Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Odyssea (41)

Basilio gritted his teeth.

It’s not just a matter of being heavy.

The balance keeps tilting to one side, and if he’s not careful, the entire spell could collapse.

It feels like holding up a precariously stacked pile of books with just one finger. It’s a weight he could easily lift with both hands, but he cannot change his position now.

“The spell seems to be precise and meticulous, but maybe that’s why it feels too rigid.”

Lete’s voice reached his ears.

“Didn’t you choose the wrong person to perform the first magic?”

With a crunch, Basilio’s molars made a sound.

‘You should have warned me about such risks, you crazy woman.’

If he had even a little leeway, he would have shouted right away.

But he cannot stop here.

The ground magic has already begun, and Sergio is struggling with pain.

The manipulation is difficult, but Basilio already understood this magic. Sergio is now facing his true nature, and because of his memories of being human, he cannot fully accept that he is a monster.

If he stops here, Sergio will be in greater danger. In a sense, this process is a journey toward becoming a monster.

“I will endure…!”

“That’s the spirit.”

Lethe’s cold words. After that, she looked at the remaining two magicians, Elodie and Jane.

“The remaining two must assist in the process of overlapping the two magic circles. The two magic circles reflect the same being, but there is one thing that cannot be combined for both the past and present Sergio.”

“……Thought.”

Prondior replied, and Lethe nodded.

“That’s right. Hatred towards humans, an unfounded and baseless desire to kill. The more noble a person was when they were human, the greater the pain they feel. Conversely, that means the thought will be clear and distinct.”

“We need to extract that.”

“Exactly. To do that, we first need to combine them….”

Lethe tilted her head as she looked at the magic circles merging from both sides.

“It shouldn’t be like that.”

“Why? It seems like they are merging.”

“That’s because that magician, Osprit, is adjusting the two magic circles with nonsensical techniques. Maintaining it like that is a miracle. Truly worthy of being called a great magician, but it can’t progress any further.”

Osprit is already doing more than his role.

So the problem boils down to one thing.

“The magic circle on the ground must stabilize. Just barely holding on like this won’t yield any answers. Sergio’s suffering will only prolong.”

In fact, even at this moment, Sergio is struggling with pain. It is a suffering that others cannot even imagine. The longer it drags on, the higher the probability that Sergio will be left with irreparable damage, and in the worst case, his life is at risk.

“Ugh…!”

But Basilio is also already tasting hell.

Not only is the double magic circle unprecedented, but he is seeing this magical formula for the very first time. It is rather surprising that Osprit, who is in the same situation, is controlling both magic circles.

If left like this, it will collapse. Like removing a glass from a tower built of glasses. Basilio felt that more than anyone else.

“…Elodie.”

At that moment, Jane spoke up.

“Let’s begin.”

“Y-Yes?”

Elodie asked back in confusion.

“Right now? Basilio’s burden will increase.”

“That kid has triggered a bad habit again.”

Jane raised one hand.

“If you’re not going to do it, I’ll start first.”

“Ah, w-wait a moment!”

Without any hesitation at Elodie’s words, Jane unfolded the spell. Elodie hurriedly started and barely caught up, so she truly had no intention of waiting.

“Ugh!”

Naturally, a new spell was intruding, and Basilio was perched on an increasingly unstable balance.

It was like being on a boat with a hole in it, unable to maintain any balance. Even if it sank slowly, it would eventually go down.

“W-wait, teacher?!”

“Don’t panic, just look ahead.”

Basilio briefly shot a look of protest at Jane, but that moment was dismissed.

“Did you forget what I said about thinking that, at the moment you cast magic, there is only the spell and yourself in this world?”

Jane said sternly.

What Jane said is something that most wizards would naturally come to understand without needing to be taught.

This aligns with what Prondior had said in the past.

─The fact that a wizard is the last line of defense means they are the furthest back. In their eyes, all allies are invisible. They charge into the fray, risking their lives, and since they have put their lives on the line, their lives are at stake. Witnessing the death of those who were friends or comrades, the wizard chants their magic.

A wizard standing on the battlefield must not be influenced by the situation of the battlefield.

It is something that must never happen.

Therefore, most wizards, after initiating their magic, only look at the magic itself. Jane’s words may sound noble at first glance, but in reality, they are extremely pragmatic.

“B-but, this isn’t just my magic right now! Moreover, it’s not even an attack spell…!”

Basilio said in a fluster. His words were not wrong. This magic required four wizards. Moreover, the target of the magic was not some monster to be dealt with as usual.

If there were even a slight mistake, Sergio—

“What does that matter?”

But Jane’s words were excessively cold.

“This magic is built upon your magic. I haven’t entrusted you with the tuning or the combination. What I require from you now is confidence in your own spell.”

“Ugh…!”

Sergio broke out in a cold sweat. It’s easy to say, but now it was after the spells of four people had been combined. If the spell were to be changed here, there was a risk of collapse.

“Collapse it.”

“…!”

“I will follow. Wizard Basilio.”

Jane’s words held neither confidence nor anxiety.

Just a declaration that it would be done.

In that, Basilio realized where he was now.

‘…Right.’

He was now with three other wizards.

