MTLNOVEL Chapter 90
As Violet 212 arrived in the southern region aboard the high-speed train, it was greeted by the warm sunshine. Savoring the sunlight, Violet 212 pulled a hot dog from the unmanned vending machine and bit into it.
“This is my first time in the southern region.”
“Oh my goodness, it’s a robot!”
Having traveled only a few hundred kilometers, the city’s landscape was completely different. While the western region resembled an ordinary modern European street, this place looked like a futuristic city from a science fiction movie.
Drones flew in the sky, and sleek robots scurried along the streets.
Violet wandered the streets as if it were her home, fully immersing herself in the fragments of a future that humanity on Trist Planet might have encountered if they hadn’t come across monsters.
Though it was her first time here, as she walked around, she frequently came across familiar spots that made her think, “Ah, here!”
Stores, restaurants, the street trees, and decorations—all of them looked familiar.
“Look, that’s the restaurant!”
“That’s right, this street feels familiar!”
It made sense. This was the place she had walked around endlessly in the game.
Violet 212’s gaze focused on one side of the wide street.
At the end of this broad street stood a cluster of similar buildings. Futuristic architectural structures with soft white walls and geometrical shapes of steel and glass shone in the sunlight.
This view stood out even among the futuristic surroundings.
Violet let out a brief admiration. Anyone who had played Crimson Scholar would know this scenery well.
“We’ve arrived!”
“This is…”
Our destination, the prestigious Awakener Academy of the southern region—Aegis Specialized Academy.
***
As we approached the school, it was time to reminisce about the memories from before the possession.
We briefly rummaged through the piles of thoughts in the Violet Network. After digging through a cluttered library that looked like it had been organized by a lazy librarian, we recalled a few things.
“Damn that Director Yeom.”
“Even if he couldn’t conclude things, at least he should’ve released parts three and four.”
Crimson Scholar (known globally as Crimson Scholar) is a game produced by the Chinese company Dragon Sky Interactive™.
Originally planned as a five-part open-world game, it unfortunately failed due to adult-related circumstances, and the director went missing.
“But isn’t it not really Director Yeom’s fault? He was just unlucky, wasn’t he? Of all things, it had to be his family…”
“That’s true.”
As Violet 2 chimed in, the others all nodded in agreement.
The director’s real name was Yan Min. In Korean, his surname ‘염’ was read as ‘Yeom’, hence he was called Director Yeom in Korea.
Typically, when a gacha game crashed, practitioners would utter his name as part of a supernatural act. If it went well, he was Yeom-ddeok, and if not, he was Yeom-beong. Depending on the day’s gacha conditions, the status of the director’s mother and her movements would change, making this game truly a matter of quantum mechanics.
Though I never scored first place, there were various reasons for the sudden disintegration of a game company that was doing fairly well overseas, including Korea.
People pointed out the sensitive elements present in the game; some argued it was the party’s will to crack down on the gaming industry, which fosters addiction and lowers productivity.
Others joked that it was an attempt to eliminate the introverted Chinese men who obsessed over younger girls while the Chinese president, a top-tier socialite hoping to see women from the country of X marry, fiddled with his smartphone while shouting ‘Tang Ping’.
The incident of a company that was ostensibly one of the key players in the nation’s cultural export disappearing without a trace shows just how absurdly this was perceived.
Of course, there was a more significant reason.
It was due to the ‘Yahong Group Real Estate Incident’ involving Director Yeom’s father, a conglomerate chairman. The ripples from this massive scandal, with enough fuel to burn, were sufficient to drown a second-generation chaebol’s otaku obsession in the river’s massive currents.
“It’s true that after the prologue of part two, I’m not in the loop; but you know enough about part one, right? That should be sufficient.”
“That’s true.”
Even if we knew, it wouldn’t change anything. None of us are students at this school. Some hadn’t even enrolled yet, as it was five years later.
As I organized my thoughts, I headed towards the entrance of Aegis Academy. Aegis Specialized Academy is one of the main locations where part one is set. It’s also where Irene transferred after the school’s incident due to Polaris’s large-scale experiment.
“Didn’t that guy named Lucian come here too?”
“That’s right! He did!”
As we approached the main gate, we saw students bustling about. Perhaps it’s a prestigious school; their uniforms looked modern and stylish.
“Will we be able to see him? He’s the student council president now.”
“Being the student council president, I don’t think it would be that easy to see him.”
We whispered to each other, half excited and half worried.
Before coming to school, I had conducted research on the geography and composition of the personnel in preparation for Violet-style resource requisition—what people would commonly call theft.
Since the information available to the public was limited, I couldn’t grasp the detailed situations.
However, while sifting through the student council roster, I was able to fortuitously find a familiar name and face.
“Adela! Adela is here!”
“So at this point, she was still a student.”
Among the five-star playable characters from Aegis Academy, there is one currently attending school. None other than the student council president.
“It would be great to meet her.”
“No way. We’re not here for fun. We need to verify what we’ve investigated.”
“Got it.”
Violet 212 lightly brushed her hand against the wall surrounding the academy.
As she attempted to project her magical power beyond the wall, a clone didn’t materialize as if she had hit something. My unique ability was blocked just like when I took a test with Professor Albert back in the day.
“I knew it; this method isn’t going to work.”
“It’s a barrier. As expected of a top-tier academy’s security.”
I had anticipated this much. Aegis Specialized Academy has defensive barriers designed to block external attacks and suppress gate creations. Of course, there are those who can rip through this, but only formidable villains could manage that. This was all identical to the memories from before the possession and the current information I had.
