The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 60

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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 60
Chapter 16: The Assault (5)
Elodi wasn’t the only one to respond quickly.
To the east, Aster swept through the shopping district surrounding the dormitory, eliminating monsters.
In the opposite direction, Ellin moved between the subsidiary buildings of Constellation Academy, with Sabel at her side, responding to the creatures.
At a position slightly removed from Elodi, Aten conducted individual eliminations with precision ice shots.
And to the west, Quinie had marshaled both her capabilities and her connections to construct a formidable barrier.
Then there was Frontdier—the human sloth himself.
That epithet meant his voice rarely reached many ears. Yet it was far from powerless.
There were those who had noticed Frontdier’s transformation, and there were those who had received his aid.
“The Constellation Academy is under a large-scale monster assault.”
When Frontdier said it, the words carried almost no credibility.
Yet there were those who could believe him—a vanishingly small number, but they existed—and right now, they were saving countless lives.
“What you’ve done hasn’t been meaningless, Frontdier.”
Quinie, commanding the western sector, allowed herself a thin smile. She too was engaged in monster hunting, but because she was leveraging the connections she’d brought, she occupied a vantage point with wider sight lines than most.
Through Quinie’s eyes came the sight of not only herself, but the brilliant work of everyone who had trusted Frontdier’s word and joined this response.
“Honestly, I only half-believed it, but it’s really happening.”
Quinie reflected on this.
In truth, the fact that someone else had also believed the assault report mattered more to her than the report being genuine.
And so she understood: others besides herself were taking note of Frontdier’s worth.
“Still, I did well to force my acquaintances out here.”
Quinie possessed the broad network of connections befitting someone who had rebuilt a house through such acumen.
Those who had regarded her words with half-belief were now earnestly dealing with monsters at her side.
After they turned back these creatures, the Constellation Academy would surely grant her no small reward.
With such numbers deployed, she might well secure first place in compensation.
Crack—boom—crash!!
The absurd explosion that thundered from the distance swept such thoughts clean away.
On a rooftop, a woman with orange hair gleamed with eyes bright as a fish in water.
What on earth was that—some new siege weapon from the company Hitchcock?
Quinie’s expression had turned bitter as she felt the power of that mage said to be beloved by five gods.
* * *
The terror effect that Gram exerts on its Dragon Species target.
It proved stronger than I’d anticipated. Chimera fled from me without so much as glancing back.
Even after I released Gram, Chimera showed no sign of halting its escape.
For some reason it felt good that I’d grown stronger, but if I let it go like this, I’ll lose it.
I don’t know where the fleeing Chimera will go, but there’s nothing good about leaving it be. Once I catch it, Rafflesia will disappear as well.
So there’s only one thing I have to do.
“Menosorpho.”
I spoke the word, and a vast magical circle unfurled across the area.
Menosorpho
Aerial Weaving, Simultaneous Replication
Arsenal Unit 3
Rank – Common
Iron Shield, Double
I hurled myself through the window. I landed on the shield I’d created in mid-air. Then I leaped again to the shield below it. Once more I dove, and my feet met the ground.
As I ran, I used Menosorpho to track its presence.
It wasn’t visible to my eyes, but through the magical circle’s effect, I could sense where it was. Chimera fled desperately, yet it remained within the range of my spell.
Menosorpho
Aerial Weaving, Simultaneous Replication
Imperial Palace Armory Unit 1, Unit 7
Rank – Rare
Emperor’s Sword, Glacier Spear
With Phili’s guidance, I wove together appropriate weapons from those I’d seen in the Imperial Palace Armory.
The sword and spear dropped in front of Chimera. They struck the ground with a sharp crack, cutting off the creature’s path of retreat.
Screech!
The creature halted its escape, its eyes widening. Those eyes searched for me.
There was a way to use these two weapons to strike at Chimera directly, but doing so risked driving it to flee all the more.
This was a warning. If it ignored the weapons barring its way and attempted to bolt again, then I would truly drive my weapons through the fleeing Chimera’s back.
