The Illusion Magic faculty was in shock.
They shouted—what did he mean, everyone failed?
They had spent 30 minutes in tense concentration, and now one assassin had eliminated every magician? Of course their pride was wounded.
One professor finally turned to me and demanded:
“What exactly was the problem!?”
What was their problem...
* * *
In truth, they had no problem.
And that was the problem.
Right after the test, I was a little startled.
‘...Why are they all so good?’
Ezekiel had told me to choose three.
But I personally wanted to select twenty-seven.
I wanted to take almost everyone in the room.
They were all meticulous, skilled, and—even amid their arrogance—truly dedicated to [Illusion]. Not a single one of them was just going through the motions out of habit.
Every single one of them was genuinely trying.
So I went to find Chief Professor Cain.
“Uhh...”
Cain scratched his head and said we should take this one... and that one... He practically listed the entire group.
This childlike head professor felt the same way I did.
Except for one thing—we disagreed on one person.
Cain wanted to include even the one person I didn’t.
“You’re suggesting we include Assistant Professor Mate? But why? His skill was far below average, and his illusions were incredibly rushed.”
Cain blinked a few times, then said:
“...He tried really hard...”
“???”
Anyway.
I didn’t get it. Why did everyone impress me so much?
I’d evaluated them like a mother-in-law flipping pancakes alone for three hours—and still liked them all?
‘Ah.’
Then it hit me.
These were the professors who hadn’t resigned, even after the rebellion and collapse.
Not just the assassin professors—even many of the magician professors had filed for group resignation.
But the ones who remained... they were the ones who truly believed in studying and teaching illusion.
Conviction.
Something that’s hard to find these days.
‘And Hiaka’s illusion department is still the laughingstock of the continent.’
Sure, Cain’s Christmas tree stunt had flipped the mood temporarily, but the general reputation was still disastrous.
Knowing your life’s work is being ridiculed—that turns you into a diehard underdog.
And you want to root for the underdog in the ring.
Even when that underdog... is you.
“Hello?”
I immediately contacted Ezekiel.
—You want to increase the pass count to thirty?
“Yes.”
—No.
His response was like a guillotine.
—I already told you. The Empire is watching Cain. At this point, we have to keep exposure to a minimum.
I didn’t see any signs of a spy, but I didn’t say that aloud. That would’ve been an incredibly childish thing to claim.
—This has to be consistent with Cain’s public profile, otherwise we risk human error.
Ezekiel wasn’t wrong.
So I thought long and hard—and then a good idea came to me.
While reading their 【thoughts】 back in the testing room, I realized something:
There was a whole lot of thinking about pride.
Which made sense. They’re magicians. But more specifically, they really didn’t want to lose to the people around them.
So if I couldn’t pass all of them—then I had to fail all of them.
“What about this: we fail everyone... and then you and I play good cop, bad cop.”
—Good cop, bad cop?
Basically, I thought they all did well. But Ezekiel had to say ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) they failed.
Not as a selection—but as motivation. To poke at the engine called ‘pride’ that drives magicians forward.
Ezekiel protested.
—Why do I have to be the villain?
“I can do it. They’ll probably resent me more anyway since I’m the assassin.”
—Fine, you do it. They don’t listen to me anyway. Probably thinking ‘What does the Dean of Defensive Magic even know...’
“Understood.”
And so, I delivered the message exactly as planned.
They resented me a little on the way out.
That was fine.
Now Ezekiel would go pat them on the back and defend me. That’d change their minds.
That was supposed to be the end of my first encounter with the Illusion Magic faculty.
......Or so I thought.
Just after I reverse-summoned(?) Chief Cain and was walking down the hallway toward the vehicle with Ran—
Assistant Professor Mate stepped out and blocked our path.
He had a slight hunch, and his complexion didn’t look great.
“...Professor Dante. I’m sorry. But I have something I must say.”
“I’m listening.”
“...Please give me a chance.”
He knelt on the floor.
“Just one more chance. I was too nervous and couldn’t perform proper [shaping]. But I can’t give up on Chief Professor Cain’s class.”
“.......”
“If you give me one more opportunity, I’ll show you a proper shaped illusion. So please...”
“.......”
For a moment, I had a strange thought.
Becoming important brings strange experiences.
I’ve knelt before someone in my life.
But this might be the first time someone’s knelt before me.
His hands were trembling slightly.
It was hard to watch.
“Please stand. Dean Ezekiel will deliver good news to you soon.”
“.......”
I said that for now.
But I knew Assistant Professor Mate’s skills were lacking.
I paused and looked back at him.
“Assistant Professor Mate.”
