episode_0032

Like a hamster wheel, Violet’s day continued to repeat itself. Attending classes, hunting, buying necessary items—it was the same routine every single day.

Before they knew it, a week had passed.

“Ugh… I want to play…”

“No!”

Meetings were held at night after the tedious routine ended. Since they could send not only thoughts and words but also images from memory and specific details, the meeting content itself conveyed only concise key points.

On Friday afternoon, classes ended early, so the meeting began quickly.

Today’s meeting began with a brief rundown of the week’s situation.

“-Did you get a truck?-”

“-Still looking for that. I saw a few decent ones, but we haven’t saved up enough money yet. We did secure a building. It’s old and has no electricity, but it’s watertight. And cheap.-”

The clone in the central region sent a summary of its activities over the past few days. The old, three-story building, formerly used as a warehouse, was currently empty.

They checked it, found it in decent condition, and immediately signed the contract. The Violets packed their belongings and are now living there, having laid down mats. It doesn’t seem to have any holes, but it needs a good cleaning.

“-Hey! Why on earth did you buy a motorcycle? You should’ve bought a truck!-”

“-For deliveries and transportation!-”

“-What? Are you really going to do deliveries?-”

“-The more means of transportation, the better.-”

Since the dungeon team occasionally suffers casualties, even though they were sparingly created with ample magic, there are currently over 10 individuals waiting in the central region.

In the future, their numbers are expected to grow even more once they level up or secure items that effectively increase magic.

Therefore, we decided to expand other sources of income besides dungeons. This money will be used for the living expenses of the active clones operating outside.

It’s a form of self-sufficiency.

Most importantly, now that we have student IDs, we can get most odd jobs or contract work.

However, the problem lay in our appearance.

“-Look at us, we all look identical. If it were just one or two, we could pass it off as twins, but any more than that and we’ll be suspected.-”

“-Right! I looked it up, and clone abilities are quite rare among unique powers.-”

“-Everyone will have to wear hoods or masks normally. And dress a bit differently!-”

If identical-looking girls were seen everywhere, anyone would find it suspicious.

Above all, this world is a modern civilized society with SNS and the internet. It wouldn’t be good if rumors spread like ‘identical beautiful girls are working everywhere.’

If that happened, it would attract the attention of the clans and corporations managing the city, as well as the federations and secret societies operating within it.

“-Therefore, we shouldn’t take jobs that involve meeting people for long periods. And physical labor like loading and unloading packages is too much for our stamina.-”

“-You think deliveries don’t involve meeting people?-”

“-We can cover ourselves completely with helmets and masks, right? And the face-to-face time is short. They say they’re so short-staffed that anyone who can ride a motorcycle gets hired. They don’t even need ID! They just accept anyone.-”

In the end, even as beautiful girls, all we can do is hard, dirty, and dangerous labor. I want to live off of internet broadcasts or SNS…

“-We really need to get those disguise tools soon…-”

“-That dungeon is swarming with intermediate magic beasts. It’s beyond our current level.-”

The topic of discussion shifted. The dungeon team, who were eating combat rations on the outskirts of the Novastia Dungeon, poured out their opinions.

“-When are we going to another dungeon? I’m getting sick of killing those dwarven runts.-”

“-Let’s secure some equipment first. We need to learn body reinforcement abilities quickly if we want to do anything in the next dungeon.-”

“-We need to buy guns and crossbows too! And tents!-”

The main topics were, as expected, growth, dungeons, and weapons.

“-I asked Kalia where I could buy guns and got scolded. She said, ‘Do I look like a general store?’ I looked it up myself and found a used weapon shop on the outskirts. I’ll go check it out.-”

“-3-star! Definitely 3-star or higher!-”

“-What about equipment from clans or large corporations?-”

“-You can order them directly online, but they’re expensive!-”

New ideas were also proposed.

“-How about the waiting personnel in the central region train in their spare time? We’re going to go to the gym and practice separately too.-”

“-Alright. What should we start with? Formations? Swordsmanship?-”

“-Everything!-”

What would happen if many trained together? Would there be some kind of group experience bonus? The thought crossed my mind to try it.

“-Speaking of which, how’s the school situation?-”

“-Oh, I just found something strange!-”

Those of us assigned to the school laid out books and internet articles.

