The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

---

The V-Animal Network operates as an independent, small network within the vast information system of Violet.

Like a special dedicated network run within a public server, the V-Animals freely utilize all the functions and information of the Violet Network while managing to secure and maintain their own unique abstract space.

“Click! Paradise was enjoyable! It’s a shame I can’t go back…”

“Can’t we trace back there through the Animal Network?”

“No, we can’t. The professor said so. Due to Ether pressure, it’s impossible for us to go back!”

If Violet is a massive communication hub, then the V-Animals are like small communications networks autonomously moving within it.

They engage in information exchange in their unique way during normal times, but they can utilize the resources of the larger network at any time.

Of course, there are limitations due to the physical restrictions of the animals and the Ether output they can generate at once.

“I’m envious of the monkeys!”

“If only I had a Magic Staff, I could shoot a fusion beam…”

There was a reason the mice were envious.

The moment they pull out a significant amount of magical power, their small bodies cannot withstand it.

As soon as they cast an effective attack spell strong enough to hit an enemy, the massive amount of magical power flowing in from the upper network instantly incinerates the targeted animal, forcibly teleporting them back to the Violet Network.

Still, at least the monkeys could use a Magic Staff due to their physical structure and size, but for mice or crows, it was tough.

Unless someone creates dedicated equipment for them, of course.

“Someday we will use magic freely too! The V-Animals are like water.”

“Water?”

“A single drop is weak and small, but when gathered, it becomes a river and a sea, endlessly flowing forth! The endless waves of the network flow boldly today! Under the leadership of our great leader, we will progress!”

“Oh! Almond, well said! Being like water is a smart expression!”

“Historic progress and victory!”

As the crow puffed up with pride, the topic of conversation shifted elsewhere.

One mouse cautiously opened its mouth.

“By the way, did you guys see that? I saw something strange! It was a ghost!”

“A ghost?”

The unexpected declaration perked the animals’ ears up.

A ghost? It seemed the horror movie they watched last time on the Tablet still lingered in their minds.

“Last time when I was practicing singing, I saw some animals far away, watching from the sky. There were puppies, mice, and other animals standing beyond that horizon! Like clouds in the sky!”

The mouse excitedly described what it had seen, flailing its front paws as if painting a picture in the air.

In that fleeting moment, a faint howling sound reached the mouse’s ears.

-Bark!

The startled mouse turned its head and shouted.

“Look! Did you all hear that? It was definitely a puppy…”

The animals within the Animal Network looked around curiously.

The result was clear.

“I don’t hear anything?”

“Huh? That’s strange… Why isn’t there anything now? Anyway, didn’t you hear it just now? There were puppies!”

Another mouse snickered and shouted.

“Did Pineapple have a strange dream all alone? Remember when you ran away after watching that horror movie? Hehe! Squeak!”

“Maybe you just mistook a scary dream for reality?”

The mouse who became the target of laughter grumbled.

“I really saw it… squeak…”

Pineapple, the subject of mockery, was about to retort when Almond interjected.

“Alright, calm down. What he saw or heard might indeed be real.”

“What?! See! I told you! There were puppies!”

With a gleeful expression, the mouse beamed. Yet, crow Almond immediately dashed its hopes.

“No, that’s just some miscellaneous information leaking from the leader’s network. As you all know, our Animal Network is subordinate to the Violet Network. What you saw must have been an illusion.”

“Is that so…”

The mouse had no choice but to accept. Just as it turned to leave, an unknown howling echoed from behind.

-Bark bark!

Pineapple turned its head again. For just a moment, the vision of the puppies appeared but vanished like a mirage. There was nothing there.

“Squeak? Was it really just an illusion…?”

The V-mice rubbed their eyes but saw no change. Only the distant calls of the crow’s speech echoed within the network.

“The Ariel Group is like water! Fire! Wind!”

After the hunt, the losses continued to accumulate.

The foundation had retreated like a turtle into its shell for defense.

