The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Chapter 7 – A Branch in the Coffin, Mistiltein (4)

March 14, 2023 1 Comment

I played with the dagger a few times; it’s weight and the balance – everything was like the original make.
I'd have to test to see if the sharpness of the blade is the same, but it's very likely close to it.

'But it is constantly draining mana.’

Obsidian was a substance that solidified when force was applied to it and it required constant mana to maintain its form.
Frondier's mana, on the other hand, was at the level of a normal human.
It wasn’t much by Constell's student standards, but he should be able to sustain it for a single battle.

When compared to normal crafting, the advantages and disadvantages of using Obsidian were completely reversed; a weave only materializes at the moment of contact, so it cannot block an opponent's attack head-on, and if that happens, the opponent's attack will penetrate through the weave and kill me.

Furthermore, if I don't cut through the opponent in one strike, it will vanish, making it difficult to deal proper damage.
However, because it was a real weapon, I could use standard martial arts techniques with it.

I have the option of parrying, clashing, and even have the option to push back if I’m momentarily blocked.

However, Obsidian continues to consume mana as long as I keep its form through weaving, and because it's tangible, enemies can see it.

Depending on the situation, I may need to differentiate between regular weave and Obsidian and use them accordingly.

“……then.”

I swallowed with trepidation.
The real work started here. 

Gram, the famous sword, was now saved in my workshop.
Seeing the real thing was an unexpected bonus.
As soon as I saw Enfer's Gram, I saved it to my workshop.

When I placed the obsidian dagger on the mold and unraveled the weave, it naturally turned into liquid and was contained within the mold.
Then, I placed my hand on top of it.

This time, it wasn’t an ordinary dagger, but a replica of a Hero's sword.

─ If I can do this, I will be one step closer to conquering this world.

Weaving, Obsidian 

Grade – Legend

Gram

The thread of mana stretched toward the obsidian.
The image and structure were simple to inscribe.

[Gram]

– Grade : Legendary

– Description: A famous sword wielded by Sigurd.
The feats of the hero and the weapon surpass those of some gods.

Ability Details >

– Dragon Slayer: It was tempered with the blood of a slayed dragon.
Its attack power is greatly enhanced against dragons, and it instills fear into the hearts of dragonborn (dragon species) of rank 'Unique' and below.

And it was complete.

Up until now, there shouldn't be any interference with Frondier's pure talent.

However, the problem was,

“……Ugh!”

I exclaimed as I held the woven Gram in my hand, experiencing dizziness and nausea.

Mana Exhaustion.
I lasted a mere three seconds before I had to cancel the weave.

“Sigk, cough, cough, cough……!”

I coughed a dry cough a few times.
I could feel all the moisture in my body burning away.

But in the midst of the pain, I felt a ray of hope.

“Gulp, gulp, gulp, it's possible……! gulp!”

That's right.
The weave itself was successful.
It just required an absurd amount of mana.

“Phew……
I need to figure out how to increase my mana.”

The quickest way was to equip an artifact.
However, mana-boosting artifacts were extremely expensive.

Even if I belonged to House Roach, they are especially sensitive to expensive items.

They would tolerate such a level of expenditure if I were an Atzier.
But because I was a Frondier, it was a no.

“For the time being, let's stick with the simple and ignorant method.”

There was one more way to increase my mana pool, which is to completely exhaust all of my mana, just like before.

When I run out of mana, my body will try to prevent further mana exhaustion mana by growing mana reserves.
It was like how muscles work.

Most of the characters in Etius were unaware of this method.

To begin with, the amount of mana capacity increased was very minimal when compared to items or divine power, just like when exercising where the muscle growth would not immediately be visible.

It was also considered taboo to completely exhaust your mana, as it was extremely dangerous to have your mana, which served as a lifeline, completely depleted at any time or place.

But so what? There was no reason not to do it when I knew that my mana would increase.

Once my mana is restored, I'll weave the Gram a few more times to repeat the mana drain and increase my mana capacity.

……
But even this method had its limitations.

Eventually, I'll need an item.

“……Quinie.”

In the end, it all came down to this.
To make a trade with Quinie de Viet since she was the only trade route I had.

But, because I don't have any money, I'll have to replace what I can sell with something else, but first I'll have to make friends with her.

Let's think about how to approach her.

“By the way, how do I carry this-“

I stopped mid-sentence.
My fingers trembled.

As I stared at it in wonder, the tremor soon crawled up my arm and scanned my entire body.

“What, what, ugh!”

It was nothing else but horror; a feeling that came over me so suddenly, I didn't even recognize it as fear at first.

There was no one around me.
There was no medium to trigger fear.

‘……No.’

The empty space, where there was no one and nothing until a moment ago.
The middle of the empty space parted like a curtain slowly opening, and someone peered out through the crack.

“Y, you.”

It was a small boy with his black wings spread open.

His golden eyes turned to me, a loathing and contemptuous stare that seemed to lodge in my throat and gnaw at me.

Fear swelled inside me.

I quickly scanned the boy's form with what little reason I had left.

'He's not human, he's a God.
One of the Gods of this game, Etius.
But who is he? In terms of appearance, he seems like someone from Greek or Norse mythology.
Remember, the god with golden eyes, black wings, and the form of a boy……!'

In Etius, the descent of a god into the world was not an easy thing.
Even for the gods, it required considerable preparation but he appeared in front of me despite these obstacles.

'No way, because I used Obsidian to weave?’

If they had set the 'condition' for the weaving to materialise in reality in advance, they must have been prepared for the descent from the start.

And if that's the case.

This God was aware that the weave would have an affect on reality.

I don't know yet, but for this God, weaving is just as dangerous.

