Chapter 4 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Chapter 1: Human Sloth Frondier (3)

Crack!

"I hit it!"

I clenched my fist at the sight of the broken target.

This place is the training room.

Some are doing muscle training, some are testing magic, and some are verifying techniques.

Anyway, there are empty rooms, and anyone can use them freely with permission.

Since the inside cannot be seen from the outside, you can freely weave here.

What I'm doing now is one of the programs set up in the private room, which is target practice.

It's usually a facility used by people with ranged weapons, where you hit a target that's far away.

At the lowest difficulty, the target just stands still, but as the difficulty increases, the target moves farther away, hides and reappears, and eventually even reacts to projectiles by dodging.

Of course, I'm humbly doing the lowest difficulty.

By the way, the target is a magic hologram, so it's not really broken when I hit it.

The sound effects and graphics are just very realistic.

When I hit the target, it even shows the part hit and the damage, which is quite convenient.

What I'm practicing now is the throwing technique of a dagger I've woven.

If I can trigger the phenomenon of hitting the target at the moment of impact, I can deal damage to the enemy even when throwing a woven dagger.

In other words, it becomes possible to perform an invisible ranged attack.

The intervention of weaving in reality is only a fleeting moment. It only appears for a brief instant when cutting, blocking, or stabbing.

That's why the ability of weaving is reduced in close combat. Because even blocking an enemy's attack is only for a moment.

If you can't deflect or repel the attack when blocking, the enemy's sword will pierce through your weapon or shield and cut into your body.

This is true whether it's a shield or a sword. If you have a shield, you have to parry every attack like in a game, and if you have a sword, you can't block clumsily but must deflect or knock away all attacks.

I don't want to engage in such a crazy difficulty of close combat.

So, if I can knock down the enemy from a distance with a bow or a dagger, that would be best.

However, this tactic has one fatal flaw.

"...It's really hard to hit."

It's me.

I'm just a game addict, and Frondier only sleeps and does nothing.

It seems that our terrible combination of senses creates a chilling synergy.

But if I grit my teeth and manage to hit once in ten tries, once in twenty tries...

[Skill has been created.]

[Created Skill: Throwing]

[Throwing]

•Level: Common

•Description: Throws objects to hit targets. The higher the proficiency, the better the accuracy bonus.

•Current Proficiency: Lowest

I've gained a skill.

It's not much, but since Frondier and I have no talent for combat, we have to rely on skills.

By the way, the lowest level of Throwing can be obtained by a 10-year-old kid if they work hard enough.

...Let's keep it up!

* * *

The evening when the moon was a crescent.

After finishing my practice, I stood in front of the entrance to the training room. I watched as time passed, because there was something I needed to confirm.

I had been so busy after entering this game, or rather, I had been so busy from the moment I entered, or rather, I'm a person who is always busy,

...Anyway.

I had been so busy that I had momentarily forgotten something.

At first, I didn't think about it. But once the thought came to me, it grew uncontrollably.

Today, I have to confirm it.

I am waiting for someone.

I'm waiting here in the training room because I know he will definitely be here.

I checked the date on my smartwatch, and it's definitely today. The time is also about right.

Whirr—

The automatic door of the training room opened.

I cast my gaze on the man who came out.

...I found him.

His golden hair reflecting the moonlight, his vivid blue eyes, and his features are so neatly made that it seems they were created that way.

Anyone who sees this man will realize that the atmosphere around him changes.

—Aster Evans.

A first-year student at Constell, the shining hope of humanity.

He is the protagonist of this game, 'Aetius.'

"...Hmm? Hello."

Aster nodded his head lightly when he saw me.

He and I, Frondier, are meeting for the first time.

...Even if we weren't meeting for the first time, he probably wouldn't remember me.

I bowed my head in greeting.

I don't want to raise unnecessary suspicion.

I didn't wait to talk to him. I waited to see him.

Aster glanced at me and then continued on his way.

A fork in the road is just a short walk away.

The left path leads to the library, and the right path leads to the dormitory.

I watched his back quietly. As he approached the fork,

—He turned right.

Confirming this, I lowered my gaze in despair.

I knew for sure that this game would be much more difficult than I thought.

—The game Aetius.

Aster Evans, as I mentioned earlier, is the protagonist of Aetius.

The protagonist means, of course, the character the player controls.

...In other words,

Aster Evans, who is not being played by a player, is unknown to anyone.

There is an event today.

If Aster goes to the library, he will meet the librarian and receive some information from her.

The information itself is not important, but the encounter itself is unique, leading to a close relationship with the librarian.

It's like raising her affection.

The librarian continues to provide various help, so all players naturally head to the library.

...Because they know about the event where Aster meets the librarian in the library.

Aster Evans, who is the player, knows information that Aster himself would never know.

Aetius is a game that no one has ever cleared.

Those who have challenged Aetius have naturally made Aster follow the most advantageous and optimal path.

...The current Aster Evans would never follow such a path.

It's an optimized path accumulated through countless information sharing and retries.

Aster, who knows nothing, wouldn't follow such a path even if miracles happened five times.

