Villain Takes Over The Academy

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 13

"...Did you see that?"

At the entrance of Hwadam Library.

Shin A-sol and Okamoto, who had just entered the library following the footprints, looked at the scene unfolding in the lobby with disbelief.

They were already surprised to witness a high-powered flame spell as soon as they entered the library, and Arche's dispel spell that followed was equally astonishing.

But the most unbelievable sight was something else entirely.

"That professor, isn't he Professor D of the Deconstructionist Department? The one with all those rumors..."

Okamoto said, still in awe.

"He's amazing, unlike the rumors. He blocked the [Argonian One-Point Radiation], didn't he? And with his bare hands."

As the ace of the Alchemy Department who had studied spells from various departments, he was simply amazed. At least, among the professors he had seen, there was no professor who had taught such a miraculous skill.

"...I wonder how that's even possible."

Shin A-sol, on the other hand, couldn't understand beyond being surprised.

She had learned countless ways to counterattack spells in the Defense Department, but she had never seen or heard of such a defensive technique.

It was a strategy that was too far removed from the military's methods.

‘Do they teach that in the Deconstructionist Department...?’

Shin A-sol, who by nature dug deep into one thing, had never been interested in the minority department.

When she heard that it was being added to the Masterclass, as there were hardly any majors, she couldn't even understand it.

She had thought that the vice-principal was just taking bribes from somewhere and adding a baseless department...

‘Was I wrong this time?’

Shin A-sol didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't ignore what she had seen with her own eyes.

Okamoto nodded beside her and added.

"Come to think of it, I heard he was the teacher of that 'crazy Bill Roper', right? It's only natural that he has solid skills."

Crazy Bill Roper.

He was a subject of research in various papers due to his unique combat style.

He was also the reason why Professor D's name became known to the world. He was the most representative top-tier soldier born from the Deconstructionist Department.

"That person was the teacher of Bill Roper..."

Shin A-sol had often watched videos of Bill Roper's activities on the anti-villain front. She had learned a lot from his battles where he exploited the weaknesses of villains from a unique perspective.

'The way he finds weaknesses is definitely similar to Bill Roper's. But...'

Shin A-sol felt a strange unease about Professor D's appearance. For someone who taught military cadets, he somehow gave off an ominous aura.

As if he didn't belong in this academy.

* * *

"What a monster! I'll get you later!"

The Phantom Thief activated a spell scroll, opened a spatial portal, and jumped in.

I watched her calmly.

'Such a cliché line while running away.'

Hearing such lines sometimes makes me realize anew that this world is based on a game.

"The thief escaped through the portal! Shouldn't we chase after her?"

"It's okay. We can't catch her anyway."

I calmed down the excited Arche.

It's almost impossible to track the Phantom Thief's spatial movement because the magic circle is difficult to analyze. That's why, even in the actual game, Shin A-sol and the player could only chase the thief out of the academy but couldn't catch her.

'The title of Phantom Thief is well-deserved.'

But thanks to that, solving the Phantom Thief quest will cause a big stir.

The fact that the thief who caused a commotion in the academy was the Phantom Thief will be revealed, and the player who chased away the thief will receive a lot of spotlight...

And now, that effect applies directly to me.

"The thief was the famous Phantom Thief?!"

"Oh my god! How could a thief like that come to this academy...?"

After the thief escaped through the portal the library was suddenly crowded with guards and faculty who had arrived late.

Having heard from Arche about the thief's identity, they talked seriously, saying that they had almost lost all the academy's treasures.

"But who is that person?"

While talking among themselves, some people looked at me and tilted their heads.

Someone whispered, "Isn't that the new professor? The one from the Deconstructionist Department..."

"Professor D? That guy?"

As soon as they knew his identity, the way they called me instantly changed from 'that person' to 'that guy'.

'What kind of rumors have they heard?'

I wondered, feeling the sharp glances of people who had suddenly become hostile.

I knew my image wasn't good, but was it that bad?

"Professor Do Jin-hak found the thief."

As the voices of people whispering about me became increasingly irritating, Arche spoke.

"Professor Do is the one who recovered the books from the thief and chased her out of the academy."

"Is that true? That guy... no, that professor found and defeated the thief?"

The faculty members asked as if they had heard something unbelievable.

Arche nodded vigorously.

"If it weren't for Professor Do, we would never have been able to recover the precious books from the library. I would have died at the hands of the thief too."

"That can't be..."

Now they started staring at me with confused eyes. Then, after murmuring among themselves for a while, they approached me with reluctant expressions.

