WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

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Chapter 13: Witch of the Cemetery (2)

3.0?

She had a potential of 3.0?

It was an incomprehensible number.

Even the strongest of the Black Dragon cadets, the group specifically designed to kill professors on Hell Mode, only had a potential value of 2.8. So, how could a number like 3.0 even exist?

Was that why this place was considered a bugged space?

Even 2.8 is high enough to be the greatest potential in the entire world… 

This girl named “Eve” wasn’t just your ordinary NPC.

There was definitely something more to her, something that might influence the entire game world.

But that wasn’t what mattered most right now.

Eventually, Eve quietly rose to her feet.

My gut feeling told me that she was losing interest in me and was about to leave. Following her didn’t seem like a good idea. She clearly disliked any form of contact, and I didn’t want to risk upsetting her by lingering too long. 

I also slowly stood up as well, remaining where I was. 

“Eve.”

Everyone thought she was either a monster or a witch. But what if I called her by name?

I was hoping it would elicit some kind of positive reaction.

Yet, there was no response—neither in person nor in the textbox.

But as she saw me move, Eve lifted her hood slightly and met my gaze.

“Could we talk for a moment?” I asked.

She didn’t respond. She simply tilted her head, then turned away without a word.

And once again, she began to walk off.

This won’t be easy.

I watched her climb back up and sit atop the large burial mound.

With nothing else to do, I made my way down the hill for now.

A potential of 3.0…

I wanted her.

I had to have her, no matter the cost.

There are over 500 million people living in this vast world. If I had to guess, there are likely only one or two individuals with her level of potential. Discovering such a gem in a remote mountain near the academy is an incredible stroke of luck.

Have I forgotten yet?

As I descended the mountainside, I kept checking my thoughts, trying to see if I had already fallen victim to the 『Curse of Oblivion』 and lost my memory of Eve.

But then, an interesting system log showed up in my vision.

< ♠ The 『Curse of Oblivion』 is taking effect. Direct memories and records regarding the person you just encountered are being erased or distorted. >

< ⧉ The 『Game System』 is resisting. >

These two message windows flashed alternately, like a tug-of-war between the curse and the game system. 

Eventually, after a little while…

< ⧉ The 『Game System』 has won! >

The battle was settled—the game system emerged victorious.

Though I was a human living in this reality, I was different from others in this world for obvious reasons. Perhaps that granted me immunity to mental curses and abnormal status effects?

As a result, I clearly remembered the girl. I could still picture her face, her eyes, her outfit, and even her name.

Now, I could start planning my next move. 

What could I do to make good use of Eve? To draw out her value?

As I left the glitched space and descended from Mt. Stargaze, my mind churned hard through various possibilities.

But then, a certain voice called out, interrupting my thoughts.

“Hey, young man!”

An old man was calling out to me.

● Mt. Stargaze Keeper, Olmount

A resident of the mountain, it seemed.

I was impressed that he had survived amidst all the ghouls.

I had taken a different route down than the one I used to climb up, hoping to grasp the terrain better. In doing so, I’d come across a secluded cabin—and the old man who appeared to be its owner.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Did you come down from the summit?”

“Yes.”

“Did you meet the Witch of the Cemetery?”

“I did. Do you happen to know something about her?”

“Ha! Many have come to hunt that witch, but you’re the first I’ve seen show up unarmed…” He chuckled before continuing. “I’m the keeper of Mt. Stargaze. If you don’t mind, can we talk for a bit?”

After a brief thought, I decided to follow him into the cabin.

The cabin was modest. A small table and chair sat to one side, and a large statue of the Holy Mother stood prominently in the corner.

“Is that how you’ve managed to avoid the ghouls?” I asked.

“That’s right! Spent my whole fortune on it! Curse those ugly little…” He grumbled under his breath before handing me a glass of water.  “Mind if I ask who you are?”

“I’m a professor at the academy.”

“Thought so! Then you’re here to subjugate the witch, I suppose?”

“I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“Well, if it’s possible, I’d like you to do it. I’ll even tell you her weakness.”

“Her weakness?” I asked, leaning forward.

The old man crossed his arms, speaking with confidence.

“You’d do well to listen carefully. First of all, that witch can’t hear anything.”

“She has a hearing problem?”

“From what I can tell, yes. She’s never reacted to any sound,” the old man said with certainty.

