WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

Translator: Touch

Editor: Grass

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Chapter 52: DLC [Professor in a Heroic Fantasy] – Hotfix Ver2.3.1a (3)

< Time Remaining Until Ver.2.3.1a Patch Complete… [6 minutes] >

There wasn’t much time left.

“How do we enter [End Ocean]?” I asked Dino.

“You just go in.”

“Into the sea?”

“Yeah.”

The idea of jumping directly into the ocean gave me a strong sense of discomfort.

The water was clear, but it was so deep and dark that I couldn’t tell how far down it went.

“Why are you hesitating? Are you scared to go in~?” Dino teased.

“That’s not it.”

“It’s the ocean, but you’ll be able to hold your breath for a long time. You won’t be able to go very deep anyway, since you haven’t seen the ending yet.”

I have to hold my breath?

I thought I would be able to breathe underwater or something… What a hassle.

“Want me to help? I’ve got a good idea.”

“What is it?” I asked.

Was there some kind of trick Dino could pull off as a helper?

Just as I wondered what he would do—

“So, here’s the plan…”

Thud!

Dino tackled me with his full body.

This little motherfucker!

Splash—

Seeing the sly smirk on his face, I realized he was holding a grudge over being hit on the head continuously earlier.

But he wasn’t the only petty little punk here. I was just as petty—if not more.

Once I got out of the water, I planned to sentence him to a 200,000-meter run while bonking him on the head until his jump button shattered.

“Blub blub...!”

…Not that any of my thoughts or words were getting conveyed.

< Time Remaining Until Ver.2.3.1a Patch Complete… [5 minutes] >

After that embarrassing fall, I sank deeper into the water, as my consciousness also began to descend into the darkness.

* * *

In the darkness, all I could see were some system messages.

< ⧉ [End Ocean] access complete. >

< ⧉ [Hell Mode] players: 1 / 1 >

< ⧉ You have yet to see the game’s ending. Direct interactions are restricted. >

< ⧉ A crowd gathers at your appearance. They don’t know your name, who you are, or even what you look like, but they are thrilled by the fact that you’re here. >

It was fascinating.

I couldn’t see them because I was surrounded by darkness. They probably couldn’t see me either.

Yet, I felt a strange sensation—like I was very close to them.

I somehow knew I was among these people, right in the middle of a massive crowd.

< ⧉ 1,821 [Easy Mode] players show interest in you. >

< ⧉ 255 [Normal Mode] players show interest in you. >

The players who had reached the ending of these two difficulties were paying attention to me. Their numbers were far beyond my expectations.

But for some reason, there was no mention of [Hard Mode] players.

Then, according to the system messages, they started chatting about me.

They were clearly interested, just as Dino had mentioned before.

< ⧉ They are showing great interest in the player visiting End Ocean for the first time. >

< ⧉ Some are curious about your [Name] and [Ending Number]. >

< ⧉ Many are curious about your [Job], [Overall Combat Power], [Abilities], and [Equipment]. >

They were asking the kinds of things anyone would wonder if a strong new player suddenly showed up.

But I had no way to respond to their questions. I had no mouth or hands.

< ⧉ Many are wondering which [DLC] you have: Chairman, Professor, Cadet, Graduate Student, Faculty, or Outsider. >

A rather surprising status window popped up. Apparently, there were other types of DLCs.

There’s a DLC for [Graduate Student]?

Good lord. Whoever that player was, I offered my condolences.

To think they’d be exploited by a professor and trapped in a lab even inside a game... I thanked the heavens that wasn’t the DLC I was given.

< ⧉ Some are asking what the 2.1.5 bug in Hell Mode looked like and how you handled it! >

< ⧉ The others chime in agreement. >

The 2.1.5 bug? Wasn’t the current hotfix called Ver. 2.3.1?

Hm?

Were there certain bugs that were universal across game versions?

Still, I had no idea what bug they were talking about.

So I made a mental memo about it and decided to keep observing the flood of messages.

< ⧉ Someone argues that the bug appears later in [Normal Mode] than in [Easy Mode], and even later in [Hard Mode]. Thus, it probably hasn’t shown up in [Hell Mode] yet. >

< ⧉ Many find it exciting that a massive threat may still be lurking for you! >

< ⧉ Warnings flood in, telling you to be cautious of the person closest to you. >

“Be cautious of the person closest to you,” huh…

That seemed to be the only real hint I had for now.

< ⧉ Someone praises the arrival of a new era. >

< ⧉ Someone else is thrilled that the disgusting antics of the [Hard Mode] players might finally come to an end. >

< ⧉ Many laugh and mock. Someone says, ‘Look! Those dumb Hard Mode bastards finally shut their mouths after all their yapping about being kings!’ >

I see.

It seemed there was some kind of internal conflict within the community.

