A foreign, unnatural monster appeared in the sky. And flying straight toward it—an airship.
It was like watching Icarus soar toward the sun. All the cadets in Zone 0 held their breath as the massive airship headed toward that vast, majestic beast.
In moments of crisis, the divided come together.
The cadets of Zone 0 were no exception.
Professors were acting strangely.
Neutral instructors had begun skipping classes.
Then, out of nowhere, a colossal, unidentified monster had appeared.
Every cadet felt it—a deep, collective unease.
Whether Black Abyss or White Saber, they all wished the airship would put their fears to rest.
They clenched their fists as the battle began.
And when the airship began to fall—every single one of them was horrified.
“It’s falling! Goddamn it!”
“N-no...!!”
For a moment, it looked like something tried to resist the fall.
But when that resistance broke, groans and gasps filled the air.
With less than 500 meters left before impact, some of the more fragile cadets closed their eyes.
And then—suddenly—wings spread wide.
Wings so enormous they seemed to ignore perspective, slowing the descent with a single, mighty flap.
“Huh!?”
“It’s stopping!!”
That miraculous sight left the cadets speechless.
⋮
At the same time, even Dorm of the Hidden Dragons was in shock.
Balmung’s jaw dropped as he received a signal.
“Ah!”
“What is it!?”
“...I just got a location ping. Gray is on that airship!”
“What!?”
“Then Gray did that!?”
“Hah! That’s insane... Was she always that powerful?”
Even Kuan was stunned—
And Kendreik, rarely one to compliment anyone, was also wide-eyed. That was how immense the [Illusion] output had been.
“Wow... She’s been training hard lately, but still...”
Even Elize, standing nearby, murmured in awe.
But one cadet’s face remained stiff.
It was none other than Kaiser.
‘...Impossible.’
His expression was always cold, but this time, Kaiser was panicking inside.
‘That’s definitely Professor Dante. No question about it.’
He had one reason for believing so.
Because in all of Zone 0, there was no one else capable of deploying [Illusion] at that level except Dante.
‘No... this really doesn’t make sense...!!’
That Professor Dante was a master of illusion was old news. Everyone knew it. Repeating it felt redundant.
But this—this was something beyond comprehension.
What even was that?
What was [Illusion], after all?
At its core, a superficial manipulation of senses.
Sure, high-level users could interfere with physical matter to an extent.
But that interference was always shallow.
That’s why it was called [Illusion].
Then... what was that?
Could something like that really be called a mere illusion?
Just a cheap visual trick?
No.
Kaiser couldn’t convince himself of that at all.
‘If that level of interference with the material world is possible... then this is...’
...it was a form of [Creation], wasn’t it?
Kaiser shivered. But he couldn’t say this out loud yet—it wasn’t the time.
At that moment, another person’s expression tightened.
It was Rebecca.
She could see mana.
And so—she was absolutely sure that the magic she was seeing did not belong to Gray.
Rebecca’s gaze perceived magic as if watching fluid particles in motion.
When [Illusion] was cast, she could see the flow of the magic particles, the shape of the pathways, the structure being drawn before her very eyes.
She was the type who, when looking at a computer, saw circuit diagrams.
When looking at bread, saw its recipe.
She didn’t even understand how she did it—it simply happened.
And so, through that lens...
The mana particles forming those distant wings supporting the airship—
Were of a shockingly refined quality.
‘...But some of it isn’t.’
Which led Rebecca to one conclusion:
Another [Illusion] had been layered over Gray’s own.
“Lady Layme.”
“Yes, Princess?”
“Go and confirm who’s on board that airship.”
For someone as composed as Rebecca to grow agitated—the mana at work had to be extraordinary. She had to know who did it.
“Yes, understood.”
At that moment, Rebecca’s Crystal Sphere began to vibrate.
Her eyes narrowed.
The planned operation had originally been scheduled for three days from now...
– Cheongru: The Battalion’s rebellion has begun.
Her decadent red eyes turned toward the monster beyond the window.
So that thing is the reason the timing changed, huh?
