I Became the Academy’s Hidden Skill Master – Chapter 6

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shio
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“Argh! What are you doing?!”

What was I doing, you ask? Stabbing you in the back.

Perhaps because he had once been a wandering knight, despite his current state, his neck didn’t break immediately.

If I could strike just one more time, it would snap and kill him.

‘If only I could have brought an item.’

Sadly, the body check before entering the head guard’s room was mandatory, so I had no choice.

I got off his body in advance, preparing for when the head guard would get up.

Thud thud!

As expected, the head guard raised his body, holding his dangling neck with both hands.

Seeing the faint glow from his neck and hands, it seemed he knew how to circulate mana.

Yeah, that’s why he could brag about being a wandering knight when he was young.

The title of knight wasn’t something just anyone could claim.

‘Is he slowly healing by putting mana into his hands and neck?’

The head guard stood up in a posture like a collared lizard, unable to speak properly.

But I couldn’t let my guard down.

If his mana-infused kick landed, it would be the end.

Even though my physical abilities had increased, my body wasn’t made of steel, so I had to be careful.

“Uuuurgh”

Despite his broken neck, the head guard approached me with large, angry strides.

The remaining time for [United Will] was about ten seconds.

I had to kill the head guard as quickly as possible and hide the traces.

“Heup!”

I hurled myself towards the desk and grabbed a fountain pen.

In one second, I reached it; in another two, I flew back towards the head guard.

With his hands sealed, I had no fear of being attacked as long as I stayed above his lower body.

‘Die quietly.’

That was why I aimed for his neck rather than his waist.

Even if he lost the use of his lower body, he could still call for help if he could make a sound.

It was crucial to cut off any chance of support, even at the risk of his kick.

“Mmmmph!”

No matter how famous he had been as a wandering knight in his youth, he was now just a retired middle-aged man with a protruding belly.

A person like that couldn’t withstand the strength of multiple adults and children combined.

If he had been in his prime, it might have been different, but with his neck dangling, the outcome was sealed.

Puck!

Without hesitation, I drove the fountain pen straight through the head guard’s heart.

The pen pierced through, shattering bones and organs alike, and brought his life to a brutal end.

Immediately afterward, I severed the head guard’s thumb.

‘The thumb is essential… How many seconds are left?’

About 5 seconds remained.

With one more second than expected, it was an ideal outcome.

I quickly lifted the corpse and tossed it onto the bed.

Then I threw the desk aside and smashed through the wall where the safe was hidden.

“Whew… good.”

I finished everything I had to do in 15 seconds.

I had killed the head guard and broke through the wall hiding the safe, so everything worked out perfectly.

‘I didn’t have to worry about making noise because of the head guard’s pedophilia.’

The head guard had sent all the guards, including the manager, away for his so-called sacred first experience with me.

As a result, no one was near the head guard’s room, allowing me to act without worrying about backup.

‘With the head guard lying on the bed, there’s no need to wake him, so it might take a while before anyone realizes he’s dead.’

This gave me some additional time.

When escaping, one of the guards would inevitably go to report the situation to the head guard.

If that happened, the number of guards on duty could be briefly reduced, killing two birds with one stone.

‘Or he might die on the way to the head guard’s room.’

If I could get that item, it wasn’t an unrealistic scenario.

“Let’s finish up first.”

To prevent a guard from noticing the blood from outside the door, I cleaned up the scene.

I wiped the blood off the floor and covered the head guard’s bloody body with a thick blanket, making it look as if he was merely
lying there with his eyes closed.

‘Good.’

I then turned my attention to the broken wall and examined the safe.

It was a safe with a triple security system, tightly locked and covered in steel.

Beginners might not have even known it was there, but I was a stagnant water¹.

‘The password was… his birthday.’

The first lock was a password, the second a puzzle, and the third a fingerprint recognition.

The password and puzzle were finished in an instant, and the fingerprint recognition was solved with the finger I had cut off earlier.

Creak.

Seeing the head guard’s safe in person, after only having seen it in pixels, gave me a different feeling.

Inside, there was an ultra-small dimensional pocket that could hold about 10 kg, gold bars, and an explosion magic scroll.

But the most important item was what I confirmed next.

‘The core of the escape plan.’

