Chapter 7

Weapon Replicator of the Academy - Chapter 7 (7/606)

Weapon Replicator of the Academy Chapter 7

Chapter 2: The Branch in the Coffin, Mithril (3)

A sharp crushing sound. It was enough to freeze everyone present.

The divine punishment is coming...

No one dared to speak, the tension was palpable.

"Huh?"

"W-What is this?"

At that moment, the branch inside the coffin 'slid out.'

Literally, what had been a branch a moment ago was now flowing as black liquid, pouring out due to gravity.

"I told you. It's fake."

Frontier extended his hand toward the flowing black liquid.

The surrounding nobles were startled.

"Y-You can touch it?"

Frontier cupped the black liquid in his hand. The liquid flowed down his hand.

But when Frontier clenched his fist,

"Huh?"

The liquid turned back into metal inside his fist, and when he released it, it turned back into liquid and flowed down.

"What a strange thing."

"..."

At that moment, Elodie seemed to recall something and spoke.

"Viscoelasticity."

"Huh? What?"

Frontier smiled in agreement at Elodie's words.

"Yes. This material is a viscoelastic metal."

"What is that?"

"Simply put, it becomes solid when force is applied, but turns back into a liquid when left alone."

However, it is impossible for a metal to have such properties.

Viscoelastic materials are soft when they become solid, as they retain elasticity and viscosity. They cannot become as hard as metal.

Although it's not Mithril, this black liquid is undoubtedly a magical metal.

"Then, what about the branch that looked like Mithril just now?"

"Someone must have infused mana into it using a spell to mimic its appearance. Since mana is a form of energy, this coffin probably served that purpose."

"Wow..."

Only then did a sense of relief spread among the crowd. Since it wasn't a divine object, there would be no divine punishment.

Ortel asked,

"But how did you know? That this item was fake."

"It's the same as what the elders thought. Mithril is the weapon that killed the god Baldur. If this were really the branch, Baldur would not have let it pass."

Frontier hid the fact that he knew the original appearance of Mithril.

Excessive knowledge can undermine credibility.

"And I've never heard of Mithril being stored in a coffin."

"That's true, but is that enough?"

What Frontier said was common knowledge to everyone.

The probability that this branch was the real Mithril was certainly not high.

However, no matter how low the probability, when one's life is at stake, one doesn't take risks.

If one mistakenly triggers divine punishment, a pain worse than death awaits.

"As I said, I'm not afraid of divine punishment. And."

Frontier poured the black liquid into a glass bottle on the table.

The liquid, which turns into metal when force is applied, was surprisingly easy to pour into the bottle.

Then, Frontier said with a serious look,

"I can't bear the thought that this thing could replace my father's sword."

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

But soon, a hearty laugh broke the silence.

"Hahaha! I was completely fooled. I showed a shameful face in front of these young people."

It was 'Zodiac' Heldre.

He burst into a hearty laugh, unlike his age, and approached Frontier, placing his hand on his head.

"What's your name again?"

"Frontier."

"Frontier, right. I won't forget that name."

After saying that, Heldre looked at Ampere.

"Ampere, you have a filial son."

"─I have nothing to add."

"Since I don't have to hand over Gram because of my son, shouldn't I give him a gift?"

Heldre's wrinkled face had a playful glint in his eyes.

Ampere didn't seem very pleased.

"I originally intended to scold him severely."

"Come on. Didn't you hear? He's not afraid of divine punishment. No one here would dare say that. Perhaps even the gods want such bold young people."

Ampere lowered his eyes for a moment.

Ultimately, Frontier's actions were correct. It prevented the sale of Gram and the potential rivalry among the families.

Bringing Mithril is not a simple matter. Given the frequent attacks on the families these days, it's unnecessary to invite more envy.

However,

"It's too result-oriented to praise you, Frontier."

"…Yes, I'm sorry, Father."

"Your actions were very dangerous, incomparable to anything before. Normally, I would hold you strictly accountable and educate you to prevent such mistakes. Consider yourself lucky that I'm not doing so."

"I will keep that in mind."

Frontier bowed silently.

Seeing his gesture, which showed no hint of regret, Ampere sighed.

"However, considering the value of Gram, it's not something to be easily overlooked."

"Hmm?"

Lidwig added an unnecessary interjection.

Ampere said,

"If you have any requests, speak up."

At this, a hint of confusion appeared in Frontier's usually emotionless eyes.

"Well, then…."

Frontier placed his hand to his mouth as if thinking, then lifted his face.

"I want to see Gram. The inside of the scabbard."

"Hmm."

"Oh!"

Short exclamations of admiration erupted from the crowd.

Ampere's prized possession, the divine object 'Gram.'

Seeing it in person is a rare opportunity.

Everyone in the room was excited by Frontier's request.

"Is that enough?"

"Of course."

Ampere thought for a moment.

While it might seem insufficient as a reward for Frontier's actions, he placed his hand on the displayed Gram.

The sword, hidden in the scabbard.

Everyone watched Ampere's movements closely.

'…How?'

But in that brief moment, only Quinie had different thoughts.

'How did he break it?'

Frontier was bare-handed.

