Forte froze.
He hadn’t even begun the close-range assassination yet.
The professor shouldn’t even know he had a blade on his thigh.
So how did he say that?
‘No way.’
No—he must have just guessed it by luck.
As he slowly raised his head, his eyes met the professor’s. Beneath the black curls, pink eyes looked down at him.
As if they could see right through him...
It had to be his imagination.
His assassination had failed, and now this unfamiliar adult probably just seemed intimidating.
“I’ve familiarized myself with the school rules as a professor. Including the consequences you’re supposed to face.”
“......”
“But before you start mouthing off about rules or whatever, shouldn’t you say something else to me first?”
Forte bit his lip.
The professor standing before him radiated deadly pressure. He was clearly different from all the others before.
“I apologize once again for the rash assassination attempt.”
“Wrong answer.”
“...What?”
“You didn’t understand a word I just said, did you?”
Refusing to lose, Forte stared into his eyes.
But it was strange. It felt like a weight was pressing down on him.
“You should be apologizing for lying.”
Forte’s jaw tensed. A lie? He was saying Forte lied?
How the hell would he know that?
Maybe he could still deny it. Forte hesitated a few seconds, thinking it over.
“...We’ve never met before, though.”
The professor’s cold gaze narrowed.
“You’re about to lie to me a second time.”
Forte’s eyes widened.
****
The Department of Assassination is isolated.
That’s why cadets are always restless.
In the present, they are bound by strict control and repetitive training.
And their future is a stifling one, trapped in the fate of an assassin, one that may never see the light of day.
So whenever something interesting happened, they tended to become obsessed.
Year 1 cadets in the Department of Assassination, Hwaru and Dominic, blinked as they watched the situation unfold.
“......”
From Hwaru’s point of view, Forte had suddenly frozen up and started creeping toward the professor nervously.
The new professor’s expression was perfectly calm, composed, and somehow terrifying.
A face you couldn’t read.
Just look over here for a second, please.
“Huh?”
He looked.
Just for a moment.
“......”
Hwaru blinked. Her heart pounded. It felt like someone had taken the image of the ‘assassin’ she’d imagined as a child and brought it to life in human form.
“They’re talking...”
“Indeed.”
“Dominic, what’s the new professor saying...?”
“Hmm.”
Dominic adjusted his glasses. He was particularly sharp-eared among the cadets.
“‘You didn’t forget the rules. You fired knowing them full well.’ That’s what he said.”
“Oof. That’s... actually true.”
“He’s asking why Forte would attempt such a half-assed shot. Criticizing his attitude before his skill.”
“Eh? But Forte’s a genius when it comes to marksmanship...”
“And... he says the way Forte rushed in with a knife was clumsy too. From the approach. The expression. The way he walked—stiff all over. Says he’s seen plenty like that, and half of them ended up corpses.”
“Whoa, that’s scary...”
“But still, that professor... he didn’t retaliate like the others usually do.”
“Huh? You’re right.”
That’s what felt off.
A typical professor would strike back, just to instill fear. To prevent the next assassination attempt. But this one only disciplined.
Wasn’t that an astonishing level of confidence?
“...Dominic. Didn’t TA Adele say she didn’t know anything about this professor?”
“She did.”
It was the first time Adele didn’t know the identity of a new professor.
The cadets had two possible reactions to that.
Either: So many professors have died that they just started hiring whoever they could find.
Or:
The department head finally went all out and appointed some unknown assassin as professor.
‘It might be the latter.’
Dominic narrowed his eyes.
Assassins being active in the public eye was only a recent thing.
In the old days, it was widely believed: the more secretive an assassin, the greater their prowess.
Hwaru beamed, revealing her rabbit-like front teeth.
“This is insane. I’m so glad I signed up for this class...”
Dominic adjusted his glasses again and nodded.
“I feel the same.”
Around that time, the new professor’s disciplining came to an end.
Forte was released only after his gun and jackknife were completely confiscated and a penalty point was issued.
Maybe that’s why.
When he returned, his face was dark.
“You idiot. I told you not to, didn’t I?”
“It’s fine, Forte. This wasn’t your failing. Your shot was perfect. The professor was just far beyond what we expected.”
“...Dominic. Please shut up.”
Forte’s mouth twisted.
His own weakness.
The scolding professor.
His friends trying to comfort him.
It was all unbearably humiliating.
“Guys. Can I ask you something?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t talk about this to anyone.”
“Why not?”
“Why do you think?! Shit! It’s freaking embarrassing!”
Hwaru and Dominic nodded with serious expressions.
“Yup, you can trust me!”
“Forte. My weight doesn’t just apply to my body. You know how heavy my tongue is. Don’t worry.”
Forte trusted his friends.
⋮
A little later.
“Guys. Something insane happened today—ah, Forte told me not to tell anyone but... huh? So what happened was, Forte totally got wrecked by the new prof...”
“Hey, better stay sharp. That new professor’s something else. Curious? Hm. Just keep it between us...”
⋮
So when Forte walked into the lecture hall, everyone’s eyes were on him.
He turned his head and saw the girl whistling and the fat kid pushing up his glasses.
“...Ah, fuck.”
