Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor-Chapter 55: ‘The Human’ No Longer Comes

There was a certain spirit.

│ㅅㅇ)

It was a spirit of the star “Observation│ㅅㅇ),” a celestial entity that wandered the world and indulged in sneakily watching others—an avatar of the stars who delighted in silent spectating.

│ㅅㅇ)

It had no meaning. No purpose. It simply lurked halfway into the shadows, peering out for anything interesting. It would give things a small nudge to make them more entertaining, nothing more. A voyeuristic ghost of this ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) world’s cosmology.

That being, in its many wanderings, arrived at Starfall Mountain roughly a year ago.

│ㅅㅇ)

Starfall Mountain was special. A place like no other in the world.

There was someone extremely interesting there.

It was a fascinating location.

And it was destined to become the site of something enormous—a future site of great fun.

Even without all that, it was simply an ideal place for people-watching.

Most of all—

│ㅅㅇ)　　　　　(ㅇㅅ│

There was another spirit already here!

How long had that bastard been here?

That part didn’t matter. It wasn’t even that curious.

But—when spirits of “Observation│ㅅㅇ)” met, there was a rite they were bound to perform.

│ㅅㅇ)/　　　　　(ㅇㅅ│

The Hand Wave!!

│ㅅㅇ)　　　　　＼(ㅇㅅ│

The Hand Wave, Returned!!

│ㅅㅎ)

Satisfactory.

⋮

Anyway.

That bastard, too, seemed to be observing that being.

Deep in this forested mountain.

A treasure of the world—

A being called Eve.

She had pale sky-blue hair and blue eyes. Her body was cloaked head to toe in dirty, grass-covered cloth worn like a one-piece dress and a deep hood—only her eyes peeked out.

She was the type who just wandered around all day.

│ㅅㅇ)

For the spirit, who had been watching her for quite some time—

Eve’s daily routine was dry and monotonous.

She would wake up in the morning, rub her eyes with that same face.

Yawn with that face.

Stroll around with that face, or do some light stretching with that face.

Eat apples, nectar from flowers, dandelions, and wild raspberries with that face. Occasionally even dirt or pebbles.

She would go to the nearby pond to wash her face with that face, or bathe fully clothed, or clean her hands and feet.

Then with that face, she’d retreat into a cave to train with a sword—or nap.

At night, she’d climb a burial mound and stare at the sky. With that face.

So why was it entertaining?

Who knew.

No matter how hard the spirit tried, it couldn’t figure it out.

│ωㅇ)

But it was just so damn entertaining.

Through telepathy with a faraway spirit, the spirit once heard that in a more populated place, there was a person very similar to Eve—just a little taller. That much was unclear.

Anyway, a year passed watching that amusing face—no, that amusing person.

In the meantime, over a dozen people had come to kill Eve, but she survived.

Now, no one came anymore, and the spirit was stuck watching her repeat the same routine under the stars.

Until—someone new entered her life.

│ㅅㅇ)

A man.

Pink eyes. Black curly hair. Probably a professor.

At first, he didn’t stir much curiosity.

His crisp clothes and looks were intriguing, but only mildly so.

The fact that he came alone to a place where no one else dared to was slightly interesting, so the spirit paid a bit more attention.

But ultimately, he was just another nameless human.

Eve seemed to think so, too.

She rejected him, pushed him away.

So the man left.

Not a very stimulating interaction.

Frankly—it was boring.

│ㅅ-) .......

It was fine.

The spirit hadn’t expected much.

With no expectations, there is no disappointment.

But then—

Something was off about that man.

│ㅅㅇ)?

The man came back the next day.

│ㅅㅇ)

And the day after that.

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And the next.

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And the next, and the next, and the next, without missing a single day—he returned to see Eve.

│ㅅㅇ) ....

This was genuinely intriguing.

As many days as he came, the distance between him and Eve began to shrink.

As though measured by a ruler—precise, exact—Eve began to acknowledge him. Slowly, their distance grew shorter.

In that process, the man never did anything that might discomfort her. He showed no impatience.

In that calmness—

He began to draw nearer to her.

│ωㅇ)

This was quite fun.

Even the best dish gets boring if eaten daily.

After over a year of watching the same scenes, this was a massive shift—and surprisingly entertaining.

