Balmung is thinking.
“There’s been a terror attack.”
If understanding the current situation and making a fitting judgment is what training’s for—
“There was an aerial strike. But this creeping scent wafting between the Ruusten trees... it’s the same as last time, with Jinksythe.”
He wiped his horn-rimmed glasses with a cloth and came to a conclusion.
“...This isn’t just a simple exercise.”
Gray asked,
“Kill them?”
When Balmung turned his head, five fortress officers and the fortress commander were hanging in the air. Their necks were tied with threads.
The Dante assassination squad was hesitating.
Should they kill them or not?
No one had been assassinated yet.
“Wait. There are questions to ask.”
From this point on, their lives would be decided by a single answer. Balmung asked a question of deep importance.
Pointing to his own face—
“How’s this elephant mask?”
“I-It’s... beautiful...!”
They decided to let them live.
“Hah... hah...”
“Grrk... nghhuk...”
The commanders collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
In any case, the dilemma remained. They had taken this fortress. What next?
Times like this made him miss Kaiser and Rebecca. They always had the answers in tough situations. But with those two gone, only these kinds of people were left.
“...Who’s the smartest among us?”
In response to the sigh-laced self-mocking question,
Elize scanned the group one by one, then, stroking her chin with a grave expression—
“...Is it me?”
No way.
Not a chance.
Gray and Balmung clicked their tongues.
Then Kendreik, also with a serious expression, began stroking his chin—and Balmung immediately pointed at him.
“Stop. You go eat some honey instead.”
“But hey, why are we overthinking this?”
“Huh?”
Gray stretched like a cat and said,
“You said it’s a situation like Jinksythe, right? But Professor Dante’s here, isn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why don’t we just pool all our authority and give it to our dear professor? Won’t he handle the rest?”
“Huh? ...Are you a genius?”
It was the perfect answer. Why were they trying to decide anything? This was something only a genius professor should do.
Peace settled in the middle of confusion. Balmung reflected: From the moment they joined the assassination squad, they had become tools. It’s not just the “knife” that’s a tool—even the “cutting board” is one. Their job was to prepare the board for their master to use.
“You there, fortress commander.”
“...Y-Yes?”
Despite the humiliation, the fortress commander had no choice but to speak respectfully to a mere cadet.
“You’re going to help us now.”
“...What?”
“I know how the forces of Count Kahla’s domain are structured. We’re going to make use of this fortress’s troops.”
But upon hearing such a threat, the commander’s pride flared.
Sure, these assassins were strong. They had taken down nearly a dozen soldiers with barely a sound. Even so—these kids were trying to stand equal to adults?
“Why aren’t you answering? I’m trying to treat you as humanely as possible right now.”
“......”
Then—
Thump, thump, thump—
Footsteps echoed. Turning his head, the commander saw a man with blood-red eyes, his eyes wide open. He was over two heads taller. His skull was massive. His pupils weren’t even focused. And he was getting closer.
Kendreik hadn’t actually done anything. But just having his face approach made eye contact nearly impossible.
That silence—
Pushed the commander into terror.
“...I-I got it! I got it!!”
After that, Kendreik went “Uuh?” and plucked a tiny spider from the commander’s bangs. And Balmung thought,
There were, what, fourteen fortresses on this first-tier step of the terraced mountain?
***
So...
This whole mess started with the sixth fortress.
They got turned away three times. Went down to the village below to eat. Came back—got turned away three more times. And then the sixth fortress commander had the nerve to provoke them.
“Piss off! You royal lapdog who feeds on scraps!”
By now it was night, and Dante had long stopped caring about his ties to the count’s family. Annoyed, he smashed the gate with the “Giant Soldier’s Sword○.”
BOOM!!
While everyone panicked, the fortress commander screamed,
“Wh-What are you all doing?! Go capture that damned professor!!”
Scared soldiers approached with tearful expressions, and after beating them all down, Dante planned to grab the commander and have a nice 1-on-1 chat in the corridor.
“We should just kill them all while we’re at it.”
“...Then what makes you any different from Bomiteka?”
Ran, apparently frustrated too, had drawn her sword—but just then, a long-forgotten tip came to mind.
