WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

Translator: Touch

Editor: Grass

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 40: Small Bugged Space (1)

I had to protect Hiaka Academy.

The demonkin’s objective was the extinction of humanity, so running away from their offensive was meaningless. No matter where we went, we would eventually die if we didn’t stand up for ourselves.

Thus, we had to fight back. And if Hiaka Academy fell, my means of earning Star Shards would be reduced by half.

—— Star Shard Acquisition Routes ——

1. Completing assassination and espionage missions as an affiliate of Hiaka Academy.

2. Completing academic activities as a professor, such as research, writing papers, teaching, etc.

3. Killing demons.

4. Forming bonds with the Black Dragon Division cadets.

————————————————

The game’s system was purposefully trying to bind me to Hiaka Academy, tying our fates together.

Even though I had not an ounce of patriotism toward the Kingdom of Hiaka, I would have to remain at this national academy longer than any patriot ever would.

For these reasons...

I currently find myself at a cat café with Adele.

“Aww, so cute!” she exclaimed. “Oh, they’re so cute! And soft! Oh, a calico!”

While Adele indulged in her whims, I sat in a chair a bit farther away, pretending to read a book.

Then, a gray cat appeared before me, its tail swaying enchantingly.

I ignored it at first, but it approached closer and leaned against my leg, as if demanding something.

“What?”

“…Meow.”

“Go away.”

I gently pushed it away with my leg, but the cat leapt onto my lap and burrowed under my blazer, making itself comfortable. Soon enough, I felt its body relax as it started to nap.

Geez…

Cats were always like this. So whimsical and selfish, sleeping wherever they pleased.

“By the way, Professor, why have we been coming here every day lately?” Adele asked.

“Because cats are cute.”

“That’s surprising. I never thought I’d ever hear you say something like that…”

Needless to say, I was lying. I honestly couldn’t care less about cats.

A month had passed since the day I confirmed the advancement of the main storyline.

And now, the next big story event was just around the corner...

So why was I really here?

Well, this café was located in the building for the chief professors.

For the past few days, I’d been eavesdropping on the conversations and thoughts of the chief professors inside.

In fact, I was listening—rather, reading—conversations happening on the second and third floors right now.

【 Chief Professor, Toy: “Professor! How are you so calm?!” 】

【 Chief Professor, Wilhelm: “Why are you so worked up again?” 】

Two chief professors from the White Path were arguing.

【 Chief Professor, Toy: “You have no sense of urgency! We can’t get in touch with Professor Battalion at all! Don’t you realize what that means? Those bastards must be planning to abandon Hiaka and flee to Kreutz!” 】

【 Chief Professor, Wilhelm: “Now, now! You’ve always been quick to jump to conclusions. We still don’t know anything for sure. He might be on a special mission even the upper management doesn’t know about… What did Professor Baekwa have to say about this?” 】

【 Chief Professor, Toy: “It doesn’t make sense for them to be on a secret mission! Don’t you realize that all three neutral chief professors have defected?!” 】

【 Chief Professor, Wilhelm: “Watch your tone…! So, what is it you’re trying to say? Are you saying this is treason?!” 】

【 Chief Professor, Toy: “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m saying! This is treason!!” 】

As confusion descended upon the chief professors, they argued and shouted at each other, unable to decide what to do.

So, it’s finally happening.

These rapidly changing circumstances spelled the end of peace.

The professors’ arguments would only intensify, and the internal chaos would accelerate.

Meanwhile, my textbox displayed another conversation, happening via telepathic comms.

【 Assassin Department Dean, Shaman: « So, you’re really doing this? » 】

It was Shaman Kreutz, the man with the thick neck who oversaw Zone 0 and Hiaka’s Assassin Department.

【 Assassin Department Dean, Shaman: « Professor Battalion, you’re treating this as a ‘career change,’ aren’t you? » 】

He was contacting Battalion, the neutral chief professor and a traitor to the nation.

【 « But what kind of career change involves stealing your former employer’s technology and manpower? You’re even betraying your nation. That is not a career change. That is treason. How much did Kreutz offer you? Let me guess. 5 billion for betraying Hiaka? Am I right? I know everything, you cur. » 】

The price of betrayal: 5 billion hika, equivalent to 500 billion won or approximately $500 million.

It was a massive sum, to say the least.

【 « 5 billion is nice. They won’t even tax you for it. An offer as sweet as honey. But what you’re about to do is turn an entire nation and its people against you. Will you be able to bear that weight? » 】

Knowing the dean’s surname, I could feel the weight of his words.

Shaman ‘Kreutz’…

He was a member of the Kreutz royal family, our enemy nation.

He had once betrayed the Kingdom of Kreutz long ago and joined Hiaka.

