I got into school for nothing - Chapter 127
I got into school for nothing (127)
Lesson 26. Pushing Away When Close - 2
An ultimate weapon is not meant to be used lightly.
It's something to be used in an all-or-nothing fashion, only when there's no other way to resolve the situation.
As they are typically forged as a last resort, ultimate weapons possess several distinct characteristics, and among them is an ironclad rule, inviolable in any game....
It's that you can't gain experience points from enemies defeated by an ultimate weapon!
‘That’s why I didn’t want to use it, but if the situation has escalated to this point, there’s no helping it.’
―You really are something else....
The ultimate weapon Ban Yuwon created, 'Shot to the Constellation's Side', also perfectly adhered to this ironclad rule of ultimate weapons.
It's a weapon that can only be used to make opponents vanish before one's eyes — and, as a bonus, to get back at the constellation who dared to interfere with their exploration!
―Swoosh
“Good, it works well after all.”
Ban Yuwon nodded with a satisfied expression, watching the jewel bracelet swiftly traverse the air at his command, obliterating all monsters in its path.
Flickering blue and moving at high speed, the jewel bracelet appeared to the naked eye as nothing more than a beam of light streaking across the ground.
Incidentally, as confirmed by his Authority, the bracelet's name was 'Yergel's Summoning Bracelet'.
Of course, it probably had a true name, but Yergel was the name the constellation was known by among humans.
―You'll suffer for it if you take constellations too lightly?
‘They were the ones who picked a fight first. I’m already prepared for whatever consequences come my way, even if it means getting my face and knees smashed.’
―Alright, if you’re prepared, then I have nothing more to say. ...Putting that aside, even with the control you’ve imposed, aren’t you handling it a bit too freely?
‘I have the concept of space control, don’t I?’
Space Control, an Authority originally bestowed by a constellation sponsoring Exodus upon invaders of the Tower, hadn't seen much use since coming into Ban Yuwon's hands.
However, when Ban Yuwon had previously entered the Tower alone and confronted a world giant, thanks to absorbing a massive, truly enormous quantity of 'Air Pressure' (空壓), a subordinate concept to Space Control, the depth of the concept rapidly increased.
Thanks to this, his overall understanding of fields related to space became firmly established, and naturally, controlling objects to move them, as he was doing now, became easier!
―Is that truly all? It’s strange; it looks too natural, almost as if you’re moving the Stormrain Sword....
‘Phew, you’re sharp too....’
“Master――!”
Just before a great multitude of monsters, once human, could join the fray, a blue beam of light pierced into their ranks, and monsters vanished without a trace as soon as they were hit.
Rucell, concluding that only Ban Yuwon could do such a thing, raised her head and searched for him.
Ban Yuwon waved to her and shouted.
“Rucell! You can retreat now!”
“I’ll hold on a little longer!”
Rucell, who had clearly been panting and gasping for breath just moments ago, as soon as she spotted Ban Yuwon, her face lit up, and vitality returned to her body, making her move with renewed vigor.
Was it just a feeling? Her already nearly 4-meter tall frame even seemed to be growing larger in real-time.
‘Is the concept of 'Giant' growing in real-time?’
Seeing that Ban Yuwon couldn't embrace the concept of 'Giant', one could infer that 'Giant' had excellent compatibility with beast-kin, who possess 'Wildness', rather than ordinary humans.
In fact, after gaining the concept of 'Giant', Rucell was able to partially transform into a beast-form, and even now, it appeared active, almost clinging to her 'Wildness'.
‘Perhaps the concept of 'Giant' might change within Rucell.’
Just as Ban Yuwon's magic and physique had changed.
The [Giant] concept, too, in the process of interacting with various concepts within Rucell's body, might differentiate into an entirely new concept.
Anyway, since the compatibility seems to be at its peak, he could only hope that next time, too, they would be able to face giants and seize their concepts.
“This is crazy, that armor...!”
“Have all other cities already fallen?!”
“No, but they’re all disappearing before even reaching the city. Damn it, I don’t know what the hell is going on!”
Meanwhile, the soldiers, thrown into chaos by the appearance of the blue beam of light following the additional wave, were each clutching their heads.
But Ban Yuwon had no intention of listening to their cries or their grievances about the predicament involving the neighboring city, so he simply moved the bracelet faster, erasing the waves pushing towards the city.
―The Constellation [Breath of Life] begins to be wary of you, seeing you deal with constellations far too easily.
