. Polaris – Everything Is Strange, So Strange, Violet Is, Violet Is, Many, Many!
The small auditorium’s second floor, where the freshman welcome party was taking place.
Behind the semi-transparent glass windows, a group of senior students observed the entire first floor.
“How are the freshmen this year?”
Crocell casually asked a student holding a tablet.
“Yes, Student Council President! This year’s freshmen have shown excellent results in both the regular entrance exams and other admission processes. Above all, there are several promising candidates to look forward to—”
“Do you think I asked such an obvious question?”
“Ah, then what… uh…”
Crocell frowned while skimming through the list of student names on his smartphone. He gestured lightly to the people around him.
The guards protecting the student council president drew their swords and began mercilessly beating the student delivering the report.
Thud! Whack! Whack! Thud!
“Argh! President! I’m sorry! Aaargh!”
The student, battered and beaten, was dragged out of the room by the guards and thrown outside the door.
The sound of the student being dragged away gradually faded.
“Treasurer, next time, pick a better assistant for me. You know I hate clumsy people the most.”
“Oh~ Come on, President. You’re going to replace them again anyway. This isn’t the first time.”
Caym, pretending as if the commotion earlier was nothing, chuckled and plopped down into a nearby chair.
“Ah, it’s starting soon! Too bad the Vice President isn’t attending.”
“Right. Let’s see how capable the freshmen are this time. This filtering process better go smoothly; it’s the Chairman’s orders, after all.”
Crocell and the student council executives sipped tea while watching the situation below.
In the middle of the auditorium, a mid-tier beast the size of a bus—Kranos—appeared.
It sent several students flying with a swipe of its tail.
The filtering process.
A tradition for Polaris freshmen to separate the wheat from the chaff.
During this time, real beasts are unleashed in the auditorium.
The windows, walls, and doors are sealed with barriers to prevent both the beast and students from escaping.
“Some have already been eliminated? Nothing special this time either…”
“No, look over there.”
Crocell set down his teacup and pointed in one direction.
A female student with purple hair, wielding a spear, was directing other students to retreat into a corner.
A male student with blue hair was confronting Kranos head-on.
Within moments, they had formed an improvised attack squad and cornered the beast.
Kranos thrashed about in pain, trying to flee but unable to escape due to the barrier.
“Oh no~ This is ending quickly. This makes the filtering meaningless…”
“Those fools—aren’t they the top-ranked and second-ranked freshmen this year? Thanks to them, the trash is getting to live a bit longer.”
Crocell clicked his tongue briefly.
He despised such hypocritical students, playing at being heroes without grasping reality.
Those naive juniors had disrupted the process of weeding out the weaklings.
Still, with the beast rampaging, there should be more eliminations soon…
Just as Crocell was leisurely sipping his tea, his eyes caught something unusual.
“What the… is that?”
A blonde-haired girl appeared outside the window.
She shattered the glass with a hammer, causing the barrier there to waver.
The disruption cascaded, weakening or breaking nearby barriers.
Freshmen began escaping through the broken window.
“Oh… Right. President, that barrier weakens when struck by external physical force. But I didn’t think breaking one window would weaken others nearby…”
“What? Why are you only telling me this now?”
The panicked Kranos rushed toward a weakened section of the wall.
Crash!
Ignoring the freshmen, the beast broke through the wall and escaped.
The plan fell apart.
Clang!
Crocell’s expression twisted in rage.
The teacup shattered in his clenched fist.
The Treasurer rubbed his forehead in frustration.
“Ah… We’re screwed…”
* * *
It hurt.
The back of my head throbbed painfully.
Something big and heavy had smashed down on me with a bang.
It hurt. I felt dizzy. But it was strange.
The pain seemed to sharpen my mind.
Alright, what happened just now?
“No! Rugilinn! Not again…! Aaaah…!”
I heard someone wailing in the distance, so heart-wrenching it would move anyone listening.
I sat up with a groan.
“Sniff… I’m sorry… Even now… I still…”
My head ached, and when I touched the back of it, my hand came away sticky with blood.
“Gah!”
I let out a short scream at the stinging pain.