【 « When I first started mentoring you, I was fifty years old and called a traitor by everyone. Now, even at one hundred, I’m still called a traitor and separated from my family. Why do you think that is? Think about it carefully. » 】

He paused for a moment before sending one last telepathic message.

【 « This will be my final lesson to you. » 】

The dean’s monologue ended.

I let out a sigh.

Everything was still going as I expected.

…No problems yet.

The only thing that truly mattered to me was whether things were proceeding according to my knowledge of the game.

As a veteran, I knew the solutions to any in-game situation. Any crisis could be handled, as long as I had foreknowledge.

And so far, everything was going as planned.

Despite the addition of the [DLC], the main storyline appeared unchanged.

I assumed the following incidents would happen without deviation.

They were:

▷ Battalion runs away with everything he stole.

▷ Assassins from the enemy nation of Kreutz launch a surprise attack on the academy. (I’ve already prepared for that)

▶ Combat. (Assassination War)

Originally, this was supposed to be a three-minute cutscene in the game.

Hiaka would somehow defend the academy, but parts of it would still be destroyed.

That was how things were supposed to play out over the next few days—if the story followed the original path.

But then…

“Hm?”

Adele lifted her head, puzzled.

The interior of the café suddenly darkened. Something was blocking the light source—or in other words, the sun.

But that was extremely strange, since it was still midday.

“Huh? What’s that in the sky?”

“…Yeah, what is that?”

The customers exchanged confused murmurs.

And then…

Hiss!!

“Kyah!!”

The cats went into a frenzy, darting to the far corners of the room.

“W-What’s going on?!”

“Why are they acting like this?!”

Panic spread among the people.

“Hey, where are you going…?!” someone shouted as the cat they were petting bolted.

The cat on my lap jumped off as well.

“Ah!”

It crashed into a staff member carrying drinks.

Crash—!

The glasses fell and shattered on the floor. The sharp sound of breaking glass created a brief silence, bringing a fleeting calm before the storm.

Adele slowly stood and looked to the sky, along with the others.

I, too, turned to look in the same direction, holding the gray cat to prevent more trouble.

About 4,000 meters in the sky was a massive, floating black sphere.

“Professor... What is that...?”

I didn’t answer her. Or rather, I couldn’t.

What I saw was different from what everyone else was seeing.

They were looking at the thing inside the black sphere.

But I was looking at the sphere itself.

I couldn’t see what was inside it.

After all, I was the only one who could see the visual and graphical bugs of the game.

That’s…

The same as the massive black dome that covered Mount Stargaze, where Eve resided.

A Bugged Space.

* * *

“What is that?!”

“How would I know?!”

“Where did it come from?!”

Chaos erupted among the cadets. Shouts echoed through the training field, their eyes fixed on the entity above.

But then, an announcement blared across the campus:

“To all cadets and professors, please refrain from approaching or attacking the entity in the sky. We still do not have a clear understanding of its nature. I repeat. Do not engage.”

Following the broadcast, an emergency faculty meeting was convened to discuss the unidentified entity looming above Zone 0.

Each professor scrambled to theorize and explain the phenomenon through the lens of their expertise, but no one could provide a definitive answer. Even the Mage Department and Warrior Department lent their insights, but it was no use.

No one knew what it was.

After hours of fruitless debate, the Assassin Department proposed forming a reconnaissance team.

Until then, I had remained silent.

Only the senior and chief professors had been frantically voicing their opinions. This wasn’t a place for an ordinary professor like me to speak up, especially when I didn’t even know what they were seeing. My own vision was blocked by the black sphere. I couldn’t see what they were reacting to.

But the moment the reconnaissance team was mentioned, every gaze shifted toward me.

“Let’s go together, Professor Dante,” said Senior Professor Leo from the White Path.

He argued that I was the only professor who had recently faced a foreign enemy, and that my experience might prove useful.

But not everyone agreed.

“That is unacceptable,” came a sharp voice.

It was Collider, the neutral senior professor who bared his fangs every time he saw me.

“And why is that?” Leo asked, frowning.

“Professor Dante is impulsive and violent. He cannot control his emotions. He is not suited for reconnaissance or for investigating unknown entities.”

Several neutral professors nodded in agreement, murmuring their support.

Honestly, I didn’t care either way. It didn’t matter to me.

Even if I wasn’t part of the official team, I had already planned to investigate the bugged space on my own.

But then, someone else spoke up in my favor.

“No, it’s fine! I agree with Professor Leo!” said Chief Professor Baekwa, the White Path’s Branch Director.

Collider’s expression twitched.

“Chief Professor Baekwa…?”

“Yes, yes, I know. I understand. Professor Dante can be a bit peculiar,” Baekwa said, waving a hand. “But I trust he won’t do anything foolish in a situation like this. I guarantee it.”

The room fell quiet.

