The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

Chapter 76: Violet in the Deep and Dark City (1)

Albert’s assignment was extremely difficult.

「It’s math! I can’t read a single thing. What’s with these worm-like squiggles?」

「The things you can read are numbers, and the ones you can’t are symbols.」

The ‘me’ from before possession was a thorough humanities major.

I had long since severed ties with mathematics after the college entrance exams.

On top of that, the books the professor handed over weren’t only math-related.

「Why on earth would physics or chemistry be needed for magic?」

Apparently, to use magic within the game, one had to understand scientific knowledge as well. But I didn’t expect it to be this intense.

Well, rune symbols or occult mysticism would’ve been just as hard anyway.

Difficulty aside, the sheer volume was no joke either. Wasn’t there a way to study more comfortably?

「How about assigning one page per person?」

「Great idea. Let’s start copying the book right away.」

I decided to use the method I had employed when I first used illumination magic.

I printed out the book’s pages and assigned one page to each person.

「How about printing a few more pages? There’s no need for only one person to read each page.」

「That’s a good idea. If multiple people overlap, it’ll be easier to memorize!」

Before bed, we went over the book.

Looking at us study, I felt like some kind of computer.

The work of the Violets could be likened to a form of grid computing.

It’s a bit exhausting, considering we operate 24/7.

If there were more of us, we could distribute the workload further.

「As I thought, we need more numbers. A hundred isn’t enough!」

「You do know that makes us easier to discover, right? We’re already on thin ice.」

The Violets, having gathered their wits, were diligently active.

Most of them focused on studying, training, and earning funds, but even those with other roles remained busy.

「Do we really need to make rocket candy? We could substitute it with a recoilless rifle or a rocket launcher.」

「That’s because we can’t acquire those right now. Just shut up and mix the sugar.」

For example, there were Violets in charge of re

「This place is weird! I need to get out.」

「Got it. Just wait a moment! Hold on!」

Suddenly, the Violets on the second floor picked up strange noises near the door.

It was a painful groan.

Though the windows around the door were dark, the curtains inside were drawn.

“Um, I should probably be going…”

“Hey now, leaving already? That’s no fun. What about Aramis’ demands? Why didn’t you mention that? Who suggested we rob this smuggler bastard and split the goods, huh?”

My mind snapped back to clarity.

Talk about bad timing—what a mess I’d gotten involved in!

“Right, yes, you’re absolutely right. But before we continue, can I just… use the restroom?”

Sensing something suspicious in my demeanor, the rose-tattooed bald man narrowed his eyes.

“Hey, didn’t you just go to the restroom earlier? What’s the deal? Weren’t you sent here by Aramis’ people?”

Without a second thought, the Violets on the second floor generated another clone beyond the door.

The Violet clone that materialized inside the room opened her eyes wide at the scene before her.

A woman dressed as a bartender and three or four other men were tied up, covered in blood.

Tape had been placed over their mouths.

The captives desperately shook their heads when they saw the Violet clone.

“Boss, earlier this woman said something about butter gin or whatever. Isn’t that their code word?”

“…Oh? Damn, Jimmy, you’re pretty smart. Hey, you. They don’t sell drugs here, so what did you come for?”

The rose-tattooed bald man grabbed my shoulder tightly, and his men surrounded me.

“Yes, that’s right! I came here to make a deal with someone. So, could you please just let me go?”

“Then I guess you’re not an Awakened. Doesn’t look like you’re a junkie either…”

“No, I don’t know anything about this!”

“Who cares? We’d like to find out more about you, starting now.”

The lecherous gleam in the rose-tattooed bald man’s eyes became blatantly clear. The atmosphere in the room grew vile.

“Can’t you just let me go?”

“Our clever Jimmy, how long until the boss gets back?”

“About 30 minutes. So…”

The men grinned wickedly.

“Looks like we’ve got some time to have a little fun.”

I sighed and pulled out my mask.

“Hey, what are you doing? Got a thing for covering your face, huh…?”

The bald man’s face froze. Understandable.

In the blink of an eye, my clones materialized and smashed the back of his men’s heads with hammers.

[Attacking from behind has activated Synergistic Trait: Backstrike Severe Injury. Damage increases!]

When the enhanced strength of my physical reinforcement combined with my synergistic abilities, the results were catastrophic.

The hammers shattered the gangsters’ heads as if bursting watermelons.

-Crack!

Blood sprayed up to the ceiling, and bits of pulverized skull scattered everywhere. Even the bald man’s head was splattered with the remains of what used to be his underlings.

“Uh…? Uh…? UHH!!”

“Don’t move. You can feel it, can’t you? Stay silent and still. I’ve got questions for you.”

The frozen bald man barely managed a nod before the office door burst open.

“Boss, I brought the drinks and snacks you asked for—”

Ah, great. So much for handling this quietly.

“AAARGH!”

I decapitated the thug screaming outside the door immediately, but it was too late. The bald man seized the moment and yelled.

“An ambush! It’s an Awakened! AAAHH!”

I quickly knocked him unconscious with a blow to the back of the head, but loud footsteps thundered up the stairs from below.

I gave the signal.

“Everyone, prepare for combat.”

The masked Violets rushed out the door simultaneously.

Additional forces materialized around the Violets stationed outside.

This was getting messy.

I’ll have to kill them all!