Beside an air conditioner’s outdoor unit lay the crushed corpse of a girl.
A silver-haired girl, crying in front of it, turned to look at me. Her waist-length silver hair shimmered, leaving a striking impression.
“Sniff… Huh? Rugilinn? How…?”
“Ugh… Daphne… Heal me!”
Daphne stared at me with a dazed expression, glancing from me to the corpse on the ground. Her mouth hung open in disbelief.
Wait, that’s me. No, is it my clone?
What looked like my corpse dissolved into glittering dust moments later.
“Oh… um… so that was one of your clones… A Unique Ability, right?”
“Probably? I don’t know, but yeah, maybe!”
“Waaaah!”
Daphne burst into tears again and rushed toward me, pulling me into her soft embrace.
“Sniff… I really thought… Sniff… You were dead…”
“Ah! Hey! I’m alive! Ack…!”
“Waaaah… You’re the first peer I’ve met in a long time… Sniff… I really thought you were gone…!”
“Wait! I can’t breathe! Let me go…!”
As I flailed in her arms, Daphne finally released me and began healing my injuries.
“Really! Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I think so. That was just a clone!”
I gave her a vague reply, trying to calm her down while avoiding her gaze.
If I kept looking into her tear-filled blue eyes, I might not be able to lie.
Leaning on Daphne’s supportive arm, I left the scene.
As I received treatment and walked, my memories began to piece themselves together.
The previous events surfaced in my mind.
Like old trash floating to the surface of a still lake.
‘I’ died.
—
<CHARACTER STAT>
Stamina: 1500/1500
Mana: 3500/3500
Unique Ability: <Collective Intelligence> Lv1
<Dynamic Consciousness/Identity-Linked Clone Technique> Lv1
Synchronization Aptitude:
Backstab Proficiency – Increases damage when attacking enemies from behind.
Weakling Extermination – Increases damage when attacking opponents with low health.
‘This is the first time I’ve seen such a unique ability!’
Until recently, the text appeared jumbled or distorted beyond recognition.
The name of my Clone Technique had changed to ‘Dynamic Consciousness/Identity-Linked Clone Technique.’
Most importantly, something new had emerged.
‘Collective Intelligence, you say?’
It was a peculiar name.
What could this ability possibly entail?
Judging by the name, it sounded like an ability that required me to log onto the internet and start writing posts.
I needed to test it out later.
Panting, I trudged toward the small auditorium.
The closer I got, the clearer the sound of people became.
Guards who appeared to be security personnel stood watch around Kranos’ corpse.
At the entrance of the small auditorium, I saw injured students being carried out on stretchers and loaded into ambulances.
“Ahhh! My leg! My leg!”
“It hurts… It hurts so much… Mom… Mom…”
“I can’t feel anything below my waist! What’s going on…”
The site, ravaged by the beast, was in complete disarray.
Injured students lay scattered across the floor, while over a dozen forms covered in white sheets from head to toe rested in one corner.
Some students were sobbing nearby.
They must have known the deceased.
How unfortunate.
Amid the chaos, a group of individuals dressed in uniforms reminiscent of elaborate officer attire entered the auditorium.
What was this? Were they some kind of VIPs?
“Wait a moment! Are you from the student council?”
I had guessed correctly.
It seemed the student council here wore such uniforms.
Irene, her purple hair glimmering, turned and rushed toward the student council members with a visibly excited expression.
“Yes, that’s correct. I’m Crosell Torrence, the president of the student council at Polaris Comprehensive Academy.”
The speaker, a tall male student with ashen hair, responded politely but without emotion.
“And you must be… the top freshman of this year’s admissions, I presume?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I’m Irene Solstice, the top freshman and currently serving as the temporary representative of the new students. Senior.”
She spoke passionately.
“Look around you! Does this make any sense? A mid-tier beast suddenly invading through a gate! At the freshman orientation, no less! In this academy, which is supposed to be the safest from such beasts—and through a gate! This is impossible. What has the student council, or even the board, been doing?”
As her voice rose, people began to focus on her.
“This incident is indeed regrettable. However, unexpected occurrences can happen on the battlefield. Besides, didn’t our juniors successfully fend it off? Truly commendable.”
