I Got Into School for Nothing - 20
I Got Into School for Nothing (20)
Lesson 5. The Tower is a One-Way Street - 3
A corridor wide enough for four people to walk abreast with room to spare.
Torches lined the walls at regular intervals, but no warmth emanated from them, even when approached closely.
The Tower was a fantastical space made real.
Ban Yuwon truly felt the truth of that statement from the moment he stepped inside the Tower.
‘The funny thing, though, was that the concept of 'Fire' was clearly present within those torches.’
He thought about extracting it, but it was impossible.
That was because Ban Yuwon didn't own the torches.
Perhaps realizing this would help him internalize his ability more deeply....
“Ban?”
“Ah, sorry. I spaced out for a moment.”
Snapping out of his reverie at Light's call, he met Dokgo Yeon's cross-shaped gaze, glaring at him.
“This is enemy territory. If you act like a loose screw, I won't forgive even you.”
“I told you that combat wouldn't start until the 'Shift' happened, that is, until we entered Room 1. Don't blame Ban too much.”
“Hmph.”
Perhaps because they were in the Tower, Dokgo Yeon was also acting a bit sensitive.
Since it was Ban Yuwon's fault, he apologized to both of them, and the four huddled together to officially begin exploring the Tower.
Just as the atmosphere settled and they began walking together, Dokgo Yeon suddenly asked him,
“So, what exactly were you checking about the torch?”
“You knew and still scolded me? You really... It's a secret.”
“Were you perhaps trying to extract the flame from it?”
This woman was truly a ghost.
Ban Yuwon pretended to be nonchalant and nodded.
“Something similar.”
“But it didn't work. If it had been possible, you could have freely utilized the Tower's terrain features...”
“Don't scarily think one step further than me with my own ability. Just watch; I'm not only capable of this much.”
“Ugh.”
At that moment, Rucell let out a faint whimper and gripped Ban Yuwon's arm tightly.
Simultaneously, Ban Yuwon witnessed the Tower's pervasive concept morphing into something else.
“......Shift.”
“Room 1 now.”
Light confirmed the clear number '1' that had appeared on his student ID hanging around his neck, bit his lip, and drew his sword of light.
“Light, I trust you?”
“I told you to trust me.”
“Let's see about that.”
The sword, made of golden light, which he seemed to pull out of nowhere every time.
It was undoubtedly an artifact of such a high caliber that the current Ban Yuwon couldn't even dare to imagine.
Light's change in behavior and personality from the moment he grasped that sword was unsettling, but seeing the deeply intense and murderous concepts overflowing from the blade made such worries seem meaningless.
“Rucell, don't just hide; come out.”
“Ah, uh, but...”
“If things go south, I'll kill you myself.”
Ban Yuwon didn't understand even half of the conversation that passed between Dokgo Yeon and Rucell.
However, seeing Rucell's posture straighten a little after hearing those words, it seemed there was some unspoken connection between them that he wasn't privy to.
Indeed, since they shared a room, it wouldn't be strange for their relationship to have progressed over the past week.
If that were the case, then regarding Ban Yuwon and Light, who also shared a room and had aspects of understanding each other, it seemed highly probable that it was... mostly a one-way street for Ban Yuwon.
“Above.”
At that moment, Rucell murmured softly.
Instantly, a massive droplet of water dripped from the empty ceiling, as if melting candle wax.
Just as Eve hastily transformed into a shield to block it, Light leaped lightly and swung his sword like a ray of light.
The amorphous water droplet evaporated and vanished with a "Paat!" sound.
“Clotheseaters. Notorious monsters for devouring all of an explorer's equipment, disarming them.”
It was a monster he had seen in the textbook that analyzed the diverse array of creatures appearing in the Tower.
Since they devoured everything from metal to leather and even cloth, there was a high chance equipment would become unusable if they weren't dealt with before making contact.
It was said that if you were unlucky, you could even end up completely naked.
If they hadn't noticed and had been hit, they all would have been in trouble.
Therefore, Ban Yuwon felt no regret.
No... regret... at all...!
“So, Room 1 has Clotheseaters... Thankfully, it seems advantageous for us. We have people with sharp senses here.”
“We can't guarantee that nothing else will appear with them. Don't let your guard down, everyone.”
If there was one more distinct characteristic of the Tower compared to dungeons, it was that monsters randomly popped out from anywhere—be it walls or floors.