“-I sent thoughts earlier, but everyone was busy and missed it, so I’ll go over it again. There’s something strange.-”

As Unit 7 spoke, the smartphone screen, displaying the ‘Polaris Academy Introduction Booklet’ and news windows from a search engine, appeared in their shared vision.

“-Oh, so after always reading novels in the library, you finally accomplished something.-”

Unit 5 teased Unit 7. The data collection team, excluding those attending classes, mainly just looked at books and computers in the library, but most of them just slacked off under the pretext of gathering data.

“-You guys looked too!-”

“-Ugh!-”

At Unit 7’s protest, we all winced and fell silent for a moment. It was true, after all.

The ability to share each other’s vision and thoughts boasted a huge advantage in leisure activities.

Whenever they were bored or tired, they could shift their focus slightly to the Violet Network, making it possible to study while playing games, or even fight while reading books.

“-Wait, who decided to call our thought-sharing method the ‘Violet Network’?- ”

“-Just last night! It was decided by agreement of 25 out of the 30 total clones. Unit 11 was asleep, remember.-”

“-So it was a democracy. Can’t argue with that.-”

After the small talk ended, Unit 7 immediately began explaining.

“-As we all felt, Polaris Academy is strangely massive in scale. Didn’t you notice it at the entrance ceremony?-”

“-Right. Now that I think about it, why are there so many students?-”

In the game, the scholarship officer was only highlighted for leading students and colleagues to defeat magic beasts, but school stories also appeared occasionally. Of course, to market student characters, they’d have to include beach events, hot springs trips, and field trips, wouldn’t they?

In this process, the Awakened Academy’s scale was usually depicted as that of a regular high school.

But here, there are far too many. It’s on the scale of a university. While other academies also mix university and high school systems, this is just excessively large.

Perhaps that’s why there are so many ghoulish students with melted brains out in the field.

“-I looked it up, you know? Polaris Academy is the largest Awakened specialist academy in the Western region where we are now. But do you know how much bigger it is compared to other academies? It’s more than 3-4 times larger.-”

“-Crazy, it’s ridiculously huge. Were there really that many young Awakened?-”

“-It seems like it’s the level you’d get if you combined all the academies in the nearby regions.-”

“-Exactly, Unit 1. Correct!-”

“-What?-”

Everyone’s minds focused on Unit 7’s view. Thin, white fingers tapped the screen a few times, and a map application appeared on the smartphone.

The archipelago, formed by the large rhombus-shaped main island where the Academy City is located and several smaller nearby islands, appeared. Two thumbs typed ‘Awakened Academy’ into the search bar. Red dots appeared on the map.

“-So many academies.-”

“-Now, compare the number of academies in the East, West, South, and North.-”

They compared the number of academies marked on the map. Their eyes quickly filled with bewilderment. At first glance, the number of academies seemed small. Compared to other regions, the red dots were sparse.

“-What? Other regions look similar, so why is the West so sparse?-”

“-Is the school district bad?-”

“-It looks strange at a glance, doesn’t it? You’ll understand why when you see this.”

The smartphone screen switched, and a search engine appeared. They could see articles listed in chronological order.

…

The words ‘integration, transfer, enrollment, student’ were attached to every article title without fail. It was strange.

“-I suddenly got curious and searched for something, you know? That’s when these articles popped up. So I looked further, just in case.-”

“-What? It just absorbed several schools in a few years. Is that even possible?-”

“-I don’t know. The clans are letting this happen, so did they bribe them or something?-”

Their eyes were filled with doubt as they observed Polaris’s expansionist movements. There was a reason for the school’s massive scale.

“-Look at the picture! This person looks like the one from the entrance ceremony.-”

Unit 11 briefly took control of Unit 7’s body and scrolled up the screen. They saw a photo of a black-haired young man, whose long hair was tied back, giving a speech.

“-This person is the chairman who gave the speech at the entrance ceremony!-”

“-Oh, the grateful person who kept the congratulatory speech short! He looks young for someone holding the chairman title.-”

“-Must be an Awakened. Awakened age slower, don’t they?-”

The academy’s gotten this big. How strange.

“-Is that why all sorts of riff-raff gathered here?-”

“-I don’t know. Maybe it’s a trick to siphon money from students.-”

I know this academy turns into ruins in the main story five years from now, but the academy’s scale suddenly expanded recently.

