The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 88

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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 88
Chapter 25: Barrier (4)
Cassian, the magnificent steed Sybel had ridden in on, was tethered in the stable beside the dormitory.
Sybel and Aten remained in the open field for their training.
Regardless of the reason, it was fortunate that I’d come alone.
Whicker—
Cassian made a light sound upon seeing me. Something about the way he observed my figure sent a chill down my spine.
According to the Game Setting, Cassian was one of the most celebrated steeds in the Central Region. Even across the entire world, few horses matched his caliber.
Cassian’s greatest virtue was his remarkable intellect. Where other horses boasted Mobility, acceleration, and maximum speed, Cassian displayed his brilliant mind instead. Of course, he possessed ample Mobility and other abilities as well.
“Hello.”
I raised my hand in greeting.
Fine horses were always particular about their riders, and the sharp-minded Cassian’s standards were far more exacting.
He had permitted Aster, the protagonist of this game, and Sybel, who bore fate’s favor, upon his back—but what of me?
‘I’d heard it was important to meet a horse’s eyes before reaching out your hand, then approach slowly.’
If you extended your hand first and tried to touch, they’d grow wary. They’d panic if you vanished from their field of vision. So I had to look him in the eye and walk toward him slowly—
Whicker—
but Cassian turned his gaze away.
“…….”
A clear dismissal. There’s nothing more to see here; disappear from my sight, as the gesture said.
Well, I was right to come alone. Sybel would’ve mocked me for days if he’d witnessed that. Or perhaps the pitying look in Aten’s eyes would have hurt more. Either way.
“Hmm, I really do need you, though.”
My plan depended entirely on Cassian’s presence. I wouldn’t have even conceived of it if Sybel hadn’t come here in the first place.
I examined Cassian with the Analysis skill.
[Cassian]
– A renowned steed of the Central Region. The area where he is most commonly found is Haold.
– Capable of performing all movements required for current Horsemanship.
– Should his rider lose consciousness, he independently judges and ensures his rider’s safety.
Still, it was only information I already knew.
The only thing I hadn’t known was that Haold was his primary habitat. Haold was the region where I’d attended the Nobility Council gathering before, because of the false Mistilthane.
Haold, Haold…
I observed Cassian quietly. He wore basic tack and a saddle, nothing more.
Whoever had given Cassian to Sybel surely never imagined he’d be brought all the way to Teyvan like this.
“Are you cold, by any chance?”
The moment Cassian heard my words, he swung his head sharply back toward me. It was a gesture of emphatic affirmation.
The horse understood my words. I felt something strange at that fact, but it was a concern for later.
I untied the necktie around my neck.
Penelope’s Cloth had a warming effect on its wearer, so laying it over his back would keep him quite warm.
Whicker, whicker-whicker.
When I draped the cloth across his back, the horse nuzzled his head against me. The effect seemed certain enough.
“Though, to be fair, I didn’t bring this cloth for that purpose originally.”
One night should be fine.
I lightly patted Cassian’s neck and turned to leave.
Cassian was a clever horse. He wouldn’t lose it or anything like that.
……But beyond that.
“Teyvan is quite cold, isn’t it.”
I shrugged my shoulders against a chill I hadn’t felt until now, then continued walking.
* * *
The bell announcing a Monster attack rang out loudly once more.
It had been barely a day since the last battle.
I dispatched the Monsters using the same combination as before: the Bow Criselacatos and Arrow Iokeira.
The knights’ eyes changed as they watched. When I’d first used this “Firecracker,” they’d simply looked bewildered, but now they gazed at me as if I were a monster myself.
‘……This is a problem.’
Though it appeared I was handling the Monsters with ease, a problem had emerged for me.
My Weaving skill wasn’t leveling up.
Ever since the number of simultaneous Weaving threads increased to ten, I’d gained no levels at all.
I’d thought it was simply a matter of insufficient time and practice, but now that things had come this far, such assumptions were meaningless.
‘Leveling up isn’t what matters. What matters is Restoration.’
I was pursuing Level Up to unlock the Restoration skill that was locked behind Weaving.
In the immediate term, I could rebuild this dilapidated Barrier, and down the line it would prove useful in many different ways.
