The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 143: Violet, to the Dark and Deep Dungeon (1)

Right now, in front of me, there is Adela.

She looked very flustered. From the slight wrinkle around her eyes, it seemed like she was a bit angry as well.

“Last time, when we saw each other at the academy, didn’t you say your name was Irene? But now you’re Violet? What is going on here...?”

“Ah... well...”

I hesitated. I never imagined the consequences of sneaking into the academy under a false identity would catch up with me here.

Behind Adela, some professors and instructors from the academy had appeared. Further behind them, some students were curiously looking around like chicks.

“Adela, what’s going on?”

“Professor, I’m just meeting someone I know. Is it okay if I talk to them for a moment?”

Saying that, Adela tried to naturally lead me somewhere.

“Excuse me, where are you going?”

“Daphne, it’s fine. I’ll just talk to her for a bit, and then I’ll be back!”

I made up an excuse to my friends and followed Adela. It had become difficult to run away now.

We walked to a quiet spot near the shopping area inside the forward base, and Adela looked at me with a disappointed expression.

“I’ll give you some time to think. Honestly, I believe you’ll tell the truth.”

Adela’s violet eyes stared at me, and I couldn’t hide anything. Running away? That would only make me seem more suspicious.

Above all, with someone like Adela, if I tried to escape, she would easily be able to track me down.

“Violet...?”

Adela was staring at me intently. I remembered what my friends had said before. Daphne and Kalia both told me that I couldn’t hide lies on my face.

“Actually, I...”

I told her that I was from a different academy and that, due to personal circumstances, I had wanted to transfer quietly, so I had concealed my identity when visiting the academy.

“You wanted to transfer? Then you could have just visited and toured the place! You didn’t have to lie, and you definitely shouldn’t have deceived the entry procedures. This is illegal.”

“I’m sorry! But I had no choice but to hide my name.”

“What’s the reason?”

“...”

Adela’s expression turned cold.

“I won’t report you, but I’m disappointed.”

Ah, how should I explain this? I kept a neutral expression and quickly thought of a way out. I would have to mix in a little bit of a lie.

I came up with a few plausible scenarios and combined them into a story that Adela might accept.

“What if I talk about Irene’s family background?”

“Let’s mix in some content from old novels, movies, and games we’ve seen.”

In the one minute of hesitation, the Violets brainstormed. Words and sentences slowly came together in the network, and a plausible story was formed.

“I can’t reveal everything, but the truth is, I’m being chased...”

“What did you say?”

I am Violet, the youngest daughter of a wealthy family. Right now, I am being chased by evil forces. It’s not entirely a lie, right?

Let’s act as pitiful as possible. Think of the lab, think of the research facility.

No, thinking of the research facility actually made me feel really down.

I pulled my emotions together and slowly began to speak.

“My parents are gone. And bad people are chasing me... I’m in a situation where I can no longer attend the academy…”

“...?”

Without realizing it, my eyes felt a little wet. I continued to fumble over my explanation, trying to tell Adela more.

“U-uh... that’s... the situation...”

“I can’t tell you everything. But if there’s a chance later, I’ll be honest with you. And the desire to attend Aegis Academy is real...”

In this unexpected situation, Adela seemed conflicted and opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again.

“Student Council President, or should I say, Adela unni? Can I leave now? I need to make some money with my friends.”

“...Unni?”

“I’ll leave now. I’m sorry for deceiving you.”

At this point, she should let me go. I slowly walked away from the spot.

She didn’t call me back, just stood there quietly. Mission accomplished, I escaped.

My friends were waiting around, probably worried about me.

“Guys! Let’s go quickly!”

“Wasn’t that woman the Student Council President you mentioned? What happened?”

“Let’s talk while we’re on the way! Get in the car first!”

Once we got into the car, I skipped over the details about the fake flower and explained everything else to my friends.

“Seriously, why did you hide your identity to get in? Academies are so sensitive about security. If you got caught, the academy city authorities would have had to step in. You could’ve gone to jail.” ṘΆＮȎ𝖇Εs̈

“There were circumstances. It was for a good cause, so please understand.”

My three friends sighed at my words. Daphne looked at me with worried eyes.

"...Alright, I understand. The conversation went smoothly, right?"

"Yeah, they just let us go. Let’s hurry and get to work!"

The three trucks quickly returned to the perimeter.

While driving, I realized something important had slipped my mind. Why did the Aegis Academy people come all the way out here?

Maybe they came for a field trip.

**

Night eventually fell on the Violet unit, who were busy hunting beasts and collecting relics again.

The hunters and laborers working nearby each found a safe, secluded place to set up tents or crawled into their vehicles to sleep.

Camping in a dungeon isn’t easy. Even in the safest of places, beasts remain a constant threat.

That’s why hunter teams camped at appropriate distances from one another whenever possible.

Crude alarms made of string and bells, expensive motion detectors, unmanned turrets, and traps were set up in various places.

However, the most reliable alarm system was still human vigilance. Sentries were indispensable.

Others might have envied them, but the Violet team didn’t worry about sentry duty. If a body grew too fatigued, they could create a new one, and mental exhaustion could be solved by exchanging consciousness with another Violet.

