episode_0034

‘Those poor junior bastards, they’ll soon be whining that they can’t eat anymore because they’re full, won’t they?’

Normally, by now, the juniors, who were forced to cram food into their stomachs, would be giving up. Then, he would use that as an excuse to give them a good ‘education’ and instill some manners.

It was a difficult and painful memory now, but it would all become a fond memory later.

However, the situation took an unexpected turn.

“Look there! All the food we prepared is already gone!”

“What? That can’t be, we calculated everything…”

It was common knowledge that awakened individuals had superior physical abilities compared to unawakened ones. So, they had even dipped into personal funds, beyond the department fees, to prepare a massive amount of food.

But the consumption rate was faster than expected. The abundant food was already running out.

“Senior! Look over there!”

“Camerdin! That punk!”

The cause was quickly identified. A playful-looking female student was bouncing around in the direction the sophomore junior pointed.

The girl’s glittering golden hair swayed as she headed to another person’s table. She ignorantly grabbed a whole cake, one that was allocated to each table, with both hands and shoved it into her mouth. In the blink of an eye, the cake disappeared.

She went from table to table, grabbing cakes. Each time the female student scooped up a handful, the new students looked delighted.

“I want to eat this! No permission needed!”

“Are you going to eat it? Thank you!”

Eventually, the girl headed towards a shelf still piled high with food. She took the food from the shelf without even using tongs and began to ignorantly stuff it into her mouth.

After watching for a short while, the food vanished instantly.

“What the hell is that? Is it magic?”

“I don’t feel any spell formulas or magic circles.”

She definitely wasn’t throwing it away.

As an awakened individual, his sight clearly showed that the food that went into the girl’s mouth had disappeared.

There was only one conclusion.

That female student had eaten it all.

Camerdin was furious that the freshman welcome party wasn’t going his way.

“Where did that gluttonous pig come from!”

“No, Senior! We didn’t know there’d be a junior who could eat like that!”

When one of the sophomore juniors complained, an enraged Camerdin slapped him.

‘Our department’s tradition is about to be ruined!’

He had intentionally prepared greasy, salty, and burdensome foods that were difficult to eat a lot of. He also brought less drinks.

Just like he himself had experienced.

Camerdin, fuming, walked with his colleagues toward the troublesome girl.

“You, what’s your name?”

“It’s Violet!”

When the root of the problem smiled brightly, fire surged within Camerdin.

That girl, Violet, had ruined everything.

“Senior-nim! I’ve eaten everything. Can I go now?”

Upon closer inspection, her eyes were full of mischief. He suppressed his anger and spoke.

He wanted to mess her up somehow.

“No, we still have a bit more to give our juniors.”

“Yes! Senior-nim! Hehehe.”

As Camerdin turned his back, his bewildered classmates asked.

“Camerdin, what are you going to do now? Whatever she did, all the food we prepared went into her stomach.”

“Let’s stop now. This is meaningless…”

His classmates’ attempts to dissuade him only added fuel to his fiery rage.

“…Shut up.”

“What? Why are you suddenly like this…”

“Snap out of it! This is our department’s tradition. Are you trying to ruin tradition?”

The pain from two years ago vividly flashed in Camerdin’s mind.

‘Chew it thoroughly and swallow! New student! This is the path your seniors also walked. Aren’t you ashamed!’

‘Ugh… Senior-nim! I’ll do it! I can do it!’

It was a rite of passage.

He had chewed and swallowed more than ten, twenty pieces of tasteless, dry bread without water.

He gathered all his will and painfully forced it down his throat. Students who couldn’t swallow were met with a magic-infused kick.

He had done it.

‘Congratulations. You are a proud student of our department.’

‘Yes, Senior-nim! Sob, sob…!’

It was tough back then, but thinking about it now, it was truly a proud memory.

In contrast, look at those weak first-years.

Compared to back then, there was delicious food everywhere, yet they whined like children about being full after eating just a little. It was a blessing compared to what the seniors had gone through.

This was something that absolutely had to be done. It was what his seniors had always done. That’s how he was taught.

Since he had done it, it was only right for the juniors to do it too.

“Alright, I’ll show them a thing or two.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I’ll pay, so hurry and buy more!”

Camerdin took out his card from his wallet and threw it. His colleagues ordered food. The sophomore juniors frantically ran to buy more food to stuff into that black-hole-like stomach of the female student.

Otherwise, the third-year representative’s fiery reprimand would fall upon them.