The God, in the form of a boy, spoke.

I couldn't hear it, and even if I could, I couldn't understand the God’s language, but somehow I seemed to know what he was saying,

[Gulp, you did it].

It felt like he was saying that.

With that, he snapped his fingers and at the same time, my right hand snapped.

Frondier’s Unique Skills

Weave

Workshop 1

Grade – Normal

Iron Dagger

My hands weaved as he willed.
Meanwhile, the tip of the blade was pointed at me.

'You bastard, trying to kill me……!

Taking control of my body, killing me with my own hands.
It was a perfect suicide fake that would leave no trace.

My right hand was trembling, unwilling to cooperate with my will.

As the blade gradually drew closer, I gritted my teeth and bit my molars for strength.

……Huh?

I can bite my molars.

I changed my mind.
I can't resist with force.

I was just a human, a mere mortal, an unnamed commoner.
It was reckless to go against a God.

What I must do, then, was to make him stop his actions of his own accord.

While I could still grit my teeth.

While I was still able to run my mouth.

I met his golden eyes as they stared coldly at me and moved my lips to stifle the breath that escaped.

“──Thanatos.”

My words were barely a sound.

But this bastard God will know.

That's the least a God could do.

[……!]

The golden eyes widened and at the same time, the boy's body moved away from me and the blade stopped drawing closer at me.

“Hmph, hmph, hmph!”

I regain my body's freedom and spit out a ragged breath.

Lord, I almost died……!

[──!]

The God in the form of a boy shouted at me with a mixture of bewilderment and anger on his face.

I don't understand what you're talking about, you idiot.

Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, he made a troubled expression.
He bit his lower lip, glanced at me, and walked through the crack.

Soon, the gap closed, and my room became my usual room.

“Is he……
gone?”

I sagged with tension.

Thanatos, the God of death in Greek mythology.
But in Etius, he was not ‘Death itself’ as the original mythology portrayed him.

He was a powerful, high ranking God, but it was not like death disappeared in his absence.
Despite presiding over death, he could also die.

In any case, I was lucky to get his identity.
Gold eyes, black wings, and a boy's form.

There weren’t many Gods with all three characteristics, but I had to risk my life to get it.

The most important evidence was the manner of death.

When a God takes control of a human body and makes them kill themselves, as he just did, it was a suicide that leave no trace.

This was Thanatos, the God of Death.

Only a few Gods knew the face of Thanatos, and those few were more powerful than him.

I simply took it, but it wouldn't look that way to Thanatos' point of view.

That I know the face of Thanatos.
It would appear to him that I have a close connection to another high god.

It would be dangerous for him to kill me now.

I said his name because I wanted him to think so.

……I can say this, though – I was very lucky.

“……It's like a huge crisis, and it's also a huge opportunity.”

It must be because of 'weave' that he was trying to kill me but why did weave offended the Gods, I really don't know.

Never before in the history of Etius had a human been able to influence the emotions of a God.

“Could it be that the reason Frondier have no divine power is because he’s hated by the Gods?”

……But isn’t this hypothesis going too far?

Few humans have divine powers in the first place, and I doubt Frondier was hated by all the gods.

In any case, this weaving ability may be more dangerous and powerful than I realize.

“However.”

I glanced down at my hands for a moment, the trembling unabated and sighed to myself, “I guess I need to get used to fear.”

I didn't know how much my bluff would hold up.

Thanatos won't be able to just ask the other Gods outright, and thus I had some time to prepare.

Until then, I'll do what I can to prepare and be ready.

━━━━━━ ⊙ ━━━━━━

“Frondier.”

Quinie thought about him in the lecture hall.

Frondier de Roach.
The second son of House Roach.

Now that she was a third-year student at Constell, she thought the only thing she cared about was the House Roach.

She hadn't learned the name Frondier until after she entered the school.

She knew Atzier had a brother, but she didn't think it was significant.

She tried digging for information just in case, but she couldn't find anything.
The only information she had was that he was very lazy and slothful, and it was highly credible.

“Quinie, what are you thinking?” Her friend next to her asked.

Quinie turned to look at her and inquired, “Anne, what do you think of Frondier?”

“What? Could it be, Quinie, look at that face of Frondier! Did you finally feel that fresh feeling? Did you feel that? Sweet and sour and sweet……!”

“I'm asking for information.”

“Really?”

Anne huffed and laughed.

“Frondier, um, I don't know.
I heard he sleeps in class, but I don't think he's been doing that lately.”

“Not the stuff everyone knows in Constell.”

“I only know the stuff I know.”

Hmm, that's true.

It was unlikely that Anne knew much about the Frondier.

Instead, Quinie asked another question.

“Do you know about the incident the other day, when Fondier broke the transparent coffin that holds the Mistiltein?”

“Oh, yeah, I know, it was making a lot of noise a few days ago.”

“Well, what do you think about that?”

“About his behavior?”

“Yeah.”

Anne tilted her head, then smiled widely and replied, “It was reckless! It was stupid!”

“……Hmm.”

Yeah.
That was the world's assessment of the Frontier of the incident.

Even if he was doing it for his father, what if it backfired? No father wants to see his son die.

‘But he looked so sure of himself to me.’

He must have been, or he wouldn't have done it without fear.

-No, I've never been afraid of anything.

“Putui.”

Quinie laughed.
She had never heard anyone say that before and that too in a place where people loved by all kinds of famous gods gathered together.
Fearless.

“Okay, I've decided.”

“Decided what?”

“What I want, I'm going to take,” Quinie declared as she folded her arms, thoughts running through her head, her eyes shining.

As she watched, Anne thought to herself, “Is Quinie really into Frondier?

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