The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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The Violets simultaneously surrounded the guy.

A white sword energy-laden rapier and a red sword energy-laden sword collided. After a few strikes, the red sword energy shattered.

At the same time the sword broke, a spinning kick smashed into the head of Unit 32. Four spearheads came stabbing in like a cage. The spear shafts began breaking one by one. In the blink of an eye, 56, 27, and 62 had their necks sliced, hearts pierced, and wrists severed.

“Hang on!”

The Violets that circled from behind clung to Martina. Utilizing the sacrifice of two, Unit 54 grabbed the guy’s left arm.

“You bug-like girl! Get lost!”

“Ugh!”

It backfired. Martina effortlessly tossed aside Unit 54, who was clinging to her left arm. It was strength comparable to hydraulic machinery.

The thrown Unit 54 became an involuntary human projectile, crashing through the line of Violets surrounding Martina.

As the formation collapsed, Martina charged in, causing the stunned Violets to soar upward toward the canopied ceiling.

“Shoot! Shoot!”

As the guy stirred the formation, the Violets immediately scattered and pulled out their replication crossbows again. Friendly fire was ignored.

Indiscriminate crossbow fire poured down, bolts flying in all directions. The Violets on the flight path braced themselves, prepared to be swept away, then leapt at Martina.

They had to disrupt the guy’s movements as much as possible.

“Ugh!”

It worked! Martina jumped back abruptly. Was it the effect of the bolt fire?

Large and small scars appeared on the guy’s cheeks, arms, and legs. Not a single hit landed.

After all that firing, nothing hit?

“Phew… So this is all the unique ability can do.”

Martina muttered as she caught her breath. Noticing a presence, she turned her head. The previously flying Unit 18 was now groaning on the ground.

The guy stomped on Unit 18’s head. With a crack, Unit 18’s head shattered.

“Ugh, is this really a clone? What kind of clone bleeds like this…”

The guy shook off his foot as if he had stepped on a bug, looking disgusted.

“…Well, clone generation certainly is tedious. There’s a reason you felt so smug. If you pushed through numbers like that, even a decent person would quickly be overwhelmed.”

“Really? Then why not just surrender?”

During the brief moment of respite, another number of dead clones generated. Courage surged.

The guy was strong. Stronger than imagined. There was also the issue that we had never properly fought in one-on-one matches. However, if we continued to accumulate minor damages like before…

“Haha? But what can you do? I’m not some ‘decent person’.”

A malicious smile emerged. A slicing sound was heard, and Unit 95 was split in half beside her.

“You dumb girl, don’t you grasp the situation? With such shallow tricks, you can’t beat me.”

Sixty Violets surged forward.

Five minutes passed.

The strategy changed. Each one held a crossbow in one hand and a spear or sword in the other, initiating a guerilla battle. Shields wouldn’t stop his attacks; they just made us sluggish.

Swords broke. Unit 57 fell. As the spears swung, one was stomped and jumped over. As the guy leaped into the air, we aimed our crossbows at him and unleashed our fire. Fiery red bolts filled the air.

-Peeping! Pee Peeping!

Nothing hit. Some twisted their bodies mid-flight to dodge, while others blocked with their swords.

With so many crossbows firing, how could none hit?

The guy landed and charged without a pause. One by one, we were unilaterally defeated. Unit 37 was split vertically from head to groin. The rapier was abnormally sharp.

Ten minutes passed.

The strategy changed again. This time, we regrouped defensively.

-Kwah!

Wrong. This time, the guy didn’t respond to the attack from the front. Unit 75, swinging a hammer from the corner, had their arm severed. Even if pain wasn’t felt, blood loss still remained.

Suddenly, I turned my head to look outside the arena. Outside the translucent screen, Irene was perched in her seat, fidgeting like she wanted to jump out immediately.

Looking at the surrounding people’s expressions, unlike the initial atmosphere, they were all grim. Our destruction didn’t seem entertaining to them.

Continuing to summon clones. We chugged magic energy supplements. Attacks still failed to land. Swords shattered, spear shafts broke.

But it’s fine, we can win. Push through. Push harder!

Before I knew it, the situation had reverted to resembling the original standoff. The Violets aligned in rows again, facing Martina. The duel arena floor had long since turned a deep crimson. It felt sticky and slippery with each step.

It seemed like the guy was tiring slightly too. Her clothes were gradually tearing, and minor wounds were appearing. She must have been exhausted. We couldn’t have all died and not worn her out.