―The Constellation [Clockwork of the Toy Legion] is pleased, seeing your reckless and challenging attempts yield extremely effective results.
I don't know why they don't realize it's already too late to be wary.
Ban Yuwon hummed to himself and continued his work.
The jewel bracelet roamed the battlefield without losing power, sending everything it touched beyond space, to where Yergel would be waiting.
―Swoooooosh....
In just a few minutes after that, the west gate fell silent.
Of those moving and alive outside the city gate, there was no one left but Rucell.
“Rucell, it’ll be fine here now. Let’s move somewhere else.”
“Yes!”
The second wave, composed of reinforcements from the neighboring city and monster forces, hadn't just attacked the west gate.
According to Tikke’s observations, waves were also pouring in at the south gate, where Ban Yuwon had initially cleared the armored monsters, and likewise at the east gate.
As for the north... only Dokgo Yeon and the Mount Golem were still locked in a struggle worthy of myth.
He had told her to signal if things got disadvantageous, and since she hadn't even eaten the Candy of Life he gave her, he thought she would be fine... but....
“The east gate is the problem. Rucell, can you go ahead first?”
“Yes, I’ll be waiting then. You have to come quickly, okay?”
Rucell said with a bright smile, then pushed off the ground and rapidly ran towards the east gate.
Her condition remained remarkably stable even up to the moment they parted. It seemed that her poor condition when he first saw her at the west gate was less due to the fatigue of prolonged combat and more due to being separated from Ban Yuwon for too long.
Her emphasis on him coming quickly was all due to that.
‘It’s certainly a good thing that her Heart Furnace is stable, but... her struggling like that every time she has to fight away from me is a bit much.’
―You’re hooked. That sly one is an expert at pretending to give you everything while actually taking it all.
‘Strange, I feel like there was someone else like that around me, no, a fairy....’
But since it doesn't feel bad, it's quite astonishing.
Yes, this, including all of this, is what it means to be hooked, Ban Yuwon realized with a jolt.
“We can’t stop them anymore, we’ll all die here— It’s the Great Archmage!”
“The Great Archmage has returned!”
“Great Archmage!”
Around the time he was thinking such thoughts, he arrived at the south gate.
Perhaps because Ban Yuwon had cleared it completely once and left, the number of monsters that had gathered in the wave was small, allowing the soldiers to hold their ground well. Here too, without fail, he used 'Shot to the Constellation's Side' to sweep away all the monsters.
“As expected of the Great Archmage!”
“This magic is even more amazing than before!”
“What did I tell you? I told you the Great Archmage would save our city!”
“Great Archmage! Great Archmage!”
“Great Archmage! Great Archmage!”
The soldiers’ reactions were excessively explosive.
Anyone would think Ban Yuwon wasn't a mercenary, but some kind of rock vocalist traveling a cosmic battlefield with a guitar strapped to his back.
“Only the folks here have such a strange reaction.”
―Depending on what impression you make on the Tower’s residents, you can achieve special accomplishments. So you’re doing well right now. ...Whether that impression is right or wrong is another matter, though.
“Oh, you mean achievements.”
Ban Yuwon nodded, recalling that the day after he had previously challenged the Tower alone, the concept of ‘Honor’ within his body had strangely grown significantly.
Perhaps the achievements mentioned in the Tower were highly likely to be related to this ‘Honor’.
However, what power this concept of ‘Honor’ actually held... he couldn’t quite discern, even after analyzing it with his Authority.
‘A 'status' established by being recognized by many beings and the world. Status... Could it be a concept that enhances the 'status' of my being, like a soul?’
Anyway, there’s no harm in having it, and if he could gain achievements by granting NPCs’ requests and saving them, he felt even more motivated.
Ban Yuwon teleported all the monsters away, leaving no trace of the wave, then coolly left the spot.
―Grooooooowl!
―Kieeeeee!
The east gate was a sight to behold.
It was to the extent that if there were a zombie apocalypse, a similar situation might unfold, as monsters that had swarmed, filling the hill, looked as if they would fill the moat and climb over the ramparts at any moment!
“Ban, you’re too late!”
“Yuwon—!”
As Light, Rucell, and Eve, even amidst such chaos, had somehow managed to hold them back, maintaining the last defensive line.
Perhaps they were nearing their limit, as, as soon as they confirmed his arrival, they let out a shout, half relief and half exhaustion.
