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I got into school for nothing - Chapter 148

I got into school for nothing (148)

Lesson 30. Final Exams - 3

Even with all the growth Ban Yuwon had undergone in the past semester, he was not yet at the level to defeat Lusein Ortima one-on-one.

This meant he had stood in this place anticipating defeat. While suffering humiliation in a match whose outcome he already knew wasn't Ban Yuwon's style, this time he made an exception.

He believed there was something to gain from a head-on confrontation with Ortima, especially since some aspects of Ortima's Authority resonated with his own.

Even if he couldn't defeat his enemy now, he was willing to accept one or two defeats if he could use them as experience to win next time.

"I don't like that look in your eyes."

The conviction that he would one day surpass him allowed Ban Yuwon to stand tall even before a powerful opponent.

What he lacked was not talent or effort, but simply time.

"If you knew your place, you would have tucked your tail and run before facing me. Is a worm truly beyond help?"

"Oh, really? Did you 'know your place' when you picked a fight with Dokgo Yeon and got your arm cut off? Ah, you got it reattached now, didn't you? I ate that, how did you reattach it?"

"Worm――!"

Ortima, having received more than he gave, glared fiercely and extended a hand towards Ban Yuwon, but upon realizing the duel hadn't officially begun, he ground his teeth and retracted it.

It would have been a rather good attempt if he was aiming for a disqualification loss, but it was a shame he failed.

"Now that I look closely, one of your eyes has changed. Did you swap it out for a different one?"

"I will no longer be manipulated by your low-class provocations."

Since Lusein Ortima's ambush on the Rebellion members during the special activity was officially treated as if it never happened, getting further entangled in Ban Yuwon's words could be seen as confessing his crime.

Ortima, belatedly regaining his senses, feigned composure and backed away, but Ban Yuwon, remembering who had started the quarrel, found it absurd.

"Did you get short-term amnesia instead of changing your body?"

"...!"

Just then, the starting signal blared.

Without any preparatory movements, Lusein Ortima activated his Authority.

An immense wave of Mana spears materialized before Ban Yuwon's eyes, surging towards him!

'Whoa, he's using Mana so recklessly.'

The most malicious aspect was that most of the Mana attacking Ban Yuwon belonged to nature itself.

Lusein Ortima's Authority could be most intuitively described as 'Domination.'

He possessed the Authority to forcibly control all targets he 'crushed' with his status, and this extended even to natural magical energy.

Therefore, he held an absolute advantage against those of lower status than himself, but he had the weakness of being powerless against those of higher status, such as Dokgo Yeon or Aire.

'And that's probably the same for me.'

There wasn't just one standard for measuring status.

His internal Mana would certainly be a factor, and naturally, the Level provided by the higher-dimensional system would be one of those standards.

Beyond that, there was also the completeness of his physique, and 'Charm,' the leading representative of external influence, would also be included.

However, Ban Yuwon knew one standard more important than any other.

It was the soul.

"You, 'crawl on the ground like a worm.'"

Ban Yuwon's soul's status had, probably from the moment he entered this academy, been superior to Lusein Ortima's.

Of course, since everything else about him was inferior to Ortima, he would have been utterly helpless against Ortima's Authority upon admission, but...

Now, after perceiving and growing many other concepts, and most importantly, with his soul, which had grown more rapidly than any of Ortima's concepts, having reached a staggering 850 in depth—

"Ugh... 'Kneel' in accordance with your station!"

"You know it won't work."

There was no room for Lusein Ortima's Authority to invade his body.

At the same time, Ban Yuwon cheered inwardly, as the movement of the concepts the moment Ortima's Authority tried to exert force on him had similarities to when he activated his own Authority.

'As expected, it's helpful.'

He had thought this ever since he obtained Ortima's arm and absorbed the concept of 'Divine Language' from it.

Indeed, Ortima's Authority was a lesser version of his own.

It was only the overwhelming proficiency (likely the result of continuous training passed down through generations) that made Ortima appear superior.

'How to interfere with the concepts within another's body. How to actualize multiple concepts simultaneously.'

From now on, he intended to fight Ortima and gain as many of those insights as possible.

To do that, first—

Ban Yuwon raised his Executioner's Longsword and activated his Giwon Sword, which was now nearing completion.

He perceived all the myriad Mana spears rushing towards him, and then wove a 'flow of concepts' optimized for dodging or shattering them.

Some were concepts he had already mastered, like 'Flow' (流) and 'Reversal' (反).

Some were concepts he could instantly create, like 'One Step Left' (左 일보), 'Leaning Forward' (前), and 'Rushing' (赺).

Some were concepts that resided in and enhanced his weapon, such as 'Sunder' (斬) and 'Pierce' (貫).

"―Hup!"

Once all of these were arranged in the optimal flow, all that remained was to surrender his body to that flow.

The Giwon Sword's process of perceiving all surrounding concepts, weaving a flow of concepts, and acting accordingly had become overwhelmingly more efficient compared to when he first created it.

―Clang-clang-clang!

"..."

The result was clear at a glance.

With movements of extreme efficiency and even beauty, he cut through the Mana spears that filled the air, creating a path, dashing forward, and evading.

Anyone who didn't know would have thought Ortima had told him beforehand, "I'll shoot like this, and you move like that to counter it."

"...You?"

However, Ban Yuwon, who had just elegantly broken through the overwhelming barrage of attacks, instead of charging at Ortima, sheathed his sword and quickly retreated.

He knew that the closer he got to Ortima, the stronger Ortima's Authority became.

As Ortima's face hardened and he glared at Ban Yuwon, Ban Yuwon grinned and said,

"Let's do some more. This is fun."

"Do you think I'll play along to your whims――!"

