Novels online

I got into school for nothing - 18

Lesson 5. The Tower is a One-Way Street - 1

[You have plundered Demon 0.1, Life 0.05, Body 0.03, and Archery 0.2 from the Goblin Archer.]

Thursday, after school, an external dungeon.

Ban Yuwon's expression hardened as he observed the amount of concepts being absorbed from the goblin he had just killed.

'It wasn't my imagination after all. It's diminished.'

The efficiency of Life concept absorption from goblins had halved again the moment Ban Yuwon's own Life concept surpassed 50.

Despite this, goblins "with something attached" like Goblin Warriors and Archers still contained a decent quantity and quality of concepts. So, on Tuesday and Wednesday, he diligently grinded, conquering two or three dungeons each day.

But today.

Strangely, at some point, he found it difficult to gather concepts, not just from regular goblins, but even from warriors or archers.

He had thought the Babylonia Code had no limits, but that was a misconception.

Having already killed an enormous number of goblins and collected concepts from them, it was a natural progression for the depth of the concepts he gained to gradually decrease.

To draw a comparison to a game, it was like "acquiring less experience points if you hunt the same monster too often."

"At this rate, it feels like it'll hit zero at some point."

Ban Yuwon cleaned up the area, sighed, and then checked his internal codes.

[Life 99.74

Body 66.21

Soul 334.8

Mana 75.36

Martial Arts 49 [Swordsmanship 27, Pierce 22]

Leadership 6

Horsemanship 15 — The ability to control all mounts, including horses and vehicles.

Omniread Eye 110

Omnilisten Ear 100

Omnispeak Lip 102]

His internal codes clearly displayed the results of his diligent dungeon clearing from Monday through Wednesday, every day after classes.

While Life had developed the most, Ban Yuwon felt even prouder of the growth in Mana and Martial Arts.

This was because the quantity of these two codes that grew on their own was greater than what he had absorbed from goblins.

'Especially Martial Arts. Every time I thrust, Pierce grows, and Swordsmanship grows right along with it.'

To put it bluntly, goblins' combat skills were abysmal.

In fact, the Blind Goblin Warrior he first encountered in the practical evaluation dungeon—no, Zatoichi—was the only one somewhat worth observing. In other dungeons, even the bosses were often Hobgoblins that relied on sheer numbers of goblins.

Thankfully, thanks to the unique concept of Demon (妖) that Hobgoblins possessed, Demonic Beast (妖獸), one of Eve's core concepts, had grown to 18. That was one small mercy.

"Soon, I might have to challenge a dungeon other than a goblin one. Are you okay with that, Eve?"

"Hiss, sliiither."

Despite Ban Yuwon's concern, Eve reassured him, suggesting that there might be more monsters with the Demon concept in higher-tier dungeons.

She truly was a remarkably clever pet.

"...Alright, tomorrow we enter the Tower, so let's just do this one dungeon. The original goal was to break through 100 in Life anyway."

"Ssssh."

"You want to drive? Alright. We'll have time, and there's no harm in improving my Horsemanship skills."

What kind of driving was she referring to? Naturally, riding the hoverbike, 'Onyx', which he had purchased on Monday.

The qualification test? That was passed very easily.

Thanks to absorbing the concept of Horsemanship, which was preserved in a very old saddle among the relics his grandfather had prepared!

Ban Yuwon, who had absorbed a concept that allowed him to control any vehicle, and one with a depth of 12 at that, could handle Onyx as if it were an extension of his own body after just one read of the manual.

Naturally, he obtained his license with ease, and thanks to diligently riding the hoverbike outside for the past three days, its depth had even increased by 3.

"And I'll do that today too. We promised, didn't we? That you'd make younger siblings when your Demonic Energy reaches 30."

"Hiss."

"Good. Then let's go."

Having experienced it for several days, he knew that the depth of a concept showed significant effects when it reached a benchmark of 10. So, he decided to first grow Eve's core concept to 30.

And Eve's Demonic Energy was 29.5. Even if the goblins' concept depths were low, there was no way he couldn't gather this much.

* * *

"Human, I will curse you...!"

"Yeah, I know you don't even have the concept of 'curse'."

Ban Yuwon's sword pierced the Hobgoblin's neck.

Looking back, there were already over a hundred goblin corpses sprawled on the ground.

Their cause of death was all sword wounds.

Ban Yuwon, now able to easily handle goblins, had completely excluded Eve to gain more practical experience and had pacified the boss room alone.

"Still, I'm not getting that feeling. I guess it's time to 'graduate' from here."

He, who had struggled even against blind goblins, had certainly grown a lot.

Lost in thought, he reached out and absorbed the codes from the corpses all at once.

[You can no longer absorb the concept of Life from the goblin species.]

Sure enough, as Life approached 100, he felt a tightening sensation in his body, and such a message appeared.

