The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 129: How to Synchronize (3)

Several hours passed as I pondered how to mentally arm this friend.

In the meantime, the number of Raskrins I had captured was barely one.

We descended below the pre-arranged shooting position to have lunch.

“What’s this? Are they students? There were guests.”

By noon, the hunting grounds were already filled with other hunter teams. I had been worried because they all looked like they had fierce expressions, but luckily, they didn’t spare even a glance at the corpse of the Raskrin, which we had planted our flag on.

“To be honest, I thought they were going to take it from us, but this is surprising. What a relief.”

Granite muttered while adjusting the broad blade of his poleaxe. Irene, who had been passing by, overheard and spoke up.

“Surprising, how?”

“Oh, Irene. I was just talking to myself. What I meant was... I was worried they might take it from us because we’re just students.”

She shook her head. Irene had just returned from a short reconnaissance with Violet No. 6.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Stealing prey from others is one of the biggest taboos among hunters. This industry is surprisingly small. Even if it’s done once or twice, if you keep doing it, the word will spread quickly and you’ll be looked down upon by others. There’s even a chance you’ll get caught up in a duel.”

Then Irene casually tapped the black box hanging from both her and my attire.

“More than anything, these days, it’s basic to carry portable recording devices. We analyze how attacks are made and how to allocate the spoils with these. You think we can’t catch a thief?”

“I see…”

I listened with interest to Irene’s explanation. This was how they prevented "hit-and-run" tactics in this world. While strength was highly valued, there was still a certain order within it.

We set up our lunch near the anti-aircraft position we had deployed on the hill earlier. Today’s lunch consisted of freshly bought lasagna, French fries, salad, and large genetically modified chicken legs.

“By the way, how does everyone feel about coordinating so far?”

While eating the warm lunch, Irene spoke up.

“It feels like I’m adjusting only for that guy, but there’s nothing I can do about it. But, let me ask something.”

“What is it?”

Lucian seemed to hesitate, about to speak but then looked around, as if deep in thought. His gaze kept landing on the Violets. Now that I looked closely, it seemed he was confused about which Violet to speak to. Ɽá₦Ộ𝖇ЁṠ

“You can talk to anyone!”

“Tch... this is confusing. Alright, I’ll just say it. Is this a chicken leg? It looks like a turkey leg.”

“Eh?”

He picked up a leg of lunch and placed it on his plate. I had bought it from the store, so I assumed it was a chicken leg. Upon closer inspection, the packaging clearly said it was a turkey leg. It was my first time seeing turkey; it was quite interesting.

“Well, it tastes good.”

Kalia bit into one of the legs. Everyone except for one person seemed to enjoy it—Levi. He was cautiously nibbling his lunch while looking at me for approval.

Hours passed, and we resumed fighting monsters in an area where there weren’t as many people. There were so many trying to hunt hounds and wyverns, so we couldn’t find much to catch.

“The magazine’s changed?”

Oddly enough, Levi’s ballista had undergone some changes. Instead of a large square magazine holding big bolts, it now had a cylindrical magazine.

“…Earlier, the bombardment type didn’t help much, so I changed the ammunition…”

“That kind of function exists?”

Interestingly, Levi’s ballista could shoot a variety of bolt types with just a few adjustments.

The default bolts were regular large steel ones, but with some adjustments to the device, it could fire medium-sized bolts from a high-capacity magazine, allowing for continuous fire, though with lower power.

“So, it can become a machine gun or a cannon depending on the need?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s right.”

We marveled at it. It wasn’t just an artifact weapon.

We heard the sounds of a new group of Spartoi approaching.

“How about shooting at them?”

Levi hesitated but eventually pulled the trigger. The string of the ballista shot back and forth in quick succession. The bolts poured out like rain. However, the bolts flew in all directions except where they were intended. When I glanced over, Levi was shaking with her head down, only pulling the trigger.

“A-ah... ah!”

“Hey, what are you doing? You need to aim!”

Unable to stand it, Lucian shouted at her, and only then did Levi lift his head. The shooting stopped immediately, and the remaining monsters were taken care of by me and the other team members.

“Levi? Are you hurt?”

After the battle ended, Irene, arms crossed, calmly asked.

“S-sorry. It’s not like that, but it’s just not working…”

Kalia, who had been silent, also spoke up.

“Hey, is it something you don’t want to do?”

“It’s not... it’s not like that!”

Lucian was the one most actively expressing his frustration. Clearly irritated, he stepped forward to argue.

“Hey! If you’re going to be like this, go back to the base! What have you been doing while everyone else fought? You’re just useless!”

Levi lowered her head weakly, and Daphne, who had been standing behind, stepped in.

“I don’t think we need to press him too hard. I don’t think he’s doing this out of ill will. Can we give him a moment? I’ll try talking to him.”

