Titosso was naturally acquainted with Professor Bronze de Estrada since he was attending the Developing Insight lecture along with Oknodie.
“Titosso, a first-year. Who would’ve thought the bright-eyed fellow who always dashed out after class would come seeking me… Are you perhaps the doppelganger who seized Titosso’s body?”
“No way! I was just curious about the special training Oknodie is receiving!”
“Oh, indeed. Ambition is a splendid thing.”
Feeling good, Professor Bronze poured himself a cup of tea with a serene smile.
Titosso, thinking the cup was for him, reached out with a wow, only to find the cup returning to Professor Bronze’s lips.
slurp
While Titosso puffed in annoyance at Professor Bronze’s overly refined tea-drinking, Jiang, sitting nearby, felt a deep sense of intimidation.
‘Amazing feminine charm. Is that what they call a bag of justice?’
The two bulges in his shirt were thrusting out like fierce beasts peering down.
Indeed, the professor emanated an aura like no other from the very first meeting.
“Who is that student over there?”
“That’s Jiang. He came here with friends Oknodie and Titosso to observe the special training.”
A spark of mild interest appeared in Professor Bronze’s eyes.
Suddenly, an unclear presence flickered.
An existence only perceivable by keen intuition far surpassed the ordinary first-year level.
“You already have a mentor, it seems.”
“I am learning from Rung Nosa.”
“You are the so-called ‘Life Thief’ whose name is found among the continent’s famous thieves. You have a troublesome mentor, it seems.”
“You can say whatever you want. My mentor and I aren’t really bothered by such remarks.”
“Pragmatism. Not a bad way of thinking.”
Professor Bronze showcased a generous demeanor, as if the size of her chest represented the size of her heart.
After confirming Titosso’s ambition and Jiang’s pragmatism, she nodded lightly.
“Very well. I shall permit you to observe Oknodie’s special training today.”
“Yay!”
“Thank you!”
“Then come down without straying off the path.”
clink
Barely placing the teacup on the table, it made a rumble as the table slid into the wall.
Ignoring Titosso’s wide-eyed gaze, Professor Bronze descended through a secret passage in the floor, her high heels making click sounds as she walked.
As Oknodie hurried after her in a flurry, Titosso and Jiang followed suit.
“Ah, Titos, Jiang! Be careful not to step on anything other than the stairs the professor has stepped on!”
“Can we drag the light stand down too?”
“Of course not!”
“Aw. Do we really have to? My arms are tired.”
“If you drag it down, only your arms will hurt. But if you bring it down, your whole body will feel the pain!”
“What do you mean…? Huh? What kind of trouble are we going to experience!?”
Oknodie followed the professor’s footsteps with a meaningful smile.
Titosso, reluctant but teary-eyed, bravely lifted the heavy light stand and followed suit.
Though it was heavier than an ordinary pole due to the attached lighting, Titosso surprisingly kept pace with Oknodie.
‘Maybe being the daughter of a noble family gave her basic strength training.’
Despite her frail appearance, Titosso surprisingly had good strength.
But she was not very bright, and Jiang had to poke her fingertips from behind to stop her from stepping on stairs Oknodie hadn’t touched.
“Step down one more.”
“Oops, thank you!”
Wondering where these stairs led, they finally came to an end.
“As usual, if you clear the assignment, you need not become the disciple until the next special training. Now, let me tell you today’s assignment.”
Professor Bronze pointed at a wooden box placed at the foot of the stairs.
“What does that look like to you?”
“A wooden box!”
“Correct.”
With a light kick from his foot, the box flew across the floor with a thud.
Following that, three metallic boxes appeared, each shining in bronze, silver, and gold, making Titosso’s eyes sparkle with excitement.
Jiang, who had experience seeing vaults in rich homes as an assassin, was also curious since he rarely encountered treasure chests this blatantly radiant.
“So what do these look like?”
“A treasure chest?”
“Correct. Two of the three are.”
Then what about the remaining one?
An indescribable foreboding washed over Titosso and Jiang.
“Oknodie, can you distinguish the real treasure chest?”
“Hmm… This one!”
“It’s a gift inside, so you can take it.”
clink!
As the box opened, on the red carpet of the box’s floor lay a [Treasure Vault Access Card].
“Wow! You’re the best, professor!”
“Do you know what the treasure vault is?”
“It’s a facility that holds specific weapons or magical armors available for second-year students!”
“Correct. Keeping it might prove useful someday. Or it could serve as insurance when you’re caught trespassing by security.”
‘Using an access card as a backup for when caught stealing? Quite the rogue advice there.’
While Jiang mused over this thought like it was someone else’s business, he felt a chill creep in as Professor Bronze turned to them, adding to the earlier ominous feeling.
It felt like that moment in Professor Sadako’s lecture when the Skull Instructor would bide his time, eager to turn a student into a skeleton!
“You two should pick one each.”
“Professor… didn’t you just say that only two among the three are actually treasure chests?”
“I did say that.”
“Then what is the remaining one…?”
