WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

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Chapter 9: World Forgery (2)

Dante Hiakapo thought that learning 『World Forgery』 as his first ability had been a stroke of genius.

This was due to another one of his classes, specifically "Practical Assassination."

"Chase him!"

"This way!"

It was class time, and the cadets were running like hunting hounds to kill their professor.

"Where is he?!"

"He went that way!"

They were allowed to track Professor Dante within a designated area and attempt to assassinate him for thirty minutes.

In the latter half of the class, they would receive his feedback and guidance.

This was also the class Dante Hiakapo despised the most.

He had heard from other professors that "Practical Assassination" was the most dangerous class to teach.

And they were most certainly not wrong.

"Damn it, he avoided the trap!"

"It’s fine! Just corner him a little more!"

The cadets scrambled through windows, leaped over buildings, and moved with urgency as they searched for Dante in a shut-down commercial district—now repurposed as the stage for the "Urban Assassination Training."

"There’s Professor Dante!" a cadet shouted. 

"Gideon! Now!"

"Got it!"

Fwoosh—

A cadet named Gideon hurled a single shuriken. Mid-flight, it split into fifteen, streaking through the air, likely due to a Projectile ability.

"The professor is vanishing!"

Yet, just before impact, Dante’s figure blurred. 

And moments later, he was gone. 

Thwack! Thuk thuk!

The shurikens embedded themselves into a nearby wall.

Gideon stepped on them and used them as footholds, climbing to gain height as he urgently scanned his surroundings. 

Where was Professor Dante?

"Ah! The rooftop!"

The cadets looked up, only to be left speechless.

Despite showing no signs of jumping earlier, the professor now stood at the edge of a four-story building, gazing down at them.

Bang! Bang bang bang!

Gunshots rang out. 

Dante simply tilted his head to evade them before turning away and walking toward the far end of the rooftop.

"Don't let him escape! It's an open space! He'll be visible if he tries to run!"

"After him!"

Several cadets activated their Movement abilities, scaling the walls and onto the rooftop to give chase. 

But when they reached their destination...

All they found was a rooftop covered in dust. 

"Damn it. Where did he go? It took us ten minutes just to track him down."

"Hey… bro."

"What?"

"Look at this. It’s creeping me out."

"What is?"

Following his friend’s gesture, a cadet looked down at the dusty floor.

What was supposed to be so creepy about it…?

"You idiot! That’s where Professor Dante was standing just now!"

"Yeah, so what…? Oh!"

The realization hit him. 

The spot where Dante had stood to look down at them—and the path he had taken while walking across the rooftop. 

Despite all of his movements, there wasn’t a single footprint left behind.

Startled, the cadet glanced behind him.

In stark contrast, there was a messy cluster of footprints—his own and those of his classmates clearly visible. 

"Holy… His Movement Technique is on another level."

"This is crazy. How the hell are we supposed to assassinate someone like this?"

But unsurprisingly, the Dante they had been chasing at ground level was an illusion.

The Dante they had spotted on the rooftop? It was also an illusion—albeit a different one.

Since the illusions carried no weight, they left no footprints.

And within the range of his Illusion Arts, Dante could create and erase illusions at will, making it appear as if he were teleporting.

Even if an assassin on the level of a professor were present, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Thus, to the cadets, it seemed as if Dante was using an incredibly advanced Movement Technique.

This was the nature of a Level 9 Forbidden Ability.

When it comes to raw combat skills, Dante wouldn’t stand a chance against even a single cadet.

But when it came to Illusion Arts, he stood at the very pinnacle of the continent.

He was walking on a tightrope, standing above others, just barely out of their reach. 

One mistake, and he would fall to his death. Yet, this was his only path for survival and growth.

Fweeee—!

A sharp whistle rang out, signaling the end of the exercise. 

Fifteen cadets gathered in one location.

It was time for their performance evaluation.

"First, Gideon. Your Projectile Technique will be sought after in society."

Gideon blinked in surprise.

"O-Oh, thank you…!"

"By beggars who can’t be choosers, that is."

Gideon’s jaw dropped. He stood silent, stunned by my harsh feedback.

"Utterly disappointing. Your fundamentals are a mess, yet you’re overflowing with pretentious flair."

Frustration simmered in the cadet’s chest, and he couldn’t help but speak up.

