The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 90: Aegis – Violet Confronts a Fragment of the Future. (1)

Chapter 90: Aegis – Violet Confronts a Fragment of the Future. (1)

The warm sunlight welcomed Violet No. 212 as she arrived in the southern district on a high-speed train.

Savoring the sunlight, Violet No. 212 pulled a hot dog from a vending machine and took a bite.

「The southern district is new to me.」

「Oh my, it’s a robot!」

Even though I had only traveled a few hundred kilometers, the cityscape was vastly different.

If the western district resembled a modern European city, this place looked like the futuristic cities depicted in science fiction movies.

Delivery drones flew across the skies, and neatly designed robots rolled around the streets.

Violet roamed the streets as if she were at home, fully immersing herself in what could be a glimpse of humanity’s future on the planet Trist if they had never encountered beasts.

Though this was my first time visiting, many familiar places popped up as I wandered around, making me slap my knee and exclaim, “Ah, here it is!”

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Stores, restaurants, street trees, and decorations—each and every one seemed like something I had seen before.

「Look, that’s the restaurant!」

「Certainly, even this street feels familiar!」

It was understandable.

This was a location I had wandered through endlessly in a game.

As Violet No. 212 walked the streets, her gaze fixed on a particular direction.

At the end of this wide street was a cluster of similar-looking buildings.

These futuristic structures, with soft white walls and geometric designs made of steel frames and glass, sparkled in the sunlight.

The sight stood out even in this highly advanced district.

Violet let out a brief exclamation of admiration.

Anyone who had played Deep Crimson Academia would recognize this view.

「We’ve arrived!」

「This is…」

Our destination: the prestigious Awakener Academy in the southern district.

Aegis Specialized Academy.

As we drew closer to the school, it was time to revisit the memories from my previous life.

We rummaged through the thought pile within the Violet Network.

After searching through a cluttered library—resembling the work of a lazy librarian—we managed to recall a few things.

「That damn Director Yeom.」

「Even if he couldn’t finish it, he should’ve at least released volumes 3 or 4.」

Deep Crimson Academia (global title: Crimson Scholar) was a game developed by the Chinese gaming company, Dragon Sky Interactive™.

Originally planned as a five-volume open-world game, it met an untimely demise due to unavoidable “adult circumstances,” and the company director disappeared. ŘäＮȎ฿Ɛ𐌔

「But wasn’t it not entirely Director Yeom’s fault? He just had bad luck. It wasn’t his fault his family…」

「That’s true.」

When Violet No. 2 casually chimed in among the murmurs of others, everyone nodded in agreement.

Director Yeom’s real name was Yan Min.

Since his surname “Yan” could be read as “Yeom” in Korean, he was nicknamed Director Yeom in Korea.

Typically, his name was invoked during moments of despair over failed gacha pulls, either to curse or praise.

Good luck would earn him “Yeom-da,” while bad luck turned into “Yeom-byeong,” depending on the gacha result.

This led to a humorous but quantum-like association of his name with players’ emotional swings.

Though the game had never been a top contender, it had gained decent popularity, both in Korea and abroad.

Its abrupt collapse, along with the company, left many bewildered.

There were various theories.

Some criticized sensitive content in the game, while others speculated that it was a crackdown by the Party on addictive games that reduced productivity.

There was even a half-joking theory that the Chinese president—an extrovert heartthrob for women—wanted to eliminate introverted men obsessed with cute young girls on smartphones.

Such theories illustrate how absurdly the incident was perceived, especially since the company had been a key player in national cultural exports.

Of course, the real reason lay elsewhere.

The downfall was largely due to the “Yahong Group Real Estate Scandal,” which involved the chairman of the conglomerate and Director Yeom’s father.

The aftermath of this massive scandal was enough to bury the otaku indulgences of a second-generation chaebol beneath the mighty currents of the Yangtze River.

「We don’t know much beyond the prologue of volume 2, but we know volume 1 well enough, don’t we? That’s good enough.」

「…That’s true.」

Honestly, even if we knew more, it wouldn’t change anything.

After all, we aren’t students of this academy.

Some of the characters haven’t even enrolled yet since this is five years in the past.

As I organized my thoughts, I made my way toward the front gate of Aegis Academy.

The Aegis Specialized Academy was one of the main settings in volume 1.

It’s also where Irene transferred to after the Polaris experiment blew up her previous school.

「…Didn’t someone named Lucian come here too?」

「Yeah, that’s right!」

As I approached the main gate, I noticed students coming and going.

Perhaps because it was such a prestigious school, even their uniforms looked modern and sophisticated.

「Do you think we’ll see him? He’s the student council president now, isn’t he?」

「He’s the president, so it might not be easy to meet him.」

We whispered to each other with a mix of anticipation and doubt.

Before coming here, I had prepared for what we Violets call “material requisitioning”—or theft, as the public might call it—by researching the school’s layout and student body.

The information was publicly available, so it didn’t provide detailed insights.

However, while scanning the student council roster, I was lucky enough to find someone with a familiar name and face.

「Adela! Adela is here!」

「She was still a student at this time.」

Adela, a five-star playable character from Aegis Academy, was currently at the school.

Not just a student, but the student council president.

「It’d be nice to meet her.」

「No. We’re not here to sightsee. Verify what we investigated.」

「Got it.」

Violet No. 212 brushed her hand lightly against the school’s outer wall.

When I tried to project mana beyond the wall, something blocked it, and no clones were created.

My unique ability, as it had been during Professor Albert’s test, was hindered.

「As expected, this method doesn’t work.」

「It’s a barrier. As expected of a top-tier academy, their security is impressive.」

I had anticipated this much.

