Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 29

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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 29
DLC [The Professor of Heroes]: Mid-Point Summary (2)

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Scene # 1 – The Professors
Scene # 2 – Kaiser
Scene # 3 – Eve ◀
Scene # 4 – Dante Hiakapo
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[Potential]

A word that means many things.

Those with high potential grow faster than others.
Those with high potential can grow to greater heights than others.

[1.0] is the potential of an ordinary person.
[1.5] is that of an exceptional one.
[1.8] or so, and you have the kind of potential everyone praises.
[2.0] is a prodigy—perhaps one per year in an entire cohort.
From [2.1] onward, one is regarded as the finest in their circle.
[2.3] is genius-level, the highest among professors themselves.
[2.5] is humanity’s greatest potential—granted to barely thirty individuals across the entire continent.

This classification didn’t seem fundamentally different even here in Hell Difficulty.
The professors generally carried potential ranging from [1.9] to [2.2]. And Hacon, if I’m not mistaken, would be [2.1].

Yet in this Hell Difficulty world, the concept had expanded somewhat.
It concerned the potential of those connected to “the professor’s—my—death.”
Take, for instance, Balmung of Jamryong Academy.

───
Balmung Nibelung [2.8]
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Or.
The potential of the neutral chief professor who would soon betray Kaiser.

───
Batalion Argius [2.5]
───

Certainly, the scale was higher overall.
But those two—fine, they’re tied to the main story, so of course.
Then what about this one?

───
Eve Lemont [3.0]
───

⋮

Star Meeting Mountain, within the Error Space.
Our nineteenth meeting.

Eve, nowhere to be seen during the day, appeared as night fell and settled onto a mound, gazing up at the sky.

I approached her. Eve raised her hand and waved it from side to side. She’d started doing that since our last meeting.

The gesture was awkward. A proper wave uses only one hand, doesn’t it?
Yet Eve waved with both hands, palms not even fully open, the motion stilted and uncertain.

Had she never grown up among people?
As if she’d been raised among wolves instead.

Still, when I looked up “Lemontrée”—Eve’s surname—I found it belonged to a minor baronial house in the region.
She couldn’t have been doing this from the start, so I decided to investigate later.

My true purpose was simple: turn Eve into a tool I could wield as I pleased. Harness that monstrous Potential of hers for my own ends. In other words, I’d approached her with impure intentions from the beginning.
Hardly conduct befitting a professor of assassination, was it?

Until now I’d tried to win her favor with countless offerings—a rifle sight, a bell, a puppy, perfume, a fish-cake pastry, and more. A few had shown promise. The bell, in particular, had drawn quite the reaction.

“What.”
“……?”

It was happening again. Eve looked at me, then produced a pinecone from nowhere and waved it back and forth.

“I don’t want it.”
“…….”
“I’ve suddenly lost the urge to give it to you.”
“……?”

She tilted her head, whimpering softly, and waved the pinecone again.
Absolutely not. I wasn’t going to give it to her.
I simply felt like refusing.

“May I sit beside you?”

Eve stared at me for a moment, then slowly turned her body away. As if she didn’t care either way.
It was a tremendous step forward.
And so, today, I sat beside Eve for the first time.

Once seated on the rock, the sky poured down in a single overwhelming view. She must have been gazing at vistas like this all along.

No particular thoughts came to me.
The sky was simply the sky.

“…….”

Yet why did she gaze at it with such yearning?
My best guess: she was looking at the stars.
Was Eve seeing the gods of this world?

“I’m leaving now. See you again.”

Before we parted.
Eve waved the pinecone again.

“I told you—I’m not giving it to you.”
“……?”
“Wave it as fast as you like. Still won’t happen. Save yourself the trouble.”
“…….”

Then Eve stopped tilting her head.
She went still for a moment.
Then she began to fumble for something at the waist of her tattered hooded cloak.
He pulled something out.

A sword.

“…Which size should I give you? A big one? Or something even bigger…?”

He caught himself mid-sentence, flustered.

“…?”

Eve tilted her head, then set the sword down and reached back to her waist.
She fumbled for something else and withdrew it.
A bright red object.
Remarkably, it was an Apple.

Eve extended it toward him with careful deliberation.
Her eyes flickered between him and the fruit.

“What’s this? Where’d you get an apple?”
“…….”

She still didn’t understand his words.
But clearly she wanted to give him something.
He took it without hesitation.

“Thank you.”
“…….”

It was his first time receiving anything from her.
He’d never really thought about it before—he was always the one giving—but now that he considered it, today was the first time Eve had given him something.
And that feeling was quite pleasant.
He ate it on the way back.

Crunch!

The ripe apple was delicious.

───
Scene # 1 – The Professors
Scene # 2 – Kaizer
Scene # 3 – Eve
Scene # 4 – Dante Hiacapo ◀
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On the drive back, he devoted himself to Illusionism training inside the car.

Life had been remarkably peaceful of late. He’d grown stronger. He’d survived. He was maintaining his balance quite convincingly between the black and white sides, his relationship with Eve had progressed considerably, and World Forgery’s proficiency was hovering just below 90%.

This was the fruit of his effort, and he couldn’t deny that fortune had favored him as well.

Yet perhaps because of that, he’d grown somewhat more cautious lately. No matter how he looked at it, latent threats weighed on his mind.
The main story, waiting to unfold at any moment. Student assassins, liable to strike without warning. Jamryong Academy itself, growing steadily more dangerous.
And above all else.

● Toxin

That bastard.

The moment I stepped out of the car in front of the Professor Building Residence, two eyes fixed on me from high atop the clock tower. Enemy of mankind. Demon.

Since slaying demons yields considerable Star Fragments, I find myself waiting eagerly for an appropriate stage to present itself.