A strange feeling seized me.

Am I being too suspicious? Maybe I’m too caught up in paranoia.

“-For now, let’s properly investigate this part without slacking off. The investigation team should look into the academy’s past history later. Oh! And who the board members are.-”

“-Confirmed!-”

“-Alright. Then, let’s have our final meeting. ‘Multi-dimensional Storage Bag.’ Who took the inventory?-”

Just as they were about to open the final chapter of the meeting, a text message suddenly arrived.

-Buzz!-

[Notice: Students of the Dungeon Strategy and Management Department who received this message are requested to immediately assemble on the 3rd floor of Classroom Building 3. A freshman welcoming party will be held, albeit belatedly. No absences allowed! -From the upperclassmen of the Dungeon Strategy and Management Department]

“Eek…! What’s this?!”

I thought it was quiet for almost two weeks, but finally, it was here. My department, unlike others, hadn’t done anything strange, but it seemed they were finally calling.

“-Meeting suspended! Meeting suspended! Unit 7, what are you going to do?-”

“-I don’t know! Shouldn’t we attend first? It might actually be a real party, unexpectedly.-”

“-If anything happens, use Pain Dispersion, check your magic! Prepare weapons. Dungeon team, withdraw immediately!-”

Unit 7, with a firm resolve, stepped out of the dormitory.

As they walked across the school grounds, a loud explosion was heard in the distance. What was that? A fight?

-Boom! Boom! Boom!- -Bang!-

The school grounds, with dust and smoke swirling, came into view. Unfortunately, the fight seemed to have ended quickly. What a shame to have missed an interesting spectacle.

Surprisingly, a world where juniors had overthrown seniors was unfolding.

“Gah! Junior! Calm down! Agh! Junior-nim! I was wrong!”

“Whoa! Woah! Disciplinary Committee! Call the Disciplinary Committee!”

A cool-looking male student with blue hair, as if torn from a light novel, appeared. It was Lucian.

Indeed, true to his self-important nature, he seemed to have mercilessly sent the seniors flying. He truly stood out like an awl in a pouch [a proverb meaning someone’s talent or brilliance cannot be hidden].

“Hmph, bragging just because you enrolled a bit earlier? You’re utterly pathetic.”

“No… but we’re still your seniors…!”

One senior protested indignantly. Beside him, several unconscious senior students were piled up like sacks. The boy sat atop them, scoffing at the flustered seniors.

“I don’t listen to those weaker than me.”

“As expected! Lucian! Amazing!”

The first-year classmates, who had been standing by as hangers-on, cheered. On closer inspection, they were also covered in dust. He was the main force, but it seemed they had all jumped into the fray together.

Just as they were about to move again, heavily armed figures in black uniforms came sprinting from a distance.

-Thud-thud-thud!-

“Everyone stop! This is the Disciplinary Committee!”

“Stop right there!”

The figures surrounded Lucian and the first-year students. Some of the frightened first-year students who were retreating were seized by these self-proclaimed Disciplinary Committee members.

“We heard a violent incident occurred. Come with us!”

“What, do you guys want to be knocked out too?”

For a moment, a battle of wills erupted between the one who appeared to be the leader and Lucian.

“Unauthorized violence within school grounds is prohibited.”

“Ridiculous. You do nothing when those so-called seniors harass us with strange initiation rituals, but you show up mighty fast for this.”

The standoff ended when the Disciplinary Committee member took a step back first.

“…Fine, just come with us. You can leave right after the investigation.”

“Right! A junior hitting a senior…! No! Why me?!”

The Disciplinary Committee led the first-year students and the third-year students away side by side.

Lucian shook off the Disciplinary Committee members’ arms and declared, “Hmph, stop flaunting it, I’ll go by myself!”

“What a mess.”

I just found out this school had a Disciplinary Committee. What a perplexing world.

They walked diligently towards the classroom building where the party was being held. As they walked, they saw a lavishly decorated banner that read ‘Welcome, Juniors!’ hanging inside a large classroom. Balloons and elaborate decorations filled the space.

Most of all, the contents on the large dining table caught my eye. It was filled with chicken, pizza, and all sorts of delicious delicacies from land and sea.

“Wow!”

It must really be a party. Perhaps the upperclassmen in this department aren’t so bad after all?