The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

Chapter 124: Violet Prepares for a New Adventure! (1)

After returning home, I had a conversation with Irene about what we should do from now on.

"First, we need to find Mr. Kress. I’ll also try to contact other employees who left the clan. The priority is to understand what’s going on inside the clan."

As soon as we sat down, Irene brought up the name of her father’s secretary. Was it because she had calmed down on the way home? The image of her swaying in the car was nowhere to be seen. She was calm, but seemed to have firmly prepared to face the problem.

"Is there anything else I can help with?"

When Violet No. 213 asked, Irene seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if thinking, before speaking up.

"Could you help with gathering some information? I need to investigate Uncle Rigel and the people around him."

"Okay, sure. But there’s someone better at it than me. How about we leave it to that person?"

"That person?"

When it comes to gathering information, I couldn’t avoid bringing up the broker I employ.

I slowly explained about Team Leader Leslie and her subordinates. Every time I continued speaking, she would let out short sounds of admiration. When I finished explaining, her eyes gleamed with interest.

"Impressive. Although the fact that they’re from the underworld makes me a bit hesitant, their skills seem solid. The materials you showed last time when you gathered people to clarify things—those were investigated by this Team Leader, right?"

"That’s right. They’re quite useful. Speaking of which, I’ll show you the materials!"

Violet No. 489 handed over part of the materials. It contained information about Polaris Academy. Her golden eyes quickly scanned the documents. As she flipped through the pages, her gaze fixed on a specific part of the data. It was a section I had underlined and marked as significant.

"Crosell Torrence, place of birth unknown, address and some personal details likely falsified. No record of entry... What? The student council president?"

"Strange, right? He’s not the only one like that."

"Lera J. Velleston, Caym Myers... These people are all full of unknowns. Who are they? Are they even students at the academy?"

Irene’s eyes narrowed slightly. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Who knows, maybe they’re like me? They might not even have parents!"

Well, I thought we could just capture and interrogate them later. What’s the big deal about the student council’s parents or where they were born?

"I’ll help as much as I can. Do you want to meet them directly, or should I give the orders?"

"If we’re going to do it, meeting them directly is better. Please, I’ll leave it to you."

Violet No. 213 took Irene and headed to the office. Coincidentally, I had a reason to meet with Team Leader Leslie about a weapons trade.

***

While I was out visiting the manpower office with a friend, the other Violets were working hard.

Right now, the Violets were doing all sorts of tasks. Deliveries, dungeon labor, weapon re

“Welcome!”

“Now you’ll be living with us, Daphne!”

"Looking forward to it!"

The door closed, and Violet led Daphne inside. Since her school belongings were stored in the multi-dimensional bag I gave her, all I needed to do was help unpack.

After finishing the unpacking, we had a simple tea time on the first-floor dormitory dining room. Daphne lightly sipped her tea.

"So, you’re planning to check out a new dungeon?"

"Yeah, I need funds. Plus, I have gifts for you and other friends in mind."

"Gifts?"

Scratching my head, I pointed at different parts of my body one by one.

"Necklace, bracelet, earrings. Which do you prefer?"

"Why all of a sudden..."

"Well, the dungeon we’re visiting this time is famous for its accessory relics!"

The upcoming dungeon promised interesting relics. Accessories that granted various beneficial effects.

"They can generate water and even create protective shields!"

"That sounds familiar. But shields, huh..."

As Daphne listened to me, her expression shifted slightly as if something had come to mind.

"Speaking of shields, it reminds me—do you recall the ether amplifier from the Chloris Forest last time?"

"Yeah, didn’t you feel like you grew stronger back then?"

"At first, I thought it was just an increase in my mana capacity. But recently, while practicing my unique ability, I discovered I could do this. Want to see?"

Daphne extended a protective shield around her teacup. A semi-transparent, pale green dome appeared. It was small, but a familiar sight.

"Watch closely."

Her slender, white hand moved slowly near the teacup. A faint green energy glimmered softly. The dome-shaped shield gradually shrank, transforming into a thin, flat disc.

"Whoa. The shape changed!"

I was amazed.

"My guess is that compressing the shield increases its strength compared to when it’s deployed as a dome."

Ah, in simpler terms, she sacrificed 360-degree defense to boost durability by compressing it.

Looking at the disc-like shield floating above the teacup like an umbrella, a scene from the main story five years later flashed in my mind. Wasn’t there a moment when Daphne used this method to block a witch’s attack? Maybe?

"Now that I’ve managed this, I feel like experimenting with other possibilities. Want to see?"

She smiled lightly and dispelled the disc shield. Several small shields appeared and disappeared atop the table.

A shield expanded under a cookie, causing it to rise slightly. Then another shield formed at the edge of a plate, making it wobble.

"I’ve never seen it applied like this before."

Hearing my words, she smiled brightly.

"Until now, I only used my unique ability defensively. But after compressing the shield once, I thought—couldn’t I use it in other ways? I always felt like just relying on a few support spells wasn’t enough, so this worked out well."

Fascinating. I hadn’t imagined shields could be used this way. Daphne seemed to have had a breakthrough.

With more practice, she might use her unique ability not only for defense but also to assist in attacks.

"Amazing!"

"Thanks for the compliment! But I still need more practice."

Suddenly, an amusing thought crossed my mind.

"Daphne, I’ve got a brilliant idea. How about using that shield offensively?"

"Offensively? What do you mean?"

Her blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Like a devil imparting forbidden knowledge to an innocent child, I whispered my ingenious idea to her.

"Generate the shield inside someone’s body and then expand it. Boom!"

"...?"

"Wouldn’t that make anyone explode?"

As soon as I said it, I thought it was a genius idea. Wasn’t this an invincible instant-kill technique?

The moment Daphne heard my suggestion, she froze for three seconds in utter shock. Then her wide-eyed gaze filled with horror locked onto me.

"What? What did you just say?"

It was then that I realized I had said something terribly wrong.

"…That sounds absurd. Hey, you can’t do that."

And in the next moment, Lucian, who had entered through the dining room door, chimed in.

"Mana can’t be manipulated inside a person’s body. Don’t you know that?"

"What? Why not?"

When I asked, Lucian grumbled but gave a short explanation. After he finished, I felt disappointed.

"Such a waste. An instant-kill spell..."

Turns out there’s a good reason it’s not possible.