The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

Chapter 28: Dungeon—Violet Advances Even in Hardships

Subculture gacha games often feature protagonists with ambiguous genders, leaving their appearances to the imagination of players.

Characters like the “Admiral” or the “Producer” exemplify this trend.

However, some recent games have provided players with distinctly gendered male and female protagonists and the option to choose between them.

Deep Crimson Academia was one such game.

But the way it presented this choice was shockingly unconventional, sparking some buzz.

When the game begins, two characters—one male and one female with black hair—are precariously hanging from a cliff.

Players must click on either the male or the female character within a limited time to select one.

Once the choice is made, the cliff collapses.

The selected character falls to a safer, gradual slope and loses consciousness, while the unselected character plummets into the abyss below.

But later dialogue confirmed their funeral, leaving no room for doubt.

After a brief fade to black, the screen remains silent for a few seconds…

“‘Scholar’? Wake up, ‘Scholar.’ Academy City needs you.”

The protagonist is greeted by this voice, followed by the screen brightening.

The game’s flagship character, a brown-haired girl, welcomes the player, marking the start of the tutorial.

“This area we’re walking through is the tutorial zone!”

No. 5 exclaimed enthusiastically.

“All we have to do now is trace the path the Scholar climbed and descend it in reverse!”

As we passed the entrance of the dungeon where the scavengers had gathered, the sight of a graveyard of protruding, tombstone-like buildings stretched before us.

The monotony of the endless landscape was boring, so we chatted to pass the time.

“Hey, is it really okay for us to take the protagonist’s belongings?”

“It’s fine. The <Multidimensional Storage Bags> are three in total. The Scholar only uses one of them. The rest are stored at their workplace, so it’s no big deal. Besides, this is all five years in the future anyway.” ŖÄ𐌽ọ𝔟Ęs̩

After hearing No. 2’s explanation, No. 5 nodded as if convinced.

No. 1, inspecting with a hammer on the left, raised another question.

“But I’m curious about something.”

“What is it?”

“What is the Scholar doing during this time?”

“Who knows? They were siblings, right? An older sister and a younger brother. They’re probably working in the central district of Academy City.”

We all shrugged.

Ever since the Boundless Witch became roommates with the Saint of Salvation, everything seemed to have gone awry.

Anything beyond five years from now isn’t my concern anymore!

About 30 minutes into our exploration, we began to wonder.

“Are we heading in the right direction? It’s all so confusing.”

We were feeling our way through the strange terrain made up of buildings, roads, and concrete lumped together, heading toward the canyon floor.

<The Forgotten Novastia Canyon> was a typical canyon with massive cliffs, slopes, and deep crevices.

The difference here was that instead of rock and soil, protruding buildings and fractured roads made up the terrain.

The chaotic skyline of skyscrapers, utility poles, and signs erected without order painted a desolate gray scene that reminded one of Beksinski’s surreal art.

Through this forgotten ruin, distorted by destruction, the Violets marched in double file.

“This shield is so heavy! Do we really need to carry it? Why not just replicate it when we need it? We haven’t even seen any monsters except the scavengers so far.”

No. 6 grumbled.

Other than peculiar mineral crystals attached like mushrooms to the walls and floor, there were no moving entities in sight. Perhaps because this was just the entrance.

“It’s the first dungeon, right? Safety first. Even if it’s full of low-level monsters, you never know when or where they’ll pop out. Remember, replicating weapons isn’t instant.”

No. 1 scolded her.

“Our previous fights were primitive. Now we’re properly equipped, and we need tactics to make the most of our numerical advantage. That means staying armed at all times.”

No. 2 added in a calm tone.

“Like medieval or ancient armies?”

“Roman Legion!”

“Sparta!”

Each of us held up our weapons, shouting names of armies.

As we continued descending the sloping path, a ripping sound, like peeling tape off a wall, echoed.

“Do you hear that sound?”

“Another scavenger team?”

