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I got into school for nothing - 181

I got into school for nothing (181)

Lesson 36. How do you feel now? - 1

The princess of the Unquenchable Flame scoffed as she received her subordinate's report.

"So, you were thoroughly deceived by that lowly man, exposed the existence of the plan, and even let that long-eared bitch escape? And you even had the ship with confidential data seized by 'mercenaries'?"

"Th-that's ri... Aargh!"

Ruby-red flames surged, incinerating the wretch's body.

"What audacity do you have to report to me? You should have at least captured that long-eared bitch and then offered your excuses. Tsk."

Left alone in the spacious room, she conjured flames once more, as if she couldn't stand the sight of even the ashes, neatly obliterating all traces of her subordinate.

However, her rage had not yet subsided and continued to flicker.

Though she bit her lip tightly, she operated her mirror and made calls here and there.

She not only poured out complaints about this handling of affairs to the Crimson Spear executive, but also had to send a future plan report, filled with apologies and excuses, to her father and superior, the ruler of the S-7 Dimension...

"Why should my evaluation go down when it's not even my fault!"

Unable to endure her rage any longer, she ended up kicking over and destroying the furnishings in the room.

If she hadn't moved her body, the surging flames would have engulfed and incinerated the entire building.

Knock, knock. The sound of a polite knock came the next moment.

"Lady Prominence, are you already awake?"

"...Yes."

She quickly composed herself and spoke in a calm voice.

Beyond the room were her companions with whom she shared her 'Academy life'.

Unlike the wretches she could trample or burn if they displeased her, these were valuable assets.

"I just woke up. Could you all wait in the dining hall?"

"Yes! ...Thanks to Lady Prominence, it seems this special activity will also be quickly resolved without any difficulty. Thank you very much!"

"Fufu, it's my role as the leader of Phoenix to guide you all."

"Lady Prominence...!"

After dismissing her team members with appropriate words, she finished the abridged report to her father, then conjured flames to cleanly burn away all the grime clinging to her body and put on her clothes.

What she always thought about was Mira, the fairy who constantly annoyed her, and the first-year brat whom Mira had recently taken as a lover.

'This failure was indeed because of that man, Kettra. But that brat bothers me. There was a clash with him in the first semester, and because of that, the surveillance operation on that long-eared bitch went awry... Even having to hastily concoct that reckless abduction plan was all because of him.'

She was well aware of how much recognition that man, Ban Yuwon, had gained recently.

Of course, because she didn't want to pay attention to a low-born, she had never watched any of his UnionTube videos...

She knew from reports that he was a strong individual who had transcended the limits of a first-year, and that he had begun to gather wretches in the same situation as him within the school and was starting to form a considerable faction.

'The place where Crimson Spear went was also where Ban Yuwon carried out his special activity, wasn't it? If Kettra decided to betray them after meeting Ban Yuwon, then perhaps he even orchestrated this entire incident...'

Ban Yuwon, a low-born who was miraculously selected as a special admission student from a dimension where there wasn't even mana.

The Crimson Flame Princess, who had finally recognized the necessity of watching him, checked the time, sighed, and opened her mirror to access UnionTube.

She intended to briefly watch the videos before eating breakfast.

* * *

[Life 16, Wonshin 12, Won-gi 15, Charm 32, Leadership 40, Judgment 10, Death 3, Dark Magic 70, Leaf Shadow Step 150, and Concept Conversion 100 have been acquired. Death and Concept Conversion are concepts that humans cannot possess.]

[The depth of Yugi has increased by 15, and the depth of Giwon Sword has increased by 11.]

[The concept of Dark Magic is absorbed into Photon Magic. The depth of Photon Magic has reached 100.]

[The concept of Leaf Shadow Step is absorbed into Gwoeyeonggong. The depth of Gwoeyeonggong has reached 300.]

[The depth of Judgment has exceeded 200, allowing for more aggressive application of the concept. Combinations with other concepts will become smoother, and additional damage can be dealt even to targets not subject to Judgment.]

"I've eaten well...!"

Ban Yuwon was moved and brought his hands together, expressing gratitude for the excellent 'meal'.

No, this, excluding swordsmanship, is far more substantial than Lyu Cheolmyeong's, isn't it?

Although Giwon Sword didn't improve much, considering that Leaf Shadow Step, which could be called Kettra's unique martial art, was absorbed into Gwoeyeonggong and caused its unprecedented growth, it might even be better than that!

'And even Death.'

Leaving aside Concept Conversion, which is Changeling itself, I never imagined he'd gain a full 3 points of the concept of Death.

Perhaps it was because Kettra, whose death was already certain, had performed the absurd miracle of extending his life with the candy Ban Yuwon gave him?

As Ban Yuwon was absorbed in analyzing the concepts he had obtained from Kettra, Dokgo Yeon spoke, astonished.

"You truly are amazing. How could you so unhesitatingly handle his corpse...?"

"No, then what was I supposed to do? Bury my senior here and leave? Or take his corpse back to the Academy?"

"..."

At Ban Yuwon's unexpected retort, Dokgo Yeon fell silent.

She also realized that merely Kettra being here created a 'sin' for him.

That was why Ban Yuwon had cleanly erased his traces, making his path as quiet and peaceful as possible...!

Dokgo Yeon's cross-shaped pupils narrowed as she glared at him.

"You've thought up a rather good excuse, Ban Yuwon."

"My senior is dead. He's gone now! But he lives on, becoming one with my back, with this chest!"

"In terms of being literal, that's truly the worst..."

Of course, there might have been a way to smuggle him out and hold a funeral without being caught, but honestly, he didn't feel like going that far.