Hmm, Daphne was probably right. Thinking about it, if I wanted to help Levi adjust her mindset, I needed to understand why she was behaving like this. And for that, we obviously needed to talk.

After everyone else stepped back, Daphne gently asked.

“Schneider? No, Levi. I don’t think you’re doing this with bad intentions. But there must be a reason why you haven’t fought properly even once. Could I ask about that?”

Levi, scared at first, kept her mouth shut. But gradually, she calmed down and slowly started speaking. As she fumbled through her words, we listened quietly. To summarize her long and detailed past story:

“Actually, when I was young, I was attacked by a monster… I almost died…”

“So, that’s why you’re still scared of monsters?”

Daphne looked at her with pity, her gaze filled with sympathy.

“That’s awful…”

“But then, why did you come to the academy? If you’re afraid of monsters, how did you plan on becoming a hunter?”

I asked out of curiosity. When I heard that, Levi’s face was filled with sorrow.

“W-well... I want to defeat monsters... I’m scared, but I don’t want others to go through what I did…”

She gently stroked her weapon with a helpless touch.

“And... I thought if I had this, things would get better…”

“This ballista?”

“This... this was actually my grandfather’s. No one could use it, but one day, when I used it, it suddenly surged with magical energy, and I could use it. When it’s by my side, it gives me courage…”

Levi laughed weakly.

***

I thought about it several times, but no, our Violet does not abandon teammates.

While Daphne stepped away, I brought her aside and told her I had something to say. I’m not well-versed in psychology, but I know that to change a person’s behavior, you must first alter their mindset.

For starters, I don’t know how to heal her trauma. However, in this harsh world, I must make her at least actively capable of attacking.

“This place is...”

When she anxiously looked around, I summoned the Violets to surround her.

“Eek!”

“Levi! Listen carefully. Attack is the best defense.”

“W-What are you saying?”

“Repeat after me: Attack is the best defense!”

“A-Attack is... the b-best... defense!”

While Levi mimicked what I said, I thought to myself. If I kept drilling a single idea into her ears, would it unconsciously internalize within her?

Since I had assigned communication Violets to each team member, I could ensure Levi had a Violet beside her 24/7.

After quite some time, I asked her how she felt, to gauge any psychological change.

“How do you feel?”

“Uh... I’m not sure.”

I see. Expecting a rapid change is unreasonable, even from my perspective. Besides, the phrase "Attack is the best defense" is too pure and common. A more radical yet convincing phrase is necessary.

After brainstorming with several Violets, I came up with a firm and aggressive sentence.

“Levi, from now on, repeat what I say. Are you ready?”

“Y-Yes...”

I recited the newly conceived phrase.

“My weapon exists not for defense but for attack. Now, repeat!”

“M-My weapon... exists not for defense but for attack...”

Levi repeated the phrase multiple times as I instructed. While she reflected on the words, another Violet began persuading her nearby.

“Levi, how do you want to use that ballista?”

“T-This?”

The girl’s black eyes darted around as if avoiding the question. I waited patiently for her answer.

“This b-ballista... belonged to my grandpa. My grandpa was a hunter. S-So I... I want to b-become a hunter too... to protect others...”

I nodded and asked again.

“You said that weapon is to protect others, right? But how do you protect others?”

“...By killing the e-enemy?”

The three Violets standing nearby shook their heads. The term "killing" carries significant discomfort.

To change someone’s perspective, the language used must also change. Negative words breed negative perceptions, while positive words foster positive views.

I attempted to shift her mindset with a simple strategy.

“Levi, listen carefully. From now on, when thinking about fights, don’t think of ‘killing.’ Instead, think of ‘removing’ or ‘clearing away.’ How does that sound?”

“R-Removing...?”

“Yes! When there’s trash at home, you clear it away, don’t you? Don’t think of what’s in front of you as something that dies. It’s not even alive. Just think of it as something to be ‘cleared’ or ‘removed.’”

Using appropriate language would ease her burden of engaging in violence. With this method, multiple Violets surrounded and persistently talked to her throughout the rest periods.

By the time we finished dinner and night had fallen, a change occurred.

“Is that so...?”

At first, Levi, who had been anxiously watching my reactions, began to gradually nod in agreement.

“We don’t kill beasts. We clear them away!”

“Clear beasts away...?”

“Beasts are humanity’s enemies, just like garbage. They don’t have rights, you know!”

I nearly added, “Enemies have no rights, so just clear them away,” but stopped myself. Going that far would backfire. It was still too extreme for a naive girl to accept.

“Now, repeat after me: Enemies are cleared away.”

“E-Enemies are c-cleared away...”

“Well done!”

“Y-Yeah...”

The teaching continued into the next day. While waiting for the appearance of Rusklyn for our mission, I kept coaching Levi.