Was it just the spirit who found it amusing? It glanced at the other spirit—

│ㅅㅇ)　　　　　♥(ㅇㅂ│

It wasn’t! The other spirit was even more into it!

│ㅅㅇ)

Anyway.

The man kept drawing nearer, slowly but surely. He gave her a scope. They exchanged a bell.

And finally—

Finally, the man sat beside Eve.

│ㅅㅎ)

Now that was entertaining.

It was a good day for spying.

Who knew what would happen next, or where this would lead—but since then, Eve’s days had changed dramatically.

│ㅅㅇ)

Eve began to wash more often.

She started setting aside apples or walnuts—things she found tasty—to give to the man.

Even when sitting on the burial mound, before gazing at the stars, she began waiting for the man to arrive.

Later on, since the man always came around 8 o’clock, Eve began glancing toward the path around 7—fidgeting, grooming herself.

(Not that it made a huge difference.)

Holding a walnut she forgot to give him and agonizing over whether to offer it was adorable. Even more adorable was when she brought two and couldn’t decide which hand to give them from.

One day, while training alone inside the cave, Eve began to carve the man’s image onto the wall with her sword.

That was incredibly interesting.

(Though the drawing was absolutely terrible, and the spirits had to puzzle over what the hell it was supposed to be... Still—)

The fact that she’d started doing something new was a delight for the spirits.

Because repetition without meaning is dull.

And then, during all this—

Something strange happened.

│ㅅㅇ)

The man stopped coming.

│ㅅㅇ)

A whole day passed.

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Then three.

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Then an entire week went by without him.

│ㅅㅇ) ...?

What in the world had happened?

Why wasn’t the man coming anymore?

│ㅅㅇ) ...???

The spirit was curious. But it didn’t bother to go find the man. Sure, seeing him again might’ve been interesting.

Surprisingly—

Unexpectedly—

It turned out that Eve’s reaction to his absence was even more entertaining.

Eve began to break.

│ㅂㅇ)

She lost her schedule. She would bolt upright in the middle of the night, confused and aimless. Sometimes she’d fall asleep in broad daylight.

Her walks around Starfall Mountain turned odd. She wandered farther, descending toward areas she’d never visited before.

She stopped eating the things she used to enjoy—apples, nectar, dandelions. She barely ate at all.

She stopped washing. She stopped training.

She just sat there, staring blankly at the crude sketch of the man she’d etched into the cave wall. Touching it. Over and over.

Wasn’t it fascinating?

│ㅂㅇ)

From the spirit’s perspective—

Consistency is boring, but it brings anticipation.

Because the moment that consistency breaks... it gets fun.

This was one of those times.

Even so, Eve still climbed the burial mound at night to watch the stars. But then—

About three weeks after the man disappeared—

A major event occurred.

│ㅁㅇ) !　　　　　! (ㅇㅁ│

Eve began descending the mountain!

This was a huge deal.

She had broken one of the three rules she had never once violated until now.

Eve left Starfall Mountain.

Wandering, lost— but following the direction the man used to come from.

Only... she strayed from the path. Just slightly.

“Hey! Wh-what the hell is that thing doing here?!”

She encountered an old man who lived in a nearby mountain lodge.

“It’s the Witch of the Graveyard!! If you could move this whole time, why didn’t you just leave?!”

“......”

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’ve finally revealed your true colors! Today, I’ll be the one to drive you off this mountain!”

The old man suddenly pulled out a gun and started shooting.

Bang! Bang-bang-bang!!

But Eve didn’t get hit. She dodged effortlessly. Unfortunately, she landed close to the old man.

“Eek! Are you trying to kill me?!”

He stumbled backward and fell flat on his ass.

“Y-you can’t kill me!”

“......”

“I’m in the right! You can’t kill someone who’s right!”

Then, he raised the gun to his chin and shouted.

Eve flinched.

And then she ran.

“...She’s running! The witch is fleeing!”

The old man rushed back into the lodge, grabbed an old Crystal Orb, and began making a call.

In the meantime, Eve had reached the road.

Fascinating.

│ㅂㅇ)

In the spirit’s opinion, roads were the perfect representation of human arrogance.

Humans had long since decided that no other species posed a threat to them—so they paved roads to lure others into their domain, their homes, their territory.