Then, would Violet’s journey toward the Crystal Flowers come to an end here? Not at all. There are always loopholes in every security system; there was an easier way than climbing over the walls to enter through the main gate.
“We’re going to be late. Let’s go!”
Hearing the others urging her on, Violet headed towards a crowd gathered near the main entrance. There was a guide holding a sign waiting for the group.
Most of the participants in this tour seemed to be young students. There were quite a few younger children who looked slightly younger than me.
“Alright! We’ll be departing soon!”
Once everyone gathered, the guide checked the numbers and handed out visitor name tags.
Aegis Specialized Academy operates a group tour program for outsiders. Tourists or prospective academy applicants often participate frequently.
Using this method, we could proudly enter.
“Passed through!”
“Great, now once a gap opens, generate the clone.”
Pretending to be an innocuous girl, I navigated through the vigilant guards’ gazes, inspections, and surveillance systems without a hitch.
With my awakened magical vision, I surveyed my surroundings and saw numerous marbles and strings tangled with complicated equations and streams of magical power unfolding everywhere. If any suspicious movements of magical power were detected, an emergency alarm would have undoubtedly sounded.
“I’m glad I didn’t try to enter using the recognition-jamming device.”
“That was clearly a gamble.”
As the guards scanned their cards and opened the turnstile, we were finally able to step inside. A new world unfolded before us.
“Whoa….”
The moment I looked around, a sigh escaped my lips. The grounds of Aegis Academy were remarkably sophisticated. While the architectural structures of Polaris leaned towards classical neoclassical style, the buildings here were futuristic and sleek. Truly a scene befitting a prestigious school. The students’ uniforms were spotless white and looked clean and beautiful.
“As expected of an academy that plays the protagonist role…”
“I want to transfer here!”
In such a place, the food must taste better, and the students wouldn’t do anything weird. Lost in admiration, I snapped back to reality. It was now time to work.
Under the guide’s instructions, I explored the school with the others. After excusing myself for a moment to go to the restroom, I discreetly slipped away and generated a clone.
“Okay, let’s get to work. I checked around, and it seems there’s no surveillance magic inside.”
“These guys are surprisingly inept.”
After hearing 212’s explanation, 156 and 230 nodded and made a few disguises, pouring magical power into their recognition-jamming necklaces. The appearance of the two Violets that entered 200’s perception strangely transformed.
“I’ve tried it a few times, but it feels awkward every time. If we weren’t connected, I’d think they were different people.”
The effects of the recognition-jamming device have two aspects. First, the device refracts external light appropriately, so the subject’s appearance doesn’t stand out to outside observers. Additionally, it continuously emits waves that affect the mind, dulling perception. As a result, surrounding individuals perceive the person as a stone or tree lying on the road.
It becomes evident that it impacts the mind; this device is costly and scarce.
The two Violets moved cautiously. The recognition-jamming device distorts human perception, not making one invisible. Just by observing how passersby avoided us, it was clear. However, the way they treated us was similar to how they treated a roadside utility pole.
“Indeed, effective.”
“Be careful; bumping into things will temporarily nullify the effect.”
The Violets headed toward the garden and forest of Aegis Academy. There, among the unknown herbs and strangely formed two-dimensional plants, we could see the number of Crystal Flowers we had anticipated.
Seeing the amount of magical power resonating from them, I wanted to pick one and eat it right away, but I held myself back.
“If I even touch one, the guards will swarm.”
“We’ll have to wait until night. Don’t forget, the operation starts at midnight!”
Surveillance cameras monitored the area. Now was not the time to touch anything.
After reconfirming the locations of the Crystal Flowers, the Violets moved to a deserted place within the school. They then created clones inside ventilation shafts or caverns before disappearing. Among the created clones, some waited silently as if they were lifeless.
“Let’s commence the operation at midnight.”
This operation would allow me to test out the new abilities I had gained as my unique abilities evolved. This was the ‘hibernation’ ability.
Normally, clones must possess a personality upon creation.
However, using the hibernation ability after generating a clone would allow the personality to withdraw from the body, returning to the Violet Network, leaving only a body in a state of suspended animation, with no heartbeat or breathing. This body in a comatose state could last over 24 hours without needing to eat.
Of course, if necessary, I could return the personality to the body immediately and could check on the condition of the body as well. If used wisely, one could create and store numerous bodies.
While the resource requisition team waited, Violet 212 continued the tour following the guide. It seemed most of the participants were younger students, looking around with looks of admiration and awe.
In the midst of this, a female student approached and spoke to the guide.
“Since they’re young students, may I guide them myself?”
“No, there’s really no need to…”
After a brief exchange with the guide, she came over to our side.
“Who is she?”
“She seems to be a student here…”
As people involved in the tour murmured with curiosity, the female student approached with a neat and graceful stride.
The moment I inspected her closely, I couldn’t help but admire again, just as I had with Daphne.
“Wow, she’s pretty…”
As if she heard my words, she approached me. I froze for a moment.
Could this be the same person I know? What are the chances of this coincidence?
The girl approached me with a look full of curiosity and stared blankly for a moment.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
While I was pondering, she gently smiled and spoke to me.
“Oh my, so cute…! What’s your name?”
“…Eh?”
Unexpectedly caught off guard by her question, I was momentarily speechless.
The first meeting with Adela, the student council president of Aegis Specialized Academy, began in a rather bizarre manner.