“Frontdier.”
At that moment, Sanders approached me.
“No matter how frequent the monster attacks are, don’t you think this cycle is too fast?”
“…Yes, you’re right.”
Sanders had noticed, as I suspected he would.
Likely all the knights had sensed it by now. A cycle where attacks resumed after barely a day’s gap was anything but ordinary.
“Perhaps we’ve been discovered.”
“Discovered? Surely not…”
Sanders’s face drained of color.
I felt much the same.
“It’s possible they’ve seen through the vulnerability of this Barrier and deduced that I used a Firecracker. That’s the most likely explanation.”
Of course, the enemy commander couldn’t have learned the true nature of the Firecracker itself.
But a sudden shift in the battle. A weapon that keeps monsters at bay entirely. If circumstances changed that dramatically, they could deduce that something had happened on our side.
“…Then their commander will…”
“Likely unleash a Total Offensive.”
The Firecracker has limits. There’s a ceiling to how many times it can split, and even if it targets vital points, stronger monsters can endure it. If they can adapt, some will manage to break through.
Until now, the enemy had only sent cannon fodder to hinder the Barrier’s Restoration. The way they were all wiped out by a single Firecracker proved that much.
But if a full-scale wave of monsters pours in, everything changes.
We’d be overwhelmed by numbers first, and there would be enemies my arrows couldn’t pierce. Then the Firecracker would only slightly reduce their numbers.
And once they breach the Barrier, it collapses immediately, and the moment there are multiple entry points, we’re finished.
‘It’s a divine weapon, sure enough—but I’m not a god.’
Truly powerful people decide their real strength through Aura. And by using Aura, they can unlock a weapon’s true power as well.
I was still just a pig—no, a human sloth—wearing an absurdly expensive Pearl Necklace.
“And what of the Barrier’s side? This child Sybel?”
“Sybel will make it in time. Even with a Total Offensive, they won’t launch it immediately. A strategy of layering ice over the wall should work.”
At my explanation, Sanders relaxed.
Seeing his relief, I swallowed what remained unsaid.
A wall reinforced with ice was naturally weaker than the original. Setting aside whether Aten and Sybel could maintain it continuously, the wall would inevitably shatter under external attack.
Then Aten would have to cast magic again, which meant we’d withstand for less time than originally anticipated.
‘And having these vital forces—Aten and Sybel—tied up by the Barrier so they can’t fight freely is also a problem.’
Aten was a precious ice mage, and Sybel was a strong swordsman capable of wielding Aura despite his young age.
When the Total Offensive comes, every fighter matters, yet the Barrier keeps them locked in place.
“By the way, you there.”
“Yes?”
“Your clothes are different from before.”
Sanders noticed my appearance and spoke.
I had layered thick garments carefully to ward off the cold. My face was protected beneath a deep hood—so deep that my features wouldn’t show unless viewed head-on.
In truth, this was how one normally dressed. Most wore something similar, though I’d been far too lightly clothed until now.
“The longer I stay here, the colder it gets than I expected.”
Until now, Penelope’s Cloth had protected me. I’d left it with Cassian temporarily, and Teyvan’s cold proved far less forgiving than I’d reckoned.
“That’s true—you’ve been coming out far too thin all this while.”
Sanders laughed and patted my shoulder.
There was warmth in how he looked at me.
I couldn’t say why he hadn’t shown it before now.
* * *
And then came the long-awaited fifth day.
The day Sybel was scheduled to complete his Mana Infusion Training—the morning when temporary repairs to the Barrier would become possible.
…
Hugo, the sentinel of Teyvan, went utterly rigid at the sight before his eyes.
Not a single eyebrow twitched, not a breath escaped him.
In Teyvan, sentinels were always assigned to watch for monster movement and ring the bell in emergencies.
Hugo hadn’t left his sentinel post in years, the reason being that his eyesight was the keenest among them all.
‘What… what is that…?’
And today, Hugo cursed his unnaturally sharp vision.
Monsters were coming. An army of monsters was coming. Shadows that filled the entire horizon from left to right overlapped and grew in scale.
