Villain Takes Over The Academy

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 64

As soon as I entered Shin A-sol’s birthdate, the potion case unlocked instantly.

At the same time, my relationship with Okamoto progressed, and my speed-reading skill leveled up along with it.

‘Just as I thought.’

A character devoted to a single woman, utterly obsessed with unrequited love...

For someone like Okamoto, no number could be more significant than Shin A-sol’s birthday.

That fool had placed the birthdate of a woman who had no interest in him at the center of his world.

[Sub Quest: Okamoto’s Pure Love.]

[You have uncovered Okamoto’s unwavering love for one woman. If you help this promising young alchemist’s love come to fruition, you may receive an incredible alchemy reward.]

[Reward: ????]

A message popped up regarding the newly triggered sub-quest.

I had never paid much attention to this character when I played the game, so this was my first time receiving his personal quest.

‘So, I have to help him get together with Shin A-sol to increase affinity, huh?’

Okamoto was far too cunning for me to want to get close to him... but the alchemy rewards were tempting.

‘If he wanted to, he could apply unlimited enchantments to equipment.’

Regardless of his personality, his alchemy skills were indisputable. It might not be a bad idea to keep an eye on his quest.

“P-Professor...!”

A frantic shout snapped me back to reality. Mak’s enormous trunk had nearly swallowed half of Shin A-sol’s head.

‘This isn’t the time to be distracted.’

I quickly dismissed the message window and grabbed a potion from the case.

Finally, the item was in my hands—Special Gas Potion.

I immediately hurled it forward. The potion shattered upon impact with the floor, releasing a thick gas that rapidly spread across the area.

“This smell... Don’t tell me you’re planning to burn this place down?!”

Shin A-sol shouted in alarm.

Meanwhile, Mak remained unfazed despite the strong scent. Instead, he chuckled as if I were an utter fool.

“Buhuhuhu... Did you really think I wouldn’t foresee this? I already knew you would attempt a large-scale fire attack.”

He pulled out a scroll and activated it.

A faint glow flickered before a thin layer of flames encased his massive body. A subtle warmth radiated from him.

“A... Fire Resistance Scroll, huh?”

The effects of such scrolls varied depending on their rank, but judging by the heat, this one was definitely of a high grade.

With that active, even if I tossed him into an inferno, he’d come out with nothing more than a few singed hairs.

“Buhuhu! I can’t hold back any longer! You smell absolutely delicious! More enticing than any other offering... Accept your fate as my sacrifice!”

The massive elephant head twisted into a sinister grin.

Ignoring him, I stepped forward. I had done everything I could. Now, all that remained was to strike.

“You fool...! I can already see exactly what attack you’re planning!”

Mak began chanting another spell. His foresight magic would reveal every detail of my next move.

‘Even Shin A-sol couldn’t overpower him, so beating him by force is out of the question...’

That is... assuming his foresight magic is functioning properly.

Hiccup...!

Out of nowhere, a hiccup burst from Mak’s mouth.

Right in the middle of chanting, he let out an odd sound. A look of confusion spread across his enormous, rock-like face.

“W-What’s happening...? Why can’t I see the future...? Hic!”

Desperately, he tried to recite the spell again, but the more he chanted, the more panic filled his expression.

It was only natural.

“That wasn’t just any gas. It was alcohol gas.”

A creature’s ability to perceive time is controlled by its brain.

But if the brain ceases to function properly, its sense of time becomes severely impaired.

“S-So that’s why I smelled alcohol... This gas is—hic—made of alcohol?!”

Mak belatedly clamped his trunk and mouth shut, but it was too late. He had already inhaled a massive dose of the alcohol gas.

“When you only rely on a single future, this is what happens.”

Mak’s foresight magic was certainly a troublesome spell—but I had done this 138 times before. In this world, survival meant always having a Plan B ready the moment Plan A failed.

“That’s why the Special Gas Potion is perfect for someone like you. It’s got both Plan A and B built in.”

