The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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Black armored helicopters circled around the building like a pack of hungry vultures.

Smoke billowed from the ruined research facility.

Inside, soldiers clad in bulky protective gear painted in grim gray camouflage were rummaging through the interior. Every time they moved, broken debris crunched underfoot.

A researcher trembled as they stepped out of the room, hands raised.

“P-please… have mercy…”

“Die, corporate dog.”

-Bang!

Another corpse was added to the floor. The soldiers roamed inside the laboratory, behaving as if they would allow nothing living apart from themselves. They shot a guard gasping on the floor and slit the throat of an employee begging for their life.

In another corner of the room, soldiers were rifling through piles of documents.

Among them, a middle-aged man with a katana strapped to his back tapped on the screen of a tablet connected to the office’s computer console. The windows of documents flickered rapidly.

“Nothing, no nutritious info. Just rough, basic data. Could the data have been destroyed?”

The man with the katana growled in disappointment. The internal intranet was inaccessible.

All that remained on the computer were drafts of the project and simple personal records of the test subjects.

“I’m checking the documents as well, Sikamor. But there’s nothing salvageable here either.”

The man with the crossbow replied, rummaging through a drawer.

“It’s good that we intercepted the call signals and found this place. But we couldn’t get what we wanted.”

“It was a mess even before our members infiltrated. It seems there was a riot at just the right time.”

A few teenagers in patient gowns were seen descending under the watch of the soldiers down a hallway.

“Calix, is this really all the people we could recruit? Where’s the phone target we were tracking?”

The clans and corporations in the academy city meticulously hid their research facilities. To track them, only slow and brutal methods could be used.

They investigated all the signals flowing from sparsely populated areas, tracking every cell phone call coming into the base station one by one. It was sheer coincidence that they discovered this location while tracing cell phone signals.

“It seems they slipped away just after we arrived. Contact with two scouts tracking an unidentified vehicle that left the parking lot was lost. The remaining adult test subjects likely resisted and were killed just before we got here. Those kids were found locked in their lodging.”

“How unfortunate. We should have hurried a bit more.”

Calix nodded at his lament.

Sikamor turned his gaze to the scattered corpses around. He quietly clenched his fist.

A report came through the earpiece. Sikamor unplugged the connection from the console and stood up.

As he crossed the filthy room littered with the corpses of monsters and people, the distinct acrid smell of burning electronics grew closer.

One of the waiting members picked up a burnt part from the doorway.

“We secured the server room. As you can see, this is all that’s left… and we secured the facility’s head.”

Sikamor didn’t bother to ask about the possibility of recovery. The charred remnants of machines and melted wires were all that remained in the blackened room. Valuable data had turned into caked debris.

His gaze behind the goggles fell on a bald man lying in a pool of blood. The man’s wrist was severed, rendering him a lifeless shell.

Reports from outside came in. Sikamor commanded his subordinates.

“The Inspection Bureau is approaching. We need to retreat quickly.”

“What should we do about this one?”

“Extract it. It’s already a dead man, take only the necessary parts for analysis. We can’t catch all the knowledge, but we might learn something.”

His subordinates took out a complex device reminiscent of a trumpet. They placed it on the man’s head and activated it, causing him to let out a short scream.

A sound of something being sucked in was heard, and a mass of grayish-white tissue plopped into a transparent container from the other side of the machine.

The Obsidian Legion’s operational team retreated swiftly.

Inside the helicopter hovering over the ground, Sikamor scrolled through the tablet’s screen.

A picture of a blonde girl with striking red eyes flashed by on the data screen.

***

“Hey, wake up. It’s morning.”

“No… I want to sleep more…”

Maybe I was tired because I had a nightmare last night. A nightmare where strange demons suddenly appeared, poking at my eye sockets with metal chopsticks and tearing my mind apart. It felt so vivid that when I woke up, my head hurt like crazy.

Kalia kept trying to wake me, ignoring my plight.

It’s so sad that there’s such a lack of empathy here.

I burrowed deeper into my blanket to escape her nagging.

“Get up!”

When I didn’t move, Kalia yanked the blanket away from me.

By the way, why is it so cold? The chilly morning air enveloped my frail body.

“Ugh… that’s too much… sometimes you need to be lazy…”

Wasn’t she supposed to be a delinquent character? Why is she so diligent?

I tried to ignore the cold and hug my clone. It felt warm. When it’s cold, snuggling up with my clone is the best!

‘Me’ is truly warm and soft!

