The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 59

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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 Academy’s Weapon Duplicator, Episode 59
Chapter 16: The Attack (4)
Philly was genuinely startled.
It was exactly as Frontdier had said.
“I won’t tell you who the culprit is.”
“Why not?”
“Because if I do, you’ll doubt me right up until the very end. That’s just how you are.”
And indeed, she’d almost fallen for it.
If Frontdier had insisted from the start that Elisia was the culprit, she might well have wavered at this very moment, swayed by Elisia’s words.
But the more Elisia spoke, the more Philly’s conviction deepened.
“That final answer—you’ll have to figure it out yourself.”
“Someone like you will understand.”
Only someone of Elisia’s caliber could detect Philly’s minute hesitation.
The truth was simple.
Philly had deceived Elisia with nothing more than that imperceptible tremor—a tell only someone of Elisia’s skill could spot.
Philly rose to her feet.
She approached Elisia slowly.
“You still haven’t learned to hide the cracks in your lies when you think you’re fooling someone.”
“No, no, Mom! It wasn’t me!”
As Philly advanced, Elisia retreated.
“Why did you target Aten? For the throne? Were you afraid he’d take your place?”
“It wasn’t me! It was Salle who was trying to kidnap him—!”
Philly’s smile deepened.
“Did I ever say kidnap?”
“…! W-well, obviously you’d assume it was kidnapping, right? They’d be after ransom for Aten! That Frontdier character went up there to search anyway! At least find some evidence before you say anything!”
Philly’s movements stilled.
“Evidence.”
“Y-yes! You won’t find anything anyway!”
“I was curious about one thing, actually. Rafflesia isn’t a spell circle that can lure every monster. To make that work, you’d need a medium.”
Rafflesia was indeed a spell for luring monsters, but it couldn’t lure every kind of monster.
The more diverse and numerous the targets, the more complex the equations of the spell circle become, requiring a medium that could pinpoint specific monsters.
It was impossible without exceptional knowledge of monsters and sufficient monster materials.
Elisia’s expression hardened at Philly’s words.
Bringing up Rafflesia meant she was now completely certain Elisia was the culprit.
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about, but go ahead and look! Find the evidence that I’m the culprit!”
Elisia had decided to brazen it out.
For now, there was no other option.
“Do you know why Frontdier went upstairs?”
“…? To search, obviously.”
“No. He simply didn’t want to be hindered by you.”
At Philly’s words, Elisia tilted her head in confusion.
Philly, uncharacteristically, spoke with a somewhat weary expression.
“I was hoping his reasoning would be wrong. Just this once.”
“What does that mean?”
At that moment.
A deep rumble shook the earth itself, resonating through the tower.
The heads, shoulders, knees, and feet of both Philly and Elisia vibrated up and down.
Elisia’s face went pale.
“Why? Why would this…?”
At that reaction, Philly’s eyes turned ice-cold.
Those eyes turned upward.
Toward where Frontdier would be.
“…That boy’s reasoning was right.”
* * *
The upper levels of the tower were, as expected, unremarkable.
It was an ordinary mage’s study, lined only with various magical facilities and equipment befitting a practitioner of the craft.
To call multiple monsters using Rafflesia, a medium was necessary.
That is to say, monster materials were required.
The fresher those materials, the better; the greater the quantity, the better.
To summon monsters on a scale capable of overturning Constellation Academy, both conditions would naturally need to be satisfied very thoroughly.
But to maintain freshness, the Medium should be ‘alive’ until the magic circle activates.
Alive, yes—but also multiple types of monsters simultaneously.
Which means—
‘……A Chimera.’
I know that Elisia is synthesizing a Chimera.
I haven’t seen this directly. I only confirmed it through news and papers during my gameplay.
[Imperial Princess Elisia reported to be living in the Villa]
[The Villa’s shape resembles a colossal tower?]
[Secret research laboratory discovered underground. Current investigation into the facility’s purpose ongoing.]
[Elisia was synthesizing a Chimera! The monsters she combined into it were—]
This is what the newspapers and news outlets reported during the game.
