The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 82: Polaris-Violet’s Test Operation!

I ignored the notice about the field trip at first.

“…I agree. We don’t have time to bother with such trivial matters.”

After the sparring session ended, Irene wiped down her spear and examined it under the light.

Her spear was a high-end piece of equipment that could be adjusted for length and disassembled for portability.

Of course, compared to 5-star equipment or exclusive gear obtained through special missions later on, it was just a crude toy.

“Besides, as you know, the first-year field trip takes place in the ‘Cloris Great Forest,’ which is managed by the academy.

It’s not even an external dungeon. Who knows what kind of tricks they might have pulled inside?

They might have set weird traps to kill students, like during the entrance ceremony.”

“That makes sense! Wait, the Cloris Great Forest? Wasn’t that place locked so no one could enter?”

As I listened to Irene speak, the name sounded familiar.

“If you’re talking about the jungle dungeon near the academy, you’re right. It was closed off because it wasn’t profitable. The academy board usually keeps it shut, only allowing access during field trips or experiments.”

The Cloris Ruins were a dungeon that also appeared in the game.

There were two reasons I hadn’t sought out this dungeon before.

First, the difficulty was high.

Most of the beasts that appeared were still low-grade, but from here on, mid-grade beasts showed up frequently.

Considering how we struggled against creatures like Skrax or Felinut a few weeks ago, there was no reason to attempt it.

Second, the entrance was sealed off with a heavy gate.

I had been curious before and tried sneaking in just to take a look, but my Clone Technique didn’t work to bypass the walls.

The gate was riddled with complex mechanical devices meant to disrupt intrusion.

The moment my clone materialized inside, it was shredded to pieces.

“If you enter a black hole, your body stretches like spaghetti,” they said, and we looked just like that.

Crossing the gate left the lower half of my body numb. It was such an unpleasant sensation.

One Violet clone only made it through with her upper body.

For about ten seconds, I saw the lush jungle, and then everything went black.

But now, at our current level, the place was enticing because there were so many useful items in that dungeon!

The jungle inside held valuable herbs and items that could fetch a good price, even if not the rare Crystal Flowers.

Most importantly, it had ruins that promoted rapid growth and treasure chests containing rare artifacts.

“Irene! Let’s go there!”

“What? Why all of a sudden?”

“I got information from a source…”

I left out the details of the source and explained to Irene why we had to go there.

“A ruin that drastically enhances Awakened abilities? If that’s true, we must go! But there’s no way the academy board doesn’t know about this…”

“I only found out recently myself.”

Irene couldn’t hide her surprise at my explanation.

It was understandable.

Even though they didn’t have status windows, people in this world understood the concept of growth.

In the Deep Crimson Academia, the level concept wasn’t just a game mechanic.

Awakened beings in this world could absorb some energy from Ether-rich creatures upon their death, enhancing their own abilities.

Of course, growth rates and absorption efficiency varied from person to person.

Some people grew significantly after killing just a few beasts, while others barely advanced despite piling up corpses.

Ordinary people didn’t even have a chance.

But certain individuals grew differently, like Irene, a hero standing before me.

“Then let’s team up and go there together!”

If I was going, there was no reason to go alone.

It was better to grow alongside my friends.

Especially since Irene’s unique ability was a wide-area buff, which synergized perfectly with me!

“Sure, we can do that. But Violet…”

“What?”

“You can’t freely choose your teammates for the field trip.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“According to the rules, field trip teams are assigned randomly under the supervision of instructors. Teams must have at least three members.”

I asked the other Violets to look into the matter for me.

The answer came back quickly.

“It’s true. They say it’s to promote teamwork among students.”

“Looks like we’ll be stuck doing group projects with strangers!”

This was a problem.

I couldn’t monopolize the benefits with just my friends.

Seeing my sulky expression, Irene seemed to think for a moment and then had an idea.

“Oh, but students in the top 5% of the diagnostic test scores can designate one person to accompany them. I’ll pick you, Violet. How about that?”

“Wow, really? Thanks!”

She smiled confidently, reassuring me.

But wait.

This would leave Daphne out.

Of course, Daphne was also a good student, so if her grades were good enough, Irene or Daphne could pick me, and the other could choose the remaining one.

But getting into the top 5% wasn’t child’s play.

I couldn’t rely on my friends alone.

I had to try my best, too.

“Then I’ll start studying today!”

“Sure, there are only two days left, so give it your all.”

Only two days left?

I’d have to go all out.

Honestly, I hated studying because it was boring and exhausting.

If I had time to study, I’d rather swing a sword or practice magic.

“Professor Albert told me to practice restoration magic to fix broken pottery…”

“Heroes don’t study!”

But since I was determined to succeed, I couldn’t skip preparing for the test.

The Violets decided to prepare for the test in their own unique way.

The method was simple:

They copied textbooks and materials, assigned one person per chapter, and reviewed everything.

“We’ve got subject-specific printouts too!”

“I brought a laptop!”

“I even scavenged some desks!”

According to the information, each subject would have about 40 questions.

So while one Violet tackled the test, 40 others could each handle one question and solve it.

This way, we wouldn’t run out of time.

“Alright, let’s start the test!”

“Start!”

We didn’t just prepare materials; we conducted rehearsals, too.

