I got into school for nothing-162
I got into school for nothing (162)
Lesson 33. Jade Star - 2
When he first saw the jungle, made up of trees that seemed to pierce the sky, Ban Yuwon imagined the Amazon and the primitive tribes living there.
Slothy, the sloth-like being, who appeared by pushing aside the trees, perfectly fit Ban Yuwon's imagination. However, once he entered the 'Wolf Fang' Tribe Village under the guidance of Chief Kanid, he found it had developed in a somewhat different direction from what he'd expected.
"Wow..."
"...It's quite a sight, I suppose."
Entering the village—no, the city—Ban Yuwon and Dokgo Yeon's gazes naturally lifted upwards.
And no wonder, for most of the buildings making up the city were constructed between trees.
They had built homes using only parts of the densely packed trees, careful not to damage them excessively, or hollowed out just enough of a tree's interior to live inside, ensuring the tree wouldn't die....
‘Not like squirrels. ...Though I'm sure there are squirrel beast-kin here too.’
He'd thought their habitat might be primarily atop the trees.
Seeing the beast-kin gathered and chattering on the enormous, thick branches, tangled like a net far above, made it all feel incredibly natural.
"Did you build houses in the trees?"
"Well, where else would we build them? The ground's too dangerous, you see."
Kanid, as if he'd heard a funny joke, guffawed and clapped Ban Yuwon on the shoulder.
It hurt. Surely, he wasn't secretly harboring resentment over his daughter being 'taken away' and now venting it like this, was he?
‘No, with this level of ability, he should be able to solve whatever it is on his own, without needing to call us in... Or, as Rucell said, is he simply short on hands?’
Only Superman can save the Earth alone.
If there's something to protect, and indiscriminate attacks fly in from all directions—no, from the left and right simultaneously—wouldn't it be natural for two people to step forward and block them?
According to Rucell, this planet had always been plagued by fierce tribal wars, and the Constellation targeting Rucell had formed a contract with someone other than her father, manipulating them to attack, leaving no room for harmony.
With Rucell, the seed of conflict, having entered the Academy, the war seemed to have entered a lull.
However, recently, with the intensification of dimension pirate incursions, other tribes had begun to act up again. It was obvious, without even looking, that the dimension pirates and those tribes were connected.
And it was equally obvious that Lyu Cheolmyeong would be behind it all.
‘No matter how ignorant that guy is, could he really be this overt? I don't want to drag this situation out, but for now, it might be good to observe things.’
Wait, what did Kanid say earlier?
"Didn't you say the ground was dangerous?"
"Ah, it's natural for our son-in-law not to know."
Did he just say 'son-in-law'?
"The main enemy of the beast-kin lives on this land. They're called Forest Worms."
"Just by the name, I think I know what they are."
If bugs are the beast-kin's main enemy, and the beast-kin build their homes in trees to guard against them...
"Are they perhaps creatures that crawl beneath the ground, sensitive to vibrations, so if you walk on the land, you get ambushed by them?"
"Oh, Rucell. You've already explained it to him."
"No, Dad. My master knows everything."
"That's right, I know everything."
At Ban Yuwon's words, Kanid once again burst into hearty laughter and thumped his shoulder.
His shoulder felt like it would shatter; it seemed this was indeed his way of getting revenge.
As they exchanged jokes and looked up at the city in the trees, Ban Yuwon suddenly felt a vibration from underground and lowered his gaze to the ground.
And indeed, he could see a string of characters squirming and crawling up from beneath the earth.
Its strength was around 100.
Compared to the armored bugs he'd faced in the Tower just recently, this was a laughable level, but considering such creatures appeared routinely in their daily lives, it was certainly no laughing matter.
"Indeed, this is how they attack."
"Oh, did you actually detect its location?"
"Yes. Because I know everything."
As Ban Yuwon snapped his fingers, Tikke, floating above his head and recording everything around them, aimed at the movement of the concept he had read and initiated a projection technique.
—Thwack!
With a sound like a comic book effect, a magical bullet of light shot out like a laser.
The laser pierced the earth and accurately impaled the Forest Worm squirming underground.
"Hrmmm?! Is that magic?!"
