The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 85: Violet Formed a Party! (2)

The adventure ended without any major mishaps.

Deep within the Novastia Dungeon, in a remote building, there was a dark basement.

This place, once devoid of even cockroaches, was now bustling with people.

Daphne descended into the room, filled with blue magical lights and white electric ones.

The Violets had already opened the floor and pulled out a hidden bag.

“This is… the artifact?”

“That’s right! It’s one of the rarest artifacts, even in Rustlum—or, no, in all of Trist!”

Daphne carefully lifted the bag.

After a moment, the bag glowed and scattered into white particles, which flowed into her body.

Her blue eyes darted around, startled.

“Let’s see, how about this?”

She muttered a few words and picked up a nearby stone.

The stone in her hand vanished and reappeared several times.

“My goodness, a personal subspace! This is an incredible discovery! How did Violet know to come here?”

“Well, I have one of these too.”

As a demonstration, I pulled out several guns.

She nodded in understanding.

“No wonder I always wondered how you managed to carry all that equipment…”

We smiled confidently.

“Now we don’t have to carry heavy things anymore! How about that?”

“Thank you! For something so precious…”

She trailed off, overwhelmed with emotion.

After a moment, she tested the bag’s features, marveling at its capabilities.

“You can retrieve any item at will. The capacity is beyond imagination. It seems bottomless.”

“Of course! Though the volume and weight you can pull out at once are limited, you could fit a car inside if you dismantled it.”

Hearing my words, her bright blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Oh! I hadn’t thought of that. That means you could deliver massive relief supplies and build shelters even in isolated regions inaccessible by vehicles. A walking relief camp!” ℞АƝ𝐨ᛒĘ𐌔

As expected from someone destined to establish a medical volunteer organization, her thoughts immediately went to practical uses for the bag.

“And, once again, thank you, Violet, for giving me something like this.”

Daphne gently embraced Number 58 at the front.

“But I’m sorry.”

“Huh? For what?”

“For making you get hurt, even killed, multiple times because of me. Like what happened to Number 198 earlier.”

Oh dear, it seemed Daphne had taken the earlier fight with the Crawler to heart.

One of the Violets at the back stepped forward and rolled up her left sleeve.

“It’s okay! I’m alive. See this? Do you see the number?”

“…?”

“Did you forget? Even if we die, we come back. Don’t worry about it!”

Seeing the resurrected Number 198, Daphne’s expression subtly shifted.

“Oh, right. It was the same during the entrance ceremony…”

Her face resembled someone biting into a fish-shaped pastry advertised as having real fish inside, only to find it actually did.

“Are you okay? I’m telling you, we don’t really die. Our minds just transfer into the network. Once we’re given a new body, we come back!”

“Still, shouldn’t you at least try not to die?”

“This is our tactic, you see. It’s become a habit now. Besides, hardly any of us died today.”

Seeing our cheerful demeanor, Daphne’s eyes slightly crinkled.

Soon, her reaction grew more intense, and the Violets realized they had made a mistake in their choice of words.

“‘Hardly’?! What does that mean?”

“No, I just meant we work well as a team!”

A Violet stepped back, only to have Daphne grab her by the shoulders.

“Tell me honestly.”

In the end, we confessed.

Those piercing blue eyes made it impossible to lie.

“Originally, about five to ten of us would die a day.”

“Ah… oh no…”

“But that was in the past! These days, our equipment is better, and we’ve improved, so it hardly happens anymore. Really, don’t worry.”

Daphne let out a small sigh and hugged me again.

“Alright. If that’s Violet’s choice, I won’t try to stop it.”

Her jewel-like eyes, filled with concern and regret, gleamed with newfound determination.

“But at least while I’m around, I won’t just let you get hurt.”

“What?”

“Mark my words. Even if you’re hell-bent on dying, I’ll save you no matter what! Got it?”

“No, really, it’s okay if I die—”

“It’s not okay with me! And I’m a support role, remember? A healer! Don’t push yourself too hard, just keep me safe.”

“Fine, fine.”

Faced with her firm declaration, we could only scratch our heads and agree.