A scale he’d never witnessed before. No—a sight beyond even imagination. And it wasn’t just the numbers; the monsters themselves were of a different tier than any he’d seen.
When a sentinel spotted monsters, he was to descend at once and ring the bell inside the stone pillar.
But for those few seconds, Hugo could not move.
Ringing this bell felt like the bell-ringing moment of his entire life.
“…Ugh!”
Hugo forced his body to move and ran toward the bell, shaking it wildly. There were set patterns for how many times and at what intervals to ring it depending on the situation, but none of that mattered now. A bell ringing like madness would speak its own message plainly enough.
Hugo cried out as if he were choking.
“Monsters—large-scale swarm detected! Scale indeterminate!!”
The knights had already rushed outside without waiting. Even without Hugo’s shout, they’d grasped the situation the moment they heard the bell tolling.
They took their positions along the barrier, and standing among them now were Aten and Sybel—faces that hadn’t appeared here before.
“Please keep your distance from the barrier. Some monsters can fly, and others hurl projectiles. You could be struck by a stray attack.”
Sanders spoke to Aten, and she nodded. There was no point in insisting; she would only hinder the other knights and soldiers.
“Understood. I’ll assess the danger myself. Commander, please focus on the battle.”
“Yes, and one more thing.”
Sanders bowed deeply.
“If the barrier breaks, don’t look back. Run. Take all your escort knights and retreat at once.”
……
Aten had come here to inspect the conditions of Teyvan and the barrier.
It would be unthinkable for her—or any of the knights she’d brought as escorts—to be wounded in this battle.
“The same goes for you. Sybel, was it? Stay in a safe position. Your guards will keep you secure.”
“Ah, wait—”
Sanders didn’t wait for Sybel’s response. He was already climbing onto the barrier. Whatever he said, the decision was made.
‘……Dreadful.’
The Total Offensive of monsters that Frontdier had warned of. Facing it directly, Sanders’s vision swam. More than darkness—he could smell death.
The barrier trembling and failing. Exhausted soldiers and knights. Spent prisoners. The enemy commander reading tactics with terrible competence.
All of it pronounced a single, grave sentence upon Sanders: defeat.
‘……Ha. Well, so be it.’
Sanders laughed. It was a kind of transcendent clarity.
Why had he come here from Shroud? To reclaim his pride as a knight. These creatures cowering in fear were not like him.
He would end his life here today—as a true knight.
“Archers, ready!”
Sanders called out in the great voice he always used. Wood and metal clashed against each other, and the ranked archers drew their bows toward the advancing horde.
Without thinking, Sanders looked at Frontdier. Frontdier stood in his usual place, hood pulled up, perfectly still.
How many lives had been saved by that hunched silhouette? Even in this hopeless moment, Sanders found comfort in having some thread to cling to.
The same was true for the other knights. Frontdier had already become their lifeline. Even if it was a rotten rope, it mattered now.
‘……Hm?’
But something seemed wrong with Frontdier. As the archers began their volley, Frontdier simply stood motionless.
Sanders wondered if he’d summoned those strange weapons again, but there was nothing.
Frontdier just stood there, doing nothing.
Sanders turned his attention back to the field. He couldn’t focus only on Frontdier. The monsters had already reached firing range.
“……Fire!!!”
Sanders roared, and arrows streaked through the air. Given the warning of a massive assault, he’d positioned more archers than usual, and their arrows darkened the sky in that instant.
Yet that was all.
No beams of light. No weapons hurling through the air toward them.
“……?”
Only then did a few notice Frontdier. Sanders looked back at him too.
Frontdier hadn’t done anything.
It was so strange that Sanders looked closer. Something felt wrong. A chill crawled down his spine.
Sanders’s trained eyes examined him carefully. Frontdier’s fingertips were trembling faintly. Sanders’s eyes widened.
The shoulders beneath the hood, the length of the arms and legs, the height visible from here—they were all different. He even appeared heavier than Frontdier usually was.
Sanders’s mouth fell open. The worst scenario imaginable—one he’d never even considered—was unfolding before his eyes.
‘That’s… that’s not Frontdier……!’
Frontdier had left a substitute and disappeared.

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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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