Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 106

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 106
EP25 – Professor Assassination: Why Professor Dante? (3)

A sudden doubt seized her, and Elise decided to test it.

“Throw this ball for me, would you?”

She’d made the request to Luci, her maid.

“Sure.”
“…Why?”
“Just do it.”
“Fine, fine. Here goes!”

The location was the Academy Courtyard.
Luci tossed the ball.
Elise’s eyes followed it without thinking.

“Elise. I threw it, didn’t I?”
“Right.”

She bolted after it anyway. Running was thrilling. Catching the ball felt wonderful. Bringing it back to Luci didn’t feel wrong at all.

“Here you go.”

So she’d returned the ball to Luci, and then—

“…?”

Why did something feel off?
The sensation wasn’t the same as before.
Something—incomplete. That feeling.
Why?

“Sister. Throw it one more time.”
“Again? Fine.”
“But this time, maybe…”

Elise knitted her brow, scratching at her pink hair.
What was different? Between before and now?

“Tell me I did well. Say ‘You did so well~’ to me.”
“What??”
“Hm?”
“Why would I do that for you? Telling someone they did well after they fetched something—that’s what you do with dogs.”
“Oh, right?”

Something felt strange again. But she asked anyway—for praise.

“Seriously. Why would you ask for that… Fine, fine. Should I throw it?”
“Yes.”
“Here!”

Luci threw the ball, and Elise scampered after it, retrieved it, and came back.

“Um, well… You did good…!”
“…”
“My goodness, aren’t you obedient. Our sweet Elise…! What a good girl, what a good girl!”

Luci was somewhat confused. She wasn’t sure if this was right or wrong, but since she’d been asked to do it, she went ahead and embraced Elise, stroking even the top of her head. Rising up on the tips of her toes because of the height difference.

‘Hmm……’

But as Elise considered it, she found it was still just… well, that.
It felt good, certainly.
I mean, being held and petted like this—it felt like being treasured, which was quite pleasant, wasn’t it?
Yet somehow… there wasn’t that peculiar sensation of fireworks going pop-pop inside a corner of her heart, the urge to squirm free and beg for more. That feeling wasn’t there.

‘Why is Professor Dante different…?’

This was the difference between a ‘One Who Becomes Master’ and those who were not—something the descendants of the beastfolk instinctively recognized—but Elise didn’t know that much yet, and lunch that day was pork ribs.

“Delicious.”
“Right?”

The fact that you get bones left over after eating meat—what a brilliant invention.
What has the Empire been doing all this time?
They ought to give the Nobel Peace Prize to whoever came up with this.

* * *

Joachim Hilarban.

A Welyoung Academy alumnus.
After two failed assassination attempts on his first day of work, he’d harbored a grudge and plotted a substitute assassination.
Following that, after even the substitute assassination was foiled and he was apprehended, he received Disciplinary Action Code 9.
He’d refused classes for a while, but to avoid expulsion due to 2.9 demerit points, he’d been diligently performing community service—that much I remembered.

【 Joachim : ‘Now I can finally assassinate you.’ 】

His objective appeared to be ‘Professor Assassination.’
I’d thought things might settle down once break began, but I remained a professor in the Assassination Department.
The difference from before was that now I neither relied on luck nor allowed myself to be passively swept along.

According to the Mini Map, his position was in the tree directly behind me.
I began walking slowly forward.
Observing his movements.

【 Joachim : ‘Don’t get too close…. I might be discovered like before. That can’t happen. I have to stake everything I can on this assassination.’ 】

He was approaching this with surprising seriousness.

【 Joachim : ‘Distance, breathing, footsteps… I have to focus.’ 】
【 Joachim : ‘That man’s senses are monstrous.’ 】
【 Joachim : ‘Stay tense. Stay even more tense.’ 】

That struck me as rather odd.
What had been the reason Joachim had faced my reproach before?
He had carried out the assassination half-heartedly.
But now was different.

【 Joachim : ‘Today, I can do this.’ 】
【 Joachim : ‘Today is what I’ve been waiting for.’ 】

He seemed to have come fully prepared for something.
What could it be?
Joachim’s primary skill was Concealment, his secondary was Throwing.
If it’s Throwing, I might need to pay some attention.

『 World Forgery: Form Deception [Dante] 』

So when my body was hidden behind the tree, I used Illusion Magic to make the fake Dante move instead.
And I confirmed what was caught on Joachim’s finger.

＊ 「Reaper StarΩ」 Ripple Ring [Rare, Stigma]

I was astonished. A Stigma ring.
And of all things, a Reaper StarΩ ring.

‘……That bastard came well prepared.’

