The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 72: Running Violet! (3)

Frederick stared at me with a shocked expression, as if he had seen the impossible.

It was the first time I had seen him look so surprised since I met him.

After a moment, Frederick regained his composure and glared at me sharply.

“Have you been hiding your skills all this time? You weren’t playing me, were you?”

“No! Not at all!”

“Don’t lie. How does someone who couldn’t use a single bit of body enhancement progress to that level in just three days? To get to where you showed earlier, it would take at least two to three months, even at a fast pace.”

I must have progressed too quickly.

In the game, everyone could use mana, so I had no idea how much or how one was supposed to train.

“What kind of trick are you using? Don’t tell me you’re resorting to forbidden drugs.”

“No way!”

I quickly denied it.

Of course, this world had drugs meant for Awakeners.

They enhance physical abilities temporarily by causing mana to go berserk, but they come with severe side effects.

Looking at Frederick’s face, he didn’t seem to genuinely suspect me—he was just so shocked he had to ask.

Still, I needed to prove it wasn’t drugs or some other trick, but entirely my own ability.

“Here, watch this.”

I focused my mana and leapt into the air again.

-Crash!

Once again, I failed to control my strength and slammed into the nearby wall. Ouch, that hurt.

“Ughhh…”

I staggered to my feet, nose bleeding. Frederick shook his head.

“Fine, seeing how you can keep activating it consecutively and handle it, I’ll admit it’s your own skill. But this, and your mana burst ability from before… Really, you’re just… this is…”

Frederick moved his mouth a few times, unable to finish his sentence, and finally muttered, “Fast. Too fast. This is just…”

“Really? Haha…”

I laughed like it was nothing, but I finally understood why Frederick was so surprised.

Violet’s growth rate was abnormal by any conventional standard.

「It’s weird! All we did was train hard all night. There are surely others better than us out there.」

「That’s considering people with only one body.」

「Oh, right?」

Now that I thought about it, our training method was incredibly effective.

But explaining it to Frederick was tricky.

Doing so would mean revealing my true ability, which was inconvenient.

Maybe I should just act like a genius?

That might surprisingly work.

“Honestly… I just tried, and it worked?”

“Do you really think that makes sense?”

I guess that’s not convincing either.

Frederick spent the next while testing me with various things.

He had me catch falling sticks multiple times, lift heavy objects, and measure my movement speed with a stopwatch.

“Ugh… I’m so tired. When will this end?”

Frederick ignored my exhaustion, muttering to himself.

“It’s real. Clumsy, but your reaction speed, strength, dynamic vision—everything’s improved. You’re still not used to your power, so your control is off, but mastering full-body enhancement in just a few days…”

Frederick ran a hand through his hair and fell into thought.

I wondered what he was going to say.

After a moment, his gray eyes turned to me with more clarity.

“Well, regardless, your growth is real… There’s still a lot to teach you. Fine, we’ll adjust the schedule. We’ll start new training to help you adapt to your enhanced body. Ready?”

“Yes!”

Frederick brought out a pitching machine from the gym storage, the kind used for baseball practice.

It was a machine that shoots balls through two rapidly spinning fans.

My training was to dodge the balls.

He tossed me protective gear for my head and torso.

“Strap it tight! Don’t let it come loose!”

“Do I really need this?”

“You bet! The balls will be coming at over 250 kilometers per hour. You’re nowhere near able to shield yourself with ether. If you don’t want to get hurt, wear it!”

At home, getting hurt or even dying would’ve been no big deal, but this was standard practice.

I put on the helmet, various guards, and goggles.

“Got everything on?”

Frederick had me stand in a narrow rectangular area marked on the gym floor.

“From now on, I’ll shoot balls at you. Your job is to dodge them without stepping out of this rectangle. This is basic training. Under no circumstances are you to step outside. Got it?”

The space inside the rectangle felt smaller than I’d expected.

Wait, can I even do this?

“Alright, here we go!”

With a thwack, a ball shot out.

I immediately focused my mana on my eyes.

The world slowed down, and I could see even the smallest specks of dust floating in the air.

I could see the ball spinning rapidly as it came toward me.

