The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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The entrance to the Alcesia Forest was bustling once again with trucks and workers coming and going.

On one side, students visiting for practical training were standing in a long line.

The only creatures inhabiting the dungeon were the Krol Tide. Variant cockroaches were a comfortable opponent for practice.

“So, we’ve decided to check this place out today. Is that alright?”

“That’s just a bug monster. I don’t know if it’ll burn easily.”

“Krol Tide? They flit around as they fly. Should we shoot at them like clay targets…?”

After casually showing my Helios identification at the entrance, we stepped inside. Older Sister Sophie El had some matters to handle at Trinity’s research lab, so Daphne was today’s protector.

Before entering, Daphne unfolded and donned a bag-like exoskeleton.

In addition to the power pack of the exoskeleton suit on her back, she was also carrying something huge.

“That’s what Irene gave you, right? Does it fit well?”

“Yes… This strength is unlike anything I’ve felt before.”

Daphne curiously moved her arms and legs. The low mechanical sound from the attached exoskeleton’s motors and artificial muscles filled the air.

Soon, a female student and three smaller girls joined hands and stepped into the swaying space.

“Look at the trees… Memories are flooding back!”

“Wow!”

Before us stretched a dense forest of thick, giant trees, far more than enough for a group of people to embrace together.

The glorious memories of the Alcarsia Forest Fortress defense battle I had shared with Irene came rushing back. A glorious history recorded even in the Violet War Memorial Hall.

Given the significant damage from the last Krol Tide Nest raid, the forward base had been fortified remarkably, and ominous-looking turrets had been placed everywhere. Hunters armed with weapons were surveying the surroundings in much greater numbers.

“Here! We fought hundreds of Krol Tide right here, and over there, we battled the nest!”

At forward base number 442, Levi and Enrica continuously recounted that day’s battle.

“Violet has an abundance of real combat experience.”

“Wow… Hundreds of monsters and a siege? How on earth did you manage the nest?”

“Right? Last year’s Violets weren’t nearly as strong and probably had no powerful weapons or magic at all.”

Daphne’s emerald eyes, filled with curiosity, turned toward me.

Having known me for so long, she must have been wondering about my growth process.

What was the hardest part back then?

“Hmm… Looking back, the thing I regretted most was our firepower.”

Irene was powerful, but ultimately, she was limited as a close-range tank supporting our allies. Her attack power wasn’t enough to deal out devastating strikes.

It was easy to sweep up the lackeys in ranged battles, but to take down the Krol Tide Nest, we had to exploit their weaknesses in close combat frantically.

“Is that so? Big bugs… that sounds scary…”

“Is it just because they are big? Then we can just blow them up, right? Isn’t it enough to explode them?”

Listening to my friends, my worries seemed unfounded. Just blow them up, and that would be that.

“Now that you mention it, I hope we run into those beasts again!”

“…Um, why are you all saying such ominous things?”

Daphne, who had been watching us, let out a sigh and took the lead. Just a moment ago, there were many people around us, but after walking for several minutes, it had grown quiet.

There were no sound of birds or winds, only the sound of branches snapping beneath our feet and the whirring motors of the exoskeleton.

“Since we’re gradually passing through the abnormal zone, shouldn’t something appear soon…?”

– Rustle!

“They’re coming! Combat readiness!”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than a group of Krol Tide flitted through the trees, charging at us.

– Fssssst!

The Krol Tides spread their sharp forelegs as they flew in. Just as their forelegs were about to swing, a hexagon of shattered barriers appeared before us.

– Kieeng!

The Violets laughed at the blocked attack and swung their swords.

“I’ll take the lead!”

With a crisp metallic sound, something unfolded from Daphne’s back and slid down to her left arm. It was a folding large shield.

Daphne held the shield in front of her and swung her staff with one hand.

With a sound like pops of bursting balloons, the staff wrapped in barriers swept away the cockroaches like leaves.

“Wow! Home run!”

That was impressive. There was no serious damage, but those things flew away comically.

“Alright, Trinity, get that ready!”

“Got it!”

Enrica busily ran around, tapping the swords of the Violets with her staff.

The entire squad took one step, then two.

With three steps, we traced the trajectory of our one-handed swords in the air.

“Attack!”

The arc of swords, large and sweeping like a wave, surged toward the Krol Tide charging in disorder.

The swordsmanship used was a Polaris technique.

The magical armor tore open easily, and an explosion erupted from the blades that crushed the chitin shells.

– Boom!

The Krol Tide was shattered into pieces.