The party designated areas—up, down, left, and right—and diligently burst the Clotheseaters as they advanced through the room.
Since their durability was quite low compared to their stealth and speed, there was no need to expend much energy.
“Hap!”
“You're noisy. Are you going to advertise yourself so loudly every time you swing your sword?”
“Hah! Hup...! You, on the other hand, are too quiet!”
“Hmph.”
Light swung his sword, unleashing a beam of light, while Dokgo Yeon merely seemed to flick her fingers, and distant water droplets burst on their own.
“Hwaaaah!”
—CRASH!
Meanwhile, surprisingly, Rucell was an infighter type, unimaginable for her slender physique, striking down enemies with her bare hands!
Every time a water droplet emerged from the direction she was responsible for, she would rush out with astonishing speed and strike it, causing the creatures to vanish without a trace.
[Absorbing 'Life' 0.8, 'Demonic Spirit' 1.3, 'Fusion' 1.1 from numerous Clotheseater corpses.]
‘No, traces were left.’
Ban Yuwon chuckled softly, watching the chunks of code being absorbed at a noticeably fast rate for the first time in a long while.
In fact, before entering the Tower, he had two concerns.
One was whether he could extract codes from the Tower's monsters, just as he could from dungeon monsters.
The other was whether he could extract codes from monsters killed by his companions.
Looking at the results, the answer to both was yes.
Moreover, thanks to the growth of his ability, the codes were automatically released and absorbed without him even needing to approach the corpses.
‘Of course, there was a clear difference. The amount of 'Life' absorbed was significantly less compared to when he or Eve directly killed them.’
However, since he could absorb all other concepts, and he felt it wouldn't be right to steal everything from the corpses killed by his companions anyway, he had no mind to complain.
He couldn't tell them now, but considering he would strengthen his companions later with his ability, taking this much should be fine.
“Hmm...?”
Just then, Dokgo Yeon, who had been solving everything with mere flicks of her fingers from her spot, suddenly turned to look at Ban Yuwon.
He flinched, wondering if she had caught him absorbing codes, but she pointed not at Ban Yuwon, but at Eve, and spoke.
“Is that its form during combat?”
“Huh? Oh, well, something like that.”
Chwarururuk, Chaeng!
Eve was currently transformed into a bundle of chains, floating in mid-air, and whenever a Clotheseater appeared, she would shoot out the ends of her chains to hunt them.
Not only had he bestowed upon her the remaining 'Sharpness' 10 that he had granted Lilyth yesterday, but the act of shooting out chains also fell within the realm of 'Fierce Shot,' making her momentum incredibly fierce, and indeed, Clotheseaters would simply vanish once pierced by a chain.
“Quite impressive. And fast...”
While she said that with her mouth, her eyes clearly conveyed the suspicion, ‘It couldn't be just that much.’
Ban Yuwon killed a Clotheseater emerging from beneath his feet with his sword and shrugged.
“There's a stronger form, but it can be a bit noisy.”
“Surely it can't be noisier than *those*?”
At his words, Dokgo Yeon snorted, then pointed at Light and Rucell, who were rampaging all around them, and said,
“Hah! Hyaap! Die!”
“Hwaaaah!”
Unlike Ban Yuwon, who knew it was best not to make noise during exploration, having experienced dungeons multiple times, and Dokgo Yeon, whose movements were fundamentally silent, Light and Rucell were rampaging, emphatically declaring "I am here!" at every moment.
Why do game characters not emit a battle cry every time a basic attack command is input? It was exactly that feeling.
“Light seems to have a lot of combat experience, so why...”
“Not all combat experience directly translates to fighting in such special environments, I suppose.”
Ban Yuwon let out a small sigh, vowing to tell him himself after the battle.
However, even if that were the case for Light, Rucell seemed to be moving more on instinct than battle cries, giving him a slight feeling that she wouldn't improve much in the future.
After how much more fighting and advancing, at some point, the Clotheseaters' attacks began to decrease.
“Is the room about to change?”
“No. I feel a strong convergence of energy. A monster of a different caliber will appear.”
“That means an elite monster is appearing, but from Room 1? What the...”
Elite monsters.
Individuals in the Tower with uniquely powerful abilities, much like boss monsters in dungeons.
Unlike regular monsters, which disappeared without leaving anything behind upon death (which was also why Ban Yuwon could absorb their codes so freely), these creatures often left something behind, making elite monsters one of the few ways students could earn income in the Tower.
