Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 38

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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 38
EP12 – Who’s Better at Illusion Magic? (3)

“A fascinating proposal, indeed.”

After a brief exchange, Kaiser offered a meaningful smile.
He followed with several questions: the scale of their operation, who was behind it, whether a long-term relationship was possible, and if so, whether he could meet their leader.

“We have no singular leader directing our organization.”
“I see.”

Kaiser detected the lie, and his gaze grew colder by degrees.

‘A dozen assassins. One elite-tier assassin. Traps, bombs, and a Grand Curse on top of that……’

The infiltrators were far larger in scope than anticipated, and their preparations to assassinate Dante were far more vicious than he’d imagined.

Recently, when Kaiser had glimpsed the contents of the Assassination Report, he’d immediately recognized it as typical journalistic fabrication. But the moment he’d entertained the thought that Dante had lost some of his linguistic ability, his heart had sunk—and that sensation lingered still. Perhaps that was why.

Kaiser found himself wanting to kill the masked figure before him.

From his perspective, their assassination might not reach Dante directly, but it could still affect those around him.
The moment he thought of the Jamryong Student Corps in danger, didn’t the blood rush backward through his veins?

“I… did we perhaps misspeak about something?”

The masked figure asked nervously, sensing the ominous shift in atmosphere.
Kaiser painted on his customary dangerous smile.

“…No, not at all. You’ve made a fine proposal. We’ll prepare an equally fine response.”

Kaiser tamped down his excitement.
After all, he could simply cut them off at his end.
If he sent Elise to slaughter every last one of them, wouldn’t that solve it?
…Or so he thought, returning to Jamryong Academy.

“No.”

Suddenly, Elise refused the assassination.

“…May I ask why?”
“They want to play a fun game. Why kill them?”
“…It would fail, certainly.”
“Mm. Of course it would, right? But that makes it fun.”
“…That hardly seems like entertaining play.”
“Huh? No, it is.”

Then Elise brought both hands to her chest.

“Just thinking about it makes me shiver.”

Elise’s heart raced with the thrill of rare amusement.

“…I see.”

Kaiser fell silent, caught between resignation and bewilderment.

Of course. Even if Elise had grown close to Professor Dante, she was still a lunatic who treated assassination as playtime.

‘Ah, ah―’

And with that, Kaiser’s carefully constructed self-image shattered.

‘Dammit all…!!’

A useless puppet master behind the scenes—wasn’t that his very identity? That was all he was.
If Elise refused to move according to his will, then Kaiser himself was powerless to do anything…!
Assassination?
Don’t make him laugh.
He’d never once swung a sword, couldn’t hide to save his life, and his body couldn’t even manage a proper run—so what exactly was he supposed to accomplish…!!

‘Gaaaaah!’

Again and again, he confronted the horrible truth: he was nothing but a mouse, less than a mouse, a vermin smaller than insects, an amoeba, dust—mere atoms! And the weight of that overwhelming impotence made him tremble.
Was he really supposed to sit back and watch as those damned outsiders targeted Professor Dante…!?

‘No, no, noooo!! I won’t let him fall…!!’

He’d tried to persuade Elise through every possible means, but failed, so he resigned himself to defeat for now.

“Then I cannot accept this proposal.”
“Why?”
“I have no choice. The proposal is far too problematic regarding an assassination of the Emperor.”
“Really? Pity.”
“I’m preparing something more amusing. Come with me today.”
“Mm…okay.”

He ushered a dejected Elise back into her room and locked the door in his heart.
This was all he had.
All he could ever do was this…!

‘Sigh…why am I so helpless….’

Just as frustration exploded within him like a bomb,
an unexpected person offered him a helping hand.
It was Grey Habanero.

“Hey. Kaiser.”

Grey, perched on the windowsill, called out to him.

“What is it.”
“Among us, you’ve got the sharpest eyes, right?”
“…….”

It wasn’t true at all, yet everyone seemed to believe it.

“…Yes.”
“Right? Sure, you limp and you’re weaker than me, but your eyes are the brightest and your judgment is the best. That’s why we all follow your lead, yeah?”
“…I merely try not to betray the faith you all place in me.”
“There you go~ So let’s talk for a bit, yeah~?”

Kaiser was dragged along by Grey’s hand, limping and hobbling.
After they settled onto the living room sofa, she asked him.

“Professor Dante and I―”

Her expression turned deadly serious.

“…Who practices Illusion Magic better?”

Out of nowhere—what was this?
Kaiser, mid-thought, narrowed his eyes.
Hadn’t Grey’s manner seemed slightly off lately?
The woman who always carried a cheerful expression had grown serious of late.

Grey was a complicated person, certainly.
But stripped to essentials, she was someone who lived intoxicated by “pride in and superiority of her own Illusion Magic.”
If that same Grey was bringing up Dante…

‘Inferiority complex?’

An inferiority complex toward a professor—not even a fellow student?
Though, to be fair, most professors were outclassed by her.
Which meant this was inferiority between person and person.
Between Illusion Magic System assassin and Illusion Magic System assassin.

