I got into school for nothing - Chapter 139
I got into school for nothing (139)
Lesson 28. Picnic of Ruin - 6
To put simply what Ban Yuwon had just accomplished:
Starting from the sword, the source of the attack, from his fingers grasping the sword, to his wrist, forearm, shoulder, chest, the waist, hips, thighs, knees, shins, insteps, and toes that supported it all, the breath, lung movements, heartbeats, and blood flow required to send power to all of them.
He had, in essence, meticulously configured all the fluid concepts related to his movements, and, based on his own body and the three swords, manifested Language Magic.
“Phew, phew-w-w...”
It required the ability to perfectly read the enemy's movements, as well as high-speed processing to complete all calculations in a fleeting instant.
It also necessitated a profound understanding of the correlation between martial arts and the physical body, coupled with the intuition to translate that into movement—a collection of fluid concepts.
Furthermore, considering the limits of mana and the fact that all of this had to be composed solely of concepts he could perceive, it was by no means an easy ability to wield.
It was clear that if Ban Yuwon continued to observe and collect various martial arts and movement-related concepts in countless future battlefields, and consistently train and develop his body, mana, and swordsmanship—the very foundation for manifesting these concepts—this technique would make him virtually invincible.
The surge of internal concept change notifications that appeared the moment he beheaded the Orc Lord made that fact undeniably clear.
[You have realized what it means to embody one's will in the purification of internal energy. The depth of your Swordsmanship has reached 250. You have gained the initial understanding of combining Authority, magic, and Swordsmanship.]
[The depth of Hyunsingong has reached 200. The depth of Hyungi has reached 420. A rapid transformation of the body concept has occurred; the depth of the body has become 30. You have realized that the depth of the transformed unknown concept has surpassed 550.]
[The depth of Life has reached 680. By deeply observing your internal concepts, you can now wield them more efficiently and proactively, and you have awakened a higher-tier concept that governs all concepts of the same lineage.]
[The depth of Acceleration has reached 10.]
‘My swordsmanship grew immensely. No, it’d be faster to find what *didn't* change.’
The harmony and movements of concepts, once embodied by his Authority, were firmly etched into his physical body.
If he were to immediately face the same Orc Lord again and unleash those same movements, Ban Yuwon would be able to deliver an even more powerful sword strike, expending less than half the Hyungi he had just used.
In other words, this technique was one that permanently developed all his movements the more he employed it.
The rapid growth in the depth of his Swordsmanship and his complete awakening of Or were prime examples of this.
‘My head, though, it feels like it’s going to shatter...’
—Throb.
Ban Yuwon clutched his head with one hand.
It was a natural consequence of having forcibly used the Acceleration concept, which had a low depth.
It was truly ironic that, thanks to that, the depth of Acceleration had finally reached 10.
If he were to fully establish the insights gained today into a complete martial art, while other concepts were important, he would first and foremost need to deepen the Acceleration concept.
—Are you okay?! You moved like you were possessed by a ghost just now!
‘Well, it was something similar.’
Even in a situation where he wanted to collapse from the pain, Ban Yuwon quickly took care of what needed to be done.
Namely, he immediately recovered the Relic, placing it into his inventory to prevent other Orcs from touching it, and then completely extracted all concepts from the Orc Lord's corpse, annihilating the monster.
[You usurp Life 100, Body 70, Wildness 150, Superhuman Strength 50, Spiritual Power 50, and Swordsmanship 50. Wildness is a concept that cannot be possessed by humans.]
“Wow, it’s a full gift set.”
As Ban Yuwon checked the unusually thick and long golden string of characters that had been extracted, he forgot his pain, his eyes widening in astonishment.
Wildness and Superhuman Strength could be given to Rucell, and all the rest he could consume himself, couldn't he?
He had been particularly interested in the power of Spiritual Power, so the fact that he could absorb it entirely was quite pleasing.
And... the Orc Lord's swordsmanship too.
‘Lyu Cheolmyeong's swordsmanship. Though lacking the depth of Dokgo Yeon's, combined with the Orc Lord's Wildness, it undoubtedly displayed immense power. To perfect my own swordsmanship, I need to absorb various styles. Only then will my vessel become sturdy.’
His swordsmanship would only be perfected by observing, collecting, and internalizing countless concepts.
Dokgo Yeon was the most technically complete swordswoman he knew, but he couldn't limit himself to learning only from her.
