The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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To put it simply, our little prank didn’t last as long as we expected.

“That was quick to respond.”
“Yeah.”

Clones 57 and 101 were far away, observing the situation with a camouflaged tarp and a cannon-sized camera and telescope.

We first poured oil and set the forest behind the school on fire, and the guards rushed over immediately. Did they receive professional training? They even brought a fire truck to extinguish the flames. In the meantime, the monsters living in the forest came out with their bodies aflame, but in front of guns, there was no contest.

Still, I thought it would take some time to put out the fire since the forest was so vast, but to my surprise. We had temporarily forgotten that this world was a fantasy realm.

“Who’s that?”

While we continued to watch the fire, a girl with orange hair that I had never seen before came out with a group of around ten students. The girl appeared to be talking to the head of the guards, and then she stepped forward. The students raised their various types of wands high.

“Look at that!”
“No! It’s going to go out!”

Suddenly, glowing magic circles appeared, and waves, both large and small, surged toward the forest in front of the students. As the waves collided with the heat, steam rose, and the fire was extinguished in an instant. The orange-haired girl in front didn’t seem satisfied and waved her wand, which had wires and a display on it, several times. A whirlwind of pure white snow rose up and engulfed the forest.

Reality was defeated by fantasy.

“More magic? Like that flame sword! This is so unfair! I hate magic!”
“Do you have any idea how much trouble we went through pouring oil everywhere?!”

Meanwhile, the fire in the building we set ablaze was quickly extinguished as well. Just a short while ago, black smoke was billowing out of the windows, but now only steam was rising. The sprinklers had activated quickly, and measures similar to the earlier magic had been taken. I continued to survey the scene.

I spotted a familiar man. The Student Council President. He had lined up the students and was talking to them with a serious expression.

“Prepare the tape recorder.”

When I listened closely to the sound coming from the headset, I understood why the Student Council President was angry.

-I made it clear. Those devices are more expensive than your worth. How did it come to this? If you can speak, say something.

-I’m sorry. But when we got there, it was already charred…

-Slap!

A student trying to make excuses got slapped. Looking to the side, I saw what appeared to be complicated machinery stacked up, half burnt or scorched.

Somehow, I wondered why people were suddenly rushing inside a building that was supposed to be empty when we set it on fire.

-You know what I hate the most, right? Don’t make excuses.

-…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… uh… ugh!

As the crowd around the Student Council President fiddled with their handles, one student began gasping for breath in pain. That was because the Student Council President was choking him with telekinesis.

“Looks like a grouchy parasite.”
“He definitely doesn’t have a girlfriend! Even if he did, I bet he would hit her when he’s bored. I’d bet my chocolate bar on it.”

-Ugh… please… cough…
-Enough, Croscelle. That’s enough.

As we continued to watch, the orange-haired girl from earlier stepped in. To my surprise, the Student Council President released his telekinesis and let the student go.

-…Lera… no, Vice Student Council President. You seem to have been busy.

-My apologies for earlier, Student Council President. But I think it was wrong to deal with emotions in this way. The members are surely remorseful. Right, everyone? Now, you may go.

-Yes! We’re sorry!

The students scattered quickly. The girl called the Vice Student Council President and the Student Council President exchanged a few brief words before disappearing behind the building.

-It’s been weeks without any contact. What’s the reason?
-It’s not that I didn’t, it’s that I couldn’t. I was dispatched on the chairman’s orders…

Their voices faded quickly.

Anyway, our first test ended disappointingly. The fire went out too quickly.

Though it was just a poke for demonstration, it seems we need to unleash more firepower simultaneously to truly burn down the school.

***

The Violets were frantically unboxing and moving vials and chemical supplies inside.

Once the dazed Violets regained their bearings, the first thing they did was to plunder their assets to secure more bases.

They needed more buildings for barracks and workspaces besides the existing ones. Following the saying of not putting all your eggs in one basket, they worked to secure the cheapest, oldest buildings they could find in a neighborhood far from the existing barracks.