"You said your name is Professor Do Jin-hak, right? You've done a great job right after joining."

"I heard that even the professors of the Enchantment Department couldn't detect the Phantom Thief's disguise, but you were able to see through it..."

"Indeed, your reputation as the head of the Deconstructionist Department is well-deserved."

Although they were hesitant, their words were sincere. It was also proof that the Phantom Thief's notoriety was widely known.

Beep-

A message appeared in front of me along with an alarm.

[You can feel a change in people's perception of you.]

[Your reputation as Do Jin-hak greatly increases by solving the academy theft case.]

[Do Jin-hak's reputation score is adjusted from -99 to -55.]

[Overall, people's favorability towards Do Jin-hak has increased.]

The message that appeared along with the thank-you was exactly what I had been waiting for.

"Ahem... Well, we're busy right now. Let's talk later when we have time."

The faculty members started to get busy again, tidying up the aftermath of the incident.

But I couldn't take my eyes off the message for a long time. To be exact, the ridiculously low reputation score was very eye-catching.

'My reputation score was -99?'

In the world of Military Chronicle, reputation serves as an important indicator of a person's value. It's difficult to raise, but it's also difficult to lower, so it's almost impossible to drop below zero unless you commit a serious crime.

'How did rumors spread about this guy, Do Jin-hak, to make his reputation like this?'Nôv(el)B\\jnn

To drop to a reputation score of -99, you'd have to commit something like serial murder. Of course, I knew about Professor D's notoriety, but...

Somehow, this guy's image in this academy was worse than I knew.

It certainly wasn't this bad in the game...

'Wait... Could this be Seo Su-kyung's doing?'

As I traced the cause, her face suddenly came to mind.

Come to think of it, when she made a secret proposal in my office, she seemed to know that I couldn't refuse.

As if she knew about my conversation with the vice-principal.

'Yes... Considering her cunning nature, she could very well have pulled off this kind of scheme.'

Spreading rumors about me to drive the Deconstructionist Department to the brink of extinction, and pretending to kindly join the Deconstructionist Department on her own initiative to take a dominant position.

It's a bullying strategy that Seo Su-kyung could easily come up with.

'Unfortunately, things won't go your way.'

I've been deceived by Seo Su-kyung's schemes dozens of times over 137 playthroughs. This time must be different.

'It's about time she showed up...'

Amidst the people busy cleaning up the aftermath of the incident, the voices in the library suddenly grew louder. Turning my head, I saw a striking figure walking in.

Jet-black, long hair.

Sharp, upturned eyes.

Shoulders as sharp as a soldier's...

The metal round shield on her back was her mascot and a painful memory I would never forget.

'Shin A-sol... It's the first time we've met so early.'

Shin A-sol, now nicknamed "Iron Fortress."

In the world of Military Chronicle, she was a character with the most upright personality, unlike Seo Su-kyung who would definitely become one of the Seven Heroes. Depending on the player's actions, she could either become one of the Seven Heroes or not.

'The route where Shin A-sol becomes one of the Seven Heroes is the worst for villains.'

Shin A-sol, who graduated from the Defense Department with the highest score in history, specializing in defense techniques, later becomes a crazy all-rounder who can't be shaken even if a hundred villains attack her.

In the previous playthroughs, Seo Su-kyung used all sorts of schemes to catch me, but in the playthroughs where Shin A-sol joined the Seven Heroes, she didn't use any particular schemes. She knew that even if she pushed forward with just force, no one could stop her.

'That's why I tried to prevent Shin A-sol from joining the Seven Heroes in the previous playthroughs.'

It wasn't difficult to keep Shin A-sol away from the Seven Heroes. She had such an honest personality that if her colleagues committed evil acts and gained notoriety, she would naturally leave the group.

'With that personality, she won't just let this theft incident pass.'

As if she had heard my thoughts, Shin A-sol, who was talking with people, turned her head and made eye contact with me.

With Shin A-sol's personality, she would definitely express her gratitude to me, and she wouldn't ignore my advice to join the Deconstructionist Department.

That way, my reputation would rise again, and the vice-principal's quest would be naturally resolved...

Beep-

[You sense a deep sense of caution in Shin A-sol's eyes.]

[Shin A-sol's favorability towards Do Jin-hak decreases significantly.]

"...What?"

An unexpected message.

It was so opposite to my expectations that I thought there might have been a bug for a moment.

'Caution and decreased favorability? How could that be? I just met her...'

Then, a word suddenly crossed my mind.

That is, [compatibility]...

In the world of Military Chronicle, invisible mechanical factors such as physiognomy, destiny, and feng shui in the real world are included as hidden values.

