Chapter 1: The Weapon Replicator of the Academy

Prologue

The man gripped the sword with both hands. The vertically raised blade reflected the sunlight.

"O Baldr, grant me your strength."

As if in response to the incantation, the blade glowed.

The man exhaled and then leaped, pushing off the ground. The spot he left behind sank, and the air trembled as it followed him.

Before him, a horde of monsters filled the landscape.

Among them, a blade extended toward a bull with two horns, standing on its hind legs.

"Ugh...!"

Swish, the blade that flew toward the bull's temple only managed to slice a bit of its skin.

His all-out attack stopped there.

The bull extended its arm and grabbed the man's leg. In mid-air, the man was helplessly caught.

Whoosh, the sound of the wind disturbed his vision,

"–!"

Thud, the bull, like a wet towel, flung the man against a nearby tree.

Whether it was his back or his side, the man was hit somewhere, a bone broke, and blood gushed from somewhere.

Drip, his body, momentarily stuck to the tree, slid down.

The leg that was caught also broke. No, it shattered.

He raised his head, lying on the ground, and looked up.

Sunlight shone. The same light that had made his sword gleam just moments ago. The sunlight broke through the green canopy of the trees.

And the bull.

The bull, with its bull's eyes, looked at him.

"O Baldr, who governs justice and light, please..."

Crack, a sound was heard.

* * *

I glanced at the monitor.

The words "GAME OVER" were plainly and rudely displayed in the center of the screen.

Hmm, I exhaled through my nose. And I inhaled just as much.

"Rotten game!"

I was about to slam the shotgun but remembered its price, and I was about to throw the mouse but remembered its price as well.

My hand hovered in the air for a moment and then crossed my arms.

"I've tried everything I can think of."

The game "Etius," a world of swords and magic, gods and monsters.

I can confidently say no one is as deeply immersed in this game as I am.

Everyone else shouted "rotten game" and fled long before me.

And now that I've finally declared it a rotten game, I must be the dumbest and biggest victim among gamers.

"I thought it was a great game."

Vivid AI, vast open world, charming characters, countless contents.

At the time of its release, it was described as a fantasy world from another realm encapsulated in a game.

But in reality, it was a balance-ruined game.

No one has seen the game's ending except for the protagonist's death.

Despite the vast open world, there are boundaries you can't cross due to monsters, and once you cross those boundaries, even ordinary mobs can easily kill you.

It doesn't seem like a game designed to be beaten. The company has no intention of fixing it.

But that only stimulated my desire to challenge.

'If they have no intention of fixing it, there must be a way to beat it somewhere.'

That's what I believed.

Why did I believe that?

"I'm tired."

I placed my arms on the desk and buried my face.

It's time for me to say goodbye to this game.

The game over just now was my last attempt to beat the game.

Since it failed, there's no other way.

"Student Frontier."

In the end, Etius became the first game I couldn't beat.

Since no one else could beat it either, maybe it should be considered an exception.

"Frontier de Roach."

...But what does that mean?

In my room, where I was alone, I heard a strange voice.

I lifted my head.

"…?"

I saw a blackboard.

It seemed like a woman, who looked like a teacher, was holding a book and giving a lecture.

The teacher was looking at me.

"Ah, me?"

I answered without thinking.

Frontier? I've never heard that name before.

"Then who else could it be?"

The teacher said it as if it was obvious that I was "Frontier" or something.

I looked around. I saw the faces of students wearing school uniforms.

Some of them were giggling at me.

'This isn't my room.'

This is a classroom. My room has turned into a classroom. I just lifted my face from the desk.

'...Ah.'

Is this a dream?

Because I was so obsessed with the game Etius, am I having such a vivid dream?

"Frontier, do you know the name of this weapon?"

The teacher displayed a screen on the right.

It's a magical device that projects images in the air, called a "Wizard View."

Seeing a magical technique from the game in front of me was quite a different experience.

'That's...'

I saw what the teacher projected with the Wizard View.

It was a branch. It's not a weapon.

'...Ah.'

I get it. I understand what answer the teacher wants.

But since this is a dream,

Let me act a bit more clueless.

"That's a branch. It's not a weapon."

My answer made the students laugh louder, and the teacher sighed.

