episode_0016

Black armed helicopters circled the building like a flock of hungry eagles.

Smoke billowed from inside the ruined laboratory.

Inside, soldiers, their bodies covered in thick protective gear painted with gloomy gray camouflage patterns, were searching the interior. Every time they moved, broken debris crunched underfoot.

A researcher came out of the room with hands raised, trembling.

“P-Please… save me…”

“Corporate dog, die.”

—Bang!

Another corpse was added to the floor. The soldiers moved through the laboratory, acting as if they would not tolerate anything else alive besides themselves. They put a bullet in the head of a gasping guard on the floor, and cut the throats of employees begging for their lives.

In another corner of the room, soldiers rummaged through piles of documents.

Meanwhile, a man with a greatsword on his back tapped the screen of a tablet connected by a cable to the office’s computer console. Document windows flashed wildly across the screen, switching at high speed.

“Nothing, there’s nothing of value. Just rough and basic data. Could the data have been destroyed?”

The middle-aged man with a greatsword on his back growled in disappointment. The internal intranet was inaccessible.

Only preliminary drafts of projects and simple personal records of test subjects remained on the computers.

“We’re checking the documents as well, Sycamore. But there’s nothing useful here either.”

A man with a crossbow on his side replied while rummaging through a drawer.

“It’s good that we tracked the phone signal and found this place. But we didn’t get what we wanted.”

“It was already a mess before our team entered. It seems a riot broke out at an exquisite timing.”

In a corner of the hallway, a few adolescents in patient gowns were seen heading downstairs, escorted by soldiers.

“Calix, are those all the personnel we could recruit? Where is the person we tracked via phone call?”

Clans and corporations in the Academy City carefully hid their research facilities. To track them, they had no choice but to use radical and crude methods that consumed a lot of time.

They investigated all radio waves emanating from sparsely populated areas, and tracked cell phone calls coming into base stations, searching each one. Finding this place by tracking cell phone signals was an exquisite coincidence.

“It seems they escaped right after we arrived. Contact was lost with two reconnaissance team members who were tracking an unknown vehicle that exited the parking lot. The remaining adult test subjects are presumed to have been killed while resisting just before our arrival. Those children were found still trapped in the dormitory.”

“Unfortunate. We should have hurried a little more.”

Calix nodded at his lament.

Sycamore turned his gaze to the scattered corpses around him. He quietly clenched his fist tightly.

A report came in via radio through his earpiece. Sycamore unplugged the cable connected to the console and stood up.

As he crossed the messy interior strewn with corpses of demon beasts and humans, the distinctive acrid smell of burning electronics grew closer.

One of the waiting team members at the doorway held up a burnt remnant of a component.

“We’ve secured the server room. As you can see, this is all that’s left… And we’ve secured the facility’s director.”

Sycamore didn’t bother asking about the possibility of recovery. All that remained in the pitch-black, scorched room were unrecognizable machinery and tangled, melted wires. Valuable data had turned into charred remnants.

His gaze behind his goggles fell upon a bald man lying in a pool of blood. The man, whose wrist had been severed, was as good as a corpse.

A report came in from outside. Sycamore gave orders to his subordinates.

“The Audit Bureau is approaching. Withdraw quickly.”

“What should we do with this one?”

“Extract him. He’s about to die anyway, so take only the necessary parts for analysis. We can’t salvage all the knowledge, but we might learn something from a part of it.”

The subordinates pulled out a complex machine resembling a trumpet. When they placed it on the director’s head and activated it, he let out a short scream.

A sucking sound was heard, and from the other side of the machine, a mass of gray matter plunked into a transparent container.

The Obsidian Legion’s tactical team quickly withdrew.

Inside a helicopter flying close to the ground, Sycamore swiped through the tablet screen.

The face of a blonde girl, with striking red eyes, flashed across the data screen.

***

“Hey, wake up. It’s morning.”

“No… I want to sleep more…”

I had a nightmare last night, so I couldn’t sleep properly, and I felt sleepy.

It was a nightmare where strange demons suddenly appeared and furiously jabbed my eye sockets with iron chopsticks, rummaging around inside my head. It felt so real, my head ached terribly when I woke up.

Kalia ignored my situation and kept trying to wake me. To think she had such an inhuman and unsympathetic side. It’s truly sad…! I ignored her urging and burrowed deeper into my blanket.

“Wake up!”

When I didn’t get up, Kalia snatched away my blanket. By the way, why is it so cold? The chilly morning cold swept over my delicate body.

“Ugh… that’s too much… Sometimes, you need to be a little lazy, you know…”

Wasn’t she supposed to be a delinquent character? Why is she so diligent?