If not, I’m prepared to hunt him down and kill him myself. Before he has the chance to strike at humanity—or at me.

I’m no stranger to assassination studies, after all. I met that demon’s gaze and spent a long while imagining his death.

“…Professor? Aren’t you coming in?”
“I’m coming.”

When the time is right, I’ll sever that creature’s life in some quiet, secluded place…….

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Scene # cookie – The Cat of Jamryong Academy ◀
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It was Illusionism class under Professor Collider, Senior Instructor.

“The most crucial element in Illusionism is what we call ‘optimization.’ A single human mind can only mentally calculate a finite number and scope of Phantom Bodies at once…….”

That’s when it came—a muttered “That’s not it, though….” Professor Collider squeezed his eyes shut and pretended not to hear.

“There are several types of such optimization, but what we’ll cover today is Modeling Optimization.”

『 Dreamlike Embrace 』

The professor touched a cactus with his hand and activated his power—*Crack!*—electricity sparked, and something like a mirage scattered like sand dust before reassembling in midair as a cactus. It looked identical to the real one on the lectern.
That’s when another mutter reached his ears: “Still not quite right, though….” Collider’s hands clenched into fists beneath the desk.

“…This may look like a three-dimensional plant to your eyes, but in reality, most of the space is composed of flat planes.”

To prove his point, Collider showed them the side profile of the cactus. Remarkably, it was as flat as he’d said—like two sheets of paper crossed over each other. Yet it had appeared three-dimensional. Savoring the students’ amazement, the professor continued.

“Thus, even if the form isn’t truly three-dimensional, it suffices to deceive the human eye…….”

As he went on explaining, another whisper came: “Who’d fall for that….” Unable to contain himself, Professor Collider finally snapped.

“Quiet! Grey!!”

A sharp cry rang out.
Silence fell over the lecture hall.
Drawing every gaze, one student flashed a slight smile, buck teeth showing.

“……Sorry♡”

A female student with grey hair.
Her academy uniform was cut so short it threatened to split; her body covered in tattoos. She had the bearing of a street cat.
It was Grey Habanero of Jamryong Academy.

“Hey! What’s your problem! Why are you mocking the professor during class!?”
“Oh, sorry sorry~~ I didn’t mean for you to hear~”
“Didn’t mean for me to hear? That’s bullshit! Do you think I’m some pushover? Am I a joke to you?”
“No no~~ But that cactus just looked so sloppy♡”
“What!?”
“Even with optimization, it’s way too flat. If anyone paid attention to depth cues, they’d see through it instantly~♡”

The cadets recoiled in shock. Professor Collider closed his eyes.
It was enough to turn one’s stomach — and of all people, his antagonist had to be from Jamryong Academy.
Daughter of a legendary assassin, and wasn’t it said to be a gathering of prodigies who’d already murdered several professors?

Moreover, Grey was notorious for disrupting class in every single course she attended.

“Get out of my class!”

So he’d simply decided not to engage.

“Out?”
“Out!”
“Really?”
“Really, get out! Now!”
“Sure thing~ But you’re marking me present, yeah?”
“Present, absent — I don’t care! Just go! This instant!”

Grey rose with a smile and padded toward the door with languid grace.

Like a cat prowling through sunlight.

Then, with a flick of her fingertip, she brushed the cactus from the desk and sent it tumbling.

Crash!

“Hey, you little — what in blazes do you think you’re —!!”

Professor Collider’s anger flared hot, but in the next instant the cactus was still there, untouched.

What had fallen was a Phantom Body. In that mere moment, Grey had woven Illusionism at such close range, so imperceptibly, that not even he noticed the craft.
A form even more refined than his own.

— …What in the world kind of stunt was that!?

From behind the closed door, Professor Collider’s exasperated curse echoed down the hall.

‘Mm.’

Around that time, Elise — who’d been attending the same lecture — slipped smoothly through space and emerged outside.
Grey was perched on the building’s roof, gazing out toward the distant horizon.
Elise walked over and asked her.

“Grey.”
“Yeah?”
“Why’d you do that?”
“What, just now?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? Because I can’t sit through it. If you’re going to bother with a class, you ought to actually learn something — and that professor is hopeless. Completely incompetent.”
“Is he though? He seemed decent enough.”
“Decent? Give me a break. That’s the problem with elite-trained types. Always stuck in their mold. Absolute rubbish, the lot of them.”
“Hmm.”
“Illusionists are rare and they ought to have pride in that. If you’re going to teach others, you need to develop your own philosophy, your own vision.”
“That’s demanding, I suppose…”

Elise watched Grey as she grumbled on.
Her family, the Habanero, was a legendary house of Illusionism.
So Grey’s pride in Illusionism ran deep.

“Then again, why do you even bother taking Concealment Studies? I don’t know of any professor more skilled at hiding than you are.”
“Hmm. Right.”
“Stop saying that. Are you an idiot?”
“Yes.”
“Yes… I suppose you are….”

Grey clicked her tongue with indifference. Tsk.
Her crooked teeth showed through.

“That’s enough…. You’re just a mutt who knows nothing but playing murder games—what would you understand about the pride of Illusionism? I’m going to bed.”

With that, Grey leaped from the building and vanished into the distance.

‘Hmm.’

Alone now, Elise stood in thought.
Come to think of it, Professor Dante’s “Assassination and Ability Comprehension” course—
Next week’s class would be the Illusionism unit, wouldn’t it?

‘Oh?’

Had she possessed a tail, it would have wagged side to side.
Wasn’t Professor Dante rather special?
What would his Illusionism lesson be like, truly?

‘I’m curious.’

Elise found herself intrigued.

DLC The Hero’s Professor

Midpoint Summary

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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