episode_0303

The being awoke from a long slumber and looked around. Blue-tinged rocks forming rugged valleys sporadically emerged through the dense fog.

The being, which had floated for an eternity like a dream, turned its head as soon as its eyes opened.

It pondered deeply about its own existence.

Why was it here?

Whether from fatigue or some other reason, the being could not move from its spot.

It merely twisted its waist, barely surveying its surroundings.

Why was it here?

Gunshots echoing from beyond the fog jolted the being’s thoughts. In a flashing moment, countless ideas swirled through its mind.

Family, comrades, duty.

And humanity.

As the words, imprinted like an obsession, stimulated its mind, the being trembled as if struck by lightning.

It was like a parent who had forgotten their child’s birthday suddenly realizing the day’s significance upon returning home. The being shivered as if reminded of something it must not forget.

If its respiratory organs had remained in human form, it would probably have taken a ragged breath.

It had to move. Duty was calling it.

Fighting was its calling.

As an unspeakable, twisted power flowed through its veins, its metallic heart pulsed violently.

The colossal silhouette, dormant in the fog, rose to fulfill its forgotten mission once more.

**

Before departing for Cutlass Valley, I tied up some loose ends.

“Supply check! All clear!”

“Food supplies all clear!”

The Violet command ceaselessly checked the mountains of piled-up supplies. The multi-dimensional bags were nearly infinite, but if they didn’t properly grasp what items they possessed, they would often pull out the wrong thing.

Sometimes, organization was needed.

The factory interior was cluttered.

Supplies and ammunition prepared for the valley expedition were piled high on the right, and on the other side, weapons and artillery shells obtained from raiding the naval base last time were scattered everywhere.

“There are a lot of ship cannon shells and missiles.”

“Let’s use them as ingredients for improvised explosives!”

The warships and airships that were supposed to use these were all destroyed long ago. We might as well use them this way.

Their destructive power would be immense, being military-grade.

“Where did we get this from?”

What was in the inventory wasn’t just this. Many leftover chicken legs and unfinished drinks were found.

“Ah! These are leftovers from last time!”

“Let’s eat them now!”

Besides that, there was all sorts of junk. Like the artifacts spread out before our eyes now, for example.

“We brought these from the expo, right?”

When the artifacts that had been shoved into a corner of the inventory were brought out, there was a variety of small items.

Most of them seemed useless. There was no clear idea how to use something like a pair of sunglasses that allowed one to see the magical spell formations of others.

Of course, there were exceptions. Like the red orb visible among the various artifacts strewn on the floor.

“Good heavens… Violet, where did you pick this up from? I believe this is an artifact belonging to Restraidna…”

Instructor Frederick-nim was looking at me like a bank robber. Professor Albert-nim, standing next to him with his arms crossed, also clicked his tongue briefly.

“I don’t know! I think I picked it up when I caught the Apostle.”

Hearing my reply, the two of them lightly sighed, as if speechless.

“Oh dear, just hide it well so you don’t get caught. Understood?”

“Yes!”

I don’t know where to use this ‘Heart of Sunset.’ They say it’s an artifact that can convert energy and information, a kind of catalyst, but to me, it just looks like a red crystal ball.

“Should we quietly return it to Restraidna? For money.”

When a few Violets cautiously suggested the idea, the temporary meeting was met with a flood of strong opposition.

“Return this to that bald guy? No. It’s valuable, so he must be looking for it. He’s probably fuming by himself.”

“He’ll definitely insist, ‘This belongs to our knights, so we must naturally get it back.’ Compensation? What compensation?”

Thinking rationally, it seemed best to just keep it in the inventory. It wasn’t suitable for use as a bomb either.

While the Violet supply company organized the luggage, other Violets were handling personnel matters.

“Enrica? What’s that blood?”

“Cough… cough! Sneeze, Violet. It’s nothing. I just forgot to take my medicine!”