I tried to ignore the cold and hugged my clone tightly. A warm sensation spread through me. When it’s cold, hugging my clone to sleep is the best.

‘I’ am truly warm and soft!

Kalia, who had been looking at me with a pathetic gaze, turned and headed out the door.

“Alright. Then I’ll tell Auntie Pola that you’re not eating breakfast.”

“Eek!”

Along with Unit 2, I shot up like a spring and quickly followed behind her. Breakfast is very important!

As I stepped down the cold, creaking old stairs, Auntie Pola was setting the table for breakfast.

“You’re up, Kalia, and Violet too.”

“Hello!”

She greeted us with a warm smile. That plump auntie with a good-natured appearance has a way of making people feel at ease just by looking at her. I quickly sat down in my seat. Auntie Pola placed pancakes on my plate. Three of them!

“I’ll eat well!”

I didn’t forget to greet politely. And as I picked up my fork to eat, I felt Kalia and Auntie looking at me strangely.

“Is something wrong?”

“That… Violet, can your clone eat too?”

Oh, now that I think about it, Unit 2 was sitting next to me. It was even mimicking my movements with a fork above an empty plate. I snapped my fingers and retrieved the clone. As the aetheric light flickered, the clone slowly faded away.

“Ah, I forgot to retrieve my clone. Since it just mirrors my actions, it must have followed me from the bedroom and sat there.”

“Oh, really? I thought…”

I chewed on the pancake, generously drizzled with syrup. I wanted to savor this sweetness and fluffiness in my mouth for a long time.

‘But, my clone is moving on its own again.’

Now that I thought about it, it was strange.

Lately, my clone had been showing strange behaviors. It felt like it was moving more autonomously than when I was in the lab. Maybe it was my imagination. Perhaps I’d become so used to manipulating all my clones at once that they were moving unconsciously.

No way, there’s no way a clone could develop self-awareness.

I opened the status window.

————————————————

Name: Violet Dunhind Ruzilin

Alias: None

Status: Undefined

Lv: 7

HP: 1500/1500

MP: 3500/3500

Unique Ability:

■■■■:??? └Not unlocked because conditions have not been met.

LV4 Clone Art:??? └Clone duration slightly increased. └…■■■: When ■■ under certain conditions, Unique Ability: Clone Art changes to Unique Ability: Ä̴̹̩̞́̐̀%̷̢̨̢͈̗͓̜̰͇̤̳͙̅̃́$̴̭̪̭̼̝̄͛̀̐̂̑̄̆̾̆̅͌͗̃̚^̷̧̢̛̺̭̣̼̖̣̬̀̾̀̋̎͐̾̇͝͝͝ͅ&̷̱̩̝̮̭͓͍̪̻̺̔̎̔͝͝Q̷̫̝̺̓̾̉́̐̂̊͝ D̸̹̤̳̟͍̦̙̥̮̐̈́́̕$̵̦̥͉͚͕̬̱̪̌͗͛̀͜͜@̶̧̼̘͎̪̯͈͜͝͝ͅ%̸̧̠͎̺̠̞͔͜͜͝ ̴̨̭͎̲̦̯͘1̷̢̱͙̮̩̤͙̞̺̬̃͋3̴̧̡̛̹͍͓̗̙̹̥́̓͊̅̄͑͜…

Synchronization Affinity:

* Backstab – Increases damage when attacking an enemy from behind.

* Weakling Disregard – Increases damage when attacking opponents with low HP.

———————————————

‘Certainly, since then, I’ve grown a lot.’

My level drastically increased right after defeating that Ogre Team Leader. It didn’t increase from taking down researchers or guards, so it must be because I defeated a strong opponent.

Moreover, a new Synchronization Affinity skill appeared. Dealing more damage to opponents with low HP, it would be useful if I have to fight in the future.

Somehow, these settings are optimized only for backstabbing. Is it heaven’s will for me to become an assassin?

‘What exactly is that censorship in the Unique Ability section of the status window?’

My Clone Art level evolved one more tier. Thanks to this, the clone’s duration increased, allowing it to be maintained for almost half a day or more if used well.

However, the suspicious part is that pitch-black censored section. The description behind it isn’t properly written, and the text is garbled.

It seems to be saying that if certain conditions are met, the skill will change. I don’t quite understand it.

‘Well, I’ll probably find out when I level up later.’

After finishing my meal, I put the dishes in the sink then went to the living room and flopped onto the torn sofa.

“Hehehe…”

I turned on the TV. The weather forecast was just on.

