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The existence awoke from a long slumber and looked around. The blue-hued rocks forming a rugged valley revealed themselves through the thick fog.

The entity, which had been drifting in what felt like a dream for an extended time, turned its head as soon as it opened its eyes.

It thought deeply about its own existence.

Why am I here?

Whether it was due to fatigue or some other reason, it could not move from its spot. It could only twist its waist to barely survey its surroundings.

Why am I here?

The sound of a gunshot ringing out from beyond the fog jolted the entity’s thoughts. In that fleeting moment, a torrent of thoughts swirled in its mind.

Family, comrades, duty.

And humanity.

As a word ingrained like an obsession stimulated its mind, the entity shuddered as if struck by lightning.

It felt like a parent who had forgotten their child’s birthday suddenly realizing the significance of the day upon coming home. The entity trembled as if reminded of something it must not forget.

If its respiratory system had remained in human form, it would have drawn a rough breath.

It had to move. Duty was calling him.

The fight was its mission.

An indescribable, twisted power flowed through its veins, causing its metal heart to throb fiercely.

A massive silhouette, which had been dormant in the fog, rose to its feet.

To once again fulfill a forgotten mission.

**

Before heading off to Cutlass Valley, I wrapped up the little things.

“Check supplies! All clear!”

“Food is all good!”

The Violet Command Center was tirelessly inspecting the piled-up materials. The multidimensional bag was almost infinite, but if I didn’t know exactly what I had, I could easily pull out something irrelevant.

Sometimes, organization was necessary.

The inside of the factory was messy.

Supplies and ammunition prepared for the valley expedition were stacked high on one side, while on the other lay weapons and shells obtained from raiding the last naval base, strewn all over.

“Looks like we have plenty of naval shells and missiles.”

“Let’s use these for improvised explosives!”

The ships and airships meant to use these were all wrecked long ago. We might as well use them like this.

The power would be formidable since they’re military-grade.

“Where did we get this from?”

What was in the inventory wasn’t all. Half-eaten chicken legs and leftover drinks were discovered in abundance.

“Ah! This is from the last time we ate!”

“Let’s eat it now!”

Along with that, all sorts of miscellaneous items were packed. Just like the various relics laid out in front of us right now.

“Did we bring these from the exhibition?”

As I pulled out the relics that had been stuffed in a corner of the inventory, I found various small objects.

Most of them didn’t seem useful.

A pair of sunglasses that lets you see the magical formula arrangements of others—how to utilize them was beyond me.

Of course, there were exceptions. Like the red marble peeking out from among the scattered relics.

“Oh my gosh… Violet, where on earth did you find this? I think this is a relic belonging to Restraid…”

Instructor Frederick was looking at me as if I were a bank robber.

Albert, who was standing next to him with his arms crossed, clicked his tongue briefly.

“I don’t know! I think I picked it up when I was capturing an Apostle.”

Upon hearing my answer, the two seemed at a loss for words and let out a light sigh.

“Oh dear, just hide it well so it doesn’t get discovered, alright?”

“Okay!”

I had no idea what to do with this Heart of Sunset. It’s said to be a relic that converts energy and information, a sort of catalyst, but to me, it just looked like a red crystal ball.

“Should we sneakily return it to Restraid? For money.”

When some Violets cautiously suggested this, tremendous opposition erupted during the temporary meeting.

“Return this to that bald guy? No way! It’s precious, he must be looking for it. He’s probably sulking and getting angry all by himself.”

“No doubt he’ll insist, ‘This belongs to our knights, so we must retrieve it.’ As if he’d offer any kind of reward.”

Thinking rationally, it seemed best to just keep it in the inventory.

It’s not suitable for use as a bomb anyway.

While the Violet supply unit was organizing the goods, other Violets were dealing with a personnel issue.

“Enrique? What’s up with that blood?”

“Cough… cough! Ahem, Violet. It’s nothing. I just forgot to take my medicine!”

Enrique grimaced for a moment and then pulled out her medication from a bottle and took it.

Daphne, who rushed over, used her unique ability to heal her, and a relaxed-looking Enrique smiled brightly.

“Wow, this feels amazing! With you healing me, my body feels lighter than air!”

“This isn’t something to laugh about, Enrique. This is typical internal damage caused by a magical power surge.”

As Daphne said this, she handed Enrique some water, to which Enrique calmly responded after swallowing the medicine.

“I’m fine! The lab people said if I release my magic often, it’ll be okay.”

“Fine? The radiation issue is causing this problem. It could affect an Awakened One too. This isn’t something to brush off.”

“It’s really nothing. I got used to it since kindergarten. I’ll probably just explode if it gets strange, but whatever!”

“Ah…”

“Gah.”

Daphne and Model 4321’s expressions contorted in an instant like someone staring at a terminally ill patient.

Daphne might be fine, but I can’t believe I got that stiff.

I had forgotten. In theory, self-destruction was possible for Enrique.

“But it’s a one-time use!”

“One-time self-destruction is useless!”

Right, self-destruction is our Violet’s unique ability. I can’t just let my friend deteriorate or run out of medicine and allow her to explode.

“Since we’re almost ready, let’s go find the research laboratory. There, we might find data to alleviate her symptoms or the necessary medicine for Enrique.”

I confidently said as I pointed to the other busy Violets.

“What’s there to worry about? We’re sending a massive deployment!”

The preparations for the dungeon exploration by countless Violets were completed in just one day.

**

Trucks entered in a row through the swaying gate. As they rattled down, the rugged, blue-hued rock terrain greeted us.

“Arrival!”

As we left the forward base along the narrow, bumpy dirt road, the number of people increased dramatically.

The leading dump truck murmured.

“There are really a lot of them.”

