Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Episode 4
EP2 - New Professor (3)
A cool breeze blew in through the window on a spring day.
Students entered the lecture hall one by one.
To attend the first class of the new professor, Dante Hiacapo, 'Understanding Assassination and Abilities.'
The number was roughly thirty.
Among them was Joaquin, a Student from Moon Shadow Academy, with red hair, walking with his hands in his pockets. Leading a group of about six or seven followers.
Then, he approached Forte, the punching bag.
"Forte."
Forte of Moon Shadow Academy didn't turn around. Hwaru and Dominic beside him only glanced sideways with blank expressions.
"Hey, you moron. I heard you got chewed out by the new professor."
Forte's eyes twitched.
Hwaru and Dominic, feeling guilty, avoided eye contact.
Those bastards.
"...Get lost."
"Looks like the retards are having fun together."
Laughter erupted and spread to the six or seven behind him.
"Why are you still clinging to Moon Shadow Academy? You're failing. You get chewed out by a professor who doesn't even attend classes. You even get your gun taken away. Stop embarrassing us and get out."
"I said get lost, Joaquin."
"It's embarrassing, you bastard. You're ruining our academy's reputation."
It was then.
Forte, who had been sitting, suddenly stood up and grabbed Joaquin by the collar.
"This crazy bastard, I told you to get lost."
Then, Joaquin's teammates approached.
"Is this guy crazy?"
"Hey. Let go?"
Just as they were about to push Forte, who was grabbing the collar, away.
Forte's fist landed on one of the teammates.
Pow!
With his head snapping back, two people tumbled backward.
The atmosphere in the lecture hall instantly cooled down. Tension spread among the Students.
Joaquin said with a serious face.
"Try it on me."
"Want me to?"
"Try it. You son of a bitch. I was already annoyed with you, I'm going to kill you today."
"You think I can't?"
Forte reached for the revolver at his waist, and Joaquin also reached for the dagger at his waist.
As the tension gradually increased, someone among the Students shouted. "Hey. Stop it. Class is starting." It was indeed time for the professor to arrive.
"Watch closely. You moronic retard."
"...What, you little punk?"
"Watch what I do. You and your deficient friends. I'll take your graduation certificate for you today."
Hwaru said, flustered.
"...I'm not deficient, okay?"
Forte wished Hwaru would just shut up for once.
"Let's go."
Joaquin moved, taking his teammates with him.
He took out a dagger from his waist and then melted into the space. It was Form Concealment, a mid-level Stealth ability.
The teammates beside him also deployed Stealth and hid near the door. Then, they waited, hanging on the side and above the doorframe.
Waiting for prey to enter.
"Hey. It's the professor's first class, shouldn't we stop them...?"
"Leave them be. Let's not get involved..."
Some Students worried about the situation that would unfold.
"...Those vulgar guys."
"I don't know why they're doing that."
Other Students frowned but watched the situation with interest. Because the level of Stealth was quite high for Students.
If it were an incompetent professor, the ambush might work.
Tick. Tock.
The class time gradually approached.
The Students felt uneasy, but at the same time, they couldn't take their eyes off the unfolding situation out of curiosity.
Tick.
Finally, it was time.
But what was this? The door didn't open.
Even though footsteps were heard.
"......"
Joaquin frowned.
What was going on?
Footsteps were heard.
They were getting closer.
It meant the professor was at the door.
Moreover, the footsteps were quite loud. As if he didn't even know about assassination.
Yet, he stopped at the door.
Clack-
The next moment, the sound of a rifle being loaded was heard from outside the door.
It was the sound of a lever-action rifle being loaded.
-
...Professor?
Immediately after the voice of the assistant Adele was heard. Joaquin hurriedly gestured.
The professor was going to shoot!
The gang desperately released Stealth and distanced themselves.
After that, the door opened, and the professor entered the lecture hall with a lever-action rifle slung over his shoulder.
Then, the Guillotine Trap that had been set up in advance activated.
The blade fell! Above the professor's head...!!
Bang-!!
With a huge impact, the Trap was blown away entirely.
The professor had shot the Trap and destroyed it!
Joaquin made a distorted face, and Forte clenched his teeth. It was his gun.
However, Joaquin focused. There was still a chance left. Professor Dante rotated the rifle to work the lever action, taking a step forward.
Three steps.
Two steps….
Just one more step was needed here.
If he just took one more step closer.
…The barrel of the gun touched his head.
"Did you lead this assassination attempt?"
Joaquin's eyes widened. Professor Dante was pointing the gun at him.
At him!
‘……!’
He desperately tried to pull away and fell backward.
Thump!
Moon Shadow Academy was an academy for Students with their own genius. An elite group of only 30 out of 1,200 first-year Assassination Studies Students.
And his Stealth was comparable to that of most active assassins. Even the top-ranked Hidden Dragon Academy, with only seven members, would acknowledge his Stealth.
In that situation, there was no reason to suspect he would use Stealth, and even with seven gang members moving around and making noise. Yet, he noticed it right away?
Soon, Joaquin asked.
"...How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"My Stealth is the best in the grade."
Before the assassination, academic curiosity arose.
"What are you talking about? Even a blind person could tell."
Laughter erupted among the Students.
With dozens of Students' gazes focused on him, and the subtle sneer on Forte's face, Joaquin became serious.
"This professor has a keen eye."
Returning to his seat, he said it to somehow put him down, but the professor ignored his words.
However, the words that followed struck Joaquin in the back of the head like a hammer.
"When are you planning to come out?"
Joaquin momentarily wondered. Because Dante was looking in the direction where he had been hiding and speaking.
What was there...?
