episode_0164

After finishing the cleaning, we explained to Irene what had happened earlier. “So, you were practicing because you wanted to use combat magic?” “Yep!”

We showed her the magic spell we had secretly obtained from the professor. “…This is a Melding Ray, isn’t it?” “You recognize it right away, Irene! That’s right, I want to cast this too!” “We know from experience, it’s super powerful!”

Irene, listening to the excited explanations from Unit 102 and the other Violets, let out a soft “hmm” and fell deep into thought. “We showed a bit of a clumsy side this time, but we’ll definitely succeed on the second attempt. It’s entirely possible if we just increase the numbers.” “Right. If a hundred isn’t enough, we’ll just mobilize two hundred!”

As the Violets spoke one by one, the factory floor became boisterous. Irene, who had been listening intently to our words, slowly raised a hand. We fell silent.

“…Isn’t this a bit much? I don’t know much about magic, but even at a glance, it seems like a highly advanced spell formula. Among the people here, only Lucian might barely be able to use it.” Irene asked. Perhaps because she had witnessed our heads exploding right next to her, her expression was etched with concern.

“You’re right. But we still have to do it!” I shook my head. “I realized it from this fight. Explosives and firearms aren’t omnipotent! Our attacks were useless against interception spells and combustion suppression magic. The enemies we’ll face in the future will probably use similar abilities.”

“Then why don’t you focus more on weaponry training?” Irene asked again, and I replied. “Of course, we should! We’ll continue weaponry training. Since our numbers have grown, we’ll do it more intensely and roughly from now on. Twenty-four hours a day!”

My friend seemed to think we were going to quit swordsmanship. When I mentioned this, Irene’s expression softened a little. “We Violets never skip important studies. We plan to spar with you today, reviewing what we learned from Instructor-nim.”

“That’s good then. But that’s still not enough reason to practice such high-level magic. Can’t you just start with lower-level magic and learn step by step?” Our expressions turned serious. “That’s not wrong, but it’s not enough.”

I thought. Although we had won, this battle had been quite precarious. What if the decoy strategy, utilizing the Dimensional Transponder and Vision Prism, hadn’t worked? If that had happened, we would have had to repeat a terrible war of attrition. All our firearms were useless until Lera’s relic equipment was neutralized. Even in the Fountain of Lions Plaza, where we had the advantageous position, they countered with barriers and interception spells. Reflecting on the battle made it even clearer. We won with conventional weapons, but we learned the lesson that current conventional weapons have their limits.

「That’s right! Current weapons aren’t enough. We need to commit even more to research and development.」 「Bigger and more guns!」

At least firepower had room for improvement. The Violets were researching larger and more powerful explosives and high-performance rockets. They were also envisioning suicide vehicles loaded with tons of explosives. If the upcoming deal with Armas is finalized, we will be able to secure a large quantity of heavy weaponry. 「Artillery! Missiles!」

Of course, we didn’t intend to rely solely on ranged weapons. The various armors and etheric defenses on the enemies’ skin would ensure some survival even from a barrage of gunfire. Irene, who withstood rockets and grenades for a long time during the raid, was an example of this. 「Ultimately, the outcome is decided in close combat!」

Unit 567, waiting in the network, whispered. It was decorating the war memorial. Inside the Violet Network, there was a small war memorial. In this exhibition hall, glorious moments, painted with the blood and sweat of the Violets, were displayed in magnificent fashion. The day we defeated gangs and fixers in Stygian Lane. The Crolltide subjugation in Chloris Forest. The Central District 12th Street rescue operation. The recent Battle of the Fountain of Lions Plaza. And various other battles, big and small.

These battles had one thing in common: they were always decided by charge and close combat. 「To truly kill them, charging is the best way.」

Most importantly, Violets are awakened ones with ordinary physical enhancement aptitudes, apart from their unique ability and self-destruction. Therefore, mastering weaponry skills is essential to properly utilize our abilities. Sparring with teammates, reviewing lessons, training, mock battles. Our skills continue to grow as we learn and master various weapons, including swords, spears, and axes. Recently, we’ve even managed to achieve draws. 「Our swordsmanship is steadily improving!」

The biggest crisis we felt during the close combat with the Vanguard guys wasn’t a problem with swordsmanship. The problem was the overwhelming hardware difference. But with consistent training, we would overcome it someday. Thus, we continued to grow, albeit slowly. Our unique ability also made progress recently, as we mastered the strategic map activation ability, leaving only magic as unexplored territory. Magic alone was still stagnant.

