The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 61: Polaris – The Unknown Spark Ignite (2)

The Violets surrounded the figure all at once.

A rapier imbued with white sword energy clashed against a blade imbued with red sword energy.

After several strikes, the red blade shattered.

As the sword broke, a spinning kick smashed into No. 32’s head.

Four spear tips simultaneously thrust forward like prison bars.

One by one, the spear shafts snapped.

While No.s 56, 27, and 62 were momentarily caught off guard, their necks were severed, their hearts pierced, and their wrists sliced off.

“Hold on tight!”

The Violets who had maneuvered around from behind clung to Martina.

Sacrificing two lives as a stepping stone, No. 54 managed to grab hold of her left arm.

“You bug-like woman! Get lost!”

“Argh!”

It backfired. Martina effortlessly flung No. 54, who was clinging to her left arm. Her strength was comparable to a hydraulic machine.

The thrown No. 54 turned into an unintentional human projectile, collapsing the formation directly in front of Martina.

Martina rushed into the gap created in the crumbled formation, sweeping up the Violets who were caught by the impact and sending them soaring toward the ceiling where curtains had been hung.

“Fire! Shoot her!”

As she disrupted the formation, the Violets scattered in all directions and pulled out their replicated crossbows once again. Friendly casualties were ignored.

A storm of indiscriminate crossbow fire erupted, bolts flying everywhere.

Violets in the trajectory of the bolts braced themselves for the chaos as they charged at Martina.

Their goal was to hinder her movements as much as possible.

“Urgh!”

It worked!

Martina leapt backward to retreat.

Was it the effect of the bolts?

Small and large grazes appeared on her cheeks, arms, and legs. Yet, not a single bolt struck her directly.

Despite firing so many, not even one landed?

“Phew… So, this is your unique ability?”

Martina muttered as she caught her breath.

Sensing movement, she turned her head.

No. 18, who had survived earlier and was flailing weakly on the floor, caught her attention.

Martina stomped on No. 18’s head.

A sickening crunch echoed as their head shattered.

“Ugh, is this really a clone? How is this… even bleeding?”

She shook her foot in disgust, as if she’d stepped on an insect.

“…Well, clone generation is certainly tricky. I can see why you’re so cocky. With sheer numbers, you’d overwhelm most people easily.”

“Really? Then why don’t you just surrender?”

During the brief pause, enough clones were generated to replace the fallen.

My courage swelled.

She was strong.

Beyond imagination.

It was also true we had little experience in real combat. But if we could slowly accumulate damage like before…

“Ha-ha? But so what? I’m not one of those ‘most people.’”

A malicious grin spread across her face.

A tearing sound was heard, and No. 95, standing next to me, was split in two.

“You stupid woman, can’t you assess the situation? With a shallow trick like that, you’ll never beat me.”

Sixty Violets charged forward.

Five minutes passed.

We changed tactics.

Each of us held a crossbow in one hand and a spear or sword in the other, spreading out into a skirmish formation.

Shields were useless against her attacks and only slowed us down.

A sword was smashed. No. 57 fell.

When a spear was swung, Martina leapt over it, stepping on the shaft to launch herself upward.

As she soared into the air, we instinctively aimed our crossbows at her and unleashed a volley. Burning red bolts lit up the sky.

-Peeping! Peep-peep-peep!

They missed.

Some she evaded mid-air by twisting her body, others she blocked with her blade.

Despite the sheer number of crossbows and the countless bolts we fired, not one struck her!

Why couldn’t we hit her?

She landed on the ground and charged at us without pause.

One by one, we were struck down unilaterally. No. 37 was split vertically from head to groin. Her rapier was unnaturally sharp.

Ten minutes passed.

We altered our strategy again.

This time, we regrouped into a defensive formation.

-Bang!

It was a mistake.

This time, Martina avoided direct confrontation.

Instead, she severed No. 75’s arm while they were swinging a hammer at the edge of the group.

Though we couldn’t feel pain, the bleeding was undeniable.

I glanced outside the arena.

Beyond the semi-transparent barrier, I could see Irene seated in the audience.

She looked as though she was ready to jump in at any moment, unable to sit still.

The atmosphere among the spectators wasn’t as lively as before. It seemed watching us get destroyed wasn’t as entertaining as they’d thought.

I kept summoning clones.

I gulped down a mana supplement.

Our attacks didn’t connect.

Swords shattered, spear shafts broke.

But it was fine.

We could win.

We had to keep pressing on.

Push forward! Just keep pushing!

Before I realized it, the situation had returned to something resembling the initial standoff.

Violets lined up in a row, standing before Martina.

The floor of the arena had long since turned crimson.

Each step squelched and slid on the blood-soaked surface.

Martina showed signs of fatigue. Her clothes were torn here and there, and small wounds had appeared.

Surely, she must be tired.

