Villain Takes Over The Academy-Chapter 49
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 49
"Kill the librarian, you say?"
The previous day, in my office, Seo Su-kyung had reacted with disbelief to my suggestion.
"Why would I do something like that? It's doubtful the librarian is the culprit in the serial theft cases, and if I were to wrongfully kill someone, what then?"
Watching her confidently question me was honestly a bit funny. This girl, of all people, was the one who had killed the most casually.
"Don't worry about that. She's not just a thief."
"What?"
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"She's the Phantom Thief. Well, the Phantom Thief is actually disguised as her."
"?!"
As soon as I mentioned that name, Seo Su-kyung's expression turned visibly shocked. She hadn't expected the culprit of the serial thefts to be the infamous Phantom Thief.
"...The Phantom Thief is really in this academy?"
"Yes. As you know, he's a thief who's caused quite a stir in the world. A military unit was even formed to hunt him down, but he's never been caught. Do you know why?"
Seo Su-kyung shook her head, her eyes pleading for an answer.
"Because everyone tried to capture him. If they could catch the thief, they could also get information on the rebels."
But the Phantom Thief wasn't someone who could be captured so easily. The thief's escape skills always exceeded the military's expectations.
"That's why I need you for this mission, Sword Saint. You should know why."
"...Because I'm the fastest and most efficient at killing targets here?"
I nodded. The Phantom Thief couldn't be captured; he had to be killed on the spot. That was the only way to catch him.
"The Phantom Thief..."
A gleam appeared in Seo Su-kyung's eyes.
She must have known as well. If she took down a famous thief, her reputation as the Sword Saint would also rise significantly.
* * *
Drip, drip -
Crimson blood dripped from the thief's chest onto the floor.
As planned, Seo Su-kyung had done her job perfectly.
The calm she had maintained while waiting for this moment.
The stealth that the thief hadn't noticed at all.
And finally, the destructive power needed to deliver a fatal blow in one strike...
'She's truly talented.'
Seo Su-kyung would later become a renowned military officer from the Emission Department on the battlefield, but at the same time, she would also become an assassin who hunted down named villains.
Her Swordsmanship technique, where she channeled energy into her sword's sheath and released it in a single strike.
In terms of a single attack, Seo Su-kyung was more powerful than any other soldier.
'In fact, her abilities are more suited for assassination missions like this.'
That's why I decided to use Seo Su-kyung to take down the thief in this chapter. It was almost the only option for me, who had to eliminate the Phantom Thief early in the story.
Swish-!
"Cough!"
As Seo Su-kyung drew her sword, the thief collapsed to the floor. The thief, killed instantly in a single blow, drenched the floor with blood.
'...With this, I can rest easy this chapter.'
I suddenly recalled the thief's face from the previous chapter. He had stabbed me in the chest and laughed gleefully...
'At least I won't have to see that face this time.'
Finally, I felt like I had finished a troublesome task.
However, the reward I received for finishing the task was sweeter than I had expected.
Ding-!
[You have completed the hidden quest "Capture the Thief!"]
[Quest rating: B rank.]
[Your trait experience points will increase significantly as a reward for achieving B rank!]
[The trait "Blood Demon" has leveled up to Lv. 2!]
[You have remembered the new spells "Hungry Claws" and "Bloodstorm Veil" that were latent in your trait!]
[The essences you have acquired are growing stronger within your blood!]
'So this was a hidden quest too?'
I had a hunch, a hope. There was no way there wouldn't be a quest for a named thief like the Phantom Thief.
'But a B rank rating... that means I should have captured him instead of killing him.'
Given that the quest title itself was "Capture the Thief," I must have lost points there.
But I have no regrets. This was the best I could do given my current situation.
If I meet him again in the next playthrough, maybe there will be another way...
'...I won't meet him again.'
I shouldn't even think about there being a next playthrough.
Ding-!
[The Phantom Thief is known to carry various items on his person.]
[Search the thief's corpse for rewards!]
The message that I thought was over continued.
'Rewards from the corpse?'
I unconsciously turned my eyes toward the thief's corpse. Seo Su-kyung was already searching it thoroughly.
"Is this guy really the Phantom Thief? Why does he have so much random stuff in his pockets... Escape scrolls, snacks, knives, ropes, handcuffs, glasses... Oh! This is the pen I lost last year! This bastard stole it!"
When the pen she thought she had lost came out of the thief's pocket, Seo Su-kyung kicked the corpse angrily.
Then, she suddenly became curious about the thief's face and started trying to peel off the skin.
"Ugh...! Ugh! Why won't this come off? Is it not a disguise mask but actual plastic surgery?"
"You should stop. The Phantom Thief's mask is bound by a disguise spell, so no one but him can remove it."
"So no one can ever see his real face? Even with a corpse like this?"
Seo Su-kyung, who couldn't accept it, kept trying to peel off the skin.
But the reason I told her to stop wasn't just because of the disguise spell.
'The Phantom Thief is a member of the rebel army...'
All the rebels I've encountered on the battlefield have a specific spell cast on their bodies. It's a precaution in case they die and their identity is revealed...
Whoosh-!
"Ugh?!"
Seo Su-kyung, who had been struggling for a while, was startled and jumped back when flames suddenly erupted from the thief's corpse. The corpse, engulfed in flames, quickly turned to ashes.
"It's a typical device used by the rebels. It's to prevent their location or information from leaking out."
"Tch... Those bastards!"