“I agree as well,” came another voice—this one calm and commanding.

It was Betelgeuse, the Black Path’s Branch Director.

With the support of both faction heads, Collider had no choice but to sit back down. His jaw clenched, and his eyelids twitched in frustration.

In the end, a reconnaissance team of six was formed: Leo, Viper, Collider, two chief professors, and I.

As we walked to finalize our strategy, I addressed Collider directly.

“Professor Collider,” I said coolly, “don’t cross the line.”

He scowled, as if I’d just smacked him with a brick.

“What are you talking about? I simply believed you were unnecessary for the mission, that’s all.”

He tried to play it off, but I wasn’t interested in his excuses.

“If you keep acting like a maggot during an emergency, we could all end up dead.”

“You think I don’t know that? And who do you think you are to lecture me, you damned brat…”

I almost punched him right then and there. But to my surprise, he held his tongue and stepped back.

Maybe even he recognized how serious this was.

Which meant this was something even more concerning. If even a fool like him felt scared, we were in deep trouble. 

Furthermore, Collider was also having some doubts.

The timing of this phenomenon was too suspicious. His neutral chief professors had all gone missing, and now this mysterious entity had appeared in the sky.

Was it all a mere coincidence?

He stared up at the thing inside the black sphere. A chill gripped him. And it wasn’t just him. 

Even the chief professors on our team—the top thirty Grandmaster-rated assassins in the country—were tense.

Understandably so. We were dealing with the unknown.

“Let us head to the airship hangar,” one of the chiefs said.

“Yes.”

To safely reach and explore the entity 4,000 meters above the ground, we had to board an airship that was rarely deployed in Zone 0. But emergencies made exceptions.

Once the vessel arrived, we boarded one at a time.

“We’re taking off!” someone shouted from the controls.

The winged ship lifted off and cut through the clouds. For ten tense minutes, it ascended toward the massive black sphere.

No one spoke. The silence lingered as the tension mounted.

Shrrr, skrrr—

Only the sound of Professor Leo sharpening his blade echoed in the cabin.

Soon, we reached the edge of the massive bugged space. 

As we got closer, I instinctively braced myself since it looked like we were about to crash into a solid wall of black. 

But fortunately, we phased through smoothly. Just like before, with the bugged space on Mount Stargaze.

——

⧉ Tip: [Bugged Space] detected. This area is impacted by a bug and will be patched in a future update. Further details will be provided once a schedule has been established.

A familiar game window popped up in my vision—the same one I first encountered when I touched the bugged space on Mount Stargaze. 

At last, we saw it. We were face to face with the monster inside the sphere that everyone had been seeing.

“What the hell is that…? Is that supposed to be a hand?”

“It’s even more grotesque up close…”

A massive crack split the sky like a wound, revealing a dark void behind it. But that wasn’t the worst of it. 

Three colossal arms protruded from the rift. 

Black, stone-like, veined with glowing red. 

Each hand had six fingers. 

Three arms, clawing through the gap in reality. 

That’s….

I clenched my teeth, realizing what we were dealing with. 

It was a demon.

…Jinxsite.

● One-Horned Demon, Jinxsite

The demons’ power was measured by the number of horns they bore. 

Professor Toxin, the one I had killed, had none. It was hornless.

But this one had one horn. It was still hidden in the rift, but the name and title were unmistakable.

Jinxsite was a totem demon.

It would spread its domain across the battlefield, curse the terrain with its seven arms, and debilitate enemies with devastating status effects.

Just one more horn than Toxin.

But that one horn marked an insurmountable difference in power.

Hatred surged within me at the sight of it.

But this time, I managed to contain it. Maybe because I had already experienced it once, with Toxin.

Still, a question gnawed at me.

Why is Jinxsite appearing now…?

A one-horned demon like Jinxsite wasn’t supposed to show up this early in the story. 

It should have first appeared at the beginning of 「Main Story 3」, after the player had grown strong enough to handle its presence. Not during 「Main Story 1: Treason and Collapse」. 

This was at least six months too early. But here it was, appearing way ahead of schedule.

Was that why this was a Bugged Space…?

Still, it’s fine. 

Jinxsite was a monster shaped like a head with seven arms attached. The summoning wasn’t complete until all seven emerged. 

So far, only three had made it through. 

There was still time.

“Hm? Hey!” Professor Leo suddenly shouted. “The monster is moving!!”

Indeed.

The three massive arms, each at least 20 meters long, began to shift.

Each of the six fingers twisted at unnatural angles, as if the creature were desperately trying to squeeze and crawl out through the narrow rift.

Its movements were slow. Terrifyingly slow.

The kind of slow that made your bones rattle because it indicated massive weight and size. 

…A Calamity was crawling out of the sky, right above the Assassin Department.

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