Chapter 135

A few hours later, we arrived back in reality beyond the gate after much hardship.

“Look! Our kids!”

“Oh God…!”

The armored snowmobiles arrived, and the students emerged with our assistance. The waiting parents rushed towards us, screaming.

“Uh, Mom!”

“For the next month, your allowance is confiscated! Still… I’m glad you made it back… sniff…”

While the parents and children shared their reunion, that Alex guy was getting lectured by the client.

“Hey, you stupid brat! What? The Holy Grail? Are you out of your mind?!”

As the father, who had almost lost his child, vented his frustration, the foolish boy pulled out the Holy Grail I had given him and defended himself.

“But, Dad! Look! It’s the Holy Grail! I found it! Can’t you see?”

“What…? Let me see that.”

Waverly’s face, flushed with anger, turned towards the golden cup that Alex was holding. Eventually, he carefully lifted the golden cup and examined it.

“Tsk tsk, you’re really in for it now.”

The next moment, Waverly shouted in anger.

“What? The Holy Grail? Alex, you idiot! Did you go to that dangerous place for this junk?!”

“But this is definitely a legendary artifact that enhances power…?!”

“Legendary artifact? This is just a common relic! Miss, do you have anything else to drink? Anything but water.”

In response to the client’s request, I handed over a can of cola. Waverly immediately poured the cola into the cup.

Moments later, the cola turned into clear water. Alex shouted in surprise.

“See! It is! Dad, it’s definitely the Holy Grail…!”

“Kid, wake up! All it does is purify water!”

Not believing his own parents, Alex gulped down the water in the cup. Nothing happened.

“Oh no… This can’t be…!”

“Oh, my son… What made you jump into that dangerous place…?!”

We snickered as we watched the foolish boy getting scolded by his father.

So this was the reality of that artifact.

[A Golden Cup Containing Pure Heart ☆]

In simpler terms, that cup is just a mini water purifier. And there are plenty of magical devices or technologies out there with better effects than that. Like LifeStraw or portable water filters.

In fact, a wizard should be able to use water purification magic as a basic skill! So that kid wasted his effort.

“Ugh… Uwaaah!”

Alex’s face twisted as he grasped the reality. Was the shock of realizing all his struggles had been in vain too much for him?

Waverly stopped scolding his immature son and embraced him.

“Oh dear, you foolish boy…”

After the reunion, the children were taken into the ambulance, Gardi. They were just a bit hungry and had some bruises, so I briefly discussed the contract matters with Waverly.

“Thank you. I’ll transfer the money right away. And…”

“…?”

“If you have any artifacts you want to find or business matters, contact us. I’ll provide personal assistance. How about that?”

I accepted the business card without hesitation.

Oh, this might come in handy later.

After two days of travel, the team was worn out. While the friends took a break during these two days, the Violets checked the current situation.

First, they discussed the new weapons they would try out.

“How’s the rocket development going?”

“The V-1 Rocket is in mass production, and we’re currently researching the V-2!”

Now the Violets had moved their factory to the uninhabited islands outside the academy city.

It was quicker to conduct test firings or complicated tasks on an uninhabited island. The power of object transmission and inventory helped in mass-producing the priest rockets.

“Rockets..! Ballistic missiles!”

“I feel like we’ve got a northern territory now!”

First, the V-1 rocket; it was made by filling a pipe with a propellant based on sugar and a warhead. It has a range of over several kilometers but has a downside of lower accuracy.

“Not very powerful!”

“I bet our self-destruction would be more effective.”

Accuracy may not surpass the Violet guidance system, but the power was disappointing.

The weight of explosives carried by the Violet airbomb is more than three or four times the weight of a Violet. They boast at least triple-digit weights, so comparisons are not even close.

“Wait. We can use it on the ground, right? It’s more versatile than bomb-wingsuit.”

Violet Hana emphasized various utilities. Thinking about it, rockets can be launched from a launch platform or from vehicles.