There was no way she wouldn’t be after we’d taken this much damage.

Martina shook her sword with a look of exasperation.

A brief standoff ensued.

Suddenly, she broke the silence.

“There was an arcade in the neighborhood where I used to live.”

“?”

What was she suddenly reminiscing about?

“It was a place full of old arcade machines. I’d go there sometimes to play claw machines or win candy. It was fun.”

“What are you going on about all of a sudden?”

“Sometimes, I’d watch other people play games too. There were fools who’d pile up handfuls of coins and immerse themselves in the game. Stupid boys, claiming they wanted to beat the final boss or whatever.” R̃ά₦ỒΒЁs

She glanced at me and grinned.

The senseless smirk left me baffled.

“But, you know, I never once saw those fools make it to the end of the game. They always just wasted their money and left.”

“Do you know what’s funny? When they fail, they keep putting coins into the machine with those blank, hazy eyes, again and again, every single day.”

‘This time, I’ll win! Just this once, it’ll work!’ they say. But in the end, they always fail. Just like someone I know.”

I blinked.

“Do you understand what I’m saying? That’s you. Yes, you. The moron pouring coins into the arcade machine! Did you think that by summoning clones endlessly and pushing me back, I’d eventually get tired and collapse? Did you really think I wouldn’t see through such a shallow ploy?”

I felt like my thoughts had been completely exposed.

Martina laughed off the glares from the Violets.

“The strength of your sword energy is pathetic, and your physical enhancement abilities are virtually non-existent. Honestly, I’m impressed you managed to last 15 minutes with such a pitiful level of skill. But, considering what you did to make my idiot brother even more of an idiot, I don’t think I can just let this slide.”

The crimson rapier’s blade pointed at us.

“Let’s wrap this up.”

Once again, she rushed toward our formation. Her speed was almost impossible to follow with the naked eye, but we gritted our teeth and prepared to attack.

Fine, we’ll keep shoving coins in endlessly and overwhelm you. What’s the problem with that? You’ll get tired eventually. At that moment, we’ll crush you in one blow. We’ll definitely…!

The formation collapsed again. We charged again. And again, we were crushed and trampled. Yet again, clones were endlessly generated.

We surrounded her and charged.

At that moment, Martina’s rapier flickered with an unfamiliar scarlet flame.

“…!”

-Boom!

A violent wave of flames erupted from the blade of the rapier, slamming into us.

As we were engulfed in flames, I suddenly remembered the identity of that rapier, a detail I had been uncertain about until now.

The <Blade of Scorching Flames>, a 5-star weapon obtainable in the Polaris Academy region.

It’s known for its powerful area-of-effect fire attacks, which come at the cost of consuming a large amount of mana.

“Retreat…!”

Dozens of Violets who had endured countless sustained attacks were swept away in a single blow.

The formation collapsed.

“You’re out of coins now. So, what are you going to do next?”

I had no way to refute her words.

Overwhelming physical enhancement abilities, sword energy, a powerful weapon, and area-of-effect attacks.

How were we supposed to fight against that?

I still had mana left.

There were still mana supplements. But there was no sign of victory.

“Yaaahhh!”

We charged forward, holding onto our despair.

All we could do was grit our teeth and run at her.

Five minutes later, we continued to charge until every last drop of mana was used up.

We drank all the mana supplements we had, and even that wasn’t enough.

We reclaimed mana by reversing the summoning of all but the minimum number of clones needed.

Still, Martina unleashed several more fiery attacks embedded in the Blade of Scorching Flames.

If we scattered, we could avoid the flames. But in doing so, Martina would defeat the clones one by one.

If we grouped up, flames would rain down on us. It was a no-win choice with no escape.

She was right. We were wasting coins meaninglessly, dying over and over.

“…No matter how many of you I kill, there’s no end! Don’t you think it’d be polite to just collapse by now?”

I could hear Martina panting heavily.

She was visibly angry.

After facing well over a hundred Violets charging at her repeatedly, she was starting to accumulate wounds and fatigue.

Maybe we could have won. If we just pushed a little further, we might have reached her…

But that wasn’t the case.

There was almost no way to land a decisive blow. We were so close, yet an invisible wall blocked us.

In the end, it was my lack of skill.

This was the result of relying solely on clones like a fool.

Now, only three clones remained in the arena. No. 1, struggling to stand with a sword in hand. No. 4, lying on the ground with her legs severed. No. 7, whose spine had been broken.

There was no pain, but my body wouldn’t move.

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

My mana was drained, and even my body had reached its limit. Martina was approaching.

No, move. Please.

My vision slowed.

My body froze.

Even the colors drained from my powerless gaze.

A sense of despair began to etch itself into all of us.

Was this really how we would lose?

No way. We can’t lose like this. Please, no. Move!

What had I been doing all this time? Was this how it would end?