He had to learn from everything in the world.
Willingly, even from enemies he loathed, if necessary.
[The depth of Life has reached 700, the depth of Body has reached 40, the depth of Spiritual Power has reached 50, and the depth of Swordsmanship has reached 270.]
For both Life and Swordsmanship, a growth of 20 depth after absorbing 50 concepts was excellent.
Ban Yuwon set aside Life 50 for his vassals, storing it along with Wildness and Superhuman Strength in his Code Core, then lifted his head.
“The Lord, the Lord is dead!”
“No, my strength... it’s draining away...!”
The Orc Wave dissipated simultaneously with the Orc Lord's death, and the Orcs, naturally losing their strength, groaned in agony all around.
Ban Yuwon, seeing that the aura of the infection wave was no longer emanating from them, felt relieved.
Because the Orc Lord had perfectly transformed and controlled the infection wave, killing him resulted in the clean disengagement of the monster wave, preventing it from even fully manifesting.
“In that sense, maybe the difficulty wasn't so high—huh?”
“Not low at all. You can only say such leisurely words because you accomplished the great feat of defeating a clearly superior opponent in a one-on-one battle.”
“Huh? ...Sis?”
Ban Yuwon, who had been mumbling half to himself, half to Cellon, and staggering from the unbearable headache, was startled by Yumina's presence. She had approached him from behind and was supporting his back, just as she had done before.
Had he perfectly established his martial art, he might have noticed Yumina's approach, but this only proved how far he still had to go.
“What in the world was that just now? I'm not deeply versed in martial arts, so I don't quite understand, but it looked as if you predicted every single one of your opponent's movements and countered them perfectly. It's the first time I've ever thought that wielding a sword to sever a neck could be beautiful.”
Even though she claimed no deep knowledge of martial arts, Yumina's words pierced through the very essence of Ban Yuwon's sword.
Since he hadn't even fully organized it himself, there was no way he could explain it to someone else, so Ban Yuwon merely chuckled and asked her,
“Why did you come? I told you just to watch.”
“You looked very tired. And you were staggering. Wouldn't it be unfair if, after all that effort to defeat the Orc Lord, you were then taken down by other Orcs?”
“That wouldn't happen... but, well, since it's pretty much over now, let's say it's fine.”
Although his Stormrain Sword was ready, and Livi, his living armor, was also prepared in his inventory to be deployed at any moment, Ban Yuwon decided not to mention it, instead boosting Yumina's spirits.
“Yuwon!”
Rucell, realizing the wave had ended due to the Orcs' change, swiftly ran on all fours in her partial beast form.
Seeing Ban Yuwon leaning on Yumina, she kicked off the ground, instantly closing the distance between them, and by the time she landed, she had already assumed a perfect human form, gripping him tightly.
Startled by Rucell's sudden approach, Yumina also clutched Ban Yuwon tightly, but he soon extricated himself from both of them and stood upright.
“Yuwon, are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I just felt a little dizzy, but I'm fine now.”
Ban Yuwon, waving his hand in response to Rucell's fussing, quickly chewed on a Candy of Life he pulled from his pocket, showing no sign of the returning headache.
Immediately, not only did the headache vanish—
[All statuses are dramatically restored. The depth of Hyungi deepens by 1, the depth of Charm deepens by 5, and the depth of Acceleration deepens by 2.]
It was incredible.
The Candy of Life, and indeed life concepts gained from Eden in general, had a tendency to boost concepts useful to the consumer, but he hadn't expected the depth of Acceleration to deepen by a whole 2 points in one go.
It must be all the accumulated elixir mileage finally paying off, Ban Yuwon thought, nodding in satisfaction.
“By the way, do we not need to deal with those Orcs?”
“If left alone, they'll naturally dwindle in number and scatter in all directions. Especially the monsters who weren't originally Orcs; now that they're free from the influence of the infection wave, they hate the Orcs even more than humans do.”
Yumina said, pointing to the Orcs who had started fighting each other all around them.
At first glance, they all looked like the same Orcs, but hearing Yumina's explanation, it seemed a fight had broken out between the original Orcs and the monsters that had been transformed into Orcs.
After all, their forms had been twisted by the Orc Wave, so if their minds were intact, they'd naturally want to tear apart those who had done this to them, even more than humans.
If left as is, the monsters forming the wave would naturally disperse, their numbers dwindling to tens of thousands, Ban Yuwon said with a shrug.
