Chapter 4

Weapon Replicator of the Academy - Chapter 4 (4/606)

Weapon Replicator of the Academy Chapter 4

Chapter 1: Sloth Human Frondier (3)

Crack!

"I hit it!"

I clenched my fist at the sight of the broken target.

This place is the training room.

Some are doing muscle training, some are testing magic, and some are verifying techniques.

Anyway, there are empty rooms, and anyone can use them freely with permission.

Since the inside cannot be seen from the outside, I can freely weave here.

What I am doing now is one of the programs set in the private room, which is target practice.

It's usually a facility used by people with ranged weapons, where you hit a target that is far away.

At the lowest difficulty, the target just stands still, but as the difficulty increases, the target moves farther away, hides and reappears, moves randomly, and eventually even reacts to projectiles to dodge.

Of course, I am humbly doing the lowest difficulty.

By the way, the target is a magical hologram, so it's not really broken when I hit it.

The sound effects and graphics are just very realistic.

When I hit the target, it even shows the part hit and the damage, which is quite convenient.

What I am practicing now is the throwing technique of a dagger I have woven.

If I can only trigger the phenomenon of hitting the target at the moment of impact, I can deal damage to the enemy even when throwing a woven dagger.

In other words, it becomes possible to perform an invisible ranged attack.

The intervention of weaving in reality is only for a fleeting moment. It only appears briefly at the moment of cutting, blocking, or stabbing.

That's why the ability of weaving is reduced in close combat. Because even blocking an enemy's attack is only for a moment.

If I can't deflect or repel the attack when blocking, the enemy's sword will pierce through my weapon or shield and cut into my body.

This is true whether it's a shield or a sword. If I have a shield, I have to parry every attack like in a game, and if I have a sword, I can't block clumsily but must deflect or knock away all attacks.

I don't want to engage in such a crazy difficulty of close combat.

So, if I can knock down the enemy from a distance with a bow or a dagger, that would be best.

However, this tactic has one fatal problem.

"...It's really hard to hit."

It's me.

I'm just a game addict, and Frondier only sleeps and does nothing.

It seems that our terrible combination of senses is causing a spine-chilling synergy.

But if I grit my teeth and keep practicing, hitting it once in ten tries or once in twenty tries...

•Grade: Common

•Description: Throws an object to hit a target. The higher the proficiency, the more accuracy correction is received.

•Current Proficiency: Lowest

I have acquired a skill.

It's not much, but since Frondier and I have no talent for combat itself, we have to rely on skills.

By the way, the lowest level of throwing skill can be obtained by a 10-year-old kid if they work hard enough.

...Let's do our best!

* * *

On an evening when the moon was a crescent.

After finishing my practice, I stood in front of the entrance of the training room. I watched the time pass because there was something I needed to confirm.

I had been so busy after entering this game, or rather, I had been so busy from the moment I entered, or rather, I am a person who is always busy,

...Anyway.

Because I had been so busy, I had forgotten something for a moment.

At first, I didn't think about it. But once the thought came to mind, it grew uncontrollably.

Today, I have to confirm it.

I am waiting for someone.

I am waiting here in the training room because I know he will definitely be here.

I checked the date on my smartwatch, and it's definitely today. The time is also about right.

Whirr—

The automatic door of the training room opened.

I cast my gaze on the man who came out.

...I found him.

His golden hair reflecting the moonlight, his vivid blue eyes, and his features are so neatly made that it seems they were created that way.

Anyone would realize that the air around changes when they see this man.

—Aster Evans.

A first-year student at Constell, the shining hope of humanity.

The protagonist of this game, 'Aetius'.

"...Hmm? Hello."

Aster nodded his head lightly at me.

He and I, Frondier, are meeting for the first time.

...Even if we had met before, he probably wouldn't remember.

I bowed my head in greeting.

I don't want to raise unnecessary suspicion.

I didn't wait to talk to him. I waited to 'see' him.

Aster glanced at me and then continued on his way.

A fork in the road is just a short walk away.

The left path leads to the library, and the right path leads to the dormitory.

I watched his back quietly. As he approached the fork, his steps turned—

—towards the right.

After confirming this, I lowered my gaze in despair.

I knew for sure that this game would be much more difficult than I thought.

—The game Aetius.

Aster Evans, as I mentioned earlier, is the protagonist of Aetius.

The protagonist of the game means, of course, the character the player plays.

...In other words,

Aster Evans, who is not played by a player, is unknown to anyone.

There is an event today.

If Aster goes to the library, he will meet the librarian and receive some information from her.

The information itself is not important, but the encounter itself is unique, leading to a close relationship with the librarian.

It's like raising her affection.

The librarian continues to provide various help, so all players naturally head to the library.

...Because they know about the event of meeting the librarian at the library.

Aster Evans, who is the protagonist, knows information that the player knows but he, as a character, does not.

Aetius is a game that no one has ever cleared.

People who have challenged Aetius naturally made Aster follow the most beneficial and optimal path.

...The current Aster Evans would not follow such a path.