I gripped the Heukryeon hanging around my neck.
Weaving, Black Stream.
Rank—Legendary.
Gram.
Black droplets gathered toward me.
Sigurd’s blade, Gram.
The legend that it slew the dragon Fafnir had been converted directly into Gram’s properties.
[Gram]
• Rank: Legendary
• Description: A legendary blade wielded by Sigurd. The deeds of the hero and weapon are so great they exceed several divine ranks.
Ability Details >
– Dragon-Slaying Blade: It drank the blood of a dragon it slew. Attack power against dragons is enhanced, and it instills fear in dragon-type monsters of Unique Rank and below.
Unique Rank is the grade just below Legendary.
Since the dragon ‘Fafnir’ that Sigurd killed was Legendary Rank, it instills fear in dragon-types below that rank.
I pointed the blade downward, toward the Chimera somewhere in this underground.
……I know what kind of monster Elisia created.
A monster large enough to blanket the entire Constellation Academy.
To summon something that massive, ordinary monsters won’t cut it.
──That’s right. Even if it’s not a proper one,
it has to be a ‘dragon’ at least.
Creak, crack—that rumble was distant but unmistakable.
From that depth below came a sound like something prying open a crevice.
Then came a moment of silence.
Like the hush between a lightning flash and the thunder that follows—that pregnant stillness.
Groooaaaargh—!
A tremendous tremor shook the earth, and I lost my footing, stumbling.
A grunt escaped me before I knew it, and I braced my hand against the wall.
Chimeras were so rare they didn’t appear often even in the game.
The voice I heard now sounded like a scream wrenched out as a blade lodged in the throat.
“It was fine summoning it, but……!”
Where is it.
I opened a nearby window and checked outside.
There was a massive fissure impossible not to see.
The ground had split like torn cloth, and from within, a monster’s hand stretched out.
“……This is serious.”
As expected, seeing it in person is far more overwhelming. I hadn’t realized it would be this large.
By the time it had hauled itself up, it was half the height of this tower.
But it moved on four legs. If it had been standing, it would have locked eyes with me at the top floor.
Its appearance strongly suggested an enormous lizard. Because its base was a dragon, the scales across its entire body looked tremendously hard, and its golden eyes gleamed with ferocity.
“No wings, then.”
All dragon-types have wings.
But this thing wasn’t a dragon—it merely contained the materials of one. A Chimera. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a flier.
Now Elisia’s guilt is confirmed.
Philly saw that terrifyingly massive frame with her own eyes.
What’s left for me is to dispose of that enormous bulk.
……Which is precisely the most troublesome part.
Hrrk—
Then its eyes began rolling around. Each eye moving independently. Like a chameleon.
Its left eye wandered here and there, and then it found me. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say it registered me.
I gripped Gram tightly.
……Could I actually beat that thing?
To be honest, by the sense of presence my body picked up, it was less terrifying than Renzo.
A Chimera, fundamentally speaking, lacks any true foundation and is a fundamentally inferior existence—it cannot generate the kind of aura that comes from a species’ inherent traits or the accumulated weight that builds over time. This thing wasn’t born; it was made.
So in that sense, it’s slightly better than facing someone like Renzo, whose very rank is elevated.
But something this brutishly massive—I can’t get a feel for how to fight it.
‘First, I’ll use Cryselacatos to snipe—’
That was as far as my thought went.
Kraaaaa—
The thing let out another shriek, and my eyes snapped wide.
“Insane……!”
Shock left my mouth hanging open.
The creature had done something unbelievable.
The moment its eyes confirmed my position,
it scrambled away on all fours in the exact opposite direction.
Flap-flap, thud-bang-thud-bang-thud-bang…….
I stared in slack-jawed disbelief for a long moment as it kicked up dust and fled from me.
Then, finally coming to my senses, I shouted.
“Where the hell are you running, you damned lizard!!”
* * *
Constellation Academy faced the full brunt of the assault.
It was entirely different from Elisia’s original plan.
