I got into school for nothing - Chapter 155
I got into school for nothing (155)
Lesson 31. The last spoonful is always the most annoying - 5
Most of the important concepts for creating his mechanical constructs were acquired during this expedition.
Giga Armor (a higher concept born from the fusion of machine and carapace), Mana Circuits, and Magic Cores.
By adding the characteristics of the armored insects to these three, they could rotate, accelerate, exert monstrous strength, leap high, or fire magic bullets.
‘If it were merely copying their forms, there would be no reason to deliberate. But I have no intention of specifically adopting an insect form. Unless it’s a tank, that’s another matter.’
Ban Yuwon intended to imbue them with the fixed concepts he had accumulated over a long time to create powerful mechanical constructs.
However, he settled on a number of five.
Because if the number of constructs grew too large, it would become difficult to ensure their balanced growth.
“First, if I divide the components by purpose, and then equally imbue them with the base concepts to strengthen them...”
The base concepts for all mechanical constructs were Giga Armor 500, Mana Circuit 500, and Magic Core 500.
In addition, from the concept of ‘Giant’ (巨人) obtained in large quantities during his first solo exploration and left over, he extracted only the subordinate concept of ‘Immense’ (巨大) and distributed 100 of it to each, equally.
As for the concept of ‘Human’ (人) that remained after extracting ‘Immense’... he was a little curious about what results would emerge if he used this to create constructs, but he gave up because it made him a little scared.
“Shishishit.”
“...You want it? This?”
“Shishit.”
He couldn’t refuse Eve’s request, but was it just his imagination, or could he somehow see the ending already?
When Ban Yuwon readily handed it over, Eve nommed it down and then squeezed Ban Yuwon’s arm as a sign of affection.
“Alright, next.”
Likewise, during his first solo exploration, while dealing with Frost Giants, a huge amount of the fixed concept of ‘Ice’ (氷) had accumulated.
As a fixed concept of a pure attribute, something he hadn’t gained much of despite having faced many enemies until now, he had been waiting for an opportunity to use it someday.
Ban Yuwon imbued it into a single mass of machinery, along with the concept of ‘Shield’ (防牌) from the numerous concepts of ‘Weaponry’ he had also accumulated.
“As expected, the ‘Ice’ attribute means defense. You’ll be our tank from now on.”
As a finishing touch, he imbued it with 'Life', 'Resonance', and a fragment of his own soul, separated using 'Soul Flame'.
[Mutant Authority has manifested, combining the concepts within the target into a higher concept. The depth of the mutation has reached 40.]
[You have created ‘Frost Fortress’, a top-tier artifact that grows on its own, transcending the realm of mere machinery. The depth of ‘Life’, ‘Hyungi’, and ‘Soul’ each deepen by 5.]
“Oh...”
A truly magnificent name was even attached automatically!
Honestly, he hadn’t been entirely free of the feeling that he had just unceremoniously poured in materials and haphazardly shoved various things in, relying on his Authority... Was it thanks to the mutation? Or was it thanks to his imagination?
It had been born as a sleek, streamlined Giga Armor soldier, to the extent that even a modern Earthling would consider it a cool tank!
“But I don’t see a shield?”
“This one itself is a shield. You can trust it; it’ll be incredibly reliable.”
Ban Yuwon’s eyes sparkled as he checked Frost Fortress’s internal concepts.
Frost Fortress [Giga Armor Colossus (機甲巨兵) 600, Life (生) 500, Soul (靈魂) 100, Ice Mana (氷魔力) 500, Iron Wall (鐵壁) 500]
“Giga Armor Colossus.”
Other concepts transformed by the mutation’s influence also caught his eye, but what stood out the most, as expected, was that.
Ban Yuwon was confident that all the mechanical constructs he would create would become Giga Armor Colossi, and indeed, they did.
“Ooohhh...!”
“They’re magnificent!”
As they looked at the five Giga Armor Colossi, each completed with distinct characteristics, As Light and Rucell, standing before them, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
Dokgo Yeon, on the other hand, wore a somewhat dubious expression.
“Now that they’re assembled, they certainly look plausible. But will these be enough?”
“There were limits to the materials. Rather than mass-producing mediocre ones, I judged it better to create five strong ones.”
“I agree with that judgment, but...”
“And I also plan to additionally imbue them with concepts obtained while clearing the remaining rooms.”
“Since we’re in a position of relying on you for everything, for now, we’ll just have to trust and leave it to you.”
The colossus conceptualized as a shield, Frost Fortress.