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary iron gauntlet, but in reality, it was a surprisingly significant item.

‘This is it.’

[United Will] was an active skill that couldn’t be used for a while once used.

So a means to continuously fight was essential.

I stuffed all the gold bars into the dimensional pocket and adjusted Arachne’s Breath.

‘This is what drove the head guard to commit illegal acts.’

For someone greedy, it was a weapon worth killing colleagues and extorting them for.

As soon as I unwrapped the bandages and equipped Arachne’s Breath, it molded perfectly to fit me.

It adapted to its wearer, offering impressive durability and cutting power, even capable of slicing through iron.

From the start, it had nothing but overwhelming performance.

‘Good.’

I had gathered everything I needed in the head guard’s room, so it was time to escape.

Before leaving, I locked the door and used Arachne’s Breath near the passage leading to the head guard’s room.

‘Oh…’

Perhaps due to a boost in my willpower stats, the spider silk emerged more easily than expected.

The silk moved exactly as I envisioned, positioning itself at chest height, where it could cut through anyone’s solar plexus.

If they ran into it, they might not even realize they were mortally wounded.

‘One here too.’

I also placed spider silk at ankle height to buy extra time, though I wished I could have placed more.

Even if the head guard had forbidden anyone from entering, someone would still come by for work reports.

When they discovered the head guard’s body, they would immediately pursue me.

‘It’s a race against time.’

After organizing everything, I checked the clock—it was just before dinner.

I moved quickly, wrapping bandages around Arachne’s Breath.

Every second was critical in this second-by-second battle.

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As expected, all the children were gathered in the bedroom for dinner.

‘The guard has already given them food and left.’

With no guards around and the children all in one place, it was the perfect opportunity.

I immediately shared the escape plan with them, and the reaction I anticipated came:

“What? You want to escape? What are you talking about?”

“There’s no time for explanations. If we want to get out, now is our only chance. We have to leave immediately.”

“Are you crazy? Did you forget what happened to the kid who got caught last time? He was beaten all day and then died…”

Tuk.

Instead of a lengthy explanation, I tossed the head guard’s severed thumb into the middle of the group.

If the guards came rushing in, any chance of escaping together would be lost.

I couldn’t waste time convincing them with words.

‘Of course, they won’t believe me if I suddenly say let’s escape.’

No matter how much food I provided and trust I built, there was a limit.

In situations like this, actions spoke louder than a hundred words.

“I killed the head guard. See the thumb? They’ll soon discover he’s dead, and the guards will come.

And if I get caught alone, I’ll say you’re all accomplices, that we all killed him together.”

How clever could 7-10-year-olds be, no matter how intelligent they were?

They were ruled by fear and only performed labor, unable to speak up.

Treating them with kindness and good intentions? That was highly inefficient.

‘Fight fear with fear.’

The outrageous claim that I had killed the head guard and that they were all accomplices seemed to resonate with the children, who
had endured violence and informal education.

The challenge was how quickly this effect would take hold.

‘There’s no time.’

It would be ideal if even one child stood up and spoke out.

As I anxiously counted the seconds, waiting for the children to respond, one spoke up:

“Let’s go! How long are we going to live like this? Let’s just leave!”

‘Kim Hyuk-jun?’

It didn’t matter who it was.

The key was that one person’s determination could inspire the rest.

When fear paralyzed the children’s judgment, a single voice of courage could shift the tide.

“Th-that’s right! Let’s get out of here! We’ve already experienced so much! I want to leave!”

From there, the excitement spread quickly.

The head guard’s thumb, once a symbol of fear, had become a spark of courage.

“Okay, I have a map. Just follow my lead.”

“Wait, are you really going out? What if we get caught? The guards won’t let us go! Ignore that guy’s nonsense and just stay here…”

Bam!

Without hesitation, I punched the one who was sowing doubt.

Maybe he was accustomed to life in the anthill and didn’t want to leave, but he shouldn’t dampen the hope that had finally ignited.

“If you’re going to say things like that, stay here and wait for the guards to find us.”

We’d be long gone by then.

With that, I turned my back.

“Follow me.”

I’d let you see the sunlight.

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[Shio here~!

Okay why did Seok-Hyun literally just become their messiah? LMAO]