The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

Long ago, in a shabby alley in Rustlum, there lived a lowly non-awakened man.

The man dreamed of success, but reality was harsh.

As he lived each day soaked in alcohol, the man thought about ending his own life.

Perhaps he would have become a corpse as planned, if not for someone who came to him one day and bestowed grace upon him.

The man joined the cult, succeeded in awakening, and was captivated by its teachings.

After much effort, he rose to the position of elder.

And now, Karnan, filled with joy, led the army of monsters as he advanced toward the outpost.

"Master, are you watching? I have succeeded!"

His heart swelled with pride.

The golden ring that surrounded the edge of his pointed hat glowed.

This was the secret to creating the monster army.

Though there was a minor side effect, as his heart beat at an abnormal rate and he felt the agony of ants crawling up every blood vessel and nerve in his body.

But for now, he could manage to control them.

He endured the horrific pain with his strange religious fervor and maintained control.

"Elder, I can feel it! The Vision Prism!"

A believer riding a bull-shaped monster under Noxtera’s command shouted.

The outpost in the safe zone, illuminated with bright lights, stood in stark contrast to the dungeon’s darkness.

’Caught in the trap!’

Indeed, Karnan thought, his prediction was correct.

Although a minor disaster had caused him to lose an artifact, hadn’t it ultimately led the cult to the desired position?

This was surely the opportunity that the god had prepared.

"Haha, this is great! The feast is set!"

He killed the heretics and offered them as sacrifices to activate the artifact.

By doing so, he could control an even greater horde of monsters.

If he could lead the monsters beyond the gate, the chance of ascension would be near.

’For now, it’s time to test their defenses. There will be martyrs, but it can’t be helped.’

Sacrifice was necessary to draw closer to salvation.

Thinking this, Elder Karnan shouted forcefully to rally the believers.

"There will be ascension!"

I saw the monsters swarming beyond the dungeon.

It reminded me of the cockroach-like monsters I fought with Irene a few weeks ago.

"Why are there so many?"

"Look over there! There are people too!...Wait, why are they dressed like that?"

Figures wearing strange white pointed hats were running among the monsters.

The people standing outside were gripped with fear at the sight of the monstrous horde.

The crowd quickly rushed toward the entrance.

"Move! What kind of checkpoint is this at a time like this?"

"Huh? Huh..."

The checkpoint hunters didn’t have time to stop them.

They too were in shock at the sight of the monsters swarming before them.

The federal soldiers didn’t miss the opportunity.

"It’s an emergency! We’re going in!"

"What, what did you say?"

"You don’t plan on handing over the artifact to those monsters and fanatics, do you? Hey! Move out!"

With that, Major Marius forcibly drove the truck into the entrance.

The convoy forcefully pushed through.

The managers of the Atlas Clan had no choice but to step aside as the soldiers prepared to crush everything in their path.

"You! What is the meaning of this..."

"We’re in the same boat now. Given the situation, I’ll provide fire support. If you have complaints, say them after it’s over."

"Ugh..."

The clan official was left speechless.

The soldiers moved freely, with tanks placed at key entrances and soldiers moving behind barricades and walls.

"An alliance of convenience."

"Well, at least they’re soldiers, so they should fight well, right?"

As the monsters approached, sirens blared throughout the safe zone.

Emergency! Emergency! An unidentified monster swarm is approaching! All workers should evacuate inside! Everyone who can fight, please report to the barricades and entrances!

The hunters of the Atlas Clan and people from other clans began gathering their weapons one by one.

Normally, they would have gone out through the gate, but now, if they didn’t fight together, they would all die.

By the way, the scene unfolding before my eyes was quite surprising.

A human controlling monsters!

"Irene! Something’s wrong with my eyes! A person’s riding atop Noxtera!"

"I saw it clearly. That’s a person. What the hell, is this for real? Controlling monsters?"

Even Irene, who usually kept her composure in most situations, seemed taken aback by the current scenario.

Armed fanatics were charging forward with the monster horde.

"There will be ascension!"

They shouted some insane nonsense.

Strangely, the monsters did not attack the believers at all. Whenever they saw people, these beasts would go into a frenzy, but at that moment, they treated the surrounding people as if they were comrades.

The even stranger thing was that some of the monsters were riding other monsters like horses and charging forward.

"I can’t believe someone is really doing that!"

First, there were the monsters riding other monsters, and then came the people riding them. What kind of method did they use? This didn’t seem like something mere fanatics could have the power to do.

"Could it be the power of magic or artifacts? As far as we know, there’s almost no way to control monsters."

