Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 19

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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 19
Ever since the day I encountered the witch of the Cemetery, I’d been visiting Eve every night. The same held true even as I prepared for the Main Story.
I couldn’t find her during the day. She might as well have been hiding in some burrow. So I had no choice but to come at night.
Just like tonight.

“Hello.”
…….

Ten nights running, I’d come to find her.
By this point, even a snail would’ve lowered its guard.

“I’m here.”

But this was precisely when I realized there existed people far more stubborn than any snail.

…….

Eve glanced sideways at me, then turned away. Her gaze drifted listlessly toward the sky.
Today too, I’d walked steadily toward the center of the Cemetery, but around ten meters out, she showed signs of unease.

‘From twenty meters down to ten now.’

I wondered if in another ten days I might stand right beside her—then caught myself questioning what I was even doing.

‘So, what happens when I get close enough?’

I decided not to think too hard about it. The answer felt too hollow.
It would work out somehow or other. Whether as friends or something else.
In any case, I’d marked my presence for the night. Time to leave.

EP8 – Professor Assassination: Proxy Assassination (1)

To prepare for the Main Story drawing near in a month’s time,
my own growth remained the most essential thing.

“Hah, hah….”

I was in training now. Cardio, strength work, reflex drills, and beyond—including training to fortify muscle and bone with Mana.

“Phew….”

Especially the substantial increase in [Mana] had proven invaluable. Thanks to that, I could push myself through intensely brutal workouts in short bursts by reinforcing muscle and bone. The results spoke for themselves.
As a result:

Stats like this would pop up regularly.
When fortune smiled and I achieved understanding through exertion,

jumps like that would occur.
The body that once struggled with a single pull-up
could now manage ten with ease.
I can feel myself growing.

I’d planned to spend today, my day off, at home—to get in some solid training and rest properly. But then I received Adel’s message.

– Adel: Professor~
– Adel: Would you happen to be able to come to the Research Laboratory?
– Dante: Why?
– Adel: I think you might need to file an Incident Report.

An Incident Report? What for?
I left the house with a resigned sigh.
When I arrived at the Research Laboratory, Adel was in conversation with someone from the Academic Discipline Department.

“Ah, there you are. Good day, Professor Dante. I’m Kangkang, staff member of the department’s Academic Discipline Department.”
“Pleased to meet you.”

We shook hands.
Kangkang was a man with long, delicate features.

“I apologize for interrupting your weekend rest. There was a report filed two weeks ago regarding a missed class session.”

A missed class… Yes, that did happen.
But why dredge it up now?

“This isn’t exactly disciplinary action, you understand. It’s more like a Warning Measure, so to speak—haha.”
“Who filed the report?”
“Ah… I’m sorry, but I’m unable to disclose that information. In any case, you’ll only need to submit the Incident Report and pay a modest fine. Well then, enjoy the rest of your weekend!”

Kangkang left the Research Laboratory.
Adel crept closer, rising onto her toes to whisper in my ear.

“I think it was Joaquin Hilaban who filed it.”
“… I see.”

Joaquin. A troublesome man. I’d told him not to attend the class, and he’d apparently taken offense and filed this report out of spite.

“Did he continue attending after that?”
“He didn’t show up afterward at all, and I checked—he dropped the course.”

So he’d withdrawn from the class. A relief, as far as I was concerned.

I filled out the Incident Report right then.
There was a fine listed at the bottom. I owed 100,000 Hica.

‘Right. This is the Assassination Department.’

Assassins and money are inseparable.
Every reward and punishment is tied directly to currency.
Even trainees have to pay fines for disciplinary action.

‘I don’t have 100,000 Hica right now…’

That’s roughly ten million won. For skipping a single class, the fine was steep.
I’d have no choice but to sell the Swift Dagger I’d taken from Gray soon.
I’d never even properly used it yet.

“Oh, and one more thing. I have a gift for you.”

A gift?
Adel held out a small box.
A blue frame with golden embroidery. It looked quite luxurious.

“Who sent this?”
“I’m not sure. It came anonymously. I checked it over—no explosives or mechanisms inside.”

Efficient work.
When I opened it, there was an elixir inside.
And not just any elixir—a Rare-grade one.

* Mana Elixir (MP+37) [Rare]

Quite excellent.
An elixir is a substance refined to contain only beneficial components, formulated for human absorption.
A Rare-grade one boosts maximum MP by twenty to forty points, and thirty-seven puts this squarely in the premium tier.
Since World Forgery devours mana at a prodigious rate, this was perfectly timed.

‘This alone must be worth at least tens of thousands of Hica.’

I wanted to drink it immediately, but I decided to save it for now.

