Chapter 31
Chapter 31
31
EP11 - Professor Assassination: Illusion Magic (2)
The masses constantly demand.
That a hero prove themselves.
Past glory is quickly dismissed as history. Emotional fervor cools like a teacup.
Therefore, the exceptional must constantly prove their excellence.
Otherwise, they must be prepared to be pointed at for daring to raise the expectations of the masses, and even the smallest flaws will be exposed and criticized.
In the case of Professor Dante, he was not a hero. But he was being treated as something similar.
His evasion of assassination on the first day. The Marina Elise incident. The defeat of the proxy assassination. The murder of Professor Hakon, and so on. These had made him a kind of star professor.
Therefore, some Students began to doubt his teaching methods.
We roughly know that he is strong.
But does he pass as a teaching method?
Do you have the qualifications to conduct a comprehensive and high-level class called '12 Supernatural Power Systems'?
This doubt grew as he dragged on a boring history class called 'History of Superpower' for more than two weeks, and it continued until today.
Amid such expectations and doubts.
In the lecture hall with everyone's attention focused.
"How can we kill a person?"
Professor Dante began his lecture.
"This was a contemplation that began long ago with a brother who envied his younger brother."
A calm yet weighty voice.
"God favored only the younger brother. One day, as jealousy soared, the older brother decided to kill his younger brother. It would be best if it were somewhere others could not see. So he said to his younger brother. My brother. Let us go out into the field together."
The professor grabbed the wrist of the assistant, who was standing blankly, and went out of the platform. "...Oh my."
"And he looked around. There happened to be a suitable tool."
Suddenly, a 'sharp stone' appeared in the air.
It was an amazing [Illusion Magic] to the Students.
Because it appeared without any 'Magical Imprint'.
"In humanity's first assassination. There is an expression that the younger brother's blood stained the field, so the tool was probably a club or a stone."
Dante pretended to hit Adele with it. "Ouch." As Adele slumped into her chair, laughter flowed among the Students.
"...However, as the first murder weapon, clubs or stones were not very suitable. The younger brother did not die in one blow. He had to be chased and killed while running away. Because he screamed, his parents heard. That was the problem. It was not secretive."
Instantly, the floor of the lecture hall was reversed. "Wow." A desolate field unfolded before their eyes, and the blood flowing from Adele adorned it.
The Students all doubted their eyes. Because it was a shockingly detailed [Illusion Magic].
'Wow. What is it?'
'Crazy, is that Illusion Magic…?'
Filling such a large space in such a detailed form. Without even a small spark (Magical Imprint) flying?
At the Student level, it is difficult to control the Magical Imprint even when creating a single match.
'…….'
At the same time, shock spread across Ruine's face as well.
"The older brother had to live his whole life in fear that someone else would kill him."
Even after unfolding [Illusion Magic] of a distant realm that they could not reach even with a lifetime of effort, Professor Dante continued to speak as if nothing had happened.
"Despite being a murderer, he feared his own death. So at some point, he would have regretted it. That he should have killed his younger brother more secretly…. Without the father, without the mother…. Not even God knew……."
From this point, humanity's contemplation of 'assassination' begins.
Dante quickly skimmed through 'the history of the development of the 12 Supernatural Power Systems'.
He had to kill the guy with the sword [Combat Type]. Bows and throwing stars [Throwing-type] were created.
Footwork [Footwork-type] was created to stick to and kill the guy with the bow [Throwing-type].
Before Footwork [Footwork-type] became useful, guns [Sniping System] were developed to commit murder.
Magic [Magic System] was developed to block guns [Sniping System].
"In the age of magic, no one tried to assassinate in only one way anymore."
[Stealth System] to reach when they cannot be reached.
[Trap Arts] to cut off the ankles of those who move.
Since it is difficult to kill with Traps, [Poison Arts] to kill with those small wounds.
Alchemy [Alchemy] and Totems [Totem] to create tools in places where killing tools cannot be brought in…….
That is how assassination has evolved.
"In modern times, mankind has contemplated the root of assassination. At the end of that, our seniors found amazing possibilities in the lewd playthings of magicians."
The professor said it was [Illusion Magic].
Until then, [Illusion Magic] was a forbidden art that controlled the senses and was only used as the licentious entertainment of nobles.
The situation changed as it fell into the hands of assassins.
"The basis of [Illusion Magic] is the distortion of the senses. Its purpose is to make the invisible visible. To make the inaudible audible. If you go to the end, it is possible to distort the existence itself beyond the five senses and Mana."
Professor Dante snapped his fingers.
Snap-
Then he created five handsome and well-built men and surrounded Adele, who was sitting in a chair.
"Oh my…."
Each was a Phantasm of an obsessive yandere, a large dog, an airhead, a middle-aged gentleman, and a cat-like tragic male lead.
They leaned over and embraced Adele, looking at her with suggestive eyes.
"Oh my, oh my…."
Surprised, Adele turned beet red and covered her face, except for her eyes, and looked around.
"How is it, Adele? The impression of being surrounded by false men."
"What do you think of me…? ……I like it…."
Laughter erupted among the Students.
"Assassination is a word that mixes murder and deception. The form in which deception is elevated to a high level is [Illusion Magic]."
"The most important thing in distorting the senses is to find out what senses the target wants. Because humans always sense what they want. If that's the case, then next―"
Snap-
When Professor Dante snapped his fingers again, five men took out their swords and pointed them at Adele.