Martina, with an exhausted expression, shook off her sword. A brief standoff ensued.

Without warning, she shattered the silence.

“There used to be an arcade in the neighborhood I lived in.”

“?”

Suddenly, what’s with this nostalgic talk?

“It was a place filled with old arcade machines. I often went there, playing claw machines or grabbing candy. It was fun.”

“What’s all this suddenly?”

“I’d sometimes watch others playing games. There were fools stacking coins and getting lost in their games. Stupid boys, probably aiming to beat the final boss or something?”

She glanced at me and smirked. Her unwarranted sneer puzzled me.

“But I never saw those idiots make it to the end of any game. They all just wasted their money.

Isn’t it funny? If they can’t do it, they keep mindlessly putting in coins, hoping. ‘This time I’ll win! Just this once!’ Yet they fail in the end, just like someone I know.”

I blinked in surprise.

“Do you understand what I’m saying? That’s you. You, pouring coins into the arcade machine!

Did you seriously think I’d tire out first if you pushed me with continuous clones? You thought I wouldn’t see through your flimsy scheme?”

I felt exposed. The Violets’ piercing gaze brushed over her with a smile.

“The strength of your sword energy is pitiful, and your body enhancement ability is practically non-existent. You managed to endure for fifteen minutes at that shallow level, which is frankly impressive.

But considering how you’ve turned my dumb brother into an even bigger idiot, I can’t just let that slide.”

The red rapier’s blade was aimed at us.

“Let’s wrap this up.”

Once again, she charged into our formation. The speed was hard to follow with the eyes, yet we grit our teeth and prepared to attack.

Yes, to endlessly pour coins, shoving them in until we crush everything—that’s our intention. What’s wrong with that? You’ll tire out eventually. At that moment, we’ll stomp you down in one blow. We have to…!

The formation crumbled once more, charging in, and we fell apart. Again, clones were continuously generated. We surrounded them. We rushed in.

In that instant, a scarlet flame I had never seen before burst from Martina’s rapier.

“…!”

-Kuwakang!

A violent wave of flames shot forth from the blade of the rapier and slammed into us.

As the flames engulfed us, I finally realized the identity of the rapier I had been uncertain about in my memories.

[Flame Blade], a five-star weapon obtainable in the Polaris Academy area. It has the characteristic of unleashing powerful area flame attacks at the cost of massive magical power.

“Retreat…!”

Dozens of Violets, who had been enduring through continuous attacks, were swept away in an instant. Our formation collapsed.

“Looks like I’m out of coins. So, how do you plan on countering this?”

I couldn’t refute that statement.

Overwhelming body enhancement ability, sword energy, powerful weapon, area attack capability. What on earth can we use to counter this?

Magical power still remained, and we still had magic energy supplements. But victory was nowhere in sight.

“Yahh…!”

Frustration rose as we charged in. It was all we could do to just charge in with gritted teeth.

***

Five minutes later, we charged in until all magical power was depleted.

Having drank all the magic energy supplements, not even that was enough, and with only the minimal personnel remaining, I recycled most of the clones to regain magic power, scraping down to the floor.

Yet more flame attacks from the Flame Blade soared down.

We could dodge the flames if we spread out. However, that meant each clone would be taken out individually by Martina. As soon as we grouped together, flames would rain down. It was a binary choice with no escape in sight.

The guy was right. It was like pouring coins endlessly and dying without result.

“…No matter how many times you kill me, it doesn’t end! Isn’t it only polite for you to collapse quickly at this point?”

I could hear Martina’s heavy breathing. She seemed really angry. Since the sheer number of Violets, over a hundred, kept charging and causing wounds, it was possible to tire her out.

Maybe we could have won; just a little more and we might have reached her…

But it wasn’t so. There were almost no ways to deliver a decisive blow. It felt as if a wall blocked my path forward.

Ultimately, it was a matter of my own skill. A fool’s end reliant on clones.

Now only three clones remained in the duel arena. Unit 1, holding a sword, gasping to stand, Unit 4, collapsed with severed legs, and Unit 7, with a broken waist.

There was no pain, but my body wouldn’t respond. My magical power was exhausted, and my body had given out. Martina was closing in. No, don’t. Move. Please.

My vision slowed down. It froze. My vision lost its color.

Despair etched itself into our gazes. Am I going to lose here? No way? I can’t lose like this. Please, no, move!

What have I been doing all this time? Will I really lose like this?

