Chapter 8 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Chapter 2: The Branch in the Coffin, Mistilteinn (4)

I played with the dagger a few times. The weight, balance, everything is just like the original weave.

I would have to test if the sharpness of the blade is exactly the same, but it’s probably very close.

"But it continuously consumes mana."

Black River is a material that solidifies when force is applied.

To maintain its form, it requires a continuous flow of magic power.

Frondear’s mana level is at the average person’s level.

By the standards of Constel students, it’s far from enough, but it should be manageable for the duration of a single battle.

The weave made with Black River completely reverses the pros and cons of a regular weave.

Weapons made with a weave only appear in reality at the moment of contact, so they can’t block an opponent’s attack head-on.

If I did, the opponent’s attack would pierce through the weave and kill me.

Moreover, if it doesn’t cut through in one go, it disappears, making it hard to deal proper damage.

On the other hand, Black River is a real weapon, so I can use regular combat techniques.

I can block normally, clash, and even push through if I get stuck for a moment.

However, Black River continuously consumes mana while maintaining the weave, and since it has a physical form, it’s visible to enemies.

Depending on the situation, I need to switch between regular weaves and Black River.

"…Then."

I swallowed hard. This is where it gets serious.

Right now, in my workshop, there is the famous sword, Gram.

Seeing the real Gram was an unexpected gain.

The moment I saw Ampere’s Gram, I implanted the image into my workshop.

I placed the Black River dagger on the mold and undid the weave, and it naturally turned back into a liquid, filling the mold. Then I placed my hand on it again.

This time, I’m not replicating a regular dagger, but a hero’s sword.

—If this is possible, it would be a step forward in conquering this world.

Weave (織造), Black River (黑川)

Rank - Legendary

Gram

Threads of mana extended toward the Black River.

Engraving the image and structure was simple.

[Gram]

•Rank: Legendary

•Description: The famous sword used by Sigurd. The achievements of the hero and the weapon surpass those of several deities.

Ability Details >

- Dragon Slayer: It has drunk the blood of a dragon, greatly enhancing its attack power against dragons and instilling fear in dragons of the ‘Unique’ rank and below.

And it was complete.

This part is purely Frondear’s talent, so there’s no interference.

The problem is,

"…Ugh!"

The moment I held the woven Gram, an overwhelming dizziness and nausea hit me.

Mana depletion. I couldn’t hold the weave for even three seconds.

“Huff, cough! Cough, cough…!”

Dry coughs repeated. It felt like all the moisture in my body was being burned away.

But even in the pain, a glimmer of hope arose.

“Cough, it, cough, it works…! Cough!”

That’s right. The weave itself was successful. It just requires an absurd amount of mana.

“Phew… I need to think of a way to increase my mana.”

The fastest way is to wear an artifact. However, artifacts that increase mana are excessively expensive.

Even as a member of the Loach family, or rather, because of it, I’m sensitive to high-priced items.

If I were Azie, such an expense might be allowed, but I’m Frondear, so it’s not possible.

“Then, let’s try the simple and brutal method for now.”

There’s one more way to increase my mana pool. It’s to completely deplete my mana, just like before.

When mana is depleted, the body grows the mana pool to prevent further depletion, much like how muscles grow.

This method is actually unknown to most characters in Etius.

The amount of mana that increases is very minimal compared to items or divine power. Just like how muscles don’t grow visibly with a single workout.

And completely depleting mana is a taboo here.

Since danger can come at any time, having an empty mana pool, which is like a lifeline, is very dangerous.

But, well.

There’s no reason not to do it if I know it increases mana.

When my mana recovers, I plan to weave Gram a few more times to deplete my mana and increase it.

…However, this method also has its limits.

Ultimately, I’ll need an item.

“…Quinie.”

That’s the conclusion. Trading with Quinie de Vieux.

She’s the only trading route I have.

But since I don’t have money, I need to offer something else.

Of course, building a relationship comes first.

Let’s think about how to persuade her.

“By the way, how do I carry this—”

I stopped mid-sentence. My fingertips trembled.

Curious, I watched as the trembling spread up my arm and over my entire body.

“W-What, ugh!”

It was nothing but fear.

The emotion that suddenly enveloped my body was so intense that I didn’t even realize it was fear at first.

There’s nothing around. No medium to trigger fear exists.

‘…No.’

Just a moment ago, there was nothing, nothing at all.

As if slowly pulling back a curtain, the empty space in the middle split open.

Someone slowly squeezed through the gap.

“You, are.”

A small boy with black wings.

Golden eyes turned toward me, filled with disdain and contempt, as if their gaze was tearing through my throat.

Fear swelled.

With the little bit of sanity I had left, I quickly scanned the boy’s appearance.

‘Not human. A god. One of the gods that exist in this game, Etius. But who? Judging by his appearance, he’s from Greek or Norse mythology. Remember, golden eyes, black wings, a god in the form of a boy…!’

In the world of Etius, a god’s descent is not an easy feat.

It requires significant preparation from the god’s perspective. Yet, he managed to break through the barriers and appear before me.

‘Could it be because I used Black River to weave?’

If the god set the condition for descent as the weave becoming real in advance.

The preparation for the descent must have been ready from the start.

And if that’s true,

This god knew that the weave would have an impact on reality.

I don’t know yet, but to this god, the weave is that dangerous.

The god in the form of a boy moved his lips.