Now I just had to dodge.

Easy enough, right?

My body wouldn’t move.

Oh no!

I had focused so much on my vision that I hadn’t enhanced my other physical abilities!

“Argh!”

The ball hit me.

Thanks to the protective gear and damage dispersion, it didn’t hurt, but still, it was disappointing.

“You couldn’t dodge that? Again!”

The next ball came, and I dodged it—only to step out of the rectangle.

“You idiot! Don’t focus only on what you see! Loosen your body, and this time, we’re doing it consecutively!”

-Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The balls rained down relentlessly.

I screamed and twisted my body to dodge them.

My life had suddenly turned into a bullet-hell action game.

This was too hard!

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

At a private training ground, I demonstrated my body enhancement to Irene.

Her reaction was much the same as Frederick’s.

“Violet, you’re telling the truth that you’ve never been taught? It took me weeks to reach where you are now.”

“Really?”

Irene, like Frederick, kept saying the same things.

「Should we explain it to Irene?」

「Does it matter? She already knows our ability.」

I explained my method.

I told her that by using my unique ability, I trained for 24 hours, skipping through obstacles with the power of numbers.

She let out a soft gasp.

The problem came when I mentioned minor trial-and-error setbacks—permanent injuries, paralysis, blindness, and bleeding.

I had planned to gloss over it, but Irene sensed something off and kept pressing.

I had no choice but to share some of it.

Her golden eyes, once filled with curiosity and admiration, quickly turned to shock and fear.

Worried, she came closer and touched my forehead.

“You’re not sick or anything, right?”

“Why? I’m fine.”

“No, I can’t let this go. I’m calling Daphne. I’ll tell her your condition isn’t normal and to come help immediately—”

“Why are you acting like this? I’m not crazy!”

Irene looked like someone trying to stop a drunk coworker from driving.

I didn’t see what the big deal was.

“Violet, even if your unique ability reduces pain, injuring yourself dozens of times to optimize mana usage is insane. That’s not normal—it’s madness!”

“But it’s fast. Without it, I wouldn’t have progressed this much in just three days.”

Before she could argue further, I activated my mana and started hopping around the training ground at high speed.

“See? I got faster!”

“Ah…”

Seeing Irene lost for words, I felt triumphant.

“Alright, Violet. It’s your choice, so I won’t stop you. But don’t overdo it. The human body isn’t made to break. Think of it like this: nobody works out while on painkillers. Don’t overuse your ability in training, or else—”

“You’re saying it’s dangerous? Fine, I’ll hold back for now.”

Actually, that was a lie.

Since it was the fastest method, I planned to keep using it for now.

Eventually, we resumed sparring.

Thanks to my rapid growth, our sparring changed as well.

Irene also strengthened herself lightly and adjusted to match my level.

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While the Violet in the school gym flailed to dodge balls, the Violet in the training ground twisted her body to counter incoming swords.

“Argh! Ugh!”

“Your movements are too big. Keep them concise!”

-Crash!

I bumped into the wall again because I couldn’t control my legs. My head hurts.

While the external Violets were training, this multi-clone training technique evolved accordingly.

“Is this really appropriate? We can read each other’s thoughts, so it seems like it would be easier to dodge.”

“This is faster than a ball!”

Outside the workshop where explosives were made, there was a wide open space scattered with mounds and pits of varying sizes.

While the Violets on one side were running around using physical reinforcement techniques, the Violets holding crossbows stood in a line on the other side for dodge training.

Opposite them, Violet No. 89 leaned against a wall. At first glance, it looked like an execution site.

“No. 89, start!”

“Start!”

For efficient and safe training, no magic was used, and the arrowheads were removed, but it still hurt if you got hit.

-Peep! Peep-peep!

No. 89 twisted her body as she worked hard to dodge and run around. When the shooting ended, several bolts were stuck in her flesh.

“Next time, be more cautious. Next! No. 96!”

Thus, we continued pushing our bodies to the limit with relentless training. Naturally, rough training came with its share of accidents.

-Thud!

“Ugh… Agh!”

