I got into school for nothing - 206
I got into school for nothing (206)
Lesson 41. Paper Please - 1
[A mere human dares to oppose me, Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas―― Kuaaak!]
To be frank, the avatar of the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas was weaker than the avatar of the Ruler of the Forest that Rucell and I had faced together.
Its instantaneous firepower was incomparably strong, but its sustainability was incomparably weak, if you could even call it that.
It felt like a meticulously crafted one-time-use ultimate weapon.
[You, I will never forget you...!]
"I've heard that countless times already, from constellations alone."
That's why it didn't take long to finish it off.
"Besides, you're the one who tried to kill me from the start, so why act so surprised?"
The finishing blow was a straight laser beam created by Ban Yuwon with photon magic.
No, it was a strike imbued with the profound essence of Starlight Magic, which he had mastered just today. Drawing in the energy of surrounding stars, it emitted a mysterious light and pierced the center of its body, melting it away completely before it even had time to let out a death cry.
"That was...?!"
"...Starlight?"
"How could a mere mortal wield such a thing? Of course, it wasn't perfect Starlight, but still."
"Could he have possibly come into contact with the owner of Starlight?"
Even those immeasurably stronger than the current Ban Yuwon were astonished to witness it.
Moreover, despite it being unique magic, there were even those who recognized Starlight, which meant that the Starlight wielded by Cellon must indeed have been formidable.
[You have obtained Life 5, Constellation's Stigma 7, Unquenchable Flame 25, and Synthesis 5.]
[By punishing a sinner, the depth of Judgment has increased by 10.]
[You have personally taken the life of a superior enemy! The depth of Rebellion has increased by 3.]
However, as expected, the gains from it weren't particularly impressive.
Its physical body was utterly annihilated, its soul gone, and despite having killed a constellation's avatar, he only gained 5 Life.
On the other hand, the unique concepts were quite substantial. Leaving aside the Constellation's Stigma he'd acquired from various sources today, obtaining a large amount of the Unquenchable Flame, which is possessed by those of the Prominence Family, was a significant harvest.
Moreover, this concept... He had noticed it earlier when extracting it from the meteor shower, but unique concepts that only specific races can wield typically get rejected as 'concepts that humans cannot handle'. Yet, the Unquenchable Flame was settling into his body with remarkable naturalness.
And then, in the very next moment.
[You have miraculously awakened and gained understanding of the Unquenchable Flame, the sun's fire dwelling at the root of all things. The depth of the unique concept, Unquenchable Flame, has reached 100.]
A power that shared its origin with the Unquenchable Flame, dormant deep within his body, awakened―― and brilliantly bloomed, absorbing all the concepts of Unquenchable Flame Ban Yuwon had acquired during this space battle!
Now, Ban Yuwon too could wield the unique concept of the Prominence Family, which Kiira McBride had boasted so much about.
Despite it being an absurd occurrence, Ban Yuwon accepted it with a sense of inevitability.
‘Ah, just as I thought?’
Ban Yuwon, over his hand, conjured a blood-red flame, different from those born of elemental magic, and let out a small chuckle.
Just as Starlight Magic could be said to be an attribute more advanced than mere light, this Unquenchable Flame was also an attribute far more potent than simple fire.
‘Seeing that even the phrase ‘miraculously’ was attached to it, if he had left it dormant, he probably would never have awakened it in his lifetime. It seemed the potential for the Unquenchable Flame had originally lain dormant within Ban Yuwon as well.’
That was probably because Ban Yuwon's mother, Kang Eunyoung, was a wielder of the Unquenchable Flame.
‘On the other hand, this ‘Synthesis’ concept...’
Perhaps the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas' original ability was more akin to this Synthesis rather than the Unquenchable Flame and its related Authority, Ban Yuwon mused.
Both the way it arbitrarily transformed the Orc fleet into a meteor shower, and the fact that he obtained the same Synthesis concept from that meteor shower after defeating its avatar, hinted at this...
Regardless of the details, obtaining this rare concept was something to be extremely grateful for.
This concept was the very 'Transcendent Synthesis' that Ban Yuwon had accidentally manifested when creating Eve or Lilyth, and now he could artificially trigger it.
‘I don't know when or for what purpose I'll need to use it, so I should save it.’
Including what he'd extracted from the meteor shower, a total of 30 Synthesis concepts were now in Ban Yuwon's possession.
Considering what the Constellation had done this time, this wasn't 'just 30'; even a concept with a depth of 1, like Myriad Changes, could achieve many things.
