I got into school for nothing - Chapter 121
I got into school for nothing (121)
Lesson 25. The further away, the more I miss it - 2
Alex de Cantone, and Lyu Cheolmyeong.
The two men shared the unique superiority complex common among those from higher-ranking dimensions, and until now, had maintained a rather good relationship.
However, this time, an unexpected incident had caused a slight crack in their bond.
“Professor Lyu Cheolmyeong, I had trusted you... but what are we to do if you merely strengthen those bastards’ position even further?”
“So, are you going to blame me for it?”
Lyu Cheolmyeong’s tone, as he retorted to Cantone, was incredibly irritable.
How could Lyu Cheolmyeong have known that Ban Yuwon would master Or?
He had lived for hundreds of years with such a belief as his foundation, and now, trying to prove it, he was facing an unexpected backlash.
‘Sooner or later, that bastard will surely fall. Those born of humble origins clearly have limits to their ascent. But until then, he’s just creating a false impression for people. And of all people, I happened to get caught up in it... Damn it!’
Furthermore, due to this incident, what he had habitually been doing to students had become vaguely known within the academy. Not only Yumina, but even other professors were now looking at him with disdain.
Ironically, it was precisely because Ban Yuwon had achieved results that Lyu Cheolmyeong was not immediately reprimanded; however, from now on, he would have to tread carefully even during his lectures.
“Blame? What blame... Let’s just consider everything that passed between us as unsaid.”
Lyu Cheolmyeong snorted with derision at Cantone’s words.
“Trying to cut off your tail, are you? Worried this incident might go awry?”
“That’s not it. Forget the conversations we had, Professor Lyu Cheolmyeong. It simply means you no longer need to concern yourself with that fellow.”
A hateful smile played on Cantone’s lips.
“Trying to take too many detours was our undoing. Sometimes, these worms who don’t know their place and try to crawl higher, need to be crushed without a second thought.”
“Crush? By what means? Are you planning to use a student to challenge him to a duel? Professor Yumina won’t stand by idly.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Just forget it. From this moment on, no conversation between us ever took place.”
Lyu Cheolmyeong sensed something deeply ominous in Cantone’s voice.
Instinctively realizing that he shouldn’t delve deeper—he backed off.
“If you want me to forget, I will. ...However, you shouldn’t forget that the Chancellor is no easy opponent.”
“Of course, I bear that in mind. If not, we wouldn’t have come out of the academy and even erected a barrier to talk.”
The barrier generated by Cantone’s telekinesis was sturdy enough that even Lyu Cheolmyeong’s Or couldn’t easily break it. It was renowned for completely blocking any concept Cantone wished to, according to his will.
Conversely, it could freely allow passage for whatever he desired, making it incredibly useful in situations where ‘friend or foe’ needed to be distinguished....
This meant that the Chancellor was now his enemy.
“Ah... I see.”
Lyu Cheolmyeong, who had sensed an ominous aura from Cantone and was distancing himself, intending not to be involved with him, suddenly stopped and said,
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’d prefer if those two women didn’t die.”
“Hmm?”
“If that’s too much, then... just the white-haired lass. If you could even package her up to make it easy for me to take, that would be ideal. I am prepared to pay the price.”
“Ha, hahaha.”
Cantone, realizing what Lyu Cheolmyeong was implying, burst out laughing.
Lyu Cheolmyeong didn’t particularly get angry; he just quietly waited for his answer.
Of course, the answer was affirmative.
“Very well, let’s do that. I am very much looking forward to what price Professor Lyu Cheolmyeong will prepare.”
“Good. Of course, let’s also forget this conversation between us. Then, I look forward to the day we meet again with pleasant faces.”
“As do I.”
Despite having fully exposed their ugly true selves and engaged in vulgar conversation, the two men parted ways, exchanging noble greetings as if they were refined aristocrats.
To them, honor and dignity were precisely that: something to be cast aside when inconvenient, and picked up and put on only when necessary.
* * *
On the Friday of the 8th week, Team Rebellion, having shifted to Room 31, cleared several rooms without much difficulty.
It was easy to forget, having faced serious incidents every time they entered the Tower, but where they were currently exploring was, at best, a lower floor.
The quest rooms that had continued since the 23rd floor had been unusually strange; it was natural for ordinary rooms without even simple tricks to appear.