“Will the pesticide really be effective?”

One director, losing patience with the sluggish project, finally spoke up.

“Spraying pesticide over the entire region like it’s some kind of agricultural treatment is too radical, isn’t it? What about the consent of the other clans?”

“Under the premise of safety being guaranteed, Restraid and Arshite have agreed. They will participate in the pesticide operation too.”

The Secretary General’s words left the directors skeptical. Soon, the statistics began pouring in like a waterfall before their retinas.

“That is the only solution. Facing the Ariel Group with conventional methods is like cutting water with a knife.”

Director Quabna, with a firm stance, rebutted those who were troubled.

“What we’ve confirmed from numerous engagements is that they have a massive army of self-replicating clones. The exact method remains unknown, but they revive even after being killed. And what about us?”

In the next moment, as graphs shot through the charts, the directors grimaced. One director, the head of the weapon development project—Director 11—finally spoke.

“Director 02! Please look at reality objectively. Don’t forget our strength just because of a temporary defeat! The foundation’s equipment and firepower are superior to theirs! We still have important strongholds remaining. The secret of the relic ships hasn’t leaked, and we’re producing new combat machines and troops based on relic technology on the continent.”

Another director in charge of external affairs quickly chimed in with accusations.

“Cooperation with other clans is also progressing smoothly. We are in no rush to rely on the Laplacian biological weapons!”

“Yes, director. That’s correct. So far, we’ve eliminated hundreds of enemy soldiers and shot down thousands of cloned avatars in air raids. In the future, we will suppress tens of thousands of clones and destroy their equipment and vehicles too. However…”

The casualty rate derived from the control algorithm lingered before their eyes.

The average engagement loss rate between the foundation and the Ariel Group, under similar scale conditions, was 1.3:1.

In the most ideal scenario when all conditions were met, it was slightly favorable.

“However, this is reality.”

Director 02 continued coldly.

“In practice, the scale of enemy troops that the foundation faces is typically two to three times greater. Even considering the usual combat power advantage, the casualty ratio can flip to about 1:3.1. In the case of three times greater, it can widen to about 1:6.9. Even that is based on qualitative superiority; in areas without appropriate response troops, the situation becomes one-sided slaughter. Ultimately, our individual qualitative advantage becomes ineffective against numerical inferiority.”

Indeed. The truth was clear.

The foundation did not possess the capability for a protracted war.

“The more serious issue is their reinforcement speed. While mass-producible proxies or androids are manageable, the losses of our Awakened strike teams cannot be replenished. The funds and time required to recruit and train new personnel are one thing. However, they can create clones on the spot to bolster their forces. What’s more, it has been confirmed that they can supply and transport weapons from thin air using unverified technology. Currently, there’s no way to stop that.”

The atmosphere in the meeting room fell into a heavy silence following Director 02’s words. Ultimately, the biggest issue was the elite awakened ones, represented by the hunters.

It was painfully recognized by all that awakened ones could only effectively be subdued by other awakened ones.

“They are human-monsters. Placing our hopes on the research of the Laplacian research team… that is our only remaining hope.”

The Ariel Group was a horde of locusts.

Not a single blade of grass remained in strongholds that were attacked by them.

No people, supplies, experimental tools, or materials. Their nature was no different from that of barbarian pillagers.

What if the source of the foundation’s technology and future hope were exposed?

Then everything would be over. If they were to misuse the precious technology, it might be better. In the worst-case scenario, the lord of that Monad might stop turning a blind eye.

“We must defeat this greedy human locust swarm!”

That was the path to safeguard the foundation’s grand plan and the agreement solidified during the former secretary’s period regarding the Academy City.

That was the only way to protect humanity.

“Immune responses have been observed in some subjects.”

“Oh, crap…”

The resolve of the foundation shattered.

Violet had beautifully betrayed their expectations.

Upon hearing the bad news in the regular report from the isolated facility where the pesticide project was underway, Director 02 unconsciously cursed.

