Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor-Chapter 40: Minor Error Space (1)

I have to protect Hiaka Academy.

The demons' objective is human extinction. There's no point in running from their onslaught. No matter where we go, we’ll die anyway.

So we have to fight.

If Hiaka Academy falls, half my methods for earning ‘Star Shards’ as a professor go out the window.

── Star Shard Acquisition Routes ──

Assassination requests or spy missions while affiliated with Hiaka Academy

Research, papers, lectures, and other activities as a professor of Hiaka

Killing demons

Increasing rapport with Dormant Dragon Academy

─────────────

In this way, the system tied me and Hiaka Academy together with brutal intensity. I had no patriotism—yet I had to stay here longer than any patriot ever could.

And for that reason...

After reviewing the core of the main story...

With a month gone by and the operation looming close...

“Augh, so cute!”

I was sitting in a ‘cat café’ with Adele.

“Ah, it’s so cute. So soft. A calico.”

While Adele was indulging herself, I sat on a chair at a distance.

Then a gray cat appeared before me and swished its tail.

I ignored it at first.

But the creature rose up and leaned against my leg.

As if demanding something.

“What.”

“......”

“Out.”

I gently nudged it away.

But the cat sprang up onto my lap and, as if determined, burrowed into my blazer and fell asleep.

Cats, these creatures... they really will lie down and nap anywhere.

“But, Professor... why are we coming here every day lately?”

“Because the cats are cute.”

“That's unexpected... I didn’t think you’d say something like that...”

“......”

Obviously, that was a lie.

I couldn’t care less about cats.

The real reason I came here was because this building used to be the ‘Senior Professor Hall.’

For the past several days, I had been eavesdropping on the conversations and thoughts of senior professors from here.

Even now, I was listening in on the conversations happening on the second and third floors.

【 Senior Professor Toy: “Professor! How can you be so calm?” 】

【 Senior Professor Wilhelm: “What now? Why are you losing your temper again?” 】

Two senior professors from White Saber were in the middle of an argument.

【 Senior Professor Toy: “You’re not taking this seriously! We haven’t had any contact with Professor Batalion! Doesn’t this mean those bastards really are abandoning Hiaka to go to Kreutz?” 】

【 Senior Professor Wilhelm: “Ahem! You’re always jumping to conclusions. We don’t know yet, do we? It might be a classified mission even the top brass isn’t aware of... What did Professor Baekwa say?” 】

【 “Come on, Professor! How is this a mission?! All three neutral senior professors have deserted!” 】

【 “Watch your tone...! What! Are you saying this is treason?!” 】

【 “Of course it’s treason!!” 】

The senior professors were shouting, lost in confusion and helplessness.

‘It’s finally here.’

A swift change in the tides.

The end of peace.

Their debates would only escalate from here. Internal chaos would accelerate.

And meanwhile, another communication script—eerily calm—surfaced in my view.

【 Dean of Assassination Shaman: <So you’re really going, huh?> 】

The one overseeing Zone 0 and the Department of Assassination at Hiaka.

Shaman Kreutz—the thick-jawed Dean of the Assassination Department.

【 Dean Shaman: <Professor Batalion. Are you seriously calling that a “career change”?> 】

He was in direct communication with the traitor.

【 “Since when does a career change involve stealing tech and personnel from your last employer? And betraying your country too? That’s treason. Straight betrayal.”

“What’d Kreutz offer you, huh? Fifty billion for betraying Hiaka? That’s it, right? Don’t pretend. I know everything.” 】

The price of betrayal: Fifty billion Hika.

That’s five trillion won. A monstrous sum.

【 “Fifty billion, huh. No taxes. Sweeter than honey. But what you’re trying to do is turn one entire nation and people into your enemy. That kind of weight... is not something you can shrug off.” 】

Just look at the dean’s surname and the gravity of his words becomes clear.

Shaman Kreutz.

A descendant of the Kreutz royal family—former enemies of this nation.

A man who had once betrayed Kreutz itself to defect to Hiaka.

【 “They called me a traitor when I was fifty and first taught you. And even now, at one hundred, I’m still called a traitor. Estranged from my family.

Why? Think it through. Reflect on the reason.” 】

【 “Consider this my final lesson.” 】

Click.

