I got into school for nothing - 157
I got into school for nothing (157)
Lesson 32. The Pace is Too Fast - 1
Crackle, fizzzzz!
As resistance built up against the current surging into the dome, twisting its direction, the rest was simple.
He supplemented the insufficient mana, completely redirecting the flow.
The massive current now poured into Ban Yuwon's vassals!
"Oh, ohhh..."
"It's so dazzling, it's annoying. When will this end, Ban Yuwon?"
"Probably until the end of this Chain Room!"
Now that he had succeeded in redirecting the flow, simply manifesting concepts without restraint wasn't the best approach.
So, he activated Elemental Magic and Photon Magic simultaneously, aiming to completely rein in the current... and his attempt was quite successful.
—I was going to tell you, but you figured it out on your own. That's a relief.
'Giwon Sword's basic principle is to utilize everything that can be utilized, no matter what it is.'
It was called a 'vessel' for utilizing all concepts, but in truth, Giwon Sword had no fixed form.
After all, Giwon Sword was a martial art that encompassed himself and others alike, holding them all in a single vessel and wielding them at will.
There was no need to limit the form of the vessel when one was crafting a vessel capable of containing everything.
He had thought this since he first conceptualized Giwon Sword, but this might have been the first time he truly brought it to fruition.
'—This feeling. The feeling I had when I first used Giwon Sword, it's precisely that.'
There was no sense of obstruction even when activating multiple types of magic simultaneously, and he didn't even feel a headache while manifesting his Authority at the same time.
The moment he envisioned the desired outcome in his mind, he found himself pioneering the fastest shortcut towards it without hesitation.
The instant his mental image solidified, a brilliant explosion of light erupted from within him.
[You have successfully collected many concepts, manifested many concepts, and mastered the best way to handle them. The concepts of Swordsmanship, Insight, Severance, Flexibility, Reversal, Vibration, Acceleration, Space Control, and Spiritual Power have unified to form the highest-tier concept, the martial art Giwon Sword (器元劍). Giwon Sword's depth has reached 1,005.]
[The depth of Life has reached 800, Body has reached 20, and Soul has reached 880.]
[You have created a perfect vessel to contain Gi. Hyunsingong's depth has reached 249. Hyungi's depth has reached 515.]
[The concept of Body is being converted. The depth of Body has reached 1.]
It was the moment the martial art, Giwon Sword, whose name he had decided long ago, finally became complete.
Concepts he had expected to merge, and even those he hadn't, combined to form one colossal concept.
'I thought perhaps even monstrous strength or magic might have merged...'
Was it because his proficiency was insufficient to encompass them?
No, if that were the case, there would be nothing strange about all concepts being absorbed into Giwon Sword, except for the core concepts that formed his body and mind.
It would be more accurate to interpret it as highly independent concepts remaining unabsorbed.
However, even excluding those concepts, Giwon Sword's depth exceeded 1,000.
This wasn't merely a number derived from simple addition and subtraction; it signified the immense power of Giwon Sword.
'As expected, I couldn't overcome the wall of Hyunsingong... Still, I'm almost there. Life has also grown rapidly.'
A torrent of blue lightning flowed into Ban Yuwon's vassals under his guidance, further amplifying the already formidable power of his creations.
Conversely, the current was cut off for the other armored insects, weakening them, which significantly widened the power gap. His vassals didn't miss the opportunity and pressed them instantly.
"It's opening!"
Rucell's brief cry.
Ban Yuwon, using his perfected Giwon Sword, effortlessly controlled the endlessly gushing current and suddenly thought.
'But by now, they should know that I've stolen their energy.'
That's why the armored insects were desperately attacking Ban Yuwon.
Though they were all frozen, blocked by the iron wall of ice created by Frost Fortress.
But if their trump card had been exposed like this, wasn't there a better way than to try and kill him?
For example, increasing the current to overwhelm Ban Yuwon's control, or even giving up entirely and cutting off the current.
'Perhaps I was wrong in my assumption?'
Ban Yuwon had assumed the current flowing through this space was controlled by an enemy.
But what if it wasn't?
What if the current simply flowed, uncontrollable?
What if the current state wasn't normal to begin with...?
'Could it be...?'
The answer became clear.
'Could the core component Rucell broke have caused this situation?'
A Chain Room wouldn't begin without any causal link.