⧉ Tip: Let yourself get captured.
This is insane.
Why?
Still, the system tip⧉ had never been wrong before. So Dante let himself get caught and thrown into the fortress’s underground prison.
“In you go.”
A soldier shoved him in.
“Stay quiet in there. The Count’s estate is already in turmoil over someone supposedly locked up inside a wall or whatever—don’t make things worse, Professor.”
The soldier left, clearly uneasy.
And that’s when Dante realized what the tip⧉ had intended.
“Oh, shit. Professor Dante! Over here!!”
It was the neutral professor Gula.
Apparently dragged here during the summon and somehow ended up in prison.
“You came to rescue me?! I knew you’d come!”
Dante didn’t say he’d been caught too.
In any case, having caught Gula before he rotted here forever, it was now time to break out.
Though he had restraints on both wrists and his subspace pouch was confiscated, his player-exclusive [Inventory] was untouchable. He could still summon the “Giant Soldier’s Sword○.”
But the timing wasn’t right.
He needed to think a bit more.
“Ugh, damn it... what kind of bullshit... Professor Dante! Do you know why we were summoned here?!”
“Unclear. You and I and a few others were pulled here by some unknown cause. Outside, there’s a monster called Bomiteka floating in the sky, and a massive battle’s about to begin.”
“Bo... what? Wait, you mean like that Jinksythe thing from before?!”
“Similar.”
Gula’s expression went sour.
“...Then shouldn’t we be doing something instead of rotting here?!”
Yeah.
He had a point.
Even Dante had to wonder inside—was peace ever even an option?
He’d tried to go easy.
And this was the result.
< ⧉ Time remaining until ⧉ [Demonic One-Horned Beast Bomiteka] battle: 6 days, 15 hours, 41 minutes >
Nearly ten precious hours were gone already.
And he was still in a prison.
“Ran. We need to change strategy.”
“What will you do?”
“First, sleep. Then, break out around dawn. Use [Illusion] to blend in with the assassins. No point causing more chaos—just fulfilling the role of an assassin is enough.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if you moved more openly?”
Ran’s question—
Was more like: Why not smash the fortress and seize command?
She said that because she understood Count Kahla’s strange command structure.
A rotational command transfer system.
Count Kahla, desiring no monopolized power, rotated commanders every two years between fortresses to prevent them from forming bonds with soldiers.
The structure obeyed only the "rank" he had established. But if leveraged well, even outsiders could take over. That’s what Ran was suggesting to Dante.
That he become the commander.
“No. I’m an assassin professor. Eymon’s the military tactician. He’s better than me.”
Sure, as a veteran, Dante could probably command similarly. But that would just remove one assassin who could wield siege weapons.
“One helmsman is enough.”
Even in <Synchronization>, Eymon was indeed a war genius. He could be trusted.
That was that.
Once the plan was perfectly organized—
Ran caught a rat.
“It’s a rat, Professor.”
“......”
“Would Professor Gula care to see it as well?”
“Guh, get that thing away from me!”
...Once again, Dante was dumbfounded by his situation.
A couple of hours later.
“Professor Gula. Get ready to escape.”
“Escape? You have a plan?”
“Of course.”
“What kind of plan?! We have to be careful! That damned Count’s got a nasty reputation!”
“Just follow me.”
He used the “Giant Soldier’s Sword○” to break Gula and Ran’s restraints, then smashed through the solid iron bars.
CLANG—BOOM!
Outside, the prison warden was waiting for him.
With five or six guards in tow.
What kind of timing is this?
“......”
“......”
There was a brief silence between them.
Since they were already heading out, Dante saw no reason to be polite.
Sreeng—
First, he drew his sword.
“I am Dante Hiakapo, senior professor of Hiaka Academy. Take me to the fortress commander immediately—”
But as he spoke, he sensed something odd. The guards looked tense. Not the kind of tension from witnessing a prison break—more like a... social anxiety.
Then, one of the guards stepped forward and—
“I’m sorry!”
—bowed?
“We, we greet Professor Dante Hiakapo!!”
“We apologize for the offense...!!”
...What?
Suddenly the guards were apologizing. Then the prison warden also bowed at a right angle and stammered.
