Villain Takes Over The Academy

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 67

[Spell Prophetic Dream is ready to be cast.]

[Please offer a sacrifice.]

Following the system’s instructions, I held a sheet of paper and a pen in my left hand while keeping the handbag in my right. As soon as I absorbed the energy stored within the handbag, the spell would activate…

...

...

...

[Spell Prophetic Dream is ready to be cast.]

[Please offer a sacrifice.]

[Spell Prophetic Dream is ready to be cast.]

[Please offer a sacri—]

The message kept repeating, urging me to proceed.

But I hesitated, unable to bring myself to use the Dimensional Inventory Handbag as a sacrifice.

“…No matter how I think about it, this feels like a waste.”

The moment I tried to sacrifice the item, I felt a deep sense of reluctance.

From my experience spanning 139 iterations, I knew that items like this always proved useful down the line. Burning it away for a single spell felt like a terrible decision.

“…No, I can’t use this.”

Shoving the phantom thief’s handbag back into the drawer, I locked it securely before searching my surroundings again.

There had to be something enchanted that could serve as a suitable offering…

“…Ah.”

As I rummaged through the inside of my jacket, my fingers brushed against something.

A long, tightly rolled parchment scroll.

“…I still have this.”

It was a Return Scroll—a gift from the librarians of Hwadam Library, who were friends of Arche.

Come to think of it, the last time I used a Return Scroll was inside Yang Se-ah’s illusionary world…

“In reality, it makes sense that the scroll would still be intact.”

Had the illusion been too convincing?

I had completely forgotten about the scroll sitting in my jacket pocket.

Either way, this was the perfect item. It would make for a sufficient sacrifice to activate Prophetic Dream.

[You have selected a sacrifice.]

[Using the sacrifice’s power to cast Prophetic Dream.]

[You begin peering into someone’s dreams...]

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…!

Suddenly, my vision went dark—then blindingly bright.

A deafening roar, like rolling thunder, erupted from all directions, overwhelming my senses.

!!!

Within that chaotic world, I glimpsed something.

A mountain.

The sea.

A massive building.

A moonlit night sky.

And blood. A blade.

“…What is this…?”

The fleeting visions faded almost as quickly as they had appeared, and before I knew it, I was back in my office.

The sensation of casting a spell for the first time was unlike anything I had experienced before. I sat there for a moment, still caught in its lingering effects, before I absentmindedly lowered my gaze to the desk.

And then I realized—what Prophetic Dream truly was.

“…So that’s how it works.”

The scroll in my right hand had crumbled to dust, scattering into the air.

And the pen in my left…

It had written something on the paper without me even realizing it.

As if possessed, my own hand had inscribed the following words:

[May 15th. The Blood Demon will be beheaded by Kim Taek-hee’s blade.]

* * *

The Central Main Hall, where the Divine Department's building stood.

Yang Hak-je gazed out the window, lost in thought.

All around, students scurried about in a frenzy, consumed by the chaos of exam season.

“...How utterly insignificant.”

To his eyes, the sight of people desperately struggling over mere grades was nothing more than a dull, uninspiring spectacle. It was even more bitter to know that someone from his own family had died engaging in such foolishness.

“Heavenly Fallen Emperor, Se-ah’s body has been sent back to the main estate.”

A retainer cautiously approached Yang Hak-je, breaking his contemplation.

“Considering the dishonor she has brought upon you, her body will be cremated. Additionally, it has been decided that her family’s remaining assets will be confiscated as well—”

“That’s enough. I understand.”

At his curt response, the retainer quickly bowed and retreated.

Yang Se-ah’s family had always held the lowest status within the clan.

Their so-called ‘assets’ likely amounted to nothing more than a few acres of land and a run-down house. One might call such punishment excessive, but consequences had to be upheld. Knowing this, Yang Hak-je felt no sympathy.

“You look deep in thought.”

A voice suddenly interrupted his musings.

The presence was so composed, so precise, that he hadn’t even noticed them approach.

Yang Hak-je didn’t bother turning his head. There was only one person in this academy with such an aura.

“What brings the Head of the Emission Department here?”

“I heard about what happened in M District. My condolences. Though, I’m sure those words mean little to you.”

Professor Kim Taek-hee, head of the Emission Department, stood beside Yang Hak-je, looking out the window as he spoke.

“I also heard Professor D was present at the scene. Quite the coincidence.”

“What, exactly, is so coincidental about it?”

“He’s only been at this academy for a week. In that short time, Phantom Thief and Yang Se-ah both died. And each time, he was right there.”

Now that he mentioned it, it was true.

Two major incidents had already shaken the academy within just the first weeks of the semester.

And Professor D had been a key figure in both.

One could applaud his skill and resourcefulness in resolving the cases—but there was no denying the suspicious pattern forming around him.

“You might not know this, but I have a bit of history with Professor D. I know exactly why he came to this academy.”

“…And what, exactly, is his reason?”

Yang Hak-je had already been harboring doubts about Professor D, and Kim Taek-hee’s words only stoked his curiosity further.

Kim took a moment to scan their surroundings before leaning in and whispering.