In fact, there is a method in the game’s settings. But that method isn’t normal—it turns people into husks.

As I sorted through the world of the Deep Crimson Academia in my head, I climbed the wall with my teammates.

"Fire!"

The machine gun turrets set up along the wall were already spewing fire nonstop. My ears went momentarily numb. The dazzling light of flare shells swept through the monster horde. The hunters cheered in excitement.

"Good, kill them all!"

As the monsters drew closer, the hunters raised their weapons and shot at them.

From massive rifles to repeating crossbows, and even staffs, all sorts of weapons unleashed bullets, bolts, and magic in rapid succession. The fanatics and monsters were seen tumbling all over the place.

"Wow, I don’t even have to fight!"

I was thrilled; our firepower was overwhelming. And we even had tanks on our side!

A bright blue flame burst from the barrel of a light tank. The shining spread shells swept through the monster horde, much like a broom sweeping away dust. The machine guns mounted on the tank’s body sprayed lead nonstop, melting the monsters charging toward us.

-Kraoooh!

Among all the firepower, the monsters that fled faced a defensive spell that surrounded the wall. As soon as they got close, electric sparks flew and flames scorched them.

"Don’t worry, everyone! Our Atlas Clan’s defense system is perfect!"

A speaker inside the base crackled to life, and the chief spoke proudly.

With morale high, the hunters slaughtered the monsters and fanatics.

"Huh? Those guys are running away."

The fanatics, who had tried to charge several times, hesitated and then ceased their attacks, retreating.

"Did we win?"

"It ended too easily."

It felt strange. The leader of the fanatics, Noxtera, who was wearing a cone-shaped hat, seemed to approach at first but then paused and started watching carefully.

"Could they be testing us?"

Feeling something was off, I looked at Irene. She seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she nodded in agreement.

"If they’re not fools, then that last attack was probably a test."

Ten minutes later, the second wave of attacks arrived.

This time, intermediate monsters were mixed in.

Twenty minutes later, thirty minutes, forty minutes, one hour.

The attacks continued to come one after another.

The safe zone had been suffering from the fanatics’ repeated onslaughts for over four hours. Yet, despite this, the defense line, reinforced with federal soldiers, did not easily crumble.

"Ugh, suicidal monsters!"

"We could never do that."

The Violets marveled at the creativity of the Combine’s strategy. What had started as an assault by low-level monsters gradually diversified. They attempted various tactics, such as charges led by intermediate monsters and even suicide attacks.

The defense system was solid, but even awakened beings couldn’t help but feel mentally drained after hours of tension.

"We haven’t had any fatalities, but it’s getting worrisome. The number of injured keeps increasing."

Listening to Daphne’s worried words, Violet No. 573 turned toward the wall. Black smoke was rising from the machine gun turret that had been destroyed by a suicide bombing Skulkit.

The fanatics’ attacks suddenly stopped. While resting, the team began to assess the situation.

"The communication network with the ceiling has been cut off."

Even though the emergency communication line had survived the collapse of the elevator, it was now down. People began to feel uneasy. The elevator repair was still ongoing.

"Are we still going down? Wasn’t the plan just to attach cables and send it down?"

"They’re urgently bringing in equipment from above and setting it up. Please wait a little longer. It’ll be finished soon."

"If I’d known this was going to happen, I should have learned flight magic..."

Amid the chaos, a new dispute broke out between the federal soldiers and the hunters. A debate was taking place in front of a truck loaded with artifacts.

"We’re low on ammo, and everyone is exhausted. If this is their goal, we need to disband now!"

"No! They said the elevator would come down in a few hours. If that’s the case, we can send the priority ones up first!"

As the commotion unfolded, a group of people was watching from a distance.

The members of Magna Nabis, disguised as ordinary small clan hunters, were quietly waiting inside the forward base. They fixed their gaze on the armored truck carrying the Vision Prism. Around them, the quarrel continued.

"It was a good call to retreat. Do you see where our camp was? The monsters swept through there just a moment ago."

The Vanguard commander pointed toward the direction of the barrier.

"By the way, I didn’t expect those fanatics to be able to control the monsters. That’s an unexpected variable. Have we identified the cause?"

Lera handed a tablet to her teammate and pointed to the screen. In the paused video, a man wearing a pointed hat was seen riding on a black, slimy mass. A metallic band shining brightly was visible under the brim of the hat.

"We’ve just finished analyzing the data. Tracking the flow of mana, it seems that the artifact attached to this man’s head, who is riding on the high-level monster, is controlling the monsters."

