The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Eden raised his sword, an aura far exceeding any other Pro's encasing his body. This wasn't the effect of the Mana Injection; Eden's inherent aura was already this powerful.

Frondier had matched the golems one-on-one with each Pro, so there were none left to stop the hidden Eden.

"Haa!"

With a shout, his swung sword easily sliced through the black curtain blocking the door.

"It's open! This way!"

It went without saying. The Pros, upon seeing Eden open the door, rushed in. Already close by, they had no hesitation.

"W-Wait! Slowly!"

Eden, pushed by the Pros as they crammed themselves towards the exit, was swept outside with them.

And then,

The door closed, and they were plunged into darkness.

"Wh-What? Is it night?"

"No. No matter how dark it gets, it can't be this bad, where you can't see an inch ahead..."

They murmured in confusion.

They had clearly opened the door of the building and exited. So they should be outside. Normally.

But why, after coming outside, were they trapped in pitch-black darkness?

As if they had stepped into something else...

Creak-

Just then, light seeped in.

The door of whatever had swallowed them opened, and Frondier appeared.

As light entered the previously impenetrable darkness, they realized what they were inside. It was the interior of another building, filled with all sorts of weapons and miscellaneous items.

"Welcome. This is my workshop."

At Frondier's words, they all realized they hadn't actually escaped.

But how? Even after opening the door and going outside, why were they still inside something?

"I know what you're wondering. To put it simply, I attached this workshop of mine to the exit you went through. The exit of the building you left was actually the entrance to this workshop."

Attached? How could he attach a building to the side of another building?

"N-Nonsense. A building this huge moving around on its own..."

As if that statement had been perfectly timed, Frondier smiled.

Rumble-

"W-Woah!"

"Uwaah?!"

They panicked at the sudden tilting of the floor. That sensation was fleeting, and soon they were thrown into the air, plummeting downwards.

The floor became a wall, and the wall became a floor. In other words, the building had 'laid down'. Standing on what had been a wall, they could only fall towards the floor.

Thud! Thump! Thud!

Of course, as seasoned Pros, they were able to land safely using their respective auras and breakfall techniques, but their faces were etched with dismay.

It really moved. This massive building.

That thought was short-lived.

"Damn it! Again!"

This time, the building 'stood up' as if returning to its original position. Those who were prepared landed safely again, and Frondier reappeared before them on the other side of the door.

"That was a good observation."

"Y-You bastard..."

The Pros exuded killing intent.

However, they couldn't recklessly attack Frondier.

If this building truly moved according to Frondier's will, then rushing at him now would only cause the building to move again.

Reaching that exit would be impossible.

More importantly, even if this workshop didn't move, going out through the exit here would only lead them back into the previous building. The building filled with those terrifying golems. What would be the point of that?

There was only one way to overcome this situation.

They had to find another exit besides the door Frondier had opened.

"Well then, I'll be going. Have a pleasant time."

"Wh-What?"

"Since you walked in here yourselves, there's nothing I can do."

Saying that as if to leave, Frondier closed the door.

As soon as he did, the Pros rushed over and checked the doorknob.

"...It's locked."

"No, it's not locked. This is..."

"Yeah. It's just a wall."

Confirming that the door Frondier had just closed would no longer open, the Pros sighed.

In fact, if they had been a little calmer, they wouldn't have stepped into the exit that opened in the workshop earlier. If it was too dark outside the door, they would have thought something was wrong.

But their minds were frozen with fear, and they couldn't think of that. They just moved their bodies with the single desire to get out of the building

They walked in on their own. Frondier's words weren't entirely wrong.

"What do we do now?"

"We have no choice but to find another exit."

They took out their Sagephones and turned on the flashlights. The absence of a Mage to prevent a big commotion was a bit inconvenient in this situation.

No, considering the previous situation, it was rather fortunate that there was no Mage. There was little a Mage could do in such a hellish battlefield. They would have had to face the golems one-on-one.

"How big is this building anyway?"

"I don't know. We didn't come in after checking its size from the outside."

"For now, we have no choice but to split up and search."

The initial number of people gathered had already been halved. Still, they had enough personnel to carry out the operation. They decided to form groups of three, the minimum number for a team.

However, as people had died from unexpected enemy attacks, the number of people wasn't exactly a multiple of three.

There was exactly one person left, Eden Hamelot.

"..."

