[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 3
Subject: Welcome, Professor Do Jin-hak.
Dear Professor Do,
First, thank you for applying to our academy’s Deconstructionist faculty position. After reviewing your resume and papers, the academy is very positive about your appointment. As you know, Masterclass has a long and distinguished history... (continued)... It will be a great opportunity. Since we are already familiar with your background, the final interview will be a simple one-on-one in-depth interview. There's no need to be too burdened... (continued)... Anyway, we look forward to meeting you. Please see the attached file for details. Let's meet a month from now.
Sincerely,
Vice Principal Oh Ji-sung
Sent: January 30, 2034, 2:21 PM
* * *
In a room bathed in an almost blinding light, I sat at Do Jin-hak's desk and read the email.
As the email stated, Do Jin-hak was scheduled to interview for a professorship at Masterclass next month.
Of course, it wasn't Professor Do Jin-hak who would be going. It would be me, the Blood Demon, disguised as him.
"...It seems more plausible than I thought."
I looked around at my reflection in the room's mirror. There was no trace of the villain, the Blood Demon, in the reflection; only Professor Do Jin-hak.
I was currently using the Blood Demon's basic spell, [Polymorph], to take on the appearance of Do Jin-hak.
The Blood Demon, while not a particularly strong fighter, specialized in deceiving people with illusions and transformations.
In the early stages, it was necessary to effectively use the Polymorph spell to absorb the blood of as many humans as possible.
[Bloodsucking: By consuming a target's blood, you can gain life force and obtain a portion of the target's essence. As your characteristics strengthen, you gain more life force and more essence.]
As the spell description stated, [Bloodsucking] was the most fundamental spell for the Blood Demon.
Unlike other villains who became stronger through skill and experience, the Blood Demon became stronger by feeding on the blood of living humans, and if it didn't consume blood regularly, it would gradually weaken and die.
It was a game that was far too meticulous for my liking.
"That's probably why the Blood Demon has a spell like this."
In the world of Military Chronicle, the Polymorph spell was a high-level spell that only military personnel who had reached a high level in the Transformation Department could use.
The reason why the Blood Demon possessed such a high-level transformation spell from the beginning was simple: the legend of Dracula, who could transform into a bat or wolf.
Because the Blood Demon was based on Dracula, it also had many penalties.
"My abilities are debuffed in direct sunlight, garlic is poisonous to me, and I suffocate near churches..."
There were many other penalties, but I was used to them because I had lived as a Blood Demon for so long.
The problem was how well I could maintain the disguise of Professor Do Jin-hak at Masterclass with these penalties.
"With only 5% of Do Jin-hak's essence, I'll be discovered quickly."
The essence obtained through the Bloodsucking spell included the target's knowledge and abilities.
Thanks to that, 5% of Professor Do Jin-hak's knowledge was now in my head, but that wasn't enough to pass the final interview, let alone teach or conduct research at Masterclass.
An academy filled with professors proficient in all sorts of magic and spells, as well as elite military cadets.
To avoid being discovered in such a place, I had to become Professor Do Jin-hak himself.
"So I have to read all of these in the next month..."
I looked up at the hundreds of books that filled Do Jin-hak's study.
The shelves were filled with textbooks and papers whose titles I couldn't even begin to understand.
"...Are all of these related to the Deconstructionist Department?"
Although I had lived as a villain for a long time, I knew little about the Deconstructionist Department.
It was such a minor department that I rarely encountered any military personnel from it on the battlefield.
"I know it's a department created to identify the weaknesses of villains, but... I don't know exactly what they teach. Do I have to read all of this to teach like Do Jin-hak?"
As I muttered to myself while looking at the bookshelves, an unexpected voice answered.
-Professor Do Jin-hak's Deconstructionist curriculum is divided into three levels: basic, general, and advanced. The most important textbooks are the 23 volumes of 'What is Deconstruction?', including volumes 1, 2, and 3.
The voice came from the computer on the desk, belonging to Caesar, Do Jin-hak's AI assistant.
Given his arrogant personality, Do Jin-hak had a hard time finding assistants, so he had personally coded and created Caesar.
Caesar, an AI with top-notch capabilities in the world of 'Military Chronicle', played a major role in Do Jin-hak's research.
‘So the AI recognizes me completely as Do Jin-hak?’
It wasn't surprising, considering that my appearance, voice, and even DNA were 100% identical to Do Jin-hak's thanks to the Polymorph spell.
If that's the case, there was no reason not to use it.
"Caesar, I need a brief explanation of the Deconstructionist Department."
As if expecting my request, Caesar immediately responded.
-The Deconstructionist Department aims to understand the true nature of the world and explores the essence of things with an unbiased perspective. In military studies, it's primarily used to identify the weaknesses of villains.
I nodded slowly as I listened to Caesar's explanation.
“It’s true that the military personnel from the Deconstructionist Department were always difficult to deal with...”
I recalled my experiences from previous playthroughs.
Come to think of it, this might be a good opportunity.
Since the setting suggests that the Deconstructionist Department is great at identifying weaknesses, it could be applied to military personnel as well.
“Caesar, what's the most recommended introductory book for the Deconstructionist Department?”
