The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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What is the most important thing in a fight?

Some might talk about having a good weapon.

Others might emphasize training and skills.

There are those who think mental strength and willpower are crucial, and some might mention supplies backing up all of this.

However, to implement all of this, a plan was necessary.

Reckless behavior is like jumping into the jungle without a map and compass, or cooking without a recipe.

So, on the day I made two spectacular incendiaries, I went straight to Irene to introduce my grand plan.

“Violet, so what’s this plan you’ve been thinking about?”

“Let’s blow up the school!”

“What?”

I excitedly explained Plan B with an eager face.

The gist of Plan B was simple. The moment we had enough explosives, we would blow the entire school apart.

If possible, let’s make it go boom while all the Student Council and Board of Directors are gathered in one place! And we should bury the underground facility too.

Her reaction was immediate.

“You’re not feeling sick or anything, right…?”

I was quite disappointed by my friend’s dismissal of my creative and grand plan as a product of madness.

“… I never expected the declaration of ‘Let’s destroy the school!’ to be taken literally.”

“Well, what else is there?”

“I thought it meant to get rid of the Board and the abnormal elements, exposing all unethical situations and conspiracies happening at school…! But erasing the school itself? What does that even mean?”

Well, seems like we had different interpretations.

Really, I had initially glossed over the expression “Let’s destroy the school” to mean we’d teach the bad guys a lesson.

I figured it would be hard to convince Irene right now of the idea to kill and burn everyone. It might be the fastest route, but objectively speaking, it sounds like something a terrorist would do.

“Oh, this part is just an alternative. I won’t actually use it.”

I said that, but honestly, explosion and arson are my Plan A. They’re the quickest and most convenient means.

Even in reality, just exposing the truth and dragging the bad guys out doesn’t resolve everything. Endless court trials, media plays, public opinion wars, smear campaigns…

Such things can stretch from a few months to several years, and by the time you want to establish the truth or justice, it just vanishes, leaving behind only a sensational story.

I think there’s only one way to avoid dirty backstories.

We need to eliminate the root cause of the problem. I had no attachment to this school at all.

How many academies could there be in an academy city? Losing one or two wouldn’t matter.

“Yeah… It’s a bit messy, but at least I’m glad you’re not acting unilaterally like before. Let me know if you think of something else. Just don’t act recklessly, okay?”

“Got it!”

After chatting about small things, I parted ways with Irene.

***

It had been a while since we held a temporary meeting.

There were several considerations for the plan to take down the school.

Because we had to consider every scenario both for when the plan succeeds and when it fails.

“If we rush in blindly like last time, we’re done for.”

“So, did you find anything?”

“I did! I found a smuggler broker. Not sure if it’s legit, though.”

Wondering through dark alleys and red-light districts, Violet 90 had a little fun breakthrough.

You have no idea how hard it was to navigate between robbers, perverts, and gangs.

“Is it a ship? An airship?”

“Both! The airship is a bit pricier.”

Interesting. Not sure if it’s real, but maybe we could smuggle weapons or supplies from the continent outside the academy city later?

“They might’ve underestimated us due to our looks, but the explanation was logical and detailed.”

I heard that teenagers around Violet’s age or their parents sometimes secretly cross over to the academy city dreaming of success.

You can’t blame them because the academy city is the most technologically advanced area, gathering the strongest clans and companies. Above all, the law and order are stable.

Sure, there are times when gates open and monsters burst out, but compared to the situation outside of Rustroom, it’s relatively mild.

“If we could acquire military equipment, that’d be amazing…”

“But we don’t have much money. For now, let’s focus on finding a seller.”

We would decide on the details in the next meeting, but since we were scheming a huge plot, bombs wouldn’t be enough.

“Bazooka! Machine guns!”

The world of “Crimson Scholar” isn’t too harsh on firearms or military. Just by seeing that you could pierce through thick monster hides with large-caliber guns, it’s evident.

Even close combat specialists often carry submachine guns for long-range control.