"It's a sentient artifact. I made it. It'll probably be helpful for this task too."
"Huh... haha."
Seeing his prospective son-in-law possess talents that diverged slightly from his expectations, Kanid turned to Rucell with a strange expression, a mix of bewilderment and pleasure.
However, Rucell replied with an unwavering smile.
"There's no need to be surprised by every little thing, Dad. This is just a tiny part of my master's abilities."
"Is that even possible? This alone seems enough to establish a tribe..."
Kanid was flabbergasted by his daughter's words.
Dokgo Yeon, who had maintained a slight distance from them ever since arriving, shook her head at the sight.
"I, too, hold Ban Yuwon in high regard... but beast, you're overestimating him to a degree that even startles me."
"Yawn... when will I... sleeeep...?"
"Ah, you were still here?"
Amidst the noisy commotion, Ban Yuwon reached out a hand and collected the golden string of characters flowing from underground to examine it.
"Let's see. Its life and physical body are mediocre, but a useful concept is... 'Excavation'."
The rest were all trivial concepts destined straight for the Code Core, but 'Excavation' at depth 20 was different.
A rare concept possessed by only a few creatures.
The moment he confirmed the existence of that concept, Ban Yuwon thought.
The time had finally come for his 'heaven-piercing breakthrough'.
But Lilyth, the core existence with the highest potential here, rejected it.
"Master, I don't think that concept is particularly necessary for me? I'll yield it to Sister."
"Hiss, hisss!"
Eve, too, angrily protested, claiming they were foisting something useless onto her.
Why couldn't these fellows recognize the potential of this magnificent concept?
Ban Yuwon sighed and, for now, imbued it into the hand drill he possessed.
At his movement, as natural as breathing, it was Cellon, not his familiars, who reacted.
"—...Why do you have something like that?"
‘I thought I might need to dig in the Tower.’
"—Pfft, you're so silly."
‘I know.’
Still, at the time, he'd seriously considered and brought it along.
He knew he had gained incredible Authority, but he didn't quite know what to do with it.
He'd thought that just as he'd turned an ordinary Dokkaebi Club into an artifact, if he had various items, there would surely be diverse ways to utilize them.
How could he have known that he, of all people, would eventually learn magic and be able to dig as much as he wanted without a drill?
"—Right, you're at least aware that you can dig without a drill now, aren't you?"
‘Of course, am I supposed to just let magic go to waste?’
However, the magic he wielded and the concept that held meaning in itself had differences in terms of potential.
The best approach was to harmonize the two.
And in this world overflowing with Forest Worms, which held the concept of 'Excavation'...
"Ah, Ban Yuwon is making that conniving expression again, the one he gets when he starts hatching a scheme."
"Didn't you just say you rated me quite highly?"
"And I am, aren't I?"
Ban Yuwon decided to ignore Dokgo Yeon.
"Then, let's head up. Everyone seems to be gathering."
"Indeed."
When he looked up earlier, he hadn't seen many people moving... but now, he saw so many gathering that he wondered if the branches would break.
A plaza formed on the largest and thickest branch, extending from the tallest tree in this city.
Innumerable people, thousands or tens of thousands, were gathering upon it.
"Isn't there a war going on right now? I appreciate the welcome, but..."
"It's fine, son-in-law. It's not like we'd pull all our sentries. And since Slothy here is always monitoring the forest's barrier, she'll immediately notice if an emergency occurs."
"Zzz..."
"She's sleeping, though."
"That's because she's usually so focused on the barrier. Normally, she's a very diligent and respectable maiden. She cares deeply for our tribe, and her abilities are outstanding... The only regrettable thing is that she hasn't found a suitable partner yet."
...Hmm?
Why did it feel like he was so overtly praising Slothy?
Ban Yuwon felt a slight sense of discomfort there and tilted his head.
However, he failed to notice Rucell glaring fiercely at Kanid, her eyes sharply narrowed.
"Dad...?"
"Daughter, you're not planning on monopolizing him, are you? Your master is far too outstanding to have only one woman."
"Of course, I know that! But Slothy is..."
It was then.
Someone seemed to leap from a high branch, then pushed off between the trees, slowly decelerating, and landed gracefully before them.
