The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 113: Flying Violet! (1)

At first, we pondered who the ones attacking Irene were.

The Violets thought.

「Who would commit such a deed?」

We put our heads together to think. Honestly, it was a shame. We had intended to capture the attackers as prisoners, but the Chancellor appeared suddenly.

「Didn’t Irene seem like she knew something? Was it just me?」

「I’m not sure. But according to the setting…」

Irene appears in the main storyline as the leader of the Helios Clan. However, it’s implied that her path to leadership was far from smooth.

When she inherited the position, the four major clans interfered and stripped her of many things.

The once-glorious and renowned clan fell apart, and its members scattered in all directions. What remained for her was an empty shell. There were descriptions of her struggling with debt and being confined to a small office.

To summarize Irene’s situation in one word: breadwinner.

「Everyone knows her clan’s downfall is inevitable. The important question is, why does it end up that way?」

I decided I would contact Irene later. I needed to find out if she knew anything about the attackers. I also had to check on the Chancellor’s condition.

「Let’s ask the boss. We should at least be able to get an idea of the internal situation at Helios.」

At this point, the only thing we could do was rely on our all-purpose boss.

Apart from the progression of this incident, the story was taking another direction.

「Our Violet Headquarters learned an important lesson from this battle.」

「What is it?」

「We need an airplane too!」

The enemy mercenary unit was formidable. However, we could overpower them with our own strength.

The hunters were also strong, but if a Violet carrying dozens of kilograms of bombs charged at them, they’d be blown to pieces.

Stregonix was a powerful weapon, but if it weren’t a rescue mission, we might have managed to destroy it by leveraging our numerical advantage.

However, we realized something crucial: the lack of an escape method.

「If only we had a helicopter.」

「If we did, we could’ve boarded it and flown off immediately.」

Our plan was almost successful, but things went awry in the final stages. We ended up wasting time waiting for a vehicle to escape.

We did manage to steal a car at the scene and flee, but that was a makeshift solution.

As we talked about helicopters, the discussion shifted.

The importance of height in reconnaissance and attacks became the focus.

「That damned suicide drone!」

The suicide drone attack at the end caused minimal damage thanks to our quick dispersal. However, the sheer pressure of being bombarded was overwhelming. Nobody likes being unilaterally beaten. 𝐑Ａ₦Ò฿Εs

Violet No. 493 made a suggestion.

「Let’s get drones too! They can scout and drop bombs!」

Violet No. 5 voiced opposition.

「No way! We can’t use drones in dungeons. Did you forget we can’t operate them wirelessly?」

「There are wired drones controlled via cables! Look at this!」

Violet No. 493 pulled out a smartphone and showed us. Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the screen.

「Oh, really? Then let’s get one of these.」

「Sure. But isn’t this too small?」

Violet No. 111 also chimed in.

「Wait a minute. Let’s say we get drones. What about the escape method? Why did drones suddenly come up? Are we going to escape hanging onto drones?」

「Exactly!」

「What? What are you even talking about?」

Violet No. 49 suddenly pointed to the ceiling.

「Why don’t we fly too?」

「Are you talking about flying magic or artifacts? We can’t use those. Artifacts are even more out of reach.」

「You fools, I’m talking about airplanes!」

Violet No. 49 continued her argument.

「You saw it too. Even the Chancellor uses airplanes! Wouldn’t it be great if we had something like that? We could use it for reconnaissance, attacks, and bombings.」

There had already been discussions about airplanes before. It was something we had even mentioned to the boss a few times. Some dungeons had terrains where airplanes could be very useful.

「You mean fighter planes, don’t you?」

「Yeah, that’s right.」

After meeting Armas, we actually tried to buy fighter planes. We weren’t aiming for jet fighters. Propeller fighters from World War II would have sufficed.

But there was a problem.

Sir, I won’t ask about the purpose. But I am curious about one thing.

What is it?

Do you have a license for airplanes or helicopters?

This unexpected question left us stunned.

Later, we learned that operating airplanes required far more than we imagined. It was ridiculously expensive.

Even the Violets, who kept funding themselves through delivery services and dungeon labor, found it hard to manage.

「We’re still looking into it, but airplanes and helicopters are just too expensive! Look here. The fuel costs alone are no joke!」

Airplanes were extremely delicate machines.

Unlike the Violets, who could multiply effortlessly, airplanes required constant maintenance.

Moreover, an airfield was necessary. Helicopters were more flexible in this regard, but they were still costly.