After submitting the Incident Report through Adel, I decided to go out once more while I was at it.

“Adel. Get me a Leave Pass.”
“Sure thing. Are you heading to Star-Gazing Mountain again?”
“That’s for this evening. Right now, the Zone 5 shopping district.”

And so the outing began.
We climbed into a car and departed the isolated Zone 0.
The cityscape of Hiaka Academy spread before us.
Soon after arriving at the large department store in Zone 5’s commercial district, I immediately sold off the confiscated items.

“Jackknife, rifle, dagger… all told, two hundred thirty thousand Hica.”
“You’re really lowballing us.”
“Excuse me?”

The clerk tried to pull a fast one, but as someone who’d done this before, I knew market rates cold.
I visited several shops and got fair value for each piece.

* Jackknife [Common] – 4,660 Ħ
* Lever-Action Rifle MT-15 [Magic] – 72,100 Ħ
* Swift Dagger [Rare] – 315,000 Ħ

Total: 391,760 Ħ

Sale complete.

After paying the hundred-thousand-Hica fine,
I had 291,760 Hica left.

‘Enough to buy something in the Rare grade range…’

I needed something that synergized well with World Forgery.
What would fit?

‘Say a demon appeared.’

Even if I managed to deceive their eyes and ears thoroughly,
it wouldn’t matter—not if I couldn’t actually kill them.

‘Long-range attacks lack precision. Close combat leaves me exposed.’

In that regard, there was a perfect item for the job.
A rifle.

“I haven’t been to a department store in ages either. Would it be all right if I looked around a bit?”
“Do as you like.”

After Adel bounded off like a squirrel, practically vibrating with excitement,
I too began my search, wandering through the shops for quite some time.
There were several promising firearms candidates.

＊ Silenced Shotgun DD [Rare] 215,000 Ħ
＊ Compression Revolver T-10 [Rare] 329,000 Ħ
＊ Mana Bullet Rifle Origin 005 [Magic] 135,000 Ħ

They were all fine. Every single one was fine.

‘Hmm…’

They were all equally good rifles, if I’m being honest.
Which meant, conversely, that none of them truly captured my interest.
I didn’t want to buy something anyone could purchase at any time.

‘Nothing’s jumping out at me. I’ve been through twenty gun shops across two department stores already.’

I still had some money left over.
About 350,000 Hica, give or take.
Pondering the matter, I made my way toward the antique shop.

“Welcome…”

It was the kind of place that stacked garbage high, with nothing but flies for company.
And yet. A decidedly aggressive thought surfaced.

【 Antique Dealer Boken: ‘What the hell. Thought a customer had walked in… but it’s just that guy who keeps wandering around. Looks aggressive enough to be some thug’s brat, doesn’t he?’ 】
【 Antique Dealer Boken: ‘Business is already bad enough. Damn rotten luck….’ 】

The moment the shop owner stepped in, he flooded his inner thoughts with anger.
I was about to leave in exasperation when—

‘That’s…?’

Something caught my eye.

＊ Unidentified Handgun [Unidentified, Starmark] <Purchase Price: 9,999 Ħ>

My luck was extraordinarily good.
A Starmark weapon here of all places?
But. Something felt off about the status window again, just like before.

‘It says Unidentified, so why is it showing whether it has a Starmark or not?’

Starmark meant a weapon blessed by the stars.
It was always at least Rare grade.
And even among Rare-graded items, the value started at a minimum of double.
Yet the antique dealer was selling it for a mere 9,999 Hica.

“I’ll take this one.”
“Ah, yes! Customer! Please note that unidentified items cannot be returned!”

The proprietor broke into a grin.

【 Antique Dealer Boken : ‘Look at this sucker buying it.’ 】
【 Antique Dealer Boken : ‘Phew. This gambling-obsessed fool. Keep peeling back those Unidentified pieces of equipment. Maybe a Magic grade’ll pop out.’ 】
【 Antique Dealer Boken : ‘I’m in a good mood. Thanks to this mark, I’ve cleared out ten years of inventory. Ehehehe!’ 】

The man had a truly warped character.
But I didn’t find him particularly hateful anymore.
Instead, I decided to give him a little surprise.

『 World Forgery : Form Forgery [Large Stag Beetle] 』
『 World Forgery : Form Forgery [Large Cockroach] 』

Scritch-scritch—a massive cockroach skittered across the floor.
Boing-boing—a giant stag beetle sprang through the air.

“Huh? What the—?! Get out of here, you things! What the hell—!”

Apparently he used the shop as his living quarters. He swept the insects under his bed and then released the ability.

“Gaaaah!”

After leaving the antique shop, I headed to an alchemist’s workshop and requested an Appraisal.

