Chapter 90 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Chapter 26: The Sacred Forest (2)

Merlin squinted one eye at me, then soon returned to his gentle expression.

[Amazing. How do you know my name...?]

“I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The legend of King Arthur is a famous story even within this game. Of course, there are some changes in the minor place names.

[Then we can communicate.]

Merlin raised one hand. As if following his gesture, the branches stretched out, blocking my path.

[Please leave. You cannot harm me.]

Selena and I watched the scene in silence for a moment. Selena, who was beside me, let out a gasp of admiration.

It was indeed an impressive sight. The trees, the ground, everything in this forest seemed to move at Merlin’s command.

“I don’t intend to harm you.”

At my words, the branches that had been hesitating stopped.

[You mean you won’t harm me?]

“Exactly. I didn’t come here to meet you.”

[Then where are you going?]

“The lake.”

[...!]

Merlin’s expression hardened.

My primary goal is the lake. I had expected to meet Merlin beforehand, but if he lets me pass, there’s no need to fight.

However, judging by Merlin’s expression, it would have been better if he had thought we were going to fight.

It seems that a peaceful passage is out of the question.

[I’ve changed my mind.]

“What do you mean?”

[I must kill you here. Since you know about the lake, I cannot let you live.]

Ha ha.

Even your death threats are polite.

Crack!

The branches around us creaked as if stretching, thick branches splitting and thin branches peeling off to sharpen their ends.

The branches turned into spears, and there were too many to count.

“Selena.”

“Yes.”

“Can you block all of them?”

“No, I can’t.”

I expected as much.

I placed my hand on the cloth covering Cassian’s back.

“Cassian, I’m sorry. It’s going to be a bit cold.”

Cassian didn’t react much to my words. Well, I guess that means it’s okay. I’ll believe that.

“Will you fight me?”

I asked Merlin one last time for confirmation.

[Of course. I blame your loose tongue.]

Is that so? Maybe my words are the problem.

But it’s inevitable. I have to go to the lake.

And more importantly, I was secretly hoping for this.

“Good. I had something I wanted to test.”

I pulled back the cloth covering Cassian’s back and raised my left hand.

Weaving (織造)

Rank - Legendary

Dragon Heart

A crystalline structure bent into a triangular shape, like a thin rod.

The Dragon Heart I wove to face Renzo. At the same time, I rewove the one that had led me to death.

Without hesitation, I swallowed the Dragon Heart and said,

“Menosorpo.”

[Stop that!]

Merlin, sensing something amiss, shot the branches at me. He’s quick on the uptake. Or maybe, in this case, a bit too late.

Air Weaving, Simultaneous Replication

Royal Armory

Shields, 10 Replicas

Clang!

I surrounded myself with shields to block them.

‘Ugh...!’

I felt mana boiling within me. It was the effect of the Dragon Heart.

The Dragon Heart explosively increases mana.

However, the Dragon Heart I wove is, of course, a fake, so it doesn’t have the same amount of mana as the real one.

Therefore, while eating it increases my mana, it also consumes my body. Bones, blood, and organs are converted into mana.

But what if there’s another target?

If I don’t have to sacrifice my body, and there’s another ‘dummy’ that can be the offering for the Dragon Heart.

‘...It’s fine.’

I checked the cloth of Penelope.

The end of the cloth glowed and gradually shortened. The target of the consumption caused by the Dragon Heart had changed from me to Penelope’s cloth.

Now I can use the Dragon Heart without any burden, at least until Penelope’s cloth is completely consumed.

[...!]

Merlin’s expression changed. He now seemed to view me as a threat.

“I’m going...”

After eating the Dragon Heart, my voice always changes slightly. It feels like an earthquake is shaking my whole body.

But it’s not a meaningful effect.

Weaving (織造), Black River (黑川)

Rank - Main Deity (主役神位)

Mjolnir

I once again held the weapon of a god in my hand.

The weapon that had made Renzo, one of the strongest, struggle.

How will it fare against a legendary figure?

“Come on...!”