"Professor, I… I know I still have a lot to work on, but I don’t think it’s that bad."

"Oh? You don’t?" Dante asked, tilting his head.

"It might not be perfect in your eyes, but it’s still decent, isn’t it? Some people can split their projectiles into five or ten, but I’m proud to say that not many can split theirs into fifteen like me…!"

"And is that useful for assassinations?"

"…Huh? Of course it is!"

Gideon’s voice rose, his temper flaring.

"It’s definitely useful! The least I can say is that the larger the range, the more lethal it is!"

At that moment, Dante made a sweeping motion and flicked his wrist, sending a shuriken flying toward Gideon.

"Whoa!!"

Startled, Gideon kicked off the ground, leaping back just in time. 

Fortunately, the attack didn’t land on him.

Then what was that about?

His gaze snapped to where the shuriken had flown. Upon closer inspection, Gideon saw the shuriken had split into fifteen midair. And all fifteen were now frozen in place, suspended in the air where he had just been standing. 

It was as if they were hanging on invisible strings. No sway, no movement at all.

"Wow…"

A murmur of astonishment rippled through the cadets.

"The shurikens stopped!"

Even seeing it in person, they couldn’t believe it. The Projectile Technique defied comprehension.

Dante’s voice cut through their awe. 

"Evaluate this, Gideon."

Gideon swallowed hard.

"Was my attack just now lethal?"

He hesitated. His lips pressed together as he thought. 

Fifteen shuriken had flown at him, yet the attack didn’t feel lethal.

He had dodged it. In fact, he felt like he could dodge it again if he were attacked the same way. 

Doubt crept into his mind. 

One shuriken was weaker than fifteen—that much was obvious. And yet, the attack had felt avoidable. 

What was the problem?

"Your answer?"

"N-No… It was easy to dodge."

"Correct. And that was despite you facing fifteen shuriken. It was a sloppy attack."

Retrieving the fifteen projectiles, Dante continued, "The foundation of Projectile abilities lies in secrecy."

"…Secrecy?"

"A thrown projectile doesn’t need to be faster than a bullet, stronger than a cannon, or flashy as magic. Instead, it has a unique advantage.” 

"And that’s secrecy...? What does that mean exactly? Does it need to be invisible when flying to its mark?"

"There are multiple ways to achieve it. Either through an invisible trajectory, as you say. Or perhaps through an invisible throw."

"Invisible throw…?"

Gideon recalled how Dante had thrown the shuriken earlier, similar to a baseball pitcher.

Ah. 

His movements and intentions had been too obvious, making it easy to see the attack coming. 

That was when Dante’s eyes narrowed.

"All Projectile abilities ultimately evolve toward fully concealing their attacks. For example, like this."

The next moment, the cadets recoiled in shock.

A shuriken was spinning beneath Gideon’s chin, its sharp edge hovering dangerously close to his throat. 

"Wha—!?"

"When did he—?"

No one had seen him move. As he had said, the professor’s throw was invisible.

There had been no windup, no tell. 

Had Dante not stopped, the shuriken would have pierced Gideon’s throat, shattering his vertebrae in an instant.

And none of them would have realized how it had happened. 

This was unmistakably a true assassination.

Although the killer and the victim were in plain sight, none of the witnesses would have identified the culprit.

Unbelievable…

So this is why assassins specialized in Projectiles are considered the most dangerous among the Twelve Ability Types…

The cadets stood frozen, shaken by their own realizations. 

"Ah…"

Understanding dawned in Gideon’s eyes. He had been exposed to an entirely higher realm of assassination. A silent, deadly world beyond mere technique. 

For the first time in a long while, the cadets felt true awe. 

"…Today's class is over."

And with that, the productive lesson came to an end.

┃ Objective Completed: [Class]
┃ Reward: Star Shard × 1

* * *

I stepped outside after finishing class.

This marked my fourth one already. Ever since mastering 『World Forgery』, things had become more manageable. At the very least, I was no longer getting pushed around by mere children. 

And the rewards weren’t bad either.

< Star Shards in Possession: 4 >

The key to surviving Hell Mode is to collect Star Shards as quickly and abundantly as possible.

But how does one collect them?

There were four main methods.

—— 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.
————————————————

Options one and three were off the table for now, and I was already pursuing option two.