At the dungeon camp at dawn, Violet No. 463, who was on patrol and keeping watch, heard a strange sound.

"Someone, please help me!"

No. 463 focused her magic into her eyes. Her pupils dilated, and her vision sharpened with magical reinforcement, revealing a staggering figure approaching from the darkness. She released the safety on her rifle.

At the edge of the shadows, a bloodied person stumbled closer in her direction.

No. 463 took aim in a ready shooting stance and approached the figure.

"What’s this?"

"My comrades... over there...!"

He appeared to be an injured man.

Encounters like this weren’t uncommon in dungeon explorations—hunters injured during an expedition often sought help.

In such cases, it was typical to give them a potion or two or escort them to a safe zone. The grateful hunters would often offer small rewards in return.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

In this harsh world, hunters were surprisingly good at repaying kindness, which led to a culture of mutual aid.

"Maybe it’s because we all carry weapons. Strength tends to foster respect," Violet thought as she approached the injured man.

"Help me! My comrades are over there..."

"Lead the way."

No. 463 followed the injured hunter. The man slowly explained the situation.

According to him, his team had been ambushed by beasts during a night expedition, leaving some of his comrades injured and unable to move.

"Got it. Do you need medicine or for me to call insurance?"

"Um, let’s check the situation first..."

The hunter’s behavior seemed a bit suspicious. No. 463 reported her findings to the other Violets and continued to trail him.

The place he led her to was a dark room on the third floor of a shopping complex.

"This is where your comrades are, right?"

When she stepped inside, there was nothing. No. 463 looked around, puzzled.

"What’s going on? Where—"

That was when the hunter’s demeanor abruptly changed.

"You’ve been tricked, heretic!"

"Huh? Guh!"

As No. 463 raised her rifle in alarm, a cultist hiding in the ceiling dropped down and struck her with a mace. No. 463 lost consciousness.

From the shadows within the room, figures began to emerge one by one.

The six cultists of the Unity Sect laughed sinisterly at their new sacrificial offering.

Heretics were unbelievably naive. All it took was a bit of acting—pretending to be wounded and helpless—and anyone would follow.

"We’ve caught her. It was as easy as taking candy from a baby."

"Good. Tie her up. We need to start the ritual soon..."

But before they could say much more, a red flare shot through the window into the building.

"What the—how did they—!"

"Did they follow us?"

The cultists panicked. They had subdued her without a sound—how could her comrades have arrived so quickly?

In reality, the emergency alert triggered in the network the moment No. 463 died. The cultists, of course, had no way of knowing that.

In less than ten seconds, footsteps closed in from all sides. With a deafening crash, the door was blasted open, and soldiers in black combat uniforms stormed in.

"How did you—!"

"Doesn’t matter. Surrender!"

"Drop your weapons!"

The Violets growled fiercely. Their voices, distorted through voice modulators, sent shivers down the cultists’ spines.

"Dieeeeeee!"

One of the cultists rushed at them. The Violets raised their rifles in perfect unison.

With the sound of beans being roasted, the cultist fell to the ground with holes pierced through their entire body.

The other cultists took something out of their pockets. It was a syringe.

"Take them down!"

"Crush them!"

Sensing something was off, the Violets immediately rushed to capture the enemies. They were about to jab the syringe into their arms.

"Hit them hard! We need to capture them alive!"

"How dare they, no matter which organization they belong to, they will pay for this!"

"AAHHHH!"

The clones grabbed the cultists’ limbs. After being disarmed, the cultists were mercilessly beaten.

Five minutes later, the Violet squad tied up the suspicious attackers and began the interrogation.

A short combat hammer, used by Room 794 for torture, was pressed against the face of one of the cultists as they began yelling at him.

"Hey, who are you? Why did you attack our comrades? No answers?"

"Haha, I don’t know!"

A man, his face swollen, laughed with a smirk. He glared at the bound suspicious attackers, spat on the ground, and sneered.

"Do you think I’ll talk? Dirty heretic bastards. Ha, you’re not even funny, just kill me already!"

"Is that so? Fine, off you go!"

Room 794 swung the hammer. The corpse, its head crushed, collapsed to the side.

"Next?"

"Haha, do you think I’ll break that easily?"

"Is that so!"

With a thud, another corpse dropped to the floor.

"Ah, I... I mean..."

"You aren’t going to answer either."

And so, the third person died in succession.

The remaining cultists turned pale as they looked at the fallen comrades, their heads cracked open, spilling out their brains.

"You aren’t going to talk either, huh? Then..."

"No, I’ll tell you everything! Please, spare me!"

The prisoners begged, trembling. Satisfied with their submission, the Violets began the interrogation.

"So, you’re saying your cult is searching for relics?"

"Y-Yes!"

I interrogated the ones who called themselves cultists, pounding them with questions. With each pressure, they gave up their answers, almost like an AI search.

"So why did you kidnap people?"

"Th-That... it’s for our worship rituals, as offerings..."

Hearing their confession, I scowled. Human sacrifice, huh?

"Why do you do such things?"

I asked in disbelief, and the cultist recited some strange doctrine that seemed to make sense only within their cult.