We also explored alternative approaches.

「Oh! Guys, look at this!」

「It’s a jetpack!」

「And a jet bike!」

Our eyes widened in amazement.

These were gadgets straight out of science fiction.

Truly, Academy City’s technology was the best!

「Wow, we’ve been looking for something like this!」

「It’s too expensive!」

But our excitement faded as soon as we saw the price tags. While these gadgets met our needs, each one cost as much as an airplane.

They also used materials found only in dungeons.

「They only sell these to clans? That rules us out.」

「Should we ask the boss?」

「You know smuggling would make it even more expensive, right?」

The cost of purchasing weapons and making bombs was already significant. In our current situation, this was beyond our means.

「It’s just something nice to have, not an urgent necessity. This is a luxury.」

「If we ever need to execute another escape or rescue plan in the future, we can do it more systematically. A helicopter won’t be necessary.」

As the opposing opinions increased, the suggestion to acquire an aircraft melted away like snow in spring.

Just as the Violet meeting was about to shift back to serious discussions, a new idea came flying in from the explosives workshop.

「Guys! We don’t need an airplane. We can fly ourselves!」

「What do you mean by that?」

I turned my gaze toward the workshop. We were amazed. Who would’ve thought of such a brilliant idea?

「V-1! Ready for launch!」

The Violet explosives workshop originally focused on bomb-making.

The abandoned warehouse in the desolate construction site, where development had been canceled, provided ample space for work.

Its location, far from residential areas, meant small explosions could be overlooked.

The various homemade bombs, smoke bombs, and incendiary bombs we regularly used were all made here.

However, the workshop sought to venture into a new frontier: the sky.

Before us lay an object larger and longer than a Violet.

Named Violet-1 (V-1), this crude contraption was, in fact, a rocket.

「Is this the thing under development?」

「It’s a prototype!」

The Violet in charge of the workshop grinned proudly.

This rocket, made of metal pipes, sugar, and fertilizer, was developed to compensate for Violet’s limited magical abilities.

Though its power had never been tested, based on the weight of its warhead, each shot was estimated to rival a Violet’s self-destruction.

「You have no idea how many of us died for this!」

「But it won’t explode anymore.」

The V-1 rocket, initially designed to deliver violence and destruction, was inspired by the rocket weapons in human history.

However, rockets developed to kill people also sent humans to the moon and launched satellites into space, enriching humanity’s lives.

Thus, the Violet invention, too, had the potential to transcend destruction and reach new heights of creativity!

「Prepare for launch!」

A Violet No. 34 was strapped to the rocket positioned in the wasteland.

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The warhead was removed.

According to our calculations, the rocket should be capable of carrying Violet into the air.

Most of the workshop’s Violets hid in pre-dug pits. Violet No. 512 ran over and ignited the rocket.

「Launch!」

The rocket spewed fire and soared into the sky.

「Wow! It’s flying!」

The fierce wind hit her face. Violet No. 34 shouted excitedly. Sharing her senses, we all felt the thrill of flight.

「I’m flying!」

-BOOM!

The rocket exploded mid-air. Violet No. 34 perished.

Debris rained down to the ground.

「Gah!」

「Huh? It failed.」

「Ah…」

The workshop’s Violets drooped with disappointment.

「V-1 prototype. Failure…」

「Noooo…」

Though the prototype rocket weapon failed spectacularly, the Violets did not yield to failure.

The workshop received more funding and personnel.

「Carrying people into the air might be a stretch, but did you see the thrust?」

「If we use it as a weapon…!」

While the workshop’s Violets worked hard to perfect the V-1 rocket, discussions about acquiring flight capabilities for the Violet unit regained momentum.

There was one reason: the feeling of flying experienced through No. 34 was simply exhilarating.

However, the rocket was too unstable. There was no way to control it.

The Violets brainstormed.

「Guys, I found something amazing!」

Amid heated debates among the glider faction, catapult faction, and hot-air balloon faction, Violet No. 46, who was surfing the internet, discovered an intriguing store.

「Why didn’t we think of this? It’s so simple! And cheap!」

「With this…!」

The Violets slapped their knees. Who would’ve imagined such a solution existed?

The method of flying was more affordable and accessible than anticipated.

「If we order today, it’ll arrive tomorrow!」

「Order it right now! We’ll start practicing tomorrow!」

The next afternoon, several large boxes appeared in front of the Violets’ residence.

The Violets grinned as they opened the boxes.

Inside were wing suits and parts for powered hang gliders.