The Aegis Specialized Academy was protected by a defensive barrier that blocked external attacks and minimized gate generation.

Of course, some villains could tear through it, but they were extraordinary individuals.

Both my memories from before possession and current knowledge confirmed this.

Would the journey of the Violets toward the Crystal Flowers end like this?

No, it wouldn’t.

Every security system always has a weakness, and sometimes, entering through the front door is easier than climbing over a wall.

「We’ll be late. Hurry up!」

Listening to the urging voices of my other selves, I headed toward the crowd gathered near the main entrance.

There, a guide holding a placard was waiting for the visitors.

Most of the participants in the tour were young students.

There were also quite a few kids who seemed slightly younger than me.

“Alright! We’re departing soon!”

After ensuring everyone had gathered, the guide handed out visitor name tags.

Aegis Academy operates group tour programs for outsiders, often attended by tourists or prospective students aiming to enroll.

Using this method, I could enter with confidence.

「Entry complete!」

「Good, now create a clone as soon as there’s an opening.」

Feigning the role of a harmless girl, I successfully passed through the stern gazes, inspections, and surveillance systems of the security guards.

When I activated my magic-imbued vision to observe my surroundings, I could see a complicated web of formulas and streams of magical energy intertwined everywhere.

If any suspicious magical activity were detected, the alarm would’ve gone off immediately.

「Good thing we didn’t attempt to enter through the entrance using perception-blocking equipment.」

「That would’ve been a complete gamble, for sure.」

When the guard scanned a card and opened the gate, I was finally able to enter.

What awaited inside was an entirely new world.

“Wow…”

The sigh of amazement slipped from my lips as soon as I looked around.

The campus of Aegis Academy was incredibly sleek.

If the buildings of Polaris were predominantly in an elegant, neoclassical style, the buildings here were futuristic and pristine.

It was, indeed, the kind of school that lived up to its reputation.

The students’ uniforms were pure white, clean, and beautifully designed.

「As expected of a school fit for a protagonist…」

「I want to transfer here!」

Surely, the food here must be tastier, and there wouldn’t be any strange incidents happening to the students.

Immersed in admiration, I snapped out of it.

It was time to get to work.

Under the guide’s lead, I toured the school with the group.

After slipping away under the pretense of going to the restroom, I created a clone.

“Alright, let’s get to work quickly. I’ve checked, and there’s no surveillance magic inside.”

“These people are surprisingly careless.”

Listening to the explanation from No. 212, Nos. 156 and 230 nodded in agreement, then donned a few disguises and infused magic into the perception-blocking necklaces.

The appearance of the two Violets began to distort in No. 200’s field of vision.

「I’ve tested this a few times, but it still feels strange every time. If we weren’t connected, I might’ve mistaken them for strangers.」

The perception-blocking equipment had two effects.

First, it refracted light appropriately so that the wearer’s appearance wasn’t clearly visible to external observers.

Second, it continuously emitted waves that influenced the mind, making the wearer less noticeable.

As a result, people around would perceive the wearer as something mundane, like a rock or tree on the roadside.

Given the mental influence involved, it was clear this equipment was expensive and rare.

The two Violets moved cautiously.

The perception-blocking equipment could only distort perception—it didn’t render them invisible.

Judging by how passersby avoided us, it was evident they could still see us.

However, their attitude toward us was akin to how one would treat a utility pole on the street.

「Truly, it’s effective.」

「Be careful. If you bump into someone, the effect might temporarily break.」

The Violets made their way to the garden and forest of Aegis Academy.

There, amidst nameless herbs and mysterious interdimensional plants, were as many Crystal Flowers as we had anticipated.

Judging by the amount of magic emanating from them, I wanted to pluck and consume them immediately—but I held myself back.

「If we even touch them, the guards will swarm us.」

「We have to wait until night. Don’t forget the operation starts at midnight!」

Surveillance cameras were keeping watch around the area.

Now wasn’t the time to make a move.

After rechecking the location of the Crystal Flowers, the Violets headed to an unpopulated area of the school.

Then, they created clones inside vents and burrows in the ceiling before disappearing.

Some of the newly created clones stayed perfectly still, as if lifeless, in their designated spots.

「Let’s begin the operation at midnight.」

This time, we planned to test a new ability I had acquired as my unique skill evolved—‘Dormancy.’

Previously, every clone I created always came with a personality.

But now, if I activated the dormancy ability after creating a clone, the personality would detach from the body and return to the Violet Network, leaving behind a body in a suspended state, with neither a heartbeat nor breath.

The dormant body could survive without food for more than 24 hours.

Of course, if necessary, I could return the personality to the body immediately and monitor its condition.

If used wisely, I could create and store numerous bodies in reserve.

While the supply requisition team waited, Violet No. 212 continued the tour with the guide.

Since most of the participants in the tour were young students, they looked around with eyes full of admiration and awe.

During the tour, a female student approached the guide and spoke.

“Since they’re just young students, would you like me to guide them personally?”

“Oh, there’s no need for that…”

After exchanging a few short words with the guide, the girl began walking toward us.

“Who on earth is she?”

“Looks like a student here…”

As the participants murmured curiously, the girl approached with a graceful and composed stride.

When I saw her up close, I couldn’t help but be awestruck once again, just like when I first saw Daphne.

“Wow, she’s beautiful…”

Perhaps hearing my words, she came closer to me.

I flinched for a moment.

This girl—it’s her!

What are the odds of running into her here?

With an expression full of curiosity, she walked up to me and silently stared at me for a moment.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

While I was pondering, she smiled softly and spoke.

“Oh my, how adorable…! What’s your name?”

“…Huh?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, I was left dumbfounded.

My first encounter with the student council president of Aegis Academy, Adela, began in quite an unusual way.