Chapter 73 of the Weapon Replicator at the Academy

Final Exam (2)

Aten and Quinie narrowed the distance between them while keeping a wary eye on the golems that had crawled up from all sides.

"Hehe, you two have fallen into the teacher's trap, haven't you? Well, you couldn't help it!"

Binkis seemed quite pleased.

It was similar to the feeling of a child touching an expensive robot for the first time. In reality, it wasn't much different.

Quinie, standing back-to-back with Aten, shouted to Frontier.

"Frontier! Is this the golem you faced?"

"It looks a bit different. It must be an improved version. I can also see some with different weapons besides spears."

These two had never faced a golem before, but it didn't look easy at all.

I heard that Quinie had integrated Azjei's techniques into the golems. If that's true, it's a formidable opponent.

"Hehe, this Azjei Mk. 2, you see. Besides Azjei's special skills, it focuses on the basic principles of the spear techniques he uses."

Crack!

However,

A violent sound seemed to break their tension.

In front of Frontier, a sword was embedded in the head of the golem carrying Edwin.

The plain, unadorned sword still gave off an ancient and old-fashioned feel.

'That sword is...!'

Quinie's eyes widened.

She knew the identity of that sword. It was the sword that had drawn everyone's attention at a gathering of famous nobles.

'It's Gram!'

How did Frontier get Gram?

She didn't see the process clearly because she was focused on the surrounding golems, but it was certain that Gram was now embedded in the golem's head.

'Did the head of the Loa family give Gram to Frontier?'

According to the information Quinie had, Frontier was a child put forward by the Loa family.

She had heard that the head, Angfer, devoted all his efforts solely to Azjei.

But was that actually false information, and he had also been paying attention to Frontier?

Swish, Frontier drew a diagonal line with the sword embedded in the golem. The golem's face was torn apart so badly that it was unrecognizable.

"Hey! Frontier! What are you doing?"

Before the words were even finished, Frontier's sword completely severed the golem's neck.

He caught Edwin, who was slowly tilting from above, with a conscientiousness that was almost admirable.

"You can just land safely."

"He's a hostage."

Is this honesty also a manifestation of his character? Frontier smiled bitterly and handed Edwin to Quinie.

"First, ensure the hostage's safety. Aten and Senior Quinie, please take the hostage and move to safety."

"What about you?"

"After rescuing people, I need to deal with the monsters."

At those words, Quinie looked at Frontier with a doubtful eye.

"By yourself...?"

"Yes. That's the best way."

"Who said I'd let you go?!"

At that moment, one of the nearby golems spoke in Binkis's voice. It seemed that if one golem was destroyed, it would transfer to another.

Squish, the 'Gram' in Frontier's hand turned into a liquid and flowed down. Frontier didn't try to hide it. Quinie stared blankly at the scene.

She had seen that liquid before. It was the true identity of the fake Misteltain, a metal with some property called 'viscoelasticity.'

"I'm not a match for any of the teachers here."

Frontier had grown a lot, but compared to the teachers at Constel, he was still not at their level.

However, when it came to Binkis.

If Binkis, who mainly deals with summoning and golem creation, was the opponent, Frontier could handle it.

He knew almost all the attack patterns of the monsters.

"If I do well, I can be Binkis's nemesis. So, go."

Soft but firm, Frontier's words.

Quinie and Aten, though bewildered, nodded and ran off with Edwin.

"Frontier, you've gotten quite arrogant? You used to act like a mouse in class. What happened to the 'human sloth'?"

Arrogant.

Indeed, he was. Frontier was different from what he had been until now.

Weaving, the starting point of all attack methods. Black Heaven, the source of material creation. And now, Menosorpo.

Unlike before, Frontier didn't hide these things.

...What does the expulsion mean for 'Frontier de Loa'?

There's no need to think about it.

It's not just a failure in a spec-up, but a disqualification from the race.

The possibility of protecting this world converges to zero, and the result is nothing but the tragic end of humanity being slaughtered by monsters.

In other words, there was no room for 'a decent outcome' in this practical exam.

That's why.

"Please understand."

Frontier manifested four short swords around him.

The four swords floating around him spun like tops. It was clear that touching them would mean the end, even for Binkis's boasted golems.

Just slightly changing the perception of 'Frontier' known at Constel.

Even if it wasn't actual strength, it was enough to make them think it was.

"I was getting a bit tired of that nickname."

* * *

While Frontier was dealing with Binkis alone after sending Aten and Quinie away,

the situation on Aster's side was quite different.

'...Where is the victim?'

Aster was observing the area where Teacher Jane was hidden.