“……”

As he listened, Yang Hak-je’s eyes gradually widened.

What he heard was a tale so monstrous, so unspeakable, that it should never be uttered aloud.

“…Are you telling me that’s the truth?”

“Do you think I would lie?”

Of course not.

Yang Hak-je knew exactly what kind of man Kim Taek-hee was.

A professor bound by unwavering principles, to the point of being rigid and uncompromising.

That was why people called him the Unyielding Scholar. He was not someone who spoke nonsense.

“I’ll be frank with you. I cannot stand by and watch that man remain in this academy. That’s why I intend to use the Military Association.”

“…Surely you’re not thinking of summoning an Inquisitor?”

The Masterclass Academy was a place granted extraordinary extralegal authority, allowing it to handle internal incidents without outside interference.

No judicial institution could impose sanctions on it—except for one.

The Military Association’s Inquisitors.

Tasked with rooting out corruption and misconduct among the military elite, they were the only force with the power to investigate Masterclass Academy from the outside.

“A regular Inquisitor won’t do. To catch someone as cunning as Professor D, we need someone… special.”

“A special Inquisitor…?”

At that moment, Yang Hak-je finally understood why Kim Taek-hee was telling him all this.

By standard protocol, the selection of an Inquisitor was entirely up to the Military Association.

But overriding that process—choosing a specific Inquisitor—required someone with the right connections to influence the highest levels of the Association.

Someone like Yang Hak-je’s father.

“And which Inquisitor, exactly, do you intend to summon?”

Kim Taek-hee glanced around once more before slowly enunciating his answer.

“There’s only one. The only person who can truly see through Professor D’s every deception. The one currently on the frontlines.”

“…The one who sees through Professor D?”

In that instant, only one name came to Yang Hak-je’s mind.

The one person in this world who knew Professor D better than anyone else.

The Madman of the Battlefield.

As Kim Taek-hee gave him a knowing nod, a glimmer of intrigue flickered in Yang Hak-je’s eyes.

The solemn depths of his gaze revealed it—he was already eager to witness what came next.

* * *

“I have no idea what’s about to happen…”

Café Untni, a well-known spot inside Masterclass Academy’s Central Main Hall.

After leaving my office, I came straight here and took a seat at a secluded table. With cameras still installed in the office, I wouldn’t have been able to focus properly. That’s how much of a headache this was.

“What the hell is this supposed to mean?”

I kept reading and rereading the note in my hand.

[May 15th. The Blood Demon will be beheaded by Kim Taek-hee’s blade.]

A prophecy revealed through the Prophetic Dream Spell.

If it’s accurate, then I’m going to die—again—in this cycle. Fine, dying isn’t even the issue anymore. I’ve died 138 times already. A 139th death isn’t exactly incomprehensible.

But this… This, I don’t understand.

Why May 15th? And why Kim Taek-hee?

“May 15th… That’s the final part of Chapter 1.”

In Military Chronicle, Chapter 1 consists of three major events:

1. Early March – The player’s entrance ceremony.

2. Early April – A surprise attack by a Demonic Villain.

3. Mid-May – The Field Training.

Every military academy sends its students into harsh environments for training during the semester. The official reason? To cultivate survival skills and adaptability under extreme conditions—akin to a battlefield.

‘…But let’s be real. That’s just an excuse. The developers simply couldn’t come up with a major in-academy event, so they threw in a boss battle instead.’

No matter how many quests and events are crammed in, nothing truly life-threatening ever happens within the academy or the city. To create a serious danger, the game needs a reason to lure players outside city limits.

‘And field training fits the whole ‘military academy’ setting perfectly.’

During the training, players are forced into battle with Chapter 1’s final boss—a villain known as the Blood Demon.

A disposable test subject sent by Do Jin-hak to evaluate the player and other students…

“Of course, that’s not something I’ll ever do.”

In one of my previous cycles, I failed to escape Do Jin-hak’s lab. I was subjected to endless experiments, modified beyond recognition—until I became the camp’s final boss myself.

But once I figured out the escape route, I never played that role again. While the students were off fighting, I was busy unlocking one of the Four Great Evil Routes of High Society in a place completely unrelated to the academy.

“I know for a fact that Do Jin-hak created another Blood Demon like me…”

This Blood Demon 2.0 took my place as the camp’s final boss, getting completely thrashed by the students. And in cycles where I killed Do Jin-hak before the experiments could proceed, some other mad scientist always ended up creating the Blood Demon 2.0 anyway.

That’s how the field training arc had always played out.

This damn world ensures that key events unfold no matter what.

“That’s why I’ve been wondering… How is the camp story going to play out this time?”

In this cycle, Do Jin-hak doesn’t exist.

There won’t be another Do Jin-hak knockoff either—because I’m the one impersonating him.

That was my biggest curiosity when I first initiated this disguised infiltration route.

Who would end up being the camp’s final boss in this cycle?

“…Don’t tell me it’s me?”

If the Prophetic Dream Spell is accurate, that’s a very real possibility.

I have no clue how a professor like me ends up as the boss villain, but if the prophecy is right…

That’s exactly where this is heading.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]