In the midst of the hubbub, Clone 2 eagerly began explaining.

“I found that girl! She’s the Vice Student Council President.”
“What’s her name?”
“Lera Belleston. Same year as the Student Council President, specializes in magic.”
“I have eyes too! She was holding a wand!”

Wands in this world serve three purposes: one is as an antenna to disperse magical power in a wider area, the second is as a self-defense club, and the third is to carry detection devices or various accessories. They also double as selfie sticks.

Thinking about magic brought back only bad memories.

Like when I got knocked over by wind magic in front of the convenience store or when I was evaporated along with my whole squad from a flame attack during the last duel. The academy does teach magic, but unfortunately, the professor responsible for the first year class just rambles on about boring theories. Practicals are almost nonexistent.

Magic…I need to learn this too.

For now, I decided to focus on physical training and leveling up, as well as weapon acquisition.

So, we secured this warehouse building. It was located in a remote area, and it looked like construction had been halted, leaving only desolate plains and off-mounds with various pits.

There were no nearby homes and the road was far. It was perfect for shooting guns and blowing things up.

After finishing organizing the furniture and materials we received through inventory and item transfer, the Violets quickly began their work.

The goal was to create explosives and incendiaries. We needed hotter and more dangerous substances to overcome the fire-fighting system and magic.

First off, we experimented by mixing gasoline with sugar, thinner, and various materials gathered from the internet and books. Then, we placed them in bottles and tested their potency according to the combinations.

With a light “pop,” a Molotov cocktail shattered, releasing smoke into the air.

“Not as powerful as I thought.”

On one side of the workshop, the Violets were grinding potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur together in a pestle. They also mixed nitric and sulfuric acid to try and create something, just like what they’d seen in the materials.

Then an accident occurred.

“Whoa! Look, I’m on fire!”
“Water! Get water! Where’s the fire extinguisher?!”

While testing the Molotov cocktail, one Violet accidentally caught on fire after the bottle slipped from her hands.

The pain was diffuse, so it didn’t hurt, but the smell of burning was horrific. Perhaps it’s because of the sugar mixed in, but the fire that clung to her felt sticky.

Violet 67, doused in sugar gasoline and transformed into a flaming tanghulu, lay sprawled on the floor.

After stopping other Violets who were bringing water and fire extinguishers, 95 took out a crossbow aimed at 67’s head. Resuscitating her would only lead to third-degree burns, and regeneration would take time.

Euthanasia was the answer.

*Ping!*

Dirt was sprinkled over the body of 67, marked by a bolt in her head. The corpse vanished.

“Everyone, be careful! Someone already died! And look at this workshop, it’s filled with flammable materials. We could blow up everything around us.”

Clone 6 spoke up.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t just buying finished products be faster? There’s a black market here, right? Or there are other methods…”

“For now, the black market is being checked out by other teams, and we’re also looking into Kalia and the Brotherhood route, but it’s tricky to get construction explosives.”

While the details would be decided at the Violet meeting after a few days, we needed three dangerous items, in general.

Military-grade bombs, demolition explosives, and incendiaries.

The electronically controlled ones would be used for killing, the second for blowing up the school, and the third for burning anything.

From this test, it was clear that simply using oil wasn’t enough. Something that wouldn’t go out even when water or snow is poured on it was needed. The best option would be alchemical substances made using magic that contained etherium, but those were out of the question.

While the production of Molotov cocktails was temporarily halted, I tossed the created black powder canister bomb. A few exploded satisfactorily, while others either failed to detonate or made a quiet popping noise before simply burning out.

Today’s results were unsatisfactory. Even after following instructions from books and materials, the outcomes weren’t impressive.

Being a liberal arts major is tough.

***

I don’t know how long I’d been asleep with my eyes closed. We opened our eyes in a white space. It was the mental realm where I fell when caught in the experiment.

As we looked around, a mini Violet bounced over.

She jumped into Clone 1’s arms.

“Onee-chan!”
“Wah!”

