Chapter 2

Weapon Replicator of the Academy - Chapter 2 (2/606)

Weapon Replicator of the Academy Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Human Sloth Frondier (1)

The next day.

A small commotion broke out during class.

"Look, look at that..."

"It's unbelievable..."

Everyone looked at each other with disbelieving faces and eyes, whispering and glancing at me.

"Frondier de Roach..."

Wake up!

"..."

It seems like everyone's eyes are saying the same thing.

You've never opened your eyes during class, Frondier. That's quite an achievement in itself.

"Well, then, let's move on to the next slide..."

The teacher also looks quite flustered by the fact that I'm awake.

But there's no choice. I have my father's orders.

If I don't rank in the top 10 at Constel, I'll be expelled.

Constel is the school I'm attending now... the same academy... the same school.

Anyway, it's some kind of educational institution.

While other schools generally focus on building knowledge and culture, Constel also includes combat training to fight against monsters. Therefore, it's very intense and very difficult.

Not only do you have to excel in studies, but you also have to be an outstanding combatant.

To achieve both of these, you need to perform exceptionally well to rank in the top 10.

For Frondier, that's an impossible task.

Come to think of it, in the game, Frondier would disappear at some point without anyone noticing, and I thought he was just forgotten, but he was actually expelled.

He stayed even though he knew he would be expelled. Did he think he wouldn't really be expelled?

The overall score is a combination of written and practical tests.

With this body, which has no divine power or proper magic, I need to score as high as possible on the written test. That's why it's natural for me to focus on the class.

Of course, the ultimate goal is to clear the game, but the position of the Roach family is important, so being expelled is problematic.

The title of a noble from a prestigious family is one of the few advantages Frondier has.

Without this, it would be even more impossible to clear the game as Frondier.

'Anyway, let's put that aside.'

I'm sleepy.

Just like Frondier's habits and poor physical condition have been passed on to me, a wave of sleepiness that's hard to shake off is overwhelming me. I always sleep at this time.

Suddenly focusing on the class is no easy task. Besides, I don't understand a single word of what's written on the blackboard.

In this situation, I'm no different from Frondier, who always sleeps in class, having only experienced the game.

'...Let's see.'

I thought of Frondier's skill.

Weaving.

I don't know if this will work.

I tried to use Weaving on what the teacher wrote on the blackboard.

The content of the text on the blackboard clearly entered my mind.

Even if I don't understand the content, it's stored as if I took a photo.

'This is quite useful.'

I also stored the content of the book in the storage.

I stopped taking notes. There's no need to. Instead, I focused on the teacher's explanation.

The content on the blackboard is automatically stored, and I can review it anytime later.

When I stopped taking notes, the strange looks from my surroundings diminished a bit.

They seem to think I stopped taking notes because I was bothered.

Even the teacher looks calmer, as if saying, "That's what I thought."

Why is that?

* * *

Even if I pour time and effort into taking notes, the problem is the practical test.

For Frondier, who has no divine power or decent skills or magic, the wall of the practical test is too high.

The only thing I can rely on is Weaving, but what can I do with it?

'A copy that can't be seen and can't interfere with reality.'

The main reason for Frondier's laziness is likely due to this skill. He probably tried all sorts of things to make use of this skill.

But since he couldn't find any practical use and gave up, the situation is quite desperate.

"..."

While pondering about Weaving, I was walking down the corridor.

A woman was approaching from the other side.

The sound of leaves brushing against the window.

Sunset-colored hair, large eyes, and eyes like a lake.

With every step she takes, the atmosphere she exudes drenches the entire scene.

Without even glancing at me, she slowly approached.

—I immediately recognized her.

It's hard not to recognize her with such a beautiful appearance.

Elodie.

Elodie de Inies Risha.

The child loved by the five gods is standing right in front of me.

Elodie is the talent all-in character in the Etius game.

The phrase "loved by the five gods" alone can describe her overpowered nature.

The only regret is that she doesn't become the protagonist's companion.

No matter how many times the protagonist offers to be her companion, she always refuses, and the reason is never revealed.

Still, as a woman who will play a crucial role in the army later, she is a reliable ally.

In the diverse cast of Etius, she is one of the few named characters who can reassure the player.

...But that's the story when I'm the protagonist.

I am Frondier.

I don't know Elodie, and even if I did, I wouldn't get a good response.

Originally, many students dislike Frondier. His grades are terrible, and his behavior is negligent.

Just a lazy good-for-nothing who uses the name of a prestigious family as a shield. That's Frondier's reputation, and it's true.

In contrast, Elodie is a model of diligence and exemplary behavior, a role model for other students. From her perspective, I must be the epitome of disgust.

...So, since I'm not the protagonist,

I'll just pass by quietly.

"Frondier."

I tried to pass by quietly, but I was stopped.

I looked at Elodie.

Elodie's eyes, filled with anger, were directed at me.

"Got nothing to say to me?"

I do.

You know?

But I couldn't say it and just looked at her, and I heard the sound of her grinding her teeth.

"...With what kind of heart did you—"

Just as Elodie was muttering something,

Something flew in from the window on her right side.