“—This week, the temperature in Rustrum, due to a rapid cold wave caused by aether-atmospheric layer disturbance, is expected to fluctuate between above and below freezing for the time being. Viewers, please prepare for the sudden cold wave and dress warmly…”

Oh, for goodness sake, so that’s why it suddenly got so cold that frost formed on the windowpanes, even though it’s August summer. This world is a mess, from its weather to its people. That darn aether.

Lost in thought, I lay back on the sofa. It’s soft.

It’s a bit old and messy, but compared to life in that laboratory, it’s a space that truly smells human, so I feel really good.

Isn’t this what everyday happiness is all about?

The place I’m currently in is an old house used as a residence by the Osprey Brotherhood. Looking at its exterior, it resembles an old warehouse, but the interior is like an American two-story mansion. The Brotherhood members have decorated it quite cozily.

I’m used to it now, but at first, everything was unfamiliar.

A few weeks ago, after escaping the laboratory, I rode in a Brotherhood member’s truck for a long time. It was full of unfamiliar roads, unfamiliar streets, unfamiliar towns. My body ached and I was tired, so I just lay there, gazing at the sky, and before I knew it, it was pitch black night.

In the sky, an unfamiliar-looking blue moon hung. Only then did I fully realize that I had fallen into the world of 『Crimson Scholar』.

It was a landscape I had only seen in the game. It felt different from Earth’s moon.

As I was lost in that brief moment of appreciation, the car stopped. When I lifted my head, I saw a rundown housing complex.

As I got out of the car, people who had been standing by the roadside rushed over. They were all muscular and rough-looking men and women, so I instinctively hid behind Kalia. Their reaction was very enthusiastic.

“My goodness! Kalia is back!”

“You foolish girl! Do you know how much I worried about you?”

“Marco, is the kid alright?”

The mohawked man, called Marco, who had gotten out of the passenger seat, raised an arm for a moment to calm the people.

“Alright, alright. Let’s calm down for now. First, let the kids sleep, rest well! Then we can talk.”

“But who’s that one behind you?”

Someone asked, looking at me. Everyone’s gaze focused on me.

Right, a blood-stained girl wearing only a lab coat does stand out a bit.

“That’s right. Everyone, I’ll introduce her. This is Violet! She helped me escape from those Laflaxian guys.”

When Kalia introduced me, the expressions of those rough, bulky people instantly melted away like snow.

“She helped Kalia? Then she can be trusted!”

“She’s a benefactor of the Brotherhood!”

“This tiny kid? Amazing.”

Being surrounded by muscular men and women and receiving countless handshakes made me dizzy. I only managed to escape because Kalia pulled me out.

Several weeks passed like that, and somehow, I became quite close with the people here.

The Osprey Brotherhood appears as a wicked gang in the main story of the game.

However, looking at them now, they just seem like construction workers. And they actually were. The Brotherhood members’ jobs were to explore interdimensional dungeons, or simply do manual labor. They were far from being criminals.

The Brotherhood they formed also, at first glance, resembled a neighborhood watch. According to Kalia, all they did was occasionally beat down demon beasts that attacked the neighborhood.

How could a group of people like this end up becoming villains comparable to a Mexican cartel in the future? I felt a little perplexed. Even Kalia, a member of the Brotherhood, is a good person.

‘Right, from now on, it’s time to re-examine the knowledge of the main story in my head.’

After leaving the laboratory, I rested well for several weeks. During that time, I ate heartily, slept, and just lazed around and played. However, at some point, it was time to start thinking.

Let’s assume there’s a council in my head.

Everyone was peacefully discussing ‘What shall we do for fun today’, when suddenly an orangutan-like council member burst in and said this:

‘But what now?’

That’s right. When I was in the laboratory, all I did was read the mood, cater to the staff, and look for a way to escape.

But now that I’ve regained my freedom, my options have increased. Now it’s time to choose.

‘Since I’ve fallen into the past, there’s an advantage.’

It is currently Federal Year 25, August 2nd. The game’s timeline begins in the late Federal Year 30s. I have about 4 to 5 years of leeway.

Unfortunately, this damn game had its service discontinued after Part 1 because Director Yeom, who displeased the Party, disappeared. Since it was composed of a total of 5 story parts, the advantage of future knowledge I possess only applies to the Part 1 section.

‘But, is there any reason to worry further?’

That’s right. The villain who graced the finale of Part 1, Violet, the Witch of Immeasurable Power, no longer exists. In her place is the possessed Violet. From here, the future is already twisted.

So, I decided. It’s right to focus on growth first.

I took out the yellowish envelope I had brought from the laboratory.