It's an optimized path accumulated through countless information sharing and retries.

Aster, who knows nothing, would not follow such a path even if miracles happened five times.

I have played as Aster countless times.

I know nothing about Aster.

Aster Evans, who is not played by a player. I have no way of knowing where he will go.

"There's nothing I can do."

My initial plan was simply to grow myself and become Aster's companion.

While Aster grows well on his own, I would learn my own way to contribute to his strength.

Frondier was not originally one of Aster's companions, so my joining, having grown stronger, would be a definite plus.

But the plan has changed.

This Aster does not grow as well as I thought.

He does not follow the path of the veterans.

Right now, it's just a minor thing like missing the librarian's information, but in the future, he will miss out on experiences and various weapons and artifacts that would enhance his abilities.

This game has never been cleared by anyone, but a clear without Aster is unimaginable.

So, from now on, I need to subtly guide Aster to follow the path of the veterans.

I can't get everything.

It's fine to let go of characters like the librarian who only help with information acquisition. After all, I know most of the information.

But essential events must be experienced.

It will take a lot more effort since I'm not the one moving directly.

Still, I have to do it somehow to make Aster stronger. And at the same time, I need to grow myself.

...Oh, I also need to be in the top 10 of my grade by the end of the year.

And that too.

...Oh, Aster just missed the librarian event.

"...Sigh."

I sighed.

A hopeless game.

"...And that too."

Everything Aster will miss from now on.

I have to pick up.

* * *

I opened the door to the library.

There weren't many people, and the place was quiet and relaxed as expected.

However, a few students who saw my face widened their eyes and avoided me.

Frondier and the library are quite an ill-matched pair.

In fact, there is no place in Constell that suits Frondier.

It's an educational institution for improving skills and cultivating knowledge, so it doesn't suit someone who doesn't want to do anything.

I quickly looked around for the librarian.

The librarian was quietly working at her desk.

Brown hair, round glasses, a plain face. In contrast, her glamorous figure and the occasional seductive expression.

At first glance, she looks like a typical librarian, but her figure and occasional seductive expressions make you think otherwise.

The librarian, Teacher Ainen.

If you become close to this teacher, you can get the latest news and various information that comes into the school.

It might seem insignificant, but since the game is full of inconvenience and absurdity, each piece of information is precious to beginners.

...Well, to beginners.

Actually, she is more important to Aster.

But since Aster missed this event, I can't just let it pass.

'Just because I came, the event won't start.'

Since it's come to this, I'll pick up all the information Aster missed.

If I get the chance, I can share the information with Aster appropriately.

Well, what should I do?

My reputation is probably well-known among the teachers.

Ainen probably knows about Frondier. That means I have to start from a negative affection level.

"Are you Frondier?"

But Ainen spoke to me first.

She even gestured for me to come over when she saw my face.

...What is it?

I approached, not knowing what was going on.

"I didn't expect you to come to a place like this. What's the matter?"

"...I'm looking for a book I want."

There isn't one.

But I can't say, 'My business is with you.'

"Hmm. It's a good thing you came. Do you want to see this?"

Ainen took something out from under her desk. It was a newspaper.

I wanted to ask where she wanted me to look, but I understood as soon as I saw it.

The content on the front page of the newspaper caught my eye.

There was a photo attached to the headline.

The photo showed a branch of a tree inside a transparent tube.

A tree branch. The shape is familiar.

"People are calling this 'Mistletoe'."

That's right.

When I first entered the world of Aetius.

A teacher showed me a branch through a wizard view.

It looked exactly the same.

"You told Jane that this wasn't Mistletoe, didn't you?"

The teacher's name was Jane.

I nodded silently.

Ainen asked me subtly, as if testing me.

"Well? It's in the newspaper, and it will be on the news through the wizard view soon. Everyone who sees this says it's Mistletoe. They say the empire will be in an uproar because they found a divine relic that is hard to encounter even once in a lifetime."

It will.

Anything used by a god, no matter how trivial, has considerable value.

Moreover, Mistletoe is not a trivial thing.

Baldur, called the 'perfect god' in Norse mythology.

The mistletoe branch that killed him is Mistletoe.

Its value cannot be measured by money, and there are only a few divine relics that can match it.

Someone has discovered the Mistletoe that everyone knows about,

And I said, 'Mistletoe doesn't look like that.'

In other words, Ainen is asking me now.

Can you still stick to your opinion in this situation?

Can you say again that what you said was not just boasting or nonsense?

A faint hint of mischief can be seen in Ainen's smiling face.

She probably thinks I will change my opinion. Or she expects me to avoid it, deny it, or stutter.

However.

"My opinion hasn't changed."

"..."

My decisive words made Ainen's smile disappear.

"Mistletoe doesn't look like that."

I know. I know not only what Mistletoe looks like,

But also the identity of the 'fake Mistletoe' in the transparent tube in the newspaper.

'...But I can use this.'

I was wondering how to naturally approach Aster. This might solve the problem.

When the news about this content comes out, Aster will definitely be interested.

Aster's divine power. Its target is Baldur.