“That doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t sound like footsteps.”

We halted and scanned our surroundings.

The repeated noise grew closer. With nervous eyes, we inspected the walls, buildings, and windows.

From one corner of the wall, a round gray head suddenly popped out.

“Guooork?”

“What’s that?”

“Look over there—it’s a Skrax!”

A small gray-skinned creature with a rough, concrete-like texture peeked at us from the wall.

When it caught our gaze, it let out a crude screech and began to flee.

“Guoook! Guooork!”

“It’s running away!”

“We’ve been aggroed! Catch it!”

No. 10 and 11 immediately gave chase.

No. 10 hurled her sword at the fleeing creature’s back from a distance.

But before the blade could reach the Skrax, it dissolved into shimmering dust mid-air.

The creature utilized its small frame to escape through gaps between the buildings.

“We lost it!”

“I could have hit it…”

The rest of the Violets arrived belatedly, looking around in dismay.

“This is bad. Wasn’t that a scout?”

“Yeah! We failed to eliminate the scout, so a horde of Skrax will show up soon!”

“Should we retreat?”

In the midst of confusion, a loud, guttural roar echoed from afar.

No. 2 raised her sword and shouted.

“It’s too late to retreat! Prepare for battle! Get ready!”

Soon, the guttural cries multiplied as if answering the initial roar.

The sound of tape ripping grew louder as footsteps neared from beyond the walls.

From the narrow passageways, a number of gray dwarf-like monsters comparable to our group emerged.

“Guwaaark! Guwoooork!”

“They’re coming!”

“Shield team! Advance! Spear team, hold position!”

“Shock team, wait! Not yet!”

The five clones carrying riot shields moved in unison and stepped forward.

We struck the ground with our shields, forming a barricade across the pathway.

With this, the earlier fear diminished slightly.

The Skrax approached, their rough gray bodies glistening with drool, their murky yellow eyes glaring.

Without hesitation, the creatures charged at our formation.

“Brace for impact!”

The spear-armed members behind the shield team gripped their shoulders and backs as the monsters collided with the shields.

-Boom!-

“Guooork!”

“Kraaah!”

“For such small things, they hit so hard!”

“Hold steady!”

The creatures recklessly slammed their bodies into the shields, nearly toppling the shield team.

After the initial impact, the Skrax began swinging their makeshift weapons, striking our shields.

-Clang! Bang! Bang!-

“They’re denting the shields!”

They battered the shields with crude iron pipes and stabbed with spears made of twisted rebar.

Even the thick shields bore dents from the tremendous strength of their small frames.

While the shield team held the line, the spear team retaliated.

“Thrust!”

“Die already!”

“Kraaaah!”

No. 12 thrust her spear with force.

The tip of her spear, imbued with a sharp aura, struck the forehead of a Skrax that was clawing at a shield, toppling it with its yellow eyes rolled back.

“It’s working! Keep stabbing!”

“Shield unit, commence attack!”

From behind the shields, spears thrust forward in rapid succession, and when the shield unit drew their swords and began stabbing, more than seven Skrex twisted their limbs and collapsed to the ground in an instant.

“Grr… Kkroark!”

The Skrex, intimidated by our ferocious momentum, hesitated and retreated. But it was already too late.

“Now’s the time! Shock team, strike!”

-Kang!

-Chraak!

<Critical Hit!>

[You struck the rear, activating Synchronization Trait: Severe Rear Damage. Damage is increased!]

A hammer struck the back of a retreating Skrex’s head, and a sword pierced its back.

While the Violet shields faced off against the enemy in the front, three members from our group circled unnoticed to the rear of the Skrex horde.

“Grrroark! Krooark!”

“Grrr…”

Realizing they were surrounded, the Skrex wailed despairingly and tried to flee in all directions, but there was nowhere to run.

The Violets, having broken formation, skewered them with spears and slashed with swords, slaughtering the remaining enemies.

“We won!”

“Victory is ours!”

