Camerdeen’s idea of a welcome party was as follows.
‘I’ll feed these poor freshmen until they whine that they’re too full to eat anymore.’
Originally, by now, the freshmen would have been forcing food into their bellies, reaching their limit.
Then, using their complaints as an excuse, he planned to teach them a lesson and instill proper manners.
Though it might be a tough and painful memory for them now, it would eventually turn into nostalgia.
However, things were taking an unexpected turn.
“Look over there! The food we prepared is already gone!”
“What? That’s impossible. I calculated everything!”
It was common knowledge that an Awakened’s physical capabilities were superior to those of non-Awakened individuals.
Yet the consumption rate was faster than anticipated.
The previously abundant food had dwindled to almost nothing.
“Senior! Look over there!”
“Camerdeen! That girl!”
The culprit was quickly identified.
A sophomore pointed to a playful-looking girl hopping around.
The girl, her shimmering golden hair bouncing, headed to another table.
She casually grabbed a whole cake allocated to a table with both hands and stuffed it into her mouth.
In the blink of an eye, the cake disappeared.
She went from table to table, grabbing cakes.
Every time she scooped up a handful, the freshmen’s faces lit up with joy.
“I’ll eat this! No need for permission!”
“You’re eating it for us? Thanks!”
Eventually, the girl set her sights on a shelf still loaded with food.
Without bothering with tongs, she began shoving food from the shelf into her mouth.
In just a short time, the food vanished.
“What on earth? Is it magic?”
“There’s no spellwork or magic circle in play!”
It clearly wasn’t being discarded.
The Awakened eyes of those watching confirmed that the food disappeared straight into the girl’s mouth.
The conclusion was simple.
That girl was eating everything.
Camerdeen was furious that the freshmen’s welcome party wasn’t going the way he planned.
“Where the hell did that glutton come from?!”
“No way, Senior! Who would’ve thought one of the freshmen could eat like that?!”
A sophomore lamented, only to receive a slap from an angry Camerdeen.
‘Our department’s traditions are being ruined!’
They had deliberately prepared greasy, salty, and hard-to-eat food to make overeating burdensome.
Even the beverages were intentionally limited.
Just like Camerdeen himself had experienced in the past.
Fuming, Camerdeen stormed over to the troublesome girl with his peers.
“You! What’s your name?”
“I’m Violet!”
The source of all the trouble smiled brightly, and rage flared within Camerdeen.
This girl, Violet, had ruined everything.
“Senior! I’ve eaten it all. Can I leave now?”
Now that he took a closer look, her eyes sparkled with mischief.
Suppressing his anger, he opened his mouth.
He was determined to teach her a lesson.
“No, there’s still more we can offer to our juniors.”
“Yes, Senior! Hehe.”
Camerdeen turned around, and the puzzled students asked him questions.
“Camerdeen, what are you going to do now? She ate all the food we prepared.”
“Let’s just stop. This is pointless…”
Their protests only fueled his fiery temper.
“…Shut up.”
“What? Why are you like this all of a sudden?”
“Get your heads straight! This is our department’s tradition. Are you trying to ruin it?”
The painful memories from two years ago vividly resurfaced in Camerdeen’s mind.
‘Chew and swallow it! Freshmen! This is the path your seniors walked before you. Aren’t you ashamed?’
‘I’ll do it, Senior! I can do it!’
It was a rite of passage.
He had eaten over twenty tasteless, dry pieces of bread without any water.
Mustering all his willpower, he forced them down his throat.
For those who failed to swallow, a magic-infused kick awaited them.
He had managed to persevere.
‘Congratulations. You’re now a proud student of our department.’
‘Yes, Senior! Thank you!’
It had been tough, but looking back, it was a source of pride.
In contrast, look at these weak freshmen.
Compared to back then, they were surrounded by delicious food. Yet they complained like children, whining about being full.
Compared to what he had endured, they were fortunate.
This tradition had to be upheld.
It was what their seniors had done before them, and they had passed it down.
He had endured it, so it was only fair the juniors did too.
“Alright, let’s show them.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll cover the cost, so buy more food!”
Camerdeen threw his card from his wallet.
His peers placed the order, and the sophomores rushed to buy food to feed the black hole of a girl’s stomach.