Anyway, it said to search the thief's corpse for rewards... but no matter how I look at it, the junk that Seo Su-kyung pulled out doesn't look like a reward.
'So... is this the reward?'
I picked up the thief's handbag that had fallen to the ground.
It was a spatial expansion bag that could hold dozens of books.
Even when he was hurriedly escaping last playthrough, the thief had taken only this bag with him.
'It must be a very important item.'
I tried to put my hand inside the bag. I could feel something in the void, but I couldn't grasp it.
'I'll have to examine this carefully later...'
I put the thief's handbag in my arms. It was practically the Phantom Thief's inventory, so it might contain rare items.
Maybe there are clues about the rebel army hidden inside...
'Anyway, it's a good start.'
I felt good from the beginning of this playthrough.
From the miraculous bug of trait inheritance.
To recruiting the Sword Saint.
And finally, completing the Phantom Thief quest.
Since I've already experienced the Do Jin-hak disguise route, I have a rough idea of what to do next.
If things continue like this, I might be able to reach the second... no, the third chapter in this playthrough…
"Professor Do, can I talk to you for a second?"
Just when I was about to consider that possibility, Arche called out to me. The stiff tone in her voice, full of tension, gave me a bad feeling.
"I'm quite confused right now. Can you explain what's going on?"
Arche's eyes, fixed on me, were as cold as ice. It was so different from the welcoming expression she had just a moment ago that I was taken aback.
'I thought her character was changed to be closer to Do Jin-hak... I guess that wasn't the case.'
Considering her situation, it was understandable that she would be upset and confused. I had suddenly appeared and caused such a commotion.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you beforehand. As you can see, the librarian was a thief. Your senior was killed by the thief long ago, and her body is at home..."
"No, I don't care about any of that."
Arche cut me off sharply.
This was completely different from the way she had thought about Kim Hyunsuk in the previous chapter...
While I was surprised, she pointed at Seo Su-kyung and said, "Why are you hanging out with someone like her? And it seems like you're really close?"
...Was that the problem?
I already knew that Arche and Seo Su-kyung didn't get along, but I didn't expect her to react so sensitively.
Seo Su-kyung, who had suddenly become the target of such a remark, was speechless.
"Hey, did you just call me that?"
"Oh, did you hear that? I spoke quietly, but you're good at eavesdropping, as usual. Just like a rat."
"...A rat?"
Snap-
It felt like I could hear the sound of Seo Su-kyung's frontal lobe snapping. A dangerous aura filled the air as if a dangerous spell was about to be cast between them.
If I left them alone, a violent confrontation would break out...
'But were these two really this hostile towards each other?'
It was strange. Originally, Arche and Seo Su-kyung were just portrayed as not getting along, but they weren't this hostile towards each other.
Could the change in Arche's character have affected the relationship between the two of them?
My guess was confirmed by their subsequent conversation.
"Have you gone completely insane, you island wimp? Who do you think you're talking to like that?"
"Well, I'm not going to be polite to someone like you. You tried to kill me, didn't you?"
Tried to kill her...?
'What is she talking about?'
As far as I knew, there was no such incident in their past. As my ominous feeling grew stronger, Seo Su-kyung spoke up.
"It was just an accident. That matter is over and done with."
"Huh? You're so shameless. You almost killed someone and you call it over?"
Arche turned her head towards me, as if she couldn't stand to deal with her anymore. Her eyes were colder than I had ever seen them before.
"I'm so disappointed. I thought you were different, Professor... You're no different from the other professors who think money can buy anything."
With anger in her eyes, Arche left the library without looking back.
From her cold back, I felt that something was going terribly wrong.
"Seo Su-kyung, what is she talking about? You tried to kill Arche?"
"...It's just nonsense. She's delusional."
"I want you to explain that delusion. Or do I have to beg you for an explanation?" I spoke in a firm yet sarcastic tone.
Seo Su-kyung sighed and looked away.
"It's really nothing..."
Seo Su-kyung began to explain.
"A year ago, I was minoring in Voodoo and was alone in the classroom, immersed in a Voodoo spell experiment," she said. "It was a crucial experiment. If I made a mistake, the curse spell could have rebounded on me. And then, Arche suddenly appeared in that critical situation."
Seo Su-kyung explained that Arche had interrupted her without any reason. (Though I think there must have been a reason.) They ended up arguing, and eventually, unable to contain her anger, Seo Su-kyung attacked Arche...
...and almost took her life.
“But I didn't intend to kill her. I didn't mean to."
Although she said so, Seo Su-kyung continued to avoid my gaze.
It meant she felt guilty about it.
I was starting to understand what had happened between the two of them. Or rather, I understood what setting had changed.
"...That incident was carried over. The murder case from the 138th playthrough."
The murder case of Arche in the 138th playthrough. It was clear that this incident had affected the current playthrough. It had turned the relationship between the two, who were originally just rivals, into the worst kind of enmity.
'So the setting changes didn't only apply to events related to me?'
I had initially thought so. I thought that since my special abilities were inherited, my relationships with the three people who had passed them on to me would also continue in this playthrough.
But now I realized that wasn't all. Not only had the relationships between those three people and Do Jin-hak continued, but the changes in relationships with the people around them in the 138th playthrough were also carried over to this playthrough.
'If I think about it that way, it makes sense... this extreme relationship between Arche and Seo Su-kyung.'
My mind became increasingly complicated. The effects of inheriting my special abilities seemed to be much greater than I had thought.
It meant that as long as I had Seo Su-kyung by my side, Arche would never be with me.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