The colossus wielding a giant sword that fiercely rotates like a drill with the power of its energy source, Hell Auger.
The strongest artillery soldier, born from the convergence of all cannon barrels and magic bullets, Heaven-Shattering Cannon.
The colossus with mechanical wings that flies through the sky, Gwangjo.
The three-dimensional maneuvering colossus, Heukrang, running on four legs with sharp mechanical claws, as if Rucell herself had beast-transformed.
“And if these five combine――!”
“Combine?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
As long as Dokgo Yeon believed his excuse (which was also true) that he had purposefully created them as five separate units to maximize functionality, he couldn’t let his true intention—that he had merely created them for the sake of his romantic fantasy—be exposed.
“Shishit...”
“Eve, shush.”
Eve, who understood his Authority almost as well as he did, was looking at him with narrowed snake eyes, but he wanted to believe that she was by no means blaming him.
“Ban, are we going straight to Room 91 now?”
Due to spending a fair amount of time meticulously crafting them while considering the harmony of concepts, a full two days had already passed since they entered the Tower.
Even though he understood As Light’s anxious expression, Ban Yuwon firmly shook his head.
“No, of course not. I also need to give these guys basic combat training...”
“You also need to train, don’t you?”
“Yeah, well. That’s right.”
Ban Yuwon replied with a wry smile to Dokgo Yeon’s words.
If he checked his internal concepts, he could see his ‘Body’ concept still stuck at 7.
“It just won’t decrease.”
He was almost there, but perhaps because of that, it stubbornly refused to decrease.
The transformation of his ‘Body’ concept, the growth of ‘Hyunsingong’, and the completion of ‘Giwon Sword’.
All of them felt like they were just one step away from progressing but couldn’t.
In his fervent creation of the mechanical constructs, there was also some intention of escaping that burden.
“Originally, I would have just let them manage on their own, but given the circumstances, it seems that won’t be possible.”
At Ban Yuwon’s report, Dokgo Yeon nodded as if she had expected it and drew her ink-black short sword.
“No need for many words. Let’s special train.”
“Thank you.”
“If you’re truly grateful, then hurry up and become independent.”
The moment after Ban Yuwon chuckled inadvertently at Dokgo Yeon’s words, she kicked off the ground and rushed towards him rapidly!
“If you’re pushed to the brink of death, your martial arts will have no choice but to grow!”
“Uh, hey, hey!”
The aura of death rising from her entire body.
No, she’s actually using that in a sparring match?!
Maybe she found out that Ban Yuwon’s romantic fantasy was hidden within the Giga Armor Colossus series...!
While Ban Yuwon desperately responded to Dokgo Yeon, Rucell clapped her hands, as if it was a good turn of events, and spoke to As Light.
“Then As Light, let’s spar too.”
“Okay... Huh? Rucell, your vibe is a little strange.”
“Ohoho, while we’re sparring, I’d also like to hear what’s been going on between you and Yuwon lately...!”
“Uh, hey, wait, help, Ban――!”
* * *
A grueling two-day special training session finally ended.
His ‘Body’ concept, which had remained stagnant at 7, finally dropped to 3 after a desperate sparring match with Dokgo Yeon that was like a real battle, and ‘Hyunsingong’, whose growth had halted at 225, incredibly grew to 235.
However, they concluded that merely sparring with each other like this wouldn’t be enough to complete his martial arts, so they ultimately decided to move forward.
―Boom! Crash! Kwar-gah-gah-gah-gah-gahk!
“Ooohhh!”
“Special training... might not have been necessary, huh?”
In Room 91, where they had arrived, the party clearly witnessed the power of the Giga Armor Colossi and were astonished.
Hell Auger, in charge of breakthroughs, charged forward, rotating its greatsword like a drill, and no one could stop it.
Heaven-Shattering Cannon, in charge of long-range bombardment, continuously fired explosive magic bullets, scattering the enemy forces into disarray.
Furthermore, Gwangjo and Heukrang, in charge of skirmishes, utilized their high mobility in the air and on the ground, respectively, to tear through enemy lines, leaving Frost Fortress, in charge of defense, with no opportunity to step forward.
“But Ban, why are all their names so childish?”
“Perhaps a little of the sensibility from those old days, which I referenced during their creation, seeped in...”
Ban Yuwon was already cringing himself.
Gwangjo and Heukrang felt neat and smart, perhaps thanks to the core materials used for them, but somehow, the other three seemed to be the result of Ban Yuwon being unable to control his youthful exuberance, so to speak...