People were still people, regardless of the world. The strong would always suppress, dominate, and prey on the weak—that was a time-honored tradition among all organic lifeforms.

< ⧉ People continue to praise you, hailing the arrival of a true king. >

< ⧉ Some [Easy Mode] players even argue that Easy = Normal = Hard compared to [Hell Mode], in the grand scheme of things! >

Seeing the wave of supportive reactions, I was left dumbfounded.

Who says I’m on your side?

I, too, am part of the jungle. The law of the survival of the fittest applied to me just as much as to anyone else. 

Who knows? I might even be willing to join hands with the [Hard Mode] players and their acts of oppression, starting my reign of terror as a tyrant.

If you think about it, around 30% of the inhabitants of the Korean peninsula are North Koreans, and they’re raised to praise the dictatorship.

In other words, all Koreans live while carrying about a third of a North Korean flag in their hearts.

Thus, I could become the Kim Jong-un of [Hell Mode].

I could become… Hell Jong-un.

…As I indulged in such ridiculous and playful thoughts while watching the reactions, a new window popped up.

< ⧉ Someone asks about your [Overall Combat Power]. Would you like to answer?

[YES] / [NO] >

Oh?

It was the first time I’d been given the chance to express myself.

My Overall Combat Power, huh. Should I reveal it or not?

After some thought, I decided to go ahead.

< ⧉ You have revealed your [Overall Combat Power]. >

< ⧉ Overall Combat Power: 157,440 >

And then all hell broke loose…

In a bad way.

< ⧉ All players are in shock! >

< ⧉ The majority of [Easy Mode] players are deeply disappointed by the underwhelming combat power! >

< ⧉ Some [Normal Mode] players are confused by how low it is. >

< ⧉ Some [Easy Mode] players are again claiming that Easy = Normal = Hard = Hell! >

It was understandable.

157,000 wasn’t exactly low, but from the perspective of players who had already reached the ending, it was underwhelming.

It was like the richest man in the U.S. visiting Korea and claiming his net worth was 100 billion won—roughly $100 million.

People would definitely respond with a “...Eh?”

Sure, it was a lot of money, but coming from someone hailed as “America’s richest man,” it felt anticlimactic.

In fact, if you built your character well, even [Normal Mode] players could hit 300,000 by the time they finished the game.

And [Easy Mode] players hitting 150,000 wasn’t rare either.

I had expected this kind of reaction, and yet I still chose to reveal my combat power—because I wanted certain people to show up...

< ⧉ A [Hard Mode] player has appeared. >

There you are.

< ⧉ The [Hard Mode] player is laughing. >

< ⧉ The [Hard Mode] player mocks you. >

So there was a Hard Mode player hiding in the crowd, huh?

I didn’t know their name, gender, appearance, or anything else.

But since everyone else kept cursing them, I was curious to see what kind of person they were.

< ⧉ The [Hard Mode] player accuses you of being a lucky maggot who only managed to see the ending by pure chance. >

< ⧉ They boast that when they started Main Story 4, they had already reached 140,000. >

They had definitely built their character well.

Even if it was on [Hard Mode], achieving 140,000 at the beginning of the fourth main story was no small feat.

So, it made sense that they’d managed to complete the game without dying.

< ⧉ They sneer at the [Easy Mode] players, calling them foolish pigs and dogs, and wonder how pathetic their lives must be that they would cling to you, who just appeared, for validation. >

But their words were a bit much.

Did their mother not teach them manners? Or did they not have a mother?

Come to think of it, someone who could clear [Hard Mode] without dying probably had a few screws loose, and a fairly messed-up life.

Either they didn’t have a mother, or they had cancer.

Or perhaps they were a cancer patient without a mother.

Oh wait. That’s me.

< ⧉ An [Easy Mode] player whimpers! They despair deeply! >

< ⧉ They were actually relying on you for validation just moments ago! Their entire world is crumbling!!! >

Amid the growing number of disappointed players, someone raised a question.

< ⧉ An [Easy Mode] player who couldn’t accept reality asks for your progress. Would you like to answer?

Once again, an opportunity to express myself appeared.

I hesitated.

Should I reveal it or not?

Revealing it wouldn’t make much of a difference to me.

After all, any decent assassin knew to hide at least a portion of their true strength.

< ⧉ You have revealed your [Progress]. >

But I chose to reveal it anyway. 

I couldn’t let the [Hard Mode] players get too cocky.

< ⧉ Progress: Main Story 1 >

And then chaos erupted once more—this time in a positive way.

< ⧉ All players are astonished! >

< ⧉ Someone screams! >

< ⧉ The crowd is thrown into shock!! >

During Main Story 1, a player’s combat power was generally around 40,000 at most, even on [Hard Mode].

But I had over 157,000. So the gap was staggeringly tremendous.