The attack was supposed to be a surprise strike before students and teachers could respond, with countless casualties mounting before any defense could be organized.
But thanks to Elodi’s brilliant early response, Constellation Academy was already prepared before the monsters even arrived.
The teachers knowing in advance that an attack was coming also played a crucial role in the swift response.
Yet even that defense couldn’t be perfect.
Elodi’s magic killed a substantial number of monsters, but climbing over their corpses, more and more poured in.
Constellation Academy is hardly small. It is where promising young people from all corners of the continent gather to study.
Because of this, the academy was fully equipped with dormitory facilities.
A monster assault flooding into Constellation Academy was utterly catastrophic for them.
“Gaaaah!”
Screams erupted wherever people were gathered.
Even those trained in combat were barely beyond taking their first steps as beginners.
Many faced demons for the first time, making it nearly impossible to demonstrate their true ability.
“Help me!!”
First-year student Gapri bolted from his dormitory room in a panic.
It was sheer luck that he sensed the intrusion of a single goblin quickly enough to eliminate it.
After that came the flood of invading monsters.
He ran in blind desperation.
“Huh!”
Gapri had backed himself into a dead end.
If it had been a reasonably high wall, he could have vaulted it, but a smooth marble building blocked the way forward.
He turned back. Three-eyed creatures that resembled wild dogs snarled at him, their eyes gleaming. They poured toward him like a pack of hounds.
‘I’m… dead.’
One wild dog might have been manageable, but there were dozens of them.
What was Constellation Academy thinking, building everything at right angles?
With a beastly snarl, the monsters charged at Gapri.
And then,
Crack! Snap!
The first two beasts were kicked down by a man who’d dropped from above, each struck squarely by his feet in mid-air.
“H-huh?”
Golden hair. A beautiful, handsome face.
There was no one in Constellation Academy who didn’t know that face.
“……Aster Evans?”
“You held your ground well.”
Aster smiled, sword in hand. He felt a lightness he hadn’t experienced in some time.
These days training at Constellation Academy.
Most of that training forbade Divine Power use except in the Measurement Hall.
But here, there was no need for such restraint at all.
“Baldur, hear me.”
Give me strength.
Divine Power Release
Master of light and justice
Baldur
Aster’s eyes blazed with light.
His garments unfurled as if caught in wind, their force bursting outward like a blow against the earth.
A sharp, brilliant blue luminescence enveloped his entire form, radiating dignity and majesty.
The feral dogs lunged toward Aster.
His blade swept once, and every creature that entered its arc fell cleanly in two.
Aster seized the dogs’ heads with his bare hands, thrust his sword through them, and hurled the carcasses aside without ceremony.
Barbaric beyond measure. His swordplay, too, seemed to mirror his true nature—crude and unrefined.
Yet that very savagery worked. The dogs whimpered, cowed.
“What filthy noise you make.”
Aster launched himself forward.
Where he planted his feet, the ground split in a great chasm, and he drove straight through the pack.
He cut, stabbed, and threw whatever lay before him.
Though some dogs clawed and bit at his body, he pressed his assault as if it mattered not at all.
The power of Baldur.
That strength, spoken of as the most perfect divinity of the North, was truly simple.
No feeble strike could mark his flesh,
and no feeble defense could turn back his assault.
Pure, undiluted violence.
Once power reached such simplicity, there came a threshold beyond which enemies could do nothing.
Aster methodically, swiftly slaughtered the pack.
“Haah.”
A light breath swept across the corpses.
Gapri, standing behind, watched in stunned silence.
“That’s… that’s incredible.”
“It’s nothing.”
Gapri approached Aster and released a shaky sigh of relief.
The tension drained from him, and his shoulders sagged slightly.
“Thank goodness you were here. If this had happened during class, we’d all be dead for sure.”
At that, Aster’s expression grew awkward, and he spoke.
“Actually, I was in class when this started.”
“What? Then why are you here?”
The distance between the Dormitory and the Constellation Academy building was considerable.
Aster scratched his cheek.
“I was running an errand for my sister.”

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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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