At that moment, a human form appeared in the air right behind the wall of the ceiling where he had been hiding.
"......!"
Joaquin was even more horrified inside. A female Student with pink hair and a puppy-like impression came down.
She was Elise, a Student of Hidden Dragon Academy and the daughter of the legendary assassin "Shadowless Star Seat."
It was shocking.
She had been using Stealth behind him?
Since when?
…The professor, he had recognized something even he didn't know?
"Go to your seat."
"Yes."
Elise bowed her head and turned away.
Dante turned his head and looked around the lecture hall. Even without a single word, all the Students had to be mindful of his actions and expressions. Everyone knew how high-level Joaquin and Elise were.
Soon, when Elise sat down, he moved.
Then, he stood on the podium.
* * *
In my opinion, an assassin is a socialized beast.
"I am Dante Hiacapo, the new professor of Assassination Studies."
Like a lion crawling through a reed bed, trying to kill a gazelle, but in the form of a human.
"From today, I plan to use this lecture to teach you 'Understanding Assassination and Abilities' for the rest of the semester."
From now on, I would be teaching such lions. I must never look weak or show my back.
"The ultimate purpose and direction of the class is for you, the weak, to become stronger by understanding abilities."
Actually, I'm the weakest.
Fortunately, picking out the Students who were aiming for assassination with the Name Tags above their heads seemed to have worked on everyone. There were no Students trying to kill me right now.
The emotions that appeared in the Script were diverse, including questions, anger, fear, and shock towards me. But there was a common thread in all those thoughts.
They were tense.
All the beasts in this place.
Towards me.
'......Huh.'
But then. A problem arose. Just as I was about to start the first class, my mind suddenly started to go blank.
'What should I say first?'
Even though time was short, I had definitely prepared.
There was a sequence of things to say. But I couldn't remember it.
'Why can't I remember...'
The problem was that there were still 45 minutes left of class.
Right now, everyone's attention was focused on me. But gradually, questions began to arise in the Students' eyes.
Because I kept silent. As the number of suspicious eyes increased, the white area in my head also began to increase.
'Damn it.'
I had to say something now.
But what...?
As I stood there silently, the atmosphere gradually became strange.
【 Assassination Studies 1st year Evelyn: 'Why is he standing still?' 】
【 Moon Shadow Academy 1st year Joaquin: 'What is it.' 】
【 Assassination Studies 1st year Derek: 'Should I try to assassinate him now.' 】
I opened my mouth, saying whatever came to mind.
"However, before starting the class..."
I briefly reviewed it once more. Whether I could say such a thing.
But, I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"This professor is disappointed in the level of the Hiacapo Assassination Studies department."
In an instant, the atmosphere in the lecture hall cooled down.
They were questioning my words.
"Today is my first day of work. It's my first class. Since this morning, there have been a total of ten Students who have tried to assassinate me. All of them failed."
Actually, I didn't even know what I was saying.
However, I continued to speak very slowly.
"Failure is a natural thing. Just as a child cannot defeat an adult, you, with your immature level, cannot defeat me, a professor. But... none of you showed any sincerity."
A voice as cold as I could be surprised myself. Forte and Joaquin's expressions became even stiffer.
"You succeeded in assassinating an incompetent professor with a clumsy level, so now you don't even know that you are trapped in a narrow well. To dare to attempt to assassinate me with such careless and low-level Traps and Stealth... Do you think I came here to play with children?"
It was then. Suddenly, a message popped up.
⧉ Tip: Raise your hand.
What was this.
I raised my hand as instructed.
Ting-!
Ah, damn it, that scared me.
Something bounced off the back of my hand and stuck into the table.
It was a shuriken.
Was that guy crazy? Throwing a shuriken while the professor was lecturing on the podium?
【 Moon Shadow Academy 1st year Forte: 'Huh!?' 】
【 Assassination Studies 1st year Derek: 'He deflected Joaquin's shuriken without even looking...!' 】
【 Assassination Studies 1st year Evelyn: 'That professor. What is his reaction speed...?' 】
The Students were all in shock.
I looked at the Student who threw the shuriken in the stiff atmosphere.
The guy avoided my gaze with a stiff expression.
【 Moon Shadow Academy 1st year Joaquin: 'Ah, shit...' 】
It was that guy from earlier. The leader of the hidden guys.
I almost died just now.
It was like walking on thin ice. First, I suppressed my pounding heart and opened my mouth.
"Student."
"Yes...?"
"What was I just talking about?"
"To do assassinations with sincerity..."
"The posture for throwing the shuriken was unnecessarily large, and it was terribly slow."
"......"
"In terms of points, you aimed for the neck, the thinnest part of the upper body. And the timing of the throw was terrible. The target would be on high alert for ambushes due to the continuous assassination attempts. Knowing that fact, you attempted a clumsy assassination. Even a sewer rat aiming for a bug wouldn't do that."
"......"
The guy couldn't say anything.
He was just trembling his jaw in anger.
"This is the second time."
A few seconds. After looking at him, I opened my mouth.
"Student, withdraw from the course."
Joaquin was shocked, and the Students were greatly surprised.
Because the person who said those words was the professor.
I turned my head and looked widely at the lecture hall. The first class was significant as the first button that determined the relationship between me and them. So I prepared in my own way.
The memories that had turned white slowly began to return. I could now teach the class.
"......If it's a class to play this kind of childish game, I don't feel like teaching at all."
But my mind had changed.
The hands of the Students who were fiddling with their textbooks stopped.
If the attitude of those who wanted to learn was so insincere, the professor had another option.
"I will not hold today's class."
In the silence that fell heavily.
I turned around and left the lecture hall.
EP2
New Professor
END