Clone 1 fell over in surprise.

“You seem busy lately?”
“You, you were the one from last time…”

I remembered. This was the mini Violet I had met when I got caught in that strange mental realm during the experiment!

As we were shocked, she put her index finger over her lips.

In an instant, we couldn’t open our mouths. It felt as if her lips were glued shut.

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m so surprised to see such a cute younger sister! But then again, you wouldn’t remember me in reality.”

She snapped her fingers. Only then could we speak again.

“What the hell are you? Who are you?!”
“Is that really so important?”

The mini Violet stood up from me, hands behind her back, spinning around playfully.

“You are Violet, and I am Violet. That’s all you need to know. I’m not fully here yet, but I’m coming slowly… Regardless, you and I are both beings known as Violets.”

The young girl stopped her innocent prancing. She walked slowly towards us. I felt frozen, my body as stiff as stone.

“Do you need help? Things seem to be going less smoothly than expected.”
“What? What are you saying?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

The mini Violet’s tone shifted from that of a sulky girl to that of an adult woman. She scolded us with great force.

“Fool, idiot! What are you, some medieval alchemist? Making useless black powder! Why not use a matchlock? Also, mixing sugar with gasoline? Are you kidding me?! Who do you think you are, a student protester?”

The girl flailed her arms about comically while shouting slogans like “What is this murder school! Valefor, explain yourself! Student Council, apologize!”

Her teasing made me furious.

“Stop it! What do you expect me to do when you don’t know anything?”

Facing my intense reaction, the mini Violet winked one eye and began to laugh joyously.

“That’s exactly why this cute younger sister came to find you!”

The mini Violet then gently nestled against Clone 45. Clone 45 tried to push her away, but she stuck like glue.

“Violet! The beautiful, cute, lovely, pure older sister from Polaris! Once you grow a little more here, you’ll become the most beautiful woman in the world.”

The mini Violet now hummed while burying her face into Clone 45’s chest and groped around.

“She’ll even become more mature and sophisticated than that saint… Hmm, it’s been so long that I got a bit too excited. Sorry! Hehe.”

As the girl lifted her head, my awkward expression reflected within her playful, blood-colored eyes.

“Then, let me help a little.”
“Why on earth?”

The tiny girl softly giggled.

“Because I want to see it burn and boom! I hope there will be more fun things to show me for a while.”

The mini Violet approached Clone 1. She grabbed my head and pushed it down.

“Then, I’ll casually share some knowledge about demolition.”

She placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. Something flowed into me.

“Good luck.”

**

When I woke up, my head felt clear. We hurriedly pulled out books and materials, starting to work. Ideas flooded my mind like a fountain.

Unlike the first day, the Violets were surprisingly eager to mix and combine things.

“Today the materials are easier to understand than yesterday.”
“Right, it feels like someone is teaching us directly.”

We naturally began to create something. Even though we were looking at the same book, our understanding improved faster than yesterday. Thanks to that, the workshop ran continuously like a well-oiled engine. Our lively state shocked ourselves.

Now, we began to create something new that shocked even ourselves.

Clone 65 mixed red iron powder and aluminum powder thoroughly with magnesium.

“Be careful! Be careful!”

Carefully packing the brown-tinted red powder into plastic containers. It would be a problem if static sparks occurred.

To the side, the Violets continued with other work. They poured gasoline into a plastic drum while mixing various chemicals, rubber, Styrofoam, and metal powders. The stirring and mixing looked like a witch creating potions in a story.

All the needed materials had been ordered anew. While each one seemed ordinary, when combined, they could yield destructive results. However, they still lacked some elements. To utilize the vast knowledge drawn from movies and books in their previous lives, they needed more time.

“What about the fertilizer? When is it coming? We need to expand the facilities.”
“It should arrive the day after tomorrow. We need more money too!”

Then, we tested the first creation. Using a mannequin as a sample, we set it on fire, and dazzling flames and flashes declared our success.

“Hooray!”

Now it begins.