From the newly dug-out position, a Violet strained to pull back the bolt of a heavy sniper rifle. A harsh metallic clank was followed by the smooth sound of a thick cannon shell sliding into the chamber.

“You’re helping us clear the world of trash. See over there?”

I pointed outside the sandbags of the firing position, where our teammates were taking a break.

“All you need to do is pull the trigger. Unlike them, you won’t even need to get physically involved. Is that hard or easy?”

“...Easy.”

“That’s right! With just a flick of a finger, we can clear away the beasts and help the team!”

The communication Violet whispered into Levi’s ear.

“You’re not saying you can’t do something this easy, are you? I believe in you!”

“N-No! I can do it! But I feel a bit dizzy...”

Maybe we had stayed by her side whispering about attack and defense all day, but Levi seemed lightheaded.

It seemed our efforts hadn’t yielded much help.

***

As I let go of expectations and prepared to try again later, another Rusklyn emerged beyond the milky-white sky.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

“W-Why is it even bigger...?”

We fired signal flares into the sky, just as we had done yesterday. The successive flares drew the beast’s gaze downward.

Anti-air emplacements across the area opened fire again, while Lucian began preparing his magic. We’d damage its wings, force it to descend slightly, and then Daphne’s barrier would hold it in place for us to strike.

Everything went according to plan—until the beast turned out to be far larger than anticipated and nearly shattered the barrier with sheer brute force!

-Zap! Crackle!

“Ah!”

While Daphne flinched, the Rusklyn flapped its wings once more, soaring upwards.

Lucian’s magic and Kalia’s bombardment struck it, followed by heavy gunfire from us. Shots from one of the sniper nests punched holes into its wings, and a rocket launcher hit its body.

-Roar!

The beast thrashed in agony. Yet all of this wasn’t enough to bring it down. The soaring monster went berserk, spewing acidic breath in every direction.

“Scatter! Shields up!”

“Eek!”

If a creature with tank-like durability flew around like that, we had no way to ground it immediately. In this unforeseen situation, Violet Command prepared for a prolonged engagement. Reinforcements at the company level were urgently summoned, and a heated debate broke out.

“We’ve got no choice. Deploy the air squadron immediately! Use the V-1 rockets!”

“What do you think a powered hang glider that barely reaches 70 km/h will achieve? And those rockets aren’t meant for anti-air!”

“Let’s use guided bombs! If we ram them with explosives, the beast should die!”

Amid the arguments, the communication Violet suddenly turned her attention to Levi, who was trembling with her head buried in the ground.

“N-No... I d-don’t want to. I’ll d-die...”

“What do you mean die! You won’t die.”

“T-The teeth! Those e-eyes! I hate it... I really hate it...”

Was she recalling old memories? I pulled her to her feet.

“Listen carefully, you won’t die! I’ll make sure to get you out alive!”

“Uh... ugh...”

Looking straight into her eyes, I shouted.

“But I won’t just sit here and take it. So get up! Whether you run or fight, the choice is yours!”

Outside, Violet Company was running around, pouring anti-air fire. Using such a small ballista would take forever. The rockets wouldn’t even hit.

I tried to step outside the base, but at some point, Levi, who had been trembling, suddenly stopped moving.

Levi, whose eyes met mine, muttered something intensely.

"Def, defense is the best offense, m, my weapon exists not for defense but for offense... Beasts are enemies, enemies are trash. R, rights... don’t exist..."

I stared at him blankly. What was this change? It was so sudden!

"I, I can do this!"

The girl, who had been bowing her head, suddenly lifted it. Without hesitation, Levi grabbed the ballista. Violet, on the radio, looked at her in surprise.

"I’ll, I’ll clean up the trash!"

At that moment, with a loud cracking sound, large bolts flew into the sky. A thick beam of light struck the body of the Raskrin, one of its strands of light piercing it.

KROOOOAH!

The unexpected shock caused the beast to plummet to the ground.

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"Disappear!"

Another large bolt struck the falling Raskrin’s body. A huge hole appeared, visible from afar.

"Get lost! Get rid of it! Disappear!"

As a prepared large bolt fell, Levi quickly adjusted the internal mechanisms of the ballista. With a screech, parts of the ballista’s body transformed.

She changed the magazine desperately, like a thirsty person sticking their nose into a puddle. The box-type magazine fell to the ground, and a cylindrical magazine filled with medium-sized bolts for rapid fire clicked into place.

The magical bowstring, powered by magic, quickly moved back and forth, swallowing bolts and spitting them out one after another. White beams imbued with magical power poured out like machine gun fire.

"KROOOOAH!"

The beast, which had fallen to the ground, struggled, but could not avoid the torrent of shots. Bolts lodged into Raskrin’s large body like rain, creating holes.

"Team, get away from the others! Get over there! Move!"

