The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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Once you escape the city boulevard near the hospital and turn down two alleys, you’ll find a small hotel named ‘Memory Trail.’ Its exterior is worn, and the lobby staff are not just aloof but downright unfriendly, yet it has everything you need.

Most importantly, there are hardly any people around. No guests in sight.

This was precisely why I, along with the two other girls, chose this place as our meeting spot. A private location is deemed more suitable for secretive conversations than an open café.

Of course, I didn’t forget a few security measures.

“I checked! I don’t see anything suspicious!”

“Well done, Unit 31!”

As soon as I entered the room with Daphne and Irene, the first thing I did was a thorough search.

Unit 1 relaxedly took a seat. Meanwhile, other Violets inspected the room with the hidden camera detectors and eavesdropping devices they hastily bought a few hours ago. Any suspicious holes were taped over. It was a bit reminiscent of paranoid self-proclaimed human rights activists, but what can you do?

Upon seeing the Violets moving around, Irene’s jaw dropped. While Daphne knew me well enough not to be surprised by another clone in the room, it seemed to be a new experience for her.

“Wow… Violet, I felt it during the duel too, but your clone manipulation ability is truly amazing.”

“This? It’s nothing special.”

“Nothing special? Most people can’t do that! Clones formed by magic or unique abilities require immense concentration from the caster, leading to unnatural movements… Wait, it even talks?”

Irene seemed to misunderstand something. I figured I’d explain later, so for now, I just chuckled awkwardly.

“What about magical power? Do you sense anything?”

“I checked. There’s nothing particularly detectable more than usual. Did you find anything, Solstice?”

“Well… from what I can sense, nothing stands out, but I can’t use magic.”

Daphne utilized a simple spell to check for magic. All procedures were completed. Of course, high-level magic or other unique abilities would surpass such basic measures, but to prevent that, you’d need to be in a highly secured room.

Now I was ready to start the conversation.

“…So Violet, what do you want to talk about?”

“You said you came all the way here to discuss something important.”

With the Violets surrounding me in the room,

I felt thirsty and took a sip of water. As the blue and yellow gazes crossed paths with my red eyes, I carefully began.

“To cut to the chase, there’s a giant particle accelerator and research facility buried beneath the academy.”

“…?”

“And in three months, it will turn on, and everyone at the academy will either die or turn into ghouls!”

“….!”

Daphne’s smile faded, and Irene’s face twisted as if she had just heard something outrageous.

Their attitudes were similar to those who would listen to the delusional claims of certain conspiracy theorists arguing about how a vaccine turns middle school girls into electric car company presidents.

“Does that even make sense? This isn’t some sci-fi movie…”

“Violet, sure, the academy is abnormal, but that sounds too ridiculous.”

Maybe they thought it was too ludicrous? I instructed the other Violets, who were fiddling around in the corner of the room.

“Documents.”

“Got it!”

Immediately, a mountain of documents poured out from the Violets’ hands.

“What’s all this… Where did you get it?”

“Violet? What are these photos?”

Calmly explaining over the overwhelming flood of documents, it didn’t take long for their attitudes to shift completely.

“See, I told you! Who would believe me if I just said, ‘There’s something buried beneath the school and we’re all gonna die?’”

“At least claiming there’s a North Korean warp gate underground in Jeju would sound more plausible…”

“Ugh, did I rush things way too much from the start?”

Their reactions varied vastly after hearing the truth.

First, Irene.

“If this is true… this is something we can’t handle. We need to contact the Inspection Bureau right now.”

Next, Daphne gasped and covered her mouth.

“Oh my, when did you know about this, Violet?”

“I suspected something was amiss, but I only learned the specific timing a few days ago.”

“…So that’s why you’ve seemed a bit off lately.”

Irene, who had been deep in thought, chimed in.

“You mentioned an experiment? I actually experienced a strange phenomenon while walking through the school not long ago.”

“A strange phenomenon?”

Listening to her story, it felt like someone was trying to intrude into her mind. While Irene herself couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, she struggled to extract anything that could serve as a clue from that memory.

“Wait! I experienced something similar!”

Daphne spoke up as well. She had gone through the same phenomenon Irene described. The more surprising part was when she regained consciousness, everyone in the classroom was staring blankly upward.

“A few seconds later, everyone acted like nothing happened. I thought I was going crazy at that moment. Turns out, I wasn’t.”

From just this account, it seemed like some sort of mind manipulation magic.

“By the way, Violet. Why are you telling us all this?”