After discussing the necessity of rockets, we also pondered over new self-destruction methods. We needed a tactic that could be used more easily and conveniently than an airplane.

“Let’s load bombs on cars. Or motorcycles!”

“That sounds great!”

Vehicle bombs could be used as ground-specialized ballistic missiles. There were limitations due to the terrain, but the payload capacity was much higher. Theoretically, we could load bombs in the ton range and charge in.

Moreover, we continued discussing and brainstorming combat methods.

Currently, the total number of Violet entities was 712.

Now that our numbers had increased, we needed to gradually move away from existing methods. As time goes on, we plan to scale up to battalion, regiment, and division levels. It would be beneficial to break away from the existing operational format of small units.

Fortunately, the Violet squads are relatively free in communication and supply. There’s no need to form separate communication or supply units, so everyone is part of the combat units.

The problem is, we’ve never handled this many at once. There were issues of space and magical power too.

At midnight, when everyone was asleep, the Violets gathered in the network.

The vast network space buzzed with Violets.

“Alright! Let’s create a simulation!”

“Come on! Move it!”

The 712 Violets began the simulation within the Violet Network.

The Violet Network could transform its interior like a lucid dream based on need, so I thought it would be good to use it for military training once.

“Done! It’s ready!”

The cozy background of the network transformed into a wide plain.

To the left was a forest, and to the right were a small rural village and fields. Throughout the fields lay tents, broken farmhouses, and burning cars.

“What should we do about the level of the enemies?”

“Let’s make them tough ones!”

The Violets started using their imagination to create enemies.

Imaginary foes swarmed the cityscape.

The level of the enemies was a combination of those we had fought before. There were Awakened Ones and Non-Awakened as well.

They looked like shabby mannequins, but they knew how to fight and dealt damage.

Once the background setup was finished, the Violet Command Center began to move.

“From the Command Center! We are commencing operations! The goal is to annihilate the enemies!”

“Wooaaah! Charge! Charge!”

As the order was given, more than three companies of Violets scattered in all directions and began to advance.

“Flight squadron, sortie!”

While Violets roamed the fields and forests, 15 powered hang gliders circled the sky, searching for enemies. One Violet flying through the forest spotted something strange.

“Enemy detected! Huh? What is that?”

-KABOOM!

“Yikes! It’s a missile!”

“Emergency! Emergency! We’ve been shot down!”

The Violets rushed toward the location of the enemies. Inside a makeshift shelter covered in grass and branches stood an enemy doll armed with anti-air missiles.

“Revenge!”

The dolls fell as they were shot in the chest. Not only that, 471 dashed forward and beheaded one. In that instant, alarms rang out from all directions.

“Enemies! They’re coming!”

The shabby-looking dolls charged at us with guns and blades. The Violets dispersed and engaged in combat.

-RA-ta-ta-ta!

“Fire! Fire!”

“Yikes! I’m hit!”

The first casualty among the Violets occurred. They looked silly, but the imagination of the Violets within the network drastically increased the combat power of the mannequins. Their speed was fast enough to dodge bullets, and their strength was formidable!

“They’re coming! 1st Company, counterattack! 2nd Company, move into the forest! 3rd Company, head for the farm!”

The dolls surged in and exchanged fire with the Violets. Meanwhile, a squad of Awakened Dolls maneuvered around the forest and confronted the 2nd Company.

“Where’s the machine gun! Where’s the machine gun!”

“Prepare for melee combat! No! Uwaah!”

In an instant, the heads of the Violets were smashed by the charging squad of Awakened Dolls.

The fallen Violets disappeared with sparkling flashes.

In a corner of the network, a prisoner camp labeled “Labor is the only freedom” reappeared with the dead Violets.

“We died too quickly!”

“How could we lose to mere imagination…”

The battle intensified. Gunfire exchanged everywhere, and magical beams and lightning ignited the fields.

