The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 164: Violet Will Store Magic! (1)

After finishing the cleanup, we explained what had happened to Irene.

"So, you were practicing because you wanted to use combat magic?"

"Yes!"

We showed her the magic spell we had secretly taken from the professor.

"...This is a Melting Ray, isn’t it?"

"You recognized it right away, Irene. That’s right. I really want to shoot this!"

"We know because we’ve been hit by it before—it’s incredibly strong!"

Listening to Violet No. 102 and the other Violets’ passionate explanation, Irene made a "hmm" sound and fell into thought.

"This time, it looked a bit messy, but we’ll definitely succeed on the second attempt. If we increase the numbers, it’s definitely possible."

"Exactly. If a hundred doesn’t work, we’ll just bring in two hundred!"

As the Violets began chiming in one after another, the factory grew lively.

Irene, who had been attentively listening, slowly raised her hand, and we all quieted down.

"...Isn’t this a bit much? I don’t know much about magic, but even at a glance, this seems like a pretty advanced technique. Among those here, maybe only Lucian could use it."

Irene looked concerned, possibly because she had witnessed our heads nearly exploding up close.

"That may be true, but we still have to try!"

I shook my head.

"This fight made me realize something. Explosives and shooting aren’t omnipotent! Against interception techniques or combustion suppression magic, our attacks were useless. The opponents we’ll face in the future will likely have similar abilities."

"Then how about focusing more on weapon training?"

When Irene asked, I responded immediately.

"Of course! We’ll keep up with weapon training. Now that we’ve got more numbers, we’ll train even harder and rougher—24 hours a day!"

It seemed like she thought we might give up on swordsmanship.

After I explained, Irene’s expression softened a bit.

"We Violets don’t neglect important studies. We even plan to spar with you today while reviewing what the instructor taught us."

"That’s good to hear. Still, it doesn’t seem like a sufficient reason to practice such high-level magic. Why not just start with basic spells and work your way up?"

Our expressions turned more serious.

"You’re not wrong, but that’s not enough."

I thought about it.

Though we won, this battle had been very close.

What if the dimensional beacon and vision prism bait hadn’t worked?

In that case, we would have had to endure a grueling war of attrition.

Our firearms were practically useless until we neutralized Lera’s artifact-grade equipment.

Even at the advantageous position of Lion’s Fountain Plaza, their shields and interception techniques had countered us.

Reflecting on the battle made it even clearer.

While we won with conventional weapons, we learned the hard lesson that those alone have limits.

"Exactly! Our current weapons aren’t enough. We need to double down on research and development."

"Bigger and more guns!"

At least there was room for improvement in firepower.

The Violets were researching bigger and stronger explosives and high-performance rockets.

We were even conceptualizing vehicles loaded with tons of explosives for self-destruction.

If the deal with Armas went through soon, we could secure a large quantity of heavy weapons.

"Artillery! Missiles!"

But we didn’t plan to rely solely on long-range weapons.

The diverse armors and ether shielding of our enemies often allowed them to survive our barrages to some extent.

Irene, who had endured rockets and grenades during the raid, was proof of that.

"In the end, close combat decides victory!"

No. 567 whispered while waiting in the network.

It was decorating the war memorial.

Within the Violet Network, there was a small war memorial.

This exhibit proudly displayed glorious moments painted with the Violets’ blood and sweat.

The day we defeated the gangsters and fixers in Stygian Lane.

The Crawltide extermination campaign in Chloris Forest.

The rescue operation on 12th Street in the central district.

The recent battle at Lion’s Fountain Plaza.

And countless other skirmishes.

All these battles shared one commonality: they were always decided by charges and melee combat.

"Charging in is the best way to ensure the kill."

Most of all, the Violets, excluding our unique abilities and self-destruction, were simply awakened beings with standard physical enhancement aptitude.

Thus, mastering weaponry was essential to fully utilize our abilities.

Sparring with teammates, reviewing lessons, training, and mock battles.

Through the process of learning and mastering various weapons like swords, spears, and axes, our skills were steadily improving.

Recently, we’d even been achieving ties in combat.