One Violet sat at the desk and examined the test questions, while others gathered around with chapter-specific materials.

They frantically flipped through the materials, checked underlined sections, and found the correct answers.

Ring!

The alarm rang.

The Violet submitted the test.

When we checked the answers, all but one were correct.

“Wow! It’s easier than I thought!”

However, the problem lay in mathematics.

“No! I only recently figured out what quadratic equations are!”

“This is a curse!”

We didn’t know how to handle this.

Despite Professor Albert’s relentless drilling, there was still too much to learn.

The Violets brainstormed, but no clear solution emerged.

Was there no better way?

「Just give up on math and let your friends carry you!」

「No way. My pride won’t allow that!」

Amid our clamorous discussion, one Violet slipped away from the commotion, carrying a basket filled with frozen food, drinks, potato chips, and comic books as she headed outside.

“What’s that, No. 140?”

“This? It’s what Teacher Ulric ordered.”

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

“Oh, right. Deliver it to him quickly.”

The Violets nodded in agreement and returned to their marathon discussion.

“There must be another way…”

At that moment, an idea struck all of us like a bolt of lightning.

Now that we thought about it, the solution had been right under our noses.

「That postdoctoral guy, he’s from a science and engineering background.」

「Wouldn’t he be better at math than us?」

We shot up from our seats.

A little while later, we entered a room.

Ulric, who had been sitting on an old sofa playing video games with a vacant look in his eyes, widened them in surprise when he saw us.

“What, what is this? Miss Violet clones, did I do something wrong?”

“No! Mister, can you take a look at this and solve it?”

“Please solve it!”

“Just solve it!”

The Violets shoved a workbook in front of him.

Startled, Ulric adjusted his glasses and carefully examined the book.

“This is high school-level exam prep. It’s a bit tricky, but not too hard. But why all of a sudden…”

“We’re going to present 40 questions of this level the day after tomorrow. Can you solve them?”

“This level isn’t hard, but why do you need me to solve them? They look like school exam questions…”

Ulric tried to probe further with a suspicious tone, so we quickly cut him off with an offer.

“You’ve been frustrated all this time, right? Is there anything you want? We can give you anything except freedom. You’re not short on funds, are you?”

“What’s the use of money if I can’t go out? Even when I do, it’s just a stroll around the neighborhood. By the way, is Gordo doing okay? Could you bring him here?”

Gordo was the name of Ulric’s old dog. We had been taking good care of him at Ulric’s home.

“Sure… We’ll bring him today. Anything else?”

“How about a filet mignon with caviar? And maybe the finest wine from the Atmos Mountains?”

“Stop joking around.”

“I’m kidding. Well, could you put a small fridge in my room? Stock it with beer and drinks. A heater would be nice, too. It’s been getting chilly since it’s October.”

“Got it. Then, you’d better keep your promise!”

“Of course. Whose safety do you think I value?”

We cheered inwardly.

Thus, exam day approached.

「Ten minutes before the test starts!」

「Everyone, get ready!」

The Violets prepared for the test with calm composure.

Soon, the diagnostic test began.

Forty Violets and twenty assistant Violets holding textbooks sat at their respective stations and started solving their assigned problems.

The operation proceeded without a hitch.

Unexpectedly, a minor problem arose.

Violet No. 96, who was supervising the test, solved the problems too quickly on-site.

「No. 96! We’re not ready with the answers yet!」

「But I already know them! Check it out. I remember everything.」

When we compared the problems she solved to the textbook references, they were correct. But why was she so quick?

After scouring the Violet network, we found the answer.

「We already memorized the study material!」

「We went over the references so many times for the rehearsal that we memorized everything.」

Indeed, dozens of Violets had pored over the textbooks repeatedly, engraving the material into the Violet network as a collective memory.

Unintentionally, we had ended up studying.

Even the toughest obstacle, the math exam, was resolved.

For someone who had completed a doctorate, high school math was child’s play.

“I was thinking about having the new Grand Cheese Bacon Burger large set for lunch today. Is that okay?”

“Why settle for just a cheeseburger set? I’ll get you steak! With wine!”

“Then I’m in!”

Armed with a scientific calculator and a computer at his side, there was nothing to fear.

When the on-site Violets examined the math problems, we copied and delivered them to Ulric, who effortlessly provided the answers.

Thus, the diagnostic test concluded without any issues.

Three days later, the results were announced.

In a traditional school, you’d imagine a huge scoreboard on a bulletin board listing rankings from first place down.

But in this modern age, there was no such display.

It was just a diagnostic test, so the scores were announced individually.

We waited for our rankings to be posted, and when the time came, we logged into the school’s dedicated application.

「Let’s check it out!」

We clicked on the score inquiry tab.

After a series of long, tedious loading screens, my name and numbers finally appeared.

When we saw the ranking, we couldn’t believe our eyes.

[···Violet D. Rugilinn – 1/XXXX···]

「Huh…?」

「Must be a mistake. No way.」

We rubbed our eyes and looked again, but the numbers on the report weren’t wrong. The ranking clearly indicated the number ‘1.’

「I’ve never been first in my life…!」

「Maybe we’re actually geniuses?」

「We copied way too well…」

We had unintentionally become first place.

Wasn’t this… a bit too good?