The sudden turn of events left me speechless.
‘...A hotfix announcement?’
Come to think of it, what was that message that popped up every time I entered [Error Space]?
───
⧉ Tip: This is [Error Space]. It is currently a glitched area and is scheduled to be patched in a future update. Further details will be provided when a schedule is confirmed.
───
Because of that, I’d somewhat anticipated this outcome.
‘Can’t believe they actually pulled the trigger on this.’
Still, having lived through all of it as if it were reality, the feeling was... strange.
‘...Seriously. Jinksythe, this is just absurd.’
To give myself a bit more credit—
The only reason the damage wasn’t catastrophic in our first engagement with Jinksythe... was because I was there.
Because I understood Jinksythe’s behavior and attack patterns.
Because I could read the flow of battle and improvise counters on the spot.
‘If I hadn’t been there.......’
If only the other five had entered [Error Space] without me, I believe they all would’ve died. They’d have fallen prey to 『Curse of Domination』.
Had the entire party perished, Jinksythe would’ve rampaged through all of Zone 0, flooding it with curses.
It would’ve been a cataclysm, even by [Hell Difficulty] standards.
But this hotfix notice gave me some comfort.
I still didn’t know what would be adjusted or what the rewards might be, but the fact that some kind of safeguard was being installed... meant a lot.
Later, after thinking it through, I realized how important this notice truly was.
Not just because of the Jinksythe incident—but because it might reshape my entire life within this game.
‘First, I need treatment.’
I went to the infirmary to heal my damaged eye.
Then I lay down in a hospital bed to rest.
A few hours passed before a system window appeared—signaling the beginning of the main story.
⧉ [Main Story] No.1 — Rebellion and Collapse
So it’s really starting......
According to what I’d uncovered, it wasn’t supposed to begin for another three days.
Looks like Jinksythe’s appearance accelerated the timeline.
Outside, the Assassination War was likely already underway.
And after that—events unfolded just as I expected.
⧉ Phase 1 — Disappearance of Neutral Professors
Neutral professors from Zones 0, 1, and 2—those who specialized in assassination, warfare, and magic—vanished as a group.
BEEEEEEEP!!! Air raid alert. Air raid alert. All cadets, faculty, and residents of Zone 0 are to evacuate to the shelters immediately.Then came the blaring sirens, and Zone 0 was declared an active combat zone.
⧉ Phase 2 — Assassination War
Enemy assassins from the Kreutz Kingdom began targeting key facilities in Zone 2 (School of Magic).
Over a hundred elite assassins had been preparing for this, including the Department Head of Assassination, Shaman Kreutz, and division leaders from both White Saber and Black Abyss. They mobilized to intercept the attackers.
Originally, I’d planned to slip in among them and grab what I could...
...but the situation had changed.
By the next morning, Jinksythe had sprouted a third arm again, and enemy assassins had breached Zone 0.
I stood atop the infirmary’s roof, cloaked behind an illusionary [Wall], observing Zone 0’s skyline.
Something unseen was moving mid-air.
● Kreutz Assassin Ketrak
● Kreutz Assassin Valhaka
Judging by the 【Script】, they weren’t here to bomb infrastructure.
They had a specific target.
Hiaka Academy still harbored the son of the sniper who killed a member of Kreutz’s royal family during the Second Assassination War.
That sniper’s son... was one of my students.
“P-Professor! You can’t move yet...!”
“Stand aside.”
My eye still throbbed painfully.
Even so, I dismissed the medics and walked out of the infirmary.
⋮
The sky split open.
Something brighter than the sun pierced through the clouds.
Trailing a blazing tail, it drew a vertical line across the sky as it plummeted.
A meteor was falling toward Hiaka Academy’s Zone 2.
『Meteor』—a level-8 large-scale explosive spell.
Then—
“H-Hey, Dean!!”
A mage shouted, eyes wide, directing his voice toward a bespectacled middle-aged man.
“Stop screaming.”
That man was none other than Ezekiel Hiakium, Dean of the School of Magic and a [Challenger]-rank mage.
He deployed 『Turtle Shell of Land and Sea』, an enormous barrier covering a 200-meter radius.
Nearby mages gasped. A structure the size of two soccer fields—a translucent turtle shell—was now shielding the area.
And then the meteor struck.
With a thunderous explosion, flames erupted and rocks blasted outward.
But even the shockwave, sound, and debris were rendered mostly harmless by Ezekiel’s protective magic.
To some, it looked like a perfect defense.
But that wasn’t the case.
The Academy’s defensive barrier, “Peace Fortress☮,” had been shattered.
That barrier applied debilitating debuffs to unauthorized intruders.