"Sure enough, you didn't listen to the lesson at all today."

I didn't listen at all. I couldn't have.

"...Teacher, was today's lesson about 'Baldr'?"

Baldr, the god of light and son of Odin in Norse mythology.

He is said to have died from being pierced by a mistletoe branch.

The name of that branch is 'Mistletoe.'

So, I should have answered that the branch I saw was Mistletoe.

The teacher looked at me as if I were strange.

"...Yes. If you knew, why didn't you say so, Student Frontier?"

"Teacher."

I looked at the branch on the Wizard View again.

It's definitely just a 'branch.'

"Mistletoe doesn't look like that."

A weapon that would be wielded by the protagonist in Etius's world.

I've seen and handled it countless times.

Distinguishing between a 'mistletoe branch' and 'Mistletoe' is no big deal.

"..."

"..."

The students and the teacher looked at me in silence, their gazes filled with displeasure, anger, and disgust.

Of course. When the game started, everyone thought Mistletoe really looked like that.

"..."

So, when will this dream end?

* * *

...A week later.

I admitted it. This isn't a dream. Whether I admit it or not, this is reality.

Thinking it was a dream and saying something about Mistletoe just made my image worse.

When I walked down the hallway, I heard whispers about me.

-Is that the one who talked nonsense in class?

...And the one in charge of me and him.

"Well, this body didn't have a good reputation to begin with."

Now, I'm in a mansion. The mansion where the original owner of this body lived.

How did I find it? As soon as after-school ended, an assistant was waiting at the front gate to take me in a car.

I rode in a very luxurious sedan and came here.

...At that time, I still had some hope. I realized I wasn't the protagonist but a noble's child from a prestigious family.

Moreover, the face of this body in the mirror was quite to my liking.

The black hair and eyes were very dark and quite elegant, and the appearance was also good.

Before I knew the truth, I was almost fooled by this appearance.

I looked at the wristwatch on my desk.

A smartwatch.

The only item I brought from my original world when I came here. I must have kept it on my wrist, but why did all my clothes change?

That's still a mystery.

I didn't think this smartwatch would work, but not only did it work,

•Name: Frontier de Roach

•Age: 17

•Affiliation: Second son of the Roach family, 1st-year student at Constel Academy

•Race: Human

•Divine Power: None

Skills >

Magic >

Quests >

It worked in a completely different way.

Now, this isn't just a watch.

It's the status screen of Etius, which I was familiar with. It was in my smartwatch.

Seeing this, I realized I had fallen into this world.

For me, a complete outsider in this world, this status was a small salvation.

"...Frontier de Roach."

It was an unfamiliar name. It took me a while to think of it.

I really played this game hard. I tried to find every hidden element. Even so, it was a character I found hard to recall.

When I finally remembered, a sigh escaped me first.

--Human Sloth Frontier.

A derogatory term comparing him to a sloth. It's just a derogatory term with no other meaning.

Lazy but powerful,

Lazy but with hidden potential,

No, just lazy and lazy.

That's all he is.

"Given the skill setup, I can understand why he's lazy, but..."

In the world of Etius, what determines strength and weakness, competence and incompetence, is only skills, magic, and divine power.

Among these, divine power refers to the power granted by gods.

In Etius, various mythological gods appear and grant power to humans. However, such humans are few.

Those who receive divine power are considered chosen, and in reality, all those with divine power are named characters.

On the other hand, skills and magic can be acquired by everyone, but their power is minimal compared to divine power. They are not easily obtained either.

A few, through hard work and talent, can develop skills and magic that surpass divine power.

Frontier has no divine power,

No magic,

And his skills are as follows.

Skills >

[Weaving]

•Level: Unique

•Description: Stores and replicates the image of an object. However, it is an illusion. The process involves 'Workshop' and 'Replication.'

- Workshop: Stores the woven object in a virtual space.

- Replication: Replicates the object stored in the workshop.

That's how it works.

To explain it,

I picked up a fountain pen on the desk and used 'Weaving.'

The image of the fountain pen was stored, and the stored image filled in front of my eyes, as if threads were being woven.

It's like a 3D printer.

Perhaps it's called 'Weaving' because of this appearance.

