The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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Three people are facing off in the duel arena.

Interestingly, the size of the duel arena inside the barrier has expanded beyond that of the actual building. Since the arena is a kind of virtual reality, it can be adjusted to be wider inside than outside.

The tense standoff, fragile as a thin sheet of ice, ended in just one minute. The girl with purple hair, having roughly gauged her opponent, aimed her spear vertically toward the enemy. In the blink of an eye, she sprang forward like a coiling spring.

She dashed across the solid tiled floor as if flying. Her hair flowed like waves. She brandished a spear taller than herself and charged forward. The momentum of her rush was akin to a siege weapon battering a castle gate.

The two opponents she targeted head-on were the left, a female student armed with a crossbow featuring a drum magazine, and a bit ahead to the right, a male student in a defensive stance with a rapier and strange-patterned gloves.

“···Eat this!”

As the guy raised his left hand, the pattern on the gloves glowed. Behind the sharp, snapping sound, several shining orbs poured down like rain. It was the most basic magical bullet attack.

Irene adeptly sidestepped, and as the volume of attacks increased, she spun her spear like a windmill, shaking off the incoming magical bullets. The magical energy on her spear collided with the bullets, causing golden sparks to erupt, slightly slowing her advance.

The male student charged in. The white sword energy at the tip of his rapier shone brightly. It was a rapid thrust, akin to a fencing champion. At the same moment, the female student on the left aimed her crossbow.

A volley of magical bolts charged forward. It seemed impossible to escape the two simultaneous attacks coming in diagonally.

If it were me, I would have collapsed right there, but Irene was different.

In a moment of crisis, she vanished.

“What? Where… Argh!”

– Whoosh!

Irene slammed her spinning spear down onto the floor, using the rebound to leap into the air like a pole vaulter. The rapier sliced through the air. While the male student was dumbfounded, the golden spear tip aimed directly at the rear female student.

“Uh? Aaaah!”

As the flustered female student clumsily aimed her crossbow, the shining spearhead had already cleaved her crossbow in two. A clean vertical cut. The descending spear did not stop and fluidly struck the female student on the head.

“Ugh!”

“Hey, damn it! I won’t let this go!”

Seeing the female student collapse after being hit by the spear, the male student finally snapped back to reality and lunged at Irene from behind. It was a pointless gesture. Without even turning around, Irene thrust the back of her spear into his chest.

“Ugh! Gah! Ueek…”

The guy, struck in the solar plexus, fell over and rolled on the ground, gagging. The duel was over.

All of this happened in just five seconds.

Since I was measuring how long it would take for the other clones, time was precise.

After the victory was declared and the barrier lifted, she went to collect her paperwork from the senior board member before leisurely walking over to her fallen opponents.

“You know you have to keep your promise, right?”

“Ugh… damn…”

Reluctantly, they signed the paper filed in front of them.

“With this, you are no longer members of the management board. Got it? And don’t forget about our other promises.”

“Okay… we got it… ugh…”

Their expressions curled up in humiliation from the defeat, but that was all there was to it.

I, sitting in the seats of the duel arena, made my way out first. As I exited, some excited first-year students who had come to witness the duel shouted.

“Irene! Irene!”

“Freedom! Hooray!”

I waited patiently for her to squeeze her way through the exuberant crowd before approaching her slowly.

“Congratulations. You’re as strong as ever, Irene!”

“What can I say? This is easy.”

Despite the victory, there was a hint of bewilderment on Irene’s face.

“…weaker than I thought.”

“Uh, what did you say?”

“If we had enrolled earlier, we would have had more training and experience. To crumble so quickly against such basic tactics feels too anticlimactic.”

I somewhat agreed with Irene. Two long-range attackers charging in, yet one was easily outplayed in an instant.

Technically, she hadn’t even resorted to using her unique ability.

“Still, if others hear you say that, they might get angry.”

“…True. I understand what you mean. But I cannot comprehend how they fell so quickly to such basic techniques.”