I gritted my teeth and tried to rise.

The scenery outside my vision slowed even further.

The energy drained from my eyes, and it seemed I had lost even the ability to distinguish colors.

The world slowly turned gray.

In a world where even the colors had vanished, I flailed helplessly like someone drowning.

Caught in this time of despair, frozen and hardened like an insect stuck in resin.

“Idiot.”

A small girl in a white dress—Mini Violet—appeared.

“Did you seriously think you could win? With your level of skill? Your swordsmanship is garbage, your physical enhancement abilities are lacking, and you have no experience.”

I know. I know that. But I was angry.

She pranced around the inside of the arena, giggling.

No one seemed to notice her presence. Or rather, it felt like the entire world had come to a standstill.

She pointed at Martina.

“To think you’re losing to such a B-grade trash opponent. I’m disappointed in you, No. 1… no, Big Sister No. 1.”

Mini Violet strolled playfully toward No. 1 with a mischievous grin.

“How do you plan to win?”

How do I plan to win?

Of course, I want to win. But I was such a fool. Irene was right.

I shouldn’t have recklessly jumped into this duel. I should’ve trained a little more, practiced, sparred…

“But if you lose here, your life at the Academy is over, isn’t it? You won’t even be able to get your revenge!”

Mini Violet grabbed No. 1’s head and yanked it down.

“So, I’ll help you win. I’ll give you the result, so enjoy it. Not that you’ll even remember we met.”

Mini Violet whispered like a devil, then planted a small kiss on No. 1’s forehead.

Martina, having gained a moment to breathe, wiped the sweat from her forehead.

There was one thing she realized during this duel: it had been dangerous.

If she had let her guard down even slightly, if that Violet girl had just a bit more experience in direct combat, Martina would have been cornered instead.

Though Violet’s abilities—weak sword energy and almost nonexistent physical enhancement—were poor individually, the endless onslaught of clones had worn Martina down.

“Like some kind of cockroach…”

Clones that kept bleeding and regenerating, no matter how many were cut down.

Martina sighed in relief once more, knowing her weapon was a treasured artifact.

If she had been using an ordinary sword, the outcome of this duel would have been far more uncertain.

She couldn’t imagine, even in her dreams, the thought of losing to that cocky brat.

What kind of clones bleed so much as soon as you cut them?

She even wondered if the real body was hidden somewhere outside, controlling them remotely.

It was puzzling.

Well, since the arena was a virtual space, everything would disappear once it shut down anyway.

Still, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to eat anything red for a while.

“Oh? She hasn’t given up yet?”

Violet staggered to her feet like a puppet with its strings cut.

The girl glanced around slowly, curiously, as though seeing the world for the first time, like a baby bird just hatched from an egg. Then she cautiously lifted the sword in her hand and stared at it.

Martina approached, ready to deliver the final blow. Yet, without realizing it, she stopped.

A chill instinctively ran down her spine, causing her to step back.

The Violet before her gazed at the sword as though it contained something precious. Almost like she was looking into a hand mirror.

In fact, that seemed to be the case.

Violet tilted the sword’s blade back and forth, admiring her reflection.

She gently touched her face, smiling slightly, then tilted her head, exhaling a sigh of disappointment as if she had noticed something amiss.

As Violet admired her reflection in the blade, she seemed satisfied at some point and smiled brightly.

“Has she lost her mind?”

Martina raised her rapier and swung it at Violet’s head.

One clean strike, and Violet’s head would split in two.

The blade came down.

-Clang!

A deafening metallic clash rang out, and Martina staggered backward in shock.

The instant she swung her blade, a counterattack came at a speed so fast that even her mana-enhanced vision couldn’t track it.

“Wasn’t she out of mana?”

Annoyed at having her actions interrupted, Violet ground her teeth.

With a frown, she glanced around to find the source of the disturbance, finally locking eyes on Martina.

When Martina met Violet’s blood-soaked red eyes, an eerie chill ran down her spine, as if she were being stripped bare under that gaze.

They weren’t the eyes of a student. Martina doubted if the girl before her was even the same Violet she had been fighting. Those were the eyes of a ravenous beast.

“Hmm… who… I think I remember… parts of it…? Have I seen you before…? Oh, right.”

Muttering to herself, Violet suddenly smiled, as if recalling something.

“That’s right. It’s been so long I almost forgot. Hello, Martina. It’s been five years.”

“…What? What did you say?”

The girl smiled brightly, filled with the innocence of a child.

But it was the kind of innocence brimming with malice—the sort that tears the wings off butterflies, crushes ants underfoot, and throws puppies into ponds.

With crimson eyes full of predatory curiosity, Violet stared at Martina like a butterfly she was eager to dismantle.

And then, she smiled as if she were a child about to play a delightful game.

“Shall we play?”

From the sword Violet held, a surge of murky crimson mana erupted.