[High-quality fountain pen of the Viet Guild] (Replica)

•Level: Common

•Description: A woven replica of a fountain pen. It has no physical substance.

I held the real fountain pen in my left hand and the replicated one in my right.

To my eyes, they looked exactly the same.

This is Weaving. It replicates objects as illusions.

Once 'Weaving' is used on an object, its image is stored in the 'Workshop.'

As described, the Workshop is a virtual space where stored items can be easily viewed.

It can be checked like augmented reality, and weapons, tools, and other items can be displayed.

Therefore, Weaving is possible anytime and anywhere.

However, only objects I have seen with my own eyes.

Even if I know a weapon in my mind, it won't be stored in the Workshop until I see it in person.

Before I possessed this body, Frontier had already used it a few times, so some weapons and items were stored.

...It sounds impressive when described like this.

But it's all fake.

The replicated fountain pen can't write and can't even pierce a piece of paper.

Moreover, only I can see it, so others don't know if I've used Weaving or not.

An illusion that can't interfere with reality.

...We call this a 'delusion.'

I have no idea what to do with this.

"I've never seen this skill in Etius."

Since I've never seen it, it's naturally a 'Unique' level.

In Etius, the 'Unique' level has a different characteristic from other levels.

The levels range from the lowest 'Common' to the highest 'Divine,' but 'Unique' is not included in this range.

Instead, the 'Unique' level has a unique characteristic: it is the only one of its kind.

Therefore, the 'Unique' level cannot be judged as good or bad. Even if it's insignificant, if it's the only one, it's labeled as 'Unique.'

...But is there a 'Unique' skill this useless?

"Human Sloth Frontier."

This skill seems to prove the derogatory term.

From now on, I have to live in this world, a game I couldn't beat as the protagonist, in Frontier's body.

"Just living isn't the problem."

I clicked on 'Quests' on my smartwatch.

Quests >

[Main Quest: Fate Reversal]

•Description: You know the final fate of humanity's destruction. Save humanity and change its fate.

This quest was there from the moment I opened the smartwatch. It must have been there since I possessed Frontier.

According to the quest description, I know the ending of this game. Or rather, I know the ending when it's not beaten.

The end of humanity is pitiful.

It's not a typical game ending where humanity is destroyed by a demon king, a grand conspiracy, or a mastermind.

It's just being slaughtered by monsters. Humanity's territory is gradually taken over by monsters, and eventually, it can't withstand the wave of monsters and is swept away.

Even the protagonist of this game meets a futile end.

I'm supposed to stop that. Me.

Haha.

Knock, knock.

A maid's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Mr. Frontier? May I come in?"

"Y-Yes."

I unconsciously used polite language. Frontier is a noble by birth, so this tone feels awkward.

The maid who entered also looked at me a bit strangely. Of course, she wouldn't say it out loud.

"Mr. Frontier, you have a letter."

"Letter? From who?"

I tried to use informal language. It will feel awkward for a while, but I'll get used to it.

"It's from Mr. Ampere."

"...Father?"

Ampere, Frontier's father.

I don't know the character Frontier, but I know Ampere. I know him very well.

The Iron Wall of the North, Ampere de Roach.

A superhuman who has never allowed monsters to invade the territory 'Yelanes' on the border of the Terscht Empire.

Ampere, as a general, has the leadership to command a legion and, as an individual, is on par with the 'Zodiac,' one of the twelve strongest on the continent.

Ampere, and his eldest son, Azie, who inherited his immense talent and grew even further, are the main characters of the Roach family.

Ampere, now my father, has sent me a letter.

I nervously took the letter from the maid and broke the seal. The letter contained a simple message.

"Frontier, your laziness has gone far enough.

Rank in the top 10 of your year at Constel.

If you fail, you will be disowned."

I read the content and exhaled through my nose. And I inhaled just as much.

"...Rotten game!"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!"

My life is about to become as simple as this.

Ding, a monotonous notification sound rang, and I checked my smartwatch.

[A new side quest has been created]

[Side Quest: Father's Command]

•Description: Your father, Ampere, has reached his limit with your laziness over the years.

•Objective: Rank in the top 10 of your year at Constel this semester.

•Reward: Gain Ampere's recognition.

•Failure: Be disowned.

I know!