Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 44

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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 44
[Main Story] No.1 Rebellion and Collapse (1)

An alien monster appearing in the sky. And the Flying Ship, racing toward it.

As though watching Icarus flying toward the sun—all the cadets in Zone 0 held their breath, their hearts in their mouths, as the colossal and magnificent ship hurtled forward to meet the towering beast.

In moments of crisis, the divided become one. The cadets of Zone 0 were no exception.

The professors’ atmosphere had grown suddenly tense. Neutral instructors had begun canceling lectures left and right. And then, without warning, that unidentified colossal monster erupted overhead. Every cadet felt it—a creeping dread.

Black faction or white, it mattered not. All of them prayed that the Flying Ship would end this uncertainty.

When battle was joined, they clenched their fists.

And when it finally began to fall, everyone gasped.

“It’s falling! Dammit!”
“No, no, no…!!”

For a moment, something seemed to resist the descent. But when it gave way, a collective sigh escaped—

With barely five hundred meters between the ship and the ground, just as the faint-hearted among them squeezed their eyes shut—

Wings suddenly unfurled.

Wings of such staggering magnitude that they seemed to defy perspective itself—with a single, weighty beat, they arrested the Flying Ship’s fall.

“What!?”
“It stopped!!”

At this miracle made manifest, the cadets stood transfixed.

⋮

At that same moment, Jamyong Academy too was reeling in shock.
Balmoong, who had received the signal, gaped wide.

“What!?”
“What is it!?”
“…No, wait—the position tracker just lit up. Grey is inside that Flying Ship!”
“What!? So Grey did this!?”
“Ha! Insane…. Was he ever that strong?”

It was a display of Illusion Magic with such tremendous output that even Kwon, and Kendreike—who was notoriously stingy with praise—found themselves stunned.

“Wow…. He’s been training hard lately….”

Elise beside him gasped in astonishment.
Yet one cadet’s expression remained rigid.

None other than Kaiser.

‘…….That’s impossible.’

Apart from his face, which was always set firm by nature, Kaiser was trembling inwardly with shock.

‘This has to be Professor Dante. It has to be.’

The evidence was singular.
In Zone 0, there was no one else capable of constructing Illusion Magic at that level besides Dante.

‘This doesn’t make sense…. This really doesn’t make sense…!!’

It goes without saying that Professor Dante’s skill was extraordinary. Kaiser was growing tired of repeating it.
But now it had reached a level that even his understanding and perception could not grasp.

What was that?

Illusion Magic is, after all, merely an ability designed for shallow deception of the senses. At higher levels, one could exert a degree of interference upon the material realm, true.
Yet because that interference remained fundamentally superficial…… it was called Illusion Magic.

But then what was ‘that’?
Could one truly call it merely Illusion Magic?
Just a trick of the eye?

No. Kaiser could not convince himself of it.

‘If the interference with the material realm reaches that degree, then that would be….’

……a form of creation, would it not…?

Kaiser trembled at the thought, yet he lamented that voicing such a revelation now would be unwise and untimely.

At that moment, another’s expression had grown rigid as well.

“…….”

It was Rebecca.
She could perceive magical power.

And thus she was certain: this was not Grey’s magical power.
Rebecca’s perception resembled that of watching the particles of flowing fluid.
When Illusion Magic unfolded, she could see the process of magical particles spreading before her eyes—the very pathways traced in real time.

It was as though Rebecca were one of those rare souls who could see circuit diagrams when looking at computers, or recipes when observing bread. She herself did not fully understand how it was possible, and yet it was.
From that perspective……. The magical particles sustaining those distant Wings supporting the Flying Ship were—

refined to an astonishing degree.

‘……But some of it is not.’

And so Rebecca reached a conclusion.
Over Grey’s Illusion Magic, another presence’s Illusion Magic had been layered.

“Laim.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Go and identify everyone aboard the Flying Ship.”

Her usual composure had fractured enough for her manner to become urgent—such masterly command of magical power demanded investigation. She had to know who was behind this.

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Meanwhile, Rebecca’s Crystal Orb rang.
Her eyes narrowed.
The operation had been scheduled to begin three days hence…….

— Chingru: Batalion’s Rebellion has begun.

A weary red gaze settles on the monster beyond the window.
So it’s been accelerated because of that thing?
At present, there wasn’t much Rebecca could do—but that didn’t mean she could do nothing at all.

“Elise.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”

As they walked, Elise asked a question.