I pondered over how to reply to Irene’s question. It wouldn’t be right to explain it was because you two are among the few survivors of Polaris Academy and destined to become great heroes.

“Because you’re the only ones who will believe this. I need help!”

The only argument I could present seemed to be based on emotional appeal.

“Of course. I’ll help you as much as I can. But, Violet.”

Irene carefully selected her words before speaking.

“I might sound a bit unpleasant, but I’ll tell you straight. Violet, you’re weak. Even just looking at that duel shows it. Whatever you’re planning to do going forward, the reality is different from a duel. You could really die.”

“It’s okay! I’ll handle the important tasks myself. And about those dangerous parts…”

Should I reveal the second fact now?

“In truth, my real ability is…”

At first, I hesitated to speak.

Due to the nature of my unique ability, the fewer people who knew, the more effectively I could utilize it. But since Kalia was aware, I had to tell these two.

Otherwise, they might act rashly, thinking they need to ‘protect the main body.’

Like some melodramatic scene of me shouting, ‘Violet! Run!’

Using the expression once used by the legendary archmage, I declared.

“Everyone listen closely, I’m actually not a singular entity.”

They blinked, struggling to comprehend who was saying what. My explanation must have been too vague. To assist in clarifying, the other Violets in the room moved.

“Now, let’s see? I’m Violet Unit 2! And that’s Violet Unit 5.”

“I’m Unit 13!”

The reactions from the two girls during this demonstration were milder than before, but there was still an air of… mental illness about it. Daphne approached, touched my head, and looked concerned.

“From what I can see… I’m sorry, but I suspect dissociative identity disorder.”

“…Violet, are you sure you’re not mistaking reality for having multiple selves? Because to me, it looks like you’re just putting on a puppet show.”

Being treated like a lunatic by a trusted friend stung a bit.

“I’m not crazy!”

I repeated the explanation I’d given to Kalia. Once I finished my explanation, they quickly grasped my words but remained skeptical.

“Multiple entities sharing memories and senses in real-time? Even growing if there’s enough magical power? I’ve never heard of such a unique ability before. Is it appropriate to call this ‘Clone Technique’?”

“It’s just a convenient term I use.”

They gazed at us with curiosity.

“So if I understand correctly, Violet… you can come back to life even if you die. Is that right?”

Daphne hit the nail on the head. Quick on the uptake.

Their expressions remained confused. If only I could provide some plausible evidence. Maybe I could show them the numbers inscribed on my arm.

Unit 5 rolled up her sleeve. Concentrating magical power here, wouldn’t that allow her to show the others?

The attempt was successful. It worked.

“On your arm… numbers…”

“It’s real.”

Their eyes widened at the numbers written on her arm.

Seeing is believing.

“Okay, everyone understood? I can’t die! So there’s no need to worry about me.”

“But even with many numbers, you’ll still be swept away in an instant by trained Awakened Ones.”

“I know. I won’t act recklessly like I did in that duel. That’s why I’m confessing this to you.”

“Violet, can I ask what your intention is in telling us this?”

“Right, it seems you didn’t just mindlessly spill this dangerous secret. What’s your goal?”

“I’m going to destroy the academy!”

I saw a reaction from my two friends that I had never witnessed before.

***

To conclude, I managed to convince them of my intentions. However, they drilled it into me that from now on, I shouldn’t act rashly, and if there’s anything to discuss or if they need help, they should tell me without reservation.

I guess I have nothing to say; it’s my karma, isn’t it?

“…And, whenever we head outside, I’ll have one of us stick close to you.”

Lastly, I delivered one more piece of information. From now on, we decided to have one Violet accompany each of them. A sort of close protection.

“Won’t that be too conspicuous?”

“I won’t be glued to you every day. I’ll keep a distance and follow you. I’ll disguise myself. Like this!”

I brought out a wig, put it on, and added a mask and sunglasses.

“It feels awkward.”

Oh dear, I need to learn better ways to disguise myself. Or I should quickly find some kind of recognition-inhibiting mask. I wonder where the underground market in the academy city is.

After various discussions, we decided to run some tests.

“Gas, ready?”

“Well, that’s always available. It’s a shame we still haven’t obtained the explosives.”

Unfortunately, it seemed challenging to acquire explosives without contacting the black market or specialized brokers. Even going through legal procedures was complicated. It might be faster to secure the manufacturing method and make some myself.

For now, it’s time for testing. Let’s see how well the academy’s disaster preparedness capability holds up.

The next day, an unknown fire broke out in the forest and several buildings behind the academy.

“Burning nicely.”