Chapter 113

At first, I pondered who the attackers of Irene were.

The Violets thought.

“Who could have done such a thing?”

We put our heads together to figure it out. Honestly, it was disappointing. We were trying to capture a prisoner, but suddenly the Scholarship Officer showed up.

“Didn’t Irene seem to know something? Or is it just me?”

“I don’t know. But according to the setting…”

Irene appears as the leader of the Helios Clan in the main story. However, there are hints that it wasn’t a smooth process. When she inherited the clan leader position, the four major clans intervened and took everything apart.

The once-great glory and fame had vanished, and the members who made up the clan were scattered in all directions. All that was left for her was nothing. There were descriptions of her struggling with debt and being cramped in a small office.

If I had to summarize Irene’s situation in one word, it would be: girl head of household.

“Everyone knows that clan is going to ruin. The important thing is why it became like that!”

I should contact Irene later. To see if she knows anything about the attackers. Also, I need to find out the status of the Scholarship Officer.

“Let’s ask the Manager. We should be able to find out the current status inside Helios.”

In this situation, there’s only one thing we can do: utilize our all-purpose manager.

Regardless of the progression of the incident, the conversation took a different direction.

“Our Violet Command Center has learned an important lesson from this battle.”

“What is it?”

“We need an aircraft too!”

The enemy’s mercenary group was powerful. But we could overpower them at our level. The hunters were strong too. But when a Violet, carrying dozens of kilograms of explosives, charged in, they could be shattered to pieces.

Stregonics are a powerful weapon, but if it weren’t a rescue mission, we could have somehow used our numerical advantage to destroy it.

However, we realized something important: the lack of an escape method.

“It would have been nice to have a helicopter.”

“If we had one, we would have taken off immediately.”

Our plan nearly succeeded. It just went awry at the last part. We ended up stalling for time waiting for the vehicle to escape.

We did steal a car on-site and fled, but even that was just a temporary solution.

Speaking of helicopters shifted the topic of conversation. The importance of height in reconnaissance and attacks came into the limelight.

“That damned suicide drone!”

The last attack came from a suicide drone, but we dispersed quickly, so the damage wasn’t severe. However, the pressure of the word bombing is significant. Nobody likes to be beaten up unilaterally.

Violet 493 raised her opinion.

“Let’s buy drones! We can use them for scouting and to drop bombs!”

Violet 5 objected.

“No! We can’t use drones in the dungeon. Did you forget that we can’t control them wirelessly?”

“But there are wired drones that can be controlled with a line? Look closely!”

Violet 493 took out her smartphone and showed it. Everyone’s gaze focused on it.

“Oh, that’s real? Then let’s buy one.”

“Okay. But this one is too small.”

111 chimed in.

“Wait a minute, let’s table the drone idea for now. What are we going to do about our escape method? I don’t get why the drone topic suddenly came up. Are we gonna escape hanging onto a drone?”

“That’s it!”

“What do you mean that’s it? What the heck are you talking about?”

Violet 49 suddenly pointed at the ceiling.

“We can fly in the sky!”

“Are you talking about flying magic or artifacts? We don’t know how to use those! Artifacts are out of the question.”

“You idiots, I mean an airplane!”

Violet 49 continued.

“You saw it too. The Scholarship Officer travels by airplane! Wouldn’t it be great if we had a means like that? We could do reconnaissance, attack, and bombard.”

There had already been a demand for airplanes for a while. I had brought it up to the manager a few times since there were dungeons where we could effectively use an aircraft depending on the internal terrain.

“Are you talking about fighter jets?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

In fact, after meeting Armas, I had attempted to buy a fighter jet. I wasn’t aiming for a jet fighter; even a propeller fighter used in World War II would suffice.

However, there was a problem.

– Boss, I won’t ask about your intentions. But I do have one question.

– What is it?

– Do you have a license for flying planes or helicopters?

Caught off guard by the unexpected inquiry, we froze.

Later, I found out that operating an airplane required more than one or two things. It cost a ton of money. Even the Violets, who continued to generate funds through delivery and dungeon grinding, found it hard to manage.

“I’ve been looking into it, but airplanes and helicopters are too expensive! Look at this. Just the fuel cost isn’t a joke!”

Airplanes were very delicate entities. Unlike Violets, who could multiply with just a bit of neglect, they required a lot of care. Moreover, an airfield was necessary. Helicopters were somewhat freer in that respect, but still pricey.

There was a new approach as well.