The problem was that encountering an elite monster usually meant immediate expulsion from the Tower.
“......!”
The moment he heard Dokgo Yeon's words and looked around, it also caught Ban Yuwon's eye.
On one side of the wall, a stream of golden characters, exceptionally bright, coalescing and glowing!
It was closest to Rucell, more so than anyone else.
“Rucell!”
“!”
Rucell, with her keen senses, also seemed to have noticed it.
She swung one hand, sweeping away the surrounding Clotheseaters, and then charged directly towards something that was just 'sprouting' from the wall.
“Kyaaaah!”
Was that sound made by a monster?
Ban Yuwon, who had tilted his head in question, soon realized it wasn't.
It was Rucell's scream.
Kwaang!
—Graaaah!
Rucell's hand, sharply curved like that of a wild beast, slammed violently against the wall.
A vast, amorphous something that had been surging from within was shattered and annihilated before it could even fully emerge from the wall.
A small, black glass-like crystal fell from it, likely a magic core.
Ban Yuwon hastily collected codes from the scattering monster's corpse while observing Rucell.
“Hup, huff, huff... Hwooo.”
Even after dispatching the monster in an instant, Rucell, who had been panting in that same stance, finally picked up the magic core and returned to the group once her breathing stabilized.
Light looked at her with surprised eyes, Dokgo Yeon with eyes that conveyed perfect understanding, but Ban Yuwon focused on her body—specifically, her bangs.
‘I thought she had highlights, but it wasn't that.’
Originally, her hair was mostly pink, with only a part of her bangs dyed black, but now, the black-dyed portion had grown a little.
Furthermore, a part of her internal codes, which he hadn't been able to identify until now, was clearly visible.
[Heart Furnace]
Not ‘심로’ in the sense of 'suffering heartache,' but 'Heart Furnace,' combining 'heart' and 'furnace.'
Interpreted, it could be said that she gained power by burning her emotions like fuel.
‘What, she's just a regular berserker.’
Ban Yuwon, having reached a conclusion, was smiling contentedly when he suddenly felt someone tugging at his sleeve.
It was Rucell.
“W-was it very scary, f-for me?”
“What was?”
“Well, just now...”
It seemed she had misunderstood Ban Yuwon staring intently at her.
Ban Yuwon waved his head, denying her concerns.
“Not at all. Rather, you were dependable, weren't you?”
“But, if I... if it gets worse.”
“I told you it's fine.”
Perhaps displeased that Rucell was unnecessarily hesitating and pulling on Ban Yuwon's sleeve, Dokgo Yeon spoke in a chilling tone and smacked her hand away.
“If you completely lose your sanity, I'll kill you anytime.”
“That won't do, Dokgo Yeon. If even one person dies, our exploration will have to restart from Room 1.”
“If it's going to keep being like this, then we'll just have to climb with three. Or rather, just the two of us, with Ban Yuwon, wouldn't be bad either.”
“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”
As expected, Dokgo Yeon was Dokgo Yeon.
What kind of connection, hell, she was only thinking about mercilessly cutting others off!
Ban Yuwon gave a wry smile, watching Rucell tremble even more at Dokgo Yeon's chilly demeanor, then gently took her hand that was aimlessly hovering in the air.
“I'll think about it.”
“Huh...?”
“Because I've figured out why you're being overly timid. The rest is just finding a solution.”
“Ah! Th-thank you...!”
Rucell, truly touched, clutched his hand tightly and trembled.
Seeing her like that, he really thought she resembled a puppy.
However, Dokgo Yeon, watching the scene, still wore a disgruntled expression.
“So you're just a normal man too? Fawning over her looks, how pathetic.”
“What a misunderstanding. Can't you tell I'm perfectly fine in front of you?”
“Hmph, changing your stance like that won't work.”
Dokgo Yeon coldly dismissed his blatant flattery, but Ban Yuwon, with his incredibly perceptive eyes, could once again confirm the truth (at least within his experience) from her subtle facial changes: no woman truly disliked compliments.
However, Ban Yuwon hadn't tried to appease Rucell simply because he was swayed by her beauty.
Nor had he taken Rucell's hand because he wanted physical contact with a pretty girl.
[Heart Furnace 5 — 'Rage' 2, 'Madness' 3]
He was merely analyzing her codes, contemplating how he could eliminate the side effects of that ability and make use of it.
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