‘Ah!’

In that instant, lightning seemed to cut through Kaiser’s mind.
A sensation as if scattered fragments were suddenly threading together!

‘If this is handled right…’

Having gathered his thoughts, Kaiser answered.

“Professor Dante.”

Grey’s brow furrowed.

“…Seriously? More than me?”
“Yes.”
“No, wait—answer more earnestly. I might fall a little short in certain aspects, perhaps? But think about it comprehensively, the overall depth of my Illusion Magic.”
“Professor Dante.”

Grey’s canine teeth flashed forward abruptly.

“No, no—I told you not to answer like that. What’s wrong with you today? You’ve always been objective and sided with me before.”
“…”
“Kaiser. I’m giving you one last chance to answer. Think carefully. Comprehensively. Answer properly. Mm? Who practices Illusion Magic better? It’s this Grey, right? …Mm?”

Her two hands cupped her chin, forming a flower’s calyx below her jaw.

“Professor Dante.”
“Ugh!”
“…”

Grey had grown angry.

“Don’t be ridiculous. What do you know? I refuse to accept it. Elise is naturally an idiot, fair enough—but has your judgment gone crooked too?”

Kaiser held firm and responded.

“…However you press this, my assessment does not change. There is a reason.”
“What reason is that?”
“A tiger facing death is weaker than a young mouse. It means superiority carries the weight of time. I received a report from Elise on the Illusion Magic Professor Dante deployed against the intruder recently, and I understand it precisely. He fabricated an entire space of tremendous magnitude. How about you?”
“That’s not it? I can do a similar level too? I even went to watch his class to see just how skilled he is, and honestly, he is skilled…. I’ll grant that he’s clean and refined. But I can manage that degree as well, can’t I?”
“That is not the point. An assassin must prove himself through assassination. And lately, you have demonstrated nothing, have you?”
“No, this can’t be real….”

Grey furrowed her brow.

“So what would we do there? Kill someone? Take down Professor Dante with Illusion Magic? Then you’ll admit it? That I’m better than you?”

Enough. We’re almost there!

“……There’s a very strong opponent. Care to test yourself against them?”

* * *

Night had fallen. The masked figure removed his mask.

He was not a Demon Race member. He was a servant of the Demon Race, and a human—the Administrative Officer of Hiaka.
There were humans everywhere who served the Demon Race as “master.” They were those who had received a sweet proposal from the Demon Race at the very bottom of their lives, finding a new path forward. He was one of them.

“Ha ha….”

The Administrative Officer felt a thrill coursing through him. He had just closed a deal so massive he could hardly believe it himself.

“I made a deal with the Jamryong Student Corps…. With the legendary first-year cohort of the 501st Imperial Era, the finest in history….”

Every academy official, every professor, every cadet—even the “master” himself—had acknowledged that the current first-year Jamryong Student Corps was the greatest group of cadets in history. So he had been nervous.

“……But they’re just kids, after all.”

When he actually met them, they folded so easily it was almost laughable. He hadn’t even needed to pull out the money he’d prepared beforehand.

‘It’s all just hearsay. The Jamryong Student Corps, Professor Dante—all of it.’

When you peeled back the layers, there was nothing special.
Professor Dante would be assassinated, and with that, Hiaka would slowly fall into the “master’s” hands. And he would bask in that favor….
It was while entertaining such rosy visions of the future that he turned his steps toward the Closed District in Zone 0.

“…Huh? What’s that lovely smell?”

Suddenly, a rich, pleasant aroma began to waft through the air. He couldn’t place it—something like fine spirits, or incense perhaps. Whatever it was, merely breathing it in clouded the mind with a pleasant haze.
The more he inhaled, the more he wanted to breathe it in….

“Ahhh….”

His worries melted away, and his unsteady footsteps followed the scent.
It felt as though a pleasure garden had been laid out somewhere just for him.

As he walked, the world began to reveal its beauty to him.
Though it was the dead of night, with the planetary ring standing horizontal against a dark sky, the landscape was far more beautiful than he had ever seen it before.

“Mmm…. This is wonderful….”

Then a butterfly, shimmering with radiant five-colored light, fluttered past him, drawing him forward.

“Where are you going?”

Flutter, flutter. With each delicate beat of its wings, the butterfly rose and fell, its graceful form pulling him deeper into its spell.

“Come with me….”

The man felt himself returning to his childhood—to that lightness of heart, that boundless joy he’d felt watching children frolic down a sun-warmed slope. Like them, his feet grew light, and he followed the butterfly in a daze.
At the end of that path stood the Chapel.
In the Closed District, there once stood a chapel used long ago to train Sacred Assassins. It had been abandoned, but its underground chamber now served as a sanctuary for the ‘Master.’
A home of sorts.

– Tee-hee.
– Ha ha ha.

Warm, drowsy, intoxicated laughter—women’s voices—drifted from that place.
At last, the Master had thrown a festival in his honor.

Bang!

The moment the chapel doors swung open, the Administrative Officer broke into a smile. High above, he could see his comrades gazing down at him, laughing. They were waving him over, beckoning him to join them, weren’t they?