If they didn’t, they feared the wrath of their third-year representative.
Soon, a mountain of food was prepared.
“So, Violet, is it? You must’ve been really hungry.”
“Yes! That’s right.”
The dynamic of the welcome party had grown bizarre.
Violet sat alone at the table, surrounded by a mix of first-years, second-years, and seniors watching her closely.
Violet thought to herself.
‘This feels like I’m filming a mukbang.’
The seniors, no longer hiding their intentions, acted blatantly.
It was obvious they wanted her to give in.
Even more unnerving were the expectant gazes from her fellow first-years, who now looked at her with admiration.
‘I’ve suddenly become the savior of the first-years.’
Other Violets, sharing her perspective through No. 7’s link, chimed in.
-What’s the plan? You’ve been discreetly transferring the bigger portions so far, but now there are too many eyes.-
-I’ll have to tear and send smaller pieces. That’s the only way.-
The door opened, and students wheeled in carts laden with food.
The variety was impressive: bananas, hardtack, pizza…
The one common trait?
All the items would be hard to digest without drinks.
“Alright, Violet. Enjoy your meal!”
‘Let’s see if you can stomach this too.’
Encouraged by their mock cheer, Violet grinned and began eating.
She discreetly tore the food into bite-sized pieces, pretending to chew before transferring them via teleportation.
The transferred food traveled hundreds of kilometers to other waiting Violets in the central and southwestern regions.
-Sort them into baskets. This will be our daily provisions.-
-Don’t forget to put everything into inventory once sorted!-
-Ugh! It’s covered in saliva!-
In unavoidable cases, she teleported food directly from her mouth.
It was messy, but it was still her bodily fluids, so it wasn’t too concerning.
After a while, Camerdeen and the seniors were stunned.
“Hey… what kind of trick are you using?!”
“I just ate everything as you told me to, Senior!”
The girl smiled brightly, almost mockingly.
The food they had prepared disappeared into her mouth in moments.
“Buy more!”
Camerdeen ordered more food again.
Even as his peers tried to stop him, Camerdeen refused to relent.
They continued bringing food to feed the seemingly bottomless girl.
“Here’s a giant-sized cake. Try this too!”
“Wow! A chocolate mousse cake! Thank you!”
Now, both juniors and seniors alike gazed at Violet with awe.
‘What on earth is inside her stomach?!’
Someone at the scene recalled an ancient legend.
A monster so plagued by hunger that it devoured even itself, leaving behind only clattering gums.
Perhaps this girl was such a creature?
After finishing the last cake, Violet wiped her hands on the tablecloth and stood up.
Her gleaming ruby-like eyes mockingly scanned the seniors.
“I finished everything without leaving a single crumb. May I leave now?”
The seniors, mouths agape, stepped back.
“Hey! Why aren’t you bringing more food?!”
Behind them, Camerdeen whispered furiously into his phone.
He received an unexpected response.
-Senior! Your card was declined!-
“What?!”
Camerdeen opened his banking app to check the balance.
The 200,000 credits of allowance he had left were completely drained.
It was empty.
“My… my money!”
Feeling defeated, he slumped to the ground, only to be helped up by his peers.
The blonde girl walked past him, her classmates chanting, “Violet! Violet!” and waving their arms.
Was this the end? Should he let her go?
As Camerdeen stared blankly at the freshmen’s parade, he suddenly realized it wasn’t over.
“…Hey, mix those up and bring them out! No way I’m letting her, or the others, leave scot-free! Let’s make them eat this!”
“What? Wasn’t that for after everything was over?”
“The welcome party is ruined anyway! Just serve it now.”
“But alcohol is prohibited on campus…”
“It’s fine!”
At his command, the sophomores brought out a large bucket.
They began mixing various drinks and liquors into it, creating a potent concoction.
“Even one sip of this will knock you out instantly. Let’s see if she can handle this too!”
“Alright, freshmen! You can’t leave just yet. There’s still one more thing!”
Violet’s gaze shifted to the bucket her senior placed on the table.
A strong alcoholic stench wafted from it.
“What is this?”
“This is the Elixir of Courage that every department student drinks at the end of the welcome party.”
“Elixir of Courage?”
“That’s right! We’re giving it to you because we’re so proud of you. Have a sip! You too, everyone else, line up!”