He absorbed the remaining Life from the Hobgoblin, which was still effective for him, cleanly completing 101, and then checked himself.

"Mmm, mmmmmm...!"

He couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed.

But a strange sense of exhilaration, something he hadn't felt when his Body evolved or his Mana increased, now coursed through his entire being.

What should he call this sensation? Confidence? Or perhaps, a sense of presence?

Yes, it was a feeling that gave him the conviction that his own significance in the world had grown greater.

"Grow myself, diminish my enemies. That's how it is."

Visible growth was a joyous thing.

He could understand why people were so fixated on their status windows.

A pleasure he had never felt on Earth, Ban Yuwon curved his lips into a smile.

"Ssssh."

"I'll give the remaining Life to you, so wait. No, I'll save some for your younger siblings..."

Eve, too, could grow by acquiring Life.

While she could grow her Life on her own, it naturally couldn't compare to Ban Yuwon directly bestowing it upon her.

However, her Life couldn't exceed the depth of Demonic Energy, the core concept that formed Eve. In other words, if her Demonic Energy was 30, her Life couldn't go beyond 30.

In any case, as Ban Yuwon's own efficiency in absorbing Life decreased, he started bestowing more Life upon Eve. Now that he couldn't absorb Life from goblins at all, it was better to give it all to Eve... or to 'someone else.'

"Alright, is that everything?"

He had completely devoured the Hobgoblin, the other goblins, and even their armaments.

Shattering the dungeon core and separating and collecting the Magic and Core was, as always, his routine.

Only after emerging from the dungeon did Ban Yuwon finally put today's plan into action.

"Onyx."

The sleek black bike showed no reaction to Ban Yuwon's words.

That was natural, as it was just an ordinary hoverbike.

But from now on, it wouldn't be.

Hadn't Ban Yuwon already experienced breathing life into an inanimate object?

"Though Eve was originally a club, so the compatibility was better... Alright, should I play it safe?"

Ban Yuwon took out various concepts from his Code Core.

Simply injecting Demon into any object wouldn't turn it into an artifact.

Just as Demonic Energy dwelled in a club-shaped object to become the Dokkaebi Club, one had to carefully consider the compatibility between an object and a concept, and the combination of concepts.

Still, having contemplated the bestowal and synthesis of concepts for several days, he had a clear idea of how to successfully transform this bike into an 'artifact.'

Today's core concept was Demon (妖).

"I'm sorry I can't give everything to you, Eve."

"Sliiiither, hiss."

Eve coiled around his arm, telling him not to worry.

Ban Yuwon gently stroked her head, then examined the concepts contained within the hoverbike.

[Hovercar 30, Magic Core 30, Speed 30, Mana Resistance 20, Hardening 10]

Hovercar simply referred to a flying vehicle, and Magic Core, like a dungeon core, was the mana core powering this bike.

Speed was the physical capability granted by the bike's design. Mana Resistance was likely related to its ability to withstand the mana fluctuations of a dungeon... and lastly, Hardening would be the function of the bike's front fender.

"I'll leave Hovercar as is. Speed and Hardening are fine for now. The important thing is... *whew*."

It was the Magic Core.

The thought of ruining a 3.2 million Ronias hoverbike if he mishandled it made even Ban Yuwon nervous.

But if he backed down here, Ban Yuwon would miss the opportunity to grow as the master of the Babylonia Code.

Sometimes, there was a time to push forward despite the risk of failure.

That time was now!

"Separate Magic and Core, then synthesize Demon (妖) 2 with Magic, and Demon (鬼) 5 with Core, respectively."

With one hand, he touched the bike, splitting the Magic Core inside in half. With his other hand, he injected Demon (妖) and Demon (鬼), combining Demon (妖) with Magic and Demon (鬼) with Core.

The moment the Magic Core's concept split, the bike vibrated violently, as if about to explode.

But the next moment, synthesis immediately began, and Ban Yuwon's eyes were wide as he observed the transformation process.

"Please work, please work...!"

It was at that very instant that an unidentifiable, peculiar pattern was etched onto the bike's mana core, which glowed red and emitted smoke.

Ban Yuwon recognized it as Demon (鬼).

[The Core 15 of the hoverbike Onyx is synthesized with Demon (鬼) 5. These are incompatible concepts.]

[The Magic 15 of the hoverbike Onyx is synthesized with Demon (妖) 2. Due to perfect compatibility, a transcendent synthesis ignoring depth has occurred, completing Demonic Spirit 20!]

[Due to the presence of Demonic Spirit, the synthesis of Core 15 and Demon (鬼) 5 is successfully achieved. Demonic Core 20 is completed! The Demonic Spirit dwells within the Demonic Core, providing power. You have successfully created a high-grade artifact!]

He succeeded!

He had created a core for a ghost to inhabit and realized the concept of powering the bike by embedding a fictitious entity called Demonic Spirit within it!