“Ugh! Thanks, Daphne!”

“Be careful, or you’ll get bodily fluids on you!”

I was alive. If the barrier hadn’t been set in place in time, I would have been covered in that disgusting slimy fluid.

The sound of something crashing also reached our ears. A creature as large as a bus crawled out between the trees.

A huge bug, its belly swollen to the point of bursting. It was the Krol Tide Nest.

“It’s smaller than what we learned in class. This can’t be the mature form, right?”

“It seems so.”

In that case, we could take care of it quickly.

“Kyaaaaa! A giant cockroach!”

After brushing away the minions, we assumed battle positions when a scream erupted from behind us. The owner of the voice was Levi.

“Ugh… s-so scary… so many feelers… wiggling around…!”

Terrified, Levi pulled out a ballista and loaded a bolt the size of my arm.

“You, you, it’s so… gross! We have to kill it fast!”

“Good thinking!”

A flash of white light erupted. The large bolt pierced the approaching nest’s head and exploded within its body.

– Boom!

The nest quivered and tumbled over. The assorted debris collected on its back came crashing down.

Watching this unfold, Levi murmured with a pleased expression.

“Haha, I just crushed that pest…!”

“Well done!”

We applauded Levi’s triumph over the bus-sized cockroach.

As I tried to lift Levi for a cheerful celebration, Daphne lightly shook the shoulder of number 545 beside her.

“I don’t think it’s a time for celebration. Look over there.”

“Huh? What?”

The abdomen of the instantly slain Krol Tide Nest began to shake violently.

“Come to think of it, the Krol Tide Nest holds numerous eggs in its belly. We need to handle that.”

“Yikes!”

It seemed we had forgotten that crucial fact. Simply taking down the leader wouldn’t be the end of it. Just as we were getting ready to cast magic, Enrica, who had been listening from behind, tilted her head.

“Can’t we just blow them all up?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Wait, what are you doing?”

“Oh, this? I’m going to blow it up now. I’m going to shoot it weakly!”

A dazzling blue light flared from the tip of Enrica’s staff, starting to form a spherical shape.

A plasma sphere the size of a bowling ball was launched from the end of the staff.

– Boom!

When the explosion settled, nothing remained. Just a small crater and some swaying thick trees.

“See? How about that? I’m confident with explosions!”

After a moment of silence, the forest was filled with the cheers of the Violets.

“Waaaah!”

Amidst the cheers, for some reason, Levi was looking at Enrica with a curious expression.

“I could do better…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

**

After that, for several days, we explored various environments of dungeons whenever we had spare time for delightful destruction.

From cityscapes, hills, woods, to wilderness.

– Whoosh!

“L-, look at this. I just got five in one go!”

– Boom!

“What’s that? I got thirty.”

“Tch…”

Somehow, Enrica and Levi had been engaged in a mysterious heated rivalry between them.

It seemed it started with Levi, but soon Enrica was enthusiastically joining in the blasting fun.

As a result, the depths of the Pastera Snowfield were adorned with colorful craters and countless holes left behind by the monsters.

“See? My magic is the best!”

“B-but your projectile speed is slow, right? See? Heh…”

“Huh? I was targeting those monsters! Don’t snatch my kills!”

Watching them bicker, I felt my plan to shoot the radioactive wing-stabilizing armor-piercing rounds needed to be postponed for a bit.

After all, both sides had long-range firepower in kilometers, so they didn’t feel a pressing need to cooperate.

“And also, I’m good at close combat.”

“Hey, you’re more of a sniper. What close combat?”

As a large wolf-like monster charged at us, Levi lifted her ballista.

“Like this!”

– Pow! Pow!

“Die! Die! Die!”

The monster half-crushed under the impact of the ballista. I didn’t think she could handle the ballista like that.

“Heh, did you see that?”

“I could do that too. What’s so special about it…”

But if this keeps up, it becomes a little troublesome.

If the two of them grow too distant, it will be hard for us to team up later.

“Okay, you guys. Just a minute! Look over here!”

I needed to redirect their attention for now. Luckily, I had something to show them.

“Is this it? Violet has been making something continuously…”

Daphne asked with curiosity, as the girls who had been growling beside her turned their heads.

Where their gazes landed was a complicated steel structure resembling a scale in an A-shape.

At the ends of the structure, long poles swayed like a seesaw.

This structure was the result of the Violets steadily assembling it in the middle of the snowfield in just thirty minutes.

“It looks like a tower.”

Enrica muttered as if faced with a peculiar sight.

Levi examined what we had built, and her expression gradually changed. She looked enlightened.

