episode_0163

In a corner of the factory, the Violets set up a small workshop. Since the place we had chosen as our base was originally a factory, it wasn’t difficult to find space.

The tools Enis requested were also full of unfamiliar items, but they weren’t difficult to acquire immediately.

“Alright, delivery team, move fast! I’ve placed the call, so go pick up the items yourselves.”

“Ugh! Why do we need so many things?”

When they returned with the equipment in less than an hour, Enis looked surprised.

“This fast?”

“Nothing is impossible for us Violets!”

Once everything needed was ready, we nagged the slave.

“If you can’t fix it, your meals will be fixed to bread and water starting tomorrow!”

“What’s with bread and water! Let’s just give him instant noodles.”

“Yes, understood… By the way, Violet Boss-nim?”

As I was about to turn away, Enis called from behind.

Wondering what it was, I looked and saw him slowly raise both hands, showing his restraints.

“I’m really sorry, but… could you please remove these restraints? I need magic for the work.”

I undid the restraints, then held a gun and supervised from behind.

“Alright, here! Don’t you dare try anything funny.”

“We’re watching you!”

The guard Violets monitored him to ensure he didn’t try anything.

At first, Enis kept an eye on us, then put on a uniquely shaped glove, took out an iron-like tool, injected magic power into it, and began working on the staffs and parts piled high on the desk.

Before dinner, news arrived. When I entered the workshop, he showed me the results.

“Here they are. They might not be as good as the original performance the agents used, but they should be able to perform all basic functions.”

Violet Unit 1001, seeing the staffs, tilted her head.

Seven staffs were laid out on the desk.

“What, why are there so many?”

“You know those parts you gave me, Boss-nim? The crucial core components were intact. At that level, they can be repaired quickly just by reconnecting the magic circuits. I’ve even fixed worse things than these in the clan.”

“Really? I didn’t know.”

Oh, I picked up the staffs and examined them with interest. Just looking at their appearance, they seemed plausible.

“Good, then, activate!”

I picked up one of the staffs from the desk and channeled magic power into it. From near the tip of the staff I had boldly lifted, a cross-shaped light shot out.

“Whoa! What is this?”

“Ah, that’s a targeting reticle.”

Hearing the explanation, I aimed it here and there. Indeed, I had wondered how mages aimed their attacks at enemies, and it turned out they had aiming devices.

The Violets discussed for a moment.

“Their appearance is plausible for now. But aren’t researchers people who write papers and look at books?”

“Well, I looked into the department that woman was in. It seems like a place where they directly disassemble, analyze, and develop various things.”

“I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be better to just buy new ones?”

Our opinions diverged. After a five-minute marathon meeting involving 300 Violets, we decided to conduct a practical test.

“Boss-nim…?”

“Wait!”

I picked up the staffs and put them into my inventory one by one. Enis’s eyes widened at the sight. A few seconds later, the staffs were moved to the unmanned island workshop outside Rustrum Island.

“Wow! I was bored while eating, so this is great.”

“Alright, let’s take a look!”

The Violets who had been grilling sausages over the campfire in front of the tent couldn’t contain their excitement and stood up one by one. Unit 102, who stood at the front, examined the staffs one by one. Using the power of the status window, she filtered out the 1-star and 2-star ones, leaving approximately four staffs.

Three were 3-star, one was 4-star. Unfortunately, the status window alone couldn’t reveal their specific abilities.

“…Standard issue armaments of Magnabyss members. Damaged after intense combat, they were repaired through cannibalization. Each possesses unique abilities…”

“That’s all it says. What! And what are these unique abilities?”

In the end, it was necessary to test them directly. Unit 102 headed to the gravel beach. Target boards were lined up there.

“Alright, prepare to fire!”

She raised the staff, aligned the crosshair hologram with the target, and prepared a spell. The spell was Fireball, a basic area-of-effect attack skill. We could also cast it at our level, but since it was more powerful than a magic bullet, it was suitable for testing the staff’s performance.

As the calculation began, a twisted abacus-like computational formula and 12 beads attached to it appeared before our eyes. Moving the beads to their original positions would complete the formula.

“Alright, starting the calculation allocation. First four! If you think it’s you, come out! One tub of ice cream per person!”

“Me! I’ll do it! Give me chocolate flavor!”

“No, I’ll do it first! I want vanilla!”

After a small commotion, the Violets divided the mental labor and began the calculation.

Unlike before, when they could barely move one bead when they first learned, the Violets’ skills had increased slightly. Currently, one Violet can move about two to three beads per second.

Therefore, approximately four Violets are needed to cast one Fireball per second.

“Three, two, one. Fire!”

As soon as the calculation was complete, the Violet fired a Fireball. A fist-sized Fireball shot out from beyond the staff and flew towards a distant mannequin.

-Boom!

The mannequin exploded with a loud roar.

“Good! Let’s continue testing this way!”

The Violets tested several staffs one after another.

“This one’s magic casting speed is too slow, and this one is too ordinary. Oh, wait?”

