The phone rang with a buzz.
I turned off the alarm and got up.
“Strong and joyful morning!”
Fortunately, I didn’t have any nightmares the next morning.
Thanks to that, I woke up feeling refreshed and folded my blanket.
As I rubbed my bleary eyes, No. 2 hummed next to me, sounding like a drunken person.
“Attending Polaris Academy~ My life has changed~”
“Shut up, No. 2. You’re the one going out today.”
“Ugh…”
Occasionally, I spotted male students with hair looking like bird nests.
Although the male and female dormitories were separate and faced each other, the cafeteria was shared.
However, a crowd had gathered in front of the menu board.
Curious, I approached to see what was going on.
Someone had written below the menu.
<Today’s Meal: Scrambled eggs, pancakes, cereal, chicken salad, fruit, etc.>
<↑ Notice: Attention! To ensure the health of freshmen, greasy and harmful menu items will be partially restricted.
Freshman Management Committee Seniors.>
“What? Are they insane?”
“This is ridiculous!”
The students who came down for breakfast were horrified by this bizarre announcement, regardless of gender.
“What on earth is this Freshman Management Committee…?”
“I wonder about that too…”
Now it seemed we were doomed to endure another wretched breakfast.
Was I about to face yet another British culinary disaster?
「Hey, No. 2, isn’t the sophomore dormitory building right next door?」
「Oh, that’s right! Aha! There’s a way!」
While chatting with No. 4, an amusing idea popped into my head.
“Hold on, I’ll be right back!”
“Where are you going?”
I told Daphne to wait and then dashed out the door.
This academy was spacious, with separate dormitories for each grade.
According to the information, there was even a luxury dormitory for top students or special individuals, though I had no idea where it was.
The sophomore dormitory was just ahead.
I carefully slipped through the slightly ajar door and immediately noticed the cafeteria, which emitted a delicious aroma.
‘I’m not even wearing a uniform, so they won’t know who I am, right?’
I casually blended into the line of senior students.
As I expected, they didn’t seem to care about my presence.
Ahead, I spotted trays piled with fried rice and similar dishes.
The cafeteria here was serving Asian-style breakfast today.
「These guys… They’ve been sneaking our food to eat!」
「What a bunch of thieves! Waking up early just to steal their juniors’ meals…」
On the opposite shelf, I saw the dishes meant for the freshman cafeteria lined up in a row.
Picking up two plates, I quickly loaded them with food and headed to a corner seat.
A few people glanced at me curiously, but they quickly lost interest and looked away.
They probably didn’t expect a freshman to brazenly show up here.
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, I transmitted the plates of food.
The plates, filled with meals, were delivered into No. 4’s hands, who was waiting back in the dormitory.
After checking my surroundings, I made my way back to the freshman dormitory.
“Rugilinn, where did you go? You told me to wait so suddenly…”
“There’s no time to explain, just follow me!”
Ignoring Daphne’s questioning look, I pulled her towards the dormitory room.
“Look, Daphne! Daphne, I brought delicious food.”
“Oh my! What is all this?”
“I got it from the upperclassmen’s dormitory!”
“From the seniors’ cafeteria? What if you got caught? They seemed really scary…”
“Don’t worry. I have a method!”
I pointed to No. 4, who was lounging on the bed.
“Cloning… I don’t fully understand, but it seems you used a unique ability. Thank you, but please don’t do something this dangerous again. If you get caught, it’ll be troublesome for you.”
“Thanks for worrying, but we need a hearty breakfast!”
Avoiding Daphne’s concerned gaze, I picked up my fork.
「Delicious…!」
「Awesome!」
The voices in my head marveled.
「But, was this the original portion size?」
「Haha… I took a little bit.」
Oh no, No. 4 had nibbled on the contents during delivery.
Still, having a hearty breakfast was a good outcome. We happily finished our meal in the room.
* * *
The bliss of a satisfying morning, enhanced by a full belly, didn’t last long.