When the last Skrex fell, pierced by three or four spearheads, we shouted in excitement.

This was our first battle and first victory since entering the dungeon.

We jumped atop the corpses of the beasts, jubilant.

“Is anyone hurt?”

“My cheek got grazed earlier, but I’m fine!”

“My shield got dented.”

“Discard the dented shields. We can just copy new ones.”

After the battle ended, we took a moment to regroup and then pushed forward without delay.

From then on, we encountered Skrex hordes similar in size—or even larger—than the last.

The pattern was always the same: a lone Skrex wandering or hiding would screech and flee, only to return moments later with a swarm in tow like a hive of bees.

However, we soon realized that our initial victory had been beginner’s luck.

We had underestimated the Skrex, forgetting they were high-intelligence beasts.

The fights gradually became tougher.

“Rocks incoming! Shields up and heads down!”

Then, the first casualty occurred.

“Aaah! I’m being dragged away!”

While we were fending off a barrage of falling rocks, Unit 4, part of the shield unit, was dragged out of formation by the Skrex along with her shield.

The Skrex tore into her with claws and clubs, the anguish of her demise spreading through our entire group.

“Arghhh!”

We fought desperately to drive them off, but Unit 4 turned to dust after her death.

“Aahhh… I don’t want to be in front anymore…”

“Alright, switch places with me.”

We replaced the resurrected Unit 4 with a position in the spear unit.

Even in the subsequent battles, we repeatedly found ourselves in dire situations.

While maintaining a defensive line with shields and thrusting spears effectively, the enemy breached our rear.

“Aaah! They’re behind us!”

The Skrex were crude but capable of using some level of strategy.

As we fought the chaos of enemies pouring in from all directions, one of them caught my eye—a Skrex with a long, translucent cylinder instead of a hand below its right elbow.

“Look over there! A ranged attacker! Be careful!”

“It’s a Skrex Caster!”

The creature raised its arm, and a sound resembling a vacuum cleaner hummed as a yellow sphere of light gathered inside the translucent cylinder.

-Piwoon!

“Die! …Urgh!”

The light bullet fired from the Skrex Caster’s arm blew off the head of Unit 2, who had been swinging her sword.

“Unit 2 is down—! Kraaah!”

Startled by Unit 2’s death, Unit 3 failed to react in time, and the Skrex took advantage of the gap, bringing Unit 3 down as well.

We wavered amidst the relentless attacks coming from all sides.

Was this the end?

Were we fated to fall to such low-level beasts?

“I won’t lose to these worthless mobs!”

Anger suddenly surged within me. We fought back with fury.

“I’ll clear the path!”

Unit 1 drew her longsword and slashed through the beasts blocking the way with great vigor.

She didn’t forget the methods drilled into her by that strict instructor—imbuing her strikes with rage and slashing fiercely with sword energy.

“Be split in half and die!”

“Grrroark!!”

The red sword energy cleaved the wretched dwarf in two, slicing him and his weapon from crown to groin.

In front of me stood the Skrex Caster, aiming its right arm.

The energy bullet was about to fire!

It was too late to close the distance by running.

Then…?

I summoned the genuine spear stored in the dormitory.

“If the clone won’t work! Use the real thing!”

The spear, imbued with sword energy, flew through the air and grazed the side of Skrax Caster.

The creature’s arm aimed at the wrong direction, and a beam of light whizzed past over my head.

A look of confusion spread across its face.

“Hyah!”

-Slash!

Skrax Caster’s head fell below its shoulders.

At that moment, the surrounding creatures began to panic.

It seemed this one was their leader.

We managed to drive out all the beasts.

“We won…!”

Our appearance was in shambles.

“If the pain’s too much to wait for reverse regeneration, I’ll euthanize you immediately. Will that be okay?”

“It’s not that bad…! I’ll save my mana and just reverse regenerate!”

This was their fifth attack.

We had been fighting for hours and were completely exhausted.

