episode_0198

While deeply engrossed in practice, a bell rang out. Someone was standing at the training ground’s entrance. “That’s strange. We rented this whole place out, didn’t we?” “Wait, you’re…” “Please cooperate with us.” The instructor, who had been speaking to the person outside through the intercom, opened the door. Curious about the visitor’s identity, the Violets all looked in that direction. What came into view was a slender woman with black hair. “Gasp! It’s Unnie!” Sophieel Unnie had come herself. Why? I wondered. Actually, just a little while ago, we had been having tea at our house. After asking me something, she had come here. “The young lady from the Inspectorate. So, why are you here?” “It’s my job to observe Violet.” When the instructor asked, Unnie replied with a light laugh. I felt a bit awkward but kept my mouth shut. Where would you find an overseer who openly states they’re watching you? “What is the inspector thinking?” Honestly, I still don’t quite understand the inspector’s specific intentions. The way they’re leaving us alone makes it seem like they want to do something with us. After the special interview, I’ve thrown a few questions their way, but they only give vague answers. “Still, they’re not interfering with our transfer. Let’s be thankful for that.” “In the end, it’s all about training!” Sophieel Unnie, apparently not intending to interfere, sat on a chair in the training ground and watched what we were doing.

“Group training?” Through my mana-amplified senses, I caught Unnie muttering. I turned slightly to see her black eyes, full of interest, observing us. It was only natural to be interested. After momentarily suspending virtual reality training, we were deeply engrossed in complex group drills. At first glance, it looked like a military drill. Frederick Instructor’s guidance, which accounted for the unique characteristics of the Violet Network and shared senses, was quite complex. “Number 10! Number 20! Move precisely. Your quick movements save our allies!” On one side, Violets armed with weapons practiced their combat techniques. On the other side, Violets corrected their stances individually or moved while forming defensive formations. “One, two! One, two!” When one swung a weapon, the other Violets moved in succession. “Concentrate a little more. You know that one wrong move sends incorrect feedback to your other selves.” “Understood!” The Violets moved in perfect unison. The Violets’ strength came from their unified movements. The instructor, who had been looking around at the Violets, moved to another area. There, my friends were individually practicing their weapon techniques. “I see your hand! Quickly!” I saw Kalia, who had the artifact chain I gave her wrapped around her arm. The instructor, in particular, was intensely observing Kalia. It seemed he was quite pleased with her skill. “Kalia wasn’t a Polaris student, was she? Maybe he’s taken an interest!” “Is that what they call the joy of teaching?” Beside her, Daphne was seen swinging a staff, sweating profusely. Uniquely, Daphne had begun close-quarters combat training at some point. Was she trying to engage in close-quarters combat like other battle mages? After the close-quarters weapon training ended, my friends headed to the indoor shooting range. Perhaps because the training ground was so large, it supported various targets and holograms. “Violet, can I borrow some weapons?” While my other friends were practicing shooting with their familiar weapons, Daphne approached again and asked. I chuckled and pulled out several weapons from my inventory, placing them on the table. “Rifles, pistols, crossbows! I have everything. What do you want to choose?” Daphne seemed hesitant to decide. Frederick Instructor, who was watching, guided her. “First, it would be best to choose one that suits your role as a rear support.” “In that case…” Daphne’s blue eyes stopped at a certain moment. Her determined gaze rested on a heavy firearm with a large rectangular magazine: an automatic shotgun. “I’ll take this.” “…?” It was an an unexpected choice. To pick such a large and powerful weapon at first glance. Without a moment to be surprised, my friend picked up the gun, and after listening to the instructor’s explanation and learning how to operate it, she pulled the trigger at the target. Boom! “Ah, ugh!” “Be careful!” “How does Violet have something like this…” Oh no, it seems she can’t control the recoil.

