I peeked out from under the blanket and looked outside.
The corridor beyond the glass door glowed faintly under the emergency lights.
There were no signs of movement anymore.
I glanced at the surveillance camera above my head.
Apart from the occasional flicker of a red light, the pitch-black lens coldly monitored the room.
What might the person behind that camera be doing?
Based on my experience in a military office equipped with surveillance cameras, it was rare for anyone to monitor every single screen in real-time.
“Hey, private, wake me up if the duty officer comes in. Got it?”
“…Yes, understood.”
One time, though, a sergeant got caught by the division commander, who happened to barge in that night, and got completely chewed out.
Heh.
Hopefully, the guards here are cliché, doughnut-eating security types straight out of American cartoons.
If so, a little nighttime movement wouldn’t immediately bring someone rushing in.
“Of course, this is a different world, so I need to be careful.”
I reminded myself not to let my guard down.
The guards here might be dedicated to their duties.
Since this is a corporate research lab, they could even have AI computers managing the cameras.
The silver lining was that there weren’t any sensors or monitoring devices in the room to detect ether. I had learned this precious knowledge through several electrifying trial-and-error experiences.
That wasn’t the only thing I had learned.
Through experience, I had identified several limitations on creating clones.
First, I couldn’t create a clone in a space that was completely filled.
Second, the maximum range for creating a clone was two meters.
Third, I could only make one clone at a time.
Considering Violet from the original work, the third limitation might be overcome with a skill level upgrade later, but the other two were uncertain.
Anyway, one day, while pondering my abilities and their limits, an idea suddenly struck me.
“Couldn’t I send a clone beyond the ceiling?”
My focus turned to the vent in the room’s ceiling.
Vents are often depicted as infiltration routes in various media.
They were also occasionally featured in Deep Crimson Academia, so there was some potential for use in this game-like world.
Moreover, the vent cover in this room was surprisingly large.
A small girl could likely crawl through it with some effort.
Of course, the cover was securely fastened. And with the CCTV around, trying to rip it off and climb in would immediately summon guards to crush my head like a watermelon.
But what if I used my unique ability? It might allow me to act freely without being detected!
In reality, vents are often too narrow, but you never know unless you try.
“There’s nothing to lose if I fail.”
I fixed my gaze on the ceiling vent and focused my mind.
I channeled my mana, the ether defying physical laws, to penetrate the ordinary wall.
“Is this not the spot?”
The first attempt failed—either the vent was too narrow, or I was aiming in the wrong direction.
Without seeing beyond the wall, it felt like groping in the dark.
After repeating the process two or three more times, I finally detected the presence of my clone beyond the wall, just as my mana was running low.
Success.
“Alright, let’s see if I can control it.”
I had learned another crucial aspect of my clone’s ability through experience.
The sensations felt by the clone were transmitted directly to me, the original.
The pain from the battle earlier that morning was one example.
Realizing this during my initial experiments, I wondered if other sensations could also be transmitted to me.
When the researchers weren’t paying attention, I practiced in secret bit by bit.
Eventually, my hypothesis was proven correct.
As I focused on my clone, my vision seemed to be sucked into another location.
Darkness enveloped me, and suddenly, I was staring at the narrow metallic confines of the vent.
Fireworks went off in my mind.
Congratulations! Violet had acquired a remotely controlled, adorable VR drone!
After transferring my auditory senses as well, I focused and maneuvered the clone to crawl through the vent.
It was dark inside.
Dust swirled with every movement, tickling my nose.
Unable to see ahead, I cautiously extended my left hand and released a small amount of ether.
Faint particles gathered at my fingertips, emitting a dim crimson light that faintly illuminated the vent.
My clone could use this as well—perfect.
“By the way, I’m gradually getting the hang of using ether.”
The famous saying that practice makes perfect seemed to be a fundamental truth in this world.
But I needed to hurry.
Using ether for illumination was cutting into the time my clone could be sustained.