Now, with it breached, assassins slipped through the cracks.
“Move! Move faster! Ugh...”
“Dean...!”
Ezekiel hurried back and forth issuing commands—until the strain of the great spell overworked his heart and dropped him to his knees.
That’s when the enemy infiltrators arrived.
“That’s Ezekiel!”
Shit. Already?
They rushed in with blades drawn.
“Die, Ezekiel!”
The head of the lead assassin exploded.
THWACK!
A vertical axe had cleaved through his skull.
The second assassin didn’t fare better.
The ground beneath him gave out—“Kugh!!”—and before he could recover, he was sucked 30 meters underground and crushed into pulp.
The axe spun through the air, then returned to the hands of its owner.
Beside him stood another man who stepped forward.
“...Too late, you sewer rats.”
Clutching his chest, Ezekiel spoke hoarsely.
“Hehehe. What a pathetic sight. A Challenger mage on his knees, no less.”
It was Baekwa, Chief Professor of the White Saber division in the Department of Assassination.
“...Stand up already. Too many eyes on us.”
The one who said that was Betelgeuse, Chief Professor of Black Abyss.
And behind the two of them, elite professors arrived in force.
“You damn rats...”
Ezekiel thought it was a rare sight indeed.
When was the last time those two had appeared side-by-side? Fifteen years ago, at the end of the Second Assassination War.
Since then, they hadn’t stood within arm’s length of each other unless forced into official appearances.
And then, there was one more.
The “Giant Rat” who’d been slandered as a traitor for decades...
He stepped forward as well.
“We’re here, Ezekiel.”
It was Shaman Kreutz, the rotund Department Head of Assassination.
“...Old man Shaman. Let me ask one last time. They’re your family. Will you fight them?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Of course I’ll fight.”
Once a traitor, always a traitor.
That phrase had haunted Shaman his entire life.
But he wasn’t here to prove anything.
He was here simply to protect the Academy—as an adult.
“...Batalion. So you even prepared for this. If I had known, I’d have killed you when you were a child.”
Shaman Kreutz’s eyes glowed blue, and immense mana surged from his body.
RUMMMMMMBLE...
In that moment, Ezekiel thought—
Hiaka truly is a goddamn joke of a country.
The strife between Black Abyss and White Saber... was nothing but a petty gang war between assassin rats.
Hiaka, more than any other nation, had always been defined by this nonsense.
Rumor had it Baekwa and Betelgeuse had been planning to kill each other just three weeks ago.
But now, because of a crisis, they were fighting side-by-side?
Hiaka. A dumbfuck nation full of dumbfuck assassins...
He clicked his tongue.
⋮
...Still, it wasn’t all bad.
When it was time to fight, at least they showed up.
Even the complacent professors had likely started leaping into action by now.
‘We must protect them.’
The nation’s future.
The cadets.
We must protect them.
Ezekiel rose to his feet.
A few days ago, he’d received a directive from the Chairman:
He was to command the response to this incident.
He issued orders to three elite assassins and their squads.
At the same time, his <Comm> filled with urgent reports.
< We’re sorry, Dean! We lost the infiltration team! Some have already breached Zone 0! >
His mouth tasted bitter.
This was his oversight.
Battles—true war—never went according to plan.
‘...Please hold the line.’
Ezekiel decided to trust the professors who remained in Zone 0.
< For the eternal glory of Hiaka! >
Shaman Kreutz shouted the battle cry.
And at last...
The Assassination War began.
***
The beginning of the incident
...was marked by the wail of a siren during remedial training for failing students.
—
BEEEEEEEEP...!
—
At the time, Forte, Dominic, and Hwaru were with a neutral professor named Gula.
Gula told them that a breach had formed in a nearby barrier and dozens of enemy assassins had poured through.
They couldn’t match them in numbers—so they retreated to the nearest evacuation shelter.
Forte remained calm, but Hwaru trembled in terror, and Dominic also felt fear creeping in.
One of the faculty staff in charge of the shelter noticed Hwaru and tried to reassure him.
“Cadet. Cadet! Breathe. Stay calm.”
“Y-Yes...”
“It’s alright. Everything’s going to be fine, so don’t be too scared.”
“Ah, okay...”
“As long as you stay in this shelter, you’ll be safe! No way any assassins from outside are getting in here! Trust me, alright? I promise—”
—SPLAT.
The man’s head exploded.
He’d been hit by a stray bullet from a barrage being fired indiscriminately from afar.
Blood sprayed across the three cadets—and Professor Gula.
Hwaru collapsed on the spot.
He was too terrified to even scream.