I could grasp where her disappointment was stemming from.

– Expectations were set too high, after all. –

– This was the school where my parents enrolled. –

It was clear that this school may have been a prestigious institution she envisioned a few years ago, but it certainly isn’t anymore.

“Hey, don’t be too disappointed. It just means achieving your goals is easier now, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

While I was with Irene, the other clones who had watched the duel began sharing their opinions.

– The seniors are pretty pitiful, but they are indeed overwhelming. –

– Even if we all charged in, we wouldn’t win. –

I was relieved that she was on our side. Her speed of movement was beyond imagination. Just her charging speed could be compared to that of vehicles. If a hundred Violets coordinated together to charge in, they would all be swept aside in one go. There wouldn’t even be a chance to touch her.

– At this rate, normalizing the school’s procedures should be quick. –

The fourth clone chimed in.

Suddenly, yesterday’s conversation resurfaced in my mind.

***

Before this duel took place, we had a brief discussion yesterday afternoon.

“The Freshman Management Board is a kind of club. The main members consist of one president and four subordinates, and they create and disseminate unified directives.”

“Is that all we need to get rid of them?”

“No, the irregularities within departments or actions individuals take are separate from the board. However, we could eliminate the unfair treatment directed towards all first-years immediately.”

My smartphone vibrated.

“I posted the data on the messenger. Take a look.”

It was a group chat that had been set up previously. I could see the trivial personal details and photos of those individuals she had written up.

As I browsed through the data, a female student caught my eye at the very top with a striking appearance. A girl with cascading blonde hair. At first glance, she resembled an adult more than a student.

“Martina Perian? Is she the leader here?”

“That’s right. She’s a fourth-year.”

It was pathetic that a fourth-year student was wasting time doing such strange things.

“Alright, if we can just defeat this organization in a duel, that would be the end of it.”

“No, it’s not that simple. There’s still a lot more to do afterward.”

There was a resoluteness glimmering in Irene’s purple eyes.

“First, we will establish a group to eliminate injustices. From there, we will progressively solve issues with the student council, faculty, and various other problems.”

I suddenly had a question. There had to be a quicker solution.

“Why not just challenge the president to a duel right away?”

Irene shook her head.

“I already tried. But she rejected the duel request outright.”

“Ah!”

As expected, there was a crucial problem. Duels needed mutual agreement to take place.

While the outcome of duels within the school was absolute, it was difficult for one party to threaten and force another into a duel unilaterally.

I had sensed before during a duel that the process was quite complex. There was a lot of documentation to be filled out, and conditions that needed mutual agreement on various aspects before proceeding. If you won, you could impose all sorts of absurd demands on the defeated party, but asking for transfer or withdrawal was among the few exceptions that couldn’t be presented.

In a realm rife with all sorts of absurdities and ridiculous orders, this aspect was thorough.

– Could the duels be a form of internal control from above? –

– Seems like they don’t care about anything but those with significant conflicts must resolve their issues through duels. –

In the course of discussion, other clones observing chimed in with their thoughts.

Alright, one question had been resolved.

Her plan seemed reasonable to me, and it had long-term goals.

Yet another question arose.

“But will that alone solve all the problems?”

“What do you mean?”

“Getting rid of the management board is great, and creating a problem-solving organization to replace them is an excellent idea, too. But what about the student council or other school issues? What are we going to do about the entrance ceremony incident?”

Upon hearing my words, Irene’s expression turned serious.

“Ah, I was just asking out of curiosity…”

“Your point is valid.”

She quietly nodded her head.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t believe we can solve all the school’s problems only through clubs or groups.”

She sighed. For a moment, her shoulders relaxed.

“From the start, the entire school is twisted. It’s strange. It’s true that there’s not much I can do.”

If that conversation I had overheard with the student council president was true, then she would not be able to seek external help. It was a hopeless situation.

I could feel Irene’s gaze on me again.