As the magazine emptied, Violet’s squad and the team members rushed toward the fallen beast. Like ants dismantling food, we dealt with the beast in a cruel manner.

Levi, who had witnessed all this, was sweating coldly and blinking her eyes in confusion.

"I, I did it! Violet, how...?"

I smiled brightly.

"Good job!"

Suddenly, a radio transmission came through.

Irene to Levi. Good job. It was a bit violent, but thanks to you, we got it!

Violet on the radio repeated the words and then turned her gaze back to him.

Levi, like before, trembled again. However, anyone could tell that this was not due to fear. The trembling now was from the excitement of victory. The adrenaline, spreading throughout her body like a high-speed train, rushed through her veins.

I had only slightly guided her way of thinking, but I didn’t expect such a quick change. It was an unexpected situation, but the result was excellent.

This child had already gained some enlightenment in such a short time. I was quite proud.

She hadn’t forgotten what I taught her.

"I did it, right? Right? Ahaha... I got rid of it!"

"Yeah! Let’s high five!"

For a brief moment, even her speech pattern changed. The stuttering tone became quicker, and the breaks disappeared, likely from the excitement. Violet on the radio happily celebrated the teammate’s growth and gave a high five.

She hesitated for a moment after hearing my suggestion but nodded as if she had realized something, then slapped my palm.

In Levi’s eyes, which had been filled with guilt and self-punishment, a new spark of life began to shine. I could feel the heat of the flames burning fiercely within her.

When she came down, Levi reflexively shrank back when she saw her teammates. She must have thought she would be criticized. However, contrary to her expectations, the situation unfolded differently.

"Good job!"

"Hey! If you had done this in the last dungeon, how much better would that have been?"

Surrounded by people praising her, a brief flash of flame flickered in Levi’s eyes. The flame soon died down, and she returned to her usual stuttering, passive self.

"Th, thank you..."

Levi, unsure of what was making her embarrassed, hugged her ballista and fumbled around. But, something about her felt different from yesterday.

For some reason, I began to like her little by little. If things go on like this, we’ll work well together in the future.

Levi might just become the next generation talent suited for our Violet Squad.

Now, the only mission left for Violet is one.

I can see Granite hesitantly approaching the beast’s corpse.

"How should I change this guy’s personality? He’s not as bad as Levi, but he’s a waste for his size."

"That’s tough."

I need to change this simple-minded country bumpkin. It would be best to make him as ferocious as the weapon he’s holding. That’s our goal.

Violet on the radio, along with the sniper team, came down from the shooting position on the hill.

Levi, holding the ballista, followed Violet down. The behavior of a team member who had changed in just one day was somewhat surprising, but the fact that she had performed well was undeniable.

"Good job!"

Daphne was the first to smile brightly. Irene also followed and, trying to praise the shy teammate’s behavior, instinctively flinched.

For a brief moment, it felt like the person had changed 180 degrees.

‘Those eyes...?’

She thought she might have misjudged it but felt a slight sense of unease.

Those eyes... she had seen them before among some of the clan members during her training at Helios.

Those members behaved like everyone else in everyday life, but when it came to battle, their attitude changed as if they were completely different people.

In their eyes, a sense of ecstasy and omnipotence flickered like unquenchable hellfire, and their eerie laughter never seemed to fade.

And they all had something in common. They got excited, recklessly shooting their guns. They acted as though the power of destruction was in their hands.

Irene hesitated, not wanting to believe it.

‘It must have been a mistake. Could this timid kid really change so much in just one day?’

She concluded that it was a temporary high and soon forgot about it, preparing to withdraw.

Meanwhile, as Violet’s team prepared to withdraw, Levi lovingly petted her ballista.

"Heh..."

A slow but distinct smile spread on her face.

‘I did it...!’

She felt proud of herself.

Until now, Levi had been ignored and ridiculed every day at the academy. Because of her timid personality, everyone ignored and laughed at her. No one ever supported or defended her.

Levi felt sorrowful and wronged. She hated being such a fool. If the neighbors or relatives found out, they’d be greatly disappointed. She often blamed herself for not being able to become a hunter.

As if that wasn’t enough, she had been swept up in the academy’s murder incident and was forced to leave. She had been so powerless.

But just now, she had succeeded. Even though she had the help of her teammates, she had defeated a massive, intermediate-level beast!

‘I could do it...!’

For the first time, she felt exhilaration. She had never felt this way while shooting the ballista. Not even after all the countless shooting drills and training.

She had even received praise. From friends who fought better and were braver and smarter than her!

And all of this was thanks to one girl. A good girl who, despite the brief encounter, had stepped into battle for her. And now, she had taught her about courage.

‘Thank you, Violet...’

Why hadn’t I known something so simple all this time?

"...From now on, I’ll get rid of everything. Heh..."

A small spark of fire ignited in the girl’s heart. Levi probably had no idea where that spark would lead.