“Fuck... Everyone get over here...!”
Gula hurriedly bolted the shelter door shut, then led the three of them down into the basement.
“Shit... Fuck... I thought it was just a rumor... I didn’t think it’d actually turn into this shitstorm...”
For the time being, they were in hiding.
During the tense silence, Dominic asked,
“Professor. What if we headed for the shelter port?”
“The fuck did you just say?”
“Ah, there’s a shelter port nearby, isn’t there? It’s connected to the underground bunker. And I believe you have the key to it, Professor.”
“...How the fuck do you know that?”
“My apologies. That information comes from ‘within the business,’ so I can’t really disclose the source.”
“What kind of bullshit is that, you little shit? Either way—no! We’re not going there!”
Gula had always been a discontent, half-assed neutral professor who griped about everything and preferred to slack off.
Neutral professors were generally like that—but Gula was particularly bad.
So much so that he’d ranked 3rd in the “Most Hated Professors” vote in Assassin Town.
“......”
Dominic frowned.
The underground shelter would definitely be safer.
Yes, it was reserved for high-level personnel—but going there would practically guarantee survival.
And yet he refused? Was it because they were just lowly cadets?
And so, the four of them had to spend half the day trapped in the shelter’s basement.
Gunshots and shockwaves rang out constantly above ground. Even by assassination standards, the duration of combat was growing long.
Whenever footsteps echoed nearby, Hwaru would start crying in fear—and Gula, scowling, would snap at him to shut up.
The tension was suffocating.
As evening approached—
Gula began to mutter under his breath.
“Fuck. Why the hell do I have to be here...”
“Why the fuck am I stuck with these failing little shits...”
His words only deepened the three cadets’ fear.
And by nightfall—
A sudden message was delivered.
“FUCK!! HEY! RUN!!”
“Wha—? Why?”
“No time to explain, just RUN! Get up! Fucking RUN right now!!”
Gula burst out of the shelter with the three cadets in tow—and shortly after, the shelter they’d been hiding in exploded behind them.
The outside of Zone 0, which they hadn’t seen since midday, was in ruins—many buildings and infrastructure had been destroyed.
But Gula, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ sharp enough to sense bloodlust, darted into the forest.
The three cadets followed.
His face twisted even further, and his muttering grew louder.
“Fuuuck... This is fucking bullshit... Why... Why the fuck do I have to be stuck out here with these damn kids I don’t even give a shit about...”
It went on for hours.
Forte finally snapped.
“Professor. Are those really the words you should be saying to us right now?”
“What the fuck? You trying to lecture me, you little shit?”
“Just stop! Enough already! We can hear every word you say!”
“Shut your fucking mouth! I’m already pissed off enough as it is...!!”
“......”
Forte, now shaken, had no choice but to go silent.
Gula’s muttering only grew more unhinged.
As they passed a sentry post built atop a massive tree—the largest in the vicinity—he finally hit his boiling point.
“Fuck...! If I knew it’d be like this...! I should’ve just quit last year when they were accepting retirement applications...! But nooo, I just had to stay to scrape a little more research funding... ‘Era of Peace’ my ass! Fucking royal trash worms...”
“Professor, excuse me―”
Forte, unable to take it anymore, tried to speak up again.
“Shut the fuck up, Asimov! You piece of shit!!”
Gula came to a sudden stop.
Clack—
Then raised his gun and aimed it at the three cadets.
“...Professor...?”
The three of them froze.
“Wh-What are you doing?!”
“Professor Gula, don’t tell me you’re a traitor...?”
Dominic blurted out the question in disbelief.
“Get the fuck out of here!!”
“P-Professor...! Since when were you—no, why are you doing this?! Please don’t!”
“Why shouldn’t I?!”
“......!!”
“Why the fuck shouldn’t I ditch you little shits, huh?! Why?!”
Gula exploded.
“Get lost!! You goddamn failure cadet trash! Get lost!! I’m done dragging your worthless asses around! I need to find a way to save my own goddamn skin!”
“P-Professor......!”
“If you don’t move, I’ll put a fucking hole in your heads! You hear me!?”
Hwaru burst into tears, shocked.
But Forte clenched his jaw, grabbed Hwaru, and broke into a sprint with Dominic.
“You’re fucking insane! Fuck off!”
The trio disappeared into the forest.
Gula remained where he stood.
His expression calm again.
But he didn’t run anywhere.
He simply stood there, alone.
“......”
Eventually, the professor turned his gaze behind him.
Toward the bushes in the distance.
Toward the Kreutz assassins approaching.
“...Fuck.”
And he muttered to himself.
“...Why the hell... am I still here.”