So against the strong in this world, firearms and explosives work. If they don’t? Just pour in larger and more ammunition.

We needed more weapons to better utilize our numerical superiority.

“How’s the school situation looking right now?”

“I came across two things we need to be aware of. First, it’s the end of September, right? They’re going to have an exam in early October. It’s like a diagnostic test.”

An exam, heh. Is there really a need to do well?

“Maybe we might need our grades if we transfer? That should be better than failing.”

“But we haven’t studied at all.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

As our minds became momentarily chaotic with studies and exam worries, Violet 64 responded dismissively.

“We’ll just cheat.”

“Aha!”

Yeah, we could just spread out calculators, books, and computers and reference them. For Violets, every exam was an open book test.

That resolved one worry.

“And there’s been another unexpected variable from the school. Check the memories.”

After confirming the memories of the school’s Violets, we tilted our heads.

“What? Martina went missing?”

“To be precise, she’s disappeared. She went to the discipline committee concerning a duel issue, but hasn’t shown up at school at all since the day of the duel.”

“She ran away for sure!”

That’s odd; could she have hidden to avoid the conditions of the duel?

Regardless of the person’s intentions, the organization called the Freshman Management Board has now disappeared. The problem is we can no longer utilize the slave labor condition they had planned. What a pity.

“It’s not just her. We found that brother of hers was also in the hospital but he disappeared right after recovering.”

“Why did he run away again?”

Now that I hear this, I don’t understand. Something smells fishy.

Could that troublesome brother-sister duo be planning something malicious to take revenge on us?

If so, we’d have to sell them off to a monster hunting vessel or throw them into a dungeon.

“Let’s search for them as far as we can.”

“Got it. I’ll track them down as best I can.”

Was it that humiliating to be defeated by first-year students?

Thinking back now, the way he presented himself was quite bizarre.

Right after the duel ended and the barrier lifted, he saw me and looked like he’d seen a ghost, wet himself, and fainted.

Could it be that our Violet’s overwhelming tactics were that terrifying?

Since then, the gaze of other students has also changed slightly.

Someone who doesn’t know me wouldn’t care, but those who have a slight acquaintance or are first-year students in the same class, a few senior students began to look at me with awe or a hint of fear mixed in their wariness.

“Our deeds must have been that remarkable.”

“For now, let’s live quietly without any duels.”

The report on school affairs was wrapped up. We continued discussing numerous other matters.

“What happened to that graduate student we caught last time?”

“He tried to escape a few times but we quietly caught him again. He’s staying still for now.”

“Isn’t he a doctor? Not a graduate student…”

That Yurik we caught last time, since he saw our faces, we couldn’t just let him go free, so we locked him in our lodging room.

He was an innocent person. It’s true we’re doing quite a lot of wrong here.

So, we’re trying to provide him with the best welfare possible, except for the freedom of movement.

“Excuse me… Miss? Student? I… I don’t know what to call you since you all look the same. Anyway, I promise I won’t tell! Please let me go!”

“I’m sorry! That’s not possible… I’m just here to give you your lunch menu for today. Pick one.”

“Oh dear… then I’ll have… the cream pasta with bacon. A soda for the drink.”

“Got it! I’ll be back in 30 minutes.”

The discussion about welfare led to a brief talk about Yurik’s treatment.

“Is there any chance we can bring him into our plan? He’s an intellectual, you know—an actual doctor!”

“Hmm… I’ll have to think about that.”

While there is a point, I’m not sure if it’s right to drag an ordinary person into a plan to take down an academy. It’s already dangerous just to involve my friends in this scheme.

We also discussed various other plans in detail. We talked about the dungeon hunting that had been put on hold, securing funds, training, and methods for leveling up. Some conclusions were reached, while others were postponed.

After the discussions wrapped up, we firmly resolved to live diligently. Starting tomorrow, we needed to be busier than today.

In front of us lay a relentless 25-hour training schedule.