So that was why she hadn’t responded to my voice earlier.

“She doesn’t even react to sounds that should clearly interest her.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, there’s something that interests her. Something that she’s also weak against… She’s weak to death.”

A weakness to death? Now that was an unexpected answer.

“I may look like some shabby old mountain keeper to you,” he continued, “and heck, even those old professors and disciplinary enforcers all ignored me—but I know what I saw. That witch is weak to death. When something is dying in front of her, she doesn’t know what to do. She just panics.”

Hm…

Come to think of it, there had been no human casualties so far.

Could it be that she was actively avoiding killing anyone?

“What? Are you also doubting me?”

“…Not at all. Can you tell me more?”

“Sure thing! Funnily enough, I can’t recall her face or anything else about the witch, even though I’ve run into her about ten times. But one thing I’m certain of is her weakness. I tested it myself.”

The old man paused for a moment before recounting his story.

“When I was a boy, I used to love watching the stars.”

“How long ago was that?”

“About 70 years ago. God, I’m old!”

…The mountain keeper seemed deeply attached to Mt. Stargaze. He was spending his twilight years in harmony with the mountain until one day, an intruder appeared. 

A girl named Eve.

The mountain keeper had tried his best to drive her away.

At first, she was indifferent when he approached. But later, she would flee at the mere sight of him, making it difficult to confront her, let alone deal with her.

Then, one day, he was out hunting birds with his rifle. As he carried a dying bird down the mountain…

“The witch followed me! Do you see what I’m getting at?”

I didn’t reply, waiting for him to continue. 

“So I experimented with other animals, too. She didn’t react to healthy ones, only the dying ones! And the larger they were, the more sensitive she became. That’s also how I found out she had poor hearing. She couldn’t notice the dying animals from the noises.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“Right?! You’re one smart young man! Here’s what I think. If a human were dying in front of her, she’d freeze completely and focus on them. That’s how you can get the monster to follow you!”

The old man was getting excited, starting to come up with a real plan to capture the witch.

“You’ll need two things. A dying person and some restraints! She’ll never flee once she sees someone on death’s door. That’s when you’ll need to trap her!”

Well… I wasn’t actually here to hunt her, so I didn’t bother listening too carefully.

Now, it was time to part ways.

“Thank you for the info. Stay safe.”

“If you’re gonna do it, hurry up and get rid of that witch. Otherwise, I, Olmount, will go on one final all-out hunt at this fine age of 87!”

With those parting words, I left the cabin. 

After making my way down the mountain, I contacted Adele through my crystal ball.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re safe. I-I totally freaked out when those ghouls started chasing after me!”

“What happened to them?”

“They didn’t chase me for very long and just hid at some point.”

While driving home, I mulled it over.

Eve… She was a character who didn’t exist before the DLC, so I had no intel on her.

Still, I managed to figure out a few things.

She had a hearing impairment. She was bound by the 『Curse of Oblivion』. And she disliked death.

But the real question was: what exactly should I do with her?

Become her friend?

Kidnap and raise her?

Recruit her as a cadet?

It was already unclear how I could even get close to her. And even if we did become close… what then?

Still, there was more than enough reason to think it over.

Why? 

Because her potential was 3.0.

First, I need to slowly build rapport.

I couldn’t get too close right away. I had to keep just the right distance and gradually narrow the gap over time.

I had one advantage over others: the ability to remember her.

What I feared most was Eve leaving Mt. Stargaze or vanishing once an [Update] rolled out.

The faster I befriended her, the better.

Now that I think about it, why is Eve even at Mt. Stargaze?

She disliked death, yet lived in a cemetery. That was a contradiction. 

Worst of all, it was nearly impossible to figure out why. Her background and history were completely unknown, and communication was practically impossible.

Was there any particular reason for a being with a 3.0 potential value to exist here, of all places?

Maybe she was the reason it was labeled a bugged space?

Or was she here because of the cemetery? Was she mourning someone, perhaps?

But that wouldn’t explain why she sat on the burial mounds so sacrilegiously…

Suddenly, the old keeper’s words flashed through my mind. This place was called Mt. Stargaze.

Could it be…? Is she here to watch the stars?

⋮

The following day was Saturday.

I visited Mt. Stargaze again, and sure enough, Eve was sitting on the massive grave.

Remembering that she couldn’t hear, I circled around and approached from behind. As expected, she didn’t notice me from the sounds I made.

