I got into school for nothing-203
I got into school for nothing (203)
Lesson 40. No Alien Allowed - 3
The Orc Captain was not simply a trivial being, like a part that Ban Yuwon had initially imagined could be easily replaced at any time.
If mere contact between an Orc and a Relic was enough to immediately establish a resonance, wouldn't this universe have long since been conquered by Orcs?
The number of Orcs capable of resonating with Relics was limited, and consequently, the reselection process took longer than Ban Yuwon had expected.
[The Relic is breaking, so isn't the battle over, Master?]
“That's not it, Rucell. The Orc Wave is still being maintained.”
Although the Relic was splitting apart from Eve's fantastic infiltration followed by Abyss's drill attack, it was hard to imagine that the Relic would be nullified by that alone.
Even if he wanted to launch an additional attack now, the Orc vessels were desperately converging to protect the Relic, making it difficult to find an opening.
Could she safely escape with Abyss...?
‘Well, with Eve's myriad transformations, she'll probably manage somehow...’
Even as Ban Yuwon thought this, he did what he could immediately.
First, he recovered Abel, whose activity time had ended, and fed Lilyth a Candy of Life to restore her.
[Master, what was that?!]
“See? I told you drills are the best. You did well, Lilyth.”
He fully collected the results of a battle whose inexplicably clean conclusion he still didn't quite understand.
[You have gained 20 Life, 13 Wonshin, 25 Won-gi, 9 Soul, 50 Leadership, 15 Charisma, 48 Riding, 50 Superstrength, and 4 Constellation's Stigma.]
[By punishing a great sinner, the depth of Judgment deepens by 20.]
[You have personally ended the life of an enemy of vastly superior rank! The depth of Rebellion deepens by 7.]
Concepts extracted from the Orc Captain, including Wildness.
He hadn't gained any special or new concepts.
That was only natural, as he'd fought Orcs to his heart's content until now.
However, even after sharing a significant amount of the extracted concepts with Rucell, besides Wildness, the sheer quantity he gained was immense.
Ban Yuwon's Life, for instance, had been growing incrementally at a frustratingly slow pace ever since it reached the 800s, yet merely by severing the captain's neck and collecting the spoils, he broke through 900 in one go.
‘Come to think of it, Judgment and Rebellion must have helped me kill him so easily.’
Judgment, a concept that amplified his abilities solely when confronting evildoers.
And Rebellion, a concept that boosted his abilities only when facing an enemy of superior rank.
As these two concepts were applied simultaneously, it was no wonder that his final sword strike carved such a fantastical trajectory.
‘Still, I'm not convinced. It wasn't enough to overpower a Constellation's Authority, was it? More importantly, a type of Authority I couldn't fully grasp even with my Giwon Sword was at work... Authority?’
Ban Yuwon's eyes narrowed.
Could it be the power of Authority that had just acted on him?
It was probably not his own ability.
Then...
“Yuwon!”
Just before Ban Yuwon could reach a conclusion, the support vessel approached their location.
Ban Yuwon, returning the utterly exhausted Rucell to her human form and cradling her in one arm, faced those who appeared from beyond the newly opening spaceship hatch.
Two women, two men.
And all of them, as if it were the most natural thing, weren't wearing spacesuits.
“How have you been? Yuwon, I don't know how you manage to get more charming every time I see you!”
“It hasn't been that long since we last met.”
Ban Yuwon faced Anneri, the woman at the head of the group, replying with a wry smile at her unchanged demeanor.
“Anyway, thank you for coming, Anneri. And I'd like to greet the others, but the situation is too urgent right now, so let's focus on stopping that Orc Wave first...”
“Hold on.”
One of the two men, a pale-faced young man, raised a hand slightly and stepped forward.
He wore plain clothes with no distinguishing features, and a sword belt with a sheathed sword hung at his waist. A subtly ethereal aura surrounded him, making him feel almost like a phantom rather than a solid presence.
“Are you Ban Yuwon?”