“Freshmen from the Frontier Development Department! Everyone, into the water!”
“Ahhh!”
“Eek!”
“Gyaaa!”
While walking across the campus, I spotted a group of students being forced into the lake, still wearing their uniforms.
It was an initiation ritual.
That poor lake, currently named ‘Bluefang Lake,’ was referred to in the game as the ‘Silent Crimson Lake.’
From my memory, it was a habitat for aquatic monsters…
“Kyyaaaah!”
“Ahhh! It bit me! My finger!”
“Aaargh! Get it off! It stings!”
The lake lived up to its reputation.
The freshmen, with piranha-like aquatic monsters clinging to them like clothespins, screamed and ran out.
Since they were all Awakened, no one seemed seriously injured, but it looked quite painful.
Since yesterday, I’d witnessed all kinds of bizarre scenes.
For example:
“Class 25, Department of Vanguard Tactics! We’re going to commence a baptism brimming with our camaraderie!”
“Ahhh! It’s hot!”
Upperclassmen lined up students in front of the building and tossed low-output fireballs at them, calling it a “baptism.”
Or:
“Freshman. See this? It’s a Skulkit that survived in the back mountain for 10 years. That means it’s your senior.
Now! Say hello to your senior! Give it a kiss~”
“Roar!”
“Eek! Save me!… Waaah…!”
One lunatic even brought a snarling Skulkit to scare crying female students by shoving it in their faces.
It was absurd.
-Is this a military boot camp or what?-
Of course, there were students who talked back.
“Get lost! What’s so great about being here a year or two earlier? I paid to be here; why are you acting up?”
「Bam bam bam!」
“Ahhhhhh!”
Seniors, enraged by the brutal truths thrown at them, surrounded a single student and beat him up mercilessly.
Seeing one person get beaten so badly, the other students were too frightened to move.
「It really feels like the army. Soon, they’ll probably start ranting about camaraderie too.」
「That’s a bit dangerous.」
「Heek!」
Through all that bizarre chaos, I managed to arrive safely at the classroom.
More students were starting to enter the classroom, some with their hair turned white as if covered in flour.
I pretended to focus on the unenthusiastic instructor’s lazy orientation while chatting with my other clones.
「Do we have to go through some initiation too?」
「Who knows! I haven’t received any message about where to go yet.」
Fortunately, I hadn’t faced any initiation yet because I hadn’t been contacted by the seniors in my department.
「If we do get called and they make us do weird things, let’s just jump out the window.」
「Weird! Other schools don’t do this. Why only here…?」
I had no idea why either.
Who would have guessed that this failed academy would turn out to be such a dump?
I took a moment to organize my thoughts.
The academies in Rustlum were established to systematically train Awakened individuals.
The definition, academic structure, and transfer regulations of ‘Awakened Academies’ were governed under the autonomous bylaws of the Central Education Committee of the Academy City.
However, since the academies were influenced by various clans managing different districts of the city, their specific educational methods varied.
「No matter how fantastical this is, isn’t it too much to drag kids into this and make them grind away for six years?」
「That’s why it failed! If this place doesn’t suit us, let’s just grab the items and escape.」
The education span of Awakened Academies was roughly 6 to 7 years.
Combining high school and university courses into a warped curriculum solely for the purpose of war and combat made it incomparable to standard education.
Students selected their major upon admission, but first-year students followed a unified curriculum across both semesters.
Specialization began in the second year.
However, because the number of students was enormous, even identical classes were split into different time slots.
I had hoped to take classes with my roommate, but that didn’t happen.
For the record, my major was ‘Dungeon Strategy and Management.’
The name reeked of mediocrity.
While sitting on the dormitory bed, I suddenly sensed Clone No. 4 lounging around.
Everyone had something to say about it.
「No. 4! Isn’t it too lazy, even for someone on standby duty?」
「I was just about to look into some books, okay?」
Currently, about seven of us clones were summoned and were performing divided roles.