-The recommended introductory book for the Deconstructionist Department is 'Phenomena and Objects: Their Prejudices', volumes 1 and 2, used as the teaching material for the first lecture of Professor Do Jin-hak's 'What is Deconstruction?' series.
Phenomena and Objects, Phenomena and Objects...
Ah, there it is.
I easily found the book on the bookshelf arranged in alphabetical order. As I picked up the thick book and felt its weight, my eyes were met with a dense mass of tiny words.
[...Thus, the limitations of human perception of the world are clear. Humans' perception of the world through their senses is extremely limited, and it is merely a perception through physical and mental means. To free oneself from the errors of perception and achieve a synesthetic evolution of mind and body...(continued)...]
But hearing that, Okamoto felt his theory was even more plausible.
"If they even stole your clothes, then it really must be for money, don't you think?"
"Why would you think that?"
"Well, if it's Shin A-sol's beloved gym clothes, it's probably the most valuable item among the stolen goods...Ahem, ahem."
Feeling a murderous glare, Okamoto quickly shut his mouth and pretended to cough.
Shin A-sol's right hand, usually resting on a shield designed to protect others, was now gripping it tightly.
Just then, someone knocked on the door and entered.
Okamoto, who had almost created a tense atmosphere with his words, was about to greet the person warmly but quickly scowled.
The short-haired female student who entered was Seo Su-kyung.
Known for her boyish appearance and exceptional swordsmanship, she was at the top of the Emission Department and also famous for being from one of the wealthiest families in the country.
The problem was that the Seo family, to which Seo Su-kyung belonged, and the Okamoto family had been bitter enemies for generations.
Because of a family feud that had been going on since the Japanese colonial period, sparks flew whenever the two met.
"Seo Su-kyung, come and sit down."
Shin A-sol quickly grabbed Seo Su-kyung, who was about to leave as soon as she saw Okamoto.
Seo Su-kyung looked at Shin A-sol with obvious displeasure.
"I told you not to call me when that guy is around."
"It's not like I had a choice. What else can I do when these are the only members I have?"
Shin A-sol was actually complaining.
Although the student council was responsible for handling incidents on campus, it was rare for all the members to come together.
Everyone was too busy managing their own grades to care about trivial incidents like thefts. It was solely due to Shin A-sol's strong sense of responsibility that she was dealing with this matter.
Seo Su-kyung, who had known Shin A-sol for a long time, was well aware of her personality.
Unable to ignore Shin A-sol, Seo Su-kyung sighed and reluctantly sat down.
"So, what's up?"
"It's about the theft. Haven't you heard?"
"What? Theft?"
Seo Su-kyung raised an eyebrow, looking at the report.
"Nine times? That's impressive. To steal so much from this academy and not get caught? They're quite skilled."
"Oh, come on. You sound just like Okamoto."
Seo Su-kyung immediately glared at her.
How dare she think the same thing as that guy.
Okamoto was equally annoyed.
"Who's offended now? I'm the one who's displeased."
"Displeased? Why are you displeased just because you thought the same thing as me? You should be flattered."
With a smug look on his face, Okamoto, who ranked fourth in the academy, looked at Seo Su-kyung.
Seo Su-kyung was boiling inside.
She wanted to smash that smug face of his into the concrete floor.
As rivals, the heirs of the two families were always just one rank apart.
Having been ranked fifth in the previous semester, Seo Su-kyung tried to maintain her composure and said calmly,
"...Anyway, count me out of catching the thief. I don't have time for that right now."
"What do you mean? Is there something more important?"
"Haven't you heard? The Deconstructionist Department is being newly established at Masterclass."
Shin A-sol thought about it for a moment. She had vaguely heard that a new department was being established, but since it was an unpopular department, she had ignored it.
"Why does that matter? New departments are starting and closing all the time."
"This time is different. Rumor has it that the new professor for the Deconstructionist Department is none other than Professor D."
When the name Professor D was mentioned, both Shin A-sol and Okamoto's expressions changed. Their faces turned serious.
"Professor D... isn't that the strange professor from Japan who's conducting chimera research?"
"I heard he's a crazy psychopath who doesn't care if it's a villain or a person as long as he can experiment on them..."
The rumors about Professor D, Do Jin-hak, were already famous among students overseas.
A mad scientist obsessed with experiments.
A psychopath with an incredibly arrogant personality.
A terrifying hybrid of sociopathic and psychopathic tendencies...
There were various rumors about Professor D, and none of them were positive.
To bring such a dangerous person here of all people.
Shin A-sol spoke, unable to comprehend.
"Why bring someone like that as a new professor? What if something happens?"
"I don't know. Maybe the vice principal, who's obsessed with money, got paid off again?"
Seo Su-kyung shrugged, and Shin A-sol sighed.
With the academy already plagued by constant incidents, the arrival of a dangerous figure like Professor D was like pouring oil on a fire.
"...We have to stop this."
Shin A-sol made a firm decision. At this point, the theft case was no longer the main issue.
Masterclass, the world's premier military training institution.
She couldn't just sit idly by and let someone as dangerous as Professor D enter this academy.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]