Rather, wouldn't Kettra be pleased that he would protect Mira with the power Kettra left behind?

Ban Yuwon, having quickly rationalized his actions, turned to Mira.

"Are you feeling a bit better now, Mira?"

"No."

He wondered if absorbing it right in front of Mira had been a bit much visually, when suddenly she abruptly pulled Ban Yuwon's arm and hugged him.

"I just remembered that Rucell cut in line. Let's find a room where we can be alone right now. I won't come out until I've caught up on what I've fallen behind on."

"Indeed, you mean to perfectly fill the empty spot you've only now recognized with your strategic plotting."

Shatie, who had needlessly accurately analyzed Mira's thoughts, grinning provoked a strange annoyance.

He had been worried that she was sniffling and crying just a moment ago, but now, it seemed he no longer needed to worry about Mira.

Ban Yuwon gently stroked Mira's head, then gently detached her.

"Alright, but later. There's still something left to finish here."

"Ugh..."

"Hmph."

Rucell smiling with a victorious expression bothered him a little.

But it was also true that they didn't have much time right now.

What Ban Yuwon had just finished was only one tribe led by beast-kin who were sacrificed to summon the Ruler of the Forest, and not all the beast-kin tribes hostile to the Wolf Fang Tribe Village had been dealt with.

Moreover, according to Shatie, Professor Yumina would soon be arriving here, and he couldn't exactly flaunt his messy and complicated romantic relationships to her.

"Let's clean up and go back."

"Wait, Yuwon-nim! Kiss!"

"The picnic lasts until we go home. Please take care of things for the remaining time."

"Heh, that's fine too...!"

The clearing they were in, after fighting the Constellation's avatar and battling tens of thousands of beast-kin, had become an utter mess.

This clearing also needed to be turned back into a forest soon, so they couldn't just leave it like this.

So, as they were cleaning up the area with the rest of the group, Slothy arrived at the plaza a little late.

"Ah, Slothy."

"There's only one man...!"

"Yes, that's what you're surprised by."

Slothy's speech was still fast.

Knowing what that meant, Ban Yuwon's gaze sharpened.

"Slothy, is the battle not over yet? The dimension pirates should have all retreated already... Did beast-kin invade from another direction through the forest, by any chance?"

"No, the battle's over."

At Slothy's firm reply, Ban Yuwon tilted his head.

"But why are you still fast?"

"This is because it's mating season."

Right, there was that.

While Ban Yuwon numbly nodded his head, Rucell, Mira, and Anneri, for good measure, instantly formed a wall between Slothy and Ban Yuwon.

Dokgo Yeon sighed as if in exasperation, and Shatie was cackling at the trio's swift movements, but Slothy, who had to duel Dokgo Yeon earlier for trying to approach Ban Yuwon, realized that her rivals were not limited to just them, and sighed.

"Indeed, it seems attractive males always attract females..."

"Let's use the terms 'male' and 'female' like proper humans."

"I don't intend to mate right now, so don't be so wary. More importantly, let's plant trees quickly, Ban Yuwon."

Slothy called his name.

Her round, brown eyes, which usually appeared lazy, now shone with infinite seriousness.

"There's a legend on our planet: where so many lives have been lost, a colossal predator appears, coveting the corpses and spoils... So we have to plant trees quickly to cover the area and prevent it from emerging."

"Hey, you! We were just about to finish the main story and roll the ending credits, and you go and drop a line like that!"

RUMBLE—

Sure enough, no sooner had Slothy spoken than the ground began to tremble once more.

Ban Yuwon, realizing that all was lost, with a resigned expression, called his companions together and transformed Lilyth into a large passenger vehicle for them to board.

"Battles just keep raging on this planet, don't they?"

"Oh no, a predator actually appeared!"

"Slothy, wasn't that just a story to scare kids who mess with the forest's trees?"

Slothy, who hadn't seemed surprised when other tribes invaded or when dimension pirates began their bombardment, being so horrified now was rather amusing, but since even Rucell wore a weary expression, they couldn't help but be scared.

"The tale of an ancestral Forest Worm sleeping here has been passed down through generations of the Nataehu people...!"

"Oh, come on! Lilyth, take off!"

[Understood!]

As Lilyth, carrying everyone, ascended powerfully, the ground they had just cleaned up abruptly collapsed, and a colossal, truly colossal Forest Worm poked its head out from the ground!

It rapidly closed the distance of over a kilometer, opening its massive maw to devour Ban Yuwon's party!

—KWOOOOOOOOOOH!

"Whoa, this is."

Though Lilyth soared powerfully, evading the beast's maw and widening the gap, its body was so immense and stretched so far that looking down, all they could see was the enormous cavern that was its open mouth.

"What kind of first-year special activity is this? What kind of E-rank dimension is this?!"

"Right, I didn't come to the wrong dimension, did I?"

"This, a full professor should step in...!"

There wasn't even a visible spot to aim for a proper attack for a decisive blow.

Even Ban Yuwon, who had defeated a Constellation's avatar, was not confident against that thing.

For starters, its sheer size was incomparable!

No, that thing should have appeared when they were fighting the avatar, but to cowardly try to deliver the final blow now that the battle was over, did it even have a conscience?

"But if we could just catch that thing, if we could just guide the overwhelming mana it holds into our forest..."

"How are we supposed to catch it?!"

As Ban Yuwon screamed, he was just about to declare his final command: full combination.

—CRACK!

A gigantic thorny vine plunged from the sky, piercing the predator and embedding itself into the ground!

"I've come to help!"

"Professor!"

The special activity, which had been fraught with danger until the very end, finally came to a close.