I got into school for nothing - Chapter 106
I got into school for nothing (106)
Lesson 23. Even if it's a lie - 1
Ban Yuwon looked up at the Tower with a rather nostalgic expression.
Friday morning.
He was about to challenge the Tower as a member of Rebellion.
“Is it just me, or does it feel like a really long time since I last entered the Tower?”
“It has actually been three weeks.”
“Once we enter the Tower, at least there won't be any bitches eyeing Yuwon, right...?”
“Rucell, mind your words, mind your words.”
“See? This group still feels the best.”
“Easy for you to say. You abandoned us yesterday to go drinking with those student council people.”
Seeing As Light still bothered by what had happened yesterday, Ban Yuwon grinned and replied.
“It’s precisely because I interact with other people that I come to appreciate how precious you all are, wouldn’t you agree?”
“You’re all talk... Today, you won’t have any use for that glib tongue of yours, Ban Yuwon.”
“Ah, that’s right. I remember now.”
At Dokgo Yeon’s words, which carried a certain firm resolve, Ban Yuwon also recalled what had happened three weeks ago.
At the end of the trial in Room 23, which had been conducted purely through ‘words,’ they had ended up leaving without resolving the situation.
Ban Yuwon believed it was his fault for saying unnecessary things to the members, but Dokgo Yeon was blaming herself.
“Once we go in, we’ll kill every single enemy you identify with your eyes. That’s how we’ll finish Room 23. Everyone agrees, right?”
“I’ll just follow whatever Yuwon does.”
“Me too... as long as innocent people don’t die. Last time was too much.”
Dokgo Yeon's grim determination, tinged with venom; Rucell, who simply affirmed Ban Yuwon endlessly; and As Light, who still couldn't see NPCs as mere NPCs.
Giving a bitter smile at the thought that As Light's contributions might be limited in rooms featuring NPCs for a while, Ban Yuwon entered the Tower with his companions.
A shift occurred, and they immediately arrived in Room 23.
“—We have to kill that guy too!”
“But it’ll be night soon. How about we disband for today and continue the trial tomorrow?”
“Hey, you guys, say something. That guy is suspicious, isn’t he, just as I thought!”
Amidst the rapidly changing scenery, the noisy voices of people clamoring could be heard.
The environment was exactly as they had left it when they exited the Tower previously.
They had known from Professor Yumina that in a Trick Room, where conditions and rules regarding environment and location are meticulously set, time wouldn't flow even if they left the Tower mid-challenge. Still, a lingering worry had persisted, so they felt a degree of relief.
“Now, everyone, calm down.”
Ban Yuwon opened his mouth.
In a situation where the corpses of those ‘tried’ lay scattered everywhere, it seemed highly improbable that anyone would calm down. Yet, surprisingly, every single person’s gaze instantly turned to Ban Yuwon.
It wasn't just because of the power in his voice.
Each time a person was hanged, regardless of whether they were a criminal or an innocent citizen, Ban Yuwon’s influence (as well as that of his companions, including Dokgo Yeon) among the citizens grew stronger.
As a result, it had reached a point where if Ban Yuwon merely pointed to someone as the culprit, that person genuinely became the culprit in the eyes of the populace.
“In the process of sacrificing several innocent lives, I finally realized the perfect way to distinguish between the innocent and the true culprits.”
“Oh, ohhh!”
“Indeed. The deaths of the innocent citizens sacrificed in the trials were not in vain. Thanks to them, we can now apprehend and execute all the wicked individuals lurking in this city!”
Dokgo Yeon had specifically told him not to use his tongue, but if a few words could easily finish the job, there was no need to deliberately hold back!
“So that’s what happened! Those wicked criminals were hanging citizens based on false evidence!”
“And he has found a way to distinguish the truth from those lies!”
When brainwashing becomes severe, people naturally twist situations and logic to fit the narrative, even if errors are found.
Moreover, if one then subtly provides some physical evidence...
Ban Yuwon extended his finger and unleashed an elemental magic Ice Bullet, which he had recently been researching as a means to seamlessly integrate with his sword skills.
—Thwip
Its structure was exceedingly simple: a bullet-shaped piece of ice.
Since its point of origin was Ban Yuwon's fingertip, there was no delay whatsoever, and its trajectory precisely followed the direction he pointed his finger, again with no delay.