“Since odd magical waves have been observed continuously lately, unusual rumors spread within the Hunter network. They say it’s traces of rare relics?”

Sophie El, who sat next to me, continued to explain.

Sometimes, odd patterns of ether waves that aren’t usually detected can be observed inside dungeons, and when that happens, it’s common for rare relics, minerals, or elements to appear.

“Sophie El said that. Interesting.”

“That’s true. Some people even compare it to a gold rush. In the old days, when gold veins were discovered, people would gather upon hearing the rumors and start digging or panning for gold, right? I heard from Irene that the clan industry operates similarly.”

Daphne’s analogy made sense.

The people gathered here were like personal investors who, hearing bizarre rumors, break their savings or child tuition fees to invest in stocks.

“Moreover, with this occasion, the expectations are high. Cutlass Valley has often seen alien relics flowing in.”

The resources emerging from this unique space, the dungeon, are diverse.

Etherium pulled out however it could be managed, specific monster rare materials, minerals or the nearly infinite relics pouring from the dungeon.

Additionally, due to its nature as a space isolated from reality, bizarre items often flow in as well.

“Alien relics, like the Vision Prism?”

That one isn’t made by human hands, as anyone can see.

“Correct! Looks like the Violets finally focused and paid attention in class! I’m so happy!”

Of course, our Violets are diligent model students. There’s no way they would forget what they learned before.

Yet seeing Daphne’s reaction felt a bit strange. Anyone would think we were just goofing off and playing games.

“Actually, it’s true. When we switch every 10 minutes and share our senses, time just flies by.”

“No! This is what we call multitasking!”

“Oh, right?”

As we chatted about various things, time passed almost on its own.

All sizes of trucks loaded with Violets had entered.

It may be called a “dungeon,” but it felt just like we had come to a construction site.

Strangely, the interior of the dungeon felt distinctly populated, which felt odd.

“Those kids in uniforms… Oh wait, that’s Aegis. That seems to be Vesperia, too. Kids from the western and eastern sides have come as well.”

Many students from famous academies to unknown ones had formed parties.

Seeing them all geared up and carrying backpacks, it seemed they were planning to venture deep into the region.

“Surely they didn’t come just because of rumors?”

“…From the looks of it, it seems that way.”

Is it due to the desire to get rich quick? The tuition fees are pretty steep, after all.

It’s a reality that if one doesn’t have sponsorships or preliminary contracts with clans, they’re struggling for money.

It’s the fate of poor students to come out and work every holiday.

“Those guys seem a bit concerning.”

I muttered unconsciously as the Erosion Zone came to mind, and Levi, who was in the passenger seat of the third truck, looked puzzled.

“…Why?”

“When I fell into the Erosion Zone last time, there were people out relic hunting. Among them was a nice girl who gave me gum, but she got her head blown off by a ghoul sniper and died!”

As I explained what happened then while pointing at the kids in Vesperia uniforms, Levi flinched and glanced around in alarm.

“Ugh, ughh. That’s a bit chilling… I gotta shoot first… but this isn’t a city, right? I-I’ll go outside!”

“Huh?”

I didn’t mean to tell him to be vigilant, but Levi struggled to get up onto the truck’s roof, clutching his huge bag, then unfolded a ballista and began surveilling the area.

“Where are they? Where are they… If I see them first, I can shoot them, right?”

Hmm, I didn’t mean to tell him to be on guard. How did it end up like this?

Either way, the Violet senses detected something peculiar in the atmosphere.

Just in case, I had pulled trucks packed with new weapons, but we should be cautious.

Meanwhile, an unexpected debate unfolded in the Violet Parliament.

“Is it too sad for someone to bust their head while earning tuition? If I become the mayor of the Academy City, I’ll launch a free tuition support policy for every academy!”

“No way! That goes against the Violet Free Market Principle! A job support policy is better!”

As the randomly divided right-wing Violets and left-wing Violets debated, an unexpected Violet appeared.

“Why not just empower the students and split the wealth of the three major clans? Wouldn’t that solve both job creation and welfare issues?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea! That’s innovative!”

The emergence of the Revolutionary Violet sent ripples through the parliament as the Violet escort unit headed for the foggy depths.

*

Cutlass Valley was incredibly rugged. No matter where you went, it was all rocks.

Moreover, the depth and distance between the valleys was unfathomable.

Unless one could fly, the naturally formed rock arches or a few man-made bridges were the only means of passage between cliffs.

“Did I bring the car for no reason?”

“Who knows!”

While we were setting up a base camp at the entrance of the deep zone, we decided to check one predicted area at a time with Enrique.

She said she remembered the terrain to some extent from here, so it seemed only a matter of time before we found it.

“It had sharp protruding rocks and was very deep.”

“Got it, let’s call this Area A, and that one over there Area B. This is C, D, E…”

While confirming everything through the map, a low massive sound resounded from beyond the rugged valley shrouded in fog.

“What is that…?”

“Must be monsters.”

Now that I think about it, we hadn’t seen a single monster since we arrived. Something feels off.

“Should’ve brought a plane?”

“I’ll launch the hang glider!”

As the Violets busily set up camp, once again, a low heavy mechanical sound drew closer from the opposite side.

A squadron of jet bikes crossed the sky, followed by armored vehicles unveiling from the fog.

Seeing the familiar logo, the Violets tilted their heads.

“That’s the purple phoenix.”

Only one clan used that logo.

The vehicles disappeared into the fog.

“They’ve come too…”

We decided to finish our meal in haste and set out to find the research laboratory.

People swarmed to the entrance of the deep zone thirty minutes later.

“Good to see you again.”

“Surely they’re not competitors who came to raid the research laboratory?”

I muttered inwardly as I observed the relic coin investors.

 

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