others would simply think the branch had fallen on its own and struck the man’s head by chance.
‘Aten is there too, and Frondier is unexpectedly not someone to worry about—’
The moment Elin’s thoughts reached that point,
she felt her spine turn cold.
The instant between placing her hand on the sword’s sheath and exerting force on the grip.
But.
“Your instincts are sharp.”
A single finger pressed down on the sword’s grip.
“……!”
‘I can’t draw it.’
She was completely suppressed from executing a Quick Draw by the force of that single finger.
“Your Killing Intent detection is excellent, your Quick Draw transition form is sound. Hmm, so this is the caliber of Constel Academy’s finest swordsman.”
Her calm voice carried no hostility.
The killing intent had been nothing but a flash, already dissipated.
Only then did Elin see her opponent’s face clearly.
‘……Who is this person?’
Brown hair, an unremarkable face.
The sort of appearance you might spot anywhere, passing by on any street.
And yet Elin knew.
She knew who this man was.
And she knew that there was no one else in the world who wouldn’t recognize him.
“……Eden Hamelot.”
“Oh, you know me? Miss Elin Aster.”
Of course she did.
What was he being modest about?
Number One in the Professional Rankings, Eden Hamelot.
The strongest man alive today.
“……I’m startled.”
“Sorry. Was my jest too rough? Though most people show no reaction even when I unleash my killing intent on them.”
So he went around releasing killing intent at every person he met.
For the strongest man alive, he had quite the sense of humor.
“But how do you know me?”
“I’ve been watching the Aster siblings for a long time now.”
“……So Aster would be your primary interest.”
“Haha, I won’t deny that his potential is remarkable. But I have considerable interest in you as well.”
“I see.”
Elin answered without warmth in her heart.
Eden, too, seemed unbothered, turning his gaze toward the screen.
“Let me see now, that Aster fellow……. He seems to be managing just fine.”
On the screen, Aster was teamed with his friend Lunia, eliminating monsters.
First place was nearly certain for him.
“Don’t you feel proud as his sister? Your brother’s first-place finish is practically assured.”
“I’m not so sure. Aster’s movements are still clumsy, and he tends to force his way through with Divine Power whenever things get difficult.”
“Haha, you’re strict. So who are you paying close attention to?”
Eden asked as if he were speaking to an old acquaintance.
This was their first meeting.
Elin let out a sigh.
“Frondier de Roach.”
She spoke with the resignation of someone accepting whatever fate brings.
Well, without knowing Frondier’s true nature, it would sound like a joke anyway.
“Hmm, Frondier de Roach. Who is that?”
“……I’ll tell you when he appears on screen.”
Elin turned her attention back to the display.
Maybe once Eden sees him, he’ll finally be quiet.
……But.
‘Huh?’
The enormous screen in front of her continued switching images.
Sometimes showing a close-up of someone’s face, sometimes a wide overhead view of the entire field.
The face of Frondier, who was on a team with Aten, appeared fairly often.
But.
“Hmm, Miss Elin. Haven’t we seen Frondier yet?”
“……”
Frondier wasn’t being captured.
No matter how much time passed.
Even as most of the first-year students took their turn on screen.
“……What?”
The monotonous broadcast that had been playing suddenly felt profoundly strange.
* * *
“Huh? Mom?”
Philly suddenly stood up.
Without saying a word to Elicia and Salle.
Yet soon after, Philly spoke with a smile.
“Mom, the restroom~”
“I’ve told you before. Go up and you’ll see the corridor once you enter.”
“Got it.”
And so Philly extricated herself from her seat and walked away.
When no one was watching, her face bore an expression of utter desolation.
‘What is this.’
Her Premonition had activated.
She didn’t know what was about to happen.
But this filthy, sticky sensation crawling up her throat—this revulsion.
Invisible premonitions had always unsettled her, yet never had she felt one so intense as this.
Philly turned toward the screen.
The Practical Exam being broadcast.
There was nothing about it that looked problematic.
Everything seemed to be proceeding normally.
And yet each time she checked that screen, dread and fear surged through her.
Unseen,
something was happening on that field where the Practical Exam was taking place.

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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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