“...Yes.”
“I’m fully aware of your current skill level.”
“...I... I was just nervous this time...”
“It’s not about nerves. I saw exactly what was inside your work. You have more to improve. And next time—prove that you did.”
“.......”
“Desperation alone changes nothing.”
He would be given one more chance.
But the proving would be up to him.
* * *
Peaceful vacation days continued.
—Adele: Professor, do you need any gifts?
—Me: Just bring snacks or something.
—Adele: Should I bring something for Ran too?
—Adele: Still feels a little awkward between you two~
“......”
—Me: That’s probably best.
—Me: It’d be even weirder if only I got one.
—Adele: 😂 truee
—Adele: See you day after tomorrow~
Peaceful vacation days continued.
For now.
In the meantime, I stayed in close contact with the department.
With Shaman Dean’s assistant: BoogieBoogie.
Like the ranker Gyulgyul, the repeated name marked her as from the Hitahita Kingdom. (Same logic applies to KangKang from the disciplinary bureau.)
I gave her a subtle heads-up that a “Jinksythe-tier” monster would be arriving at Hiaka soon.
In response, BoogieBoogie told me:
“The Nibelung family is furious.”
Which meant: Nibelung had cut off its sponsorship of the academy.
Fortunately, Gray’s 157,000 copies had kept the department breathing—and now even royal funding was being discussed.
That much had gone according to plan.
But then came something unexpected.
—A messenger from the Matron showed up and said, ‘Isn’t this betrayal?’ Wanna know what the Dean said?
“What did he say?”
BoogieBoogie paused for a beat... then answered:
—He said, ‘I’m good at that.’
Then smiled awkwardly.
Yikes. That’s spicy.
Shaman.
Normally he looks like an old man who could inhale five donuts in one bite.
But he’s still a Kreutz royal.
For him to make a joke out of his own past—that meant the academy’s position was stronger than I expected.
What comes next remains to be seen... But for now, I was pleased.
“I see.”
—Yup! I’ll call again soon!
After ending the call with BoogieBoogie, I checked the schedule.
In a few days, the Dante assassination squad would begin its first mission.
And next week, the Star-Watching Mountain operation would commence.
In other words—I still had time.
One full day of rest had mostly restored me. (Which again reminded me this world is a game. In reality, a day off wouldn’t heal anything...)
Vacation meant some breathing room. But I couldn’t just slack off.
I decided to go outside for some personal training.
***
"My name is Joaquin Hilavan."
Joaquin muttered to himself.
“I never give up.”
He wouldn’t quit.
He wouldn’t crumble.
After his proxy assassination plan failed, he got chewed out like a dog by Black Abyss. His supervising professor, Ludenbach, slapped him across the face. Marina—the girl he secretly admired—called him a fucking insect. Even his father scolded him.
But still—absolutely, absolutely! He couldn't give up like this.
Joaquin, who rises after every fall.
He would assassinate Professor Dante—no matter what.
......That conviction sustained him for several months.
But as Dante's fame soared beyond the sky day by day, Joaquin started to suffer.
‘This is insane...’
It was ridiculous. Dante resolved one major incident after another wherever he went.
Eventually, he was promoted to senior professor in less than half a year after his appointment.
Even before that, and after, stories of Dante's heroics were told everywhere.
But at one point... it all crossed the line into the absurd.
“What? Dante trained Gray, and thanks to that, her sales exploded, and now Hiaka is opening its doors to the Empire?”
With Hiaka Academy now days away from a public opening, Dante’s name was everywhere.
“I heard Dante’s assassination squad has four Dormant Dragon cadets in it.”
“Damn, I’m so jealous. I wanna join too...”
The Moonshadow cadets whispered among themselves.
CRACK.
The can Joaquin was holding caved in.
At first, it was just a bitter pang in his gut. But by now, Joaquin suffered from stomachaches and chronic insomnia. He couldn’t sleep at night unless he did jump rope until he collapsed.
And when he finally managed to doze off—he’d dream of a one-on-one meeting with the Head of the Assassination Department.
But the Head in that dream was Dante.
—It’s already been 20 years.
—You should withdraw from this profession.
Snap!
“......UGH!!”
Gasping for breath.
Joaquin panted, drenched in cold sweat.
This couldn’t go on.
That man had to fall.
If the guy who humiliated him kept rising, it would drive him mad!!
Fueled by that rage, Joaquin threw himself into work. Because revenge required money.
He barely scraped by in his classes, teetering on the edge of an F. He plagiarized just enough to turn in essays. In the daytime, he worked at a gas station. In the evening, he washed dishes at a bar. At night, he used his stealth specialty to moonlight as a Black Abyss informant.