Elemental magic, by nature, activates faster the simpler its form and coordinate settings are. Thus, the current Ice Bullet was the culmination of his efforts to devise a potent spell that could be conjured with maximum speed!
As for why ice, it was because he had absorbed a great deal from Frost Giants last week, making ice the strongest element he could currently wield.
“Uh, huh?”
“He’s dead!”
Aside from the Rebellion members, no one else would have properly seen what had shot out from his finger just now.
To the onlookers, it would have simply appeared as if he extended his finger, and a person in that direction suddenly collapsed.
The problem, however, was what transpired next.
The person’s corpse turned pitch black, and sticky demonic energy began to seep out of it.
“He really was a murderer!”
“The murderer is dead!”
[Judgment 1, Constellation's Stigma 0.1 plundered.]
Ban Yuwon confirmed the concepts being absorbed from the murderer and smiled with satisfaction.
The speed and power of the Ice Bullet were flawless, his All-Seeing Eye’s good and evil discernment ability was reliable, and the fact that the Trick Room’s rules weren’t triggered despite him killing someone out of nowhere was also excellent.
There was no need for legitimate interrogation; if he simply found and killed the 'black-colored' individuals, he could, as expected, clear this room.
“Did you see? Thanks to the sacrifices of those innocent people who perished earlier, we can now find and kill only the murderers!”
“Ohhhhhh!”
“You truly came to save our city!”
“Thank you, thank you...!”
“He must have made a contract with a righteous Constellation!”
The citizens, who had initially greeted him with warning shots and suspicion, were now half-worshipping him and bowing their heads.
And the criminals hidden among them—the Constellation contractors—began to suspect if Ban Yuwon truly recognized them, their movements growing noticeably shifty.
“This cannot be!”
Finally.
A man, speaking with a voice that seemed familiar, stepped forward and cried out.
“He’s judging people arbitrarily, sacrificing innocent lives! And now, he’s even picking and choosing whom to kill as he pleases! The person who just died was indeed a murderer, but can you truly be sure the next one will be a murderer too?!”
He remembered.
It was that man, neither an angel nor a girl, who had moved alone, offering prayers to a Constellation the night Ban Yuwon infiltrated the small city with Dokgo Yeon.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Step back, quickly! We must execute all the murderers before night falls!”
“Absolutely not! We cannot create any more innocent sacrifices here! Justice must be carried out correctly and honorably!”
The man clenched his teeth and shouted, blocking Ban Yuwon’s path directly.
He didn’t think so, but just in case, he examined the man with his All-Seeing Eye; the man was undeniably pure white.
Of course, a man who wandered around at night, searching for murderers with only a single, underpowered Authority, couldn't possibly be a criminal.
He already thought that a man who could move at night without being a murderer—a Constellation contractor—wouldn’t simply retreat without doing anything.
He thought so, but...
—Thwip, thwip!
[Judgment 2, Constellation's Stigma 0.2 plundered.]
In the meantime, Ban Yuwon fired two additional Ice Bullets, killing two more murderers.
Thanks to the concept he gained from dealing with one murderer earlier, his Constellation’s Stigma, which had reached 9.8, instantly climbed to 10, solidifying its presence within Ban Yuwon’s body.
Not only did the power of the concept itself grow, but his understanding of it also deepened instantaneously.
He intuitively realized that he could now ‘apply this Constellation’s Stigma to any ability’.
Completely distinct from mana, it was one of the primordial forces that permeated all things.
In a way, it was a mysterious power that resonated with his Authority.
“Did you say ‘innocent sacrifices’? Even after seeing these murderers who just died, do those words still come out of your mouth?”
But a Constellation’s Stigma was a Constellation’s Stigma, and for now, clearing Room 23 came first.
Ban Yuwon, having confirmed that two more people had died before he could even stop them, looked at the trembling man and scoffed, “Ha!”
“It is you who is obstructing the execution of justice. Whatever sense of mission you may possess, right now, you are putting this city in danger.”
“Aren’t you just fabricating murderers with your ability? Perhaps you yourself are truly the murderer!”
The man narrowed the distance with Ban Yuwon, preventing him from pointing his finger at the criminals.
This was surprisingly annoying because this Trick Room had a specific rule: ‘Thou shalt not attack the innocent.’ Thus, even if it wasn’t intentional, he couldn't inflict harm upon an innocent person.