As I reached the creature, it turned to face me directly. It had abandoned all thought of escape.
Without Gram, the fear would have faded too. The creature approached me with newfound confidence. No—it crawled toward me.
Had he already forgotten that shameful display of frantic flight just moments ago?
I examined the creature’s form in detail. At first glance, it was a dragon without wings, but scattered across its body were traits belonging to other monsters.
The white fur settled around its neck, for instance, or the tail—unnaturally thin and long compared to a true dragon’s—or those horns on its brow that resembled a goat’s.
Still, the base was unmistakably draconic. Though I couldn’t say precisely which species.
“A dragon that cannot fly.”
Clear degeneration. Before coming to this world, something that couldn’t fly wouldn’t have earned the name dragon at all. And this one had even more refuse mixed in.
“Blame your master, lizard.”
As if understanding my words, Chimera rattled that unsettling sound in its throat.
It seemed angry. But I had merely called it by its accurate name.
I seized one of the imperial weapons through Weaving. Since it wasn’t the Black Stream, the creature wouldn’t see it.
The Throwing skill still lingered at intermediate level, but with a body that large, it was harder to miss than to hit.
Very well. Let’s see what happens.
I’d gift the arsenal’s weapons to it, one after another.
* * *
When Chimera burst through the ground, Elicia escaped the tower. Phili followed in pursuit.
Chimera had vanished somewhere in the chaos.
Elicia stood motionless, her eyes hollow and vacant.
“……Elicia, from this moment forward, I treat you as a criminal. Chimera is a grave crime, and using it to assault Constellation Academy is graver still. And attempting to abduct the Crown Princess—that is gravest of all.”
Phili’s voice was glacial. Hearing it, Elicia let out a laugh, hollow and deflated.
“I suppose so.”
Her voice sounded resigned, almost accepting.
Reading that demeanor, Phili spoke again.
“Stop Chimera. Release Rafflesia at once.”
At those words, Elicia’s vacant eyes turned toward Phili. She blinked once, twice.
Phili felt an indescribable dread wash over her. It was not the activation of Foresight. The source of this terrible intuition lay within herself.
Because Elicia’s bearing now was far too similar to how Phili herself appeared when navigating the blades of court politics.
“Why would I? This is opportunity.”
“……Elicia.”
“Mother designed Chimera as an experimental vessel for Rafflesia. All the monsters advancing toward the Academy right now are fragments of Chimera’s body.”
Elicia’s voice had grown calm. One might even say gentle.
“But here’s the thing. While creating Chimera underground, it grew far larger than I anticipated. So I kept it confined there, never intending to release it. But now that it’s come to this, the timing is perfect. Once there are no witnesses left, there will be no proof of what I’ve done.”
At Elicia’s words, Phili simply fell silent. Seeing her reaction, Elicia tilted her head.
“What’s wrong, Mother? Did you truly think I wouldn’t be capable of killing you?”
“Elicia. What is your real aim?”
“What else? The Promised Position.”
The Promised Position.
That is, power within the Imperial Palace.
Phili had known. She’d understood it from the moment she realized Elicia was targeting Aten and Rodrik Terst.
“You didn’t need to do this. Had you waited, you would have inherited the throne.”
“Are you joking?”
Elicia asked as though questioning her sanity.
“You know it as well as I do, Mother. As things stood, I was nothing but a spare in the Imperial Palace. If we’re counting direct bloodline, there’s Aten, who monopolizes both talent and beauty. And if I try to lean on being the eldest daughter, there’s Rodrik Terst, who has cultivated power beyond comparison. How could I ever inherit the throne?”
After Aten was born, everyone in the Imperial Palace had praised her as the Emperor’s true daughter.
Her beauty was pristine, almost fragile, and her talent as a mage was considerable. Her temperament was composed and humble, and she possessed a dignity that would not be swayed by position or power.
But if that alone were the issue, Elicia’s standing would not have been in jeopardy. No matter how exceptional Aten was, no one questioned that the First Princess would become Crown Princess. Above all, Aten herself had no desire to become Crown Princess.