“Oh, I get it. Violet, this is a medieval siege weapon, right? It’s similar to my ballista.”

“Correct! It’s a trebuchet!”

The innovative weapon of the Violets flaunted its might in the vast snowfield for the first time.

Its official name was the Gravity-Powered Ground-Based Violet Guided Bomb Launcher.

Instead of casting rocks or stones, it is intended to launch Violets.

I wanted to call it the ‘Violet Launcher’ or ‘Tuvagi,’ but the pronunciation felt odd, so I gave up.

“I’m going to use this to launch myself!”

“Launch a Violet?”

Traditional aerial-guided bombs had a weakness. They needed to have an aircraft in the sky to generate a Violet.

If they lost air superiority, they couldn’t launch.

So we devised a new weapon to prepare for such situations.

“Above all, it’s cost-effective!”

After mastering welding and basic metalworking skills, we succeeded in making this.

While Enrica and Levi gasped in amazement at its size and intricacy, Daphne’s face slightly paled.

“Violet, who are you planning to launch?”

“Me! I’ll launch myself with that. Then I can scout, infiltrate enemy lines, and attack! What do you think? Sounds good, right?”

“Y-yeah, but…”

Daphne wore an awkward expression but didn’t say anything more. She seemed to have a lot to say, but I was glad she understood.

For a moment, I felt a bit disappointed. What if Irene were here?

She would have surely offered some rational advice about the ground-launch Violet-guided bomb launcher.

“There’s no helping it. It’s an emotional issue, right?”

“You’ll get used to it if you see it often!”

That’s right, we must get accustomed. To fight alongside our Violets, we need to get used to our deaths.

“Alright, Enrica. I told you my ability is Cloning, right? Cast that support magic you always used to give me on me!”

And there was something else I wanted to try.

“Are you going to cast it on your body? Umm… that sounds dangerous. Alright.”

Enrica tapped the head of number 4357 with her staff. Soon, 4357 sparkled a bright blue. So bright that it could be seen even on the white snowfield.

“Wow, guys! I’m glowing brightly!”

“Violet, your skin looks dry… it seems like some hair is falling out…”

“I’m fine! It’ll be over soon!”

I quickly hopped onto the launcher. I tied a rope to another Violet, number 4357, securing it to the end of the trebuchet’s arm.

“Alright, now…”

I hurriedly donned the newly made bomb vest and bomb belt from my inventory.

This time, the new bomb vest was equipped with a large monster fragment liner I purchased from Helios.

With this, I could expect to have good penetration against magical defenses and magic support systems.

“Alright, prepare!”

Meanwhile, the other Violets headed to the opposite side of the launcher.

On the other end of the seesaw-like arm, a rope for pulling was installed.

“Watch closely!”

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”

The launch sequence began, targeting the distant black boulder.

The fierce flow of mana surged through my entire body. The strengthened Violets pulled the rope with all their might, and the trebuchet arm swung up high.

Number 4357, tied to the opposite string, shot high into the sky.

“Fly! Justice Violet! Like a phoenix!”

Ascending phase.

Number 4357 activated the jetpack it had been practicing with, taking out its bag from the inventory. The flying assistance jetpack used during last year’s pirate base infiltration was installed and powered up.

“My dream of flying will never fade away!”

I climbed even higher.

Flying phase.

Now gaining thrust, number 4357 spread its arms and legs, unfurling the wings of its wingsuit. I traveled farther than the original distance.

“I’m getting higher!”

After flying for some time, the boulder I had aimed at came into view.

After putting the jetpack into the inventory, I began my descent.

Termination phase.

The glowing Violet crashed into the rock like a meteor.

– Boom!

The unstable mana and explosives combined, amplifying the power of the Violet aerial bomb.

“I did it!”

“Wooow… amazing…”

“People can explode like that.”

Levi and Enrica watched our flight with sparkling eyes, as if captivated by our invention.

While all the girls were in awe of the successful flight, only Daphne stared blankly into the air.

“Haha… the Violet is… glowing…”

She seemed to have a lot on her mind, but I decided she was trying to understand us.

**

When we returned from the Pastera Snowfield, there was delightful news waiting for us. It seemed the Inspection Bureau had finally pinpointed the location of the subsidiary research lab that Enrica had mentioned.

“Cutlass Valley?”

Older Sister Sophie El explained the situation with a serious tone.

“Yes, for some reason, various clans are gathering there. They may be targeting the lab.”

“Then we need to hurry and go!”

This was great. We should set off immediately.