Outside the window, the night sky was visible.
This world’s version of Earth had rings like Saturn.
The "ring," visible only at night, stretched faintly across the vertical sky.
Behind the ring, a scattering of stars flickered in the night.
Only 33 stars existed in this world, and humans worshipped them.
That’s why the name of the growth currency is Star Fragment.
‘Time for training.’
Today had been the longest day of my life.
I survived—barely, and only thanks to luck—but I couldn’t expect such fortune a second time.
From now on, I had to get stronger.
‘My current status is...’
───
▶ Dante Hiakapo
- [Stats] : 1
- [Mana] : 100
- [Special Abilities] : ×
───
Absolutely rock bottom.
< Star Fragments in possession: 1,000 >
This was today’s haul.
A 1,000x reward—essentially months or even years’ worth of growth resources all at once.
‘How should I grow?’
It had been my question since this morning.
‘Growth resources are invested into Stats and the 12 Special Ability Types.’
There are a total of 12 core paths.
Curses, Throwing, Stealth, Traps-Poison, Combat, Sniping, Magic, Illusions, Summoning-Taming, Movement Arts, Alchemy, Totems.
If I invest all 1,000 Star Fragments into one, I can unlock a Level 9 ultimate ability in that category.
For example, if I pour all 1,000 into [Stealth], I’ll be able to use [Stealth] on par with 「Silent Star ○」, the greatest stealth assassin in the setting.
‘But... there’s something to consider.’
Even if I raise one of these abilities, would I really be able to dodge the cadets’ assassination attempts?
[Stealth] won’t work. Just hiding won’t keep me alive.
[Movement Arts] won’t either. Running away won’t save me.
So logically, I should probably level up [Combat]...
‘But if I raise [Combat], I can’t teach class.’
While everyone else is disappearing and flying around, what good is smashing walls?
‘Even if I gain the Lv.9 [Combat] ability, I’ll still lack base stats and skill proficiency. Which means I’ll still be weaker than the Dormant Dragon cadets...’
I can’t even think about fighting them.
That would undermine my authority.
To fight means to recognize someone as an obstacle to overcome.
And what kind of species are humans, anyway? A species that dies within 3 minutes of drowning and yet rides planks of wood across oceans—the most insane monster species in history.
‘The other professors weren’t assassinated one-on-one, either.’
I must never become a rival.
‘I can only survive by appearing overwhelming.'
Like Zhuge Liang sitting atop the fortress, strumming his zither with the gates wide open.
Or three illusion carriers.
Or Kim Jong-un threatening to turn Seoul into a sea of fire.
...Okay, maybe not that one.
Deception tactics.
That’s the only solution for this [Hell Mode].
Based on that conclusion, I made my choice.
It was [Forbidden Arts].
‘Forbidden Arts—abilities banned across the entire continent.’
If you’re caught, you become a target for extermination by the whole world.
But if people find out I’m an empty shell, I’m dead anyway.
What I wanted to learn was one of the most dangerous of the Forbidden.
< Forbidden Illusion │ You have selected the [Lv.9] Authority 『World Forgery』. >
An ability devised by ‘Abraxas,’ the first Grandmaster of the Black Path and the strongest assassin in history during the First Assassination War.
『 World Forgery 』
It is dream and phantom. A day's foam and mirage.
And yet, it can manifest the whole world.
It doesn’t just show illusions. They can be touched, smelled, and even contain mana—an ultra-advanced [Illusion] that creates complete, tangible phantasms.
The downside is that the phantasms have low durability and near-zero attack power. That’s the limitation of [Illusion] itself.
‘Getting stronger can wait.’
[Hiaka Academy] is a game about identifying and killing demons hiding among humans. The professor assassinations are just the final chapter of that story.
But the main plot hasn’t reached that point yet.
< Cost is 750 Star Fragments. Proceed with investment? >
With this, I buy myself time until I can gather more growth resources.
< Investment complete. >
< You have acquired the Forbidden Illusion │ [Lv.9] Authority 『World Forgery』. >
A searing sensation spread from my chest throughout my body.
At the same time, my overall combat power skyrocketed.
< Total Combat Power: 1 → 68,023 (▲68,022) >
‘...But this is only the beginning.’
[Illusion] is, to use a metaphor, like design or 3D modeling.
It’s an incredibly labor-intensive ability.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Sword] 』
A janky, misshapen sword appeared.
The more you understand reality, the more detailed your forged item becomes.
The hilt, length, shape, texture, light reflection. Since this is a game world, you also need mana, killing intent, and pressure, etc.
Minimum several years. Maybe over a decade of work.
This is a Lv.9 ability.
But—
< To reach 84.55% proficiency will cost 200 Star Fragments. Proceed? >
< Investment complete. >
< Total Combat Power: 68,023 → 108,158 (▲40,135) >
I closed my eyes tight, then opened them again.
A sword was floating in the air.
A pretty convincing sword, at that.
< 『World Forgery』 Proficiency: 84.55% >
No mistake—knowledge and insight about [Illusion] were pouring into my head in real time.
I grabbed the floating sword.
It held in my hand.
It had weight. It had texture.
Touching the edge made it feel like it could slice flesh open.
So I reversed my grip—and drove it hard into my thigh.