**

While some Violets trained to the point of exhaustion, others suffered the agony of their minds burning. “Waaaaah!” In a temporary classroom filled with numerous blonde girls, Number 1678 wailed as she tried to solve the problem written on the blackboard. Then, the other Violets followed suit, crying. “Whaaa…” “Screech!” “Hoooong!” The math problem was too difficult. What on earth did it mean to estimate coordinate values and vectors based on the ether amplification process and fluid tuning? Suffering in pain, we clung to the blue-haired boy prominent in one corner of the temporary classroom. “Aaaargh! Lucian! Solve this for me!” “No.” Unfortunately, this magic boy refused our request. To leave a comrade suffering like this! This guy was too evil. “I’ll give you something delicious for dinner!” Lucian sighed. “No. You have to calculate only with your own mind. Using a calculator or external help is useless. This is training, after all.” “But it’s too difficult!” The boy, hearing our complaints, closed his book. The thick cover slapped shut. “It’s thick…” The book he was reading was different from ours. If the Violets were reading elementary to intermediate level, he was reading intermediate to advanced. “Instead, you can store magic in your mind. Do you know how envious artifact engineers and other mages would be if they knew about you?” “That’s true, but…” The reason the Violets started from the basics instead of directly jumping into advanced magic was simple. It was due to Professor Albert’s strict policy, based on his analysis of our abilities. “Can’t you just teach us difficult spells right away? You know my capabilities.” “That’s not wrong, but your fundamental level would still remain there. Besides, you went through so many trials and errors just to create a single fusion ray. Intermediate or higher magic? This entire area might be blown away. Follow me. Training will speed up your magic creation.” “Couldn’t we just scale it up? Increasing the number of clones would solve it!” Professor Albert listened to my argument and refuted it without hesitation. “Simply increasing the scale isn’t the solution. The precision of that calculation process is also important. If you only increase the number of heads, you’ll hit a limit!” The decisive blow was Mister Yurik’s report. “Doctor. Please explain.” “Here… you see the statistics?” “The proportional relationship between the number of V-units and computational power? Is this my computational power level?” The angle and height of the graph in the calculation data were quite gentle. “That’s correct. As a result of calculations with Professor Albert. The amplification level of President Violet’s computational power for ether manipulation is not that great. If you only increase the numbers, you will reach a limit.” “Gasp!” When an ether science expert and a magic professor presented the statistics and calculations, Violet had no choice but to surrender. Thus, all we were given were terrifying mathematical formulas and theories of mana operation that we couldn’t understand. “Ugh…” “Oh, for goodness sake…” When Lucian looked at me with a scornful gaze, I felt both embarrassed and resentful. Just then, the professor who had gone out returned. “Alright, have you solved it? Now answer. Number 223!” “Waaaah!”

**

After class, Professor Albert grumbled as he headed to the research building. His incompetent student couldn’t even solve this simple problem and kept whining. “That Violet, honestly. With such a talent… tsk-tsk.” The professor thought of the student named Lucian. It was a bit regrettable how he seemed overwhelmed by his rare, unique abilities: Vision Memory and the Violet Network. Judging by his brilliant mind, he was a talent who could achieve great things if he learned well. He knocked on the research lab door. The doctor whom his student had kidnapped seemed to intend to stay there for a while longer. He apparently wanted to research this Violet Network further. Professor Albert stepped inside. Yurik was staring at a computer screen with a serious expression. “Ah, Professor. You’re here. I was just about to talk to you about that data from last time. You came at a good time.” Doctor Yurik turned the monitor screen for the professor to see clearly. A familiar graph appeared before Albert’s eyes. “Isn’t this data about Violet’s individual computational power expansion level? You said the analysis was finished last time…” “Just look.” When Professor Albert asked, Doctor Yurik shook his head, pointing at a specific part of the screen with his finger. Professor Albert’s eyes widened immensely as he looked at the data and calculation formulas filled with numerous figures. “That’s impossible.” The graph line, which had been rising gently, suddenly shot up as if to pierce the ceiling. ‘Could it be that I was wrong?’ Professor Albert recalled what he had told his student. “Did I misjudge? It’s increasing like this? That can’t be. According to what you showed me, it clearly was…” The professor, correcting his trembling emotions, asked again, and Yurik confidently asserted. “That calculation last time was wrong. The scale was set too narrowly. Because of that, the additional values that needed to be considered were also entered incorrectly.” “Even so. This is impossible! How can a person achieve this level of…” “If you just increase it without limits, it might be possible. Of course, the individual level would have to increase even more than it is now.” “Let’s first ascertain the exact figures.” The two scholars, gripped by a strange excitement, began their discussion.

**

After training ended, a text message arrived. The sender was Manager Leslie. Simultaneously, information also came through the Violet Network. It was a message sent by a Violet who had been tailing Irene’s relatives. “These guys, I just overheard them on the phone; they’re going to some river!” Hmm, it seems Irene’s relatives are gathering somewhere. It’s strange that they rented a cruise ship. We were lucky. To catch information like this. The next evening. We waited at the scheduled location. The location was a small river in the Western District. A small cruise ship floated under the night view. Splash! Around the cruise ship, the surface of the water in the shadows rippled. Small snorkels rose. A moment later, several heads emerged above the water. Wet blonde hair shimmered in the light. “Found them. This is where their meeting is being held!” “Here it is!” In the darkness, the gazes of red eyes turned towards the cruise ship. We carefully approached the cruise ship.