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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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‘This is just about the right amount for now.’
I’d considered making Struite a puppet manager and setting up an Illegal Gambling Den 2, but…
‘That’s too much work.’
First off, it would mean having to monitor Struite every weekend and regularly giving him attitude adjustments—just too many hassles.
My initial goal was to score one big haul anyway, so I decided not to get too greedy since I’d already achieved that to some extent.
And now was the perfect time for that proper big score.
Hitting the jackpot and taking half of Sweet Dessert’s assets? Sure, that was substantial, but it felt a bit lacking compared to what was coming.
The wealth these nobles carried around just for entertainment would surely be beyond imagination.
Not to mention all the cash prepared for chip exchanges.
I’d left all the immediately available assets at the tax office for a proper report, but everything else needed to be cleaned out.
“Now, everyone take out everything you’ve got. Do it!”
I deliberately walked among the nobles with a calm, leisurely voice, completely dropping my guard.
‘If I move hastily, they’ll definitely try to stall for time.’
There might be some idiots like Festford, but surely some nobles were constantly thinking of ways to turn this situation around.
If I acted carelessly in front of them, they’d realize why I was in a hurry and try to buy time for security to arrive.
That’s why I needed to appear relaxed.
‘As defenseless as possible.’
The eye patch limiting my vision, showing my back—all to instill confidence that they could take me down at any moment.
And if any brave noble became convinced they could subdue me and made their move…
“How dare you! Do you know who I—Take this!”
“I didn’t say you could throw punches.”
WHAM!
They’d immediately end up making out with the floor after a close encounter with my fist.
‘This achieves two effects.’
First, it instills fear that resisting would lead to the same result. Second, it shows them that while I could kill them at any time, money is my only objective.
Showing that I’m choosing a peaceful resolution despite being capable of killing and taking everything—this gets the nobles moving quickly.
That was the purpose of deliberately showing openings.
‘I can handle everyone here.’
No need to worry about hidden masters lurking around.
I’d thoroughly checked for that when I first entered the gambling den.
Jingle jingle jingle jingle.
Thud thud thud thud.
The frozen atmosphere from the violence melted away like spring snow, replaced by the sound of money being handed over.
I completely ignored the worthless chips that couldn’t be immediately converted to cash.
‘They’ll be useless once the gambling den’s shut down anyway.’
In this time attack with security possibly arriving any moment, I had no intention of sweeping up every last coin like gathering grains of sand into a mountain.
Just collecting the thick stacks of cash would finish the job.
Getting greedy and risking a confrontation with security would be more dangerous.
‘Especially if there are any aspiring knights.’
There were occasionally guards who kept up their knight training while dreaming of becoming one, so it was best to avoid them entirely.
The longer this took, the higher the chance of getting caught, making speed absolutely crucial.
I swept bundles of cash that hadn’t been exchanged for chips into the spatial pouch.
As expected of Festford’s carefully selected item, no matter how much I put in, I couldn’t gauge its limits.
‘This should be enough for minimal preparations.’
Time to end the robbery.
There was no point in continuing, so I immediately left the gambling den.
Since there was only one entrance and no emergency exits, escape was the top priority.
Tap tap tap tap tap.
Just as I was leaving after taking a reasonable amount—too much of anything is as bad as too little—I heard the footsteps of security forces in the distance.
Even if not pure iron, their armor must contain some iron, yet they moved without any sign of its weight.
They were clearly on a different level from regular guards.
“Over there! That’s the gambling den location the tax office told us about!”
“Don’t let a single person escape!”
Of course they’d be energetic—taking down all the nobles inside would guarantee at least one rank promotion.
‘Shouldn’t security be paying me instead?’
I delivered Festford, knocked out Struite before he could cut ties, incapacitated the guards, and had the nobles face-down on the floor, too scared of the robber to try leaving.
By any measure, I did 99% of the work while they handled the remaining 1%, yet here I was having to flee.
Something definitely wasn’t right about this.
Creeeeak.
While lost in these thoughts…
The tree groaned in protest, unable to bear my weight.
After five days of intense training, my body had grown accustomed to the 200kg weight, but other objects hadn’t.
No matter how hard I tried to avoid making thudding sounds while walking, the weight itself couldn’t be changed.
-Don’t remove the weights until Infinite Track settles in your body. No, don’t remove them under any circumstances until I tell you to.
Thinking about the weight reminded me of Acasa’s—no, Master’s words.
She’d whispered it like brainwashing every chance she got, making it impossible to forget.
‘Well then, shall we really get going?’
I headed straight for the inn I’d scouted out earlier.
Time for a pleasant accounting of my gains.