Among them, compatibility acts as a major factor in influencing the favorability of others in the Military Chronicle. No matter how heroic your deeds or how kind you are, if your compatibility with the other person is the worst, you will only be seen as unfavorable.

"...Okamoto, let's go back."

Shin A-sol looked at me with wary eyes and then turned away coldly.

At the same time, I couldn't help but sigh.

'I didn't expect the compatibility between Do Jin-hak and Shin A-sol to be this bad.'

I looked down at my hands in despair.

Both hands were burnt black from blocking the One-Point Radiation.

Even though I chased away the thief with my hands in this state, it was all in vain...

"Professor Do, are you okay?"

I turned around at the sound of a voice, and Arche was already standing next to me. Arche was startled and jumped back, seeing my burnt hands.

"Oh my god! How did your hands get like this...! Wait a minute! I'll call for the medical team right away!"

"No, there's no need for that."

I quickly grabbed Arche.

The medical team? That would be a disaster.

If I let them examine me all over, my identity might be revealed in front of all these people.

"Are you okay? You look really serious..." Arche asked again with worried eyes.

I replied coldly, wrapping a bandage around my hand, "So are you saying I'm just putting on an act? That I want to look cool in front of you?"

"No, that's not what I meant..."

Arche scratched her head, looking embarrassed after I snapped at her. I feel better when I act like Professor D.

"You should worry about yourself. You seem to have a lot to talk about with the faculty."

"It's almost done. I think I should report to you, professor."

Arche started to explain the aftermath of the incident, thinking that I should know as I had chased away the thief.

“As Professor said, the thief was the Phantom Thief. The staff who went to Hyunsuk senior's house found spell-binding human masks and disguise spell scrolls.”

Those were famous as the signature items of the Phantom Thief.

The staff searched the house thoroughly and found most of the items stolen from the academy, and they found something unexpected in the bathroom.

It was the corpse of a woman wrapped in plastic.

"After DNA testing, it was confirmed to be the corpse of Senior Hyunsuk... The estimated date of death is three months ago, which coincides with the time of the first theft. That damned bastard had been pretending to be Senior Hyunsuk for three months in front of us."

Tears welled up in Arche's blue eyes as she foolishly realized she had been played by the thief. In those tears, a firm determination to take revenge flickered.

'With that reaction, I don't have to worry about what happens next.'

The Phantom Thief is not a one-time character who just exits. In the game, he reappears to get revenge on the player who ruined his plans.

'This time, he'll come for me instead of the player.'

A more developed Phantom Thief will come back and try to take my life, becoming a much more difficult opponent than this time.

But fortunately, I had a feeling that Arche's desire for revenge would be a great help by then.

"Um, and..."

Arche seemed to have something else to say.

But I wasn't in a position to listen to her leisurely anymore.

My ENP was at its maximum, and I was about to lose my mind.

And with the plan to bring Shin A-sol to the Deconstructionist Department failing, I was in a desperate situation...

With my head throbbing from fatigue, I snapped out, "Is there anything else you want to report?"

"No, it's not that. I... ahem! I'm sorry about earlier."

Arche suddenly apologized to me with a serious expression.

"When I first saw Professor Do, I heard so many strange rumors about you, so honestly, I thought... no, I thought very negatively of you. A lot."

Arche seemed to want to be honest with me, emphasizing the word "a lot".

It wasn't surprising when I recalled the gossip she had with her friends on the tram.

"But instead, you helped me and recovered the books. You even protected me at risk to yourself."

I wondered what she was going to say...

It seemed that Arche had been holding a grudge for doubting me.

But honestly, I didn't care. She had just been wary of Do Jin-hak, and that had nothing to do with me.

'After all, I'm a villain...'

I've been a villain for hundreds of years in terms of time. The contempt and hatred I receive from humans is nothing to me.

"Thank you very much. I will never forget this."

Even so, Arche bowed and thanked me. Her words felt sincere.

'...It's a strange feeling.'

As I watched her, I felt a strange emotion.

What is this feeling?

Come to think of it, it's been a very long time since I've been thanked by a human like this.

Beep-

[You have completed the hidden quest "Gianluca's Panic".]

[Quest evaluation score: S rank.]

[As an S-rank achievement reward, your favorability with Gianluca greatly increases.]

[The relationship between Do Jin-hak and Gianluca changes from "acquaintance" to "intimate".]

[Due to the deepened relationship, the other person feels a special bond with you.]

[You have acquired the special skill "Dragon Affinity 1" due to the development of your relationship with Gianluca!]

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]