And a crucial trick to decide the outcome of a battle in a Chain Room certainly wouldn't appear without any signs.
And now, the elite monster emerging from the dome that was slowly opening.
What if the purpose wasn't to strengthen that monster using the current?
What if the monster was simply trying to gather the indiscriminately released current?
'That's right. The opponent I was vying for control of the current with wasn't some unknown enemy, but the monster that's just appeared.'
Of course, Ban Yuwon won that struggle, perfectly seizing control of the electrical flow.
The monster probably realized that too, didn't it?
—Crash!
The half-opened dome ceiling completely shattered, revealing a colossal centipede beyond.
Simultaneously, a green ray of light shot out, aimed precisely at Ban Yuwon!
" "Kyaaaah!""
Rucell and As Light shrieked in unison at the sight.
Ban Yuwon redirected a portion of the current to block the ray and grinned.
Even with mechanical elements, a bug was still a bug, so instead of being a pure aggregation of mana, it was mixed with highly concentrated, pressurized venom.
It even contained a powerful acid capable of instantly corroding steel, but...
With this, he wouldn't even need to block it next time.
—Kiiieeeek!
"Well, it would be angry, wouldn't it... Alright, everyone, get it!"
With an endless supply of current and the Trick Room's correction, his mechanical vassals, now nearly ten times stronger, collectively pushed off the ground and charged towards the centipede!
The monster shrieked in response, thrashing its tail and spitting venom at the vassals. However, Ban Yuwon intervened, extracting the concept of 'poison,' leaving only a mere water cannon.
Each vassal was already at a level to overwhelm the centipede, so it was quickly, brutally smashed, torn apart, and sent plummeting beneath the dome.
"Good, after we catch that, we'll organize and tie up the armored insects, then take a short break before entering Room 95... huh?"
As he was giving instructions to his party, feeling a sense of exhilaration at the sight of the centipede being brutally beaten.
Ban Yuwon felt the current intensify further and his eyes widened.
"Ban Yuwon?"
Dokgo Yeon, who had noticed the anomaly almost simultaneously with Ban Yuwon, looked back at him with a hopeful expression that it wasn't what she thought.
But Ban Yuwon had reached the same conclusion as her.
"Shift...?!"
"Kyaaah!"
The ground vibrated.
All sorts of machines and wires danced and rose from the floor, and the hidden world revealed its true form, expanding greatly in an instant.
This was the first time a shift had occurred even with monsters remaining in the room.
"I see, so that's how it is."
The wreckage of mechanical structures, shattered and twisted by the rampaging giant machines, clung to the half-dead centipede's body, reconstructing it.
Simultaneously, the monster's Authority also grew stronger, and he felt it instantly drawing in electricity.
'Of course, I have no intention of giving it back.'
Instead, Ban Yuwon's eyes gleamed as he observed the massive mechanical structure rising from beneath the dome with the shift.
He had finally found the source of the electricity.
The core of this Chain Room, probably the key to clearing it.
"Drag that centipede down!"
At Ban Yuwon's sharp cry, his vassals moved in unison.
Eve, having changed her form, was the first to ram the monster, followed by Frost Fortress, which charged forward and shoved it away.
—Kiiieeeek!
The centipede, which had barely made it to Room 95 and completed its enhancement, was unceremoniously thrown aside.
Perhaps it was an even stronger enemy than he thought.
Perhaps it wasn't supposed to be flung away so easily.
But Ban Yuwon didn't care, and his vassals, who followed his commands, cared even less.
—Kweeiiieeee!
"Secure that spot!"
"Understood!"
"I'll clear the path!"
As the structure fully rose, armored insects spontaneously generated around it, letting out horrible mechanical shrieks and charging at Ban Yuwon.
But Dokgo Yeon, wielding a short sword shrouded in death, and the berserking Rucell, pierced through all of them, opening a path beyond.
"Can we finish this here?! Please, let's finish quickly and move to a room without bugs...!"
As Light, looking half-distraught, swung his aura-clad spear, shattering the tall barrier that had been protecting the structure.
As if he had been waiting for this, Ban Yuwon swiftly launched himself inside the structure.
It was a machine temple.
All sorts of mechanical wires were intricately tangled, blocking the way, but strangely, as Ban Yuwon moved forward, they unraveled and cleared a path for him.
"How did you do that, Ban?"
"Well, if I had to say, hacking...?"
"I made you say it, but I apologize for not understanding, Ban."