Violet picked up the bucket just in case and used her status window.
<ITEM STAT>
Muddled Elixir of the Dungeon Strategy Management Department ☆★★★★
A bomb drink made by mixing various strong liquors and bitter, unpleasant beverages.
While harmless to Awakened individuals, it will cause severe hangovers.
Drinking this reckless concoction borders on madness rather than courage.
‘What the… This is nothing.’
The hangover was quite severe, but it didn’t seem to matter.
“…So, if you want to leave, you each have to drink this one cup, alright?”
Beside me, Camerdeene was explaining to a first-year who was glaring at him, but Violet quickly interrupted, lifting a bucket in the air.
“If I just finish all of this, it’ll be fine, right? Well then, here I go!”
“What? Wait, hey! Stop! That’s for everyone, not just for you…”
“Uh… What? Hey! That’s not for you to drink all by yourself! Put it down!”
Violet chuckled lightly and, despite the protests around her, poured the entire contents of the bucket down her throat.
Although people around tried to stop her, it was too late.
Of course, Violet had already planned for this. No. 7 immediately activated her clones.
-Move, right now, to the restroom or outside!-
-You’re saying we transfer the liquid right after drinking it? It’s doable, but kind of gross.-
Her clones urgently ran to the bathroom or outside.
-Blech!-
-Spit, spit!-
The plan worked. After drinking, 7 transferred the liquid to her clones far away, who immediately spat it out.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect—some of the liquor inevitably went down her throat.
However, she had a second method to fall back on.
Sensory distribution.
[The taste and smell felt by the entity are distributed and dulled according to the number of clones—Dulling rate: 5%]
The initial revulsion she felt from swallowing it quickly faded.
-Whatever they mixed in this, it tastes absolutely awful!-
-Ugh! I ended up drinking a little bit!-
“Wha… She drank all that alcohol…”
“Unbelievable…”
Having emptied the bucket, Violet tossed it onto the ground, where it rolled with a hollow clang.
“Hehe, senior, can we leave now?”
“Ah… Ah… Even the department’s specialty bomb… I mean, elixir… You finished it all… I lose…”
Camerdeene slumped to the ground in defeat. Violet strode past the dejected seniors like a triumphant general.
“Hey! Open the door!”
“…Alright.”
One of the seniors, looking hesitant, came over and opened the door.
Violet walked out.
“Violet! Violet! Violet!”
“Violet is a legend!”
She barely managed to shake off the first-years following her with cheers and walked across the campus.
“Hehehe… I won!”
Her body felt slightly buzzed.
Transferring everything was apparently impossible; she must have ingested some.
Violet tried to dilute the effect further.
[Warning: Violet No. 7 has entered a state of intoxication!]
“Huh… Sensory distribution doesn’t work on intoxication?”
[Warning: Violet No. 11 has entered a state of intoxication!]
[Warning: Violet No. 8 has entered a state of intoxication!]
[Warning: Violet No. 9 has entered a state of intoxication!]
…
-Hey! During the transfer process, some of the others consumed it, and now they’re in bad shape…-
-Hehehe! Life is amazing!-
-Kyahihihi!-
It seemed the alcohol was stronger than expected. Was it calibrated for someone adept at physical enhancement?
Violet was still inexperienced in that area.
Staggering through the street as the sun set, Violet noticed people staring at her with astonished eyes.
“The world~ is spinning~”
-Thud!
Violet collapsed onto the ground. She could no longer distinguish anything.
“Hehehe…”
-Hey! Recall No. 7! And all the other intoxicated ones too!-
-We can’t, there are too many people around. We’ll have to wait a bit.-
-Heehee! Sounds good!-
-She’s going to end up sleeping on the street at this rate!-
-Ehehehehe!-
Amidst the chaos caused by her intoxicated clones, Violet crawled into a bush by the roadside and fell asleep.
“Hehehehe…”
No thoughts crossed her mind. Violet curled up like a shrimp and drifted into slumber. It was cold… Freezing cold.
-Hey, isn’t this the girl who sits next to us?-
-Oh… W-What do we do! Is she dead…?-
-No, I think she’s just drunk. Let’s take her to the infirmary just in case.-
She vaguely felt herself being lifted. Violet lost consciousness completely.