Initially, I could only maintain a clone for about a minute.
Now, that duration had increased to roughly 30 to 35 minutes.
With the ether used for lighting, I estimated the time to be closer to 30 minutes.
I crawled tirelessly through the cramped vent.
The first goal was to explore the vent and understand the structure of this building.
This wretched lab seemed intent on driving its test subjects insane.
It had no windows, and any element that could provide a sense of the outside world or time had been deliberately excluded.
Other than occasional dates mentioned by researchers during experimental recordings, I couldn’t determine where I was, let alone what time it was.
Based on taking an elevator downward, the building seemed to have multiple floors, but whether it was above or below ground was unclear.
With no external sounds, I couldn’t even guess if we were in a city or a remote location.
Crawling through the convoluted passages, I became covered in dust.
Turning a corner, I spotted light seeping through the vent floor.
I looked down.
Where was this?
It was a place I hadn’t seen before.
Peering down, I saw several exhausted-looking lab employees typing on keyboards in front of monitors.
Empty energy drink cans rattled nearby.
“Team Leader, why do the quarterly support budgets keep shrinking?”
“No idea! They just said to make do with what we get…”
“I want… I want to go home…”
I moved past the area.
After wandering aimlessly in the darkness for a few more minutes, I noticed another faint light leaking through the gaps in a vent cover.
Looking down, I froze in shock when I saw a black-clad security guard below.
Thankfully, it wasn’t an ogre guard.
The guard was arguing with a bespectacled researcher.
“Excuse me, sir, what is this? Why didn’t you submit your smartphone? You read the security agreement and the electronics restriction policy, didn’t you? This is unacceptable!”
“Ah… Let’s just move on. I’m just using the messenger… Hey, come on, cut me some slack!”
“Seriously, haven’t you read the recent notices from above? Careless use of cell phones poses a security risk. Terrorist groups could track phone signals and attack the facility…”
“What kind of conspiracy theory nonsense is that…? Ugh, fine. Here.”
The bespectacled researcher, irritated, tossed the phone.
The guard caught it and stared at him before turning away.
Feeling like I had wasted my time, I prepared to leave, but as soon as the guard walked off, the bespectacled researcher chuckled and pulled out another smartphone.
“Seriously, acting all high and mighty like a watchdog. That was just a dummy phone, idiot…”
Wow, we have a staff sergeant from my unit here too, it seems?
I shook my head, realizing I had wasted too much time.
Quietly, like a snake, I swiftly moved through the ventilation ducts.
Through the grates of the ducts, I could glimpse various scenes outside.
“Hey! What did you guys order? Wasn’t it supposed to be chokers with embedded detonation cords? The kind that explodes when pulled! Do you know how many people died today because the test subject went berserk?”
“Blame the Director for giving us such a tight budget. What do you expect me to do? You were the one who said basic electric shock features would be enough! I just did as I was told!”
I saw people squabbling over responsibility for this morning’s disaster.
“Hehe… Hey, kid, let’s play a fun game with me…”
“Wait… Sir… I’m scared…”
When I spotted a pedophilic pig trying to pull something strange during lunch, I turned away in disgust.
“Ah… I wish I could get promoted!”
“Give it up. This is an exile post. Even the Director was sent here after losing in office politics.”
I passed by people lamenting their miserable lives once more.
And then, I witnessed something quite horrifying.
“Let’s just finish this quickly and leave. Begin the drug injection.”
“Ah! Wait! The anesthesia! The anesthesia hasn’t taken effect yet!”
On an operating table, a pitiful man writhed in agony.
“Okay… Starting the injection.”
“AAAAAARGHHH!”
It was the fate of a foolish volunteer for human experimentation.
The man twisted in pain, his entire body convulsing before his tongue lolled out, and he collapsed.
The price for such foolishness was far too cruel.
Shuddering at the gruesome sight, I headed elsewhere.
