Chapter 72 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Chapter 22: Final Exam (1)

The final exam was approaching.

Frondeur effortlessly took notes.

This time, Atten also had enough time to study on his own, so Frondeur was not disturbed.

Unless he had written his name incorrectly, he would score close to a perfect score.

And the day of the practical exam, which everyone had been looking forward to, finally arrived.

At Constel, all grades take the written exam on the same day, but the practical exams are different for each grade.

The first-year students take their practical exams first, and the third-year students take theirs last.

Therefore, many upperclassmen gathered in the audience to watch the first-year students.

However, today, the upperclassmen were drawn to a rare sight before they even saw the first-year students.

"…What day is it today?"

"It's the first-year practical exam, isn't it?"

"Still, look over there."

A student pointed to where many nobles were seated.

From the head of the Loa family, Ampere, to the head of the Risha family, Ort. Next to him was his son, Levert.

Moreover, approaching them was Leidwi von Urpa.

They exchanged greetings.

"Nice to see you again here. Ampere, Ort."

"Thank you for coming from so far away."

Ort greeted them normally, and Ampere, as usual, did not speak.

Levert bowed to Leidwi.

"I greet the head of the Urpa family."

"Hey, you look even more reliable now that I haven't seen you in a while."

Leidwi lightly patted Levert's shoulder, who had bowed respectfully.

Leidwi von Urpa, the head of the family guarding the northwest, had come to watch the Constel practical exam.

"This is quite rare. For the head of the Urpa family to come to such an event."

"Hmm, I heard that Quinie has been scouted for this practical exam?"

"Quinie… Ah, you mean Quinie de Vieux. Yes, that's right."

Quinie is not only a student at Constel but also a famous head of a family. It was natural for Levert to know her.

Leidwi looked at the wizard view screen. Quinie's image was just displayed there.

Along with Frondeur and Atten.

"…What a terrifying lineup."

"Yes, even for Quinie, having the princess on her team must be quite a burden."

"Ah, that's true. There is a princess, after all."

Leidwi spoke ambiguously.

What does he mean by 'there is a princess, after all'? Levert thought. Could it be that even the head of the Urpa family is more concerned about Frondeur than the princess? Surely not.

Leidwi briefly looked at Quinie. She seemed to be discussing something with Frondeur.

'Hmm. Has she overcome her complex? Or is she still trying to overcome it?'

Leidwi's main reason for coming to watch the Constel practical exam today was Quinie.

He had heard that today's mission was a simulation of 'rescue,' but it was surprising that Quinie was participating in such a mission.

Is it finally the time for her to rise above her own wounds, or…

…his gaze was drawn to the man with a lazy expression listening to Quinie's story.

'He's on the same team as that arrogant guy.'

Leidwi put aside his thoughts and asked Levert.

"I'm a bit awkward here too, but you seem even more out of place. Why are you here?"

"Of course! To see my proud younger sister, Elodie!"

"Hehe. Then you should have come to see her during the midterm exam too."

Leidwi laughed and checked the screen.

He knew Elodie's face well from the last Misteltain meeting.

The jewel of the Ort family, what kind of team would she be on…

"…What is this?"

He saw an even more absurd team than Quinie's.

* * *

"Recall the message. First place is impossible."

"Yeah, that's true."

"That's right."

Quinie and Atten nodded in agreement with my words.

It's strange…

I don't know what kind of butterfly effect has reached this point.

An unbeatable team combination had been formed on the other side.

"Elodie is actually on the same team as Aster."

I muttered in frustration.

Moreover, the upperclassman who was scouted was Theo de Villancourt from the third year, the former student council president.

In the game, he was known for his outstanding skills and balanced all-rounder style, so it would be similar here.

"I heard that Elodie and Aster are quite close, so it wasn't surprising that they ended up on the same team."

"…That's true."

I agreed, though it was hard to explain.

In reality, Elodie and Aster were quite close. They were in the same class and had no particular issues with each other.

However, Elodie never teamed up with Aster under any circumstances.

Not even in the future when they both became pros, and not even in temporary parties like this.

The players of the game Ethius had no reason to exclude Elodie, who possessed immense talent and skills, and was even called a beauty that could move a nation.

So they tried every way to recruit her. I did too.

But in the game, none of those attempts worked. Even the protagonist, 'Aster Evans,' couldn't change that. She was a flower on a cliff that no one could reach.

Many gamers thought that 'recruiting Elodie is the key to conquering this game.'

But the result was just a failed game.

So Aster usually ended up on a team with Lunia Friesel, who was closer to a main heroine, and Elodie often teamed up with the hot-tempered Robalt or Sibel.

Aster and Lunia's team was already powerful, but Elodie… the feeling of despair is overwhelming.

"So what are we going to do? It seems like first place is out of reach."

"First, let's focus on the mission. If we follow the roles we set at the beginning, we shouldn't get a bad score."

While I said this, our team is also quite good. The combination of Quinie and Atten ensures stability in both offense and defense. It's just that Aster's side is absurd.

But to change Ampere's mind, I really want to get first place. Even if I do, I don't know what will happen.

I unconsciously touched my tie.

"Why have you been touching your tie so much lately?"

"Ah, I just changed it, so it feels a bit awkward."

"Is that so? Hmm, it looks good."