Adele was surprised and tried to escape, but to no avail. Because the men's arms and legs were intertwined like snakes.
A form on the verge of murder, like a poster for a suggestive movie.
"……Please save me, Professor."
When Adele carefully raised both hands, laughter erupted again among the Students.
"The assistant should be careful of handsome men."
"Yes…."
When Dante removed the Phantasms, Adele finally sighed, saying she almost died.
By this time, all the Students were completely sucked into the class.
Ruine and her friends were also like that.
'It's really crazy, wow….'
'No, what is the Superpower level of the new professor….'
Everyone who had doubted Dante until just now had their thoughts shattered.
The attitude of trying to evaluate his full-fledged lecture had also disappeared without a trace.
The flow from the history of murder to [Illusion Magic]. And a concrete example of how destructive that [Illusion Magic] is……. Even the Superpower that shows it is close to perfect.
Now, everyone who participated in the class was concentrating on listening to his every word.
* * *
However, even while the Students were all immersed in his class.
Someone was thinking differently in their head.
It was Elise Ksikos, a Student of the Hidden Dragon Society.
'……??'
A pencil placed on her philtrum.
With her lips pouting, she was listening to the lecture blankly, when she suddenly raised her hand with a question.
"Professor. I have a question."
Professor Dante gestured.
"Ask your question."
At this time, the Students looked at the two with interesting eyes.
Come to think of it, Elise and Dante's classes were incompatible.
Unlike Dante's 'revealing' [Illusion Magic].
Elise is the daughter of the Shadowless Star Seat, a Student with excellent 'disappearing' abilities.
"Is [Illusion Magic] really necessary for assassination?"
"In detail."
"Ah, um. Assassination is about killing people secretly. Can't you just hide and stab them?"
As the Students expected, a fundamental question popped out.
'Disappearing' is the fundamental value of an assassin.
And Elise was a Student who disappeared better than anyone else.
Didn't her family receive praise as the best assassination family on the Hiaka continent, surpassing the White Path, with only disappearing?
'Wow. What will the professor answer here?'
'It's a really difficult question….'
'How can you answer in front of Elise that revealing is more important than disappearing?'
While the Students held their breath and waited for an answer, Dante opened his mouth as if nothing was wrong.
"Elise. Do you know how to hide a tree?"
"How to hide a tree?"
Snap-! When Dante snapped his fingers, a tree appeared right in front of Elise.
Elise looked at the tree blankly and then touched it.
"Um, like this…."
Then an amazing thing happened. The tree Phantasm turned transparent and disappeared.
The Students were shocked. Elise had even eliminated the Phantasm occupied by someone else's Mana with Stealth [Stealth].
'Crazy. She's putting Stealth [Stealth] on the Illusion Magic she just saw for the first time?'
'What is she? Even if she's from the Hidden Dragon Society, how can she do that…….'
That is also a realm that is not easy even if you become a professor. But Dante nodded as if nothing was wrong.
"Well done. But there is no reason to express only disappearing as 'hidden'."
"Then?"
At Dante's gesture, the tree that Elise had disappeared was revealed.
Snap!
The moment he snapped his fingers. A strong gust of wind blew.
Whoosh-!
When the Students closed their eyes and opened them, there were as many as a dozen tree Phantasms.
While the Students were shocked that the Magical Imprint was not visible this time either, Professor Dante asked.
"I ask you. Where is the tree?"
Elise and all the Students widened their eyes.
"……!"
Since a dozen trees that looked exactly the same were gathered in one place, it became impossible to distinguish which was the original tree.
"...I don't know."
When Elise blinked and answered, Dante asked again.
"Then, is that tree 'hidden'?"
"Yes…."
"That's right. So another way to hide a tree is to put it in the forest."
Only then did the Students fully understand. Why 'revealing' is as important as 'disappearing'.
That 'hiding' is a phenomenon that occurs in interaction with the background.
'Ah, so that's why it's harder to catch a sniper in a crowd….'
'There was a case where someone disguised themselves among the guards and assassinated the royal family, right?'
Enlightenment was descending there.
"……From this class, you will learn about basic Illusion Magic [Illusion Magic] from me."
The class after that continued hazily as if flowing in a dream.
The Students learned about basic Illusion Magic [Illusion Magic] from Dante. And for Students who already knew how to do it, there was a slightly higher level of Illusion Magic [Illusion Magic] teaching.
While everyone was happily attending class like that.
Professor Dante shattered the Students' joy.
"There will be an assignment for today's class. The amount is not very large, so you don't have to worry."
However, as they looked at the contents of the two-page assignment handout, the Students' expressions gradually turned black.
There was a lot of homework.
It wasn't just a lot, it was too, too, too much.
'Uh, uh…? Is this right…?'
'How can we do all this by next week…?'
The Students were shocked in silence. However, Dante did not always look at the Script [Script], so he spoke based on his own standards without much thought.
"If you concentrate, you can do it in fifteen minutes."
The Students blinked.
'What the hell are you talking about.'
The class ended in such shock and horror.
* * *
After class ended and Professor Dante left the lecture hall.
Elise approached the Students around her and spoke.
"How was today's class?"
She kept asking such questions to explain to Gray.
The first Student to receive the question was Ruine.
"Uh, uh?"
"How was it, Professor's class? I don't know much about Illusion Magic [Illusion Magic]."
Her lips twitched, then turned into a bitter smile.
Because all the unpleasant feelings had disappeared.
Ruine answered with a sigh.
"……It was the best."