“This Orc Wave cleanup is a sweet deal, huh?”
“If you only have to deal with the Orc Lord, that is.”
“Ban, are you hurt—?!”
Soon, As Light joined them, shaking blood from his spearhead.
Despite having single-handedly blocked and fought off a horde of Orcs, each boasting an average strength of Life 300, with Rucell, he hadn't sustained a single scratch.
Whatever 'help' he was receiving from Aire, it was clear that he was developing at an astonishing rate day by day.
“Hmm, you dealt with it quite quickly.”
“Good work, Dokgo Yeon.”
Dokgo Yeon also appeared, riding Eve, who had transformed into Lilyth, and landed nearby.
Surprisingly, among the Rebellion members, she seemed the most exhausted after Ban Yuwon.
“Putting and pulling out mountain-sized giants from subspace consumes quite a bit of internal energy. There's no helping it, given their massive size, but...”
Dokgo Yeon said, rolling a Candy of Life in her mouth, restoring her depleted mental energy and internal energy.
“Even so, I was able to make him grow. I imagine he crushed at least a hundred thousand.”
“Just listening to you, one would think you've become a complete tamer.”
Ban Yuwon, who had been wryly smiling at his companions' nonchalant demeanor after literally preventing a lower-rank dimension from almost being annihilated, soon realized he wasn't much different.
Even after defeating the Orc Lord, he had been thinking only of his own Authority, rather than the monster itself.
“Alright!”
Just then, Yumina, seeing that the group had gathered, clapped her hands, drawing their attention.
It felt strange that even with five humans gathered in the middle of a battlefield, the Orcs paid them no mind and simply fought amongst themselves. From the subtle fragrance that wafted to his nose, it seemed she had taken some measures.
“That was truly splendid work! No other team could have achieved such perfect results in their first special activity as you all have. Therefore, I officially declare the end of this special activity!”
“It really ended in less than a day...”
“When I saw the swarming Orc army, I wondered if we could finish it by the weekend.”
“I did anticipate that taking out the leader would cause them to collapse. Nevertheless, precisely selecting and intercepting the leader amidst such a large number of Orcs is a testament to our team’s skill.”
It wasn't often that Ban Yuwon heard such generous words from Dokgo Yeon.
It was true that the Orc army was a formidable foe, and it was also true that they had splendidly eliminated their target without suffering any damage.
As Yumina had said, they could indeed consider this achievement ‘perfect’.
In the suddenly warm atmosphere, Yumina smiled brightly and brought things to a close.
“Now that the special activity is perfectly concluded, let’s go back to the humans of Papitar, inform them of the results, and then we'll have a flower viewing party!”
Yumina's obsession with flower viewing was truly astonishing.
Although the people of Papitar, having learned through reconnaissance that the Orc Wave had already collapsed, wanted to set off all sorts of celebratory fireworks and hold a welcoming party for them, Yumina completely ignored it all and mercilessly plundered only the high-quality alcoholic beverages of various kinds held by the royal family.
“Alright, for the next hour, each of you go wander through the royal capital and find some delicious snacks and appetizers! We'll gather back here in one hour!”
“Professor, perhaps you just wanted to have a drinking party...?”
As Light narrowed his eyes, questioning Yumina, she simply averted her gaze, ignored him, and dismissed the group.
Of course, Ban Yuwon had already anticipated this the moment Yumina mentioned flower viewing.
That spring, when he was a third-year high school student, he had longed to see the cherry blossoms blooming in Yeouido so much that he and his friends had thoughtlessly charged in and swept through the food trucks.
Seeing everyone else around them spread out picnic mats and engage in drinking parties, he remembered how sorrowful it was to be a minor.
What he wanted to say was that it was no exaggeration to call flower viewing simply a drinking party.
“Thinking about that just makes me crave chicken again. Really, the best chicken is the one you order for delivery and eat sitting on a picnic mat by the Han River...”
Back then, it was chicken he ate while drinking a cocktail of tears and cola instead of alcohol, but now, he could legally drink, couldn't he!
“Huh?”
As Ban Yuwon's eyes gleamed, determined to find chicken in this city, someone suddenly tapped his shoulder.
It was Dokgo Yeon.
“What is it?”
“It seems you had some achievements while fighting that monster. I wish to hear about them.”
She meant that she had come personally because she was curious about her student's achievements.