“Huh? Yes... Um, you're a member of the Rebel Force, right?”
“I am, but you are not the one I support.”
The young man, who replied in a cold tone, looked at Ban Yuwon and Rucell in his arms, his expression deeply displeased.
He let out a snort, then fixed his gaze on Ban Yuwon, scrutinizing his face as if he were assessing an enemy rather than a fan.
He seemed to have some intention, but there really wasn't any time to spare right now!
“This is Rebel Force's No. 2! His name is... what was it again?”
“Mumyeong.”
“That's right, Mr. Mumyeong!”
‘That means "anonymous," you idiot...’
For a moment, Ban Yuwon and Mumyeong simultaneously turned to Anneri with dumbfounded expressions, but she was just beaming.
No, if it was her, she probably knew and did it on purpose.
As Ban Yuwon sighed, Anneri continued speaking, her smile unwavering.
“It does seem the situation is urgent. If it's a Relic that maintains its spiritual essence even when split in half, there's no telling how much larger the Orc Wave might grow... Mr. Mumyeong, since we've already started introductions, we'll finish ours here. Could you go ahead and stop those things for us?”
“Hmph.”
Mumyeong snorted and glared at Anneri, who was treating him like a subordinate, but perhaps realizing he had wasted time detaining Ban Yuwon in an urgent situation, he naturally drew his sword and stepped out into space.
The next moment, he collided with the vanguard of the Orc fleet.
“?!”
Since mastering his Giwon Sword, Ban Yuwon had never completely missed another's movements.
Indeed, even when he had just clashed with the Orc Captain, though he was outmatched in raw Level, hadn't he still thoroughly grasped and responded to the foe's movements?
But just now... he couldn't read that person's movements in the slightest.
It was as if he had completely vanished from Ban Yuwon's domain in an instant.
Of course, it would be different if his sword were to fly towards Ban Yuwon, but for now, it was clear that this was an opponent Ban Yuwon couldn't even dream of contending with.
“He's a man of many secrets, you know. He's definitely one of our early members, though.”
“But how did you bring him here?”
“Well, the President arranged it. We joined him at C-rank Dimension Terminal 3 and brought him along.”
He wasn't quite sure what a Dimension Terminal was... but he surmised it was a sort of resting place for dimension mercenaries, those who usually resided in outer space.
“Correct! You know that dimension walls intersect endlessly, right? Within those countless fragmented dimensions, there are quite a few small spaces that can't form independent civilizations. Dimension Terminals were created by borrowing the grade of a nearby dimension, classifying and numbering these spaces, to provide resting places for those who frequently traverse dimensions.”
“Thanks for the kind explanation. But as I said before, we really don't have time for this leisure right now...”
“Look.”
Anneri grinned and pointed forward, and Ban Yuwon narrowed his eyes, turning to look.
There, he could see dozens of Orc vessels being brutally shattered.
“What... is that?”
It was to the extent that all the struggles of Ban Yuwon's party up until now felt utterly foolish.
No, of course, if they hadn't stepped in to slay the Orc Captain, even the strongest individual would have struggled to corner the enemy like that. But he was certain that with that person's current ability, they could have easily dealt with even the Orc Captain.
Anneri, though not even fighting herself, proudly puffed out her chest and said.
“He's a strong one, you see. I knew it the moment I saw him.”
“He really is strong. At this rate, was there even a need for me to come?”
A woman stepped forward, chiming in with Anneri's words.
She, presumed to be a member of the Rebel Force, had her hood pulled deep over her head. Both her voice and speech were entirely like an old woman's, yet the power emanating from her was so profound and immense that Ban Yuwon dared not even try to read it.
“Since he prefers not to reveal his name, I suppose I'll keep mine hidden for now too. I was the ninth to join the Rebel Force. So, please call me Nine.”
“Ms. Nine...”
“You can just call me Grandma if you prefer.”
Her demeanor certainly matched that of a grandma, but...
As one could tell just by looking at Yumina, who was 500 years old, for transcendent beings, age was often merely a decoration.