Where would he get something like this? I browse the auction houses from time to time, but this was merchandise I could never find.
His preparation was impressive. I had to admit it.
There was a reason for this.

‘Reaper StarΩ is a counter to Illusion Magic.’

The Reaper StarΩ is a star symbolizing “ending.” Therefore it carries various meanings related to “ends”—
such as the Reaper’s Scythe “Grim ReaperΩ” that Angela wielded,
or the Empire’s religion “Old WorldΩ,” which preached finding freedom by releasing one’s mind at the end of suffering.

‘And it possesses numerous stats and options that cause Entropy to spike catastrophically.’

Here, Entropy is simply put “the loss of order.”

To cause Entropy to spike catastrophically means
ink dissolved in water mixing impossibly fast.
All the heat in the world becoming uniform in an instant.
Things like that.

And the factors that cause this spiking include “vibration” and “explosion,”
and those two can instantly shatter Illusion Magic—a highly ordered but fragile mana construct.

‘In simpler terms, the StigmaΩ ripples from that ring feel like fingernails continuously scraping across the entire space.’

The moment that bastard activates the Stigma on the ring, any Illusion Magic within a certain radius will shatter.

Conclusion: Joachim obtained that rare ring to render my Illusion Magic useless.

【 Joachim: ‘I will assassinate you for certain, Professor Dante.’ 】

But something felt off.
Illusion Magic is my primary tool, true, but what’s known publicly is somewhat different, isn’t it?
Isn’t that right? Everyone mistakenly thinks I’m incredibly powerful. That I wield Magic, that I command Sword Techniques.
So what is he relying on to think he can beat me just by breaking my Illusion Magic alone?

‘Besides……’

Joachim had some bad news waiting for him.
Based on my calculations of that ring’s output,
it seemed to be around 0.650.
But to shatter my current World Forgery, even using “vibration” or “explosion,” I would need to bring at least 1.900 in Stigma.
In other words, despite the favorable matchup, the pure power gap means that ring simply won’t work against me.

‘……Well, it doesn’t matter either way. Whether it works or doesn’t. Right now, that’s not what’s important.’

I thought it was fortunate.
I needed real combat experience.

* * *

Joachim had confidence in Concealment. Particularly in the movement variant—he considered himself Welyoung Academy’s finest.
As Joachim moved from branch to branch, a single bough remained motionless.
His footsteps halted only because Dante’s own pace had slowed.

‘Now.’

The moment Dante finally stopped, the Stigma of Death God Ω flared from the ring.

―― .

A sharp, piercing sound, and the world began to ripple and waver.
It scraped mercilessly across Joachim’s cheeks and the backs of his hands.
With this, Dante’s Illusion Magic was sealed. Joachim descended from the tree with absolute certainty.

“This concludes it, Professor Dante.”

A metallic chime rang out.
Seven Lightning Eagle Shuriken paired in each hand, Joachim spoke as he let them dangle.

“You sensed my approach, it seems. But you couldn’t have anticipated my strategy.”
“…….”
“Your Illusion Magic is now completely sealed. From this moment, I begin the assassination. Do you have any final words?”
“…….”

Then Dante turned to face him.
It was the same as the first day.
That gaze looking down as though he himself were some Challenger, or perhaps a duke or a king.
But Joachim had already seen through the facade.

“If not, I’ll kill you.”

He hadn’t attacked immediately only because he was curious about any last words.
Now it no longer mattered.

Joachim hurled the shuriken like lightning.
Simultaneously, he surged forward with Footwork, tearing across the ground.

If Dante didn’t evade, the shuriken would strike; if he did, the kick would connect. Joachim never doubted this chain technique. And then,
A fist appeared.

Crack!!

His head snapped sideways. Joachim was driven backward, while Dante twisted his head to avoid the shuriken.

‘What??’

He scrambled to his feet. His mind had gone blank. What was happening? He’d said his raw power was inferior. But that movement just now…….

“Joachim Hilarban.”

Then Dante spoke.

“Is this Professor Assassination?”

Even as his mind reeled, Joachim spread his latissimus dorsi and swelled his frame as he always did. Force of habit.

“Yes. So what. What am I supposed to do about it? Yes?”

But the moment the words left his mouth, something felt wrong—and that was when he noticed Dante’s lips curling at the edges.
Had the professor just smiled?

“I see. Professor Assassination, then.”

Dante shifted his stance, bending slightly forward.

“Understood.”

The battle resumed. Joachim hurled shuriken, altering their trajectories mid-flight, infusing them with mana through threads strung between them. Small explosions bloomed. Lightning crackled through the air. Yet Professor Dante simply sidestepped everything, deflecting what he couldn’t avoid, brushing attacks aside with casual sweeps of his hands, driving his fists forward with methodical precision.
Each blow landed with terrible weight. The difference in their physical tiers was unmistakable. His face split open. His jaw wrenched sideways.