The machine temple had a considerable number of traps, and space distortion magic was also cast upon it.
However, against Ban Yuwon, who had acquired Giwon Sword, they were dismantled into fragments without buying even a second of time.
He was moving in a straight line, but to As Light, it looked as if he was creating a path where none existed and walking on it.
—Thump!
Another dull vibration echoed from outside.
The centipede was probably the guardian of this temple.
Its resistance had intensified even further the moment Ban Yuwon and As Light entered, so that was likely certain.
"It's got a fire under its feet, of course."
"Should I go out and help?"
"You stay by my side, just in case."
"...Okay."
The exploration wasn't long.
When Ban Yuwon placed his hand on a seemingly unmarked wall, the wall opened as if a door had always been there, revealing a space beyond.
"How would we have found this without you?"
"Dokgo Yeon would have found traces of mana and broken through this wall... As Light, step back!"
As Light jumped back without a word.
Immediately afterward, Ban Yuwon skillfully controlled and blocked the torrent of lightning that surged from the empty space.
Lightning that clumped into a blue plasma sphere in mid-air, sparking in all directions.
Moreover, its size was continuously growing from the ceaseless lightning flowing out from within.
"What is this? Shouldn't we have brought everyone?! Is there something super strong in there?!"
"No, there's only this inside, so don't worry. And... it probably won't last long."
"...What?"
What happens when a well-flowing circuit suddenly breaks, or when a faulty wire fails to properly insulate?
Electricity leaks. In other words, a short circuit.
"This was leaking continuously. Probably because of that thing Rucell broke on the 84th floor."
"The electricity was leaking, and that caused all this chaos?!"
"Exactly. That's the only reason we couldn't control the electricity here."
Ban Yuwon firmly controlled the flow of electricity, gathering it into one hand as he advanced into the passage.
As expected, the interior was a complete mess.
Scorched and charred in places, melted, and ablaze...
Ban Yuwon used Giwon Sword to grasp all external concepts, then applied Elemental Magic and Language Magic to purify the air and extinguish the fires.
Finally, he created and floated a sphere of light with Photon Magic... revealing the wide expanse of the temple interior at a glance.
"What is this?"
A vast open space.
Aside from the strange object formed by a clump of mechanical parts in the center, it was not a particularly special area.
It was just very large.
"The centipede was probably here. And the reason electricity didn't leak out until Room 93 was because the centipede was desperately controlling it from inside."
"Then the electricity suddenly flowing in Room 94 was..."
"Because the centipede left this space. In many ways, the sequence was reversed."
Ban Yuwon, with a plasma sphere concentrated with terrifying energy floating in one hand, approached the object in the center of the mechanical plaza.
It was an object that menacingly sparked with electricity, but it couldn't overcome Ban Yuwon's control, which had already formed a massive flow, and he was able to touch it effortlessly.
Finding the spot where the mechanical part used to be was also easy.
This was because mastering Giwon Sword made it easier to find 'conceptual voids.'
And the moment he saw that empty spot, he felt it would be easy to fill it.
'I would need the original component, but with that alone, temporarily creating and filling the missing part would be nothing. All hail Giwon Sword!'
If Hyunsingong had evolved further, he might have been able to resolve it with just 'fluid concepts,' without even needing the component.
But for now, thinking about that was pointless, and since the component, though broken, was still there, there was no problem.
"Just killing the centipede outside might clear the Chain Room... but clearing the hidden element here would yield a much greater reward, wouldn't it?"
"Ban, was there no point in me coming all this way?"
"Honestly, I brought you because I expected at least one Constellation to interfere. And that possibility hasn't disappeared yet, so stay alert."
"Th-that's right! So that's what it was!"
As Light, who had been crestfallen, brightened up as if on cue when Ban Yuwon spoke of relying on him.
Ban Yuwon chuckled at his reaction and opened his inventory.
Then he sighed.
"Lilyth, please..."
The part was missing.
Instead, the mechanical orb had a new luster, confirming it had swallowed the part.
At the very moment he thought that, given the situation, he had no choice but to complete the key himself, whether he failed or not—
"...?!"
The mechanical orb shot out of his inventory, then instantly devoured the plasma sphere Ban Yuwon was holding in one hand.
Then it charged towards the object and...
Buried itself in the empty space where the mechanical part had been missing.
After that... well, it was obvious.
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