She was a beautiful woman with short black hair and a cool demeanor, distinguished by two pointed, triangular ears sprouting from her head.
Come to think of it, Kanid also had triangular ears sprouting from his head.
Slothy didn't have them, so he'd thought it was a unique feature of Kanid's. But if it was just that Slothy was a monkey-type beast-kin and it wasn't obvious, and all dog-type beast-kin were like Kanid...?
"Kanid, how long are you going to leave our guests in a dangerous spot?"
"Hahahahaha! Dangerous? If you knew how our son-in-law just caught a bug, you wouldn't say that."
"Son-in-law?"
The woman's ears perked up, and her gaze immediately fixed on Ban Yuwon.
"You?"
"Uh... Rucell's mother?"
"Yes. Lucia."
Of course, she was a very charming woman.
But to be Rucell's mother, she was a little, well...
Too slender.
Or was Rucell's 'intense' charm, after all, due to her father's genes?
From a man's perspective, his enormous stature and muscular, attractive physique might just be intimidating, but for women, it must certainly be appealing...!
"I'm Ban Yuwon. Please feel free to call me that."
"Hmmmmmm."
Honestly, he was a little disappointed, but unable to express that feeling, he greeted her with the most welcoming expression he could muster.
But immediately after that.
Lucia approached with such speed that Ban Yuwon couldn't even register it, then thrust her nose into his neck.
"?!"
"Mom!"
"Sniff. Sniff sniff."
Lucia started from his neck, then moved to his chest, armpit, waist, and then his pri—
"No!"
"Woof!"
While she was sniffing, Rucell desperately pushed her away.
Rucell, her face beet red, hugged Ban Yuwon as if protecting him, baring her teeth.
"Don't touch my man...!"
"Hmm... looks good. When are you making babies?"
However, Lucia, who had just been pushed away by her daughter, nodded in satisfaction at the sight, then stepped back and asked a question similar to Kanid's earlier one.
At this point, Ban Yuwon felt his mind generally going blank and ceased all thought.
"Not yet! I still have to attend the Academy!"
"Still, you should practice making them. Hmm, Kanid. I'll take Rucell."
"I was just about to ask you to. We're of one mind! Hahaha!"
"Because we're husband and wife."
Lucia, who had finished her affectionate display by pressing her face against Kanid's and rubbing noses, once again approached Rucell without him noticing and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
"Let's go, Rucell. I should have educated you beforehand, my apologies."
"Mom, I'll learn, I'll learn, but just wait—!"
Lucia, holding Rucell as if an eagle snatching its prey, leaped and disappeared among the branches.
Ban Yuwon, as if escaping reality, thought, 'That ghost-like movement could be referenced for Gwoeyeonggong,' then remembered Rucell's screaming, dragged-away expression and chuckled to himself.
"...Coming here, I've really seen many sides of Rucell I'd never seen before."
"Ban Yuwon, if you keep this up, you'll truly see sides of the beast you've never seen before by tomorrow night."
"Don't say that, it's getting scary."
"Are you hesitating about the relationship? Why?"
"...Hm?"
About what?
As Ban Yuwon turned, Dokgo Yeon glared at him, as if to say, 'What are you looking at?'
"What?"
"No, you just..."
"What?"
"...Nothing."
It was clear Dokgo Yeon was annoyed, but if he voiced it, he might be sliced in half and die.
Surely she couldn't be jealous.
Perhaps she simply hated male-female relationships, for whatever reason.
"Then, let's go too. Chief, please lead the way."
"R-right."
"Zzz..."
Perhaps it was due to Dokgo Yeon's unpleasant demeanor, but even Kanid seemed slightly intimidated.
Amidst all this, Ban Yuwon wondered if Slothy, calmly leaning against a tree and sleeping, might actually be a formidable figure.
But the next moment, Slothy's eyes snapped open.
"Regret..."
"Hm?"
"The gathering... it's been stop-pedddd..."
"...Slothy, surely not."
"Combat, ready."
The moment she, who usually spoke slowly, uttered those words in a clear voice.
—CRAAASH!
A massive explosion erupted deep within the distant forest.
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