Strong? That was the problem. Of course he was strong—Joachim was getting beaten senseless. But every so often, he could have sworn he saw traces of Illusion Magic. He’d dodge left when a punch seemed to come from the right, only to find the punch vanish and another fist slam into his face from the direction he’d left open.

“H—hah… dammit… what the hell is this…?”

Shink!

Dante approached again with that same unhurried stride.
Desperation crept into Joachim’s voice.

“What is this! How is this even possible!?”

It was different from the star’s Revelation. Why? Why was Professor Dante so strong?

Smack!

“What are you talking about.”

“??”

Dante’s brow furrowed.
His question came with genuine confusion.

“How is a weak assassin supposed to challenge a senior professor?”
“That… that’s…”

Joachim’s jaw went slack.
The star had given him a Revelation, and he’d followed it to the letter. Months of effort had gone into this assassination. It couldn’t fail.

“…D-damn it! Don’t mess with me!!”

Joachim let out a cry and lunged forward, but his upper body pitched violently backward as if he’d slammed into an invisible wall.

Crack!

Professor Dante’s foot had swept across his face.
Over the course of dozens more attempts, each time he charged forward, his head snapped back, blood welled from his eye sockets, his nose burst open, teeth dislodged and fell—a pattern that repeated without mercy.

“Give up. Your assassination attempt on your professor has failed.”
“N-no! I will kill you! I will—!!”

He threw himself at Dante with the desperation of a cornered animal. In the next instant, Joachim’s head slammed into the ground.
He tried to lift his head urgently, but as it trembled, the damp earth beneath pressed against his cheek.
The professor had planted his foot directly on his skull.

“Concede defeat.”
“N-no—”

Even at this point, Joachim was gathering himself for another frantic assault.

Thump.

A blade pierced the ground before his eyes.
Joachim was so startled he couldn’t make a sound.

“Enough. That’s excessive, Joachim Hilarban.”

An adult’s stern voice cut through.
It shattered something within Joachim.

“This is the third blade you’ve drawn against me now.”

The moment those words reached his ears, Joachim began to feel an unbearable anguish rising in him. He knew what was coming next.
It was always the same.
Drop out of class.
You lack commitment, like vermin.
He would belittle him, scorn him, humiliate him—because that was simply who Professor Dante was.
That was what he had come to expect.
So when the words that followed came, Joachim’s mind went blank.

“You’ve improved considerably.”

Joachim’s eyes snapped open.
The words made no sense.
By all accounts, it should have been another pathetic failure.
Improved? Significantly?

“Your assassination carried conviction. Moreover, I benefited from your assistance and gained valuable experience, so I will refrain from any further retaliation.”

Confusion flooded through him.
Yet Joachim felt something stir—something like emotion.
Could it be…?
Had Professor Dante, in his capacity as a teacher…?
All this time, even now, had he been speaking to him this way in order to forge him into an assassin?
If that were true, hadn’t he been misunderstanding Dante all along? Maybe the professor was better than he’d thought….

“Joachim Hilarban.”
“Yes… Professor….”
“You attempted an assassination outside class hours, and while it was so poorly executed it’s questionable whether it even qualifies as an assassination, you’ve admitted to it yourself.”
“…Yes?”

Joachim blinked.
What?
The surge of emotion that had washed over him suddenly drained away.
What was that?
Something about the moment had shifted, he thought.

“You will receive 0.5 Demerit Points.”

Dante extended his palm.

“The ring will be confiscated.”

* * *

│ㅁㅇ)
│) =3

* * *

In the end, stripped of his ring, Joachim understood.
He had been a fool to let emotion touch him for even an instant.

‘He was smiling at the thought of taking my ring,’ Joachim realized.

Revulsion churned in his chest.
That contemptible Professor Dante!!

‘Arrgh!!’

But Joachim cast off despair swiftly. He knew that the moment one surrendered was the moment the human spirit froze in place.
In other words, the instant he abandoned this path, he would lose his chance to assassinate Professor Dante forever.
And years from now, when his final days approached—when he lay in bed, Marina’s hand clasped in his own, death waiting in peace and blessing—he would regret it. He would wish he had never given up on Professor Assassination. And that could never be.
It simply could not happen.

“My name is Joachim Hilarban.”

He laughed, resolute as a man should be, and made his vow.

“I will never give up.”

Joachim’s assassination continues.

Tⓧ BE CONTINUED

EP25

Professor Assassination: Why, Professor Dante?

END

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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