"Eden, would you like to switch with me if you'd like? You're the leader, so it would be safer..."

"No. I'll move alone. This is the best position."

Indeed, among them, Eden was the most skilled, and if anyone had to act alone, he would be the best suited for it.

However, in a situation with no preparation, in an unfamiliar space, it was uncertain whether such common sense would apply.

"Alright. Then let's start the investigation. I'll take the lead."

The Pro who had spoken to Eden stepped forward confidently.

Thwack!

And then he collapsed after being struck by something. His face was unrecognizable, no longer a human head.

"Wh-What, a trap?!"

"Be careful! Keep an eye on your surroundings as you move!"

At the sudden death of their comrade, they panicked and became wary of their surroundings. They diligently shone their flashlights around, but the range was far from satisfactory.

In moderate darkness, the human eye adapts to small amounts of light. Even if you can't see at first, as time passes, you gradually become able to distinguish surrounding objects.

However, this place was complete darkness, with no light whatsoever. No matter how much time passed, nothing was visible. They could only rely on their flashlights.

"Th-This... maybe we shouldn't split up..."

Someone said fearfully.

"Idiot! The only light we can rely on now is the Sagephone's flashlight! If we all hesitate without knowing how big this building is, we're as good as dead!"

It might be safer to move together rather than splitting up, but in a situation where they didn't know where the traps were, it was the height of inefficiency.

The Sagephone, being the epitome of Magitechnology, used Mana stored within it. If that Mana was depleted, the power would go out, and then they would have no means of illuminating the darkness.

They had no other choice. The divided teams had to move separately and find the exit as quickly as possible.

'What kind of trap is it?'

Meanwhile, Eden narrowed his eyes and surveyed the surroundings. Of course, he couldn't see anything beyond the reach of the Sagephone's flashlight, but he could still sense presences.

These were all veteran Pros, skilled individuals personally selected by Eden.

Yet, just now, one of them had been struck in the face and killed. Completely defenseless.

'The way this trap works is fundamentally different from what I know. I need to figure that out first.'

Eden's thoughts were similar to everyone else's.

They took slow, cautious steps, expanding their senses and constantly observing their surroundings.

"────Found it."

After a long period of silent observation, Eden spoke up, having discovered something.

All the Pros, who had been eagerly awaiting those words, looked at Eden.

"Found it? The trap's trigger?"

"Yeah. Probably."

Eden shone his flashlight on a particular spot.

"...?"

However, there was nothing where Eden was pointing. The Pros all frowned.

"What? What's there?"

"Look closely. The middle of the floor near where I'm shining the light."

At those words, the Pros' gazes became more focused.

And they soon found

"...What's that, dust-like thing?"

Someone muttered a brief observation.

Hearing that, another person seemed to realize something and said,

"...This is... that black liquid that Frondier was using."

"What?"

At those words, the Pros were surprised and looked again.

Where Eden was shining the light, there was a tiny droplet, barely visible to the naked eye, floating slightly above the floor.

It was so small that even a slight lapse in concentration would cause them to miss it. It was so small that it was hard to see even while looking directly at it.

"...I'll check it out."

Eden said in a tense voice, raising his sword. At that action, everyone gulped and raised their guard to the maximum.

And the moment Eden lightly touched the black droplet,

Swoosh!

This time, it was a spear. Eden barely managed to block the attack that came rushing at him with terrifying speed. The hand he used to block it trembled.

This wasn't because the spear was powerful, but because the speed was so fast that he couldn't properly position himself.

"...Everyone saw that, right?"

"..."

Everyone fell silent.

They had never seen a trap device like this before.

There were two types of traps. One was completely analog, not using Mana. A classic trap that activated when someone stepped on it or touched it.

It was very old but still commonly used, as untrained people were easily caught by it.

The other type was a Magitech device that used Mana. This was much easier to activate than a conventional trap. Simple actions like passing through a certain space or making a sound could trigger the trap.

While it was much trickier than a classic trap, it was actually safer for those who were sensitive to Mana.

That's why traps were usually used by mixing these two types, but...

'It's close to a Magitech trap, but I can barely feel any Mana.'

It was partly luck that Eden had discovered it. Even looking at it like this, he could barely sense any Mana in that spot. Especially with so many veteran Pros around, it was even more difficult.

Eden didn't say it out loud, but a desperate question crossed his mind.

Could they find the exit within this building?

Could they survive until they found the exit?