I got into school for nothing - 176
I got into school for nothing (176)
Lesson 35. The Final Changeling - 1
—How dare... a mere human disrupt the rules set by a Constellation?
—For a mere king of the forest, you sure swaggered around with self-importance. Serves you right.
—Whoever you are, trapped in a lowly weapon, do you dare look down on the Ruler of the Forest?
While Ban Yuwon and Rucell's relationship seemed to change a lot, it was in fact stagnating. Meanwhile, Cellon was fending off all sorts of curses and attacks pouring down from the Ruler of the Forest on Ban Yuwon's behalf.
Ban Yuwon had attempted to forcefully seize the partner he (reluctantly) designated for himself right before its eyes, so how could the Ruler of the Forest possibly stand by?
However, as Cellon had just pointed out, a Constellation's materialized form was subject to fatal restrictions, and weakened curses or physical attacks that couldn't bypass these could not penetrate Cellon's barrier.
Not, at least, until all her mana was completely oxidized.
“Don't worry, it's over now.”
As much as he wanted to hold Rucell, sit her down, and lay out a tear-jerking narrative, from Earth's tragic history of slavery to its liberation movements, to change her mind, the immediate presence of an enemy made that impossible.
And because he had just altered the concepts within Rucell's body, Ban Yuwon's circumstances were also different from moments ago.
Ban Yuwon turned back towards the colossal materialized form of the Constellation, a confident expression on his face.
[Achieving the feat of interfering with and altering the concepts within another's body, your Authority advances. You realize the method to break down the boundaries between self and other. You make contact with the source of mana.]
[Hyunsingong evolves. You have realized and mastered Yugi (流元功), a martial art that strengthens and transforms all things with pure energy, gathering the flow (流) of all concepts to ultimately reach the origin (元). The proficiency of Yugi has reached 250.]
[The Hyungi within your body makes contact with the primordial, essential energy and transforms. The concept is replaced with Won-gi, the energy of all origins. The proficiency of Won-gi has reached 600.]
[All concepts of your physical body have been transformed. You have acquired the concept of Wonshin, a body forged from primordial energy, capable of containing and shaping primordial energy. The proficiency of Wonshin has reached 700.]
It was a truly momentous occasion.
He had certainly believed that Hyunsingong would grow during this special activity, or rather, in the process of confronting the monster before him.
But who would have thought it would be completed by breaking down the boundaries between self and other, and by evolving the concepts within Rucell's body.
Of course, upon careful consideration, it was only natural; Ban Yuwon had always fought by perceiving and controlling the surrounding concepts with Hyunsingong and Giwon Sword, adapting the internal concepts of his body accordingly.
Now that he could perfectly control himself and, beyond that, alter external concepts, what remained was surely nothing more than to change the internal concepts of his opponent, that is, the other.
“Master? Your energy, in an instant...”
Rucell, who had been clinging to Ban Yuwon and showed no sign of letting go, flinched and pulled back slightly from him.
She too had surpassed her own limits, and thus she realized.
How profound the step Ban Yuwon had just taken was.
And how magnificent what he had gained from it.
“At this level, I wonder if I could take on Dokgo Yeon in a fight.”
“Yes, you might even be able to uncover one or two of her hidden ultimate techniques.”
It was a slightly deflating conversation, but there was no need to be disappointed; catching up to Dokgo Yeon, who at the time of admission already surpassed the average graduate, in just half a year was an incredible achievement.
Furthermore, having mastered his own unique martial art, his future progress would undoubtedly be even faster.
Reaffirming his resolve to surpass Dokgo Yeon before graduation, or at least before the end of his second year—Ban Yuwon raised the Executioner's Longsword.
“I won't have to wait for Lilyth to charge anymore.”
—I've seen plenty of fools die strutting around with such confidence.
“Help me, Cellon.”
—Should've done that from the start.
—Hwaaaaaaak, a denser mist enveloped the area.
The Constellation, realizing Ban Yuwon's unusual momentum, also swelled with combat intent, ready to end this.
—I cannot forgive this. I will kill you and take back my bride.
“Master, I'll charge first.”
“Can you withstand its energy?”
“Hmph, of course.”
Rucell scoffed, then leaned her body forward diagonally, activating her Wildness Furnace to its maximum.
All the Wildness she had accumulated until now ignited in an instant, explosively increasing her abilities.
Not only would this be permanent, but for this very moment, she was being empowered enough to proudly contend as the strongest in this place!
Rucell's body swelled in an instant, transforming into a colossal wolf.
However, nine long, luscious tails sprouted, and from the tip of each hung a sphere of discharging lightning.
—Impossible, she has completely blossomed! A hybrid inheriting a myth...!
“Grrrruh... Kuwaaaaaang!”
The moment one perceived Rucell's leap, she had already reached the very snout of the Constellation's reptilian head.
A lightning sphere hanging from a tail's tip seemed to burst, then flowed through her entire body, visibly concentrating into her forepaws, from which sharp claws had emerged.
—You fiend! Do you not even recognize your own master?!
While a Constellation's materialized form was bound by various restrictions, in cases like being attacked, it was capable of exerting immense power, as much as its physical vessel allowed.
Indeed, despite the attack occurring in an absurdly short instant, it concentrated the poisonous mist diffused all around into a single point before its eyes, blocking Rucell's assault—!
—Sliiiice!
Rucell's lightning-infused claws pierced even that, inflicting a deep wound on its head.
—Kuaaaaaaaaaaah!