"Swordsmanship is steadily improving!"

The close combat against those Vanguard guys, where we faced our greatest crisis, wasn’t due to issues with swordsmanship.

The problem was the overwhelming hardware disparity.

But if we kept training consistently, we’d overcome it someday.

In this way, we were growing, albeit slowly.

Our unique abilities had also progressed recently, particularly with the activation of the strategic map ability.

The only unexplored frontier left was magic.

Magic was the one area where we were still stagnant.

"It’s true it’s tough. But we need a trump card! And that’s magic."

When I revealed the limitations I had felt, Irene’s attitude changed.

"...So that’s what you were thinking. Honestly, until you showed me the magic formula, I thought you were just randomly practicing a new self-destruction magic. It might sound strange, but haven’t the Violets always preferred self-destruction?"

"Ugh! Irene, that’s a misunderstanding. Self-destruction is just a rational tactic! It’s not like we enjoy dying."

At our small protest, Irene gave an embarrassed smile.

"Alright, sorry for saying that. Actually, I have a confession to make."

"What is it?"

When I asked, Irene hesitated before slowly speaking.

"This might sound odd... but recently, I feel like I’m becoming a bit indifferent to your deaths. It should be a tragic thing, but..."

"Wow, Irene. Isn’t that a good thing?"

"Violet, that’s not... Sigh."

I looked at Irene, who sighed again, confused.

Was that really such a bad thing?

"Ah, forget it! Irene, let’s spar! Sparring!"

I pulled the hesitant Irene to go sparring.

When your mind is tangled, moving your body is the best solution.

"We’ll come up with a great idea too, won’t we?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

While the Violets were engaged in intense sparring, the analysis-focused Violets identified the issues.

"The first issue is a calculation error!"

Some of the Violets, not particularly strong in math, made mistakes during the computation process.

"The second is a magic manipulation error."

Another issue was the manipulation of magic during parallel computations. Mistakes occurred as multiple individuals simultaneously controlled magic.

"With so many people involved, these problems arise."

"Practice! Only more practice will help!"

The Violets redoubled their training efforts. As Irene had suggested, directly attempting the Melting Ray was too ambitious.

This time, they planned to start with something simpler.

I opened a small tome given to us by Professor Albert.

"Prepare the Tracking Blade!"

What we tried this time was the Tracking Blade and Tracking Spear.

These were Lucian’s signature techniques and frequently used offensive spells by many magicians.

The guided magical blades could pierce thick armor and deeply embed themselves into superconcrete barriers.

When I prepared the magic formula for the Tracking Blade, spheres twice the size of fireballs appeared before me.

I manipulated the formula. Intriguingly, as the number of spheres increased, the deployment of magic became more complex.

"I thought I just had to move the spheres... Ugh, this is hard..."

"Take your time! There’s no rush."

Managing over thirty spheres took quite a bit of time.

As the number of spheres doubled, the difficulty grew exponentially.

After several calculation failures and minor mistakes, the Violets finally completed a single blade.

"Great, next is the spear!"

This time, spheres twice the number for the blade appeared.

A hundred Violets wracked their brains, struggling to create the spear.

"The more haste, the less speed! Slowly! Let’s calculate at a steady pace and build up our speed."

After much effort, the Violets completed a single spear.

Pointing a staff at an empty drum as the target, they aimed carefully.

"Fire!"

The launched Tracking Spear pierced the drum and exploded inside.

"Great, it’s a success for now!"

We continued to practice various spells afterward.

"Go, Crimson Wave!"

"No! It’s burning!"

Some attempts failed, while others succeeded.

Although it took an absurd amount of time, the calculations became manageable with sheer numbers.

"Argh! My head!"

-Boom!

We attempted the Melting Ray a few more times during the process.

Once again, Violet heads exploded.

"Forget that for now. We’ve mastered a few spells, haven’t we? Let’s try the stronger ones later."

By the time we finished the magic training, dawn had arrived.

Perhaps it was the sentimental hour that stirred something in us.

After a brief sense of accomplishment, we faced a new problem we had overlooked.

"What is this? It’s so inefficient!"