The student council president’s indifferent response was akin to pouring oil on a fire.
“What did you just say? Does that mean… you were watching? Why didn’t you come to help? Why only show up after everything was over? And what about the strange barrier around the door? …What is all of this? You owe us an explanation…”
“Those details aren’t particularly important. The beast is dead. The crisis is over. Is there more to discuss?”
“People—people have died!”
She pointed to the bodies lying covered under white sheets.
“Those were our classmates who enrolled today, nearly twenty of them! There are even more injured! So why are you only showing up now?”
“What’s the problem if people die?”
“…What?”
What? Did that guy just say what I think he said?
Irene’s expression turned blank. So did mine.
“Irene, you’re not here to play around. We are Awakeners. In the future, as hunters, we will face beasts on the frontlines, where death is inevitable—for ourselves, our comrades, or those around us. Did you enroll without knowing this? Whining over something like this is disgraceful.”
“‘Something like this’? The circumstances are completely different!”
“I didn’t realize the new juniors were so weak-hearted. How do you plan to handle real combat in the future?”
“Don’t change the subject! This situation is far too strange. That barrier… I’ll report this to my clan and formally lodge a complaint with the board!”
Her fury flared, but the president suddenly leaned in and whispered something into her ear.
I rubbed my eyes.
If I wasn’t mistaken, I caught a fleeting smirk on the otherwise emotionless face of the student council president.
After he whispered, Irene’s face went pale.
“…How could you…”
Then, as if performing in a theatrical play, the student council president raised his voice.
“I apologize! I could only watch your brave efforts after receiving the urgent report. By the time we arrived, it was too late. On behalf of the student council, I extend our sincerest apologies.”
Suddenly, the president and the council members around him bowed.
The murmuring students fell silent for a moment.
Then, the president dramatically lifted Irene’s arm into the air, as if declaring her a champion.
“However, we must express our gratitude. This year’s freshmen have shown remarkable bravery and selflessness. As student council president, I salute you.”
The president clenched his fist and shouted.
“Everyone, let’s give a round of applause to Irene, Lucian, and the other students who repelled the mid-tier beast!”
When the student council members began clapping, the surrounding students awkwardly followed suit.
Irene and Lucian looked around in confusion.
And I thought to myself:
That student council president, I don’t know what his deal is, but he’s suspicious.
I need to keep an eye on him.
No matter what happened, the bizarre, blockbuster-style entrance ceremony had come to an abrupt end.
All afternoon activities were canceled.
“I’m hungry…”
Daphne told me not to overexert myself, tucked me into bed, and healed me thoroughly before leaving to fetch some dinner.
Apparently, all the school cafeterias were closed due to the beast incident, so she headed to a convenience store.
‘And this is supposed to be an academy?’
Even in the dystopian world of Deep Crimson Academia, sudden monster appearances inside the school were rare.
It was different when they invaded from outside.
‘That bald director… He could’ve sent me anywhere else…’
The day was a complete mess.
Too many strange things had happened.
‘Sigh, I need to focus on my own path first.’
Without a roommate to disturb me, I decided to get serious about what I needed to investigate.
I sat up on the bed.
I had to figure out the changes in my unique ability.
This was a matter deeply connected to my identity.
Because, from a normal perspective, I should have been dead.
Having died once, I knew it well.
I felt myself die, yet I woke up again.
It was abnormal. It had to be linked to my new unique ability.
I concentrated and moved the ether inside me.
The ether extended outward from my body, forming a shape on the ground.
I felt my vision split into two.
The sensation left me disoriented.
“Ugh?!”
“Ugh?!”
Ack! My clone was mimicking me!
“Ack! My clone is mimicking me!”
My head spun.
What on earth was going on?
Our thoughts seemed to align, but our bodies moved independently.
Here, there, I was looking at myself from over there.
That was me.
I was that.
Was I?
I couldn’t tell.
I could tell.
“Arrrgh!”
“Arrrgh!”
I and Clone No. 2… No, Clone No. 1… No, we—danced in chaos.
We danced.
“Ahhh! There are so many of me!”
“Ahhh! There are so many of me!”
Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh… Ahhh…