– Come here, boy.

And at that very moment, the Master extended a hand and bestowed upon him a necklace. It was something he simply could not bear to refuse—something he had to place around his neck.
Today’s champion is me.
I have done it.

– Take it.

Yes, Master.
The Administrative Officer received the necklace and placed it around his neck.

And then the world shattered.

─── .

The chapel interior was consumed by flames, burning with a ravenous hunger. The fire devoured the dusty curtains, the wooden walls, the pillars, the benches, everything across the floor.
But more shocking than that was the ceiling. Six or so figures hung suspended in the air, their necks dangling from gossamer threads.

“Gasp… hack…”
“Ugh…”

They looked as though they were being hanged. The moment the Administrative Officer grasped who the condemned were, he collapsed at the sight before him. They were the Platinum-ranked assassins he had prepared in advance.
Their bodies swayed like pendulums caught in the rising heat, and the assassins, not yet dead, thrashed their legs in agony.

“……”

Through the dark smoke, he saw the Master’s corpse.
Chopped into pieces, scattered and lifeless—black wings, a black form—lay there in the chapel’s center.
The world had become distant, unreal. The Administrative Officer’s mind went blank.
The butterfly? The beautiful light? The comrades hanging in the sky? The women? Where had they all gone…? Beneath emotions utterly trampled by distorted perception and sensation—
A woman seated in the chapel master’s chair asked:

“How does it feel?”

Only then did the Administrative Officer truly see her face. It was terribly familiar.
A female cadet with ashen hair.
Grey Habanero.
A student of the Jamryong Student Corps. Which meant… “Gasp!” Before he could answer, his feet lifted off the ground. The floor fell away. His breath caught short.
The thread he had received, thinking it a necklace, the one he had placed around his neck with his own hands—now tightened around his throat, pulling him up into the void.

“Agh… hack…”

Blood stopped flowing to his head. As the Administrative Officer clawed at the cord around his neck, tearing at his own flesh with his nails, the world gradually darkened, and his eyes began to roll back.
That was when Grey asked again:

“Now do you understand, Kaiser?”

A student with a cane limped through the doorway, moving unsteadily. He surveyed the lifeless bodies with clinical detachment.
Kaiser felt a surge of satisfaction bloom within him—that familiar sense of moving in concert with Professor Dante’s will.
And more than that.

The grotesque creature sprawled across the floor.

He’d confirmed what it was: an outsider wearing human skin—monstrously cruel, fundamentally alien, and a threat to every assassin, whether they walked the Dark Path or the Light Path.

“Let’s move out.”
“Nothing stranger than what we’ve already seen.”

Two male students in the corner turned to face them. It was Kendraik and Balmoong, who’d come to help by chance.
Grey’s instinct told her they were being overwhelmed, so she’d called on them both—and they’d answered.
If the three of them hadn’t unleashed their combined assault, one of them might not have walked away. That’s how powerful it was.

‘……So what exactly was that thing?’

He couldn’t begin to fathom it. Had Professor Dante’s opponent been something equally inhuman?

“Kaaaiser.”
“…….”
“Why are you keeping quiet? You need to answer me.”

Kaiser turned to face Grey. Everything the Administrative Officer had seen on his way here had, remarkably, been Illusion Magic. Grey had conjured that chaos, using it to cleanly assassinate both the Academy’s assassins and the intruder.
So she had every right to ask this question.

“Who’s better at Illusion Magic?”

Kaiser considered it. He’d achieved his objective, after all—now came the moment for an answer. But regrettably, his true conviction betrayed Grey’s expectations.
Who was better at Illusion Magic?

‘……In my eyes, Professor Dante’s mastery is still overwhelmingly superior.’

But Kaiser chose to think carefully.
If he said Dante was better? Wouldn’t Grey then draw her blade against the Professor to prove her own superiority? Yet an assassination attempt by Grey against Professor Dante—absolutely, under no circumstances—must never come to pass.

“I cannot help but acknowledge it. Grey.”
“What?”
“Your Illusion Magic is overwhelmingly superior to Professor Dante’s.”

Kaiser did not wish to lose a valued comrade.

“Superior…? Hmm, I suppose…?”

Grey turned her head away, pretending indifference.
Her grin was nearly splitting her face wide open.

“……So I was right after all…?”

* * *

The highest reaches of Illusion Magic were now within arm’s reach. Level 9 Illusion Magic proficiency at 89%…….
Growth would slow considerably from here on. This was the threshold to the pinnacle.
But when I finally touch that 90% threshold, my Illusion Magic will undergo a dramatic leap forward. The difference will be like the leap from walking on two feet to flying—a transcendent ascension of power.
At that point, I will surpass merely fabricating space itself. I will be able to fabricate even that which ordinary means cannot touch.
At least within the Illusion Magic System among the 12 Ability Systems, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s strongest, surpassing even Hiaka.

‘Form and phenomenon, a new realm beyond space itself…. Even I find myself wondering how far I can go.’

Time would tell.

EP12

Who Wields Illusion Magic Better?

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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