Ban Yuwon saw the dire situation at the east gate and thought that perhaps some kind of telepathy occurred among monsters during a monster wave.
Unless all the monsters heading for the south and west gates had converged on the east gate, there was no way such a difference could exist compared to other sections.
“Don’t just stand there admiring, help!”
“All right, all of you retreat!”
“Hss!”
As the Rebellion members, on the verge of being torn to shreds, hurriedly retreated, a volley of magic bullets poured down from the air, halting the monsters’ advance.
Tikke had fired diversionary shots at the opportune moment.
When the hesitating monsters resumed their advance, the blue beam of light was already piercing through their ranks.
―Swoooooosh
Watching the beam of light send everything it touched beyond into another dimension, he even felt a thrill akin to cleanly erasing a note dense with writing using an eraser.
―Just how many have you sent away?
“Do you remember the exact number of loaves of bread you’ve eaten so far?”
―You answered as if you were waiting for that question?
“As expected, you weren’t late, Master!”
Rucell, who had quickly climbed atop the city wall with a nimble leap, naturally interjected.
She, who had deactivated all concepts and returned to her normal human form, was so calm that it was hard to believe she was the same colossal monster that had rampaged on the battlefield just moments ago.
“Even seeing it again, it’s truly a divine majesty. To handle constellations as if playing with toys, Master is truly....”
“Yaaah...!”
It was then that Rucell, whose emotions were significantly heightened from the continuous battles, blushed and closed the distance between them.
“Don’t just talk amongst yourselves, include me too...!”
“Oh, oh right. You’ve worked hard, Light. It’s almost over now.”
He was even grateful to As Light for interjecting at just the right time.
Ban Yuwon inwardly felt relieved, patted As Light on the shoulder, then turned his head back to the battlefield.
But then.
“――Huh?”
Before he knew it, monsters were being sucked into the jewel bracelet.
Such an overwhelming function was something Ban Yuwon had never granted.
―Ah, as expected.
As if she had known this would happen, Cellon lamented.
She also seemed to be enjoying it a little.
―I told you, if you take constellations too lightly, you’ll suffer for it.
“You must be thrilled that your prediction came true.”
The jewel bracelet, completely beyond Ban Yuwon’s control, stopped in place and was drawing in all the monsters in the vicinity, emitting an increasingly blue and brilliant light.
“From now on, it means the constellation will abandon its Tower share and intervene directly, right?”
―That’s right. It’s only natural, considering how much you provoked it.
“On the contrary, I was waiting for it.”
Ban Yuwon snorted, then drew the Executioner’s Longsword.
“If I even break this, it’d be completely screwing over the constellation... screwing over Cantone, wouldn’t it?”
―Are you confident?
“If I try and it doesn’t work, I’ll just have to rely on Dokgo Yeon.”
Ban Yuwon was excessively honest.
Of course, that Dokgo Yeon was still being tormented by the Mount Golem in the north....
“It’s coming.”
Rucell whispered.
The bracelet absorbed all the monsters generated by the wave, and the next moment, a perfect void dominated the battlefield.
―Woooooong
With the bracelet that had risen into the air as its heart, something enormously huge and terrifying was born—.
―Kwoooaaang!
—but failed, as the bracelet caused a massive explosion, miserably self-destructing and collapsing.
―Huh?
Cellon let out a bewildered voice.
―What?
“Phew, fortunately it succeeded.”
Ban Yuwon confirmed that his measure had worked as intended and let out a sigh of relief.
But Cellon still looked unconvinced.
―What, I asked?
“You said earlier that my controlling the bracelet was as natural as handling the Stormrain Sword. That’s because I actually embedded ‘Soul Flame’ in it.”
―Ah....
Cellon let out a foolish sound.
If this was the case, wouldn’t she be the only one looking foolish for having warned him not to take constellations lightly?!
The reason Ban Yuwon could control the bracelet as if handling the Stormrain Sword, and could make it explode at an exquisite timing, was all because he had already imbued the bracelet with ‘Soul Flame’ in advance!
“Cellon, there’s one more commonality that all ultimate weapons in the world possess.”
Ban Yuwon, while observing the enormous amount of concepts—golden character strings—surging from the corpse of something immensely vast and powerful that had self-destructed before it could even fully manifest, said with a satisfied smile.
“That is, to prevent it from being seized and used by the enemy, it inevitably self-destructs upon completing its mission.”
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