Immediately, mountains of food were prepared.

“So, you said your name was Violet, right? You must have been very hungry?”

“Yes! That’s right.”

Now the structure of the welcome party had become quite peculiar. Violet sat alone at the table, surrounded by first-year students and second and third-year seniors watching her.

Violet thought.

‘This feels exactly like filming an eating show.’

Now the seniors didn’t hide what they were trying to do; they acted overtly. The desire for Violet to yield was plainly visible in their eyes.

Putting the seniors aside, Violet felt a little burdened by the anticipation of her classmates, who suddenly looked at her with eyes of awe.

‘I’ve suddenly become the savior of the first-years.’

The other Violets, who were sharing Unit 7’s vision, spoke.

-*What are you going to do? So far, we’ve managed to send the big pieces by transfer discreetly, but now there are too many eyes watching.*

-*We’ll have to tear them into small pieces and send them. That’s all we can do.*

The door opened, and students pulling carts could be seen. Food was piled onto the carts: bananas, hardtack, pizza…

There was a variety.

One thing they had in common was that they were all things that would easily give you indigestion if shoved into your stomach without drinks.

“Alright, Violet. Then, eat deliciously!”

‘Let’s see… let’s see you gobble this down.’

Violet, hearing the seniors’ non-encouraging encouragement, giggled and began her tasting. She tore the food into small pieces, easy to hold in her palm, and pretended to put them in her mouth, transferring them instantly.

The transferred food immediately traveled hundreds of kilometers away into the hands of other Violets waiting in the central and southwestern regions.

-*Alright, sort them into baskets. This will all be our daily sustenance.*

-*Don’t forget to put it in your inventory after sorting it all!*

-*Ugh! There’s saliva on it!*

In unavoidable cases, she transferred what she had put in her mouth directly. It was a bit messy, but since it was her own bodily fluid, perhaps it didn’t matter.

After a while, Camerdin and the seniors were horrified.

“Hey… what trick did you use?!”

“I ate everything as Senior-nim told me to!”

The girl smiled annoyingly brightly.

Everything they had prepared disappeared into the girl’s mouth in an instant a short while later.

“Buy more!”

Camerdin ordered food again.

Even with other classmates trying to stop him, Camerdin refused to give up. He kept bringing food and stuffing it into the bottomless pit that was the girl’s mouth.

“Here’s a giant cake. Try this too!”

“Wow! Chocolate mousse cake! Thank you!”

Now, both seniors and juniors alike were staring at Violet with awe.

‘What on earth is in her stomach?!’

Someone present recalled an ancient legend.

A monster that, tormented by hunger, ate even itself, until only hard gums remained.

Could that girl be such a being?

Violet, having eaten the last cake, wiped her hands on the tablecloth on the table and stood up. Her gleaming ruby eyes seemed to mock the seniors as she gazed at them.

“I ate everything without leaving any. So, can I go now?”

The seniors, mouths agape, stepped back.

“Hey! Why aren’t you buying more?!”

Camerdin, who was behind them, held his phone and let out a furious whisper.

Unexpected bad news came.

-*Senior-nim! They say the card you gave us cannot be transferred!*

“What?!”

Camerdin opened his app and checked his balance.

He confirmed that his entire allowance, which had about 200,000 credits, was completely gone.

It was empty.

“My… my money!”

He slumped to the floor, feeling disheartened. His colleagues around him barely managed to help him up.

The blonde girl walked right past him.

The first-years were waving their arms, cheering, “Violet! Violet!”

Is this the end? Should he let her go like this?

Camerdin, who had been staring blankly at the line of first-years, suddenly remembered that this wasn’t the end.

“…Hey, since it’s come to this, get those out and mix them! Not just her, but all the other juniors, we can’t let them go like that! Let’s make them drink this at least.”

“What? Didn’t you say we’d hand out a glass each after everything was over?”

“The welcome party is ruined anyway! Just give it to them now.”

“Drinking in school is prohibited by regulations…”

“It’s fine, I tell you!”

Upon his command, the sophomore juniors brought a large bucket.

-Gurgle, gurgle!

And then they took out various bottles, opened their caps, and began mixing alcohol.

‘This combination will get you drunk instantly with just one glass. The hangover is no joke either! Let’s see if she can drink this too!’

“Alright, juniors! It would be disappointing if you just left. There’s still one thing left.”

Violet’s gaze turned towards the bucket the senior had brought and placed on the table. A strong smell of alcohol wafted from it.