I gritted my teeth and raised my body. The scenery beyond my sight seemed to slow down. Had my dim eyes also lost the ability to distinguish colors? The world was slowly tinted gray.

In a world devoid of color, I flailed like a person on the verge of drowning.

Stuck in this desperate time, like an insect trapped in amber.

“You fool.”

A little girl wearing a white dress, Mini Violet, appeared.

“Did you really think you could win? At your level? With pitiful swordsmanship, nearly no body enhancement, and lacking experience?”

I knew, I knew. But I was angry.

She skipped around inside the duel arena, as if nobody acknowledged her presence. More precisely, it felt like the world itself had paused.

She pointed to Martina.

“Losing to such a B-grade piece of trash is just disappointing. Unit 1… No, Unit 1 sister?”

Mini Violet walked up to Unit 1 with a mischievous look.

“What should I do?”

What should I do? Of course, I want to win. But I felt like such a fool. Irene was right. It wasn’t about charging in without a plan. I should have trained a little more, practiced, and sparred…

“But if I lose here, my academy life is over! I can’t take my revenge!”

Mini Violet grabbed 1’s chin and pulled her down.

“So I’ll make you win. I’ll give you the results, so enjoy.

You won’t remember that we met anyway.”

Mini Violet whispered like a devil and placed a small kiss on her forehead.

***

Martina, feeling a sense of ease, wiped the sweat from her forehead.

The one takeaway from this duel was clear. It was dangerous.

If she had let her guard down even a little, or if that Violet had had a smidge more experience in one-on-one matches, she would have been the one in a predicament.

Despite their individual abilities being subpar due to weak sword energy release and almost non-existent body enhancement, their relentless swarm tactics wore her down.

‘What are they, cockroaches…?’

Clones that continued to emerge no matter how many times she cut them down; she sighed in relief again, realizing that her weapon was a valuable relic.

If it hadn’t been for that ordinary sword, the outcome of the duel would have been unpredictable. She couldn’t even imagine a scenario where she lost to that arrogant girl in her dreams.

What kind of clones bleed like that the moment they’re sliced? Where was the main body, even? She seriously contemplated if the main body was hidden outside, controlled from a distance.

It was puzzling. Well, since the duel arena was virtual reality, everything would cease to exist if it were turned off.

Still, it seemed hard to eat red food for a while.

‘Oh, she didn’t give up, huh?’

The Violet staggered up like a marionette with its strings cut.

The girl looked around, slowly turning her curious eyes like a newly hatched chick in the world. Then, she carefully lifted the sword she held and gazed at it.

Martina aimed and stepped in for the final blow, but unconsciously hesitated.

A chill she sensed instinctively made her take a step back.

The Violet in front of her stared at the sword as if it held something precious. It felt as if she were looking into a hand mirror. It seemed like it actually was the case.

The Violet tilted the sword’s blade from side to side, admiring her reflection. She lightly touched her face, smiling, and then tilted her head, letting out a disappointed sigh as if wondering if something was wrong.

At some point, satisfied with her reflection, the Violet beamed with delight.

‘Has she lost her mind?’

Martina raised her rapier and struck down at the girl’s head. One trajectory, and her head would split in two.

The blade flew in.

-Kaang!

The clash echoed like a thunderclap, and Martina staggered back a few steps in shock.

In the moment she swung her sword, a counterstrike came at such speed that even her magic-enhanced eyesight couldn’t perceive it.

‘Wasn’t her magical power depleted?’

Perhaps irritated by being interrupted, the Violet ground her teeth. Frowning, she glanced around in search of the source of her annoyance, only to find her gaze fixed on Martina.

The moment she met the blood-tainted red eyes, Martina felt the chill of exposure, as if she were stripped bare.

This wasn’t the gaze of a student. Now, she questioned whether the girl she had faced moments ago was the same Violet. That was the gaze of a famished beast.

“Hmm… Who… memory… just a bit is… I see… somewhere… Aha.”

The Violet murmured, then suddenly appeared pleased, as if she’d remembered something.

“Right, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you… Hello, Martina. It’s been five years.”

“…What? What did you say?”

The girl smiled brightly, filled with childlike innocence. The kind of malicious innocence that tears butterflies’ wings, squishes ants, and throws puppies into ponds.

With a predator’s red eyes brimming with curiosity, the Violet set her sights on the butterfly she wanted to tear apart.

Then she smiled cheerily, like a child.

“Shall we play together?”

From the sword the Violet held, a murky red magical power surged forth.