NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20
In the small auditorium on the second floor, the freshman welcome party was underway.
Behind the translucent mirror window, a group of senior students was surveying the entire first floor.
“How’s the level of this year’s freshmen?”
Croscelle casually asked a student holding a tablet.
“Yes! Student Council President. This year’s freshmen showed excellent results in the regular entrance exams and various admission criteria. There were several promising candidates who stand out…”
“Did you think I would ask something so obvious?”
“Uh, then what…”
Croscelle’s brow furrowed as he scanned the list of students on the smartphone. He lightly nodded to those nearby.
“Get rid of him.”
The guards protecting the Student Council President brutally beat the student who was reporting.
– Thud! Bam! Smash!
“Craaack! Student Council President! I’m sorry! Gaaah!”
The severely injured student was dragged out by the guard students, thrown out the door. The sound of dragging the student away gradually faded.
“Treasurer. I hope next time you’ll choose a more competent student as the President’s aide. You know I hate incompetence.”
“Ah~ Come on, President. You’re just going to replace them anyway. You’ve changed them several times already.”
Kaim, who had just moments ago been part of the commotion, chuckled and plopped down onto a nearby chair.
“Ah. It’s about to begin! It’s a shame the Vice President isn’t here.”
“Yeah, let’s see how the freshmen measure up. I hope this screening goes well. It’s the Chairman’s orders, so we have to make it right.”
Croscelle and the Student Council members watched as they sipped tea, observing the events unfolding beneath the window.
A mid-tier monster, Kranos, the size of a bus, appeared in the middle of the auditorium. Students could be seen flying after being hit by its swinging tail.
Screening is a tradition at Polaris that filters through the new freshmen to find the gems among them. For a set period, real monsters are released in the auditorium. The windows, walls, and doors of the auditorium are sealed with a barrier, preventing both monsters and students from leaving.
“Looks like a few have already been eliminated. Is there nothing special this time either?”
“No, look at that.”
Croscelle set down his teacup and pointed in one direction.
A female student with purple hair wielding a spear directed her fellow students to retreat to the corners, while a blue-haired male student confronted Kranos head-on.
In a brief moment, an impromptu strike team formed and cornered the monster. Kranos, writhing in pain, attempted to escape but couldn’t due to the barrier.
“Oh dear~ This will be over quickly. At this rate, the screening will have no purpose…”
“Those idiots, didn’t they say the valedictorian and salutatorian of this year’s freshmen were rubbish? Their lives are being spared thanks to them.”
Croscelle clicked his tongue.
Hypocritical fools playing at being heroes, utterly oblivious to reality. Thanks to those childish juniors, the process of filtering out the worthless was being slightly distorted.
Well, still, seeing the rampaging monsters, there could be more casualties…
As Croscelle leisurely raised his teacup to drink, he sensed an anomaly.
“What the… is that?”
A girl with yellow hair appeared outside the window. As she shattered the glass with a hammer, the barrier there trembled. As a result, nearby barriers wobbled or shattered one after another.
Freshmen began escaping through the broken windows.
“Oh… right. President. That barrier weakens when struck with physical force from outside.
But I didn’t think that breaking one window would weaken all of them in proximity…”
“What? Why didn’t you say that sooner!”
The now frightened Kranos charged toward a wall—the direction where the barrier had weakened.
– Boom!
The monster abandoned the freshmen and fled outside. The plan was disrupted.
– Crash!
The expression of the Student Council President twisted with rage. The teacup in his grip shattered. The Treasurer, noticing, clutched his forehead.
“Oh. This is bad…”
***
It hurts. The back of my head throbbed painfully. There was something big and heavy crushing me too. It hurts. I feel dizzy. But it’s strange. Although it hurts, my mind has become clear.
Okay, what just happened a moment ago?
“Ahhhh! No! Rugilinn! Not again…! Ughhh…”
A wailing voice echoed from a distance. The lament was so heart-wrenching it tugged at anyone’s heartstrings.
I got up from my position with a thud.
“Sniff… Sniff… I’m sorry… right now… I…”
Touching the back of my head, I felt sticky blood.
“Gaaaah…!”
A short scream escaped me as the back of my head throbbed painfully.
The silver-haired girl sobbing in front of the crushed body next to the air conditioning unit turned her head toward me. Her shining silver hair, cascading down to her waist, was striking.
“Sniff… huh? Rugilinn? How did you…”
“Ow… Daphne… Help me!”
