The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 124: Violet Prepares for a New Adventure! (1)

After returning home, I had a conversation with Irene about what we should do from now on.

"First, we need to find Mr. Kress. I’ll also try to contact other employees who left the clan. The priority is to understand what’s going on inside the clan."

As soon as we sat down, Irene brought up the name of her father’s secretary. Was it because she had calmed down on the way home? The image of her swaying in the car was nowhere to be seen. She was calm, but seemed to have firmly prepared to face the problem.

"Is there anything else I can help with?"

When Violet No. 213 asked, Irene seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if thinking, before speaking up.

"Could you help with gathering some information? I need to investigate Uncle Rigel and the people around him."

"Okay, sure. But there’s someone better at it than me. How about we leave it to that person?"

"That person?"

When it comes to gathering information, I couldn’t avoid bringing up the broker I employ.

I slowly explained about Team Leader Leslie and her subordinates. Every time I continued speaking, she would let out short sounds of admiration. When I finished explaining, her eyes gleamed with interest.

"Impressive. Although the fact that they’re from the underworld makes me a bit hesitant, their skills seem solid. The materials you showed last time when you gathered people to clarify things—those were investigated by this Team Leader, right?"

"That’s right. They’re quite useful. Speaking of which, I’ll show you the materials!"

Violet No. 489 handed over part of the materials. It contained information about Polaris Academy. Her golden eyes quickly scanned the documents. As she flipped through the pages, her gaze fixed on a specific part of the data. It was a section I had underlined and marked as significant.

"Crosell Torrence, place of birth unknown, address and some personal details likely falsified. No record of entry... What? The student council president?"

"Strange, right? He’s not the only one like that."

"Lera J. Velleston, Caym Myers... These people are all full of unknowns. Who are they? Are they even students at the academy?"

Irene’s eyes narrowed slightly. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Who knows, maybe they’re like me? They might not even have parents!"

Well, I thought we could just capture and interrogate them later. What’s the big deal about the student council’s parents or where they were born?

"I’ll help as much as I can. Do you want to meet them directly, or should I give the orders?"

"If we’re going to do it, meeting them directly is better. Please, I’ll leave it to you."

Violet No. 213 took Irene and headed to the office. Coincidentally, I had a reason to meet with Team Leader Leslie about a weapons trade.

***

While I was out visiting the manpower office with a friend, the other Violets were working hard.

Right now, the Violets were doing all sorts of tasks. Deliveries, dungeon labor, weapon research and development, and training.

The core of all these small tasks was preparing the Witch’s Hammer to swing at the academy and clan.

In this process, limitations of time and space had no meaning. We were everywhere in Academy City, and if needed, we could rotate our clones in shifts and operate 25 hours a day, seven days a week.

However, even we couldn’t overcome the invisible giant of the market economy.

"That damn 5-meter distance restriction! If it weren’t for that, we could have copied gold bars or jewels and sold them. We could have made counterfeit bills. Then we could have lived without working!"

Violet No. 632 grumbled. With our cloning ability, we couldn’t produce money or gold bars.

Violet No. 498, frowning at the noise in the Violet network, glared at No. 632. 632 lowered her head at the sharp gaze from behind the helmet.

"Shut up and carry the load! It’s not just you who’s struggling."

"But, we’ve only been created a few days ago. Isn’t it too much to put us to work already?"

"I’ll let you rest later. Focus on the job!"

As I worked, I thought about it. Who would have known this whole situation would start with just trying to get a student ID?

Looking back now, it feels pointless. Since I had money, I was able to somehow get my hands on a hunter license or a student ID that was circulating in the market.

Still, it’s a shame we can’t print money.

"It’s alright. We’ve got some people who’ll help us now, right?"

When Violet No. 10 mentioned the new tenants who had moved in, Violet No. 38 tilted her head.

"Hey, we’re the ones doing all the manual labor, right? Those guys are technically special troops. Like artillery or helicopters."

Thinking about it, that’s true.

The biggest advantage of the Violets is, after all, numbers. Other than that, there’s nothing particularly outstanding. Our strength lies in our lack of flaws, but we’re not particularly better than others at anything.

And the dungeons we’ll be tackling from now on are tougher than before.

I needed people with higher stats and the ability to handle various situations. Friends like Irene and Daphne could help strengthen the Violet squad, but that was about it.

What we need in the future is firepower. We need high magic attack power.

"A single magic-enchanted arrow is equivalent to a cannon shot, so it can’t be helped."

The dungeons in the world of the Deep Crimson Academia are full of strange things that mock modern military systems. Signal jamming, electromagnetic interference, and high-speed motion-suppressing fields... there’s no end to it.

This is basic knowledge even the children of Academy City know. But the dungeons contain even more bizarre things.

First, there are beasts that almost resist pure physical attacks. Some regenerate, and depending on the situation, firearms and explosives might be prohibited.