As we stepped out of the building, preparing to leave the dungeon, every part of my body ached.

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“Ugh, this again.”

The Violets wobbled slightly.

This sensation was the pain shared through the distributed pain capability from other Violets.

Seeing our discomfort, Daphne tapped her staff on the ground. The pain vanished.

“Ah, thanks! That’s much better.”

“That’s what happens when you overwork your body. Where is it this time?”

“This? Oh, it’s not ‘our’ body.”

Daphne tilted her head at the Violets’ response.

As she pondered, she slowly spoke.

“Just one question. What are the other Violets outside this dungeon doing right now?”

“Well, they’re dungeon diving with Irene, trying to get their teamwork down. Why?”

“…With Irene, huh. It’s not something dangerous, is it?”

“…”

We answered her intuition with silence, and Daphne clutched her head, realizing the situation.

“Oh, my goodness…”

“Hehe…”

While the Violets roamed desolate ruins to deliver a precious artifact to their friend, a bit farther away, in the Central Western Dungeon, a girl with violet hair and a squad clad in black uniforms were walking through a forest.

“This is Team Novastia. Command, come in. Currently, V Squads are escorting D to the target point.”

“This is Command, confirmed. The team accompanying I has also passed the dungeon entrance.”

The Violets were now exploring the dungeon under Irene’s lead.

This mission began because Irene strongly insisted.

“Ugh!”

Irene quickly helped me up after I fell.

“The entrance here has a significant height difference between the outside and inside. Of course, you’d fall if you jump like that.”

As I steadied myself, she dusted off the dirt clinging to my clothes.

“Wow… You seem pretty familiar with this place?”

“I’ve been here a few times before for training. The Helios Clan often uses this dungeon for training sessions.”

When I looked up, the concrete floors and checkpoint scenery from earlier had vanished, replaced by a vast green sea of enormous trees.

At first glance, it appeared to be just an ordinary forest.

Our goal was to make a round trip to an outpost located in the danger zone.

“All the beasts here are low-level. There’s only one type of mid-level creature, and even that’s so slow it can be intercepted easily. However, the moment you pass certain zones, various anomalies and traps abound, and the weather becomes unpredictable.

It’s the perfect environment to experience what a ‘dungeon’ as a supernatural space is like.”

We walked into the forest.

Looking from the entrance, it was hard to tell, but the thickness and height of the trees were beyond imagination. Towering trunks with diameters of several meters rose to the height of apartment buildings. The dense branches overhead cast the forest into shadow.

Lights installed in various places illuminated the darkness.

Around us, workers wearing safety helmets and vests were inspecting pipes embedded in the trees and carrying cones the size of a human torso.

As I looked around in wonder, Irene explained.

“The trees in the Alcesia forest have grown abnormally large due to the influence of ether. Thanks to that, the sap and fruit contain rare materials that are used as industrial resources.”

“Those people seem like non-Awakened individuals. Is it okay for ordinary people to work in a dungeon?”

“This is a safe zone with almost no anomalies or traps. The beasts that used to inhabit this area were hunted long ago.”

We reached an area with towering walls and barbed wire.

Hunters were stationed at the entrance, standing guard.

Once again, thanks to Irene, we passed through without any trouble.

“From here on out, it’s the danger zone. Be careful and keep your eyes open.”

“All right, let’s call our crew!”

Ten Violets materialized.

Following Irene like ducklings trailing their mother, we entered the danger zone.

It wasn’t long before we encountered a beast.

An ugly feline-like creature darted between the trees and leaped toward us.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Kya… Kyaruk!”

Irene swung the spear she had slung over her back.

The bisected Felinut dropped lifelessly to the ground.

“That spear’s new. Wasn’t it collapsible before?”

“The collapsible one is for training. This is for real combat.”

The atmosphere gradually changed. Unlike before, the trees around us grew sparse and scattered. Large warning signs were attached to the trunks.

<WARNING: ANOMALIES PRESENT! MOVE ONLY WITH AN EXPERT>

After walking a bit further, Irene raised her arm to stop me.