One clone attended classes on a rotational daily basis.
While one clone attended school for roll calls, the rest were assigned external activities like exploration and information gathering.
The clones on dormitory standby were backup and emergency escape plans, ready to pack up and flee at a moment’s notice.
「And stop eating all the instant noodles! Those were bought by Daphne, weren’t they? If it gets rough, we can just rely on the sensory transfer for meals.」
「You ate some yesterday too!」
「If I starve, I disappear outright. Remember how hard it was when Clone No. 5 felt hunger pangs?」
「Alright, calm down, everyone. Didn’t yesterday’s experiment prove it? Let’s just restock the noodles later.」
Clone No. 1, heading toward the forest behind the academy, mediated.
Instant noodles, huh?
I should visit the school store later.
I had eaten all the noodles myself (Clone No. 2) during an experiment.
Sorry, Daphne!
While I attended the orientation yesterday, the rest of us in the dormitory conducted experiments to understand our ability’s limits.
We needed to verify how the duration and range of activity of clones compared to our prior duplication techniques.
The status window was unhelpful, lacking detailed explanations.
The results were peculiar.
Clones that consumed at least two instant noodle cups—along with snacks—remained stable even after 24 hours and were still active.
However, clones that starved or ate only one cup naturally dissipated after 24 hours.
The caloric value of one instant noodle cup we consumed was 500 calories.
Including snacks, the intake added up to around 1,500 calories daily, enabling the clones’ continued maintenance.
Moreover, even after wandering all over the campus, there was no sensation of disconnection between the clones.
This was something we couldn’t determine back in the confined space of the laboratory.
Having resolved those doubts, we immediately started item collection.
This was the power of multitasking!
「I’m jealous… You guys stay cozy inside…」
「We’re the ones doing the outdoor work!」
「We feel your struggles too, you know. Take breaks now and then.」
While Clone No. 2 attended classes, Clone No. 7 went to the library.
Clones No. 1, 3, 5, and 6 armed themselves and headed to the forest behind the school.
It was a sort of autopilot system.
Since identical-looking students moving around outside would obviously draw attention, we wore masks, hats, or hoodies when moving outdoors.
In the game, the area known as <The Screaming Ruins of Polaris> was accessible from the middle of Act 1.
Apart from a few gimmicks, the area mostly provided junk items like <Polaris Student Gear Set>.
However, the forest in this area contained herbs we desperately needed.
The herb was called Blue Crystal Flower.
It had a permanent effect of slightly increasing overall mana capacity and regeneration when consumed.
“Where on earth is it…? Are we in the right place?”
“The map in the game doesn’t match the scale of reality. We should search with that in mind.”
“Maybe it doesn’t exist because this is set five years earlier?”
We retraced our fragmented memories, referring to a map marked with the game’s location.
After wandering deep into the dense forest, we finally saw a faint blue light beneath the shadow of an old tree.
“Wait! Isn’t that it?”
“That’s it! Blue Crystal Flower!”
We rushed to the spot and plucked the flower.
“Just as I hoped, it’s here!”
“But how do we use it? In the game, it was as simple as clicking.”
We paused to think.
After some deliberation, Clone No. 6 picked up the flower.
“Let’s just eat it!”
“Good idea. There are 10 flowers in this area, so even if we fail, we won’t lose much.”
When Clone No. 6 swallowed the flower, a peculiar sensation of ether spreading through their body followed.
“Whoa! This is…!”
“Status window! Check the status window!”
Upon checking, their mana, which was originally 3,000, had increased to 3,500.
“It costs about 500 mana to summon a clone, right? If we consume all 10 flowers…”
“The maximum number of clones we can summon increases to 16!”
“And with the improved mana regeneration, producing clones will become much easier.”
We were thrilled to achieve such remarkable results so soon.
“Let’s go!”
The Violet clones cheered and enthusiastically explored the forest.
“One! Two! One! Two!”