Upon seeing me, Daphne looked at me with a blank expression. Her gaze flickered between me and the corpse on the floor.
Her mouth gaped open in disbelief.
Wait, that’s me. No, is that my clone?
What seemed to be my corpse vanished in a flash of shining dust moments later.
“Ah… Umm… so, this over here is Rugilinn’s clone… It’s your unique ability, right?”
“Probably… I don’t know, but it’s likely!”
“Uwaaaaah!”
Daphne rushed toward me as she cried out again. In an instant, I found myself enveloped in her soft, warm embrace.
“Sniff… I really thought…Sniff… Rugilinn was dead…”
“Ah! That’s right! Ah! I’m alive! Aaaaah…!”
“Uwaaaaah! I thought… I really thought I lost my peer who I just met after such a long time…!”
“Wait! I can’t breathe! Let go of me…!”
As I struggled in her embrace, Daphne finally released me and began healing my wounds.
“Is everything… okay now?”
“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine. After all, that was just a clone!”
I replied vaguely, trying to calm her down somehow. I didn’t forget to avoid her gaze.
Her blue eyes looked so sincere, I felt like I couldn’t lie.
With her worried eyes focused on me, I left the scene.
As I walked after receiving treatment, my memories started to clear up a bit.
The previous situation surfaced in my mind, like old trash floating on a calm lake’s surface.
“I” died.
For sure, I blacked out after getting hit by the falling air conditioner.
It wasn’t a simple fainting spell. After seeing “I” just moments ago, the face and chest looked completely crushed. The contents were leaking out. That was clearly a corpse.
But I had other memories too. I remembered standing beside Daphne and “I,” getting knocked down by a brick. And then, when I opened my eyes, I was here.
It felt like I had suddenly teleported. Am I resurrected?
What’s going on? Seriously.
“Status window.”
Feeling weird, I summoned the status window.
The truth that unfolded amidst the curtains only further confused me.
————————————————
<CHARACTER STAT>
Name: Violet Dunhind Rugilinn
Title: None
Status: Polaris Comprehensive Academy First Year Student
Lv: 7
Health: 1500/1500
Magical Power: 3500/3500
Unique Ability: <Collective Intelligence> Lv1
<Dynamic-Consciousness/Self-Linked Clone Technique> Lv1
Resonance Traits:
* Backstab – Increases damage when attacking from behind enemies.
* Weakness Elimination – Increases damage when attacking lower-health opponents.
———————————————
‘This is a unique ability I’ve never seen before!’
Until recently, the text had been broken or darkly distorted, but now it was clarified.
The clone technique had changed its name to ‘Dynamic Consciousness/Self-Linked Clone Technique’. More importantly, something that wasn’t there before now existed.
‘Collective Intelligence, huh?’
That’s a peculiar name. What kind of ability could it be?
Just by sounding its name, it feels like some ability where I’d have to turn on a computer, go to the internet, and start writing something. I’ll need to check it out later.
As I trudged toward the small auditorium, the sounds of people grew closer. Guards were standing watch near Kranos’s body.
I could see students being carried out on stretchers, loading them into ambulances at the entrance to the small auditorium.
“Aw! My leg..! My leg…!”
“It hurts… It hurts… Mom…. Mom….”
“I can’t feel anything below my waist! What happened…”
The place where the monster had swept through was a scene of chaos. Injured students lay scattered across the auditorium floor, covered entirely with white sheets—around a dozen bodies.
Some students were sobbing nearby. They must have been acquaintances. Poor things.
Amid the confusion, several others in more elegant, ornate uniforms reminiscent of officers entered the auditorium.
What the, are they high-ranking people?
“Excuse me! Are you from the Student Council?”
I was right. The Student Council seems to wear those uniforms. A girl with purple hair turned, excitement radiating from her as she walked toward the Student Council members.
“Yes, that’s correct. I am Croscelle Torrens, the President of the Polaris Comprehensive Academy Student Council.”
A gray-haired male student, tall enough to reach the ceiling, replied politely yet without emotion.
“Then you must be the top freshman who just enrolled? Umm…”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m Irene Solstice, the top freshman and the temporary representative for newcomers. Nice to meet you, seniors.”
She spoke passionately.
“Just look at the current situation! Suddenly, a mid-tier monster barges in through a gate! How is that possible? In the freshman welcome party! In this academy, which should be the safest from monsters, no less, and it comes through the gate! This is completely unacceptable! What has the Student Council and the Board of Directors been doing?”
