[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 17
“Next stop, ‘D District’. Please exit on the right...”
It was late at night, and the moonlight was quite bright.
I stepped off the tram and looked around at the buildings in D District. I'd been to this place many tis , but seeing it again was a whole different experience.
"Though, I don't have many good mories of coming here."
D District was a collection of various buildings and facilities, with the [dical Center] being the most prominent.
As the na suggests, this area housed all dical departnts and served as the equivalent of a university hospital in Masterclass.
In other words, unless you were a student in a related field or had a serious injury, there was no reason to co here.
"I lost a lot of money here in the ga."
A hospital that charged you a month's living expenses for a simple cold prescription.
It was a place as greedy as Masterclass's reputation suggested, but it was also equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and equipnt.
I was here for one reason: the large quantities of blood stored here.
[dical Supply Production Facility]
I found the building according to the sign and carefully made my way inside. The night-ti security system was activated, but it wasn't a problem for .
-Beep, identity verified. Professor Do Jin-hak.
Click-
When I presented my professor's ID, the sensor activated, and the entrance to the facility opened. This just goes to show why so many people wanted to be professors at Masterclass.
As the world's top military training institution, the facilities in this academy were among the best in the world. Being able to use them without any significant restrictions was a huge advantage.
"The blood bank is... here?"
I opened the freezer door, revealing rows of frozen blood packs.
Bright red blood, belonging to unknown individuals.
"I could just take a few of these without anyone noticing..."
I hesitated before putting the blood packs in my bag.
There was a significant problem with the blood packs.
The biggest issue was that they were too conspicuous.
"That was a problem during the Phantom Thief incident too."
I couldn't walk around with blood packs in a place filled with people. For a blood demon who needed a constant supply of blood, this was a critical issue.
"To drink blood without raising suspicion..."
I looked at the building's internal structure diagram on the wall and pondered for a mont. Then, I grabbed a few blood packs and left the storage room.
I entered the production facility.
I took the blood packs out of my bag and poured them into the production machine.
-Beep, starting soft capsule production process.
I turned on the machine, and the large production machines began to slowly turn.
"If I make them into pills, no one will suspect anything."
It was a way to discreetly replenish my blood without attracting attention.
When I was a villain, I didn't have to go through such trouble. Back then, I could simply grab any human and drink their blood without consequence.
But not in this academy. I had to be careful not to draw attention to myself.
Thud, thud, thud...
The gelatinous blood capsules, mixed together in the production machine, tumbled out.
I popped a few of the capsules into my mouth. The soft, sticky taste of the not-quite-dry blood filled my mouth.
Gulp-
Beep-
[You have consud a food item suitable for a bloodsucker's constitution.]
[Your hunger has decreased, and your mind is clear and focused.]
[Your ENP is stabilizing.]
As the ssage appeared, my thirst was quickly quenched, and I felt refreshed.
I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
To think I could feel such happiness from just a few pills made from blood...
"...I've truly beco a monster."
Blood obtained through a blood-sucking spell was the only way to strengthen a bloodsucker's abilities. Consuming blood like this was simply to satisfy my hunger.
Yet, I found myself enjoying this thod of consuming blood more and more with each passing cycle. The more I felt this way, the more I wanted to escape this cursed body.
Could I escape this place within this cycle?
* * *
"This is taking longer than I expected."
Even after 10 minutes, the capsules didn't seem to be drying.
I had no choice. I had to make a lot at once while I was here.
"If I keep coming back and forth to this building, people will get suspicious."
As it was, Professor D wasn't very popular at the academy, and I didn't want to draw more attention to myself.
It was lucky that it was late at night and everyone had gone ho, but if soone saw now...
"Is soone in there?"
Just as I thought that, I heard soone's voice.
'Who could be here at this hour?'
The blood capsules were still in the process of drying.
The pile of bright red, gelatinous pills would look suspicious to anyone.
I tried to quickly hide the pills, but soone had already opened the door to the production room.
Two piercing, wolf-like eyes.
Snow-white hair, carelessly swept back.
A combat suit that fit him perfectly.
A sword in one hand...
I knew this man. I couldn't not know him.
'Kim Taekhee...!'
He was a leading professor in the Emission Departnt, one of the most prestigious of the 13 departnts at Masterclass.
'Why is he here at this ti of night?'
My heart pounded nervously. As a full-ti professor of the Emission Departnt, Kim Taekhee was a highly respected elite soldier.
He had exceptional combat abilities and was known to slaughter villains on the battlefield like a top-tier soldier.
The biggest problem was that he was a stubborn and principled person who always wore his combat uniform and carried a sword.
'If Kim Taekhee finds out about these pills...'
It would be the end. There would be no way to explain myself.
"...So it's the new Deconstructionist professor."
Kim Taekhee seed to already know about Do Jin-hak. His gaze swept over coldly.
I tried to block his view of the blood capsules by slightly turning my body.
I tried to act as natural as possible, pretending to be Do Jin-hak.
“I didn’t expect anyone to be here at this ti. I was just using the machine to make so dicine.”
“dicine?”
Kim Taekhee’s gaze moved towards the still-running production machine.
I took a deep breath, ntally preparing a spell.
There was virtually no chance of defeating Kim Taekhee at my current level. And since I had just fed, I couldn’t rely on the full power of [Hungry Claws]...
“...Making dicine at this hour.”