“Wow, look at this! The magic power consumption is low!”

Amazingly, one 3-star staff reduced the magic power consumption of spells by almost half. This effect didn’t apply to clone creation, but since unique abilities and spells are different, it had to be taken into account.

The ability of the remaining staff was also beyond imagination.

-Bang!

“Ack! Why is it so strong?”

Surprisingly, the firepower of the 4-star staff was enormous. The power of the fist-sized Fireball we cast increased by almost two or three times.

A Fireball about as strong as a powerful grenade blew away its surroundings with the force of a rocket launcher.

“It’s better than I thought?”

“Um, Boss-nim…?”

As I was observing the experiment from the Violet network, I heard someone calling me.

Enis was looking at me, fidgeting.

To him, it seemed like I was just standing there blankly, saying nothing, so he thought I was angry.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just watching the staff performance test. Your repair work was excellent!”

“Really…?”

“Yep!”

This test made me look at the slave in a new light. Although he couldn’t fully restore the original power, he had managed to create excellent chimera magic staffs by gathering only the scraps we had picked up from the battlefield.

“Alright, I’m in a good mood! Your dinner tonight will be meat and alcohol!”

“Th-thank you…”

Good. The Violets’ magical power had advanced one step further. We continued to watch Enis disappear to eat dinner, guided by a guard Violet.

“He has skill. What should we have him do next?”

“First of all, he’s a technician and a mage. How about having him make special bullets? Or magic bombs!”

“That’s a good idea!”

Tomorrow, I should have him try carving magic circles onto ordinary rifle bullets. If he has that ability, we might be able to mass-produce expensive ammunition like special anti-beast bullets for free.

“If he says he can’t, we’ll make him do it until he can!”

I should have him make about a thousand rounds as a test.

**

Having confirmed the skill of the magic equipment crafting slave, the Violets’ interest now shifted to acquiring more powerful offensive magic.

“Weak offensive magic can be replaced with firearms or swordsmanship. We need truly powerful magic!”

Just then, the Violets had someone who could teach them.

“So, you’re saying you’re stopping basic magic lessons now? You want me to teach you powerful combat magic?”

“Yes! I don’t want Fireballs or magic bullets! Magic arrows aren’t great either. I want magic that can destroy buildings! And defeat armies!”

Professor Albert replied to my request in an annoyed tone.

“…Why don’t you start by explaining why you’ve been skipping my private lessons? And then suddenly calling me out of the blue, frantically asking about combustion suppression magic. Really…”

“Hehehe… I’m sorry…”

Hearing the professor’s words, I winced inwardly. It was because I had skipped class while doing various things in the Vittorio Dungeon.

I had to be seriously lectured by Professor-nim for an hour.

“Well, if Professor-nim knew the truth, wouldn’t he understand?”

By the way, I don’t know when I should explain the situation to Professor-nim or Instructor-nim. It would be right to ask for their cooperation before the big event.

Right. Now that I think about it, something came up that I needed to ask.

While we were exploring the dungeon with our team members, Instructor Frederick had taken a short leave and departed.

“Kid, I told you last time, didn’t I? That I might have something to do and leave. Training will be temporarily suspended starting tomorrow, so be aware.”

“Huh? Really? When will you be back?”

“I’ll be back in the near future, so keep that in mind. If you have any more questions, ask that Albert fellow.”

I asked Professor Albert about the instructor’s whereabouts. I hadn’t had the leisure to properly look for him, as I had hastily de-spawned some external clones when I needed magic power.

The professor seemed to ponder something, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Ah, you mean that guy? He went somewhere else for an important matter. He even contacted me about it yesterday.”

“Really? Where is he?”

“…Don’t worry about it. By the way, combat magic?”

Changing the subject, Professor Albert returned to his usual self and relentlessly badgered me.

“You whine about how difficult it is to learn basic magic, so how do you expect to handle even harder spells?”

“Oh, Professor-nim. I’m strong in practical applications. Look here!”

Saying that, I summoned several Fireballs in my hand. The professor sighed.

“Strange, strange. How can someone who barely avoids failing in math and theory be so good at calculations? I’ve never seen a case like yours.”

“Exactly. I’m different! I’ll even self-study. Please teach me some powerful combat magic!”

To my request, the professor refused sharply.

“No. Serious dangers exist with full-fledged combat magic beyond the basic stage. If the calculation for basic magic fails, magic power is simply consumed and it ends, but beyond that, serious problems occur.”

“What happens?”

I feigned ignorance and asked Professor Albert. Well, I already knew this from the game’s settings.

If you make a mistake while calculating complex magic…

“Magic power could backflow, causing injury, or your brain could overload, leading to serious harm. Perhaps both could happen. Do you understand? This is a safety issue. For now, with basic magic, there’s no major problem, but if you recklessly attempt to use magic of higher difficulty, you could die.”

When the professor finished speaking, I nodded. Safety issues were important.

However, I still had something to explain.