He carefully placed all the Synthesis concepts into his Code Core for safe keeping, and only then was he finally able to raise his head.
"Son."
"Mom, hello. It feels particularly special seeing you in space."
For some reason, his mother's face looked a bit younger than he usually saw it.
There was no need to ponder the reason deeply.
It was because the Unquenchable Flame, dormant deep within her body, had reactivated.
Indeed, Kiira McBride looked to be in her early twenties, despite her true age. And even if she was just a knight belonging to the family, his mother, who wielded the same power of the Unquenchable Flame, naturally wouldn't age fully.
"It's outer space, are you okay breathing?"
"Your sister seems to be struggling a bit, could you help her?"
"Who, me?!"
Having endured a day full of inexplicable events and finally flung into outer space, Ban Yumi gritted her teeth and retorted to Kang Eunyoung's words, then eventually managed to regain her composure somehow using her Authority.
"Whoa, it really is the Unquenchable Flame."
Meanwhile, Kiira McBride, who had returned to Ban Yuwon's side, muttered in astonishment.
"This really complicates things... Did the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas confirm it too? It must have, that's why it overexerted itself and wielded such power..."
"Kiira McBride, what about the wave?"
"Both the Relic and the Constellation empowering it from behind are gone, so there's no way it could be sustained."
Turning around at Kiira McBride's words, he saw the Orc fleet, which still had about 40% remaining, scatter into pieces in outer space.
The Orcs weren't instantly killed, but the influence of the wave that allowed them to act as a cohesive group had completely vanished, and their resistance to outer space had cleanly dissipated.
There were still tens of millions of Orcs remaining, but all they could do now was flail helplessly in zero gravity and await their inevitable death.
The most excited ones on the scene, of course, were Ban Yuwon's vassals who were still actively engaged.
Seeing the twenty-five Stormrain Swords, among others, roaming the scene of that massive festival, madly absorbing concepts, he felt a surge of unwarranted pride, thinking, ‘Whoever raised them, they raised them well.’
"Son, look over here."
"Hm?"
Turning his gaze back at his mother's words, he saw his mother, with a somewhat stern expression (though the incongruity was great due to her youthful appearance), looking at him.
"You suffered so much because of my unreasonable request, son. I'm sorry."
"Leaving the actual person involved out..."
Ban Yumi subtly approached him and clung to his side, glaring at their mother. It seemed she expected him to take her side in this awkward situation.
Well, if he had to choose whose side he was on, Ban Yuwon was overwhelmingly on his sister's side.
She might be a bit clueless and simple-minded, but it wasn't as if Ban Yumi chose to be born as a direct descendant of the Prominence Family, was it?
In this era, with Earth opened and constellations beginning to make contact, if she knew problems would arise because of her daughter's existence, their mother should have told her the truth and prepared her a little sooner.
Of course, Ban Yuwon had no intention of rattling off such words now.
Pointlessly pointing out something the other person was already aware of would only be unbecoming.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Nah, well, today's battle was fairly simple."
"The child who was so obsessed with self-preservation is now casually risking his life."
"Well..."
At his mother's words, Ban Yuwon felt a profound sense of novelty and scratched his head.
Certainly, when he lived on Earth, he was the epitome of an ordinary citizen, and aside from possessing a somewhat special ability, he was never the type to engage in life-threatening battles or adventures.
Yet now, that very same person openly challenged constellations, the most mysterious and fearsome beings in this universe, and was earnestly striving to reclaim the Tower of Babel, the greatest treasure in the universe. It was truly laughable.
The most ludicrous thing, however, was that as he listened to his mother's words, they were all drifting in outer space.
"Aren't you scared, son? Your mother only ever wanted our family to live comfortably and safely, if possible..."
Even more so because she had been through a horrific battlefield in the past, her mother's words held genuine sincerity.
After Earth's upheaval, even though she knew she had to tell her daughter the situation before it was too late, her inability to confess and her postponement of the truth must have been greatly influenced by her past.
"Scared? Not a chance."
Ban Yuwon replied with a wry smile.
In truth, he did feel fear.
These weren't enemies one could face with mere adventurous spirit.
His enemies were increasing at an even faster rate than his allies, so he was a little worried about how to proceed starting from the second semester.
――But he wasn't foolish enough to reveal such inner thoughts frankly in front of his mother.
"Besides, protecting my family is simply what a firstborn son should do."
"What a poseur."
His mother eventually let out a small laugh and said that, then bowed her head before her two children.