“Alright, everyone! Let’s go rest. We’re almost at the inventory site!”

At least our destination wasn’t far now.

We entered what seemed like a safe abandoned building for a break.

Each of us pulled out bread, chocolate bars, and water to eat.

When assessing our losses so far, the damage wasn’t light.

We’d regenerated clones more than ten times and died at least six.

“I’m so tired. We’ll make it there today, right?”

“Who knows? Maybe we’ve just been lucky.”

We reflected on the battles we had fought up to this point.

“Our goal is to secure the <Multidimensional Storage Bag>, not hunt! If we had caught the scout wandering alone, we could’ve avoided combat entirely.”

“But… its skin color blends into the surroundings, and it’s too small to spot easily.”

“We don’t have ranged weapons either. Against that caster, we’re forced to strike first at close range.”

No. 10 picked up a stone, copied it, and hurled it.

All eyes followed the stone’s trajectory.

The copied stone glided about 5 to 6 meters before dissipating into light.

“With this, we’re left with nothing but throwing spears or swords at close range for attacks.”

“Do you think the same effect would occur with copied bullets or crossbow bolts?”

“Maybe. We’d have to buy those separately and treat them as consumables.”

No. 5 suddenly coughed violently, drawing everyone’s attention.

She coughed out sparkling dust and held up a chocolate bar.

“Look at this! I copied food! Watch, Breath!”

No. 5 copied the chocolate bar, then stuffed it into her mouth and chewed.

After a moment, she exhaled sparkling particles.

Curiosity sparked among us, and we imitated her.

Sure enough, glittering particles poured out of our mouths.

“It tastes like nothing and probably has no nutritional value. Replicating food has its limits.”

“But look at this glitter coming out of our mouths!”

No. 4 sneezed, emitting glittering dust from her nose.

It was so funny that we burst out laughing.

“Achoo!”

“Haha! Look at that! Glitter’s coming out of her nose too!”

“Wahaha!”

We forgot about the meeting and played around with the fake chocolate bars for a while.

After finishing our rest, we continued descending the canyon.

Before long, we spotted a familiar abandoned building from the game.

The structure was three stories tall.

“If it weren’t for all the fighting, this could’ve been a tourist trip.”

Exploring the game’s scenery in real life brought back a lot of memories.

If only there wasn’t so much bloodshed.

Upon reaching the destination, I stationed two clones at the entrance and organized a team of three to search the interior.

“Is this it? Based on the description, we came here and got the item.”

“Just shut up and start searching! Floor, ceiling, everything!”

We thoroughly scoured every corner of the building.

Despite searching all three floors, we found nothing.

“There’s a door leading to the basement here!”

“Open it!”

I concentrated sword energy at the end of a hammer and smashed off the doorknob, allowing us to enter the basement.

The Violets carrying riot shields took the lead.

“Be careful. There could be strange traps from five years ago.”

“Everyone, get in!”

Using the light from our smartphones, flimsy flashlights, and ether glow, we searched the dusty basement.

We soon noticed intricate patterns engraved into the floor.

The wide gaps between the floorboards seemed perfect for inserting something.

“Could this be it?”

“It looks suspicious enough, right? Let’s pry it open.”

I wedged the tip of my spear into the gap and pushed hard to lift the heavy tile.

With a creak, the thick tile came up, revealing a black duffel bag engraved with complex patterns.

I immediately checked it in the status window.

[Multidimensional Storage Bag ?????]

[* Grade cannot be determined.]

“We found it!”

We were thrilled with our success.

As we prepared to leave the basement with the bag, No. 2, staring at the floor with suspicious eyes, suddenly spoke.

“Wait, look over there…”

Following his gaze, we shone the light in that direction.

Another tile, already lifted, revealed an empty space below it.

“Wait, weren’t there supposed to be three bags?”

“What on earth…”

A chilling sensation crawled up my spine.

Panicking, we rushed out of the basement.

“Just get out of here!”