“But I’m not going to stay idle. I’m going to do my best as long as I can.”

“Sounds like it’ll be tough, are you okay with that?”

“It won’t be easy. In fact, it’s going to be more difficult. I’m not just thinking of dueling. My ultimate goal is to unveil the truth behind the disaster of the entrance ceremony.”

“The entrance ceremony…”

It seemed that memory of that incident was always lodged in Irene’s mind.

“Yeah. Right now, getting rid of the injustices is the priority, but concerning the incident of the monster incursion during the entrance ceremony, I’m hiring people to continue the investigation on my end. If I can appropriately manipulate things from below while provoking the student council and board of directors, the attention will focus on me. Then gaps will emerge.”

“Won’t that be difficult?”

As I asked again, this time with concern, while she seemed a bit more drained than earlier, there was a determined glint in her eyes that met my gaze.

“It’ll be tough. But someone has to do this. Someone must protest against this injustice and stand up. I believe this is what everyone else who graduated from this school… and our parents too, desire.”

I felt her calm demeanor exuding steadiness. It seemed reckless, yet somehow admirable. Given her stature, she could have just transferred to a different school.

To remain in this muddy pit and voluntarily take on tedious work was not an easy task.

“…And so, I want to restore this school back to normal. And I will definitely uncover the truth. Because that’s the right thing to do.”

I wasn’t sure if it was even possible, but I didn’t feel like arguing against her.

I didn’t understand why she made such a decision. However, she wasn’t suggesting doing anything bad. That was enough for me.

The atmosphere had turned too serious, so I somehow returned to the main topic.

“Well, regardless, for now disrupting their activities is the answer. Nothing can be done alone.”

“Right. If I keep pressing, that person will have no choice but to move. If they try to avoid duels till the end, I’ll crush all the management board members related to them in a duel.”

If one simply lays low, it suggests cutting off the remaining limbs of their organization completely. It didn’t seem like a bad strategy for now. With enough pressure, they would eventually come out.

And right now, that success was unfolding before my eyes.

The person Irene smashed today was exactly one of those management board officials. Those foolish individuals must have thought they could win with a 2:1 condition in a 1:1 fight. They got thoroughly smashed.

“Well, if we take down just one or two more, we might reach the management board president or something. Irene is amazing!”

“Thanks for the support.”

Seeing her smile made me think I should do what I could as quickly as possible.

– Underground search still has no progress. Haven’t found anything? –

– Soon! Just a little more wait! I think it’s about to turn up! –

***

That night, good news arrived.

– Finally found a decent space. It looks like a supply storage. –

One of the numerous Violets circling around the ventilation shaft finally made a breakthrough. They discovered an empty space between the wall seams with no signs of people.

– Finally, we have a use for this. –

– It should be worth the price, right?

Carefully prying open the gap, I inserted the endoscope camera I had purchased in advance and scanned the surroundings. It was a device that could connect to a smartphone as well.

I looked around. No surveillance cameras or special alarm devices were visible.

Now, there was nothing to worry about. A little later, a clone was created right in the middle of the room. A Violet wearing jet-black clothing and a mask scanned the surroundings.

– What do you see? –

– Nothing. Could it be because it’s the storage room? Just boxes. –

As I pulled on the storage door, it was locked. It appeared there was a padlock securing it outside. Inserting the endoscope camera through the gap at the bottom of the door revealed a concrete passageway illuminated by fluorescent lights. No signs of life were felt.

– Checked. No surveillance systems visible. –

– Let’s go check outside lightly first. –

Creating another clone like a stepping stone on the other side of the door. It was an underground facility revealing various large and small pipes and frameworks. The distant buzzing sounds of unnamed machines provided the only hint of life to this desolate space.

– I will start the search. –

– No need to take risks. If something feels strange, reverse the summoning immediately. –

I took off my shoes, placed them in the inventory, and carefully walked down the passageway. Several Violets disappeared beyond the concrete corridor.

What could be beyond that shadow?