Jane, Elodie, and Basileo.

There are wizards who would be at the very top of this entire world by any measure.

They are not the kind of wizards who would have a problem if he slightly altered the spell.

That worry was arrogance.

“Hmm.”

And the watching Lethe’s eyes sank.

‘The words may sound smooth, but what can he possibly change from there?’

Basileo was not miscasting the spell.

It was originally a spell done that way, and afterward, it required tremendous control to continue adjusting with each other.

How much weight can be borne while maintaining balance stably, and how quickly can the magic be completed during the short time that balance is maintained, is what matters.

In that regard, Basileo clearly made a choice mistake among them. Rather, Lunia would have suited it better. She, too, was the type of rigid classical wizard.

With that thought in mind, I looked at Basileo,

“……!”

Basileo’s eyes were distant.

So far away that it seemed he was not looking at himself.

“Basileo……?”

Even so, his expression was unusual, prompting Elodie to speak up beside him.

“Are you okay?”

It was Jane who answered.

“It seems like he’s finally doing it properly. Once he reaches that state, he can’t hear anyone anyway.”

“Have you seen this often, teacher?”

“It doesn’t happen every time he casts magic, but he always ascended to the next step after that process.”

Jane said this with a slightly bitter smile.

“……Well, I do get tired too.”

“Excuse me?”

The moment Elodie asked back.

Sut─

Basileo’s hand moved. He raised his right hand into a fist, then opened it again.

“!”

In that moment, the spell stretched out.

“Such!”

Even Ospreet was taken aback and hurriedly adjusted the size of the second magic circle.

Elodie also changed her mana adjustment. The size of the magic circle increased, but the mana pathways became correspondingly thinner. She gritted her teeth as if handling a thread made of tofu.

‘This is insane. This kid really can’t see anything, it seems.’

Despite startling the two wizards, Basileo showed no reaction. He seemed completely unaware.

And the one who wasn’t flustered, Jane.

One of her hands was already pointing at Basileo with her finger.

Elodie glanced at it for a moment and realized.

‘Teacher, you’re signaling Basileo!’

Right now, Basileo wouldn’t hear anything even if spoken to. Forcing him to listen would naturally break his concentration.

So, she conveyed a ‘magical symbol’ to Basileo, who was immersed in the world of magic.

Receiving that, Basileo improved the excessively narrowed pathway created by widening the spell.

This was a conversation.

A conversation exchanged between wizards.

‘Teacher Jane, you’re adjusting the mana with me…!’

Elodie was in awe.

While doing the same thing as her, Jane was simultaneously grasping Basileo’s situation and offering appropriate advice.

She understood what Jane meant when she said she was getting tired. It seemed like something that couldn’t just end in fatigue.

Lethe widened her eyes slightly at that.

‘Widening the spell increases stability. Of course, the mana pathways become thinner, which is dangerous. It’s like reducing the risk of losing balance while increasing the risk of the magic circle breaking. But…’

Lethe’s gaze turned to Ospreet.

‘There’s someone who will take on that risk.’

In reality, the biggest role in maintaining this magic lay with Ospreet.

Yet, Ospreet’s face, which had been relaxed until a moment ago, stiffened.

Basileo had shifted the burden onto the grand wizard. He wasn’t even aware of it.

Sut—

Basileo’s hand moved again.

This time, Lethe’s expression hardened.

An additional spell had been added.

‘He’s inserted a support for the spell. He’s woven two unstable symbols together to create a center of gravity that suits his taste.’

Regardless of the effect of the magic itself, a spell added for convenience.

Theoretically, it is not impossible.

However, it is dangerous.

‘To hope that adding a spell to already completed magic will yield the same effect.’

For example, adding seasoning to a dish that is already made and making it seem like it was never added.

The more difficult and delicate the cooking, the exponentially higher the difficulty becomes.

‘Can that child see it?’

The theory of this spell.

Did they understand the mechanism by which magic is composed and manifests, all from just this brief moment?

In reality, the spell that Basilio added is not affecting the magic.

At this point, Basilio has theoretically added one more way for this magic to manifest.

“Excellent.”

Ospreet said.

It is likely a compliment from a great magician that Basilio would cherish for a lifetime, but unfortunately, Basilio hears nothing at the moment.

‘If this is the case, it should be possible to combine.’

Ospreet, Jane, and Elodie checked each other’s faces.

This time it will work.

Just before Ospreet’s hand moved with that thought.

“……Ah.”

Basilio, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke.

“If I do it this way, I won’t have to wait.”

Basilio muttered words that were not directed at anyone.

He spread the thumb, index, and middle fingers of his left hand and turned his wrist, which was looking at the sky, forward.

Then, with a spin,

The first magic circle turned half a rotation.

“!”

“Uh?!”

In that moment, Lethe let out a sound. She did something that was impossible according to her common sense.

The others felt similarly, even if they did not make a sound.

Crackle!!

As the magic circle spun around Sergio, a strange spark erupted from the overlapping parts of the secondary magic circle.

Basileo extended his right hand, forming a ring and pulling it, and the strange, mist-like spark that had been flying around was drawn into his hand.

“This is it.”

Basileo spoke with distant eyes.

“What they call thought.”