A baseball, heading straight for us—

Without thinking, I moved my hand. It was almost simultaneous with the woman's movement.

Clang!

The baseball shattered the window. Glass shards rained down with the ball, and I—

Frondier's Unique Skill

Weaving (織造)

Storage 3rd Edition

Level – Common

Iron Shield

I wove and extended the shield that the previous Frondier had stored.

Only then did I realize.

'Ah, stupid.'

This is a fantasy, so it's useless for blocking,

Whoosh—

Just as I thought that, the baseball and glass shards were instantly engulfed in flames.

They seemed to lose all their momentum and fluttered like petals.

'Wow...'

This wasn't something I did.

Elodie's right hand was extended toward the glass shards, and her eyes and hair had turned red. She had burned everything in an instant.

The glass shards and baseball, engulfed in Elodie's flames, lost their momentum and fell.

Just as some of the glass shards were about to stick to or graze my clothes,

Clang!

"Huh?"

"...What?"

The woman and I both voiced our confusion.

The baseball and glass shards bounced off in mid-air.

My hand and her entire body were unharmed, and the glass shards missed me.

'It didn't just bounce off in mid-air. It was my shield...'

The shield blocked the glass and the baseball. My shield, which should have been a fantasy.

"...Um, thanks, Frondier. I don't know how you did it, but—"

Elodie didn't understand.

Of course, she couldn't see my shield.

But she was very sincere in thanking me.

"But what! You saw it, right? Even if you hadn't blocked it, my flames—"

She continued to rant, but my attention was elsewhere.

"...Are you listening? It's a bit embarrassing."

I thought about the situation again.

My shield definitely blocked the window and the baseball.

"Hey, can you just say something?"

In other words, Weaving is not entirely a fantasy. Under certain conditions, it can interfere with reality.

I don't know what those conditions are yet, but the fact that it can interfere is significant.

"Hey, you don't have to ignore me that much!"

I felt a small shiver.

I clenched my fist and took a step forward in the corridor.

I felt like I had found a faint glimmer of hope in this hopeless game.

The sunlight briefly and beautifully touched my face.

"Hey!!!"

* * *

"Ouch."

I was hit in the head with a baseball again. I picked up the ball that had rolled to the side after hitting my head and rubbed my head.

"I thought it was certain."

I'm currently experimenting with Weaving.

The thing that blocked the shards was definitely the shield I wove.

At that moment, I thought,

Could this skill become real when the user is in danger, making it an incredibly powerful tool!

To confirm this, I replicated a shield and threw a baseball. I aimed the shield upward as the baseball fell toward my head.

...But of course, that didn't happen.

The baseball passed right through the shield and hit my head.

Well, if it were that convenient, I would have cleared the game long ago.

"How can I use it in reality?"

The fact that it blocked the glass shards is real.

All the circumstances are evidence that my Weaving appeared in reality.

But I don't know how.

"Ugh, I'm tired."

I leaned back in the chair, feeling drained.

It was partly due to my mood, but my body was genuinely tired.

Maybe it's the backlash from using Weaving too much.

"But why does it make me tired if it doesn't even appear in reality?"

While muttering to myself,

...Why is that?

Why am I tired?

What is this strange sense of fatigue?

These questions passed through my mind one by one.

I sat up.

"...Is it mana?"

In the game Etius, there is mana, just like there are skills and magic.

Of course, I, as Frondier, should have it.

However, since I'm not a human from this world, I don't have a sense of mana.

But if my fatigue is due to mana,

Weaving is a skill that uses mana.

In other words, it's close to magic.

'Recall. What was mana in Etius? What was the concept of magic?'

Magic in Etius is not a material concept.

It's a phenomenon.

Whether it's shooting fire, throwing ice spears, or building earth walls, none of them can persist in reality.

They disappear when the caster cancels the spell or when the mana is exhausted.

A naturally occurring forest fire will continue to burn until it is extinguished or there's nothing left to burn, but a flame created by a mage will disappear when the mana is exhausted, even if it spreads to a forest fire.

So when I realized that Frondier's Weaving couldn't affect reality, I was disappointed but understood.

Magic may seem omnipotent, but it has clear limits.

It can burn, freeze, and destroy.

But it can't create something out of nothing.

Even if it's a copy.

'I need to change my thinking. The idea of creating something in an empty space is wrong. It's impossible. I can't create a shield.'

What I need is not a material.

It's a phenomenon.

Just like a mage creates a 'burning phenomenon' when starting a fire.

A sword creates a 'cutting phenomenon'.

A shield creates a 'blocking phenomenon'.

Swish—

I threw the baseball up.

At the moment it was about to fall on my head,

Frondier's Unique Skill

Weaving (織造)

Storage 3rd Edition

Level – Common

Iron Shield

I didn't create the shield itself.

I created the 'phenomenon of a shield blocking an attack'.

For just a moment.

Clang!

The sound was light, and the baseball was deflected by the shield and fell.

"...Got it."

It only appears in reality for the moment it blocks.

Even if it's just a moment, it's still reality.

I shivered with a small sense of awe.