Enrica frowned for a moment, then took out medicine from a vial and poured it into her mouth. Daphne, who had rushed over, immediately healed her with her unique ability, and Enrica, seemingly more comfortable, smiled brightly.

“Wow, that’s amazing! You healed me, and now my body feels as light as if it could fly!”

“This is no laughing matter, Enrica. This is typical internal damage caused by mana overflow.”

Daphne said a word and handed her water, and Enrica swallowed the medicine and replied casually.

“It’s fine! The lab people told me that this much gets better if I release mana frequently.”

“‘Fine,’ you say? The radiation problem is happening right now because of this. It’s enough to affect even Awakeners. This isn’t something to take lightly.”

“It really is nothing. It’s been like this since kindergarten, so I’m used to it. If it gets a bit weird, I’ll just explode, but oh well!”

“Ah…”

“Gasp.”

Daphne and Unit 4321’s expressions instantly distorted as if looking at a terminally ill patient. Never mind Daphne, I couldn’t believe I could freeze up like that.

I had forgotten. Enrica could theoretically self-destruct.

“But it’s single-use!”

“Single-use self-destruction is useless!”

Right, self-destruction is a unique ability only for us Violets. We can’t let a friend deteriorate or explode because they ran out of medicine.

“Preparations are almost complete, so let’s go find the research lab. There, we’ll be able to get data to alleviate the symptoms or create the medicine Enrica needs.”

I said confidently, pointing to the other Violets busily preparing.

“With battalion-sized personnel going, what is there to worry about?”

Dungeon exploration preparations, with countless Violets attached, were completed in a single day.

**

Trucks entered in a line beyond the shimmering gate. As they rumbled down, a rough and rugged blue-tinged rocky terrain greeted us.

“Arrival!”

As we left the outpost along the narrow, bumpy dirt road, the number of people became noticeably large. Unit 2442, in the lead dump truck, muttered.

“There really are a lot.”

“Strange mana fluctuations have been observed continuously recently, so peculiar rumors have spread within the Hunters’ network. Something about traces of rare artifacts?”

Sophieel Unnie, sitting next to me, continued to explain. She said that sometimes peculiar patterns of Aether waves, not usually detected, are observed inside dungeons, and in such cases, rare artifacts, minerals, or elements often appear.

“-That’s what Sophieel Unnie said. It’s fascinating.”

“That’s right. Some people compare this to a gold rush. They say that in the old days, when a gold vein was discovered, people would hear rumors and flock to dig for gold or pan for gold dust, right? I heard from Irene that the clan industry operates in a similar way.”

Daphne’s analogy made sense. The people gathered here were like individual investors who, hearing strange rumors, broke their savings or their children’s tuition funds to invest in stocks.

“Moreover, in this case, expectations are high. Foreign artifacts have frequently flowed into Cutlass Valley over time.”

The resources that emerge from the extradimensional space known as a dungeon are diverse. Aetherium, extracted indiscriminately in various ways, rare materials from specific magic beasts, minerals, or artifacts that pour out endlessly from the dungeon.

Furthermore, due to its nature as a space isolated from reality, strange objects often flow in.

“Foreign artifacts, like, say, the Vision Prism, right?”

Anyone could see that wasn’t man-made.

“Correct! It seems Violet is finally paying attention in class? I’m delighted!”

Naturally, we Violets are diligent model students. There’s no way we’d forget what we learned before.

But Daphne’s reaction made me feel a bit strange. Anyone would think we were just messing around and playing games.

“It’s true, though. When we take turns every 10 minutes and share senses to play, time flies.”

“No! This should be called multitasking!”

“Oh, that’s right?”

Time passed naturally as we continued forward, chatting idly.

Trucks of various sizes, carrying Violets, all entered. Coming in like this, even though it was called a ‘dungeon,’ it felt like arriving at a construction site for work. Strangely, there were an unusually large number of people inside the dungeon, which felt peculiar.