“What is this?”

“This is an elixir of courage that our department students drink one glass of at the end of the welcome party.”

“Elixir of courage?”

“That’s right! We’re giving it to you because our juniors are so admirable. Have a drink. And you, line up behind too!”

Violet, just in case, picked up the bucket and used her status window.

Department of Dungeon Strategy and Management’s Muddy Elixir ☆★★★★

A bomb drink mixed with various strong alcoholic drinks and bitter, unpleasant beverages.

For awakened individuals, it is not harmful, but the hangover will be severe.

Drinking this bomb drink, mixed with recklessness and obstinacy,

is closer to madness than courage.

…

‘What, it’s nothing special?’

The hangover might be severe, but it probably wouldn’t matter.

“…So, if you want to leave, you have to drink one glass of this, I tell you?”

As Camerdin explained to a first-year glaring at him from beside, Violet quickly slipped in between them and lifted the bucket.

“I just have to drink all of this, right? I’ll enjoy it!”

“What? Wait, hey. Stop! That was made for other people to drink…”

“Uh… uh? Hey! That’s… not meant for one person to drink! Put it down!”

Violet giggled, and despite the protests around her, she gulped down the entire contents of the bucket. People around tried to snatch it away, but it was too late.

Of course, Violet had a plan. Unit 7 immediately moved her clones.

-*Go to the bathroom or indoors right now, move!*

-*You’re going to drink it and immediately transfer and spit it out? It might be possible, but it’s a bit disgusting.*

The clones frantically ran to the restrooms or outside.

-*Ugh!*

-*Ptui! Ptui!*

The idea was a success. When Unit 7 swallowed the liquid and immediately transferred it, the distant clones spat the liquid out.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect. A little bit of the alcohol did go down her throat.

However, there was a second method remaining.

Sensory dispersion.

[The individual’s sense of taste and smell are dispersed among the number of clones, dulling them – Dulling value: 5%]

The initial feeling of repulsion vanished immediately.

-*I don’t know what they put in it, but it tastes awful!*

-*Ugh! I drank a little.*

“Ahhh… all that alcohol…”

“Oh my goodness…”

Violet, who had downed all the liquid, threw the empty bucket onto the floor. The bucket clanged as it rolled across the ground.

“Hehehe, Senior-nim. Can I go now?”

“Ah… ah… to drink all of the department’s special bomb d… no, elixir… I’ve lost…”

Camerdin slumped to the floor in despair. Violet strode through the seniors, who hung their heads in defeat, like a conquering general.

“Hey! Open the door!”

“Alright…”

One of the seniors cautiously came over and opened the door. Violet went outside.

“Violet! Violet! Violet!”

“Violet is a god!”

Barely shaking off the cheering first-years who followed her, Violet walked through the campus.

“Hehehe… I won!”

A tipsiness spread through her body. As expected, completely transferring it was impossible; she must have drunk a little. Violet tried to disperse it.

[Warning: Violet Unit 7 is in a state of intoxication!]

“Oh… can’t the tipsiness be dispersed?”

[Warning: Violet Unit 11 is in a state of intoxication!]

[Warning: Violet Unit 8 is in a state of intoxication!]

[Warning: Violet Unit 9 is in a state of intoxication!]

…

-*Hey! Other units also drank some during the spitting process, and their condition isn’t good…*

-*Hehehehe! Life! The best!*

-*Giggle, giggle!*

Oh no, the alcohol seemed stronger than expected. Was it based on the standard of awakened individuals who were skilled in physical enhancement? She was still unskilled in physical enhancement abilities.

Violet staggered as she walked through the street illuminated by the setting sun. For some reason, people stared at her with surprised eyes.

“The world is… spinning… round and round…”

-Thud!

Violet collapsed onto the ground. She could no longer distinguish anything.

“Heheng…”

-*Hey! Reverse-generate Unit 7! And all the other drunk ones too!*

-*No, there are too many people around right now. Do it later.*

-*Hehehe! Good!*

-*Is she going to sleep in the street like this?*

-*Hehehehe!*

While the collective drunken clones caused chaos, Violet crawled into a roadside bush and tried to sleep.

“Hehehehe…”

She couldn’t think of anything. Violet curled up to sleep. It was cold. Chilly…

-*Isn’t this guy the one next to us?*

-*Uh… what… should we do! She… looks… dead!*

-*No, she just looks drunk. Let’s take her to the infirmary just in case.*

She felt a sensation of being lifted. Violet lost consciousness.