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The first thing I did after unpacking at the inn was check my achievements.
Achievement [Righteous Thief] Attained!
You have exposed the workings of an illegal gambling den in detail.
Moreover, you’ve ensured that those participating in and enjoying illegal activities will face justice.
However, considering that your actions were motivated entirely by self-interest…
And that most of the gambling den’s funds ended up in your pocket, we cannot consider this entirely righteous.
While you did perform righteous actions by deceiving evil-doers multiple times, since your fundamental motivation was personal gain, you receive only half credit for the Righteous Thief achievement.
Half-credited achievements cannot activate their effects.
We hope you will become a true righteous thief through more admirable actions in the future!
‘As expected, achieving Righteous Thief is difficult.’
Although I’d anticipated the result, seeing it in reality was still disappointing.
If I’d gotten it, it would have been a huge help in Lee Seok-hyun’s early development.
‘Still, I gained plenty.’
The results achieved in such a short time were no joke, so there was no reason to be discouraged about missing the achievement.
From entering the gambling den in the early hours between Saturday and Sunday, going through three disguises, robbing the place, and getting out—
The profits made in less than a day were beyond imagination.
Getting an even better high-grade spatial pouch than the jailer’s small one from the ant hill made it an incredible success.
“This much money should be enough to buy about half the materials.”
Not only that, but it was enough to buy top-grade elixirs, allowing for proper early-game boosting.
‘The only problem is I can’t buy them right away.’
If I stupidly went shopping right after getting the money, suddenly appearing as a big spender would definitely raise suspicions.
Especially now, when Festford was probably complaining at the tax office about being completely cleaned out.
‘If I were a noble, I could brush it off as having family money, but that doesn’t work for a commoner.’
A commoner suddenly showing up at the auction house with bundles of cash and buying everything? And coincidentally right when an illegal gambling den was robbed?
It would be impossible not to raise suspicions.
‘Seeing how quickly security moved, they must have contacted the White Blade too.’
If I got caught by them, I’d have to bare my soul to prove I had nothing to do with it, Academy student or not.
Since that would definitely put me at a disadvantage, there was only one appropriate action I could take to avoid suspicion:
‘Might as well prepare for the Academy.’
Taking a nice, long nap.
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After the first week at Mirinae Academy, students’ true colors gradually began to show.
The kids who had stayed quiet at first under the pretext of adjustment started revealing their real personalities as they grew accustomed to their environment.
This was especially true for royalty, and in this year’s class, Bellos was a perfect example.
Bellos, the fifth prince of Skeria, was someone thoroughly wrapped up in privilege consciousness and the diamond spoon he was born with.
He believed most situations could be resolved with money and power, and he’d actually succeeded in doing so many times.
So this time too, Bellos planned to solve his problem using the substantial support he’d received during his weekend visit to the empire.
‘I want to receive regular custom sparring too.’
While the advanced mage training with Professor Lee Hwa-ryeong was excellent, he couldn’t give up the true taste of close combat.
But taking martial arts as a second major was impossible since his schedule was already packed with mage courses.
Yet he couldn’t just give up.
After careful consideration, Bellos found what he thought was the perfect solution.
‘I can just ask the commoner.’
While Mirinae Academy might not skimp on material resources for its students, human greed knows no bounds.
He thought that money was always better in larger amounts, and commoners especially would be swayed by the chance to handle large sums.
If he offered a lot of money and asked for some time, even on weekends, for bare-handed sparring and feedback…
‘He’ll have no choice but to accept.’
Thinking this was the most brilliant plan his 17-year-old mind could devise, Bellos ran straight to Lee Seok-hyun with his proposal, and—
“What are you talking about? I’m super rich.”
It was spectacularly shot down.
“Oh, by the way, didn’t you say you’d give me something for that bare-handed sparring last time? Just give me one Forenta branch.”
And he even got shaken down on the spot.
‘Huh? Where did I go wrong?’
The plan should have been perfect.
Was this what they called getting robbed in broad daylight?
Bellos suffered this indignity first thing in the morning, and everyone in Class S who witnessed it thought to themselves:
‘The class president really is something else.’
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Hello, I’m Mod7, and I will be taking over the translation responsibilities for ‘I Became The Academy’s Hidden Skill Master’. Please note that I am a different translator from the previous ones, so there will be some differences in how I translate and approach certain aspects of the novel. Expect various changes in the series’ nomenclature—most of them minor. The only significant change at this point is the translation of “마인” (Ma-in/Main) as “Demon,” which is a more accurate interpretation.
The release schedule for this novel will be three chapters per week, on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. I look forward to completing this journey with all of you. Happy reading!