< ⧉ A [Normal Mode] player demands a statement. >

< ⧉ The [Hard Mode] player falls silent. >

The loudmouthed Hard Mode player fell silent.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. And I wasn’t alone.

< ⧉ An [Easy Mode] player bursts into laughter! >

< ⧉ They are overjoyed to be able to rely on you for validation once again! >

< ⧉ They frantically search for a target to insult, then viciously mock the silent [Hard Mode] player, saying, "Yo mama—" >

Whoa, whoa. Keep that stuff to yourself—

Unfortunately, our time was cut short as I had to head back.

< [Hotfix] Ver. 2.3.1a Patch complete. >

< Transitioning to [Overworld]. >

The professors’ gazes were all fixed on one location—on Professor Dante, standing at the front of the airship, planning to slay Jinxsite alone.

They were all expecting a grand battle.

But to everyone’s utter surprise, once Dante stood before Jinxsite, the four-armed monster vanished back into the rift.

The professors were thoroughly shocked.

Professor Ludenbach of the Black Path, who had been accompanying Dante, shuddered inwardly.

Good heavens!

It was just as Dante had said!!

Jinxsite was gone! The process itself was ridiculously anticlimactic, but regardless, Jinxsite had indeed disappeared!

“…What just happened, Professor Dante?” he asked.

“The creature retreated. It seems it didn’t want to fight against me and fled.”

To think such a thing would happen!

Dante had performed well in the previous battle against the monster, or so he’d heard.

But to think he was so powerful that even such an otherworldly monster would fear him and run away!!

Professor Ludenbach, the 48-year-old man who had just had a daughter, briefly considered naming his newborn girl “Dante.”

Needless to say, it was a mere passing thought. 

But for some reason, Dante glared at the man like he was a maggot, as if he could read the thoughts in Ludenbach’s mind.

After Jinxsite’s disappearance, the situation was quickly resolved.

The department evaluated Professor Dante’s capabilities extremely highly.

They estimated that he was already on par with the chief professors, despite being only in his thirties.

Thus, they decided to keep Dante Hiakapo’s abilities hidden as much as possible. After all, an assassin should always conceal a portion of their strength.

Furthermore, they now considered Dante a future pillar of the academy. They didn’t want enemy nations or traitors to assassinate him before he could fully spread his wings.

But even so, many had witnessed the illusory wings unfurling from the falling airship a couple of days ago, allowing it to land safely on the ground.

Professors and students alike asked the same question:

Who deployed the wings?

After considering the circumstances, the department’s administration discreetly spread the word that it was Gray Habanero.

“Gray! You’re amazing!”

“I knew you were a genius, but I didn’t know you were that good!”

Gray, who had just woken up in a hospital room, blinked in confusion at the sudden praise from the Black Path cadets surrounding her.

“Me…?” she murmured.

“Yeah! We heard that you were behind those giant wings!”

“...??” She stared at them, her expression completely confused. 

A pounding headache bloomed across Gray’s head as her mind wandered in a dizzy haze.

Did I really do that?

She wasn’t sure.

Back then, she was drunk, had the flu, was exhausted, and had even overexerted herself, so her memory was quite foggy.

“You’re the best, Gray!”

Still feeling dazed, Gray asked everyone to leave, saying she wanted to rest.

Then, finding herself alone in the room, she thought to herself.

…I’m the best…?

“Truly the best!” a professor exclaimed.

Around that time, Dominic was lurking near the intensive care unit when he witnessed something utterly shocking.

“The best, my foot… Everyone knows Hiaka’s medical tech isn’t properly developed…”

“Shut up! Right now, Hiaka really is the best! Don’t you realize? They brought you back to life, Professor Gula!”

“Stop yelling… My head’s pounding.”

“It’s a miracle. A miracle, I say!”

Professor Gula had been brought to the campus hospital drenched in his own blood after being stabbed in the abdomen. His heart had stopped beating for hours.

But now, he was lying in a hospital bed, conscious, with a heartbeat.

As he glanced around the room, Gula made eye contact with Dominic.

The boy quickly hid behind a wall.

Dominic never thought his prayers would actually come true.

“Let us pray.”

Meanwhile, as the Saintess of the Palace, Rebecca knelt and prayed to the Holy Mother at every funeral ceremony, mourning the fallen cadets and professors.

But suddenly, she witnessed the miraculous revival of a couple of professors she was certain she had killed with her own hands.

It didn’t make sense.

Nothing made sense anymore.

She couldn’t understand what was happening.

Since when was Hiaka’s medical technology so advanced?

“Your Highness? It’s time to proceed to the memorial in Zone 2.”

Rebecca was the type to get easily irritated when things didn’t go her way. And lately, such occurrences have been happening more and more frequently.

“…Yes. Let us go.”

Thus ended the brief assassination war.

DLC [Professor in a Heroic Fantasy] – Hotfix Ver2.3.1a – END

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