Novels online

I got into school for nothing - Chapter 19

I got into school for nothing (19)

Lesson 5. The Tower is a One-Way Street - 2

"W-why, why are so many people looking at us...?"

On Friday morning, Rucell, who had been desperately struggling to fish out something indescribable, akin to cilantro, from her pho, suddenly shivered and mumbled.

Ban Yuwon, kindly extracting all the concepts of the repulsive scent from Rucell's pho, replied, "That's because our channel has grown into a major one, watched by one-third of the Academy's population in just two days."

"One-third?"

Light, who was also struggling with the aroma rising from his pho, gasped and muttered.

But Light was fun to tease, so Ban Yuwon left his bowl alone for now, responding instead to his mutter. "Yes, in numbers, that's 500 people. Amazing, isn't it? Honestly, the plan is progressing ten times faster than I expected. Everyone's completely captivated by this new kind of stimulation. We'll probably have far fewer people trying to pick fights with us during lectures from now on. They'll be too conscious of others' gazes to bother."

Ban Yuwon's plan yielded results that far exceeded his wildest predictions.

This was likely due to the fact that the members' appearances were exceptionally outstanding, even among the myriad prodigies gathered from countless dimensions at the Academy.

And the first uploaded video, showing Dokgo Yeon and Light's spar, where they displayed dazzling and terrifying power unbelievable for freshmen, also played a significant role.

However, that wasn't the sole reason.

Videos of them eating meals together.

Videos of them attending classes.

Videos of them gathered after showering in the evening, chatting while playing board games Ban Yuwon had brought from Earth (this was a huge hit).

Most importantly, Ban Yuwon had used his modern Earth media editing skills to make videos like Professor Yumina, one of the Academy's real powers, having tea with them, far more entertaining than the originals, which also contributed significantly.

"Drawing them in with entertainment, then fostering attachment. Such media didn't exist in my homeland, so I find it hard to believe it could be so effective, so dramatic. Truly an interesting outcome."

"I guarantee it'll get even more interesting from now on. We'll garner even more attention."

In fact, their videos were gaining even more explosive popularity outside the Academy.

While there had never been a rule forbidding it, Academy students themselves had never even conceived the idea of filming their daily lives and sharing them with the outside world.

But then, suddenly, four beautiful young men and women gathered, filmed their Academy life, and uploaded it—it was bound to be a massive hit.

"Ugh, ughhhh... but..."

"Get used to it, Rucell."

And at the current moment, Rucell was particularly garnering attention.

While Dokgo Yeon and Light were undoubtedly striking in appearance, their overwhelming skill created a slight distance. Rucell, on the other hand, had only shown a puppy-like charm so far.

...Even though her beauty and physical attributes were also overwhelming.

"I shouldn't have agreed the day before yesterday... Huh? The noodles don't taste like strange soap anymore! Ban, thank you...!"

Rucell, who had been frowning at the gazes pouring in from all around, reflexively took a sip of her pho broth, then her eyes sparkled with joy.

Ban Yuwon let out a small chuckle, while Dokgo Yeon, who had been slowly savoring her pho next to him, chewed and swallowed it, then snorted and chided Rucell.

"Strange soap taste? It seems you don't even know how to eat. This aroma is what elevates the dish."

"Dokgo Yeon, you know a thing or two."

Ban Yuwon split the concept of the aroma he'd extracted from Rucell's pho and imbued half into his bowl and half into Dokgo Yeon's.

It was the first time he had so openly displayed a language concept, so Dokgo Yeon narrowed her eyes and observed him.

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"Do you think you'd understand just by looking?"

"No, not at all."

"It's not something I can hide, anyway. Does that answer your question?"

"Excellent. To conceal by openly revealing is truly the ultimate form of stealth."

After finishing her "gaze of satisfied appraisal from above," which had become familiar over the past five days, Dokgo Yeon took a spoonful of pho broth, letting out a satisfied "Ahh," and murmured, "So that's how you made that elixir too..."

"Though I did add one more step to the process."

"Um, Ban."

As everyone else enjoyed their meal, Light carefully pushed his pho bowl towards him.

"Could you take some out of mine too...?"

"Some what?"

"This, this strange soap..."

At the mention of "soap," Dokgo Yeon glared at Light, who pouted and protested, "What am I supposed to do if it smells like soap!"