“It’s a stretch, yes. But we need a trump card! And that’s magic.” When I revealed the limitations I had felt to Irene, her attitude changed.

“…So that’s what you were thinking. Honestly, until you showed me the magic formula, I just thought you were suddenly practicing some new self-destruct magic. This might sound strange, but Violets have always preferred self-destruction, haven’t they?” “Ugh! Irene, that’s a misunderstanding. Self-destruction is just a rational tactic, that’s why we do it. Dying isn’t exactly pleasant.”

At our small protest, Irene gave an awkward laugh. “Right, I’m sorry for speaking carelessly. Actually, I have something to confess.” “What is it?”

At my question, Irene hesitated, then slowly opened her mouth. “It might sound strange… but lately, I’ve been feeling a bit numb to your deaths. It should definitely be a tragic thing, but…” “Wow, Irene! Isn’t that a good thing?” “Violet, that’s… Sigh…”

I watched Irene sighing again, bewildered. Was that really such a bad thing? “Ah, I don’t know! Irene, let’s spar! Spar!” I pulled the conflicted Irene to go spar. When your head is complicated, moving actively is the best.

「We’ll come up with a good idea too, won’t we?」 「Yeah, yeah!」

**

While the Violets were sparring fiercely, the Violets dedicated to analysis uncovered the problems. 「The first was a calculation error!」

First, some of the Violets, who were weak in math, made errors in the calculation process. 「The second was a mana manipulation error.」

Another problem was mana manipulation during parallel processing. An error occurred while multiple individuals were manipulating mana simultaneously. 「Such problems arise when the number of people increases.」 「Practice! Only more practice!」

The Violets threw themselves back into training. As Irene said, attempting the Melding Ray right away was too much. This time, they decided to start with something easier. I opened a small collection of books given by Professor Albert.

「Tracking Blade ready!」 What we were going to try this time was the Tracking Blade and Tracking Javelin. These were Lucian’s main skills and common offensive techniques used by most mages. The guided magical swords had the power to pierce thick armor and embed themselves deep into super-concrete barriers.

First, as I prepared the magic formula for the Tracking Blade, orbs twice the size of fireballs appeared before my eyes. I manipulated the formula. Interestingly, as the number of orbs increased, the method of mana deployment also became more complex. 「I thought I just had to move the orbs… Ugh… It’s hard…」 「Take it slow! No rush.」

Time passed as I manipulated over thirty orbs. When the number of orbs more than doubled, the difficulty increased exponentially. After several calculation failures and minor mistakes, the Violets completed one blade. 「Good, next is the Javelin!」

This time, orbs twice the size of the blades appeared. A hundred Violets racked their brains, struggling to create the javelin. 「They say haste makes waste. Slowly! Let’s calculate slowly. We can gradually increase the speed!」

After much effort, a Violet completed one javelin. She aimed her staff at an empty drum barrel. 「Fire!」

The tracking javelin flew, pierced the drum barrel, and exploded inside. 「Good, it’s a success for now!」

After that, we practiced various other spells. 「Go! Wave of Crimson Flame!」 “No! It’s burning!”

Some attempts failed, some succeeded. It took an incredibly long time, but with sheer numbers, the calculations became easier. “Ugh! My head!” -Bang!