Kalia, who had been looking at me in disappointment, turned and headed for the door.

“Fine. Then I’ll tell Aunt Pola that you aren’t having breakfast.”

“Eek!”

I bounced up alongside Second Clone and followed her quickly. Breakfast is very important!

As I stepped down the cold, creaky stairs, Aunt Pola had already set the table with breakfast.

“Ah, you’re up, Kalia, and Violet too.”

“Hello!”

She welcomed us with a warm smile. That plump lady with a cheerful demeanor has a knack for putting people’s minds at ease just by her presence.

I quickly sat at my place. Aunt Pola placed three pancakes on my plate!

“Thank you for the meal!”

I didn’t forget to express my gratitude. Just as I lifted my fork to eat, I sensed Kalia and Aunt Pola looking at me strangely.

“Is there a problem?”

“Umm… Violet, can your clone also have a meal?”

Wait, thinking about it, Second Clone was sitting right beside me.

It was even mimicking my movements with a fork over the empty plate.

I snapped my fingers to recall the clone. Ether light sparkled as it gradually vanished.

“Oh, I forgot to recall my clone. It mimics my actions, so it must have followed me here and sat down there.”

“Really? I thought…”

I munched on a syrup-drizzled pancake. I want to savor this sweetness and fluffiness in my mouth for a long time.

‘But, my clone is moving on its own again.’

Now that I think about it, it’s strange.

These days, my clone has been showing odd behaviors. It feels like it’s moving more autonomously compared to when we were at the research facility.

Maybe it’s just my misconception. Perhaps I’ve gotten so used to controlling the clones all at once that it’s unconsciously moving now.

Surely, a clone can’t develop self-awareness.

I opened my status window.

————————————————
[CHARACTER STAT]
Name: Violet Dunhind Rugilinn

Alias: None

Status: Undefined

Lv: 7

Health: 1500/1500

Magical Power: 3500/3500

Unique Ability:
■■■■:???
└Not unlocked due to unmet conditions.

LV4 Clone Technique; ???
└Duration of the clone’s existence slightly increased.
└…■■■: When ■■ under specific conditions, unique ■ ability: Clone Technique will be ■ unique ability: Ä̴̹̩̞́̐̀%̷̢̨̢͈̗͓̜̰͇̤̳͙̅̃́$̴̭̪̭̼̝̄͛̀͐̂̑̄̆̾̆̅͌͗̃̚^̷̧̢̛̺̭̣̼̖̣̬̀̾̀̋̎̈͐̾̇͝͝͝ͅ&̷̱̩̝̮̭͓͍̪̻̺̔̎͐̔͝Q̷̫̝̺̓̾̉́̐́̂̊͝ D̸̹̤̳̟͍̦̙̥̮̐̈́́̕$̵̦̥͉͚͕̬̱̪̌͗͛̀͜͜@̶̼̘͎̥̪̯͈͜͝͝ͅ%̸̧̠͎̺̠̞͔͜͜͝ ̴̨̭͎̲̦̯͘1̷̢̱͙̮̩̤͙̞̺̬̃͋3̴̧̡̛̹͍͓̗̙̹̥́̓͊̅̄͑͜ for ■̸̧̠͎̺̠̞͔͜͜͝ ̴̨̭͎̲̦̯͘1̷̢̱͙̮̩̤͙̞̺̬̃͋3̴̧̡̛̹͍͓̗̙̹̥́̓͊̅̄͑͜■…

Resonance Trait:
* Backstab – Damage increases when attacking an enemy from behind.
* Weakening Strike – Damage increases when attacking low-health targets.
———————————————

‘I’ve definitely grown a lot since then.’

My level increased rapidly right after defeating the Ogre Team Leader. It didn’t rise just by taking down researchers or guards; it seems strong enemies contributed to that.

Moreover, I gained a new resonance skill. It’s useful to deal more damage to low-health targets; if there are fights ahead, it will come in handy.

It seems I’m being optimized for a backstabbing role. Is it a sign from the heavens to become an assassin?

‘What about that censorship appearing in the unique ability section of the status window?’

The level of my clone technique evolved even further. Thanks to that, the duration of the clone increased, allowing it to last for almost half a day if used well.

However, the doubtful part is that black censorship portion. The explanation behind it is incomprehensible, and the letters are broken.

It sounds like the skill will change if some conditions are met. But I don’t really understand it.

‘Well, I suppose I’ll find out when I level up later.’

