Chapter 92 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Chapter 26: The Sacred Forest (4)

The Lady of the Lake.

In the original Arthurian legend, this mysterious woman, who does not even have a name, is known by various names depending on the location and the retelling of the story.

Lady, fairy, maiden, and so on.

But all the players in Etius called her this:

‘The Witch of the Lake.’

[Excuse me, a witch? I am a fairy, you know. I also have a name, Nimue.]

Right, Nimue. That was her name. I had forgotten it after hearing her called a witch so many times.

Nimue smiled faintly as she said this. Her clean appearance and smile certainly didn’t fit the nickname ‘witch.’

Or, perhaps because of that, she is a witch. Quite a few players have been deceived by her appearance.

So, quite a few of them believed she was actually a good character and tried to dig around.

But I, who have been playing this game the longest, can confidently say,

Nimue is a witch.

“Yes, Miss Nimue. I came here because I have some business at the lake.”

[What kind of business?]

“I came to find the sword inside.”

Nimue’s expression wavered slightly.

[Indeed... It seems you really do know something.]

Nimue spread her arms, as if welcoming me.

[If you can find it, go ahead and try.]

[Nimue!]

Merlin called out to Nimue, as if urging her.

Nimue smiled gently and said to me,

[The sword is inside the lake. If you can take it, be my guest.]

“What do you mean by that?”

[Have you forgotten where you are? This is further north than your territory, a land of extremes. This lake is colder than a glacier. It only remains unfrozen because it exists as a ‘lake.’]

I looked down at the lake. The water was clear and transparent, but as Nimue said, I felt a bone-chilling cold.

Water colder than ice. It’s impossible for this lake to maintain such a low temperature without flowing, but under the name of ‘mystery,’ it preserves its appearance forever.

The cold alone cannot freeze this lake. It just continues to get colder.

To put it bluntly, even if humanity were to perish, this place would remain unchanged forever.

It’s absurdly cold, no matter what.

Nimue chuckled, watching me.

That smile seemed so kind, which made it even more peculiar.

[Are you going to go in? Even if you find the sword, what good will it do if you can’t come back alive?]

“Don’t worry. I came prepared.”

I turned around and approached Cassian. I tied the cloth from Penelope around my hand. The bone-chilling cold that had been lingering disappeared. It was the effect of the cloth.

[...Hmm.]

Nimue’s smile faded a little, but she still looked relaxed.

[Well, good luck.]

I glanced at Merlin. He was looking at me with a stern expression, but he didn’t seem to be about to move.

“...Are you really going to jump in?”

Selena asked, her tone filled with concern.

It seemed natural for her to worry as my bodyguard, but it also didn’t seem quite right.

“I have to.”

“Something feels suspicious. It’s too easy for them to let you go like this.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

“Huh?”

I smiled and waved my hand as if I were just going on an errand.

“I’ll be back.”

And with that, I jumped into the lake.

* * *

Selena watched the lake where Frontier had jumped in for a moment.

If she were to jump in there as a bodyguard, she would surely freeze to death in less than five seconds.

Even from this distance, she could feel the cold that would cause frostbite just by putting her hand in.

Sighing, Nimue beside her seemed to pity her.

[Another greedy life is about to end.]

“...What do you mean by that?”

Selena asked.

It wasn’t her business what Frontier did, but death was a different matter. Her duty was to protect Frontier.

Of course, if he died, it wouldn’t mean she would die too, but she would certainly face severe reprimand.

“Lord Frontier is unaffected by the cold. Bringing the sword back will be an easy task for him.”

Frontier’s immunity to cold had been evident since Teufan. It was probably due to that cloth. The tie he usually wore had such a function.

But Nimue shook her head.

[It’s not just about the cold. Just blocking the cold isn’t enough to bring the sword out.]

“...Not because of the cold?”

Nimue covered her mouth with one hand. Her smile was benevolent.

[This lake is deep. Ordinary people can’t reach the bottom.]

“...But even if they can’t reach the bottom, they won’t die, right?”

[If that were the end of it. That man seems stronger than he looks, so he might reach the bottom. But in fact, the sword,]

Nimue, who had been talking happily, suddenly looked at Merlin. As if checking his reaction. It was a very strange action, but soon Nimue looked back at Selena and continued.

[...is embedded deep in the bottom.]

“...!”

That’s right. Excalibur is originally a sword embedded in a rock. Or a sword given directly by the Lady of the Lake.

But neither of those, and the sword is embedded at the bottom of the lake? The legend is completely mixed up.

[The sword will drain your mana if you try to pull it out. It will even take your life force. Only someone with the strength to overcome all of that can pull the sword out. If you try to pull it out without knowing your limits, you’ll just be drained of all your vitality and end up in deep water, unable to escape.]

Selena swallowed hard at Nimue’s explanation.