"Huh, that’s fascinating. I’ve never seen anything like it before."

The agent seemed intrigued. His curiosity was apparent, even beyond the distorted mechanical sounds.

"So, if we destroy the artifact or subdue the user, we can stop this army of monsters? Is that what you’re saying?"

Lera nodded.

"According to the researchers’ calculations, there’s a 90% chance the monsters will disperse. What would you like to do? Given our current power, an assassination attempt is possible..."

"Right now?"

The commander shrugged. It implied that there was no immediate reason for the Federation to benefit from this situation.

"Let’s just observe for now. We don’t know how this will turn out..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud noise came from the left side of the defense line. Black, slimy tentacles erupted from the ground. Lera’s blue eyes widened.

"Hmm, what will we do now?"

Upon the agent’s question, she briefly assessed the strength of the two opposing forces. Although there might be casualties, she judged that the defense line would not fall so easily.

But what if they could shift the balance? This might be the opportunity.

Having made up her mind, she activated the telepathic communication.

"Initiating Plan 4."

"Confirmed."

Many had already been annihilated by the unexpected monster swarm inside the dungeon.

The events that occurred in this dungeon would likely become just another common occurrence.

Once the report was completed, the team began preparing to activate the prism.

At the same time, Lera activated the artifact device strapped to her back, outputting at full power.

The wave of mana swept across the surroundings.

The fanatics’ new attack began underground. Tentacles shot up from the earth, grabbing their prey. Those ensnared screamed in agony as their flesh melted away.

"AAAH!"

Soldiers and hunters who had been fighting turned their heads. Their faces hardened. The Nox Terror, having absorbed its prey, began to dig through the ground, revealing its massive, amorphous body.

As the monster fully emerged from the earth, a swarm of monsters followed, surging out of the tunnels like ants.

"We let our guard down. Tunnels, huh...!"

The chief muttered angrily. He reprimanded himself internally but quickly called for people to block the attacks.

However, the enemy was already inside.

"Kr, kkh!"

"Haha! Die!"

The fanatics, disguised as ordinary people, revealed themselves and began attacking other hunters.

"Fanatics! Get them!"

"Die, heretics!"

As the chaos escalated, Major Marius urgently climbed into the command vehicle. The chief was flustered upon seeing him.

"Dammit! We’re going to crumble like this. We’re going ahead!"

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"We’re retreating! We’ll meet up at the rear. Attention all units! Retreat to the designated coordinates! Over."

"Wait, the defense line is still intact!"

"Shut up! If we keep listening to you, the artifact will be destroyed!"

Ignoring the chief’s plea, Major Marius hurriedly got into the vehicle. The tanks, which had been blocking the entrance, turned their bodies and headed for the rear gate of the base.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

As the monsters poured in, the soldiers and tanks suddenly retreated from the defense line, causing the hunters to become anxious.

-Field Leader! We can’t retreat! Please reconsider the order...

A young officer urgently sent a transmission, but the major ignored it and sent off the convoy.

"Foolish kid, playing the hero..."

The convoy, moving with a truck at its center, headed toward the rear gate. As they surveyed the area, a sudden flash of light swept through the surroundings.

"Ugh, Aaagh!"

Violet No. 512 felt something strange during the battle.

"Ugh?"

A disturbing wave brushed past my body and disappeared. I felt uneasy.

"What was that? A magic from the fanatics?"

Violet No. 512, not giving it much thought, pulled the trigger on her rifle. The gun clicked as it vainly struck the chamber.

"What the..."

I wondered if it was a misfire and pulled back the charging handle. The bullet didn’t fire.

An emergency communication quickly spread across the Violet Network.

"Kyaah! The bullets won’t fire!"

"The gun’s broken! What’s going on?"

"Is it the bullets?"

It seemed I wasn’t the only one facing this issue. Nearby, Kalia, who had been firing a Magnum revolver, quickly opened the cylinder to remove the bullets.

"Damn it! What’s happening all of a sudden?"

I looked around. Other hunters, like me, were struggling with the unexpected misfire.

"What’s going on? Why is this happening?"

"Is it broken?"

Looking closer, I saw that the machine gun turret, which had been pouring down a barrage of destruction, also stopped firing. Technically, it was still firing, but the spent cartridges were being expelled without the actual bullets being discharged—like someone vomiting after drinking too much.

While I pondered the reason behind this, Daphne, who had been waiting behind, came running in panic.

"Everyone! Gather here, now!"

"Huh..."