"I'm sorry, children. Both Yuwon and Yumi were hurt because of your mother's childishness."
"Whoa, what are you doing?"
"Mom, don't do that."
Seeing their mother in such a state for the first time, the Ban Yuwon siblings were flustered and held onto her.
When their mother raised her head again, her eyes held a firm resolve.
"First, after we've sorted out this situation, I have something to tell both of you. You probably already have an idea, but... I still want to say it myself, as your mother."
"Wait, what about Dad?"
No matter what, this is an important family matter, and leaving Dad out entirely is just too much!
Kang Eunyoung replied with an incredulous look to Ban Yuwon, who had instinctively interjected.
"There's no way he married me knowing nothing, is there?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, that's true."
"Dad died later."
No, it was indeed obvious, but then it meant their father had also been calmly deceiving the siblings all this time, hadn't he?
Our family's bloodline truly is extraordinary, Ban Yuwon thought anew, and turned back to his comrades who had waited patiently for him to finish his family conversation.
"Thank you so much. Though Earth is currently in chaos, once things settle down, I'd like to offer you all a tour of Earth or something..."
The battle was over.
It was time to offer thanks and discuss future plans with those who had rushed to Earth to save him...
"Hm? Where did Mr. Mumyeong go?"
"What? We definitely attacked the avatar together... Huh? He's gone?"
At Ban Yuwon's words, Anneri Dedota blinked her eyes and looked around, only then realizing his absence and exclaiming in surprise.
When he first met her, she had given the impression of a discreet assassin, but now, not even a speck of that impression remained...
"Ms. Nine is gone too..."
There was so much he wanted to ask them, especially Mumyeong.
The guests who had arrived with the wind had departed with the wind.
* * *
Dokgo Yeon rose early in the morning, completed her daily training, washed herself, and dressed.
It was a special attire worn only when meeting the Leader, an outfit permitted only to the Little Leader of the Shin-gyo, not the Meryongdanju.
"Young Lady, are you nervous?"
"Nervous? Me?"
"I-I couldn't possibly be nervous, could I?"
"You just trembled a little, it seemed."
"To lightly point out your master's flaws, you must have gotten quite comfortable lately, Heukseol."
"Ah, permission to enter has been granted."
Heukseol skillfully changed the subject.
If there had been no one else around, she would have carved the price of impudence into her.
But now, she couldn't afford to pay attention to her.
The door before her eyes.
Beyond it, the ruler of the Shin-gyo, the Leader, would be waiting.
‘He found out I violated the sect's laws. For some reason, he didn't question me in detail then and simply sent me away, but...’
She had probably been summoned today for him to finally interrogate her about the transgression he couldn't question her about back then.
But there was still something she couldn't understand.
Contact with the outside was strictly forbidden by the sect's laws, and the Leader himself was famous for rigorously upholding it. How on earth did he find out that she had taught Ban Yuwon Hyunsingong?
Did Heukseol tell him? No, that couldn't be.
Because Heukseol herself didn't even know that Dokgo Yeon had passed Hyunsingong to Ban Yuwon.
‘Panicking isn't like me. Of course, I was prepared for the possibility of being discovered. The reason I taught Hyunsingong to Ban Yuwon wasn't for any personal feelings, but for objective gain! If I speak of what can be gained by climbing the Tower, the Leader will surely――.’
The door opened.
A colossal shadow filled Dokgo Yeon's vision.
Just by looking at his back, from which an ominous aura emanated, Dokgo Yeon could tell that his mood was far from good.
Perhaps she even had to prepare for the disbandment of the Myeolryongdan.
Dokgo Yeon bit her lip tightly, and suppressing the irritation that rose at the image of Ban Yuwon's mischievous grin that inexplicably came to mind at that moment, she was about to say something when.
"Bring that boy here."
"Leader, about Hyunsingong... Huh?"
Dokgo Yeon's retort was not something one could hear just anytime.
As Heukseol squirmed, thinking the Young Lady was utterly adorable, the Leader's words continued.
"Next vacation, bring him here."
"Leader, sir?"
"Withdraw."
With those words, the Leader ordered her to leave.
Stepping backward, and exiting the Leader's room, Dokgo Yeon suddenly realized the meaning of his words.
‘Bring Ban Yuwon? ...To *this* place?!’
Hearing those words, Dokgo Yeon herself was puzzled by the momentary surge of joy she felt, but she would absolutely never admit that feeling was most akin to ‘a girl introducing her boyfriend to her father.’
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