Kim Taekhee’s lips curved slightly upwards, as if he had realized sothing.
“It seems Professor Do, you’ve also co here because of the [Garden] problem. After all, this is the only place in the academy where you can get dicine.”
“...The Garden?”
“Surely you don’t know? The herbs in the Garden have all rotted.”
I was montarily confused by this completely unexpected turn of events.
‘The herbs in the Garden have all rotted? So suddenly?’
I didn’t know that. It had never happened in the ga. The Garden was like a treasure trove of Masterclass, and they would never let the herbs rot.
‘If the herbs have rotted…’
There was only one possible explanation.
It was the night of the full moon when I killed the tree spirit.
‘Could it be that the spirit was helping to maintain the Garden?’
It was entirely possible. Tree spirits were known to be capricious, and if they were in a good mood, they would bless flowers and trees.
If the tree spirit had been nurturing the herbs after eating the sacred tree fruit...
Then the current state of the garden made sense.
“Isn't that strange?”
Kim Taekhee's eyes narrowed as he spoke.
“The Garden has never withered since the academy was founded, and yet this happened. Especially right after you ca to this academy.”
Kim Taekhee clearly believed I was the culprit.
Accusing soone without any evidence... What an audacious man.
‘Of course, I did do it.’
I tried to maintain a calm deanor, pretending to be clueless. But Kim Taekhee continued.
“I thought people would see you differently after solving the campus theft case, but you can’t fool .”
“Fool you? You sound like I’m plotting sothing.”
There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone, but it was filled with conviction. I felt a strange sense of unease.
‘Sothing feels off.’
Although I had been treated with suspicion as Do Jin-hak before, this felt different.
Before, it was based on rumors and speculation, but now it felt like he knew personally.
“You speak as if you know very well. Have we t sowhere before?”
I asked out of curiosity, but Kim Taekhee’s expression hardened.
“...Are you saying you don't rember? The Genoa Academy incident two years ago?”
Two years ago? An academy?
My mouth went dry. My worst fears were confird.
‘Oh no, I don’t think Kim Taekhee has t Do Jin-hak before.’
In the ga's story, Kim Taekhee and Do Jin-hak were simply rivals, but there was no ntion of any past incidents between them.
Judging by the tense atmosphere, sothing must have happened at the academy two years ago.
‘How was I supposed to know that?’
The cold gaze fixed on felt like a noose around my neck. Kim Taekhee was waiting for to stamr out so excuse, his eyes filled with suspicion. My mind raced, but I couldn't think of anything.
‘...Wait, why do I need to make an excuse?’
I realized sothing. Do Jin-hak wasn’t the type to make excuses or apologize. He was too arrogant for that.
I decided to respond nonchalantly.
“...Genoa, now that you ntion it, I think there was such an academy.”
“You think so?”
“Unfortunately, my brain cells aren’t idle enough to rember every trivial detail.”
I could practically hear Kim Taekhee’s forehead twitch. The senior professor of the Emission Departnt managed to suppress his anger and spoke.
“...You’re still the sa. Arrogant and insolent, just like you were two years ago.”
“I’ll take that as a complint.”
When I continued to be brazen, Kim Taekhee’s hand, gripping his sword, trembled.
However, despite his anger, he didn't seem to doubt my identity.
‘Good, I almost got caught. Whatever happened in Genoa, it must not have been pleasant for him.’
I seed to have narrowly escaped a dangerous situation. It turned out that acting like Do Jin-hak was the right choice.
Ding-!
[You have obtained a hint from a conversation with soone who knows Do Jin-hak.]
[Your understanding of Do Jin-hak has deepened.]
[Do Jin-hak's essence has increased by 15%]
A ssage appeared on my mind.
Before I could read it properly, Kim Taekhee warned in a low voice.
“I don’t know why the Vice Principal brought soone like you to this academy, but you should be careful. Many professors who ca and went from Masterclass ended up as corpses at the bottom of the Han River.”
Despite the polite tone, his words were filled with malice. Kim Taekhee turned and left without waiting for a reply.
I didn't pay attention to his words because I was focused on the ssage.
“Do Jin-hak’s essence increased by 15%. Lucky .”
What a reward for an unexpected situation.
This ga might drive people crazy, but it was certainly a masterpiece. It had a knack for surprising people at unexpected monts.
“So Kim Taekhee and Do Jin-hak have a history.”
In Masterclass, Kim Taekhee was like the dean of a university.
In terms of rank, he was second only to the Vice Principal.
Compared to him, Do Jin-hak was just a non-tenured professor who could be fired at any ti.
“...I can already see where this is going.”
The more I acted like Do Jin-hak, the more mysterious he beca.
“And my situation is probably even worse than his.”
Considering the nature of this world, where every obstacle is designed to kill villains like , it was obvious.
Fortunately, I wasn't completely helpless. My 137 playthroughs weren't entirely wasted.
“I guess I’ll have to make the first move.”
Now that I knew about my history with Kim Taekhee, I might be able to get ahead of him.
In fact, I needed to. It was the only way I could survive in this academy.
“The withered garden…”
Kim Taekhee might think he was warning , but he had actually given a valuable clue.
The garden was one of Masterclass’s greatest treasures.
“There must be people who would be greatly affected if the garden was ruined.”
I took out my phone and sent a text to one of the few numbers saved in it.
The recipient was the Vice Principal of the academy, Oh Ji-sung.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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