The number of Violets consumed to properly cast even one spell was too high.

To complete a single spell, ten to a hundred Violets had to stand idle, unable to do anything else.

And yet, the power of the magic, once completed and launched, was underwhelming compared to the resources and time invested.

The spell itself was impressive, but the cost in manpower and time was disappointing.

"We might as well self-destruct; it’d be faster."

War is a game of efficiency.

During the time a hundred Violets spent preparing magic, they could have charged in to slash with swords or shoot with guns.

"Damn it! How does Lucian manage to fire these spells so effortlessly?"

We were starting to feel disillusioned with magic training.

"With the magic used for spells, we could create another clone.

Did everyone forget that for us, magic is our lifeline?

Every time we fire off multiple spells, we lose the opportunity to create another clone. Don’t forget that."

"What about using dormant bodies as reserve mana storage?"

"Then we’d only get half the mana invested back."

I felt bitter.

Stepping outside to get some fresh air, I noticed the dark sky gradually turning blue.

Having stayed up all night, the Violets were growing frustrated.

"Still, we need one powerful magic spell! Let’s try the Melting Ray one more time!"

The Violets returned to their positions and began preparing the magic again.

"Urgh!"

-Boom!

We swallowed the bitter taste of failure and fell asleep.

**

While the Violets in charge of magic training slept, morning light broke over the horizon.

The Violets and team members headed to the dormitory cafeteria to prepare breakfast.

"Today’s breakfast is scrambled eggs!"

"And French fries!"

Seeing the heap of French fries on the plate, Kalia made a curious expression.

"Why French fries for breakfast?"

"French fries are vegetables. Vegetables are good for you!"

"Violet, French fries are carbohydrates."

"Ah!"

At Daphne’s remark, Violet No. 764 felt embarrassed.

While the team and Violets ate, Violet No. 377, one of the magic trainees, wandered through the Violet Network.

"Ugh... It failed..."

No. 377, who should have been sleeping, couldn’t rest deeply, likely because of lingering regret about magic.

Instead, she roamed the Network like a specter, receiving consolation from other Violets.

"Don’t be too upset! You’ll do better next time!"

Despite the encouragement, No. 377 wandered through the city in the Network.

Above the skyscrapers in the digital sky, countless French fries floated by.

"Maybe getting up to eat and then going back to sleep wouldn’t be so bad."

For some reason, the fries looked delicious.

Because of that, No. 377 didn’t pay attention to the ground beneath her.

She tripped over something while staring blankly at the sky.

"Ahhh!"

Falling onto the stone floor, No. 377 angrily inspected the obstacle that caught her ankle, ready to destroy it with a hammer if necessary.

"You little...!"

A large stone slab lay on the ground.

As she raised the hammer, No. 377 realized the obstacle looked oddly familiar.

"What is this? It looks like a magic formula."

The slab was studded with glowing spheres, jewels, and intricate metallic lines resembling circuits.

It reminded her of the failed Melting Ray formula from earlier that morning.

"Disgusting. Get lost!"

Irritated, No. 377 smashed the slab.

As it shattered, a strange magical light erupted from the slab and shot into the sky.

"Eek!"

Startled, No. 377 fell on her backside.

The light traveled through the Violet Network and entered reality.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

Seeking an exit, the light moved to the nearest point.

At that moment, Violet No. 764, who was eating breakfast, screamed.

Her hand was burning hot.

"Ahh! My hand is burning!"

"Are you okay?"

Worried, Daphne approached Violet.

No. 764 quickly raised her hand.

An unstable magic circle was floating above it.

"Huh...? What is this?"

"Everyone, be careful!"

Sensing danger, Daphne deployed a protective barrier around everyone nearby.

At the same time, a crimson ray of light shot out from No. 764’s hand.

"Ahhh!"

"What’s going on?"

"Help! I can’t control it!"

As everyone stepped back in shock, the ray sliced through the dining table and pierced the ceiling, leaving the cafeteria in chaos.

"What the hell are you doing all of a sudden?"

Kalia shouted in confusion.

"I-I don’t know..."

Violet had no idea why a beam suddenly burst out of her hand.