“Oh! Guys, here’s something good!”

“It’s a jetpack!”

“Jet bike!”

We opened our eyes wide in astonishment. Sci-fi-like objects stood before us. The technology of the academy city was certainly top-notch!

“Wow, we found what we were looking for here!”

“But it’s too expensive!”

However, after seeing the price tag, we became glum. While it met our desired conditions, each of them was priced at the level of an aircraft. Apparently, they used materials discovered in dungeons.

“They say they only sell it to clans? We can’t buy it.”

“Should we ask the manager?”

“You know it gets more expensive with smuggling, right?”

The costs of purchasing weapons and making bombs were already substantial, so this was out of the question in our current situation.

“It’s merely something we hope we can have. It’s not urgent. This is a luxury.”

“If there’s ever another escape plan or rescue operation, we can be more systematic about it. We won’t necessarily need a helicopter.”

As opposing opinions gradually increased, the idea of getting an aircraft faded like snow in spring.

Just as the Violet meeting was about to return to serious discussion, a new idea flew in from the Explosives Workshop.

“Hey, everyone! We don’t need an airplane. We can fly in the sky!”

“What does that mean?”

We shifted our sight toward the workshop. We were amazed. Who knew such a clever way existed!

“V-1! Prepare for launch!”

*

The Violet Explosives Workshop originally focused on making bombs. The abandoned warehouse in the desolate construction site left from the canceled development provided ample space for work. Since there were no nearby houses, even minor explosions could be overlooked.

Various homemade bombs, smoke bombs, and incendiary grenades we usually used were made here.

However, the workshop aimed to reach a new realm. That being the realm of the sky.

Before our eyes lay a large, elongated object bigger than a Violet. This crude object, named Violet-1, was a rocket.

“Is this the item in development?”

“It’s a prototype!”

The Violet in charge of the workshop smiled proudly. This rocket, made of steel pipes, sugar, and fertilizer, was developed to compensate for the Violets’ lack of magical ability.

Though its power had never been tested, considering the weight of its warhead, it was estimated to be similar in level to a Violet’s self-destruction.

“I can’t even count how many have died for this day!”

“It won’t explode anymore.”

Thus, the developed V-1 rocket was originally created for destruction and violence. Like rocket weapons throughout Earth’s history.

However, rockets developed to kill people also contributed to sending humans to the moon and launching satellites into space, enriching humanity’s life.

Therefore, the Violets’ invention should also be able to extend beyond destruction into a new realm of creation!

“Prepare for launch!”

The rocket, positioned amidst the wasteland, had Violet 34 tied to it. The warhead in front was removed. According to our calculations, the rocket should be able to fly with a Violet onboard.

The majority of the workshop’s Violets hid in the dug pits they had prepared. 512 ran over and ignited the rocket.

“Launch!”

The rocket spewed flames and soared into the sky.

“Wow! It’s flying!”

The strong wind hitting our faces was exhilarating. 34 shouted in delight. We shared her sensations and felt the thrill of flight.

“I’m flying!”

– Bang!

Then, the rocket exploded in mid-air. 34 met her end. Debris fell to the ground.

“Yikes!”

“Uh? It failed.”

“Oh…”

The Violets in the workshop felt gloomy.

“V-1 prototype. Failure…”

“Nooooo…”

Though the prototype rocket weapon failed magnificently, the Violets did not collapse under failure. The workshop received a higher budget and more personnel.

“Carrying a person up into the sky was a long shot, but did you see the thrust?”

“If we use that for attacks…!”

While the workshop’s Violets worked hard to complete the V-1 rocket, discussions about acquiring flight abilities for the Violet Squad heated up again.

The reason was simple. The sensation of flying felt amazing through 34.

However, the rocket was excessively unstable. And there was no way to control it.

The Violets wracked their brains.

“Guys. Here’s something good!”

Amidst the arguments of the glider faction, catapult faction, and hot air balloon faction, Violet 46, who was rummaging through the internet, found an interesting store.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of this! It’s so simple! And the price is cheap!”

“If we have this…!”

The Violets slapped their knees. Who would have thought of such a method?

Flying in the sky was more affordable and reasonable than expected.

“They say if we order today, it’ll arrive tomorrow!”

“Order it right now! We’ll start practicing right away tomorrow!”

The next afternoon, several large boxes appeared in front of the Violets’ home.

The Violets smiled brightly as they opened the boxes.

Parts for wingsuits and powered hang gliders revealed themselves.