I threw Mjolnir with all my might,

“...Oh.”

And then stopped because no one was there.

“He ran away.”

Selena, who was beside me, said.

“He ran away?”

“Yes. As soon as you took out that hammer.”

Hmm.

I glanced around the forest and canceled the weaving of Mjolnir. Without using mana, Penelope’s cloth stopped deteriorating.

Penelope’s cloth has a ‘Shape Regression’ function. It can return to its original form no matter what happens. Literally, no matter what.

Even if I convert it into mana, it will eventually return to its original state.

‘But if I completely consume it, it takes about a day to return.’

Penelope’s cloth makes it possible to use the Dragon Heart, but it doesn’t make it freely usable.

The Dragon Heart can only be used once a day. I’ll keep that in mind.

* * *

‘I must have seen it wrong.’

Selena made that decision.

The hammer that Frondier had just created out of thin air.

Now, it’s not surprising that Frondier can pull out strange things from nowhere. She had been attributing it all to his abilities.

But that hammer.

Even though she only saw it for less than five seconds, it was a square metal with symmetrical sides and a short handle.

‘I must have seen it wrong.’

Selena didn’t show any emotion on her face. Rather, her expression was completely frozen, as if she was trying not to show any feelings at all.

‘I must have seen it wrong, I must have seen it wrong, I must have seen it wrong, I must have seen it wrong...’

“Selena.”

“Yes. I didn’t see anything.”

Huh.

An odd answer slipped out without her realizing it. Frondier was blinking at her.

“...What, mind reading?”

“Pardon?”

“I was going to ask if you saw which way Merlin ran.”

Ah.

Selena tilted her head slightly, pretending to think, and pointed.

“I didn’t see it clearly, but I think it’s that way.”

“Got it.”

Frondier covered the horse with a cloth and climbed on. He looked at Selena.

Selena pretended to be calm and climbed on behind him.

“Cassian, go down this road.”

Cassian immediately increased his speed at Frondier’s command.

Clippity-clop, clippity-clop. Frondier was now quite stable on the horse. Although his body was still a bit stiff, he wouldn’t fall off on his own.

Selena looked at the trees passing by. The trees were an impossibly vibrant green, the wind was refreshing, and the sunlight was beautifully shining down.

“...What a beautiful place.”

Selena muttered without realizing it. She then slightly regretted it.

She had often been unexpectedly scolded by Frondier, so she was tense, wondering if this comment would also get her in trouble.

“Isn’t it?”

But Frondier agreed.

“It’s like a forest from a fairy tale.”

“You’re right. I can’t imagine a more beautiful forest in the world...”

At that moment, Selena’s expression hardened and she closed her mouth.

She looked around again. She closely examined the green trees in the forest, the birds occasionally passing by, and the beautifully shining sunlight.

‘...Could it be?’

Something was off. Among all the beautiful elements, there was nothing she recognized. The trees, the grass, the passing animals, were all different from what she knew, though somewhat similar.

Then, could it be the sun too? The sunlight breaking through the leaves was breathtakingly beautiful, but was it the real sun’s light?

“Selena.”

Frondier called her quietly.

“Do you know the name Merlin?”

“...Of course. I read a lot about the legend of King Arthur when I was young. I was surprised to meet a legendary figure again.”

“So you must know this.”

“Know what?”

“Merlin is a dead person. A character from a legend.”

At that, Selena blinked a few times, her eyes widening and her mouth opening.

“T-Then what I saw just now was a ghost...!”

“Something like that.”

Selena was confused. Her head was spinning. Most of all, she couldn’t understand why she was so surprised.

After thinking for a while, Selena realized something and spoke.

“Why didn’t I notice that? I knew Merlin had died long ago.”

Logically, if she had been her usual self, she would have thought ‘This can’t be’ as soon as she saw Merlin.

Because he was a dead person.

But until Frondier pointed it out, Selena hadn’t felt any sense of wrongness.

“It’s natural.”

“Natural?”

“You’ve often experienced it. No