The <Communication> cut off.

I let out a sigh.

Everything was unfolding just as I’d anticipated.

‘...Still no real problem yet.’

For me, the only thing that matters is whether things are going according to my plan or not. That’s the only metric.

As an old veteran, I have a solution for every situation. If it’s a problem I’m aware of, then it doesn’t matter how big the crisis is.

And so far, everything had been fine. Even though this was [DLC], the core plotline remained the same. The events to come were predictable.

▷ Batalion would flee with what he’d stolen.

▷ In the meantime, assassins from Kreutz would raid the academy. (I’d already prepared for this.)

▶ Battle ensues. (Assassination War)

Originally, this sequence was just a 3-minute cutscene.

Hiaka would, one way or another, defend the academy.

Though partially destroyed in the process.

If things followed the expected flow, that’s how it would unfold...

⋮

It was noon.

“Hmm?”

Adele looked up.

The café suddenly grew dim.

Something was blocking the light source.

In other words—the sun.

“Eh? What’s that outside the window?”

“...Good question. What is that...?”

Right after the customers caught sight of something and grew uneasy—“WRAAEEEENG!!” “KYYAAAA!!”—the cats began to freak out, bolting in every direction.

“Wh-what the hell!” “Why are they acting like this?!”

People panicked too.

“Oh my? Hey! Where are you going...?!”

Even the one curled up in my lap shot off.

“Ah—!”

It slammed into the legs of a staff member carrying drinks.

The glass fell and shattered.

Clang—!

That clear, ringing sound echoed out... and a hush spread through the café.

Adele slowly stood up.

She felt the collective attention and turned her head in the same direction.

I looked as well.

Roughly 4,000 meters above us—

A black sphere had appeared.

Even in the harsh brightness of midday, it fully obscured what was within.

“Professor... what is that...?”

“......”

What I saw was different from what they were seeing.

They were likely staring at whatever was inside the black sphere.

In other words, I was the only one seeing the sphere itself—and I fully grasped the anomaly of the situation.

That thing is...

The same as the massive black dome that had once enveloped Eve’s resting place—

It was an Error Space.

***

“What the hell is that!?”

“How should I know!”

“Where did that even come from...?!”

Chaos began to spread among the cadets.

— Cadets and professors, please refrain from approaching or attacking the unidentified object. We have not yet identified the nature of the anomaly.

— Once again, we repeat. Cadets and professors, please...

The announcement rang throughout the campus.

Shortly after, an emergency faculty assembly was convened.

A meeting concerning the unidentified black [anomalous object] that had appeared above Zone 0.

Each professor tried to explain it based on their area of expertise. Yet no one, not even a single person, could give a clear answer.

Even professors from the Department of Magic and the Department of Martial Arts were summoned—but it was the same.

No one knew what the hell that thing was.

After three or four hours of fruitless discussion, the Department of Assassination decided to form a scouting party.

Until then, I had remained silent.

Only senior and head professors had been loudly going back and forth, and regular professors like me had no place in the conversation.

But once ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the scouting party was mentioned, all eyes turned to me.

“Professor Dante Hiakapo. Come with us.”

It was Leo, senior professor from White Saber, who spoke.

I was the only professor present who had recently faced an “unusual enemy.”

Then, someone voiced an objection.

“That would be unacceptable.”

It was Kollider, the ever-antagonistic neutral senior professor who always bared his fangs at the mere sight of me.

“And why exactly is that?” Leo asked.

“Professor Dante is impulsive and violent. He cannot control his emotions. He’s not suited to exploratory work involving unknown threats.”

A few neutral professors chimed in with murmurs of agreement.

Not that I cared much. Even if I wasn’t sent now, I had every intention of going on my own later.

But someone unexpectedly backed me up.

“No, it’s fine! I support him!”

It was Baekwa—the division chief of White Saber and a senior professor.

Kollider looked visibly taken aback.

“Professor...”

“Oh, I know. I get it. That guy’s a bit eccentric, sure. But he’s not the type to screw around in a situation like this. I vouch for him.”

“......”

“I second that.”

That time it was Betelgeuse, division chief of Black Abyss.

And with that, Kollider had no choice but to shut his mouth and sit down.