Rich hunters or mercenaries use electronic weapons or rare artifact firearms to deal with these issues, but that’s not something we can do.

Dungeons where these monsters appear are dangerous, but the more dangerous dungeons are more profitable. Places where dangerous beasts or anomalies appear more often are areas where the laws of physics are twisted.

They contain rare resources and artifacts that are usually impossible to obtain.

So, to grab the big money, we need to take the challenge.

Considering the weapons and equipment we’ll need to buy and the increasing number of Violets, there’s only one answer: Charge forward!

「From now on, let’s make those dangerous guys handle it.」

The Violet unit, which had been full of infantry, would gain some tactical flexibility.

I needed to start aligning with them first.

As I was deep in thought about how to survive moving forward before entering the dungeon, a notification spread through the network.

「Attention, attention. Daphne will arrive at our place soon. Those in the central barracks, start tidying up immediately.」

「Oh, is it already time?」

After a short while, Daphne, who had submitted her leave of absence, arrived at our home. The Violets cheerfully waved at her.

“Welcome!”

“Now you’ll be living with us, Daphne!”

"Looking forward to it!"

The door closed, and Violet led Daphne inside. Since her school belongings were stored in the multi-dimensional bag I gave her, all I needed to do was help unpack.

After finishing the unpacking, we had a simple tea time on the first-floor dormitory dining room. Daphne lightly sipped her tea.

"So, you’re planning to check out a new dungeon?"

"Yeah, I need funds. Plus, I have gifts for you and other friends in mind."

"Gifts?"

Scratching my head, I pointed at different parts of my body one by one.

"Necklace, bracelet, earrings. Which do you prefer?"

"Why all of a sudden..."

"Well, the dungeon we’re visiting this time is famous for its accessory relics!"

The upcoming dungeon promised interesting relics. Accessories that granted various beneficial effects.

"They can generate water and even create protective shields!"

"That sounds familiar. But shields, huh..."

As Daphne listened to me, her expression shifted slightly as if something had come to mind.

"Speaking of shields, it reminds me—do you recall the ether amplifier from the Chloris Forest last time?"

"Yeah, didn’t you feel like you grew stronger back then?"

"At first, I thought it was just an increase in my mana capacity. But recently, while practicing my unique ability, I discovered I could do this. Want to see?"

Daphne extended a protective shield around her teacup. A semi-transparent, pale green dome appeared. It was small, but a familiar sight.

"Watch closely."

Her slender, white hand moved slowly near the teacup. A faint green energy glimmered softly. The dome-shaped shield gradually shrank, transforming into a thin, flat disc.

"Whoa. The shape changed!"

I was amazed.

"My guess is that compressing the shield increases its strength compared to when it’s deployed as a dome."

Ah, in simpler terms, she sacrificed 360-degree defense to boost durability by compressing it.

Looking at the disc-like shield floating above the teacup like an umbrella, a scene from the main story five years later flashed in my mind. Wasn’t there a moment when Daphne used this method to block a witch’s attack? Maybe?

"Now that I’ve managed this, I feel like experimenting with other possibilities. Want to see?"

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

She smiled lightly and dispelled the disc shield. Several small shields appeared and disappeared atop the table.

A shield expanded under a cookie, causing it to rise slightly. Then another shield formed at the edge of a plate, making it wobble.

"I’ve never seen it applied like this before."

Hearing my words, she smiled brightly.

"Until now, I only used my unique ability defensively. But after compressing the shield once, I thought—couldn’t I use it in other ways? I always felt like just relying on a few support spells wasn’t enough, so this worked out well."

Fascinating. I hadn’t imagined shields could be used this way. Daphne seemed to have had a breakthrough.

With more practice, she might use her unique ability not only for defense but also to assist in attacks.

"Amazing!"

"Thanks for the compliment! But I still need more practice."

Suddenly, an amusing thought crossed my mind.

"Daphne, I’ve got a brilliant idea. How about using that shield offensively?"

"Offensively? What do you mean?"

Her blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Like a devil imparting forbidden knowledge to an innocent child, I whispered my ingenious idea to her.

"Generate the shield inside someone’s body and then expand it. Boom!"

"...?"

"Wouldn’t that make anyone explode?"

As soon as I said it, I thought it was a genius idea. Wasn’t this an invincible instant-kill technique?

The moment Daphne heard my suggestion, she froze for three seconds in utter shock. Then her wide-eyed gaze filled with horror locked onto me.

"What? What did you just say?"

It was then that I realized I had said something terribly wrong.

"…That sounds absurd. Hey, you can’t do that."

And in the next moment, Lucian, who had entered through the dining room door, chimed in.

"Mana can’t be manipulated inside a person’s body. Don’t you know that?"

"What? Why not?"

When I asked, Lucian grumbled but gave a short explanation. After he finished, I felt disappointed.

"Such a waste. An instant-kill spell..."

Turns out there’s a good reason it’s not possible.