If my fire attack failed, the alcohol gas would paralyze his brain. And once Mak lost his ability to foresee the future, he was nothing more than a giant, overfed elephant.

An elephant that had fattened itself by draining countless students as sacrifices.

“Buuuh... S-Stop... What are you trying to—”

Mak staggered, trying to resist, but his body—already intoxicated by the potent alcohol gas—refused to obey him.

I bared my fangs and sank them deep into the thick vein on his neck.

[Casting Spell: 「Bloodsucking」]

[ENP decreases from 180 to 155.]

[ENP decreases from 155 to 135.]

[ENP decreases from 135 to 115...]

Even if Mak wasn’t a high-level villain, he had absorbed plenty of life force from students over time, making him a particularly rich source of energy. More than anything, I could feel his very essence merging with mine as I drained him—it was exhilarating.

[Villain 「Mak」’s essence is being absorbed.]

[「Mak」 has been added as a new option for the Polymorph spell!]

I had finally acquired Mak’s essence...

‘An unexpected weapon.’

Originally, I had taken this quest hoping to earn Yang Hak-je’s respect and learn his techniques. Instead, I had obtained an even greater power.

Foresight magic—one of the rarest and most coveted spells in both battlefield strategy and advanced divination, on par with Do Jin-hak’s ability to perceive truth itself...

If I played my cards right, this power could help me survive until the very end of this cycle.

“Buuuh... To think my end would be so meaningless...”

Tears streamed from Mak’s eyes as he collapsed, completely drained of life. As if he had never once foreseen this outcome.

“There’s no need to feel wronged. This was always your fate—even if it wasn’t by my hands.”

It was true. Had I not taken this quest, Mak would have died by Yang Hak-je’s hands instead. A villain who infiltrates this academy never meets a peaceful end.

‘If I ever let my guard down, I might end up just like him...’

I watched Mak’s final moments with a strange sense of kinship, a bitter taste lingering in my mouth.

Then, with his last breath, Mak muttered something cryptic.

“Buuuh... Lord Umgwi, I’m sorry... I failed to fulfill your will...”

Wait... did he just say Umgwi?

“What the hell do you mean? Umgwi’s will?!”

I rushed toward him, but it was too late. Mak’s life had already slipped away.

Just when I thought everything was settled, my mind was suddenly thrown into turmoil.

“Don’t tell me... he was part of the Umgwi Legion?”

One of the Four Great Evils of High Society—[Umgwi].

Umgwi, a grand villain known for spreading all manner of corruption and impurity, was the most devious and ruthless of the Four Great Evils. A master of schemes and deception, dealing with him as an enemy was nothing short of a nightmare.

“Even military strategists tried to avoid conflict with his forces whenever possible.”

It wasn’t fear—it was disgust.

If Umgwi had a hand in this incident...

“...Then this doesn’t end here.”

I had no idea what Umgwi’s objective was in smuggling one of his underlings into the academy, but there was no way he would stop at just this. That bastard was relentless.

“He’s definitely going to send more villains into the academy...”

I hadn’t even used Mak’s foresight ability yet, but I could already glimpse a headache-inducing future.

I had thought dealing with troublesome professors and reckless students was all I had to worry about—but now, even High Society’s villains were tangled up in this mess.

I needed to be far more careful moving forward...

“...What did you just say?”

A voice suddenly spoke up beside me.

I turned my head, half in disbelief—Shin A-sol was staring at me, her half-lidded eyes still drowsy.

I had assumed she’d lost consciousness in the struggle against Mak, but...

‘When did she wake up?’

My heartbeat quickened.

If she had witnessed my Bloodsucking spell or overheard everything... this could spiral out of control.

In the worst case, I might have to kill her with my own hands.

And since I hadn’t acquired her special trait, Indomitable Will, yet, that would be the worst possible scenario for me.

“Professor Do, don’t tell me you were just...”

Tension filled the air as Shin A-sol narrowed her eyes.

“Just now... hic! Were you talking to an elephant?”

"...What?"