“It’s a dud.”
“Yikes. Duds are tough to deal with.”
“If you’re a student attending the Developing Insight lecture, shouldn’t that be an opportunity to showcase your skills? Give it your best shot.”
Encouraged by Professor Bronze, Titosso stared intensely at the silver and gold boxes.
“May I ask what exactly is inside the treasure chests?”
“A snack bar access card is inside.”
“Then I’ll choose the silver one!”
“Oh? Any particular reason?”
“The color of treasure chests is sometimes determined by the extravagance of rich individuals for indicating the treasure’s grade, and the contents are often preserved using special metals. Silver boxes tend to tarnish easily if left untouched for a long time!”
“And?”
“If the silver treasure chest begins to tarnish, it means the owner who manages it is no longer taking care of it, suggesting the contents have either been stolen, and the owner is dead or forgotten!”
“You weren’t dozing off in class, I see.”
“Hehe. Is there extra credit for participation?”
“Just because you didn’t doze off doesn’t mean I’ll give you points! How greedy!”
“Alright then, I’ll open the box.”
“Wait a second.”
Jiang very seriously blocked Titosso’s advance.
“Titos. Let’s switch.”
“No way. I think this is the right choice.”
“I’ll give you 10 points.”
“10 points…? Is the dud that bad?”
“Actually, I really wanted the snack bar access card.”
“Liar. Assassins aren’t supposed to have junk food cravings. You don’t even go there, right? I know, I remember your preferences.”
How absurd of him to act all choosy now after being nothing but mediocre!
Jiang tried to keep a nonchalant expression while desperately wanting to hide his unease.
“I’d been thinking about how far I could go buying with the snack bar card.”
“How far?”
“You know, there’s a secret service in the snack bar that can lend ‘books’ if you know the precise titles.”
“Ah, of course.”
“It’s too lavish to claim it just for renting black bread or a book. There must be something hidden as well.”
“Are you offering 10 points for that?”
“I just hoped, if you didn’t know the worth, you might sell it at that price. Now, I could go as high as 100 points.”
Just like that, the price shot up tenfold!
Titosso stared at the box with hmm~ eyes.
“1,000 points!”
“…Ten times that much?”
“I’ve gotten curious now. I won’t hand it over unless it’s 1,000 points!”
It seemed Titosso might have sensed some worth in the snack bar access card after taking the Developing Insight lectures.
But this was still far lower than the initial expectations.
Jiang quickly sent the 1,000 points without hesitation.
“I’ll take the snack bar access card.”
“Go ahead.”
Lastly, the remaining gold box awaited Titosso, who sulked as she approached.
“A thousand points for a dud. I feel like I’m losing something even though I got the points.”
With a finger, Titosso pressed the button on the box.
Then, in the blink of an eye, chaos erupted.
The box creaked open and a long arm that had been coiled like a spring reached out and grabbed Titosso’s hand.
Unable to even scream, Titosso could only choke as her body was yanked into the box like a doll.
thud thud
With limbs slamming against the outer surface of the box, Titosso’s light stand got caught at the entrance with a clunk.
As that long arm grew impatient, it recklessly shook Titosso in a frenzy, when suddenly Professor Bronze kicked the top of the box with a thwack.
With a loud bang, Titosso landed free, as a quivering hand finally released her.
Professor Bronze elegantly extended her finger and extinguished the cigarette she had been holding.
“Eeeeeeeek!!!!”
The blood-curdling scream echoed like an otherworldly demon’s wail as the box rattled again, and the long arm lunged at Professor Bronze.
smack!
With an even louder sound, Professor Bronze’s suit pants repelled the long arm again.
The ferocious-long hand that was trembling in fright searched blindly for a way out, hurriedly shut itself back inside the box with a thud.
“…Titos. Are you alive?”
“Wahh… wahhh…”
Still too shocked to speak properly, Titosso whimpered.
While Jiang felt an ominous premonition from the remaining golden box, he never anticipated something this severe would leap out.
Overcome with guilt, he laid Titosso’s head on his knees.
As she sobbed, unable to talk, he tended to her bruised spots with ointment, even pouring a potion on the unusually dark bruise on her wrist that had been firmly grabbed by the long hand.
Once all emergency treatment was completed, Jiang realized that fearing a professor made more sense than fearing a fourth-year student and cautiously asked.
“May I ask what that was just now?”
“Mimic. It’s a shape-shifting monster that hides behind things good at camouflaging. If you’re playing the rogue, it’s a common trap set by enemies targeting you.”
“Why is such a mimic here…?”
“Didn’t I say I’d explain the special training assignment?”
Oknodie asked from the back.
“Is the assignment to avoid the mimic?”
“No. Your task is to capture it and put it back inside the box from here on out.”
Professor Bronze beamed kindly as she nudged the empty silver box with her foot toward Oknodie.
“Where would the mimic be?”
“Right where you just came from.”
The stairs they had just traversed.
Concealed somewhere in that very spot was the ferocious mimic they’d just seen.