There wasn’t much Rebecca could do at the moment—but that didn’t mean there was nothing.
“Elize.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Come with me.”
“Yes.”
As they moved, Elize asked—
“An assignment?”
Rebecca nodded.
“An assignment. Let’s go kill a few more of the neutral professors.”
***
"You're leaving already? I thought it was supposed to be in three days?"
The location was the outskirts of Hiaka Academy. At the mage division’s senior professor’s question, Batalion nodded.
"We planned to delay it for three days because of the cold snap. But now looks better."
"Because we don’t know how long that thing’s hand is going to stay up there?"
"Exactly. So get ready."
"Understood."
Today. Right now. The “rebellion” that had been in the works for the past ten years was about to begin.
Six senior professors—including warriors, mages, and assassins. Thirty-nine associate professors. They would all abandon Hiaka Academy and defect to the enemy nation, Kreutz Academy.
It would be as if one of the central pillars supporting the sole royal training institution of each nation had been ripped out.
In the vacuum created by this power gap, Kreutz’s assassins would strike the core magical facilities. This rebellion would dramatically shift the balance of power between nations.
"...Well, if they didn’t want this, they should’ve paid us better."
At Batalion’s mutter, the mage scoffed.
"Come off it. You were already better paid than the other seniors."
"Of course I was. Goddamn it, how many years have I served Hiaka loyally?"
"That's true. Same for me."
Batalion grinned, flashing his fangs.
"This is all the fault of the royal family and the board trying to pinch pennies."
In the meantime, the level-8 spatial teleportation spell, 『Gate of Mirage』, was nearing completion.
But something soured his mood.
"...That thing’s bothering me."
"That?"
"Ah, yeah."
Far in the distance—the landed airship.
It still had its wings attached.
"...Seriously. Who did that? That looked at least senior-level."
"A mage?"
"What are you talking about? Didn’t you see how fast those wings unfolded? That’s [Illusion-type assassination]. We could make bigger ones, sure, but not that fast."
"......."
"Besides, Hiaka doesn’t have any illusionists good enough to pull that off. After the Habanero incident, they were all wiped out."
"I heard there’s one left."
"Oh, you haven't heard yet, have you?"
The senior mage professor tapped her cloudy hair and laughed.
"It’s me."
Her name was Gloomy, senior professor of Illusionary Magic.
"And I already smuggled out every core document from the Illusion department."
"......."
"Originally, Hiaka's illusion magic was supposed to end right here. But... yeah, that bothers me too. What the hell is that?"
Batalion frowned.
So it was even more unpleasant.
Those wings.
He’d assumed they’d brought in a mage from the Department of Assassination.
‘...You’re telling me it was an assassin?’
Even when he ran through every person he knew—no one matched.
Which meant, in the land he’d just abandoned—
There was a monster he didn’t even know existed.
"This feels disgusting..."
"Why?"
"No idea... just does. Whoever made that thing..."
Whoever it was. They felt like someone who’d keep getting in his way.
‘Fuck. Crippling Hiaka’s illusion research was one of our objectives in the first place...’
The mage chuckled.
"You’re already turning into a proper Kreutz citizen."
"...What? Ah, yeah... I guess I have."
Family and like-minded allies had already been relocated. The language was familiar. Culture and lifestyle weren’t too different. There was nothing to regret.
Being branded a traitor?
He’d already been labeled a fence-sitter. It was all the same.
All that awaited now was a future flowing with milk and honey.
At that moment, the magic circle was completed.
Batalion gave the signal to the others seated beyond the clocktower—the remaining dozen or so senior and associate professors.
"Alright, let’s go. To a new world!"
"Let’s move."
『Gate of Mirage』
The interior of the clocktower became a desert. And as they stepped forward, the clocktower itself began to vanish behind them.
This was the Kingdom of Kreutz.
And so, the final piece of the "Rebellion" was complete.
Next would be the "Collapse."
As we landed, the academy's medical units and staff aides rushed to respond.
"P-Professor Dante...!"
"I’m fine. Get Gray and the pilot out of here first."
