I peeked out from under the blanket and looked outside.
The corridor beyond the glass door glowed faintly under the ergency lights.
There were no signs of movent anymore.
I glanced at the surveillance cara 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 cara be doing?
Based on my experience in a military office equipped with surveillance caras, it was rare for anyone to monitor every single screen in real-ti.
“Hey, private, wake up if the duty officer cos in. Got it?”
“…Yes, understood.”
Eight out of ten duty officers in my unit used to slump in their chairs and sleep through the night.
One ti, 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 Arican cartoons.
If so, a little nightti movent wouldn’t imdiately bring soone 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 caras.
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 ters.
Third, I could only make one clone at a ti.
Considering Violet from the original work, the third limitation might be overco 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 .
“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 dia.
They were also occasionally featured in Deep Crimson Academia, so there was so potential for use in this ga-like world.
Moreover, the vent cover in this room was surprisingly large.
A small girl could likely crawl through it with so effort.
Of course, the cover was securely fastened. And with the CCTV around, trying to rip it off and climb in would imdiately summon guards to crush my head like a waterlon. РΆℕǒᛒÈS
But what if I used my unique ability? It might allow 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 tis, 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 , the original.
The pain from the battle earlier that morning was one example.
Realizing this during my initial experints, I wondered if other sensations could also be transmitted to .
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 seed to be sucked into another location.
Darkness enveloped , and suddenly, I was staring at the narrow tallic 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 movent, 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 seed to be a fundantal truth in this world.
But I needed to hurry.
Using ether for illumination was cutting into the ti 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 ti 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 seed intent on driving its test subjects insane.
It had no windows, and any elent that could provide a sense of the outside world or ti had been deliberately excluded.
Other than occasional dates ntioned by researchers during experintal recordings, I couldn’t determine where I was, let alone what ti it was.
Based on taking an elevator downward, the building seed 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 beca 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 ho…”
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 , sir, what is this? Why didn’t you submit your smartphone? You read the security agreent and the electronics restriction policy, didn’t you? This is unacceptable!”
“Ah… Let’s just move on. I’m just using the ssenger… Hey, co on, cut so 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 ti, 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 ti.
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?”
“Bla the Director for giving us such a tight budget. What do you expect 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 ga with …”
“Wait… Sir… I’m scared…”
When I spotted a pedophilic pig trying to pull sothing 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 lanting their miserable lives once more.
And then, I witnessed sothing 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 experintation.
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 grueso sight, I headed elsewhere.
The faint glow of ether lighting at my fingertips was steadily diminishing. It was a sign that the clone’s ti 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 dinsion is referred to as ether, and the subset of ether within an Awakener’s body is called mana. It’s practically the sa, though.
The ga 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 dinsion, 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 fla, only to be consud 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 so good luck.
This body is an SS-grade for sure.
‘Looks like the clone will disappear soon.’
As the ti limit for the clone neared, my strength started to fade.
I had spent too much ti quietly crawling through the narrow ventilation ducts, observing this and that.
It seed 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 ti, 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 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 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 ntal 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 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 na 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 t 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 monts 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.
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