Enraged by the excellent provocation, Ortima stirred his magical energy even more fiercely.

"Kneel――――!"

Just when it seemed he was once again manipulating the surrounding Mana, he instead concentrated all his power on a direct interference with Ban Yuwon.

Of course, this was exactly what Ban Yuwon had wished for—he smiled and activated his own Authority.

* * *

The spar ended in Ban Yuwon's defeat.

It was remarkable enough that he hadn't been immediately defeated in a head-on confrontation with Lusein Ortima, who was presumed to have a Life value approaching or exceeding 1,000.

Of course, this was only possible because Ortima's Authority was a perfect inferior version compared to Ban Yuwon's.

Ultimately, Ortima, failing to bring Ban Yuwon under his Authority, realized that if he continued this way, he might actually lose, and so he shifted to a brute-force strategy of overwhelming numbers, causing Ban Yuwon to declare defeat after enduring as long as he could.

[Through in-depth contemplation of a subordinate Authority, your application of Authority has increased. The depth of your All-Seeing Eyes, All-Hearing Ears, and All-Speaking Mouth has each increased by 20.]

[The depth of Hyunsingong has reached 225. The depth of Hyungi has reached 470. The concept of your body underwent a rapid transformation, and its depth reached 10. You realized that the depth of the transformed, unknown concept had surpassed 600.]

[Your existence grows significantly amidst high-level combat against a powerful opponent. The depth of your Life has reached 750.]

The fruits of defeat were incredibly sweet.

Not only had his Authority, which had almost stopped growing recently, received a good stimulus and grown significantly, but Hyunsingong had also rapidly advanced during the intense battle, where concepts were constantly transforming, bringing him to the verge of completing a truly new martial art.

He felt like he wanted to ask Lusein Ortima for another spar, even if it meant losing again, but obviously, that wasn't the atmosphere for it.

"You..."

After the spar ended.

The emotions Lusein Ortima felt while looking at Ban Yuwon were truly devastating.

The way he defeated Ban Yuwon was, to anyone watching, 'unimpressive.'

He had simply relied on his innate strength to overwhelmingly push through and win, but upon closer examination of the content, anyone would realize that Ban Yuwon's combat abilities had surpassed Ortima's.

If Ban Yuwon continued to grow at this rate, what would happen in a month?

If a month wasn't enough, then two months?

Would Ortima still be able to defeat Ban Yuwon then?

Perhaps it would be difficult.

This spar was enough to plant such anxiety in him.

Therefore, no matter how self-important Ortima was, he couldn't mock or boast to Ban Yuwon about his victory in this spar.

"...Worm."

"What, trash?"

He could have ignored him and left, but since he was the one who lost, he decided it was alright to hear the victor's words and stopped.

He could roughly guess what Ortima would say anyway.

It was probably what everyone in the academy thought about Ban Yuwon:

How can you get strong so quickly?

Who exactly is helping you?

Tell me your secret too.

If you come to my family, we'll treat you well.

What do you know about the Tower...

"With Dokgo Yeon..."

"Huh?"

"With Dokgo Yeon... what's your relationship?"

Ban Yuwon just blinked.

Wait, isn't that completely irrelevant to the spar? Hold on... Could it be that he's still filming that romance movie he was shooting by himself back then?!

"From your sword, I sensed Dokgo Yeon."

Ban Yuwon desperately wished he had lost even more decisively.

At this moment, he felt he could do anything if only he could satisfyingly scratch his goosebump-covered skin in front of Lusein Ortima, who was speaking such words with such a serious and lonely expression.

"Well, of course, I'm learning swordsmanship from Dokgo Yeon. We spar diligently for about 30 minutes every day..."

"Thirty minutes a day. You spend thirty minutes a day with her."

Oh, damn.

That's a bit intense, old man.

As Ban Yuwon merely gaped, overwhelmed by the aura Lusein Ortima was emitting, Ortima's words continued.

"The only reason I'm not killing you right now is because I've realized my previous approach was not appropriate for her. Remember well that you live by my mercy... and know your place, and dare not approach her."

"Oh, really. That was your 'approach'? To us, it was attempted murder."

"She doesn't suit the likes of you. That overwhelming power, that will, that beauty. That status is befitting the mistress of the Ortima family. When she realizes where she truly belongs, she will naturally come to me."

Given that he doesn't understand human words, is he an alien? Strange, Ban Yuwon's Authority should work against aliens, but it's not affecting him.

He thought he had a good grasp of Ortima from the spar just now, but now he was completely lost.

Ban Yuwon hated meaningless actions more than anything, so he cut Ortima's nonsense short before it could continue rambling on.

"Don't rationalize. You're just a criminal and trash."

Of course, Dokgo Yeon was free to like anyone she chose.

Ban Yuwon had no right to interfere with that.

However, Ban Yuwon, who had spent even a short semester with her since entering the academy, was certain of one thing—Lusein Ortima was definitely not the kind of person Dokgo Yeon would ever choose.

"Alright, I'm going. Keep digging your own hole from now on."

"..."

Lusein Ortima merely glared silently at Ban Yuwon, perhaps too exhausted to hurl more insults about being a 'worm.'

Could it be that he realized Ban Yuwon was growing by observing him every time he used his Authority?

"And congratulations on third place. Who knows what'll happen next semester, though."

"...!"

Seeing his eyes waver at that light provocation, it seemed he wasn't so foolish as to be oblivious to Ban Yuwon's potential.

Ban Yuwon, satisfied with that, confirmed his 4th-place ranking for the grade and exited the sparring hall.

Incidentally, the 1st place in this semester's comprehensive evaluation spar for their grade was Dokgo Yeon.