[Due to the outstanding manifestation of your ability, the depth of Omniread Eye, Omnilisten Ear, and Omnispeak Lip each increases by 5!]

[The depth of Life has become 110.]

[The depth of Mana has become 82.]

[The depth of Soul has become 340.]

"Huuuuuuh."

The completion of the artifact greatly enhanced his own abilities.

The growth of Life by nearly 10 was especially a remarkable achievement.

This was different from when he had stumbled upon the Dokkaebi Club purely by chance, relying on luck.

By deeply considering the concepts of language and proactively bringing about the birth of concepts that fulfilled his own necessary conditions, meaningful success and growth were made possible.

"You are Lilyth."

—Vroooom

Eve was the first, so Lilyth was the second.

It was a truly terrible taste to name a bike that humans rode 'Lilyth', going completely against tradition by reversing the order, but the ignorant creature vibrated its engine with joy.

But it wasn't over yet.

Ban Yuwon bestowed upon her Life 1 and Soul 1, and as a bonus, Sharpness (銳), which he had extracted and collected from many swords.

Since she could already attack by hardening her front fender, there would be no loss in making it sharper, would there?

And so, what ultimately came into being was this:

[Hovercar 30, Demonic Spirit 20, Demonic Core 20, Life 1, Soul 1, Speed 30, Mana Resistance 20, Hardening 10, Sharpness 20]

Ban Yuwon, in the midst of analyzing the flow of the completed code, stroked Lilyth's handlebars and asked her,

"Hmm... You don't need Mana Resistance anymore, do you?"

—Rumble

She rumbled her engine, as if affirming.

What was the reason for Mana Resistance?

Why did machinery, or rather, magical tools, break down near places like dungeons in the first place?

It was because the refined mana inside the magical tool would be violently agitated and run wild by the dungeon's mana fluctuations, thereby destroying its internal structure.

Mana Resistance was granted to magical tools to prevent this. However, entities like Eve or Lilyth, which could move and control mana themselves—in other words, artifacts—were completely unaffected by the dungeon's mana fluctuations.

'So, from now on, she can enter dungeons, and of course, the Tower too...'

As he thought that far, Ban Yuwon's thoughts suddenly turned to his student ID.

This was clearly also a magical tool, so why had it remained perfectly fine in dungeons all this time?

The internal structure of the student ID, which was composed of a different language system, had not yet been fully analyzed, so he couldn't know.

If he could figure that out, Ban Yuwon's ability would surely grow once again.

'First, let's extract Mana Resistance. Can I separate it into Mana and Resistance? No, I can't.'

However, it was possible to extract only Resistance from Mana Resistance.

Since he was extracting a higher concept that could withstand everything, from a concept that could only withstand mana, the conversion ratio was incredibly poor.

Ban Yuwon felt a complex emotion as he watched his Mana Resistance, which was 20, shrink to just 1 of Resistance wrapping around his hand.

"For now... should I keep it?"

And he bestowed it upon his own body.

[You have gained Resistance 1. You gain resistance to all negative things.]

But that surprisingly brought about significant changes.

Not only did his body become sturdier and his mental strength more robust, but he also felt a gathering of power from somewhere within him.

"Is it because it's a concept that applies to both body and mind? I gained a lot in many ways."

For a moment, he had a crazy thought of selling off a bunch of gold ingots to buy dozens more Onyx bikes just to extract Resistance, but he shook his head.

He would surely find other objects with the concept of Resistance if he looked.

After all, wasn't Resistance abundant in the world?

"Then, let's go for a drive as Eve requested."

"Sliiiither."

He got on Lilyth with Eve, who was wrapped around his arm, acting cute.

Though her appearance hadn't changed, he felt a strangely comfortable sensation.

Should he describe it as Lilyth gently embracing him?

He wouldn't say such a thing out loud; he'd be treated like a madman.

"But good ride comfort isn't enough. So, where should we... fly?"

—VROOOOOOOOM!

At that moment, Lilyth abruptly accelerated, even though Ban Yuwon hadn't started her engine.

The acceleration was distinctly different from yesterday, and she was even moving faster than the highest speed he had ever experienced!

Ban Yuwon gripped the handlebars, eyes wide, trying to adapt to a situation where he wasn't sure if he was driving or being dragged along.

'This is insane...!'

The flights he had taken over the past three days were mere child's play compared to this.

At this very moment, Ban Yuwon was truly soaring through the sky!

But then, having flown a bit too high, a part of the floating island where the academy was located came into his view.

Near the colossal Tower, the Tower of Babel, which strictly controlled student access and was also his family's secret desire, he saw a black shimmer.

It was probably just an optical illusion.

It would be easier to just dismiss it, but Ban Yuwon couldn't help but grumble.

"Something is definitely going to happen tomorrow..."

He decided to consult with Yumina first.

He was a man who never overlooked even minor incidents.

And the next day, the day to enter the Tower of Babel finally arrived.