As her voice rose, the crowd’s attention focused on her.
“I share your concern, but unexpected events can sometimes occur in battles. Besides, didn’t our younger students manage to repel it safely? They showed excellent courage.”
The Student Council President’s casual response added fuel to the fire.
“What do you mean? Are you saying you were watching? Why didn’t you come to our aid? Why did you only show up after the incident was over? The barrier that was suddenly closed was also suspicious!… What is going on? You need to explain this!”
“That’s not particularly important. The monster is dead. The situation is over. Is there anything else to discuss?”
“People died!” She pointed at the bodies lying off to the side.
“They were fellow students who just enrolled today! Almost twenty of them are dead. There are even more injured! So why did you only appear now?”
“What’s the big deal about people dying?”
“Huh?”
What? What did that jerk just say?
Irene’s expression turned blank. Mine was blank too.
“Irene, dear, we didn’t come here for a vacation. We, too, are Awakened Ones. We’ll be at the forefront against monsters as hunters, and in that process, you, your colleagues, and the people around you could die. Did you come here not knowing that? You should be ashamed for whining about such small things.”
“That’s just small talk? The situation is different!”
“I didn’t realize our new juniors were this weak. How are you going to survive in real battle later on?”
“Don’t change the subject! This situation is too strange! That barrier too. I’ll contact my clan and file an official complaint with the Board of Directors!”
As she raged, suddenly he lowered his head and leaned close to whisper in her ear.
I blinked. If I wasn’t mistaken, a glimmer of amusement flickered across the Students’ Council President’s emotionless face for just a moment.
As he whispered something, Irene’s complexion turned ashen.
“…What was that…”
Moments later, the Student Council President dramatically raised his voice in a theatrical manner.
“I apologize! I, too, was only able to observe your struggles due to urgent reports! By the time we arrived, it was too late! The Student Council extends its sincere apologies to all of you.”
Suddenly, the President and the Student Council members bowed their heads. The murmuring students fell silent for a moment.
Then the Student Council President lifted Irene’s arm like a victorious champion.
“However, we want to express our gratitude here. This year’s freshmen have displayed courage and selflessness. As Student Council President, I pay my respects to you all.”
The President clenched his fist and shouted.
“Everyone, let’s give a round of applause for Irene, Lucian, and the other students who repelled the mid-tier monster!”
As the Student Council members began clapping, students around them started clapping along, unsure of what was happening.
The involved parties, Irene and Lucian, looked around in confusion.
And so, I thought.
That Student Council President is up to something. I need to watch out for him.
***
Regardless of the bizarre and blockbuster-like show that was the opening ceremony, everything came to a halt. The afternoon’s schedule was completely canceled.
“I’m hungry…”
Daphne told me to rest well and not overdo it, lying me down on the bed and healing me as much as she could. Then she covered me with a blanket, saying she’d go buy dinner.
The school’s internal cafeterias were closed due to the recent monster incident, so she said she’d go to a convenience store.
‘Is this what an Academy is like?’
“Crimson Scholar” had a dystopian background, but instances of monsters suddenly appearing inside the school were rare. Unless they invaded from the outside.
That bald deputy director, couldn’t they have sent me somewhere else…
Today was a complete mess. There was just too much strangeness.
‘Ugh, I need to focus on my path for now.’
Since I don’t have a roommate, I seriously had something to check right now. I got up from the bed.
What changes had taken place in my unique abilities? It was time to find out.
This was a crucial issue tied to my identity.
Because, when analyzing from a normal perspective, I was clearly dead. I know that well; I’ve died once.
I felt it when I died, yet here I am, back to life. This is abnormal. This must definitely be related to my newly altered unique abilities.
I began to move the ether again, familiar as ever. The ether in my body stretched out. A form emerged from the ground.
I felt a splitting of vision. Confusion washed over me.
“Ehh?”
“Ehh?”
Aaaah! The clone mimics my words!
“Eek! The clone is mimicking my words!”
My head spun. What on earth is happening? Thoughts became muddled. It was as if we shared the same thoughts, yet my body moved. Simultaneously, here and there, I saw that thing watching me. That thing is me. Am I that? I don’t know. I understand.
“Gaaah!”
“Gaaah!”
Myself and Clone 2, myself and Clone 1, myself and my clones, I am, we are, we dance in confusion. We dance.
“Uwaa! I’m multiple…!”
“Uwaa! I’m multiple…!”
Uwaah! Uwaah! Uwaah… Uwaah…