Couldn’t help but feel a phantom sting on my cheek—serves him right.

Thus, a six-person scouting party was assembled.

Leo, Vyper, me, Kollider...

And two senior professors as well.

“Kollider.”

I spoke to him on the way.

“Watch yourself.”

Kollider scrunched his face like someone who’d just walked into a signpost.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I just don’t think you’re needed on this kind of mission.”

“If you’re going to crawl around like a maggot even in a crisis like this, you’re putting all of us at risk.”

“You think I don’t know that? And who the hell do you think you are, lecturing me, you little shit—?”

I was this close to smacking him if he escalated.

Fortunately, he realized the seriousness of the situation and clammed up, putting some distance between us.

Which, conversely, meant the situation was so dire even that idiot was shaken.

Kollider was starting to suspect something.

His superior—one of the senior professors—had suddenly vanished.

And now, a strange, unknown phenomenon had appeared.

Was this really a coincidence?

He was staring into that black sphere and feeling fear.

“......”

It wasn’t just him.

Even the senior professors with us—[Grandmaster]-rank assassins, among the top 30 ranked in the country—were clearly tense.

Because it was unknown.

“Professors, let’s go. To the airship bay.”

“Yes, sir.”

To safely explore something 4,000 meters in the air, we needed to board an airship.

An airship—rarely deployed in Zone 0—was urgently called in, and we began boarding one by one.

“Departing!”

The winged vessel rose into the sky.

It flew for about ten minutes, heading directly to the target.

No one said a word along the way. Tension filled the air.

Only the quiet sound of Professor Leo sharpening a blade echoed.

Scrrk, scrrk—

Before long, the airship approached the massive [Error Space].

From my perspective, it felt like a giant wall closing in. My nerves tensed.

Thankfully, as before—like when I went to meet Eve—we passed into it without obstruction.

───

⧉ Tip: This is an [Error Space]. A spatial anomaly has occurred. A patch is scheduled for a future update. Details will be shared when available.

───

A familiar status window appeared.

And finally—we came face to face with the monster.

“...What the hell... Is that a hand?”

“Up close, it’s even more grotesque...”

A massive horizontal rupture split the air.

Its torn edges were clinging to empty space like broken graphics.

And from within that rupture... a giant arm extended.

Black. Textured like rock or steel.

Veins like red wires stretched across it, connecting down to the back of its hand.

Three of those grotesque arms.

That thing...

My jaw locked tight.

That monstrous being... was a demon with a single horn.

...Jinksythe.

● One-Horned Demon: Jinksythe

A demon’s strength is defined by the number of horns it bears.

The one I killed before—Professor Toxin—was a “hornless demon.” A basic variant.

But this one had one horn. Embedded somewhere near the unseen head inside the rupture.

It belonged to the Totem category of demons.

It occupied a wide area, cursed everything in range with its seven arms, and turned the battlefield into chaos.

Just a single horn’s difference—

Yet the gap in destructive power was indescribable.

This was a boss far too powerful and overwhelming to appear at this stage of the academy’s timeline.

The moment I recognized it as a demon, a deep loathing began to boil inside me.

But maybe because of what I’d gone through with Toxin—I was able to suppress the urge to explode.

Which led to a question.

Why... is that thing here now?

Originally, Jinksythe was supposed to appear...

Only around the time the Main Story Part 3 begins.

After the event “Betrayal and Collapse”, once Hiaka had partially recovered and the narrative advanced.

In other words, it shouldn’t show up for at least another six months.

So why now?

Is that what makes this an “Error Space”...?

...It’s still manageable.

Jinksythe is a creature whose entire form is basically one large head with seven attached arms.

When all seven arms emerge, its [Summoning] is complete.

But only three have appeared so far.

“Wh-whoa!?”

That was when Professor Leo shouted.

“The monster’s moving!!”

And indeed—it was.

Each of the three massive arms, about 20 meters long, along with six-fingered hands, began to twitch.

They bent at impossible angles—beyond what any human hand could endure.

It twisted and wriggled in the air, like trying to squeeze its way out through a narrow crack.

Its movements were slow, but the weight and scale of each motion were overwhelming.

......

A Calamity was trying to crawl its way into the world.