Thanks to Elodie, he had found the location of the teacher playing the 'monster role,' but he couldn't see the student playing the 'victim role.'

'I need to attack.'

Aster made up his mind.

If this were a real situation,

Aster had discovered the monster, and the monster hadn't noticed Aster yet.

It would be right to quickly surround and eliminate the monster.

Even if the 'victim role' somewhere became a hostage, Aster would be faster at this distance.

Elodie and Theo were surrounding Jane from different positions. Aster had already decided to lead the charge.

'Good. The concealment will be abandoned because it's too flashy, but...'

Divine Power Activation

Lord of Light and Justice

Baldur

Aster activated his divine power and charged.

Aster's sprint, enveloped in white light, resembled a lion's charge.

However,

"Stop. Aster."

The voice wasn't from Jane. It came from Aster's right side.

Of course, Aster wouldn't stop just because of those words, but he glanced to see who had spoken.

And Aster stopped.

"...What is this?"

Aster asked, truly bewildered.

In front of him was Azjei.

The mission was already difficult with just Jane, and now Azjei too.

Moreover, Azjei was holding Theo in her arms.

Theo, who was on the same team as Aster, had suddenly become a hostage.

"Why?"

Azjei said with an indifferent gaze.

"It's just that there's one more monster."

Hearing Azjei's words,

Aster thought it was utter nonsense.

* * *

"So, it was all planned from the beginning?"

"Yes. The teachers knew exactly where each team was located."

Edwin Hamelot's question. Elin answered.

Since Edwin brought Elin as an intern, the two had been acting together in a relationship similar to that of a master and apprentice.

"That's why the teachers are intentionally placed close to each team. The teacher each team faces is the one who would be the most difficult for them. In other words, the students are now facing their own 'virtual nemesis.'"

"So the alarms go off simultaneously to naturally spread the first-year teams apart."

"Yes. After all, the practical exam is a competition, so it's unlikely that the first-years would suddenly form an alliance. They would solve the closest alarm first and then move on to the next one. That's what the first-years were thinking."

"...But in reality, they can't solve even a single mission."

Hearing Elin's explanation, Edwin was both impressed and dismayed by Constel's malicious nature.

Making it seem like the team that solves more alarms gets a higher score, but actually giving the students impossible tasks.

In other words, this practical exam is designed for the students to fail.

Teaching them 'failure' is the initial purpose.

"How do you know about this?"

"Because I experienced it. Last year."

"So, you also failed the practical exam task you were given?"

"No one succeeded. The purpose was to make it impossible from the start."

Elin said this calmly. Edwin asked, looking at her.

"Aren't you angry? The teachers deceived the students and forced them to fail."

"But thanks to that, I became stronger."

Indeed. This is Elin Evans' mindset.

Elin might have become stronger thanks to Constel, but the greatest force that made her strong was probably herself.

However, a strange question arose. Edwin asked.

"Then, do the upperclassmen who were recruited into the first-year teams also know this fact?"

"Yes. The recruited upperclassmen and the upperclassmen playing the hostage role all know. Only the first-years who will taste defeat don't know."

"...Cruel."

"Still, the upperclassmen will do their best to help the first-years. Many of them are frustrated by what happened last year, and for them, 'recruitment' is another word for 'revenge.'"

However, the fact that the first-years are destined to fail must remain a secret.

As long as that's kept, the upperclassmen can help the first-years as much as they want.

"So, Azjei and Jane being on the same team to ensure Aster's team fails is also for that reason."

"Yes. Of course, Jane alone could probably handle it. But as you said, those two have the potential to cause unexpected events, so they prepared one more person."

That's why Azjei and Jane are on the same team.

At this point, it's not even about difficulty. Edwin said with a bitter smile.

"That's not so simple to say, given how powerful the additional person is."

"The purpose is to give the students a sense of despair."

Indeed, the situation of Aster's team shown on the screen was not good.

Theo had been taken hostage by Azjei, and with a hostage, Elodie's strength was halved.

Even Aster, no matter how strong, would find it difficult to face Azjei and Jane alone, especially with Azjei holding a hostage.

"In other words, to ensure Aster's definite failure, they thought this level of investment was necessary."

"Yes. But thanks to this, the teachers at Constel overlooked something."

"Overlooked?"

"Among the first-years there, there's one student who is still hiding their true strength."

"...Ah."

The two focused on the screen.

Currently, the screen is focused on the standoff between Aster and Azjei.

However, somewhere not shown on the screen,

There is a 'surprise' that the teachers didn't anticipate, even more than the teamwork of Aster and Elodie.