“Alright. Let’s call them Fortress, Auger, and Cannon.”
“A nickname with no thought or effort...”
The tide of battle was so overwhelmingly in their favor that Ban Yuwon could even exchange such silly jokes with As Light.
To what extent, even Tikke and Eve, who had played decisive roles until clearing Room 89, were now somewhat holding back their strength.
“I thought it would be effective, but not to this extent.”
Dokgo Yeon, also dumbfounded, was quietly watching the battlefield.
Thanks to deliberately creating them as elites from the start, the power of the mechanical constructs was higher than that of the enemies.
Moreover, with the multiplying effect due to the Trick Room’s characteristics added, the difference in power naturally grew even larger.
“Couldn’t we clear all the Chain Rooms like this?”
“Because you just said that, As Light, it’s become impossible.”
“What do you mean?! Didn’t I do nothing wrong?!”
As Light, with an aggrieved expression, looked back at the party.
However, Rucell and Dokgo Yeon, rarely in sync, shook their heads in unison.
“No way, As Light, I can’t believe you didn’t know that. So you were still at that level...”
“There are spells in this world that you must never memorize. It’s pitiful that you haven’t even learned that yet.”
Leaving Rucell aside, Dokgo Yeon had clearly been treating it like nonsense until recently, but the way she swiftly switched her stance the moment she could tease As Light was truly an art.
What’s more, these two.
Why are they in such perfect sync?
“What was that... Ban told you, right?! Why didn’t you tell only me, that’s unfair!”
“No, I never thought they’d show off with that...”
However, putting that aside, the ‘spell’ As Light had uttered was astonishingly realized.
In an instant, the enemy composition suddenly changed.
―Crraaash! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kra-bang!
―Rumble!
As the chain continued, the size of the room seemed to grow, and by the time they reached Room 93, an enormous field, dozens of meters high and hundreds of square meters wide, appeared.
And rushing in with the intent to crush everything were armored insects resembling rhinoceros beetles, their horns rotating like drills!
As those creatures and Hell Auger clashed horns and swords, it felt as if heaven and earth were trembling.
“Just collapse the Tower, the Tower!”
“Rucell, what about the lightning?!”
“I’m doing it, I am... but it seems their resistance has grown stronger!”
“Corrosion isn’t working well either, damn it... What was meant to come has come.”
It was clear that these creatures had learned about not only Rucell’s abilities but also Ban Yuwon’s.
Perhaps realizing that artillery attacks were practically ineffective, the proportion of artillery units decreased, and the proportion of assault units overwhelmingly increased.
Moreover, as a countermeasure against the sky-flying Gwangjo, armored spiders (機甲蜘蛛), clinging to the incredibly high ceiling and crawling, firing metallic webs at Gwangjo, even appeared!
Ban Yuwon had to attach no less than four of his Downpour Swords to Gwangjo.
“Ugh, Hwaaaah!”
“Tsk... Where do these unfinished things come from?!”
“Don’t kill them all, we have to leave one last one!”
“I know!”
Even the party, which had rested comfortably until Room 92, moved frantically as if their tails were on fire, subduing the enemies.
In the end, even with Tikke and Eve fully mobilized, it took several hours to finally subdue the armored insects.
―I could have stepped in.
While Ban Yuwon was extracting the armored spider’s metallic webs and wrapping them around the last armored insect, Cellon spoke to him.
Perhaps thanks to being partially freed from her seal, she was treating him much more intimately.
‘You are indeed our trump card, but that’s precisely why we need to save you even more. The enemies are learning, you know. If possible, I want to hold out until Room 94 with our own strength, and then get your help in Room 95.’
―That’s true. Then, can you give me a few Magic Cores? I want to prepare something in advance.
‘Okay.’
Although he had poured as many concepts and parts as possible into the five mechanical constructs, there was a limit to how much they could absorb, so a significant amount of Magic Cores were rolling on the floor.
‘Hmm.’
However, only after bending down to pick up a Magic Core did he see something.
In Room 84 and 85, it had clearly been a dirt floor, but now, traces of civilization, like iron plates and electrical wires, were mixed in.
‘If this continues, perhaps...’
Ban Yuwon sent an electric current through it.
Of course, as metal is a conductor, electricity flowed through it easily.
It would be good if he could use this to attack enemies.
But what if the opposite were true...?
‘...I’ll need a countermeasure for this.’
And so, they arrived at Room 94.
Before they knew it, Team Rebellion found themselves in the heart of a mechanical empire.
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