“Is it a mission?”

Rebecca nodded.

“It is. Let’s go kill a few more of the neutral professors.”

* * *

“Already? I thought it was supposed to be in three days?”

The location was the outskirts of Hiaka Academy. The chief professor of magic nodded in response to the question, and Batalion gave a small nod in return.

“We were planning to push it back three days because the cold snap was starting. But I think now is better.”
“Because you don’t know how long that creature’s hand will hover there?”
“Exactly. So prepare yourselves.”
“Understood.”

Today.
Right now.
The Rebellion—something that had been planned in secret for the past ten years—begins.
In total, six chief professors comprising a warrior, a mage, and an assassin, along with thirty-nine senior professors, will abandon Hiaka Academy and depart for the hostile Croitz Academy.
This would be like pulling out one of the largest pillars supporting a royal martial academy—institutions of which each nation possessed only one.

Croitz’s assassins would strike at the critical magical facilities, exploiting the gap left by the loss of military strength.
This rebellion would have a profound impact on the delicate balance of power between nations.

“…Well, if you’d felt wronged, they should’ve paid you better.”

At Batalion’s murmur, the mage let out a bitter laugh.

“That’s rich, coming from you. You already got better treatment than the other chief professors.”
“They should’ve given me even more. How many years have I given to Hiaka, you bastards?”
“That’s true enough. I feel the same way.”

Batalion bared his fangs in a smile.

“This is all the fault of the royal court and the academy, trying to pinch pennies.”

Even as he spoke, a truly eighth-tier spatial translocation spell—the Mirage Gate—was beginning to take shape.
Yet there was something that bothered him slightly.

“…That’s something I don’t like the look of.”
“That? Ah.”

Far off, the landed Flying Ship came into view.
Its wings were still attached.

“…Yeah. Who did that? Whoever it was must be chief professor level, at least.”
“You’re not a mage?”
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you see how fast those wings deployed? That’s Assassination-school Illusion Magic. We could conjure something bigger, but never that quickly.”
…….
“Besides, Hiaka’s pool of illusion mages is shallow and narrow—there’s no one with that level of skill. They all died in the Habanero Incident.”
“I heard there was one before?”
“Well, there is one.”
“Who?”
“Ah. So you don’t know yet, hearing it secondhand like that?”

The chief professor of magic tapped her cloud-like hair and laughed.

“Me.”

Her name was Glumi, chief professor of Illusory Magic.

“And I’m the one who smuggled out all the core materials on Illusion Magic.”
…….
“Originally, Hiaka’s illusion arts should have ended here…. But that bothers me too. What is that thing?”

Batalion’s brow furrowed.
His mood soured a little more.
Those wings.
He’d naturally assumed the assassination faculty had brought a mage.

‘…So it really was an assassin…?’

Even if he’d dredged up every person he knew, none fit.

In the land he’d abandoned.
There existed a monster he didn’t know.

“Something feels off about this….”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. For some reason…. Whoever made that….”

Even if he didn’t know who.
A feeling that they would be a perpetual thorn in his side.

‘Damn it. Crushing Hiaka’s level of illusion research was supposed to be one of the goals anyway….’

At that, the mage chuckled.

“You’re becoming quite the Croitz man already.”
“…What? Ah, yes, I suppose…. I’ve become that now…….”

After all, he’d already relocated his family and those of like mind long ago, they shared a language, and though their culture and ways differed somewhat, there was nothing to regret.
Being called a turncoat was no different from being called neutral, which he’d already endured.
All that remained was a future flowing with milk and honey.

By then the magical formation was complete.
So Batalion gave the signal to those waiting beyond the Clock Tower—about a dozen senior and junior professors who remained.

“Come on, everyone. Let’s go to a new world!”
“Let us.”

『 Mirage Gate 』

And thus a desert unfurled within the Clock Tower.
As I took a step forward, the Clock Tower began to fade in the opposite direction.

This was the Croitz Kingdom.
The final piece of ‘Rebellion’ had been completed.

Next came the turn of ‘Collapse’.

* * *

When I descended to ground level, the Medical Corps and faculty assistants who had been waiting rushed over to contain the situation.

“P-Professor Dante…!”
“I’m fine. Get Grey and the Captain to the infirmary first.”
“Ah, but…! Professor, right now, your eye…!”