A sword that is extremely selective of its owner. To the point of driving those who are unworthy to death.

‘...But this is underwater.’

Even if someone were qualified, could they really pull the sword out underwater?

Is there really someone who can accomplish such a difficult task, even on land?

Why are two different legends mixed, and why does the sword require such an impossible task?

-The lake is real.

Frontier’s words kept echoing in her mind. Selena’s thoughts were spinning.

But time was definitely passing.

People can’t survive underwater for long. Nimue looked up at the sky for a moment, as if bored, and said,

[...Then let’s go back. The master you’re waiting for won’t come,]

Swoosh!

At that moment, the water of the lake surged up violently. Selena, Nimue, and Merlin watched the scene.

It was Frontier. He rose up with something hammer-like in one hand,

Thud.

Rolling over like a dog.

He looked great breaking through the surface of the lake, but Selena held her tongue.

“Huff, I thought I was going to die.”

His line was even less impressive. Selena pursed her lips and approached him.

When he emerged from the lake, he seemed to be holding something hammer-like in his right hand, but it had disappeared again.

In other words, Frontier’s hands were empty.

Selena asked, as if inspecting him,

“...Did you fail?”

“Huh? Fail?”

“You didn’t bring the sword out...”

“Oh, right. I tried to grab it just in case, but I felt my strength drain away. It wasn’t something I should touch.”

Frontier admitted it straightforwardly.

Selena was relieved. Frontier hadn’t died. She wouldn’t be reprimanded in Manjou either.

[Hmm, I see. You know your limits.]

Nimue looked down at Frontier, who was lying on the ground.

She looked at his empty hands. After all, it would be strange to bring the sword out. Perhaps it was praiseworthy that he had given up his greed and returned alive.

[I told you, didn’t I? You can’t take that sword.]

“Yeah, you did.”

Saying that, Frontier extended one hand. Lying down, he raised his hand toward the sky.

“It doesn’t matter.”

And then,

with his other hand, Frontier shattered the necklace he was wearing.

[What...?]

At first, his action was incomprehensible.

But when the black liquid flowing from the necklace gathered in Frontier’s extended hand, forming a thin, thread-like shape,

Nimue’s eyes widened. Her smile disappeared, and her mouth opened in shock.

Frontier’s face was filled with a smile that matched the one Nimue had lost.

“I told you.”

Frontier held the completed sword in his hand.

The round pommel, the grip designed for two hands, the blade with a concave center, the guard and blade glowing with a golden light.

[What, no, how...!]

It is the sword embedded in the rock, the sword that the hero will pull out, and the sword that the Lady of the Lake will hand over directly.

Excalibur.

“I came to ‘find’ the sword.”

He never said he came to retrieve it.

* * *

I never intended to pull out Excalibur from the beginning.

The ‘real’ one isn’t mine. It’s the sword that the protagonist of this game, Aster Evans, will eventually wield.

It’s a sword that will become one of his main weapons, and I won’t do the foolish act of taking it from him. It’s impossible, and there’s no need to.

After entering the lake and finding Excalibur, I tried to grab the sword, just in case.

...It didn’t budge at all. The sword embedded in the lake bottom seemed more like it had become one with the earth.

Moreover, I felt my mana draining as soon as I touched it and gave up. At the same time, I was certain.

No one can pull this sword out. Not even Aster Evans.

The moment my hypothesis turned into certainty.

Since I had ‘seen’ it, that was enough. I used Menosorpo and checked Penelope’s cloth. Since I had just eaten a dragon heart, the cloth would replace my mana until it was completely depleted.

‘The usage of Menosorpo has increased.’

I was able to jump from the bottom of the lake to the surface thanks to Menosorpo.

Since the weapon I wove can move freely within the range of the magic circle, wouldn’t it be possible to fly by holding onto the weapon?

It was a simple idea, and it worked. The problem was that only Mjolnir was possible.

Other weapons couldn’t bear my weight even when I tried to move them while holding them. In the water, it was hopeless, and on land, it would be even more so.

‘Gram’ barely made my body move, and Artemis’s bow and arrows did lift me, but my breath nearly stopped.

‘Almost used up.’

The length of Penelope’s cloth tied to my hand had shortened to about the length of my elbow.

Meanwhile, Nimue muttered, looking confused.

[It’s impossible. There’s no way. No one could pull out that sword! It’s impossible, no one...]

Impossible. No one. Nimue said it herself.

[Y-Yes! It’s a fake! Right!]

Nimue shouted, pointing at me with her finger.

“...Haha.”

I couldn’t hold back a laugh. I laughed very brightly.

I accepted her words from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head. My entire soul seemed to resonate with Nimue’s words.

Thus, I smiled as brightly as I could, more truthful than ever.

“Yes, it’s a fake.”

I recited the honest words.

I was so proud of this answer.