“I-I truly...! Don’t know how to apologize for this disgrace...!”
“...?”
“I’m sorry, Professor! Also, we’ll escort you to the fortress commander right away...!”
...Why?
What the hell is going on?
The guards and the warden had become... overly polite.
No, it wasn’t just politeness. They were treating him like some god-tier superior.
“This way, please!”
With the warden walking ahead, Dante followed silently.
Without understanding anything.
“Professor Dante...”
As they walked, Professor Gula whispered with a stunned expression.
“You...! The plan you mentioned—Don’t tell me this was it...?!”
Would that make sense?
Dante was confused too.
His plan was just to walk out and slip into the assassin ranks using [Illusion].
“...You mean, in those few hours you were in prison, you took over the entire fortress and came to rescue me...?! You’re insane...! No wonder Ludenbach worships you...! But how?!”
So...
“......”
But he didn’t show it.
He kept walking, expressionless.
Even so, he was frustrated that no ⧉[Script] was popping up in this Infiltration Zone. He needed to know if this situation was genuinely strange, or if they were just messing with him from the other side.
But there was no need to wonder anymore.
“Senior Professor Dante has arrived!”
Upon entering the command building of the fortress—
“All personnel, salute!!”
The officers and the fortress commander all stood and saluted him.
The intensity of it made even Dante flinch inside.
“W-Welcome, sir!”
It was that fortress commander. The one who’d mocked Hiaka Academy. Dante decided to ask him about this whole situation.
“...You.”
“I-I am Commander Ba! Um! Ken! Of Fortress No. 08!”
“...You.”
“I sincerely apologize! For earlier offenses!”
“...No, that—”
“If you’ll just spare my life, I’ll dedicate myself as your most loyal servant...!!”
There was no opening to even ask.
But even without a ⧉[Script], one could read things from their faces and gestures. Dante scanned their expressions.
Terror filled the officers’ eyes. Like that of a private standing before a general—they were scared because they saw Dante as someone far above them.
But one person’s fear was different.
The fortress commander. His eyes showed physical terror. The kind of expression someone makes after being hit.
‘...Why?’
He hadn’t hit him yet.
“P-Please sit, sir! I’ll report on the current operations!!”
Taking a seat at the head table, Ran whispered beside him.
“Amazing. As expected of you, Professor. Even while we ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) were with you, we never noticed any of this unfolding.”
“......”
That’s because... it didn’t.
Still, as baffling as this was, it sure beat sitting in a prison.
At any rate, if he somehow became the key figure in this fortress, this was a hell of a start.
But the bizarre events unfolding for him—this was only the beginning.
A few minutes later, the fortress commander and officers stood up.
“This way, Professor!”
To where?
“To the Fortress Assembly!”
Where even is that...?
Thirty minutes later—
“Presenting the new Lord of the First Step Fortress Zone of Count Kahla!”
In the Fortress Strategy Hall of the 1st-tier zone, Dante was now seated at the head of the table as the apparent ruler of the zone.
Over half the gazes in the room were steeped in fear. The rest were playing along, albeit confused.
‘......??’
Still stunned, Dante sat as a high-ranking commander shouted:
“For the Eternal Glory of Hiaka!!”
Everyone saluted.
And then, suddenly, windows began to flood his screen.
⋮
< ⧉ In response to the [Infiltration], you have chosen [Domination] among 7 available options toward Count Kahla’s domain. >
I did...?
< ⧉ Currently, 9 of the 14 fortresses are under your [Domination]. >
< ⧉ Your current influence in Count Kahla’s estate: Rank #4, 11.2% (▲11.2%) >
< ⧉ This is a monumental achievement completed in less than 12 hours! You made the optimal choices within narrow windows and bulldozed forward with the ability to execute them—then proved it in results! >
< Progress has surged dramatically! >
A monumental achievement? Proven in results?
...What the hell?
...I was in prison the whole time, looking at rats with Ran and Gula!
At this rate, they’ll give me Star Fragments too—
—And right at that thought:
┃ [Infiltration] Progression Advanced to Stage 1
┃ Reward: Star Fragments × 45 (Base 5 × 9 Fortresses)
“?????”