"I wanna talk to the elephant too! A talking elephant... I never even saw one at the zoo... Hic!"

"......"

Staggering past me, Shin A-sol wobbled over to Mak, grabbed his long trunk like a toy, and started humming Uncle Elephant, a children's song.

Now that I took a good look at her, her face was completely flushed red. She was beyond just tipsy—she was absolutely hammered.

"...So she's really weak to alcohol, huh?"

What a relief. If she were a heavy drinker like Seo Su-kyung or Nam Kang-ik, this could’ve been a real problem. But in her state, there’s no way she'll remember anything that happened today.

"...You're a villain, aren't you, Professor?"

"...?!"

The voice that made my heart drop came from an unexpected source. Turning my head in the opposite direction, I saw Yang Se-ah lying on the floor, staring at me with lifeless eyes.

"Not only did I fall for a villain’s tricks... I couldn’t even recognize one disguised as a professor... I’m so pathetic."

Her voice was weak, drained of all strength.

That frail voice made it clear—she didn’t have much time left.

The first person to discover my true identity... and she was already on the verge of death.

A sense of relief washed over me—but at the same time, an odd feeling settled in my chest.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're hardly the only one who didn’t notice."

"...Then what... are you planning to do at this academy...?"

"You're dying. Why does that matter to you? Didn’t realize you were so attached to this place."

"...You're right..."

Realizing she had no right to worry about the academy anymore, Yang Se-ah's expression turned bitter.

Shhhk—

Shhhk—

Her breathing grew shallower and more ragged. Even with that small body, I could tell she had only a sliver of life left in her.

"Just... tell me one thing."

With her now unfocused eyes, she managed to speak.

"The person from the Yang clan you mentioned before—the one who risked their life for the Heavenly Emperor... Was that a lie too?"

"No. That was true."

"Then... did you accept that person’s deal?"

The deal proposed by the Nightmare Creator Yang Se-ah from the 105th iteration.

She must have been dwelling on what I said back in the illusionary world.

I recalled the memory of a past cycle and responded.

"I turned it down."

"...Why?"

"Didn't like it. Selling out my allies and taking help from a military officer? No thanks."

Her proposal in that timeline had been tempting but I rejected it.

I've made countless decisions over the course of 139 resets, and sometimes I go back and rethink my choices... but that one? That one wasn’t about logic.

Maybe it was just the consequence of living as a villain for too long.

"...She staked her life on it, and yet... She couldn't help the Heavenly Emperor after all..."

Her voice, growing fainter, was mixed with a quiet sob. Her lips barely moved as she whispered one last thing.

"...A wretched life... she had."

No more words came from her lips. Her body, once trembling with each breath, finally stilled.

Half-lidded eyes, frozen in regret, held tears that would never fall.

Her ENP had dropped past its limit—a complete and irreversible death.

Over 139 resets, I’ve seen lives shift depending on my choices. Yang Se-ah was just one of many.

And yet, somehow...

The sight of her curled-up, lifeless body felt strangely sorrowful.

"...Maybe this really is for the best."

If Yang Se-ah had survived, she would’ve done anything to help the Yang Order—no matter how ruthless. In a past cycle, she even made a pact with the Blood Lord and became a Nightmare Creator.

Compared to that fate... maybe this ending was a mercy.

At least this time, she wouldn't be condemned to an eternity wandering the abyss as a demon's plaything.

Ding-!

[Sub-Quest 'Sacrificial Offering of the Abandoned School 2' Completed!]

[Bonus points awarded for saving the students!]

[Bonus points awarded for killing the villain, Mak!]

[Bonus points awarded for completing the quest without the Yang Order's help!]

[Final Rating: A!]

[Trait experience has significantly increased as a reward!]

[Trait 'Blood Demon' has leveled up to 4!]

[ENP accumulation from spellcasting is reduced by 20%!]

[All possessed essences have been strengthened!]

[Specialty 'Night Clan 4' has advanced to 'Night Clan 5'!]

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]