"B-but...! Professor, your eye...!"
My eye?
As I slowly traced my senses—
I realized I had lost sight in my left eye.
Blood had drenched my cheek and jaw.
The eyeball might’ve been damaged. Between the [Overload] and the dizziness, I hadn’t noticed.
"Don’t worry about me. Get them first."
"Y-yes!!"
The situation was handled swiftly.
Senior Professor Toy had been afflicted by the 『Curse of Domination』, but since the Hand of Domination was destroyed and he fell far away during the crash, the curse broke. He lost consciousness and was hospitalized.
Kollider, stabbed by Toy, had missed his heart and survived—though Toy’s monstrous mana shattered his internal organs.
Angela, who’d wielded the Reaper’s Scythe, had been petrified from the waist up through half her torso. If I hadn’t swapped her out, she would’ve died like a squashed fly.
Vyper and Leo were relatively fine. Vyper’s hand had been petrified. Leo had a few cracked ribs from debris.
The pilot’s petrification was severe, but he survived.
Gray had a heavily petrified arm. But worse—she was battling the flu, drunk, overworked, and suffering [Overload]. The damage to her body was extreme.
And yet, she still came out, used illusion magic, and saved everyone.
“......”
I remained in her hospital room, looking down at her.
Was it because we both used [Illusion]?
For some reason, I felt drawn to her. What was the meaning of that [Relationship Increase] that had popped up?
It had jumped by 30 points.
But I had no idea what caused it.
【Scripts】 couldn’t track emotions that deep.
They were game elements, created for player engagement. Hidden or revealed at the whim of the developer, ⧉System.
Her blood-matted hair had stuck to her lips, so I carefully reached to brush it away.
But when I touched her—Gray flinched and turned her head, even in her sleep.
When I tried again, she squirmed away, turning her entire body.
“...Like a cat.”
I pulled the blanket over her and stepped out.
Thankfully, no one had died.
Petrification could be undone by the holy magic ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ healers in the medical unit.
We’d succeeded in minimizing casualties.
But neither victory nor defeat had been achieved.
Far above...
Jinksythe still writhed in the sky.
Beside the one remaining Petrification Arm, another was crawling out.
I felt a cold flicker of despair.
It was emerging much faster than I’d expected.
‘If that’s already the fourth arm, then... the rest will be summoned within a day or two.’
We had destroyed two arms.
Five remained.
And the main body—the horned head.
(That one didn’t have any special abilities.)
They would all be fully summoned as the main story progressed.
And in the midst of an already weakened force—we’d have to fight that thing again, now stronger.
“...The casualties will be massive.”
This wasn’t a game where you ran around in underwear with a sword, mowing down mobs.
This was a tightly balanced system—where you made optimal decisions under strict constraints.
Back when I had cancer, I was captivated by this game’s complex and vast systems.
Old habits die hard. Even in the hospital, wracked with pain, I studied this game like I was back in a research lab.
I published my findings—strategy guides written like academic papers—on Reddit and other international sites. Thousands of foreign players waited for each one to drop.
That’s why, when I say I understand the internal mechanics and delicate balance of this game almost perfectly—
I’m not exaggerating.
And from my perspective...
Fighting Jinksythe again, with five arms, during this “Rebellion and Collapse” manpower vacuum?
It was hopeless.
More than half the remaining faculty would die.
Even if I performed a miracle—it wouldn’t be enough.
“......”
While I was quietly contemplating the disaster to come—
A sudden system message appeared.
───
⧉ Hotfix Notice Incoming
Hello. This is ⧉System.
We have identified an [Error] related to the early appearance of the Demon Race entity [Jinksythe], and will be initiating a hotfix accordingly.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused to your gameplay.
This hotfix will correct Jinksythe’s appearance timing, and several affected elements will be adjusted.
Hotfix Details:a. Review and fix of [Jinksythe]’s early appearance and associated bugs
b. Adjustment of several affected elements
c. Compensation will be provided
We will update you once the hotfix is complete.
Thank you for your patience and continued support.
───