However, as Rodrik Terst’s influence within the Imperial Palace grew, the political landscape shifted in strange ways.
Rodrik possessed both exceptional skill and character—not quite Aten’s equal, but impressive nonetheless. And being male, he was the most natural successor to the Emperor’s throne.
With Emperor Terst peculiarly refusing to designate his successor, the Imperial Palace fractured into two factions.
Those who supported Aten, and those who supported Rodrik. In that divide, there was no place for Elicia.
“Mother, you told me, didn’t you? That I would inherit the throne. Since I was very small, you drove it into my head—so deeply that I heard your voice in my dreams even as I slept. You said I would become the Empress Regnant who rules this empire!”
Elicia spoke as though recalling her distant past. A smile played at the corners of her mouth, and her eyes gleamed—like a child holding a bright, shining dream.
Phili kept her expression neutral, but she felt something bitter and heavy descend within her.
“So that’s it, Mother. I’m going to become Empress Regnant. No matter what it takes. No matter what I have to do.”
Phili felt it then. This time, it truly was Foresight activating. Elicia’s last words had been a signal.
Phili’s eyes moved swiftly. Behind Elicia. Far in the distance, she could feel Chimera’s presence drawing near.
Elicia is her daughter. Elicia claims her talents fall short, but Phili knows the truth. Elicia resembles her most of all.
The calculating nature, the intellect that enables it, the eye for reading people’s favor—all of it mirrors Phili’s own past like a reflection.
And so Phili understood. What Elicia was about to do.
“Chimera.”
Elicia called out to someone. It was a rather endearing name, but there was no mistaking that it was directed at Chimera.
“Bite your mother.”
A voice thin as a whisper on the wind, hardly escaping at all.
Phili understood. Chimera’s massive presence had suddenly turned toward her.
A grinding sound, like metal being scraped, came faintly to her ears.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—!!!
Heavy impacts shook the ground in succession, and Chimera emerged from the distance.
Even as it charged, both of its eyes moved independently of each other. Then, in an instant, those pupils trembled, wavered, and finally locked into focus. On Phili.
Ice Sorcery, First Form
Rapid
Single Horn
Phili swiftly deployed the spell.
A massive block of ice materialized before Chimera, barring its path.
But Chimera’s charge did not stop, and cracks already spider-webbed across the ice. There had been no time to properly manifest the magic.
Ice Sorcery, First Form
Rapid
Frost Arrow
The next spell, hastily woven, sent an arrow of ice flying toward the ice block she had just created, where it stuck fast to the spreading fractures.
Phili knew. That there would not be enough time to construct a proper spell. That the ice would shatter in mere seconds. She knew. That she alone could not stop Chimera.
Her gaze shifted ever so slightly from Chimera, to the side. Alone, she could not hold it back. Which was why she had bought time.
The moment Chimera shattered the ice, Frontdier was already there.
‘Foolish.’
Observing this, Elicia’s face broke into a smile. She had worried the man might flee while Chimera attacked Phili.
But now it was clear her ‘Chimera’ would dispatch both of them in one fell stroke.
Only one thing troubled her—why Chimera’s front was so deeply scarred. That slight irritation gnawed at her.
As though answering her thoughts, Chimera showed no sign of stopping. After shattering the ice, it accelerated further, lunging toward Frontdier.
“……You.”
Frontdier’s mouth opened. He stood foolishly before Chimera’s charging assault, that languid composure unextinguished even in this desperate hour.
“I really did forget.”
Weaving, Black Stream
Rank – Legendary
Gram
Frontdier gripped a greatsword in both hands—conjured from nowhere, it seemed.
Chimera’s eyes snapped wide. Its legs halted. It seemed to be stopping, but could not manage the inertia of the charge it had built up.
Frontdier, from the left side of Chimera’s charging path,
swung down at Chimera as it reached him—as one might swing a baseball bat.
That was all.

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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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