He only placed his hand on the coffin, not striking it with a fist, yet the coffin broke instantly.

Could it be magic? Without any incantation?

If not, then…

'Aura, perhaps.'

Quinie swallowed hard.

A person who can emit aura with bare hands is not at a student's level.

However, he couldn't be certain. If it was aura, it means he emitted energy, but Quinie didn't feel any energy flow.

But if he really used aura just now, and it was a momentary emission that no one else could feel,

He must be brought into our side, no matter what.

The scabbard was slowly removed, revealing the blade inside, reflecting the light.

"Oh, this is…!"

The nobles' eyes sparkled.

The famous sword of the hero Sigurd, Gram.

Despite its fame, Gram looked surprisingly rugged.

Beautiful patterns flowed across the blade, but they weren't so exquisite as to be considered divine craftsmanship.

However,

"…"

Silence fell over the room.

This weapon cannot be judged by its appearance alone.

Just being there, it weighed heavily on the air.

The blade felt cold, and the edge seemed to have a concentrated force from top to bottom, as if it was born that way.

'Even I, who don't use swords, can tell. Indeed, divine objects are different.'

Quinie marveled inwardly.

Unable to resist, he tried to estimate the value of this weapon, but let that pass for now.

What expression did Frontier, who initiated this, have?

Curious, he turned his gaze.

"…!"

Quinie held his breath.

He quickly averted his gaze, fearing that Frontier might notice.

'What is that look?'

Frontier was also looking at Gram.

With a pure face. With pure eyes.

But that 'purity' was far from peaceful.

Frontier looked at Gram as if he wanted to devour it, as if he really could.

His gaze, which seemed to covet Gram, was, to put it simply,

a look that violated taboos.

* * *

"Aster, did you hear the news?"

"Huh? What news?"

Aster responded to Tain's excited tone.

Tain, a commoner like Aster, had quickly become friends with him.

Aster, being so famous, Tain approached him with almost fan-like enthusiasm, and they got along well due to Aster's easy-going nature.

"Didn't you see the news? About Mithril!"

"Ah… I went to bed early yesterday."

Aster scratched his head, speaking in an awkward voice.

It was a lie.

Elin had taken away his Wizerview ticket, saying she had a romance movie to watch last night.

And then she said,

-It's not ours anyway, you can check it later. There are plenty of opportunities.

Damn. His sister, who is so rational when it comes to other people's affairs.

But she's a hopeless romantic.

"Frontier broke the coffin!"

"…What?"

Aster's eyes twitched.

It wasn't out of displeasure or anger, but a sense of foreboding about whether Frontier was still alive.

"You mean the coffin where Mithril was stored?"

"Yeah! Well, it's a bit different!"

"What's different?"

"Turns out it wasn't Mithril. It was fake!"

Tain spoke with his usual excited tone.

Indeed, this was a big enough event to warrant excitement.

It was fake. So there would be no divine punishment, and no need to worry about Frontier,

"Hold on. So Frontier knew it was fake?"

"Maybe he had some reason to believe it? I mean, I wouldn't do it no matter what evidence I had!"

True. No one would do such a crazy thing, no matter how strong their suspicions.

…So, did he have more than just suspicions? Did he have proof?

Something only Frontier knew?

"…Fake."

Aster's eyes rolled.

Frontier's voice from the previous day echoed in his mind.

-Don't worry, Aster Evans.

-I'll take away your worries.

He thought it was a minor reassurance, something impossible.

No matter which family Mithril went to, Aster Evans would have felt a knife in front of his heart.

But, so that's it. He destroyed the knife for him.

…So that's it.

* * *

I looked at the black liquid in the glass bottle in my dorm room.

A viscoelastic metal.

In the meeting room, I focused all my attention on maintaining an indifferent expression.

Originally, in the game, this fake Mithril had a high probability of being exchanged for Ampere's Gram.

It would be temporarily displayed in a prominent place in the Roach mansion, but it would soon be revealed as a fake.

Without a mage, the spell would have a limited mana input, and the coffin would break on its own.

After that, Gram's fate was uncertain. It varied each time I played the game.

But no matter whose hands it fell into, it would trigger a side event, a dangerous one.

For now, it's still in my father's hands, so I can be at ease.

"Alright, then."

I placed a square frame on the desk and poured the metal from the glass bottle into the frame.

This metal, which I thought was a 'rather subtle material' when I played the game.

To put it bluntly, this metal was probably only useful for creating forgeries, like mimicking Mithril.

But perhaps Frontier could do more.

He might be able to enhance the properties of this metal beyond 100%.

I smiled, not hiding my excitement.

"From now on, I will call you 'Black River.'"

I placed my hand over the Black River in the frame. The feeling of the liquid, which has no temperature, was still unfamiliar.

From now on, I will add 'Weaving' to this Black River.

Weaving (織造), Black River (黑川)

Workshop 1st Product

Grade - Common

Iron Dagger

The image of the dagger in the workshop is engraved in the Black River.

Mana is infused into the Black River, and it begins to change shape.

And then,

"Done."

In my clenched fist, a dagger was held.

Finally.

Not an illusion, not an image.

A real, tangible black dagger.