“Actually, I have something to confess to you, Professor-nim!”

“What is it, did you perhaps swipe my wallet or something?”

I shook my head at the half-joke and created a clone.

“Yes, that’s your unique ability. What are you going to do with it?”

“Actually, this is the secret to my magic!”

I demonstrated parallel processing in front of the professor. The startled professor gaped at us, then slumped onto the sofa.

“My heavens…”

**

I roughly explained that ‘for some unknown reason, I can entrust calculations to my clones.’

I kept our core secrets, the Violet network and collective intelligence, hidden. Those weren’t things he needed to know right away.

After my long explanation ended, the professor sighed.

“…No wonder, I thought it was strange. I said someone who couldn’t even study was strangely good at magic. So, you can entrust part of the calculation to your clones?”

“Yes. That’s right!”

Like the smart person he was, the professor quickly understood my explanation.

The professor, deep in thought, rummaged through his bookshelf and pulled out thick tomes secured with multiple locks, one by one. They were spellbooks. The locks clicked open, one by one, and fell off.

“Wow, no way! Are you giving them all to me?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, you fool. You wouldn’t be able to do it even if I gave them to you. For now, take a look at this.”

The professor handed over the smallest and thinnest of the tomes.

“Well, you’re not without practical ability, are you? It’s also time for you to grasp basic magic. So, take this.”

The professor snapped his fingers. A sheet of paper smoothly slid out from between the tomes and landed in front of me.

“This is…?”

“This is the area-of-effect attack magic you desire so much. Just take a look for now. I’m giving it to you so you can grasp how difficult it is. I’ll take it right back, so just look. Don’t cast it! Don’t even take a picture!”

On the paper, which read , complex magic circles and various formulas were inscribed.

“I need some time to think. I need to consider what to do next. Would you like a cup of tea?”

The professor stood up from his seat for a moment and headed to the kitchen. I grew greedy for this magic.

“Prepare to scan!”

I immediately sent the paper to the base via my inventory, photographed it with my phone, and scanned it. Then I quickly put the paper back in its place.

“…So, did you understand it?”

“No! I don’t really understand.”

“I figured as much. Let’s start the lesson. The strata within a two-dimensional space according to the interpretation of aether are…”

A few hours later, while the Violet who had finished class was heading home, Violet Unit 506 on the unmanned island raised a staff. This was to test the stolen Melting Ray spell.

“Let’s practice this spell! And show it. Professor-nim will acknowledge us, right?”

“Let’s show the greatness of the Violets!”

The spell called was a technique that fired a powerful heat ray. After examining it a few times, we figured out what this spell was.

“This, it’s that! The ray those Vanguard guys were shooting!”

Goosebumps rose on my skin.

I don’t know how many Violets Magnabyss’s elite unit slaughtered with this.

“Good, we absolutely must learn this! Let’s give them back as much as we suffered with this magic!”

Unit 506 activated the formula.

Before her eyes, a computational formula much larger and more complex than when casting Fireball appeared, along with numerous beads.

The number of beads quickly surpassed three digits in the blink of an eye.

“Ack! This isn’t going to work. Gather 100 people!”

Unit 506 hastily called other Violets.

One hundred Violets gathered inside the factory and began the calculation. The formula activated at a rapid pace.

“Ugh! It’s difficult! My head hurts!”

“Just bear with it a little longer, we’ll succeed soon!”

One minute later, the calculation was complete. Unit 506 raised the staff. Now all that was left was to cast it!

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

“Oh, oh! The magic power! No!”

“Ugh! My head!”

One by one, the Violets who were sitting inside the factory building, concentrating on the calculation, began collapsing, bleeding from their eyes, noses, and ears.

Unit 506 was flustered.

“Huh? Oh! This isn’t right!”

The Violets successively collapsed or fainted.

Furthermore, Unit 302 and Unit 217, who had participated in the calculation, thrashed around as if dancing after the calculation failed.

“Ugh! The world is spinning!”

“Ugh! I made a calculation error! Magic power is backflowing!”

Unit 302 screamed and bounced around.

Just then, someone flung open the door and entered the factory. It was Irene.

“Violet, I came to ask you something… what are you doing?”

“Screech! No!”

-Pop!

Unit 302’s head, unable to withstand the overload, finally exploded.

-Whoosh!

Unit 217’s head also burst a moment later. The bodies of the two headless Violets collapsed to the ground.

Irene stared blankly at us with horrified eyes. Her expression, unable to comprehend the situation, twisted in shock.

A few seconds later, the Violets calmly got up and cleaned the floor. Seeing this, Irene returned to her usual calm demeanor.

“Oh dear…”

She let out a small sigh.

“…Really, Violet. Even if you don’t die, what you’re doing now doesn’t seem right. What kind of experiment are you conducting? You’re not making bombs in the barracks, are you…?”

“Hehehe…”

Barely enduring Irene’s pitiful gaze, we chuckled wryly.

The Violets’ first combat magic research had failed.