We attempted the Melding Ray a few more times during the process. As expected, the Violets’ heads exploded again. 「That’s enough of that. We’ve learned a few spells, haven’t we? Let’s try the powerful ones later.」

By the time magic training ended, dawn had arrived. Perhaps the hour of dawn stimulated the Violets’ sensitivity. After a brief sense of accomplishment, we faced a new problem we had forgotten. 「What is this! It’s too inefficient!」

The number of Violets consumed to properly cast a single spell was too high. To complete one spell, ten to nearly a hundred Violets had to stand still, doing nothing. But the power of the magic cast that way was surprisingly mediocre. The power of the magic itself was excellent, but it was disappointing compared to the numbers and time invested. 「It would be faster to just self-destruct.」

War is a battle of efficiency. It was better to just charge in and cut with a sword or shoot with a gun in the time it took a hundred Violets to diligently prepare a spell. 「Damn it! How can Lucian cast these so freely?」

We were gradually feeling skeptical about magic training. 「It’s better to create another clone with the mana used for magic. Everyone seems to forget. Mana is our lifeline! Don’t forget that every time you cast multiple spells, you lose an opportunity to create a clone.」 「What about using dormant bodies as reserve mana tanks?」 「Then you only get half the mana you put in!」

I felt a bitter taste in my mouth. I went outside for some fresh air, and the dark sky had already turned blue. The Violets who had stayed up all night were bursting with frustration. 「As expected, we need one powerful magic strike! Let’s try the Melding Ray one more time!」

The Violets returned to their positions and prepared the spell. “Ugh!” -Bang!

We had to swallow the bitter taste of failure and fall asleep.

**

While the Violets in charge of magic training slept, morning had already broken. Violet and her teammates headed to the dormitory cafeteria to prepare breakfast. “This morning, we’re having scrambled eggs!” “And french fries!”

Seeing the plate piled high with french fries, Kalia spoke with a puzzled expression. “French fries for breakfast?” “French fries are vegetables. Vegetables are good for you!” “Violet, french fries are carbohydrates.” “Ah!”

At Daphne’s correction, Unit 764 felt embarrassed. While the teammates and Violets were eating, Magic Trainee Violet Unit 377 wandered through the Violet Network. 「Ugh… I failed…」

Unit 377, who should have been sleeping, couldn’t fall into a deep sleep, perhaps due to lingering attachment to magic, and drifted through the network like a ghost. Other Violets comforted it. 「Don’t be too sad! You’ll do better next time!」

Despite the encouragement from the other Violets, Unit 377 wandered through the city within the network. In the sky of the network, overgrown with skyscrapers, countless french fries were flying through the air. 「It might be good to wake up, eat, and then go back to sleep.」

Suddenly, the french fries seemed quite appetizing. Perhaps because of that, Unit 377 didn’t pay attention to something on the floor. As Unit 377 walked, staring blankly at the sky, something caught its ankle. 「Argh!」

Unit 377, who fell on the stone floor, angrily examined the obstacle that tripped it. It didn’t forget to pull out a hammer, intending to smash it. 「You wicked thing!」

On the floor lay a large slab of stone. Just as it raised the hammer, Unit 377 felt that the object looked somewhat familiar. 「What, it looks like a magic formula?」

The stone slab on the floor was inlaid with several oddly colored, glittering orbs, gems, and complex metal lines resembling circuits. Its appearance reminded Unit 377 of the Melding Ray formula that had failed at dawn. 「Nasty. Get lost!」

Disgusted, Unit 377 brought the hammer down on the slab. The moment the slab shattered, a strange, magical light erupted from it and shot skyward. 「Eek!」

Startled, Unit 377 plopped down on its bottom. The surging magical light traveled through the Violet Network and flew into reality. Seeking an exit, the light moved to the nearest location. At that moment, Unit 764, who was eating breakfast, screamed. Its hand was incredibly hot. “Argh! My hand is burning!” “Are you okay?”

Daphne, concerned, approached Violet. Unit 764 hastily raised its hand. An unstable, fluctuating magic circle was floating above it. “Huh…? What?” “Everyone, be careful!”

Feeling the danger, Daphne deployed a shield around the people nearby. At the same time, a red glowing ray was emitted from Unit 764’s hand. “Uh, Argh!” “What was that?” “Argh! I can’t control it!”

While everyone recoiled in surprise, the ray sliced through the table and then pierced the ceiling. The cafeteria was a mess. “What are you doing all of a sudden?” Kalia, feeling bewildered, cried out. “I, I don’t know either…”

Violet had no idea why a ray of light suddenly shot from her hand.