The faint glow of ether lighting at my fingertips was steadily diminishing. It was a sign that the clone’s time was almost up.
‘What on earth is so important that people are dying for it?’
Ether—the mana of the world of 『Deep Crimson Academia』.
Also called “magical energy,” it is a miraculous catalyst that distorts natural laws and grants humans extraordinary strength and reflexes.
In this world, those who gain such superhuman power are called “Awakeners.”
While people commonly use the term without distinction, technically, the energy flowing in from another dimension is referred to as ether, and the subset of ether within an Awakener’s body is called mana. It’s practically the same, though.
The game company, perhaps finding character sales a bit too bland, added a concept called “Unique Abilities.”
These are special supernatural powers that are exclusive to certain individuals, which they can use innately without learning.
If regular Awakeners are like passenger cars, those with Unique Abilities are like military armored vehicles, jet-engine-equipped race cars, or construction bulldozers—special-purpose vehicles.
They’re not just faster or sturdier but have innate, unique powers.
In my case, that Unique Ability was “Clone Technique.”
Strictly speaking, it was Violet’s Unique Ability, though.
Most people, however, are ordinary.
If they don’t have the luck to awaken, they survive by clinging to scraps thrown from above.
In this war-torn world devastated by monsters and ether from another dimension, the value of combat power skyrocketed, and Awakeners monopolized wealth and power.
They frequently overstep boundaries, wielding their strength recklessly.
Ordinary citizens, driven by desire, flock to promises of power like moths to a flame, only to be consumed and reduced to ashes.
The world’s Awakener organizations fuel their advance with the desperate acts of the weak.
That’s why, when I feel down about living here, I remind myself.
Sure, I might be a prisoner now, but I was born with the golden spoon of a Unique Ability.
That’s some good luck.
This body is an SS-grade for sure.
‘Looks like the clone will disappear soon.’
As the time limit for the clone neared, my strength started to fade.
I had spent too much time quietly crawling through the narrow ventilation ducts, observing this and that.
It seemed I would have to call it a night.
‘Huh? What’s that?’
The ventilation duct was narrow.
While I could move forward in a straight line, it was impossible to turn my body around.
So, to pass the time, I continued moving forward.
After turning a few corners, I spotted a grate emitting a red light directly ahead.
Usually, ventilation grates are on the floor, allowing me to look down at the scene below.
But this one was on the wall, or more accurately, it was loose enough to be called a grill.
The duct was slanted, requiring me to climb upwards.
Unable to resist my curiosity, I moved forward.
Peering through the grill, I saw a strange room, different from the rest of the lab. Research facilities typically have pristine white tiles and walls painted in a sterile mental hospital style.
This was the opposite.
A confined space with rough concrete walls, large and small exposed pipes, and various tools scattered around.
“What? Crazy!”
As I looked down, I let out a short gasp.
Directly in front of me was a woman with her arms chained to the wall.
A short-haired girl with pink locks and androgynous features.
At first glance, she could easily be mistaken for a beautiful boy.
I knew this woman.
Even though her cartoon-rendered graphics had turned into lifelike visuals, there was no mistaking her!
Her name was Kalia Blaze, one of the main characters in the first act of the story alongside the protagonist.
That’s right, a playable character.
‘Wait a minute! You’re a main character! What are you doing here?’
Just then, my clone began to dissipate.
Oh no! Not now!
Kalia, who had been hanging her head as if in despair, suddenly looked up.
Our eyes met through the grill, her green eyes widening in surprise.
Excited, I waved at her energetically.
“…Hi there!”
Suddenly, my vision went dark, and I found myself back in bed.
What just happened?
Inside the crude and rugged confined space, Kalia recalled the crimson-eyed girl who had appeared through the grill on the wall moments ago.
The girl had startled her so much that she couldn’t say a word.
The girl had shouted “Hi!” and waved before vanishing suddenly.
“A ghost?”
Kalia wondered if she had been hallucinating.
It was dawn.