"Hmph, to immediately reject diverse cuisines without even trying to respect and accept them. How lamentable."

"You threw away the potage that came out last time, too."

"At that time, the chef's skill was simply deplorable."

They're really entertaining, aren't they?

Ban Yuwon ignored the two who were starting another war of nerves and deftly extracted only the concepts of the aroma Light disliked from his bowl.

"Ban...!"

It was a look, without exaggeration, directed at a savior.

"But it might be good to try a little bit at a time, you know? There's probably a reason the Academy serves different kinds of dishes every single meal."

"Ugh, that's true. I'm always learning from you."

"Hmph, you are of a completely different caliber from someone swayed by a mere sword."

"Why are you so smug?"

Even taking the scent out doesn't stop them from fighting.

Did they know they had to eat quickly and enter the Tower soon? Or perhaps it was a good thing they were maintaining their usual lively condition.

Ban Yuwon cleanly gave up on intervening at this point and decided to just enjoy his pho.

Honestly, from Ban Yuwon's perspective, being able to eat dishes from so many countries for free was nothing but a huge profit.

Of course, this morning meal was also being recorded.

* * *

"You all know, right? Today is the day we enter the Tower."

Yumina, with a smile on her face, spoke to the Class 11 members gathered in the doorless classroom.

"In fact, entry has been happening since dawn. The graduating fifth-year students entered first, in order, and now the second-year students are going in."

"So, we'll naturally be the last among the first-years, won't we?"

"No."

Yumina smiled at Ban Yuwon's question and shook her head.

"Ban Yuwon student's strategy worked perfectly even on the faculty. I suggested that we let you, who are garnering so much attention within the Academy, be the first among the first-years to enter... and surprisingly, it passed."

"Professor, I love you."

Yumina giggled, seemingly pleased with Ban Yuwon's finger heart.

Next, Ban Yuwon asked an important question.

"Is filming inside the Tower possible?"

"Let me confirm first: you know that cameras break down quickly inside the Tower, right?"

"Yes, I know."

But he also knew how to make those very machines not break down in dungeons and the Tower.

He had Tikke with him, a camera drone he had created after Eve and Lilyth!

He would not accept any criticism about simply slapping on any name because he couldn't think of a better one after Eve and Lilyth.

"So you've made something new again. Well, to answer your question, it's not forbidden. The Tower's internal structure changes every moment, so filming is meaningless anyway. If it's meaningless, there's no need to stop it."

That was something he had already confirmed while preparing to enter the Tower for several days and reading basic 자료.

The interior of the Tower of Babel was a space similar to a dungeon.

Monsters appeared, and there were traps.

At this point, he almost wanted to summon his ancestor and ask what on earth they'd done to plummet the building's value, but alas, it was reality.

However, the Tower of Babel was completely different from the dungeons Ban Yuwon had explored in the past few days.

The core of this difference was its internal variability.

The Tower's interior changed its structure every time, and one could never reach the same place twice.

Once you passed it, that was it; no matter how hard you tried to go back, you couldn't.

Naturally, the composition of monsters and traps also constantly changed, and the perceived difficulty varied slightly each time.

'It's truly the perfect condition for testing and developing humans.'

One might wonder if these conditions were too harsh for explorers, but that wasn't entirely true, because the Tower was filled with mystical energy, a place where even if you died, you didn't truly die.

More precisely, in 'most' areas, challengers who died would simply be returned to the Tower's entrance.

That was why Academy students could continue attending the Academy and challenging the Tower without suffering mass deaths.

"Everyone has their student IDs, right? They're not only entry tickets to the Tower but also tokens indicating how deeply you've explored it, so never forget them."

Hearing her words, he took out his student ID, and a '0' had already appeared within it.

A new function of the student ID had been activated just before entering the Tower of Babel.

"As you've learned in class, this is an indicator of how far you've reached into the Tower. You start at Room 0, and as you advance, the count goes up by one each time."

"Room..."

The unique structural change phenomenon that occurred in the Tower was called 'shift', and the more shifts one experienced, the deeper one had encroached into the Tower.

And the unit written on the student ID, 'Room', increased by one with each shift experienced.

"Do you know the highest record, Professor?"

At Ban Yuwon's question, Yumina nodded with a satisfied expression and replied, "Of course. The all-time highest record is 561 Rooms. Was that helpful?"