"By removing the heart of an awakened heretic and offering it to the dimensional savior... you will be blessed and become awakened yourself!"

"What nonsense!"

"I-It’s true!"

I thought it was all nonsense. How many unawakened people in the world would be desperate to become awakened? If it were that easy, the scientists of Laplaxia would not hesitate to meddle with others’ brains.

After asking a few more questions, there was no further information.

Unfortunately, these cultists were low-ranking and didn’t know much. All they could say was that their people were going around searching for relics.

In the meantime, it seemed they had lured some poor hunters into performing their ’worship rituals’ like I had experienced.

As I stood up from my seat, two of the cultists stared at me.

"What... what will happen to us?"

"You will die!"

The Violets behind me struck the prisoners’ necks.

Foolish fools.

I had never said anything about sparing them, yet they cooperated so willingly. It seems they had shallow faith after all.

By the way, the "Union Cult"—I had never heard of it before. I instructed the Violets outside the dungeon to investigate.

"Hmm, it’s a strange religious group that believes in the end of the world!"

"They were disbanded because of the abductions and illegal drug issues, but they went missing?"

Upon investigation, the Union Cult was a group that believed humanity would be saved by becoming monsters when the dimensional world swallowed this one.

They believed and followed their leader, who called himself the "prophet"—the teachings were bizarre beyond belief.

"See, religion is the opiate of the masses!"

"Faith is for those who can’t live without it..."

Our materialist Violets only believed in Violet and her friends.

I checked the spoils first.

The Violets who were cleaning up the bodies stripped the attackers of their weapons, equipment, and clothing. Judging by their attire and gear, they were no different from ordinary hunters.

Curiously, one of them had a small pocket Bible-like religious text tucked into their chest.

Suspicious items like scriptures and cell phones were all collected and stored in the inventory. These would later be sent to the broker’s office of the manpower company.

While rummaging through the items, Violet No. 312 found syringes hidden inside a pocket. Each syringe was filled with drugs of various colors.

I checked the status window. Most of them were miscellaneous narcotics designed to increase aggression or induce hallucinations.

"This is bad for the body. Let’s just throw them away."

While sorting through the loot with that thought in mind, a syringe containing a black liquid caught my attention.

"What is this?"

The code displayed on the screen was incomprehensible.

"It seems like the syringe he tried to inject into his arm earlier."

I inspected the syringe.

[Black Ice ???]

An awakening drug made from unknown ingredients. When used, it temporarily amplifies the user’s physical abilities to rival that of an Awakened.

For Awakened users, it temporarily increases mana efficiency.

However, everything comes at a cost. This power demands the price of life.

As soon as I read the description, I was shocked. This was a combat drug!

"It’s even mentioned in the news. An illegal drug, they say. Extremely toxic and dangerous."

"It can’t be copied."

Despite the risks, curiosity about the effects grew. I had to try it out.

Violet No. 221 volunteered to test the drug.

When the substance was injected, the first 30 seconds felt strange. It was as if icy coldness coursed through the body. Perhaps that’s why it was called "Ice."

Soon, an overwhelming surge of power took over.

"Wow, I feel so strong!"

No. 221 couldn’t contain the energy surging through her and began bouncing around.

The heightened sensations and euphoria that resonated even through the network made all of us shudder.

"Mana! Try using mana!"

When mana was channeled, it accelerated rapidly within the body.

If the previous Violet had been like a car on the road, the mana now flowing through her was propelling her forward like a jet engine.

I realized that while the total amount of mana hadn’t increased, the maximum output per use had significantly risen!

"This is incredible!"

"Woohoo!"

No. 221 leaped and sprinted energetically. When I shared sensory feedback with No. 212, the other Violets around us seemed to move at a sluggish pace. Could this drug also enhance perception and speed?

"The power of this drug is amazing!"

Five minutes later, the effects began to show.

"Ugh… my head…"

No. 221 felt dizzy and collapsed. Despite the pain dispersion effect, her body had grown weak.

"No. 221! Are you okay?"

"Ahh… my chest feels tight!"

No. 221 convulsed, foamed at the mouth, and eventually went still. A short while later, her heart stopped.

I asked myself,

"What did it feel like?"

"It felt like all my strength drained away suddenly, and everything went dark!"

We inspected what was left of No. 221’s body. Despite her form turning into particles of mana and scattering, we had a moment to examine the corpse.

Removing the mask revealed eyes with bloodshot sclera.

Rolling up her sleeves, we saw her veins had turned black and bulged unnaturally. The side effects were terrifying.

Black Ice had incredible effects, but the cost of using it was far too dangerous.

Could this also be something created by the Unity Sect?

The potency was impressive, but it was obvious that ordinary people would ruin their bodies if they used it. We decided to save it for future special operations.

The Violet squad disposed of the body in a corner and returned to their positions. The beasts would take care of it.

The next day, as we prepared to enter the deep zone, Kalia cautiously approached and asked,

"What happened last night? I heard some gunfire in my sleep."

"Well, it’s a long story. I’ll explain on the way in the car!"

The Violet team ate breakfast and headed for the deep zone.

I wondered if we would run into Adela again.