While practicing a jump, No. 101 misjudged her strength and slammed her head into the workshop wall. Her neck broke.

Aside from this, there were frequent mishaps—falling into pits, crashing into mounds of dirt, and so on. Some Violets fainted from blood loss while dodging arrows.

But as long as there was something to gain, we couldn’t stop training.

Time went on.

“Great! This time, you dodged six times. Are you starting to get a sense of how to avoid the ball?”

Gradually, through trial and error, we began to get a feel for how to move our enhanced bodies.

“Don’t swing too hard; it’s not about swinging with brute strength. There, that’s an opening!”

“Ugh!”

For 24 hours a day, endlessly for several days, the Violets ran, fought, got hurt, and died.

If one coin wasn’t enough to clear the stage, you simply poured in more coins. If one drop of water couldn’t pierce the rock, you kept at it until it did.

We reminded ourselves that the key was an unyielding will and continued our relentless training.

Because we Violets only grew stronger the more we were used.

After several more days passed, the first week of October arrived.

As I became more accustomed to physical reinforcement, I realized why Awakeners were considered monsters.

A ball that used to seem like a blur now appeared to float slowly in the air, like a balloon. It felt like I could grab it if I wanted to.

“So, are you getting used to the feel of your body now?”

A barrage of balls came flying at me. I felt like I could barely dodge them now.

There was also progress in sparring.

The sharp strikes that came flying with a tearing sound—I could now read them to some extent.

Of course, blocking them head-on was still impossible. Irene’s swordsmanship might not match her spear skills, but from my perspective, it was sharp and intimidating. Meanwhile, my own attacks never landed even once.

I realized why I almost lost when I fought Martina in our last duel.

The world of superhumans was vastly different from the world of ordinary people.

Muscles strengthened by magic were as tough as steel wires, and enhanced eyes and optic nerves could see things invisible to others with precision and speed.

The nerves sent danger signals like lightning, and blood surged like a roaring tide.

From the perspective of an Awakener, the world was a fragile glass palace that could shatter at any moment.

While an ordinary person took one breath, they took ten, or even twenty, and their hearts beat many times faster and stronger.

This was my impression as I began to adapt to physical reinforcement.

Although I was growing quickly, the clearer my growth became, the more I realized where I stood.

I was still lacking.

“I don’t get it! I need to master swordsmanship quickly.”

“I need more sparring partners. I should ask Kalia too!”

More, more training was necessary.

I would need to get hurt and even die a few more times.

Lost in thought, I forgot that I was in the middle of sparring.

Irene’s sword smoothly descended toward the crown of my head. What should I do?

Normally, if it seemed dangerous, Irene would stop first and withdraw her blade.

No, I should dodge.

But my body wouldn’t move.

My focus had broken, and the flow of magic had stopped.

Was there another way? Could I block it head-on?

I tracked the descending trajectory of her sword. My mind raced. I didn’t know, but there had to be another way.

I imagined a shape.

A brutal, violent, yet precise and mechanically rhythmic form.

In that moment, my body moved on its own.

-Clang!

“This is…!”

“Huh?”

A piercingly sharp sound echoed through the training ground.

Without realizing it, I had blocked Irene’s vertically swinging sword with an extraordinary strength I didn’t even know I possessed.

How did I do that?

Irene stepped back.

“That defense just now—how did you do it?”

“I don’t know.”

Irene, puzzled, looked at me and then seemed to realize something, her expression changing. Her face lit up with excitement.

“You’ve discovered something, haven’t you? Your body moved on its own, right?”

“Yes! That’s exactly it. How did you know?”

“I went through the same thing before! It’s a sign that you’re getting used to sparring. Good job! It’s break time now, so take a rest and think it over.”

I returned to my spot and gulped down water. Then I picked up the one-handed sword and swung it again.

What was that feeling?

It was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar.

I didn’t recall ever wielding a sword like that before.

It was my first time taking that stance, but it felt like something I almost remembered.

Maybe I truly had reached an epiphany.

Before I could fully organize my thoughts, break time ended.

Sparring resumed.

By the way, as much as I need to work on swordsmanship, I should also learn magic.

Who should I learn from?