But before long, her head turned toward me.

She must have another means of sensing me.

Still, she could end up being easily assassinated.

We stared at each other in silence. 

I raised my hand and showed my palm as a form of greeting. She gave no real response and simply turned her head away, seemingly disinterested.

So I cautiously stepped closer, as if approaching a stray cat.

And just when I thought I’d gotten too close, Eve turned her head toward me again.

Her sharp, focused eyes appeared to convey: don’t come any closer.

Checking my minimap, I was roughly 19 meters from her, or about a meter closer than yesterday.

“Are you watching the stars?” I asked.

Needless to say, there was no response, just a small tilt of the head.

“Can you not hear?”

Still no reply.

I began to theorize that she was simply tilting her head when noticing the movement of my lips.

I pulled something out of my [Inventory].

It was a scope, a tool normally attached to rifles to assassinate faraway targets.

I had borrowed it from the assassin equipment storage room.

Naturally, it also worked wonders for stargazing.

『World Forgery: Form Forgery [Dog]』

I handed the scope to an illusory mutt.

Based on the [Variables Actions] I’d pre-programmed it with, the dog trotted over to Eve, tail wagging.

Thankfully, she didn’t avoid it. She took the scope and looked at me with a blank stare.

My interpretation of her expression was: What is this?

『World Forgery: Form Forgery [Scope]』

I created one for myself, too, and mimed looking up at the stars through it.

Mine was of horrendous quality. The lenses weren’t properly shaped, and I couldn’t see anything.

But hers was different. It would come back crystal clear.

If she put her eye to it, she’d see the gorgeous night sky, the earth’s tilted rings slicing through the celestial darkness…

“Wait. What are you doing?”

I got no answer, for obvious reasons.

“Why are you turning that? Hey, stop! Don’t take it apart.”

She tilted her head again, confused by the movement of my lips. But her fingers kept twisting the equipment.

“Don’t do that. You’ll break—”

Crack!

The scope snapped in half.

“Seriously…?”

Eve tilted her head again.

This was driving me insane.

Still… It was okay.

We just had to slowly get closer over time.

* * *

The most unpleasant memories were the ones that lingered—rotting your emotions, ruining your days.

“…Tsk.”

Joaquin clicked his tongue and clenched his jaw in anger.

He’d been staring blankly into the washroom mirror as warm water rolled down his face, lost in memories, when a distant voice drifted into his ears.

“Withdraw from my course, boy.”

“…Fucking hell.”

It felt like he was boiling with an unquenchable, fiery rage inside.

He was Joaquin of the Moon Shadow Division. Raised to wield a blade since the age of five. An assassin of the Black Path. The deathbringer of countless targets.

How dare the professor humiliate him like that?

After the incident on the first day, the rumors had spread as well.

“Joaquin, I heard you got completely wrecked in front of everyone?”

Even Kendrake, his senior of the Black Path and one of the Black Dragon cadets he respected, mocked him and got under his skin.

“What a joke. I thought your stealth would at least be usable…”

In reality, Kendrake simply wanted to figure out the professor’s weakness and understood that manipulating Joaquin and insulting his pride would accomplish that for him.

And Kendrake was absolutely right.

Shatter!

Joaquin’s fist smashed into the mirror, shattering it into pieces.

He stormed out, breathing heavily.

“Huh? Joaquin, your hand is—”

“Oi. Go get the others.”

“Huh?”

“Gather all the kids we’ve been watching over. I’m too pissed to sit still.”

“Wait… You’re not thinking of going after the professor, are you?”

But even in his rage, Joaquin remained sharp. Only amateurs let their anger control them.

If he was going to assassinate the professor, he’d do it the smart way.

“No. Why would I? You think I need to get my own fucking hands dirty?”

Assassination was a war of intel, and there was barely any on Professor Dante.

So step one was to find his weakness. And he’d do it using someone else.

“But do you really think those lowly pests could figure anything out?”

That was a good point. The usual goons were unlikely to get far.

“I’ll throw in a Moon Shadow cadet into the fray.”

That should do the trick. Even if they couldn’t kill Dante, they would surely expose something valuable.

And hey, who knows? A stray bullet might land squarely on the professor’s forehead.

Soon enough, I’ll kill you, Professor Dante.

The thought alone made Joaquin feel so much better.

Eve: Witch of the Cemetery - END

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