After finishing my meal, I placed my dishes in the sink and flopped down on the torn sofa in the living room.

“Heh…”

I turned on the TV. The weather forecast was airing.

-This week in Rustroom, temperatures are expected to fluctuate between above and below freezing due to rapid cold waves caused by disturbances in the ether-atmosphere. Viewers are advised to dress warmly in preparation for sudden cold waves…

Man, it’s August and there’s frost on the window due to how suddenly cold it got. This world really is a mess, from the weather to the people. Damn ether.

As I pondered various thoughts, I relaxed back onto the sofa. It felt plush.

Sure, it’s a bit old and dirty, but compared to that research facility, this place has a genuinely human vibe that makes me feel so good.

Isn’t this what happiness in daily life is about?

The place I’m currently at is an old house being used as a residence by the Ospri Brotherhood. At a glance, it looks like a rundown warehouse, but inside it resembles an American-style two-story house. The brotherhood members have decorated it quite cozy.

Now that I’m used to it, but at first, everything was so unfamiliar.

A few weeks ago, after escaping from the research facility, I rode in a brotherhood member’s truck for quite some time. Unknown roads, unknown paths, unknown towns. My body ached and I was exhausted, just lying back and staring at the sky until it became night.

A blue moon with an unfamiliar shape hung in the sky. It was then I fully realized I had fallen into the world of ‘Crimson Scholar.’

It was like a landscape I’d only seen in games. The feeling is completely different from Earth’s moon.

As I was lost in that brief reflection, the car stopped. I raised my head and saw a shabby housing complex.

As I got out of the car, people standing by the roadside rushed over. They were all muscular, intimidating-looking men and women, and without realizing it, I hid behind Kalia. Their reaction was incredibly enthusiastic.

“Oh my god! Kalia has returned!”

“You foolish girl! Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

“Marco, what about him? Is he alright?”

A man called Marco, with a mohawk, raised his arms to calm the crowd.

“Alright, alright. Calm down everyone. First, let the kids rest and have a proper break! We’ll talk after that.”

“But who is that person behind you?”

Someone asked, pointing at me. All eyes were on me.

Well, a bloodied girl in a lab coat does stand out a bit.

“Right. Everyone, let me introduce you. This girl is Violet! She helped me escape from the Laplacian folks.”

As Kalia introduced me, the fierce expressions of those muscular humans melted away like snow.

“She helped Kalia? Then she’s trustworthy!”

“She’s a benefactor of the brotherhood!”

“This little one? Impressive.”

Surrounded by muscular men and women receiving countless hearty handshakes, I felt dizzy. I barely escaped thanks to Kalia.

And a few weeks passed, and I managed to get pretty familiar with these people.

The Ospri Brotherhood was portrayed as a vicious gang in the main game.

However, looking at them now, they just seem like laborers doing odd jobs. In reality, that’s what they are. Members of the brotherhood explore two-dimensional dungeons or just engage in manual labor. They’re far from criminals.

The brotherhood they gathered seemed to resemble a neighborhood watch group. According to Kalia, they just beat down the monsters that occasionally attack the town.

How did such a group of people become villains rivaling the Mexican cartel in the future? It felt a bit puzzling. Even Kalia from the brotherhood is a nice person.

‘Well, it’s time to revisit the knowledge of the main story stored in my head.’

After escaping from the research facility, I spent a few weeks resting. During that time, I happily ate, slept, and loafed around. But at some point, it was time to think.

Let’s assume I have a council in my head.

Everyone is peacefully discussing, ‘What shall we do today?’ when suddenly, an orangutan councilman barges in with a message.

‘But what are we doing now?’

That’s right. Back when I was in the research facility, all I did was read the room and appease employees, searching for an escape route.

However, now that I’ve regained my freedom, I have more options. It’s time to make a choice.

‘Since I’ve fallen back in time, I have an advantage here.’

It’s currently August 2nd, year 25 of the Federal calendar. The game’s timeline starts in the late 30s of the Federal calendar. That gives me about a 4-5 year buffer.

Unfortunately, this damn game has been interrupted due to the disappearance of the CEO who angered the party after the first part. It’s composed of five parts, so my knowledge of the future only applies to the first part.

‘But, is there any reason to ponder further?’

Indeed. The villain capping off the finale of the first part, the forsaken Witch Violet, no longer exists. In her place stands the host body Violet. From here on out, the future has already unraveled.

Thus, I resolved that it’s best to focus on growth for now.

I pulled out the yellow envelope I had brought from the research facility.