Unable to bear the horrific pain, the Constellation shrieked, stomping its massive four legs heavily upon the ground.
At that moment, Ban Yuwon clearly pinpointed the pale underside of its belly, which had been exposed.
A weakness he couldn't properly grasp even with Giwon Sword before Hyunsingong evolved, he could now vividly perceive.
The problem was that forcing his way into the chaos the monster was creating, attacking its belly, and safely escaping would be difficult...
‘No, there was that!’
Having made up his mind, Ban Yuwon charged, following Rucell.
While Rucell clung to its head, harassing it by burning away its poisonous mist with lightning, Ban Yuwon swung the Executioner's Longsword towards its wildly thrashing foreleg!
—With merely this much?!
Into the golden or perfected by Giwon Sword, he imbued a single concept, the will to 'Cleave' (斬), stretching its size.
Added to that was Cellon's Starlight.
The or, shimmering brilliantly like the Milky Way with stars added to its gold, was as beautiful as a hero's sword from legends.
“Hwaaaaaaah!”
The combination of Yugi and Giwon Sword allowed him to perfectly read all the movements of its foreleg, which thrashed terrifyingly up and down like a colossal pillar.
And at the precise moment when its leg lost the most power, Ban Yuwon leaped and thrust his sword without hesitation, piercing its thick, tough hide!
—You worm-like human!
—It's weakened. The concentration of the poisonous mist is fading!
Its leg was too thick to be satisfactorily cleaved even by the or, which had extended for well over 5 meters, but cleaving it was not his primary objective anyway.
Ban Yuwon's goal was to confirm the concentration of the poisonous mist—which had enveloped its body since its appearance, serving for attack, curse, and even defense—and to further widen its opening.
—How dare you, how daaaaaare you! Do you not know your place, to defy me! I! How much effort! I poured into you!
“Grrrrrrrrrrr!”
Against the Constellation, which was spouting nonsense born of pure malice, Rucell let out an equally fierce roar, unleashing a barrage of lightning, looking as if she were letting out all the stress she had accumulated.
For this moment, Ban Yuwon was merely a supporting actor, and Rucell was the star.
The more brilliantly her Wildness Furnace blazed within her body, the greater the power imbued in her attacks, and the flowers of lightning that bloomed, imbued with mana and wrath, exploded spectacularly, born from her artifact!
—The moment its defense becomes vulnerable is coming... soon... now!
“Huuuuuuuup!”
“Kuaaaaaaaaaang!”
The unique energy of the Constellation, which enveloped the entire body of the massive monster exceeding 100 meters, began to concentrate entirely onto its face to defend against Rucell's increasingly fierce onslaught.
At this moment, Ban Yuwon could perhaps tear off its carapace with an attack, or if he truly concentrated his power, he could even sever its leg.
But Ban Yuwon did not do so.
Instead, he plunged the Executioner's Longsword, imbued with all his Won-gi and the concept of Starlight granted by Cellon, with all his might into the ground and shouted.
“My drill—!”
—Thwoomp!
His will and mighty energy, having pierced the ground, flowed into an artifact that had been moving beneath the earth, patiently biding its time since the battle began.
In the next moment, accepting its master's will, it rapidly swelled in size, its tip imbued with golden or radiating the power of Starlight.
Becoming a furiously rotating giant drill, it burst forth from beneath the earth—.
“—A drill that will pierce the heavens!”
—KWAABOOOM!
It deeply impaled the Constellation's belly, which had been facing the ground!
—Cough, hack...
Immediately after successfully gathering all its energy to force Rucell back, the Constellation, the Ruler of the Forest, gasped out a groan from the horrific impact that struck it.
It had known Ban Yuwon was toying with and harassing its legs from below.
It had assumed he'd figured out its weakness, and even amidst the pain, it had strived to avoid exposing its belly.
But it never imagined that his attack would come directly from the ground.
And that it would happen while all the energy protecting its abdomen was drawn out to contend with Rucell, targeting that single, fleeting moment...
—You, you bastard, surely not...
With a choked sound, vomiting blood from its entire body, the Constellation asked Ban Yuwon.
—From the very beginning, you calculated this...
“Of course! This Lord Ban Yuwon calculated everything, from start to finish!”
In truth, it was only thanks to the evolution of Hyunsingong that he barely managed to cross the threshold, analyzing the concepts within its body to exploit its weakness.
Since it was an irritating foe anyway, Ban Yuwon puffed out his chest, thinking he might as well tease it as much as he could.
—No, if my materialized form is dispelled like this...
—Whirrrrrrr!
As the Constellation rambled on with nonsense and tried to pull one last trick, the giant drill still lodged in its belly began to rotate again, burrowing deeper into its torso.
—Kuh-haaaack!
And, as expected, that was the end.
Ban Yuwon retrieved the drill, satisfied that he had accomplished one famous line and one situation that any true man would want to experience.
The drill, now an artifact, swiftly shrank in size at Ban Yuwon's command and flew quickly into his palm.
“Well, Lilyth. Have you changed your mind now?”
[Uh, hmm... I'm not sure. Maybe we should ask the Auger later?]
“Yes, that’s a good idea. Anyway.”
Kwooooom, the materialized form's corpse fell onto the earth with a resounding crash.
Ban Yuwon mercilessly extracted concepts from its body and turned away.
Rucell's problem was completely resolved.
But he was well aware that issues still remained on this planet.
“Then, let's go take care of the remaining criminal bastards.”
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