The 1st Company of Violets hurriedly dug trenches to hold their position while the 2nd Company was torn apart or cut in half by the Awakened Dolls.

Though there was no pain in the network, losing was infuriating.

“My arm!”

“This won’t do. Our squad will charge! Remember us!”

-KABOOM!

One Violet squad activated their self-destruction switch. An explosion resounded. Amid the chaos of the Violets battling, a heavy rumble echoed from behind the enemies.

A VA-3 aircraft, having miraculously survived through anti-airfire, screamed out.

“Oh no! It’s a Super Medium Tank!”

No sooner had those words escaped their lips than the VA-3 was shot down.

Over the hill appeared a massive hunk of metal. It was the Federal Army’s Super Medium Tank. Six gun barrels on the body and turret erupted in flames. The Violets in the trenches howled and ducked.

“Uwaah! Get down!”

“Ahh!”

The Command Center gasped at the reports coming from the front lines. A tank? This wasn’t part of the plan. This simulation was supposed to be pure infantry combat training.

“Hey! Who imagined a tank?!”

As 65 hollered out in anger, 7 scratched their head, looking sheepish.

“But! There has to be tanks on a battlefield! It’s more fun that way, right?”

“Idiot! We don’t have tanks!”

5 shook their head in dismay.

“Since it’s already here, we can’t help it. Let’s change the training content. Let’s break that tank down. All units, charge!”

The Violets rushed toward the simulated tank.

The enemy dolls intercepted the Violets, and the tank began to slowly retreat, spewing fire.

I attacked the tank with anti-tank rockets and a crossbow. A few rockets were intercepted by the machine guns on the tank turret, while the crossbow bolts containing Sword Energy bounced off the tank’s shield.

“Ah! It’s a shield!”

“Let’s self-destruct up close!”

With the help of smoke grenades, Violets outfitted with bomb vests dashed forward. It wasn’t long before the self-destructing Violets all fell into the prisoner camp.

-TA-ta-ta-ta!

The machine guns on the sides and the turret blocked the Violets’ approach.

“Uwaah!”

With a bang, Violet 214 blew up in the sky. Even the aerial-guided bombs, which were supposed to be their trump card, were intercepted by machine guns!

We had no means left to destroy the tank. Despite being created in imagination, that Super Medium Tank faithfully reproduced its real-life stats. Truly invincible!

“Ugh! I can’t stand this!”

Unable to contain the frustration, Violet 361 waved their hands in the air. Surrounding Violets tried to dissuade them, but 361 didn’t stop imagining.

“Come out!”

Immediately, a massive tank appeared right before them. It was much larger than the opposing Super Medium Tank and was plastered with cannons. On the side were rough letters reading “[Rugilinn’s Iron Fist].”

“Since this training is ruined, let’s enjoy ourselves!”

361 and the other Violets climbed onto the tank.

The Violet-made Super Medium Tank, boasting the name “Rugilinn’s Iron Fist,” moved forward slowly while emitting roars and smoke.

Seeing us, the enemy Super Medium Tank turned its turret. A projectile boosted by electromagnetic power flew at us.

The shell hit the armor with a clang before dropping uselessly.

“Fire! Fire!”

The next moment, a massive shell fired from Rugilinn’s Iron Fist pierced through the enemy Super Medium Tank. The turret of the tank soared into the sky like a rocket.

Our Super Medium Tank crushed the fleeing enemy dolls.

“We won!”

The Violets ceased training and delightedly played on the tank.

The powered hang glider squadron was also soaring through the skies aboard hypersonic fighter jets and air battleships.

“Ugh, the simulation training was… a failure!”

Regrettably, it seemed the training had to end here.

Training within a network simulation wasn’t necessarily bad, but due to the nature of the imaginary space, things had escalated in unexpected directions.

It seemed that to train properly, we would have to do it in reality. I should ask for help from my friends as well.