“Hmm, customer. I don’t think this will be a particularly good piece of equipment. The chances of you recovering your investment are quite low.”
“Never mind. Please go ahead with the appraisal.”

The cost was more than the item itself—15,000 Hica—but I didn’t regret it in the slightest.
The Appraisal magic began. Light burst forth, sweeping away the Curses that clung thickly to the rifle.

“C-customer! This is…!!”

An astonishing result unfurled.

＊ 「Radiant Star⁺₊⋆」 Liberator [Hero, Starmark]

Insane.
It was a rifle of Hero grade.

* * *

Once I designated it as my main weapon, my Overall Combat Power skyrocketed.

< Overall Combat Power : 113,023 → 131,308 (▲18,000) >

The rifle’s form was simple enough—faded metal interlocked in a lever-action configuration, the kind where you rack a large lever downward to chamber a round. Yet from the white sigil etched at its end, light emanated. A Starmark bearing the name of a star called “Radiant Star.”

It was a weapon that drew an involuntary laugh.
Hero grade from an Unidentified item? The odds were lower than one percent.
The alchemist clapped in genuine amazement.

“Wow! This is a rifle with a Starmark?”
“Is it good?”
“Is it good? This is a jackpot! This is a seriously incredible rifle!”
“So it truly is good.”
“Of course it is! You’ve struck gold today. Congratulations!”

I already knew, but I asked twice anyway.
It was fun.
What about the options?

‘The Durability is low and there are no secondary options, so it’s technically a Hero-grade weapon…but the damage output is abnormally high.’

Of course, being Hero-grade, it should deal high damage, but even accounting for that, the output was almost like a cannon’s—something felt off.
So I looked closer and found it only held two rounds.

‘Once you charge it with Mana, you get exactly two shots.’

After both rounds are fired, there’s a cooldown before you can charge again.
Simple, yet powerful—and power always carries risk.

The Starmark was equally impressive: it was a weapon blessed directly by 「Radiant Star⁺₊⋆」, a celestial body governing light.

‘It deals additional damage against demons, spirits, ghosts, undead, wraiths, and dark magic.’

In other words, it functioned much like a Holy attribute.

‘…This is worth at least 7,500,000 Hica.

In real-world terms, that’s a 750-million-won piece minimum.
My luck was absurdly good.

On impulse, I decided to test-fire it once at the weapon range on the first floor of the mall.

I aimed at a scarecrow standing before an earthen berm.
I pulled the trigger.

Boom ───

A tremendous concussion erupted. The recoil shook my upper body.
The result was astounding.
A razor-sharp beam of light clawed through the air like talons, scattering as buckshot. *Whoosh-crack!* At close range it was a single point, but by the time it reached the scarecrow, it had expanded into such a wide radius of devastation that it seemed to form its own pattern. The scarecrow was obliterated.
And the Starmark’s power was unmistakable—a light so bright for an instant that it triggered photopic response in my eyes, bringing pain even at this distance.
Since even the indirect exposure to the blast hurt like this, an opponent taking the full beam would experience it like a flash-bang. I’d probably need to shut my eyes when firing in actual combat.

“Whoa! Holy—what IS that?!”
“That rifle is insane?! Is it a Starmark weapon?!”

Once the commotion died down, the weapon enthusiasts around me bounced excitedly. When they asked if they could try firing it, some looked disappointed when I refused.

“Great show today!”
“Safe travels! Bring another badass weapon next time you drop by!”

So this is what social butterfly life feels like.
It wasn’t bad.

My remaining balance was 161,761 Hica.
Since there was nothing else I needed, I decided to save it.

‘Feels good. I even saved the Elixir.’

I’d decided to consume the Elixir myself.
A high-grade Elixir that melted on the tongue the moment it made contact.
It tasted revolting.

Still, watching my Mana climb feels good.
I find myself wondering again. Who on earth gave me this gift?
That’s when the message arrived.

– Kaiser: I hope you’re pleased with it.

So it was you. The elixir.

‘This bastard.’

Remarkable.
How does he manage to pull off nothing but graceful moves?
You can’t become team leader of the Drowsy Scholar on luck alone. There’s a reason why someone lame and incompetent as him hasn’t been exposed yet, even now.
And what is that reason?

– Kaiser: I admire you.

An overwhelming social grace.

Before heading out, I deliberately changed my route to pass the antique shop. There I caught the merchant’s eye—the one still searching for bugs—and showed him the gleaming rifle.

“I bought this here earlier, and apparently it has a Starmark on it.”
“Huh?”
“But what is a Starmark anyway? Is it expensive?”
……

His expression was a sight to behold.

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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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