Chapter 443 (1) – The Academys Weapon Replicator

The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Basileo, a student in the Department of Magic, was in the middle of an elective class.

His chosen elective was ‘Understanding the Simplification of Spell Formulas’.

Basileo had long been interested in faster magic construction, in other words, high-speed casting.

That was why he admired and was drawn to Elodie’s and Frondier’s magic casting speed.

He volunteered to become Frondier’s disciple and did his best to fulfill the promise that he could learn from Frondier if he won the Machia Tournament, a promise Frondier himself never actually made.

‘That monstrous bastard, what kind of guy…’

He lost to Pielott in the semifinals.

Of course, Pielott’s opponent in the finals lost even more miserably than Basileo.

Since Aias, the original favorite to win, was in the same class as Pielott and didn’t participate, Basileo easily climbed to the semifinals. If the tournament brackets had been different, he might have even gone to the finals.

But even with good luck in the brackets, he would have had to face Pielott eventually, so winning was out of the question anyway.

‘Now I understand why Aias forfeited.’

The transfer student with the tremendous skill who knocked down Aias in one blow. He’d heard the rumors, but he didn’t know it would be to that extent.

Due to the 1:1 nature of the duel, a fight between a mage and a warrior is generally disadvantageous for the mage.

Battle mages weren’t trained for duels in the first place. They are closer to siege weapons that move on their own if they are not careful. They are trained to defeat armies, walls, and gigantic monsters.

Since time is needed for the formulas to inflict significant damage, the front line is indispensable.

Therefore, in the format of a duel, mages are inherently disadvantaged. Nevertheless, Basileo reached the semifinals.

He tied down the approaching warrior’s feet with proficient basic magic and secured enough time for casting by protecting himself with a barrier.

At this point, most warriors would surrender. If they tried to dodge recklessly, they would go out of bounds, and if they got hit, it would hurt terribly.

However, this standard flow did not work at all against Pielott.

Basileo’s restraining magic failed to slow him down, and the barrier was shattered with a single blow.

The fight didn’t last long, and Pielott’s sword rested on Basileo’s neck.

‘…I wanted to see that swordsmanship too.’

He heard that the transfer student uses a strange swordsmanship. Of course, since it was a wooden sword without a scabbard, it was just a stance.

The strange idea of using swordsmanship in a head-on battle. He would have thought it was a stupid story, but that Aias was defeated by it.

‘Well, if even Aias couldn’t avoid it, how could I? I want to see it, but I can’t.’

The moment he tried to see it, he would be in the infirmary.

Basileo sighed and looked out the window.

‘…I didn’t even win, so I can’t learn from Professor Frondier. Damn life.’

Of course, Frondier never said he would teach Basileo if he won, nor did he say he wouldn’t teach him if he didn’t win. It was questionable whether Frondier even knew about the promise Basileo was talking about.

Basileo muttered softly so that the teacher wouldn’t hear him.

“It’s almost vacation time, and there’s not a single hint about the Professor’s magic… Th…”

But.

What is that?

Basileo spotted something shining in a corner of the outdoor training ground outside the window.

‘…That is?’

It was too far away to even make out a shape. It was just something sparkling.

However, for some reason, a spear was floating next to it, and in front of it, he could see Frondier, the person he was just thinking about.

‘That’s, by any chance, the pattern I saw in the gymnasium…’

No matter how much he concentrated, he couldn’t see it properly at this distance. But Basileo had a hunch.

The sparkling something in front of Frondier. It must be the same thing he saw back then in the gymnasium.

Basileo heightened his Mana Detection and focused on Frondier.

‘…It looks like he’s unfolding a formula.’

So he’s activating magic right now?

‘No, if it’s magic, it should consist only of a formula. What are that spear and the sparkling thing next to it?’

The moment Basileo thought that,

Fwoosh!

Boooom!

Far in the distance, where Basileo was looking, the jewel and spear shattered and mixed together in an instant.

Crackle, crackle, sizzle!

At the same time, a huge spark resonated. Not just a single streak of light, but lightning and sound emanating continuously from that spot.

It was different in form, but Basileo had seen something similar to this before.

‘It’s the same as that time!’

When Frondier created a flame of tremendous brightness, even then, magic was continuously born in that spot.

“What was that? What’s that sound?”

“W-wait, this feeling, magic from somewhere…!”

“That’s an absurd amount of Mana! What is it? Grand Magic? A devil’s attack?”

The classroom became noisy in an instant. Even the teacher in charge, who was trying to quiet the students, was speechless at the sight outside.

“Look over there! It’s Professor Frondier!”

“I-I can’t see well! What’s that floating in front of the Professor?”

“L-lightning magic…? Chain Lightning? Thunderbolt?”

“If that’s Thunderbolt, then the Thunderbolt I use…”

The students chattered amongst themselves, trying to identify the true nature of the magic in front of Frondier.

But there was no answer.

Magic doesn’t become stronger just because you pour more Mana into it. Mana exceeding the amount required for the intended magic simply dissipates.

In other words, by looking at the amount of Mana used, one can roughly deduce what kind of magic it is.

However, the amount of Mana Frondier was currently using was an absurd amount they had never seen before.

It was surprising enough that he was using that much Mana, but the Mana wasn’t disappearing. He was unfolding magic that required that much Mana.