It was ideal even for someone like Eve, who knew nothing.

Eve followed the road, heading toward where the humans were.

And she ran.

And ran.

Until she reached the city.

│ㅅㅇ) ....

But what could she hope to find in the city?

From the spirit’s perspective, the city was vast, overflowing with humans—to find one man in all of that was next to impossible.

But then—

Apparently that other bastard thought the same thing.

Because somehow, he began invoking Stigma, as though he planned to help—raising his authority.

By that time, Eve had entered the city.

Just as expected, when she reached the crowded center, she froze. She looked around, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. She didn’t know what to do.

“What... what is that? A person?”

“Don’t go near it! I’m getting a bad feeling!”

“Isn’t that the Witch of the Graveyard?!”

“What?!”

“Where’s the Disciplinary Bureau?! They’re not here yet?!”

With her hood pulled low, Eve looked monstrous. She was an outsider. Utterly alien in the crowd of people.

And then, on the ground—a drawing appeared. Visible only to Eve.

「 ↖ (ㅇㅅ│ 」

As if she realized something, she started running toward it.

But it was already too late.

“A creature believed to be the Witch of the Graveyard has escaped. Currently roaming the downtown sector.”

“If interception is impossible, terminate. Inform the Dean and the Department Head.”

The assassins began to close in on Eve.

Crackle!

CRACKLE-CRASH!

They burst their magic marks as they attacked, aiming to kill.

As always, Eve deflected and dodged as best she could— kicking off walls, leaping from trees, sprinting across rooftops.

But with more than twenty assassins—including Disciplinary Bureau agents—she couldn’t dodge forever.

One bullet grazed her arm. A crossbow bolt scraped her foot.

< Fuck it! Just kill her already! >

With post-war tension already running high, the commanders in Zone 0 barked orders to kill her, as if she were the sworn enemy of Kreutz.

And finally, Eve’s foot landed on a massive trap.

CLANG!!

In that instant, Eve drew her sword and slashed the trap apart—a complex anti-beast mechanism, utterly demolished by a single strike. It was shocking.

│ㅂㅇ)

It was thrilling.

But Eve’s desperate escape couldn’t last much longer.

“That’s far enough, Witch of the Graveyard.”

White hair.

White mustache.

Jowls rippling with each breath.

To halt the advance of a major catastrophe, the guardian of Zone 0 had appeared.

Shaman Kreutz, Head of the Department of Assassination.

“I let you be because I believed you were content living quietly in isolation. But now you crawl out—why?”

“......”

Eve avoided his gaze, yanking her ragged hood down over her face.

“You know what happened here, don’t you? Many died. Among them was a student of this old man.”

“I’m not the kind to take it out on others... But will you let me grieve in peace?”

“......”

“Please—go back. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to kill you. Right here and now.”

Eve tilted her head. Because she couldn’t hear him.

│ㅂㅇ)

In any case—very interesting.

If they fought, who would win?

But against expectations—Eve leapt high into the air. It looked like she was choosing to flee in a wide arc. A poor decision.

Eve couldn’t outrun assassins.

As she tried to escape, the attacks intensified. Her body grew more and more bloodied.

Thirty minutes of pursuit.

The Head tossed a shuriken like a cannonball. It tore open Eve’s cheek, slicing skin wide open. Blood sprayed from the gash.

In the end—Eve had to turn around.

│ㅅㅇ)

The result?

Eve failed to achieve her goal.

All she’d done was get chased out by humans.

“Huh? Wait... why did we come here again?”

“Um... Was there a five-minute alert drill or something...?”

Afterward, no one seemed to remember what had happened.

│ㅅㅇ)

But—on the way back—something interesting happened.

Bleeding, Eve staggered up the mountain. At some point, she fell.

Thud—face-down in the dirt.

At that moment, her hood slipped off.

And there, revealed for the first time—two horns, curled like a ram’s.

│ㅁㅇ) ?!

She had horns?!

The spirit was stunned. A whole year of watching, and it never knew.

Because Eve—not even once—had ever taken off her hood.

***

“Ah right, Professor.”

“...I’m listening.”

“Come to think of it—aren’t we going to Starfall Mountain?”

Dante stared blankly at Adele and asked—

“...Why the hell would we go there?”