I've played as Aster countless times.

I know nothing about Aster.

Aster Evans, who is not being played by a player. I have no way of knowing where he will go.

"There's nothing I can do."

My original plan was simply to grow myself and become Aster's companion.

While Aster grows on his own, I would learn my own way to contribute to his strength.

Frondier was not originally one of Aster's companions, so my joining, having grown stronger, would be a definite plus.

But the plan has changed.

This Aster is not growing as well as I thought.

He's not following the path of the veterans.

Right now, it's just a minor thing, losing the librarian's information, but in the long run, he will miss out on experiences and various weapons and artifacts that would enhance his abilities.

No one has ever cleared this game, but a clear without Aster is unimaginable.

So, from now on, I need to subtly guide Aster to follow the path of the veterans.

I can't get everything.

It's fine to let go of characters like the librarian who only help with information acquisition. After all, I know most of the information.

But essential events must be experienced.

Since I'm not the one moving, it will take a lot more effort.

Still, I have to do it somehow, to make Aster stronger. And at the same time, I need to grow myself.

...Oh, I need to be in the top 10 of my year by the end of this year.

And that too.

...Oh, Aster just missed the librarian event.

"...Sigh."

I sighed.

A hopeless game.

"...And that too."

Everything Aster will miss from now on.

I have to pick up.

* * *

I opened the door to the library.

There weren't many people, and the place was quiet and relaxed as expected.

However, a few students who saw my face widened their eyes and avoided me.

Frondier and the library are quite an ill-matched pair.

In fact, there's no place in Constell that suits Frondier.

It's an educational institution for improving skills and cultivating knowledge, so it's not a place for someone who doesn't want to do anything.

I quickly looked around to find the librarian.

The librarian was quietly working at her desk.

Brown hair, round glasses, a plain face. In contrast, her glamorous figure and the occasional seductive expression.

At first glance, she looks like a typical librarian, but her figure and occasional seductive expressions make you think otherwise.

The librarian, Teacher Ainen.

If you become close to this teacher, you can get the latest news and various information that comes into the school.

It might seem insignificant, but since the game is filled with inconvenience and unfairness, each piece of information is precious to beginners.

...Well, to beginners.

Actually, she is more important to Aster.

But since Aster missed this event, I can't just let it go.

'Just because I'm here doesn't mean the event will start.'

Since it's come to this, I'll pick up all the information Aster has missed.

If I get the chance, I can share the information with Aster appropriately.

Well, what should I do?

My reputation is probably well-known among the teachers.

Ainen probably knows about Frondier. That means I have to start from a negative affinity.

"Are you Frondier?"

But Ainen spoke to me first.

She even gestured for me to come over when she saw my face.

...What is it?

I approached, not knowing what was going on.

"I didn't expect you to come here. What's the matter?"

"...I'm looking for a book."

There isn't one.

But I can't say, "My business is with you."

"Hmm. It's a good thing you came. Do you want to see this?"

Ainen took something out from under her desk. It was a newspaper.

I wanted to ask where she wanted me to look, but

I immediately understood where she wanted me to look.

The content on the front page of the newspaper caught my eye.

[Party discovers a Divine Artifact. Location: Dungeon near Solgitorf Estate?]

A photo was attached to the headline.

The photo showed a branch inside a transparent tube.

A branch. Its shape is familiar.

"People are calling this 'Mistletoe.'"

That's right.

When I first entered the world of Aetius,

A teacher showed me a branch through a wizard view.

It looked exactly the same.

"You told Jane that this wasn't Mistletoe, didn't you?"

The teacher's name was Jane.

I nodded silently.

Ainen asked me subtly, as if testing me.

"What do you think? It's in the newspaper, and soon it will be on the news through the wizard view. Everyone is calling it Mistletoe. They say it's a divine artifact that's hard to come across in a lifetime, and the empire will be in an uproar."

It will.

Anything used by a god, no matter how trivial, has considerable value.

Moreover, Mistletoe is not trivial at all.

Baldur, called the 'Perfect God' in Norse mythology.

The mistletoe branch that killed him is Mistletoe.

Its value cannot be measured in money, and there are only a few divine artifacts that can match it.

Someone has discovered the Mistletoe that everyone knows,

And I said, "Mistletoe doesn't look like that."

In other words, Ainen is asking me:

Can you still stick to your opinion in this situation?

Can you say again that what you said wasn't just boasting or nonsense?

There's a faint hint of mischief in Ainen's smiling face.

She probably thinks I'll change my opinion. Or she expects me to avoid the question, deny my words, or stutter.

However,

"My opinion hasn't changed."

"..."

Ainen's smile disappeared at my firm statement.

"Mistletoe doesn't look like that."

I know. I know not only what Mistletoe looks like,

But also the identity of the 'fake Mistletoe' in the transparent tube in the newspaper.

'...But I can use this.'

I was wondering how to naturally approach Aster. This might solve the problem.

When the news about this content comes out, Aster will definitely be interested.

Aster's divine power. Its target is Baldur.