“Those kids in school uniforms over there… Oh, that’s Aegis. That looks like Vesperia. Kids from the western and eastern sides came too.”

There were many students, from famous academies to unknown ones, who had formed their own parties. Seeing them all heavily armed with backpacks, it seemed they intended to enter the deep zones.

“Surely, they didn’t come because of rumors, did they?”

“…The atmosphere suggests they might have.”

Perhaps it’s the desire for a quick fortune? Well, tuition fees are quite expensive. It’s a reality that students struggle financially if they don’t receive support from sponsors or pre-contracted clans.

Working every holiday is the fate of poor students.

“They seem a bit unstable.”

I muttered unconsciously, recalling the incident in the Erosion Zone, and Levi, in the passenger seat of the third truck, looked puzzled.

“…Why?”

“Last time, when I fell into the Erosion Zone, there were several people who came out to pick up artifacts. Among them was a kind female student who gave me gum, but her head was shattered by a ghoul sniper and she died!”

As I explained the incident from then, pointing to the kids in Vesperia uniforms, Levi was startled and looked around.

“Ugh, ugh. That’s a bit creepy… I, I guess I should snipe first… But this isn’t a city, right? I, I’m going out!”

“Huh?”

I hadn’t told him to be on guard, but Levi laboriously climbed onto the truck roof with a large bag, unfolded a ballista, and began surveying his surroundings.

“Where are they? Where are they… I’ll just see them first and shoot, right?”

Hmm, I didn’t tell him to be on guard. How did it end up like this?

Anyway, the Violet senses detected a strange atmosphere. Just in case, we brought trucks packed with new weapons, but I need to be careful.

Meanwhile, an unexpected debate unfolded within the Violet Council.

“It’s a bit pathetic for someone’s head to burst while earning tuition. If I become the mayor of Academy City, I’ll implement a free tuition policy for all academies!”

“No! That goes against the Violet free market principles! Job support policies are better!”

As the arbitrarily divided Right-wing Violets and Left-wing Violets debated, an unexpected Violet appeared.

“How about we just strengthen the students’ power and split open the bellies of the three major clans? Can’t we just distribute that money? Then jobs would be created and welfare issues would be solved.”

“Oh, that’s not bad? It’s innovation!”

While the appearance of the Revolutionary Violet created a new ripple in the council, the Violet convoy proceeded toward the misty deep zone.

*

*

Cutlass Valley was incredibly rugged. Everywhere was nothing but rocks. Furthermore, it was impossible to even guess how deep and remote the gorges were between the valleys.

Unless one flew, the only passages between cliffs were naturally formed rock arch bridges or a few man-made bridges.

“Did we bring the cars for nothing?”

“You never know!”

While setting up a base camp at the entrance of the deep zone, we decided to survey the expected areas one by one with Enrica. Since Enrica said she remembered the terrain from here onwards, finding it seemed like a matter of time.

“The rocks were sharp and spiky, and it was a very deep place.”

“Alright, let’s call this Area A, that Area B. Here’s C, D, E…”

As we checked the map, a low roar echoed from beyond the rugged valley, within the fog.

“What was that…?”

“It must be a magic beast.”

Now that I think about it, we haven’t seen a single magic beast until now. Something’s strange.

“Should we have brought an airplane?”

“I’ll launch a hang glider!”

As the Violets busily set up camp, a low, heavy mechanical sound gradually grew closer from the opposite side.

A squadron of jet bikes streaked across the sky, followed by armored vehicles appearing from beyond the fog.

Seeing the familiar logo, the Violets tilted their heads.

“It’s the purple phoenix.”

There was only one clan that used that logo.

The vehicles disappeared into the fog.

“They came too…”

We quickly finished our meal and decided to set out to find the research lab.

People flocked to the entrance of the deep zone 30 minutes later.

“Seeing them again.”

“Surely, they aren’t competitors who came to raid the research lab, are they?”

I muttered to myself, looking at the artifact coin investors.