Moreover, it was often with people like this that their true identity turned out to be a peerlessly beautiful girl...
Ban Yuwon was the type who wouldn't judge whether the cat was alive or dead until the box was opened.
For now, he decided to just call her Nine.
“Ms. Nine was the first to express her intent to participate. We joined her at the A-rank Dimension Terminal! At the A-rank dimension level, there are fewer dimension fragments, so there's only one terminal.”
“Thanks for the explanation, it's like you're reading straight from a textbook.”
“Master.”
Just as Ban Yuwon was feeling somewhat confused, faced with the transcendent development of greeting fan club members in the middle of space, Rucell called out to him.
Her eyes were fixed on the man, No. 2, who was performing an overwhelming massacre in the front.
“That person, he's not the main body.”
“What do you mean, Rucell? You're saying the man who just cleaved a battleship with one swing of his sword is a fake?”
“Yes. My eyes cannot be deceived. It's a type of projection created with immense magic. I know it well because if I grow just a little more, I can do something similar.”
Yet Ban Yuwon, who possessed the All-Seeing Eye, hadn't detected anything?
But Rucell's eyes, shimmering with a mysterious light, held no falsehood.
To be able to create a projection possessing such immense power, just how strong could No. 2's true body be...?
“Is that true...”
“Hoh, I see it now. You're quite something, young lady.”
“Huh? No. 2? ...Of course, I knew it all along!”
Nine's eyes sparkled as she nodded, as if realizing anew, while Anneri feigned ignorance with a face that still seemed clueless.
From their reactions, Ban Yuwon suddenly realized an important fact.
While his All-Seeing Eye was undoubtedly an ability to read everything, it also had distinct limitations.
It wasn't that there was a limit to what it could read.
Rather, as his All-Seeing Eye was ultimately dependent on Ban Yuwon himself, its ability didn't work well against those vastly stronger than him.
‘To think I'd forgotten such an obvious truth.’
In fact, Ban Yuwon could still only read superficial emotions from Yumina, with whom he had spent a considerable amount of time, and when it came to the Chancellor or Zenon, they were completely out of his league.
Even faintly grasping Dokgo Yeon's emotions had only become possible recently, proving that no matter how strong his Authority, it was meaningless if he himself didn't grow stronger.
It was perhaps for the best that this opportunity allowed him to reflect on his unknowingly arrogant self.
“...Hm?”
After a moment of reflection, Ban Yuwon noticed a man standing a short distance away from them, maintaining an aloof attitude as if he had no relation to the group, and tilted his head.
“Then this person? He doesn't seem like a fan club member. Could he be, perhaps...?”
“That's right, he's a new recruit!”
“Tch...!”
The burly man openly clicked his tongue as he looked at Ban Yuwon.
“You killed Ketra, didn't you? I know there were many things between the two... no, three of you, but Ketra was my comrade. If you think I'll willingly lend you my strength...”
“New recruit, charge.”
“Boss, I'm talking right now!”
“Charge. Towards that Orc fleet.”
“Tsk... DAMN IT ALL!”
The man couldn't question further. Gripping his weapon, he bravely charged into space.
Anneri truly was merciless with her subordinates.
Ban Yuwon thought this, opening his mouth with a wry smile.
“Then let's go too. No matter how strong Mr. Mumyeong is, he can't possibly take on the fleet alone...”
“...Hm? Look over there.”
Nine, who, despite having only just met everyone, spoke to them all with natural informality, raised her hand and pointed forward once more.
As Ban Yuwon turned his head, with the thought, "Did No. 2 finally smash even the flagship?", his eyes caught sight of...
...hundreds of fragmented asteroid pieces glowing red.
The problem was that even the thousands of Orc vessels were all glowing red in unison.
“A Constellation... is sacrificing its power to enact something.”
Nine said, as if spitting out the words.
“Those damn, tiresome bastards.”
And then, it began.
It was a meteor shower targeting Earth.
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