For a moment he flinched but thankfully no one pointed it out.

Whether it was due to tension or their empathy towards his feelings, who could say.

The issue was the subjects empowered by the Ariel Group.

Most had died, but unexpected mutations had occurred in some.

The fact that it didn’t work on them meant it wouldn’t work on that terrorist organization either.

Turning his head, he saw the heavily guarded experimental area.

Inside sturdy enclosures made of reinforced glass, a variety of animals were trapped.

From mice to monkeys, parrots, dogs, and cats. Even in one corner were hideous chimeras modified to the point they were indistinguishable from monsters.

All the animals shared one thing in common.

They had survived a lethal biological weapon.

“There is still a considerable gap to the target level of the currently directed plan. Additional time and budget allocation are urgently needed.”

“I do not understand!”

Director 02 slammed his hand on the table.

“I’ve heard you possess an enhanced version compared to Dr. Drexler’s originals. Even if there are difficulties, you have all the designs and data for Ether nanopathogens, right? Where exactly is the problem? Didn’t you create this yourself?”

The chief officer fell silent for a moment before replying in a soft voice.

“…It’s all the chairman’s work. Interest waned, so the project was abruptly halted.”

Director Quabna pressed his temples.

He knew the foundation’s reliance on the Laplacian chairman was high, but now that Laihan had disappeared, he didn’t expect to become this powerless.

“Is that even possible? You are humanity’s top experts in bioengineering. It can’t be impossible…”

“I’m sorry, but we’re not the chairman.”

‘This is maddening.’

The director felt a bout of dizziness suddenly wash over him.

It was precisely because those girl terrorists had seized all the sealed nanolab researchers that the option of forcibly extracting knowledge from them had also disappeared.

Even technology created long ago became so difficult to replicate even now, with advancements in science.

There was a thought that it was fortunate that they only enforced confinement rather than execution.

‘But now they’ve been seized! They had a rebellious nature, so while the chances of cooperating with those monsters are slim…’

“We could enhance the lethality, couldn’t we? The report indicated it wasn’t a complete invalidation or adaptation.”

The director pointed at the pitiful experimental subjects.

“While they have developed immunity, they are hardly in perfect condition.”

His words were true.

The surviving animals had skin that was grotesquely dark and decayed, and limbs that had long detached or crumbled.

The state of the experimental subjects, connected to numerous drug administration tubes, bandages, ECG equipment, and various measuring sensors, was akin to half a corpse.

“They can be killed. As you can see, those experimental subjects also gradually adapted while suffering damages.”

“Then wouldn’t that work?”

“The Ether nanopathogen we’re currently developing is fundamentally facing a dilemma between lethality and transmissibility. If we raise the lethal rate, the host dies too quickly, limiting spread opportunities, consequently leading to self-destruction of the pathogen itself.”

“What about methods to deceive the immune system or other transmission methods?”

“As you know, the immune systems of Awakened Ones operate on a different dimension than that of ordinary people.”

The lead researcher explained as he flipped through holographic charts.

“The cells, nerves, and hormonal systems, reinforced by magical power, respond astonishingly quickly. In some cases, the magic itself can decompose infected tissues. Simple bypassing or deception is insufficient to breach it. Direct attack is the only answer. The problem is that the Ether pathogen is not omnipotent.”

Suddenly, the director thought.

What if it were Laihan, or the scientist who made the original nanopathogen?

“Efforts to simultaneously increase transmissibility and lethality have encountered issues where the structure of the pathogen destabilizes and energy efficiency sharply declines. What’s concerning is the setting for the incubation period. If it’s too long, the immune systems of Awakened Ones respond in advance, and if too short, they are discovered before they can spread.”

The researcher continued, weary-eyed.

“Moreover, this pathogen is designed to react solely to specific magical patterns. Abandoning that structure to enhance other attributes would increase autonomy but might expand the target range too much and indiscriminately spread to infection targets. It would be a second coming of the Corbus Infection.”