“Hey, stop that guy!”
“WAAAH!”
He was nearly caught and killed a few times, but hey—Who the hell do you think I am?
“My name is Joaquin Hilavan.”
“I never give up.”
Through blood, sweat, and despair, he finally saved up a decent sum again. Now, it was time to plan how to assassinate Professor Dante.
‘I need to find a weakness.’
No one in the world is truly invincible.
There’s the well-known tale of Northern Grand Duke Liwayadan, ranked fifth in the world, who was taken down by a sneak attack from five Challenger-ranked assassins.
Dante must have a weakness too.
So Joaquin went to the shrine of the System⧉.
A white-faction sect that worships structure and order.
They were said to be the most elite intelligence network in the Academy.
Black Abyss intel was off-limits (since Joaquin was hated there), so he had no choice but to rely on these guys.
“But aren’t you Black Abyss?”
“Y-Yeah... technically, I am...”
“Scram.”
“.......”
He was rejected with cold contempt.
That was fine.
He could endure scorn and rejection for as long as it took.
The first time he went to the System⧉ shrine was a month ago. Since then, he visited every single day. They threw salt at him. Doused him in water.
Even when his clothes froze in the dead of winter, Joaquin bowed his head.
“Please help me!! Just once!!”
Maybe sincerity really does move heaven.
Maybe that unwavering desire to kill Dante finally pierced the skies.
“...Tch.”
The shrine’s keeper—White Saber Professor Villemon—clicked his tongue. What kind of lunatic was this?
He’d never seen a Black Abyss dog get cussed out for a month straight and still bow his head.
“What the hell are you so desperate to know?”
“Ah...!”
Joaquin’s face lit up.
“W-Well... I... um...”
“All of it?”
“Y-Yeah...... all of it...”
But now he wasn’t sure if he could say it. Villemon was Dante’s friend. Though, to be fair, so was Black Abyss...
“............I want to know Professor Dante’s weakness.”
He forced the words out somehow.
Villemon gave a sunny smile.
“Get out.”
SLAM!
The door shut.
“.......”
Joaquin lowered his head to the floor.
Shit. Another dead end?
But he couldn’t give up now.
Joaquin knew—
The moment you quit, you become frozen in place forever.
Humans live on willpower. Even those too scared to leave their room can one day climb ten-thousand-meter peaks if they resolve to do so.
And he refused to be stuck.
So he bowed his head and prayed.
Please, someone help me. Please let me assassinate Professor Dante...
And then—
As if his plea had finally reached the heavens...
A shaft of light descended upon Joaquin’s head.
< [An Unidentifiable Star (?)] wishes to share one piece of information with you. >
AH!!!
Letters filled his vision.
It wasn’t a [Stigma]. It was a [Revelation]. A brief communication granted by a star.
He had no idea which star it was.
Who the hell suddenly contacted him?
No—this wasn’t the time to question it. They said they had information!
‘Please tell me Professor Dante’s weakness...!’
< Unidentifiable Star (?): Confirmed information available regarding Professor Dante’s weakness. [As of Imperial Calendar, January 1st] >
< Would you like to view it? >
January 1st?
That was nearly a month ago.
Still—close enough.
‘Yes!!’
And so, at the end of this absurd journey...
Joaquin learned Professor Dante’s weakness.
And it was absolutely shocking.
“What the... His weakness is pure physical combat?”
To his surprise, Dante was terrible at actual fighting.
In other words, he was a complete pushover in a straight-up fistfight.
Hard to believe—but apparently true.
Thinking back, he’d never seen Dante do any kind of physical combat. And as far as Joaquin knew, he’d never once shown strength in hand-to-hand fighting.
‘...So all those accomplishments were [illusion] based?’
Of course, the Unidentifiable Star warned that the info was “a month old”...
But come on—it was just a month.
How much stronger could someone get in that time?
He almost told someone. But then he realized: this kind of premium intel wasn’t meant to be shared.
To Joaquin, this assassination was becoming something sacred. An achievement that would define his life.
“...Professor Dante. You’re finished.”
Joaquin closed his eyes for a moment and imagined it.
—Dante, struck by his fist, falling to his knees.
—Collapsing, muttering, “Impossible... You didn’t even need my class...” in disbelief.
—At that moment, Marina appears. She looks at him with eyes full of awe. And says, “Joaquin... I didn’t know you were such a strong man...” voice trembling, eyes wet with regret.
“Marina. Just wait...”
Joaquin emptied all the money he’d saved over six months of working three jobs a day...
And bought himself gear.