Clang—!
The blade tip shattered into fragments.
‘This is the limit.’
Even as an ultra-advanced [Illusion], illusion is still illusion.
No matter what I make, [Durability] is low and [Attack Power] is zero. Sure, I can blind someone with a flash of light, but physically, that’s the hard limit.
Its duration isn’t long either. The more mana I pour in, the longer it lasts, but still—
‘Let’s try a bit more.’
< [MP]: 95 / 100 (▼5) >
Also, losing 1/20 of my mana just to make one sword is a problem.
If I make 20 swords, I’m out—that’s totally premature and weak.
No choice—I had to invest the remaining Star Fragments into mana.
All 50 of them.
< [Max MP]: 100 → 1,100 (▲1,000) >
< Total Combat Power: 108,158 → 113,158 (▲5,000) >
That’s +20 per Star Fragment, for a total increase of 1,000.
I used that to run various experiments.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Sword of Light] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Sword of Lightning] 』
Weapons with attributes were created.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Fire] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Water] 』
Even complex matter and phenomena could be reproduced.
In the case of water, my clothes actually got wet.
Fire gave off heat when I approached it—but when I touched it, it didn’t burn.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Explosion] 』
Puhng–!
There was sound and impact—but no real damage.
It was the limit of interaction.
‘Remember this. 『World Forgery』 is, after all, just an imitation ability.’
Like counterfeit bills—up close, you can tell they’re fake.
But at a glance, they look real.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Bell] 』
Ding!
Even sound could be reproduced.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Giant Bell] 』
DOOOOONG—!
Even large-scale sounds like this could be rendered.
Loud enough to make your ears ring.
– Professor?
Even Adele showed up, worried about the noise.
I told her it was nothing and sent her back.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Fireball] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Wall Summon] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Flying Sword Formation] 』
Even magic and abilities could be created.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [10,000 Hika Bill] 』
Naturally, I could make counterfeit currency too.
Equivalent to a 1 million won bill in real life.
But I could tell—it was an imperfect counterfeit.
It could fool a person, but not [Detection] equipment or advanced scanners.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Strawberry Cake] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Fried Chicken] 』
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Dante] 』
I could even make food and people.
The food smelled and tasted real, but had no sense of fullness—and when it disappeared, a hollow feeling followed.
As for people, they could move when given command inputs.
『 World Forgery: Set Behavior Variable [Dance] 』
A me that started doing a cat dance.
Hmm...
『 World Forgery: Set Behavior Variable [Levitate] 』
A me floating in midair.
It could even do things I couldn’t do in real life.
But the low durability was the same. A handshake was fine, but if I tried to break the fingers with force—
Clang—!
The forged version of my arm shattered.
『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Demon King] 』
By the way, the game had been expanded into a ‘Hero Fantasy’ via DLC, right?
I figured I’d try forging the final boss, the Demon King.
『 World Forgery: Failed 』
It didn’t work.
Maybe because I’ve never seen it?
No—that wasn’t it.
So I decided to run one more test.
『 World Forgery: Set Behavior Variable [Smile] 』
The forged Dante didn’t smile.
So /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ I looked in the mirror, smiled, and tried again.
『 World Forgery: Set Behavior Variable [Smile] 』
Now the forged Dante smiled—grinning like a villain up to no good.
And that confirmed it.
The condition for forgery isn’t experience, but imagination.
If I can’t imagine it, I can’t forge it.
‘I couldn’t forge a smile because I couldn’t even imagine myself smiling.’
Even when I did smile... it wasn’t exactly pleasant to look at.
It was like watching a devil plotting something nasty...
Alright. I’d built up a decent understanding by this point.
Lastly—
If I invested a little more mana,
I could forge space.
『 World Forgery: Space Forgery [Flower Field] 』
Without any context, and with no water or soil—
Flowers suddenly bloomed everywhere.
Before long, my room and I were completely covered in vivid blossoms.
I opened my hand—and revealed a single dandelion.
‘If I take this further... something like this might be possible.’
『 World Forgery: Space Forgery [Near-Death Experience] 』
In an instant—everything around me sank into darkness.
Time, space, everything warped.
In this place, even virtual sensation could be applied.
‘...I can forge sensation too.’
Let’s say, for example, my wrist had been cut off.
Then my hand would drop to the floor—still holding a black flower.
Plop—
Of course, it was just a phantasm. My real hand was fine.
But it wouldn’t be easy to tell.
‘It feels like my hand is really gone. Even I feel like it’s actually severed.’
After about 30 minutes of playing with illusions—
I felt a warm sensation trickling from my nose. I touched it—and saw blood.
I quickly shut down 『World Forgery』. The flower field and the severed wrist vanished, revealing my normal room.
‘Feeling dizzy...’
< [MP]: 14 / 1,100 >
< [Overload], status effect applied. >
I’d expelled too much mana in too short a time. I decided that was enough training for now.
I washed up in hot water and collapsed onto the bed. My brain felt like it was melting as I drifted into unconsciousness.
A funny thought suddenly popped into my head.
After all that today—what if I woke up tomorrow and found myself back home?
That’d be hilarious. Like it was all just a dream after all...
– Professor, it’s morning!
...Yeah. Right.