“Heheheng…”

***

Dizzy, so dizzy.

My head hurt terribly.

It was hard to breathe for some reason.

It hurts. Why does it hurt?

I was in a strange place.

I was walking down a quiet street when masked people approached me.

Instinctively, I was scared and tried to run away.

“No! Go away!”

But I was quickly held by my limbs.

-Whirr!

A strange mechanical whirring sound echoed from the backs of the masked people.

Many mechanical arms sprouted chaotically. I screamed.

“What? No! Go away! Go away!”

The machines began to mutilate my body. Among them, the largest, most terrifying, and sharpest machine approached my head.

I couldn’t resist.

It hurts. It hurts. No.

Stop. Please stop.

“Waaaaah…”

Like a butterfly with its wings caught between the malicious fingers of a child, like a trampled worm, like a fish dropped onto a hot plate, I writhed.

I moved.

“No…”

It hurts. Please stop.

“Mom…”

I cried out desperately for someone.

No one answered.

I was alone.

Alone…

As I writhed in pain.

A warm green light descended from afar.

…Are you okay? I’m here.

A gentle voice, one I had heard many times, reached my ears.

The warm green light gradually grew larger.

The things that had tormented me—the masked men, the mechanical arms—all of them began to melt away like snow in the light.

“Mom…?”

The voice echoed once more. It trembled for a moment, as if hesitating. The voice was disjointed in places, so it wasn’t precise, but it was soft and warm.

…Yes…. It’s… me…. That’s right… I’m here. It doesn’t hurt. It’s okay now.

Help me, no, don’t torment me…

…No one will torment… you… You’ll be… strong… Hang in there.

…Understood? I’ll say it again… I’m here.

A gentle, pale green curtain of light drew closer. It enveloped me. I rose again. I soared.

“…Ugh!?”

I, Unit 7, opened my eyes and woke up.

“Where am I…”

It was a simple but cozy room. At least it wasn’t my dorm room. There weren’t any curtains like that around.

When I woke up, someone was holding both my hands tightly. It was soft.

My blurry vision gradually focused and became clear.

Only then did I recognize the person holding my hands.

“Ruzilin-ssi, are you alright?”

A silver-haired girl looked at me with blue eyes. Her worried gaze made my heart flutter.

“It seems you had a bad dream.”

For some reason, Daphne was looking at me pitifully, as if I were a seriously ill patient. Feeling burdened, I quickly changed the subject.

“Daphne…? Why are you here? More importantly, where is this…?”

“It’s the infirmary. Those people brought Ruzilin-ssi here, they said. Why were you sleeping on the street anyway?”

I shifted my gaze and saw two students sitting opposite Daphne. A girl with black pigtails and a bulky older man… no, a student.

“Um, I don’t remember your names…”

“Le… Levi!”

“Granite.”

“Ah! The people next to me at the welcome party yesterday!”

Now I remembered. Those two friends.

“Why are you here? And me?”

“Don’t… you… remember…?”

“Oh, too bad. She’s forgotten.”

I don’t know. Let me try to remember.

-*Unit 7! You’re awake! I thought you were dead.*

-*It seems hard to remember. I’ll share it with you right away!*

The Violet Network immediately sent memories to me. To be precise, it was Unit 7’s situation that other ‘me’s’ remembered.

Last night, the seniors tried to torture me with food, so I transferred all the food away and tricked them. Then they brought out some bucket, and despite their warnings, I drank it all.

And then I went out to the street… and felt sleepy. I just lay down.

‘Ugh! To pass out on the street after drinking!’

“Excuse me, are you alright now?”

While I was collecting my thoughts, I felt embarrassed. To collapse on the street, not even in my dorm…

Just then, someone carefully pulled back the curtain and entered. Everyone’s gaze turned to her.

A confident-looking female student with purple hair and prominent braided bangs appeared.

“Violet Ruzilin, correct?”

“Huh? That’s right. But who…”

The female student, who had received my curious gaze, politely bowed.

“I am Irene Solstis, the first-year student representative. Do you have a moment?”

It was that girl from the entrance ceremony.

A 5-star playable character. A girl full of a sense of justice.

I knew I would meet her someday, but I didn’t expect it to be here.

“I have plenty of time! So, anything… Ugh!”

“Ruzilin-ssi! Please lie back down!”

My head became dizzy again. It must be the hangover.

It seems I’ll have to rest a bit before talking.