As for option four, improving my bond with the Black Dragon cadets was something I could work on over time.

But to this day, there have been a few close calls.

Today’s class was no exception.

That brat Gideon had thrown fifteen shuriken, but his accuracy was laughable. A few flew in completely random directions, and one just so happened to pierce through the window on the third floor of the abandoned building I was hiding in.

Shatter—!

The shuriken embedded itself into a pillar, three centimeters to the right of my head.

I almost passed out in fright.

Only now did I truly understand what it must have felt like to be a general of a great army, only to die from a stray arrow.

How ridiculous.

A sloppy assassination could end up fatal precisely because it was unpredictable.

In fact, the more accurate and skilled my would-be assassins were, the more predictable they were. Thus, with my newfound power, I had the means to somehow outmaneuver them if push came to shove.

Like with that guy over there. 

【 Black Dragon Division, First-Year, Kendrake: …It’s that professor. 】

He stood in the distance, puffing on a cigarette in the central park, surrounded by lackeys who were likely from the Black Path.

But as soon as he spotted me, he started striding over.

【 Moon Shadow Division, First-Year, Marina: "Where are you going, Kendrake?" 】

【 Black Dragon Division, First-Year, Kendrake: "Hold on." 】

Long crimson hair, slit eyes, a towering 2.2-meter frame—he could have been a fearsome warrior rather than an assassin had he chosen that path.

He was the most dangerous student in the Black Dragon Division. An aggressive battle maniac immune to my bravado and intimidation. 

Furthermore, he had already assassinated a professor and earned his diploma.

【 Black Dragon Division, First-Year, Kendrake: I can’t stand that professor. Tried to assassinate him before, but he just… disappeared. I can’t tell if he’s avoiding me or ignoring me. What the hell goes on in his mind? Maybe I should try talking to him instead of attacking on sight. 】

He approached and gave a slight nod.

"Hey there."

I didn’t respond. Or rather, I couldn’t.

Until now, I thought I was merely pretending to be a strongman. But that wasn’t quite true.

The instincts of Dante Hiakapo, with whom I had synced, were helping me.

Dante saw himself as an indomitable force, a respectable and powerful adult.

And I myself was physically incapable of acknowledging a disrespectful greeting.

The combination of both led me to ignore him as I continued walking. But Kendrake wasn’t one to give up easily.

"Hey, what’s with you? I just said hi."

Again, I kept my silence.

"Oi. You ignoring me? Fine. If you think you’re so high and mighty, let’s have an assassination duel."

He repeated himself, but I didn’t stop. Though I wasn’t exactly hurrying either. 

That was when Kendrake’s patience snapped.

"Oi! The hell is this? You seriously gonna ignore me like that? That’s just rude, you know?"

I finally came to a halt.

"Cadet."

I turned to face him. His face was flushed, caught between frustration and humiliation.

To most, Kendrake was a monster. Even senior professors would hesitate to face him. 

But to me? He was nothing more than a child.

"Mind your manners."

And children needed to be disciplined.

"Show proper respect when addressing a professor."

His face stiffened, and silence settled between us. 

Without another word, I turned around and resumed walking.

As I did, the text box displayed Kendrake’s thoughts.

【 Black Dragon Division, First-Year, Kendrake: The fuck? Why the hell should I take that crap? That pisses me off. I could kill him if we fought… But now, I just look stupid… 】

A hint of shame dulled his murderous intent.

"Oi. Then at least—"

"I refuse to duel."

"…What? You scared? Afraid I’ll take you down?"

I didn’t bother responding and walked away.

"…Professor!"

Only after the distance between us grew did he finally address me with the proper title.

Even so, I didn’t acknowledge him.

【 Black Dragon Division, First-Year, Kendrake: Goddamn it. He sure knows how to act cool… So I’m not even worth his time, is that it? This pisses me off… Who the fuck does he think he is? 】

I had another reason for this exchange.

Among the four methods to collect Star Shards, one was about forming bonds with the Black Dragon cadets.

And as a veteran of this game, I knew exactly how bonds worked.

For example, having a “sense of inferiority” toward me was also considered a bond.

┃ Bond Increased: Kendrake [3] (▲3)
┃ Reward: Star Shards ×3

And just as expected, the system confirmed it.

World Forgery - END

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