He got the picture. Roughly, anyway.
****
One Hour Before Class.
I holed myself up in the professor’s office.
After disciplining the cadet who tried to kill me.
I spat out whatever came to mind, hoping he wouldn’t try assassinating me again, confiscated his weapons, and made it back.
But even after entering the office, my heart was pounding like a war drum.
‘Goddamn it...’
I survived by sheer luck.
I hadn’t even done anything yet. I hadn’t taught a single class. This was just the commute on my first day, and it was already this dangerous?
‘Why the hell did I come into this game world?’
Of all things—this godforsaken assassin game. And on [Hell Mode], no less.
It wasn’t something to be glad about just because I survived.
I needed a plan.
What now? Is there no way out of this world? I muttered “logout,” but nothing came up. So what—am I stuck here for good?
‘Change your mindset. Not much time left before class.’
I decided to re-check my “tools.”
First off: the growth system.
The professor grows by fulfilling his duties and earning growth resources.
Teaching. Giving exams. Building relationships with cadets.
‘Unlike cadets, I can also grow through research and papers, apparently.’
That was something to look into later.
Meanwhile, in the settings menu, there was this:
< ⧉Tip Function – ON / OFF (Warning: may provide unnecessary information) >
Even if some of it was unnecessary, better to know than not.
I clicked ON.
< ⧉Tip function is now activated. >
And immediately, something popped up.
⧉ Tip: Confiscated items lose previous ownership and can now be stored in your inventory.
I checked the two items I had taken from the cadet.
＊ Jackknife [Common] │ Confiscated
＊ Lever-Action Rifle MT-15 [Magic] │ Confiscated
A [Magic] grade item right at the start of the game.
Suddenly, [Hell Mode] felt real. It’s way too early for this kind of thing to be showing up.
‘...This is a good gun.’
The base specs were a bit lacking, but the special feature was 『Auto Melee Targeting』.
Once a target is marked, the muzzle tracks and shoots any enemy within 10 meters automatically.
That’s seriously good.
More than anything, it’s valuable.
I may be a professor, but I’m flat broke. Current funds: 0 Hika.
Now this gun is mine. I can do whatever I want with it. Judging by the going rates, it’s worth at least 70,000 Hika.
That’s about 7 million won in real-world currency.
‘What kind of psychopath designed a game where something like this is standard gear for killing people?’
No wonder that statue didn’t just crack—it blew apart.
＊ Jackknife of Wind has been stored in inventory.
＊ Lever-Action Rifle MT-15 has been stored in inventory.
The inventory had surprisingly generous capacity. The items disappeared the moment I touched them, stored automatically. Taking them out worked the same way—straight into your hand.
Very convenient.
‘Ah, no time to waste on this.’
I opened the lecture materials and continued studying for today’s class.
I focused hard, sinking into the content.
Knock knock!
Crap. Someone knocked on the door.
One person appeared on the minimap. But the script window showed no dialogue.
I prepared to draw the gun and called out.
“Who is it?”
– “It’s Adele, Professor.”
“Enter.”
The ever-smiling female assistant walked in.
“So, Professor? How’s your first day so far?”
“Nothing special.”
“I was worried you might get assassinated. Please take care of me going forward.”
“...Sure. By the way, how many professors have you had before me?”
“You’re the first.”
“That’s surprising. I figured you’d gone through a few by now.”
Based on earlier thoughts, hadn’t there been several?
Adele gave a sheepish smile.
“Mm. I used to be a general admin TA. As for the previous professor, Lucandel, the TA was unlucky and died in the same explosion. So I got reassigned...”
“Unfortunate.”
“Right? He was a nice guy, too.”
“...I see. I need to finish prepping for class.”
After that, I kept preparing for the lecture.
Then Adele opened the office door again.
The time had finally come.
“Professor, it’s time to head to class.”
I didn’t want to go, but I had no choice.
“......”
Still, it wasn’t all bad.
A long-awaited quest popped up.
┃ Main Quest [First Day of Appointment]
┃ °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Reward: Star Fragment ×1,000 (Special DLC Reward)
‘Star Fragments’ are universal growth resources. They can boost anything from stats to special abilities.
So even in [Hell Mode], the game doesn’t want you dead right away. A thousand Star Fragments?
That was... insane. Absolutely massive.
‘I was sure I’d die within a few days even if I got lucky and survived today...’
With 1,000 of them, surviving might actually be a real possibility.
If I survived today, that is...
Didn’t seem likely.
At the end of the hallway, right in front of the lecture hall—I had to stop walking for a moment.
“Is something wrong, Professor?”
“......”
On the minimap, right outside the lecture hall door—red dots. A ton of them.
Nearly ten hostile targets were clinging to the opposite side of the door like barnacles.
I raised my eyes and saw it: a chalkboard eraser perched on top of the door.
At a glance, it looked like a kid’s prank.
＊ Guillotine Trap [Advanced]
If it weren’t a magical device.
In short, it was meant to lure me into letting my guard down.
“Professor?”
The TA prompted me as I stood still. I sighed deeply in my mind and started walking.
Toward the classroom.
“......”
From this moment on, for the next 50 minutes, It’s legal for them to kill me.