He didn’t know the exact extent without testing, but even if he merely used violence to subdue the man, he risked violating the Trick Room’s rules.
“What nonsense!”
“The one I serve is speaking! He says there’s no trace of a Constellation from that fellow! Everyone needs to sober up; that man is deceiving you all right now!”
—The Constellation [Breath of Life] snorts.
—The Constellation [Clockwork of the Toy Legion] bursts out laughing, calling them a degraded copy of a Constellation contractor.
The Constellations who sponsored him scoffed, calling the opponent too incompetent to even discern the traces of a Constellation from him. But Ban Yuwon thought it might not be that simple.
Perhaps it was because he had pulled a trick in the process of gaining unconditional sponsorship from the Constellations, making the traces of sponsorship unrecognizable even to them...?
“We must stop him, that man...! He’s a fraud!”
“You, who haven’t even helped uncover the culprits, shouldn’t interfere arbitrarily!”
“Ignore such a man and please, find the murderers quickly! At this rate, night will fall!”
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
But fortunately, the citizens who stepped up in Ban Yuwon’s stead seized the man.
Just as Ban Yuwon subtly turned his body to point his finger at the hiding criminals.
From behind the man’s back, massive wings of light sprouted, flinging away all the people who were restraining him.
—I cannot accept this.
It was a voice distinctly different from just a moment ago.
—This space, rife with irrationality, and an Authority that even I, a Constellation, cannot comprehend—you intend to disregard my contractor and simply pass by? Do you think I cooperated with the Tower merely to suffer such an outrage?
“Holy (sacred)...”
Speaking with a voice full of resentment, the man flapped his wings and soared into the sky—no, it was the Constellation inhabiting the man’s body.
Everyone, including Ban Yuwon, looked up at him with blank expressions.
Meanwhile, there were others who were noticeably tense at the Constellation’s appearance: the murderers whose bodies appeared stained pitch-black.
—Night shall not fall until justice has been executed.
In the sky where the sun had been setting, the sun rose again.
—I shall postpone the judgment of you wretched beings for a while.
“Kuaaaagh!”
“Keuk!”
From the insteps of the nearly five remaining murderers, pure white thorns sprouted, restraining them on the spot. Simultaneously, thorns grew to entwine their entire bodies, forming a shield that prevented others from attacking them.
In other words, his intention was to prevent Ban Yuwon from clearing Room 23 by killing the criminals.
—I shall restart the trial. From now on, you wretched beings are the culprits.
The moment the Constellation made its declaration, Ban Yuwon felt darkness descend upon his and his companions’ bodies.
When viewed with his good and evil discernment ability, the Rebellion party was now entirely composed of villains!
From the moment he witnessed the contractor’s ability, he had a rough idea it was that kind of power, but he never imagined it would truly be a Constellation presiding over ‘sin’.
But for such a Constellation to arbitrarily create criminals, didn’t that mean it had no right to criticize Ban Yuwon earlier!
‘What’s even more wicked is—’
The man, who appeared to be possessed by the Constellation, still had a pure white body.
Arbitrarily making them villains while proclaiming himself righteous? It was simply outrageous.
However, the Authority that side wielded also, conversely, provided a crucial hint to Ban Yuwon.
‘Coincidentally, I also have a similar ability.’
His eyes sparkled.
The concept of Judgment, amounting to 16, dwelling within his body, imbibed Hyungi and Constellation’s Stigma, and emitted a dazzling light.
However, this alone was slightly insufficient.
So, adding a curse to it, he sought help from Cellon.
—Wait, let me join in.
But just as Ban Yuwon began to weave his magic, another Constellation’s voice interjected.
—To think I’d materialize on such a low floor, I’ve truly lived a long life to see this.
The bodies of the restrained criminals instantly melted into a black, sticky goo. And before anyone could stop them, they merged into a single creature.
The voice emanated from it.
Exuding an aura as potent as the winged man who had soared, its appearance was closer to a beast than a human.
Yes, a monster in the literal form of a werewolf.
—What do you call this situation?
Cellon, who had been in the midst of composing a magic spell, froze and mumbled blankly.
Ban Yuwon whispered quietly so only she could hear.
“A total shitshow, you idiot. That’s what this is.”
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