The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Chapter 446 (1) – The Academys Weapon Replicator

“It’s not like heroes are made, you know.”

Frondier said so matter-of-factly, as if it was something that didn’t need to be said.

Aias couldn’t bring himself to be honest at that moment.

‘…That’s what I thought.’

That heroes are determined by fate.

Aias truly believed that. It was only after hearing Frondier’s words that he realized he’d been thinking that way.

His talent, the expectations of those around him, the pride that was almost his nature. They all seemed to lead him to become a hero.

But no one can lead a hero. Because a hero is meant to lead everyone.

It was a simple fact.

“What is it?”

“If I keep putting off the decision to become a hero, what will I end up being?”

“Nothing in particular.”

Frondier’s answer was simple and easy. As if it was a question that didn’t require much thought.

“You’ll just walk the same path as most who don’t make a decision.”

“….!”

“The world is cruel yet merciful. No, maybe it’s more accurate to say that it’s so merciful that it makes humans feel cruelty.”

Frondier pulled a fist-sized obsidian and placed it on his hand.

“Do you know what this is?”

“…The thing you used to defeat me and Glaucus earlier, right?”

“That’s right. Touch it.”

Frondier took Aias’s hand and dropped the obsidian onto it.

“Huh, whoa!”

Aias was startled. The obsidian, which had been a solid sphere in Frondier’s hand, flowed down like water as soon as it touched his hand.

The moment he instinctively clenched his hand to catch it, it hardened, and when he opened his hand, it flowed down again.

Aias, struggling to grasp it in his hand, asked,

“Wh-what is this?”

“It’s a substance that becomes metallic only when force is applied. Any kind of force will do. You’re currently hardening it with the strength of your fist, but you can do it with Mana as well.”

Frondier lightly moved his hand and controlled the obsidian again. The substance that had been in Aias’s hand scattered like water and floated in the air between them.

“The world is similar to this.”

“…To this, obsidian?”

“If you don’t make any decisions, the world will flow by like a liquid. There’s no success or failure in that. Or rather, there is, but it’s not a big deal. It’ll lightly wet you like water and then disappear. That’s how most people live their lives. And that’s why it’s important. Because everyone blends together like liquid and lives without major clashes.”

And the next moment,

Fwoosh!

The liquid, which seemed to have scattered in the air, suddenly gathered, forming a crystalline structure and sparkling.

“And this is a life where a decision has been made. How does it look?”

“…It sparkles, and…”

“It’s pitch black, isn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

Aias nodded. The crystallized obsidian was far blacker than when it was in its liquid state.

“If you choose to walk the path of a hero, success and failure will become clearer. Success will bring you rewards as brilliant as jewels, and failure will hurt like swallowing a stone.”

If he decided to become a hero, he would no longer be able to escape the countless blades that would appear on his path.

Because he chose to walk that path.

That was the weight of his decision.

“I thought you were delaying your choice because you were afraid of this. So I understood. Not everyone can walk this path. I knew you were hesitating because you understood the pain.”

Frondier retrieved the obsidian. Then he shook his head.

“But now that I see it, you seem to be worrying about something else entirely. You seem more impatient than hesitant. Did you think you were falling behind?”

“…Yes.”

Aias thought he was being pushed off the stage.

That’s why he kept thinking about how to get on the stage, and that’s why he was so impatient.

He felt like if he stayed still any longer, he would be completely pushed off the stage.

“There’s no need for that.”

Frondier flatly denied it.

“The reason you’re falling behind is much simpler. It’s because you’re procrastinating.”

“…Since I haven’t made the decision to become a hero, I’m naturally moving further away from being one.”

“That’s right. People usually call that fate.”

“….!”

Aias looked up in surprise.

Just now, something…

Frondier had said something that Aias absolutely could not ignore.

Frondier tilted his head at Aias’s surprised expression and added playfully,

“Or laziness.”

* * *

Frondier sighed as he walked home.

‘There I go again, saying things I shouldn’t.’

He just needed a place to practice and experiment, but now he was stuck teaching an elective course for real, something that was beyond his pay grade.

‘…Well, I’m glad to see Aias and Glaucus growing.’

The potential of Aias…

Frondier knew it better than anyone else. Perhaps even better than Aias himself.

There were two Aias who made a name for themselves in the Trojan War. They were commonly referred to as the Greater Aias and the Lesser Aias.

Both were active figures in the war, but their reputations were clearly different. One, driven to madness by a series of events, took his own life to preserve his honor, while the other was a man who committed the sin of raping another.

Because of this, Frondier had given much thought to which of the two Aias he knew.

However, as time went on, he felt a mixture of both. When he heard the name of his mother, he seemed closer to the Greater Aias, but he possessed divine power and, moreover, arrogance.

Perhaps the Aias in this game had the potential to become either one.

“I didn’t want to be the one to influence that potential.”

Another sigh.

Aias’s eyes had changed after hearing his words. Even Frondier didn’t know how he would change. Whether it was for the better or if he would become even more of a mess than he already was.

Anyway, now Frondier had to create a curriculum. One that was suitable for combining magic and combat.

Utilizing both magic and combat. To be honest, Frondier had never seriously considered teaching this. It was just how he fought.

‘…No, to be precise, I’ve just been haphazardly using something that’s neither magic nor combat.’

He may have drawn the attention of all of Atlas with his ‘Spear Of Black Lightning’, but in reality, Frondier was more proficient in combat than magic. His experience in learning and training was overwhelmingly different.

So what Frondier needed to create a curriculum now was knowledge of magic rather than combat.

“I’ve been learning a lot from Elodie, but…”

Frondier stopped walking. His house was right in front of him. Elodie would be staying next door.

He thought for a moment.

The combination of magic and combat knowledge. There was one method that immediately came to mind to solve that.

But to do that, he desperately needed Elodie’s help. Even more so than now.

And that method meant revealing one of his own secrets to Elodie.

It didn’t fit with his policy of providing others with the bare minimum of information.

“…What the.”

Frondier smirked.

“What are you worrying about, you idiot?”

He smiled, his face once again cool and composed.

What was the point of hiding anything from Elodie now?

“Don’t forget, Frondier.”

When he made a mistake someday…

When his heart broke and he did something that endangered both his companions and all of humanity…

“Elodie is the only one who can stop that.”

Frondier nodded and started walking again.

To show Elodie a secret he had been hiding for a long time.