The group was dumbfounded by the unbelievable record that suddenly appeared.

Amidst them, Ban Yuwon raised his hand again and asked, "561 Rooms isn't a depth that can possibly be explored within three days and two nights."

"As long as you don't 'Lost' inside the Tower, challengers can record the position they've reached. And when they enter next time, they can start from that point. Right through the student ID you're wearing now."

"So that's why this was essential for climbing the Tower..."

To hand out an item with teleportation, key, and save functions for free to all students—this Academy truly wasn't in its right mind.

But what surprised Ban Yuwon more than that was...

'This is just a roguelike game with mid-level save points.'

Of course, the conditions were a bit harsher than the games he used to play.

The map changed every time, and the monsters changed too.

If you died, you had to start over.

Perhaps it was even better than a game, as your abilities weren't reset.

...Though there was a five-year time limit to clear it.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Dokgo Yeon smiled alluringly, gripping her student ID.

Ban Yuwon shivered at the faint aura of combativeness radiating from her.

Light, on the other hand, held his student ID with a stiff expression, saying nothing.

Rucell... what was she hesitating about? She stared intently at Ban Yuwon with an anxious expression.

No, there was nothing he could do even if she looked at him like that.

Ban Yuwon's desire to climb the Tower was no less than theirs.

'I could have lived peacefully on Earth. But this is what I chose myself. I've prepared to stake my life on this fight.'

He didn't know what his companions, standing in the same place as him, felt about climbing the Tower, or if they were hesitating.

But the hearts of those who climbed the Tower, a place said to make one a god, could surely not be light.

Perhaps if they knew Ban Yuwon's simple thought—to climb the Tower, which his ancestor built, and inherit it—they might find it absurd or ridicule him.

However, Ban Yuwon's desire for the Tower, harbored since childhood—though it might be worldly and simple—was equally pure and intense.

Enough to be certain the moment he first saw the Tower, enough to abandon his life and throw himself into the unknown.

"It seems everyone is ready. But there's one last thing I need to tell you."

Yumina, meeting Ban Yuwon's eyes once more, nodded and began.

"It's about the dimension pirates I mentioned last time. A gap in the Tower's barrier is revealed during the process of registering new students as climbers. This is when dimension pirate invasion success rates are highest."

"So?"

"Irregular phenomena might occur due to their abnormal incursions. Simply put, you might encounter dimension pirates inside the Tower."

Rucell's breath seemed to catch for a moment.

Professor Yumina continued, "What you should be wary of is the irregular phenomenon itself, rather than the invaders. Although it's said that no one truly dies in the Tower, that's not absolute, especially when irregularities are involved."

The Tower did not absolutely guarantee the safety of its climbers.

Being safe in 'most' areas implied that there were also areas that were not safe.

If irregularities became entangled, the Tower's laws could easily be distorted, and students caught in them could also be put in danger.

"Therefore, for your safety, as your supervising professor, my judgment is that it's better to complete this exploration quickly and return. So I ask... class president, how many days is this exploration planned for?"

Ban Yuwon looked back at his companions.

In fact, this matter had already been conveyed to them.

He looked back, wondering if their minds had changed in the interim, but Dokgo Yeon, Light, and even Rucell merely nodded silently.

Finally, he shrugged and turned back to Yumina, answering, "Three days and two nights, we'll use every minute of it."

"Good, now it's your turn. Go forth."

The moment Yumina clapped her hands, they finally stood directly in front of the colossal Tower's entrance.

The Tower soared high, as if piercing the sky.

Behind them, all the first-year students who had been overtaken by Class 11's lead were lined up.

Many adjunct professors of the Academy and nine full professors, including Yumina, were all watching them.

"Everyone ready?"

"Needless to say."

"...Absolutely."

"Ugh, ugh."

Somehow, their answers weren't quite satisfactory.

Ban Yuwon suppressed the urge to interject and pulled out his camera drone from his pocket.

The professors' eyes widened as they watched it move vividly, as if alive, sparkling around Ban Yuwon, who grinned at the expected reaction.

"Then, let's go in."

The four rebels and the artificial life form following them entered the Tower, the first freshmen of the year to do so.

It was a tumultuous start, but could the end be grand?

'Ancestor, just you wait.'

While it remained to be seen if the end would be grand, it was certain to be noisy until the very last.