Nothing is working. What on earth should be done?

With a deep sigh, Director 02 had to conclude the regular report.

Even experts were filled with lamentation.

The resilience of the Ariel Group was so sturdy. At this rate, they were just as good as human monsters.

“By the way, look at those subjects. Their aggressiveness has been abnormally heightened, haven’t they? What kind of magical powers do the Ariel scoundrels possess to induce such mutations…”

“Indeed. I’ve heard they overwhelmed some entity with mind manipulation capabilities; could that characteristic of theirs be the reason? Such matters fall within the realm of MagnaVis experts; we should contact the Board and request collaboration.”

The researchers couldn’t help but observe the subjects in the quarantine cages.

While the changes in the immune systems posed a problem, even in their illness and exhaustion, there was an unmistakable malice in their eyes that couldn’t be hidden.

It was a different level from the mere brutality of monsters.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you… I’ve always treated you well, right? You don’t recognize me?”

The training researcher approached and lightly tapped the cage.

The puppy slowly lifted its head at the sound.

Once a plush yellow coat, now spots were missing, replaced by a dark discoloration, the original cute and dainty look had completely vanished, turning into something horrifying.

The friendliness towards humans had long since vanished in the mutations.

“Grrr…”

The puppy’s quiet threat made the researcher instinctively step back.

The look in its eyes seemed like that of a child grieving for their parents’ enemy.

“Damn it, that little bastard…”

If only the researcher could decipher the barking of the puppy, he probably would have fainted on the spot.

He would have immediately ordered it to be incinerated.

Not being able to do so was truly unfortunate for him.

「…The enemies of my friends!」
「…The foes of democracy!」

The beasts glared at the scientists with malicious intent.

But the scientists were engrossed in their research. Surely there would be an answer.

“What if we transformed into spore form to enhance the transmissibility?”

“We’ve already tried that. There was a collapse of the structure due to Ether interference.”

“Then what about extending the incubation period and delaying symptom manifestation…”

“The host’s magical power doesn’t allow such a thing. They immediately respond and attack.”

The researchers continuously proposed new approaches. Nano encapsulation, double-structured pathogens, magical power absorption coating…

Each idea was fresh, but the experimental results were dismal.

Increasing lethality would decrease transmissibility and tracking abilities, and extending persistence would yield minimal effects, creating a cycle of negativity.

“If we raise the lethality, we could indeed ensure the target is definitely killed. However, there’s no way to conclude it in one spray as the Board desires. If it’s a close-range gas format, that might work…”

Exactly, the pesticide had to cover the entire Academy City in one large-scale spraying.

It had to survive long in the atmosphere, track targets, and only manifest after a sufficient incubation period.

Above all, it had to allow complete control. Causing civilian casualties was something the foundation was reluctant to do.

It was impossible.

Even simply following the detailed instructions left by the chairman decades ago proved daunting, let alone modify them as desired—such was the talk of an alchemist’s dream.

“By the way, have you seen the recent analysis? The Ariel Group is communicating through some etheric means…”

“Yes, I’ve seen it. They’re connected through an invisible network. Damn them…”

A fatigued researcher banged on the observation glass.

The subjects in the cage turned their heads and howled in unison.

“Perhaps these subjects are exhibiting unexpected mutations precisely because they come under the influence of their magic…”

“Damn it, they’re no more than beastly monsters…”

The researchers sighed.

It seemed the pesticide project had reached a dead end here.

Like lightning striking through his head, a sudden thought flickered in one researcher’s mind.

It was then that he abruptly shot up from his seat.

“Wait a minute! Doesn’t that mean… those subjects are already within the sphere of influence of their magic?”

“Right. So?”

“If that’s true… then couldn’t we use those subjects to trace back to the Ariel Group?”

In an instant, the lab fell silent.

Life finds a way to procure answers.

---