Something resembling a shimmering mist appeared ahead.

She pulled a small orb from her coat pocket and threw it toward the anomaly.

-Whoosh!

The moment the orb hit the ground, a bright white flame erupted, soaring to the height of a person.

The orb melted away instantly.

“Whoa… Whoa!”

“Did you see that? This is a sudden ignition anomaly, a basic kind of anomaly. If you get caught in it, you’ll be seriously injured. Always stay alert and keep your senses focused on your surroundings. If you suspect anything, throw small objects to check for safety.”

“Like that orb?”

“Exactly. Some people use nuts, bolts, or coins instead.”

Irene showed me the orbs inside her coat pocket.

“You have to check everything as you move? Can’t we just push through?”

“Of course not. No matter how powerful an Awakened is, getting caught in an anomaly can lead to serious injury or death.”

We continued forward, learning about the anomalies.

Lightning struck out of nowhere, sudden gusts of wind lifted objects into the air, and sharp spikes erupted unpredictably from the ground.

Eventually, the Violets reached an area marked with another large warning sign.

Strangely, there were no trees here.

The ground was littered with what appeared to be the bones of beasts.

<CAUTION: TRAP-BASED BEAST HABITAT. WATCH YOUR STEP.>

“Stop. Be careful. Don’t approach. This is a beast’s habitat.”

“What is this place? And what are those?”

“This is where you’ll find one of the typical trap-based beasts in a dungeon… Violet! Where are you going?”

“I dropped an orb over there. I’ll just pick it up and come back. Oh?”

Violet No. 56 stepped beyond the warning sign, picked up the orb, and was returning when she suddenly fell into the ground.

It seemed there was a hidden pit like a trapdoor in the floor.

No. 56 flailed her arms from within the pit.

“I’m stuck! Get me out!”

Irene’s eyes widened in shock. She rushed toward No. 56, trying to stay calm.

“Violet? Stay still. I’ll get you out right away!”

“What is this?”

“It’s a Murmillon! A beast that burrows and hides in pits. Don’t move recklessly, or you’ll provoke it!”

“Then pull me out faster! Hurry!”

“Murmillons are sensitive to vibrations and noise. You have to pull slowly! No, stop—”

The Violets rushed over and yanked No. 56 with all their strength.

But an immense force held her down, preventing her from being pulled free. Then, something even stranger happened.

“Guys! Something’s wrong! I can’t feel my lower body!”

A sense of numbness spread below my waist as if anesthetized.

Hearing this, Irene’s face turned pale.

“What… What did you just say?”

“I can’t feel anything below!”

“No way…”

A crunching sound echoed, and the force binding her legs disappeared.

We managed to pull No. 56 out of the pit.

The relief of saving her turned to horror in an instant.

We were all horrified.

“No. 56! Your legs!”

Her legs were gone.

The ground trembled, and barbed tentacles shot out of the pit, grabbing No. 56 again.

We abandoned her immediately.

There was no way to save her after she had lost her lower half!

“Ahhh! I’m being dragged in! Avenge me!”

“We’ll avenge you!”

Resolutely, No. 56 pulled out grenades and Molotov cocktails.

The moment she disappeared into the pit, a deafening explosion rang out, followed by black smoke billowing from the pit.

The ground quaked violently.

-Kuooook!

The agonized scream of the beast echoed.

“Take this, monster! Die!”

We unleashed a barrage of attacks into the pit—bullets, bolts, gasoline, and explosives—everything we had.

Soon, a massive beast emerged, thrashing in agony amidst the smoke.

Enraged, we continued our assault, and the creature eventually collapsed, lifeless.

“We got it!”

“There might be more of them. Let’s kill them all!”

We created more clones of ourselves, determined to eliminate every single one of the beasts.

Some Violets gathered armfuls of bombs and incendiaries, ready to charge in.

“V-Violets? What are you doing?”

“Care to help? We’re going to annihilate them all!”

Her golden eyes trembled violently as Irene, looking aghast, tried to stop us.

“Stop! Suicide bombing? Are you insane?”

Chastised, we reluctantly returned to our positions.