My eye?
So I carefully took stock of my senses, and it was true—my left eye had no vision. Blood had already drenched my cheek and jaw completely.
The eye socket must have been damaged.
The dizziness from severe Overexertion had kept me from noticing.

“It’s fine. The two of them first.”
“Y-Yes!!”

The situation was resolved quickly.

Toy had been caught by the Curse of Dominion, but the hand of dominion had been destroyed, and as he fell, the distance grew and the curse broke. He lost consciousness and was admitted to the hospital.

Collider, who had been pierced by Toy, had missed his heart and survived. However, Toy’s magical power was so monstrous that his internal organs were shattered, or so they said.

Angela, who had been wielding the Reaper’s Scythe, remained Petrified from the lower half of her body through the left half of her upper torso. If I hadn’t swapped her out, she would have died instantly.

Viper and Leo were relatively unscathed. Viper had one hand Petrified, and Leo’s ribs were broken by a stone fragment—that was all.

The Captain had severe Petrification but was not dead.

Grey too had serious Petrification in one arm, but the real problem was the combination of flu, severe intoxication, exhaustion, and Overexertion—the damage to his body was supposedly catastrophic.
And yet this fool had come outside insisting he’d survive, using Illusion Magic through all of it…

……

I remained in the hospital room, watching Grey.

Perhaps because we were both users of Illusion Magic. This was someone whose presence strangely drew me in. What could that relationship map that had suddenly appeared be? Its nature eluded me.
It had risen by as much as thirty points, yet I couldn’t tell what kind of relationship map had increased.

The 【Script】 cannot capture the deepest corners of the psyche.
After all, it is a game mechanic created for the player’s entertainment. What gets hidden and what gets revealed—that is the choice of the developer “Systematicity”.

Since matted, bloody hair hung in his mouth, I tried carefully to brush it away with my hand.
But the moment my hand touched him, Grey turned his head and dodged—even in sleep.
So I tried again to pull the hair free, and he fled once more, even flipping his entire body.

“……Like a cat.”

I pulled the blanket over him and left the room.

Thus, fortunately, there were no fatalities.
The holy mages of the Medical Corps could undo Petrification.
So I had succeeded in minimizing the damage.
Yet in the end, it was neither victory nor defeat.

High above in that sky…… Zinksite was still writhing.
Beside the single remaining ‘Petrified Arm’, another limb was crawling forth.

At that moment, I felt a small wave of despair.
The appearance rate was far faster than I’d anticipated.

‘If this is already the fourth arm, then all the remaining limbs will be summoned within a day or two.’

I’d destroyed two arms.
Five remained.
Plus the main body—that one-horned head. (Hardly any special abilities there.)

Those would complete their summoning during the progression of the main storyline.
Already stretched thin, we would have to face that creature again—stronger than before.

“…The casualties would be catastrophic.”

This game wasn’t one where you ran through levels half-naked, cutting down enemies without consequence.
It was a game where you found the optimal efficiency within a rigidly established balance—where every choice mattered.

Back when I was a cancer patient, I’d been captivated by this complex, sprawling game system.
Even during my treatment—stubbornly studying like I had in the lab—I’d researched the game obsessively.
I’d written strategy guides based on that research, formatting them like academic papers and posting them on overseas websites like Reddit, and countless foreigners had waited eagerly for my new guides to appear.
Because of this, it’s no exaggeration to say I understood the game’s subtle and intricate balance almost perfectly.

From that perspective, looking at it again:
‘Fighting Zinksite with five arms after the manpower drain from Rebellion and Collapse was, no matter how I calculated it, hopeless.’

More than half of the remaining faculty would die.
Even if I performed miracles.

“…….”

Just as I was sinking into that gravity alone,
an unexpected message appeared.

───
⧉ Hotfix Announcement Notice

Hello. This is 【Systematicity】.

Regarding the early emergence of the One-horned Demon [Zinksite], we have identified an [Error] within the world, and accordingly, we plan to proceed with a hotfix.

We apologize for the difficulty in normal gameplay caused by this [Error]. Through this hotfix, [Zinksite] will appear at the proper timing, and certain elements affected by this demon will be *adjusted*.

– Hotfix Details :

a. Review and correction of [Zinksite]’s appearance timing and related additional errors
b. *Adjustment* of certain affected elements
c. Compensation distribution

We will provide further notice once the hotfix is complete.

We apologize for the inconvenience in your gameplay experience, and we will do our utmost to provide an even smoother playing environment.

Thank you.
───

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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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