I couldn’t hear it, and even if I did, I wouldn’t understand the language of the gods, but I somehow felt he was saying,

[You finally did it.]

He snapped his finger. At the same time, my right hand lifted on its own.

Frondear’s Unique Skill

Weave (織造)

Workshop 1st Creation

Rank - Common

Iron Dagger

My hand wove on its own.

The tip of the blade it created was pointed at me.

‘This bastard, he’s trying to kill me…!’

He’s manipulating my body to kill me with my own hands.

A perfect suicide, leaving no evidence.

My right hand trembled, not following my will at all.

The blade drew closer.

I clenched my teeth to gather strength.

…Huh?

I can clench my teeth.

I changed my approach. I can’t resist with force.

I’m just a human, an ordinary person, not even a named character. Resisting a god is futile.

So what I need to do is make him stop his own actions.

While I can still bite.

While I can still move my mouth.

I met the cold, golden eyes staring at me.

Gritting my teeth, I moved my lips.

“—Thanatos.”

My voice was barely audible.

But this dog of a god will understand.

A god should be able to do that much.

[…!]

The golden eyes widened.

At the same time, the boy’s body moved away from me.

The blade approaching me stopped.

“Huff! Huff, huff!!”

I regained control of my body and gasped for breath.

I almost died…!

[—!]

The god in the form of a boy shouted something at me, his face a mix of shock and anger.

I can’t understand what he’s saying, you idiot.

Then, as if he had an idea, he wore a thoughtful expression.

He bit his lower lip, glanced at me, and walked back through the gap.

Soon, the gap closed, and my room returned to normal.

“…Gone?”

I slumped, the tension leaving my body.

Thanatos, the god of death from Greek mythology.

But in Etius, he’s not the ‘embodiment of death’ as described in mythology.

He’s powerful and high-ranking, but his absence doesn’t mean the end of death. He can die, even though he oversees death.

Anyway, it was lucky I guessed his identity correctly.

Golden eyes, black wings, and the form of a boy.

There aren’t many gods with all three characteristics, but I had to take a risk.

The most important clue was the method of killing.

If a god manipulates a human’s body to make them kill themselves, it leaves no trace, a perfect suicide.

Fitting for the god of death, Thanatos.

Very few gods know Thanatos’s face. Those few are higher-ranking gods.

I just guessed, but from Thanatos’s perspective, it won’t look that way.

Knowing Thanatos’s face suggests to him that I have a close connection with other high-ranking gods.

So killing me now would be risky.

That’s why I said his name.

…Still, I can say,

I was incredibly lucky.

“…It feels like an incredible crisis, but also an incredible opportunity.”

He must have tried to kill me because of the ‘weave.’

I don’t know why the weave upset the gods, but it’s clear.

Until now, humans influencing the emotions of gods has never happened in the history of Etius.

“Could it be that Frondear lacks divine power because he’s hated by the gods?”

…Did I go too far?

There are few humans with divine power, and it’s unlikely that Frondear is hated by all the gods.

Regardless, this ability called ‘weave’ is more dangerous and powerful than I thought.

“Just.”

I glanced at my hands. The trembling wouldn’t stop.

I sighed.

“I need to get used to fear.”

I don’t know how much my bluff will work.

Thanatos can’t just ask other high-ranking gods out of the blue, so I should have some time.

But I need to prepare as much as I can before then.

* * *

‘Frondear.’

Quinie thought about him in the lecture hall.

Frondear de Loach, the second son of the Loach family.

She thought she only needed to worry about Azie regarding the Loach family now that she was a third-year at Constel.

She only learned Frondear’s name after he enrolled.

She knew Azie had a younger brother but didn’t think much of him.

She tried to gather information, but there was nothing useful. The only credible information was that he was very lazy.

“Quinie, what are you thinking about?”

Her friend beside her asked.

Quinie glanced at her.

“Anne, what do you think of Frondear?”

“What? Quinie, did you finally feel that fresh, sweet, and cozy emotion after seeing Frondear’s face? Did you really feel it? The sweet and cozy…!”

“I’m asking for information.”

“Of course?”

Anne chuckled.

“Frondear, well, I don’t know. He sleeps in class, but it seems he doesn’t do that anymore.”

“Not the common knowledge everyone knows.”

“I only know the common knowledge.”

Hmm, that’s true.

Anne wouldn’t know much about Frondear.

Instead, Quinie asked another question.

“Do you know about the recent incident? Where Frondear broke the transparent tube containing Mistilteinn.”

“Yeah, I know! It was really noisy for a few days.”

“What do you think about it?”

“About his actions?”

“Yeah.”

Anne tilted her head, then burst into a bright smile.

She answered cheerfully.

“It was reckless! Stupid!”

“…Hmm.”

Right. That’s how the public viewed Frondear’s actions at the time.

Even if it was for his father, if it was really poison?

Who would want to see their son die?

‘But to me, he looked full of confidence.’

He must have been. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have done it so fearlessly.

—I’ve never been afraid of such things.

“Hmph.”

Quinie laughed. She had never heard anyone say that.

Especially not in a place where people who are loved by famous gods gather.

Truly fearless.

“I like it, I’ve decided.”

“What?”

“What I want, I’ll get.”

Crossing her arms, Quinie thought, her eyes shining.

Anne, seeing this, wondered, ‘Could Quinie really be after Frondear?’