“Heheheng…”
Dizzy, so dizzy.
My head throbbed intensely.
Even breathing felt difficult.
Why did it hurt so much?
I was in an unfamiliar place.
I was walking along a quiet street when masked figures approached me.
Instinctively, I was terrified and tried to run.
“No! Get away from me!”
But I was quickly restrained.
-Vrrrrr!
From the backs of the masked figures came bizarre mechanical noises.
Numerous mechanical arms shot out haphazardly.
I screamed.
“What? No! Get away! Get away!”
The machines began to cut into my body.
Among them, the largest, most terrifying, sharpest one loomed toward my head.
I couldn’t resist.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
Stop. Please stop.
“Uwaaah…”
Like a butterfly trapped between the fingers of a malicious child, like a worm crushed underfoot, like a fish dropped onto a burning grill, I writhed.
I moved.
“No…”
It hurts. Please, stop.
“Mom…”
I desperately called out to someone.
No one answered.
I was alone.
Alone…
As I flailed in agony,
a warm green light descended from afar.
…Are you okay? I’m here.
A kind voice, familiar yet unfamiliar, reached me.
The warm green light grew larger.
The things tormenting me—the masked men, the mechanical arms, everything—began to melt away in the light.
“Mom..?”
The voice spoke again.
It faltered as if hesitant.
Though fragmented, it was soft and warm.
…Yes… It’s me… I’m here. You’re not in pain. It’s alright now.
Help me, no, stop tormenting me…
…No one will torment you anymore… You’ll be fine… Be strong.
…Got it? I’ll say it again. I’m here.
The gentle curtain of pale green light drew nearer.
It enveloped me.
I floated upward.
I soared.
“…Ugh!?”
I, No. 7, opened my eyes and sat up.
“Where am I…”
It was a simple but cozy room.
Clearly not my dorm.
My room doesn’t have curtains like this.
When I sat up, I noticed someone tightly holding both of my hands.
Their hands were soft.
My blurry vision gradually focused, and I finally saw who was holding me.
“Rugilinn, are you okay?”
A silver-haired girl with blue eyes looked at me with concern. Her gaze made my heart flutter uneasily.
“Seems like you had a bad dream.”
For some reason, Daphne looked at me with pity, as if I were a critical patient.
Feeling burdened, I quickly changed the subject.
“Daphne…? Why are you here? And where is this place?”
“This is the infirmary. Those people brought you here. Why were you sleeping on the street?”
Turning my head, I saw two students sitting opposite Daphne.
A black-haired girl with twin tails and a large guy… no, he was a student.
“Um, I don’t remember your names…”
“Le-Levi!”
“Granite.”
“Oh! From yesterday, the ones who sat next to me during orientation!”
Now I remembered.
“Why are you two here? And me?”
“You…don’t remember?”
“Looks like she forgot.”
I couldn’t recall. Let’s try to piece things together.
-Seven! You’re awake! I thought you were dead.-
-Is it hard to recall? Let me share it directly!-
Through the Violet Network, my other selves sent the memories back.
Specifically, their recollection of my situation.
Last night, some seniors tried to haze us with food, so I transferred everything and made fun of them. Then they brought out a bucket, and despite their protests, I drank the whole thing.
I went outside and… got sleepy. I collapsed.
‘Ugh! Drinking and passing out on the street, seriously!’
“Excuse me, but are you feeling alright now?”
As I tried to sort through my thoughts, embarrassment washed over me. Collapsing on the street, not even making it to my dorm…
Just then, someone carefully pulled back the curtain and entered.
Everyone’s attention turned toward her.
A girl with violet hair braided neatly, exuding confidence, appeared.
“Violet Rugilinn, correct?”
“Huh? That’s me. But who are you…”
The girl met my curious gaze and bowed politely.
“Irene Solstice, first-year student representative. May I have a moment of your time?”
It was the girl from the entrance ceremony.
A five-star playable character.
A girl brimming with a sense of justice.
I figured we’d cross paths eventually, but I didn’t expect it to happen here.
“I’ve got time! So, what’s… Ugh!”
“Rugilinn! Please, lie back down!”
My head spun again.
Must be the hangover.
It seemed like any serious conversation would have to wait.