The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Machia (11)

The first thing that came to Frondier’s mind after hearing the Paladin’s explanation was, naturally, the Zodiacs.

Only twelve existed, each a weapon system representing their respective nations. There were many striking similarities.

Therefore, it was only natural for him to predict that their power would be comparable to the Zodiacs.

Even if not, they were still the twelve strongest individuals in their nation.

They couldn’t be weak.

‘There it is.’

Antero was still unable to break free from the Obsidian. Despite exerting all his strength, the black blade only buzzed, unable to overcome the binding force.

‘Honestly, getting hit so cleanly is the first error.’

He had been careless, unaware of Frondier’s true skills. Fine, that could happen.

As a Paladin, he had overestimated his own abilities. That could happen too.

But even considering those two factors, he couldn’t accept his current powerless state.

A true Zodiac would have countered that attack. Even if they couldn’t, they would have at least reacted.

The reason Antero couldn’t use his strength now was that all the muscles he needed to exert force were suppressed.

In his precarious position, pinned against the wall, he couldn’t muster proper strength. It didn’t matter if he used aura or not.

Of course, it was Frondier who had led him into this situation, but other skilled individuals would have at least prepared to unsheathe their swords, even if it was just one arm. Not get caught so helplessly like this.

‘I can’t gauge his exact skill level, but he could put up a good fight against Aias.’

The fact that a so-called Paladin was on par with a mere student, even if he was a promising one, filled him with despair.

“Frondier! You bastard! Release me!”

However, Antero still didn’t understand the situation and continued to resist. Even though the match was already over.

‘What is this? It’s almost upsetting how weak he is.’

Could one of the twelve representatives of Palma be this weak? Was this country alright?

‘…No, wait. He must still have Magic Tools on him. In that case…’

Swish!

Frondier released the Obsidian, just as Antero had demanded.

Thud! Antero, falling from the wall, seemed slightly flustered but regained his stance.

“You… I will kill you.”

“Glad to see you still have some fight in you.”

Antero clutched his chest, revealing a necklace he wore beneath his clothes.

It was a Magic Tool that shimmered with jewels, similar to Frondier’s “Black Lotus” necklace, but their functions were entirely different.

Fwaaaah!

Antero’s aura surged even more fiercely. Frondier watched the necklace intently.

‘It amplifies aura output… It’s not simply absorbing any mana. That would be too risky. Is it storing excess mana in the necklace and using it when needed?’

Human mana naturally regenerated even without any conscious effort. So if they had something like a battery to store their mana, they could pre-fill the battery and wait for their depleted mana to recover naturally.

It could be used in situations like this, when one needed to exceed their usual mana capacity.

And the better the battery’s performance…

“…Oh?”

Frondier’s eyes gleamed with interest.

The principle itself wasn’t that impressive, quickly losing its novelty, but the sheer amount of mana surging forth was significant. The mechanism was nothing special, but the fact that it could cram that much mana into such a small necklace was remarkable.

‘With that alone, in terms of output, it could surpass an average pro.’

While Frondier marveled at the quality of the Magic Tool, Antero’s murderous gaze turned towards him.

“This time, it’s different.”

“It better be.”

Kwaaaang!

This time, the sound of his foot pushing off the ground was different.

Antero, instead of striking with his sword, slid to the left in a fluid motion.

Frondier’s eyes widened. That movement just now, it had nothing to do with the flow of mana Antero possessed.

For a moment, Frondier recalled the advanced trick Aster had shown him during their spar, concealing his mana flow. Could Antero do the same?

“Gotcha!”

Moving at high speed, Antero drew a half-circle and reached Frondier’s back. He aimed his sword straight down at Frondier’s back. For a fleeting moment, Frondier caught a glimpse of something over his shoulder.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

But once again, Antero doubled over. Pain shot through his abdomen, stopping him in his tracks.

‘What was that? There was nothing there!’

He didn’t know what had hit him. Frondier hadn’t moved, and there was nothing in front of him. Yet, something had struck his stomach.

“Even if you see an opening,”

Frondier spoke.

“To pour all your aura into your sword, leaving your body completely defenseless…”

“….!”

Frondier grabbed him by the collar.

“Even the kids I teach wouldn’t do anything that stupid. You fool.”

“Wh-what?!”

Swish!

Clang!!

Frondier, still holding onto his collar, spun around and flung Antero out the window with a swing of his arm.

Carla, who had been watching in a daze, finally let out a shriek and ducked.

“You don’t seem to know how to fight cleanly, so let’s take this outside.”

Frondier walked towards the direction he’d thrown Antero, using the Obsidian as stepping stones to climb up to the broken window.

“Y-you bastard!”

Antero came to his senses and stopped himself in mid-air.

Frondier watched him with cold eyes.

“As expected.”

Compared to mages, it was more difficult for warriors to stay airborne. Mages learned the “Levitation” spell early on, but warriors didn’t.

Therefore, in order to stay afloat, Antero either had to learn magic separately, elevate his aura control to the point where he could defy gravity like the Zodiacs, or use a unique method like Frondier.

And among those, Antero…

“That’s another Magic Tool, isn’t it?”