How could he possibly dislike such attention?
Ban Yuwon grinned and raised his index finger.
Then, he selectively applied his nascent martial art solely to his index finger, manifesting the concepts of Sword (劍) and Penetration (貫) within it, and finally injected Hyungi.
His finger was imbued with a golden Or.
“...”
Dokgo Yeon watched it, her eyes widening in silence.
When she was truly astonished, the cross in her pupils would move in an impossible pattern, and it was doing so now.
It had tilted slightly horizontally, transforming from a cross (十字) into an X-shape.
Cute.
“This, in its essential meaning, doesn't seem to have changed much.”
“I don’t know how it looks to you... but I feel like I've found my own path. I realized that since I can collect and create any amount of content, I ultimately need to build a sturdy vessel to contain it all.”
“A vessel, you say.”
Her eyes regained their keenness.
Before he knew it, she was looking at him with a serious and stern gaze.
“Is the path your sword pursues the creation of a vessel capable of perfectly containing infinite possibilities? Answer me more firmly, with greater confidence.”
To be honest, at first, it felt arrogant to talk about his own martial art to Dokgo Yeon, who walked a path far ahead of him.
However, she was not one to appreciate such humility.
Rather, she would prefer him to firmly set his resolve and strive forward.
“...Yes, that’s right. That is my martial art (武道).”
As Ban Yuwon spoke in a firm voice and nodded, a faint smile touched Dokgo Yeon’s lips.
“Is that so. ...You've learned quite well, whoever taught you.”
Sure enough, it seemed he had chosen the correct answer once again.
Dokgo Yeon cleared her throat with a 'hmm,' then tilted her head away.
It seemed she didn't want him to see her smiling face.
“Much effort and research will be required. To say you will contain the will of so many martial arts within a single sword—if it weren't you, I would have considered it an impossibly arrogant statement.”
“Because it’s me... you believe it?”
“No, you are an ignorant novice, so you probably spoke without truly understanding what you were saying. It is not arrogance, but the result of ignorance.”
Dokgo Yeon said this curtly, yet Ban Yuwon could still discern the faint smile on her profile.
“However, who can stop one who aims for the highest peaks? Though it is truly unintentional on my part, seeing as I was the first to teach you swordsmanship, from a position that could almost be called a teacher, I shall offer my support.”
“Oh, that’s so touching, I could cry! Ow!”
Without even turning back, she gave Ban Yuwon a precise flick on the forehead for adding unnecessary remarks, then continued.
“A vessel (形) capable of containing any will (意). That seems a good goal for you. To call it a perfect (完璧) vessel (器) is somewhat vulgar, and to call it a primordial (元) vessel (器) makes it awkward to pronounce, so let us reverse them and call it Giwon (器元). Since the vessel is a sword, it will be the Giwon Sword.”
“Giwon Sword (器元劍)...”
“As it is said, 'All paths converge,' if you succeed in gathering all swordsmanship wills into one, it will become a great and mighty singular flow. By then, you may even dare to use the term 'Origin' (起源).”
After finishing her words, she let out a sigh, 'Hoo,' then turned back to him with an intentionally expressionless face.
She might have thought she was hiding it well, but she was likely unaware that her cheeks were faintly flushed.
“So, do you like it? You can name it yourself if you wish, but...”
“I love it, Giwon Sword.”
Ban Yuwon nodded without a moment's hesitation.
Seeing Dokgo Yeon's lips momentarily relax, unable to help themselves, it seemed he had chosen the correct answer once again.
“I'm relieved you like it. I wasn't confident in my naming skills, but...”
“Ah—now then.”
Ban Yuwon, sensing the strange atmosphere, cleared his throat and changed the subject.
“Since we've finished talking, let's go buy some snacks for our drinks. There *has* to be chicken in this world.”
“Chicken? Ah, you mean that crispy fried chicken from before, don't you?”
“Yangnyeom chicken is delicious too. I bet you'd really enjoy one drenched in spicy and sweet sauce.”
“Spicy... and sweet? Such a thing exists?”
The two walked through the royal capital, engaging in trivial conversation.
The feeling that the distance between them had lessened was surely not Ban Yuwon’s imagination alone.
As a side note, in the end, neither chicken nor Yangnyeom chicken could be found, so they had to fry the chicken and make the sauce themselves, with the help of Rucell, who had excellent cooking skills.
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