Quinie briefly inspected my tie and said.

It looks good.

So good that I can't help but touch it unconsciously.

* * *

Aster and Elodie were calm. There was no reason for them not to be.

"So the mission is to go to where the 'alarm' sounds in the field and deal with it quickly?"

"There will be a teacher playing the 'monster role' and an upperclassman playing the 'victim role' where the alarm sounds."

The two discussed and grasped the general outline of the final exam. The content was clearly a condensed version of a pro mission.

The field was different from the midterm exam, resembling an urban area.

Various building shapes filled the entire field, and wherever you looked, the view was blocked by buildings.

"But if the alarm sounds, all teams will head there. How will they determine the ranking? Is it first-come, first-served?"

"I don't know. We can only try—"

At that moment,

Waaah! A loud noise that could only be an alarm echoed throughout the field. This was expected.

Waaah—

Waaah—

Waaah, Waaah—

Waaaaah——!

"Too noisy…!"

The alarms sounded from all directions. The scattered noise made Aster frown.

Before even considering first-come, first-served, the alarms were not just one.

Among the countless sounds, which one was the closest…

Wind Magic Formula 3

Levitation, Speed, Long-range Vision

Sentinel

While Aster listened to the noise, Elodie used magic to rise high.

She flew up 30 meters from the ground and looked around.

The alarm meant an incident had occurred. There should be some change visible to the naked eye.

Moreover, Elodie could see far distances with the 'long-range vision' function.

"—I found it."

Elodie confirmed a teacher in the middle of a crossroads. It was Jean. The upperclassman playing the victim role was not visible, but there must be a teacher in this field.

Elodie descended to the ground.

She pointed in the direction where Jean was found, and Aster pointed to the same spot simultaneously.

"…How did you know?"

When asked, Aster answered matter-of-factly.

"I heard it."

…Is he a monster?

Elodie was thinking what others think when they see her, but now she was thinking it about Aster.

* * *

As soon as the alarm sounded, I immediately ran.

I already knew where the closest alarm was. But moving too early would be suspicious, so I waited until the alarm sounded.

However, the scene at the place I arrived was a bit different from my memory.

"…Haha."

Seeing the scene, Quinie couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Hey, why are you here? Hahaha."

"…Is it something to laugh about?"

The man in front of her, still chuckling, asked.

…It's been a while. Edwin.

Edwin von Behertio was playing the victim role.

"Despite being involved in the golem incident everywhere, this is my final activity."

"What, did you do community service?"

"Sort of, something like that. The type is similar, but the intensity is a bit different."

It's not just a bit different. He must have suffered a lot.

But there were no casualties, and the Vinkiss managed to smooth things over, so it ended there.

Then Edwin saw me.

"Hello, Frondeur."

"Hello."

"How have you been lately? Have you gotten stronger since the last time I saw you?"

"Um, yeah. Sort of."

Edwin smiled at my answer.

"That's good to hear."

His face was clear and bright.

Quinie asked.

"So, where is the teacher playing the 'monster role'?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't answer that. I'm just a victim. The setting is that I'm panicking out of fear."

"Is that a setting only you have?"

"No, all the 'victims' in this field cannot reveal any information about the final exam content or move on their own."

It's quite troublesome.

Quinie hummed, pulled the corner of her mouth, and looked around.

There must be a teacher hiding somewhere nearby, but she couldn't find them.

Quinie's magic sensing ability is quite high. If she couldn't detect them, it must be a teacher with considerable magic control.

"…Now that I think about it, wasn't there a teacher named Ajie?"

Quinie didn't have proper information about Ajie. It's not that the information was scarce, but there were too many exaggerated pieces of information, making it hard to distinguish the truth.

"Frondeur, could the teacher hiding be Ajie?"

"…I don't think so."

"Really? How do you know?"

"Rather than being sure it's not Ajie, I detected who the teacher playing the 'monster role' in this area is."

"Really?"

When Quinie asked, Frondeur nodded. But his expression didn't look good.

Whoever it was, it seemed he wasn't happy to see them.

"Let's start the rescue operation then. We can't do anything just standing here."

"Will it be okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

Frondeur gave a positive answer again, but his expression didn't match.

As if sighing, Frondeur slowly walked towards Edwin and extended his hand.

Edwin looked at the extended hand.

"Are you really okay? Frondeur."

"I'm not okay."

"…Yeah, I guess. Especially for you."

Edwin smiled bitterly and took Frondeur's hand.

Suddenly,

With a loud bang, all the walls and floors shattered, revealing massive bodies.

The same happened where Edwin was standing. From the cracked floor, a huge something emerged, carrying Edwin on its head and crawling out onto the ground.

Large pieces of rock and dust fell, and what was revealed was a golem.

Frondeur's eyes grew colder as he recognized the familiar form.

A lively voice that didn't match the golem's appearance came out.

[Hello! It's Teacher Vinkiss!]

Yes, of course.

Frondeur looked around. Golems identical to the one carrying Edwin emerged from all directions.

Quinie hadn't detected them because they were in a stationary state.

Stationary golems don't have any magic power.

[Based on the records of the previous incident and Edwin's testimony, I gathered data to improve the golems! This is Ajie Mk. 2!]

"Ajie Mk. 2…"

Did you get permission from the person involved?