“Still, the difficulty doesn’t seem ‘natural,’ though.”
“At this point, it would be surprising if elites *didn’t* appear in the rooms.”
Rooms 31, 32, and 33.
Each and every monster attacked the party with a strength unbefitting a lower floor, but Team Rebellion, each member of whom now possessed top-tier combat power for their grade, overcame them without difficulty.
[Absorbing Life 0.1, Body 0.1, Demon Beast 0.08, Carapace 0.05. Demon Beast and Carapace are concepts that humans cannot possess.]
As if to prove that the difficulty wasn’t particularly high, the depth of the concepts Ban Yuwon gained was not very great either.
Despite clearing three rooms over four hours, Ban Yuwon’s Life (生) had only grown by 2, from its depth of 582 before entering the Tower, to merely 584.
“Ah, this is that phenomenon, isn’t it? When you’re grinding in a low-level dungeon, then suddenly enter an event dungeon that showers you with experience and items, and when you go back to your original hunting ground, the experience efficiency seems ruined.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, so just fight.”
At this rate, could he truly break past Life 600 in this exploration?
For Ban Yuwon, Life 600 held a special meaning.
This was because Anneri Dedota, the dimension mercenary he had met in Gellas, had ‘displayed’ a Life score of 600 to him.
Of course, he now knew that wasn’t her full power.
She had concealed her presence and true abilities through some means, and Ban Yuwon’s Authority, which should have seen through even that, had, due to their brief contact, only managed to observe the fabricated surface.
‘Let’s assume Life 600 is the starting line.’
The minimum baseline to operate as an ability user who wouldn’t be ashamed anywhere. Ban Yuwon judged that to be Life 600.
Indeed, all Team Rebellion members already had a Life score close to 600 (Rucell, Light) or far exceeding it (Dokgo Yeon) at the time of their admission.
‘Unlike me, who had only just awakened my abilities, these guys truly entered with a level of strength that overwhelmed even elites from higher-ranking dimensions. Of course, they’ve become much stronger now compared to when they first entered, having learned various techniques and explored the Tower...’
Still, Ban Yuwon catching up to the level of Team Rebellion members at the time of their admission held great significance.
—Groooaaarrrr!
“So, let’s quickly get rid of these weaklings, quickly...!”
Ban Yuwon, who had mumbled this while facing the elite monster—a bear-shaped armored beast roaring, adorned with stag beetle horns and carapace on its head—kicked off the ground and charged at it.
“Hup.”
The armored beast charged forward, thrusting its horns.
Charging directly at its head, Ban Yuwon manifested the profound principle of Flow (流): he extended one hand to deflect a horn diagonally, and in the next instant, used that same hand to push off the beast’s head, lightly leaping to land on its back.
—Grahk?!
When moving reflexively, most monsters reveal significant weaknesses.
For instance, at this very moment, tense from the presence of the hunter occupying its back, the beast twisted its body with excessive force—.
Ban Yuwon inverted that very force, easily thrusting his sword, imbued with the profound principle of Counter (反), into the beast.
Before he knew it, the golden string of characters [貫通] (Penetration) had clearly appeared on the blade of the sword he wielded.
—Kahak!
*Pwoosh*—as naturally as a sword entering its scabbard, the Executioner’s Longsword pierced the armored beast’s neck.
Despite being an elite appearing in a room of unusually high difficulty, he had finished it in a single strike!
Its neck was a vital point, lethal if pierced, but at the same time, it was an impossibly tough area, blocked by its carapace.
However, because Ban Yuwon had simultaneously employed the profound principles of Counter (反) and Pierce (貫), while also imbuing his sword with the Language Magic of Penetration (貫通) that he had prepared, he was able to finish it off in an instant without feeling any resistance.
[Absorbing Life 0.7, Body 0.5, Demon Beast 0.3, Carapace 1. Demon Beast and Carapace are concepts that humans cannot possess.]
This was indeed the first stage of Language Magic in close combat that he had perfected after much deliberation: attack assistance.
“—Your Language Magic is practically an all-purpose skill, so just by applying appropriate buffs to yourself and your weapons at any given moment, you can raise your combat power by more than one stage... Though it’s much weaker compared to actual magic!”
Cellon, who had disliked Ban Yuwon’s close-combat style ever since he wielded his previous staff and performed a ‘Gandalf attack,’ still spoke in a somewhat sulky voice.
He chuckled softly, refuting Cellon’s words.
‘But it has the advantage of being efficient due to low mana consumption, doesn’t it? And it’s quick to apply.’
For example, if you simply create and manifest the Language Magic [Penetration], whether you can pierce the opponent or not is purely determined by the amount of magical power contained within [Penetration].
But if a sword is used as a medium for it, and especially if it’s a sword thrusting with full force towards the target, the amount of magical power required naturally decreases drastically.
“—You’re still far from it. If you’re a mage, you just need to unleash spells from afar, even if your movements are a bit slow. But if you’re going to engage in close combat yourself, you need to be able to instantly manifest Language Magic at a timing that’s a hundredth of a second.”
‘Just say one-hundredth of a second.’
Ban Yuwon also knew well that synchronizing his movements with the manifestation timing of Language Magic was not yet perfect.
Still, when he first learned Language Magic, it took him more than 3 seconds to draw a single word and manifest it, so he judged himself to be much improved compared to that.
‘Although it’s magic manifested based on the magic language, there’s no need to necessarily draw it externally. I can complete it within myself and manifest it directly on the desired target at the desired timing. This much is enough for now.’
Once he became more accustomed to this, he would be able to apply Language Magic to every single movement: blocking enemy attacks, counterattacking, evading, charging, leaping, and striking.
Language Magic, manifested through his entire body, his weapons, and furthermore, all the artifacts he handled, would make him even more complete and powerful!
“That was amazing, Yuwon!”
“Rucell, it seems like it’s taking shape now, doesn’t it?”
Rucell, who had finished off her own elite and rushed over, watched Ban Yuwon’s strike, her eyes sparkling, and clapped her hands.
“Your pure offensive power is catching up to ours...! Not just skill, but brute strength too!”
It seemed Rucell had been thinking the same thing Ban Yuwon was just now.
At Rucell’s unreserved joy, Ban Yuwon also felt a surge of inner pride and nodded, while on the opposite side, Dokgo Yeon and Light, who had been dealing with the remaining elites, finished their combat and could be seen walking towards them, chatting softly.
“What’s going on?”
“Light’s movements were much lighter today. So, I was just praising him.”
“But earlier, you asked if he’d pulled out his Holy Sword when I wasn’t looking...”
Light, who had been deeply contemplating his path recently, also seemed to have improved significantly over the past week.
For reference, Light had known how to wield Or since his admission to the academy. Its form was closer to Lyu Cheolmyeong’s than Dokgo Yeon’s; a ‘brutish Or’ created by compressing mana as much as possible. Yet, he definitely had a knack for generating Or, as he wielded it without issue through both sword and spear.
Naturally, he was also being controlled by Dokgo Yeon and was currently unable to use Or.
“But ever since he started using a spear, his movements, which had been unnaturally stiff as if he were moving a body that wasn’t his own, were significantly different today. Did you gain some sort of enlightenment?”
“Ah, that... perhaps.”
Light replied to Dokgo Yeon’s question with a somewhat awkward expression, and for some reason, glanced at Ban Yuwon’s face.
Ban Yuwon tilted his head, but decided not to prod him, thinking that if Light wanted to say something, he would do so eventually.
However, the fleeting glimpse of a concept within Light’s body that he couldn’t quite decipher bothered him slightly.
‘He could now understand Rucell’s internal concepts thoroughly... He really needed to get closer to that Light fellow too.’
To solve the problem Light was carrying, this current state wouldn’t do.
Only by knowing everything about him would he be able to do something about that damned necklace!
“So, about the shift?”
“We didn’t seem to need a rest yet, so we cleared everything. Could there be any hidden elements?”
The moment Dokgo Yeon said that, Ban Yuwon felt a chill run down his spine.
“I told you last time about a spell you absolutely shouldn’t memorize, didn’t I?”
“If you’re talking about that strange nonsense, I have no intention of heeding it in the slightest.”
I feel like I could fall for this magnificent appearance.
However, apart from that, the accuracy of the ‘spells’ she uttered was absolutely uncanny.
The next room was another Chain Room.
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